Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
After Alps Base 7’s transformation, it could now be said to be a war machine armed to the teeth.
Its powerful hybrid magnetic shield could resist all kinds of derived photothermal and destructive rays.
The huge observational portholes, each 10 meters long and 20 meters tall, were equipped with a filtering system to filter out harmful light, so that the soldiers could look out of them directly with the naked eye. Spectroscopic analysis, energy readings and wavelength shift rate were continuously displayed around the portholes in the form of diagrams. In the case of free shooting in combat, the side with this ability would have a great advantage.
Sitting behind the heavily armoured launchers were up to 4,000 anti-matter missiles ready to be fired. There were also 280 powerful anti-matter laser cannons. It was claimed that the shots from these laser cannons were more powerful the further they traveled.
In fact, even if this behemoth of a space station was sent to the frontline of the war against the Alliance, it would still be a heavyweight lethal weapon.
But the space station had suddenly gone paralysed, breaking away from the control of its original master!
By the time all the screens inside the base regained their clarity, a furious face was plastered on all of them. The owner of the face had a large, red drunkard nose. He had thick hair around his lips and on his cheeks. The combination of his facial features gave off the impression of someone rude and fierce. He was the deputy commander of the A-71 Royal Squadron, Yodenov, nicknamed the Polar Bear!
Apparently, the fleet had detected from afar the anomaly in the base that was on Level 1 alert. They immediately reported this to the General Staff Headquarters of the Empire. The Imperial General Staff Headquarters quickly decided that the emergency situation on the base had seriously threatened the foundation and security of the Empire (because the safety of the third ranking successor to the throne was being threatened), so the password granting the highest level of authority was immediately transmitted to the squadron.
And so, Lieutenant General Mungo unfortunately lost control of his base in just ten seconds!
Only then did he understand why the ambitious warlords had to remain respectful and obedient under the authority of the Pansy even though the separatist regimes in the major war zones had already gained momentum, and the Empire had a strong outside enemy like the Alliance.
The majesty of the royal family was still deeply-rooted in every corner of the Empire.
After the A-71 squadron slowly docked on the berths, the royal guards on them surged out of the spaceships like a tide. 130 space tanks came roaring out of the belly of the Atlantic-class warships, cooperating with the royal guards to take control of all the key departments. Only after they had confirmed that the situation was safe did Prince Pombaru unhurriedly make his appearance.
Despite the prince’s usual lackadaisical attitude, this time, he had no choice but to let his subordinates dress him up. Purple had always been the low-key colour of royalty. The well-fitting formal attire gave his appearance considerable charm, but his eyes were still as unruly as always. Next, in order to show that he was a man of the people, he even took the initiative to pay a visit to several households to ask about the current situation. Only after that did he slowly walk to the conference room that was at the core of the base.
This series of actions by Prince Pombaru was executed swiftly and cleanly, like a set of free flowing combo punches. In addition, he also possessed the natural sense of superiority of the royal family. He effortlessly took control of the whole situation before either Lieutenant General Mungo or the people from the Arnold family could react.
However, it was precisely because of this that both Mungo and the Arnold family had a suspicion – a terrifying suspicion!
A suspicion that the disappearance of Arnold Fabian Montsson Lucio was dictated by Prince Pombaru!
Prince Pombaru was closely related to the Big Ben Research Institute. Who else could jam the signal from the positioning chips produced by Big Ben Research Institute but Big Ben Research Institute themselves. The more they thought about it, the more suspicious the incident seemed, and the more confident they were in their assumption.
Less than half an hour in the core conference room and Prince Pombaru already had a clear grasp of the situation. He was actually overjoyed, because this fortuitous situation had enabled him to take full control of the base as soon as he arrived, without him actually doing anything. He felt that even destiny was helping him. That put him in an excellent mood.
Next, Prince Pombaru must, of course, provide an explanation for suddenly taking over the base without warning. The explanation he gave was that it was a “misunderstanding”. The reason was simple.
“A royal prince had personally come for a visit, but instead of greeting him, you entered Level 1 combat preparation. You’re still citizens of the Empire. This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable.”
After hearing Prince Pombaru’s explanation, what else could Lieutenant General Mungo do besides offer his apology?
The Constitution of the Empire stipulated that only the Crown Prince and the Emperor himself could take control of a large military fortress like Alps Base 7, but Pombaru had valid reasons to take over the base on a temporary basis, so there was nothing Mungo could do about it.
But what made Lieutenant General Mungo even more distressed was that Prince Pombaru had been really quick to act. He merely offered Mungo some words of comfort and told him that he would not pursue the matter further, but he failed to mention when he would return the command of the base to Mungo! Mungo felt like he was slowly dying inside!
He knew that as long as Prince Pombaru kept his control of the base for a while, even if he did not actively look for evidence of Mungo’s wrongdoings, those evidence would inevitably show themselves as time passed! For example, when the appointed time came to hand over the firearms Mungo had resold to other parties, a reminder would be displayed on the main channel. The bank statement of his financial investments would also show up on a special menu prompt….
Lieutenant General Mungo’s brain was full of these thoughts. He could not even remember how he came out of the main control room. His vest was already soaked wet with cold sweat, and his entire body smelled of tobacco. He kept walking aimlessly for a period of time before he finally shook his head and went back to his residence with a sigh.
Lieutenant General Mungo’s residence was naturally in the core area of the innermost circle of the base. He was unmarried, and his needs were fulfilled by the secretary he kept at his side. But right now, he naturally had no desire for such things, so he shooed the secretary away. He could only drown his bad mood with strong liquor, alone.
But the alcohol only made his mood worse. While Mungo was sighing at his fate, someone rang the doorbell. That made him inexplicably furious. He instantly screamed at the door to make the person go away.
However, the ringing of the doorbell stubbornly persisted. Mungo gulped down a few more mouthfuls of drink with bloodshot eyes. His mood had become even worse. In his anger, he opened the door and slammed the bottle he was holding on the visitor’s head without even looking!
The bottle shattered loudly, bursting into pieces on the head of the man standing at the door. Mungo exhaled with satisfaction and yelled in a hoarse voice, “Serves you right. That was for…wait, it’s you?”
The man who just got smacked by a liquor bottle was none other than Sheyan.
“Hi, long time no see.” He greeted Lieutenant General Mungo as if nothing had happened.
Just around the corner stood an embarrassed-looking Archer. Without him, Sheyan could not have come here.
A few different expressions cycled through Lieutenant General Mungo’s face. It eventually settled on a look of uncertainty.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to help you,” Sheyan answered with a smile.
“There’s nothing you can do to help me,” came Mungo’s depressed reply.
Although he said that, he still let Sheyan in. After all, this man from his past was still a passable listener. Furthermore, both sides have some common secrets, so they could be more open with each other.
Although Sheyan already knew everything about the incident, he listened patiently as Mungo told him what he already knew. When Mongo’s tongue turned stiff from talking, he picked up a bottle of vodka and took a few mouthfuls. He then said, stuttering, “You..tell…tell me…what can I do?”
Sheyan answered without hesitation, “You’ve already profited once from sitting on the fence. Do you really expect to profit for a second time? That’s obviously impossible now. A large-scale mining of Pi element on Uplos is imminent, and this place will soon become a decisive variable that can shake even the Empire. You still want to get the best of both worlds? That’s just digging your own grave!”
Mungo was pricked by Sheyan’s words. His face turned dark, but his drunkenness poured out of him together with his cold sweat.
“So what do you suggest I do?” he could not stop himself from asking.
“Sell yourself for a good price while you’re still valuable, of course!” Sheyan remarked flatly. “Otherwise, when both sides feel that you’re too hard to control and reach an agreement to replace you, you’ll be worthless!”
Various expressions cycled through Mungo’s face again. The alcohol in his body had all turned into cold sweat. The words of this outsider were indeed really harsh. No one around Mungo dared to say these things to him, but he had to admit that every point Sheyan made was right on the money.
Sheyan rode the momentum and took the chance to voice his own question. “I’ve been answering your questions all this time, now it’s my turn to ask a question. I heard some rumors that something has gone wrong with my Major General’s Blood Armour. What’s the problem?”
At the mention of the equipment, Mungo could only shake his head with a wry smile.
“I honestly have nothing to do with it. You can only blame it on your luck.”
“Just tell me the whole story. I can judge for myself who I should blame,” replied Sheyan flatly.
Mungo grinned bitterly. “The manufacturing process of Blood Armours was taught to us by the Realm. We still don’t fully understand a lot of the principles involved. Although we know what to do, we don’t really know the reason. The final process in the manufacturing of a Blood Armour is to put the armour in an unmanned spacecraft and send it to some extreme cosmic objects such as a red dwarf star or a black hole to undergo cosmic ray baptism. Therefore, when it becomes a finished product, it’ll leak a powerful aura that may possibly resonate with people who get close to it, even ordinary human beings. It’s a very comfortable feeling.”
“So somebody has felt a very comfortable resonance with my armour and has intercepted it?” Sheyan narrowed his eyes and asked, his voice frosty.
