Chapter 129: Awakening of the S Gene

The executive officer's name was Wen Yimin. Before Huang Xuan's arrival, he had been the commander of this fleet. Although this place was small and remote, the fleet commander was practically the local absolute ruler here—of course, with the exception of that other fellow. Having been used to acting like a monarch and suddenly being reduced to a mere subordinate naturally made him feel quite uncomfortable. However, he owed everything he had today entirely to the Huang family. Even though, on the surface, this region was considered ownerless territory, Wen Yimin still felt somewhat apprehensive about why he was being summoned first instead of Huang Xuan.

Liu Shaoyu had his reasons for not seeing Huang Xuan yet. As long as he refused to see him for even a single day, Huang Xuan would suffer in mental torment for that entire day. Letting him stew for a few days would make things easier to handle later. However, Liu Shaoyu and Long Ryuyuan were quite interested in meeting Wen Yimin.

Wen Yimin's appearance was thoroughly ordinary—so ordinary that you wouldn't even remember it after looking at him. Yet, he could not have become a fleet commander without possessing extraordinary qualities.

"Your name is Wen Yimin?" Long Ryuyuan looked at the man before him while rapidly searching his memory for any information related to this person. Even with the assistance of the computer, Long Ryuyuan still could not recall where he might have heard this name. Perhaps the man was simply too insignificant, which explained why Long Ryuyuan genuinely did not remember ever meeting him.

"Yes, my name is Wen Yimin... I wonder why the two of you have summoned me here today?" Wen Yimin was well aware of his current predicament, so his tone placed his own status very low.

"It seems you have no idea why we brought you here?" Long Ryuyuan stared at the man with a half-smile, trying to figure out whether he was simply playing dumb. However, judging by the expression in the other's eyes, Long Ryuyuan arrived at a conclusion: the man genuinely seemed not to know. In fact, not only Wen Yimin, but even Liu Shaoyu himself had no idea what Long Ryuyuan was actually planning to do.

Wen Yimin plastered a smile across his face and said, "If the two of you have any questions, please feel free to ask directly. I will share everything I know without holding anything back."

Liu Shaoyu was quite satisfied with Wen Yimin's attitude. Hearing this, Long Ryuyuan leaned back, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked, "You are a man of the Huang family, aren't you?"

Wen Yimin did not seem surprised by Long Ryuyuan's question. Earlier, the other party had clearly intended to let people go, only to seize control of the escape system at the last moment. Thus, it was not hard to deduce that they had made this decision upon spotting Huang Xuan. As for what grievances existed between Huang Xuan and these two, Wen Yimin had no way of knowing.

"Y... Yes. I don't know what grievances you two have with our young master, but if you need to vent your anger, please take it out on me instead. Could the two of you consider letting our young master go first? The Huang family will surely give you a satisfactory resolution," Wen Yimin continued with a forced smile. Yet, deep down, Wen Yimin knew he was just talking nonsense. Since these people had seen Huang Xuan's name and still dared to make a move against him, it meant they undoubtedly had no fear of subsequent retaliation from the Huang family, or else they had a way to ensure nobody ever found out who did it. Moreover, Wen Yimin also realized that the captors were not in a desperate rush to take his life or Huang Xuan's. If they were, they would have simply killed them outright instead of wasting breath on so much small talk.

"Mr. Wen is certainly quite loyal. As for Huang Xuan, he definitely cannot be released. However, you and your subordinates have committed no offense against me. If you can help me deliver a message, then I wouldn't mind letting you and the people you wish to take with you go—aside from Huang Xuan, of course. Naturally, there are also a few things I wish to know, and I hope you can give me satisfactory answers," Long Ryuyuan said. He had his own reasons for making this decision, and he trusted that Liu Shaoyu had no interest in taking this man's life anyway.

Although Long Ryuyuan spoke casually, it sounded entirely different to Wen Yimin. Leaving Huang Xuan behind here while returning home safely himself meant he was practically dead—he knew very well that he would not have long to live. Just as he was hesitating, he heard Long Ryuyuan speak again: "You don't need to worry about anything else. I will only communicate with them through you, so they won't simply abandon your young master. I believe you understand."

Only upon hearing this did Wen Yimin begin to feel somewhat reassured. Furthermore, he wasn't worried about Long Ryuyuan's subsequent demands, as the things he knew were limited, and whatever he didn't know could be found out with a little effort.

"Very well, ask your questions. Delivering the message is fine as well," Wen Yimin said.

In truth, Long Ryuyuan wasn't overly concerned about whether Wen Yimin agreed or not, because he refused to believe that in such a massive fleet, Wen Yimin was the sole person who knew how to contact the Huang family.

"What is your Huang family planning to do in this star sector?" Long Ryuyuan asked straight to the point.

"To be honest, I don't really know either. Before the young master arrived, I was only responsible for the fleet here. As for other matters, the Huang family has other people managing them on this side," Wen Yimin replied.

Long Ryuyuan nodded; this answer fell well within his acceptable expectations. He had never truly expected to learn the Huang family's ultimate purpose here directly from Wen Yimin's mouth.

Although Wen Yimin genuinely knew very little, he was aware of a few things. Yet, if Long Ryuyuan didn't ask, he had no reason to volunteer the information. Besides, after an incident like this, even if Huang Xuan somehow survived, Wen Yimin had no reason left to stay here. The Huang family would certainly never allow him to keep living. Having embezzled quite a wealth of resources over the past few years, it seemed he would have to look for another way out after this.

In truth, Liu Shaoyu didn't care much about the Huang family's affairs, because even if they wanted to settle scores with him, they wouldn't be able to find him. Furthermore, with the current chaos unfolding in Huaxia, they simply didn't have the time to entangle themselves with him. Therefore, while Long Ryuyuan was busy questioning the prisoner, Liu Shaoyu began to study his own S-gene. His recent connections with the Battle Dragon had allowed Liu Shaoyu to discover that his S-gene was undergoing certain changes. Previously, this latent S-gene had been beyond his conscious control, manifesting mostly through sheer instinct. But now, Liu Shaoyu discovered that if he consciously attempted to control it, some rather interesting phenomena occurred—such as perceiving Wen Yimin's current mental activity.

"You're lying. Speak—what were you just thinking?" Liu Shaoyu suddenly interjected. This was the phenomenon he had just discovered, as he could sense his brainwaves undergoing subtle and peculiar changes the moment Wen Yimin finished answering Long Ryuyuan. Although he couldn't directly read the exact contents of the man's thoughts, Liu Shaoyu could clearly sense that there was still something left unsaid.

Liu Shaoyu's sudden interjection startled Wen Yimin, who hurriedly explained, "N... No, I'm not lying!" However, this defensive explanation triggered further fluctuations in his brainwaves, making Liu Shaoyu even more certain that he was lying. Moreover, Liu Shaoyu felt the strange sensation that he was beginning to comprehend the other person's thought patterns.

This discovery gave Liu Shaoyu a considerable shock. While this comprehension didn't amount to directly reading someone's internal monologue, it certainly allowed him to categorize and analyze their intent.

"He's holding something back. I'll leave the rest to you—this is your specialty. I have some matters to attend to, and we can discuss the rest later," Liu Shaoyu said as he hastily strode out of the room, preparing to contact Wang Weifu. Goodness gracious! He had somehow developed a built-in lie detector function! Furthermore, Liu Shaoyu was entirely certain that this was the effect of his S-gene, so the only person he could think to consult right now was Wang Weifu.

Establishing the connection, Wang Weifu accepted the request almost immediately.

"What is it? Did something else happen at this hour?" Wang Weifu asked.

Liu Shaoyu recounted everything that had happened during the interrogation of Wen Yimin and then asked, "Is this because of the abilities brought by the S-gene?"

Hearing Liu Shaoyu's words, the expression on Wang Weifu's face turned somewhat astonished. "Although I knew your S-gene would awaken sooner or later, I didn't expect it to happen this quickly." This response clearly confirmed Liu Shaoyu's suspicion.

*Awaken? What a... rather flashy word,* Liu Shaoyu thought to himself. Regardless of the name, however, Liu Shaoyu was much more concerned with the tangible benefits this so-called S-gene awakening could bring him. Continuing the conversation, he asked, "You mentioned earlier that you saw this coming—tell me the details."

"That question isn't something I can explain clearly in a short amount of time," Wang Weifu replied. "Since your S-gene is currently in a normal state of awakening, it's still impossible to determine precisely which specific domain it leans toward. We'll have to wait a bit longer; presumably, once this current ordeal concludes, the direction of your abilities will become much clearer."

"Alright then. Let's leave it at that for now; I'll contact you again once there are new developments," Liu Shaoyu said, preparing to cut the connection. With their destination drawing closer by the minute, this was hardly the ideal time for a lengthy discussion.

Just as Liu Shaoyu was about to hang up, Wang Weifu added, "Oh, right—if you have any questions, you can ask Long Ryuyuan. He probably knows no less than I do. And just as a reminder, those people are rather special themselves." With that, Wang Weifu terminated the communication.

*Long Ryuyuan?* As this name echoed in his mind, Liu Shaoyu finally grasped the underlying meaning of Wang Weifu's remark. Of course—his genetic testing had been conducted right there in their facility. Yet, instinctively, Liu Shaoyu didn't feel any profound sense of familial closeness toward this so-called uncle of his, which was why he hadn't thought of him first.

*Ryuyuan should be finished talking by now, right?* Liu Shaoyu wondered as he walked back toward the previous room, only to bump into Wen Yimin exiting through the doorway. Upon seeing Liu Shaoyu, Wen Yimin instantly tensed up, standing stiffly in the doorway unsure whether to stay or flee, while a desperate smile plastered his face.

"Waiting around here for a reward? Go do whatever you're supposed to do," Liu Shaoyu said, glancing at him.

"Yes, yes, right away! Going right now!" Wen Yimin hurried off as if granted a reprieve from death. Only then did Liu Shaoyu step into the room.

"Finished talking?" Liu Shaoyu asked.

At that moment, Long Ryuyuan was still deep in thought regarding their previous conversation and hadn't noticed Liu Shaoyu's entry until he heard his voice and looked up.

"Ah, yes, we're done. Those fellows from the Huang family have never been well-behaved. Who knows what kind of petty schemes they're trying to pull here this time," Long Ryuyuan worriedly remarked.

Hearing Long Ryuyuan's concerns, Liu Shaoyu replied, "I think we should still remain on guard against them. After all, this fellow has a rather unsavory track record. Let's keep him locked up for a few days; we simply don't have the time to deal with him right now."

Long Ryuyuan nodded in agreement, then added, "Anyway, I should notify my family first so they know we've captured this brat. Otherwise, if the Huang family kicks up a fuss, who knows what kind of complications might arise."

"Right. Oh, by the way—as for that ship, once we pass through the star gate, you can take charge of it. For manpower, pull whatever you need from Xu Meng's forces first. If that's not enough, see if the previous crew members are usable; if not, we'll figure something out."

"Very well, let's go. Let's head to the command deck; we should be crossing the star gate soon. Once we pass through, we'll officially enter the inner star sector," Long Ryuyuan said as he stood up, and the two of them walked together toward the command room.