Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Lixi Amber didn’t understand why Hua Deyu kept persistently sending her messages; they hadn’t had anything to say to each other for a long time. Recently, she had been preoccupied with her own thoughts and didn’t want to see him before she figured out her future plans.

Hearing her cousin’s advice to talk things over with Hua Deyu, and with him continuing to persistently message her, Lixi Amber finally took a deep breath and went into the room where she had been resting these past few days.

“Lixi!” Hua Deyu looked at his wife’s face, vaguely remembering that they hadn’t been in contact for a month. Over the past six or seven years, this had become the norm.

Looking at his wife’s indifferent expression, he found himself unable to ask the questions he wanted to.

Why had things come to this between them? He had once refused to marry the direct descendant of the Amber family, the current Empress’s sister, and insisted on marrying her, someone from the side branch of the Amber family. They had once been so affectionate, but now they had grown increasingly distant.

In the past, he thought that Lixi Amber was entirely loyal to the Amber family, merely a pawn of the direct line. He didn’t realize that she was the one most deeply hurt, suffering countless grievances. Yet, he only saw what certain people wanted him to see and didn’t investigate further, merely standing by and watching coldly.

It’s no wonder her gaze had grown increasingly indifferent and solitary. She rarely left the military base unless absolutely necessary and even proposed divorce a few years ago.

“Lixi!” Hua Deyu called out again in pain.

Seeing Hua Deyu’s pained and hesitating expression, Lixi Amber’s brows lightly furrowed. “Have you decided on the divorce? I’ll report it to the military right away.”

Although Lixi Amber was somewhat reluctant to divorce because of Ruo Manni, she knew that a divorce would have its benefits. Ruo Manni would be completely unencumbered, and with her cousin and uncle’s support, plus her own qualities, she would certainly be able to live well.

With Hua Deli present, the Hua De and Amber families would only bring Ruo Manni harm and schemes. It’s better to sever ties completely.

“No, Lixi.” Hua Deyu was taken aback but quickly made up his mind. “I have something important to discuss with you. It cannot be discussed over the internet. We need to meet in person.”

Lixi Amber’s heart skipped a beat. Had Hua Deyu obtained some secret information? His urgency in finding her meant it was likely related to herself, and perhaps even to Ruo Manni…

Lixi Amber immediately felt uneasy. “I’ll return to the Hua De family in the afternoon.”

Lieutenant Akar Kessel had delivered Ruo Manni to Xuan Gu First Military Academy and handed her over to Rick Amber in person before leaving. The manner and atmosphere were akin to handing over a prisoner.

“Is it really necessary to be this tense? I’m not an ordinary person without any combat skills,” Ruo Manni said.

“I’m the guarantor who signed you out of the school. Now you need to be re-admitted to lift the guarantee,” Rick Amber shrugged. “After all, you’re a special protection case.”

“Is it really necessary to be this strict?” Ruo Manni felt a bit frustrated.

Although she understood it was for her safety, it felt like she had no freedom at all. She couldn’t even go out for a stroll without going through several procedures.

“You don’t know, but the Second Prince and Mina-Olli have both been attacked recently,” Rick Amber said.

“Ah!” Ruo Manni was shocked. “What happened to them?”

“The Second Prince’s bodyguards are quite capable, and the Second Prince himself has high combat skills. He didn’t even get a scratch. However, Mina-Olli was seriously injured,” Rick Amber said with concern. “In the past few months, there have been several attempts by strangers to infiltrate the school. The campus security has caught them and interrogated them, discovering they were targeting elite class students, and especially yesterday, they found out it was specifically targeting you.”

Ruo Manni was somewhat startled upon hearing from Rick Amber about the assassination attempt. Even though she was mentally prepared, learning that there were actually assassins targeting her gave her a bit of a shock. She had never experienced the feeling of being an assassination target before.

“How is Mina doing now? Senior Brother, do you know what happened?” Ruo Manni asked with concern.

The novel hadn’t mentioned Mina-Olli being attacked and seriously injured, so this must be one of the butterfly effects.

“Mina-Olli is not in any danger to her life, and her cultivation hasn’t been affected,” Rick Amber said.

Ruo Manni sighed in relief. In this era, as long as someone doesn’t die on the spot or suffer damage to their cultivation foundation, they can usually recover and be back to their usual self in a few days.

“Mina-Olli was attacked in her own home by her own people, which is why she was injured so badly,” Rick Amber said, frowning.

“Assassins use many different methods, and there are various ways to control others. Junior Sister, you need to stay vigilant. Even if you’re dealing with someone you know, don’t let your guard down. And if you notice anything unusual, you should immediately distance yourself.”

Mina-Olli, being a telekinetic, is very sensitive to those who approach her. Even if they are her own relatives, those with malicious intent wouldn’t be able to get close to her. Even if someone could get near, Mina-Olli would still be on guard.

Therefore, the person who attacked Mina-Olli certainly didn’t have killing intent and must have been someone she was familiar with and trusted.

In the novel, puppets controlled by the Yunkai Star people have this characteristic.

Ruo Manni suspected that Mina-Olli was likely attacked by a puppet controlled by the Yunkai Star people.

Ruo Manni immediately became alert and looked at Rick Amber. She also recalled that when Rick Amber came to pick her up, Akar Kessel had scanned him with a device before letting him through, which eased her concern somewhat.

According to the novel, puppets usually appear normal when they are not receiving instructions and may even “forget” their puppet identity, making it difficult to distinguish them by appearance or behavior alone. Only special devices that check brainwaves can differentiate them.

This is because puppets have a telekinetic control source left by the Yunkai Star people in their minds, which makes their brainwaves slightly different from those of normal people.

In the novel, humanity suffers greatly from this. Many skilled individuals were assassinated before it took significant effort to uncover the existence of puppets and subsequently discover the Yunkai Star people’s conspiracy.

According to the timeline in the novel, it seems that the existence of puppets would not be discovered for another two years.

However, Ruo Manni recalled that she was scanned for brainwaves less thoroughly on the Sirius Star, and was re-scanned after returning to school. Furthermore, Hua Deqi also mentioned the matter of puppets, which clearly indicates that the Gus Empire was already prepared.

Moreover, to this day, there have been no reports of successful assassinations.

Ruo Manni once again felt that someone in the higher echelons of the Gus Empire must be using some sort of cheat, and this person was likely the Crown Prince.

Ruo Manni once again suspected that the Crown Prince might be a reborn individual.

This was the sixth time Ruo Manni had suspected the Crown Prince of being a reborn person. After dismissing her suspicions about the Second Prince, she shifted her doubts to the Crown Prince.

Ruo Manni carefully compared the differences between reality and the novel, and indeed, there were too many changes that had silently influenced the entire Gus Empire. At this rate, in five years, the martial power of the entire Gus Empire’s population would reach an unprecedented height.