Chapter 167: Plotting

At night, Yang Bo enjoyed a lavish dinner in a high-end restaurant. After eating, he returned home to train in mech operations, bond with the invisible mouse, and feed the mutant leeches.

After parting ways with Yang Bo, the Fat Boss returned home and headed to the underground training center.

He stripped off his clothes, put on a special pair of shorts, and his body erupted with energy, turning his skin a faint bronze color.

The Fat Boss looked at himself in the mirror, appearing like a giant ball of meat. He glanced at his fists and then punched the training dummy in front of him.

He moved swiftly, like a rolling ball of flesh, accompanied by sonic booms and the sound of the dummy taking blows.

Five minutes later, covered in sweat, the Fat Boss looked at his reflection in the mirror. “Haha, who would’ve thought that I, Liu Zhijie, am going to make it big!”

Amused by the thought, the Fat Boss laughed louder. Fortunately, the training area’s soundproofing was first-rate, or the entire city would have heard his laughter.

“Who would’ve thought I’d have a day like this? You useless family members, just wait and see.” After venting his frustrations, the Fat Boss returned to his room, submerged himself in the bathtub, and stared at his reflection in a small mirror.

“Feels like a dream!” The Fat Boss put down the mirror and closed his eyes.

He quickly climbed out of the tub, carefully picking up the four gene injections. Though they were of the lowest grade, one was three-star, and the other three were four-star, which spoke volumes.

“I must nurture these well and hide them. If my family knew, they’d certainly try to take them.”

“Even if they couldn’t take them, those scum would sell the information to someone else and have them destroy the genius I’m fostering.” The Fat Boss had seen all kinds of dirty, underhanded dealings over the years, and it was precisely this cutthroat competition that made him leave his family in the first place.

“Outsiders could never imagine how filthy these prominent families are. The term ‘human decency’ doesn’t even apply to them anymore.”

“These families are no different from the aristocrats of the Azure Blue Empire.” After his initial excitement, the Fat Boss grew wary. “Sometimes, it’s not outsiders who are dangerous, but so-called family members.”

As for Yang Bo, the Fat Boss had no suspicions about him at all, since Yang Bo’s background was completely clean. If it had been someone with a more complicated past, the Fat Boss might have reported it to his family to share the risk.

Yang Bo, on the other hand, had tidied up and was also reflecting on the day’s events.

“It’s better to hide with the Fat Boss’s cover. But why hasn’t the person stalking me made their move yet?”

“A few more missions and I’ll have a break this month. I’ll head inland to see if I can find some rare or strange animals to gain new abilities, and at the same time, catch a few more mice.” Yang Bo wasn’t afraid of any trouble.

From past experience, he knew those who came after him often provided a lot of skills.

“When I get back inland, the mech game update will be ready.”

“Why haven’t there been any updates on the Red Earl? Have they really achieved independence?” Right now, there was no news online about the Red Earl. The Parliament only promised to update everyone as soon as they heard something.

Wild rumors spread, with some saying the Red Earl had cut off all communication with the outside world, while others claimed the Red Earl had sealed off the space jump pathways, and it would take at least three years for the Parliament’s fleet to reach them.

“Looks like the Red Earl has probably run into some bad luck again.” Yang Bo, however, wasn’t so sure. He suspected Parliament had already taken control.

Why did he think that? Because for Pado Planet to declare independence, it would need media support or the involvement of other countries. Yet, there was no word from the media, and the other nations wouldn’t dare intervene without solid backing.

With no news, even those in the Alliance who wanted to support Pado Planet had no way to help.

Don’t be fooled. In the Alliance, there were many people with biological chips, which should mean they’re highly educated, but their opinions often reminded Yang Bo of things he’d experienced in his past life.

“Having knowledge doesn’t mean someone has good judgment.”

“A developed society doesn’t necessarily imply high moral standards.” Yang Bo had come to deeply understand these two statements.

Take, for example, those who called themselves the Justice Gang in the mech game. They had an array of high-end mechs, and each of their members was at least an advanced mech pilot, yet they spoke and behaved in utterly disgraceful ways.

Of course, Yang Bo had reincarnated early. If he hadn’t, he might have starved to death back then… uh.

While Yang Bo pondered the stalker, that person was growing anxious. Yang Bo had almost no social life—he went to the company in the morning and returned home after work, occasionally dining with the company’s boss.

“What kind of pig-like life is this? Doesn’t he know there are plenty of entertainment options?” The middle-aged man was getting frustrated. Yang Bo rarely went to supermarkets, work, or missions, making it impossible to act. Even knocking him out in a restroom was out of the question since he never went anywhere.

“Looks like I’ll have to submit a mission. With the right injection, this kid will spill everything and remember nothing.” The middle-aged man was desperate. Their headquarters had suffered significant losses.

So, the middle-aged man started preparing, issuing a mission to An Zhijie Corporation. Of course, if the first wasn’t the right target, they would just try again.

——————

Meanwhile, in the Alliance Military, several leaders gritted their teeth and slammed their fists on the table. “Damn that Red Earl! We must wipe them out!”

“Exactly! Deploy the drone fighters. If anyone resists, shoot them on sight.”

“Those bastards!”

The military had taken a hit this time. Extremist organizations infiltrated their ranks, and 60% of the main fleet’s warships were either rioting or rebelling, severely damaging the military’s reputation.

The Parliament was also at a loss. The Speaker asked, “Who will take responsibility for the fact that Pado Planet’s extremists are holding civilians hostage?”

“And as far as I know, once we issue such an order, how many soldiers on our warships will refuse to carry it out, or worse, openly rebel? Are we going to have to deal with those soldiers as well?”

Everyone fell silent. Over the years, while the Alliance opposed the Crimson Federation and Azure Blue Empire, they had loudly promoted ideals like democracy and rights. They watched as the Azure Blue Empire dealt with its internal independence movements—and now it seemed their own nation was starting to experience the same.

They had successfully convinced a portion of the enemy’s citizens, but now their own were starting to believe it, too—especially the elites.

Some of these elites, hearing news about Pado Planet’s potential independence, were already expressing their support. The Speaker wished he could crack their skulls open to see if their brains had mutated. The Red Earl was clearly an extremist organization!

“Even if they’re not extremists, do they really think they can declare independence? It’s not like the Alliance’s warships are out of fuel.” Another military leader added, “The problem is that most of the Red Earl’s members don’t have chips. Damn it!”

“Why not activate the game? This way, we can ensure the safety of civilians and at the same time, blame the Red Earl. Just say they hacked our warship systems!”

“There’s no point hoping the mech pilots aboard the warships will carry out an assault order. Our ships already destroyed Pado Planet’s planetary defense system. We’ve received no end of internal complaints from captains about how debris from the destroyed system could crash into the planet, harming the environment. Reading these complaints makes me want to strangle these idiots!”

“But the captains are likely going to face a bit of public backlash, aren’t they?”

“Let’s communicate with the captains’ families. Let’s get this dealt with quickly. The Azure Blue Empire and Crimson Federation are already looking for ways to contact the people on Pado Planet.”