NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

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"check."

"Notify all spies to mobilize all their connections. I need to know everything about this Xsis, including his background before becoming an assassin and the background of his direct bloodline."

Inside a private mansion in the Royal Promenade residential area, a middle-aged man wearing a monocle twirled and toyed with a teacup, gazing thoughtfully at the genuine tea leaves slowly sinking within. After a moment of contemplation, he added to the female housekeeper at the door:

"By the way, prioritize the investigation of that masked bodyguard."

ACPU has given me a preliminary autopsy report; all seventeen assassins died in close combat or close-range ambushes.

The target of a killing machine that can be trained to produce such skills is either the central government or the military, or even the Pure Land of Bliss, or at most a tribunal.

I don't need to know his true identity; I just need to know which company he's backed, who he works for, and whether he and Xyz are on the same side.

That's about it for now, go and get it done.

"Yes, master."

At the door, the housekeeper, who had been waiting for a long time, smiled charmingly, then left the study, closed the door, and her pretty face, which had been flushed with spring, quickly turned cold. Her figure disappeared at the end of the corridor with her steps.

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At this very moment, in the center of the Ark.

"Anderson...is there...you say...is there a possibility...maybe...Shuen is, is, is directing and acting on his own?"

Using the assassination attempt as an opportunity, she deliberately faked her disappearance. Then...in this way, she made everyone realize her importance, indirectly increasing her influence?

Burningham's long-standing political career has made him distrustful of any superficial information. However, this time, his conspiracy theories were met with disdain from a group of senior leaders, including Dovan and Anderson.

"Shuen doesn't have that brain."

The head of the central government's intelligence department, Nikolai Ye, bluntly pointed out the problem.

"If she were truly capable, she wouldn't have only come up with this method today."

"..."

Despite Nikola's disdain when discussing Shuen, Burningham, whose guess was rejected, showed no dissatisfaction and remained the timid, short, fat man he always was.

Since Phoenix joined the intelligence department, top-secret information reports such as "contact with pilgrims," ​​"contact with Eden," "contact with heretics," and "discovery of Sky Ring City" have been pouring into the intelligence department's barren information database like sand that doesn't need to be paid for.

With intelligence gathered, Minister Nikolai Ye naturally abandoned his previous modest demeanor and gradually revealed his assertive personality within political circles.

Then, the minister sat upright at the table and began to speak in a gentle and detailed manner:

“Our people have already contacted the relevant personnel in Missilis. Judging from their attitude, the higher-ups in Missilis prefer to solve the problem themselves, and they have even interfered with the involvement of ACPU.”

Currently, only two pieces of information are publicly available.

First, a total of eighteen assassins attempted to kidnap Shuen, but only seventeen bodies have been found at the scene so far. Forensic examination suggests that the victims were most likely killed by a single person, and all deaths were caused by blunt force trauma; there were no gunshot wounds on the bodies.

Second, Shuen's personal bodyguard also disappeared along with Shuen. According to witnesses, the bodyguard was visiting the Missilis headquarters building for the first time today, and they had never seen him before.

To put it simply, a total of three people have gone missing in this incident: Shu En, the bodyguard Shu En hired, and the assassin who kidnapped Shu En.

Given that Shuen himself was the kidnapping target, we have reason to suspect that the assassin and bodyguard may have worked together; this was a premeditated kidnapping plan, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it was orchestrated from within Missilis.

"Ha, seventeen professional assassins died at the hands of a bodyguard? Minister Ye is really joking."

Having already shot and killed women and children in the outer perimeter area at the age of eight, the bloodthirsty and twisted Deputy Commander Duowan, who took pleasure in killing, knew better than anyone present just how outrageous the story of "single-handedly killing seventeen assassins" was.

He snorted coldly again, and said sarcastically:

"What, Minister Ye, do you think everyone is that mentally ill person under your command?"

Do you really think seventeen armed men are so easy to kill?

Chapter 298 A Magical Reality

"Dowan, watch your words."

Anderson's reaction was remarkably quick.

Before Nikolai Ye's expression could cool down, he decisively reprimanded Dovan, nipping the potential conflict in the bud before the intelligence minister could react.

Without any evidence, he just blurted out that only so-and-so's subordinates could do such a thing, and he did it in front of so many people. Let alone the current head of the intelligence department, he would not tolerate it. Even in the past, he might not have been able to swallow this insult.

as predicted……

"It seems that the command has little trust in the professional capabilities of our intelligence department."

Minister Ye stood up with composure, made a token effort to straighten his uniform, and said:

"In that case, continuing the discussion will only lead to differing opinions. We should stay in touch and let each other know when there is any new information."

After saying that, he turned and strode out of the meeting room in full view of everyone, leaving a group of central high-ranking officials with different expressions standing or sitting, looking at each other in silence.

After a few breaths...

Someone sighed softly, a simple sigh tinged with complex emotions—regret, remorse, helplessness—and at the same time, it seemed to ask:

Which son of a bitch suggested they release people to the intelligence department?

They have absolutely no foresight!

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A bustling crowd,

The brightly lit shopping mall

In the underground plaza, which covers an area roughly the size of two football fields, children are playing with various electronic products with great interest, while adults are looking at the interesting items on the stalls with great enjoyment.

As for Phoenix and Xyz, who were disguised, they were led by the latter and calmly turned into a curtain that reflected a dim fluorescent blue light, just like veterans.

This left Fei, who has a virtuous wife and a clean reputation, somewhat puzzled.

Logically, shouldn't pink lights be the conventional choice for this type of scene?

Driven by curiosity, the lieutenant had a sudden thought and after briefly scanning the interior of several rooms, he finally understood why the store didn't use pink lights to signal to customers.

It seems the shop owner isn't providing real services, but rather a cybernetic girlfriend whose race might not even be human...

“Uncle Sam, it’s me, Seth.”

Leading the way, Ksis waved skillfully at a decorative painting. Immediately afterward, the door opposite the painting made an unlocking sound, then slowly slid to the side and embedded itself in the wall.

The next second, an old man holding a double-barreled shotgun, chewing nicotine gum, appeared at the doorway, cursing and swearing, and said in his hoarse voice:

"Hey kid, I think you've forgotten all the rules here, haven't you? How dare you bring an outsider in, spit on me!"

He spat the chewing gum out of his mouth and onto the ground. Then, the old man's next actions went far beyond what could be described as simply a fit of temper.

—Without saying a word, he tried to point his double-barreled shotgun at the lieutenant.

"No! No, no, no, no, no—!!!"

Seeing such a horrifying scene, the assassin panicked completely. He braced himself and stood between the two, his hands in a gesture of surrender, his eyelids twitching wildly as he pleaded:

"I'm here to take my mother away, Uncle Sam. Please, please calm down, please don't shoot. If you really can't handle it, you can shoot me instead, but please, please don't shoot this person..."

In just a few seconds of explanation, a fine layer of cold sweat had already covered Xsis's forehead and some of his hair roots.

Seeing his nervousness, the burly old man named Sam quickly realized that the true identity of the stranger in front of him might be far beyond his expectations.

Therefore, the old man revealed a different kind of shrewdness and cunning than before. He softened his tone, neither humble nor arrogant, and frowned as he explained to the visitor why he had been so violent just now in a manner that seemed to continue cursing.

"Seth, I'm warning you, you better not try to fool me. With the pathetic things you've accomplished in the last few years, even the fat gatekeeper wouldn't believe you could get on any good side."

The underlying meaning of old Sam's words was actually quite simple: he was implying that he and Xsis were of lowly status and that it was only natural for them not to recognize their distinguished guests.

However, Phoenix, who was at the far end of the corridor, was not paying attention to Old Deng at the moment.

In the lieutenant's mind, the understanding Anik had already thoroughly scanned the architectural structure of the place and marked the areas that needed special attention with red circles.

Within the circle, a total of seventy-three humans of indeterminate age are engaged in activities in a large compartment resembling a capsule hotel.

Most of them had already fallen asleep, while the remaining group was still whispering among themselves in small groups.

Phoenix was very curious about this. At first, he thought that the hotel, which seemed to be running a cyber-adult business, was secretly keeping prostitutes, but then he thought that the possibility was very low.

What time is it?

What prostitute sleeps during prime nighttime hours?

Given that Xyz told old Sam he was taking his mother away, the identities of the seventy-three people living in the capsule hotel become self-evident.

—They are probably all family members of lawbreakers.

The capsule hotels located underground are likely to be large-scale safe houses.

How do you solve the problem of food, clothing, and daily necessities?

The man asked very sincerely:

"With dozens of mouths to feed, how did you manage to make purchases without giving yourself away? And how did you manage to get the daily necessities in?"