Super Mothership
“Everyone, what exactly do you think the other side meant by that final remark?” Assad asked with a frown.
“Hmm… There are too many possibilities. It could mean that this Black Steward is a famous figure whom we have all heard of. Or it could also mean…”
Victor did not finish his sentence. He merely glanced around the room instinctively.
Or perhaps… he was right here among them!
Everyone present was intelligent, and they quickly completed Victor’s unfinished thought in their minds.
Even if he wasn’t one of these dozen or so core councilors, he must at least be someone who frequently appeared in public and was familiar to everyone.
The thought that such a spy might be lurking right beside them inevitably sent chills down everyone’s backs.
“Ahem! Of course, this could also simply be a smokescreen deliberately thrown out by the other side, intended to divert our attention so that they can conceal themselves more effectively.”
Realizing that his words might unsettle everyone, Victor coughed and added this clarification.
“Yes! As for the other side’s true identity, let’s put that matter aside for now. After all, we are currently cooperating with them, and we are the weaker party. There’s no need to provoke them at a time like this.
“At present, the greatest threat facing our civilization is the Locke Consortium!”
After thinking for a moment, Cruze established the basic position on the matter.
“Then are we really going to accept their conditions and hand over the Vector Engine?” Victor asked somewhat unwillingly.
“If they can truly fulfill the first two conditions they promised, then handing over the Vector Engine may not necessarily be a losing deal for us.
“It may be extremely valuable, but its usefulness to us is ultimately limited if we are incapable of researching the advanced technology contained within it.”
“But what if they’re simply feeding us false intelligence? The Locke Consortium and the All for One Society are nothing more than the difference between a tiger and a wolf.” One of the councilors voiced his concern.
“I’ve considered that possibility as well.” Cruze spoke slowly.
“Their second condition is to hand control of the wormhole over to us. As long as they can truly accomplish that, we’ll naturally be able to obtain relevant intelligence from the Shattered Star Pirates and use it to corroborate their claims.”
“Yes! That would be safer.”
“Furthermore, these two factions are clearly secretly competing over ownership of the Vector Engine.
“If the Vector Engine really ends up in the hands of the All for One Society, we could spread the news ourselves. Perhaps we could even use the situation to make the tiger devour the wolf, buying ourselves even more breathing room.” Another councilor offered a suggestion.
Under Nie Yun’s masterful deception, Gemini had undoubtedly come to regard this fledgling All for One Society as a colossal power comparable to, or even greater than, the Woolf Empire.
“Yes! No matter how you look at it, agreeing to the All for One Society’s conditions will bring us nothing but benefits.”
After the group of old foxes reached their decision, Councilor Cruze stayed behind and privately asked Assad to remain after the meeting.
“As I recall, Leon Assad has always been responsible for intelligence concerning the All for One Society?” Cruze asked directly.
Patriarch Assad froze for a moment, unsure why Cruze had brought this up at this particular time.
Was he planning to hold them accountable for the intelligence department’s failure?
“That’s right. He is indeed responsible for it. However, the All for One Society has hidden itself far too deeply. The traders on Kara Star are actually those indigenous people from Earth, and they’re all remotely controlled robots. This has made intelligence work extremely difficult.”
Assad nodded, not forgetting to offer an explanation on behalf of his own younger relative.
Speaking of intelligence work concerning the All for One Society, poor Leon really had more headaches than he could count.
Within Gemini’s civilization, there was practically no trace of the organization’s activities. They couldn’t find even the slightest clue.
Originally, he had thought that after the establishment of the Free Trade Zone and the resulting interactions between the two sides, the intelligence operation would finally make some progress.
Who could have expected that the other side would send nothing but a bunch of lumps of iron?
Every time things reached a critical point and he was just about to coax some information out of them, the other side would suddenly respond:
“The content you are attempting to access has been 404’d!”
Then the Earth indigenous would come back to his senses, leave behind an awkward yet polite smile, and hurriedly walk away…
As a result, under the other side’s strict network-admin-style control over public discourse, aside from a mountain of entertainment gossip from Earth, Leon could hardly obtain any serious intelligence.
His annual report couldn’t even reach the required 2,000 words.
In the end, he could only submit an essay titled On the Pyramid-Scheme-Style Development Model of the All for One Society to his superior.
And the result?
After receiving a thorough, ear-scorching tongue-lashing, he lost his year-end bonus…
If it hadn’t been for the intelligence contained in The Woolf Empire Encyclopedia, which allowed him to make a brief comeback, his position as head of intelligence might not have remained secure.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to hold anyone accountable. What I mean is… is this person reliable?”
Cruze’s words carried an obvious implication.
Upon hearing this, Assad finally understood what Cruze was getting at.
“Reliable! I watched him grow up. There is absolutely no problem with his loyalty to our civilization.”
“Good! I trust the Assad family’s elite education. That’s why I want you to… have Leon secretly investigate the identity of that Black Steward.”
Cruze finally revealed his purpose.
“My intuition tells me that the other side’s remark wasn’t a smokescreen. There’s a considerable chance that it was true. It’s obvious that the other side is extremely arrogant, and arrogant people don’t bother lying.
“So this person… is very likely right here among us!”
“Yes! The other side knows our movements like the back of their hand. Someone without a certain level of status simply couldn’t accomplish that. However… although Leon is part of the intelligence department, he may have some reservations about investigating the people around us.”
“I’ll issue a special warrant under my authority as councilor. But don’t let a fourth person know about this.
“As long as we can uncover his true identity, then perhaps when we face the All for One Society in the future, we won’t be as helpless as we are today.”
“All right! I understand.”
The two discussed the details for a while before the topic naturally shifted to the two younger members of their families serving on the front lines.
“Isabel has recently taken over command of the front line. If things continue developing this way, she may become a great general someday. I imagine quite a few people have been coming to propose marriage recently, right?”
“Haha! That’s also thanks to your boy. Come to think of it, it really was dangerous. If Arthas hadn’t warned Isabel beforehand, she might already have ended up on the list of fallen heroes.
“If you came to propose a marriage between Arthas and her, I might agree immediately!”
In fact, the relationship between the two families had recently been moving toward reconciliation. Apart from the external pressure facing their civilization, the military alliance between Arthas and Isabel was also an important factor.
“What? Those two are from different generations! Our eldest son would actually be a much better match. What do you think?”
“Heh! What era are we living in? Age is hardly an obstacle. Don’t think I don’t know that Arthas’s position in the succession to clan patriarch has been steadily rising, right? He’s a very promising investment.
“If you want to propose a marriage, I’ll only recognize Arthas!”
“Hah! You old fox!”
Cruze did not deny it.
In fact, Arthas’s recent outstanding performance had already earned him a certain amount of prestige within the Feathered Race.
Even Cruze had begun quietly wondering to himself:
The position of clan patriarch…
Should he give it to him?
TL Note- Marriage....
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