Chapter 859: The Loser’s Lament
On Zenyu Star, in King Zishan’s palace, Lu Yin stared at a screen while blushing. Were they seriously talking about him? Aside from the name, everything else that these reporters had said had absolutely nothing to do with him. When had he donated money? He was almost entirely broke himself, but they were trying to coerce him into donating? Lu Yin grew wary.
“Xiao Ya, don’t publish any reports related to money. I don’t have any money.” Lu Yin couldn’t help himself, and he quickly called up Xiao Ya to give her this order.
Xiao Ya was stunned. Money? What does that mean? Is the Royal Regent hinting at something?
The moment Armament Weave joined the Great Eastern Alliance, the first thing that Lu Yin had done was start constructing an express military corridor that ran throughout the alliance.
This plan infuriated the weaves in the central region, and all the major organization heads contacted the Great Yu Empire with requests for the empire to stop construction of the military corridor. Once this military route was completed, it would drastically reduce the amount of time needed for the eastern region to launch an a.s.sault on the central weaves. The Armament Weave would then become the launch pad for the Great Eastern Alliance to invade the rest of the central region, and the central weaves would not allow that to happen easily.
But despite the numerous complaints, the Great Yu Empire ignored them all completely.
The weaves in the central region of the Outerverse could still form an alliance, but it would proceed too slowly without Wei Rong at the helm.
To Lu Yin, the weaves of the central region were like a herd of sheep without Wei Rong, and that was exactly what Lu Yin wanted to see.
Lu Yin had ordered Thousand Eyes to track down Wei Rong, and Lu Yin already knew that Wei Rong was most likely hiding in Millions City. If that was true, then there was nothing that Lu Yin could do at the moment aside from simply hope that Millions City wouldn’t act against him.
On Planet Hydrotink, Wei Xin’er had been kneeling outside of Felynn’s room for several days. Ever since the Allied Forces had attacked the Wei family’s ancestral planet, she had been begging Felynn to speak with Lu Yin, but Felynn had rejected the girl every time.
Furthermore, Felynn’s att.i.tude towards Wei Xin’er had changed as well.
Wei Xin’er was no longer useful to Felynn, as this girl had simply been the woman’s backup plan. Now that the Wei family was destroyed, Wei Xin’er no longer held any value in Felynn’s eyes. Moreover, the girl was Wei Rong’s sister, and Wei Rong had worked with other people to plunder the Hall of Insight. If not for Wei Rong, Felynn would have never had to rely on Lu Yin, and the woman would never forget that.
Plead with him? That would be useless even if she tried. Felynn understood Lu Yin quite well, and her current status couldn’t pressure Lu Yin at all. Even if nothing had happened to Sourcepeak Planet, and even if she had become the President of the Lockbreaker Society, Lu Yin still wouldn"t be threatened by her.
Felynn simply hoped that Lu Yin would forget about her and allow her to remain as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society’s Interim President in peace.
However, there was one problem. The box had been stolen away by the Neohuman Alliance, and someone had to take responsibility for that matter. Felynn looked outside her quarters and shook her head. Wei Xin"er was far too weak, and n.o.body would believe that the matter was the girl’s fault. What about Cai Jianqiang?
Felynn’s eyes lit up for a moment, but then she changed her mind. Cai Jianqiang had been conscripted to the border warfront and had been there during the attack on Planet Hydrotink, so there was no way he could have possibly been involved in the incident. Who could she pin the blame for this matter on?
The connection between the Outerverse and the Innerverse would eventually be restored, and Felynn had no desire to take responsibility for this matter.
Wei Xin"er’s gadget beeped, and she glanced down at it. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up and left Felynn’s quarters.
Felynn’s eyes turned cold. She’s already leaving after kneeling for just a few days.
Wei Xin"er actually didn’t stop kneeling. Rather, she simply changed places and went to kneel in another location, which was at the front door of King Zishan’s palace.
She had received news from a friend that Lu Yin had returned to the Great Yu Empire.
Before the main entrance of King Zishan’s palace, Kayze stared at Wei Xin"er with cold eyes before simply ignoring her existence.
Wei Xin"er didn’t ask Kayze to inform Lu Yin that she was there. Instead, she just continued kneeling outside the palace.
After a while, Kayze’s ear twitched, and he coldly said, “His Highness has asked for you to go in.”
Wei Xin"er pouted and continued to kneel.
Kayze frowned. “Didn’t you hear me? His Highness has asked for you to go in.”
Wei Xin"er still refused to move.
Kayze snorted and entered the palace to report the matter to Lu Yin.
One, two, three whole days pa.s.sed, but Wei Xin"er continued to kneel before the palace without moving.
Lu Yin finally left the palace on the fourth day.
Kayze bowed and retreated a few steps.
“Do you like to kneel?” Lu Yin asked coldly.
Wei Xin"er lifted her head and revealed a pale face. She begged Lu Yin, “Please, let my father go! Let the Wei family go.”
Lu Yin laughed. “You’re too naive. Do you know how many resources and how many lives were sacrificed in that war? If I really released the Wei family, then how could I answer to those who died? How should I answer to the Great Eastern Alliance?
Wei Xin"er cried and repeatedly kowtowed. She was just a young girl who didn’t know what to do now that her family had been destroyed. “Please, I beg you. Please…”
Lu Yin frowned. “I’m already being incredibly lenient by not killing everyone from the Wei family. You’re not helping your family by doing this, and you’re actually just embarra.s.sing both your family and Wei Rong.”
Wei Xin"er didn’t seem to have heard Lu Yin, she continued kowtowing until her head began to bleed.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and ordered Kayze, “Take her to see Wei Baichuan.”
He then turned around and returned to the palace.
Wei Xin"er’s eyes were bloodshot, and she continued kowtowing.
Kayze raised the girl up. “Let’s go to see Wei Baichuan.”
However, he instantly realized that Wei Xin"er had already fainted.
War was cruel, and the victors rejoiced while the losers wept. Wei Xin"er was merely the tip of the iceberg; the border defense had already left behind countless shattered families, and such casualties were inevitable.
Lu Yin couldn"t give in to the girl, as he himself would have been placed in a terrible situation himself if he had been the defeated one.
He would never forget his experience of being left to die as white meat. That experience had completely shifted his mindset, and he had realized that he would only ever be able to truly control his own destiny if he stood at the very peak.
And not only did he want to control his own destiny, but he also wanted to control other people’s destinies as well.
The more miserable Wei Xin"er became, the more firm Lu Yin was in his decision.
Lu Yin didn’t care about what Wei Xin"er discussed with Wei Baichuan, and he didn’t stop her from meeting him. This was the greatest concession that he could offer her.
Meanwhile, Wei Xin"er had completely transformed after her meeting with Wei Baichuan. She stopped begging Felynn and had completely calmed down. She focused on improving her lockbreaking, and she even stopped trying to contact Wei Rong.
Wei Rong hadn’t tried to contact Lu Yin at all throughout this entire period. It was as if he had simply disappeared into thin air. Even the spies from the Great Eastern Alliance who had been stationed in Millions City couldn’t find anything.
The sudden conclusion to the war had given the Great Eastern Alliance a launching pad from which they could invade the weaves of the central region. At the moment, all they lacked was a reason to start a war.
The first excuse that Lu Yin could think of was Aegis, the a.s.sa.s.sination organization.
He had managed to successfully form the Great Eastern Alliance due to the intelligence that he had received from Mafioso Planet. Everyone had secrets that they wished no one else to know about, and many leaders often hired a.s.sa.s.sins to carry out tasks that they could not accomplish themselves. Thus, the intelligence of an a.s.sa.s.sin organization could be extremely useful.
Lu Yin suspected that the calamity that had struck the a.s.sa.s.sins of the Outerverse in the past was caused by the intelligence that those organizations had possessed. They simply held on to too many secrets that people wished would disappear.
Mafioso Planet had only possessed intelligence regarding the weaves of the eastern region, and Aegis was the only organization that might have any intelligence concerning the central weaves.
It was time for Lu Yin to have a chat with Starfox.
He called Starfox and heard the old a.s.sa.s.sin’s voice call out, “Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin asked, “Brother Starfox, why didn’t I see you at the border warfront?”
“There are six regions at the border, and I’m not as prominent as you. It’s normal for people to not notice me.
“Is there anything that I can help you with?” Starfox was quite wary of Lu Yin as the Great Eastern Alliance had recently destroyed the Wei family. Lu Yin clearly had a firm foundation, so Starfox felt the need to be careful around the youth.
Lu Yin smiled. “It’s nothing much. I just b.u.mped into an old a.s.sa.s.sin in the Greatwood Lavazone, and he mentioned that I could join the first level of Aegis’s managers whenever I wish to.”
Starfox hesitated. “Please wait a moment.”
Lu Yin took a sip of tea, but it did not take long for Starfox to call him back. “Alliance Leader Lu wants to join the first level managers of Aegis?”
Lu Yin agreed.
Starfox sounded rather annoyed, as n.o.body had joined the first level of Aegis’ management since the establishment of the organization. It had always just been the few of them. Starfox wondered what Black Mask was thinking for him to allow Lu Yin to join them. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” Lu Yin replied.
Starfox coldly said, “Apart from our approval, you also need to offer some sort of contribution to join Aegis’s first level management. Even if you can’t match our contributions of establishing Aegis, it still can’t be too far behind. Are you able to do that, Alliance Leader Lu?”
Lu Yin knew that fulfilling that condition wouldn’t be easy for him, as Aegis was the largest a.s.sasination organization in the Outerverse as well as the largest mercenary company. The organization was tied together with multiple other forces, and it was not easy to join the company’s second level of management, let alone the first level.
If he could offer a contribution that matched the establishment of Aegis, then he would have simply created another Aegis on his own.
“Do you still want to join us, Alliance Leader Lu?” Starfox asked smugly. This was an extremely difficult condition to fulfill, and not many people in the Outerverse were even capable of doing so. Even though Lu Yin was the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance who could command the eastern weaves and could even declare war on anyone with the Hall of Honor’s support, it was still hard for him to produce something that could match up to the feat of founding Aegis.
Starfox did not want Lu Yin to join Aegis’s first level managers because the youth was a troublemaker and was simply too ambitious. Starfox was worried about Aegis’ future once Lu Yin joined them.
Lu Yin thought about it and then reluctantly answered, “Let me think about it.”
Starfox was satisfied with this response. “Alright, I’ll wait for your reply.”
The old a.s.sa.s.sin then hung up. Although he had not rejected Lu Yin’s request, the condition that he had put forward was basically a refusal.
Although Starfox could not understand why Black Mask was willing to let Lu Yin join them, Starfox was determined to not let Lu Yin have an easy time.
Lu Yin tapped his finger against the tabletop after lowering his gadget.
He definitely had to join Aegis, as their intelligence was the best weapon to use against the weaves in the central and even the western regions. However, the contribution that Aegis required from him was too much, and he would have to mull over this unexpected obstacle.
Lu Yin was no longer as uncertain about the Outerverse, as the events at the border defense had revealed the full depths of the Outerverse. It had forced almost all of the hidden powerhouses to reveal themselves. Lu Yin could deal with everyone rather easily, including even major powers like Shamrock Enterprises.
The first step to doing so was to join Aegis, as the old a.s.sa.s.sins were extremely powerful. It would be extremely difficult for Lu Yin to deal with such experts, and so, the only way forward was for Lu Yin to join them.
The sky turned dark before Lu Yin walked into the palace’s courtyard. He looked up and stared at the three mainland rings.
Zhao Ran was busy tr.i.m.m.i.n.g plants nearby, but she didn’t know how to do it properly since she kept forgetting the procedure immediately after learning it.
“Your Highness, would you like some tea?” Zhao Ran asked hopefully as soon as she saw Lu Yin.
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