Abyss Solo

"Isn't the Empire's approach too aggressive?"

"Could it be that in the Empire's judgment, we are already of no value?"

The banquet hall immediately filled with some noisy discussions.

Some people bowed deeply, pleading for the Empire's leniency;

Some pushed the contract to the floor, expressions cold and hard;

Others spoke earnestly, trying to persuade the Empire's nobles to show mercy, to leave their nation some dignity and respect.

Revelle sat in a corner observing this 'farce' intently, sighing slightly as he clinked glasses with a friend beside him.

A few young nobles murmured quietly among themselves:

"What if they don't sign?"

Revelle laughed, "It's business, after all. You start with a high demand and negotiate down. The Empire will surely make some concessions. If you start at sixty, they'll react this way just the same. But if you first ask for two hundred, then lower it to sixty, promising them and their descendants a life in the Sherman Empire with some noble titles, most of them will happily accept."

"That's generally how it goes."

"These small countries are truly pitiful."

"Look, look over there," Revelle pointed to another corner.

There, Princess Luna, dressed elegantly for the banquet, stood with a group of deputy directors from the Foreign Affairs Bureau, heading towards the vassal emperors they were each responsible for.

Princess Luna, with a light and easy smile, sat down beside Edwan, who had remained silent, and whispered something intimately in his ear.

Revelle raised an eyebrow slightly.

This Edwan is definitely up to something.

Did he betray his country and the Wind Alliance?

If that's true, then it's... simply indescribable.

Under the spotlight, Princess Luna whispered in Edwan's ear:

"The contract you received is the harshest among them. You know what to do, don't you?"

"Of course," 'Edwan' chuckled softly, "Isn't my existence meant for this very moment?"

Luna smiled gently: "How about having a drink with me tonight? I'm very curious about you."

"Oh, well... we are different, noble Princess," 'Edwan' frowned slightly, whispered, "Let's get back to this contract. If I sign it, not only will the Luofeng Empire suffer a massive blow, but the Wind Alliance will also fall into the Empire's hands, is that right?"

"It's a lucrative prize. If the Empire can swallow it, it would gain the necessary energy to overcome the current crisis."

"But, isn't it too unrighteous to involve those innocent member states of the Wind Alliance?"

Luna's face took on a slight chill: "Know your place, Edwan."

"Of course, oh, of course, I'll know my place. I will sign," 'Edwan' sighed quietly, "but I still feel... are the citizens of a vassal state inherently lesser than those of the Empire? Or is it that, regardless of being a vassal state or an empire, the common people are equally livestock kept by the noble class?"

"It means nothing to ponder these things," Luna said gently, "Now, it's time for you to stand up and announce that you accept all the terms."

'Edwan' nodded.

He pressed his lips tightly together, reviewed the first few pages of the contract again, then gave a bitter smile and slowly stood up.

"Only independence deserves the basic right to survival?"

He murmured, slowly standing up.

The targeted amplification equipment locked onto 'Edwan's mouth, and all eyes turned to this largest vassal state's emperor of the Empire.

'Edwan' said, "I approve..."

Buzz——

Ping ping ping!

The banquet hall was filled with piercing noise, the sound of one crystal utensil after another shattering continuously.

'Edwan' looked stunned; he was the source of the noise.

He raised his hand to touch his face, blood-red synthetic flesh clinging to his fingers;

He looked down at his chest, where a mass of 'flesh' had burst open, revealing a silver-white metallic structure inside.

The limbs made of bionic materials were now melting like a wax figure, rapidly dissolving.

'Edwan' turned to look at Luna, and tremblingly said:

"Wha-what's happening to me?"

Luna's face turned pale, and she dodged aside clumsily, fearing she might be tainted by something unclean.

For a few seconds, the entire banquet hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, but then screams erupted, as seven vassal emperors likewise stood up panic-stricken, their bodies beginning to melt in unison.

In Lyu's Thought Space, hundreds of different-dressed replicas were busy behind various fictional control panels.

Lyu's main body slightly pursed its lips and pressed the button in front of it.

The video of 'Edwan's body suddenly dissolving to expose the mechanical core simultaneously appeared in the servers of the intelligence departments of major political entities in the Milky Way.

Meanwhile, the replicas around Lyu had already initiated a series of operations.

The New Federation CIA's senior officials had not finished watching this video when it, through the channels of subordinate agencies of the New Federation CIA, rapidly spread to the networks both inside and outside the Empire.

This was their first wave of attack.