Chapter 137
Chapter 137: Other Than That, You’re All Useless
Secretary Yao hesitated, then asked carefully, “Do we need to notify Minister Yan from the Security Department?”
Chong Ming’s golden eyes darkened slightly. “He’s already investigating. No need to notify him separately.”
Secretary Yao exhaled. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming issued several more orders. Once everyone left his office, he rose as well.
With the Police Bureau, the Special Operations Bureau, and the bodyguard team involved, the hundreds of enraged dragon clan cadets under thirty were subdued in under ten minutes.
Elder Jin led the academy healers, joined by emergency healers transferred in from the National Healing Institute, treating the wounded at speed.
Mutant rats, black armored beetles, and other small crawling aberrant beasts were swept up and destroyed on a massive scale.
Aside from Cheng Lin Yue—who stayed with Elder Jin to treat the injured—Jiang Tea Tea and Sui Xuan Chu regrouped with the others. No one was seriously hurt, and the few minor scrapes they had vanished under a quick spray of medical spray.
Huang Da Zhuang and the rest couldn’t stop staring at the still-beating heart in Jiang Tea Tea’s hand and the massive butterfly body Sui Xuan Chu carried.
“Sister Tea,” Cheng Xiao Ting asked, eyes wide, “is that the leader of the Insect Clan invasion?”
“His wings are insane. If I didn’t know he was Insect Clan, I’d probably get tricked just seeing him in the wild.”
“Yeah. The universe is terrifying. It can create something that beautiful and still make your skin crawl.”
“The officials always say the prettier something is, the more dangerous it is. They weren’t wrong.”
“Sister Tea, you’re holding his heart. It’s outside his body and still beating. That’s… that’s absurd.”
Jiang Tea Tea kept the heart alive with magic power, but she didn’t bother explaining. She simply nodded. “He’s hard to kill. Even without his heart, he hasn’t died yet.”
They stared harder.
“He’s not dead? I thought he was dead.”
“Let me touch him.”
Sui Xuan Chu held the butterfly body out.
The enormous wings still shimmered faintly. The chest had a bloody hole where the heart had been removed, but beneath the gore, there really was a weak pulse.
Cheng Xiao Ting, Huang Da Zhuang, Yan Yu, and the others exchanged stunned looks.
“Holy shit,” Cheng Xiao Ting breathed. “He really isn’t dead. That’s insane.”
“Thank the gods he ran into Sister Tea. If it were me, I’d probably be his captive, drained dry.”
Before Jiang Tea Tea could reply, a Police Bureau investigator walked over, cutting into the conversation with polite firmness.
“Sorry to interrupt, classmates.”
Their heads turned in unison.
The investigator pointed at the butterfly body. “This is a high-ranking Insect Clan operative. Hand him over. I’ll take him to the Police Bureau.”
Sui Xuan Chu passed it over without hesitation. “Here.”
The investigator accepted the body, then pulled out medical spray and treated the bleeding hole in the butterfly’s chest.
The bleeding slowed.
Then he looked at Jiang Tea Tea. “Classmate, please hand over Overlord Wang Die’s heart.”
Jiang Tea Tea narrowed her eyes. “Who said this is Overlord Wang Die’s heart? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Sui Xuan Chu’s instincts flared. Something felt off.
He flicked a look at Cheng Xiao Ting, Yan Yu, Ju Que, and the others. Without a word, they shifted positions—subtle, quiet, spreading out.
The investigator’s voice hardened. “Overlord Wang Die is missing a heart. You happen to be holding a heart. If it isn’t his, then whose is it?”
Jiang Tea Tea shot back, “If you say it’s his, prove it.”
The investigator’s eyes flashed. “Classmate, as a cadet you should know this: obstructing Police Bureau work is a crime. And right now you are committing a crime.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t flinch. She lifted the heart higher, pinched delicately between her fingers. “You’re saying I’m committing a crime?”
The investigator’s expression tightened. “Don’t be stubborn. Hand it over.”
“He invaded the Royal Military Academy. The empire’s laws will punish him. You don’t need to punish him by holding his heart. Give it to me.”
Jiang Tea Tea lowered her hand as if complying. “Fine. I’ll give it to you.”
The investigator didn’t reach for it directly.
He took out a medical preservation case meant for storing biological parts, opened it, and held it out—waiting for her to place the heart inside.
Jiang Tea Tea hovered her hand over the case as if she was about to drop it in.
Then she paused and looked up. “Officer, what’s your Police Bureau badge number?”
The investigator froze for the smallest fraction of a second, then blurted, “395789!”
Jiang Tea Tea’s smile turned razor-thin. “Then why is there no badge number on your uniform? And where’s your body cam?”
The man’s face snapped cold.
He slammed the preservation case shut, aiming to trap her hand and seize the heart.
But Jiang Tea Tea had already pulled back, faster than the lid could close. She stepped away at the same time.
Boom.
Sui Xuan Chu summoned lightning, blasting it down at the investigator.
The disguised operative blink-shifted out of the strike, crouched, and reached for the butterfly body on the ground—
Yan Yu’s blink was faster.
He snatched Overlord Wang Die’s body and flashed away.
Cheng Xiao Ting, Ju Que, Zhang Ting Zhou, and Huang Da Zhuang moved as one, forming a barrier in front of Yan Yu and leveling their guns at the investigator.
The investigator’s eyes cut to the dark muzzles aimed at him. “What are you doing?” he barked. “Assaulting Police Bureau personnel is a serious crime!”
Jiang Tea Tea leaned her head out from behind Sui Xuan Chu, eyes bright with amusement. “We don’t know if hurting you is a serious crime.”
“We only know that capturing you, seriously injuring you, or killing you is at least a third-class merit.”
The investigator’s face twisted.
He stepped backward, hands curling, searching for an opening—but the group tightened, encircling him cleanly. Yan Yu stayed out of reach, Overlord Wang Die’s body protected behind them.
The investigator finally dropped the act. His voice turned vicious. “Jiang Tea Tea. You’re a troublesome piece of work.”
Jiang Tea Tea smiled. “Thank you for the compliment. So what should I call you?”
The man snorted. “You’re not worthy of my name.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s smile didn’t fade. “All right. Sui Xuan Chu—cripple him with lightning.”
“Got it, Sister Tea.”
Sui Xuan Chu called lightning down in rapid, crackling bursts.
The disguised operative tried to blink-shift away—
But Cheng Xiao Ting’s gale slammed into him, disrupting the movement and killing the shift.
Lightning hit him full-on. He crashed to the ground.
Zhang Ting Zhou’s arm transformed into a thick octopus tentacle and whipped forward, slapping the operative across the face with a wet, brutal smack.
The operative went limp.
His disguise collapsed.
In his place lay a heavy, glossy black armored bug, carapace hard as metal.
“Holy—” Cheng Xiao Ting kicked it. “The Insect Clan is insane. He could disguise himself as empire staff. If not for Sister Tea, he would’ve walked off with Overlord Wang Die and the heart.”
Huang Da Zhuang shook his head, still stunned. “He even smelled like a beastfolk. I didn’t catch a single trace of Insect Clan scent on him.”
Someone swallowed hard. “How many bugs do you think are inside our school?”
Another voice answered bleakly, “Wrong question. How many bugs are inside the empire’s entire public system?”
“That’s what’s terrifying. He walked up to us in a uniform and demanded the body and the heart.”
Jiang Tea Tea turned to Sui Xuan Chu. “Roommate, notify your uncle—”
Sui Xuan Chu lifted his head. “He already knows. He wants us to come over right now.”
Jiang Tea Tea frowned. “Come over where?”
Sui Xuan Chu pointed up. “Someone’s coming to pick us up.”
A bodyguard team flyer descended from the sky, lowering smoothly through the darkness.
The others stared.
“Bodyguard team flyer…”
“Sui Xuan Chu—your uncle is in the bodyguard team?”
Sui Xuan Chu gave a vague answer that dodged everything. “More or less.”
Their expressions changed instantly.
“No wonder you keep saying your uncle is amazing.”
“Bodyguard team members are terrifyingly strong.”
“You have to spar with him and teach us. Our goal is to join the bodyguard team—protect the Commander-in-Chief.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded quickly. “Sure. I’ll spar with him later.”
The flyer landed. The door opened.
Jiang Tea Tea climbed in, still holding the beating heart.
Sui Xuan Chu tossed Overlord Wang Die’s body and the unconscious armored bug inside and followed.
The flyer lifted off, climbed high, and broke through the clouds.
At ten thousand meters, it slid into an invisibility warship and vanished from sight.
Chong Ming had followed everything on his screens. He adjusted his strategy, deployed military forces, and sent troops into the Royal Military Academy to begin a full sweep.
Jiang Tea Tea held the beating heart as she faced Chong Ming.
The moment she saw him, her anger flared. “Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming—so those six satellites you put over our heads were just decorations?”
“Why didn’t you wait until Sui Xuan Chu and I died before showing up to collect our bodies?”
Sui Xuan Chu’s eyes went wide.
Fireworks exploded in his head.
Idol. Absolute idol.
He hadn’t expected his roommate to dare talk to his uncle like that, but she did. And she didn’t just talk—she went straight for the throat.
No wonder Huang Da Zhuang treated her like a hard carry. No wonder people like Lin Feng Feng from the Pacification Department looked at her like she hung the stars.
Chong Ming’s golden gaze swept Jiang Tea Tea from head to toe, then paused on her abdomen for several long seconds.
His voice stayed calm, low, heavy. “Before the Insect Clan released the forbidden dragon-luring agent at the Royal Military Academy, I had already received word.”
“I had already assessed the strength and response capacity of the entire academy.”