The top floor of the Yunlan Tower, the highest building in Valoran.
Outside the fully transparent dome was a slowly flowing artificial nebula landscape, and beneath their feet lay an entire suspended anti-gravity glass water system. A few artificially cultivated aurora lotuses floated on the water's surface.
Tinia had booked the entire sky garden restaurant.
For this lunch, the sole heir of the Yunlan Group had even mobilized three private flight routes just to airlift a freshly caught deep-sea flame-tail fish to the dining table within half an hour.
"Try this, Sister." Tinia attentively pushed the deboned fish toward Jiang Lijin. The blond youth rested his cheek on one hand, his blue eyes sparkling. "This is a specialty from the Yunlan Group's private waters. You can't get this outside even if you have the money. A bland place like the Academy of Sciences definitely doesn't serve this kind of premium quality food on a regular basis, right?"
Sitting across from them, Chiron didn't even change his posture holding his knife and fork. He slowly and methodically cut the steak on his plate, his silver cutlery not making the slightest clinking sound.
"It is indeed rare." Chiron swallowed the cut meat and dabbed the corners of his lips with a napkin. His tone was so gentle that one couldn't find a single fault with it. "The financial power of the Yunlan Group is admirable. It is very thoughtful of Young Master Tinia to spare the energy to arrange all this amidst his busy schedule. Thank you for your hospitality."
It was like punching cotton.
Tinia ground his back teeth. He hated Chiron's effortless, elder-like demeanor the most, which made him look like a nouveau riche child who only knew how to show off his wealth.
Jiang Lijin simply had no time to pay attention to the undercurrents between these two males.
She was burying her head in dealing with that plate of deep-sea flame-tail fish. The meat was tender and chewy, melting in the mouth, and carried a peculiar roasted aroma. It had been a long time since she had eaten such top-tier cuisine that suited human tastes so perfectly.
Just as Jiang Lijin was about to extend her claws toward the second plate of cloud pudding, three crisp notification sounds rang out simultaneously.
"Ding—"
The highest level push notification from the Star Network forum.
Jiang Lijin paused, tapped her optical computer, and a holographic projection unfolded in the center of the dining table.
The bolded and red-highlighted title was extremely eye-catching: The Truth and Statement Regarding the Contraband Drug Incident — Felwin.
The post time was ten minutes ago.
The number of replies had already exceeded a hundred thousand, and the server literally lagged for two seconds before loading the video footage.
The video's background was a dimly lit bedroom. Felwin looked different from her usual glamorous self. She wore no makeup and was dressed in a loose hospital gown, her long hair scattered messily over her shoulders.
Her eye sockets were red and swollen, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. Her whole person exuded a fragile, tottering sense of brokenness.
"Hello everyone, I am Felwin."
Her opening sentence was accompanied by a perfectly timed tear sliding down her cheek.
Jiang Lijin stuffed a spoonful of pudding into her mouth, watching the drama unfold with great relish.
In the video, Felwin choked up as she continued, "I saw the post on the Star Network yesterday about the contraband drugs from the black market. I don't want to run away. I have all the drug side effects that were exposed. But this isn't because I bought illegal drugs out of vanity. It's because... I had no choice."
The camera shook slightly and switched to a panoramic view.
Standing behind Felwin were her three A-grade beast husbands. These three males were filled with grief and indignation, looking as if they wanted to eat someone alive.
"Everyone should know Lord Arden of the mercenary group. He used to be Ms. Jiang Lijin's partner, and later he confessed to me... and we got together." Felwin covered her face, her voice trembling violently. "Ever since Ms. Jiang Lijin was judged by the Mastermind as a 3S-grade female some time ago, Arden changed. He couldn't accept that the ex-wife he abandoned had become the Empire's only 3S-grade. This disparity drove him completely mad."
She raised her head and looked directly into the camera, her eyes full of accusation. "He forced me to take that potion of unknown origin! He said that as long as I took the medicine, I could break through the limit of the S-grade and outshine Ms. Jiang Lijin. I refused, I struggled, but I really loved him... He was clearly a gentle gentleman before. I never thought he would turn out like this..."
The beast husband standing on her left took a timely step forward, roaring into the camera with red eyes, "That beast Arden! He bewitched Felwin! The three of us A-grades were no match for him at all. We could only watch helplessly as Felwin was tortured! We have already called the police. We must make this madman pay the price!"
At the end of the video, Felwin took out a grade certification document stamped with the official seal of the Empire's Gene Bank.
"Since birth, I have been an S-grade female registered by the Mastermind. What reason would I have to buy that kind of life-overdrawing drug? I am just a pitiful female blinded by love. I implore the Interstellar Security Bureau to intervene and investigate, to return my innocence."
Felwin played this hand wonderfully. Her record as a B-grade from the slums had been wiped completely clean by black market methods in her early years. Unless someone used the highest authority to dig up old accounts in the Mastermind's core database, no one would ever find out she used to be a B-grade.
At most, they could find a two-year blank period in her files. But in the interstellar era, situations where files were lost due to traveling to marginal galaxies or encountering interstellar storms were everywhere.
She was certain that no one could dig out her bottom card, which was why she dared to blatantly pin all the blame on Arden.
The video came to an abrupt end.
Jiang Lijin swallowed the pudding in her mouth, almost clapping her hands in applause.
This move of sacrificing the rook to save the king was played flawlessly.
Yesterday's exposure post had completely nailed down the purchase time and side effects, but it didn't name names. If Felwin didn't respond, she would definitely be exposed once the Purification Department conducted a medical examination. Now she actively jumped out and poured all the dirty water on Arden, and her identity as a female could also exempt her from punishment!
Arden was Jiang Lijin's ex-husband, so he had a motive for revenge. Arden went to the black market, so he had a way to buy the medicine. Arden was an S-grade, so he had the martial prowess to force her.
The logic was a closed loop.
But with the two charges of harming an S-grade female and purchasing contraband drugs established, Arden would basically not survive.
Jiang Lijin looked up, just in time to meet Chiron's inquiring gaze.
"I wanted to ask yesterday," Chiron's speaking speed was steady, carrying the unique rigor of a scholar. "How did you determine before that she wasn't an S-grade?"
Jiang Lijin's movement of wiping her hands with a tissue paused.
She couldn't possibly give Xiao Yi up, could she? Her eyes rolled, and she spoke right off the cuff.
"Is that hard to understand?" Jiang Lijin leaned back in her chair, spread her hands, and put on a matter-of-fact posture. "Our 3S female perception is stronger than you 3S males!"
Anyway, she was the only 3S-grade female in the entire universe right now. She could say whatever she wanted.
She then proceeded to apply the theories Chiron had previously popularized.
"Didn't you say before that a normal person's spiritual power fluctuation is stable? It's either a straight line, or like when I upgraded before, a steady sloped line. But when I perceived Felwin, her spiritual power frequency band was extremely chaotic. One second she was at S-grade, and the next second she dropped straight to A-grade, or even lower. With this frequency of jumping up and down, other than taking drugs, I can't think of a second explanation."
After listening, Chiron fell into a long silence. His slender fingers tapped unconsciously against the tabletop, a habitual gesture of his whenever he was pondering a complex issue.
It is worth noting, Chiron said as he looked up, offering his professional assessment, that according to Felwin, she is an S-rank herself and suffered side effects after being coerced into taking the drug by Arden. The mechanism of this banned substance is to forcibly raise the upper limit of a person's mental power. Therefore, her mental power fluctuation range should be between S-rank and 2S-rank. It should not be between the A-rank and S-rank that you perceived.
She is lying. Her true rank is not even S-rank.
Who cares what rank she is? This woman has completely muddied the waters now. Will this affect you, Sister? Tinia frowned. The one thing he could not accept was someone scheming against Jiang Lijin.
Not much of an impact. Jiang Lijin stuffed the last piece of dessert into her mouth. Arden going to the black market to buy drugs was originally instructed by Felwin to begin with, and he only brought back ten pills. Now the two of them are just dogs biting dogs, leaving a mess of fur everywhere.
She turned her head to look at Chiron. Are we still doing the pre-employment physical examination for the Purification Department? Since she dared to call the police, she must be fully prepared to handle a deep scan. I am guessing she plans to forcibly swallow all ten pills just to pass the inspection.
Chiron did not answer this question directly.
His focus had completely deviated from Jiang Lijin's expectations.
Chiron sharply caught the underlying information in Jiang Lijin's words. You said Arden went to the black market to buy drugs and brought back ten. How do you know the exact quantity he had?
Jiang Lijin replied frankly, Oh, I bumped into him at the Valoran black market. I happened to see him when he was buying the drugs, and Tinia was there too.
The air suddenly fell dead quiet.
Chiron slowly turned his head, his gaze locking onto Tinia. His look was not exactly fierce, but it carried a suffocating sense of oppression that made one's scalp tingle.
You took her to the black market? Chiron's tone was completely flat, without any fluctuation.
But Tinia's previously arrogant demeanor instantly withered.
He was indeed feeling guilty. Although he believed he could keep Jiang Lijin perfectly safe, the Valoran black market was, after all, a lawless land filled with a mixed bag of people and all sorts of dangerous desperadoes. Taking his wife to such a place was truly unjustifiable.
I... Tinia opened his mouth, stammering for a long time without managing to squeeze out a single complete sentence, looking at Jiang Lijin as if pleading for help.
I was the one who wanted to go. Jiang Lijin spoke up to bail him out, watching the little fox's defeated look. After all, she was currently eating his food and living under his roof.
Chiron let out a sigh.
Ms. Jiang, Chiron said, his tone growing a bit heavier. The financial power of the Yunlan Group can indeed solve many problems, and Tinia's 3S-rank combat power is not to be underestimated. But in the black market, these things are not absolute free passes.
He leaned forward, crossing his hands and resting them on the table.
Especially the Pavilion Master of the Senluo Pavilion... At this point, Chiron paused. He seemed to be weighing his words, or perhaps he was wary of something. In the end, he did not continue speaking, only leaving behind a stern warning.
You absolutely must not go to that kind of place ever again.
Jiang Lijin nodded perfunctorily on the surface, but in her heart, she firmly etched the title Pavilion Master of the Senluo Pavilion into her memory.
For some reason, the very moment she heard those words, her mind went straight to the dark shadow that had broken into her room that night.
