Chapter 510

The Critic: "Laien Blood Night, Over a Hundred Casualties Among Ninth Bureau Personnel!"

New Industry News: "Large Number of Laien Family Mid-Level Members Killed, Arms Company Likely to Shut Down!"

Royal Post: "Deep Mourning for the Fallen Members of the Laien Family"

Corner Alley News: "Lionheart Fallen? Kingdom's Twin Pillars May Exit the Historical Stage"

The Sun: "Shocking! Laien Family Brutally Slaughtered Last Night, the Culprit Is Actually..."

"..."

An investigation mission almost wiped out an entire family? Is this how you make me feel at ease, kid?

After finishing the front-page headlines of over a dozen newspapers, the red-haired director felt a rush of blood to her head, and she felt as if her whole being was drifting away.

It's the end of the year! The year-end review is coming up!

A large-scale casualty event in the capital at a time like this, and a great noble family at that—the performance of the Virgin Bureau, which had just started to improve this year, would definitely plummet straight to the bottom!

And compared to the performance collapse, there seemed to be something even more unfortunate...

Looking at the front page of The Sun, which featured a photo of Li Ang's back as he reached out toward Bobby Laien's corpse while lying on the ground covered in blood, along with the bold, enlarged "Culprit" label beneath it, the red-haired director couldn't help but sigh toward the sky, feeling as if her head were twice its normal size.

Although it was only in The Sun and not The Capital Times or The Royal Post, you were just sent on an external investigation—how did you manage to investigate yourself into a death row cell?

"What? The Laien family is gone? And it was done by Li... by that bastard rebel?"

"Sit down, sit down!"

Watching the female police officer spring up from her chair upon hearing the news, the scarred, burly man couldn't help but frown and press his hand downward.

"The Laien family is still there, but nearly two hundred mid-level members and some high-ranking clansmen died at once. The old Duke was also struck by the blow and is bedridden with a critical illness; he's likely not far from collapse.

As for the culprit... it's not necessarily that rebel. This whole Laien family affair is very suspicious."

After taking a deep drag from the cigarette dangling from his mouth, the scarred, burly man said thoughtfully:

"Although that rebel did appear at the scene and killed the first-in-line heir, Bobby Laien, there were no signs of other intruders in the entire manor. Relying on him alone, it's unlikely he could have wiped out the Laien family's mid-level members in one night.

Also, according to the old Duke's testimony, he was stabbed awake in the middle of the night by a maid. That maid held scissors to his throat, forcing him to step down early and yield his position to his younger brother, Bobby Laien. So, if you ask me, what happened at the Laien manor yesterday looks more like an internal conflict."

"I see..."

Hearing this, the female police officer breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked with flickering eyes: "If it's an internal conflict, why not investigate who the real culprit is instead of locking that bastard rebel in death row?"

"Yisha, get used to using your brain when things happen!"

After pointing a finger at his own forehead, the scarred, burly man answered with a calm expression while smoking:

"Whether that rebel named Li Ang is the culprit doesn't depend on whether he did it, but on which of the two scenarios—'Rebel attacks Duke family' or 'Duke family internal conflict'—is more appropriate."

"I don't understand..."

"Simply put, the truth isn't important; benefits and stance are."

After crushing his cigarette butt on the glass top of the table, the scarred, burly man extended his nicotine-stained fingers to point at the stack of newspapers on the table and explained patiently: "Notice? Aside from The Sun, which is treated as a joke, the other newspapers are either mourning the dead, describing the situation, or focusing on the impact. None of them have given a clear answer as to whether it was an internal conflict or an attack.

These newspapers aren't failing to compete for the scoop, nor are they waiting for our investigation results; they've been warned by the people behind them not to rush into taking sides, but to wait until the wind direction is determined."

"Wind direction?"

"It's the ideas of the old nobility represented by the Laien family, the reformists represented by the Princess, and the loose alliance formed by the new nobility, big merchants, parliamentarians, and the Prime Minister.

These three forces are the true masters of the Kingdom. The consensus reached after their contention and struggle is the only correct wind direction."

After explaining the meaning of wind direction, the scarred, burly man lit another cigarette and said slowly:

"Among them, the reformists represented by the Princess hope that this event is an internal noble conflict. This would give them an excuse to take action against the old nobility and help the Minister of Defense reduce pressure from the military.

As for the loose alliance, they hope this event is a rebel attack, because the rebels' behavior of causing chaos and destruction everywhere has the greatest impact on merchants, which in turn affects the parliamentarians supported by merchants and the Prime Minister who needs parliamentarian votes.

So, if this is characterized as a rebel attack, they can urge the other two parties to cooperate in prioritizing the handling of the rebels who are causing destruction everywhere, maintaining a stable business environment."

It seemed she understood, but then again, maybe not...

After frowning and pondering for a while, the female police officer asked:

"What about the old nobility? What do they think?"

"They don't care."

Hearing the female police officer's question, the scarred, burly man couldn't help but curl his lips, revealing a strange smile.

"Whether it's an internal conflict with deaths or an attack by rebels, it's equally shameful to them. Furthermore, 'internal conflict' will be used by the Princess as an excuse to carve them up, while 'attack' will lead to parliamentarians seizing more seats because they are unable to handle the rebels.

In short, no matter how the 'Laien Blood Night' is ultimately characterized, they are already the biggest losers."

"..."

Who cares about losers or winners!

Having listened for a long time, she still didn't know what would happen to Li Ang, but it was hard to ask directly. The anxious female police officer couldn't help but clench her fists repeatedly, then tried to probe as tactfully as possible:

"So, Director, how do you think this will develop? What will be the fate of that bastard rebel?"

"That's not something I can decide."

Glancing at the crumpled hem of the female police officer's clothes, the scarred, burly man turned to lean against the window, smoking and saying nonchalantly:

"It mainly depends on the Princess. Although the parliamentarians and merchants have significant weight, their thoughts are too scattered, making the alliance very loose. If the reformists led by the Princess insist, they will definitely back down in the end.

So, how this develops depends on whether there is someone with enough weight in the Princess's camp who can stand up and take a stance to strengthen her belief in taking action against the old nobility."

Someone with enough weight... I see!

A moment later, when the scarred, burly man finished his cigarette, crushed the butt, and turned around, the female police officer was already gone.

But the scarred, burly man didn't seem to care much about his capable subordinate's swift departure; instead, he walked slowly back to his desk and opened a map of the capital.

Let me think... next month's plan should be to blow up the theater in the southeast of the capital, so I'll mark the defense layout to the west first~

(End of Chapter)