LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 218 - The Insider
After returning to the Imperial Capital University, Durant privately told Mai Dongzi about being set up. His parents had traced the leads, and it seemed to be the work of Empress Du’s eldest brother.
Durant didn’t explain the reasons, and Mai Dongzi didn’t ask, but they both knew full well that this must be related to a family power struggle.
Mai Dongzi had helped Durant resolve his stagnation in cultivation, and it was obvious that she had offended the Du family, particularly those from Empress Du’s side.
So when the young man told her that the head of the Dark Gold Mercenary Group was Empress Du’s eldest brother, Mai Dongzi didn’t react at all.
Given her relationship with Prince Arthur, she had already thoroughly offended people from Empress Du’s faction. Helping Durant was just adding another offense.
This time, she had dealt with the mercenaries from the Dark Gold Mercenary Group, handing them over to the National Security Bureau, whose director was closely aligned with Prince Arthur and Deputy Officer Chen.
It was easy to imagine what fate awaited the Dark Gold Mercenary Group once they fell into Deputy Officer Chen’s hands.
“You should return to your cabin and stay out of this matter. I will personally ensure these mercenaries are handed over to the National Security Bureau,” Wu Youqi said.
Mai Dongzi couldn’t help but look at Wu Youqi in surprise. What did he mean by this? He was asking her to withdraw from the situation while taking responsibility himself, effectively diverting the enemies’ hatred onto him.
Leaving aside the long-standing feud between the Wu family and the Xi family, she and Wu Youqi were meeting for the first time. Why would he make such a decision?
Based on her observations and the information she knew, Wu Youqi was no philanthropist. He wouldn’t protect her without reason just because she was a recently-turned-adult girl.
“Why?” Mai Dongzi asked bluntly.
“This incident happened on our spaceship. It is only right that we handle it. You are merely passengers who were victimized, and you shouldn’t bear the responsibility,” Wu Youqi replied.
This reasoning was logical and sound, but if Wu Youqi didn’t have a personal agenda, there was no obligation for him to get involved at all.
Wu Youqi’s words made Mai Dongzi feel a twinge of guilt because she hadn’t disclosed the most critical aspect of the issue to him.
A few hours later, this spaceship would be intercepted by the military. All passengers, crew members, and even the captain would be detained. She wondered if this captain would later feel enraged, thinking his current goodwill had been wasted. After all, this incident could tarnish the reputation of Wu Family’s Star Navigation Company.
“This matter has nothing to do with your spaceship. Deputy Officer Chen has already sent people to handle it,” Mai Dongzi said.
If the Wu family truly wasn’t involved, she would need to ask Deputy Officer Chen to minimize the negative impact of this incident. After all, she had instigated this and hadn’t considered how it might affect the spaceship’s operators.
“You are still a child. Focus on cultivating and studying. Until you grow strong enough to have your own influence, you should avoid getting entangled in conflicts between major powers. It’s too dangerous. You should know that the Xi family won’t stand up for you in such situations,” Wu Youqi said, frowning slightly and unable to resist offering some advice.
Mai Dongzi wasn’t the type of impulsive young person to resent Wu Youqi’s slightly lecturing tone. On the contrary, she recognized the goodwill in his words.
If Wu Youqi knew she was a psychic ability user, he might have masked his real emotions and feigned kindness. Alternatively, he might genuinely have a reason for treating her with such friendliness.
Mai Dongzi leaned more toward the latter assumption. After all, it was extremely difficult to conceal genuine emotions from a psychic ability user without revealing subtle flaws.
She hadn’t detected anything unnatural in his demeanor.
More importantly, Wu Youqi had no reason to fake emotions to deceive her.
So… Wu Youqi very likely knew who Atom’s mother was, and he didn’t seem to hold Atom’s identity in disdain. Otherwise, his current attitude would be hard to explain.
“Prince Arthur is widely recognized as the first heir to the throne. Coupled with his abilities, he draws significant attention from women. Eligible women from noble and influential families are all secretly and openly competing to catch his eye. At present, since Prince Arthur hasn’t shown preference for any particular woman, things remain calm. But the moment he shows favoritism, if that woman doesn’t have enough strength, she’ll undoubtedly be torn apart by others,” Wu Yiding interjected.
His words were pointed, and Mai Dongzi was sure his intent was clear. Given his apparent goodwill, she was now certain—he was also in the know.
“I’m Wu Yongzhang’s cousin, Wu Yiding. Thank you for helping him improve his cultivation aptitude,” Wu Yiding introduced himself.
“He’s my second son,” Wu Youqi added.
So, these two were indeed father and son. Their introductions made Mai Dongzi even more certain that they both knew the truth and that their attitudes toward her were generally favorable.
Mai Dongzi began to suspect that Wu Bo’s kind demeanor toward her was also rooted in some knowledge.
Wu Youqi didn’t keep Mai Dongzi for too long. He soon instructed Wu Bo to escort her out.
Mai Dongzi already knew the reason. She had “seen” the ship’s guards capture the fleeing mercenaries from the Dark Gold Mercenary Group and detain them in an interrogation room not far away.
The dozen or so mercenaries whom she and the two military cadets had knocked unconscious were also brought into that room.
After leaving the corridor outside the captain’s cabin, Mai Dongzi “saw” Wu Youqi and his son enter the interrogation room to question the captured mercenaries.
Despite Wu Youqi and his son’s kindness, Mai Dongzi refrained from revealing the parasitic beast’s existence. Such a critical matter wasn’t something she would divulge without absolute necessity.
However, their evident goodwill sparked a twinge of guilt within her, especially considering what would transpire in a few hours.
If the father and son could extract key information from the mercenaries during interrogation, they might be better prepared when the military arrived, avoiding being caught entirely off guard.
Wu Bo escorted the two cousins to a central part of the ship and into a private cabin. “For your safety, Miss Mai Dongzi, Sir has arranged for a new cabin for you. Also, here’s a token of apology from him,” Wu Bo said.
As he spoke, he handed two spatial rings to Mai Dongzi and Zhuang Huaiya. “Miss Mai Dongzi, please don’t refuse. This is nothing significant for Sir,” Wu Bo added.
The cousins naturally didn’t want to accept the gifts, but the spatial rings were forcibly bound to them. These rings were spirit-bound, scanning their minds to establish ownership.
Mai Dongzi found herself uncharacteristically at a loss. When dealing with enemies, she could easily switch her demeanor and act cold and ruthless.
However, when faced with someone who showed her goodwill, forcefully gave her gifts, and happened to have a cultivation level higher than hers, she had no idea how to respond. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as Wu Bo bid farewell and left.
Once Wu Bo exited and the cabin door closed behind him, Zhuang Huaiya, who had been acting like a mere background figure since they entered the captain’s cabin, suddenly came alive.