Chapter 275: Hail to the Queen
After leaving North Star TV Station, Anya led a large number of private soldiers directly to the administrative district, swiftly surrounding the Parliament Building and trapping the council members inside.
Rebellion must be swift, decisive, and ruthless; hesitation and abandoning it halfway are the most taboo.
The council members gathered in the building's shelter, their faces ashen.
Inside the space station, no one cared about their lockdown order.
The security forces began to disappear, claiming in communications that they were "currently mediating the conflict between Galan and Apollo, unable to disengage and return to the administrative district in time."
Station Master MacMillan was so angry that he smashed his communicator.
In the plaza in front of the building, merchants from the Free Trade Alliance were protesting, their emotions running high, demanding that the New Hope Council, which had supported the Dark Sun pirates for over two decades, be disbanded immediately and pay for their blood debts.
Behind the protest march, more and more ordinary citizens gathered, glaring at the Parliament Building, most of them maintaining a restrained silence for the time being.
This included Anya, sitting in her bulletproof car.
For the council members, this silent protest from the citizens was an extremely tense and dangerous signal.
The fuel was in place; all that was needed was the spark to ignite it.
"Our station has received the latest news: it appears the battle in the lower city has ended! Galan has effortlessly swept through Apollo Headquarters!
They have occupied the entire building, leaving almost no prisoners!"
Finally, Larry, the Bei Ji Xing anchor, broadcast the news over the public address system.
Upon hearing this news, the council members' hearts felt as if they were tightly gripped by an invisible hand.
On one hand, they knew their most important ally was completely finished, and their source of military support no longer existed.
The balance of power within the space station had been broken by Galan, an outsider.
On the other hand, such news related to violence would greatly stir the citizens' nerves.
Humans, more or less, have a tendency towards violence.
Many people may not have clear plans or expectations for the future, but they are very happy to see the destruction of old things.
Especially old things that have not performed satisfactorily.
After Anya's incitement during the interview, the public's impression of the council was utterly terrible.
Colluding with pirates for over two decades?
Such things might be commonplace on Paradise Island.
But this was New Hope! The citizens of New Hope still had some aspirations!
Compromising with Galan, bowing and scraping, adopting a subservient posture?
For any faction, this would be considered a great humiliation.
Enough! The council had made too many utterly disappointing decisions; almost going to war with Galan was no longer at the top of the list.
If you can't do it well, then don't do it at all!
People who were already hoping for violent change, now hearing that Galan had unhesitatingly used violence and achieved results, had their mindset shift further.
Many officially joined the Free Trade Alliance's protest, rubbing their fists and eager to act; the rest completely entered a spectator state, anticipating an escalation and spread of violence, even if it might affect their own lives.
"What about the main fleet? What's their situation?"
In the shelter, the Speaker asked the other council members.
Currently, the council still had one last force they could rely on.
Sixty percent of the ships in the New Hope fleet were actually owned by the council members present, and the captains and first mates were, in essence, just highly paid employees.
But the remaining forty percent were Anya's allies.
"Our controlled warships are confronting Anya's controlled warships. Both sides are aiming at each other at close range.
Their fire control systems are locked onto each other, unable to reach a consensus, and thus unable to disengage to provide support."
The Speaker endured for a few difficult seconds, but finally exploded.
"Unable to reach a consensus? What the hell does 'unable to reach a consensus' mean!?"
He spluttered, completely losing control.
"I think their ideas are very consistent! Isn't this just a show for me?! They're pretending to be in a standoff, deliberately not showing up, observing the situation, and then, when the outcome is almost clear, they'll quickly side with the winner! A bunch of ungrateful bastards!"
The other council members said nothing.
There was really nothing to say.
In the current situation, if they could still make a choice, they would probably do the same!
"Begin."
In the luxurious bulletproof sedan, Anya softly said to her assistant.
"Do you think you need to make a public statement before we start?" the assistant asked.
Anya smiled and shook her head.
"No, dear. Now, the voice of the citizens is my voice."
Her two subordinates climbed onto a nearby rooftop, shouldered rocket launchers, and fired at the Parliament Building.
The rockets, trailing flames, crossed the street, hit the building's metal facade, exploded, leaving a scorched mark, and shattered a large section of glass.
The damage was not high, but the insult was extreme.
"They're firing! Someone's finally shelling the Parliament!!"
Excited shouts erupted from the crowd.
Immediately after, more rockets, at intervals of approximately 15 seconds, flew continuously towards the building for two full minutes.
After being subjected to clear and sustained attacks, the security inside the Parliament Building did not retaliate at all.
Their cowardice was fully exposed.
"Let's go!"
At this point, the protesters had no more reservations, and their desire for destruction was completely ignited, officially upgrading from demonstrators to rioters!
They pulled out their sidearms, fired at the building, and marched boldly forward, storming inside the Parliament Building.
The "broken window effect" had taken hold.
Damage and chaos that are not stopped or repaired in time will only lead to a more complete breakdown of order.
Anya understood the psychology of the general public too well; the citizens of New Hope were like a blunt heavy sword in her hand, wielded at her will.
"Clear the way!"
The security guards in the building were very sensible. Seeing the rioters surge in aggressively, they immediately raised their hands and moved aside.
Soon, Anya's subordinates, mixed in with the rioters, found the secret shelter inside the building, following blueprints obtained beforehand from the architect.
"Either you come out yourselves, or we'll blow the door open!"
Seeing that the tide had turned, the council members had no choice but to surrender.
Amidst the curses and jeers of numerous onlookers, they were brought to the plaza in front of the building.
A bodyguard opened the car door, and Anya, dressed in an elegant black dress, stepped out to a chorus of cheers, her back straight, calmly and gracefully embarking on her path to final victory, in stark contrast to the cowering, wolf-like surrendered council members on the other side.
The flashing lights on both sides merged into a continuous stream, and reporters pressed their shutters, documenting this historic moment.
"So what now, Your Majesty?"
The Speaker spread his arms, trying to stretch his body and increase his stature, attempting to maintain his last shred of dignity.
"Are you going to execute us in public? Or throw us into prison?"
A chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd.
Anya, who had specially prepared high heels for today, was not inferior in height or imposing presence.
Her expression remained unchanged, her chin slightly raised, her eyelids slightly lowered, looking down at the Speaker as if he were a piece of trash, saying nothing until, under this pressure, he recognized his current predicament, lowered his arms, and no longer maintained a provocative stance.
Smart of you to know your place.
"In the name of the ruler and guardian of New Hope—"
This self-declaration, entirely equivalent to a dictatorial proclamation, did not provoke any resentment at this moment; instead, it was met with cheers.
After learning of the council's abstractness and witnessing their cowardice firsthand, the citizens longed for a truly capable and responsible leader.
"I declare all council members present to be exiled from New Hope Space Station, never to return."
Amidst even louder cheers, Anya stepped forward, leaning close to the Speaker's ear.
"You may take your property and family. I wish you a pleasant journey."
Over the next 48 hours, Anya quickly took over the space station, quelled the situation, and restored normal life and production order.
The council members boarded a passenger ship she provided, flying towards Paradise Island. En route, they were intercepted by a "pirate" gunboat.
After failed communication, they were tragically fired upon, and all passengers "unfortunately" perished.
The hard drives carried by the council members, storing a large amount of star alliance credit points, were "missing."
On Ruins Star, Xian Yu conveyed the course and outcome of the events to the Executive Officer while accompanying him on ground exploration.
"Ms. Anya expresses her most sincere gratitude for Galan's support and assistance, and she extends a proposal for cooperation, inviting us to reorganize assets through investment and acquire shares in New Hope."
"Regarding investment, she hopes that we can invest at least 5 billion star alliance credit points annually over the next 10 years to help New Hope develop its shipbuilding industry."
"A symbolic offer. Just let our previous speculative hot money flow back; it's equivalent to those Star Alliance speculators paying," Lu Yuan saw through the essence immediately, "This is basically for the public and the media. The real conditions are still to come."
"Hmm, yes!" Xian Yu nodded.
"Anya hopes that we will station a permanent military force in New Hope and establish a large mercenary guild to comprehensively combat increasingly rampant interstellar crime, ensure the shipping safety of merchants, and respond to pressure from Paradise Island."
Hmm, good suggestion!
Lu Yuan needed to open another large mission point to provide players with new leveling maps.
Farming the Emerald Star hunting theme park for too long also gets boring.
A change of pace, more dogfights with pirates, would help improve skills in piloting spaceships and fighters.
In the future, this skill will be very important for all players engaged in interstellar exploration and adventure, not just pilots.
"Good, acceptable. What's next?"
"If we agree to the above conditions, we will acquire 30% of New Hope's shares. Anya herself will hold 55%, ensuring absolute control over the space station. Her allies who supported her in the coup will receive the remaining 15%, ranging from 0.3% to 2% per person.
"In the future, these small shareholders will be obligated to offer suggestions for the space station's development and can receive dividends, but they will no longer have decision-making power."
Lu Yuan stopped walking and thought for a few minutes.
"The offer is quite good. I agree. Reply to Anya and tell her I will go to New Hope as soon as possible to sign the agreement with her."
At the same time, branch players reported to Ma Lou that they had found enslaved people, including a "weirdo," while scavenging the Apollo Headquarters building.
"Weird how?" Ma Lou asked.
"Well—Boss, I should just take you to see him!"
Upon arriving at Apollo's "dungeon," Ma Lou met the weirdo.
"Are you in charge?"
The other party was thin but seemed very agitated, shaking the iron bars vigorously.
"Let me out quickly! I have important work to complete! I need to find the Golden Fleet! I need to find the ghost ship! Time is running out!"