The Second Prince had actually never been to a nightclub.

After Yang Ming confirmed this news, his entire outlook on life became a bit sunnier.

But he heard the Second Prince's explanation,

"Hmm, currently, public opinion is quite advanced, and the royal image is something Father has always emphasized. Besides, once I came of age, if I had any needs, the maids and female officials around me didn't mind having a delightful interaction with me. It's not just because of my power... To be honest, all my actions have to comply with Empire laws... Of course, I can't deny there's a power element involved here."

"Then why do you want to go now, Your Highness?"

Yang Ming's words echoed the sentiments of the three burly guards in the back seat.

The Second Prince squinted with a smile and turned to look at Yang Ming, "I read a theory."

"What theory?"

"Men need to go to such places together to consider each other trustworthy partners."

Yang Ming's expression suddenly became indescribable.

So decent, law-abiding, honest men are not worthy of true friendship?

"Hey, aren't we here to have fun? Cheer up!"

The Second Prince soon became excited.

"I heard there are many beauties there. I watched on video sites; our Ilando City has quite famous conventional brands, with many beautiful girls! Oh ho! Tonight's a night of indulgence!"

However.

Half an hour later.

The noisy hall, the dancing figures on the dance floor, the randomly flashing lights, and the Second Prince's slightly disgruntled face nearly made Yang Ming burst into laughter.

"Look," Yang Ming raised his chin towards the front, "the conventional shop you wanted."

The Second Prince puzzled, "Is this it? Shouldn't there be two rows of girls standing in front of you, then winking at you, letting you choose who's going to serve drinks?"

"That's easy."

Yang Ming snapped his fingers, called over a nearby waiter, and handed over the hard-earned money he got from Emilia.

Soon, two rows of scantily clad, heavily made-up girls appeared in front of the Second Prince.

Yang Ming could see that the Second Prince actually wanted to adapt to the environment here, but no matter how much the Prince looked around, he still found the palace maids more attractive.

"I'll just drink something, Yang Ming, go ahead, do as you please."

Yang Ming casually tossed out a stack of tips, letting the two rows of girls leave happily.

Yang Ming laughed, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that videos aren't credible? You can easily adjust skin color, body shape, features, all that."

"Oh," the Second Prince slouched there, "this is pure commercial fraud..."

"Mr. Yang Ming? What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a clear female voice came from the side.

The Second Prince's eyes immediately lit up. But when he noticed that the girl holding a tray running over only had eyes for Yang Ming, this Highness quickly quashed the dirty thoughts in his heart and started pondering the relationship between the two.

Yang Ming turned his head to look.

He didn't expect to see 026 here.

026 had put on a bartender's white shirt and black pants, reluctantly tying up a hair band into a "ponytail" style, with her curvaceous figure largely hidden by the loose white shirt. Her unadorned face lacked a few marks of beauty, instead having more youthful purity expected at her age.

"Wow," the Second Prince laughed, "I didn't think you were a regular here, Yang Ming."

Yang Ming laughed, "This is a friend of mine. I'm not a regular here."

026 raised her hand to smooth out the hair in front of her forehead.

She recognized the Second Prince but didn't reveal his identity, and nervously replied, "Mr. Yang Ming hasn't been here; I've been helped a lot by Mr. Yang Ming before, so... do you need any drinks? I can offer a nice discount."

Yang Ming raised an eyebrow, "You're working as a server here?"

"On the surface, a server," 026 pursed her lips, "I know you helped me. Otherwise, my... teacher, my teacher wouldn't have let me do things only someone as trusted by them could do. She owns dozens of such shops. Although this was a small matter to you, it truly helped me a great deal."

Yang Ming smiled approvingly and asked, "Still on medication?"

"Yes," 026's small face darkened a bit, "but now the pain isn't that severe, so I can go back to cheaper meds... With the salary and commission I earn here, besides covering these expenses, I can save up some. But I haven't received my salary yet..."

"That's very good."

The Second Prince motioned, "Sit and chat."

"No, no," 026 responded repeatedly, "I just came to greet Mr. Yang Ming, not to disturb you two... If you want better service, you can go up to the VIP floor via the second elevator on the left. However, that's beyond my control; I can only offer discounts here."

Yang Ming squinted, watching as 026's figure vanished down the corridor.

The Second Prince slowly leaned closer, waving a hand in front of Yang Ming.

"She's gone far away!"

Yang Ming laughed, "Appreciating beauty makes people feel good."

The Second Prince puzzled, "Then why don't you try to pursue her? Is it that difficult for you? I understand women, Yang Ming, with the look she gave you, if you just nod, she wouldn't hesitate at all."

Yang Ming sighed softly and whispered a few keywords in the Second Prince's ear.

Military weapons.

Addiction agent.

The original target was the Third Prince.

The Second Prince's expression froze a bit, and he quickly decided that tonight he would remain chaste.

"Just a pitiful person, don't trouble her, Your Highness."

"Of course," the Second Prince sighed, looking at 026 busy by the counter, speaking softly, "She is also my subject."

...

Lulian was very angry now.

It was the anger after humiliation—though tinged with a bit of strange excitement—but he had already gone beyond anger.

That damned Gudun Mah had to pay for this!

But after the anger subsided, Lulian's brain, which had stalled for a few days, began to become active again.

At this moment, he was in a business hovercar, heading towards a safe house set by the Intelligence Bureau here.

Just half an hour ago, Lulian had activated the emergency protocol, gaining command over all Federation Intelligence Bureau agents within the Luofeng Empire and began gathering all information related to Gudun Mah.

Meanwhile, Lulian kept reflecting.

'Today, I have committed the sin of arrogance.'

'Although the Wind is a puppet state, and completely infiltrated by us, there's still considerable variability. The Sherman Empire might have already started implementing a countermeasure plan.'

'If Gudun Mah hadn't kicked me with his military boots today, but aimed a laser gun at my head instead, I wouldn't have the chance to think and breathe now.'

Lulian bowed his head in contemplation.

The chip under his skin behind his ear flickered with faint light, gathering pieces of information about Gudun Mah directly projected into Lulian's mind.

Gudun Mah was internally rated as an "excellent loyal dog" target by their Intelligence Bureau, serving as a key bridge for New Federation's infiltration into the military. Lulian had not anticipated any issues in this link at all.

What was Gudun Mah doing? What drove such a drastic change in his attitude?

Lulian continued analyzing.

Soon, a keyword came into his view.

The murder case of Royal Maid Talisha.

Following this clue, Lulian quickly found a suspicious individual.

"Yang Ming?"

Lulian murmured.

He looked up and shouted, "Immediately gather all information about that young businessman named Yang Ming involved in Talisha's case, across the entire network."

The woman in the front passenger seat responded, "Got it, boss."

Lulian continued chasing the lead, quickly discovering more traces of Yang Ming.

After another ten-plus minutes, the hovercar pulled into a standalone villa in the outskirts of Ilando City.

Lulian slumped into the villa's sofa, with over a dozen elite agents moving around.

One by one, the information about Yang Ming was officially compiled before Lulian.

"Boss, there's a problem with this Yang Ming."

"He had contact with Gudun Mah. This followed the transport ship explosion incident right after his contact with Gudun Mah. That ship and its crew were transporting Yang Ming's vehicle and guards. Gudun Mah blew it up."

"According to informants planted near Gudun Mah, a large number of mechanical soldier parts were found in Gudun Mah's office, suggesting a violent conflict had occurred, but Gudun Mah refused to speak about it."

"Yang Ming is trying to get close to the Second Prince and has established initial trust with him. The Second Prince gifted Yang Ming his beloved luxury car, and the two already have an extraordinary relationship."

"Boss, there's an intelligence report that requires level-six clearance or higher to read. The source is codenamed Little Butterfly, a female guard we positioned by Fourth Princess Emilia's side; she has had long-term contact with Yang Ming. The report shows that Yang Ming saved Emilia, preventing the fire ceremony we meticulously planned. Emilia left the palace to meet Yang Ming."

"Boss, the Second Prince gave Yang Ming a factory at an extremely low price."

"Boss, we can't trace any record of Yang Ming's whereabouts within the entire network; it's as if he just suddenly appeared in the Cas Federation."

"Boss..."

"Enough!"

Lulian shouted irritably, "This damn guy is acting in the shadows, making me so embarrassed today!"

The group of intelligence elites all nodded simultaneously.

"Based on the intelligence analysis in our possession, Gudun Mah's attitude change is linked to Yang Ming, but we can't determine exactly what happened."

A woman asked softly, "Could this be a Sherman Empire counterpart?"

"Very likely."

Lulian sniffed strongly and whispered,

"The Sherman Empire would never sit idly, as the Luofeng Empire is a little gold mine for their royalty, providing enough annual silver to support a primary fleet of Sherman Empire warships.

"Besides us, only someone from the Sherman Empire could so easily control Gudun Mah. No wonder Gudun Mah asked me what to do if Imperial Legions suddenly appeared.

"We need to reevaluate the plan's risk and mobilize more elite forces.

"Folks, the long-anticipated confrontation with mysterious Sherman counterparts might happen here.

"No one can stop us from lighting the torch of hope; our light will illuminate all oppressed humans here!"

The group of men and women chuckled lightly.

Lulian's words were nearly believable to them.

...

In a box room of one Ilando City's conventional venue, surrounded by the Second Prince's deep singing.

Yang Ming watched with a bright smile as the Second Prince began to let himself go, along with the three Royal Guards who clearly had no talent for dancing but insisted on shaking their hips alongside.

Ding ding.

Yang Ming's watch gently vibrated, and he looked down, his smile instantly freezing.

Lyu sent several consecutive messages.

'Boss, we've run into trouble.'

'I didn't expect the New Federation had penetrated Wind to such an extent.'

'Lulian just used New Federation resources... The amount of intelligence mobilized within minutes astonished Lyu, even though Lyu has no tongue.'

'He now believes you are a senior officer of Sherman's Military Intelligence Division 12, and has sent a secret order to New Federation Headquarters. Lyu couldn't decrypt this, but suspects it's a call for reinforcements; more New Federation forces will soon flood here.'

'Boss, we must make a choice. Our safest option now is to leave the Luofeng Empire. The New Federation is the second strongest force in the Milky Way; the New Federation CIA has been operating in the Luofeng Empire for many years, wielding terrifying influence.'

Yang Ming covered his mouth with his left hand, softly asking, "Can the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau be used?"

Ding ding.

'The Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau rarely operates externally, primarily focusing on internal surveillance and military control.'

'Any issue that warships and legions can solve, the Empire doesn't care.'

Yang Ming leaned back on the sofa, resting his left hand on his forehead.

Ah, these bastards.

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