Chapter 89: Team 13’s Wrongful Incrimination
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Moonlit Bay Race Circuit, Luxury Suite.
Ye Jingshan knitted his brows and asked, “Why do you believe that your hovercar was intentionally sabotaged by someone?”
Xia Fei smiled. “Commander Ye, I a.s.sembled that hovercar with my two hands. Of course, I’d recognize every screw put in place. Before I set off for the race, I did a careful inspection of all the parts and saw that nothing looked in the pressure control system.
“Only when that mechanical failure occurred during the race did I discover that someone had turned the adjustment k.n.o.b for the pressure valve fifteen degrees or so to the right. I pieced and adjusted all the parts in this hovercar to near its limit, and fifteen degrees of adjustment wasn’t much, yet it just so happened to go over the range that the pressure pipe could withstand.
“That person is very clever, and his methods are sufficiently subtle. If not for the fact that the damage to my hovercar ruined the pressure control system’s protective cover to reveal the adjustment made inside, I would never think that someone had laid their hands on it,” explained Xia Fei.
Ye Jingshan and Robert looked at each other silently.
Robert asked, “Xia Fei, these are just your words. You don’t have evidence to back your claim.”
“As the involved party, it’s my responsibility to reveal everything I know. As for whether to believe or deny my account, it’s entirely up to you guys. I’m certain that the training camp will know how to investigate this matter appropriately,” answered Xia Fei, unperturbed.
Ye Jingshan nodded his head slightly. “You’re right. The training camp will most definitely investigate this matter thoroughly. You may leave if there’s nothing else.”
Xia Fei bowed and walked out of the door.
“For something like this to happen the moment Team 13 arrives at the training camp… Could it truly be as you said? Someone from Team 13 was truly involved in that kidnapping incident of several Adjudicator candidates? But why would that person choose to target Xia Fei?” After Xia Fei departed, Ye Jingshan’s forehead creased as he wondered aloud about this issue.
Robert sighed. “If I could make sense of this, I wouldn’t need to toss them over to Heaven Execution Training Camp.
“Up until now, all I know is that someone from Team 13 tampered with the tournament table and pitted Xia Fei against Chen Dong. Chen Dong’s strength is clear to all; he’s someone completely on another level from Xia Fei. That’s why I deduced that this person had wanted to deal with Xia Fei by doing that.
“Plus, given how twelve candidates disappeared then without rhyme or reason, there’s a strong possibility of that person being related to that matter. That’s all I know so far.” Robert laid out all he knew, not leaving out any detail of what he had thought thus far from Ye Jingshan.
Ye Jingshan habitually tapped his finger on the desk for quite some time as he ruminated.
“Since that’s the case, we’ll proceed according to your plans. Leave the issue of Team 13 to me,” he said eventually. “What’s the result of the investigation about the missing candidates?”
Robert shook his head. “This year, it’s not just our Endaro Star Region, the Alliance’s other star regions have also seen several abductions of candidates occurring, and they were all girls under the age of sixteen who are in possession of high-grade special abilities.”
“Oh?” Ye Jingshan was slightly surprised. “They’re all girls? Why do those people only target female candidates?”
Robert shook his head. “No one has an idea why. According to our investigations, we weren’t alone in experiencing this sort of thing. The Monastic Order and smaller warrior organizations haven’t been spared from this, either. They were also subjected to a similar method, and these incidents are still continuing, pretty much happening all over the known universe.”
Ye Jingshan heaved a long sigh and bitterly said, “Such action is no different from a declaration of war. The strength and boldness of those people are truly worthy of praise. To dare take on two major organizations at once, those people must have a trump card of their own up their sleeves.”
Robert nodded. “That isn’t something we can worry about. The headquarters has given the Total Annihilation order. We must find those people, and no matter who they are, no matter how great their background is, the Union will fight with them to the bitter end.”
Ye Jingshan was shocked by the Annihilation order.
The Adjudicator Union’s arrest warrants came in three levels, the lowest being the Hunting order, followed by the Kill order, and finally the Annihilation order. Actually, there were still three more levels of warrants to mobilize the members of the Union, though such warrants would not be used in peacetime but in wartime, instead.
The Annihilation order was already the highest form the Union could decree given the current circ.u.mstances. The person or organization that was the recipient of this warrant would be killed the moment they were uncovered, facing extermination to ensure that none would survive.
It was apparent that the internal department of the Union had already been extremely angered by the actions of that unknown syndicate.
Staff from the training camp surrounded Xia Fei’s hovercar. Because intentional sabotage had transpired, this hovercar would be sent back to the training camp for examination; in fact, the internal investigations unit had already begun conducting their inspection.
Bai Ye stood at a distance, having changed out to a new outfit. An old servant was with him.
Bai Ye saw how careful the staff was treating Xia Fei’s hovercar, and he could not help but feel a little worried. The Adjudicator Union allowed its members to fight with one another even to the death, but they definitely would not condone any form of betrayal.
If they discovered that Bai Ye had sabotaged Xia Fei’s hovercar, causing the latter to nearly lose his life, then he would immediately be kicked out of the training camp, never to be accepted again.
Even if Leaping Tiger Mountain’s Bai clan was a powerful presence in Endaro Star Region, it was nothing worth mentioning in front of the strong Adjudicator Union. If they really found out that he was behind this, nothing could save him from the consequences of his action.
That aged servant could tell that Bai Ye was worried, so he narrowed his eyes and said, “Young Master, let’s head back. You can depend on me for this; no one will know about it.”
Bai Ye coldly harrumphed. “Didn’t you say that Xia Fei wouldn’t be able to tell? How did he catch on in the end, then?”
The old coot was speechless, his squinty eyes made him seem like he was sleeping.
How could Bai Ye know that this score had not been placed on his head but on Team 13’s, instead, though?
Things unfolded in a strange way, sometimes. Xiao Haili had only wanted to ease his bad mood back then when he had made that move, yet it ended up causing several hats to be placed on his head and each heavier than the next.
…
The same day after the race ended, Xia Fei returned to the training camp. On the next day, he woke up bright and early and made his way down that desolate path all by himself.
Ahead, he could see that white hexagonal building, and before Xia Fei stepped into the library, he could already hear that obese, old man’s voice.
Xia Fei had looked through the information on the training camp’s intranet and learned that this old man’s name was Qin Mang, and he had held the post of librarian here for nearly fifty years.
“These days, even random thugs from the street wish to become a librarian. You’d better keep on dreaming and not let me see you again, or else I’ll break your lousy legs.”
As Qin Mang aired his dissatisfaction through his sarcastic remarks, a young man in his twenties hurriedly came out of the library with an ashamed face. His face was wet, for Qin Mang had splashed coffee on him.
Once that young man was out, he stomped his feet in frustration and complained, “Old fogies like you can just die in the library.”
He caught a glimpse of Xia Fei and coldly snorted, marching off in a huff.
“I couldn’t tell, but this obese, old man actually has such a fiery temper.” Xia Fei smiled to himself as he opened the door to the library.
The library was still as desolate-looking as before with just him and this old librarian. Qin Mang was sitting at the counter, gasping for breath. It was evident that even giving someone a scolding was physically taxing for him.
“Old man, what angered you out of the blue? Isn’t it good if someone applies to be a librarian? Having an extra pair of hands will save you a lot of work.” Xia Fei chuckled as he walked over.
The obese Qin Mang slapped his chubby palm down on the desk with as much force as he could muster. “Hmph! I could tell at a glance that that rascal earlier didn’t come here with good intentions; he’s thinking of taking over the library just because I’m old. Like I’d let him do that—over my dead body!”
Xia Fei brushed his spatial ring and retrieved an exquisite case from inside. He placed it on the desk and pulled out a tea set as well as a small box full of tea leaves.
“Old man, these are some good tea leaves especially produced from my home planet called Longjing Before Rain. It tastes great, so let me brew some to cool you off.” Xia Fei smiled.
Qin Mang narrowed his eyes and nodded, asking skeptically, “Being so courteous for no reason, are you also up to no good, twerp?”
Xia Fei shook his head and laughed. “Old man, don’t misunderstand me; I merely wish to let you have a taste of the tea from my home; that’s all.”
“Is there really nothing else?” probed Qin Mang again.
Xia Fei chuckled. “Alright, old man; you’re really sharp to call me out on this, so I won’t deny it anymore. Actually, I’m doing some market research; I was hoping that you could appraise this product for me, see if I could bring it to market for some profit. You’re one of my target recipients, so…”
Xia Fei had told a very clever lie here. Market research? Who would use tea leaves, which cost twenty thousand Federal dollars a tael1, just to do some market research?
There was simply just one reason: to read books.
Xia Fei was very interested in the books stored in this library, but spending ten points every hour was expensive. Besides, what Xia Fei truly wanted to read were those books on the second floor, and given how stingy Qin Mang was, he was certain that the price for reading them would not be so cheap, and this old man might not even let him read them per se.
That was why Xia Fei had resorted to this method that Earthlings were most proficient: gift-giving.
As long as he could establish a good rapport with this old man, anything would be up for discussion. That was an eternal truth that would hold no matter where he was in the universe.
Qin Mang nodded and happily said, “I knew you had ulterior motives, you rascal. I hit the nail on the head, huh?
“Forget it. Since I don’t have anything better to do, anyway, I’ll have a taste of your tea. Speaking of, I’m an expert when it comes to tea appreciation; I’ve even drunk Snow-white Silverpins, the specialty product of Planet Nord. That taste… I would never forget it for the rest of my life,” said Qin Mang in reminiscence.
Xia Fei chatted with Qin Mang for a bit before he carried the teapot into the library’s tearoom to fill it with water.
Qin Mang used his hand to stroke that overweight black cat in his arms. “Old Black, that chap looks rather clever; do you think he’s got the potential?”
That black cat actually looked like it could understand human language as it nodded its head lightly.
“I agree,”—Qin Mang had this weird smile when he muttered to himself—”so shall I give him a chance?”