The Seventh Base

After Charlie left with his people, the students at Lucas University all turned their gazes towards Xu Mo, revealing surprise in their eyes.

"Xu Mo, are you really a guard from the upper country?" A female student approached and asked. She had known Xu Mo in the Library for a long time and could hardly imagine that Xu Mo was the object of Princess Elizabeth's secret crush.

That was just too incredible.

Xu Mo neither confirmed nor denied, which was taken as an admission by default.

Immediately, many pairs of eyes around him lit up, and quite a few male students even looked up to him with admiration.

If Xu Mo was a guard from the upper country, then his achievements over these two years could be described as glorious.

Under the identity of a Librarian, he had accomplished many great deeds.

Not to mention other things, just the fact that he caught Zero, won Princess Elizabeth's affection, and often had Nan Xiangyi sitting beside him reading books, was already invincible.

In the past, they didn't understand why Xu Mo had such charm and thought it was just because his position as a Librarian allowed him to recommend books. Now they suddenly realized, indeed, they were too young.

"You've defeated Sterling from the Royal Knights and even swept through the members of the Holy Temple Knights?" A male student looked at Xu Mo with some disbelief. What kind of strength was that?

"So, the Nilo incident was also masterminded by you?" Another person said, as they began to recall many things.

"Blue Star Energy Technology Group—are you an advisor or a shareholder?" Someone else asked upon this realization.

"He defeated Sterling as a Hunter from Blue Star Energy Technology Group. How could he simply be an advisor? Xu Mo, could it be that you are the founder?"

People went back and forth, gathering strength from the crowd, digging deeper and deeper, as if trying to unearth Xu Mo to his core.

"I should go back to work," Xu Mo said wordlessly. The students of Lucas University seemed very excited, but he did not share that excitement. On the contrary, he feared he might have seriously offended King Richard this time.

However, since King Richard cared about his reputation, there was still a way to resolve the issue. The real fear would be if he didn't care about his reputation at all.

Someone who cared about their reputation would adhere to order and solve issues through civilized means, not by force and aggression.

Once King Richard resorted to force and aggression, there would be no talking about civilization, as it would equate to overturning the very order he established, tearing off the mask of civility.

From the current look of things, it appeared King Richard would not do that.

He may want Blue Star Energy Technology Group, but as a King, face mattered to him.

If King Richard chose not to tear it apart, naturally Xu Mo wouldn't either, otherwise, he would be forcing King Richard into a confrontation, which would be tantamount to seeking death.

His not leaving with Charlie was his way of using civility to restrain Charlie.

But as a result, Elizabeth ended up taking the blame.

This time, Elizabeth was the most unfortunate one. The moment she stood in front of him, it was akin to her supporting his defiance against her own father's will. Then, Charlie's words placed her at the eye of the storm, making everyone believe Charlie and King Richard were making a stand for her because she liked Xu Mo.

But Xu Mo had a girlfriend.

"Miss Elizabeth, you should try not to get involved in this matter going forward. It could bring you trouble," Xu Mo whispered to Elizabeth on his way back to the Library.

"You shouldn't leave Lucas University for the time being," Elizabeth responded. It was safer in Lucas University; outside, Charlie might resort to underhanded tactics.

"Understood," Xu Mo replied. Elizabeth nodded, and then the two parted ways, with her leaving the area.

At this moment, Elizabeth's feelings were the most complicated. She didn't know how things had come to this point, as if she had been pushed by the tide of circumstances; she never had a chance to choose.

How could she possibly watch her father go against Xu Mo and do nothing about it?

But now, it seemed as if she was standing on the opposite side of her father, which was the first time since she was born.

As Elizabeth left, many students still watched her go, feeling moved. Had Princess Elizabeth, such a dazzling figure, also fallen into the torment of unrequited love? Was this the power of love?

Someone like Princess Elizabeth, who shone so brightly, deserved the best of everything. Previously, many had wondered who was worthy of Princess Elizabeth. Although many hearts were broken after her birthday declaration, they still were curious about the identity of the upper country guard who won the Princess's heart.

When Xu Mo's identity was revealed, they felt he was deserving, as if they were meant to be a pair. But unfortunately, Xu Mo already had a girlfriend, it seemed there was always some regret.

Moreover, Xu Mo's girlfriend was also extremely outstanding, cutting down a member of the Royal Knights—fierce!

And importantly, she was also very attractive.

All they could do was sigh and label him a scoundrel!

After Elizabeth had left the area, two figures quietly appeared by her side, one on the left and one on the right. Ize silently followed; it seemed he knew Elizabeth was not in a good mood.

It appeared that Elizabeth might indeed have been moved by her emotions.

Ize blamed no one else, only himself for not being outstanding enough to win Elizabeth's heart, which led to her current predicament.

However, he would become Elizabeth's best guardian knight.

"Miss Elizabeth, by doing this, I'm afraid you will displease His Majesty the King," Carter sighed.

"Then what should I do?" Elizabeth asked, her tone reflecting a sense of helplessness as every choice seemed to be the wrong one.

"From the perspective of interests, you should cooperate with His Majesty and take down Blue Star Energy Technology Group," Carter spoke, "That way, you would have a chance to compete with Prince Charles, but now, I'm afraid you will anger His Majesty."

For Elizabeth, this was clearly not a good choice.

Elizabeth glanced at Carter, and Ize looked at him, saying, "What nonsense are you talking?"

Letting Elizabeth cooperate with the King to take down Blue Star Energy Technology Group would mean betraying a friend and betraying her conscience, a despicable act that goes against the spirit of knighthood.

Carter did not look at Ize but continued, "Although it goes against our hearts and is unfair to Xu Mo, you should do it for your own benefit. Conversely, the choice you are making now is the most detrimental one for yourself."

Everything Elizabeth did went against her own interests.

Regardless of whether King Richard succeeds or fails in the end, Elizabeth will find herself in a very difficult situation and could lose the King's favor forever.

"You are also Xu Mo's good friend," Elizabeth said to Carter with a somewhat cold voice.

Carter knew that Elizabeth had feelings for Xu Mo and that his words displeased her, but he still met her gaze and said, "I am Xu Mo's friend, but I am more loyal to you. For your interest, I can betray everything else, and so would Xu Mo."

Elizabeth looked at Carter's resolute eyes, then looked away and said, "I will pretend I never heard what you said. Stop following me."

With that, she quickened her pace and walked ahead, while Carter and Ize stopped, watching her retreating figure. Carter sighed, it seemed Elizabeth had chosen to follow this path to the end.

After Xu Mo returned to the Library, he still attracted a lot of attention. Students at Lucas University saw Xu Mo with different eyes, as if he were a rare species.

This guy was getting too enchanting.

Xu Mo, however, paid no attention to everyone's stares and joined Sar Sorre and the others in a corner of the Library.

"Soray Brothers, you've got some nerve. Don't take the lead in these matters in the future," Xu Mo said to Soray, who had just shouted in the crowd that Prince Charles had no right to the throne and was making a ruckus.

"What's there to fear? They wouldn't dare touch me," Soray said. Although Odin Mountain Star was only a resource star with weak military power, any move by Lucas Star against him would be a serious diplomatic incident.

"The Lucas Star Federation wants to seize the group, Sasi Kingdom will not agree," Sal said, contemplating whether the Federation intended to claim the group as their own.

Blue Star Energy Technology Group was their collective asset.

"Don't worry, the core staff have been evacuated. The technology has already made a breakthrough and can be left alone for a while. Lucas Star Capital no longer has technological support," Xu Mo said. However, the Lucas Star factory was the first to be established, and the headquarters were located there; any targeted actions would still have a significant impact.

There was another serious problem: the Aerospace Union and the interstellar bank were under the jurisdiction of Lucas Star. If King Richard intended to act against them and exert pressure on the interstellar bank and the Aerospace Union, they would face a disaster. How to fulfill the vast orders?

For such a super science and technology group, financial and transportation support were needed. Any hit would be critically restrictive.

So, it's best to retain control if possible; otherwise, they would have to restart from the base.

Next, it was up to King Richard to make his move.

After Sar and Sorre left, only Xu Mo and Zero remained.

Xu Mo said, "You told mom and Qiong, right?"

"Yeah," Zero nodded, appearing to be accustomed to Xu Mo treating his mother as his own.

"Good," Xu Mo said while petting Zero's head. Zero glared at him but didn't move away, letting Xu Mo gently stroke her soft, long hair.

If something unexpected truly happened, and they couldn't evacuate, they would have to rely on Qiong.

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario, but even so, it had to be considered.

The media gradually released some news, but the impact was limited because only Soray was causing trouble, and Ize and Carter couldn't get involved. It would be suicidal for them to go against King Richard, and Xu Mo wouldn't make such an unreasonable request.

Therefore, the spread of this news was limited, but still, many people learned that Lucas University Librarian Xu Mo was the one Princess Elizabeth fancied, the one who defeated the Princess Guardian Knight of the Holy Temple Knights, and moreover, he was the creator of Blue Star Energy Technology Group.

This caused a minor shock, but the spread was not broad enough, as it was suppressed.

Afterward, Blue Star Energy Technology Group received a formal document from the Federation Government. Given the resurgence of Mandala Star and the imminent threat of war the Star System Alliance might face, Lucas Star Federation Government officially declared a war preparation phase and took over Lucas Star's large mechanical technology groups.

As a weapon and equipment manufacturing company on Lucas Star, the Federation would, according to legal regulations, undertake military control during wartime. All weapons and equipment produced would be for the Lucas Star Federation, and naturally, the Lucas Star Federation Government would bear the costs.

At the same time, the Federation Government would send representatives to join the Blue Star Energy Technology Group.