Ilyas could manage two exchanges with the red-haired man, but when facing Rinal, all Rinal could do was hug the wall and draw circles.

Rinal intended to poison someone, while Rinal sought to win over legion leaders; it was all too easy for them to clash. Rinal's life had seen its ups and downs; he’d spent time on Silver Rune Star and once held a high-ranking position in the Interstellar Federation—truly an arrogant man, except he ran into Rinal.

Just who was Rinal? Even the insubordinate twins gave him a wide berth!

Not to mention that as the Angelic Vice-Commander, Rinal had direct, first-hand data on every legion and its leader available in his mind; catering to their preferences was second nature. Rinal wasn't even worthy of holding his shoes for him.

Consequently, Rinal suffered a spectacular downfall.

Rinal and the red-haired man, Rinal and Ilyas—these two factions, locked in this game of snatching people, forged an unquenchable, mortal hatred!

While they were maneuvering among the legion leaders, Commander Karu.Emanet woke up in one of the monitoring centers.

He felt an agonizing headache. When he woke, Ilyas was not beside him; only a bath towel lay carelessly tossed on the sofa. He picked it up and sniffed; it definitely carried Ilyas’s scent. His heart warmed involuntarily. After meticulously cleaning up, he walked to the monitoring center and glanced at the light screen. The screen showed illumination everywhere, giving no clue as to the time of day or night.

He was just desperately hungry.

He assumed he had drunk too much and slept too long, so he didn't worry much. He just checked his sidearm, ensuring his pistol was secured, planning to eat and then, without making a sound, locate the President of the Interstellar Federation and eliminate him! Once the President was dead, Bai Lanxue would be like a grasshopper after autumn—no longer able to hop around.

Then, he could legitimately become the President of the Interstellar Federation, and Ilyas would become the First Lady.

In another monitoring center, Bai Lanxue’s reaction upon seeing Karu was far from good. She immediately called Rinal: “Where are you? Protect the President immediately, Karu is out!”

Rinal, who had just been blocked by Rinal from poisoning the leader of the Moko Legion and was feeling gloomy, snapped fully awake upon hearing this: “Karu woke up?”

The first thing that crossed his mind wasn't the mission Bai Lanxue assigned, nor his illicit affair with Ilyas, but the gratifying realization that the medicine from the Fia family wasn't as effective as imagined!

In other words, if he accidentally got poisoned by Ilyas someday, there was still a chance to survive!

As Rinal communicated with Bai Lanxue, Rinal stood not far behind him, hearing every word. Karu? Time for more entertainment.

He curled his lips and sent a message to the red-haired man: “Karu has appeared.”

The red-haired man was chatting with the leader of the Snow Leopard Legion. Seeing the message, he chuckled casually: “I heard Federation Commander Karu is in the dining hall? Or shall we go have a chat with him?”

The Snow Leopard Legion leader was surprised where the red-haired man got his news but didn't refuse, “Sure, let’s go. But, I need to use the restroom first.”

The red-haired man smiled faintly and made a gesture for him to proceed.

As soon as the Snow Leopard Leader entered the restroom, he immediately informed the leader of the Friendly Legion: “Karu has been missing for so many days, and now he suddenly appears. Could this be a conspiracy?”

The red-haired man waited for him on the sofa, taking the opportunity to spread this news to a few legion leaders he had been chatting well with. Bai Lanxue happened to be notifying her contacts as well, so within minutes, the news spread like a winged butterfly to everyone’s ears, except Ilyas and the person concerned, Karu.

The hotel remained as quiet as usual, but everyone’s heartstrings were pulled taut.

Would Karu bring about a variable?

No one knew.

Karu felt somewhat weak from hunger. He finally reached the nearest restaurant. Before he could even sit down, he saw someone else enter, carrying a faint, murderous aura.

Karu was extremely hungry, so he figured that no matter how hostile the newcomer was, they wouldn't dare attack him in the restaurant. Thus, he sat down unconcerned, casually eating a piece of Star-cake and drinking a beer, openly, without concealment.

The newcomer stood steadily without moving.

Karu grew even calmer; as long as he ate his fill and regained strength, everything would be manageable.

However, the newcomer would not let him succeed so easily.

Just as he was taking his third bite, a hand clamped onto his shoulder.

He turned his head, and his pupils instinctively contracted slightly—it was Peizhe, that freakishly strong man!

Peizhe’s expression was blank. He grabbed Karu’s collar with one hand and lifted him up, speaking slowly, word by word: “Why are you marrying Ilyas?”

Karu glanced at him as if he were looking at an idiot. Despite his collar being gripped, he hadn't lost his composure. He placed the Star-cake and beer back on the table, casually wiping his hands with a napkin, “Why shouldn’t I marry her?”

Peizhe roared: “She is mine.”

Karu laughed scornfully, as if he had heard a joke, “Young man, it doesn’t matter that you like her, but please remember, she is my wife now.”

He gestured for Peizhe to release his hand as if shooing away a fly. Peizhe did, quite knowingly, let go. As Karu was about to sit down to continue enjoying his Star-cake, his vision suddenly blurred—

Karu watched in horror as a fist shot towards his face like lightning, so fast he didn't have time to react.

Bang!

A loud sound echoed. Karu was struck on the bridge of his nose and thrown backward. The dining table and chair couldn't withstand the force of the punch and tipped over backward. Karu, while the chair was halfway over, finally realized what was happening, pushed off with his legs, executed a backward somersault, and cleared the chair.

The chair fell stiffly between the two men.

Karu felt a sharp pain in his nose, and a warm flow trickled from his nostrils. He snatched a napkin to cover his nose, his expression turning frighteningly grim.

The dignified Commander of the Interstellar Federation being hit in a restaurant, having his nose broken—this sort of thing would cause him to lose face if it ever got out. Even if no one saw, Karu couldn't swallow this insult.

Saying nothing, while one hand covered his nose, the other pulled out his gun and pointed it at Peizhe’s head, pulling the trigger without any warning.

Just at the moment the trigger was pulled, a crisp voice rang out: “Brother-in-law!”

Karu froze, instantly losing his aim. The bullet missed Peizhe, instead hitting a bottle of wine in the cabinet by the wall. With a sharp crash, glass shards mixed with red liquid sprayed out, splashing onto the carpet, and the smell of wine filled the air.

Ilyas’s cousin, who had been trapped for days and was almost driven mad, shouted this upon finally seeing Karu. By the time the wine bottle shattered, she realized with a start that Karu was holding a gun, and she became pale with fright, daring not to speak again.

Karu missed his shot and was about to fire again when the sound of noisy footsteps came from outside the door—it sounded like many people. He didn't turn around, his gaze fixed on Peizhe, filled with fierce hostility.

Peizhe looked at him expressionlessly, his hands clenched tightly, veins bulging on his arms.

“Ah, the Federation Commander is killing someone!”

Someone shouted, as if opening a door, and a crowd of people pushed in from outside, staring at the two with expressions of surprise, confusion, and shock.

Sometimes, the gaze of a crowd is more terrifying than a gun.

Karu, surrounded, felt completely ill at ease.

When had he ever become a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey being gawked at by onlookers?

Karu forcibly swallowed his anger, covering his nose, and told the arriving security personnel: “He committed acts of random violence in the restaurant; take him down!”

The security guards secretly groaned.

The guards present were all people who had witnessed Peizhe’s terrifying strength. Those who had tried to stop him before the area was sealed off had all been urgently rushed to the largest hospital in Klay...

But Karu had given an order, so they had to act.

The security guards cautiously approached Peizhe, completely lacking confidence.

Peizhe looked at them without any fear, showing no intention of backing down.

Ilyas’s cousin, who had retreated into the lounge, trembled in fear for a while, unsure what to do. Finally, she remembered Ilyas and hurriedly dialed her Chrono-comm: “Cousin, hurry to the dining hall! Brother-in-law is in trouble!”

The last person to know finally learned what happened and rushed to the scene, pushing through the crowd of onlookers. Seeing the napkin Karu was holding over his nose stained red, she exclaimed in shock, “Are you alright?”

Everyone showed a knowing smile—the heroine had finally arrived!

Karu had only eaten three bites of Star-cake when he was punched, causing him sharp pain. Coupled with significant blood loss, he was almost collapsing. Hearing Ilyas’s voice was like a heavenly sound, “You’ve come.”

Peizhe considered it a heavenly sound too.

Peizhe strode forward two steps, blocking Ilyas as she moved to help Karu, and asked in a challenging tone, “Why did you marry him?”

Some people around started laughing quietly.

No matter how you looked at it, this was a melodramatic soap opera. You could guess the plot with your knee: a noble young woman from a prominent family fell in love with a seemingly ordinary young man, but was forced to marry an influential older man for the sake of family interests. The young man, unable to bear it, came seeking revenge...

Peizhe had only spoken twice since arriving at the hotel, and both times the content was the same, delivered in front of a hall full of spectators.

What Ilyas wanted most at that moment was to knock Peizhe out with a beer bottle and then poison the whole group of onlookers!

However, she simply said softly, “Peizhe, that is not the focus right now. Karu is injured; I need to take him to the medical bay first.” With that, she helped Karu prepare to leave.

Peizhe watched her graceful retreating figure, his fist unconsciously clenching again, “Ilyas, did you ever love me?”

Ilyas acted as if she hadn't heard, supporting Karu as they walked away step by step.

The onlookers automatically parted to create a path for the two to exit.

Peizhe raised his hand and let out a mournful cry, like a wounded beast: “Ahhhhhhh!!!!”

The dining hall erupted into chaos.

Outside the dining hall, the red-haired man was dialing Zi Ye’s Chrono-link: “Little Stinky, did you get the blueprints? There are too many variables in the hotel; it’s too dangerous!”

Zi Ye looked conflicted, “Let me think a little longer.”

The red-haired man didn't know what she was agonizing over. “What’s wrong with you?”

Zi Ye didn't want to say that when the red-haired man asked her for the hotel blueprints on the negative first floor, she had already asked Tang Wen.

Tang Wen’s reply was simple: “Giving them to you is no problem, but there is one condition—”

-RS