The following day, led by the Beyond Grade A Development Federation, all Beyond Grade A forces jointly issued a statement declaring that this incident was also a provocation against the association. The association would assist the Crimson Dynasty in jointly tracking down the murderer and bringing justice to Gaud, demanding to see him alive or dead.
The Beyond Grade A forces, with warlordism as their core, extend into all walks of life, forming a dense and intricate network. When so many Beyond Grade A forces mobilize their influence to investigate clues, it immediately triggers a chain reaction throughout the Shattered World, affecting countless ordinary forces.
In response to the Beyond Grade A Association's statement, the Empire also made a public statement, specifically praising Vice President Black Star's leading role, while completely omitting mention of President Manison, a clear case of differential treatment.
Meanwhile, the Beyond Grade A Association issued a cosmic Pursuit order, with each member contributing money to create a staggering bounty of 4 billion Enas. The Black Star Army alone contributed 350 million inars, demonstrating their urgent desire to find the culprit.
The saying goes, "A great reward will surely bring forth brave men," and the astronomical reward immediately ignited the passion of the entire Shattered World, with almost everyone guessing every day who the True Culprit was.
Furthermore, with the Empire Exploration Army diverting a significant amount of manpower and resources to search for clues, the current climate in the Shattered World has shifted dramatically. While the Shattered World Battle remains a major focus for interstellar citizens, there is now another concern. "Where is Gaud?" These forces, in addition to fighting, have also set aside personnel to search for clues everywhere.
The Glory and the Arcane did not stand idly by either, issuing announcements declaring their shared indignation at the Empire's plight and promising to send personnel to assist the Empire and cooperate fully with the search efforts.
One interstellar power after another was questioned, and all the intelligence gathered before and after the incident was collected by the Empire, but no clues were found.
In the Super Star Cluster Alliance's remote conference room, a meeting is underway.
"... After this incident, the Empire cannot simply let it go. They must provide an explanation. If they can find the culprit, all will be well; if not, they will definitely find a temporary 'culprit' to restore the Empire's prestige and vent their anger. And we are the Empire's best choice."
Those present were all remote projections of the leaders of the Supercluster Civilization. As they listened to the leader of the Star Arc Civilization speak eloquently, everyone's expression was quite serious.
At first, they suspected their own people, asking each other "Did you do this?" upon meeting, assuming it was a foolish act by one of their allies. However, after sharing inside information, they dispelled their suspicions and unanimously pointed the finger at m. hetushu. com. com.
The leader of the Star Arc Civilization timely put forward his idea, which was then approved by many leaders.
Everyone knew they were in a very passive position. Whether the Empire could find the True Culprit or not, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was likely to become the scapegoat. The Three Universal Civilizations would certainly not mind using this as an excuse to smear them and fabricate baseless charges.
The Tragedy of the Pinnacle is a bloody lesson, and no supercluster civilization is willing to repeat the same mistake, allowing the Three Universal Civilizations to occupy the moral high ground and manipulate them at will. Therefore, the words of the Star Arc Civilization leader resonated with everyone.
"Indeed, we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom; we must turn the tables. Excuses are useless; the best course of action is to create a clear 'culprit,' announce it publicly, and prevent the Three Universal Civilizations from making baseless accusations or using this as an opportunity to attack us... Manison is a suitable target."
Everyone nodded slowly.
Seeing this, the leader of the Star Arc Civilization breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction.
He proposed this plan at the meeting in order to bring together the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance for cooperation.
Because relying solely on the Star Arc Civilization is not enough; only through concerted efforts can we increase the chances of successfully scapegoating Manison.
Now, the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance has reached a consensus and is preparing to jointly shift the blame to Manison.
Somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert, a secret base of the Mechanic Emperor.
Manison looked displeased, hung up the communication from Glory, and frowned slightly.
"The Empire's demands are excessive. They want me to show all the Convict, submit the flight records of all the ships under their command, and even open the memory database of all the mecha soldiers for them to view... Ha, they say they hope I will cooperate, but in reality they already consider me the prime suspect, they're just short of saying they'll take me back for interrogation."
Manison shook his head. He could easily see that the Three Universal Civilizations also intended to use this as an excuse to find out the coordinates of his various bases.
Although he didn't do the thing himself, he wasn't naive enough to think he could stay out of it.
From Manison's perspective, the Supercluster was most likely responsible for the incident. Naturally, the Supercluster wouldn't sit idly by, so they would definitely do something. He was caught in the middle between the Three Universal Civilizations and the Supercluster, making him a prime suspect and the perfect scapegoat. Someone would probably try to pin the blame on him.
"We can't afford to be careless. We still need to make some preparations and set up some countermeasures to pin the blame on the Supercluster... Hmm, speaking of which, if they're trying to frame me, that should prove they're the True Culprit, right?"
Manison knew it perfectly well.
If he could, he would even want Black Star to take the blame and teach that bastard a lesson.
Unfortunately, the operation was too difficult and basically impossible to complete, so he had to give up on the idea.
Somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert, the Sanctum Organization's base.
"This kind of thing actually happened outside..."
Inside the room, a large group of the First Ones huddled together, watching the communicator in the hand of the Oathkeeper in the center while chattering away, their gossip burning brightly, creating a scene reminiscent of a senior citizens' activity center.
"This era is truly terrifying; even bizarre superpowers like Energy Manipulation have emerged."
"It's a pity he was killed just as he entered the Beyond Grade A. Black Star was right, the outside world is very dangerous."
"This perpetrator miscalculated. No matter how flawless his actions were, once the Empire researches the Sanctuary and revives Gaud, the truth will come to light... That's the difference in intelligence."
Everyone shook their heads.
The Oathkeeper, however, was somewhat worried. "If the Empire fails to find the murderer, once you Revived reappear, the Empire will definitely suspect you. This is not good news."
Baigel said helplessly, "So we've also been Implicated the murderer. We must be even more cautious when we leave the mountain."
Everyone sighed in dismay, feeling that the fire at the city gate had affected the innocent bystanders.
Several days later, at the Black Star Palace, in the Legion Commander's office.
Han Xiao sat in a chair, with virtual screens floating in front of him, displaying the dynamics of the quantum network.
Over the past few days, he had been closely monitoring the situation, watching the spark he had ignited spread like wildfire, its influence growing wider and wider, making him feel increasingly strongly that he was the mastermind behind the scenes, secretly stirring up trouble.
"I reckon this will be the norm from now on. As long as the True Culprit isn't found, the empire won't be out of control. It's like stirring up a hornet's nest."
Han Xiao pondered deeply.
Just then, the communicator suddenly beeped. I took it out and glanced at it; it was Tarrokov calling.
As soon as the communication was connected, Old Tar's remote projection appeared in the room.
"Old Marshal, it's been a while," Han Xiao greeted him.
Tarrokov nodded in acknowledgment, his expression serious, and said in a deep voice, "Black Star, to make a long story short, the Empire needs your help now."
"Just say it directly." Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
"Gaud has been missing for several days. The Empire has searched records from the area before and after the incident for a month, but has not been able to find any substantial clues. Therefore, the higher-ups have decided to form a special task force to investigate this matter. The Empire hopes to invite you as an expert to join the task force and rely on your abilities to search for clues on the quantum network. What do you think?"
Han Xiao almost burst out laughing.
"Ahem, after all, I am an advisor to Three Universal Civilizations, so this is my duty, and I am always ready."
"Alright, the task force will meet online in one day. If you can find any clues, the Empire will reward you handsomely."
Tarrokov didn't waste any time. After giving a few instructions, he decisively hung up. He had been so busy lately that he really didn't have time to catch up.
Han Xiao put down the communicator, a strange smile flashing in his eyes.
This is amazing! This time, the guy successfully jumped to become the Seer and even got the Sheriff title!
Asking him, the mastermind behind the scenes, to investigate the case might lead to arresting anyone, but it's impossible to catch the True Culprit...
He even joined the task force as an expert, which meant he had a certain degree of power over life and death. With his abilities, it would be too easy for him to do something underhanded.
This means there are even more ways to frame someone...
However, fabricating clues is still risky, so Han Xiao decided to be cautious and act according to the situation, first observing how the "suspects" would react.
Just as he was secretly pleased, the panel suddenly reacted and a new prompt popped up.
[You have triggered the mission [Arrest Warrant]!]
[Mission Brief: A key figure in the Crimson Dynasty has been suspected of being attacked and is currently missing. The Empire values your abilities and hopes you will join the search team to contribute your strength.]
[Mission Requirements: Solve the case and catch the murderer]
[Reward: Depends on task evaluation]
"What the heck?"
Han He-Tu-Shu Xiao's expression froze, looking somewhat bewildered.
The situation is still under his control, but he never expected the panel to surprise him.
Good heavens! I did it, and yet this kind of quest still happened?
How am I supposed to finish this? Do you really expect me to arrest myself?!