Thirty-nine. Thirty-nine.

"No way, she just left like that?"

The former subordinates were bewildered, and they were profoundly shocked. Watching the back of the figure in the holographic projection as she departed without a hint of reluctance, they were rendered speechless.

"Adjutant," the battlefield analyst hesitated, "perhaps we should just let it go. The chances were slim to begin with, and it’s not really right to mess with an ordinary student like this."

"Indeed. With the time we have, it would be better to find a way to get something out of that stubborn, inflexible kid Wei Wenwei once he returns from the Privy Council."

If the former subordinates were only half-convinced before, now half of them had defected to the other side. They unanimously agreed that even if the eleven-year-old Third Princess had survived, it would be nearly impossible for her to change her identity and infiltrate Silver Star.

Furthermore, during the military training, although Yuan Hanshuang demonstrated outstanding strength—such as ancient martial arts and swordsmanship—none of these skills had any connection to the Gyrfalcon. As the youngest Saint-tier talent, the Gyrfalcon was a defensive type who relied on brute force, capable of punching a massive crater into a planet. He and Yuan Hanshuang were worlds apart.

*The former subordinates are right; unless the Third Princess is guiding her from behind the scenes,* Feng Bai thought.

Due to the old Emperor's doting and deliberate manipulation of public opinion, whenever a treasonous sinner was mentioned, the entire galaxy cursed the mastermind, the Gyrfalcon. As for the Third Princess, thanks to the pristine image she had cultivated for years, most people simply sighed, believing she had been bewitched by the Gyrfalcon, never reaching the point of spitting on her name as they did with him. If the Third Princess, an adult, were indeed guiding her from the shadows, it was not entirely impossible.

But Feng Bai had a gut feeling that things were not that simple.

The Third Legion’s operation to capture the Gyrfalcon years ago could not have ended with just the arrest. In fact, when the Third Legion headed to the Capital Star, the Privy Council sent the Executive Department to conduct a detailed, clue-by-clue investigation of the Gyrfalcon family's life on Planet 1999. They traced their tracks from the housing complex all the way back to the slums where the father and daughter had lived, interrogating everyone who had regular contact with them.

From the investigation, they learned that from the moment the Gyrfalcon had a record of activity on Planet 1999, he was already suffering from extensive facial disfigurement and brain damage. Leaving aside how he ended up in that state, everyone who had frequent contact with them stated that the father and daughter had always been alone, and no third person was ever seen. Even during the entire capture, it was only the Gyrfalcon. The Third Princess was absent the entire time.

At the time, the Gyrfalcon and the Third Princess were jokingly referred to as "doomed lovers." Their bond was deep; they had committed treason together, so how could they be separated at such a moment? Moreover, the Third Princess—whether in terms of appearance, temperament, or vocal mimicry—was a delicate flower carefully cultivated and cherished by the royal family. As the famous number one beauty of the galaxy, it would be impossible for her to vanish without a trace unless the secrecy was absolutely perfect.

Feng Bai actually felt that the Third Princess had likely met a grim fate. The executor in charge of the interrogation had thought the same, but after submitting the report to the old Emperor, he was met with a scathing outburst.

"Bullshit! What kind of useless garbage is this investigation? If the Princess is missing, can't you go look for her? Can't you interrogate that son-of-a-bitch Gyrfalcon? If she’s missing, you call it a 'possible accident'? If I locked you up for six months, would you call that an accident too, you waste of space?"

The white-haired, nearly hundred-year-old supreme ruler of the Empire still had a booming voice, and his rage left the Minister of the Executive Department unable to straighten his back, nearly jumping off his throne in the process, scaring the attendant ministers into quickly activating their defensive mimicry.

"Your Majesty, please watch your health. Calm your temper."

After several minutes of berating, the old Emperor finally sat down, panting, supported by the court attendants: "No matter what, I must see her alive or see her corpse!"

Thirty years ago, the Doomsday Bug Tide; eighteen years ago, the birth of the Zerg Queen; plus countless battles in between. To protect the Empire, the old Emperor had exhausted too much of his vitality, and in his twilight years, his health continued to decline.

In recent years, the Privy Council had begun to expedite preparations for the Crown Princess's ascension. If the Crown Princess were to ascend the throne, given their past relationship as political rivals, it would be as hard as ascending to heaven to overturn the verdict for the Third Princess. Conversely, although the old Emperor hated the Gyrfalcon to the core, for the sake of his daughter’s reputation, he would at least order a thorough investigation if there was enough evidence to overturn the case.

Thinking of this, Feng Bai sighed involuntarily. Staring at the departing group of freshmen, the adjutant wearily took off his glasses.

When the situation wasn't yet dire, the Gyrfalcon had decided to take his wife to avoid the limelight and steer clear of the Central Star System. Yet, the chosen route was exposed without warning, leading to their pursuit. The irrefutable evidence, the massive secrets potentially hidden within the God-given holy relic, and the mysterious informant who had remained silent for ten whole years, only to suddenly provide clues after the Third Legion stationed themselves on Planet 1999.

After the news of the Gyrfalcon's disfigurement and brain damage broke, many citizens regained hope, wishing that if the Empire treated him, he would reveal the truth before the Supreme Military Court. However, that hope was extinguished by the sudden prison break. Without a doubt, the prison break only further solidified the Gyrfalcon's guilt. This was the fundamental reason why the former subordinates had hesitated and not attempted to break him out of the warship.

Everything seemed to be controlled by a hidden hand behind the scenes, mocking the world and pulling the strings. And the worst part was that the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light.

Regardless, as long as there was even a sliver of hope, Feng Bai would not give up. He had a hunch that Yuan Hanshuang was hiding a massive secret. In Feng Bai's view, her background was too clean, and it was precisely because it was so clean that it was highly suspicious. This intuition had saved Feng Bai's life countless times on the battlefield.

Only after leaving the memorial hall did Yuan Hanshuang feel the prickling gaze on her back vanish. Certain that no one was monitoring her, she let out a sigh of relief, her steps becoming much lighter.

Ever since the little black bird ascended to a Mythical Mimicry, and during the month she spent sleeping in the ancient ruins, Yuan Hanshuang's physical fitness had experienced a leap forward. Along with it came the heightened sensitivity inherited from her father’s hawk-type mimicry. For instance, she was now exceptionally sensitive to the gazes of others.

*Someone started monitoring me from the moment I entered the memorial hall.*

With that clear, the highly inflammatory narrator became extremely suspicious. As for who was monitoring her, she hadn't been entirely sure at first, but after hearing the narrator specifically point out that Feng Yuanming and Feng Bai had served as adjutants to the Third Legion, and intentionally mentioning Feng Yuanming’s relationship with the Gyrfalcon, combined with the oddities she sensed during military training, if she still couldn't guess who was probing her, Yuan Hanshuang might as well just give up.

"The chief instructor’s move really isn't very clever. I’m not just some ordinary teenager."

It was practically a gift.

*Whatever. Even if there are loose ends, it’s clear they don't have much evidence. Otherwise, they wouldn't be beating around the bush to probe me, but rather confronting me directly.*

As for whether Feng Bai and his group were enemies or friends, it wasn't even a consideration for Yuan Hanshuang. The matter of her "silly father" was far too sensitive. The status of being an enemy of all humanity and a traitor meant that until she uncovered the truth, she could never expose her identity to anyone.

At the entrance of the memorial hall, Xuanyuan Sheng, who had left earlier, was waiting. The young Imperial Grandson stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a pillar by the side entrance, gazing at the white pigeons landing on the plaza in the distance. His usually brilliant blonde hair seemed dimmed, and his expression was inexplicably lonely.

"I discovered something," Wu Haoxuan whispered. "In the news, other royal family members always have lots of security, including Royal Guards at the eighth or even Saint-tier. But the Imperial Grandson seems very grounded. He goes to school alone and doesn't even bring guards."

"That’s not 'grounded,' that’s the royal family not assigning security to student Xuanyuan." Yuan Hanshuang remarked, "Didn't the narrator in the memorial hall say the royal family traded combat talents for protective ones? Xuanyuan Sheng could pin ten of you to the ground right now. Don't you feel like something is wrong?"

Even Xia Mengrou expressed disapproval: "Don't say that in front of student Xuanyuan."

The young lady seemed to realize something, her eyes showing a hint of subtle emotion: "Holy Protection is the foundation of royal rule. If student Xuanyuan lacks this ability, his life in the royal family must be quite difficult."

Sure enough, upon seeing his friends come out, Xuanyuan Sheng dropped his hands. "You're done? How did you come out so fast?"

His expression was clearly his usual arrogant self. Had the group not seen that scene earlier, they wouldn't have believed that this Imperial Grandson, who was usually as confident as the sun—bordering on conceited—could have such a lonely side.

"What is that look on your face?"

Clearly, the pity on Wu Haoxuan’s face gave Xuanyuan Sheng goosebumps; he felt completely uncomfortable.

"Stop, stop, stop." To avoid embarrassment, Yuan Hanshuang took the initiative to cut in: "It's still just morning. As long as we hurry, we have the afternoon and evening to do some coordination. Hmm, the main content of the coordination training will be sparring. What do you think?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Sure, no problem for me."

"Silver Star is currently at a disadvantage, so of course we need to coordinate early. The early bird catches the worm."

Only Xia Mengrou hesitated: "This young lady has a beauty salon appointment this afternoon, but since you're all going, I suppose I can reluctantly push the appointment to tomorrow."

The others: *But your eyes lit up the moment you heard the word 'sparring,' young lady.*

After all the friends confirmed they had no other plans for the day, Yuan Hanshuang opened her light-brain and contacted the customer service of the Central Star System’s Black Market.

The fighting arena had a strict hierarchy; the higher the rank, the more privileges one could enjoy. As a Diamond Fighter signed with the Black Market, Yuan Hanshuang naturally had her own perks. Half a month ago, after registering at the Central Star System's Black Market, Yuan Hanshuang specifically activated a private shuttle service, which saved her the cost of taking the star-rail every time she traveled to and from the Black Market.

Frugal and managing the household well—that's her for you!