Chapter 207

Seeing the words being deleted one by one on Aldrich's page, Qin Su looked away, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Ignoring the various expressions on Jeramied's and the others' faces, Qin Su focused his attention on Aldrich was shaking his head. "Is there anything you want to ask me, or anything you need me to pass on your message?"

Aldrich's loyalty to the Federation is not in question; what he needs to do is reassure him.

Aldrich finally finished deleting the text on his personal Optical Brain and realized that he had been so busy shaking his head that he hadn't actually said anything. He was about to say something, but before he could, he heard Qin Su's 'warm' words and was taken aback once again.

During the time he was Xuan Jingcheng and taken away by the people of the Ossotalia Empire, where he was subjected to torture, coercion, and enticement, the Federation remained completely silent. He had considered the worst-case scenario to be that Xuan Jingcheng would lie to the Federation and say that he had betrayed them, or that the Federation believed he had died in this Virus war, which the Ossotalia Empire called a holy war. He never imagined that anyone in the Federation would know his whereabouts.

Knowing this is one thing, but to still seek him out, and the person seeking him out is... Qin Su.

God knows, the moment he saw Qin Su, his CPU practically burned out. What surprised him even more was that Qin Su didn't hold a grudge against him. Not only did he give him the task of going undercover, but he even thoughtfully considered passing on a message to his family for him.

Aldrich's emotions were like a rollercoaster, his nose stinging with tears as he shook his head. This time he spoke, "No, no, this is enough."

Although he had never been an undercover agent before, he had seen it all and knew all sorts of people, so he had naturally heard about the precautions for undercover work and understood them.

Because of his previous behavior of "the bold get rich while the timid starve", he always felt guilty in front of Qin Su and dared not make any requests.

When Aldrich met his gaze, his eyes darted away, and Qin Su guessed it was because he was embarrassed about what happened last time.

One thing is one thing, and the two should not be confused. Qin Su proactively told Aldrich, "From now on, your family will be well taken care of and will receive compensation."

Consequently, they will temporarily lose some freedom.

"I know."

Aldrich nodded. These were normal protective measures for the families of undercover agents, preventing the Ossotalia Empire from taking the families away as a threat, and also preventing the Federation from using them as leverage against them.

"Um..." Aldrich looked at the people behind Qin Su, "Is it alright if they know?"

A normal undercover operation should be known to as few people as possible.

He recognized several familiar faces among the group opposite Qin Su, and had some understanding of their past behavior and character.

Among them are those he considers parasites and dangerous elements to the Federation, who are capable of anything for profit and may succumb to temptation in the future, betraying him.

"It's alright," Qin Su comforted Aldrich, explaining one of the reasons, "Their presence is mainly for leaving records of your work."

The main reason was that he needed Jeramied and others to see for themselves that he had such influence that even the Ossotalia Empire could not stop him if he wanted to. By having them spread rumors in their social circles, he could essentially increase their goodwill, deterrence, and influence.

Although he was able to easily find Aldrich's place of imprisonment, it was thanks to his access to McCarthy's Spaceship that he was able to trace the trail.

Without McCarthy's intervention, he could have endured countless days and nights on his own, without expending any of his Life Points.

To ensure Aldrich's safety, Jeramied and the others who see Aldrich will, from now on, receive the same generous gift package as Greyliff.

Hearing Qin Su refer to them as 'notebooks' right in front of them, Jeramied and the others were speechless.

'An unexpected use has been discovered.'

Aldrich must have known Qin Su for a long time, right? He was exiled to Leichakan, and even... wait, when was Aldrich arrested?

Jeramied and the others, having discovered the 'key point,' were all on the same wavelength, their eyes filled with shock as they looked at each other.

' Aldrich, what a cunning man! He must have already won Qin Su's favor! Then all that stuff about them blocking him and making sarcastic remarks about him because of his exile...'

Jeramied and the others recalled how Qin Su had imprisoned them without a word, and then looked down at the scene below where their assets were being 'divided' according to Qin Su's orders. They gasped in horror.

There's a very real chance, at least one percent chance, that everything Qin Su did against them was to comfort Aldrich for the grievances he suffered at their hands earlier.

"!"

With his hands chained to the Torture Chair, Aldrich knew that if he laughed, he wouldn't have a hand to cover his mouth, and Qin Su would think he was unreliable. He suppressed the urge to pout, raise his eyebrows, and smile, and nodded seriously. "I see."

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; who would have thought that Aldrich would also be living a good life, with some of the familiar faces who used to need his flattery and serve him at all costs now becoming his 'diary'.

Seeing Aldrich's face contorted in pain as he tried to suppress a laugh, Qin Su said, "... Hmm."

' Aldrich has already reached this point, yet he's so cheerful he almost laughs when he hears that someone he doesn't get along with is shorter than him. He has a really good attitude.'

Seeing that some students below were already looking up, Qin Su, despite having set the bottom of the Optical Brain screen to be invisible, still didn't want the students from Class 6 to see him. He said to Aldrich, "I'll contact you every now and then, and then..."

"Wait a minute." Not seeing a timeline on the page in front of him, Aldrich hurriedly said, "Do I need to explain this information to you beforehand when I reveal it to you?"

Even as an undercover agent, he was genuinely afraid of revealing things he shouldn't have, which could bring disaster to the Federation.

"Unnecessary."

Qin Su was too embarrassed to tell Aldrich that what he could reveal to Aldrich were all things he wanted to destroy through the Ossotalia Empire.

Aldrich's ability to use his name to lure people from various planets to the Fourth Military Academy demonstrates his remarkable mental fortitude and social skills.

If it weren't for the persona he created and the way the students in Class 6 put him first, which prevented Aldrich from finding an opportunity to make a move, he probably could have been tricked into coming to the scene through Class 6.

Fearing Aldrich might think he was rushing him, Qin Su quickly added, "No need to rush, just proceed at your own pace."

As for how Aldrich managed to gain the trust of the people of the Ossotalia Empire so naturally, he didn't need to do anything.

"Yes!" Aldrich said solemnly, "I understand."

"Goodbye." Hearing the voice of a student from Class 6 asking He Muzhi to come up and ask him something on the Communication Channel, Qin Su reminded Aldrich as he said goodbye, "In three seconds, everything in your room will return to normal, and the content you just viewed will be deleted. Be prepared."

Speaking of 'delete', Qin Su glanced at He Muzhi's actions and started the self-destruct process for the data about the Doom473 Virus that he had marked when he learned about it earlier.

The infected individuals that Osotaria deployed in Leichakan have been largely dealt with; everything is now settled, and deleting them now won't alert the enemy.

"Okay, goodbye." Feigning composure, Aldrich said goodbye to Qin Su, silently counting down three seconds in his mind before letting out an excited roar, "Ahhh!!"

'Having climbed up to Qin Su, I can't imagine how bright his future will be, how smooth his path will be!'

The Electronic Eye footage returned to normal. The man responsible for watching Aldrich heard Aldrich's sudden scream. Frowning at the noise, he muttered to the person next to him, "Has he been driven mad by torture?"

The person next to him was sorting and numbering the fingernails that had been pulled from Aldrich's ten fingers so they could be sent to the Exhibition Hall for exhibition later. Hearing this, he nonchalantly chimed in, "He hasn't rested in so long, and he's covered in injuries. It's normal for him to have mental problems. It seems that before long, his brain will be like the others before him, ripped out and sent to where it belongs... Tsk, to be honest, the brains of every loyalist to the Federation in the Exhibition Hall don't look any different from the brains of those who betrayed the Federation. I don't understand what's so interesting about displaying them. If you really want to study them, Qin Su is the only one worth studying."

"Isn't that obvious? Which of these lunatics wouldn't want to dissect Qin Su and dissect him for research? The question is, can they even do it? Speaking of Qin Su... we haven't heard from Leichakan for a full five hours. That's strange, not like McCarthy at all. Could it be that Qin Su went there, preventing McCarthy from finding the time to inspect every torture chamber in his final days?"

"What are you thinking? Leichakan a dirt poor planet. After joining the Federation, even the Federation doesn't care about them. If they had any use like other planets in the Federation, they wouldn't have been chosen as the site for the Doom473 Virus. Why would Qin Su care..."

Buzz--

Before the two could finish speaking, a series of drawn-out alarm sirens sounded overhead. Looking up, they heard an announcement: "[Everyone remain where you are. Do not move and await Inspection. Otherwise, you will bear all consequences!]"

"What's going on?" The speaker turned pale, recalling the rumors of purges and blood transfusions he had heard before.

"How would I know... Oh, what are you doing!"

A gasp rang out, and several heavily armed men rushed into the room, hooding the two men responsible for monitoring the surveillance footage in Aldrich's room and taking them away.

Life is unpredictable. You dare to try and cut off my life? You have some nerve! Now you've brought this upon yourself.

[What do you mean? Aren't they all on our side? Even if something goes wrong, they'll just be taken away for investigation, and released after it's confirmed there's nothing wrong. What kind of problem is that?]

[Did those unfamiliar with the story skip the section on the Ossotalia Empire? Under the tyranny of the emperor, whenever a problem arose, regardless of the location, aside from the core researchers and their teams, these low-level operatives responsible for skinning and dismembering would be sent to the lab as Test Subjects. Otherwise, where would you find so many Prisoners to be their guinea pigs? However, they were luckier than the people of the Federation; they weren't tortured and physically dismantled to be displayed. Their deaths were relatively quick.]

[Exhibiting human parts is nothing; when this group gets together, they even make a hot pot of human brain soup. You'd be vomiting for three days and three nights just looking at it. For those loyal to the Federation, they reward them by making them eat the excrement of traitors. A bunch of people stand outside taking pictures. According to their procedure, if Aldrich continues to be stubborn, his turn to eat it will be in three days—he'll be too much to bear and will vomit!--]

[I saw Qin Su initiate the destruction operation against the Doom473 Virus. I suppose the sudden purge and personnel change here is because of this. Qin Su has killed many more people (I'm disgusted). He's utterly immoral and will get his comeuppance sooner or later.]

[When they physically exploit and drain people's resources, why don't you say they're harming others? This is clearly a case of the wicked being punished by the wicked, isn't it?]

[Let's have a rational discussion. This is a good thing for the Federation. Good and evil are just different perspectives. Black and white theories are inappropriate when applied to Qin Su. After all, this isn't a matter that can only be judged as right or wrong. If the Virus data isn't deleted and sold to other empires or planets, will you take responsibility if something like this happens again? To put it another way, put your hand on your conscience, are they really innocent?]

"..."

Judging from the comments, Qin Su could roughly guess what the Viewers was arguing about. Just regarding the destruction of the Doom473 Virus, he had reached a point where he could understand both criticisms and defenses of him.

Regret? Absolutely not. He never regrets anything he has done. His thoughts, actions, and decisions are all based on what he believes to be the right judgments made in the current situation that is advantageous to him.

Even if he might face punishment in the future, that depends on whether he lives to see that day.

Jeramied and the others saw Aldrich's page close, and then they saw a lot of red and green data disappearing on Qin Su's Optical Brain screen.

During this time, Qin Su didn't even glance at them; they didn't know whether to look at him or not.

Just as they were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, not knowing what to do, and racking their brains for a solution, they saw He Muzhi controlling the Warship to approach Qin Su's direction.

Then, they saw that the Optical Brain screen Qin Su had deliberately shown them was closed.

"..."

'I shouldn't have looked at it so carelessly! Otherwise, why would He Muzhi have shown it to them instead of letting them see it?'

Jeramied's heart sank completely, and they unconsciously huddled together for warmth.

"Chief Commander."

He Muzhi arrived behind Qin Su and greeted him in a low voice. He didn't quite understand the strange, eerie looks that Jeramied and the others gave him when they saw him arrive, as if he had done something to betray them... Wait a minute, they're dividing up their 'family fortune' later, how can that not be a kind of 'betrayal'?

Qin Su didn't ask what it was about, and simply said, "Speak."

Upon hearing Qin Su's voice, He Muzhi, feeling guilty, quickly averted his gaze from Gerardimi and the others.

"The students in Class 6) have inquired around and confirmed that 60-70% of them intend to sell the prize money they received to that Arms Dealer named Jiang Cheng. They are worried that such a large-scale sale might cause problems, so they asked me to ask the Commander for his opinion."

Qin Su: "... No."

He's just an ordinary middleman who makes a small profit from the price difference; what bad intentions could he possibly have?

He Muzhi was relieved and nodded in agreement. "I understand, that's all..."

Qin Su interrupted He Muzhi and asked about something else, "Did everyone record it?"

Upon hearing the word "record," He Muzhi immediately recalled how, when the Zerg Fourth Military Academy still existed, Qin Su had allowed them to record battlefield events time and time again.

This time, without Qin Su's explicit prohibition, the original (Class 6 group, out of habit, naturally... subconsciously did the same thing.

When the new students in Class 6 saw this behavior, they also imitated it.

The people from other planetary Military District looked at them as if they were monsters, but because Qin Su was there, they ultimately said nothing to them.

Qin Su's tone was neither warm nor cold, He Muzhi couldn't discern Qin Su's true feelings. Not daring not to answer, he spoke softly, "Yes."

Having received a definite answer, Qin Su continued, "Spread the word. Make sure the whole world sees the impact and ultimate consequences of using the Doom473 Virus."

He could only delete the data about the Doom473 Virus stored on the network by the Ossotalia Empire, as well as paper documents, which, although rarely used in this world, were not entirely nonexistent.

Moreover, there are many, if not many, Virus similar to Doom473 Virus that have not yet been exposed to the world. He was able to resolve this quickly thanks to his Parents and the team they built. If it were any other Virus, he would not have been so lucky.

The only way to deter and intimidate those who secretly possess Doom473 Virus data and intend to use it is to publicly publicize the horrific scenes of hellish suffering caused by Doom473 Virus injection and the terrifying fate of its advocates. This will allow the world to condemn and protest against such Virus. Meanwhile, the goal is to use Aldrich and the Ossotalia Empire to destroy the virus as much as possible.

"!" He Muzhi realized that Qin Su had already seen their actions but hadn't stopped them because the footage and video were useful. He responded loudly, "Yes."

He had heard his grandmother say that when they were young, adults would put up all sorts of horrifying pictures of insects eating people on the walls from kindergarten to elementary school in order to make them aware of the dangers of the Zerg. This caused people of his generation to run away as soon as they saw an insect, and they dared not have any curiosity at all, which greatly reduced the mortality rate when people encountered the Zerg.

After this incident, he thought that everything that happened in Leichakan should be clearly seen by the world, so that more people would realize the horror of the anti-human Virus Doom473, awaken people's awe for human life, and abhor the team that created this Virus.

This is why, even though he clearly saw the behavior of the students in Class 6), he assumed he hadn't seen it when Qin Su didn't say anything to stop him, and even secretly joined in with the students himself.

He Muzhi then thought of the StarNet's censorship mechanism and said worriedly, "But... there's a high chance that the images will be automatically Mosaic because they're too gory and horrific."

Based on the Federation's decades-long or even centuries-long control over the issue, it is highly likely that the Federation, out of concern for public mental health, will not allow images related to Leichakan to appear before the general public, believing that this would cause unnecessary panic.

Although he knew in his heart that this would certainly cause panic, and that it would also be a profound lesson, making everyone realize the horror of such Virus so that they would genuinely resist them in the future, neither he nor the He Family had the power to forcibly go against the wishes of the vast majority of the Federation's leaders. Only Qin Su could take action.

"I'll handle it."

Qin Su had already thought of these things, but he didn't expect He Muzhi to bring them up on his own initiative. He was once again impressed by He Muzhi's moral character.

He Muzhi knew perfectly well that he could and would take the initiative to solve the problem, and he even mentioned it on purpose... It was just because he couldn't get over his own mental hurdle. He didn't want to pretend he didn't see the difficulties when he clearly thought of them, and he couldn't bring himself to confidently throw the problem at him. He had to say it out loud to feel better.

If it were him, he would assume it's an unspoken agreement and silently shift the responsibility to someone who can afford it. Thinking about it that way, it's not unreasonable for the comments to call him immoral.

"Yes!" He Muzhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Commander, is there anything else? If not, I..."

"That's all, go." Qin Su raised his hand to He Muzhi, gesturing for him to leave, and then looked at Jeramied and the others in front of him.

"..."

'They've arrived; it's time to deal with them.'

The moment Jeramied and the others saw Qin Su looking over, they wished they were on the same Warship. Otherwise, they could have blocked each other's way, instead of having such large gaps between them, with nowhere to hide from Qin Su's gaze.

Qin Su looked at the crowd who were trying to get closer to each other but were futile because of the Warship, suppressed the urge to twitch his lips, and asked in a calm voice, "Did everyone see that clearly just now?"