The Legendary Mechanic, page 874
Kant’s mouth twitched. “… Black Star, you’ll lose me as a friend like this.”
“Ahem, ahem, Your Excellencies, we’ve already received the authorization. We better get to work,” Judith said from the side.
Han Xiao focused and received the quantum network authorization shared by Judith.
The dynasty had called them, the experts, of course, not to let them fight alone. The dynasty had opened up almost all the resources in the Flickering World for them to use.
For example, the three of them could command all of the dynasty’s Virtual Mechanics in the Flickering World. The backdoor of the quantum network stations the dynasty had set up in the Flickering World was also open to the three of them. They could log in to the Flickering World’s quantum network as administrators.
Furthermore, even some permissions of the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence ‘Heroic Soul’ were temporarily given to Han Xiao and Kant, despite them being ‘outsiders’. Other than to investigate the case, Judith’s mission also included preventing the two of them from doing anything out of the line while they had such high-level authority.
Han Xiao logged into the network through the backdoor. His mind sank into the quantum network vision, and everything seemed so clear.
The network of more than half of the Flickering World was clearly laid out in front of him, all within his control. He felt like he had become the processor of the network. He had access to any and all data in every station. With so much power, he almost felt all-mighty.
“Nice.” Han Xiao enjoyed it quite a lot.
No matter how strong his Virtual Intrusion ability was, he would still be a thief sneaking into someone’s house. Now, however, it was like the owner of the house had directly rented the entire house to him; he could do almost anything he wanted.
Although Judith and Kant were beside him, with his abilities, he should be able to do some things without them noticing. However, the best thing to do for the time being was to observe how things were going first.
More importantly, with this level of authority, he could totally wipe out the possible flaws he might have left, erasing any evidence that could lead to him even more thoroughly, completely making his alibi legit.
Since the dynasty had given him this chance, he was certainly going to ‘treasure’ it.
Han Xiao spent the next few days submerged in the quantum network, carrying out the investigation with Judith and Kant.
Initially, Han Xiao thought he would not be able to find any leads. However, to his surprise, this was not the case. He discovered that the situation had taken a slight turn.
He did not have to do anything. The Super Star Cluster Alliance and Manison were already fighting with each other. They had started forging evidence and framing each other.
Both sides were doing it very discreetly. If not because he had the administrator authority of the Flickering World’s quantum network, Han Xiao would not have discovered what the two of them were doing.
With the authority and his incredible Virtual Technology, their tricks did not escape his eyes.
Tsk, you guys didn’t even do it, but you’re already trying to frame each other…
Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.
Never mind if the others discovered this, but since he was the real culprit, from his perspective, this situation was like two villagers accusing each other of being the werewolf, while he, the real werewolf, was not suspected at all.
However, with some thought, he understood what the two of them were thinking.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance was afraid that the three Universal Civilizations might claim they were the culprit without any evidence, so they decided to act first. Manison knew this, so he took countermeasures. Hence, both sides immediately discovered each other’s tricks, and they started fighting.
This is exactly why I muddied the waters.
The plan worked!
The two sides are trying to frame each other. Both are suspicious. Since there’s no way the real culprit is going to be discovered, one side will definitely be deemed as the culprit by the dynasty…
Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.
Currently, the two sides were at a stalemate, unable to completely frame each other. This was where he could interfere.
Since the situation had developed in this direction, to him, framing someone else became easier than he had expected.
With his current level of authority, he only had to play a little trick, and the dynasty’s judgement would be affected. He could easily help one side beat the other side, which meant that he was the one who could make the decision.
Who should I help? Han Xiao pondered.
He had always been against Manison, but on this matter, he planned to help the old man.
After all, Manison was the current Beyond Grade A Association president. If he took the blame, though his personal reputation would be damaged, the Beyond Grade A Association would be affected too. The impact would be very negative. If the president had secretly attacked the association’s newest member, many members would feel threatened and much warier, which was bad for the association.
On the other hand, if the Super Star Cluster Alliance took the blame, it would have the opposite impact on the association. The Beyond Grade As would feel that Gaud’s tragedy was because he was involved in the conflicts between factions. They would think that the same thing would not happen to them if they chose not to join any faction but the Beyond Grade A Association. It would instead increase some Beyond Grade As’ sense of recognition for the association, which was beneficial for the association’s growth.
Most importantly, the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance were already at war. If they took the blame, the others would not be impacted.
Although the dynasty would not stop searching for the real culprit after, for the time being, letting the Super Star Cluster Alliance take the blame would minimize the risks for him.
Humph, old Manison, I’m not helping you; it’s for the association.
Han Xiao curled his lips.
Mumbling a little in his mind, he started to execute the plan right away.
No matter how these two villagers accuse each other, in the end, I, the werewolf detective, will still be the one to make the call.
…
“It feels like a mysterious force is helping me…”
Inside the Mechanic Emperor’s secret base, Manison had a weird expression on his face.
In the past few days, he had discovered that the Super Star Cluster Alliance was indeed trying to frame him. Hence, he retaliated.
Originally, both sides were only suspects, and there was no evidence. They had now added quite a lot of ‘flaws’ to each other’s alibis.
In this silent war, Manison was actually at a disadvantage. After all, the opponent was the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance. Although his Virtual Technology was strong, he was alone.
However, not long ago, he discovered something abnormal. Some of the evidence the Super Star Cluster Alliance forged surprisingly suddenly disappeared, as if someone was helping him fight against the Super Star Cluster Alliance.
“To be both able to discover my conflict with the Super Star Cluster Alliance and interfere… is this the doing of the three Universal Civilizations?”
Manison thought about it.
The reason the three Universal Civilizations were doing this should be that they had confirmed the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s guilt, so they did not want them to successfully frame him… Or thinking one level deeper, if the dynasty could not identify who the real culprit was, this would have been a strategic decision to accuse the Super Star Cluster Alliance.
If he went one level deeper…
Manison pondered and fell into a cycle.
…
About a week later, on the Crimson Dynasty mother planet, Urranrell browsed the report of the task force and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“After the investigation carried out in the past few days, you guys have found a chain of evidence that seems to be legit, all pointing toward the Super Star Cluster Alliance… but this isn’t the dynasty’s initial intention.”
Before her was the remote projection of an intelligence department upper echelon who sighed and said, “Whether it’s real or not isn’t important now. As long as this chain of evidence is more than enough to convince the outside world, it’s enough.”
“I want the real culprit and Gaud’s whereabouts. Why else would I need the task force?”
“But time waits for no man. The real culprit did not leave any traces at all. If we keep investigating like this, the truth will remain out of reach. The outside world is already doubting that the dynasty can find the culprit. There are even people on the internet starting to admire this culprit who enraged the dynasty but still has yet to be punished… We can take all the time we want to find the real culprit in the future, but what the dynasty needs now is results.”
Urranrell frowned slightly.
After the tricks Han Xiao played, the task force found a complete chain of evidence that led to the Super Star Cluster Alliance. However, after carefully verifying it, the task force knew this was forged, most likely by Manison. These two parties’ act of trying to frame each other did not go unnoticed by the dynasty.
However, even though this was the case, after some discussion, the task force still decided to submit this result to the upper echelons. The dynasty upper echelons all knew about this, but still, this report was placed on Urranrell’s desk.
Currently, the public opinion of the outside world was becoming worse. What the dynasty urgently needed was a ‘result’, real or fake. The target this chain of evidence led to matched the dynasty’s war strategy too; the Super Star Cluster Alliance was the best target.
Furthermore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was trying to create a ‘culprit’. They were the ones that started this. If things were delayed for too long, they would succeed, and the dynasty did not want to see that.
Urranrell hesitated for a few seconds. She did not approve it immediately, sighed, and said, “Call Clotti and Sherlock here. I want to hear their opinions…”
This time, she paused and added, “Call up Black Star while you’re at it.”
Chapter 1232: Master of Tempo |
Not long after, the remote projections of Han Xiao, Clotti, and Sherlock appeared in the office.
“Your Excellency Urranrell.” The three nodded respectfully in greeting.
Urranrell nodded in return, pointed at the report on the virtual screen, and cut to the chase. “Is this the result of your work? I’m not very satisfied. You guys know this kind of evidence that’ll only fool outsiders isn’t what I want.”
Sherlock stepped up, knowing he would be scolded, and said, “Your Excellency Urranrell, we’ve been trying to find the whereabouts of the real culprit, but the culprit left absolutely no flaws at all. We have found zero leads. While doing that, we discovered that the Super Star Cluster Alliance and Manison were fighting each other, so…”
He explained the progress of the task force’s work. In simple terms, they did not find a single lead or clue, only a ton of forged evidence.
Seeing that the outside world was having more and more doubts, with the mounting pressure from the upper echelons, Sherlock had no choice but to reluctantly pick out some of the forged evidence and form an evidence chain using his deductive skills. Though fake, after he arranged and analyzed them, it at least sounded real.
Urranrell frowned. “Tell me the truth, how long do you think it’ll take to find the real culprit?”
“… For now, never, unless we find a breakthrough.” Sherlock sighed and shook his head.
“Do the two of you feel the same way?” Urranrell asked.
Clotti did not speak and nodded slowly with a poker face.
Han Xiao shrugged as if he was saying that there was nothing he could do either. “The person who attacked Gaud is very slippery and did not leave any clues. Even I have not found any leads. Based on the current situation, I feel that the dynasty can look at the matter from another perspective. Based on the perspective of benefits, the dynasty needs to find a suitable target to take the blame to calm this matter down for the time being, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance is perfect… Furthermore, since they’re in such a rush to clear their suspicion, they might be involved somehow.”
Urranrell shook his head and said, “But there’ll definitely be people in the outside world who’ll see through our plan. The Super Star Cluster Alliance won’t easily admit it either. To the dynasty…”
Han Xiao interrupted her. “I know your concerns, but that is not important. The dynasty already lost when Gaud was attacked. All you can do now is save the situation as much as possible. What the dynasty needs now is results. Display its stand and muscles. You can’t shut people up, but you can make them afraid. This way, even if someone mocks this result, they’ll still be afraid. Thus, the goal is essentially achieved.”
“But if we do this, won’t the real culprit laugh all day seeing that the dynasty has accused the wrong side? Won’t some people with ulterior motives think they can use the dynasty to their advantage because of this?” Urranrell said with a deep voice.
This was what she was worried about. Once the outside world saw through what the dynasty was doing, some people would think the dynasty was easy to fool, which would also damage the dynasty’s reputation.
“That’s inevitable, but a choice has to be made. Not everything can be done based on one’s likings, right?” Han Xiao’s skin was as thick as metal. He chuckled and said, “Plus, this might not be a bad thing. This will more or less make the real culprit lower their guard, increasing the chance of them showing flaws, which might one day give us a breakthrough.”
An intelligence department upper echelon agreed and said, “His Excellency Black Star is right. We’ll have to make a choice sooner or later.”
Urranrell sighed, signed the order, and said, “Do it then.”
The moment this proposal was placed on her table, Urranrell already knew that this was the silent agreement of the dynasty’s upper echelons. They only needed her signature. Even the ruler could not do whatever she liked; she still had to compromise here and there. Her term was nearing its end. She could not dictate things anymore.
After signing the order, Urranrell felt weirdly relieved. She shook her head.
“Looks like the mission to find the real culprit can only be passed on to the next ruler. It’s good, I suppose. I have an easier time.”
Han Xiao’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Actually, we might have missed something. There’s another possible scenario that might explain how Gaud went missing. Did the dynasty consider it?”
The others instantly turned toward him.
“Oh? Tell us about it.” Urranrell was interested.
“Is it possible that this is Gaud’s own doing?”
Hearing this, the intelligence upper echelon laughed uncontrollably and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we made this assumption long ago. We came to the conclusion that it’s not possible. Gaud doesn’t have a motive to do that.”
“I don’t feel the same way.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Just because he’s a direct member doesn’t mean he’s totally loyal. Is it possible that he only wanted to use the dynasty’s resources to become a Beyond Grade A, then fake his death and free himself from the dynasty’s restrictions and hide?”
After saying that, he subtly glanced at everyone and saw the unconvinced looks on their faces. He then added, “Of course, this is just speculation based on logic. I don’t know Gaud’s origins nor personality, so I don’t trust him completely. Anyway, in my eyes, it’s not completely impossible for something like this to happen. After all, it has happened before.”
Sherlock thought for a moment and said, “Hmm, your suspicion makes sense. The amount of time Gaud has served the dynasty is too short.”
Urranrell gave him a glare and said with a typical politician’s tone, “You don’t have to worry about that. The dynasty has its own system of checking through its direct members and won’t take in anyone suspicious. The dynasty trusts the loyalty of its direct members completely…”
Han Xiao glanced at Clotti’s poker face and understood that Urranrell did not want to continue this topic here.
He shook his head, smiled, acted casual and said, “Alright, I’m just saying.”
Sherlock, however, continued asking. “I’m curious, why do you think Gaud might have faked his death? Something must have caused you to have that speculation. Did he act suspicious on any occasion?”
Han Xiao looked at him surprised.
Are you really that interested? I don’t know if I should say that you have a strong desire for knowledge or that you don’t know how to read the room. Didn’t you see the look on that upper echelon’s face?
Han Xiao suddenly realized that this was an opportunity to set the tempo. He fake-coughed and said, “One reason is that we could not find any clues at all. It’s way too clean and doesn’t look like he was attacked. Another… well, it’s not that Gaud acted suspicious or anything, but I just happen to know someone who successfully faked his death, so it came to mind.”
“Who’s that?” Sherlock was curious.
“This person is quite famous actually. You guys definitely know him. It’s that Limitless Financial Group’s Sorokin.”
Before the others asked anything, Han Xiao continued. “I coincidentally discovered his little secret. He’s not as weak as he looks. I sensed danger from him. He might not be any weaker than me, yet he has always presented himself as being very weak. No one knows what his plan is. Plus, his soul’s true age seems to be much higher than his current age. I tested him a bit and discovered that he might be a Beyond Grade A from history who possibly faked his death and lived till now using different identities…”
He kept some of the key information and exposed Sorokin’s identity using ambiguous words, making the others doubtful.
