Chapter 258: Reward
Zhuxing Palace - in the political hall, there are hundreds of seats in the palace, all of which belong to the bigwigs with high positions and power in Guixing.
Archons like Ordos can't even reach the threshold here.
Now the seats are full. They are scattered all over Guixing. No matter what they are busy with, they use virtual projection to come here.
Because they are discussing extremely critical matters now.
"…There's nothing to talk about. If we don't solve the Xinhe virus, what can we talk about?" A hot-tempered boss shouted angrily, and the virtual projection slammed on the chair suddenly, but no sound was made.
"We can't start a war without talking, right?!" Another big boss shook his head.
"The Xingyao Empire is stalling for time on purpose. Even if they don't admit to poisoning, wouldn't it be difficult for them to come up with a solution to the Xinhe virus through some channel?"
“Maybe they don’t have a solution either…”
"Do you yourself think it possible?"
“…”
The solemn and dignified political hall now seemed to have turned into a vegetable market, with constant noise.
Vimala had an indifferent expression and watched everything in front of her calmly. This quarrel had been going on for several days.
Behind her, Klein lowered his head, listening to the quarrel, and it was unknown what he was thinking about.
As Li Yu expected, the negotiations with the Star Empire entered a stalemate.
It would be fine if the Xingyao Empire did not admit to poisoning, Guixing’s request was just for the Xingyao Empire to come up with a solution.
Whether pretending that the vaccine was developed by himself or selling it to Guixing through the black market, it was nothing more than an excuse.
But the weird thing is that the Star Empire did not respond at all to the hint of returning to the star.
On the surface, they showed a negotiating gesture, but secretly did not give any response, which made the top management of Guixing unsure of the other party's attitude.
"I do have an idea." On the other side, a young man with an imposing manner spoke up, and the noisy voices in the room suddenly quieted down.
"Your Highness Titus, what do you think?" Many people showed expressions of respect.
Titus - Tigor's first son, although he looks young, his official age is 465 years old.
His long life gave him a very high reputation among the senior officials of Guixing, and many of them were promoted by him.
"Let's keep playing." Titus's idea was extremely radical. He looked around and said, "The Star Empire has fallen into a quagmire in the No Man's Land. The rejection of various civilizations far exceeded the Star Empire's expectations."
"Although the troll army is powerful, the parliament is not without ways to deal with it."
"Since the Xingyao Empire doesn't want to negotiate, then let's continue playing."
Titus' words caused the place to fall into silence. The senior leaders looked at each other in bewilderment. Continuing this game meant starting a war?
The No Man's Land only involves one colonial legion of the Troll Legion, so it can't be considered a quagmire.
"Brother's ideas are a bit too radical." Alexei in the corner chuckled. He did not have a strong presence as he was Tigor's youngest son.
Tigor had a total of 13 sons and three daughters. Excluding the four sons who died in the war, there were nine sons left.
They are all here now, and the only ones who have spoken are Titus and Alexi.
One is the oldest and has a high reputation, and the other is the youngest and no one cares about what he says.
As for those caught in between, many of them are dispensable princes.
Alexei chuckled twice: "If we continue playing, I'm afraid we'll have to fight. I don't think many of you here really want to go to war with the Star Empire."
Titus did not react much to Alexei's rebuttal, and said calmly: "I just offered an idea."
"I have an idea too." Klein suddenly spoke beside Vimala, attracting everyone's attention.
Compared to Alexi, Klein is obviously more transparent here, but because of Vimala, no one dares to ignore her openly.
Some high-ranking officials looked at Vimala, but could not see the psychological reaction of this "Iron Queen", and her expression remained indifferent.
“Why not take a step back?” Klein’s words surprised everyone.
Take a step back? The top leaders were confused. In interstellar confrontations, weakness and strength are not constant positive or negative terms.
"What does His Highness Klein think?" a senior official from the Vimala camp asked at the right time.
“A sky-high reward.” Klein raised his head, and the entire political hall was reflected in his crystal eyes.
"We can offer a huge reward for the Xinhe virus."
Logically speaking, the Xingyao Empire is the one who poisoned the food, and now that we have entered the negotiation stage, they should be allowed to resolve the issue.
But now Guixing has to spend a lot of money to get a solution, which can indeed be regarded as a step back.
"this……"
The top brass looked hesitant. If Vimala hadn't been here, they would have started to criticize him.
If Titus's idea was too radical, then Klein's was too cowardly.
It's so embarrassing for a dignified Guixing to be slapped in the face and still pay money with a smile.
"This idea... has merit." Prince Connor spoke up. He had a different opinion on this: "Ordinary citizens don't know about the secrets between us and the Star Empire. They only see the external bounty."
"Besides, the Star Empire is too powerful. If even we retreat this time, what will the other civilizations think?"
The world has suffered from Xingyao for a long time!
After Angelica Star also gave in to the Star Empire, I'm afraid that other civilizations will be in danger, fearing that they will be the next one.
"It can be considered an attempt..." a senior executive said, and then added: "We can definitely issue a reward to the entire universe. I'm afraid many laboratories are waiting for this opportunity."
"Maybe some laboratory has already developed a method."
Another senior executive said, "This is not uncommon. During several interstellar plague outbreaks, the efficiency of those top laboratories was no less than ours."
It is not uncommon to offer a bounty to others. Many civilizations have done so before, targeting top laboratories.
Every profession has its own expertise. The genetic technology of the Black Blood Research Institute is top-notch, and the life science technology of the Ark of Savior is equally amazing.
This is a consensus among the stars, and there is no shame in asking them for help.
Klein continued, "We can completely replace the actual rewards with large and imaginary bounties, such as high-level medals, or laboratories that can only be used in the country..."
"The key lies in our attitude. We can use this method to see what the Star Empire is really trying to do."
"If a top laboratory can really produce results, we might be able to get some clients back after paying this price, so it's not a loss."
"A big but empty reward..." Many senior executives pondered this sentence, and their eyes gradually brightened.
This is indeed true. For example, the high medal of Guixing is almost worthless to people from other civilizations.
There are also advanced laboratories that are only used locally. Although the cost is high, it is worth it if you can really gain a few top scientific researchers through them.
The ambiguous attitude of the Star Empire is really confusing. There is no accurate answer as to whether it is a negotiation or a fight.
Klein's "step back" can indeed be used as a means of experimentation.
To the Star Empire, those big and empty things had little appeal.
But at the level of the Star Empire, simple material things are no longer enough to attract them.
Instead, Guixing’s attitude is more important to them.
When Guixing did this, his attitude towards the Xingyao Empire can be summed up in one sentence - you are awesome.
Vimala finally spoke, her face solemn: "We will work on multiple fronts in parallel. We will discuss the specific bounty details later. We will also prepare to implement the 'Void Plan'. If the Star Empire wants to continue playing, then we will play along with them."
The expressions of the senior executives were slightly solemn. When Tigor was away, Vimala was the one who made the final decision on all matters.
Klein lowered his head again, inconspicuous, hiding his achievements and fame.
At this moment... a red alarm suddenly sounded in the entire political hall, all the seats turned red, and everyone's faces changed drastically.
Special meetings of the political halls must not be interrupted unless there is an emergency of major consequence.
Vimara frowned, and a holographic screen popped up in the center of the circular hall, and Horus' old face appeared.
Seeing this once- famous black knight, everyone present had different expressions, and no one knew what they were thinking.
Horus looked a little depressed. He said straight to the point without any nonsense, "Queen, the Meteor Fleet was ambushed. The Odos system is ambushed by the Star Empire exploration ship, and there are suspected traces of Titan ruins."
"What!?" Vimala's face suddenly changed drastically, which was enough to prove her inner shock.
Klein looked up in astonishment, his mouth slightly open, and was extremely surprised by the news.
As for the other senior executives, they were even more shocked. The Meteor Fleet was ambushed? Titan ruins?
Not everyone knows that Li Yu was used as bait to seduce Li Wang and Laser Man. Some senior executives haven't even figured out the whole story.
"The Ordos system actually hides Titan ruins?"
"That Li Yu is so unlucky that he chose such a place. I wonder if he can survive."
"Unlucky? Not necessarily..."
“…”
Everyone was talking about it and had their own opinions.
"What is the specific situation?" General Eiser asked. He had not expressed his opinion just now.
"I only know that the enemy has five A-level life forms, and..." Horus hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Dark Star."
"Five A-level life forms? What a big deal..."
"I'm afraid the Meteorite Fleet..." Someone shook his head: "Commander Elton is a good person."
"Anxing is also there? Is it for the Titan ruins or for Li Yu?"
"Then Li Yu will be severely punished. He pointed out Dark Star not long ago."
"Maybe..." Someone shook his head, meaning something incomprehensible.
“…”
Prince Connor looked around at the noisy crowd, looking somewhat unhappy, and asked, "What's the situation now?"
"The connection has been lost. I have asked the nearest patrol fleet to rush over, but it will take at least three days." Horus said in a deep voice. The senior executives tacitly skipped the question of why he could mobilize the patrol fleet.
Vimala frowned. The sudden news disrupted all her plans. She glanced at Klein who lowered his head again.
A question that many people have had also emerged in her mind: was Li Yu just too unlucky, or did he choose the Ordos galaxy on purpose?
Or... she had an even more shocking guess, that Li Yu was actually a spy sent by the Star Empire.
However, this speculation did not last long before she herself dismissed it because it was too unreasonable.
If the other party is an undercover, there is no need to expose Odos. Wouldn't it be better for the Star Empire to take away the Titan ruins quietly?
"Dismiss..." Vimala waved her hand, and large virtual projections began to dissipate. She did not even wait for these people to retreat on their own, but forcibly dispersed them, leaving only a few core figures.
…
In the Odos Galaxy, in the Star Empire Exploration Ship, Li Yu stared at the complex code model on the screen, and a famous researcher was reporting tremblingly beside him:
"…We just need to shine these deciphered codes on those metal plates to open the secondary dimension."
There is no time to lose, we must act now. Time is urgent. Since Guixing knows about the unexpected situation of Ordos, he will definitely send a fleet over, but we don't know when they will arrive.
There are six bronze metal plates on the main star of Ordos, hidden in different places and have been clearly explored by the exploration ship.
All Li Yu needs to do now is pick the fruits.
"What on earth do you want to do? You are already wanted by the Xingyao Empire. If you betray Guixing again , where else can you run to!?"
Elton didn't know Li Yu's plan, let alone his own fate. He was confused and panicked, and kept asking.
"So much nonsense... Who said I was going to run away?" Li Yu said impatiently.
Elton paused, as if he understood something, and heaved a sigh of relief, "You want to deceive the higher-ups?"
"No one has given you proof. Do you think the higher-ups will believe your words alone?"
"So what?" Li Yu stopped what he was doing and looked at Elton in the cage with interest.
"I can prove it for you, but I have a condition." Elton's face gradually calmed down. He thought he had found Li Yu's weakness.
If he doesn't want to escape from Guixing, he must make today's incident come to a conclusion, but it is absolutely impossible for Li Yu to do it alone.
We must rely on him, the captain of the Meteorite! That's why Li Yu let him live instead of killing him.
Li Yu grinned and looked Elton up and down. When Elton gradually felt a little scared, he spoke: "I thought you were a tough guy, but I didn't expect you to be so cowardly. What a pity..."
"...Who said no one could prove it to me? There are still tens of thousands of soldiers left in the fleet. If they can prove it to me, it should be possible."
Elton had a bad feeling, but he still insisted: "They won't give you proof. After an incident of this magnitude, all survivors will undergo multiple reviews."
"No matter what means you use, it is impossible for the higher-ups to not notice the clues. If any one of them goes wrong, you will be dead!"
"Stop asking questions..." Li Yu was not going to say more to Elton. He simply increased the dosage of the special medicine, causing him to gradually lose consciousness and fall into a deep sleep.
The Imperial exploration ship then began to perform optical stealth and slowly moved towards the direction of several bronze metal plates.
