"Really, CEO Li?" This time, Xiaowan stood up excitedly. Although she was somewhat displeased with Xiaoru's openness regarding intimate matters, Xiaoru was her only good friend, and she had long wanted to help her, but due to her reserved nature and her low position as just a section clerk in the group office, she had always found it difficult to bring it up.

Li Tieniu chuckled, "Would I lie to you? Take a look at the relationship between me and Little Xia. Heh, I’m doing this entirely on his account."

Xiaowan naturally understood that given her own standing, it would be hard to elicit such generosity from CEO Li. Since CEO Li was willing to introduce a girlfriend for Xia Huren, their relationship must be extraordinary. However, this Little Xia never disclosed his actual work, and being taciturn herself, she never dared to ask. Still, anyone who could be friends with the CEO of the Baixing Shopping Group couldn't be ordinary. If that were true, did she even deserve him?

While Li Tieniu was enthusiastically flattering Xia Huren, Xiaoru spoke before Xiaowan could respond: "Xiaowan, you are truly blessed. Little Xia is honest and well-connected. In the future, big sister will have to rely on you two for support. Oh, by the way, Little Xia, what do you do?"

Xiaowan immediately turned an eager gaze toward Xia Huren. Xia Huren stammered, unsure how to answer. Just then, a commotion erupted from the street, accompanied by the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow, interrupting their conversation. Bai Bing pulled Bai Jie towards home, exclaiming, "Brother Donkey is here! Everyone scatter!"

Zhu Da shouted after them, "Hey, don't go! I heard you two aren't working either. Fatty Er and I can find you a job—guaranteed to be comfortable and profitable."

Bai Jie turned back, "You fat slob, hurry up and run! They've brought dozens of people. Be careful not to be beaten into a pulp."

And Bai Bing added, "Pig head, you're ugly enough as it is. Don't fight them, or I'm afraid I won't recognize you later."

Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er looked at each other with delight. "Wow, you care about us so quickly? We're so touched."

Xiaoru noticed the approaching crowd and said, "CEO Li, you really should call for backup. Those guys might not believe who you are, and they might just start fighting. It would be terrible if you got hurt."

Xia Huren smiled faintly. "Do we need to call anyone for these riff-raff? Little Peach can handle them easily."

"Little Peach?" Even Bai Jie and Bai Bing wanted to turn back to listen, but their father grabbed one under each arm and rushed them home, closing the door and ignoring everything outside. The money was secured; let the outside world turn upside down for all he cared.

Xia Huren pointed to the peach sitting nearby, gnawing on a chicken wing. "That's her."

At that moment, the street toughs charged forward, each carrying a machete, iron pipe, or similar weapon. It seemed that no matter how advanced technology became, organized crime persisted, thriving in corners the Brotherhood Alliance couldn't oversee.

Everyone present wished to keep their identities concealed, primarily fearing that revealing themselves would ruin future plans. Taozi released the chicken wing, let out a soft meow, and vanished in a blur. In the blink of an eye, she was sitting back in place, and simultaneously, a chorus of miserable cries echoed as figures collapsed to the ground.

Xiaowan and Xiaoru were stunned. Even Bai Bing and Bai Jie, who had been hiding inside, defied their father’s protests and rushed out. Xia Huren smiled gently. "See? How can they call themselves gangsters when even a little cat can beat them? They’ve ruined a perfectly good day for enjoying snow and wine. Xiaowan, it’s too cold; let me walk you home."

Xiaowan glanced at Xiaoru, hesitating. "Those photos..."

Xia Huren waved a hand. "Don't worry. Big Fatty and Fatty Er will take care of it. That’s their job. Heh, some scenes of men handling problems aren't suitable for young ladies to witness."

Xiaoru, having a boyfriend who was a small-time hoodlum, naturally understood Xia Huren's meaning. She stood up. "Xiaowan, come stay at my place tonight; I'm scared to be alone. It’s just upstairs, right ahead. Let’s go."

Seeing Bai Jie and Bai Bing staring intently at Taozi, Linglong and Ma Xiaorui picked up the cat. "Let's go inside, shall we? It’s too cold out here."

Bai Bing reached out. "Can I hold this cat for a moment? What just happened?"

"Heh heh, this is a divine cat, let me tell you..."

Once everyone else had left, Zhu Da turned to Cai Bao'er. "Tiger is having a great time chatting up the beauties, leaving us stuck with this mess."

Cai Bao'er scoffed. "Stop whining. This is our duty. These rabbits interrupted our drinking; they deserve a thorough interrogation."

Zhu Da made a gesture. Men in black suits emerged from the street corners and behind the houses, clearly signaling organized crime. They dragged the injured men—whose hands and feet were bitten—forward. Zhu Da asked coldly, "Who's the boss?"

Wu Jun was among them. He pointed to a tall, muscular man. "Brother Donkey, these are the group."

The man called Brother Donkey spat, "Damn it, we're completely unlucky. We ran into a ghost today. What the hell bit us just now?... You guys... you are Boss Zhu and Boss Cai?"

Cai Bao'er looked surprised. "Oh, you recognize us?"

Brother Donkey’s face instantly turned ashen. He had been lying on the ground clutching his limbs, as the tendons in his hands and feet had been severed. Seeing Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er, he struggled to get up and began repeatedly slamming his head against the ground like pounding garlic. "Master Zhu, Master Cai, spare me! Master Zhu, Master Cai, mercy! I have blinded my dog eyes, spare me, spare me..."

Zhu Da said coldly, "If you know you have dog eyes, perhaps you don't need them anymore."

Upon hearing this, Brother Donkey acted as if he had received a pardon. He spotted the corner of an iron rod sticking out from a table nearby and slammed his head into it precisely on his left eye. Blood splattered everywhere, but Brother Donkey seemed oblivious to the pain. He pulled the rod out of his left eye and immediately prepared to shove it into his right.

Cai Bao'er threw down the spicy skewers in her hand. "Get to the side first. We were having a nice meal without you ruining it."

Brother Donkey let out a loud cry: "Thank you, Boss Cai, for sparing one of my dog eyes!"

Wu Jun, lying on the ground, was utterly dumbfounded. He had no idea these two chubby men were the legendary Boss Zhu and Boss Cai of the Brotherhood Alliance. If he had known, even nine lives wouldn't have been enough for him to dare challenge them. Seeing how terrified Brother Donkey was, hesitating neither to stab nor pull out the rod from his eyes, Wu Jun understood what fate awaited him. Now, unable to move his limbs, he couldn't even find a quick death to end his misery. Overwhelming fear surged through him, causing his facial muscles to twitch until his entire body began to shake uncontrollably.

Zhu Da instructed, "This kid has several private photos belonging to my friend. Send men to retrieve them, and destroy the negatives along with them. Don't bring the body back."

Two men in black suits immediately dragged Wu Jun away and into a car. Zhu Da apologized to me, "Apologies, Commander Zhao. I didn't expect this kind of trouble. We can't have our drink tonight."

I replied, "The Brotherhood Alliance can’t be expected to handle every trivial matter. Although the drinking party is canceled, if it helps facilitate things between Tiger and Xiaowan, it's certainly worthwhile."

Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er grinned sheepishly. "Then you won't worry about our affairs?"

I said, "You don't even know the girl’s background well enough. How can I allow it? They need to date for a while first. Xiaowan is a good girl; she won't be interested in Tiger just because of his status. Don't take advantage of the young girl's blind admiration and mess things up."

Zhu Da chuckled. "Heh, so that's how you distract us. We know what to do. What about these people on the ground? Should we just dump them?"

"Wait a moment," I countered. "Ask Brother Donkey what the deal is with the Planning Bureau. When did the Planning Bureau show up? I didn't even know about it before."

Cai Bao'er retorted, "You don't concern yourself with anything, so of course, you don't know. The Planning Bureau was established in the last two years, managing both the Earth Development Planning Bureau and the Space Development Planning Bureau. Little Ning was in charge originally, but Li Qi transferred her back to handle agriculture, so we don't know the current situation."

I frowned. "What connection would a Federal official have with these small-time thugs? These guys don't look like people of status."

Zhu Da said quickly, "Commander Zhao, don't rush. I'll ask. Hey, you with the blinded eye, that idiot who just left mentioned you had some backer—the Planning Bureau? What's the story?"

Brother Donkey was nearly unconscious, but upon hearing Zhu Da's question, he forced himself to stay alert. "Reporting to Boss Zhu, my mother's old aunt's son's third uncle's cousin's nephew is the director of the Planning Bureau’s Earth Division. I just use his name to bluff around; I’ve never even met him."

"What's his name?"

Brother Donkey stammered, "His surname is An, An Jie. I heard his family has very powerful backing, which is why I dared to use his banner to operate. But no matter how strong he is, he can't compare to Boss Zhu and Boss Cai."

I was familiar with An Jie. The day I returned, while picking up Li Qi, I ran into him and kicked him. To think he’s part of the Planning Bureau! I'll have to look into his work later. If he’s honest, I’ll let the matter of him pursuing Li Qi go; after all, it just proves my wife’s charm. Moreover, his father and Li Qi’s father are good friends, so I have to give my father-in-law face. But if he truly has dealings with these societal elements, I won't let him off easily.

I told Zhu Da, "Let them go. I'll have Tiger check up on An Jie's work later. Since the mess tonight ruined dinner, there’s no point in staying. Head home to your warm kang and wife."

The nice gathering of brothers ended abruptly, but through today's incident, it seemed Xia Huren and Xiaowan’s relationship had made a breakthrough—an unexpected gain. As for whether the two fatties had a chance, that was another matter for later.

Returning home, my mother and father were coaxing the child to eat solid food. Ever since I returned and learned my son was still secretly nursing despite being so big, they issued a strict order: stop. We aren't crown princes who need to suckle until fifteen or sixteen. Actually, I wasn't worried about Li Qi and Elena’s bodies deforming, but rather that it just felt inappropriate. So, for a while, the child stayed with his paternal grandparents.

Because of my presence, the women, regardless of whether they had business or not, would push aside any evening engagements to rush home and be with me. However, with so many of them, I couldn't attend to everyone equally, so many would bring work into their own rooms to handle it. Indeed, Li Qi was so busy she didn't even notice me enter.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind. "Wife, stop working. I'm cold; come warm me up in bed."

Li Qi jumped. "Mom! Are you a ghost? You walk without making a sound. Oh, right, husband, the deposition materials from that U-Star alien, Simugu, are organized. Little Dripping just brought them over. Look at them first."

Picking up the file from the desk, I asked, "Qiqi, is the Planning Bureau a very important organization?"

Li Qi looked up, puzzled. "Why ask that? You never concern yourself with Federal matters. Oh, I get it. You’re still jealous of that An Jie."

I laughed. "Am I that petty? Do you think I’m afraid you’ll change your heart?"

Li Qi smiled wickedly. "That’s not certain. You have so many wives; if you ever treat me badly, I’ll make you pay."

I set the file down and embraced Li Qi from behind again, my hands settling perfectly over her chest. Her breasts felt swollen and heavy. I couldn't imagine she had been nursing the child for so long; it was sheer indulgence, spoiling the child too much.

"Wife, will you?" I asked seriously.

Li Qi rubbed her hair against my neck. "Husband, my entire life has been sold to your Zhao family. I will serve willingly and without complaint, but I do it happily because of you. Without you, I don't know if I could go on living. If you don't like that An Jie, I will avoid him as much as possible. To us, he’s just an insignificant nobody; let's ignore him, okay..."

I pulled Li Qi onto the bed with me. Yes, many men harbored desires for my wives; even their colleagues held lustful thoughts. As long as everyone remained peaceful, that was all that mattered. I couldn't possibly police everyone. Loving whom I love was the most crucial thing.

Simugu confessed everything, but even if he hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered, because Little Dripping had quickly deciphered the U-Star alien’s brainwave patterns. Based on the memories he extracted, the U-Star system is a vast galaxy, far larger than the Milky Way we know. The so-called Sgagi Empire is composed of twelve civilized planets. Otherwise, they couldn't have organized a fleet of twenty thousand ships to attack within less than a year.

The journey to the U-Star system is long, requiring transit through four wormholes. Furthermore, the technological power of the U-Star system has developed rapidly over the past millennium, far surpassing the mere tip of the iceberg I saw at the Moon Base. The fleet we defeated was not the Empire's main force; their most elite troops are stationed to protect the core systems and rarely engage in interstellar travel. The expeditionary fleet was nothing more than a disorganized rabble.

After making love, I released the sleeping Li Qi and took the file into the living room. After reviewing every detail, I began to contemplate. Given Earth's current strength, fighting an interstellar war isn't impossible, but judging by Simugu’s memories, the outcome would be uncertain. Fighting the combined forces of twelve civilized planets single-handedly, even with a chance of victory, would result in catastrophic losses for Earth.

It would be best if this conflict could be resolved peacefully, but the core issue lies in the energy crystal mines on Gemini. Asking Earth to abandon mining there is simply impossible. What about asking the U-Star system to abandon Gemini? I wasn't confident about that, as I didn't even know what the head of the U-Star system looked like.

Ah, never mind that now. My great star wife, Liu Xue, is home tonight. The night is long, and sleep seems distant. Perhaps I should go chat with them.