This villain is too popular.

Chapter 74 The Calm Before the Storm [5000-word long chapter]

Deep Sea Zone, Star Envoy Association - Deep Blue Branch, the place of the tide's sound.

"No! An entire special operations squad is absolutely not enough!"

The Deep Blue Branch's branch leader, 'Great White Shark Dortre,' was shocked to hear that the General Headquarters' envoy wanted to transfer an entire special operations squad from his branch all at once.

He finally couldn't suppress his anger and slammed his hand heavily on the coral conference table in front of him.

Its force was so great that the illuminated pearls hanging above everyone began to shake violently.

Under the flickering lights, the others in the conference room watched as the branch president, Dortre, clashed with the General Assembly's special envoy, Byron.

They didn't dare to breathe loudly, fearing that they might accidentally be dragged into this undeserved disaster.

Fortunately, although Dortré was angry at this time, he was only grumbling and was not really prepared to go against the council.

Because, putting everything else aside, Byron alone is strong enough to take on their entire Deep Blue branch single-handedly.

Therefore, after calming himself down, Great White Shark Dortray sat down again.

Looking up, he saw the Grand Envoy wearing a metal mask not far away—'Indestructible Body Byron'.

With a serious expression, he said, "Byron, I can only give you half a squad at most, and the person leading the squad will only be a vice-captain."

"After all, there is only one low-risk exploration zone around our Deep Blue Metropolis, which makes our Association Star Envoys far inferior to those of other New Federation cities in both quantity and quality."

"Not to mention our valuable manpower here is needed to protect the precious deep blue mineral vein."

"If those with ulterior motives find out that the Deep Blue Branch is missing a complete special operations squad, they will definitely be eager to make a move."

Safe zone, low-risk zone, high-risk zone, occupied zone, forbidden zone.
This is a risk level classification for regional exploration jointly determined by the Star Envoy Association and the new federal government.

The first three are publicly available regional intelligence, while the latter two are classified regional intelligence that cannot be made public.

The so-called safe zone, as the name suggests, is a relatively safe area.

The city district is similar to the deep blue metropolis, and the first floating city, Star Trail Corridor, is where the Star Envoy Association headquarters is located.

These can all be considered relatively safe zones, where danger is rare.

The low-risk zone refers to the area where only level two star beasts can be observed year-round.

High-risk areas refer to regions where only level three star beasts can be observed year-round.

As for the occupied territories and forbidden areas.

These two areas are secret zones designated separately by the Star Envoy Association and are never disclosed to the outside world.

Because it is different from the almost transparent state of 'low-risk zone' and 'high-risk zone'.

The 'Occupied Zone' and the 'Forbidden Land' are dangerous areas that even the Star Envoy Association cannot observe.

While both are unobservable zones, the Star Envoy Association distinguishes them based on the survival rate of the Association's Star Envoys who enter them.

Any dangerous area where star beasts of level four or above are active, and where, in history, an association star envoy has survived and emerged alive.

All of these areas will be designated as occupied zones by the Star Envoy Association, accessible only to high-ranking Star Envoys.

And those regions where no Association Star Envoy has yet managed to leave alive.

It is listed by the association as a 'forbidden place' where exploration is prohibited.

What's particularly surprising is that among the 'fallen zones' currently documented and explorable by the Star Envoy Association...

More than two-thirds of the total number was created by the current president when he was young.

The title of the strongest in our time is well-deserved.

Inside the meeting hall, Dortré had already explained his predicament to the General Assembly's special envoy, Byron.

But General Envoy Byron clearly anticipated this.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Dotre, let your association members leave first. After all, there are some things I can only say to you."

"Row."

As Dortre waved his hand, the six Association Star Envoys, including Ghosn, immediately stood up and left the conference hall.

At the same time, the two Level 2 Association Star Envoys, whom Byron had brought from the 'Steam City', also left the conference hall at Byron's signal.

Before long, the once spacious conference hall was almost empty except for Dortré and Byron.

After confirming that there was no one else around except Dortré.

Byron took out a star energy item resembling a 'shielding device' from his pocket and placed it on the conference table.

This prevented any outsiders from discovering the contents of the meeting.

Having maintained secrecy, Byron finally revealed some details of the mission that he could share with Dortray.

And after hearing the astonishing information contained in these words.

Even the well-traveled and knowledgeable branch president, Dortre, couldn't help but widen his pupils and open his mouth in utter shock.

ten minutes later
"Dotre, that's all the information I can give you. You can neither know nor should you know anything else."

"Because knowing too much will not only be of no benefit to you, but will also easily bring you disaster."

Dortray, still in shock, did not respond to Byron's words.

He kept taking deep breaths, clearly processing the shocking information in his mind.

A moment later, Dortray closed his eyes, and the gills on either side of his ears also closed completely.

When he opened his eyes again, the worry and anger that had been there were replaced by an emotion called excitement.

“Alright, Byron, one special operations squad it is, as long as you can keep your promise.”

"Let alone a mere special operations squad, even if you asked this old man to personally take action, that would be no problem at all."

Looking at the emotionally charged Dortrey, Byron used his characteristic rational temperament unique to mechanics.

Use an extremely calm tone to calm him down.

“No need, Dortre. It’s not that I look down on you, nor that I don’t want such a powerful helper as you. It’s just that those guys’ intelligence on Deep Blue Metropolis may be far beyond your imagination.”

"While the movement of a single special operations unit may attract their attention, it is far from enough to make them disregard everything and make them relocate decisively."

“But if even you, the branch leader, start to take action, then with the intelligence network they have built up here over the years, they will surely detect the danger in advance and immediately relocate.”

"Once things have developed to this point, it won't be so easy to catch them again."

Upon hearing this, Dortré couldn't help but ask a crucial question.

"Byron, since you're so afraid of alarming those guys prematurely, why don't you ask your family or even the association headquarters for help?"

"You should know that whether it is the Iron Dome family behind you or the association headquarters that gathers the most high-level star envoys in the new Federation, they are much stronger than my mere Deep Blue branch, and they can send out far more high-level star envoys."

When faced with Dortray's question, Byron gave an answer that he had never expected.

"That's because our family had an agreement with the Grand Master that unless that person did something that would harm the New Federation, we would absolutely not allow us to take action against him."

"Although that guy has done a lot in the past few years, if we look at it from the perspective of the New Federation and the Star Envoys, what he has done is not only not harming the New Federation, but is actually promoting the development of the New Federation and the Star Envoy community."

"Therefore, once the president finds out that although we are outwardly abiding by the agreement, we have been secretly investigating him, he will definitely not let us off easily."

"And both at headquarters and within our family, there are quite a few people who are presidents."

"Only in remote areas like Deep Blue Metropolis and Steam City, far from the seven floating cities, can I ensure that there are no spies of the Grand Master."

"Otherwise, even if I use the pretense of exploring advanced occupied areas, I cannot guarantee that I will not let the news slip."

Upon hearing this, Dortré finally understood the whole story.

After realizing the importance of this mission and the enormous benefits he could gain from it, Dortre spoke without any further hesitation.

“Alright, Byron, I understand. Tell me, which members of our branch have you taken a fancy to? Just say the word, and I will make them fully cooperate with you.”

“Ghosn, you must lend me Ghosn for now.”

"you sure?"

Dortley glanced at Byron with great surprise, then earnestly reminded him, "Byron, although Ghosn is quite strong, he is limited by the harsh conditions for perfect awakening. Right now, he absolutely cannot and will not go all out."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen a remote branch like our Deep Blue Branch over the core branches in the seven floating cities."

When Dortray reminded him, Byron's answer was very firm.

"Don't worry, I have a way to make him go all out without breaking the conditions for perfect awakening."

"Is that so? Then I'm fine with it, let's see what he says."

"It's just that his personality is rather unique, and I can't say for sure that I can persuade him. I hope you can understand that."

"fine."

With Dortrey and Byron finalizing their choices, the anime scene shifted again, this time to the corridor outside the conference hall.

And to the surprise of the audience, the camera focused on a middle-aged star envoy who was completely unfamiliar to them.

Alongside this man in the image was a brief introduction of him: [Name: William Howard (The Clockwork Knight)]

[Faction: Star Envoy Association - Steam City Branch]

[Level: Level 2, Median]

[Base Star Energy Value: 7500]

【Star Source: Variation Type - Black Iron Clock】

While waiting for the two important figures in the conference hall to arrive, we were bored.

Bored, William leaned against the wall of the corridor outside the conference hall, intently adjusting the time on the pink children's watch on his left wrist.

This children's watch not only has a childish design, but even the edges of the dial have been covered with crooked strawberry stickers.

This made him seem so out of place with William, who was wearing heavy black armor, carrying two greatswords on his back, and exuding a majestic aura.

"William, why do you always wear this children's watch? Is there any special meaning behind it?"

Just as William was completely absorbed in his own world, a voice suddenly came to his ears.

William looked up and followed the direction of the sound.

The person who spoke was none other than Benjamin Iron Dome, the current captain of the Steam City First Squad, who had just been parachuted in from headquarters a month ago.

At the same time, information about Benjamin also appeared in the scenes of the anime.

[Name: Benjamin Iron Dome (Explosives Expert)]

[Faction: Star Envoy Association - Steam City Branch]

[Level: Level 2, Upper Rank]

[Base Star Energy Value: 8500]

【Star Source: Intelligent Mechanical System - Metal Explosion】

Although he wasn't very familiar with Benjamin.

But William still smiled and gave an explanation.

"Captain, this isn't some childish kids' watch. It's an important talisman that my precious daughter gave me, so of course I can't just take it off like that."

Seeing William's blissful expression, Benjamin Iron Dome, as a Mechanized Star Envoy, immediately and very formally leaned his upper body back 15 degrees.

At the same time, he precisely manipulated the facial muscles on his face to create an expression of 'helplessness and envy'.

He perfectly portrayed the complex emotions he felt—a mixture of envy and jealousy—when he heard William's words.

Benjamin's performance was very realistic.

As the tenth generation of the Iron Dome family's mechanized elite, he had actually undergone an 'emotional removal surgery' from his family when he was six years old, with his amygdala, which represents human emotions, being removed from his brain by his family doctor.

Therefore, all his current reactions are nothing more than a cold pretense, meticulously calculated.

Intelligent machines have no need for the emotions of boring humans.

Because they would only become a burden to omnics.

[Human emotion simulation program initiated; specific emotional expression behaviors are being generated.]

[Optimal emotional expression has been generated, expected to increase the target person 'William Howard's' favorability towards you by '5%~10%']

The specific ways of expressing emotions are as follows.

Relying on its powerful 'human emotion simulation program', Benjamin quickly found the best way to express himself.

He suddenly lowered his head and examined the children's watch on William's wrist with a serious expression.

A moment later, he kindly reminded him, "William, the time on your watch seems a bit inaccurate. Is it because the internal parts are old and rusty?"

Upon hearing this, William sighed helplessly.

"Yes, the air here in the Deep Blue Metropolis is too humid, far less dry than in the Steam City, which caused my precious amulet to malfunction as soon as it arrived here."

"But it's okay. When I get back to the steam city, I'll use the tools at home to give it a proper maintenance and make sure it's back to normal."

Benjamin asked with 'curiosity,' "Why wait until we get back to the steam city to get it serviced? If I remember correctly, the internal structure of this kind of watch should be quite simple."

"As a renowned watchmaker in the steam city, repairing it shouldn't be a difficult task for you, right?"

William smiled and waved his hand, saying with a smug look, "Captain Benjamin, these ideas you're talking about are purely from the perspective of a good watchmaker, not from the perspective of a good father."

"You know, for a good father, fixing this watch is important, but what's even more important is enjoying the admiring and envious look in his daughter's eyes when she's beside him."

"So, I guess I'll just have to wait until I get home to get this watch fixed."

Looking at William's happy face, Benjamin paused for a moment, then said with a very 'emotional' expression, "As someone who doesn't have a daughter, I really can't understand the thoughts of you fathers."

"It's alright, it's alright. Once you find the person you want to protect for the rest of your life and become a father, you'll understand how I feel."

"Then I wish that day would come."

"Don't worry, Captain, that day will definitely come."

In the real world, there are 13 stations.

The viewers in the anime/manga world watched as these two unfamiliar characters made their first appearance on screen.

Although they didn't know what the future plot would be for these two, or what kind of interactions they would have with the main characters.

But since the production team has specifically released them and devoted precious anime episode time to developing them.

This means they will definitely play a significant role in the later plot.

Otherwise, the production team of Stellaris would never have wasted so many precious resources on two insignificant supporting characters.

This is in conjunction with the current conversation between the two, as well as the conversation between the branch president, Dortre, and the general envoy, Byron, not long ago.

Some astute viewers seem to have already vaguely grasped what's going on.

'A gift from my daughter, a watch that suddenly broke, an obsession with going home, and... Uncle, why do you look so dead?'

'Seven floating cities, the occupied territories, and the forbidden lands, plus the suddenly appearing steam city—it feels like the production team is already laying the groundwork for the second season's plot. Could the main setting for the second season be that steam city?'

'Did the General's envoy specifically request Fish Pond Bro? It seems Fish Pond Bro is going to accidentally end up in a high-level match this time. I wonder how he'll perform in that high-level game.'

"Is it possible that 'Fishpond Bro' is just using explosives to attack fish, and not actually fishing? After all, according to the previous guild leader, although 'Fishpond Bro' has been suppressing his strength, he's still doing very well in level two, which clearly doesn't belong to that rank."

'A human emotion simulation program? Goodness, are the AI ​​in the Stellaris world all this terrifying? Why not be a human and instead choose to be a robot? Ha!'

"You guys think the mission of the General Envoy is the trigger for that terrible prophetic dream from Heaven? Otherwise, why would the production team suddenly release this part of the story?"

"Damn, according to your logic, wouldn't the Heavenly Dao forces suddenly be facing a Level 4 Upper-Rank Grand Star Envoy, four at least Level 2 Mid-Rank Branch Elite Star Envoys, and several Level 1 Branch Star Envoys? How are the Ember Base supposed to fight that now?!"

'So what if he's at Level 4? Judging from the way the Doctor has always acted, his level is either Level 4 or higher, or Level 3 perfect. Otherwise, how could he have created Project Stars?'

What was said before is also correct.

Just as the viewers were having a heated discussion about the various pieces of information revealed in this storyline.

The scene in the anime suddenly switched to the entrance of the conference hall.

crunch--

As the conference hall doors slowly opened, the first thing that appeared was the unique scene composition inside the conference hall at that moment.

At that moment, the lighting pearls on the ceiling of the conference hall seemed to be slowly obscured by thick dark clouds.

Not only was the emitted light extremely thin, but even the originally straight light rays now exhibited a slightly distorted halo, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Meanwhile, the tidal patterns carved on the walls surrounding the conference hall resembled tides gathering before a storm, flowing slowly.

It was just an ordinary conference hall before.

However, thanks to the production team's deliberate rendering, this ordinary conference hall now gives off a sense of impending storm.

As the camera slowly zoomed in, the entire series quickly focused on Byron, the Grand Envoy, at the center of the 'storm'.

"Alright everyone, I've finished talking with Dortray, you can come in now."

As Byron's voice faded, the entire anime screen went dark instantly.

Only a pair of special eyes remained, emitting a mysterious glimmer in the deep darkness.

This faint light was paired with the unique sound of ocean waves found in the Tide Sound Place.

This made the viewers in front of the screen realize one thing.

That means a huge storm is about to break.

P.S.: Because the recent plot is quite important, I have to be very careful when writing, so it's hard to write quickly or in large quantities.

There will be another update later, uploaded before midnight.

(End of this chapter)