Assassination!

Alert Star, Governor's Mansion.

"The massacre of 50,000 civilians, the bloody suppression, the release of the Xenos..." Lucien yesterday's events one by one, as if describing ordinary occurrences. "The joint appeal of the seven noble families is one thing, but the Storm Leader of the Antrel Lion Regiment, the Commissar of the 35th Regiment of the Astra Militarum, the Inquisitor, the Department of Justice... Lord Alvin, you certainly have some nerve."

After recounting the aforementioned "charges," she looked expressionlessly at Alvin across from her, who seemed completely unconcerned, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Lord Alvin, how do you think... I should judge your actions?"

"Insects? Heretics?"

Alvin nonchalantly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled, "You can sentence me however you want, but... I did solve a problem for you, didn't I?"

If filing a complaint were effective, what would be the point of having rights?

He used to scorn the nobility, and he still does, only now their roles have reversed.

"Alright, I must admit, you did solve the cult problem." Seeing his unyielding attitude, Lucien didn't bother to pursue the matter further and swept the pile of papers suing Alvin into the trash can.

Then, she clasped her hands together, leaned back slightly in her chair, seemingly relaxed, but her tone was actually laced with sarcasm. "Lord Alvin, I have shown you my sincerity, so now... it's your turn."

She went to great lengths to completely quell yesterday's riots, not for any good cause.

Of the 50,000 civilians who were bloodily suppressed, some were the private property of certain nobles. Otherwise, do you really think those nobles were so bored as to come to her to complain?

She paid a heavy price to appease those nobles.

Now, it's time to cash in the profits!

Looking into Lucien's eyes, Alvin remained calm and chuckled lightly, "I see your sincerity. Three hundred thousand tons of pure water will arrive at the Alert Star from space orbit tomorrow. I hope you are satisfied."

"Three hundred thousand tons?"

Lucien frowned, clearly not satisfied with the figure, and said with some displeasure, "This isn't what we agreed on; 300,000 is too little!"

"That's quite a lot, Your Excellency."

Alvin slightly raised his eyelids, his expression completely unfazed. "Three hundred thousand tons of pure water is enough for the Upper-hive nobles to squander for a while, and with recycling... it's even enough to supply the Underhive commoners for a year."

He could see right through Lucien's scheme; she simply wanted to drive up the price. But unfortunately for her... she had run into Alvin, a scavenger who had come from the Underhive and was willing to take any loss.

Seemingly understanding his meaning, Lucien said impatiently, "Stop beating around the bush, what exactly do you want? Three hundred thousand tons of purified water isn't enough, I want at least ten million tons!"

In her estimation, at least ten million tons of pure water resources would need to flow into the Alert Star to guarantee the interests of the Upper-hive Nobles, and then she would be confident of wresting back some power from the Ecclesiarchy and the forces of Styx Eight!

"In addition to the advanced Life Extension Surgery we've agreed on, I hope to hire some veterans from the Astra Militarum, including their complete armaments," Alvin finally stated his purpose.

Training is never as fast as hiring directly.

The Astragalus Astra Militarum on Alert Star are the elite of the elite, and many of them are even former Astra Militarum of the Dark Imperium. This is Captain America!

He wouldn't even consider Stormtrooper, and retirement wouldn't be his turn either.

It's a tradition within the Imperium for Rogue Trader to hire retired Astra Militarum. As for active-duty soldiers... well, just process their retirement, right?

As long as it is handled properly, there shouldn't be any problems.

Lucien didn't see anything wrong with this. In order to reclaim Agamemnon's rights, she simply went for it. "How many do you want? Within my authority, I can give you a maximum of one regiment, any more than that..."

She didn't say what came next, but the implication was that doing any more would be risky, and the Imperium might find out.

"No problem, one regiment is enough."

Alvin was practically dying of laughter. Ten million tons of pure water in exchange for a regiment of battle-hardened elite soldiers, including their equipment—this deal couldn't be more worthwhile!

Of course, not just anyone can make this deal.

Everyone knows that Alert Star is short of water, but the problem is... who is willing to brave the Warp Storm and travel all that way to deliver water to Alert Star? They might as well use that time to send more troops!

So this is a deal only Alvin could pull off! "When will the ten million tons of water resources be delivered?"

Lucien asked anxiously, "The situation on Alert Star is becoming increasingly tense. The neighboring Hongbei District is under siege by Genestealer and Orks. I must seize this opportunity to take control of Styx Eight."

Otherwise, you might miss this opportunity!

Delivered within a week.

In fact, Alvin could have delivered ten million tons of water to her immediately, but considering that he needed to conceal it to some extent, he deliberately delayed the delivery.

"Okay, one week it is!"

Lucien calculated the time and nodded.

"Then, I wish us a pleasant transaction, Your Excellency."

Having accomplished his goal for the day, Alvin was worried about Hilda at home, so he hurriedly got up to say goodbye.

"Oh, by the way, there's something I need to remind you of."

As she left, Lucien tapped the table without looking up and said, "Be careful when you go out these days... I'm not sure if any idiots will try to harm you."

Although somewhat surprised, Alvin nodded nonetheless. "I will be careful. Thank you for your reminder, Governor Lucien."

You're welcome.

Lucien looked up at him expressionlessly. "I just want to tell you that, whether from Agamemnon's perspective or from my own, although you're a bit arrogant, the feud between us isn't that serious. I just want to remind you... not to fall into a trap."

The implication of this statement is that the Agamemnon family was also afraid, worried that Alvin might be assassinated and that the blame would fall on Agamemnon, since they were the prime suspects.

The transaction of purified water is a top secret.

Therefore, to most outsiders, although Agamemnon received Valshius, their relationship remained tense, and they would be prime suspects should anything happen. This is why Lucien warned him.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency the Governor."

Alvin couldn't quite understand it; although there were rules to follow, there were always people who were out of their minds.

Moreover, the disappearance of Scott Coleman and the Children of Vardan remained a thorn in his side. Who knew what kind of conspiracy that sixth brother, Tzeentch, was plotting?

Emerging from the governor's residence, the Great Rift still loomed in the sky, emitting an eerie purple light that sent a sense of unease through the inhabitants.

Alvin lowered his head in thought, and just as he was about to get into the hovercar, a sudden burning heat emanated from the pendant on his chest, causing him to instinctively stop.

"What's wrong, young master?" Elsa looked at Alvin, who had suddenly stopped, with a puzzled expression, about to ask.

Boom--!!!

The violent explosion sent the entire hovercar soaring into the sky, unleashing a terrifyingly hot shockwave.

Elsa reacted quickly, pinning Alvin beneath her, but her face and skin were cut by flying shards, and blood flowed down her cheeks.

Assassination?!

Alvin's eyes widened; he was completely stunned.

Is this bad luck?

Having just been warned to be careful when going out, he stumbled upon an assassination attempt the moment he stepped out of the Governor's Mansion?

There should be one more chapter, around 8 PM.