Warrant Officer Yu Lian guessed correctly. Just as he shoved the burden into the cargo hold and set off again with the attachment, Brigadier General Morey on the bridge also received the news.
"A battle inside the ship?"
"Yes, two of our combat robots were destroyed in the commercial pedestrian street of the urban area." Major Buster of the Military Police Execution Team, who was in the main hall, said, "Our personnel have arrived at the scene and indeed found two destroyed Type A alert robots."
Actually, even Morey's subordinates didn't know where these unknown combat robots came from, nor their models, so they could only temporarily name them with simple A, B, C.
Major Buster only received a special terminal to temporarily control these robots.
"Their condition looks like they were hit by small-caliber kinetic artillery shells, and then bombarded by phase wave cannons... They're quite pulverized." The major continued to report the current situation: "Chairman, on the ship, either there are soldiers we don't know about, equipped with a considerable degree of heavy weapons. Or there is..."
"Or there are powerful spiritual energy users, right?"
"So, should we expand the search? I can go myself!" The major asked.
"No, just let the drones search." Morey shook his head: "You guard the central control room and the main hall where the hostages are. Close all the hatches, don't open them for anyone! Even if it's a spiritual energy user, they don't have the ability to force their way in!"
Enemies must have entered the ship, but whether it was a powerful spiritual energy user or a well-equipped special operations team, the enemy was now in the open, and they were hidden. Rashly dividing forces to search might instead lead to them being defeated one by one.
But the question was, why did he need to find the other party? The main hall, the central control room, and the bridge where he was located were all separated by solid hatches. As long as they were completely locked, the other party would be helpless. They couldn't possibly use battleship-level main cannons to forcibly break through inside the ship, could they?
The hostages were in his hands, and time was also in his hands!
Morey pondered for a moment: "Also, check all the passengers on the ship and see who is missing!"
"It's already been confirmed just now, someone on the list is indeed not at the scene! This is a bit troublesome..."
"Who is it?"
"It's Serena Mao..."
Brigadier General Morey thought for a moment, then asked, "...Who is that?"
"You don't know?" Major Baske was greatly surprised, and his voice inexplicably gained a hint of excitement and resentment: "The Elf of the Stars, the Princess of Blue Star, the most outstanding young singer of our Blue Star Commonwealth! Why put her on the Class B hostage list! She's far more important than any President or Chairman! Chairman, I'm telling you..."
...The President and the Chairman listened from the side, their expressions very displeased, but Brigadier General Morey's expression was even worse.
Major Baske trembled, as if waking from a dream, and quickly bowed his head in apology: "I, I'm sorry."
"I did know that there were many entertainment industry people at this celebration, which is why I arranged them all in the main hall and told you to watch over them! Fina Li, a professional soldier, is one thing, but a little girl who sings, you can't even keep an eye on her?"
"I, I'm sorry! But, Chairman, I will find them and bring them over immediately!"
"No need! Once found, execute them immediately! I will send a broadcast drone over!" Brigadier General Morey said.
"Ch-Chairman, she has many fans..."
"I know. So, isn't that even more effective?" The Brigadier General's expression and tone showed no fluctuation.
"I, I understand."
Major Baske was so frightened that he was as silent as a cicada in winter. He actually wanted to tell the other party that the monitoring data in the central control room showed that the communication lines inside the ship seemed to have a brief abnormality just now. However, the duration was very short, and as the signal shielding device continued to spread, this abnormality also disappeared.
The more precise the instrument, the more often small problems occur. Moreover, the signal monitor on the Azure Princess was produced by Nine Stars Company, and such things had happened before, and afterwards, they all proved to be false alarms... So, why invite trouble over such a thing?
On the other side, Brigadier General Morey hung up the communication, looked at the reporters operating the photographic equipment, and once again showed a "harmonious" smile. At least he thought his smile at this time should be very gentle, but it made the media personnel tremble on the spot.
"It's a shame, friends, there's been a small interlude here. Perhaps it will make you feel a bit unpleasant, but as long as everyone cooperates honestly with my work, and Earth is willing to take responsibility, no more tragedies will happen."
After Brigadier General Morey finished speaking, he checked the time again and gestured to his subordinates: "It's almost half an hour, prepare to contact Eternal City again. I sincerely hope that the people in charge there value life more and have already made a decision now."
He had just finished this instruction when he heard a commotion from the hostage side.
President Nockham, who had been pale and speechless for a long time, and was almost the worst performer among the "Class A hostages" Present, suddenly erupted with an aura that stunned those around him. He gritted his teeth and jumped up, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Morey, looking as if he was about to rush over and fight him to the death.
After all, he was the President, and he needed a bit of dignity, so after confirming that he wasn't carrying any weapons, Morey's subordinates just let him sit aside, and only symbolically put handcuffs on him, which didn't affect his walking.
Brigadier General Morey was stunned for a moment. He had expected that someone Present would cause trouble, for example, the Chairman, who was known for his toughness and had been wearing an arrogant sneer since just now, or Duke Fisu of the Empire, who was a veteran. But he really didn't expect it to be their cowardly President.
If even he was like this, let alone his subordinates. Even professionally trained special forces, even if they were psychologically prepared to be terrorists, they were not psychologically prepared to shoot the President on the spot! It wasn't until President Nockham had run a few steps that they reacted and quickly pressed down on his shoulders with a stride.
"Mr. President, Mr. President, please sit down! Mr. President, sit down! Please don't be impulsive!"
The President was just an ordinary greasy middle-aged man after all. Even if he was extremely enraged and his inner cosmos exploded, he couldn't wrestle with these strong soldiers, and he was pressed to the ground in a few moves.
"I warn you! I warn you! Morey! Don't hurt Serena! Don't touch her! Do you hear me?"
Brigadier General Morey finally recovered from his brief astonishment, surveying the President with interest, wondering if he had been possessed by something dirty.
"Morey, Serena is innocent! Everyone here is innocent! You're a soldier, aren't you? You're a man, aren't you? Then let me go, don't take out your anger on a young girl, let's settle this honorably!"
"Let him go." Morey smiled for the first time. He was really looking forward to how the other party would "settle this honorably" with him.
The soldier hesitated for a moment but still let go and stepped aside, allowing the handcuffed President to struggle to his feet, let out a shout, and rush towards Morey like a madman.
Of course, the result was that the President took a punch to the abdomen from the Brigadier General, who barely used any force, and immediately fell to the ground again, retching uncontrollably.
"Mr. President, I very much admire your concern for ordinary citizens... Hmm? What?" A soldier leaned into Morey's ear and whispered a few words, and his expression immediately became a bit subtle: "And, your sense of responsibility for your little lover!"
"Sh-shut up! What do you know..." The President gritted his teeth and stood up again, rushing at Morey like a madman once more.
Needless to say, the result was that he flew back again.
If it were the usual Nockham, it would be strange if he wasn't wailing on the ground by now. After all, he once used an accidental thumb sprain as an opportunity to have people declare his professional image of “working through severe injury, enduring pain, and persisting in his duties.” But now, all the blood and perseverance of his life seemed to erupt at this moment, transforming into surging fighting spirit. He shakily got up and charged at Morey again.
“Either you kill me now! Or, if Serena is harmed in the slightest, I will dedicate my entire life, my entire second half of life, to nothing but making sure you die without a burial place! Do you hear me? Morey! I will do nothing but make you suffer a miserable death!”
The reporters all aimed their cameras at the President. At this moment, at least hundreds of billions of people across the All-Galaxy saw the President's twisted, ferocious, yet unyielding expression.
Of course, the President's scandal with the “Stars' Elf” was probably confirmed.
Nishita Chairman stared dumbfounded at Nockham's unyielding back, yet felt this was the moment he most resembled a President.
If this guy maintained such bloodiness at all times, even if he faithfully served him as a loyal cabinet member for another five or six years, it wouldn't be bad at all!
“Actually, the President is quite handsome,” Melary said into Nishita's ear.
“Men are handsome when they are serious!” Nishita replied earnestly, even raising his hand to wipe the corner of his eye.
“The Commonwealth's President is not as much of a complete pushover as the idiots at the Honglu Temple say… Tsk, are these guys too lax lately?” Duke Fisu pondered seriously, thinking that the first thing he needed to do after returning home was to rectify the empire's diplomatic and intelligence agencies.
“It's a pity he doesn't have such courage at all times!” the Duke said.
“Mr. Nockham, if he truly had such courage at all times, would he really be able to become President?” Belmont's representative said with a smile.
The Duke glanced at him. Although he wanted to mock the other party, considering that while the other party's words were unpleasant, they were too reasonable, he almost laughed himself.
“However, this isn't how one treats a lover… I need to verify Serena Mao's true background. Regardless, Universe signing her will definitely be a good deal! Hmm, I need to prepare over 100 million in liquidated damages and the same amount in signing fees, but it's all worth it!” Krel Belmont began to consider the issue in his dual capacity as the Alliance's trade representative and the Belmont Family's heir.
It should be known that in the famous Universe Arts Group, the largest entertainment giant in the universe, the Belmont Family also held a board seat.
Although these two representatives from the Empire and the Alliance were also hostages, they maintained a spectator's attitude from beginning to end.
They were much safer than the Commonwealth's President and Defense Committee Chairman.
No matter what Brigadier General Morey's demands were, or how this matter concluded, as diplomatic representatives of the two poles of the Galaxy, they would never be harmed.
Unless it was an extremely extreme situation…
The pure man, the President, attracted everyone's attention at this moment. No one noticed that Feifei, who had always been hidden in the crowd, suddenly raised her head and looked directly at the closest black-clad soldier.
The soldier seemed to sense something and subconsciously turned his head, his eyes meeting Feifei's for a fleeting moment.
In that instant, he felt as if he had seen a silver full moon. A gentle and elegant hazy glow instantly filled his soul.
Brigadier General Morey finally couldn't smile. He watched with a headache as the President was knocked down several times but always got up, shouting and charging at him again, like a greasy uncle version of David charging at Goliath.
He could already guess what the audience watching this scene would be thinking, and his mouth twitched. He casually slapped the President on the back of his neck.
President Nockham, after all, was not the protagonist and could not overcome the insurmountable gap in strength, so he fainted on the spot. However, he successfully left his unyielding image in the hearts of all viewers. If a poll were conducted now, his approval rating might well rise by several percentage points.
“Either you kill him! Or you shut him up from the start! This half-hearted approach is the most foolish!” A voice in his consciousness said.
“Shut up!” Brigadier General Morey roared in his mind.
His face was contorted, and he almost couldn't suppress his resentment, urgently wanting to destroy something. Just then, the screen next to him flashed, and the Earth's high-level officials appeared again.
Brigadier General Morey took a deep breath, turned his head, and forced out another ferocious smile, saying in a calm, suppressed tone: “Still a small interlude. Clearly, the President is truly unable to perform his duties. Therefore, whether this incident ends peacefully or brews a new tragedy depends on your decision.”
“Frank, you know your demands require time. Half an hour is truly impossible,” Marshal Alwyn shook his head. “But please believe us, your ships, your gold coins, we are preparing them as quickly as possible! General Schwartz's pardon procedures are already underway. However, all of this takes time!”
“That's truly regrettable. But a promise is a promise!” Morey shook his head and nodded to his subordinate next to him.
The screen immediately switched to the edge of the grand hall, where two middle-aged men had been dragged to the center stage, the very place where various entertainment stars had previously sung and danced.
No matter how much they pleaded or cried, they could not stop the soldiers from pulling the trigger.
Marshal Alwyn's eyes narrowed, and he sighed, clenching his fist under the table. By the time the screen opposite him closed, he was already impatiently turning to his colleagues beside him.
“Are there still any of our people on the Azure Princess?”
A government secretary wanted to speak but hesitated, but his expression was completely caught by the sharp-eyed Marshal.
“Are there or not?” Alwyn shouted loudly.
Vice President Morrison and Prime Minister Jinwei both knew the Old Marshal was on the verge of rage and simultaneously shrank back in their chairs, trying to disguise themselves as background.
The secretary officer bit the bullet and said, “Just now… there was a communication that came through, claiming to be Warrant Officer Yu Lian and Warrant Officer Horatio Wien. We have just verified their identities; they are the student captains from both sides of the exercise just now, claiming to be on the Azure Princess right now. Because they are students, and they said there were only two of them, I had them temporarily stand by…”
If you were in uniform, I'd shoot you right now! the Marshal thought. But at this moment, he had no time to bother with these old bureaucratic foxes and directly ordered: “Connect them to me immediately!”
“But the signal just now was interrupted again, we…”
Marshal Alwyn was silent for a few seconds, then picked up his unfinished coffee cup and, without a word, threw it at the guy's face.
Oh, I used to tell myself that, except for those who read pirated copies, obvious trolls, or those who came to cause trouble, I would not delete posts or ban comments. However, the performance of this book is indeed much better than the last one, and many more readers are willing to interact, so some rules need to be properly changed.
In short, this book using “Starfield” is indeed leeching off its popularity, I have always admitted it!
However, if anyone in the future, acting like a fundamentalist snob, tells me how sacred the two words “Starfield” are and how it should be written, then I'm sorry, I will ban you until the day Tencent dies!
Furthermore, no one has seen interstellar politics, and I don't dare to write about things I don't understand, nor do I have the energy to deduce the future in a mere web novel. This book just uses the background of space opera to reflect reality! This is a space opera's two-dimensional adventure story! You figured that out? You are truly insightful!
If anyone in the future says that a novel with a space opera universe background should be how profound or how cold, I'm sorry, I will similarly ban you until the day Tencent dies. Regardless of whether you wrote a lot, whether it seems to have substance, or whether you act like a true fan who wants what's best for me.