Chapter 249
Chapter 249: I Caught You, You Rotten Thing—And You Still Want to Haggle
Jiang Tea Tea lifted a brow at Cheng Lin Yue.
Then she turned toward the interrogation room door and smiled like a villain. She stepped in and met Chong Xing Qi’s eyes.
Her voice was sweet as poison. “Yes. I’m the kind of hypocrite who’ll do anything to show off. I’m a selfish, double-standard dog.”
Chong Xing Qi choked. “You—”
Jiang Tea Tea cut him off, smug and unapologetic. “What, you didn’t know? Cutting flesh and drawing blood from Reboot to research antibodies was my suggestion to Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming.”
“At first he called me cruel and inhumane. He said my methods were the same as your mom and dad, your grandfather and grandmother—disgusting and shameful.”
“But I wanted to prove myself. I wanted more military merit. So I persuaded him—reason after reason—using my healer identity as a guarantee.”
“Over ten thousand infected. Who knows how many more hiding out there.” Jiang Tea Tea shrugged. “He believed me. So he put Reboot on the table.”
Chong Xing Qi’s face twisted. “Jiang Tea Tea, you—”
Jiang Tea Tea kept going, enjoying every word. “After you left the military department last time, he gave the order. Top researchers, potion specialists, and healers from across the nation all gathered in the military department labs.”
“They cut flesh and drew blood from the unconscious infected Reboot.”
“Just like your parents and grandparents did to Jin Lin.”
Chong Xing Qi’s teeth bared, voice shaking with rage. “You selfish, ruthless hypocrite. Reboot is only a child! You cut flesh and draw blood from her—I’ll kill you! I’ll butcher you!”
Jiang Tea Tea’s smile widened, bright as spring flowers. She leaned forward. “You’re right. How old is your precious Reboot, Chong Xing Qi?”
Chong Xing Qi went dead pale.
His cuffed hands and feet trembled so hard the restraints clinked.
Jiang Tea Tea turned and slapped Cheng Lin Yue’s palm with a crisp high-five. “Good acting, Cheng Lin Yue.”
Cheng Lin Yue grinned. “Sister Tea taught well.”
Then she leaned in and whispered quickly, eager to clarify. “We did examine Reboot, but we only drew one small tube of blood—very carefully. No flesh cutting. No antibody found.”
“Sister Tea told me to come act it out to bait him. I didn’t expect it to work this fast.”
Cheng Lin Yue’s smile faltered into a hopeful seriousness. “I hope… I hope he’ll cooperate. I hope he can help cure the ten-thousand-plus infected.”
Jiang Tea Tea walked to the chair across from Chong Xing Qi and sat down, calm and merciless.
She activated her lightbrain, projecting the screen so Chong Xing Qi could see.
Chong Ming appeared in full military uniform, expression cold and flat. His voice carried no emotion at all.
“Chong Xing Qi,” Chong Ming said. “You are excellent—just like your grandfather and grandmother, and your parents.”
Chong Xing Qi flinched, the color draining further from his face. He couldn’t look directly at Chong Ming through the projection.
Chong Ming continued, voice steady. “You and your family chose the same path. Treason. Illegal research. Division. You don’t need to repent, and you don’t need to regret.”
“But the Yellow Dragon Clan will bear the consequences.”
He spoke as if reading a sentence already decided. “The clan will be expelled from the Capital Planet. From hatchlings who understand nothing to unhatched eggs—you will all be sent to the harshest Fringe Star region.”
“You will become a stain the Yellow Dragon Clan can never erase. Every future clan member who speaks your names will spit in disgust and hate you to the bone.”
Chong Xing Qi finally lifted his head, desperate. “Commander-in-Chief! Introducing the super living dead zombie virus was our family’s decision. The clan members knew nothing. The Zhen Lin Empire’s laws do not punish by association. You can’t exile the entire Yellow Dragon Clan because of us. That’s unfair!”
Chong Ming’s gaze turned colder. “Unfair? You talk to me about unfair?”
“Your family slaughtered the innocent, broke the law, split the nation, betrayed the nation, caused panic, and infected over ten thousand people.”
“When it didn’t affect your interests, you didn’t ask for fairness. Now the law touches your clan members—your own interests—and you demand fairness?”
Chong Ming’s eyes narrowed. “Do you hear yourself?”
Chong Xing Qi shook visibly, like a leaf under a storm. Absolute power made him nothing.
Chong Ming turned the projection slightly toward Jiang Tea Tea. “Jiang Tea Tea. You did well. Assist the interrogators and continue.”
Jiang Tea Tea sat up straighter and gave a formal salute. “Yes, Your Highness.”
Chong Ming nodded. “Goodbye.”
“Wait, Your Highness,” Jiang Tea Tea said quickly.
Chong Ming paused mid-motion. “Speak.”
Jiang Tea Tea asked evenly, eyes still on Chong Xing Qi. “When will the exile of the Yellow Dragon Clan begin?”
“Soonest three days. Latest one week,” Chong Ming answered.
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Understood. Goodbye.”
The projection cut off.
Six interrogators filed into the room. One handled psychological pressure, one watched micro-expressions, one specialized in preventing hypnosis interference, one recorded, one led the questioning, and one handled security.
Two took seats beside Jiang Tea Tea, two behind her, and two near Chong Xing Qi.
Jiang Tea Tea sat opposite Chong Xing Qi, straight-backed and calm. The trained interrogators around her were experienced, but her presence still made them feel like rookies.
For a long time, nobody spoke.
Jiang Tea Tea lowered her gaze and calmly scrolled news on her lightbrain, as if she had all the time in the universe.
The interrogators remained steady, unhurried, unreadable.
Chong Xing Qi cracked first. His voice came out bitter. “Jiang Tea Tea, you’re infuriating.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t look up. “And?”
Chong Xing Qi choked. “You—”
Jiang Tea Tea kept scrolling. “I’m doing great. Save the ‘you, you, you.’ Speak like a man and confess. My time is valuable.”
If she weren’t here to wring out whatever virus secrets he held, she would’ve been gone already.
Chong Xing Qi’s eyes narrowed. “What if I refuse to confess?”
Jiang Tea Tea finally lifted her eyes. “Reboot. You created her to replace who? You really want to claim you’re just ‘doing research’?”
She leaned forward slightly, voice sharp. “No. You’re not. Your family planned a huge game. Do you think Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming is an idiot? Why do you think he’s exiling the entire Yellow Dragon Clan?”
Chong Xing Qi’s pupils tightened. His cuffed hands yanked, chains clattering. “You don’t understand anything. The Yellow Dragon Clan is outstanding—more dragons than the Gold Dragon Clan. Better than the Gold Dragon Clan.”
Jiang Tea Tea arched a brow. “Right. In your eyes, the Yellow Dragon Clan can replace the Gold Dragon Clan. Reboot was your weapon against Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming.”
She tilted her head. “Too bad she fell short. Too bad Chong Ming is too strong. Too bad she can’t even beat me.”
She smiled thinly. “And if she can’t beat me, how could she beat Chong Ming? How could she seduce him into letting her close?”
Chong Xing Qi’s mouth twisted into a slow, ugly grin. “Reboot is only eleven. She’s already awakened three abilities—mutant hypnosis, wind, and speed. Her strength is perfect.”
“If it weren’t for what happened with my parents and grandparents… if I hadn’t been forced to deal with it… I would’ve kept the underground lab near Ni Su Town under control. Reboot wouldn’t have escaped. The super virus wouldn’t have leaked. Ni Su Town wouldn’t have been infected. You wouldn’t have noticed.”
He leaned forward, eyes bright with obsession. “Give it time. Reboot would’ve grown. She would’ve awakened more abilities. She would’ve become my vanguard—my shield and my weapon.”
“Then she would’ve hunted the Crown Prince and replaced him.”
“And she would’ve replaced Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming.”
His voice rose, feverish. “The Yellow Dragon Clan has over a hundred thousand members. Every dragon is smart. Every dragon is fierce. Why can’t we covet the Gold Dragon Clan’s empire power?”
He slammed his cuffed hands, chains clinking. “For decades—centuries—Chong Ming fought the insect clan. But it wasn’t only him. The Yellow Dragon Clan fought too. We lost thousands of dragons.”
“Why does all the credit go to him? Why does everyone worship him as the greatest hero who drove off the insect clan and forget that we bled too?”
Jiang Tea Tea turned her head and asked the interrogator beside her, “Did your commander-in-chief steal other people’s credit? Did he reward people unfairly?”
The interrogator answered calmly, with the patience of someone used to dealing with delusional grievances. “No. The state compensated and rewarded the Yellow Dragon Clan appropriately. Policies and benefits were provided—more than enough.”
“And it’s not only the Yellow Dragon Clan that fought,” the interrogator continued. “Every race in the empire fought. The dead numbered over a hundred million. White Dragon Clan, Black Dragon Clan, Red Dragon Clan, Leopard Clan, Tiger Clan, Rat Clan—anyone living under the empire banner bled on that battlefield.”
“Even Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming’s family died.” The interrogator’s voice stayed level. “His parents—the former Emperor and Empress. His brother and sister-in-law—the Emperor and Empress. All died on the battlefield.”
The interrogator’s eyes stayed on Chong Xing Qi. “Your clan members earned their fief on the Capital Planet with their lives. The Yellow Dragon Clan’s status was not stolen.”
“But because of you and your family, that status has been dragged into the mud.”
“Now your entire clan is being driven back to the Fringe Star region to be looked down upon like worms.”
Chong Xing Qi’s hands clenched into fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. Blood slid down his skin.
His voice came out raw. “Our family failed. We don’t regret it.”
Then something broke in his eyes. “But we dragged our clan members down with us.”
He looked straight at Jiang Tea Tea, voice desperate now. “Jiang Tea Tea. Chong Ming likes you and trusts you. Go tell him this.”
“I can tell you every underground lab location. I can tell you where the unused super virus is stored.”
“I can even give you the list of clan members who share our ambition—those who wanted to drag down the Gold Dragon Clan too.”
His throat bobbed. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”
He leaned forward as far as the cuffs allowed, voice hoarse. “I only have one condition.”
“Spare my clan members. And keep the favorable policies for the Yellow Dragon Clan’s fief unchanged.”