Chapter 159: DC World

The Sun-Hunter Squad unceremoniously occupied the entire second floor as their base of operations. Having the Prismatic Yellow-Eye Remnants help them was only part of the reason.

They also had their own intelligence network. Operating under Prince Saster, they had their own insiders within the Amethyst Civilization.

However, to ensure his tracks remained hidden, Kansa had only briefly informed the Amethyst Civilization that he was still alive before immediately cutting off any communication about his whereabouts.

He planned to wait until the people from the Amethyst Civilization arrived at the Inuit Hub before proactively contacting them with his location, aiming to prevent any unforeseen accidents.

Therefore, the Sun-Hunter Squad could not rely on official channels to find Kansa and had to conduct the investigation themselves.

Once the Sun-Hunter Squad went upstairs, Gelo pretended to call Li Yu over and instructed, "Take this biological material to the Manfa Hotel later. Someone will meet you there. The specific details have already been sent to you."

"Yes," Li Yu replied, taking the Metal Crate and storing it in his portable Compressed Space. The biological material of the Thunder Flame Fighting Ape was one of the reasons he had chosen to stay in the Inuit Hub.

He risked staying behind not only because the Inuit Hub had entered a state of emergency, but also because he needed to wait for this Thunder Flame Fighting Ape material.

The two of them put on this act primarily to avoid raising the Sun-Hunter Squad's suspicions, making the transfer of the material appear as normal as possible.

After checking repeatedly and confirming that there were no surveillance devices in the room, they finally felt secure enough to start talking.

One squad member spoke up, "Captain, Kansa's last location update was twelve hours ago. He has likely gone into hiding."

As a Pasian, he only had three fingers, but they moved nimbly across the Holographic Screen. Various pieces of information constantly surfaced and quickly disappeared.

He immediately added, "If we could access the surveillance system of the entire Inuit Hub, we might find something."

Boiling Blood shook his head. "The current garrison of the Inuit Hub is the Amethyst Guardian Fleet. Their commander, General Satan, already has bad blood with the Prince. He won't cooperate with us."

"That's a shame," the squad member frowned slightly, then seemed to realize something. "If that's the case, wouldn't we be in a lot of trouble if Kansa is currently under General Satan's protection?"

"Under Satan's protection?" Boiling Blood stared at the squad member, his tightly knit brows suddenly relaxing. "You just reminded me. Since we can't find Kansa for now, let's go try our luck with Satan."

"Let's first see if Kansa is there. If he is..."

"Go after a fleet general? Wouldn't the fallout be too massive?" the silent Troll asked, showing a trace of worry.

"Have you forgotten the Prince's orders?" Boiling Blood dismissed the concern, his expression turning grim. "At all costs, even if it means moving against Satan."

"Besides, the Cruiser Fleet was already taken out by His Highness. What's one more Guardian Fleet?" He revealed a chilling smile. "Not to mention, Satan might not even be sheltering Kansa in the first place."

At the Inuit Hub, the fleets of the Amethyst Civilization patrolled the outer Space Orbit. With the state of emergency active, they needed to prevent any potential riots.

At the hub's garrison, a towering purple crystal structure looked especially striking. On the top floor of the amethyst skyscraper, Kansa sat on a soft leather sofa while the elderly general across from him roared with laughter.

"Your Highness Kansa, I never expected you to come seeking my help."

The old man's silver hair was combed neatly, though the brilliant purple crystal on his forehead looked somewhat dim. The aging of a lifeform manifested in many different ways.

Sitting upright on the sofa, Kansa maintained a gentle demeanor. "I have admired you for a long time. Now that I have the chance, I naturally had to come and visit."

'More importantly, you and Saster don't get along...' Kansa thought, though he kept the words to himself.

General Satan spoke with a pointed tone, "Your Highness Kansa, you seem to have changed quite a bit. I remember when I saw you two years ago, you were quite high-spirited."

'High-spirited? More like overly arrogant,' Kansa mused inwardly.

Kansa offered a bitter smile and shook his head. "People must always grow. Please don't call me Your Highness anymore. Just call me Kansa."

When standing under someone else's eaves, one must bow their head. Kansa deeply understood this proverb now. He had even been planted with a Thought Seal, so how could he maintain the airs of a prince?

"You will always be a prince..." Satan did not use Kansa's name directly, though his attitude softened significantly. "If the fleet wasn't forbidden from leaving this place without authorization, I would have already sent men to escort you out."

Kansa let out a sigh. "I can't leave yet anyway. The upper brass of the civilization told me to stay and assist with some follow-up investigations."

"Follow-up investigations?" Satan's eyes flickered, but the seasoned veteran didn't pry further. He simply nodded, shifting the topic and lowering his voice, "I heard you've formed quite a grudge with Saster this time."

Kansa nodded calmly. "That's true. The reason I came to seek your help is that I fear Saster might make a move against me."

Kansa skillfully equated his fear of Saster with his trust in Satan, giving the old general the feeling that he was on equal footing with Saster.

Sure enough, Satan coldly snorted and declared, "That Saster relies on the backing of the Star Glory Empire to constantly dictate our civilization's internal decisions. He doesn't even listen to orders."

"I've been thoroughly dissatisfied with him for a long time!"

'Heh... if Saster hadn't forcibly seized your fleet's maintenance funding earlier, would you really dare to be so dissatisfied with him?'

'Your so-called dissatisfaction probably just amounts to grumbling during meetings.'

Kansa grumbled internally, but outwardly sighed. "Exactly. My father is also extremely dissatisfied with him."

"By the way, I must trouble you to hold off on reporting my presence here for the time being. After all..." Kansa left the sentence unfinished, adopting a helpless expression.

"I understand. There are running dogs of Saster within the civilization..." Satan nodded, showing his understanding.

The two of them then proceeded to hurl insults at Saster, rapidly deepening their revolutionary friendship. Satan patted his chest, guaranteeing that Kansa was absolutely safe with him, and Kansa looked so moved he was on the verge of tears.

After leaving Satan's presence, Kansa finally dropped his exaggerated expressions and fell into deep thought.

'It seems Saster really didn't leak the news about the Amethyst Core.'

When he had contacted the Amethyst Civilization earlier, their lukewarm response—and their request for him to cooperate with the Star Glory Empire in investigating Li Yu—had given him the suspicion that Saster was hiding the truth about Molcasar.

He had just verified this indirectly through Satan. If Saster had revealed the matter to the Amethyst Civilization...

Satan would have undoubtedly pestered him with endless questions just now. The temptation of an Amethyst Core was beyond imagination.

'You don't seem quite as terrifying as I imagined...' Kansa's eyes gleamed with an inexplicable look.

If Saster had used this information to trade for more benefits from the Amethyst Civilization, Kansa might still fear him.

However, Saster hadn't done that. The fundamental reason was likely that Saster still harbored thoughts of hoarding the Amethyst Core for himself, which was why he dispatched people to take Kansa away.

In reality, Kansa found this idea to be completely foolish. Dreaming of hoarding the Amethyst Core at this point was simply impossible.

It would be far better to use the information to exchange for some immediate benefits while continuing the investigation in secret. That was how one maximized their gains.

'If Saster were too smart, the Star Glory Empire probably wouldn't support him anyway.' Kansa pondered with his head bowed for a moment, then opened his brand-new Smart Terminal and sent a message to a specific encrypted link.

......

In the Villa, Li Yu listened to Claptrap's report, deep in thought. This Saster was truly greedy. Even now, he still wanted to keep the Amethyst Core all to himself.

Li Yu didn't dwell too much on the news. Kansa was just proving his obedience by reporting whatever information he gathered.

Hiding in a corner, Li Yu's eyes lost focus. The cooldown for his Second Clone had finally finished.

[Searching for Deployment World... Analyzing data... Locating coordinates for DC World... Opening World Barrier Smuggling Channel... Opening... Opening...]

[Successfully opened... Please select Avatar Deployment. Talents and titles can be carried over, which will affect the Comprehensive Evaluation.]

Li Yu stared blankly. DC World? So sudden? He hadn't made any preparations, yet the system had already locked onto this world.

Rubbing his hands together, Li Yu felt a surge of excitement. After all, the potential rewards here were no less than those from the Marvel World.

Even though his Second Clone had been under heavy surveillance by S.H.I.E.L.D. recently, getting just a single Pager was enough to make the trip completely worth it.

He immediately skipped the [Mission Mode]. What a joke, using [Mission Mode] in the DC World would be a massive waste of precious resources.

He directly equipped Clone One with the Master-Grade Talent he had obtained last time—Butterfly Effect. With this talent, he wouldn't have to worry about walking away empty-handed at all.

It even meant Clone One wouldn't be able to just hole up somewhere to build his Fatherland Society.

If you don't look for trouble, trouble looks for you!

Unfortunately, by the time he got this talent, his Second Clone was already in the Marvel World. Otherwise, giving it to Number Two would have been the optimal choice.

Due to Clone One's track record of poor behavior, Li Yu wasn't very fond of him and clearly favored his precious Number Two.

As for the title, he just slapped on the simple green-tier [Wanted Criminal]. Knowing Clone One's personality, he would most likely end up on a wanted list anyway, so this would at least boost his self-preservation capabilities.

[Deploying... Deployment successful. Please wait for the System Log to refresh. (Note: The Time Flow Rate of the deployed world is inconsistent with the Main World, set at a 1:2 ratio.)]

Li Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. Interesting... It had the exact same Time Flow Rate as the Marvel World. That meant it wasn't a coincidence, but likely dictated by some underlying rule.

'If you don't bring back a haul that satisfies me, you can forget about deploying to a new world ever again!'

Li Yu thought viciously, wondering if Number Two could somehow sense his internal threats.

Right at that moment, abnormal noises echoed from the staircase. The Sun-Hunter Squad marched down from the second floor, fully equipped and armed to the teeth, looking as though they were heading out.

Li Yu's mind stirred. The Sun-Hunter Squad had just arrived and essentially knew nothing. What were they planning to do?

He was confused but wouldn't go ask himself. Instead, Gelo shuddered, his body uncontrollably stepping in front of Boiling Blood and the others.

"What is it?" Boiling Blood swept a cold gaze over him. It made Gelo feel on tenterhooks, but he had no choice but to follow the voice transmitted through his armor and ask:

"What are you planning to do? Is there anything you need me to assist with?"

"We don't need you," Boiling Blood replied brusquely, brushing past Gelo. The rest of the squad ignored him as well and marched straight out the door.

Without an answer, Li Yu narrowed his eyes, a glint flashing through them as he stared at the retreating backs of the Sun-Hunter Squad.

.........

In the Lounge, Kansa raised his head, his brows locked tightly together as he stared down at the message Li Yu had just sent him.

'The Sun-Hunter Squad wouldn't dare make a move on Satan, would they?' He hesitated uncertainly. Li Yu had just warned him that the Sun-Hunter Squad had abruptly left and told him to be careful.

If they were really moving against Satan, just how insane had Saster become?

He paced for a moment before deciding to go and warn General Satan.

"Hahaha..." General Satan erupted in deafening laughter. "Where did you hear such a ridiculous piece of news?"

"Move against me? This is my territory. I have over a hundred Frigates patrolling the Space Orbit. Who would dare touch me?"

'But the fleet's battlefield is in space,' Kansa thought. 'If something happens down here, you can't exactly have the fleet carpet bomb the Inuit Hub.'

"Do you know of the Sun-Hunter Squad?" Kansa asked tentatively.

"The Sun-Hunter Squad?" Satan pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Never heard of them."

Kansa hadn't heard the name either. Boiling Blood and his crew might have a much more renowned alias that they simply weren't using. Searching for the name "Sun-Hunter Squad" yielded absolutely zero information.

"I received word that they have two B-Class Lifeforms. Their strength cannot be underestimated."

"Two B-Class Lifeforms?" Satan's expression shifted slightly, but he ultimately shook his head. "They still wouldn't dare attack."

Kansa had shared the same thought earlier. No matter how arrogant Saster was, there had to be a limit. Attacking Satan meant crossing the bottom line of the Amethyst Civilization, and there would be no peaceful resolution after that.

Even having a scapegoat wouldn't work. Scapegoats were only meant to cover up minor skirmishes. They were talking about moving against a fleet general; would throwing out a few lackeys as scapegoats really fly?

Nobody was stupid. That kind of action would be a severe insult to everyone's IQ.

When the Cruiser Fleet was wiped out previously, Saster had at least managed to force a charge of colluding with the Molcasar Natives.

"Forget it. The fleet is about to rotate its defense shift anyway. Why don't you come with me to the fleet?" Satan offered a compromise after noticing Kansa's lingering concern.

"Thank you..." Kansa's eyes lit up slightly. This was indeed a very solid solution.

"Warning, warning... Communication systems jammed. Defense system activation failed... Surveillance systems offline..."

The blaring sirens echoing throughout the entire skyscraper caused Kansa and Satan's faces to pale simultaneously. They exchanged a look of pure disbelief.

It wasn't just because the enemy had actually launched an attack, but because their speed was terrifyingly fast.

Kansa hadn't hesitated long after receiving the news before rushing to find Satan. Less than fifteen minutes had passed since then.

Suddenly, he felt a deep hatred for the Inuit Hub's overly convenient amethyst transit channels.

"Communications are blocked..." Satan's expression turned ugly as he glanced at the Smart Terminal on his wrist. It meant they were completely cut off from the outside world for the time being.