Chapter 18: Active
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: CaiCai
The corridor sank into an eerie silence. The immense confusion caused Feng Man’s thoughts to momentarily blank out. What was he just saying? He almost doubted if it was just an illusion.
“Mr. President, you are quite the jokester,” Feng Man forced a smile, his thoughts rusting like a locked wheel. “What scent? Could it be someone accidentally released pheromones? Even as a Beta, I can’t smell it. Please forgive me…”
“Chudai System, Starfall Sea,” with each word spoken by Lyss, Feng Man’s body trembled involuntarily. “Do you want me to continue?”
The turn of events completely surpassed Feng Man’s imagination. He couldn’t even muster a pale defense. His mind echoed with just two words—this is it.
Chudai’s matters were now known to Lyss. He would surely expose it during the meeting. Feng Man thought with a pale face, realizing that the others in Sheng Dan were oblivious to his actions. If they found out, it wouldn’t end easily. Some would undoubtedly use this as a basis for accusations, and his presidency might end prematurely. And after it ends, what awaits him will be…
“It seems you still have some doubts,” Lyss produced a chip. “This is a backup recording. I assume you wouldn’t want this played publicly during the meeting.”
Feng Man abruptly lifted his head. “Who recorded it?”
Lyss remained silent.
Hearing that the recording wouldn’t be played during the meeting, Feng Man quickly pulled himself from the abyss of despair. He immediately took the recording, glanced around to ensure no one else was nearby, and turned to Lyss. “What do you want?”
His expression had completely calmed down. Lyss looked at him calmly. “I want a list.”
Without needing Lyss to specify, Feng Man sighed in relief. “From the military or which department?”
“All of them,” Lyss responded.
“You—” Feng Man widened his eyes in disbelief. After a while, he managed to regain composure. “You are too greedy. Even if you get that list, what can you do? They’ve only harmed Triss’s interests, not yours. Why bother…”
“Is this how the President thinks? As long as it doesn’t harm personal interests, sacrificing the entire federation’s interests is acceptable?” Lyss looked at him, speaking slowly and coldly, “But it seems, Mr. President, that you’ve misunderstood something.”
“I’m not negotiating with you, I’m threatening you,” Lyss said slowly.
Feng Man’s pupils contracted. The composure he barely gathered vanished, and he looked at Lyss in disbelief, as if facing an extremely calm madman, “Lyss, by saying that, aren’t you afraid—”
“Of burning bridges?” Lyss said nonchalantly, “Unfortunately, your country seems to lack the qualification to say such words.”
The corridor fell into silence again. Lyss didn’t say anything more. After a while, Feng Man slumped against the nearby wall, deflated.
“I believe you’ll make the right choice,” Lyss cryptically hinted.
Ten minutes later, the second half of the meeting proceeded as scheduled.
The rest of Sheng Dan was unaware of what had happened, excluding the two parties involved, Feng Man and Lyss. They remained unusually silent. The official who had been knocked unconscious by Lu Xingye at the beginning was now staring in astonishment at the seemingly unaffected Lyss. In his mind, a storm of shock and disbelief was raging.
Several leaders were silent, and the already precarious defense line of Sheng Dan retreated further. In the end, the situation was completely controlled by Triss.
Lyss’s focus was not on the people of Sheng Dan. He was not foolish enough to pin all his hopes on that list—Feng Man had more than enough reasons to manipulate it, and with Sheng Dan’s scale, they wouldn’t have had significant contact with Triss officials. Lyss quietly cast his gaze over the people around him, the Minister of Information and several diplomats were arguing with the opposing side, seemingly without any issues. The secretary diligently recorded the minutes of the meeting, and it appeared that everyone was innocent.
But the prey caught in a trap cannot avoid leaving traces on the ground.
Lyss withdrew his gaze, and the meeting gradually came to an end.
Underneath the turmoil, the meeting proceeded smoothly. Sheng Dan gained the “friendly nation” they wanted, and Triss secured a series of tangible benefits. It seemed like a perfect win-win meeting.
The meeting concluded, and the banquet proceeded as planned. After sitting down, Lu Xingye, without waiting for Lyss to speak, directly took a seat in his usual spot—just like at noon.
The entire room fell silent.
“Why is everyone still standing?” Lu Xingye looked around, puzzled. “The banquet is about to begin, please take your seats.”
One of the Triss officials who had long been displeased with Lu Xingye finally couldn’t resist speaking, “Mr. Chief, Secretary Lu sitting here might be inappropriate…”
Lu Xingye turned to Lyss, raising an eyebrow, “Chief, is it inappropriate for me to sit here?”
Lyss took a sip of water, looking down at the surface of his cup, and let Lu Xingye provoke him, “Appropriate.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xingye curled his lips, turning to the official, “Mr. Fuller, the banquet is about to start. Please take your seat.”
Fuller, with an incredulous look, seemed to find it hard to believe that Lu Xingye could be so shameless. After a while, he turned around indignantly and sat in his designated seat.
The others from Triss, after a brief silence, also took their seats. Many of them couldn’t help but frown at Lu Xingye with gazes as if they were witnessing a wicked consort sitting by the side of a calamitous king.
Fortunately, Lu Xingye’s mental resilience was extremely strong. In such a situation, he dared to adopt a quite intimate posture, leaning over to whisper into Lyss’s ear, “I’ve returned the item to its rightful owner.”
Lyss, hearing this, cast a satisfied glance at Cage, who was sitting across from them. Cage was in his seat, massaging his temples, showing signs of just waking up from a hangover. He had no idea that his spatial transmitter had been used.
“Well done,” Lyss nodded approvingly.
Lu Xingye’s voice was low, and in the eyes of others, this scene seemed to indicate that the atmosphere around the Chief instantly eased.
…Damn that pretty boy, more than one person in Triss thought so in the room.
The people from Sheng Dan sat across from them, watching the play put on by Triss with various expressions.
Given Lu Xingye’s crazy performance at noon, the evening party became surprisingly harmonious. The drinks returned to normal, and Sheng Dan quieted down. Eventually, the banquet ended in this peaceful atmosphere.
Once home, Lyss took off his coat, and Lu Xingye stood quietly next to him, helping him put on his robe. It was like having a well-behaved and sensible little dog. But after today’s series of events, Lyss knew very well…
Seems LX is becoming too high profile. Perhaps if enemies suspect he means the slightest to Lyss, he’ll be used.
Thank you both for the chapter.