Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

It’s not that Chen Ming doesn’t trust Bai Quan, it’s just that some information absolutely cannot be shared with others.

Just after finishing the conversation with Bai Quan, a call from An Wuping came through.

Chen Ming was ready to start his self-interrogation immediately.

He answered An Wuping’s call.

Chen Ming asked right away, ”What’s the matter?”

An Wuping’s voice sounded from the terminal, ”Did you see the Black Mist?”

”I saw it. It’s not something you created, right?”

”Correct, it’s something else using forceful means to control my insects.”

”So?”

”So I want...”

An Wuping’s words were abruptly interrupted by his superior, Lu Han, on the other end of the terminal: ”Director Chen Ming, can I have a word with you?”

”?”

A question mark immediately popped up over Chen Ming’s head.

Wait, wasn’t your attitude just different a moment ago?

Why was your tone so commanding when speaking with An Wuping, but suddenly so courteous when talking to me? Do you need something from me?

What does this mean?

After all, he is a national-level minister; why the stark difference in approach?

Are you afraid of his Spiritual Energy?

But to be fair, Chen Ming is only level 5, while An Wuping claims to be level 6 himself.

Or is it because An Wuping, even at level 6, can’t track him down, whereas Chen Ming, despite being level 5, poses a greater threat with his Spiritual Energy?

Is this really a scenario of ”prescribing the right remedy to the case,” where a friendly attitude leads to being bullied?

Chen Ming was instantly reminded of the past.

He has always maintained a modest demeanor, and when he first arrived at the headquarters, someone gave him a ”surprise,” forcing him to act violently, making the entire Empire laugh at the Legion, and it required the Legion Commander to step in to resolve the issue.

Since then, at least within the Legion and the Empire, everyone familiar with him has treated him with a smile.

Just moments ago, when he was chatting with Bai Quan, he stated that no one dared to come and question him.

In the end, the treatment Chen Ming had experienced once was experienced again by An Wuping, making the saying ”good people get bullied” ring true.

On the side, Minister Hou noticed that his superior’s words were making An Wuping increasingly uncomfortable, causing cold sweat to form in his heart.

He and An Wuping had at least met a few times and were trying to communicate in a calm manner. An Wuping was also cooperating well.

But the superior’s attitude turned things sour in no time.

Even if the intention was to use differential treatment to affect the relationship between Chen Ming and An Wuping, it shouldn’t have damaged his own relationship with An Wuping.

But he couldn’t do anything about it; he wasn’t qualified to say much to his superior.

Chen Ming observed Minister Hou’s expression carefully, not prompting An Wuping to directly reveal any uncharacteristic behavior. Meanwhile, the prosthetic in the Legion responded on the terminal: ”Who are you?”

Like before, Lu Han introduced himself and brought up his idea of having Chen Ming use Spiritual Energy to transport supplies.

Additionally, he asked Chen Ming to investigate the matter more deeply, to find out who is behind the Black Mist.

He also specifically mentioned the incident where Chen Ming eliminated the Black Mist Spirit Ability User.

Of course, his attitude was inclined towards Chen Ming. He gently expressed that some people had doubts and hoped to help Chen Ming prove his innocence.

However, as it would take quite some time for the Empire’s fleet to move out, they could only ask Chen Ming to conduct the investigation himself for now.

After learning about the Black Mist situation, the Empire already had some suspicions about the Black Mist Spirit Ability Users and Zuo Jing.

This was good for Chen Ming, but Minister Lu’s attitude left him completely unable to feel happy.

Nor did it give him any reason to blow up; they just exchanged information normally and talked about some matters he had explained to Bai Quan.

Then the communication ended.

But things were different on An Wuping’s side. He took one last look at Minister Hou and the terminal on the table in front of him, frowned, and left directly.

Minister Hou’s expression also darkened after An Wuping left.

Nevertheless, he maintained his normal tone when speaking: ”Minister Lu, An Wuping has left.”

”It’s okay, he’s just a Psychic who can be easily handled by Chen Ming and has had many insectoid warships snatched away by another. His abilities must not be that great, don’t pay too much attention to him, just do things as you used to.”

”Then I’ll send other Psychics to investigate that area.”

Lu Han seemed to realize the difference in his attitude when communicating with Chen Ming and An Wuping, but he had no intention of changing.

People in high positions don’t often care much about what those below them think.

As for the specific definition of ’below’, opinions vary.

Minister Hou silently accepted his superior’s orders; that was all he could do.

Time quickly moved on to the next day.

Chen Ming had almost completed arrangements for the matters concerning An Wuping and the Insect Race.

He also further learned through Bai Quan that most of the insiders within the Empire were suspicious of Zuo Jing for creating the hideous Black Mist Prosthetic involved in the Black Mist Insect Race incident.

Although this hybrid of human, machine, and insect really seemed like something Chen Ming and An Wuping could have collaborated on, it was also something they had voluntarily exposed.

An Wuping and Chen Ming had no reason to suddenly disclose the existence of such an entity to the Empire for no reason.

Plus, Bai Quan confirmed Chen Ming’s statement that the Black Mist Spirit Ability User had been obliterated.

On top of that, Zuo Jing indeed had a history of human experimentation.