Super Mothership
"Lord Isabel, it’s a pleasure to see you again."
In the video feed, the Black Butler still wore his usual black robe, with a dark and mysterious setting in the background—perfectly in line with the image of a shadowy underground organization.
"Mr. Black Butler, your side has brazenly torn up the peace agreement and launched a sneak attack on our fleet first. I’m afraid this meeting isn’t much cause for pleasure."
Isabel opened by putting the blame for starting the conflict squarely on the other party, setting herself up to gain a more favorable position in the negotiations.
"Heh… Lord Isabel, now that’s what I call lying through your teeth. Our earlier agreement was for your side to cease all military operations on Kara Star. Clearly, you haven’t kept your promise!"
As Nie Yun, disguised as the Black Butler, spoke, the video feed shifted to a scene of Alpha Squad’s captain fleeing.
"Your special operations personnel infiltrated Kara Star carrying weapons of mass destruction, sneaking into the secret production facility for the Water of Life. They nearly destroyed this precious cosmic treasure, posing a severe threat to our fundamental interests on Kara Star!
With no other choice, we had to take military action to ensure the Water of Life remained in our hands. So, it was not us, but you, who first tore up the agreement!" Nie Yun declared with righteous conviction.
Isabel’s face darkened at his words.
The timing of their attack did coincide with Alpha Squad’s infiltration, but anyone with eyes could see this carefully planned, step-by-step operation wasn’t something thrown together at the last minute.
Clearly, the other side had been plotting this for a long time. That “no other choice” excuse was pure nonsense.
Still, as the saying goes, the pot shouldn’t call the kettle black—Alpha Squad’s infiltration was always meant as groundwork for a larger military action. Both sides had been scheming against each other; Gemini had simply acted a step too late.
Isabel knew there was no point in bickering over “who broke the agreement first.” She quickly shifted her focus to something revealed in her opponent’s words.
"You said your military action was to ensure the Water of Life stays in your hands? Then… that means the Water of Life really is inside that bio-fortress?" Isabel asked.
"Correct. Transporting this treasure was quite the dangerous ordeal. To protect it, our organization paid a heavy price," Nie Yun replied with hidden meaning.
A heavy price?
Was he referring to the sudden appearance of those silver warships?
"Then… the claim that the Water of Life’s place of origin can’t be moved was also a lie, wasn’t it? Your organization seems rather skilled at weaving falsehoods," Isabel said with a mocking tone.
"Of course not! We’ve been entirely truthful. In fact, because it was forcibly moved, the natural production of the Water of Life has dropped by more than half. That’s a huge loss for both of us!" Nie Yun said, feigning deep regret.
When a lie is exposed, never think about confessing—patch it up quickly with another lie. That’s the golden rule…
Isabel: "…"
Gemini had never even seen the Water of Life’s place of origin, so she had no way to judge the truth of his claim. But her instincts told her—he was lying.
"Since you’ve already achieved your tactical goal, why hold the wormhole so desperately? Wouldn’t it make more sense to retreat back to the Solar System with the goods?" Isabel pressed, her gaze locked on him.
Losing the Water of Life was a huge blow to Gemini. But if the Unity of All Things were colluding with the Ant Empire to invade the Proxima System and use it as a springboard for a massive incursion into Gemini’s Gadari Sector, that would be an even greater crisis.
Judging from the technological power the enemy had shown in this battle, the Ant Empire’s strength was beyond question.
A mere six warships combined into a single weapon system had left an entire Gemini fleet battered and humiliated…
If all their fleets were of this caliber, the Unity of All Things’ earlier claim that they could “overwhelm Gemini” wasn’t just empty talk.
The wormhole linking the Proxima System to Gemini wasn’t some small, narrow wormhole like the one to the Solar System—it was large enough to allow a sizable military operation. In other words, if the enemy took Proxima, Gemini’s rear territories in the Gadari Sector would be almost impossible to defend…
Isabel now bitterly regretted underestimating the threat from the Solar System. Had she known, she would have stationed heavy forces at the wormhole, sealing off any chance of the enemy’s advance—even building a massive defense fortress there would have been worth it.
Unfortunately, it was too late for that now…
"Ah…" Faced with Isabel’s question, Nie Yun put on a look of deep helplessness and let out a heavy sigh.
"Holding the wormhole—yes, we do have our reasons. In truth, although we took the Water of Life from Kara Star… unfortunately, we can’t take it away with us."
Can’t take it away?!
Isabel’s expression shifted, and a certain possibility came to mind. Her gaze drifted toward the massive figure of the Immortal in the distance…
"That’s right! Looks like you’ve guessed it too. The creator of the Water of Life is what you people see as this tree—you can call it… the Immortal!"
Immortal? Meaning… something with an extraordinarily long lifespan?
Indeed, perhaps only such a unique cosmic lifeform could create a miraculous treasure like the Water of Life. It also matched some of the conjectures and theories Gemini’s scientists had proposed.
This was the grain of truth inside Nie Yun’s web of lies—something that could stand up to Gemini’s scrutiny.
"Heh… so that’s it. The wormhole’s travel restrictions won’t allow something the Immortal’s size to pass, will they? But why tell me this secret? Aren’t you afraid I might get angry and choose mutual destruction? You know, our current balance of power is about fifty-fifty—if I’m willing to pay the price, destroying the Immortal is hardly impossible!"
Fifty-fifty?
Nie Yun smiled inwardly, but didn’t bother to correct Isabel’s self-flattering assessment.
"Heh… truth be told, after the series of battles earlier, plus our own reckless mechanical modifications, the Immortal’s condition is actually quite poor. Not only has Water of Life production plummeted, but its very vitality has been badly damaged.
You should have noticed—we’ve been doing our best to protect it from your attacks. And yes, I believe you could bring about mutual destruction if you wanted to."
"Hm?" Isabel hadn’t expected such bluntness from the other side, and she froze for a moment.
"Things have come to this point—something neither of us wanted to see. Fighting you is a meaningless conflict that only makes friends suffer and enemies rejoice!
We, the Unity of All Things, are a business organization. Combat is only our last, reluctant option. If not for the United Council ordering an assault on Kara Star with the intent to monopolize the Water of Life, we’d never have risked taking such a desperate step.
Look at the situation now—your fleet has taken heavy losses, and for this operation, we had to call in reinforcements from our allied forces on the other side. We’ve spent countless resources and paid dearly.
This is an internal struggle that only benefits outsiders. Tell me—what’s the point?" Nie Yun said, wearing an expression of deep, bitter sorrow.
So… this is all my fault now?
Isabel’s mouth twitched. They take the spoils, then dump the blame for starting it all onto someone else? That’s a bit shameless, isn’t it?
"If you didn’t want a war, there were plenty of other ways to solve the problem," Isabel said, shaking her head.
"Heh… do you actually believe that? Do you think, even if we spoke with honeyed tongues, we could convince those greedy politicians? Humans… they never cry until they see the coffin," Nie Yun replied with a small shake of his head and a smile.
Isabel had no answer to that.
Without solid proof of the other side’s true strength, who would believe the Unity of All Things had the ability to snatch prey from a tiger’s jaws?
She had to admit—the two sides were probably destined to fight sooner or later.
"In that case, now that we’ve met on the battlefield, it seems there’s nothing more to discuss except letting the battle decide the winner?" Isabel asked.
"Oh, there’s still something to discuss. If we keep fighting, both sides will just end up bleeding each other dry. That benefits no one."
"You want a ceasefire?"
"Of course. Our organization has always valued peace."
Isabel’s mouth twitched again before she asked, "How would this ceasefire work?"
"We both maintain our fleet sizes in the Proxima System—no firing, no reinforcements, no arms race. We preserve a military balance in the Proxima System. How about that?"
Isabel considered it. Her side’s defeat in Proxima was almost certain at this point. If she could get the other side to promise not to increase their forces there, it might actually be more advantageous for Gemini.
Even if the United Council wanted to keep fighting, they’d have to wait for reinforcements from the rear…
"And the Water of Life?"
"Same condition as before—the Water of Life and the Immortal remain under our custody. But this time, based on the already halved distribution ratio, you only get thirty percent!
Now, don’t object just yet—because of this operation, we had to bring in the Ant Empire, so they get a share too. We’re not walking away with a big profit here," Nie Yun said, waving the Ant Empire’s name like a battle flag.
The implication was clear: the Ant Empire had taken an interest in the cosmic treasure and wanted a piece of the action.
Isabel hesitated. She badly wanted to take back the wormhole and the Immortal, but deep down she knew that continuing the fight now would not end well…
"I can report this to the higher-ups. Whether or not to accept your terms will depend on the United Council’s decision."
"Of course. And I have another suggestion," Nie Yun added.
"What suggestion?"
"Trade!"
"Trade?" Isabel echoed in puzzlement.
"Yes. You know the Ant Empire is right behind us. Under our organization’s internal trade rules, our Gemini branch can establish a direct trade link with the Ant Empire branch.
In other words, through us, your side could purchase all kinds of high-tech goods and intelligence from the Ant Empire.
If the United Council is interested, the Unity of All Things can act as the middleman. Everyone gets what they want," Nie Yun said with a grin.
It took a moment before Isabel understood what he was really suggesting.
This sounded a lot like… cross-civilization shopping services?!
TL Note- Shopping services....
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