Chapter 1 The Assassination

The news of the assassination attempt on one of the three kings of Modo Civilization spread rapidly throughout the interstellar society, and that very evening, the assassinated king was pronounced dead. This sudden event shocked the entire universe!

Whether they were officials of advanced civilizations or ordinary people in interstellar society, their first reaction to the news could be summed up in two words:

——Holy shit!

The victim wasn't just any Tom, Dick, or Harry, but the head of a super-cluster civilization, a leader second only to the three great civilizations. For a figure of such stature to be assassinated felt like something from a bygone era to the citizens of the galaxy. It had been countless years since such a shocking piece of news had occurred.

In the minds of ordinary people, it was impossible for a leader of an advanced civilization to be assassinated. That was precisely why the event felt so unbelievable when it happened, fully illustrating the principle that all are equal before death, and no one is guaranteed to be unkillable.

As soon as the assassination attempt occurred, the entire Modo homeworld went into a state of maximum alert. Countless soldiers conducted a carpet search for the perpetrator, determined to dig three feet into the ground to find him.

Many operatives from other civilizations were caught in the crossfire. A significant number of these individuals were under Modo Civilization's surveillance. Modo had simply been biding its time, waiting for the big fish to bite. But now, they couldn't afford to be picky. All of them were rounded up for intense interrogation.

Modo Civilization immediately restricted the outflow of images and quickly issued an announcement, emphasizing in extremely stern terms that the assassination of the Modo Civilization's leader was a provocation and insult to the entire civilization. They stated that they would thoroughly investigate the cause and effect of the matter and claimed that it was likely the work of foreign enemies. Once the identity of the perpetrator was confirmed, they would never let it rest.

The assassination shocked and confused the public. In this situation, Modo Civilization's announcement immediately guided public opinion, triggering widespread anger and indignation, attempting to focus these emotions on foreign enemies.

Under normal circumstances, this approach would be correct, uniting the people and making public sentiment usable.

However, the various organizations of the three great civilizations lurking within Modo Civilization would not sit idly by and watch this happen. They stirred up trouble, releasing various statements to undermine the effect of Modo Civilization's announcement, changing public opinion, and taking the opportunity to confuse the public.

Their methods were not sophisticated, simply using more conspiratorial ideas to create various new theories about the assassination. These mainly fell into two categories. The first was to lead people towards the path of political assassination, claiming that the opposition had just failed to seize power and had the motive to assassinate the three kings, fabricating a story so convincingly that it seemed real.

The other direction was to spread rumors, claiming that the assassin who killed one of the three kings was actually a radical member of the other two races, born out of the recent racial divisionist sentiments, thereby catalyzing the evolution of racial divisionist sentiments.

Both of these claims had loopholes. However, conspiracy theories always had a market. While the quantum network facilitated interstellar communication, it also became an important platform for starting trends. All kinds of true and false information dazzled the eyes, weakening people's judgment. Coupled with the fact that the assassination had made it difficult for many people to remain rational, these two claims actually gained the approval of many people.

At the same time, dozens of overseas terrorist forces joined in the fun, all claiming responsibility for the incident, vying with each other as if this was an opportunity to establish their status in the gray world.

For a time, the ranks of those espousing racial divisionist sentiments and denouncing political assassinations continued to grow. The seeds of chaos gradually took root and sprouted, and countless voices of condemnation appeared on the internet. Without encountering major events, one would never know what kind of bizarre arguments would emerge, constantly breaking the social norms of the entire society, making it a veritable dance of demons.

The Modo Civilization was internally overwhelmed by the assassination and had no time to slowly deal with the public opinion. They could only take a tough, one-size-fits-all approach, prohibiting people from discussing these two possibilities. Although the higher-ups knew that this would cause a backlash, they could only choose the lesser of two evils at this time, first curbing the spread of rumors.

The assassination of the three kings caused a great stir, and the eyes of countless forces were cast over. A storm was brewing in full view.

Meanwhile, far away in the Flickering World, Han Xiao also received the news.

…

"Holy crap, someone assassinated one of the Modo three kings? Whose little darling is this?!"

Han Xiao's eyes widened in shock.

He had similar thoughts before, but ultimately did not put them into action, nor did he order his subordinates to carry out an assassination.

The reason for not doing so was mainly due to the limitations of his identity. He was now a hero shaped by the Orderly World, and it was impossible for him to take action against a leader of an advanced civilization.

But if someone else carried out the assassination, then Han Xiao would be happy to see it happen. For him, it was equivalent to the snipe and clam fighting, and the fisherman benefiting.

He could roughly deduce the various possible follow-up effects of this incident. Regardless of whether Modo Civilization caught the perpetrator, they would eventually have to provide an investigation result. If they couldn't find out the truth, they would have to find a scapegoat to ease domestic social conflicts and give people's emotions a direction to vent.

It depended on what solution Modo chose. If they wanted to turn a major issue into a minor one, pushing it onto overseas terrorist forces would be the most convenient. If they wanted to stir things up, then the three great civilizations and himself might be targeted. In this way, Modo found a new motivation for the Flickering World battle, and would send out a steady stream of troops, while also occupying the high ground of public opinion.

As for the truth… who knew what was going on? Because Modo Civilization prohibited the outflow of images, he could not see the video of the assassination process at this time, but he believed that the three great civilizations were definitely not the perpetrators, there was absolutely no need for it.

Could it really be a racial radical?

Han Xiao only felt an unbearable itch in his heart.

"Which reckless youth is so impulsive, it's simply self-sacrificing!"

Just as he was secretly sighing, the communicator suddenly rang.

He picked it up and glanced at it. It was Rother's encrypted communication request.

Han Xiao's expression froze, and a bad feeling suddenly arose in his heart.

"To send me a message at this time, could it be…"

After hesitating for two seconds, he answered the call and heard a steady breathing sound in the communication channel.

"Rother?" Han Xiao subconsciously lowered his voice.

"Yes."

"Please don't tell me you did this…"

"I did."

Hearing this answer, Han Xiao suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes.

Holy crap, I was guessing for a long time, I confirmed the look in your eyes, it turns out you are my own stubborn subordinate!

This is too exciting, my little heart can't take it…

"Are you crazy? I didn't order you to do this!"

"You told me to try my best to disrupt Modo's social order. I understood your strategic intentions," Rother said in a serious tone.

Han Xiao felt a breath suffocating in his chest, "So you took it upon yourself to assassinate one of Modo's three kings?!"

"Mission accomplished."

You really are a little genius!

Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

Even most players can't compare to your subjective initiative!

As expected of someone who dared to assassinate an Otherworld Deity, your recklessness is giving me trigeminal neuralgia!

I'm obviously a cautious man, why do I have such a thick-headed subordinate?!

Taking two deep breaths, Han Xiao calmed himself down.

Now that things have come to this, he can only accept reality and help clean up the mess.

"...Where are you? Have you escaped the Modo homeworld?"

"I'm already out. Otherwise, I wouldn't be contacting you."

Rother briefly recounted his experience.

He wasn't really recklessly impulsive. He had infiltrated the Modo homeworld more than a month ago and left several escape routes early, planning before acting, and waiting for an opportunity. Because he couldn't get close to the three kings, he waited patiently. Until a few days ago, he saw the three kings' speech announcement and knew that the opportunity had come, so he made arrangements before taking action.

After many assassinations, Rother had accumulated rich experience in running away and was already an expert. From the successful assassination to the Modo troops implementing the blockade order, there was a reaction process in between. He took advantage of this time difference to successfully escape, in an orderly manner. But now he was only temporarily safe and would have to face Modo Civilization's extensive pursuit.

After listening to Rother's story, Han Xiao said helplessly:

"It's not that easy to escape in their territory. All your assassination missions are suspended. Killing one leader is enough. There's no need to continue targeting them. Focus on escaping first. Let me see if I can bring you back."

Now that things have been done, he couldn't sit idly by and watch Rother fall into Modo's hands.

This kind of thing can be done but not said, otherwise, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As long as Modo doesn't catch anyone and there is no ironclad evidence, he can deny it afterward.

It's impossible for Han Xiao not to complain about Rother's unauthorized action. He was sitting on the sidelines, but now he has brought on risks. The assassination of the three kings was not in his expected plan.

But thinking about it another way, there are also advantages to this.

The assassin is one of his own, which means that the damage caused to Modo Civilization by this incident is also counted in the progress of the [Kund族 Leader's Last Wish] mission. Perhaps the date of completion of this mission will be earlier than he expected.

…

Modo Civilization Homeworld.

Bang!

A team of soldiers broke into the office, looked around, and said coldly: "Marco, come with us for questioning."

Marco slowly stood up, his face bitter.

All opposition factions have become the focus of internal review because they have suspected motives. Everyone was implicated and could not defend themselves. Even if they felt wronged, they could only obediently accept the investigation.

The sudden assassination had also screwed them over, these opposition factions.

At this moment, Marco had only one thought in his mind.

Damn it!