76: Do you want to fish in troubled waters?

Prime Minister Surayut sat in the conference room with a grim expression, facing the Minister of Defense, the Interior Minister, and the Chairman of the National Security Council.

"The situation in the west and north has spiraled out of control," the Chairman of the National Security Council said gravely. "The Wu Kun Group has seized control of at least four provincial-level local governments, and our police system has been completely infiltrated."

"Why aren't troops sent to suppress them?" Surayut asked coldly.

The Minister of Defense smiled amiably: "Prime Minister, the military needs to prioritize the security of the southern border. After all..." He cast a meaningful glance at the Interior Minister, "the people of Rokla in the south are the most pressing problem, aren't they?"

The Interior Minister's expression shifted slightly, but he remained silent.

Surayut's fingers lightly tapped the table, his eyes sharp: "Someone took Wu Kun's money, didn't they?"

A deathly silence fell over the conference room.

Finally, the Minister of Defense slowly spoke: "Prime Minister, some things are not black and white."

Surayut sneered, not pressing the matter further. He, of course, knew that some high-ranking officials were taking bribes. But he also knew that exposing them now would only lead to a complete split in the government.

"Notify the Northern Military District," he finally ordered. "Strengthen the defenses of the southward passages. As for the Western and Northern Mountains... put them aside for now."

Mandala, Eastern Federation's Titan Office.

Lin Mo stood before a holographic projection, his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the constantly changing situation map of the Golden Buddha Federation. Red markers spread like a virus across the Eastern and Northern Mountains, while the Southern Four Provinces remained eerily calm.

Incidentally, due to the 'Azure Luan Project', he had been promoted. He was now the Director of the Eastern Federation's Mandala Titan Liaison Office, reporting directly to the Zijin Pavilion.

"Interesting..." Lin Mo suddenly chuckled softly, his finger tracing the projection to call up Titan's publicly released armed forces' movement trajectories from the past few months. "The Emerald Principality's criminal organizations were uprooted, while the Wu Kun Group was 'expelled' to the Golden Buddha Federation."

His secretary handed him an encrypted document: "Director, this is newly collected intelligence on several key strongholds and industrial parks of the former Wu Kun Group in the southern Emerald Principality."

Lin Mo quickly scanned the document, his pupils slightly contracting: "Just as I thought. Titan wasn't unable to eradicate the Wu Kun Group; they deliberately drove them to the Eastern Golden Buddha Federation."

He walked quickly to the window. Outside was Mandala, which was already developing into a cyberpunk-like city. The neon lights of the low-rise buildings reflected a hazy glow on the rain-slicked streets. Lin Mo's thoughts, however, were exceptionally clear:

"First, Titan needs the Wu Kun Group to stir up trouble in the Western or Northern Golden Buddha Federation, diverting the government's attention. Second, the Wu Kun Group's armed forces can also serve as leverage to threaten the Golden Buddha Federation Government in the future. Third, Titan's usual trick: openly doing one thing while secretly doing another."

"They are focusing the Golden Buddha Federation Government's attention on the north, so their objective must be in the south. And there's only one thing in the south significant enough to be Titan's target, so..." Lin Mo suddenly turned, his finger emphatically pointing at the location of the Siam Strait: "All of this is to pave the way for a scheme involving the Southern Four Provinces!"

"Titan wants to use the separatist forces in the southern Golden Buddha Federation to establish a second Mandala."

The secretary gasped: "Then what should we..."

"Arrange a meeting immediately," Lin Mo's eyes were as sharp as knives. "I want to meet the influential figure from Titan's Strategic Investment Department."

Mandala, New City District, top-floor suite of an international hotel.

Topaz's projection slowly materialized in the center of the suite, her bluish-purple eyes scanning every corner of the room. Lin Mo noticed her gaze lingered briefly on a few hidden spots, where listening devices were indeed concealed.

"Director Lin is quite skilled," Topaz smiled slightly. "Even the hotel's presidential suite can be equipped with some extra devices."

Lin Mo unhurriedly poured two cups of tea: "Ms. Topaz can identify military-grade listening devices just from a projection. Titan's technology truly lives up to its reputation."

The two exchanged smiles, but an invisible confrontation permeated the air.

"Let's get straight to the point," Lin Mo put down his teacup. "What stage is Titan's deployment in the southern Golden Buddha Federation at? We're also a bit interested."

Topaz's projection lightly waved her hand, and a holographic map unfolded above the coffee table. Lin Mo's pupils contracted slightly; it meticulously marked the military deployments, economic lifelines, and even the vulnerabilities of several key figures in the Southern Four Provinces.

"The separatist forces in Beidayue Prefecture have received their first batch of standard rifles; the rubber plantation owners in Yala Prefecture have agreed to cooperate with the strike; the port union of Narathiwat..."

With each word Topaz spoke, a red dot lit up on the map.

Lin Mo's fingers lightly tapped the armrest: "So Titan intends to create a 'controlled upheaval' in the south?"

"Not create," Topaz corrected. "But guide. After all..." Her projection suddenly leaned closer, her voice dropping: "These conflicts have existed for decades."

Lin Mo suddenly changed the subject: "What about the Siam Strait?"

The air in the room seemed to solidify.

Topaz's projection stepped back a few paces, a meaningful smile on her face: "It seems Director Lin has seen through our plan. No, if our intelligence is correct, the Eastern Federation also had a similar proposal in the past. It was just shelved for various reasons."

"That's partly true. But even without considering that reason, Titan's objective isn't too hard to guess," Lin Mo pointed at the map. "Creating chaos in the northwest and instigating secession in the south, the Golden Buddha Federation Government's only way out is..."

"To introduce external forces to stabilize the situation," Topaz finished. "And the only one that can resolve both the northern and southern crises without completely destroying their existing power and status is Titan, which has already established a model in the Emerald Principality."

Lin Mo suddenly stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The night view of Mandala was fully visible, but his gaze was directed further to the southeast. That was the lifeline of Eastern Federation shipping, the Thousand Sails Strait.

"What if..." Lin Mo slowly turned, "the Eastern Federation is willing to support Titan's Siam Strait plan?"

A hint of surprise suddenly appeared in Topaz's eyes: "Can Director Lin make that decision?"

"I cannot," Lin Mo pulled out an encrypted communicator. "But at this time, the Zijin Pavilion must be holding its weekly regular meeting."

Eastern Federation Capital, Zijin Pavilion Underground Conference Room.

Around an oval conference table, a dozen top national leaders sat in a circle.

The Minister of Defense was speaking: "According to satellite reconnaissance, the Nova United States' 'USS Reagan' carrier strike group is moving towards Golden Buddha Federation Bay."

The Chairman of the Economic Committee immediately brought up a set of data: "The tolls for the Thousand Sails Strait increased by another 15% last year, and our energy security..."

Suddenly, the main screen of the conference room lit up, and Lin Mo's image appeared on the display.

"Esteemed leaders," Lin Mo saluted. "I have just completed talks with Topaz from Titan's Strategic Investment Department and confirmed several key pieces of information..."

When Lin Mo finished his report, the conference room fell into a brief silence. Finally, the Premier, seated at the head, slowly spoke:

"Comrades, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Thousand Sails Strait has choked our lifeline for too long..."

The Army Commander suddenly interjected: "I don't deny Titan's reliability. They've given us immense help in medicine, and those two materials have greatly boosted our military strength. But this time it's an event that will affect the international political landscape, and they are clearly using us!"

"It's just mutual exploitation," the Director of National Security sneered. "They need our political endorsement, and we need to break the shackles of the Thousand Sails Strait."

The debate continued for a full half-hour. Finally, the Premier made the decisive call:

"Convey through diplomatic channels to Titan: First, Eastern Federation enterprises must hold equity in the canal project; second, the right to station troops must be clear, with the bottom line being no Nova United States troops."

Lin Mo on the other end of the screen nodded slightly: "What about the Southern Four Provinces...?"

"That is the internal affair of the Golden Buddha Federation," the Premier said meaningfully. "As long as the canal is open, nothing else matters."

Titan Industrial City, Headquarters Building, Central Command Room.

Emerald's slender fingers lightly traced the Eastern Federation's reply document sent by Topaz, a meaningful curve gracing her lips. The three conditions proposed by the Eastern Federation in the document shimmered with a faint blue light in the air.

"Equity, restricted troop stationing rights..." she murmured, a hint of playfulness in her voice. "The Eastern Federation is quite generous this time."

Aventurine leaned against the conference table, golden chips flipping between his fingers, reflecting fragmented golden light. "Do they really think we'd hand over control of the canal?" He scoffed. "Shouldn't we remind them how the Emerald Principality was taken by the Company?"

Emerald didn't answer immediately, but instead brought up a 3D topographical map of the Siam Strait. Her fingertip lightly touched the virtual projection, and the image immediately decomposed into dozens of construction modules.

"Equity can be given," she suddenly said, her finger tracing several key nodes. "Actual control has never been just about equity." Her fingertip stopped at the junction of the Southern Four Provinces. "As long as we control the infrastructure network and energy supply of these four provinces, the lifeline of the canal will also be in our hands."

"Going to war head-on with various countries now would mean spending a long time cleaning up the mess, which is not in the Company's interest."

Bronya's image suddenly popped up on a side screen, dozens of monitoring windows spread before her. "Latest intelligence," her voice was calm and precise. "Robert Wu, station chief of SIA Golden Summit Holy City, secretly met with the second-in-command of the Wu Kun Group last night."

Emerald chuckled at the news, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes: "It seems our old friends, after their defeat in the Emerald Principality, are starting to grasp at straws."

Aventurine suddenly sat upright, the chip slapping onto the table with a "snap": "Wait, isn't this perfect? After the plan is complete, we can eliminate the Wu Kun Group and, while we're at it, wipe out SIA's influence in the Golden Buddha Federation."

Emerald brought up SIA's activity reports from the past three months. On the holographic screen, the red dots representing the Nova United States' intelligence network had vanished from across the Emerald Principality, with fewer than ten small outposts remaining in the Golden Buddha Federation. The remaining main forces in the Emerald Ocean were largely concentrated in the Red River Delta, the Red Khmer State, the Gemini Islands, and the Libra Free Port.

But even all of these combined were only half of what they used to be.

"After Titan took over the Emerald Principality, SIA lost over 60% of its Emerald Ocean agents. Of these, 50% of the losses came from warlord forces and criminal organizations within the Emerald Principality," Bronya added, bringing up a set of encrypted data. "They can't even perform basic signal interception now; they can only rely on bribing local forces to obtain intelligence."

Emerald nodded thoughtfully: "So the Wu Kun Group has become their last resort..." She suddenly turned to Chen Hao's projection. "Boss, this is a perfect opportunity."

Chen Hao's figure stood before the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the satellite image of Golden Buddha Federation Bay in the distance. He was silent for a moment, then spoke: "We can agree to the Eastern Federation's terms. Anyway, those things are not valuable to the Company."

Emerald smiled knowingly: "Give them the canal's equity, but the actual control and construction rights of the Southern Four Provinces must remain in our hands." She quickly brought up a new draft agreement. "As for the right to station troops...".

"You are in charge of the plan," Chen Hao said indifferently. "The management of the canal can be handled by major powers, but the Southern Four Provinces are best left to only the Golden Buddha Federation's official forces and ours."

"As for the Wu Kun Group? When the time comes, eliminate them. The Company doesn't need blemishes."