Chapter 325: Heart-Pounding Terror, a Premature Battle

She said, "I know you’ve been lying to me about something."

"?"

He looked confused, but Jiang Qiuqiu suddenly stopped in her tracks. She opened her terminal and quickly searched the Star Network for "Imperial Admiral Mo Si." Watching her type those words, Mo Si’s heart instantly began to race.

His heart hammered as his whole body tensed up. Patches of black-and-white fur even started to appear behind his ears.

Jiang Qiuqiu was completely focused on her terminal and naturally didn’t notice these changes. She quickly found the photo from Admiral Mo’s birthday party—the one that had been displayed all over the Federal Building, showing him battling a mecha—and projected it into the air.

Without a proper screen, the image was somewhat blurry, but the blur did nothing to diminish the man’s magnificent presence.

"Look at this photo."

Jiang Qiuqiu faced Mo Si and pointed at the photo. "Doesn’t he look familiar?"

"..."

Mo Si didn’t speak.

"You’ve gone quiet," Jiang Qiuqiu said. "Little Qing is a die-hard fan of the Imperial Blade. When he saw you today, he said you look exactly like him."

"Are you and Sister Chengyu related?"

"And all those times you casually mentioned you were ’running errands’... but every time, those ’errands’ involved..." She trailed off. ’It was always taking someone out or sending someone in. No matter what it was, it wasn’t something a single person could accomplish.’

"Black Hole, tell me, are you—"

’Here it comes.’

But from her choice of words, Mo Si could tell she hadn’t grasped the full truth. The fur behind his ears gradually vanished. He looked at Jiang Qiuqiu, curious to see what conclusion she had reached.

"Your last name isn’t Black, is it? It’s Mo?" Her gaze was scorching, her little face etched with seriousness.

Faced with such a serious inquiry, Mo Si didn’t want to lie. He responded, "It is."

This was the answer Jiang Qiuqiu had been desperately seeking ever since her conversation with Mrs. Ai’er, and now she finally had confirmation.

But that sense of relief was quickly mixed with another, unidentifiable emotion.

Mo Si had been watching her closely and noticed the shift in her emotions. A faint ripple of unease stirred in his heart. "What’s wrong, Qiuqiu? You’ve gone quiet again."

"It’s nothing... I’m just a little overwhelmed."

’Mo Chengyu’s last name is Mo. I guessed she wasn’t just some ordinary person, but I never thought she would be from *the* Mo Family.’

"So you and Sister Chengyu are actually part of Admiral Mo’s family."

"What’s wrong with being from the Mo Family?" Mo Si looked at her. "They’re just people, like anyone else."

"They are, but it’s always a bit awkward being around people whose status is so different from your own."

"Then you won’t feel awkward," Mo Si suddenly interjected.

Jiang Qiuqiu was surprised, not quite understanding what he meant.

"As a person, you are ambitious yet poised, disciplined and resilient. You can interact with anyone naturally."

In Mo Si’s eyes, a person’s worth was never defined by their family background, but by who they were as an individual.

He was not stingy with his praise for Jiang Qiuqiu.

Jiang Qiuqiu looked at him as a fine snow began to drift on the winter wind. She broke into a smile. "Thank you for the compliment. And as it happens, I agree."

"On my own merits, I can befriend anyone!"

The young woman’s confidence was radiant. Mo Si hummed in agreement.

The mood had just started to warm up when Jiang Qiuqiu abruptly changed the subject. "So, what is your relationship with the Imperial Blade? Are you his distant nephew or something?"

Mo Si: ...

’Mo Si never imagined he’d one day be forced to admit to someone that he was his own nephew.’

"I’m not his nephew, but we’re from the same clan."

"You could say... his younger brother." ’From the look on her face,’ he thought, ’she won’t let this go until she gets a straight answer. She needs to know our seniority. I might as well be my own younger brother.’

’Better than inexplicably demoting myself by a generation.’

"Oh, so his younger brother." The look of dawning comprehension on her face gave Mo Si a feeling he couldn’t quite describe.

But no matter what he was feeling, a full confession right now was out of the question.

A young woman could be casual and unrestrained with Black Hole, someone her own age whom she could talk to about anything. But it was impossible for her to be the same with Admiral Mo Si, the Imperial Blade, a man whose name was only ever spoken with reverence...

And so, Mo Si remained silent.

Fortunately, the topic was quickly dropped, because they had arrived at the villa.

She eagerly went over to the sofa and put on the spiritual power training helmet.

Later, after completely exhausting herself for the day, she collapsed onto the sofa and said to Mo Si, "I’m so fickle."

"Now today, I’m thinking... it would be great if my ability were extremely powerful and showed immediate, obvious results."