At those words, Yunyang immediately looked up at Fu Shiyi.
Her head itched. It felt as though a brain might be growing in there.
She hated thinking about things like this, so she decisively turned her head away. “Qin Mo, inform the military.”
It was better to leave professional matters to the professionals.
“Understood.” As Qin Mo answered, he opened his photonic brain and reported the matter to his commander.
No one else continued speculating. Until the insectoids’ purpose was confirmed, leaving the investigation to the military was the most appropriate course of action.
You Lu disliked this kind of serious atmosphere, so she took the initiative to change the subject. “Wen Xu, how are Sister Zhiwei’s other beastmen husbands?”
Yu Wenxu replied, “They should be waking up soon too. Would you like me to go check on them?”
You Lu looked at Chu Zhiwei.
The latter shook her head. “Their injuries are serious. Let them continue resting in the medical pods. By the way, what about the others...?”
She was naturally referring to the husbands who had stayed behind with the members of the Second Legion.
Yunyang gave Qin Mo a meaningful glance.
Qin Mo immediately spoke up. “They’re already on their way back to the Federation. No one is missing.”
Only then did Chu Zhiwei relax. She turned to Yunyang and You Lu with gratitude. “I’ve troubled you both today. I’ll stay here and wait for the rest of my husbands. You two should go back and rest.”
They had been busy all day.
Especially Yangyang, who had risked her life to lure those two insectoids toward the purification tower. She had probably been badly shaken.
Chu Zhiwei truly felt embarrassed asking her friends to stay any longer.
It was already nearly dark, and Gu Yun had also regained consciousness, so Yunyang and You Lu did not stand on ceremony with Chu Zhiwei.
After reminding the staff to take good care of Chu Zhiwei, the two of them left the treatment center together.
The aircraft they had taken when they left that morning was still parked outside the treatment center.
Only now, another incomparably luxurious aircraft had appeared beside it.
Yunyang and You Lu recognized whose aircraft it was at the same time, and both froze.
The hatch of the luxurious aircraft stood open. Apparently having noticed them, He Youchuan stepped out and approached.
He stopped one step away from Yunyang and You Lu.
He Youchuan placed his left palm firmly against his chest, bent his back slightly, and slowly bowed. “Your Excellencies, my female mate is waiting for you aboard the aircraft.”
There was no need to explain who his female mate was.
Yunyang looked at You Lu.
You Lu happened to look over at the same time.
After confirming that they were thinking the same thing, You Lu smiled. “Please lead the way.”
He Youchuan nodded, then straightened and walked toward the luxurious aircraft. Yunyang and You Lu followed closely behind with their respective husbands.
The moment Si Zhao saw Yunyang and You Lu aboard the aircraft, she came forward with obvious concern.
She took one of them by each hand and carefully looked them over before finally relaxing.
“It’s good that you’re both all right.”
As she spoke, Si Zhao pulled them down onto the sofa.
She clearly had no interest in unnecessary formalities, and naturally, neither of them wanted to spoil her mood.
After sitting down, Yunyang asked, “Sister Zhaozhao, why are you here so late?”
The Empress handled state affairs from dawn to dusk. At this hour, she should have finished work and been preparing to rest.
“I’ve already heard about what happened today.”
One of Si Zhao’s imperial husbands was also in the military, and his position there was quite high. As a result, she could receive news from the military at the earliest possible moment.
“How is Zhiwei?”
You Lu answered, “Sister Zhiwei has recovered, but she’s staying inside to wait for her husbands.”
Si Zhao nodded, then asked, “Yangyang, your husband said that the insectoids’ target this time may very well have been Zhiwei and you. Is that true?”
Yunyang was not surprised that Si Zhao knew about this, but she did not dare make a definite statement in front of the Empress.
What if the insectoids had another objective? Wouldn’t she be misleading everyone?
So she only told Si Zhao what Gu Yun had said, along with what she had experienced at the purification tower.
Si Zhao listened attentively. Then, perhaps after hearing something in particular, her brows suddenly drew together.
Yunyang exchanged a glance with You Lu. Judging by the Empress’s reaction, it seemed that she knew something.
“Sister Zhaozhao, is something wrong?”
Si Zhao looked at them, her tone serious. “Before this, the laboratory had confirmed one thing...”
“There is a separate branch among the insectoids whose abilities resemble those of healing ability users. They serve as the insectoid medical corps, and the mental power of female beastmen can strengthen their abilities.”
“So the insectoids probably didn’t want to harm you. They wanted to take you back to heal the insect queen.”
“But the supporting data is too limited, so the laboratory hasn’t announced the discovery yet. There’s even less reason for the insectoids to know about it. Besides, Zhiwei’s itinerary had been kept absolutely confidential.”
Yunyang’s eyelid twitched violently.
There was no question that when the Empress said “absolutely confidential,” she meant it. In other words, if the insectoids did not possess some special way of obtaining information, then someone within the Federation had leaked it...
Yunyang did not dare continue down that line of thought.
If there really was a traitor within the Federation, whoever it was had to be someone capable of learning both the laboratory’s and the military’s classified information. That person’s identity was undoubtedly significant.
At the very least, without concrete evidence, she could not make reckless accusations in front of the Empress.
Fortunately, Sister Zhaozhao could probably think of the same possibility.
Si Zhao did indeed have her suspicions. She was not blindly trusting of the Federation, but the core personnel of both the military and the laboratory had been appointed by her personally.
As the Federation’s Empress, she possessed the highest level of authority and could freely inspect anyone’s photonic-brain records.
As for the laboratory, she would not appoint anyone to an important position if they had close ties to someone in the military within three generations, and the same rule applied in reverse.
Aside from her, who else could possibly know the classified information of both the military and the laboratory?
For a moment, Si Zhao genuinely could not think of anyone.
Surely she hadn’t told the insectoids everything while sleepwalking?
The moment the thought surfaced, Si Zhao herself nearly laughed.
She shook off those absurd ideas and said seriously, “I’ll have the Terminal Management Center investigate.”
Apart from some wandering beastmen, every beastman in the Federation was required to register a photonic brain.
Photonic brains could upload a beastman’s movements to the central terminal in real time. However, very few people specifically investigated such records, and ordinary citizens did not have the authority to access them.
But the circumstances were unusual now, so unusual measures were necessary.
Yunyang and You Lu had nothing to say to that and could only nod.
Si Zhao tugged at the corner of her mouth. “You’ve both worked hard today. I’ll take you home.”
“Thank you, Sister Zhaozhao.”
Si Zhao waved a hand, and her two imperial husbands volunteered to head toward the cockpit.
The aircraft slowly took off and soon arrived near Yunyang and You Lu’s residence.
Although You Lu had not done much fighting that day, she had been rushing around the treatment center nonstop. By now, she wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed.
Once the aircraft had landed securely, she said goodbye to Si Zhao and Yunyang before hurrying off.
Yunyang, however, did not move.
She looked at Si Zhao, hesitating over whether she should speak.
Meeting her hesitant gaze, Si Zhao seemed to understand. “You want to ask about your mother?”
