99: Front end of the arrest operation

In the dimly lit office of the Imperial Court of the Trapai Galaxy, Wu An's brow was furrowed, his eyes revealing a hint of worry. He looked cautiously at Wu Qiu and spoke softly.

"Uncle..."

As soon as the word left his mouth, he saw Wu Qiu frown slightly, his tone carrying a trace of impatience.

"How many times have I told you? In a professional setting, you must pay attention to how you address people; use my title!"

A flash of awkwardness crossed Wu An's face, and he muttered, stammering.

"Yes, Chief Adjudicator Wu. Lately, my heart has been in my throat; I just feel like something isn't right. Do you think... is it possible the higher-ups have noticed the things we did before?"

Wu Qiu waved his hand, cutting Wu An off.

"Stop being so paranoid every day; you're just overthinking it. Think about it: if what we did was really exposed, given the higher-ups' style of doing things, they would have sent people down to arrest us long ago. Why would they wait until now?"

"Besides, we have Chief Justice Xibike presiding here. He has connections up there who can help us stabilize the situation. Just put your heart back in your chest and stop scaring yourself."

Wu Qiu comforted Wu An with his words, but deep down, he was actually just as uneasy. He simply didn't want to show it in front of Wu An. These words were less about comforting Wu An and more about comforting himself.

In truth, Wu Qiu had also been feeling that something was slightly off lately, as if an invisible pressure was constantly looming over him.

Normally, he was always decisive and vigorous in the court, but recently he often felt inexplicably flustered.

This feeling was very subtle, like the oppressive atmosphere in the air before a storm. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't figure out exactly where the problem lay.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you should head back first."

Wu Qiu tried his best to make his tone sound calm and composed.

"By the way, remember what I told you before: during this period, you must keep a low profile. Don't go doing those things again, understood?"

His eyes stared intently at Wu An, making the latter feel a bit frightened.

"Yes, Uncl— Chief Adjudicator Wu."

Wu An hurriedly nodded in response. That momentary slip of the tongue made his heart skip a beat, fearing that Wu Qiu would lose his temper over it.

"Go on."

Wu Qiu waved his hand, signaling Wu An to leave.

Once Wu An closed the office door and his footsteps gradually faded away, Wu Qiu slowly stood up from his large chair.

With his hands behind his back, he walked unhurriedly to the window.

Outside, in the court's plaza, people were coming and going, and everything seemed normal. However, Wu Qiu's gaze appeared somewhat distant, his thoughts already far away.

"Strange..."

Wu Qiu frowned slightly and whispered to himself.

"Why exactly does this feel so wrong?"

Wu Qiu's ominous premonition grew stronger. Behind this seemingly calm court, it felt as though an undercurrent was quietly surging, yet he had not yet been able to detect its source... Meanwhile, at the distant headquarters of the Galaxy Guard Division stationed in the Milky Way, the atmosphere was solemn and tense.

Neil was staring at the investigation files in his hand. As his eyes moved across the pages, his expression gradually turned grim, and anger burned fiercely in his eyes.

"Good, good, what incredible audacity!"

Neil couldn't help but roar in anger.

"A dignified Deputy Commander actually dares to collude with those officials in blatant corruption! It's an absolute disgrace to our Guard Division and a desecration of the Imperial uniform!"

He slammed the intelligence report onto the desk, his indignation as uncontrollable as a surging tide.

According to this detailed intelligence, in the region of the Tellap System, all whistleblowing records involving the illegal activities of Wu Qiu and his associates were being suppressed by this Deputy Commander.

Every piece of reported information had vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the ocean, all deliberately deleted by him.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Yang's System permissions were far higher than this person's, allowing him to see the records of reports against Wu Qiu, these deliberately hidden truths would likely have remained buried in the darkness forever.

Neil, naturally, used his own administrative management System to restore all the deleted reports. After carefully verifying every piece of information to ensure nothing was missed, he packaged them all up and quickly reported them to Li Yang via the AI brain.

At this moment, in his office, Li Yang had successfully received the two important sets of intelligence from Anno and Neil.

These two sets of data were like key puzzle pieces, gradually forming a complete picture of the corrupt chaos in the Tellap System.

As he read further, Li Yang's expression shifted from serious to surprised.

Within a single star System, the two adjudicators of the court—Xibike and Wu Qiu—were actually in cahoots with the Deputy Commander of the Guard Division.

In such a situation, the entire Tellap System was almost completely under their control, practically becoming an "independent kingdom" where they acted with impunity.

Of course, the Commander of the Tellap System Guard Division was also to blame. Such a massive corruption ring was stirring up trouble right under his nose, with even his own deputy deeply involved, yet he was completely oblivious.

Such a Commander had clearly lost effective control over his troops and was fundamentally unfit for a leadership position in the Guard Division. His dereliction of duty was staggering.

The state of the Tellap System only made Li Yang more determined to investigate to the end and purge the corruption.

Now that the solid evidence was in hand, Li Yang knew there was no time to lose; action had to be taken immediately.

He delayed no longer, quickly getting up to leave the Galactic Administrative Center Department. He summoned the fleet and the Guard Division, preparing to head to the Tellap System immediately to carry out the arrest operation.

"Pal! Notify the fleet to prepare for assembly. Target: Tellap System. We depart immediately!"

"Yes!"

Pal responded without hesitation.

Even though the fleet had added a new Super-Star Class guard patrol ship, Pal still held the position of Deputy Captain of the star destroyer.

Li Yang did not arrange for him to take command of that Super-Star Class starship; instead, he had Carter concurrently serve as the captain of both guard ships.

Pal had no complaints about this arrangement. After all, on the surface, being the captain of a Super-Star Class starship seemed to far exceed being a Deputy Captain of a Planetary-Class star destroyer in terms of both rank and prestige.

However, Pal knew in his heart that his role as Deputy Captain was not a deputy position in the ordinary sense. Currently, the fleet's flagship was still the star destroyer, which meant he was not just the Deputy Captain of the star destroyer, but the Deputy Commander of the entire fleet, while also serving as Li Yang's secretary.

The responsibilities and trust inherent in such multiple identities were far beyond what a simple Super-Star Class starship captain could compare to.

The fleet pierced through the darkness of interstellar space, sailing steadily toward the Tellap System.

During the voyage, Li Yang sat at the desk in the Command Room with a focused expression. Various data and information flashed continuously on the light screen before him.

His fingers flew across the screen as he operated it rapidly, and a detailed arrest list gradually took shape.

At the top of this list were the uncle and nephew, Wu Qiu and Wu An. Wu Qiu, as the Deputy Presiding Judge of the Tellap System Court, had used his authority to act recklessly, and Wu An, under his protection, was also involved in multiple illegal incidents.

Next was Xibike. As the Chief Justice, he had colluded with Wu Qiu, becoming one of the core figures of the entire corrupt System.

There was also that Deputy Commander of the Guard Division, who conspired with the court officials to facilitate their corruption.

As for the three Senior Judges who had been transferred away by An Cheng, since they were currently in other star Systems and it was inconvenient to move them, Li Yang decided to leave their handling to the local Guard Divisions.

After all, the corruption chain exposed by this incident was as complex as a massive spiderweb. Li Yang knew the principle of capturing the ringleader first; the focus of his operation was to catch these high-ranking "big fish" who controlled the key points.

As for the "small fry" who played supporting roles in this incident, they would all be handed over to the Guard Division to be dealt with together. He believed the Guard Division would certainly be able to catch all these small fry.

If they couldn't even catch the small fry... then they should just honestly submit a report and resign... On an extremely remote planet in the Milky Way, the three Senior Judges who had been transferred were walking down a street surrounded by various shops and pedestrians. As they walked, they continuously vented their dissatisfaction.

"I really don't understand what those people at the top are thinking!"

One of the judges, his face full of resentment, couldn't help but complain loudly.

"We were doing perfectly fine in the Tellap System, yet they had to transfer us to this godforsaken place. Here, not only is there no extra profit to be made, but we also have to work like servants for others every day. This life is just too stifling!"

His voice was so loud that nearby pedestrians couldn't help but look over.

"Exactly!"

Another judge chimed in, his face written with helplessness.

"I wonder when Chief Justice Wu Qiu will be able to transfer us back. If I stay here any longer, I'm going to go crazy from boredom."

"I'm afraid it will be difficult!"

The third judge sighed, looking quite dejected as he continued.

"The ones who took our positions were transferred down from the Galaxy Cluster Court. Those people have significant backgrounds. If we want to go back, we'll have to wait at least until they are transferred away, but who knows how long that will take!"

The three of them went back and forth, complaining about their dissatisfaction. However, they were completely unaware that while they were venting, a group of people in plain clothes was quietly closing in from all directions.

They gradually surrounded the three of them. At this time, the three judges were still immersed in their complaints, completely oblivious to the impending crisis.