Chapter 130
Chapter 130: A Pretty Neck Is Made for a Blade, Not a Bullet
Chong Ming leaned back in his chair, posture relaxed, gaze cold. When he spoke, the contempt in his voice wasn’t even slightly concealed. “A bug is a bug. Even if it takes human form, it’s still a bug.”
“Making me join forces with a bug, letting a bug with dozens of consorts lay dragon eggs for me—Your Highness, you really do understand how to disgust me.”
Asais tipped her head back with a smile, deliberately exposing her long, pale neck. Her red lips parted as she layered charm over every syllable, coaxing and tempting. “Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming is as humorous as ever. You’ve made my heart flutter. It only convinces me more that my idea is a good one. We really can work together.”
Chong Ming didn’t so much as blink. “If I make your heart flutter, that’s nothing to take pride in. But your neck is pretty.”
The fake golden sheen in Asais’s eyes snapped into excited compound facets. Her voice turned bright with glee. “You think my neck is pretty? I think my neck is pretty too. I don’t mind if you put your hands on it and—”
The corner of Chong Ming’s mouth lifted. “No need. I just think a neck that pretty would look ugly if a bullet punched through it. Hot weapons ruin the view. A cold blade taking it clean off would look better. That would be truly pretty.”
Asais’s proud chin froze for an instant. “Commander-in-Chief, you really know how to joke. Our two nations signed a peace treaty. You won’t be cutting off my pretty neck.”
He wanted to cut her neck. She wanted to cut his too—then chew his flesh and drink his blood.
The Golden Dragon Imperial Clan’s flesh was like the tenderest leaves in spring. To a bug, it was irresistible.
Chong Ming’s gaze sharpened, the chill in it carrying weight. “Compared to Your Highness’s jokes, mine don’t even deserve to be called jokes.”
“And that ‘peace treaty’—wasn’t it torn up ages ago by your imperial elder brother?”
Asais refused to back down. “Everything I said came from the heart. It wasn’t a joke, Commander-in-Chief. Won’t you consider me?”
“Your Gold Dragon Clan has fertility issues. The whole galaxy knows it. But we king insects are different. When we lay eggs, it’s at least ten or twenty at a time.”
Chong Ming’s words were poison, calm and lethal. “You know I already have a mate and a cub, and you still come throwing yourself at me. What decent thing could you possibly be?”
Asais snapped her clothes closed with an angry tug, covering the swell of her chest. “Commander-in-Chief, you really do know how to talk.”
He spread his hands. “I think so too. If Your Highness enjoys hearing it, I don’t mind repeating myself.”
Asais forced down a breath, shot him a savage glare, and returned to her seat, regaining the pride a Crown Princess of the Insect Clan was supposed to possess. “When are you going to release my imperial elder brother, Agris?”
Chong Ming pointed at the massive broadcast screen. “Watch the livestream first. No official business.”
The livestream showed Jiang Yi Cheng and Jiang Yi Zhu in prison transport cages, rolling down a wide road. Beastfolk, half-beastfolk, and pure humans lined both sides to watch.
The camera swung between close shots and wide ones—sometimes zooming in on the pair’s ashen faces, their terrified eyes.
Half an hour later, the convoy reached the execution ground. The livestream captured everything from every angle, a full 360 degrees without a single blind spot. The resolution was so crisp that even the dried bloodstains on the ground showed up clearly under the harsh light.
Hundreds of billions of people watched. In the Zhen Lin Empire, every school used lunch break to show the execution of traitors.
And of course, there were people from other countries who’d hopped the firewall, filling the chat with bait.
“The Zhen Lin Empire government has lost its mind!”
“Letting preschoolers and lower-grade students watch something this bloody—won’t it traumatize them?”
“Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming is too overbearing. Everything is his word alone. He never listens to anyone else. I feel sorry for the people of the Zhen Lin Empire.”
“Feel sorry, my ass. Your IP just exposed your IQ. You’re the pathetic one.”
“Seriously. These days your IP follows you everywhere. You type one sentence and everyone sees where you’re posting from.”
“You’re here trying to stir trouble. Afraid people won’t realize you’re Insect Clan? You’re just here to make us sick.”
“Zero tolerance for traitors. Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming is letting us see what happens to traitors. What’s wrong with that?”
“Bugs are the most disgusting, most cruel things in existence. A disgusting, cruel thing accusing others—never thought I’d see the day.”
“Stop fighting—look! The bullets are chambered.”
On-screen, three executioners chambered rounds right in front of Jiang Yi Cheng and Jiang Yi Zhu.
Both prisoners’ legs had given out. They couldn’t stand on their own. The guards forced them upright, holding them so they didn’t collapse.
Gags stuffed their mouths, trapping their screams. Their terror was visible in their eyes, in their shaking bodies, in the way they lost control as the reality of death closed in.
The guns lifted. The muzzles aligned with their brows.
The three executioners fired together.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three shots.
Three bullets—two for Jiang Yi Cheng, one for Jiang Yi Zhu.
All three hit dead center between the brows, punching through skull and brain. Blood and brain matter burst out in a vivid, nauseating spray.
Their eyes remained wide open as the life drained out of them. The guards released their grip. The bodies crumpled to the ground.
The livestream lingered on the sprawled corpses for ten full seconds—then cut cleanly to Chong Ming’s office.
He sat in a military uniform behind his desk, composed and unhurried, powerful in a way that didn’t need display. He looked straight into the camera.
“Citizens of the Zhen Lin Empire, hello. I am Chong Ming. When it comes to finding traitors and executing traitors, every empire citizen bears responsibility.”
“Some call this bloody. Some call it cruel. Some say it frightens our children. I say this: mercy toward the enemy is cruelty toward our own.”
“In the Zhen Lin Empire, whether you are five hundred years old or five years old, you are strong. You have backbone. You have blood. You will not be frightened or broken simply because you watched traitors executed and saw traitors’ blood.”
“As citizens of the Zhen Lin Empire, we must always remember the ancestors who died to win our peace.”
“We will never forgive traitors or our enemies!”
Across the livestream, countless citizens’ eyes went wet. The empire’s peace and strength had been bought by the blood of generations.
A traitor didn’t deserve an honorable death. Even after execution, they would nail the body to a pillar of shame—let birds pick at the corpse, let the bones never enter the soil.
Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming was right. Hatred could not be erased. Peace didn’t mean forgetting who had tried to wipe you out.
You had to remember. You had to warn yourself: blood debts could only be repaid in blood. Only by wiping out the Insect Clan could the hatred between them ever be settled.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Asais applauded Chong Ming, a smile on her lips and murder in her eyes. “Commander-in-Chief, teaching your citizens a lesson… what an eye-opener.”
Chong Ming didn’t spare her a glance. He rose, adjusted the crisp line of his uniform, and said coolly, “So you’re easily shocked. When you get back to the Insect Clan, use the net more. And make sure you visit the Zhen Lin Empire’s StarNet often.”
Asais snorted. “Why would I bother jumping the firewall to watch that? I prefer standing on your planet and watching.”
Chong Ming lifted a brow. “So you want to stay in the Zhen Lin Empire a few more days? That’s perfect. I’ll have someone notify the Insect Queen that her Crown Princess plans to remain in the Zhen Lin Empire for three to five months—three to five years?”
Asais shoved off the table and stood. “Save your kindness. And don’t go telling my Empress Mother.”
Chong Ming sighed as if genuinely disappointed. “A pity. I have other duties. I won’t be entertaining you further. Secretary Wen, escort Your Highness Asais back to the hotel—”
“Wait.” Asais cut him off sharply. “Commander-in-Chief, have you forgotten something important?”
Chong Ming tilted his head as if considering. “I haven’t forgotten anything important. But thank you for the reminder. I’ll have my adjutant check my memo. If anything was missed, I’ll tell you.”
“Chong Ming.” Asais spat his name. “Stop playing. I already ceded half a star system—three hundred and eighty mining planets, tens of thousands of tons of rare minerals. How long are you planning to keep my imperial elder brother locked up?”
Chong Ming’s lips curved. “If I remember correctly, those three hundred and eighty mining planets are part of that half star system you ceded. And the tens of thousands of tons of rare minerals were dug out of those same planets.”
“That’s like you owing me money, then repaying me by pulling a stack of bills out of my own wallet and calling it ‘interest.’ Do you think that’s reasonable?”
Asais answered without shame. “Of course it’s reasonable. I saved you the trouble of sending people to mine it.”
“I’m thinking so much for your sake, and you don’t appreciate it. You even question me. You really are an unromantic male.”
Chong Ming clicked his tongue. “I used to hear your Empress Mother was dissatisfied with you. I thought it was just rumor. Now I’m sure—your Empress Mother truly is dissatisfied.”
“You don’t look like a qualified Crown Princess, Your Highness Asais.”
Asais’s pupils tightened. “You—”
Chong Ming’s voice dropped, cold as a blade sliding free. “If you want Eldest Prince Agris back, show me your sincerity.”
“If you show none, Eldest Prince Agris will remain in the Zhen Lin Empire as a ‘guest,’ and his fiancée, General Atuya, won’t be available for you to use.”
“Your Highness Asais, among the Insect Clan’s ten great generals, the ones you can truly command are few. If you still can’t win over General Atuya…” He gave a soft, contemptuous tsk. “It’s hard not to wonder whether, after you return to the Insect Clan, the other king insect females won’t tear you apart.”