Is This a Federation Agent or a Suggestive Streamer?

Annie, Annie! Wake up, it's time."

A calm, steady baritone voice came through her earpiece, rousing Annie from sleep.

She rubbed her eyes, and the swaying public bus came into view.

A few weary travelers sat scattered throughout the bus, each looking travel-worn, closing their eyes to rest just as Annie had been moments ago. She turned to look out the window—it was afternoon, and the tracked bus was speeding across the Gobi desert.

Before she had fallen asleep, the scenery outside the window had been nothing but swirling yellow sand. She blinked—it seemed the vehicle hadn't moved at all.

"We're about to enter the quarantine zone. Once we do, my communication with you will be cut off until you successfully reach the City of the Radiant Sun. Let me review the mission details with you one last time, shall we, Agent Annie?"

"Received, Logistics Officer."

"You should address me by my code name while on the mission."

"...Meridian."

Logistics Officer "Meridian" chuckled lightly. "Good."

As his voice faded, the glasses Annie wore automatically lit up with a virtual projection.

[Name: An, Given Name: Ni.

Origin: High Citizen of Spica, Galactic Empire.

Gender: Female Omega.

Rank: Royal Agent, Designation: 011.

Registration Date: July 21, New Star Calendar Year 32.

Rating: A+.]

This was her registration information from the Galactic Empire's Special Operations Division.

"Good afternoon, Agent Annie. It's now Galactic Standard Time 13:50. Do you remember your mission?" Meridian asked.

"...I'm a rookie, not an idiot," Annie said, exasperated. Even if it was her first field mission, did he have to use that kind of kindergarten-teacher tone?

After muttering that, Annie answered seriously: "The terrorist organization 'Twilight' on New Thebes has developed a genetic weapon targeting Omegas. If it were deployed, it would cause planetary-scale destruction. Both the Empire and the Federation are deeply concerned."

Meridian hummed in acknowledgment and continued: "Because New Thebes is a third-world planet, neither the Empire nor the Federation can directly infiltrate it. Therefore, both sides have decided to each send one top agent for a joint mission. Our goal is to find the formula for the genetic weapon and destroy the research facility."

As he spoke, another dossier appeared on the virtual screen before Annie.

"Due to the conservative culture of New Thebes, to better avoid suspicion, Annie, you will be paired with a male Alpha agent from the Federation to pose as a couple who eloped and married. You will meet up in the City of the Radiant Sun."

Annie had long since memorized the dossier that now appeared.

"Arthur Kane, a first-class agent of the Interstellar Federation. He's quite famous," Meridian said.

No kidding, Annie thought.

Before she was promoted to Royal Agent, Annie had been a logistics officer in the Special Operations Division.

Back when she'd been working at a desk, she'd heard that name—the Empire and the Federation had been enemies for thousands of years, and in the past century they had nominally ceased fire, but in reality, infiltration and espionage never stopped. When Annie was assisting Meridian, Arthur Kane had already been active in frontline field missions.

He had caused no small amount of trouble for the Empire, always striking unexpectedly and causing damage, which gave Meridian a great deal of headaches.

After several successful operations, Arthur Kane had been placed on the Empire's wanted list.

She never expected that her very first field mission would involve working with the number-one wanted criminal—and pretending to be his wife.

But then again...

Although Meridian said "one agent" each, for such an important mission, knowing Meridian as she did, he must have dispatched plenty of troops or agents, telling each one they were the "sole" agent.

That was normal; it was safest for colleagues not to know each other's operations.

She pressed her lips together, her gaze sweeping over Arthur Kane's ID photo.

Sharp features, a deeply defined face, black hair cropped close to his ears, brilliant blue eyes as clear as gems, and a wheat-toned complexion that radiated health. Even in just an ID photo, she could tell from his broad shoulders that the man was tall and sturdy.

He was the quintessential Federation military image—well, a male-model-level version of it.

Looking at that handsome face, Annie couldn't help but grumble.

Back in logistics, even though Arthur was the enemy, many colleagues had given high praise to both his face and his physique.

Now that Annie was to pose as Arthur Kane's wife, her old logistics colleagues would, on the one hand, express sympathy, but on the other hand, couldn't resist teasing her—"You can sleep with him first before you find a chance to off him. Otherwise, it'd be a waste of those pecs."

But Annie wasn't happy at all.

It wouldn't be easy to kill Arthur Kane without evidence. As for cooperation? That guy was a thorn and a troublemaker. According to mission reports, he even looked down on his Federation colleagues, so how could he be willing to cooperate with an Imperial agent!

Especially since Annie was an Omega.

She let out a quiet sigh, which earned a stifled laugh from Meridian through her earpiece.

"Believe in yourself, Annie," he said. "You have far more potential than anyone else."

Talk about a doting father's eyes! It was because Annie had been personally trained by Meridian himself—the chief logistics officer watched over his students and subordinates like a mother hen with her chicks, seeing them all as perfect in every way.

Annie knew herself well: her evaluation scores weren't bad, but she truly lacked field experience.

That was why she had to stay sharp, so she wouldn't let Meridian down.

"Alright, got it," Annie replied solemnly. "I won't let you down—"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence.

The tracked bus speeding through the desert suddenly slammed on its brakes. If not for her quick reflexes, she would have slammed her head into the seat back in front of her.

The sudden stop woke up the few other passengers on the bus.

"What's going on?"

"What happened? We haven't reached the quarantine zone yet."

"Is there a checkpoint up ahead?"

Among the scattered questions, the driver came out of the cabin. The middle-aged man wiped his sweat and said nervously, "Not good—Twilight's troops are doing a spot check. Hurry, get off the bus and line up. Don't make a sound. I won't be responsible if you catch a bullet!"

A spot check?

Annie immediately became alert.

"Don't worry," Meridian kindly reminded her. "New Thebes is in a state of war. It's normal to be wary when you're about to enter the conflict quarantine zone."

"What a coincidence," Annie said, not buying it. "I don't believe it."

New Thebes was huge, and yet she was stopped right before entering the quarantine zone between Twilight and the Resistance.

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't just a coincidence!

"Good, it's good to stay vigilant," Meridian said, his praise undisguised. "But this is just the beginning, Annie."

If Annie had worn the right socks today, Meridian wouldn't hesitate to praise her.

Ah! That was why logistics staff got so spoiled, including Annie, who had already transferred to field work.

"To avoid the Empire's signals being intercepted, I'll go offline," Meridian reminded. "After you pass through the quarantine zone and enter the City of the Radiant Sun, contact me as soon as possible. Good luck, Agent Annie."

As the chief logistics officer's words faded, all the projections on Annie's glasses shut down.

She frowned, took off her earpiece and glasses, and put them in her backpack.

After Meridian went offline, the earpiece and glasses became ordinary tools; even professional inspection would find nothing suspicious. So Annie felt at ease picking up her backpack and following the nervous passengers off the tracked bus.

As the door opened, the dry, hot wind blew straight through Annie's hoodie, lifting the hood.

Hundreds of years ago, New Thebes had been a resource-based planet. Its crystalline sand had been a vital material for interstellar navigation.

But with technological advances, various airlines gradually abandoned crystal-sand-powered ships in favor of cheaper, more efficient energy sources. And since New Thebes was located in the middle ground, where neither the Empire nor the Federation could reach, the planet had slowly declined.

Over the centuries, New Thebes' technology had stood still. The tracked bus Annie was riding would already be in a museum on Spica, the Empire's capital.

Backwardness leads to poverty, poverty leads to war, and war attracts all kinds of fanatical opportunists.

Who would have thought that on such a declining planet, they could develop a genetic weapon that made both the Empire and the Federation nervous.

Annie thought as she pulled up her hood and a wind scarf to cover most of her face.

After all, the planet's culture was indeed conservative. Omegas—especially female Omegas—could not show their faces in front of strangers.

She got out of the vehicle and stepped onto the Gobi desert, finally getting a clear view of what was ahead.

About three armed vehicles, their armor painted with Twilight's icon, had set up a temporary checkpoint about a hundred meters away.

A soldier approached. The bus driver ingratiated himself, nodding and bowing as he spoke in the local language.

All his personal devices were offline, and the real-time translator couldn't be used. Annie just saw a local passenger walking beside her face change.

"What did they say?" she asked in a low voice.

"Twilight is searching for a Federation agent," the local passenger said, breaking into a cold sweat. "Damn, what bad luck!"

A Federation agent?

Annie tilted her head.

To the terrorist organization Twilight, both the Empire and the Federation were enemies. Why would they be searching specifically for a Federation agent? Could it be that the Federation side had been exposed?

Her mind raced as she followed the soldier's lead.

The bus hadn't many people—with the driver, only five. Annie walked at the end of the line and came to the checkpoint.

She skirted around the temporary windbreak cloth. There were twenty-three soldiers at the checkpoint, all heavily armed. Annie glanced at the leading soldier's assault rifle—an old model from decades ago, with thermal rounds already loaded.

And under the windbreak, eight people knelt.

These eight seemed to be confirmed suspects, all with hands on their heads, kneeling, looking as if they might be executed at any moment.

Annie glanced over, then her steps faltered.

No wonder she was flustered—one of them stood out far too much.

Black hair cut very short, a handsome, deeply etched face taut, dark brows and eyes sharply furrowed.

Even kneeling, he was a head taller than the others. His tall, sturdy frame made the people on either side of him look small and pitiful.

Especially the way his hands were clasped behind his head—it forced his chest to spread wide. He looked like he'd been beaten; the loose windproof clothing he wore was torn and messy, revealing a solid, broad chest. The harsh heat of New Thebes had a line of sweat trailing down his wheat-colored skin along the defined ridges of his chest.

Annie: "..."

This was Arthur Kane!

In the dossiers, in countless Empire counter-Federation infiltration missions, Annie had seen this man more times than she could count!

Wait, they were supposed to meet in the City of the Radiant Sun. How had she run into him outside the conflict zone? And they were searching for a Federation agent, which meant he'd been exposed... No, he hadn't been exposed.

Annie's mind raced: if Arthur had been exposed, he'd be a corpse by now.

Probably he was just too conspicuous, and that's why the terrorists had noticed him.

Annie would have been wary too. Just look at the man kneeling on the ground—that V-tapered torso, those six-pack abs. What was he doing here? It was different seeing him on a screen versus in person. Was he a Federation agent or a suggestive streamer?

And—he was about to fight.

Annie caught Arthur shifting his boot a split second earlier.

His body tensed, and the biceps kept raised behind his head contracted unnaturally. Based on the intel she had on Arthur, she had no doubt he could spring up and fight, killing all twenty-plus terrorists.

But just like all his previous raids on the Empire, the civilians at the checkpoint—and Annie herself—would probably get caught in the crossfire and die here.

That was Arthur Kane's fighting style, which had earned him another nickname on the Empire's side: The Calamity.

He couldn't fight now, Annie thought.

First, she couldn't die here. Second, if he fought, the Federation agent would be completely exposed.

The mission hadn't even begun, and she couldn't let an opponent drag her down.

She made her decision at once.

Just before Arthur Kane could move, just as she saw him lifting his calf and the soldiers behind him becoming alert—

Annie moved first, stepping out of line.

"What are you doing?!"

The leading soldier spun around and raised his gun. His sudden shout drew everyone's attention.

Even Arthur, still kneeling, looked up, startled, tracking the sound.

His gaze landed on the small, running figure, and the Federation agent's blue pupils contracted sharply.

"Arthur!"

In full view, Annie took a few steps forward and knelt on the ground, ignoring all the guns and threats, crashing straight into Arthur Kane's arms.

Her voice was already choked with tears: "I, I finally found you!"