Chapter 183
Chapter 183: You Miss Me—In a Couple of Days, I’ll Come Find You
Cheng Mian gripped Mo Jing Chun’s hand and answered firmly. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief. The children are innocent. We’re willing to accept all of them—help them as much as we can.”
Chong Ming looked at them through the screen. “Thank you. Once the case is fully processed, I’ll notify you in advance. You can come and take them then. I’ll be troubling you.”
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun replied in unison, “Understood, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming dipped his head slightly, then turned his gaze to Jiang Tea Tea and the others.
“Classmates. You completed your mission excellently. In one hour, Space Patrol Cruiser 003 will arrive to pick you up and deliver you to the seventh star system, Ri Pan Star.”
“You will serve as staff for the Space Weapons Exhibition.”
Cheng Xiao Ting blurted without thinking, “What? Commander-in-Chief, we’re going to the exhibition? No rest?”
He’d assumed that after this mission they’d get time off. He’d even planned to bring the other seven home with him.
Chong Ming’s eyes sharpened. “Cheng Xiao Ting, classmate. You want to rest?”
Mo Jing Chun, eyes still wet, slapped the back of Cheng Xiao Ting’s head. “Commander-in-Chief, he doesn’t want to rest.”
Cheng Xiao Ting flinched. He didn’t dare rub his head. He nodded so fast it looked painful.
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief. I don’t need rest. I guarantee I’ll go to the exhibition and complete the mission.”
Chong Ming’s mouth curved slightly, then he asked the others, “Jiang Tea Tea, classmate—do you seven need rest?”
Jiang Tea Tea rolled her eyes at him.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others practically glowed. They responded loud and proud.
“Report, Commander-in-Chief! We do not need rest! As cadets, completing missions is our duty!”
“We guarantee we won’t disappoint you. We will complete the task you assigned. We will become people useful to the empire!”
Chong Ming nodded with satisfaction. “Good.”
“Rest where you are for one hour. Cruiser 003 will arrive to collect you. I wish you success. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Commander-in-Chief!”
Huang Da Zhuang and the others snapped a crisp salute in perfect unison, reverent and thrilled.
Jiang Tea Tea saluted vaguely—perfunctory to the point of insult.
The projection vanished as Chong Ming cut the feed.
With the Commander-in-Chief’s oppressive presence gone, Cheng Xiao Ting and the others erupted into happy chaos.
“Ahhh! Old Cheng, Jing Chun, gorgeous lady—did you hear? I’m going on my second mission!”
“Right, right! I thought we’d rest, but there’s a second mission. Sister Tea, we’re riding your coattails! Hurry, stick your leg out. Let me hug it!”
“Dad, Mom—Beast God above—I made it! I’m taking a cruiser to the seventh star system, Ri Pan Star, to staff the Space Weapons Exhibition! Am I dreaming? Someone pinch me—”
“Ah! You stinking octopus, I said pinch me, not pinch me five times! You think having extra tentacles makes you special?”
“You told me to pinch you. I was worried one pinch wouldn’t be enough, so I did two more. You feel it now, right? Not a dream?”
Jiang Tea Tea took two steps back and said flatly, “Hard pass.”
Cheng Xiao Ting and the others acted wounded and hugged each other dramatically.
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun were proud and moved. Their wolf cub—and these other seven kids—were outstanding.
But…
Jiang Tea Tea wasn’t really part of the Lang family. Whose child was she? Could she be one of the four Black Wolf Clan embryos Chong Ming mentioned?
Mo Jing Chun and Cheng Mian exchanged another glance. They approached Jiang Tea Tea and asked gently, “Tea Tea, are you alright?”
Jiang Tea Tea turned, eyes bright. “I’m fine. Why?”
Mo Jing Chun smiled warmly. “Nothing. I just wanted to say—after your mission, if you don’t have another assignment, you and your classmates can come visit our home with our wolf cub.”
“We live up in the mountains. There are wild animals, wild vegetables, mushrooms. When you come, you can hunt, gather greens, pick mushrooms.”
Jiang Tea Tea smiled. “Sure. If I have time, I’ll come.”
Mo Jing Chun’s eyes lit up. “Then it’s settled.”
Time moved fast.
Within that hour, the Lang family estate was sealed, and more than three thousand guests were taken away. All White Wolf Clan members in the settlement—official cubs and others alike—were detained as well.
Every White Wolf Clan member working on Barley Star was ordered to stop and cooperate with investigations.
White Wolf Clan members in other star systems—traveling, working, even those who had emigrated—were checked too, as long as they could be identified.
The police department and ministry of justice, special units, and each planet’s stationed military department carried out a joint operation, leaving no one untouched.
Space Patrol Cruiser 003 arrived at Barley Star on schedule.
It punched through the planet’s atmosphere and descended toward Jiang Tea Tea’s location.
Cheng Xiao Ting’s parents really were decent people. Before Jiang Tea Tea boarded the cruiser, she gave them two tins of tea leaves from her true body.
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun tried to refuse. “We didn’t even buy you a gift. How can we take your things? No, no.”
“It’s not worth much.” Jiang Tea Tea shoved the tins into their hands. “It’ll help your abilities and mental power. Chew a couple leaves, brew it as tea—whatever.”
They had no choice but to accept. “This…”
“Take it,” Cheng Xiao Ting said, pressing their hands down so they couldn’t give it back. “Everything Sister Tea gives is good. I have it, the others have it. Huang Da Zhuang awakened mental power because of Sister Tea—internal supplementation plus external combing. All her credit.”
“If you feel bad, send meat jerky. Sister Tea likes your jerky. Spicy.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Extra spicy.”
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun laughed and finally stopped pushing it away. “All right. We won’t be polite then. Thank you, Tea Tea.”
“Extra spicy jerky is my specialty—and my favorite too. I’ll make plenty and send it to you.”
Huang Da Zhuang and the others shouted in unison, “Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!”
Cheng Mian and Mo Jing Chun couldn’t stop smiling as they watched them board Cruiser 003. Mo Jing Chun sighed, half in awe.
“Tea Tea is the youngest among them, but her ability rank is the highest, and she’s the steadiest.”
“Husband, do you think our wolf cub… having her as a teammate and classmate means he’ll skip decades of struggle?”
Cheng Mian nodded. “Decades might be exaggerated. But he’ll definitely skip ten to fifteen years.”
“Chong Ming values Jiang Tea Tea more than we imagined. Our reckless, loud wolf cub… really stepped in dog-shit luck.”
Mo Jing Chun laughed. “Dog-shit luck is still luck. If you step in something, at least it’s something.”
“Come on. Let’s go home. Hunt a wild bull, a boar, a deer. I’ll make jerky for them—several kinds of meat.”
Cheng Mian stared at her. “Dear… a normal cow weighs three to five thousand pounds. A mutated one can be over ten thousand. That still won’t be enough? You want boar and deer too? Should I just throw myself in?”
Mo Jing Chun yanked his ear. “Your skin’s too thick. I’m afraid if I turn you into jerky, they won’t be able to chew it.”
Cheng Mian yelped. “Dear! Stop! They like meat jerky, not ears!”
“Are you hunting or not?”
“I’m hunting! I’ll hunt. I’ll do it as soon as we get back.”
“Good.” She dragged him along. “Let’s go home.”
They climbed into a flyer under bodyguard escort and left.
From Barley Star to the seventh star system’s Ri Pan Star, a civilian ship would take at least five days. A military cruiser took three. A space jump would take three to five hours.
Cruiser 003 had time to spare. It also had patrol duties, so it didn’t use a space jump—it traveled normally.
The captain personally greeted the eight of them, gave them a short tour, then led them to their quarters.
Eight rooms—one each. Each room had a view of deep space: stars, planets, asteroids, endless darkness pierced by light.
Jiang Tea Tea paced her room once, then sat and rubbed her belly.
Without Chong Ming’s psychic-force soothing, the cubs inside her were unusually quiet—no kicking, no fuss.
Just as she was about to send a thread of magic power inward to nourish them, her lightbrain chimed.
She checked the message, brows lifting, then pulled a large food crate from her storage button and opened it.
On top sat a bottle of dragon blood.
Five hundred liters.
She picked it up, popped the seal, and drank it in one go.
The moment the bottle emptied, the once-quiet cubs began wriggling again.
She snapped a photo of the empty bottle and sent it to Chong Ming. “When did you put a food crate in my storage button?”
He replied instantly. “Two days before your mission. I was worried the mission would drag on and you’d get hungry without my psychic-force soothing.”
Jiang Tea Tea: “Wow. Thanks?”
Chong Ming: “It’s what I should do.”
Jiang Tea Tea: “If you know it’s what you should do, why are you claiming credit?”
Chong Ming: “Not claiming credit. Stating facts.”
Jiang Tea Tea: “How long is the Space Weapons Exhibition?”
Chong Ming: “One month.”
Jiang Tea Tea: “You want me to stay there for a month. Are you trying to starve me, or starve the cubs?”
The moment she sent it, regret hit. It sounded like sulking. Like whining.
Not her style.
She moved to retract the message—
Chong Ming’s video call came through.
Her finger tapped, instantly accepting.
Chong Ming’s image appeared, golden eyes fixed on her.
“You don’t need to worry,” he said. “I won’t let you or the cubs go hungry. I’ll arrange what I need on my side and come find you in a couple of days.”