The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 343 Coincidence?

As Solsa had suspected, the military personnel surrounding the Jaeger's central area were now in a somber mood, for they had failed once again.

In fact, the case of stealing imperial secrets occurred three months ago. The empire spent a whole month capturing the mastermind behind the high-ranking official's inside job, and then followed the clues to purge a group of people.

Then, a month ago, they tracked down the secondary offenders and successfully thwarted their attempt to transmit encrypted data. They also reversed the path and destroyed the core, rendering the key essentially useless. Even if they managed to transmit it, it would most likely be unusable.

Just as they apprehended the secondary culprit and attempted to retrieve the key, the suspect died mysteriously once again in a premeditated explosion, severely injuring the soldiers on the mission. The casualties were devastating. It was later discovered that the rebels had a mole within the army's high command, and this incident exposed them.

After a thorough cleanup, the military high command, still not satisfied, reviewed and screened the data several times before finally calming down, because so many problems had been exposed. The rebels were acting like madmen, desperately trying to obtain this encrypted data, recklessly sending forward pieces they had carefully buried for years.

This single incident exposed two high-ranking military officials, and it's likely that there are still others like them in the high ranks who haven't been exposed or screened out yet... This sent chills down the spines of the military and even the highest levels of the empire's politics, making them feel as if they were shrouded in a huge conspiracy.

Therefore, the military became even more cautious after the unexpected discovery of a third, well-hidden participant. They even dispatched their elite troops, bypassing any other forces along the way, which barely managed to keep the matter a secret.

As for why the rebels still found out despite their excellent concealment, it was naturally because the rebels had made another move, and this time they were hiding very well, making it impossible for anyone to avoid them. They changed their plans at the last minute and obtained a list from Zhou Yuanjing. Adding this list to those they already suspected, they launched their operation with the intention of wiping them all out.

However, the rebels were willing to expose a large number of their hidden agents in order to kill Angel in one fell swoop, and they even brought a large number of high-quality weapons, which caused the whole thing to get completely out of control and that's how things developed.

It can be said that the rebels were indeed quite powerful. They were openly challenging the military almost the entire time, probing each other's trump cards, revealing one after another, and appearing completely fearless.

However, it's clear that no one benefited from this whole series of events.

The military spent ages scheming and hunting them down, but not a single one was alive and able to confess. They were completely outmaneuvered, and now they have to go back to their own base camp, riddled with bullets, to clean up the mess.

The rebels, too, paid such a high price but ultimately failed to obtain the encrypted data. Instead, they exposed their numerous overt and covert operations and their possession of high-quality weapons.

It was a lose-lose situation; neither side benefited, and many innocent lives were lost.

To use Zhou Yuanjing's own words, it was "a pointless mess." With such resources and effort, why not focus on the interstellar front... instead of scheming against their own kind? Those rebels were certainly no good, and some of the military's decision-makers were truly incompetent. Zhou Yuanjing didn't know how to evaluate them; he just wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Moreover, after this incident, Zhou Yuanjing even had some reservations about the Third Legion's special forces, which he had previously admired. It seemed that getting involved with that group in the Central Star Sector never brought anything good… "Lieutenant Colonel, the examination is complete. Angel Burgan is confirmed dead. Judging from his physical condition, he likely severed his own heart at the moment of impact. There were no other injuries on his body, and his blood was free of toxins, suggesting he used a special method to end his life." The adjutant carefully consulted with the examining therapists before reporting the matter to Zong Ting.

In fact, without professional examination, the fact that the other party was dead was already quite clear. Zong Ting's gaze fell on the person lying quietly at the bottom of the cabin. The other party's expression was peaceful, and the facial muscles that had begun to stiffen were flat. It was clear that he did not have much of a mind before he died, but rather seemed to have been prepared for it. He had obviously planned his end in advance.

Do you have any self-awareness...?

Zongting remained unmoved by the other party's actions. He was an extremely rational person who always kept military affairs and personal feelings separate, and tried his best not to view things from a personal perspective. For him, fulfilling his duties and being loyal to the empire and its people were the principles he needed to follow most in his military career.

Regardless of Angel's past, experiences, or even his hardships, none of them justify his betrayal of the country and the wanton loss of lives. His suicide was a blatant act of escapism; he chose to commit such a mistake but dared not bear the consequences—a cowardly act.

However, Zong Ting still harbored a slight doubt about this matter. Angel was not a foolish person; on the contrary, he had always demonstrated clarity of mind and a low profile in his past experiences. Yet, everything he had said and done since his exposure seemed excessive, completely contrary to his past style.

It doesn't seem like someone who's done something big and wants to hide it; it's more like they're eager to expose themselves...

Was he doing it on purpose? Did he deliberately let the military find out, deliberately orchestrate today's events... or did he deliberately prepare for this death? Zong Ting had had fleeting thoughts about this before, but they remained hidden in his complex mind. Now, however, he had a more concrete idea.

Zong Ting looked at the corpse, whose life force had almost completely dissipated, and his gaze fell on the other person's hands.

The pale and stiff fingertips still retained their state before death. The right palm rested on the back of the other hand, the index finger slightly raised, on which was a large ring set with a pine green gemstone, a style that was relatively common in interstellar space.

This caught the attention of the Zongting, because the ring was worn on the right index finger. Angel wasn't left-handed; his right index finger was quite commonly used for a mecha warrior like him, making the ring's presence seem rather odd. But, to put it another way…

Zong Ting also clearly remembered that when this transforming mecha landed, it also assumed a similar posture to Angel's. However, Angel's right index finger was resting on his left back, while this transforming mecha was reversed before it was disassembled, with its left palm covering the back of its right hand, and its index finger touching the right index finger, which was the spot where the pilot inside the cockpit wore a ring.

Is this a coincidence?
The young officer did not share his doubts with the others, but went over himself, squatted down, and examined the ring that seemed somewhat unusual.

(End of this chapter)