Jiang Ye raised the fire axe above his head and swung it down with all his might, aiming for Gladstone's chest.
The sound of cracking ribs echoed, and bright red blood exploded upwards, splattering onto Jiang Ye's raincoat with a loud "swish."
Gladstone convulsed violently, and screams erupted in the room. The staff of the Governor's Mansion watching were all terrified.
Hodgson shivered uncontrollably, letting out a muffled cry and recoiling as if seeing a ghost.
Jiang Ye swung the axe again, delivering another powerful blow. A larger gush of blood shot into the air. Jiang Ye's raincoat made a loud noise, and his gas mask was also splattered with blood.
"This Gladstone is indeed not an ordinary person. His heart is actually on the right side," Jiang Ye said, removing his mask and throwing it to the ground.
Che Zhen lifted his boot, revealing Gladstone's face. He was stone dead.
Hodgson's face turned pale. "You... you killed him. What if the people outside don't listen to me..."
"The mercenaries have already arrived, and my warship is waiting above. If the people outside don't listen to you, let them try to charge in," Jiang Ye said, taking off his blood-soaked raincoat. "Let's see whose riot batons are more effective, or whose ship-mounted ground-attack cannons that fire fifty thousand rounds per minute are better!"
Hodgson pulled out his phone, his hand trembling as he began to dial.
His hand shook so badly he couldn't hit the numbers.
"Don't worry, even if all eighty thousand people outside are blown up tonight, it won't take a year for another eighty thousand to become your subordinates," Jiang Ye smiled at Hodgson. "You are the Chief Constable, the head of the seal. You are the supreme authority of Rongping Star. Authority has profound reasons for being authority; it's not something a clown like your predecessor could challenge on a whim."
"Yes, yes," Hodgson nodded repeatedly, swallowed hard, and brought the phone to his ear.
...
Two hours later.
Only a few people remained in the dining room, and it was quiet.
Jiang Ye stood by the window, holding a bowl of snow fungus and lotus seed soup, looking outside.
The lawn was covered in the tracks of armored vehicles, leaving it a mess. The crowded police force from before had disappeared. Only a few mercenaries were moving around with mine detectors, searching for any potential leftover explosives.
The streets in the distance had returned to normal. Some reporter vehicles were parked on the road, but the reporters were blocked by guards, waiting anxiously at the intersection.
"What's the media's official story on this?" Jiang Ye suddenly asked, turning to look at Zhang Qiongshi, who was busy.
"A safety drill," Zhang Qiongshi replied. "There was a fire at the Governor's Mansion, and the police and fire department rushed to the rescue."
"That doesn't make sense," Jiang Ye chuckled. "We might as well say they were filming a movie."
"It doesn't make sense anyway. Let's declassify it in ten years," Zhang Qiongshi said with a wry smile. "If I'm still alive in ten years."
"I have a suggestion for you," Jiang Ye said. "Whether you follow it or not is up to you. I'm just suggesting it as a friend."
"Brother Jiang, please tell me," Zhang Qiongshi listened intently.
"Gladstone was definitely not the instigator of the mutiny. He had someone behind him supporting him," Jiang Ye said. "To resolve the situation, they didn't give him time to live and confess, so I killed him. However, what he said before he died could provide some clues."
"He said the cabinet should decide who will succeed you," Jiang Ye continued. "My suggestion is to replace the entire cabinet."
"Do you think I don't want to replace them? The cabinet members hold real power," Zhang Qiongshi shook her head. "They have military authority and control the mercenary forces of all the continents. They also provide their own military expenses."
"Your mistakes have been too fatal. You don't have your own troops. Each region has its own large armies, and the military expenses are not paid by you but by the regions themselves. You haven't even restricted the size of these regional armies, watching them build their own power," Jiang Ye shook his head. "To put it bluntly, if it weren't for the Galactic Empire covering for you, your life would have been over long ago!"
"I was young then and thought too simply. I thought this setup would save money, and that the regions were evenly matched and could check and balance each other," Zhang Qiongshi sighed. "Who knew these cabinet members would unite!"
"The cabinet must be replaced. I have a plan to solve the problem once and for all," Jiang Ye said.
"What is it?" Zhang Qiongshi perked up.
"Take decisive action and abolish the mercenary system, ordering all mercenaries on Rongping Star to withdraw within a deadline," Jiang Ye said.
"Then they'll definitely revolt," Zhang Qiongshi shook her head. "The regions have spent so much money on their mercenary forces. If they all withdraw, that money will be wasted. They won't comply."
"I'll bring my troops," Jiang Ye said.
Zhang Qiongshi was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"If you revoke the legal status of the mercenaries, then these mercenaries will be illegally stationed armed forces on your planet. If they rebel, it can be considered civil war or invasion, and then my troops will have the authority to open fire," Jiang Ye explained. "My fleet is large enough to crush these mercenaries on your planet. They won't throw themselves against a stone wall; they'll withdraw obediently."
Zhang Qiongshi was completely stunned. She probably hadn't expected such a maneuver.
The Galactic Empire had a rule that internal planets could not attack each other.
But Jiang Ye was someone who operated outside that rule. The Galactic Empire had granted him the authority to stop civil wars on other planets.
In a sense, Jiang Ye was like a cheat code that descended from the heavens.
Zhang Qiongshi's heart stirred. If Jiang Ye's plan worked, she could quickly escape her predicament of being sidelined.
"What happens after all the mercenaries withdraw?" Zhang Qiongshi asked.
"After that? After that, you won't be a commander without troops anymore," Jiang Ye said. "You can reform however you want, sleep soundly at night, and not worry about what happened a few hours ago repeating itself."
"But my planet will have no army," Zhang Qiongshi said.
"My troops can be stationed here to provide protection," Jiang Ye said.
Zhang Qiongshi fell silent, staring blankly at Jiang Ye.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward and silent.
Jiang Ye couldn't help but chuckle. "You don't have to worry about driving away a wolf only to have a tiger arrive. I have no interest in your little patch of land. My troops need to go to vaster space to fight; I can't be your bodyguard forever."
Zhang Qiongshi's expression shifted uncertainly, and she stared at Jiang Ye without speaking.
"I'm a good person, really," Jiang Ye said seriously. "I'm very kind and cute. My nickname in the martial world is Little White Rabbit. You can trust me."
"When you split that person in half with an axe just now, you didn't seem like a Little White Rabbit at all," Zhang Qiongshi said, annoyed. "You were as brutal as a tiger!"
"I killed him to prevent greater casualties. If the people outside had charged in and exchanged fire with the Governor's Mansion guards, how many people would have died? If you were gone, the world would descend into chaos, and the entire planet would suddenly plunge into civil war. How many more would die?" Jiang Ye laughed. "Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I saved tens of thousands of people on your planet, and you still don't trust me? My heart feels so cold and pained. Good people are always bullied like me."