The faint buzzing of the instrument gradually awakened Yang Ming from his deep slumber.
He slowly opened his eyes to a projection simulating the starry sky, with the edges of his vision filled by somewhat unfamiliar surroundings.
Yang Ming quickly came to his senses and immediately sat up.
The maid behind the screen promptly turned on the floor lamp.
The maid gently reported from behind the screen,
“His Highness went to attend a business meeting, and it is now almost noon. Do you need some water and nutrition?”
“Just a glass of warm water, please,” Yang Ming replied as he leaned back into the sofa, prompting the maid to start moving.
Yang Ming scanned the room, placed his watch in front of his eyes, and gently tapped it, causing a series of messages to pop up.
Greetings from Miss Windsor.
The Third Prince’s side’s reaction to last night’s mafia cleanup event.
And a rather critical one…
‘Boss, Uncle Haton’s star flight has already transitioned.’
Yang Ming showed a calm smile and continued to browse the information brief.
“Little Lyu’s Daily Report.”
After reviewing the Third Prince’s side’s response—it seemed they were cautious as they sought any opportunity to gain visibility but lacked any useful strategy.
Meanwhile, it appeared the Third Prince decided to make direct contact with the New Federation Agent today, which piqued Yang Ming’s interest.
Lyu’s avatar popped up in the message box.
Lyu said, “The Third Prince has started to panic. Yet, the First Prince has remained calm and has not shown animosity toward the Second Prince.”
Yang Ming pondered for a moment and murmured, “Vipers usually move silently.”
Lyu said, “Boss, I detected something unusual this morning. I suspect the New Federation Agent team has set their sights on us. If they operate outside the network coverage of this planet, I won’t be able to capture their communication signals. Should I allocate my computational resources to fully track them down?”
Yang Ming quickly tapped on the projection screen and said, “Allow allocation of computational power. As long as they’re active, they will surely leave traces.”
Lyu replied, “Understood, Boss.”
The maid behind the screen brought in the warm water. Yang Ming put away the projection screen, stretched as he got up.
It was another day to clock in at the Imperial Palace.
A maid rushed up ahead.
“Hmm?” Yang Ming inquired while holding the water cup.
The maid’s ample bosom gently heaved, and the pendant on her long dress swayed as she urgently spoke,
“His Majesty has summoned you! Because you didn’t report to the Imperial Palace for your regular duty today, the Minister of Internal Affairs called His Highness the Second Prince. The Second Prince said you were on a mission, and now you’re ordered to return immediately.”
Yang Ming poured the warm water into his mouth and immediately ran for the elevator.
“Mr. Ming! Your coat!”
“Throw it to me, or never mind, I’ll come get it.”
Yang Ming intentionally feigned urgency, charging into the elevator disheveled and, escorted by several burly bodyguards, descended to the parking lot and entered the hovercar, “Beast,” which Lyu monitored around the clock.
Once Yang Ming hit the throttle and sped out, his face blossomed into a smile, showing no signs of urgency.
The summons from the Intelligent Machine Old Emperor had finally arrived.
“Lyu, arrange a dinner meeting with Miss Windsor tonight, and book a restaurant with a good ambiance according to her preferences.”
“What shall we talk about with this Old Emperor?”
Yang Ming’s eyes slightly sparkled, “We talked about freedom last time. How about puppets this time?”
“Wow, Boss, you seem to have ulterior motives,” Lyu chuckled lightly, “I topic.”
When Yang Ming arrived at the Emperor’s palace, it had been an hour since the Emperor had issued his command.
The maids present could not help but worry for this handsome officer.
The Emperor lounged on the throne, his eyes slightly cloudy, and his expression somewhat displeased. His first words were,
“You’re quite the busy man, Captain.”
Two rows of maids stood with their heads down, looking very solemn.
They thought, if Yang Ming immediately knelt down and apologized, he might get some leniency.
“There’s nothing I can do. Your Empire requires me to work in too many places.”
“Are you saying my ministers and generals are all incompetent?”
“More or less,” Yang Ming replied calmly, “There are still a lot of talented people here, although most positions are occupied by those obsequious nobles.”
The Old Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, slowly sitting up straight.
Hearing laughter from His Majesty, the surrounding maids finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Ming also heaved a silent sigh of relief.
These words came from the earpiece hidden in his left ear, lines prepared by Lyu.
When Yang Ming spoke them, he was genuinely afraid the Old Emperor would have him executed with a single command.
Lyu had nearly deciphered the logical thought process of the Old Emperor’s Intelligent Machine.
The Old Emperor stood up, revealing a pair of wrinkled feet beneath his floor-length robe, and leisurely descended from the throne.
“You’re interesting. No wonder Edwan could be persuaded by you to come back from his state of decadence.”
Yang Ming nodded with a smile and softly said, “Your Majesty, did you summon me today to issue new orders?”
“Just to chat,” the Old Emperor strolled on the floor seemingly paved with stars, observing Yang Ming’s military boots, “You know, I rarely leave the palace and tend to get a bit bored.”