Abyss Solo

'These old bastards.'

Daphne cursed in her heart, then felt slightly rude and thus changed to a more elegant term.

'These politicians who only care about their own interests.'

When Daphne first started interacting with the elite power brokers of the Sherman family under Director Eno's guidance, she felt a bit intimidated deep in her heart.

Those seated at this round table were the true dignitaries of the Empire, the outstanding figures of the Sherman family through generations, holding the future of billions in the Empire in their hands.

During these years of interaction, Daphne discovered that although those seated here were indeed elite compared to the fallen clansmen who only chased desires daily, their elitism was limited.

The four 'grandfather generation' elders who controlled the Empire's regular military, although all had military backgrounds and excelled in combat command, possessing rich experience in facing battle and familiarity with the operation of military systems, were not the outstanding leaders of their era.

For instance, Admiral Thomas, now in the limelight of the Military Department, versus a lesser-known Prince Vice Admiral of the Sherman family, once Admiral Thomas's physical health declines, he would retire directly, whereas the Vice Admiral of the Sherman family only needed to achieve some decent accomplishments to possibly enter that round table and become a future commander of the Military Department.

At the moment, this exact moment, some negative and dreadful thoughts were budding in Daphne's heart.

'Replace them.'

'They are unqualified to give orders to me.'

"Daphne? Are you listening?"

"I'm listening," Daphne responded with head bowed, "You just said to try your best to appease Hanton."

"You should demonstrate your value, Daphne," the elder said coldly, "You've lived with the White Ghost for so many years, and not only did you fail to make him a loyal member of our Sherman family, but you've also let such influence develop right under your nose. Where is your value, Daphne."

Daphne's delicate face turned somewhat pale, and she whispered, "I can't defend my incompetence."

"How is your investigation into his technical team going?"

"Progress is not very smooth; his technical team has always kept things secret from me. I only know that he has an assistant in constant contact, and this assistant is quite capable."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all."

The elder showed a hint of impatience in his eyes.

Daphne could only continue to bow her head.

Then someone said: "Spend your time in the right place, instead of singing and dancing to please the public, find a way to prove your value to the family."

Value, again with the value.

It's simply disgusting. - Daphne thought.

She decided to do something, at the very least in the eyes of these cannibalistic old bastards, she couldn't just be seen as a frail woman.

"Actually, I haven't gained nothing."

Daphne slowly raised her head, gazing at those old 'patriarchs' at the front of the virtual conference room, her voice changing from gentle to emphatically firm.

"Based on my understanding of Hanton, the protest activities across the Empire are definitely influenced by him.

"I can feel, he has a force not belonging to the Empire or its opponents, this force isn't notably powerful, it's likely after his rise to fame, a group of like-minded youths gathered around him, like that noble Revelle.

"I suspect he has a small faction, which is the mastermind behind the national protests and demonstrations now.

"You might even consider that the escalating unrest in front of us is all planned by him."

"That's impossible," someone said, "Daphne, I understand you may have some blind admiration for the White Ghost, but the White Ghost is only a warrior, always under our watch except for what Faya technology he mastered."

Daphne asked: "Then may I ask, where is Po Suo now? Perhaps you all have been atop the Empire too long, thinking everyone revolves around the Sherman family, but we are not the Black Hole at the center of the Galaxy. Hanton does need the Empire, that's true, but he's still an idealist, he dislikes the current Empire, that's my most direct impression after living with him."

"Daphne, you seem to have some dissatisfaction with us too?"

"Yes," Daphne raised her head slightly, "My loyalty to the family, my respect for the elders need not be adorned with fancy words, but whenever facing the White Ghost, you all look down upon him with a scornful attitude, making me feel… you don't respect this opponent."

"Opponent? Humph."

The elder in the center said coldly: "He is just a warrior of the Empire."

"Arrogance and bias often mark the beginning of failure."

"Daphne! This is not the place for you to lecture others!"

"Alright, Daphne," Director Eno frowned beside, "Control your emotions, what do you look like now?"

Daphne bowed her head and sighed.

She wanted to say something, a pop-up appeared before her eyes, directly kicking her out of the group chat, and the projected light quickly faded.

Daphne was momentarily stunned.

She looked at the room decor before her, slightly lost in thought, before she could regain herself she already received orders from Director Eno.

[Persuade Hanton to come to Emperor Star.]

"Ugh."

Daphne got up and walked towards Yang Ming's study, quickly arranging her expression to appear relaxed and cheerful.

However, unbeknownst to her, her recent expressions had already been relayed to Yang Ming by Little Lyu.