Did he really want to get the captain’s attention that badly? Qie Xieling followed behind Lee Ya not willing to get too close but she halted her steps forcing him to catch up so they could walk side by side.

"So what exactly do you want me to move?" he asked and she mentioned a few miscellaneous things while leading the way to her cabin. When he got there Qie Xieling sensed something was off but before he could prepare himself Lee Ya commanded her virtual assistant to lock the door.

Qie Xieling, "..."

Lee Ya took a seat in her tufted armchair and crossed her legs at the knees her expression like she was in charge of the situation. Qie Xieling chuckled softly before saying, "So if you didn’t call me to move anything... what do you actually want?"

Lee Ya laughed softly and said, "There is something I need to move but that’s just an excuse to get you here... The entire universe thinks you are dead yet here you are on my brother’s warship. Why?"

Qie Xieling didn’t see how any of this was her business but he couldn’t fully defend himself yet. He didn’t know how good Lee Ya’s relationship was with Luo Muchen so he tried to watch his words.

"I am homeless... I need a job," he answered casually and Lee Ya rubbed her upper lip while staring at him as though looking for any kind of deception.

"Why this job though? Why him? You could have worked with anyone else but him. You can lay low on a desolate planet but you just had to be on board this warship. It doesn’t make sense."

Qie Xieling honestly didn’t know how to explain it to her. He loved Luo Muchen and no matter which world he was in he would do whatever it took to be close to him. But he couldn’t necessarily say that to her.

"... unless... you want to bring down my brother and take over his fleet," she said and Qie Xieling was dumbfounded. What use would he have for Luo Muchen’s fleet? Even before he took over this character it didn’t seem like his character was that ambitious.

He was an easy person to understand. He wanted those responsible for his parent’s death punished but since they were being protected by the crown he took matters into his own hands.

"I think you have misunderstood me," he said and Lee Ya stood up before walking towards him and whispering into his ear,

"I can help you... but in turn, I need you to help me."

Qie Xieling was about to push her away when there was suddenly a blaring announcement echoing through the corridors of the warship and red emergency lights bathing the surroundings in an ominous glow. "This is not a drill. All crew members report to your stations," the voice declared, urgency lacing every word. Without a second thought, Qie Xieling sprinted towards the door leaving Lee Ya behind.

But as he reached the door, it stubbornly refused to slide open, its mechanism seemingly locked in place. Frustration etched across his face he turned to Lee Ya and said, "Open the door," his voice strained with a great sense of urgency. He had to protect Luo Muchen at any cost.

Lee Ya sat back down and asked, "Why?" her voice tinged with scorn. "This attack has nothing to do with you. Just stay here with me and let them take care of the rest."

Qie Xieling was really not in the mood for fun and games. If anything happened to Luo Muchen then he might as well die too.

"I can’t just sit here and watch," he replied, his voice resolute. "I won’t repeat myself. Open the door."

Before she could respond the door opened on its own and Qie Xieling ran out. Lee Ya’s eyes widened, a mix of shock and disbelief washing over her features. She couldn’t understand why the door had suddenly opened without her authority. What was happening? Had the ship’s systems malfunctioned?

This question not only puzzled Lee Ya but Luo Muchen as well. It seemed as though Qie Xieling could enter any room in the warship no matter how highly secure it was. It was like he was walking around with a master key.

Qie Xieling himself hadn’t figured that out. Just now he actually thought Lee Ya let him go. He rushed down the passageway to the elevator.

Mauve dragged him into the elevator and asked, "Rookie, you have ballistic training, right?"

Qie Xieling who wanted to go to the upper deck instead couldn’t respond fast enough. "You follow me, okay?" he said and Qie Xieling finally asked,

"And the captain?"

"The captain? Who worries about the captain when he can take great care of himself? You should be more worried about yourself," said another crew member standing behind Mauve.

Qie Xieling, "..."

Maybe, just maybe he was overreacting. Luo Muchen had managed to survive this long without him and besides the real enemy as expected was on the warship not outside. He realised now that maybe he should have stayed with Lee Ya and continued to get information out of her. She had truly managed to camouflage herself well this time.

When they reached the weapons room they had already released remote-controlled fighter planes awaiting the captain’s orders.

Qie Xieling picked a vacant station and when he looked at the displayed holographic feed there were five Zeden Coalition army warships lined up and ready to take them down.

"This is General Bi of the sixth fleet. You are surrounded. Surrender or face the wrath of Zeden Coalition army," she said and Qie Xieling sighed deeply.

This woman was on a power trip. She just shot him out of space not long ago and now she was already coming for Luo Muchen.

"This is the captain of the bloodhound... Now general, we all know that is not going to happen. I suggest you make your exit now before it’s too late."

Qie Xieling felt so annoyed. This back-and-forth banter sounded like they were flirting.

"Yap yap yap," said Qie Xieling while making a hand gesture of talking nonsense, "will somebody shoot somebody please." After saying that he accidentally pressed the fire button and with a loud bang one fighter plane for the Coalition came crashing down.

Qie Xieling, "..."

Everyone, "..."