Buckingham was somewhat dissatisfied with Optimus' answer: The Supreme's testimony is completely worthless?

In Imperial society, though the Supreme doesn't hold divine authority, it often serves as a backing akin to the law.

But then again, the two had no real connection, merely mutual acknowledgment, with not a trace of friendship.

Given the circumstances, the fact that the other party absolved him of today's responsibilities is fair enough.

So he could only snort coldly, "Ha, evidence... Does none of these anomalies count as evidence?"

The anomalies are indeed present, yet the Customs Enforcement Division had found a scapegoat to take the fall, shameless but logically sound.

Optimus advised him to leave, "Every link has already entered into the normal flow, your presence has become an unstable factor."

"You surely wouldn't want me to forcibly take you away, would you?"

"You're quite something," Buckingham gave a thumbs up, "Looks like I need to expedite my research on Wood Attribute Poison!"

Optimus was indeed the Wood Attribute Supreme, named for "a single wood holds the sky."

Buckingham's purpose in heading to Hope Star Realm was already known by everyone, and he had no qualms making it known.

But the Guardian Supreme's face turned unsightly upon hearing this, "Can I assume you're threatening me?"

Buckingham replied indifferently, "I always act openly, daring to do means daring to speak!"

Optimus felt quite helpless about this; as a Wood Attribute Awakened, it's impossible not to be apprehensive about a dedicated poison.

Moreover, Buckingham was originally in pharmacology, offending such a person is really unwise!

The key is that he was well aware that the poison wasn't invented by this person; he's merely conducting research, leaving him unable to even harbor resentment.

The Guardian Supreme sighed, "There's no need to say such anger-inducing words."

"I can promise you one thing; as long as you can find evidence, you can present it to me anytime and I'll certainly give you an explanation!"

Buckingham snorted coldly and reluctantly left.

It was only then that he began to contact his old friends on Celestial Sharp Star—two of whom were Supremes.

If he didn't have such connections, he might not have chosen to come here.

During the great confrontation, Buckingham could have contacted his old friends and sent a distress signal.

However, being a Supreme, he maintained a level of dignity, even with old friends—he tried not to rely on them unless necessary.

Debts of gratitude are hard to repay, and he himself was a Supreme; calling in help during a fight—does that not affect his dignity?

Another point is, the waters of the Customs Enforcement Division run deep indeed.

Buckingham had already directly clashed with them, no way to avoid it, but rashly seeking help from old friends has the suspicion of pulling them into the fray.

His old friends might not care about the Customs Enforcement Division, but still, that's not the way of friendship.

The two Supremes, a man and a woman, but the female Supreme was currently in seclusion for cultivation, while the male Supreme proactively came to meet him.

This Fire Attribute Supreme was named Nelson, and his personality was as fiery and passionate.

He first complained about not being called during the fight, too distant, then inquired about Buckingham's companions.

Buckingham provided the contact information of his junior.

Nelson immediately dispatched two A-levels to pick them up, also assuring that all necessary procedures were covered by him.

That's the extent of a Supreme's privilege; casually arranging for people, it's done without even counting as a favor.

When Bai Siwen and his companion were picked up, the banquet hadn't even started yet.

Buckingham was slightly surprised, "Well...he didn't stay with you two?"

Bai Siwen responded, "That gentleman settled us in and then left, but he said he would protect us in secret."

Buckingham nodded thoughtfully, while Nelson questioned, "He didn't even share his name...that's very distant?"

Buckingham replied helplessly, "I met him by chance on the starship, he refused to give his name, what can I do?"

"You," Nelson pointed at him, "always hiding something, casually bump into an A-level?"

Clearly, he didn't believe what his old friend said, but Buckingham had no intention of explaining further.

Instead, Bai Siwen pulled out a handset, "He said to call him if needed, and he should still be within contact range."

Buckingham raised his hand and received the handset, "I am Buckingham, are you still there?"

"Of course," Qu Jianlei's voice came through the handset, "Can my task be considered complete now?"

Buckingham remained silent for a while before replying, "Thank you, sir!"

Sitting beside him, Nelson heard and curled his lip—could it really have been a chance encounter?

Otherwise, with Buckingham's arrogance, how could he casually say "thank you" to an A-level?

The next moment, the words from the handset confirmed his suspicions.

"Ha, sir's handling today is rather superficial."

"Alas," upon hearing this, Buckingham wasn't angry, merely sighed in frustration.

"Optimus is a stubborn one, insisting on finding evidence, and I can't disrespect the Guardian's opinion."

"By the way, do you have any evidence? If you do, give it to me...that would be another favor I owe you."

Evidently, he considered the previous protection of his juniors as a personal favor already.

"Sir, talking like this, aren't we outsiders?" Qu Jianlei let out a dry laugh.

"I happen to have some other evidence in hand. Since you need it, I'll place it on the third tree outside your courtyard..."

After he finished speaking, Nelson glanced at his A-level, "Hurry up and fetch it?"

"Hold on," Buckingham had already stood up and stated decisively, "I'll get it myself!"

Nelson spread his hands, indifferently pouting...

In the blink of an eye, Buckingham returned, clutching a storage device in his hand.

Connecting the storage device to the terminal, the next moment, a light screen appeared in mid-air.

He didn't hide this from Nelson—years of friendship meant he trusted him.

Subsequently, lines of text appeared on the light screen, accompanied by some images.

Those present read a few lines, and their expressions turned grim.

"Tsk," Nelson couldn't help but click his tongue, "Old friend, are you forcing yourself into a confrontation with the Customs Enforcement Division?"

The lines of text showed the Celestial Sharp Star Customs Enforcement Division's record of smugglers' experiences over the years.

Not only were there specific times, places, and people, but some cases also had "pictures to prove it"!

"Oh my..." Buckingham looked at the storage device, "This guy sure is capable!"

Nelson gave him a sidelong glance, his expression becoming increasingly strange, "I say, you're not really planning to go head-to-head with the Customs Enforcement Division, are you?"

"Why not?" Buckingham let out a cold laugh, "Do they really think the Supreme's face is that worthless?"

What he couldn't accept was this: he had already planned to let things slide, but they just wouldn't appreciate it.

"Ahem," Nelson coughed awkwardly, looking troubled.

"Old friend, to be frank, someone did ask me to intercede, hoping you'd give the Customs Enforcement Division some leeway in this matter."

Buckingham gave him a glance and nodded slightly, "This was within my expectations."

During the daylight battle, why didn't he call for reinforcements? He had already considered this possibility.

Nelson, being the Supreme of Celestial Sharp, had a complex network of relationships; it wasn't surprising someone would appeal to him.

Buckingham didn't want to trouble his old friend, so he fought alongside strangers.

He expressed faintly, "That guy Optimus also doubted my words. This face I must fight for."

"Old friend, I acted alone so as not to drag you into this. Now, are you trying to make things difficult for me?"

Nelson hesitated, finally letting out a heavy sigh, "Involving that blockhead Optimus, I can't really say much."

"However, I hope you can, for my sake, leave the other party a way out, okay?"

Nelson thought for a moment and eventually shook his head, "You can see clearly, this information wasn't obtained by me..."

"The person who gave me the information isn't simple at all. Even if I agree to show mercy, would they let it go easily?"

Nelson remained silent, and after a long while, he sighed, "Forget it, I've done my best."

"Alright, it's been a long time since we last met, let's not talk about these dispiriting things... tonight, we won't leave until we're drunk!"

Bai Siwen sat quietly there, observing his nose with his eyes, his lips with his nose, and his heart with his lips, not daring to make a sound.

In a Supreme-level exchange, he had no qualification to interject.

Then he felt his wristwatch vibrate; it was a message from his niece, "Should we be wary of the other party?"

He drooped his eyelids, silently replying, "It depends on Grandfather's decision, even if we want to be wary, it's useless."

If Nelson really wanted to scheme, could the two of them with their small statures escape?

However, thinking about it, he comforted his niece with another sentence, "With that person lurking in the shadows, nothing unexpected should happen."

Just as he thought, no further unpleasant topics arose at the welcome banquet, leaving everyone content and leaving with smiles.

After handing over the information, Qu Jianlei headed straight for Pan Shi City overnight.

This time, he wasn't in too much of a hurry, because the previous jump from over 100,000 meters altitude had consumed a lot of his Inner Breath.

Anyway, he traveled while recovering; it took him four days for the more than 3,000 kilometers.

This was the final formality, then he would fly to Celestial Hook, begin his seclusion to break through to Supreme, so adjusting his state was important.

Upon reaching Pan Shi, the location where the scent bag was buried remained undiscovered, and he easily retrieved it.

He then received news of major changes within the Celestial Sharp's Customs Enforcement Division.

The entire senior management of the Celestial Sharp division was almost completely wiped out, with the arrests carried out by Guardian Supreme Optimus and the Military police.

No official explanation was provided regarding what these people had done, only that the situation was generally under control and the investigation was ongoing.

Hearing this news, Qu Jianlei felt somewhat satisfied.

Although he didn't get his revenge personally, the goal was achieved, so there was no need to mind the formality too much.

But for some reason, he still had a vague sense of unease within him.

Soon, he finally understood where the unease came from—Celestial Sharp would severely crack down on smuggling, with a provisional period of one year!

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