The atmosphere around suddenly sank.

Hong Jiang’s gaze turned cold, and he said, "Qu Hongqiang, what do you mean to express?"

His voice was deep, carrying a sense of oppression, but Principal Qu seemed unfazed, merely scoffing and saying, "You’re allowed to pull me down, but I’m not allowed to push you up?"

Principal Qu paused, glanced at Hong Jiang, and said, "Hong Jiang, don’t think too highly of yourself. Do you really think no one in this tearoom can deal with you? It’s just that no one wants to quarrel with a barbarian."

"Oh?" Hong Jiang chuckled, the smile not reaching his eyes: "So, do you think you’re something special and can do whatever you want here?"

Principal Qu snorted lightly, "I dare not argue with you, Hong Jiang, it’s pointless."

Saying this.

Principal Qu lowered his gaze, staring at the teacup in front of him, but there was still that honest and sincere look in his half-closed eyes.

The tense atmosphere slightly eased under one side’s deliberate avoidance of conflict, yet everyone present couldn’t help but watch Hong Jiang and Qu Hongqiang.

One holds a natural high-level Soul Device.

The other perhaps possesses information on the only biological Mecha...

What exactly are these two confronting each other about?

Everyone looked at Qu Hongqiang, then at Hong Jiang, momentarily puzzled.

Although everyone present was prominent in a sense, the environment they were in and their capabilities differed, creating different levels of access to certain deep information. Hence when Hong Jiang suddenly mentioned Qu Hongqiang possessing a natural high-level Soul Device, everyone was shocked.

But!

What was more shocking was the information Qu Hongqiang suddenly revealed:

—Hong Jiang has a biological Mecha!

Even if it’s not a complete biological Mecha, at least it’s remnants of one.

The news shook everyone, even Yang Zhi and Niu Houdao from the First Military Academy, who were extremely shocked, staring intently at Hong Jiang.

Facing the heated gaze from those around him, Hong Jiang leisurely picked up his teacup, took a sip, and with a smile, said: "Are you curious whether I have the Heavenly Dog in my possession?"

Everyone stared at him, but remained silent.

This scenario in the tearoom was clearly initiated by Hong Jiang to provoke Qu Hongqiang, then Qu Hongqiang exposed a hidden piece of information about Hong Jiang, which put Hong Jiang in a difficult situation.

In this way, it seems that Hong Jiang had lost this round.

But—

Why did Hong Jiang intentionally do this?

Logically, someone as shrewd as Hong Jiang wouldn’t let go of even a speck of advantage, would he deliberately do this knowing he would lose?

This means—

Hong Jiang didn’t know.

Hong Jiang didn’t foresee that Qu Hongqiang would know about the biological Mecha clue.

Then—

Where did Qu Hongqiang obtain his information from?

...

Thinking about it, the more you delve into this question, the more baffling and complex it becomes.

The representatives from various universities present were all focused on Hong Jiang and Qu Hongqiang, hoping for answers to their confusion.

Not getting a reply, Hong Jiang didn’t mind, he smiled and answered himself: "You’re curious, aren’t you? You must have many questions, right? I’m a warm-hearted person, so since everyone’s curious, let me clear up some doubts for you."

Hearing what Hong Jiang said, a sudden foreboding feeling arose in everyone’s heart.

The next second.

Hong Jiang said: "Yes, I have the Heavenly Dog."

Everyone: "!!!"

Niu Houdao suddenly stood up: "Old Hong, when did you hide it?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"You."

"Sit down, sit down." Hong Jiang rolled his eyes at the excited Niu Houdao, scolding, "Look at how calm everyone else is, but you, an old guy, getting all worked up like a young man, waving your arms around."

Niu Houdao’s mouth twitched, but due to the shocking information from Hong Jiang’s mouth, he chose to endure and said, "Cut the nonsense! Just spill it."

Hong Jiang didn’t continue on that note, instead, he shot a glance at Principal Qu.

Principal Qu had kept his head slightly lowered, upon hearing Hong Jiang’s admission, his eyelids twitched, he too hadn’t expected Hong Jiang to be so straightforward and admit it openly.

Could it be that he’d fallen into a trap?

Principal Qu’s heart skipped a beat but kept his expression steady, not speaking up or responding to Hong Jiang’s deliberate gaze.

Hong Jiang chuckled and said, "Look at how calm Old Qu is, he knew my secret years ago, has he ever gotten excited? He even kindly helped me keep it safe, hadn’t I intentionally provoked him today, he might not have revealed my old secrets."

As the words fell, the atmosphere around changed instantly.

Principal Qu’s face darkened.

Yang Zhi, the principal of the Alliance First Military Academy, who had remained silent, frowned at this point, looking at Hong Jiang and then at Qu Hongqiang, "What are you two playing at with your cryptic talk?"

Hong Jiang immediately said, "I swear on my conscience, how am I being cryptic? I’ve already exposed myself, isn’t it natural to be upset?"

Yang Zhi ignored him, turning to Qu Hongqiang, and asked, "Old Qu, you said you know the Heavenly Dog is in his possession?"

Principal Qu couldn’t help but sigh and said, "I don’t know anything."

Hong Jiang teased with a smile, "Everyone, don’t be deceived by Old Qu’s honest appearance. He’s miles behind Niu Houdao in being trustworthy. You say of my ten sentences, ten are false, but Old Qu is actually the one lying, isn’t he blatantly fibbing now?"

Hearing this, everyone wore solemn expressions. Niu Houdao, suddenly mentioned as a reference, couldn’t help but frown and glare at Hong Jiang.

Principal Qu furrowed his brow and looked at Hong Jiang, "Say what you want, just be straightforward."

Hong Jiang’s face still bore a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes, "What I want to say, Old Qu, heaven and earth know, you know, I know, let’s not trouble others with our little affairs."

Upon hearing this, Principal Qu lowered his eyes.

The next second.

Hong Jiang continued: "I have remnants of the Heavenly Dog, so what’s strange about that? When it came to A Lin’s aftermath, I handled it as instructed by the higher-ups. I was both a mentor and friend to this kid. Wasn’t it natural to handle his affairs and keep some of his inheritance? There’s nothing strange, but I wasn’t as quick as Old Qu when I arrived."

Upon saying this, everyone was struck.

Principal Qu’s eyes flickered.

Hong Jiang’s mouth continued smiling, jesting: "I say Old Qu is warm-hearted too. By the time I arrived, Old Qu had taken care of everything, I just had an empty title, didn’t actually do anything."