In mid-June, the two presidential candidates' speaking tours officially began.
Every time President Harrison appeared in public, he was accompanied by more than a dozen bodyguards. The president's residence and itinerary were kept strictly confidential. Such caution was understandable in order to prevent persecution by opponents during the campaign.
Every time Lu Zexuan watched TV, he would subconsciously look at the president's fingers. For several consecutive days, the gray-haired old man who appeared on TV had a left ring finger that was 1 cm shorter than his index finger.
Lu Zexuan said: "The person who was giving the speech on tour is the same person we saw at the funeral. He should be the real president."
On the day of the funeral, a large number of high-level sentinel guides arrived at the cemetery, including Federal Marshal Qin Xiao and commanders of major legions. These people often met with the president. No matter how strong the mimicry ability of the mimic octopus was, it would not risk pretending to be the president in front of so many people.
At that time, there were only Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan in the dark and closed room, so it would be easier for him to pretend to be the president in private.
Yu Ran also thought so: "The one who gave the speech at the funeral and recently was the real president, and the one from the Dark Night Organization was fake. Therefore, the Dark Night Organization is just using the president's name to win over people's hearts, and has not yet had time to truly control the presidential palace."
He paused and said, "The key now is to find the mimic octopus hiding behind."
As long as we find that octopus, many problems will be solved.
Thinking of this, Yu Ran suddenly said, "By the way, how is Auntie doing recently?"
Lu Zexuan said: "My mother has already arrived at my grandmother's house. She should be helping my grandmother take care of the vineyard recently. She has been busy with work in recent years, so this is a good opportunity for her to take a good rest."
Yu Ran pondered for a moment and said, "Let's have a video chat with her when we get home tonight."
After returning home, Lu Zexuan brought Yu Ran to the soundproof study on the second floor. Since his father's "death", Lu Zexuan dismissed all the servants of the Lu family. There were only two of them in the huge manor, so there was no need to worry about being eavesdropped.
Lu Zexuan dialed his mother's communicator, and a familiar face appeared on the holographic screen in front of him.
Jiao Shuo took a leave to go back and take care of her mother. After a few days of rest, she looked much better. When she saw Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran, her eyes softened immediately and she asked with concern: "Zexuan, are you used to being the legion commander?"
Lu Zexuan said: "It's okay. The seniors will patiently teach me what I don't know."
Jiao Shuo looked at Yu Ran: "Where's Ranran? Have you been accompanying Zexuan recently? You've been working hard."
Yu Ran scratched his head and smiled, "I can't help much... By the way, are you okay over there, Auntie?"
Jiao Shuo said: "I'm fine. It's rare to have so much free time."
Yu Ran asked, "That day, when Professor Mo Wei and President Ludwigi treated you together, did you notice anything wrong with your mental picture?"
Jiao Shuo recalled carefully and said, "I was in a very bad mood that day and didn't realize what was going on. The negative shadows in my mental picture were quickly purified."
Yu Ran then asked, "Aunt, you thought your Sentinel had died at that time. The pain of the soul separation caused a huge negative shadow. Based on your many years of experience in treating Sentinels, how long will it take to heal?"
Jiao Shuo said, "If it was an S-Guide who treated me, it might take half an hour. But at that time, two S-Guidelines worked together to treat me. I have never experienced two people working together to treat me, so I can't say for sure. It only took them a few minutes to stabilize my emotions."
Jiao Shuo paused and asked doubtfully: "Why are you asking this?"
Yu Ran smiled and said, "I'm just curious. Guide S is really capable."
Lu Zexuan finally understood why Ranran wanted to ask her mother to check these details.
At that time, Mo Wei offered to help Jiao Shuo with his treatment, and President Ludwig immediately stepped forward and said that they should take a look together.
On the surface, they didn't seem to be in the same group. At first, Lu Zexuan thought that Mo Wei wanted to test whether his mother's grief was real or not, and President Ludwig noticed that something was wrong with Mo Wei and took the initiative to stand up to monitor Mo Wei. But now think about it, there is actually another possibility - Ludwig is helping Mo Wei cover up
After finishing the call with his mother, the two looked at each other, and Yu Ran analyzed carefully: "I can be sure that Mo Wei is an attack guide, and his spirit body may be a killer whale; and Ludvisi is a healing guide. He is not monitoring Mo Wei, but helping Mo Wei to cover. Otherwise, with Mo Wei's little healing ability, it is very likely to be exposed. If the two work together, Ludvisi will be the main healer and Mo Wei will assist, which is indeed more efficient."
Memories surged in Yu Ran's mind, and he suddenly remembered the scene when he was 13 years old and was sealed by three wizards.
The guides who sealed Yu Ran included Mo Wei, Xie Shiyi, the dean of the sanctuary, and his father Qin Luo. During the joint sealing process of the three, Ludwigi, the president, also watched the whole process in the spiritual world.
—He was not just a bystander. Back then, he was also secretly covering for Mo Wei.
Lu Zexuan sensed Yu Ran's memory and couldn't help asking, "Have you seen the president's spirit body?"
Yu Ran shook his head: "No one has ever seen what his spiritual body is."
Father Qin Luo never summons his spiritual body in front of outsiders, because his spiritual body is a jellyfish. Once summoned, it is easy for people to associate it with Marshal Qin Xiao, who is also a jellyfish.
Ludwig, the president of the Guide Association, has never summoned a spirit. As the president, it makes sense for him to maintain a certain sense of mystery. Everyone thinks that his spirit is invisible, and no one has ever thought that... his spirit may also be a terrifying creature that cannot be summoned at all.
For example, the long-extinct mimic octopus!
Once this kind of spiritual being is summoned, it will definitely cause an uproar.
After all, the mimic octopus disappeared 200 years ago, so how could it suddenly appear
Lu Zexuan asked in confusion: "What is the origin of this president of the Guide Association?"
Yu Ran shook his head and said, "I don't know. He was the president of the Guides Association when I was very young. Over the years, his appearance has not changed much. Some people say that he loves beauty and takes care of himself. He undergoes facial correction surgery every few years."
Today's medical technology can even regenerate severed limbs, let alone simple facial restoration surgery.
If Ludwig really wanted to keep his youthful looks, he could go into the treatment chamber once a year to adjust his appearance. But Lu Zexuan always felt that it was not that simple. He frowned and said, "Mo Wei developed the regeneration treatment chamber, it seems to be more than ten years ago?"
Yu Ran said, “Thirteen years ago.”
Lu Zexuan said: "But, Ludwigi's face hasn't changed in twenty years, right?"
Thinking of the handsome, elegant man with waist-length hair, they felt a chill down their spines for some reason - the handsome man, whose appearance had remained unchanged for decades, had a sense of weirdness all over his body. What secrets were hidden behind him
Yu Ran was silent for a moment, then said, "President, we have to be careful. Let's see what instructions the fake president has."
The last time they met, the fake president asked Yu Ran to win over the Starlight Corps and said that General Xie had people sent by the organization. Yu Ran was very worried about his aunt's current situation, but he was being monitored by the Dark Night Organization every step of the way, so it was impossible for him to meet with his aunt privately.
I just hope that my aunt can be as cautious as Zhu Tianyi and not eat anything given by people around her.
Xie Chen was sitting on the sofa and flipping through an electronic photo album.
There are many photos in the album, recording the warm and harmonious times their family once had.
Xie Chen lost her mother when she was young, and was brought up by her elder sister and father. It is said that "eldest sister is like mother", and her relationship with Xie Xi is much deeper than that of ordinary sisters, so when Xie Xi passed away, she was extremely sad, so sad that she almost lost consciousness, and could not even cry at the funeral.
At this moment, looking at the photo of her sister wearing a military uniform and looking heroic, Xie Chen felt a pain in her heart. She stroked the photo of her sister's family of three with trembling fingertips and murmured, "Sister, you have been gone for six years."
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door. A servant brought a bowl of hot porridge and said softly, "General, it's late at night. Would you like some midnight snack?"
Xie Chen put on a cold face and said, "Leave it there."
The servant put the porridge on the table next to her, glanced at her, and turned away.
Xie Chen stared at the photo album thoughtfully. After a moment, she suddenly stood up, changed into casual clothes, and drove out alone.
The night was getting darker. Xie Chen lived in a secluded suburb, with no one around.
She drove all the way and soon arrived at the beach.
The North Sea of the capital star has a large area of clean and fine sandy beaches. There are many tourists during the day, and at night there are also some young people who like camping and barbecue, setting up tents on the beach to watch the moon.
However, the place Xie Chen came to was not the coastal area where people could play.
Instead, it is a deep sea area separated by a safety net and marked with "Danger, keep away".
The hovercraft turned off its lights and silently hovered over the ocean. Xie Chen simply opened the door and jumped out.
Almost at the moment she jumped into the ocean, her body suddenly turned into a huge deep-sea black shark!
The shark was tens of meters long, with teeth as sharp as knives. It swam flexibly in the sea and soon dived deep into the seabed.
The depths of the ocean are another world. There are a lot of corals, reefs and all kinds of beautiful fish. Xie Chen stopped in front of a piece of red coral, and then heard several voices: "General!"
It's the fish around that are talking.
As soon as he finished speaking, several colorful and differently shaped fish suddenly turned back into human form.
—This secret force of the Star Legion is composed of sentinels and guides of marine spirits. Although they do not have the ability to travel in the deep sea for a long time like Xie Chen, they are fish spirits. As long as they use the spirits to cooperate in combat, the master can also breathe freely underwater.
The bottom of the sea was the meeting place that Xie Chen had agreed to meet with them.
No one can place a bug on the seabed; it is very safe for them.
Xie Chen glanced at the few people and said calmly: "Time is limited, so let's focus on the key points. How is the investigation department doing?"
A sentry said, "Yu Ran's sister Rong Yingying is missing. On June 10, Section Chief Zhu suddenly called Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan to take a statement, and then released them. He may suspect that there is a problem within the investigation department. He has been acting alone these days and does not allow anyone to follow him."
Xie Chen nodded and looked at the other person: "What about Mo Wei?"
The female guide said, "I followed your instructions to keep an eye on Mo Wei's whereabouts. He often goes to several places, including B73 in the constellation of Norma, S113 in the constellation of Ophiuchus, and T6 in the constellation of Grus. On May 27, he went to the constellation of Norma on the pretext of looking for new experimental materials. Coincidentally, Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran were also traveling in the constellation of Norma that day, and Lu Zexuan took Yu Ran back to visit his aunt."
Xie Chen stroked his chin thoughtfully: "Yu Ran? Have you checked this person's background?"
"I checked. He was born in a remote and desolate planet. He is a C-level guide. Because he is highly compatible with Lu Zexuan, he has always been by Lu Zexuan's side. I heard that General Lu particularly dotes on him and always takes him with him when he goes to work."
“…” Xie Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Lu Zexuan's favorite C-level guide? Maybe he is just playing the pig to eat the tiger!
Many things that happened in the past six months seemed to be related to Yu Ran.
For example, several officials died mysteriously, the information of the Sentinel Academy was stolen, Zhu Tianyi raided the Gemini Palace dinner to arrest people but got nothing, Yu Ran and Mo Wei happened to go to the planet B73 on the same day, and now, he has a sister who suddenly disappeared.
"Yu Ran is probably an undercover agent sent by the Dark Night Organization to Lu Zexuan. Keep an eye on him." Xie Chen said coldly, "Perhaps we can find a breakthrough from him and find some evidence against the old fox Mo Wei. Also, don't act rashly. The Dark Night Organization knows that the Star Legion has been investigating them. To prevent the tragedy of that year from happening again, everyone must keep a low profile, stay hidden, and protect themselves. In the near future, be careful about what you eat and drink. Don't swallow anything handed to you by other people without any precautions."
"Yes, General!" everyone responded in unison.
The seawater is unusually cold at night. But for the evolvers whose spiritual bodies are fish, the ocean is their home.
***
It was already early morning when Xie Chen returned home.
The guard suddenly handed her a visiting card. On the exquisite envelope was printed the golden seal of the commander of the Falcon Legion.
"General, this was sent by someone from the Falcon Corps. They said General Lu wants to visit us in person. Please reply."
Xie Chen was puzzled—Lu Zexuan? Why did he visit me
The legions did not have private contact with each other, which was a rule set 200 years ago. Lu Zexuan, a newly appointed legion commander, should not come to visit alone to avoid suspicion.
Xie Chen took the visiting card and said, "Got it, I will reply."
She turned and went into the study and opened the letter.
There were a few neatly written lines of large characters inside: "General Xie, I heard that tomorrow is your birthday, so I specially prepared some small gifts and wanted to visit you in person. I am not very knowledgeable and inexperienced, and I hope General Xie will take good care of me when we serve in the military in the future. Respectfully presented by Lu Zexuan."
Xie Chen: “???”
A new legion commander kindly comes to give another general a "birthday present"
Lu Zexuan, do you believe it yourself
Xie Chen's brows were furrowed tighter and tighter. She felt that this matter was a bit strange. Lu Zexuan suddenly sent her a visiting card, and it was probably for other reasons. However, she wanted to see what the purpose of this young legion commander's sudden visit to her was.
(End of this chapter)