Great! I'm surrounded by villains!-Chapter 421 - 330: Energy Costs

Duan Mingyuan learned further details about the attack.

The main ship that was attacked belonged to the Adventurers’ Association, a group of legitimate interstellar travelers certified by corporations and the Chamber of Commerce, distinct from the United Front’s Rebels and Cosmic Pirates. The sudden attack not only wiped out the entire crew of the Assault Ship but also severely damaged the main ship of the Adventurers’ Association, leading to the death of 174 adventurers.

This was a serious diplomatic incident, and representatives of the Adventurers’ Association had already started negotiations with the Iron Guard Consortium.

This answered some of the doubts in Mingyuan’s mind.

For example, why there were two Long Branch Guards escorting Billy Kaman.

It turned out that these two Long Branch Guards were not there to protect him but to prevent him from escaping or engaging in any other dangerous acts before taking control.

Billy Kaman, however, had a heart as big as his brother’s; he even had the audacity to let those sent to monitor him help carry gifts.

The reason was that it was too hot, and he could dehydrate and faint any minute on the street. If the Long Branch Committee did not want to see an officer suffering from heatstroke and unconsciousness, they should expend some physical effort.

After all, the armor of the Long Branch Guard was equipped with a temperature control system, and a high temperature of 50 degrees was nothing to them.

"I could be considered a war criminal at any moment now and sent to a military tribunal,"

Billy said cheerfully, as if it were a matter of pride.

"Let’s confirm this,"

Mingyuan spoke in a lower voice, "You mean to say that you hope I can issue a diagnosis to prove that your sergeant suffers from a severe psychological illness and that his uncontrolled act of crashing the assault ship into the Adventurers’ Association’s main ship was uncontrollable?"

"Is it possible?"

"Both Space Travel Syndrome and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder could result in such an outcome."

After pondering for a moment, Mingyuan said.

"Actually, I don’t mind being sent to a military tribunal; what’s important is that I suspect there’s something fishy going on – my subordinate is neither a madman nor a war maniac."

Billy handed Mingyuan another investigative document.

If one were to delve deeper, the Adventurers’ Association is considered an important legitimate military force of the Shanqi Commerce Association. Everyone knows interstellar adventurers are essentially a stone’s throw away from being Cosmic Pirates, and the fleet of the Iron Guard Consortium had just suffered a defeat at the hands of the United Front. This move was naturally interpreted as an act of revenge.

It could be emotionally understood but lacked any legitimacy.

Billy continued, "As far as I know, the fourth, sixth, and twelfth battle groups all encountered friction with Cosmic Pirates or United Front troops on their way to the Holy City, with varying degrees of damage. However, before departure, all of the battle group commanders received orders from higher-ups not to launch an attack without orders. Although I can’t vouch for its authenticity, the feedback from those group commanders is that their subordinates defied the orders."

If we assume this wasn’t an excuse fabricated to shift the blame, then it appears that someone is attempting to provoke full-scale war between corporations and the Chamber of Commerce.

"I don’t have much time left; unless something unexpected happens, I’ll be taken away to the military commission for an investigation along with those three commanders in two hours, and who knows when I’ll be reinstated,"

Billy revealed the purpose of his visit. "But in the coming days, you are likely to frequently encounter the higher-ups of the company. If there truly exists some form of power that can control the minds of people, it might have already infiltrated the upper echelons of various Consortia."

"I understand."

Though he didn’t receive any firm promise, Billy Kaman seemed reassured. He stood up, shook hands with Mingyuan, and then carefree, summoned the Long Branch Guards waiting outside.

"This has nothing to do with the Witch Council."

Once he left, the room returned to silence, and the voice of the Dark Night Witch came from the mirror.

She had heard the entire conversation between Mingyuan and Billy.

Even though it sounded very much like the doings of the Witch Council, their target for revenge was the Ashen Church, not commandeering an officer from the Iron Guard Consortium to ram a ship into the Adventurers’ Association’s main ship.

"Nobody has accused you."

Mingyuan said to the woman in the mirror.

"I’m just making a point."

The Dark Night Witch reclined lazily in the wicker chair beneath the air conditioner, which had become her base in the Holy City.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest one. The Judges of the Church would certainly not frequently visit the mansions of their colleagues at such a critical juncture.

And more importantly, there was air conditioning.

She now considered air conditioning one of the greatest inventions in the long river of human history. If the world were doomed to destruction, she hoped the masters who invented air conditioning could survive.

Witches are creatures that hide by day and prowl by night; during the day, she could nap peacefully inside the mansion.

"Today I went to the Holy City’s library to read some records about the Sun King, but there was very little positive description of the Void Demons. What do you know about them?"

"Why should I tell you?"

The Dark Night Witch glanced at Duan Mingyuan.

She and Duan Mingyuan weren’t even friends, and even within the Witch Council, anything related to the fictitious demons was forbidden knowledge.

There was a hint of disdain in her gaze.

What an arrogant man; what made him think she would reveal these secrets to him?

She was the Dark Night Witch—

"Hey! Are you some kind of freak?"

The next moment, the Dark Night Witch couldn’t sit still. She "swooshed" up from her chair.

Just now, a blast of hot air had hit the back of her head.

In 50-degree weather, only the most perverted person in the world would turn on the heat.

"Because you’re mooching off the air conditioning I made, and you haven’t paid the energy fee."

Duan Mingyuan reasoned with facts; this was the confidence that patent rights afforded a person.

"I can pay you, how much do you want?"

"I don’t want money."

Duan Mingyuan turned up the temperature another 3 degrees and, calm and composed, repeated his question, "What do you know about the Void Demons?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"I am merely stating a fact. If you offend me, there won’t be a single air conditioning unit in this city that you can use."

"What a demon!"

The Dark Night Witch admitted she had miscalculated.

Her mind was preoccupied with revenge on the Ashen Church, plotting every move, but she had completely forgotten that the 50-degree heat of the Holy City was no place for humans to stay.

The Reverse World would reflect the same temperature.

While the heat couldn’t kill her, it would strip her of her composure and elegance.

The mere thought of arranging her ritual array, wiping out the remnants of the Ashen Church, and appearing triumphantly before the Pope, only to be in a sorry state, drenched in sweat and clothes soaked through, made the Dark Night Witch’s scalp tingle.

"Of course you’d be hot, dressed like that in this heat."

Duan Mingyuan pointed out the problem.

Gothic style long dresses with thick layers and legs wrapped in thick stockings—without air conditioning, he couldn’t imagine how such a person could possibly survive.

"You win,"

The Dark Night Witch glared fiercely at Duan Mingyuan, "What that officer said earlier does indeed sound like the result of being parasitized."

"Parasites?"

"It’s what I placed inside Yelena. It’s a type of Void creature that can control the host after parasitizing them."

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦