Not long after, the remote projections of Han Xiao, Clottey, and Sherlock appeared in the office.

"His Excellency the Head of State."

The three of them nodded.

Ulan Riel nodded, pointed at the report on the virtual screen, and said straight to the point: "Is this the result of your work during this period? I am not very satisfied. You know that what I want is not this kind of evidence to fool outsiders.

.”

Sherlock took a step forward and said bravely: "Your Majesty the Head of State, we have been trying to track down the whereabouts of the real murderer, but the enemy has no flaws and we have no clue. It just so happened that we discovered the interaction between the Transcendent Star Cluster Alliance and Manison.

Framed, so..."

He explained the recent work of the task force. To put it simply, there were no real clues, and a lot of forged evidence was collected to confuse the situation.

Seeing the increasing doubts from the outside world, coupled with the pressure and hints from high-level officials, Sherlock had no choice but to extract some of these forged clues and use his reasoning and analysis skills to form a self-consistent chain of evidence. Although

It's fake, but after his analysis and compilation, it sounds like it's true.

Ulan Riel frowned and said, "Give me an exact explanation of how long you think it will take to find the real murderer."

"...At present, it seems that there is no hope, unless we find some breakthrough." Sherlock shook his head helplessly.

"You two have the same idea?" Ulan Riel turned his head.

Clottey's face was as dark as water, she didn't speak, and nodded slowly.

Han Xiao spread his hands and looked like "I can't do anything" and said:

"The people who attacked Gothe were very cunning and left no loopholes. Even I have no clue. According to the current situation, I think the empire can only look at the problem from another angle and consider it from the perspective of interests. It needs to find a suitable

The Super Star Cluster is the most suitable person to take the blame in order to temporarily calm the storm...and they are eager to get rid of the crime, so there is still something fishy in it, so it does not mean they have been unjustly accused."

Ulan Riel shook his head and said: "But there must be someone outside who will see through our plans, and the Super Star Cluster will not admit guilt easily. This pair of empires..."

"I know your concerns, but it's not important." Han Xiao interrupted her and said: "When Gaode was attacked, the empire lost. It was already the loser, so it could only try its best to recover, and

What the empire needs most now is results. Showing attitude and force cannot silence others' mouths, but it can silence others' courage. In this way, even if someone ridicules others, the people who should be afraid will still be afraid, and the goal has been achieved.

.”

"But in this case, the real murderer will laugh to death when he sees that the empire has beaten the wrong person? Will some people with ulterior motives think that the empire can take advantage of it?" Ulan Riel said solemnly.

This is what she worries about. Once the outside world sees through the empire's practices, some people will think that the empire is easy to deceive, which will also reduce the empire's prestige.

"There's nothing you can do about it. It's the lesser of two evils. There has to be a trade-off. You can't always do things based on your preferences, right?" Han Xiao is as thick-skinned as armor and chuckles: "Besides, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It can make the real culprit numb to some extent.

, giving him a chance to reveal his flaws, and maybe one day, he will bring us a breakthrough."

Senior intelligence officials who were watching also echoed: "Your Excellency Black Star is right, we always have to make a choice."

Ulan Riel sighed and signed the order, "Let's do it."

In fact, when this proposal appeared on her desk, Ulan Riel understood that it was a silent consensus among the empire's top brass, and she only needed to sign it. The head of state could not do whatever he wanted, and he also wandered between compromises and checks and balances, and she was almost

Once you step down, you can no longer have your own way.

After signing the order, Ulan Riel felt inexplicably relaxed and shook his head.

"It seems that the task of finding the real murderer can only be handed over to the next head of state. That's good, I can relax a lot."

At this time, Han Xiao's eyes flashed and he said: "Actually, we have fallen into inertial thinking. There is another possibility for Gothe's disappearance. I wonder if the empire has considered it?"

Everyone immediately turned their heads and looked over.

"Oh? Tell me." Ulan Riel became interested.

"Do you think it's possible that this was Gaode's own behavior, actively pretending to die and disappearing?"

Hearing this, the senior intelligence officer couldn't help but laugh and said: "Your Excellency Black Star, we have made this assumption a long time ago. The final judgment is that it is impossible. Gothe has no such motive."

"I don't think so." Han Xiao shook his head. "The direct descendants may not be completely loyal. Is it possible that he just wants to use the resources of the empire to step into Transcendent A Grade, and then fake his death and jump out of the camp's barriers to remain anonymous."

After saying that, he glanced at everyone in a vague way, saw the disapproving expressions of several people in his eyes, and immediately added:

"Of course, this is just a logical judgment. I don't know Gaode's origins and life experience, so naturally I won't completely believe him. Anyway, in my eyes, this kind of thing is not impossible. Hasn't it happened in history?

Example?"

Sherlock thought thoughtfully, "Well, your suspicion is justified. Gothe's time serving the empire was still too short."

Ulan Riel glared at him and spoke in an old official tone: "You don't need to worry about this. The empire has its own system for reviewing direct descendants, and will not recruit anyone with any doubts. The empire absolutely trusts the loyalty of direct descendants...

"

Han Xiao glanced at the expressionless Clottey and became convinced, knowing that Ulan Riel did not want to continue this topic here.

He shook his head and smiled, pretending to be casual: "Okay, I just mentioned it casually."

Sherlock asked reluctantly: "I am rather curious, why do you have the idea of ​​Goude cheating to die? There must be some factors that make you have this idea. Do you think there is any doubt in him?"

Han Xiao was stunned and looked at him in surprise.

This man with thick eyebrows and big eyes actually likes compliments so much? I don’t know whether I should say that you have a strong thirst for knowledge, or that you don’t pay attention to the occasion when you are speaking, and don’t see that the senior Imperial intelligence officer next to you is already winking.

Han Xiao suddenly realized that this was an opportunity to set the pace, rolled his eyes, pretended to cough, and said:

"On the one hand, I can't find any clues. It's too clean. It doesn't look like an outsider attack. On the other hand... it's not that Gothe showed any doubts, but I happened to know a guy who successfully faked his death, so I made the connection.

Get up."

"Who is that?" Sherlock was curious.

"This person is quite famous. You must know him. He is Sorokin from the Infinite Financial Group."

Without waiting for anyone to ask questions, Han Xiao continued speaking on his own:

"I discovered his little secret by coincidence. He is not as weak as he appears. I feel threatened by him. His strength may be no less than mine, but he has always shown himself as a weakling. I don't know what he is planning. And

, the true age of his soul seems to be much older than it is now. I tested him and found that he may be a Transcendent A Grade in history, and he is suspected of cheating his death and hiding his name until now..."

He concealed some key information and exposed Sorokin's background in ambiguous words, which made several people feel doubtful.

"How did you know?" Ulan Riel was confused.

"This involves a certain cosmic treasure I obtained not long ago, which has miraculous effects in the soul realm." Han Xiao smiled without giving a specific explanation, pretending to be inscrutable.

Ulan Riel knew that Han Xiao didn't want to say anything, so he didn't ask any questions. He thought about Sorokin's previous behavior and said thoughtfully: "If this is true, then Sorokin has great intentions, and we need to adjust our treatment of him."

Attitude..."

She won't believe it right away, but Han Xiao has a lot of political assets, and even has a weird bonus like [Civilized Leader Assassin], so he is more valued if he speaks clearly.

Ulan Riel plans to investigate Sorokin privately. Compared with Black Star, Sorokin is an outsider.

Seeing this, Han Xiao stopped talking. He didn't want to expose too much, he just wanted to arouse the empire's interest in Sorokin.

This is the benefit of Shang Da Tian Ting. Today happened to be the right time, and he gave Sorokin eye drops directly in front of the empire.

After all, taking the blame for the Transcendent Star Cluster was just a stop-gap measure for the empire. They would continue to find the murderer in the future, and the matter was not over yet, so Han Xiao really wanted to take the opportunity to deal with Sorokin.

This guy is proficient in the art of being able to bend and stretch. He has hidden it too deeply and has no idea what he is planning. It would undoubtedly be a good thing if he could be exposed so that he could no longer act like a noob.

With things like Gaode, once Sorokin's strength is exposed, he will become a target of suspicion.

Although in the opinion of Great Technician Han, Suo Zai has no motive for committing the crime, at least it can disgust this piece of shit... Huh, let him plot against me behind my back every day, and think that our little notebook is all in vain?!

"Okay, that's it. I have nothing else to ask. If there's nothing else..."

Ulan Riel was about to end the communication, but before he finished speaking, he heard Han Xiao speak again.

"Wait a minute, one last thing."

"...You said." Ulan Riel gritted his teeth secretly.

She thought Han Xiao was going to make another snitch, but she saw Han Xiao suddenly straightened his expression, looked serious, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty the Head of State, I am talking to you now as the vice president of the Transcendent A Grade Association. I support the empire's actions against the Transcendent Star Cluster, but I hope that this matter will not involve members of the association."

Hearing this, several people present perked up, glanced at Han Xiao in surprise, and their faces became serious.

"Continue." Ulan Riel narrowed his eyes.

"I believe we all know that there are direct descendants of the Transcendent Star Cluster hidden in the Neutral Transcendent A Grade. I support the empire's attack on the Transcendent Star Cluster, but I do not want the Transcendent A Grade of the Transcendent Star Cluster to be among the ranks of the empire's revenge.

I am not shielding the murderer, but I am asking the empire not to anger some neutral and suspected Transcendent Star Cluster Transcendent A Grades. There may be murderers among them, but until the real murderer is proven, they are protected by the association."

Han Xiao looked solemn, as if he would not hesitate to offend the empire but also fight for its reasons.

Ulan Riel and others immediately understood what he meant. Black Star knew the ins and outs and how the evidence came from. Although he supported the empire's actions, he did not want it to become an excuse for the empire to take Transcendent A Grade operations and was prepared for a rainy day.

One code equals one code, it’s okay to fight against the Transcendent Star Cluster, but you can’t involve other unrelated Transcendent A Grades!

The change of identity was seamless. One second he was an ally for the empire, and the next second he became the vice president of the Transcendent A Grade Association, seeking his position.

"You are really impeccable." Ulan Riel's eyes were complicated.

"If I don't speak up for the association, will I, the vice-president, still be able to work after the news spreads?" Han Xiao didn't care.

"...Okay, I understand. The empire's attack targets are limited to the forces of the Transcendent Star Cluster Alliance. Before obtaining complete evidence, they will not attack their hidden direct lineage Transcendent A Grade. After all, the association has also expressed its stance to assist us."

Ulan Riel sighed.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled again, thought about it, and said:
To be continued...