Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Capital Star, Hua De Family.

“Did those two really get killed? With so many people arranged for their protection, they still couldn’t be saved, and their cultivation levels are not low,” Lixi Amber asked, her face dark with anger.

Lixi Amber repeatedly watched the video of the dark-haired girl being assassinated, feeling a sense of self-torture. She could hardly imagine the suffering her daughter would have endured had the arrangement not been made in advance.

“There was a wave of attackers who engaged most of the guards first, and then those who struck afterward were the most powerful. The guards on-site suffered heavy casualties. The only silver lining is that those assassins were all captured,” Hua Deyu explained.

“You planned to use Manni and the Second Prince to draw out those hidden enemies, but instead, they were taken advantage of by others?” Lixi Amber pointed out the problem.

Hua Deyu smiled bitterly and nodded. They had considered this possibility, but they hadn’t anticipated that those enemies would be so reckless, leading to such heavy casualties.

“The fatal wound recorded in the video was the gunshot to the heart, but the back of the head was also shot at the same time. They were all attacked with the military’s special death ray guns,” Hua Deyu said in a low voice, his expression extremely grim.

These unknown dark organizations were determined to kill Manni and the Second Prince. Hua Deyu really couldn’t understand why these two unformed children posed such a threat to those dark organizations.

Hua Deyu felt more and more that this matter was not simple. It seemed that someone had deliberately exaggerated Manni and Hebrew Adam’s abilities to draw special attention from the dark organizations. Otherwise, with so many young geniuses in the Gus Empire, why would the dark organizations focus solely on these two children?

Of course, the First Prince would encounter even more assassination attempts. Not to mention the assassination attempt on the First Prince three years ago, which he barely survived, Hua Deyu knew that in the past two years alone, there had been at least eleven major assassination attempts.

However, after that incident, the security around the First Prince had become even stricter. The First Prince himself was a mid-level seventh-tier warrior, and his combat power was stronger than many others, making it difficult to assassinate him. As a result, most of those assassins ended up getting captured.

Sometimes, Hua Deyu suspected that the First Prince was doing it intentionally—he was using himself to lure out those dark organization members. Otherwise, outsiders wouldn’t find it so easy to track his movements.

“There are indeed quite a few traitors in the military; even among the guards that Xiao Qi sent, there are two traitors. To kill Manni and the Second Prince, they really went all out and mobilized everyone. Over a hundred people surrounded and attacked, and many of the guards Xiao Qi arranged for protection ended up dying,” Hua Deyu said slowly.

Lixi Amber gritted her teeth and said, “If I find out who wants Manni’s life, I will skin them alive.”

Hua Deyu gently patted her hand, saying, “The information exposed this time is already quite substantial. We’ve uncovered many infiltrators, and the infiltrator in the Xuan Gu First Military Academy who exposed the whereabouts of our daughter has also been identified. I believe this time, Xiao Qi won’t miss the opportunity to trace the root of the problem. Only by taking down the behind-the-scenes black hands that issued the assassination bounty and the organization responsible for these illegal orders can Manni be safe in the future. The bounty of one hundred million credit coins is truly too tempting.”

The dark organization had set up a vast operation and was deeply hidden. For the past few months, Hua Deqi had exhausted the Gus Empire’s intelligence resources to investigate but still couldn’t uncover many useful leads. They only knew that this organization was not just causing trouble in the Gus Empire; it was active in other countries as well.

Outstanding young psychic warriors from the Vera Federation had also been targeted by assassination bounties. The most talented young psychic warrior from the Vera Federation had a bounty of fifty million credit coins on his head.

Unfortunately, that young man wasn’t as lucky as Manni; he had already been assassinated two months ago. In the Vera Federation and other small alliances, many young and outstanding talents had been assassinated over the past two months, creating a highly tense atmosphere in the entire Gumera Star Domain.

Fortunately, in the Gus Empire, they had the First Prince, who was well-informed, and Hua Deqi, the head of the National Security Bureau, who was skilled in his methods. Together, they had tightly protected the elites of their country, ensuring that not a single person was lost.

Originally, it was thought that those dark organizations had no way to act and were somewhat quiet, but who would have guessed that they were just lying in wait to find an opportunity to strike all at once.

“The decoy who was disguised as the Second Prince is even more severely injured, with three fatal wounds,” Hua Deyu said.

Lixi Amber suppressed her urge to curse; complaining wouldn’t be of any use. It was more important to root out those dark organizations.

Over the years, Lixi Amber and Hua Deyu had grown emotionally distant. Although she was married to the second master of the Hua De family, who held real power, she was, in reality, marginalized within the family.

Now that the Hua De family recognized and valued Ruo Manni as a super genius, Lixi Amber’s relationship with her husband gradually improved. She was also able to learn some inside information, especially regarding her daughter, and Hua Deyu had not kept anything from her.

“Does this mean Manni won’t be able to come home for a long time?” Lixi Amber asked.

Hua Deyu nodded. “Manni’s reputation is too strong. Even if the assassination bounty is resolved, who knows if there are other dangers? So the First Prince’s suggestion is for the two of them to take this opportunity to go into hiding and focus on their training. Manni and the Second Prince are already far ahead of everyone else in their cultivation, and staying at school would actually be less beneficial for their training. It would be better for them to return to school in their fourth year.”

Lixi Amber fell silent; she had already guessed, which was why she had asked that question. But her daughter had just been recognized, and she hadn’t had the chance to get close to her yet. Now she was being told that she wouldn’t see her daughter for at least the next two years. While she understood, it didn’t lessen her reluctance.

However, no matter how she felt, her daughter’s safety was the most important thing.

“Don’t worry. No matter where Manni goes, Xiao Qi and the First Prince will be watching over her. In fact, they have been taking care of Manni all along, and they have been doing a great job,” Hua Deyu reassured her.

Lixi Amber nodded; she couldn’t deny this, and it did ease her worries somewhat.

Topaz Star, Military Headquarters

Fang Yaxi rushed into the military headquarters of Topaz Star, anxiously searching for her husband. “Changfeng, is it true about Manni? Is it really happening?”

Fang Yaxi couldn’t bring herself to believe that it was true, so she couldn’t utter words like “assassination” or “death.” However, her vague questioning immediately darkened Lin Changfeng’s expression; it was clear that he understood what Fang Yaxi was asking.

But Lin Changfeng didn’t answer his wife’s question right away. He made a gesture to calm her down, then turned to the female bodyguard who had been following Fang Yaxi.

The usually taciturn female bodyguard, who had rarely spoken to Fang Yaxi, stepped forward and said proactively before Lin Changfeng could ask her: “All the suspicious individuals around Madam have likely been captured by now.”

Fang Yaxi keenly sensed the implication in the bodyguard’s words; there was clearly more to this situation than met the eye.