Chapter 280: The Imperial General Was Again Forcibly Flirted With 08

Without thinking much, Alex opened his smartbrain and logged into the communication software.

But he subconsciously still logged into the account he used while still in the Empire.

Seeing the bright and clear five characters 'This account has been cancelled,' he lowered his eyelids, his fingertip swiped across the virtual screen before him, and re‑logged in with his new identity information.

After operating for a while, Alex sent an application message to his most loyal former subordinates, entering in the introduction column a string of cipher symbols only they could understand.

But after waiting a while, they agreed to the application, and the reply came back unusually excited.

— 'Commander! Is that you?!'

— 'How is your wound? Is it serious?'

— 'Where are you? Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?'

Alex narrowed his eyes, finally showing a hint of warmth.

At least, the Empire still had someone who believed in him.

He replied:

"I'm fine; I'm recuperating in the Federation—for now, don't startle the snake."

— 'Understood, Commander! As long as you're safe now, that's good!'

— 'Commander, rest assured; I will quickly gather personnel to go to the Federation and rescue you! I will absolutely not let you become a Federation prisoner suffering hardship!'

In his subordinate's eyes, the mistreated captive Alex took a sip of the hot tea specially poured by the Federation general, and replied sincerely.

"No, you just need to ensure your safety now and not be controlled by the Imperial Family and Steven."

"Just maintain a neutral stance outwardly and don't let yourself fall into a desperate situation."

— 'I understand, Commander; Duke Chester has already contacted us, saying he will do his best to help clear your name.'

Duke Chester?

Alex tapped his index finger beside the seat, not quite understanding his intention.

As the most idle duke of the Imperial Family now, and also a cousin of Emperor Yixiduo, he hadn't handled military affairs for a long time.

It seems an incident has occurred, and quite a few people have been turned up.

"I understand; you still need to stay vigilant."

He had no intention of chatting long, and after ending the topic he logged out of the account.

Just as he was about to return the smartbrain to Jin Chen, the communication software automatically logged into Jin Chen's account, vibrating for several seconds and filling the screen with messages.

At the very top was a message from 'Naggy Old Man':

— 'There's a job on Bishui Star; if you really can't bear to leave that person, bring them along.'

Alex blinked, put the smartbrain on the table, and pushed it back to Jin Chen.

Jin Chen took it, also saw the message, clicked his tongue, and said, 'They said it was a vacation, so why do we still have to go on a business trip?'

He muttered, replying that he didn't want to go.

"Does 'that person' refer to me?" Alex couldn't help asking.

"Yeah, of course it's you."

Jin Chen admitted quickly, "Speaking of which, your restraint device can only be unlocked with a presidential order from the old man."

He stood up, took Alex's hand, examined it closely, and indeed it was the Military Department's highest‑order restraint device.

Naggy Old Man……is the Federation President?!

Alex's eye twitched; his impression of Jin Chen's bold, rude nature deepened another level.

Jin Chen sent all four restraint‑device restriction symbols at once to Joyce.

Then he received a voice reply.

— 'If you don't agree to let the old man go on the business trip and still want to undo the restraint, you can just piss me off!'

Jin Chen was silenced by the shouting for two seconds.

Seeming to feel a bit embarrassed, he lowered his gaze to look at Alex, his tone helpless.

"The old man won't unlock it."

Alex showed understanding, nodding, "I'd be surprised if he actually unlocked it."

Two seconds later, the restraints on both hands suddenly fell to the ground.

Alex: "……"

Is this thing broken?

He'd rather believe it's broken than think the Federation President would agree to unlock a war‑level captive's restraint.

"Hey, just as I knew—the old man's mouth is hard but his heart is soft."

Jin Chen smiled, rubbing Alex's reddened wrists, "Does it hurt, or should you apply some medicine?"

"I'm not that delicate." Alex pulled his hand back, obviously still in shock.

"Your Federation President is so… approachable?"

"Most of the time, his temper is quite explosive."

Jin Chen complained without reservation, then added teasingly, "But it's different with his future daughter‑in‑law."

The earlier part was still sensible talk, but the end was just utter nonsense.

Alex pushed away his approaching head.

"The restraint on your feet probably can't be undone yet; if I take you out tomorrow, there will surely be surveillance by Zu Zhu, and if we're too obvious he might even tell the Imperial Family over there."

Jin Chen bent over from the back of the chair, without further ado hugging him, "I can only wrong you for now."

Now, throughout the Federation, Alex feels that only he himself retains the awareness of being a captive.

He snapped at Jin Chen, "You really aren't afraid I'll steal the core data from your study?"

"If you could steal it, that would only show the Federation's military‑grade protection network needs updating, not that it's your fault." Jin Chen was being hypocritical and unreasonable.

In fact, he really wasn't worried that Alex would do something like that.

After all, in the original plot, Alex never did that; all he wanted was to return to the Empire and restore his identity, and later he only wanted to find the truth.

For the first time, Alex felt his knowledge base so lacking that he couldn't find a suitable adjective to describe this truly unique admiral.

Strangely, he felt no repulsion at all.

Alex stared at Jin Chen, and after a while, he lowered his head in defeat, saying, "Anyway, thank you."

No matter the reason, Jin Chen was upholding his dignity, not treating him casually with sarcasm.

He had never felt such respect beyond rank in the Empire, yet he felt it in the hostile Federation—how interesting.

【Villain Heartthrob Value +5, total 15!】

"Thank me? Why not put it into practice?"

Jin Chen drew ever closer, so close that Alex could smell the lingering fragrance, making him increasingly uneasy.

"Jin Chen, get up."

"Oh, alright."

Jin Chen quickly kissed his cheek, got up as if nothing had happened, laughed and sat back down, saying, "I received your thanks; next time I hope it lasts a bit longer."

Alex: "..."

He really wanted to slap the four words "propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame" onto Jin Chen's face.

Obviously, Jin Chen's shamelessness was thorough; after stealing a fragrance, he could continue with the report documents that made Alex want to whip him.

Why, as an admiral, does he still have to deal with documents! And write official dispatches!

Fortunately, the original persona was a hot-headed older brother; after casually answering a few main questions, he just started writing nonsense.

"Dear Alex."

Jin Chen suddenly popped his head out from behind the virtual screen, "What do you want to eat for lunch later?"

"... Whatever." Alex kept reading, deliberately ignoring that prefix.

If one ignores his ears starting to turn red, this aloof attitude still has some credibility.

"Then please, lower your noble self to have the food AI input a dish called 'whatever'; if it can be made, I believe it would certainly be a milestone advancement in the history of food AI." Jin Chen chuckled.

Alex: "..."