"Old man, I think there's definitely a misunderstanding with Mr. Su Yuan's case, I'll have them release him right away."
Xiao Lie revealed a slight smile as he explained to Su Zhen Tian.
"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier and settle this?"
Seeing Xiao Lie agree, Su Zhen Tian's tone also softened considerably.
"Hehe, by the way old man, you can't fob me off with old models for those ten Second Generation Mechas, I want the new models."
Xiao Lie reminded somewhat uneasily.
"Hmph, do I look like that kind of person? I'll definitely give you the new models."
Su Zhen Tian snapped back.
"Of course, I trust Mr. Su Zhen Tian, but I'm just worried the guys below you might not get it right."
"Enough, no more talk, just release my stupid son already."
"Alright then, I'll hang up the phone now, and when I have time, I'll make a visit to Starlight City and we can catch up."
Xiao Lie then hung up the phone.
His smile gradually faded, replaced by a pensive look. He then picked up the phone and sent a message to Ye Wei, asking him to come over immediately.
Not long after, Ye Wei hurried into the office.
"Lord Xiao."
"Everything's ready?"
"Rest assured, everything is in order!"
Ye Wei firmly assured him.
"Then let him go."
Xiao Lie said indifferently to Ye Wei.
"Ah? Let him go?"
Ye Wei was instantly dumbfounded, shocked by Xiao Lie's words.
"What? Did I not make myself clear, or do my words no longer carry weight?"
"No, Lord Xiao, it's just, if we release Su Yuan, what about the Federation?"
"What about the Federation, whoever makes the mistake takes the responsibility. The Chilami Larvae erupted from the dump, but let me ask you something, how could the Chilami Larvae just randomly appear at the dump? Go check who's in charge of patrol and surveillance around the nearby outer area of the dump."
Xiao Lie commanded Ye Wei sternly.
"Ah, are we going to touch our own people?"
Ye Wei was startled.
"It doesn't matter who made the mistake, treat everyone the same, business is business, do you understand?"
Xiao Lie knocked on the table and said sternly.
"Yes, I'll take care of it."
Ye Wei swallowed hard and hurriedly walked out of the office.
At that moment, several of Ye Wei's subordinates gathered around him as they noticed his grim expression and quickly asked,
"Lord Ye Wei, what happened?"
Ye Wei took a deep breath and addressed one of his agile subordinates with a troublesome expression.
"Fei Wan, go release Su Yuan immediately. Then send someone to take down all the security personnel responsible for the H3 area around the outer region of the landfill in Lower City District!"
"No way, we're releasing Su Yuan and arresting our own people?"
Fei Wan was stunned.
"What choice do I have when their backing is so powerful? Just get it done!"
Ye Wei said irritably.
"Yes, yes...."
Fei Wan and the others dared not say more.
...
---------------
Late at night.
Su Ming was in his room, clenching his teeth while doing push-ups, his entire face turning red.
"11, 12...."
Su Ming did up to the fifteenth and then collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
His physical fitness was too poor.
However, he was still very satisfied with the result, as he could now do fifteen reps in one go, whereas initially, he couldn't even manage three.
Su Ming was confident that, with just a bit more time, he would definitely become stronger.
It was then that he heard a noisy commotion downstairs—it seemed that Zhao Ning had come back—so he got up and left his room.
At this moment, in the brightly lit living room,
Su Yuan walked in, looking very exhausted, alongside Zhao Ning.
"You should pay more attention at work, but you just don't listen. Now you've gone and created such a big mess."
Zhao Ning complained to Su Yuan.
"Honey, I didn't want this to happen, either. It's just really bad luck."
Su Yuan explained with a grimace on his face.
At that time, Su Ming came down the spiral staircase and saw Su Yuan returning, and then greeted,
"Father, Mother, you're back."
"Son, are you alright?"
Su Yuan, seeing Su Ming, immediately burst into a bright smile.
"I'm fine, but how about you, Father?"
"Oh, my dear son, rightly concerned about your father. But no worries, who do you think I am? How could anything happen to me? How dare they mess with me when I got out so easily?"
Su Yuan bragged boastfully in front of Su Ming.
Zhao Ning sighed softly on the side. She had spent the entire day at the judicial department visiting the prison and waiting. The old man had called in many favors, all to no avail—they simply wouldn't release him, and Su Yuan was nearly scared to death, utterly unlike the composed figure he claimed to be.
However, Zhao Ning didn't expose Su Yuan; she, too, hoped that Su Yuan could maintain a strong image in front of Su Ming.
Hearing that Su Yuan was alright, Su Ming, who had been anxious, also relaxed and replied with a smile.
"Father is truly remarkable."
"Indeed."
Su Yuan, hearing his son praise him, felt even more elated.
However, at that moment, Su Yuan's cell phone rang. He instinctively pulled it out, but when he saw the caller ID, the smile on his face immediately froze.
He swallowed and said to Su Ming,
"Son, I need to take this call."
Su Yuan then answered the phone, speaking as meekly as a grandchild.
"Hello?"
"Are you out of your mind? What good are you? How could I have such a stupid son..."
"Uh, yeah, uh..."
Su Yuan's legs trembled slightly as he walked away with the phone, trying to maintain a façade of normalcy in front of Su Ming.
Unfortunately, although he didn't put the call on speakerphone, the old man's shouting was so loud that it wasn't necessary. The entire house could clearly hear everything—it was like it was about to come apart!
Su Ming listened to the roar and felt rather awkward.
Zhao Ning smiled at Su Ming and said,
"It's okay, my sweet son, it's just a scolding, your father can handle it."
"Alright, Mother, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Now that everything seemed alright at home, Su Ming wanted to focus fully on preparing for the city exam.
"You say, my dear son."
Zhao Ning replied gently.
"The city exam is approaching, and the school is closed due to a Chilami attack, so I need to go to Teacher Tang Yan's house for tutoring."
Su Ming informed Zhao Ning about his tutoring sessions.
Hearing that Su Ming needed tutoring, Zhao Ning felt reassured but also a bit worried about his safety, so she said to him,
"Son, it's fine if you need tutoring, but might it not be safe? Should I hire a bodyguard for you?"
"There's no need. I saw guards patrolling the streets when I went out today; it should be quite safe."
Su Ming shook his head and declined.
"Alright then."
Seeing that Su Ming had said this, Zhao Ning did not insist further.
...