In mid-June, the aftermath of the prison break gradually began to appear. Resistance organizations in various places ushered in the second peak of activity since the start of the European War by Steel Command a few months ago. This shows that the prisoners who escaped from Hell Island have begun to contact the resistance organization.
Powerful espers, thinkers, mad scientists, these people can easily find a home. The prisoners who once belonged to the "Prison Guard Gang" in Tidal Prison have become a very troublesome force for both the empire and the resistance organization.
They have no political leanings, nor do they have expertise in a certain field. They are just a group of capable thugs and criminals. After these people return to society, they have a huge negative impact on public security.
For resistance organizations, there will occasionally be some minor frictions with such people, but generally there will be no major conflicts, which is acceptable. But the empire is a bit overwhelmed. These guys are unorganized and undisciplined. They live alone. If they don't have money, they go to rob, shoot and change places. Ordinary police forces can't catch them.
The most troublesome thing is that they still harbor hatred for the Empire. As long as they have stayed in Tidal Prison and experienced the incident after the prison escape, their feelings for the Empire... that is, if there is no hatred, they will become enemies, and if there is hatred, they will die. hatred. Bully nobles and corrupt bureaucrats from all over the world took care of them whenever they encountered them. This is called eliminating harm for the people. Although they themselves are also harmful, as the parties involved, they certainly do not think so. At least psychologically, these gangsters feel that their actions are to support justice rather than retaliate against society.
The only good thing is that the total number of them is not that many. The ability levels of the prison guard gang members usually range from paper level to strong level, with the highest number being at the same level and the least at the strong level. Therefore... yes, you should also have thought that due to Javidon's lunatic atrocities, their casualties were very heavy.
When high-level ability users fight with each other, it is very dangerous for these people to stand around and watch. People without energy protection are like walking naked in the snow when facing W-level mutants. Javi With a wave of his hand, hundreds of these characters were reduced to pieces.
Therefore, among the nearly 500 prisoners who finally escaped from Hell Island, this type of people accounted for less than 100. They did not join any organization afterwards, and about 80 were wandering around alone to commit crimes. On a global scale, there are eighty out-of-control ability users, more or less... enough to give governors and HL branches everywhere a headache.
Of course, these middle and low-level ability users cannot change the world. Whether it is the war situation on the front battlefield or the political struggle, they are unable to influence it.
The Tidal Prison prisoners who truly pose a threat to the empire have quickly integrated into the upper echelons of major resistance organizations. Many of them are members or even veterans of these organizations. There is no problem with trust. They belong to the group who return today and take up their posts tomorrow. type. It can be said that it has provided an immediate strength supplement to various resistance organizations.
After the prison break, the organization that benefited the most was probably the Freedom Front. They accepted the most people. Many prisoners with nowhere to go and members of the prison guard gang who wanted to join the resistance organization stayed directly at the Freedom Front.
For other prisoners who want to leave, Freedom Front also actively helps them contact their respective organizations, and also provides travel expenses, cover their identities, etc. Although this is an obvious act of buying people's hearts, in this way, each organization and these individual prisoners It can be regarded as a favor owed to the Freedom Front.
At first, Freedom Front reluctantly agreed to use the Sky Vulture to assist in the prison escape under the threat of the Anti-Cross. Since they were unable to estimate in a short period of time the huge losses that would result from a complete breach of the database, they were almost ready to agree to any request from Inverse Cross without a bottom line. Who knew that the conditions proposed by the other party would eventually bring harm to the organization? Benefit, it can be regarded as a small appearance in front of the princes of the world.
From now on, when members of the Freedom Front meet their colleagues, they can blindly brag with their eyes closed. Remember that we also played a role in the escape from Hell Island. If it weren't for us, the world today might be in the same state...
Of course that’s a story later, back to June.
Freedom Frontline executives are currently working hard to rebuild a new database and want to reshuffle the matrix system. They can't expect the reverse cross to keep secrets forever, so this must be done. No one will allow others to keep a close eye on their trump cards forever, not to mention that the Freedom Frontline is not only seeing the trump cards, but the entire deck of cards.
Once this work is completed, the powerful Freedom Front will officially launch an armed coup in North America. They have always been the number two character, ranking behind the Steel Commandments for many years. Even ordinary people know that the Steel Commandments are the most powerful resistance organization, followed by A, B, C and D...
You know, just in Western Europe, the Steel Commandment has only managed to conquer two counties after a few months of turmoil. The combined territory of these two places is not as large as a star county.
If this time we can take advantage of the fact that the empire is losing sight of one thing and our own combat power is unprecedentedly strong, and we can seize a state in one fell swoop, then the Freedom Frontline will finally have the opportunity to compete with the Steel Commandment.
On the other hand, Xing Tian, who successfully snatched Shenwu, appeared to be very low-key. Although Cao Shuo was not injured in the battle with Shishi, the injuries to his men were still serious. Even Military Advisor Zhuge Zhai was slightly injured and suffered a fatal injury. . Fortunately, they finally succeeded in grabbing a large number of Shenwu and the shuttle ships, and almost wiped out all the soldiers of the royal fleet.
The price paid and the benefits obtained were not much different from Zhuge Zhai's prediction in advance, and were within the acceptable range. During this period, Xingtian had already begun to develop Shenwu weapons. Even the empire is very cautious when using this kind of scarce and extremely secret resource. However, the resistance organization has no such concerns. Anyway, they do not have to operate a facility like Tidal Prison.
During this period, the war in the north of Long County was intense, while Xing Tian took a wait-and-see attitude in Southeast Asia. One was to wait for the strength to recover, and the other was to develop Shenwu. Presumably, once they took action, they would do something amazing again.
During the same period, there was another organization directly related to the prison break, the Reverse Cross, and the man named Tianyi, who had become globally known. From the top officials of the empire to the head of the HL branch, from the leader of the Iron Discipline to the leader of a small gang, it is almost impossible to find anyone who does not know the name of the reverse cross and the appearance of Tianyi. If you don't even know this demon king when you come out to fool around, you will be looked down upon by your peers as an ordinary citizen.
As for what exactly the Anti-Cross is trying to do, and what the purpose of what they have done so far is, there are different opinions. They don't seem to have a fixed base, and they don't have any behavior to expand their power; the number of members is unknown; their scientific and technological strength is unknown; the average combat power, the strongest combat power of the ability users in the organization, etc... everything is unknown.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that the Anti-Cross and the Empire are definitely in a state of hostility, and judging from Tianyi's remarks, there should be no compromise or room for maneuver between the two. There is gray between black and white, and there is earth between heaven and hell. But the relationship between the reverse cross and the empire is like a couple who married with a son. They divorced immediately two months after the wedding. The court awarded the unborn baby to the mother. Then the father discovered that after paying alimony for seventeen years. The child has no blood relationship with himself.
All in all, in the world of June 2101, the wars that have broken out in the three battlefields of Asia, Europe, and Africa are in a stalemate stage, and progress is slow. A larger-scale global war is still brewing, and princes from all walks of life are already readying their bows and arrows, ready to go.
The prelude to a new era has begun. The conflicts between the upper class of the empire and people around the world have accumulated enough, and conflicts in various places have begun to break out. But overall, this is just a stage of accumulating strength. The overall situation is still under the control of the empire. The rule of war-free areas is still stable, and the economy has not fluctuated much.
The empire has the initiative at this stage. If it is handled properly, it can weaken the foundation of resistance organizations in various places and end everything before the war spreads to the world. In this way, at least for the next twenty years, there will be no more Several forces have the ability to launch a decent frontal war. Even if they do, it will only be the kind of fighting in South Africa in the early years, which is not something to be afraid of.
… …
June 13th, Tiandu, Imperial Palace.
"It's rare, Master Kou, how can you have time to visit my humble home today?" The tea fairy looked very good and seemed to have basically recovered from his injuries. "Come on, sit down and have a cup of tea. This tea is..."
"It doesn't matter. I have no sense of taste and my sense of smell is not very good." Kou Linzai walked to sit opposite the Tea Fairy. He did not bring a gourd today because he knew that the palace had a rule that under normal circumstances visitors could not bring in food and meat. The rules are a bit like those at an airport, but the security here is stricter.
"That's such a pity." The tea fairy continued: "I advise Brother Kou to drink less wine, maybe his sense of taste can be restored." In fact, although he and Kou Linzai are both HL, they rarely have the opportunity to meet, and they are just acquaintances. There is no need to say these unnecessary words.
"Your Highness, I am here to discuss matters with you as a servant." Kou Linzai seemed unwilling to talk about himself anymore and directly brought the conversation to the main topic.
"Oh? Are you friends with Toki?"
"Not really."
Without any further explanation from Kou Linzai, Tea Fairy deduced the general situation: "As for Shi Shi's escape from Xingyue Lianjun, I have read the reports of you and Lieutenant General Carmen respectively. Since you are not his friend, Why let him go?"
"There are two reasons. First, I thought he should leave at the time, but judging from the current situation, I was wrong. His ability was not enough to change the overall situation; second, to be honest, I had no confidence that I could convince him at that time. Shi Shi, he seems to have some reason to stop the Anti-Cross plan, regardless of life or death. If he wants to leave by force, I will definitely not be able to stop him." Kou Linzai replied.
The tea fairy sighed and put down the porcelain cup in his hand. He remembered that the last time he met Shi Shi, it was also in this room. The words Shi Shi left behind, "Don't worry about your recovery. I will handle the outside matters." He still vividly remembered it.
"The burden he placed on his shoulders was too heavy. This is my responsibility." Tea Fairy sighed.
"Is it the so-called 'a scholar dies for his confidant'..." Kou Linzai thought: "Your Highness, since you also know that Shi Shi is definitely not a traitor, it seems that I don't need to waste any more words. I want to use your strength to It’s not difficult to clear his name, right?”
Tea Fairy did not answer directly, but asked: "You will come to me to explain that Shi Shi's case will be concluded soon, right?"
"Yes, you also know that guy Kress, right?" Kou Linzai said.
"Ah, I met him a few times at the headquarters. The party to which his father and the entire Kress family have joined is considered to be the most mainstream voice in the court now." Tea Fairy replied.
"Then have you heard anything about the grudge between him and Shi Shi?" Kou Linzai asked.
Tea Fairy sneered: "Let me think about it... It seems that after Kress was tested by eas, his abilities were classified into the same level, which made this arrogant guy feel very dissatisfied. As a result, he used various connections to ask eas to send A high-level person should re-test something like this, haha... It turned out that the person who took the re-test was the Attendant?"
Kou Linzai also thought this was ridiculous. He showed a smile similar to that of the Tea Fairy and continued: "The Attendant did not seriously test Kress's ability at all. He directly wrote a strong level on his file and added a long paragraph in the remarks. His comments were sharp, extremely venomous, and quite insulting. However, there were no curse words in his words, and his sentences also had a cold feeling, which made the viewers feel that he was indeed making a statement after reading it. It’s like a fact.”
"Haha... you really have read it, right?" Tea Fairy said with a smile.
"Because the impression is so profound that I can recite it by heart. Is Your Highness interested in hearing it?"
"No, no..." Tea Fairy waved her hands quickly: "My memory is very good, and I don't want to put many things in my mind." This sentence is actually true.
Kou Linzai said: "So... getting back to the subject, since you also know this relationship, it is not difficult to deduce how bad Shi Shi's situation is, right? In my opinion, this case will be decided within two days at most, and by then Shi Shi He is completely labeled as a criminal. The imperial court may immediately send an order to eas, asking them to find another candidate for the position of deputy director."
The tea fairy picked up the cup unhurriedly, took a sip of tea, and said, "Oh? So, his old director couldn't handle the matter either?"
"The confessions of all EAs members were not accepted. This was also intentional on the part of Cress. It was originally based on the eyewitness testimony of a tester named Francis in the Star-Moon Alliance County, as well as some previous conversations between him and the Shishi. The communication situation is enough to explain everything clearly. But when the prison break occurred, because Shi Shi appeared on Hell Island, the scene of him and some prisoners fighting Javidon became very unfavorable evidence, and used it as a bargaining chip. All the efforts made by Kress made eas have been ignored." Kou Linzai replied.
"Well, very good." The tea fairy took another sip of green tea in the cup.
Kou Linzai's expression began to change: "Your Highness, you are referring to... it should be tea, right?"
"No, I mean things." Tea Fairy had a smile on his lips, but his eyes were so cold that it was suffocating.
"What do you mean?" Kou Linzai changed his name to the prince, an instinct that made Zuijue feel the aura of fear at this moment.
"I mean, the Kress family has done a great job. They have done enough on this matter."
Kou Linzai felt as if someone had poured a basin of ice water from his head to the soles of his feet, and he wondered in his heart: Could it be that the Tea Fairy was designing Shishi from the beginning? Could it be that he was behind the actions of the Kress family? !
"You are wrong." Tea Fairy regained his gentle expression.
"You know what I'm thinking?"
"I can deduce it from your subtle expression, body movements and words." The tea fairy replied: "So I say, you are wrong." He denied the other party's guess: "I am standing on the side of the Shishi Here, we are friends, and I will not harm him. But... I did hint and secretly help operate the various actions of the Kress family."
"I don't understand this..." Kou Linzai said, "You said you wouldn't harm Shi Shi... but..." His words stopped abruptly, and an idea flashed through Kou Linzai's mind. He thought about it for dozens of seconds. Only then did he catch up with the Tea Fairy. At this moment, he finally understood what the prince meant and saw through the chilling trap and layout behind this matter.
"You... want to completely dismantle the Kress family, right..." After seeing the truth, the fear in Kou Linzai's heart only grew stronger.
"It doesn't mean disintegration. Disintegration just means that the power of this family will never recover. To be precise, I want to 'bury' them." The tea fairy looked at the leaf stems in the cup, his eyes were cold and his tone was soft: "Death can be permanent. Solving the problem and dying is the fate they deserve."
Kou Linzai was so frightened that a cold sweat ran down his spine. He replied in a respectful tone: "I am foolish and foolish... I am remonstrating with you today and I did not consider it carefully. I hope Your Highness will forgive me for the offense I just made..."
"Sir," the tea fairy turned around and interrupted: "You'd better get up."
Kou Linzai was sitting on a chair at this time, but the tea fairy had something else to say. Only Zuijue at that time could understand the meaning of this sentence.
Sometimes, the action of kneeling does not necessarily need to be performed by the body. People will kneel in their hearts.
Kou Linzai stood up without saying a word.
"I am also tired today. I have just recovered from a serious injury. I will not send you far. Please come back, Sir." The tea fairy said: "Oh, by the way, the three people who admonished my father a few days ago are all fine. I will Take care of them, you don’t have to worry.”
Kou Linzai's back was not only covered with sweat, but also the sweat on his forehead was dripping down. Krauser Wittstock, this person is so scary. He seems to know everything, and his plans are more than ten steps ahead of others. He is outside. The act of pretending to be crazy and acting stupid was as ridiculous as a clown in front of him.
"I resign..." Kou Linzai's name for himself became even more despicable. He couldn't help but secretly wonder: Are he and the other princes really brothers? Who else in this palace can compete with him...
…