Ancient Civilization Ruins

Looking at the man kneeling before him with a hand over his chest, Hua Zhen's lips curled into an amused smile after a brief moment of surprise. Honestly, when it came to Felinton's mole, the first person he had suspected was Dai Wei from the Western Federal District. With that guy's hair, which looked like a work of supernatural craftsmanship, he gave off the impression of being no good from the start.

His second suspect had been the old man Huo Er, the Eastern Federal District's Region Chief. As Felinton's former ruler, he had endured all sorts of targeting from Ke Li. It would have been perfectly normal for him to harbor resentment and turn traitor.

But things always developed in unexpected ways. Felinton's true mole was actually the man who appeared the most upright among the five federal leaders.

Hua Zhen sneered inwardly. Crossing one leg over the other, he pretended to think before asking, "You are... the Region Chief of which district again?" Although this man had come to pledge allegiance to him, Hua Zhen despised from the bottom of his heart people who betrayed their nation and civilization for their own interests.

"Replying to Third Prince, I am... Ya Erman, Region Chief of the Northern Federal District!" The man across from him lowered his head even further, speaking with utmost caution.

"I'm fairly familiar with Light Energy Projection, but what exactly is going on with your current state?" Hua Zhen asked again, his gaze settling on the tiny card atop the tea table in the hall.

As everyone knew, Light Energy Projection was an evolved version of holographic projection. Its principles relied on the interference and diffraction of light, and one of its functions was recording or reproducing an object's true Three-Dimensional Image. It was not particularly advanced technology in this era; the technology of a Spacefaring Civilization could easily achieve it.

A person projected through Light Energy Projection would have a faint rim of light around their body and would be nothing more than an illusory image. Yet this Ya Erman before Hua Zhen was extremely strange—he was actually solid.

"Your Highness, this is the latest scientific achievement of our district: cutting-edge Nanotechnology. It is not Light Energy Projection. You may regard the me standing before you now as an intelligent robot!" Ya Erman answered.

"Oh? Cutting-edge Nanotechnology?" Hua Zhen's eyes lit up. After thinking for a moment, he already had the answer. "In other words, before you gave me that card, you had already implanted nanobots inside it, correct?"

The nanobots had been implanted into the chip within the card. Once activated, they would seep out from the chip, then gather and fuse into a human form according to a preset program. Finally, nano-electronics would be used to construct a neural network, creating a high-end technological product like an intelligent robot.

With expressions and mannerisms no different from those of ordinary people, this kind of technology was rare even among Cosmic Class civilizations!

Ya Erman nodded. "Please forgive the poor display, Your Highness. Since Ke Li could not find me, he used his highest authority to mobilize the federal investigation police. Left with no alternative, I could only meet you in this manner."

Ke Li had been investigating Felinton's mole matter very closely. Avoiding his surveillance and contacting the Third Prince of Angel Civilization, who was about to arrive for an "inspection," had been virtually impossible. Ya Erman had considered many plans, but ultimately rejected them one by one.

It was not until the night Hua Zhen was received that Ya Erman finally came up with the least noticeable method: implanting nanobots into the card, then presenting it to the Third Prince of Angel Civilization in his capacity as host. That way, no one would become suspicious.

Hua Zhen had indeed been helpful at the time, unexpectedly deciding to extend his visit to the Federal Commercial District. How could Ya Erman possibly pass up such a perfect opportunity? He stepped forward first and placed the token for establishing communication into Hua Zhen's hand.

"So Felinton really has been secretly conducting Super Gene research behind Angel Civilization's back." Hua Zhen glanced at him indifferently and said mockingly, "I'm glad you could make such a righteous decision to expose your own people, but selling out an allied state and betraying your civilization... heh, that's rather dishonorable of you."

Ya Erman clearly disagreed with him and abruptly raised his head. "I... I did not betray my civilization!"

Resting his chin on his hand, Hua Zhen said with interest, "You claim you did not betray your civilization, so why did you go to such lengths to make us aware of what Felinton has been doing in secret? Now I'd like to hear your explanation."

Letting out a breath, Ya Erman slowly began, "Three hundred years ago, Felinton's ruler, driven by greed, bribed the Chief Acting Prefect and secretly attempted to mine a Dark Element vein. Later, the matter was exposed and discovered by the Angel King, who executed him and all the participants. I presume Your Highness already knows about this matter."

"Correct."

"Heh... that ruler came from our Northern Federal District!"

"Oh?" Hua Zhen raised his brows, looking very "surprised."

"After that incident, from our Region Chief down to ordinary civilians, everyone in the north has suffered exclusion from the other districts. Even after so many years, it has not lessened in the slightest. Someone in the past did something bad and was remembered for it, so must their descendants bear the blame even if they make the greatest contributions?" A trace of desolation flashed through Ya Erman's eyes as he spoke.

"Precisely because of that lesson, I must stop Ke Li and the others from researching Super Genes behind Angel Civilization's back. This is far more serious than what happened three hundred years ago. No matter how carefully Ke Li conceals it, the day will come when it is exposed. So, Your Highness, I am not betraying my civilization. On the contrary, I am saving Felinton's people from disaster and preventing countless lives from being lost to the ambitions bred by Ke Li..."

Four months ago, Felinton's base made a breakthrough in its Super Gene research, successfully developing technology that could turn ordinary people into First Generation Super Warriors.

For this enormous project, the five Great Leaders had nearly emptied their coffers. Every one of them was determined to secure ownership of the Super Warriors. Yet Ke Li had relied on his authority as ruler to override all objections and give the qualification to become a Super Warrior to his own son.

Bang Ni, the Eastern Federal District's Region Chief, not only did not object, but strongly supported Ke Li. Naturally, she was happy to see it happen, because Ao Ge was her lover. Thus, the five Great State Districts' struggle over the Super Warrior became a 2:1:1:1 situation.

The final result needed no elaboration. Ao Ge became Felinton's first Super Warrior. Ya Erman was extremely unwilling to accept this, and with the mindset of If I can't have it, neither will you, he began taking action.

Using his authority, he secretly removed the family of Ge Na, the scientist leading the base's research project, and used them as leverage to force Ge Na to sabotage the base's shielding facilities and strip away the Dark Alloy coating on the dome. His purpose was to alert Ai Wen, the Acting Prefect stationed there.

That was why they said it was easy to paint a tiger's hide but hard to paint its bones; you could know a person's face but never their heart. There was always a reason ancient sayings had been passed down to the present.

Of course, Hua Zhen did not believe his nonsense. Curling his lip, he asked, "You went to such great lengths and took such enormous risks. Why not simply find Ai Wen and tell him everything exactly as it happened?"

"Felinton's Super Gene research is connected to the discovery of Ancient Civilization Ruins. The crime of concealing it from the Angel King is not something Felinton can bear. Ai Wen is merely an Acting Prefect with authority that is too limited, so I had to draw in an important figure with influence in Angel Civilization. Only then could I preserve Felinton Civilization's foundation by atoning for my crimes with merit!"

?!!

Hua Zhen was startled, instantly sitting upright. "You... what did you say? Ancient Civilization Ruins?!"

"Yes, Your Highness. That is precisely what I am about to tell you next," Ya Erman said solemnly.