Chapter 77: 047 Walking on the Tightrope
A small transport ship took off directly from the ground, leaving the atmosphere at full speed, heading toward the military defense identification zone.
Yang Ming felt quite relaxed now.
Even with handcuffs on and two laser guns aiming at his head.
“Bring his watch over.”
The major’s voice came through a speaker in the corner.
A soldier stepped forward immediately.
Yang Ming placed his hands under the table and said firmly, “This is my privacy!”
“Military intelligence management,” the soldier said stiffly, “Take off your watch, sir, I don’t want you to become disgraced.”
“Then come on,” Yang Ming’s eyes showed a hint of amusement.
The soldier’s nostrils flared slightly as he suddenly lunged at Yang Ming.
Yang Ming immediately raised his hands, “Oh! Take it if you want! Don’t touch me! Remove your damn big hands!”
“It’s not your turf, you’d better behave.”
The soldier sneered as he roughly removed Yang Ming’s watch.
Yang Ming squinted with a smile, completely nonchalant, speaking warmly, “Sergeant, I can assure you, you’ll put it back on for me later.”
The soldier simply scoffed, turned, and left.
His expression just now seemed to say that Yang Ming would not survive ‘tonight’ in Ilando time.
The cabin holding Yang Ming became quiet, and the two soldiers guarding the place seemed somewhat distracted.
Yang Ming scratched his chin.
He was sure his watch wouldn’t leak any secrets, Little Lyu would take care of those troubles, and even give them some surprises.
But he couldn’t stop some slightly crazy thoughts from bubbling up inside.
In this environment—familiar, narrow, and like an island once detached from the ground, the interior of the spaceship was perfect for him to make a move.
He didn’t even need to breach the hull; they had already brought him here.
Yang Ming had rehearsed it several times in his mind.
First, Lyu would launch an electronic attack, infiltrating the ship’s control system, quickly cutting off external communications and sweeping away surveillance.
He just needed to make a little noise to attract the attention of the escort behind him. As they approached, he could break the shoddy handcuffs and use his hands to grip the soft neck, like a bite of crisp pastry, tightly!
Yang Ming suddenly slammed the metal table in front of him.
The two guards didn’t raise their guns but rushed over and reached for Yang Ming’s neck.
Yang Ming raised his hands and shouted, “I’m not looking for trouble! Just letting off some steam! Let your major come and talk to me!”
The two soldiers paused, frowning at the obediently raised hands of Yang Ming. Then they exchanged glances and whispered something into the headsets by their ears.
Yang Ming lowered his head and rubbed his eyes.
What was going on with him?
Suddenly he became somewhat manic, feeling uncomfortable without causing a bloody scene.
He had been taking gene-stabilizing drugs regularly, with the ingredients and effects all verified by Little Lyu.
Was it because the harsh surroundings were stressing him out?
As Yang Ming pondered, the figure of the major appeared outside the cabin door, holding Yang Ming’s connection terminal—Kolev’s gifted watch.
The major looked somewhat grave.
Their initial ‘crack’ of this high-end projection watch yielded nothing substantial, only photos of beautiful women, normal transaction records, and some paid content in the web browsing history.
Then, using what they thought was an advanced cracking key, they read the hidden information in the watch.
What truly made the major’s expression serious was this hidden information, which contained some unexpected things.
The major sat across from Yang Ming, activated the projection on Yang Ming’s watch, then gestured to the two soldiers.
The two soldiers turned around in unison.
The major leaned forward, with a touch of unease in his eyes, speaking softly, “Excuse my impudence, is this watch really yours? I’d like to confirm.”
Yang Ming frowned and pouted, “Where did you take it from?”
“From your left wrist,” the major unconsciously used polite language.
“My question was quite childish, sorry.”
The major seemed somewhat restless.
He returned the watch to Yang Ming, holding a fingernail-sized decrypting key, and swiped it over Yang Ming’s handcuffs. With a click, the handcuffs fell off by themselves.
Yang Ming flexed his wrist, not intending to put the watch back on, but smiled at the major.
He had no idea what Little Lyu had shown them.
But now, Yang Ming had to grip this major and then approach the bigwig behind the Wind Army.
Yang Ming thought that if he needed to deal with the Luofeng Imperial Military, holding a general hostage was more advantageous than a major.
“Aren’t you going to put it on?” the major asked softly.
Yang Ming slightly pouted.
The major understood, stood up, and bowed his head, carefully holding the expensive network terminal with its faux-mechanical texture.
Yang Ming simply moved his left hand, rubbing his wrist.
The major thought for a moment and turned to call a name.
Soon, the soldier who had taken the watch off Yang Ming’s wrist came running.
“Put it on for this gentleman,” the major whispered.
The soldier frowned at the major, “Sir?”
“Follow orders,” the major’s gaze was stern.
The soldier pressed his lips tightly, “Sir, I can’t accept this…”
The soldier saluted, then lowered his head, trying not to look at Yang Ming’s expression. He quickly fastened the band around Yang Ming’s wrist.
Yang Ming laughed happily.
The major quickly said, “Sir, why don’t we go to the bridge and talk?”
Yang Ming stood up, raised his hand, lightly patted the soldier’s face, and laughed, “You should be grateful, young man. Today, I chose a strategy of friendly negotiation.”
The soldier’s face flushed a deep red.
Once Yang Ming left with the major, the soldier muttered a few expletives under his breath, hitting the table beside him.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a faint sound in front of him, and the sturdy alloy table shattered to pieces like broken glass.
The two armed soldiers exchanged glances.
“You got superpowers?”
“Oh my god, how much are they skimming off the top? What kind of shoddy material is this? I’m afraid this ship might just be an aluminum coffin!”
“Keep your voice down, don’t you value your life?”
When Yang Ming left the transport ship, he still didn’t know what Little Lyu had shown the major.
Though the major seemed respectful on the surface, the number of ‘guards’ watching Yang Ming increased from two to six, monitoring him from all angles without any blind spots.
It was only when the transport ship entered the larger comprehensive supply ship that Yang Ming was left with just two soldiers behind him.
The cabin door hadn’t opened yet.
Yang Ming covered the watch face with his right hand, gently pressing down, and a string of text messages quickly scrolled across the screen.
The relevant information was successfully obtained.
This gave Yang Ming a bit more composure, building confidence to deal with the forthcoming complex situation.
Little Lyu’s improvised strategy was a tad risky, but her handling was quite adept.
The hidden information in Yang Ming’s watch was something Little Lyu inserted while they cracked the watch system.
They prepared a total of twelve versions of the ‘spy certificates,’ including the Imperial Military Intelligence Directorate, the New Federation’s Central Intelligence Agency, and Lina’s original unit in the Guel Alliance…
Those fake certificates from famous spy agencies were all present in Little Lyu’s toolbox.
The watch, always remotely controlled by Lyu, would automatically delete sensitive data when removed from Yang Ming’s wrist.
When the major had technicians crack the hidden files on this watch, Little Lyu took it upon herself to present a New Federation senior agent’s certificate. (In truth, it was an employee ID from a tech department controlled by the New Federation’s intelligence agency.)
Yang Ming and Little Lyu have devised many such small designs.
Now, in the major’s perception, Yang Ming was suspected of being a ‘New Federation’ secret agent.
Why choose a New Federation agent’s certificate?
Though Lyu’s text messages were brief, they contained refined keywords carrying significant information.
The maid’s death was related to a massive military corruption case, involving a total of thirty-two chips packed in a makeup bag, serving as key evidence in this embezzlement case.
The case was convoluted.
From the information Lyu obtained, roughly:
[The military cooperated with several domestic and foreign military-industrial enterprises in Wind to take kickbacks. Everyone profited from overpriced weapon equipment; these chips were installed in a light escort ship that was shot down two years ago during a pirate-clearing operation when there shouldn’t have been any debris left, but debris appeared in a neighboring country’s scrapyard.
The military’s quote for these chips was three times more than the most advanced similar chips, but their performance was only a tenth of military requirements.
The escort ship was also intentionally shot down by the military, not just consuming a batch of equipment, allowing the construction of a new ship, but also disposing of a batch of ‘fake soldiers’ taking unearned salaries.]
Yang Ming didn’t know how to start lamenting.
The maid came from the Wind Palace, indicating someone in the royal family was dissatisfied with the military and was taking action.
The more outrageous part was yet to come.
The reason Lyu chose the ‘New Federation senior agent’ identity for Yang Ming was because the general he was about to meet—Wind Empire Military Intelligence Deputy Chief of Staff Gudun Mah—had been doing business with New Federation’s military-industrial enterprises for over a decade.
Diligent Gudun Mah procured a large batch of ‘advanced’ federal weapons for the Wind Empire and provided direct assistance several times for New Federation agents in stealing Sherman Empire intelligence.
Deputy Chief of Staff Gudun Mah’s daughter married a Sherman Empire noble.
But both his sons held New Federation citizenship.
And this was not even a secret; many senior officers left obvious traces when chatting.
Moreover, Lyu caught a great bargain.
Gudun Mah had a network terminal he never actively used, connected through a civilian encrypted network, occasionally receiving directives from high-ranking New Federation officials.
That terminal provided Lyu with many clues, enabling her to swiftly complete Gudun Mah’s exposure.
Obtaining information only captured the enemy’s weakness, knowing how to confront them.
Yang Ming was still walking a tightrope.
He essentially impersonated a high-level New Federation agent. If he could fool them, he’d undoubtedly gain many advantages, but one misstep…
And it would lead to bloodshed.
At this moment, Yang Ming arrived before General Gudun Mah’s office door.
What do you call a military bigwig?
This solid wood door was made of a material almost identical to the one in Kolev Manor!
When Yang Ming asked Lyu to pull Kolev’s asset list, the price of these eco-friendly wooden doors left a deep impression on him.
Hmm… never mind why he pulled that list. It’s not important.
The major beside him tapped the noble wood.
“General, the gentleman has arrived.”
A deep voice rang out.
As the door opened, Yang Ming saw the bespectacled, slender old man, with sharp eyes like a dagger, stabbing straight into Yang Ming’s eyes.
Yang Ming walked over with a smile, and the major started to follow but was halted by General Gudun Mah with a glance.
The office door closed.
Yang Ming seated himself behind the table and chairs, surveying the classic-style office, murmuring, “How does the general plan to resolve this matter?”
Gudun Mah squinted and smiled, “Could you state your Central Intelligence Agency number? I’ve dealt with several CIA officials before. The situation is tricky; it concerns the Wind Empire’s honor. I must verify it cautiously.”