264: The 2i) Empire did it!

"Sorry about that, Gaius. I've dirtied your hands."

Over ten minutes passed, and after Charlie's corpse was carried out, Char finally returned to the meeting room.

"It doesn't matter—" Gaius holstered his sidearm and looked at Char, saying, "This guy died right here; will that Committee of yours have an issue with it?"

"What issue could they have?" Char shrugged. "Our intelligence system is a total mess. As long as they don't have direct evidence that I was the one who did it, the Democratic Alliance's 'human rights' and 'freedom' will protect me."

"Besides—the current Committee is a battleground of giants, with both sides evenly matched. If those Mixed-Bloods really want to use this opportunity to deal with me, then this matter won't just involve me alone."

"Fine, as long as you know what you're doing," Gaius waved his hand, signaling the end of the topic.

"So, what was the serious business you wanted to talk about?"

Seeing Gaius's straightforward attitude, Char immediately became serious as well.

He pulled out a small storage drive, plugged it into a nearby interface, and a holographic projection immediately appeared.

Inside were several independent sets of sub-files.

Under Gaius's gaze, Char casually opened a file set containing a large number of candid photos taken from unknown angles—

Transport ships fully loaded with munitions, secretly trained Slave Laborers, and some interrogated 'personnel inciting social unrest'... "These photos are of phenomena that occurred in certain regions before this Great Rebellion broke out."

Watching Gaius's attention being drawn to those photos, Char explained:

"According to a precise investigation, this Great Rebellion is not a simple Slave Laborer riot, but an organized and planned conspiracy."

"These photos were taken in secondary regimes at the border between the Democratic Alliance and the former Consortium. The weapons and equipment in the pictures highly overlap with the standard equipment of the Lacray Empire Marine Corps;"

"As for those rebels, they have also been brainwashed or controlled by the same kind of ideology; we haven't been able to obtain any information during interrogations."

Gaius raised an eyebrow as he listened to Char's introduction and asked:

"What are you implying? What are you trying to say? And who do you represent?"

The room suddenly went quiet.

"Hahahaha—" After more than a minute, Char burst into laughter. Once he finished, he answered while catching his breath,

"Hahaha, who knows?"

"Aren't you thinking the same thing yourself?"

"As for who I represent? Why don't you guess?"

"I'm not here to play riddle games with you," Gaius crossed his arms over his chest. "Just say it directly. Do you also suspect this Great Rebellion was directed and acted out by the Empire itself?"

"It's not a suspicion," Char shook his head. "A series of evidence indicates that it is a fact."

"Besides, look, the impact this Great Rebellion has on the Empire is far greater than the impact it has on us. Yet, what is the attitude of the Imperial fleet within the Allied Forces?"

"Passive, dilatory, intentionally slowing down our progress, reducing our efficiency, and almost always maintaining a state of 'isolation'."

"Even if the Empire says this isn't their doing, would you believe them?"

Gaius didn't rush to answer after hearing this, but the tips of his fingers pinching his chin inadvertently turned white.

After a long while, he slowly opened his mouth and said:

"Even if it really was their doing, so what?"

"The Imperial fleet's behavior is too obvious, too deliberate—so obvious that almost anyone can see they're up to something,"

"I even feel like they're acting on purpose."

As he spoke, he looked at the watch on his left wrist again. Coincidentally, the three main hands overlapped, like some kind of ominous omen.

"If you want to find me to deal with the Empire together, then I'm sorry, it's impossible."

"I won't jump into such an obvious trap."

Having said that, Gaius stood up from his seat and turned to walk out, his soles stepping on the watermelon juice mixed with brain matter that hadn't been cleaned up yet, making a "squelch-splat" sound.

"Wait, wait, wait—" Char hurriedly rose to stop Gaius. "What's the rush?"

"Did I say I wanted to deal with them together?"

"Then what do you mean?" Gaius turned his head to look at Char. "Giving me all this so-called evidence just for a 'laugh'?"

Char closed the file, walked up to Gaius, and said solemnly:

"I hope our two sides can reach a temporary alliance."

Then, without waiting for Gaius to answer, Char quickly continued:

"The Empire's current behavior is too strange. Although we won't take the initiative to provoke it, no one can say for sure whether the Empire will stir up some trouble on the way."

I hope that if the Empire suddenly attacks, our two sides can cover each other, support each other, and provide cross-cover for withdrawal."

"After all, the Allied Forces are still within the territory of the Democratic Alliance. If you have our authorization, it would be much more convenient for you to move around, wouldn't it?"

Gaius looked at Char, and the two stared at each other for two or three seconds before Gaius finally responded:

"If it's just a simple offensive and defensive alliance, I can accept it—"

"But first, I must confirm that you must never take the initiative to provoke those damn Imperial lunatics!"

"Don't worry, don't worry—" Char wiped the sweat from his palms directly onto his clothes, then lightly shook hands with Gaius.

"In that case, let's both maintain an absolute low profile before the Great Rebellion is suppressed."

Gaius withdrew his hand. When he heard the term "Great Rebellion," he only gave a contemptuous sneer.

"Great Rebellion? Hmph, just a bunch of slaves!"

"Do they really think they can survive without our charity?"

"Focus your attention on the Empire—you can tell from The Consortium's situation that this ulcer-ridden giant has quite an appetite."

"God knows what kind of nonsense they're planning again."

"Good—pleasure doing business with you." Char bowed again toward Gaius's departing back until he saw the figure completely vanish from sight.

Only then did Char straighten his back as if relieved of a heavy burden, letting out a long breath—

"Whew—"

"Finally, I've managed to pull him in. This way, the probability of a successful escape should be a few points higher."

—The current situation of the Democratic Alliance was far more serious than anyone could imagine... The lights in the meeting room were very dim, casting a somewhat sinister and bizarre look on Char's face.

Just like—

A living corpse.