Press Conference

Xu Lingqu's performance in the arena had, without exaggeration, shaken the entire interstellar community.

Whether in the Empire or the Federation, virtually everyone was talking about her during the time she spent at the imperial palace speaking with Andrew. The Sky Network experienced its first-ever overload in discussion volume and traffic since its founding, requiring three hours of emergency repairs to return to normal.

Xu Lingqu flooded every corner of the Sky Network forums, and her name was practically the only one visible—except on the mech arena forum.

Because on that very day, the mysterious white moonlight idol they had been longing for all this time—Mighty King Rabbit Owo—finally had their mask ripped off!

The first thing to be exposed was the fact that Mighty King Rabbit Owo had a stand-in player.

Logan Bill held firm and refused to sell out his teammate, even when the Military Department came knocking. Later, when his parents learned of the situation, they offered him fifty thousand to reveal who the stand-in was, saying they could fund the stand-in's military academy education.

They genuinely valued talent—they understood the weight of that number-one ranking and felt that the 130,000 their son had paid was too little.

Logan Bill mulled it over but ultimately didn't tell his parents either. Neither soft nor hard tactics worked on him; he was determined to protect the privacy of "Garbled Text."

Unfortunately, the hacker who had helped him forge the cadet certification sold him out, doxxing Mighty King Rabbit Owo as an elementary school student. That was how everyone learned Logan Bill had hired a stand-in.

This infuriated Logan Bill so much that he announced he was quitting the internet and returning to elementary school life, fully embracing a hermit-like existence of frantically doing homework. He thus missed the spectacular night on the mech arena forum—the unmasking of Xu Lingqu.

At first, everyone was just as stunned as the other forum users by Xu Lingqu's skill level and S-rank-and-above psychic power, until a little genius netizen suddenly raised a point:

"Don't you think some of Xu Lingqu's fighting moves look an awful lot like Mighty King Rabbit Owo's?"

People had noticed before that Xu Lingqu's fighting style was distinctive and memorable—she maximized use of space in combat, and every strike was aimed at taking the opponent's life.

With that little genius's nudge, the forum users instantly felt like they'd had their meridians opened, and they began comparing the fighting moves of Mighty King Rabbit Owo and Xu Lingqu. After four hours of discussion and dozens of side-by-side video comparisons, it was conclusively proven—Xu Lingqu was Mighty King Rabbit Owo.

A Star Media reporter happened to be a die-hard fan of Mighty King Rabbit Owo. He'd stayed up all night watching the comparison videos and had also just received the notice that Xu Lingqu would hold a press conference as the Empire's heir.

So in the early morning of the next day, he rushed to the front with bloodshot eyes and a bird's nest of hair, going straight for his idol with a full-frontal question.

Xu Lingqu glanced at the reporter in his highly agitated state.

"I know now."

Other reporters who had been about to ask serious, weighty questions looked at this disheveled reporter with a mix of frustration and restraint. Who was this wild man, and how unprofessional could he be? What kind of nonsense question was that? What even was Mighty King Rabbit Owo?

But Xu Lingqu actually answered him—how infuriating!

"How much did you earn from that stand-in contract?" the disheveled wild-man reporter pressed, emboldened by his idol's response.

"130,000."

The moment Xu Lingqu said that, every reporter in the room drew in a sharp breath.

130,000 wasn't a small amount—it was enough for a family of three in the four star systems to live on for two years. But this was the Capital Star, where land was worth more than gold, and she was the future heir to the Empire!

"So moving! So moving!"

"Those corrupt officials move a finger and they're raking in millions or billions, yet our heir goes and does stand-in work for 130,000..."

"This is the true light of the Empire! Only those who believe in self-reliance can give the people a bright future!"

Xu Lingqu looked baffled as certain reporters began staring at her with strange expressions...

Some of them even had glistening tears in their eyes.

They must not be right in the head.

"Then, if I may ask, wasn't the original account owner of Mighty King Rabbit Owo an elementary school student? Why were you willing to be his stand-in?" the disheveled wild-man reporter continued.

"...Because he had money."

Xu Lingqu was starting to want the Ares agents to take these people out for intelligence testing.

Logan Bill had no idea he'd become the most famous elementary school student in the entire interstellar community. He was still locked in battle with his homework.

Suddenly, his door was shoved open by his parents, and he said indignantly, "You can't just barge in without my permission!"

Logan Bill turned around with a pout, only to see both his parents wearing expressions of utter shock.

"What happened? Aren't you two watching the news?" As successful businessmen, his parents always said watching the news was the most important thing—it held countless business opportunities, and sometimes a single catch could let you soar to the top overnight.

The couple stared at their son, their faces cycling through shock, amazement, and embarrassment.

The true business genius was right here. He'd given 130,000 to the Empire's heir at her most "difficult" moment, and now he'd been granted the honorary title of "Wealthy Elementary School Student," making him famous across the stars.

Now that was a true investment genius!

Logan Bill: ??? What exactly is going on?

Because of the Third Prince, Jin had the privilege of watching the live broadcast directly, and he'd even dragged a few people in with him.

He'd spent all night last night reeling from the shock of Xu Lingqu suddenly becoming the Empire's heir, and he rubbed his nose helplessly. But this morning, he'd suddenly come to terms with it.

Xu Lingqu really was suited to be this heir. His father choosing her actually made perfect sense; Jin had never expected to inherit the throne himself.

Although his older brother Xi'en was gravely ill, his older sister Fulian was healthy, an S-rank, and carried herself with grace and dignity—aside from the fact that she absolutely loathed him.

Jin had always thought his sister would become the queen, but now that person had suddenly become Commander...

Well, maybe that was fine too?

Liu Zheng said with some surprise from the side, "She actually did stand-in work? Was she that hard up for money?"

"I remember now. I gave Sister a hundred thousand back then—it was too little. I should have given two hundred thousand," Xu Xiqin said with a tinge of regret.

Shen Shouli stood nearby, lost in thought.

The interviews continued.

"What are your thoughts on Admiral Xu Chengbi's treason?"

"Good riddance."

"He adopted you at first, so you've been going by the name Xu Lingqu and carrying his surname. Now that he's dead for his treason and you've become the Empire's heir, have you considered changing your surname? It's said your mother's surname was Liu—will you take that surname instead? Or perhaps the Euryphes surname?"

Xu Lingqu looked at this reporter and replied:

"I won't change it. I accepted the surname Xu not because of Xu Chengbi, but because I have a sister. Her name is Xu Xiqin."