Abyss Solo

Daphne stood up to leave the meeting, and an old man immediately spoke:

"What Daphne said isn't really a big issue; in the past, it was our inherent arrogance.

"Alright, Daphne, please sit down.

"We need to address two issues now. The first is, of course, to quell the chaos, and the second is to find Hanton's reserve cell."

Director Eno reminded, "Hanton should be in a child's state right now."

"Daphne," an old man asked, "Are you willing to come forward to calm the public, in the capacity of the White Ghost's wife?"

Daphne simply said, "I am not willing, Great-Grandfather."

"Why?"

"Because it's futile," Daphne replied, "My apologizing ten thousand times is not as effective as having you all send a few representatives to sincerely apologize to the public and return most of the power to the Empire's regular institutions."

"Daphne, don't be so presumptuous."

"Oh dear!"

The Old Emperor, sitting at a distance, chuckled and spoke:

"We're all family, Daphne is just not in a good mood right now, so let's all try to understand and tolerate each other. She's still young and immature."

Director Eno said, "The Sherman family apologizing to the public is indeed a good strategy to show the Empire's respect for public opinion."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

An old man bellowed:

"The Empire's ballast is the military; as long as the military doesn't rebel, there will be no issues locally! If they continue to make trouble, cut off energy supply, cut off food supply!

"We need to tame the public, and then embellish our authority!"

"Won't such actions cause mutiny in the army?"

"We can't directly control the Levi Fleet, and that's the real core issue!"

"Damn it! The White Ghost has shaken the soldiers' sense of faith; it'll take us decades to mend this!"

"The Emperor Guard System isn't responding; we should perhaps let Emperor Guard 2 enter the Empire's network early."

"Emperor Guard 2 hasn't been through final testing yet, and there's still a risk of collapse..."

The video stopped abruptly.

Yang Ming found it unsatisfying.

Did the Old Emperor, Director Eno, and some 'young' elite faction of the Sherman family reach some kind of agreement?

Clearly, driven by the external force of the Empire's comprehensive turmoil crisis, a power transformation was taking place at this round table. However, the result of this transformation was merely a shift of the scepter from some old hands to other elderly hands, without any change in the nature of the round table itself.

Yang Ming didn't have much opinion on this; instead, he felt more at ease with having incited rebellion throughout the Empire.

Only by dismantling this round table could there be real political reform in the Empire.

And what Yang Ming desired was far more than just that.

Daphne's conduct surprised Yang Ming slightly, but after figuring out the intricacies, he could only smile wryly.

She was just another beneficiary of the status quo.

However, Yang Ming could also perceive that she most likely truly fell for the White Ghost, which would be a particularly difficult emotional problem to handle in the future.

Ah, it would have been better to restrain myself back then...

"Boss," Lyu's voice resonated, "Breakfast has been delivered and is at the door."

"Hmm," Yang Ming deleted the video, glanced at the fake account that sent the video, and walked back to the suite door with ease.

As he carried the meal back in and opened the door, he heard Professor Hua Moli's voice calling.

"Today is truly a dreadful day."

...

Professor Hua Moli clutched his forehead and slumped on the sofa by the window, continuously sighing.

Yang Ming brought warm post-meal tea over and handed it to the old professor.

"Oh, sorry," Yang Ming sighed, "I drank too much yesterday and didn't know you had a flight today... Booking the earliest flight now?"

"Let me check."

The old professor picked up the online terminal and kept muttering:

"It's not your fault, Yang Ming, we had such an engaging conversation. I'm glad you shared so many interesting stories with an old man like me, and we even checked out a lot of beauties together. This holiday has been just perfect!

"It's just, oh, I have a lot of work, and although I'm at an age where I can apply for retirement, many things still need my oversight.

"Guel's gene sequence has given our research a lot of inspiration. The institute I'm at is at the forefront of human genetics in many aspects across the Milky Way."

Yang Ming nodded with a smile, appearing not to care much about it.

"The next flight is tomorrow morning, fortunately, it won't delay much... oh oh, what's this?"

Professor Hua Moli's eyes lit up as he looked up at Yang Ming:

"Look! Yang Ming! A few beautiful celebrities are coming here for a charity event, oh! Their schedule is set for this hotel!"

"My gene god!"

"Unfortunately, I might miss this performance, this is truly a pity, they're real beauties with Guel bloodline."

Yang Ming suggested, "Why not stay a couple more days, watch the show and then go back."

"Hahaha! No can do, Yang Ming," Professor Hua Moli replied solemnly, "Work is always the priority, especially work that I love and brings me some fame. It allows me to realize my value step by step and find motivation to keep moving forward, that's the joy of life. Watching beautiful women is just a hobby of mine, merely to please myself and lighten work stress."

"You actually have such awareness."

Yang Ming was a bit amused.

He had specially prepared this show for the old professor's enjoyment.

With a quick thought, Yang Ming had made up his mind and said with a smile, "Then it's a pity, I can record the show for you and share it with you afterwards."

"Deal!"

Professor Hua Moli winked at Yang Ming:

"Yesterday you treated me to a big meal and some nice wine, today I must give you a return gift. Come, let's go to a good place?"

Yang Ming asked puzzled, "A good place?"

"This is my personal second-priority vacation spot, because of this good place," the old professor's eyes were full of hints, "you will be able to relax there, trust me, and I must treat today!"

"I have a proper girlfriend," Yang Ming hesitated a bit.

"Come on," the old professor chuckled, "you said it yourself yesterday, with seven or eight ex-girlfriends and even some mistresses... Let's go, I, a famous researcher in the Alliance, am not afraid, what are you afraid of?"

Yang Ming:...

My girlfriend is coming soon!

But this is indeed a good chance to get closer to the old professor.

After some internal struggle, Yang Ming slapped his thigh and said, "Alright, let's go!"

"Young man, be honest with your desires," Professor Hua Moli raised an eyebrow, "your girlfriend isn't here, what are you afraid of, I'm going to take a bath."

Yang Ming:...

He was actually quite self-disciplined;

In some niche fields.

Meanwhile, in Lyu's Thought Space.

Molly, with a complicated expression, watched the projection screen in front of her, seeing the old and young changing clothes and meeting in the lobby, then sneakily leaving the hotel, getting a cab, heading toward the red-light district of the cylinder settlement.

"White Ghost, hero of the Empire, father of Dark Star, actual ruler of the Wind Alliance, one of the two humanoid Ancient Gods in the Milky Way... went to a brothel?"

Molly sighed deeply:

"This truly is! This gives me an ample understanding of men's nature!"

"The boss has been before," Lyu nonchalantly said, "back when he first went to Wind, for an alliance with Edwan, he was also having fun night after night, quite joyfully."

"Aren't you going to say something to the boss, Number Two?"

"Call me Sister Lyu! No respect at all!"

Lyu snorted:

"We're Mechanical Thought Bodies, the boss is a non-normal biologic entity, how could we manage that."

"I mean... well... mainly it's so degrading," Molly clicked her tongue, "a big boss like the boss, looking for fun should at least go for those star actresses who don't have fixed prices, enjoy the chase and conquest, that's what matches our boss's status!"

"Your thinking is even more degrading," Lyu rolled her eyes, "stop watching those morally incorrect stuff... By the way, Edwan His Majesty's Thought Body has recently matured and is very stable."

"Have you not informed the boss about this?"

"Well, haven't found the right opportunity yet..."

"Haha! You're in trouble now!" Molly laughed with her hands on her hips, "You dared to secretly upload the boss's best friend... Give me sixty thousand standard units of computing power, and I won't spill the beans about this!"

"Do you believe I'll erase your database!"

Lyu puffed her cheeks slightly, then began to feel a bit uneasy.

She truly lacked some confidence in this matter.