201: Chapter 202 The Fall Curtain

Hiding behind his blast shield, Marshal Miller watched the dramatic turn of events and couldn't help but exclaim internally, "Brilliant!"

To be honest, before this, Miller had actually been a bit worried.

He was afraid that Lin Li would really release some terrifying and disgusting alien, just like the Tyranids, in front of everyone.

In that case, even if he were biased, there would be absolutely no way to justify this under Imperial law.

But he never expected this!

He actually managed to pull off something like this!

Miller thought quickly in his mind.

Ever since the Spark Alliance took over the Abyss Prison, they had suddenly mastered this method of manipulating organic flesh.

Moreover, informants from the Adeptus Arbites had indeed sent back intelligence proving that Lin Li and his group had excavated a suspected ancient biological laboratory from the Golden Age!

"In other words… these Flesh Mecha used to fight the bugs are most likely ancient biological cloning technology lost by humanity!"

Miller quickly completed the logical loop in his mind, "According to the dogmas of the Adeptus Mechanicus, exploring the universe and excavating and using the ancient technology lost by the Omnissiah is not only innocent, but a glorious mission! Legally speaking, there is absolutely no fault to be found here!"

At this moment, the entire starport plaza remained deathly quiet.

All the Skitarii looked at each other, their gun muzzles pointing towards the ground, completely unsure whether they should open fire on that golden statue of the God-Emperor.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Miller decisively stepped out from behind the blast shield.

He straightened his peaked cap and, leading a squad of elite Arbiters, walked to the center of the scene with steady steps.

"Everyone, drop your weapons!"

Miller's cold voice echoed across the entire plaza, "I declare in the name of the Mobius Imperial Department of Justice and as High Sector Marshal!"

Miller turned abruptly, pointing his finger directly at Archbishop Anthony, who was slumped on the ground, "I am placing Archbishop Anthony of the Ecclesiarchy under mandatory arrest!"

"The grounds for arrest are as follows: First, violating the Imperial Code by using force without authorization and excessively interfering with the transition of secular power! Second, suspicion of long-term corruption and embezzlement of the tithes and vast public property of the Mobius system's church! Third, in the name of the divine, carrying out indiscriminate firepower purges against innocent civilians and legitimate regimes!"

After speaking, Miller waved his hand.

A senior Arbiter immediately stepped forward and took a thick roll of parchment from his briefcase.

He forcefully unfurled the file right in front of all the Battle Sisters and confessor priests!

On the parchment, the dirty deeds that Archbishop Anthony had actually committed over these years were densely recorded.

This was the intelligence gift that Miller had previously given to Lin Li.

In normal times, relying solely on this file would naturally be difficult to topple a powerful Cardinal.

But the situation was different now!

Archbishop Anthony had failed in his public challenge at the surrender ceremony and was directly suppressed by Lin Li with one hand; his prestige and face were completely swept away.

Moreover, that large bug carrying the golden statue of the God-Emperor crushed the legitimacy of his accusation of heresy directly on the level of faith.

Looking at the ironclad evidence in the file, those previously fanatical confessor priests and Battle Sisters all lowered their heads, naturally not daring to step forward to stop the Adeptus Arbites' arrest.

What followed was much simpler.

Two fierce Arbiters stepped forward, roughly twisted Archbishop Anthony's hands behind his back, cuffed him with heavy magnetic shackles, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

This bloody conflict instigated by the church ultimately ended with Archbishop Anthony taking the fall and being thrown into prison.

As for the compensation for the civilian and noble casualties at the starport, the Adeptus Arbites would naturally, without hesitation, ruthlessly scrape a large sum from Archbishop Anthony's confiscated private property to pay it.

The farce ended.

Lin Li walked to the ornate golden dais and solemnly accepted the parchment scroll symbolizing the rule of the galaxy.

With this, Lin Li had officially and rightfully become the supreme Governor of the entire Yuanwang Star System!

After the surrender ceremony concluded, the next step was to meet with the official representatives of the various core systems of the galaxy within the Governors Mansion.

This included the remaining officials from the Imperial military department, the Departmento Munitorum, Marshal Miller of the Adeptus Arbites, and the newly elected temporary Archbishop of the church.

This was the first supreme expanded meeting concerning the future direction of the galaxy.

However, to the surprise of all the old nobility, Lin Li did not choose to hold the meeting in that luxurious and enclosed conference room of the Governors Mansion.

He directly ordered the large conference table and loudspeaker equipment to be moved to the massive Hive City plaza outside the Governors Mansion, which could accommodate hundreds of thousands of people!

He also had all the security barriers removed, allowing the various lower-class civilians, gang members, and fallen nobles outside to freely watch and listen at close range!

Under the gaze of everyone, Lin Li stood on the high platform and, through the city-wide broadcast, read out the Spark Alliance's inviolable supreme constitution to the entire Mobius Prime for the first time!

"From today on! The entire Yuanwang Star System will completely eliminate all unreasonable privileges, including those of the clergy and hereditary nobility!"

"We will take human rights and the law as our only yardstick! Workers will have dignity, and exploiters will surely be judged!"

Lin Li's voice echoed under the steel dome of the Hive City, "I declare! From this day forward, this day shall be designated as the Liberation Day of Mobius Prime! Throughout the entire galaxy, starting from today, everyone will receive ten days of paid public holiday!"

When the shocking news of the abolition of privileges and the ten-day holiday spread, after a brief silence, the entire Mobius Prime, with its eight massive Hive Cities, erupted into complete fervor!

Countless laborers wept with joy in the mines and workshops, taking off their hard hats and embracing and cheering to their hearts' content.

Even those mutants who had been hiding in the sewers all year round felt the wave of this new era's fervor.

However, after swinging the big stick, one must also offer some sweetness.

Although Lin Li had struck the nobles a heavy blow with the constitution, he remained very restrained in the subsequent reshuffling of official positions.

Except for replacing a few heinous die-hards, he did not conduct large-scale purges or dismissals of those old nobles who had surrendered.

Lin Li knew very well that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish.

Having just suppressed their privileges, if he were to drive them all into a dead end, these nobles, who controlled more than half of the galaxy's capital and connections, might secretly incite rebellion and start a civil war.

Therefore, Lin Li had to leave these nobles a way to survive.

As the meeting drew to a close, Lin Li announced publicly that he would auction off exclusive trade rights for various planetary industries within the galaxy to all registered nobles and legitimate merchants!

And he would provide a large-scale tax exemption policy for up to ten years!

Once this policy was announced, those old nobles, who had previously looked as mournful as if their parents had died, instantly lit up again!

This move could be described as giving a slap and then a sweet date.

On one hand, using huge trade profits to give those nobles a taste of sweetness to stabilize their emotions; on the other hand, it could also utilize the capital base in their hands to quickly stimulate the stagnant commercial vitality of the entire galaxy.

Of course, Lin Li knew in his heart that deeper land reform and capital restructuring would certainly have to be carried out.

It was just that the methods had to be gentler and more covert, and the timeline had to be extended.

"At the very least, I must wait for the new classes representing the common people—like the labor unions, chambers of commerce, and farmers' associations here on Mobius—to fully mature. Only after having the power to counterbalance them can I thoroughly suppress the noble class without bloodshed." Lin Li calculated the next political roadmap in his mind.

The meeting ended, and Lin Li arranged for the Central Legion, as well as Ushtan and Kolom and others, to be stationed on Mobius Prime, letting them temporarily preside over the overall situation of this massive galaxy's capital in his stead to prevent turmoil.

After dealing with the complicated and trivial political and military affairs, by the time Lin Li walked out of the plaza, the sky had completely darkened.

The neon signs of the Hive City began to flicker, and the night was deep.

Although most of the nobles who had been deprived of their privileges today were not very happy, when faced with the two options of survival and making money, the situation was stronger than the people.

Having witnessed the terrifying combat power of the Spark Alliance, which was capable of destroying a Tyranid Hive Ship, they ultimately and wisely chose to obey.

After all, the ancient laws of the Empire had never explicitly stated that nobles should be born with privileges.

Who dared to stand up and openly oppose it? As long as anyone dared to stick their head out, the Alliance had plenty of legitimate excuses to cause them trouble!

Moreover, several armed labor groups in the lower Hive Cities had now sworn allegiance to Elena.

Even Elena, who came from the First House, and the former Governor Cromwell had taken the lead in expressing obedience to the new constitution, so others naturally wouldn't go looking for trouble by being the first to stick their necks out.

At night, a grand banquet was being held in the spacious and ornate hall of the Governors Mansion.

This banquet was personally funded and organized by the former Governor Cromwell to show his welcome to the new Governor, Lin Li.

The prominent nobles and high-ranking officials were all in attendance, and the atmosphere was lively.

Lin Li and several leaders of the Alliance naturally attended as invited.

Lin Li, holding a glass of clear water, walked to the long dining table and glanced at the food on the table.

"Hmm, not bad." Lin Li nodded with satisfaction.

The food placed on the table consisted mostly of ordinary dishes made from high-yield meat and synthetic starch.

There were none of the extremely extravagant dishes from before, such as wine brewed from human milk or eating peacock tongues.

It seemed that this old fox, Governor Cromwell, had truly figured out the Spark Alliance's distaste for extravagance and waste, catering to their preferences by arranging things very simply.

Seeing Lin Li arrive, Governor Cromwell did not step forward to flatter him.

He just raised his glass from afar and nodded slightly at Lin Li.

His thin face showed no major change in expression; like a retired, lonely old man, he just sat in the corner.

Lin Li was also happy to have some peace and quiet.

At this moment, Elena, wearing a brand-new black evening gown, approached him with a face full of excitement, surrounded by Cork and several rebel leaders.

"My Lord!" Elena lifted her skirt and bowed slightly, "It's so good to see you again! Because of all the unexpected events at the surrender ceremony during the day, I didn't get a chance to greet you properly."

Lin Li looked up and down at the young girl in front of him, who had shed her immaturity and become very capable.

He nodded with a smile, "You look like you've changed a lot, not just in appearance, but more importantly, in your eyes. You are now fighting for the ideals you chose for yourself, which is very good."

Hearing this praise, Elena nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling, "Yes! My Lord! I will prove to you that the people of House Rofis are not all parasites who only know how to suck blood!"

Lin Li didn't say too many polite words, just encouraged her by patting her shoulder.

Holding his water glass, he walked around the banquet hall symbolically, clinked glasses with a few important officials, and prepared to leave early.

As for the civilian officials like Kolom and Governor Jia Mei, they stayed behind to continue exchanging experiences and insights on governing large populations with Elena and the local officials.

Lin Li walked to the door of the banquet hall, suddenly stopped, and looked around.

"Strange, where is Frannie?"

Lin Li frowned slightly.

In the starport incident during the day, as a Battle Sister who had been brainwashed by the church since childhood, Frannie had unhesitatingly chosen to stand in front of him, not hesitating to stand in absolute opposition to the entire Ecclesiarchy!

She even opened fire on the Cardinal to protect him.

Although Lin Li knew that Frannie's loyalty to him was already maxed out, this incident was definitely a devastating blow to her originally pure religious belief system.

She must be extremely uneasy and struggling in her heart right now.

"No, I must go and check on her situation." Lin Li thought for a moment.

He called a maid from the Governors Mansion, and after some inquiries, Lin Li finally learned that Frannie had gone to the confessional in the backyard of the Governors Mansion alone before the banquet started.

In the backyard of the Governors Mansion, at the end of a dim corridor.

Following the route he had inquired about, Lin Li came to the door of the confessional.

Before he could reach out to push the door open, a hair-raising crackling sound suddenly came from the thick solid wood door gap.

It was the dull sound of a whip lashing heavily against flesh!

Lin Li frowned and pushed the door open.