Shadows of the Deep Space

Jiang Yu looked at Su Ming's diligence and felt somewhat emotional. If Su Yuan had had this spirit of struggle back then, he might not have been so disliked by the old man and been dispatched here.

He sincerely said to Su Ming,

"Master Su, there's no need to be so polite. As long as you study hard and achieve a satisfactory score in the city examination, that's good enough."

"I will definitely work hard and not let down your cultivation of me."

Su Ming solemnly promised to Jiang Yu.

"Good!"

Jiang Yu replied with considerable gratification.

In fact, as Jiang Yu's student, although Su Yuan wasn't very promising, in other aspects he was quite good, especially in his great respect for his teacher. So, Jiang Yu still liked Su Yuan as a student. This affection extended to Su Ming as well; perhaps this was what they called 'love me, love my dog.'

"Teacher, have some tea!"

Su Ming hurriedly poured another cup of tea for Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu smiled, blew the tea until it was cool, and then drank it all at once. Then, he checked the time on his watch and stood up to say to Su Ming,

"Master Su, it's getting late, and Madam hasn't returned yet. I need to rush back to Starlight City to analyze the downloaded data. As soon as I have a result, I will tell you immediately."

"Um, thank you for your hard work, teacher. I'll see you out."

Su Ming personally escorted Jiang Yu towards the front door.

...

-------------------

Thirteenth District Central·Administrative Office Building.

Inside the neat and spacious office, Ye Wei was holding a statistical report, reporting to Xiao Lie, who was sitting at his desk.

The atmosphere was tense among the dozen or so administrative officers standing in the room, faces filled with a mix of anxiety and fear.

"This Chilami Larvae attack incident has resulted in a final count of casualties. The Lower City District has a total death toll of 213,420 people, and the Upper City District has a total death toll of 12,113 people; moreover, because the first-, second-, and third-tier intermediate academies were affected, nearly a quarter of the deceased in the Upper City District were students. The property damage is incalculable."

Xiao Lie's expression was dark as a storm cloud as he cast a cold eye over the silent crowd and asked,

"With such a major incident, do you have nothing to say?"

Immediately, the heads of the administrative officers in the room dropped even lower. Some wished they could bury their heads in the ground for fear of being singled out by Xiao Lie.

"What a bunch of useless fools; to let such a catastrophe occur, what are you usually doing?"

Xiao Lie rebuked them in barely contained anger.

None of the many administrative officers dared to offer an explanation; they weren't foolish. From the consolidated data report, they knew that they had truly caused a massive problem.

Just as everyone was gripped with fear and unease, Ye Wei hesitantly began to speak.

"Lord Xiao, this time we've truly caused a disaster. The council has already been informed of the incident and will undoubtedly hold us accountable. Right now, the most urgent task is to figure out how to deal with this."

Upon hearing Ye Wei's words, Xiao Lie immediately stood up from his chair. He walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looking out into the dark night outside, and said coldly,

"Deal with it? What else can we do but make those responsible bear the responsibility?"

As soon as these words came out, the foreheads of the many administrative officers present broke out in a cold sweat, their bodies trembling slightly. They quickly began to speak,

"Lord Xiao, the person most responsible this time is the head of the waste plant. It was his negligence, his failure to report the missing incidents in time, that led to such a severe situation."

"Yes, it's him."

...

Xiao Lie turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over the accusing crowd. Their voices gradually faded, and they lowered their heads.

Xiao Lie could clearly understand the thoughts of these people; they simply wanted Su Yuan to take the fall.

Such a serious incident surely required someone to be held responsible.

At this moment, Ye Wei quickly spoke up.

"Lord Xiao, I think what everyone is saying is not without merit. The person in charge of the waste site, Su Yuan, indeed has undeniable responsibility. We should transfer him to the council's subordinate tribunal for trial."

"Where is Su Yuan?"

Xiao Lie's expression changed for a moment, and he asked in a deep voice.

"He has already been detained."

Ye Wei quickly replied.

"Hmph, this incident has caused very serious casualties and has had an extremely detrimental impact! The mastermind must not be spared, everything should be done by the book!"

Xiao Lie spoke solemnly to Ye Wei and the others.

"Yes, I'll go prepare right away."

Ye Wei and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

With a wave of his hand, Xiao Lie dismissed them, and Ye Wei hurried off. He needed to prepare some things quickly so that when the council members arrived, they would be able to convincingly pin the blame on Su Yuan.

At this moment, the landline on Xiao Lie's desk began to ring.

Ding Ding~

Xiao Lie glanced at the displayed number, and his eyes flickered slightly. He coldly addressed the officials present.

"Everyone out!"

"Yes."

The administrative officers in the room felt as if a weight had been lifted, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads as they left.

Xiao Lie walked to his desk and sat down, then picked up the phone. Before he could speak, a muffled voice came through.

"Hello, District Chief Xiao!"

"Old Master Su, what brings you here?"

"Damn it, don't beat around the bush with me. Did you catch my stupid son?"

"Old Master Su, let's be frank. It wasn't me who caught him; your son got himself into trouble."

"I don't care what he's done, just do me a favor and let him go!"

"Old Master Su, under normal circumstances, if you asked me this favor, I would do it for you. But this time is different. Su Yuan has stirred up a huge mess. As the person in charge of the landfill, his negligent management allowed the Chilami Larvae to run rampant, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. The Federation is already aware and pursuing this matter."

"Bullshit! My stupid son might be in charge of the landfill, but that's still a landfill. He can't possibly stay there every day to keep watch, can he? At the end of the day, if there's a problem, it's with the people under him."

"Even if the problem lies with his subordinates, failing to report in time makes Su Yuan, as the person responsible for the landfill, the primary responsible party, so he is guilty."

"Damn it, I'm not going to argue over this with you. You just want a scapegoat, don't you? I don't care, it can't be my son."

The voice of Su Zhen Tian on the other end of the phone became increasingly agitated.

District Chief Xiao, with a deep frown, said,

"Old Master Su Zhen Tian, you've misunderstood. We have no intention of targeting Su Yuan specifically, but he indeed cannot escape his guilt."

"Damn it, just tell me what it will take to release my son."

"I'm sorry, it's really not possible."

"Humph, I won't beat around the bush with you either. You release my idiot son, and I'll give you two Second Generation Mechas!"

Su Zhen Tian made a direct offer.

"Old Master, that's impossible! This matter is very serious."

"Three!"

"It's really impossible, it's not about the goods."

"Five!"

"I'll have a hard time handling this, the Federation..."

Xiao Lie appeared extremely troubled.

"Ten!"

Su Zhen Tian declared definitively.