The military-provided protection consists of some A-level and B-level awakened beings, as well as armored vehicles and Mechas.

In other words, if Hokkstan moves or conducts a search, these are the combat forces at his side.

Among the vehicles, there are also some instruments capable of locking onto awakened beings, with fairly high specifications.

If faced with a surprise attack, these warriors can immediately call warships for support.

However, the military has stated that deploying warships requires negotiation with the government, and an explanation must be provided after each use.

Hokkstan doesn't even think of cursing anymore; there's only helplessness.

Is the protection provided by the military insufficient? Not really; this is standard military support.

But the key problem is that this kind of team structure cannot prevent the ambush from high-tier awakened beings.

If the opponent manages a successful assassination, there's a significant chance they won't escape the military's pursuit; this is the terror of the violent machine.

But the problem is... if he himself is assassinated, does it really matter if the military can catch the murderer?

Moreover, there's another issue: when the military acts, the associated material and manpower costs must be covered by the Divine Text Association.

This is regardless of whether the military's budget is sufficient; it's because such actions are... not of a military nature.

It's not about disrespecting the Divine Text Association; it's impossible for others to have the military provide such support.

The costs for the military squad aren't particularly high for a day, and Hokkstan can afford it personally.

But if it's daily, the costs naturally become staggering; the expenses of maintaining an army are known to all.

If there are casualties among the soldiers, medical expenses and pensions, etc., mostly have to be covered by the Divine Text Association.

The military's response is textbook, while Hokkstan's helplessness flows like a river.

So you might catch the killer after I'm dead, but that's already irrelevant to me.

If your men die, must I pay for all the expenses?

The reasoning is perfectly rational, yet it's something he's simply not accustomed to!

Even though related expenses would surely be reimbursed by the Divine Text Association, this feeling is truly uncomfortable.

He pondered over it several times, eventually suppressing his emotions... for now, he accepted it.

He had boasted of avenging his colleagues, even if only as a show, it had to last several days.

Of course, the deeper reason was that he was all alone on Star No. 4.

Around him were a few A-levels and B-levels from the association, but no supreme presence; he didn't want to seek protection from other supremes.

In other words, he himself was facing significant risk, with few other options.

On the bright side, in ten days, another supreme named Ulysses, with a wind attribute, would arrive.

Although wind attribute is relatively common among mutated attributes, to cultivate to supreme is exceptionally rare.

Among the supremes of the Divine Text Association, Ulysses is considered a highly valuable resource.

This time, sending him here indicates the importance attached to the malignant events in the Hope Star Realm.

The opposition may have an electromagnetic A-level; we'll send a wind attribute, and see whose Body Technique is superior.

However, when Ulysses saw Hokkstan, his attitude wasn't pleasant.

"You guys and your troublesome affairs dragged me into this... After five busy years, I barely managed a vacation!"

For him, not only was the vacation significant, but more crucially, the Hope Star Realm... was simply too perilous.

The Divine Text Association and Cyan Blade Commerce Association had lost three supremes already, and the appearance of a wood attribute exclusive poison was a major threat.

Despite Ulysses being ruthless and perceptive, he clearly recognizes his shortcoming—unimpressive defense!

If the association sent him for an assassination, he wouldn't hesitate; but now he's waiting to be assassinated!

This is truly inconvenient!

Hokkstan furrowed his brow and said, "There's no need to vent your anger at me; I didn't bring you here, the association did."

Ulysses wasn't biting, "Then you lead the search team, and I'll stay hidden on alert... That's what I'm good at!"

He was genuinely fragile, remaining in the background and avoiding drawing enmity. From a tactical standpoint, there was nothing wrong.

Hokkstan thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, but as I'm taking such a big risk, later when you find the opportunity, lend me a hand."

Ulysses casually responded, "For trivial matters, I wouldn't mind lending a hand, but for complicated issues, count me out."

A hint of coldness flickered in Hokkstan's eyes, "No problem... Now let me introduce you to some people from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association."

The two didn't leave; through holographic projections via their wrist devices, they met Amestina and Fubi.

Divine Text Association members are usually aloof and rarely initiate contact with others.

Hokkstan was doing this to revisit old topics, hoping the two sides could unite for a search.

Amestina straightforwardly declined, stating that the supreme sent for commerce support was already en route.

Who the arriving supreme was or which flight they chose, she naturally wouldn't disclose.

She also didn't mention that the supreme's arrival was meant for evacuating commerce personnel.

Conversations between both parties ended on a sour note.

After disconnecting, Ulysses grumbled again, "What's there to talk about with these folks? All cowards."

Hokkstan's eyes flashed with a strange light as he released his spiritual power, "I have a suggestion, but I need your help..."

After listening, Ulysses pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Not a bad idea, have you investigated the background?"

"I've investigated," Hokkstan replied casually, "Rest assured, there won't be any problems."

"Heh," Ulysses laughed sinisterly, "That's more like it, you... you're really quite devious."

Three days later, the Supreme from the Cyan Blade Commerce Association indeed arrived, and Fubi officially bid farewell to the two Supremes.

Amestina tried to persuade him to stay, stating that their people would finish wrapping things up within ten days, and everyone would head to Star One together.

The Association planned to suspend most of its business in this Star Realm, but would station two Supremes on Star One.

The two stationed there wouldn't take any action externally, purely to observe subsequent developments.

The Association still harbored hopes and didn't want to completely withdraw from the Hope Star Realm—it's easy to leave, but much harder to reopen the situation.

Anyway, "not causing trouble" was the primary principle, and Amestina believed that leaving together with three Supremes would be safer.

But Fubi politely declined, stating that he didn't want to go to Star One, and as for where he was headed, he would contact them later.

Then he quietly left just like that.

The new Supreme of the Cyan Blade Commerce Association was somewhat at a loss, "Is this guy so certain that the other party won't make a move against him?"

"He hasn't even faced the other party," Amestina replied faintly, "and the other side wouldn't rashly make enemies."

Kenter and the others being able to survive could be attributed to the other party being in a hurry, but no one had been harmed so far, which already indicated something.

However, Amestina thought deeper, "I reckon he's worried that after going to Star One, we won't let him leave."

Forcing one Supreme to stay wasn't easy, but throw in the entanglement of interests, and it almost becomes achievable, Fubi's concern wasn't groundless.

"He's overthinking it," the new Supreme smirked with disdain, "Our Association can't afford to lose face like that."

However, something strange did happen. Ten days later, just as the Association's members were about to head to Star One, they received a message.

The message came from the Association's headquarters. Fubi's family inquired with the Association: Where has our Supreme gone?

They didn't contact Amestina directly, probably feeling suspicious, so they went straight to headquarters.

The two Supremes of the Association felt utterly wronged—we really let him go, it's just that the situation was tense, and we didn't make it public at the time.

But no matter how they explained, Fubi being out of contact was undeniably true.

What was worse, after leaving the liaison point, he deliberately shielded his wristwatch, obviously not wanting to attract enemies.

He wasn't certain whether the Panda group would make a move against him, so being cautious couldn't be wrong.

However, Fubi's family was very sure that their Supreme had already decided where to go, with the time all planned out.

Now, three days had passed, and no one had seen him alive or dead, indicating something had gone wrong.

Amestina and the others had to postpone their trip, utilizing all sorts of connections to search for people on Star No. 4.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

The investigation results showed that after leaving the liaison point, Fubi hadn't used his wristwatch again, and no one had seen him.

But there was another piece of glaring news: on the day Fubi left, Hokkstan and Ulysses drank heavily to the point of intoxication.

The two slept until the next evening before waking up.

Amestina obviously sensed something was off, "The opponent is still lurking, and those two dare to get so drunk?"

Subsequently, another message arrived. The Divine Text Association believed that Fubi's disappearance was definitely the work of the Panda group again!

They actively lobbied other forces, saying that if you want to pull out now, it might be too late, just look at Fubi's end.

The two Supremes of the Cyan Blade Commerce Association, after hearing this, were left speechless, looking at each other in dismay.

"Dirty business!" Amestina's face turned pale, "We can't go to Star One, let's head directly back to Blade!"

The new Supreme nodded in agreement, "This rough bunch of techies... really dirty!"

When the two decided to head back, Qu Jianlei finally quietly boarded the starship bound for Celestial Hook.

He had long wanted to leave, but the deaths of the two Supremes affected more than just the people in the circle, it caused a sensation on the entire Star One.

The government also needed to give the public an explanation. After discussions, they believed the perpetrator might have fled through smuggling.

Previously, Qu Jianlei could flee through smuggling purely because the government didn't pay enough attention.

For the entire planet, the few Star Ports weren't that large, and thorough inspections wouldn't be too difficult.

If he wanted to forcibly smuggle, it wasn't impossible, but if exposed, the consequences would be quite serious.

Fortunately, the deaths of the two Supremes had a significant deterrent, leading to relaxed searches in the urban areas.

Qu Jianlei noticed this change and didn't bother using a fake identity to leave—using a fake identity also had its risks.

So he decided to wait for a while, he wasn't lacking patience.

In the past two days, Star Port inspections had relaxed significantly, and after patiently observing for two days, he quietly entered the starship.

He entered the starship relatively early, and while waiting for departure, he noticed stowaways.

"Damn, so many stowaways?"

(Update to, summon subscription, and recommendation votes.)