Chapter 69
Chapter 69: The Cub’s Dad Grew Suspicious and Came to Probe
Chong Ming’s lightbrain buzzed with a priority notification.
He opened his eyes instantly, clear as if he hadn’t been asleep at all. He raised his wrist, tapped the lightbrain, and a photo filled his view: vivid green leaves.
His pupils tightened.
He sat up and zoomed in.
Even through a screen, the scent seemed to press against his senses.
A moment later, he read Sui Xuan Chu’s message and replied with two short words:
“Bring it. Come out.”
Sui Xuan Chu received the reply and moved fast. He packed the leaves into the jar, left the lodging, found a spot with no one around, and sent a signal to his uncle’s warship.
In less than five minutes, he was aboard the ship at the Medical Department. He handed the jar to Chong Ming and stepped into a scanner for a full-body check.
The jar was small—palm-sized. The leaves inside were fresh, bright green, and fragrant.
That scent was identical to the twig Chong Ming had picked up at the First Hotel.
Chong Ming plucked a leaf and chewed slowly.
A clean, powerful plant-type psychic power spread through him, waking the mind and smoothing the agitation of abilities like a steady hand.
Then he pulled out the twig he’d picked up at the First Hotel. The twig itself had yellowed, and the leaves were no longer fresh, but two still clung stubbornly.
He plucked one yellowed leaf and chewed.
On the first bite, certainty landed like iron.
Same leaf. Same tree.
“Li Ao,” Chong Ming called.
A man in a white lab coat appeared immediately. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Li Ao was the Director of the Imperial Ability Research Institute.
Chong Ming placed one fresh green leaf from the jar and the yellowed leaf from the twig into Li Ao’s gloved hand. “Test these two leaves.”
Li Ao’s nostrils flared. “Such a strong concentration of natural plant-type psychic power.”
Chong Ming’s gaze sharpened. “Focus on one thing: determine whether these two leaves came from the same tree.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief,” Li Ao said, and carried them away on a sterile tray.
Almost immediately afterward, Minister Lu from the Medical Department hurried over with Sui Xuan Chu’s report, face bright with excitement. “Commander-in-Chief. Congratulations. The Young Highness’s ability rank has broken through. He is now lightning-element 3S rank.”
Chong Ming accepted the report and scanned it swiftly. “Besides the breakthrough, any physical discomfort?”
Minister Lu answered promptly, “None. His only condition is elevated excitement. For at least fifteen to twenty-five hours, he won’t feel tired.”
Chong Ming’s gaze turned cold. “Did you identify the cause of the sustained excitement?”
“Yes,” Minister Lu said. “There are several unknown plant trace elements in his body, ingested recently. They are not harmful and will be digested over time.”
“I suspect the trace elements stimulated his central nervous system, increasing attention and alertness and maintaining prolonged excitement.”
Chong Ming nodded once. “Coordinate with Minister Li. Determine exactly what those trace elements are.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming entered the examination room.
Sui Xuan Chu looked like a kid who’d just been handed the universe. His eyes were bright, his posture straight, excitement practically spilling off him. “Imperial Uncle! My lightning-element ability broke through to 3S rank!”
Chong Ming stopped in front of him. “Congratulations. How do you feel?”
“Great,” Sui Xuan Chu said, rolling his shoulders like he wanted to sprint a lap. “The government affairs you gave me—I can finish everything in three hours and hand it in.”
Chong Ming handed the jar back to him. “When Classmate Jiang Tea Tea gave you this, did she say anything?”
Sui Xuan Chu shook his head. “No. She woke up and saw me awake. I complained I was tired. She gave me the tea.”
“She said I could brew it or chew it dry, that it wakes you up and keeps you from getting sleepy. I drank one sip and felt energized immediately. I asked where it came from, and she said Primeval Forest.”
He hesitated, then asked carefully, “Imperial Uncle… this isn’t contraband, right? Besides the plant-type psychic power, it doesn’t contain anything illegal?”
Chong Ming’s expression didn’t change. “It’s not contraband. Don’t worry.”
Then he added, “Go to my room. Finish the work. Then go back down.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded, then held out the jar again, sincere. “Imperial Uncle, I drank a cup and chewed more than ten leaves and broke through. There are still some left. Do you want some?”
Chong Ming pushed the jar back into his hands. “No. Keep what your teammate gave you.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded and tucked the jar into his storage button. He took two steps, then spun back. “Imperial Uncle, I have a small request.”
Chong Ming looked down at him. “What?”
“Can you have the cafeteria head chef cook a few dozen more basins of meat?” Sui Xuan Chu asked quickly.
Chong Ming’s brow tightened. “For you?”
“No,” Sui Xuan Chu said. “For my roommate. I think she’s hungry. She wakes up hungry. She even eats under-ripe nutrient fruit and doesn’t taste bitterness.”
Then, earnest and slightly indignant, “And she’s… kind of pitiful. She’s not even an adult and the Jiang family won’t give her living expenses, so she supports herself. She hates nutrient solutions. She probably eats unevenly.”
“If her body is abnormal—eating a lot, not gaining weight, getting hungry fast—it makes sense.”
Chong Ming watched him for a moment, then said, “Finish the government affairs I gave you within two hours, and you’ll get your dozens of basins of meat.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s voice jumped. “Deal! I’ll finish it. Tell the head chef to start cooking!”
Chong Ming lifted a hand in a simple gesture: go.
Sui Xuan Chu ran like something was chasing him, terrified that if he slowed down, his roommate would miss out on meat.
Out on Tropical Primeval Planet, snow fell in thick, heavy flakes.
Jiang Tea Tea drove the snowfield flyer to the deep-sea entrance, pulled out a small stool, and sat on the edge.
She reached into her storage button as if retrieving a branch.
In reality, she transformed a green tea branch from her true body.
It was as thick as a thumb. At the fork near the tip, she tied a string. On the string she tied a cooked shrimp.
She lowered the bait and the branch tip into the deep-sea entrance.
To anyone watching, she was fishing.
In truth, her branch slipped into the water and split—countless thin offshoots spreading through the deep sea like a living net, hunting.
From mutant sharks and mutant tiger whales to plankton and krill—everything was food. Everything became fertilizer.
Some branches even drilled into the seabed, searching for rich mud to absorb.
After more than half an hour, the hunger eased.
Snow thickened above, but her combat suit and boots regulated her temperature, and the snowfield flyer kept running. Warm air flowed out, heating her back.
She felt no cold at all.
Her attention sank deeper.
Her branches found a dense nest of deep-sea jadeglass fish—tens of thousands, packed together.
Just as she prepared to sweep the entire nest—
A calm voice spoke beside her, close enough to spike her blood.
“Catch anything yet?”
Jiang Tea Tea’s heart dropped. She snapped her branches back instantly, abandoning the fish nest without hesitation. Branch in hand, she whipped toward the voice on reflex.
Chong Ming caught the branch easily.
His gaze flicked to the shrimp bait swinging at the end. “Your bait isn’t fresh. That’s why you aren’t catching anything.”
Jiang Tea Tea glared at him. “And what does that have to do with you? I’m going to keep fishing. My bait is fresh enough.”
He didn’t let go of the branch.
The texture was the same as the twig Chong Ming had picked up at the First Hotel.
Only that twig had been thin with leaves. This branch was thicker—shockingly soft and flexible—and bare of green.
Jiang Tea Tea yanked hard.
The branch scraped across Chong Ming’s palm as it slipped free. She flung the bait end back into the water.
Chong Ming glanced at the cut on his hand, then calmly pulled out a folding stool and a small box.
He unfolded the box. Inside was a full set of fishing gear and bait, neatly organized.
Without hurry, he assembled the rod section by section, attached line and hook, baited it, and cast directly into the deep-sea entrance like he owned the place.
He set the rod into its stand and looked at Jiang Tea Tea. “Classmate Jiang Tea Tea. Why are you staring? Want a different rod? Pick one. Whatever you want.”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “You’re the commander-in-chief. The empire’s top boss. You’re supposed to be drowning in work. Why are you here stealing my fish?”
A sharp light flashed in Chong Ming’s golden eyes. “Your roommate handled government affairs today. I came to thank you. Your green tea helped his ability rank break through to 3S.”
Then his voice lowered, smooth and dangerous. “And I came to ask you something else.”
“Twenty-five days ago, your ex-fiancé Chu Ming lured you to the First Hotel on Capital Planet. After you trapped them and walked away… where did you go? Why is there no trace of you on surveillance?”