Chapter 404: Elton's Collapse

The plot twist where the situation took a sudden turn for the better made many High Echelon officials unable to quit watching. Although the number of High Echelon officials here seemed quite large.

Not everyone was qualified to speak at the meeting. It was fine when Digor temporarily disappeared; Vimala had to strive for the opinions of the majority on many matters.

But when Digor was in power, the so-called meetings were just going through the motions. For the vast majority of matters, their opinions wouldn't be listened to at all.

Only the issues of taxes, appropriations, and welfare in various star systems were their main battlegrounds.

But they hadn't expected to see such an exciting story unfold today.

They originally thought it was Titus's absolute kill setup against Li Yu, but Elton had actually backstabbed them at the last moment.

The people present were at least at the level of "frontier officials"; there were no massive fools.

Perhaps there were some guys who relied on personal connections to govern a star system, but after years of experience, they at least had some political sense.

They didn't believe that Jose's brain had just glitched, causing him to jump out and testify against Li Yu. There must have been an extremely detailed and rigorous plan behind it.

But at this critical moment, Elton, he rebelled!

Jose was temporarily made somewhat mentally unclear by the sudden change. He subconsciously looked at Titus, while Titus frowned deeply, knowing that a problem must have occurred in some link.

"Your... Your Excellency Elton, please don't joke around. These videos and recordings were all recorded when you were fully conscious."

Jose swallowed his saliva but could only bite the bullet and continue speaking.

"I have never recorded these videos. These videos are all synthesized," Elton continued to deny.

Vimala's eyes flickered as she looked at the still-indifferent Li Yu. Was this all within this kid's calculations?

Hiding Elton until now, just for this counterattack today?

Vimala felt slightly shocked in her heart. When the Ordos Incident occurred, Li Yu was merely a B-Tier Lifeform.

Did he think of today all the way back then? Or was it just habitual preparation for a rainy day?

Vimala couldn't know, but with her political sense, it was enough to realize that now was an excellent opportunity to attack.

She immediately interrupted Jose and asked Elton, "You say these videos are synthesized. Then I ask you, where were you during the time you disappeared?"

Jose shuddered. It was over. He didn't know what kind of illness Elton had contracted. If he bit back now, wouldn't it be GG?

He wanted to cut off the projection signal, but Vimala seemed to know what he was thinking and spoke before him: "Archon Jose, the matter Commander Elton is recounting now is of great importance."

"If the communication signal is interrupted, I will have to doubt your loyalty to Return Star."

Jose, who had originally wanted to make a move, was caught between a rock and a hard place, his expression ugly.

Aethel frowned slightly. He had come into contact with Elton beforehand and knew that Elton's attitude was completely contrary to before.

But the problem was that Elton was now speaking for himself, insisting firmly that all the videos were synthesized.

As for why no flaws could be found, it was because the forgery technology was superb. Regardless, I didn't say it.

Dealing with people of low status didn't require too many methods, but dealing with people of high status required indispensable means.

Looking at the current situation, Titus had already botched the play. If he spoke up now, he might get covered in shit. It was better to watch quietly and see how things developed.

Elton remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I also don't know where I was during this period. It was only not long ago that I was rescued by Archon Jose's people."

"Only then was I able to see the light of day again."

Hearing this answer, Jose's face flushed red. This guy was clearly framing him.

He was merely an Archon of a star system. His own strength wasn't considered strong, let alone the people under him.

Only the internal garrison of the star system was somewhat decent, but the place that could imprison Elton definitely had a very high defense force, far beyond what he could deal with.

Moreover, since Jose had received the news, yet he hadn't reported it to Return Star and instead went to rescue him himself—no matter how you listened to it, it was full of suspicious points.

Unless the person who imprisoned Elton was Jose himself!

This was a roundabout way of planting the blame on him.

"You're bullshitting!" Jose roared in anger, somewhat losing his composure. The development of the situation had far exceeded his control, causing his mentality to become somewhat unbalanced.

"Archon Jose, silence!" Vimala said unhappily. "You were the one who said Elton possessed critical information. Why are you accusing him now?"

Jose held back a sentence he couldn't voice and could only look at Titus.

Titus, on the other hand, was somewhat disappointed. The pressure-handling ability of these subordinates was simply too low. In comparison, he appreciated Li Yu even more.

Thinking of this, he looked at Klein beside Vimala again. This sister of his had already emerged from her nervous mood.

The gaze she cast toward Li Yu faintly contained something called adoration.

Males conquer the universe; females conquer the universe by conquering males.

He recalled words spoken by a certain famous Interstellar Sociologist. Although this sentence was criticized by quite a few Feminist Fighters, it indeed held some truth.

Except for certain indescribable reasons, Titus truly couldn't figure out why Li Yu had rejected his recruitment.

And now, Titus could only speak up: "The authenticity of what Elton says is doubtful. I suggest conducting a test on his Mental State and continuing the discussion after confirming there are no problems."

The moment he received the news, he had placed Elton's family under his protection.

It was impossible for Li Yu to threaten Elton through his family.

And ruling out influence on the realistic plane, the most likely possibility was methods on the Spiritual Plane.

Actually, the moment Elton backstabbed him, Titus understood that this Pawn was already ruined.

Even if Elton returned to normal afterward and pointed the finger at Li Yu again, it would be difficult to use as evidence.

How could words that constantly flipped back and forth be convincing?

The reason he said this was only to minimize the damage to himself.

Stating in advance that Elton might have problems would prevent him from suffering severe damage even if Elton turned around and accused him next.

This was a good response. Several silent High Echelon officials nodded inwardly; Titus was still steady.

Jose, on the other hand, grabbed onto this like a life-saving straw and hurriedly said, "That's right, conduct a mental test. He must be controlled by someone, otherwise, why would he contradict himself?"

"I second that!"

"I second that!"

"..."

Immediately after, many High Echelon officials from Titus's faction voiced their stance, while secretly hating themselves for not reacting sooner.

The boss's reaction was still fast. Alexei couldn't help but nod. When the plan was disrupted, the first thing to do was play it safe to avoid greater losses.

The reaction was indeed fast, however... Li Yu pondered slightly, and Elton spoke up again, his tone containing helplessness:

"I agree to undergo a mental test. It's just that I hope everyone can guarantee the safety of my family as well."

As soon as these words came out, Alexei couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This Elton was too vicious.

Go check on his family. Without even thinking, his family had definitely been properly protected by Titus.

Titus's original intention was definitely not to threaten him, but to prevent Elton from being influenced.

However, now that Elton had counterattacked, Titus's behavior became extremely suspicious.

What are you trying to do by "protecting" Elton's family?

What is evidence? This is evidence!

Elton seemed to have said nothing, but in reality, he had said everything.

Vimala's eyes instantly lit up, and she quickly said, "Your family has always been protected by Return Star. You can rest assured."

"No..." Elton shook his head bitterly. "If that were the case, I wouldn't be appearing here."

Many High Echelon officials were numbed by the massive amount of information coming one after another.

Their originally certain thoughts wavered again. Was Li Yu really the mastermind behind the Ordos Incident?

Titus gave Li Yu a deep look. This time, he had truly fallen.

With Vimala taking action, she was bound to find some clues. When that time came, the strikes aimed at Titus would be endless.

At the moment Elton backstabbed him, he had foreseen this result. But as this result was about to be confirmed.

He was still very indignant, and a rare trace of anger rose in his heart. He had released goodwill toward Li Yu time and time again; as long as he handed over the Heart of the Titan, he would be his esteemed guest.

But this Li Yu, as if he had a hole in his brain, went against him.

"I'll ask you one more time, what exactly is the truth of the Ordos Incident?" Vimala looked around, attempting to completely finalize the nature of this matter and prevent anyone from bringing it up again later.

Titus frowned. He had just proposed conducting a mental test first, yet Vimala still asked like this, clearly not taking his words to heart.

However, after this matter, the Ordos Incident was considered completely turned over. Whether there was Elton's confirmation or not, it was all the same.

"The Ordos Incident is generally as the battle report stated. It's just that I was ambushed and taken away at the end. The deputy commanders of the Meteor Fleet didn't see it and probably thought I was dead."

"As for His Excellency Li Yu..." Elton raised his head and looked at Li Yu. The two of them locked eyes, giving off a wondrous feeling.

"He was only a B-Tier Lifeform back then. What role could he have played?"

Vimala nodded in satisfaction, and many High Echelon officials also became half-believing and half-doubting.

What this Elton said seemed to make sense too. A B-Tier Lifeform crushing four A-Tiers was indeed quite outrageous. Why had they believed it just now?

Could it be because Duke Li Yu was so awesome that crushing four A-Tier Lifeforms as a B-Tier Lifeform also sounded quite reasonable?

Nobody cared what the truth was anymore. Everyone only knew that in this game of chess, Titus had lost.

If his people had truly taken Elton's family away, Vimala would inevitably find out. This Iron-Blooded Queen would absolutely not let go of this excellent opportunity and would launch a frenzied attack.

As for the option of killing people to silence them, it simply wasn't in Titus's backup plans.

If they were alive, he could still say he took them in to offer condolences and wrangle over it.

If they died and it was found out, he would be in massive trouble.

In this Interstellar Society, there was more than just technological means.

Vimala subsequently announced the end of the meeting, and many High Echelon officials left satisfied, each contacting their friends to brag.

In a certain room, Elton snapped back to reality from a daze, continuing to say: "...Of course the accusations are true. Li Yu is a boundlessly cruel Demon. He imprisoned me in a Cage and even played news broadcasting his Honor on a loop to torture me..."

However, halfway through his sentence, he suddenly realized that what was before him was not the meeting hall. His projection signal had been cut off.

"Hm?" Elton was still a bit dumbfounded, not knowing what had happened.

Right at this moment, the room door was suddenly kicked open. Figures wearing heavy Armor stepped aside, and Titus walked in, his gaze fixed tightly on Elton.

Elton, however, looked somewhat blankly and said, "Your Highness, why have you come? Was the meeting suddenly interrupted?"

Titus looked at the bewildered and helpless Elton. The meaning contained in his eyes made Elton feel a slight panic.

He felt as if some major event had occurred.

"Your Highness, what happened?" he asked cautiously.

"Show him the meeting recording..." Titus was mentally exhausted; he waved his hand and said.

Immediately, someone played the holographic recording. The main parts were the famous scenes of Elton's backstabbing.

"This... this... this..."

After watching it, Elton was completely dumbfounded.

When did I ever say such words? Why don't I remember it myself?

"Your Highness, this isn't what I said. I lost consciousness at the time and only just woke up..."

"You can convene the meeting again. I want to explain!"

Titus frowned: "Do you want the many High Echelon officials to think that I threatened you and made you change your tune again?"

"This... I..." Elton stumbled back and sat on the chair: "How could this happen..."

Immediately after, he seemed to recall something and abruptly looked up: "It must be Li Yu playing tricks! It must be him!"

"Where's the evidence? I want evidence!" Titus was somewhat frustrated: "He's already an Honorary Duke, not a small fry you can casually manipulate. Vimala is backing him. I need evidence!!!"

Elton muttered to himself: "After being knocked out by that person, I would occasionally fall into a trance-like state. That person must have been Li Yu's man."

Titus's gaze instantly sharpened, and he shouted sternly: "You were knocked out by someone before!? Why didn't you mention this?"

"This..." Elton didn't dare to meet Titus's gaze, his eyes flickering.

Titus took a deep breath. Blaming Elton now was utterly useless and instead showed incompetence.

He had thoroughly examined Elton and found no problems whatsoever.

Even if he knew Elton had been knocked out, at most he would just have some doubts in his heart; he wouldn't stop his attack on Li Yu.

He had completely understood by now. Elton was fundamentally a bait thrown out by Li Yu, and he had actually bitten it foolishly.

However, he hadn't expected Li Yu to hide Elton for so long. The depth of this opponent's thoughts was astonishing.

"Send him to the mental testing center..." Titus said in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency Elton, please..." The lifeform wearing heavy Armor walked up to Elton.

Elton lowered his head. He hadn't expected it to actually end up like this.

The person speaking in that recording wasn't him at all. Combined with these few instances of mental trance, he had a terrifying speculation—

Li Yu could control his Corporeal Form at any time!

The moment this terrifying thought popped up, Elton shuddered. His pupils contracted as if he were terrified to the extreme, and he looked left and right.

"Li Yu!" He abruptly pointed at the smooth metal wall, which only reflected images of him and the armored personnel.

He looked extremely scared, his face contorted as he continuously backed away. His mind actually showed signs of breaking down.

(End of this chapter)