Clearing Identities

 Lin Hui, in addition to being an instructor in body forging techniques, is also an advanced practitioner in the intermediate stage of body forging techniques.

Through numerous life-and-death struggles, he has pushed his physical capabilities to the human limit. Coupled with specially tailored exoskeleton armor, he is considered the best candidate for a bodyguard within the Baron's domain.

From an outward appearance, Wang Dong's current status seems quite impressive.

With a large entourage of at least several dozen people and special vehicles for transportation, the scene is grand. Throughout the journey, obvious safety measures are in place, with traffic control preventing any other hovercars or similar vehicles from appearing nearby, allowing them to swiftly reach their destination.

As far as Wang Dong knows, except for a few special-purpose vehicles like emergency or security vehicles that possess high-speed flight capabilities, most transportation on Blackstone Star is restricted in terms of speed and altitude.

This is partly due to urban management needs and also a reflection of the omnipresence of the privileged class.

The destination of this trip is Chen Shayi's residence.

On Blackstone Star, Chen Shayi owns a mansion, a privilege enjoyed by all knights.

This is a rather formal visit, so Chen Shayi treats it with great importance. He waits with his family outside the mansion's entrance, warmly welcoming Wang Dong upon his arrival.

Guided by Chen Shayi, Wang Dong takes a brief tour of his mansion and then, during lunch, introduces his family to Wang Dong.

Chen Shayi's wife is his childhood sweetheart, not of noble birth like him, starting from the commoner class and working hard to achieve upward social nobility.

Although knights may not be considered nobles, this status can still be inherited.

Families of knights who control Fire Warships often use this as a foundation for generations to come.

Throughout history, there have been many knights who accumulated great achievements in battle, receiving rewards from their lords in various forms.

Rapid promotion to junior nobility is not uncommon among knightly groups.

Besides his wife, Chen Shayi's only son, Chen Zigong, is also present at the lunch.

Slightly older than Wang Dong, Chen Zigong is already twenty-five years old and has received formal knight training, achieving commendable results in body forging and military strategy.

Wang Dong remembers him.

In his previous life, Chen Shayi sacrificed himself to protect Wang Dong on the way back from the mining area to Blackstone Star, resulting in both his death and the sinking of the Skylark.

This was the beginning of the decline of the Chen family's budding knightly lineage.

Although the Baron compensated afterwards, the dire financial situation of the Baron's domain made it impossible to easily provide another Fire Warship to the Chen family.

After his father's death, Chen Zigong bravely took up the family mantle, continuing to serve the Baron's domain and ultimately dying in battle as well.

Both father and son were loyal and brave, examples of family loyalty.

Chen Zigong may not have been exceptionally talented, but his qualities were above average in all respects, meeting the requirements of most nobles for a stalwart supporter.

The key was loyalty, the most valued quality for those in power.

Wang Dong didn't put on airs and showed considerable appreciation for Chen Zigong, proposing that Chen Zigong serve as his attendant for a period.

This would allow them to showcase their talents, while also getting to know each other better.

Given Wang Dong's smooth ascension to heir and eventually to the baronial title, this was undoubtedly a good opportunity.

Chen Shayi was overjoyed and readily agreed.

Chen Zigong also expressed his willingness to closely follow Wang Dong's footsteps.

Lin Hui, also a knight, naturally attended the lunch.

Wang Dong understood that neither Chen Shayi nor Lin Hui would force a knight into serving as Wang Dong's bodyguard if the knight himself was unwilling, regardless of the Baron's intentions.

Lin Hui's presence indicated tacit agreement at the very least.

After the lunch, accompanied by Chen Shayi, Wang Dong boarded a transport shuttle to the spaceport located in synchronous orbit above Blackstone Star.

Inside the spaceport, in addition to the Skylark and Chen Shayi's fleet of assault ships, the Cyborg was also present.

After a brief tour as usual, Wang Dong boarded the Cyborg and met with Mada and his deputy, the Masked Officer.

It was intriguing that both the captain and the deputy captain on the Cyborg were officially "deceased" individuals.

Their identities needed to be kept secret to avoid trouble.

"In recent times, the Cyborg and its ship modules, along with exoskeleton armor and other supplies, have been coveted. Thanks to Knight Chen Shayi's protection, the consequences would have been unimaginable without it."

While he spoke of unimaginable consequences, Mada showed no sense of urgency.

Wang Dong nodded, unperturbed.

The Blackstone Baron's domain was not a monolithic entity, and even if it were, there would always be cunning individuals with hidden agendas.

But with Mada's capabilities, even without Chen Shayi's protection, those individuals would not necessarily gain any advantage.

Still, Chen Shayi's protection and support did indeed save a lot of trouble, and that should be acknowledged.

"As for logistics, there are currently no major issues. However, this is not a long-term solution. Knight Chen Shayi's supply allocation also has its limits. While it's manageable in the short term, over time, it may encroach upon the interests of his fleet."

Mada reminded.

"A few of our brothers have reported attempts by others to contact them and gather intelligence."

The Masked Officer added grimly.

Since putting on the mask, he had become even more reticent.

"Don't worry, I've already consulted with the Baron on logistics support and it has been resolved. I've brought the official appointment documents this time."

Wang Dong smiled as he took out a document stamped with the Baron's seal, including identification for Mada and Zhou Tai, as well as information, including two villas on Blackstone Star.

This essentially cleared their identities.