Monster Cub Live Stream – CH71

Chapter 71

After the chaos in the great hall was brought to an end, Xia Changluo and Lin An’an, in their capacity as imperial princes, summoned the Empire’s officials to the hall and convened an emergency meeting.

Everyone from Xia Yuanhan’s faction had already been arrested by the First Legion and locked up alongside Xia Yuanhan in the detention cells, where they would await interrogation in a few days’ time.

So at this meeting, aside from those who had always belonged to Xia Jiyuan’s side, some who had consistently stood with Xia Changluo and Feng Wu, and a very small number who had long remained neutral, no one else was left.

The meeting went far more smoothly than Lin An’an had imagined.

The two of them were, after all, legitimate imperial princes. At a critical moment when Xia Jiyuan had fallen and the Empire was without a ruler, their status alone carried enormous weight. On top of that, Marshal Feng Wu—whose name alone was enough to strike fear into the entire Empire—stood firmly at their side in obvious support of the Third Prince. No one dared act out of line.

Lin An’an could not exactly be called familiar with this sort of state business, but Xia Changluo was the complete opposite. He handled it with ease, as though he were completely in his element.

He was the Empire’s First Prince, as well as a rare brain-domain ability wielder. Before Xia Yuanhan had placed him under control, Xia Jiyuan had valued Xia Changluo the most, and had even once intended to name him crown prince. It was only because Xia Yuanhan had forcibly interfered that the matter was interrupted.

If Xia Changluo had not been dragged down by his health during this period, there was no way he would have fallen so completely behind Xia Yuanhan, let alone been left without the ability to fight back.

Everyone attending this meeting was someone Xia Changluo recognized well.

With him present, there was not much Lin An’an needed to concern himself with. Xia Changluo was responsible for steering the flow of the meeting, while Lin An’an only had to sit beside him and act as a quiet “vase.”

Lin An’an was very satisfied with this arrangement.

Even though many people below the dais, after learning that he was the monster cub capable of curing Alpha Syndrome, kept shooting him shocked and startled looks, Lin An’an was still able to sit there without moving a muscle.

Too many things had happened today, and Xia Changluo’s face had visibly grown even paler than before.

Taking advantage of the moment while Xia Changluo was focused on running the meeting, Lin An’an quietly tugged one of his hands over. A thread of ability slipped soundlessly into Xia Changluo’s body and began eliminating the poison inside him.

Xia Changluo’s tone paused for a moment. He glanced at him and gave him a faint smile, then allowed him to continue the treatment.

There were three main purposes to this meeting. The first was to decide the date of Xia Yuanhan’s trial and his eventual sentencing. The second concerned discussions about the people of the X-System. The third was the question of who should take the throne next as ruler of the Galactic Empire.

The first topic was settled very quickly. Xia Yuanhan and his people had already been locked up, so not a single person present objected to the decisions made by Xia Changluo and Lin An’an.

No one felt any pity for Xia Yuanhan. Among those present, there were many whose relatives had been forced to go to Sin Star because of Alpha, or had even died because of it.

Their hatred toward Xia Yuanhan, one of the chief culprits, was no less than that of Lin An’an and Xia Changluo.

As for the second topic, because they still had not caught a single person from the X-System, the discussion could not be fully carried through and had to be set aside for the time being.

As for the last one—the question of who should sit on the throne of the Galactic Empire next—the officials below exchanged looks for a moment, yet not one of them spoke.

Xia Changluo paused slightly and said, “Since that is the case, then let me nominate a candidate myself. I believe Xia Lin—”

Before he could finish, Lin An’an tugged lightly on his sleeve. “Big Brother.”

Xia Changluo looked at him. “What is it?”

“I think… this matter can wait a while,” Lin An’an said. “Right now, the urgent priority is still searching for the people of the X-System and guarding against them. The Empire cannot go a day without a ruler, but the two of us can serve as acting rulers together for now and handle state affairs jointly. Special circumstances require special handling. If we hold an election at a time like this, it will only divide everyone’s attention and energy.”

His voice was not loud, but because Xia Changluo was still wearing his earpiece and Lin An’an was sitting very near him, his words carried through the mic and into every corner of the hall.

Someone below spoke up. “Your Highness, I agree with the Third Prince’s proposal.”

One after another, others voiced their agreement. After thinking for a moment, Xia Changluo nodded. “Very well. Then for the time being, we will both serve as acting rulers.”

Lin An’an secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Only after the meeting ended did Lin An’an head with Feng Wu to the detention cells where Xia Yuanhan was being held.

The detention block could not exactly be called a pleasant place. As someone with an offensive ability, Xia Yuanhan was receiving the highest level of “treatment” the detention facility had to offer.

He had been placed in the room with the most precise defensive system, and his neck and limbs were fitted with one ability suppressor after another.

When Lin An’an and Feng Wu arrived, the first room they went to was not Xia Yuanhan’s, but Yu Jin’s.

Yu Jin had already undergone a round of interrogation. His willpower was clearly not very strong. Once he realized he had no possible way to turn things around, he obediently chose to confess and told them everything he knew.

Yu Jin knew about Xia Yuanhan’s cooperation with the X-System. Among Xia Yuanhan’s confidants, Yu Jin counted as one of the people Xia Yuanhan trusted most and had kept by his side the longest.

Even before Xia Yuanhan encountered the people of the X-System, Yu Jin had already pledged his loyalty to him.

Of course, whether that loyalty was truly to Xia Yuanhan or to the various benefits Xia Yuanhan had promised him was not something Lin An’an wanted to waste time digging into.

What Lin An’an found regrettable was that Yu Jin did not know very much.

Xia Yuanhan was far too guarded. Even though Yu Jin had long since signed a spiritual contract with him, what Xia Yuanhan had told him went no further than Alpha being one part of his cooperative plan with the X-System. As for the later stages of the plan, or whether there were backup plans, Yu Jin knew absolutely nothing.

To make sure Yu Jin was telling the truth, Lin An’an had even specially given him tablets made from mind-fog grass, ensuring that every word Yu Jin spoke was truthful.

After the questioning ended, Yu Jin asked, “Third Prince, I’ve been this cooperative. When the time comes, can I get a reduced sentence?”

Lin An’an paused in his steps as he was leaving. Tilting his head slightly, he asked back, “What do you think?”

Yu Jin smiled. “I think so.”

“Heh.” Lin An’an sneered. “Yu Jin, just the fact that you knew full well Xia Yuanhan had chosen to cooperate with the X-System and create Alpha Syndrome, yet never once tried to stop him and even helped push the matter forward…”

He turned around, his gaze ice-cold and utterly devoid of warmth. “No one in the galaxy will forgive you. Not me, and not the people who will judge you either.”

Yu Jin’s face changed. Unwilling to give up, he struggled and said, “Third Prince, bending the law for personal reasons is not something an upright gentleman would do. Imperial law clearly states that those who show a good attitude, cooperate with investigations, and provide assistance can have their sentences reduced.”

“Well now, you remember imperial law pretty clearly,” Lin An’an said, one corner of his lips curling in mockery. “Then surely you haven’t forgotten that the words in front of ‘sentence reduction’ are ‘depending on the circumstances’?”

Yu Jin opened his mouth to say something else, but Lin An’an gave him no chance.

“Yu Jin, the ones who will judge you are not me, but the citizens of the Empire—and even the whole galaxy. Everyone has the right to judge you. And if they do not agree to reduce your sentence, if they believe your crimes are too grave, then even if I wanted to open a back door and let you off, I couldn’t.”

“The moment you chose this road of no return, you should have imagined things ending up like this, shouldn’t you?” Lin An’an said softly. “No one can save you. No one.”

Lin An’an and Feng Wu turned and left the detention room.

With a click, the door shut behind them. Yu Jin lowered his head, his face ashen with defeat.

Xia Yuanhan’s cell was not near anyone else’s. He alone was enjoying the highest-level treatment, and his cell was located on the very bottom floor of the entire building.

Lin An’an and Feng Wu stepped into the elevator, which swiftly carried them down to Underground Level Ten.

There was only one detention room on that level, and outside it stood an entire squad of soldiers.

Seeing Feng Wu and Lin An’an arrive, the soldiers saluted respectfully. “Third Prince, Commander.”

The guards stationed here were all soldiers of the First Legion, so naturally their form of address for Feng Wu was different from that used by others.

Feng Wu nodded to them and asked, “Has the prisoner in Cell One shown any unusual behavior?”

“Nothing particularly unusual,” the lead soldier answered. “But he keeps insisting that he was coerced by the people of the X-System and that none of this was done willingly. He also refuses to drink the nutrient solution sent to him. It looks like he’s trying to stage a hunger strike.”

As though he had just heard something amusing, Lin An’an raised a brow. “Interesting. In this day and age, there’s actually still someone using something as useless as a hunger strike.”

The soldier looked deeply in agreement.

“If he doesn’t want to drink it, then don’t send it to him anymore,” Lin An’an instructed. “Until the public trial begins, inject him with one nutrient shot every three days. Keep him alive. That’s all.”

The soldier instinctively turned to look at Feng Wu. Feng Wu gave a small nod and said, “The Third Prince’s orders take precedence over mine.”

The soldier bowed his head respectfully. “Understood!”

The two of them walked to the very end of the corridor. The door to Cell One was specially designed, with a suppressive and weakening effect on all currently known offensive abilities.

When Lin An’an stepped into the cell, Xia Yuanhan was sitting on the room’s only chair. His hands were cuffed behind his back, and around his neck was a two-finger-wide suppressor collar.

“Xia Lin, my dear little brother.” Seeing that it was Lin An’an, Xia Yuanhan tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You finally came.”

“Please. I wouldn’t dare be your dear little brother,” Lin An’an said, looking down at him. “I heard you’ve been protesting, claiming you were coerced? That sounds like exactly the kind of excuse you’d come up with—just as crude and pathetic as the people under you.”

Xia Yuanhan tilted his head up slightly. “What? Judging by your tone, you don’t believe me?”

“Whether I believe you or not isn’t decided by words alone,” Lin An’an said with a faint smile, taking out a small bottle of tablets from his pocket. “Second Brother, you shouldn’t be unfamiliar with this bottle, should you?”

Xia Yuanhan’s eyes fell on the bottle, and his pupils shrank sharply.

These were tablets made from mind-fog grass. During their period of effect, the person who took them could only speak the truth and would answer any question asked, even if they had lost consciousness.

Lin An’an lowered his eyes and savored Xia Yuanhan’s expression. His face shifted from green to black to white like a spilled paint tray—truly quite a sight.

Xia Yuanhan’s gaze darkened. “Xia Lin, I had thought you were some noble gentleman. Who knew you’d resort to such filthy methods too?”

“Second Brother, are you joking?” Lin An’an blinked. “Filthy is filthy, yes, but I don’t think that word fits this medicine very well.”

He curved his lips. Though he was smiling, his eyes were glacial. “It suits you perfectly, though.”

—It worked!

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