CH 12

Dr. Wilson was taken aback and quickly asked, "When did it happen?"

Zong Ye replied, "Last night."

Dr. Wilson furrowed his brow and pondered, "Has the Marshal encountered something that has distressed him?"

The Marshal had been managing himself well for the past three months. Why would his split personality suddenly want to go out?

Zong Ye's mind flickered, recalling the young man he met at the hotel yesterday.

Zong Ye lowered his gaze and nodded at Dr. Wilson, saying, "It's still the same as before. I’m troubling you again, doctor.”

Seeing that he didn't want to elaborate, Dr. Wilson didn't press further and turned to follow the butler, Abel, as they left.

After they were gone, Zong Ye walked over to the desk, leaned forward, and pressed his ten fingers together on the table. After a moment of contemplation, he opened the communication device and dialed his aid’s number. 

"Contact the young man we met at the hotel yesterday," he ordered, "Arrange a safe place to meet him."

He was completely unaware of what happened on Blue Star, but that young man clearly knew a lot. Zong Ye had to silence him and prevent any information about his past on Blue Star from spreading.

The aide replied, "Understood, Marshal."

"What young man?" After ending the call, Zong Ye heard a languid voice at the door.

Zong Ye looked up, and it was his younger brother, Zong Ming, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, looking at him.

"Yesterday, when we arrested people at the Snow Star Hotel, I encountered a young man who seems to know me from my time on Blue Star," Zong Ye explained briefly, then asked, "Why did you come back so early?"

"A few old men were quarreling again, and I got annoyed, so I came back early," Zong Ming walked over to the nearby sofa and sat down, leaning against the back of the couch bonelessly, "There's something I need to tell you— one piece of the energy stone you found yesterday is missing."

"Missing?" Zong Ye was surprised. When he left yesterday, he used the detector to check the room, and all the energy stones inside were well-arranged. How could one be missing?

Zong Ming nonchalantly said, "Maybe it was sold on the black market; this type of energy stone commands a high price there."

This batch of energy stones was a rare and new ore mined on the planet Ryan. Unlike those extracted from other planets, the scientific academy discovered that these stones contained energy that could enhance psychic abilities. The academy aimed to extract the energy and create energy fluid to be used in the military. Unfortunately, after several years of research, progress had been minimal.

Due to the unique nature of these energy stones, the Empire had kept them secret from the public, and the planet Ryan was heavily guarded by the military to prevent private mining. However, the information leaked out, attracting the attention of many. In the black market, there were individuals dedicated to collecting these stones and secretly researching methods to extract their energy.

This batch of energy stones was stolen during transportation from the planet Ryan back to the Imperial Star. To ensure complete secrecy and success, Zong Ye personally led his men to the hotel.

Recovering items that entered the black market was challenging, but Zong Ming wasn't bothered by it. He asked, "I saw Dr. Wilson's hover car outside. Why is he here?"

Zong Ye was about to respond when the communication device rang. It was the aide calling.

"Marshal, we couldn't contact the young man at the hotel," the aide said.

Zong Ye frowned, "Didn't you give him a communication device yesterday?"

"I did," the aide's voice was filled with confusion, "But we still can't reach him. What's even stranger is that I asked the hotel manager, and there's no record of the young man staying there."

No record of staying there? Zong Ye was surprised and asked, "Could he be a hotel employee?"

"I generated a virtual image of the young man's appearance, and the manager confirmed that he's not a hotel employee," the aide replied.

"Also, for the guests' protection, this hotel doesn't have surveillance," the aide added, sounding dejected.

Zong Ye pinched his forehead in understanding. This luxury hotel, designed for vacationers, typically received wealthy and prominent guests, so they emphasized security. They usually equipped the place with high-end security robots that could detect any potential dangers inside the hotel, ensuring the safety and protection of the guests.

"Go to the Snow Star Space Station and search for him. If he left Snow Star, he must have gone to the space station," Zong Ye instructed before ending the call.

As soon as he hung up, Butler Abel knocked on the door. "Young Master, the medical pod is ready."

Zong Ye nodded and got up to head to the next room.

The adjacent room was a medical facility, and Dr. Wilson was standing beside the medical pod. Zong Ye effortlessly removed his clothes, revealing his tall, well-built figure with smooth lines and no excess fat, and then lay down inside the medical pod.

Dr. Wilson closed the pod, pressed a few buttons, and injected the psychic fluid into the pod. Zong Ye closed his eyes.

The butler, Abel, left the medical room and closed the door, leaving only Dr. Wilson and Zong Ye inside.

"What's going on with the person inside Big Brother's body again?" Zong Ming asked with a frown at the door.

Abel nodded with concern.

Zong Ming was puzzled, "Hasn't he been fine since he returned? Why did he suddenly resurface?"

Abel explained, "Dr. Wilson believes he might have been triggered by something."

"Triggered?" Zong Ming touched his chin thoughtfully, thinking of the young man Zong Ye was looking for. Could the trigger for the person inside his big brother's body be that young man?

An hour later, Dr. Wilson finally came out, and Abel invited him to the downstairs living room for tea. Zong Ye finished his shower, changed into clean clothes, and came downstairs.

"Thank you for your hard work, Doctor," he nodded at Dr. Wilson and sat down on the nearby sofa.

"Marshal," Dr. Wilson put down his teacup and spoke gently, "Suppressing him like this is not a sustainable solution. We need to explore other methods."

Zong Ye leaned against the back of the sofa, looked up at Dr. Wilson, and spoke with an indifferent expression, "I know it's not sustainable. That's why I hope you can find a way to make him disappear completely."

***

Back at the Saint's Academy, Jian Ning and Terry returned to their dormitory after getting off the spacecraft, and it was almost dark. Jian Ning went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, while Terry cleaned the place. Tuan Tuan, their small pet, chased its tail around the house. After dinner, they each went to their rooms to rest.

The next day, when they arrived at the classroom and took their seats, Teacher Kelly came in and said, "We won't have class today. I'll take you all to the botanical garden for a visit."

The students became excited. The botanical garden on the Imperial Star was famous, housing plants from various planets. It was said that the garden's director prepared a mysterious seed packet for every student who visited.

The school bus was already waiting outside. The students went downstairs and got on the bus, heading to the botanical garden.

The garden was quite far from the Saint's Academy, and it took an hour of flying to get there. After they got off the bus, Jian Ning and Terry followed Teacher Kelly along with the other students, heading inside the botanical garden.

The garden was enormous, requiring a tour bus to cover the whole area. The fifty students were divided into two groups and followed the staff onto the tour bus, beginning their visit to the botanical garden.