Chapter 279: The Seventh Institute of Truth

Qin Hao's "Fishing in Muddy Waters" plan, like a storm, swept the entire strategic Command Center.

After the initial shock, all senior officials fell into tense yet excited analysis and discussion.

The core of this plan lies in a single "deception" character.

To deceive two fourth-level civilizations that have ruled the galaxy for millions of years, the difficulty is obvious.

Every detail must be flawless.

"The task of finding a target is yours, comrade Kong Jie."

Qin Hao's gaze fell on Intelligence Department Director Kong Jie.

"I need a target that meets all our criteria; it must lie within the Kelo Empire's territory, sufficiently remote,

giving us ample time for action and retreat.

Its value must be high enough to drive the Kelo Empire into a frenzy.

But its defensive strength must not be so great that we cannot resolve it quickly."

"The most important point,

Qin Hao emphasized, "This target should preferably have some potential link or conflict with the Biten Empire.

Thus, when it is destroyed, the Kelo Empire's first reaction will indeed be that it was Biten's doing, rather than suspecting others."

This requirement is exceedingly harsh.

"Understood!"

But Kong Jie answered without any hesitation.

It is also the most arduous and exhilarating mission he has faced since taking over the Intelligence Department.

"Comrade Mao Xinyang,

Qin Hao turned to Mao Xinyang, "During the original Star Sea Cult era, you had considerable dealings with the Kelo Empire.

Your old intelligence network should still contain some channels we can exploit."

"I need you, through these channels, to gather from the side the Kelo Empire's border star region's military deployments, key facilities, and the movements of senior personnel.

Any trace could become the key to our plan's success."

"Rest assured, Master!" Mao Xinyang solemnly nodded, "I guarantee the Vanguard's intelligence system will provide you with the most precise support."

The mission was swiftly distributed.

The entire Yanhuang Civilization's intelligence system entered its highest-level operational state at that moment.

Kong Jie's Intelligence Department, like a precision machine, began to operate wildly.

Through the trade relations previously established with the Oma Civilization and others, they used various covert commercial channels and information dealers,

spreading like an invisible great net toward the distant Kelo Empire's territories.

These intelligence personnel disguised themselves as merchants, explorers, even interstellar pirates, infiltrating those chaotic gray zones,

purchasing at high prices the seemingly insignificant intelligence that might conceal crucial information.

The process was fraught with danger.

Any misstep could expose their identities and attract the Kelo Empire's attention.

Yet none backed down; they all understood that the future of the entire civilization rested on their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Mao Xinyang's side adopted a completely different approach.

He leveraged his former Church Leader status and his current prestige as Commander of the Interstellar Liberation Vanguard to contact the newly formed Interstellar SWA allies.

Especially those civilizations whose territories border the Kelo Empire and have long suffered its oppression and exploitation.

"Comrades, friends,

Mao Xinyang's hologram appeared before the leaders of a dozen SWA Republic Civilizations, "We all know the Kelo Empire is our common enemy. They are the symbol of oppression, the source of exploitation."

"Now we have a chance to deliver a heavy blow to this reactionary empire, but we need your help."

His words immediately elicited enthusiastic responses from all allies.

These newborn SWA regimes harbor a hatred of the Kelo Empire that is etched into their bones.

They may lack a powerful intelligence network, but they have their own advantages.

Having lived under the Kelo Empire's shadow for tens of thousands of years, they possess a deeper understanding than any external intelligence of the Empire's border military deployments, resource point distribution, and even certain senior commanders' personality flaws.

"Commander-in-Chief, comrade! We Mantis SWA are willing to provide you with everything we know!"

Mantis leader Bola was the first to step forward.

His voice trembled slightly.

"At the edge of our home star system lies a secret outpost where the Kelo Empire maintains a permanent garrison.

Periodically, they send people to 'recruit' our newborns as material for their biological experiments!

We know the troop deployment there like the back of our hand!"

"We are as well!"

Another Second-level Civilization leader, excitedly, said, "The Kelo Empire has established a massive slave trade market in our star region! Many of our people are forced to work there; we can provide you with its internal schematics!"

…

Intelligence, like a trickling stream, converged from all directions into the Yanhuang Civilization's central database.

Only a few months passed.

A piece of crucial intelligence, via the Mantis SWA channel, arrived before Qin Hao.

This intelligence came from a mantis engineer who once worked at a secret Kelo Empire base and later escaped by luck.

"Master, please see."

Mao Xinyang projected a document marked 'Top Secret' before Qin Hao.

"According to comrade Bola's intelligence, in the relatively remote yet not absolutely central 'Umbral Star Cluster' region,

The Ke Luo Empire has a secret base called the 'Seventh Truth Research Institute'.

"Dark Mystic Xingxuan?" Qin Hao's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He had seen this name in the information provided by the Aoma Civilization.

That is a chaotic star field filled with dark matter and high-energy radiation, with an extremely harsh environment; even fleets of third-level civilizations rarely venture there.

"Yes."

Mao Xinyang nodded and continued, "This research institute is very mysterious. Intelligence shows it is specially responsible for researching a kind of 'Gene Decay' weapon that can counter the energy lifeforms of the Biteen Empire."

"The one responsible for guarding this research institute is a branch member of the Ke Luo Imperial Family, named 'Marquis Ke Lai'."

This person is flamboyant and loves grand achievements, but because of his imperial lineage, he is deeply trusted by Emperor Ke.

The research institute's defenses are extremely strong, boasting a full-strength royal guard fleet, as well as a defense system covering the entire Xingxuan.

"The most crucial point is,"

A flicker of excitement passed through Mao Xinyang's eyes: "The existence of this research institute is a top-secret matter among the upper echelons of the Ke Luo Empire."

However, the Biteen Empire seems to have also learned some rumors through certain channels.

The two great empires have, because of this research institute, conducted several covert skirmishes and probes.

Qin Hao's eyes lit up instantly.

This target is practically tailor-made for his plan!

It is remote enough to give him freedom of action.

It's sufficiently important that the research on the "genetic decay" weapon, if destroyed, would drive the Kelo Imperial family mad.

The Guardian is a member of the royal family; his death will directly raise the incident's severity to a higher level.

The most perfect aspect is that the institute itself is the focal point of the two great Empires' conflict.

When it is destroyed by a fleet of the Biteen Empire, the Kelo Empire's first reaction will certainly not be doubt, but the angry exclamation "Just as I thought!"

"That's it."

Qin Hao's mouth corner lifted into a cold curve.

After confirming the target, Qin Hao immediately began the second step of the plan.

He arrived at the core of the Yanhuang Civilization, a massive interstellar shipyard located in an absolutely classified zone.

"System,"

In his mind he issued the command, "Using the warship technology I copied from the Biteen Empire as a template, perform optimization and modification, then begin replication."