Chapter 2554: The Second Morning Star
No matter how shocked and confused Yao Yuan and the others were, Zone 001 had already been fully lifted from its state of alert. The Wan family members, who had been prepared to be "killed," had their lives spared at the critical moment. The "confession letters" prepared by the outer zone candidates were deeply locked away in drawers. Mr. Valen personally appeared to publicly announce the rescue of the Wan family and to congratulate the outer zone candidates on successfully entering the Council. The joint capital was unsealed. The Grand Archon, who had not shown his face, appeared alongside his wife in a holographic projection above the District Government, announcing that Zone 001 would hold a three-day celebration, inviting all ordinary citizens to take to the streets to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Council elections.
The oppression and tension of a storm that was about to sweep the entire zone vanished without a trace within just a few hours. Those who knew, and those who didn't, would all join in this celebration, marking Zone 001's escape from danger.
"Why is this happening?" Not only the trapped A-rank players, but also many people within the District Government had no idea what had occurred. As a series of new orders were issued, the Grand Archon summoned the key members of the District Government and the members of the First Squad for an emergency meeting in the government building, revealing the full story of how the crisis had been resolved.
It turned out that just as Mr. Valen and the others were about to make their final efforts, a silver-robed figure appeared in the meeting room, stating that they represented the occupying forces and had come to negotiate.
The negotiation process was simple. They only put forward one condition: that Zone 001 would, for the next twenty years, submit forty percent of the zone's total tax revenue each year as compensation for the occupying forces' withdrawal from Zone 001.
Yes, the outer zone forces had given up their plan to occupy Zone 001, but the condition for their retreat was that Zone 001 compensate them for the losses incurred during this operation.
It sounded absurd. The invaders had decided they didn't want to fight halfway through, and the invaded party was expected to cover their expenses and the estimated losses for the next twenty years. Moreover, this was presented as a gift to Zone 001—a chance to save their homeland and avoid a war that would engulf the entire zone.
The implementation of an occupation plan was never something someone could just start on a whim. It must have been laid out long in advance, with personnel deployments, material supplies, and staff arrangements all in place. There was absolutely no way they would be scrambling to piece things together at the last minute on the battlefield.
On the surface, it seemed like the Holy Sword Society was the one running around, but the people who had kidnapped the Grand Archon, government officials, and their families were mostly from the occupying forces. The occupation plan had been underway for a month, and they hadn't even shown their faces.
The subsequent situation could also be roughly predicted. If the Holy Sword Society couldn't handle things and the District Government resisted to the end, the true operators of the occupation would definitely step in. The District Government couldn't even guess how many people the occupying forces had prepared for this campaign...
Having paid such a huge upfront cost, the occupying forces would not leave easily. What was Zone 001's tax revenue worth? If they took Zone 001, all resources would belong to them. And given Zone 001's situation, not just twenty years, but even fifty years, it could stably provide resources and supplies to the occupying forces. Letting go so easily, and abandoning their previous investments in Zone 001, was truly baffling to the District Government.
But being baffled was useless. The occupying forces had set their terms, and they had to accept them, or war would follow.
So, after the silver-robed figure left with a contract, the kidnapped hostages were released. The players who had been hiding in key areas of Zone 001 retreated. The Holy Sword Society and those former residents of Zone 001 who had revealed themselves as sleepers all left cleanly.
Only after confirming that they had truly abandoned the occupation plan did Zone 001 fully lift the lockdown. They also arranged for people to go to the exit of the Relic Area to meet Yao Yuan and the others.
Yao Yuan and his group had come to the District Government to report on what had happened inside the portal space.
It was only after hearing that Xu Huo was a three-directional Super Evolver, and that a silver-robed figure had died in the portal space, that the government officials vaguely guessed the reason for the occupying forces' retreat.
"Could it be that they thought the three-directional Evolver was one of our zone's people?" someone speculated.
"If they knew the three-directional Evolver was one of us, they would have added another condition—that we hand him over," Valen said. "Perhaps some unforeseen change occurred in the middle of all this."
"Maybe it's an old acquaintance of the three-directional Evolver. A genius like that must have had mentors behind him."
"Or perhaps someone wanted to do him a favor. After all, he's a three-directional Evolver. It's hard to say he won't become the next Carmen Field. As long as someone like that doesn't die, they're definitely a sword hanging over your head."
"It could also be internal strife within the occupying forces. They're running out of energy, so they took the money and left."
...
"I did this for your sake this time," said a silver-robed figure on a ship leaving Zone 001's space, raising his glass to the person beside him. "If anyone else had asked, I definitely wouldn't have agreed. You don't know how harshly my dad scolds people. With so many siblings in the family, they'd definitely laugh at me too."
The blue-eyed man sitting next to him put down the crystal mask he had been playing with, picked up his glass, and clinked it with the other's. "My face is worth a little something. Your family elders might even be happier."
The silver-robed man laughed, drained his glass, refilled it, and then said, "But I'm curious. You just came to watch the fun. Why did you suddenly take an interest in the occupation war?"
The blue-eyed man didn't care about his probing. He stared at the swirling liquid in his glass as he rotated it. "I found something interesting. Maybe there'll be even more fun things in the future."
"Your cousin died quite unjustly."
"He just shares the same surname. His branch of the family is a million miles away from mine. If he couldn't stay put on the ship and died in a Super Instance, what's so strange about that?" The silver-robed man was completely indifferent. After a pause, he added, "But it's a waste leaving that Super Instance in Zone 001. We'll still have to find someone to retrieve it. Too bad it's a space-type Super Instance. My family can't find anyone with that kind of talent. Is your family interested?"
The blue-eyed man smiled, stretched his arms, and leaned back in his chair. "Does my family's old bunch lack good things? I'll keep the Super Instance a secret for you."
"Good brother!" The silver-robed man downed another glass and, slightly drunk, said, "Speaking of which, I don't know what your family's elders are thinking. They have a genius like you and don't cultivate you. Instead, they find a bunch of rotten eggs to put on display. Don't they want a second Morning Star?"
Carol Field, the grandson of Carmen Field, who was famously known as the "Field Clan's Morning Star," and also the highest Archon of the E27 wormhole point, smiled lightly. "People who dwell in darkness wouldn't want a Morning Star. They're more afraid than anyone of a second one appearing."
"But I'm far from comparing to my grandfather. I don't deserve the title of Morning Star," Carol said nonchalantly. "But there might be someone who does."
"Who?" The silver-robed man was half-sober now. "Can we invite them to my family?"
Carol smiled but said nothing... However, he never expected that the person he considered worthy of the title "Morning Star" was currently in some station, struggling to pull his legs, which were stuck in the mud, free.