When Cillin’s group returned to the Eleventh Squad’s base at Sector Z, they discovered that Mo Heng was almost done building his fighters. The old man was delighted to see them because he had had to abandon some of his designs due to a lack of materials, and part of the resources they brought back were exactly what he needed. Now he could build everything he wanted to build.
As usual, Tang Qiuqiu went straight to the shooting range to train even though she had just come back from a whole new galaxy. However, Cillin noticed that her training regime was slightly different from before. Guan Feng was most likely the catalyst behind the change; he had seen Goryeo and the others practice something similar to improve their usage of the PTS.
Xi Kai and Xi Mu went straight to their mechanical workshop the second they returned. Cillin still had no idea what their new project was, but it must be a good one considering how eager the normally calm Xi Mu looked. It wasn’t just Xi Mu either. Moon and Sigma often went in to help out with their precious box in tow.
The project probably has something to do with their two lost brothers.
Cillin had no time to look into their project though. The moment he returned to the base, he immediately went through all the information Eudy had collected while they were gone.
The Food King Hara and his food empire had officially entered Sector V and contacted Aikenseth of the Free Army. So far, both sides looked pretty content with the arrangement. The Free Army was rising fast to begin with, and now they looked like they were going to become the top power of Sector V.
“The Food King contacted me while you were gone, by the way. He wants you to contact him after you come back,” Eudy said to Cillin.
“Got it. Is there any news regarding the Robert Family?” Cillin asked.
“Not yet. They seem to have quieted down again.” Eduy was pretty curious himself. They had caused quite the big splash earlier, so their sudden silence was rather unexpected. “Rumors say that the Robert Family had decided to put their plans on hold because the Hunter regiments’ protests are growing a little too big.”
“Do you think that’s true?”
“No.” Eudy shook his head. “I don’t know them very well, but I could tell from our brief contract and the information I gathered alone that this family is incredibly stubborn once they had set their mind to something. Plus, the Robert Family wasn’t the type of family that fears retaliation, especially since their robot army had displayed an exceptional amount of prowess in their recent battles.”
Eudy showed Cillin a few short clips, and the commander commented, “That’s it?”
The clips showed the Robert Family’s robot army annihilating a small Hunter regiment, but they were incredibly short and had a lot of details blurred out. Clearly, they had been processed to reveal as little information as possible.
“Yep. That’s all. I’m pretty sure the Robert Family are the ones who ‘leaked’ them.”
The reason they did this was to intimidate their enemies and create mystique, of course. Although the Hunter regiment they annihilated was a young group that was built after GAL had fallen into chaos, that didn’t mean they were easy to beat, not to mention that the kill squad was entirely made up of robots.
“I’m certain that their Army patron and their allies had a hand in this matter. Otherwise, there’s no way they could’ve pulled this off as cleanly as they did,” Eudy added.
Cillin knew this as well. The real questions were: who are they? What is their objective? And does the Great Four lie at the end of said objective?
After Eudy left, Cillin contacted hara immediately. It wasn’t long before a man who looked like he would have difficulty walking appeared on the screen.
“You’re a busy man, aren’t you, boy?” Hara greeted with a wide smile on his face.
“I see you’re doing pretty well in Sector V.”
Hara wagged his fat and short fingers and smiled until his cheeks were folding unto themselves. “It’s all thanks to you, of course. Truth be told, I’ve known of the Free Army long before you introduced them to me, but I had no way to make contact with their three young leaders because they do not trust outsiders at all. More accurately, they do not trust anyone beyond their tiny circle, not even their own subordinates. However, they gave me face because you were the one who recommended me to them.”
“Excessive modesty feels fake, you know. You are the Food King. I’m sure you could’ve formed a fruitful partnership with the Free Army even without me acting as the middleman.”
“I’m not trying to be modest though. Anyway, we’re getting off topic. The reason I tried to contact you a few days ago is because someone wants to speak with you. She asked me for help because she couldn’t contact you directly.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s ‘Blue’ of the Free Army.”
They exchanged a few more words before the transmission was transferred to Blue. Cillin believed in Hara’s security measures, and Blue herself was an incredibly paranoid woman. There was little chance that someone could eavesdrop on their transmission.
On the screen, Blue wore a mask, donned a hat, and sported a long cloak that covered up her entire body. However, Cillin knew immediately that she was the woman who almost died back then.
“I believe you already know who I am. Thank you for your help regarding the previous matter,” Blue said. Her voice had also been masked, but she didn’t try to hide her identity from Cillin.
Blue’s real name was Anna. She ran just as many security measures for her public identity as she had her covert one. Since no one from Sector V or even the Andrea Family ever found out the truth of Blue or Anna, she clearly knew what she was doing.
“I’m glad to see that you’ve recovered. So, do you have business with me?” Cillin didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
“I do. Whether we go through with it is up to you though,” Blue said a bit mysteriously.
“I’m all ears.”
Blue took out a palm-sized projector and pressed a button. It projected a planet that, judging from the data displayed next to it, was pretty small. However, flashes could be seen from the rotating planet.
Cillin raised an eyebrow. “An energy mine!”
“That’s right.” Blue turned off the projector before continuing, “We had discovered this planet by accident. Unfortunately, we couldn’t just swoop in and claim them all because we aren’t the only ones who are keeping an eye on it.”
“Is it located at Sector V?”
“That is correct. In the past, everyone avoided that particular star region because it had spotty magnetic fields. Later on, some fool barged into that star region without thought but was lucky enough to come out alive. Since then, people started taking notice of that planet.”
“How many people are watching that planet?” Cillin asked.
“At least five factions including ours are watching that planet.” A pause later, Blue added, “They’re all Sector V.”
The people of Sector V were infamous for their fearlessness and madness. Even he would have a headache if they chose to set their sights on the Eleventh Squad. Despite that, Cillin remained tempted because Blue showed him a survey report. Assuming that the data could be trusted, forget Hunters, even the merchants and the Armies would be tempted to make a move.
“If I’m not mistaken, the purest portion of the energy mine is comparable to the White Night of the Aurelio’s Cage!” Blue declared with clear excitement.
It was an incredible discovery. The true White Night had been divvied between the military and the political factions a long time ago. The Hunters also got a share, but it was such a tiny sum it was barely worth mentioning. Although it was said that White Night was a replaceable resource, who in their right mind would surrender something that was right within their reach without a fight? Cillin was sure that Cary and the others would go crazy when they heard about this.
“So? Are you interested in working with us?” Blue asked.