Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 49: The Final Situation

Five days later, on the edge of the polar ice cap and the Northwest Frontier.

Zhang Qiming, an Olympus fireworks contractor, a temporary worker at Aresta demolition office, and a deliveryman on the removal list, is currently holed up in Doraemon's underground base.

Outside were ice, frozen soil, and pioneering pipelines worn white by wind and snow; inside were furnaces, robotic arms, and rows of military modules still being assembled.

Dora Kohl stood in the center of the workshop, half of his body inside a heavy manufacturing platform. The robotic arm tightened the bolts, and the welding torch sprayed white and blue sparks. Several other machines were delivering parts to the assembly table.

Zhang Qiming leaned against the metal railing, watching the old man's mechanical doppelganger busily constructing things, and suddenly asked a seemingly random question:

"Old man, do you think human society is truly capable of establishing a good government through careful consideration and mature decision-making, or is it destined to forever rely on political laws established by force and chance for survival?"

Dora Kohl paused for half a second while holding the welding torch.

He then continued working with his head down, his tone carrying a pent-up anger that had been building up for years.

"There's no difference, they're all the same."

"In all my years, I've seen more idiots and morons than anyone else."

"Many people think that those who sit in high positions are farsighted and have a long-term vision, but when they make decisions, they are just as stupid as old machine servants that have never updated their logic libraries."

He reached out and pulled a blackened control panel from the manufacturing platform, casually tossing it into the waste bin. The metal block slammed in with a clang.

"You ask why idiots can sit in high positions? Because politics, by its very nature, can accommodate mediocrity and idiots. The power chain can filter out the poor, the crazy, and the unlucky, but it can't filter out morons."

"And the idiots in politics are the most outstanding of all today."

Zhang Qiming glanced at the resentful Kaur, and his lips twitched slightly.

"It seems the College of Cardinals offended you quite a bit back then."

This time, Kaul finally raised its head, and several lines of manufacturing parameters jumped in its prosthetic eyes, but the voice from the speaker was more straightforward than before.

"The Cardinals are all idiots. They are all corrupt and worthless. All of them combined are not as good as you alone."

Zhang Qiming nodded noncommittally, not disturbing Mechanical Kaul as it continued to build things, and instead turned his attention back to the situation panel.

[Current Situation]

[Mars Mechanical Age Phase 1 Progress: 70% → 90%]

[Current Situation: Mechanical Religion/Regime Turmoil]

[Branch Situation - Truth Investigation Committee: 80% → 92%]

Now, the Truth Commission investigation line has been almost completed, with only the final step remaining.

The College of Cardinals has been arguing a lot these past few days.

With Aresta destroyed and most of the command of the orbital ship force wiped out in the nuclear explosion, the military cannot be without a leader for a day. However, none of the four factions are willing to relinquish command of this Royal Navy. Now everyone thinks that the others are traitors within the organization, and no one trusts anyone else.

The Iron Templars want to maintain their influence in the Crimson Crown and the Royal Guard, the Mind Chorus wants to use the guise of loyalty checks to recruit people, and the Forging Brotherhood and the Labor Commune are also eyeing this lucrative opportunity.

Neither side was willing to back down, and anyone who did would be seen as subservient. After several days of wrangling, no satisfactory outcome was reached.

Finally, because the wrangling had gone on for too long, the four factions had to compromise and send an officer with a clean resume and not too much factional affiliation to temporarily take charge of the Imperial Guard Fleet.

Meanwhile, each of the four factions sent a delegation to accompany and supervise the operation, ostensibly to jointly maintain order in the orbital naval forces.

When Zhang Qiming saw this outcome, he almost burst out laughing.

The command of a Guards fleet was forced together to form a mahjong table, with representatives from the four major factions sitting next to the captain, and observers from the Inquisition and recorders from the Sacred Inquiry Chamber following behind...

The captain's power was effectively stripped away. Before an order could be issued, it had to go through a factional review process. By the time the order was actually issued, it was too late.

It was at this moment that Santa Sophia woke up from her coma at just the right time.

She regained consciousness in the medical pod, covered in injuries. Her first order was to continue the investigation of the Skydrive, and her second order was to send a special military coordinator to the Guards Fleet in the name of the Truth Investigation Committee.

Her reasoning was also valid: the Aresta attack had proven that the Skywards' infiltration capabilities far exceeded the previous estimates of the Holy Cardinals, and there was a very high probability that the military had also been infiltrated by Skywards underground members.

The Guardian Fleet, protecting Mars' near-orbit and the Olympus Hub, must be temporarily placed under the supervision of the Truth Commission to prevent a second Aresta incident from occurring in the orbital fleet.

Of course, some members of the College of Cardinals objected, but they had just crammed the delegations of the four major factions into the Royal Guard and had no right to criticize Hagia Sophia for adding another person.

Moreover, the Imperial Guard Fleet command already had a considerable number of people, so adding a Truth Investigation Committee wouldn't make a difference. Therefore, they ultimately agreed to her request.

Since the situation is already like this, adding a truth investigation committee would at least make things a bit more interesting.

As a result, a group of her own people, including Zhang Nanhai, were transferred there by her.

Zhang Qiming had already shared this dispatch list with Saint Sophia before the Aresta nuclear explosion. It included a group of Skydrive members, including Zhang Nanhai. This was the first time Skydrive had truly disclosed its secrets to its allies.

Zhang Qiming looked at the transfer order and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

With Zhang Nanhai joining the Guards Fleet, it was as if the Sky Chaser had officially extended its reach into the interior of this Guards Navy.

[Branch Situation - Truth Investigation Committee: 92%]

[Follow-up note: Once the Truth Investigation Committee completes the first phase of its takeover of the orbital ship force, the situation in this branch will enter its final settlement.]

Looking at the prompt, Zhang Qiming had already made a judgment: the Truth Investigation Committee line had been pushed to its final step.

All the preceding actions—the exposure of the wet-on-the-net network, the cleanup of the list, and the serious injury to Saint Sophia—ultimately converged in the same direction: the orbital ship force.

Next, what they need to do is take control of the orbital ship force, that is, seize command of the Royal Guard Navy held by the College of Cardinals.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qiming looked up at the mechanical KOOL in front of the manufacturing platform.

"Dora Cole, send the Jingwei spacecraft back to Mars from the L3 ring."

Mechanical Coul's welding torch paused for a moment.

The mechanical clone slowly turned its head, the manufacturing parameters in its prosthetic eye stopped one by one, and the six auxiliary mechanical arms also hovered in mid-air. The automatons in the workshop continued to move parts, white steam rose from the cooling tanks, but the roar of the manufacturing platform was a little lower at this moment.

The speaker emitted a voice from Kaul, accompanied by static.

"It's already come to this?"

Zhang Qiming nodded, and he said to Kaul:

"We're almost at the final stage; it's time for us to complete the last part of the plan."

……

……

P.S.: This chapter has been slightly revised.