Abyss Solo

"Indeed, I have admitted to my strategic misjudgment," Director Eno sighed, "I propose a family referendum."

The virtual meeting room fell silent again.

"Once the result of the family referendum is established, we must change our perspective, suppress our personal feelings, and put family honor above everything."

"I support conducting a family referendum."

"Then let's have a family referendum, and gather everyone."

"What is the content of the referendum?"

"Whether to temporarily ally with the White Ghost, wait for the White Ghost's home planet to arrive in the Milky Way, and then use his home planet as leverage to control the White Ghost; and whether the Empire should enter a period of benevolent governance. These are actually two sides of the same coin."

"We now need the White Ghost to step up and stabilize the situation. If he wants fame, we can grant him fame."

"Nonsense! Absolute nonsense! Indulging the enemy will inevitably lead to a great catastrophe!"

"Then what are you proposing? Arrest the White Ghost openly? Infuriate him so he becomes an assassin and dismantles our old bones? The Emperor's ambition is swelling, and he's no longer content with becoming one of us after abdicating!"

"Hmph!"

"Everyone, calm down and notify the others to gather for the family referendum."

Director Eno slightly narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Half an hour later, forty-nine elders cast their votes, with the support and opposition ratio fixed at twenty-nine to twenty. Some elders directly left the virtual meeting but expressed that they would adhere to the decision of the family meeting.

The Sherman family would adjust their attitude towards the White Ghost and arrange for the four elders of the Military Department to apologize to the White Ghost, hoping he would continue to be the Empire's Guardian God.

However, just as the family meeting ended.

In the Imperial Palace module, inside the Old Emperor's chamber, the Old Emperor frowned at the middle-aged woman reporting to him.

"Teacher," the Old Emperor pondered, "are they really conceding?"

"According to the information we have, some of the hardliners against the White Ghost voted in favor. They were frightened by the White Ghost exposing their physical locations last time, and by the information you disclosed. They're afraid of being retaliated against by the White Ghost, so... you leaked too much information."

"Hehehe, I just overestimated their resilience."

The Old Emperor squinted his eyes and smiled, contemplating what to do next.

"Hanton is unkillable, isn't he?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the White Ghost is an Ancient God Warrior. He can resurrect himself using pre-established cell clusters, similar to the Valkyrie."

"Such an enticing ability. If I had such a body, how wonderful it would be."

The Old Emperor clicked his tongue lightly but didn't indulge in such fantasies, instead saying:

"Teacher, arrange a bomb attack for my good son-in-law. They want to ease tensions, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

"Remember to seize the right opportunity and make the incident as significant as possible.

"My son-in-law should be able to withstand some powerful bombs."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

The middle-aged woman nodded and was about to leave, but was stopped by the Old Emperor.

"Feel free to cause some civilian casualties."

"As you command."

Underground on the Emperor Star, in the black box space.

Li's brow furrowed slightly, then slowly unfurrowed.

Her fingers moved incessantly, as if calculating or modifying something, everything silent and incredibly swift.

...

(PS: Here's some good news for everyone: Abyss has just become a key supported work of the Chinese Writers' Association's online literature.

This is a kind of honor and encouragement.

Actually, I've won many awards over the past few years but never publicized them, because I felt these awards and honors came too early for someone like me born in the 90s. They could easily dampen my motivation to strive, so I never mentioned them. Awards like the Newcomer Award for Online Literature Influence, the Zheng Award, the Chinese Good Novel Award from the China Novel Association — I had already received them and even attended advanced seminars at Lu Academy. However, Abyss is different; every award and honor it receives doesn't come easy.

Thanks to all the readers for your support. Without your support and recognition, this book could never have achieved this level of honor. In online literature, success is the most fundamental metric.

Also, these types of awards typically encourage the creation of realistic literature. Our ability to win them is thanks to the recommendation from Yuewen and the support from the leadership of the Writers' Association. Thank you to the relevant staff at Yuewen~)