Council of Elders
Gate of Purgatory, on a planet at the Federal Government Headquarters, a blond-haired boy stepped out of the teleportation array in the Outer Domain Battlefield.
The boy looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a slender build and a pair of amber eyes that sparkled with a lively and intelligent light.
"This time, I was away on the Outer Domain Battlefield for over a month, and my cultivation finally broke through to the Peak-rank God. Now, my Combat Strength is probably no weaker than Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God. I just wonder what trouble Gu Ding has gotten himself into these past forty days..."
The boy's lips curled up slightly as he muttered to himself, activating the communication function of the Smart Watch on his wrist.
As soon as the communication function was turned on, dozens of message notifications came one after another, which he checked one by one. A moment later, his expression changed drastically.
"Gu Ding has been arrested, and the Gu Ding Pirate Crew has been publicly disbanded?! How could this happen?"
The boy was none other than Reed, who had grown up with Gu Ding since childhood. Before Gu Ding was captured, he had entered an Outer Domain Battlefield and stayed there for more than forty days before finally emerging. He was extremely surprised to see this news from Gu Ding Outer Domain Battlefield.
"This news is from thirty-five days ago, and the prison is the Gate of Purgatory." Reed frowned. "This is troublesome. The Gate of Purgatory is a special prison that doesn't require trial, and no one can be released until their sentence is served. The shortest sentence is one hundred years... Knowing Gu Ding's personality, he can't even stay in the same room for three days. Being imprisoned for a hundred years, it's unimaginable what will happen..."
While pondering a solution, Reed flipped through the messages on his wristwatch. Suddenly, his finger, which was swiping the projection screen, stopped.
"Hmm? Emails from the Council of Elders? And more than one!"
The so-called Council of Elders. Its formal name is the House of Representatives, but because House of Representatives members are all respected elders of the Federal Government, it is also called the Council of Elders.
The members of the Council of Elders were not the powerless civilians that many people assumed, but rather a group of high-ranking Federal Government officials who had retired. Any one of them, when wielding real power, would likely have held a position no less prestigious than that of Marshal Balin.
Although individual members of the Council of Elders lack real power, the entire Council of Elders wields considerable influence. This is because the Council of Elders has the right to influence the decisions of the Federal Government's leader, and they can also veto unreasonable decisions made by the leader.
Therefore, Reed was also puzzled by the fact that such an organization suddenly sent him several letters.
Putting Gu Ding's question aside for the time being, Reed opened one of the letters.
The letter was short, containing only a few lines. After reading it, Reed opened several other emails.
Reed put the letters together and read them over and over again. He roughly got the gist of it.
The letters were all roughly the same, and each one came from a different person in the Council of Elders, or more precisely, from a different faction within the Council of Elders.
As for the content, it roughly said that the position of chief elder in the Council of Elders had become vacant, and several factions were vying for it. Each faction was recruiting capable newcomers to help with the election preparations. The other party felt their resume was exceptional and admired them. In any case, the letters were mostly filled with similar polite phrases.
After reading the letter, Reed found it somewhat amusing. He had only been a member of the Federal Government for less than a year, yet someone from the Council of Elders had already noticed him, reviewed his resume, and expressed admiration for him without even having met him.
Only one letter, with black text on a white background, caught Reed's attention. This letter contained twenty-five words, using twenty-five different codes. Even for Reed, it took him more than ten minutes to decipher the code and read the letter's true contents.
Want to save Gu Ding? If so, meet me at 9:00 AM on Tara Star Port seven days from now.
"This email was sent six days ago, thankfully it arrived in time. I just don't know if it's a trap or if the other party really has a way to rescue Gu Ding."
Reed narrowed his eyes slightly. The relationships within the Federal Government were incredibly complex, and if he were to inadvertently get caught up in something, he might be killed to silence him. However, after careful consideration, he realized that given the network security at Federal Government Headquarters, the fact that the message originated from the Council of Elders was undeniable. Moreover, given his current status, the highest-ranking official he could contact was only someone of Marshal Balin 'Balin rank, and there hadn't been any recent news about him, so the possibility of the Council of Elders being involved was slim.
"Whether it's true or not, I still have to go." Reed quickly made up his mind.
Tara Star is in the same star system as Jele Star, where Reed is located. With Reed's current strength and cultivation, he doesn't even need a teleportation array; he can directly use spatial teleportation to get there.
The next morning, Reed arrived at Tara Star well before the agreed time.
After scanning the area with his soul power and finding no danger, he felt relieved.
Seeing a small shop selling pan-fried buns not far away, he smiled slightly and walked towards the shop.
Back on Deep Sea Star, he and Gu Ding would occasionally have pan-fried buns for breakfast. Seeing them again brought back memories of those days, and he couldn't resist trying them.
Reed brought out a bowl of pan-fried buns and ate them while keeping an eye on his surroundings and the time.
Before he could finish the last fried bun, a Middle-Aged Man suddenly appeared in front of him.
"You seem quite relaxed." The man looked at the fried bun that Reed was offering to his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Reed stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth and swallowed it quickly, then began to scrutinize the man. The man appeared to be in his forties, slightly overweight, with rather unremarkable features, and graying hair at his temples. Only his eyes shone with a peculiar light, making Reed take a few more glances at him.
"Are you the one who asked me to meet here?" Reed asked knowingly.
"Help me get the top position, and I'll be your strongest backer from now on! Whatever you want, we can discuss it!" The man stated his purpose directly, which surprised Reed.
"You said in your email that you have a way to rescue Gu Ding. Tell me about it." Reed had already guessed the other party's purpose, so he didn't agree immediately but asked instead.
"There's no way to do it now, but if you help me get the top spot, I'll have a way." The man's lips curled up again, with a smug look on his face.
~~~
[I'm having writer's block, and I can't manage a third update, so I'll have to make up for it tomorrow~~ Sorry~] (To be continued~^~)