Chapter 66: The Sixty-Sixth Day of Being a Salted Fish

The next day, while browsing StarNet, Lu Yuan was surprised to see a “leak” regarding the Emperor’s critical illness.

This hadn’t been a particularly difficult feat to pull off, especially for Geshu Qing.

Geshu Qing was highly adaptable and possessed a natural talent for social engineering.

In some ways, he was even more skilled in this area than Siming.

Consequently, despite having left the Desolate Planet only a short time ago, he had already become intimately familiar with StarNet, the most popular communication platform of the current era.

He understood, to a certain extent, the influence StarNet exerted on society and the rules by which it operated.

This was precisely why he had been able to propose the plan of using public opinion to force Geshu Ming into temporarily sparing the Emperor.

The execution of that plan had already taken shape the moment he suggested it.

Geshu Qing wouldn’t “leak” the information on StarNet himself. While that would have been easy, the account Ying Xun had provided him was ordinary and lacked influence; furthermore, doing so would risk exposing his own identity.

Instead, Geshu Qing chose to go to the Grey Triangle.

The Grey Triangle was a hub for shady characters and illicit information. If one wanted to release a piece of intelligence, this was the best place to do it.

Geshu Qing also had the advantage of age.

A fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy had every right to be unable to keep a secret. Even if that boy was a Star Pirate.

Thus, after subtly adjusting his appearance, particularly his eye color, he walked into a bar looking like someone with something heavy on his mind, trying his best to hide it but failing miserably. No one suspected a thing.

The bartender sat behind the counter and watched as the boy walked straight toward him. He grinned and said, “Minors aren’t allowed to drink, kid.”

Geshu Qing rolled his eyes at him. “I’ve never heard of a Star Pirate who couldn’t drink.”

He mimicked Ying Xun’s tone perfectly. Though his voice was still youthful, it carried the exact brand of reckless arrogance unique to Star Pirates.

The bartender shrugged. “What’ll it be?”

“Give me your strongest stuff.”

The request sounded a bit amateurish. The bartender raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning around to pull out a bottle. He poured a glass and handed it directly to Geshu Qing.

Geshu Qing lowered his eyes, took a small sip, and his eyes lit up. He downed the rest in one go.

The bartender poured him another, smiling. “How is it?”

Geshu Qing took it, had a sip, and swirled the glass. He smiled. “Not bad.”

He didn’t actually like drinking. However, if he had to act, playing the part of a heavy drinker wasn’t beyond him.

More importantly, he wasn’t the type to get drunk easily. Even a glass of hard liquor wouldn’t cloud his mind. This made his performance even easier.

“It can get even better.” The bartender began pouring a third glass, but only filled it halfway. For the remaining half, he added other spirits and mixers.

His movements were gentle and precise, causing the liquid in the glass to slowly separate into five distinct layers, each a different color. Under the bar lights, the drink refracted with a clear, crystalline luster.

“Try this?” He pushed the glass toward Geshu Qing.

Geshu Qing glanced at him, a flicker of wariness appearing in his eyes, or perhaps it didn’t. While the bartender had been mixing the drink, Geshu Qing had finished the previous glass sip by sip. Now, a slight flush had crept onto his face, a result of the appearance-altering device he wore.

He pulled the third glass toward him and pushed some money toward the bartender.

“No more after this?” In the Grey Triangle, paying meant the transaction was over. The bartender looked a bit disappointed but took the money regardless.

“No more,” Geshu Qing said, even as he began drinking the third glass. Under the influence of the alcohol, a misty veil rose in his eyes, making them look hazy yet bright.

The bartender shook his head. “Stopping halfway through a drink is no way to have fun.”

“This is enough.” Geshu Qing gave a slightly tipsy smile. His words were clipped, making him look like someone who didn’t want to talk too much.

In reality, he desperately wanted the bartender, or anyone for that matter, to take advantage of his “drunkenness” and ask a few questions. But he didn’t dare rush it, and he certainly couldn’t bring it up directly.

Geshu Qing had considered many ways to leak this news. For instance, he could have gone gambling and “lost” the information as a stake, or he could have chatted with someone and accidentally let it slip.

Ultimately, he chose the bar.

Truth comes out after drinking.

In a place like this, people always said things they shouldn’t. It was perfectly normal and unlikely to arouse suspicion.

Of course, another major reason was that he didn’t have much money and didn’t want to throw it all away in a casino with no hope of getting it back.

Still, the amount of money he carried was far from small.

The moment he pulled out his wallet, several pairs of eyes in the vicinity locked onto him.

In the world of Star Pirates, money was a blunt instrument, a direct testament to one’s status and capability. The fact that he could produce such a sum meant he possessed the corresponding power and credentials.

A seductive woman approached with an air of feigned nonchalance, her slender, pale fingers coming to rest lightly on Geshu Qing’s shoulder.

“Now, that simply won’t do,” she said. “You haven’t even tasted our Brother Wang’s finest specialty yet, young man.”

“She’s right,” the bartender added with a smile. He produced another glass and began mixing a fourth drink. “Since you’ve come all this way, you really must try my best work.”

“Alright then.” Geshu Qing blinked. “The drinks you mix are quite delicious.”

Since he had signaled a willingness to talk, the other two naturally weren’t about to let him go.

They already suspected Geshu Qing held important information.

Even if he didn’t, talking cost them nothing. By coaxing Geshu Qing into a few more rounds, they could at least pocket the profit from the extra drinks.

And so, the three of them began talking in circles over their glasses, drifting from the quality of the liquor to life experiences, from the past and future to recent events.

Then, when the bartender mentioned that “it seemed quite a few Star Pirate Syndicates headed out toward the Galactic Core Region a few days ago,” Geshu Qing abruptly clamped his mouth shut.

The bartender and the woman exchanged a look.

They were onto something.

Thus, through another round of drinks and leading questions, Geshu Qing finally “lowered his guard due to intoxication” and “accidentally” let slip the vital news.

The reason he was so troubled was that he knew the Emperor was gravely ill, and the actions of the Star Pirates a few days ago were intended to ensure the Emperor could not receive his medicine. It was the young man’s first brush with the ruthlessness of politics, and finding himself caught in the middle of it had naturally left him shaken.

Finally, Geshu Qing slumped over the bar, passed out, while the bartender and the woman walked away with the information they desired.

A short while later, this news was posted to the StarNet.

By the time Geshu Qing “woke up,” stumbled out of the bar, took a circuitous route to change his face, and returned to the Sea Eagle, his remaining task had become very simple:

Check the web to see if the news had broken and if it was gaining traction.

Just as Geshu Qing expected, the engagement was massive.

Those in the intelligence business were half-riddler and half-clout-chaser. The riddlers made their money selling secrets, while the clout-chasers lived off traffic.

News like the Emperor being gravely ill wasn’t something anyone would specifically come to buy. Besides, the major Star Pirate Syndicates likely already had a good idea of the situation.

On the contrary, putting this matter on the StarNet was guaranteed to grab everyone’s attention.

So, without a doubt, it would be posted online, and the people at the bar would do everything in their power to make it go viral.

It didn’t even matter if it was fake news. The police couldn’t exactly arrest Star Pirates for spreading rumors.

Furthermore, the news felt incredibly real. After all, it was true.

While the people at the bar couldn’t verify every detail, once they connected the dots Geshu Qing had provided – the military exercises from two days ago, the massive losses suffered by Health Pharmaceuticals’ six cargo transport ships, and the movements of the Star Pirates – the credibility of the report skyrocketed.

Consequently, when Lu Yuan logged onto the StarNet the next day, the matter had already caused a massive uproar.

Lu Yuan: ?

After thinking for a moment, Lu Yuan shoved his tablet in front of Goudan’s eyes. “Is this Siming’s doing?”

Goudan was taken aback. “Oh, yeah, it is.”

Lu Yuan was amazed. “What are they even aiming for?”

Goudan looked even more stunned. He scrutinized Lu Yuan from head to toe for a while. “You don’t know?”

“How would I know?” Lu Yuan said, exasperated.

Goudan asked, “Then how did you know it was them?”

“I guessed.” Lu Yuan shrugged. “It’s not exactly a hard guess.”

“…” Goudan was speechless.

For a split second just now, he had thought Lu Yuan hadn’t actually blacked out. He hadn’t expected Lu Yuan to have simply deduced it.

He could even guess that?

However, if that was the case, his own reaction just now had been a bit off.

Goudan sighed inwardly, his face a mask of silent agony.

He knew exactly how the whole thing had played out; Siming had told him everything. However, he had also agreed with Siming not to tell Lu Yuan about these things for the time being.

Lu Yuan had never said whether his “bugged” state could be discussed with him. But both Goudan and Siming felt it was probably better not to.

A major piece of evidence for this was that Lu Yuan had a misunderstanding regarding Geshu Ming.

This proved that Geshu Ming had never told Lu Yuan about the time she had triggered a bug.

There were many things they didn’t fully understand. But judging by Lu Yuan’s tone, Geshu Ming definitely knew more about Lu Yuan, the Research Institute, and Lu Yuan’s specific situation than they did.

Geshu Ming hadn’t told Lu Yuan, and they didn’t dare to tell him on a whim either.

It was possible that nothing was wrong, or that Geshu Ming had other reasons for keeping Lu Yuan in the dark…

But what if?

Goudan didn’t want to take any more risks.

So, he and Siming had deliberately concocted a different set of lies.