From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 786 Internal Conflict Is Here

The Renaissance League Provisional Government Building, high-level conference room.

Franklin placed his hands on the conference table. His knuckles turned white from the exertion and a slight tremor was visible at his fingertips.

Outside the large glass windows, a blood-red sunset was slowly sinking into the horizon, dyeing the entire conference room dark red, as if foreshadowing something ominous.

"Who can tell me what is going on?"

Franklin's voice was not loud, but it made everyone present straighten their backs unconsciously. The air in the conference room seemed to freeze, and no one dared to speak first.

"What I'm asking is, who can tell me what is going on?" Franklin asked the second time, his tone raised a few degrees, and his cold eyes swept over everyone present.

A middle-aged man sitting on the right side of the conference table finally cleared his throat and forced a smile: "Leader, there are indeed some unexpected events in the operations of the Vlagon Galaxy, but this is just a minor setback. We can completely -"

"A minor setback?"

Franklin looked up suddenly and interrupted the other person angrily.

"My dear Mr. Paul, you call kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and then having the entire task force subdued by this 14-year-old girl single-handedly a 'small setback'? It seems that the task force of your intelligence department is still very good at comforting itself on weekdays."

Paul's smile froze on his face.

Franklin grabbed the data tablet in front of him and slammed it on the table. "Forty-two people! There were forty-two professionally trained armed personnel in the safe house, all subdued by a 14-year-old girl! Now these people are lying in the medical center, some with head injuries, some with broken limbs, and a few even need psychological intervention treatment!"

He looked around and continued, "What's worse is that I don't even remember approving this operation! Can anyone tell me why the intelligence department's action team would arbitrarily target the family members of Atlas Group's overseas employees without my authorization?"

The conference room fell into silence again.

Franklin took a deep breath, looked around at the people in the conference room with different expressions, and suppressed the anger in his heart.

He knew clearly that this was not a simple mistake in action, but a direct challenge to his leadership authority.

If the failure of this operation was annoying enough, what made him even more angry was that someone dared to bypass his authority and act on his own.

"leader."

Another military representative stood up and said in a steady voice that the local garrison also provided some assistance in this operation, so they were also considered one of the "participants".

"There were indeed some internal communication errors in this operation, but please believe that our original intention was to revive the interests of the alliance."

Franklin sneered: "Miscommunication? Colonel Cohen, how did you 'mistakenly' organize more than 40 armed personnel, and then 'mistakenly' prepare a safe house, 'mistakenly' set up a backup contact point, and even 'mistakenly' formulate a complete action plan?"

Cohen lowered his head slightly and said nothing more.

Franklin ignored the other party's expression and continued speaking, his voice full of sarcasm:
"What's even more ridiculous is that you can't even do the most basic intelligence work. That girl, Pru Videl, is a systematically trained psychic. This is obviously key intelligence that is directly related to the success or failure of this operation, and you are completely unaware of it!"

Hearing this, several representatives from the intelligence department in the corner of the conference room couldn't help but shrink their necks.

Franklin's eyes swept over Hall and Cole. On the surface, they looked normal, but Franklin keenly noticed that Hall's right index finger was tapping the table lightly - this was a little habit of his when he was nervous.

Franklin sneered in his heart. These two people, one was in charge of internal affairs, and the other was in charge of military power. They were second only to himself in the power pyramid within the Renaissance Alliance.

He knew very well that the real instigators were most likely these two, and the executors of the action in front of him were just scapegoats they pushed forward.

"From now on, as the leader of the Renaissance Alliance, I will remove all personnel involved in the planning and execution of this action from their posts," Franklin announced calmly. "At the same time, I will ask the Audit Committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this matter to find out who approved this action without my authorization."

Suddenly, a group of officials turned pale, but no one dared to raise any objections. They knew that any defense at this moment would only add fuel to the fire. Cole and Hall exchanged glances and remained silent.

"I want to reiterate one point."

Franklin looked around, his eyes finally resting on Hall and Cole.

"The Renaissance Alliance is a whole. Any unauthorized action or internal division is a betrayal of our cause. I will not tolerate anyone challenging the collective decision-making authority of the alliance - no matter how high his position or how great his contributions are."

The implicit warning in his words made the atmosphere in the meeting room even more solemn.

"Eleanor!"

"I'm here, Leader."

Franklin turned to look at the girl beside him and said, "Notify the Audit Committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the Vlagon Galaxy incident starting today, and suspend all similar actions that have not been approved by me."

Eleanor nodded and quickly recorded on the terminal.

"As for the Atlas Group," Franklin continued to order, "immediately contact the Atlas Office in the Vlagon Galaxy and explain that this is just a misunderstanding and that it was an unauthorized action by the subordinates, not the official position of the Renaissance Alliance."

Hall finally spoke: "Leader, have you ever considered that this incident might be an opportunity? The reaction of the Atlas Group shows that they do have some concerns. We can use this opportunity to--"

"That's enough!" Franklin interrupted him, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "Hall, it was this kind of aggressive thinking that almost caused a disaster! The Atlas Group did not take further action, not because of fear, but to leave us room. Don't forget their absolute advantage in military and technology."

Hall's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes.

"Okay, the meeting is over now."

Franklin said briefly, then turned to Hall and Cole: "You two, stay."

The others quickly left the meeting room as if they had been pardoned, leaving the three of them confronting each other in solemn silence.

"leader."

Hall spoke first, and this time his tone was full of respect.

"This incident is indeed regrettable, but I believe it was a mistake at the execution level rather than a mistake at the

"That's enough," Franklin raised his hand to signal him to stop. "I'm not stupid, Hall. You and I both know that those who were fired are just scapegoats. The person who actually gave the order is still sitting in this room."

Admiral Cole straightened his back: "Leader, are you accusing us of treason?" "Treason? No." Franklin shook his head, a dangerous light flashed in his eyes, "I am just stating a fact - you are testing my bottom line."

Hall and Cole exchanged glances but did not deny it.

“I can tolerate different voices and opinions, and even welcome them, which is good for the continuous development of the alliance.”

Franklin continued, his voice low and powerful.

"But I will never tolerate unauthorized actions, especially during such a sensitive period. Do you know what the consequences may be?"

"We just thought," Hall tried to defend himself.

"You are not qualified to think!"

Franklin suddenly raised his voice and interrupted Hall, his expression as ferocious as an angry beast.

"The Atlas Group is not someone you can provoke at will! If that girl wasn't a psychic today, but was actually injured or worse, could you afford the consequences?"

The conference room fell into dead silence, and Franklin's anger almost became physical.

"Listen," he calmed down a little, "I won't hold you responsible this time, but this is the last time. If something like this happens again, I will not hesitate to bring you to justice. Do you understand?"

The two nodded reluctantly, with expressions of forced obedience on their faces.

"Now, get out of my sight." Franklin waved his hand.

After Hall and Cole left, Franklin fell heavily into the chair, instantly enveloped by fatigue. He rubbed his temples, his thoughts racing -
Some time later, in his office, Franklin stood in front of the French window, overlooking the night view of the temporary capital of the Restoration Alliance.

Among the brightly lit buildings, shuttles occasionally streak across the sky, leaving trails of light.

Eleanor walked in quietly and placed a cup of hot tea on his desk: "The Audit Committee has already started to act."

Franklin didn't turn around, just nodded slightly.

"Franklin, are you planning to use this incident to get rid of Hall and Cole?" Eleanor asked bluntly.

Franklin finally turned around, his face showing a mixture of fatigue and determination. "They have crossed the line. Eleanor attacked the Atlas Group without authorization. This is not only a challenge to my authority, but also puts the Renaissance Alliance in danger during this sensitive period."

He walked to his seat, sat down, picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Think about it, if the Atlas Group decides to regard this incident as a provocation and immediately take countermeasures, are we ready to deal with it?"

Eleanor was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I'm just worried that if we attack the top leaders at this time, will it shake the cohesion of the alliance?"

"No, quite the opposite~"

Franklin put down his teacup and looked at Eleanor with a firm gaze.

"It is these people who are undermining the cohesion of the alliance, their self-righteous actions, their small-time actions behind the scenes, and their disregard for authority - these are the factors that really threaten the revival of the alliance."

He stood up and walked to a virtual star map in the office: "If we don't get rid of them, when we inevitably face the Atlas Group head-on, the Renaissance Alliance will fall apart from within."

Eleanor looked at Franklin's back, and for the first time, she seemed to truly see the burden this man was carrying. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Franklin ask, "What is the reaction of the Atlas Group now?"

"That's exactly what's strange. So far, the Atlas Group officials have not made any representations to us about this matter. The office in the Vlagon system has been put on full alert and cut off contact with the outside world. But they didn't do anything to those armed men. They just rescued the girl and left."

Eleanor paused, then continued, "Franklin, what do you think this means?"

Franklin pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe Mr. Amber doesn't want the situation to escalate. After all, under the current circumstances, a small-scale conflict may trigger a chain reaction that will not benefit either of us."

He walked back to his desk and called up a series of data on the terminal: "We need to immediately stop all similar actions to prevent the situation from getting worse. At the same time, we need to find a way to contact the Atlas Group office in the Fragan Galaxy and explain that this is just a misunderstanding."

Eleanor nodded: "Then what about Mr. Amber?"

"Since he didn't mention it on his own initiative," Franklin's eyes flashed with a shrewdness, "we don't need to 'waste our time'. If he wants to talk about it, he will. If not, why should we bother ourselves?"

Eleanor nodded slightly and made no further comments.

"However, we must deal with the traitors within our ranks. Well, I will communicate with the Audit Committee in person. I want to find out all the members who are associated with Hall and Cole, and take this opportunity to catch them all in one fell swoop, no matter how deep they hide." Franklin added.

Eleanor suddenly thought of something: "What if... I mean what if Amber already knows more? After all, that girl may have obtained the information in the safe house."

Franklin tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes becoming deep. “Then we need to deal with internal issues quickly! If Mr. Amber knew about our internal disagreements, he would probably take advantage of it! We must clean up our own backyard before he takes any action.”

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the lights of the city again: "Let's get started, Eleanor, time waits for no one."

Eleanor nodded, turned and left. Franklin was the only one left in the office. His shadow was stretched in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and projected on the floor.

Extremely lonely.

"Sure enough, Franklin has completely changed. He is not even willing to contact me in a private capacity and give me an explanation. It's as if our personal relationship no longer exists~"

After reading the secret report from the Renaissance Alliance, Amber couldn't help but let out a long sigh, her expression as if she had lost an old friend.

"Master, you make it sound like you have a close relationship with Franklin. Aren't you also using him?" Lilith's virtual image said with some disdain beside him.

"Well, anyway, I was very optimistic about this 'young man with great ambitions', and I really can't bear to see him turned into a puppet."

"what about now?"

"Now? Huh."

Amber sneered, and the only expression of "missing the past" on her face completely disappeared.

"Since you choose to be a coward in this matter, don't blame me for not being gentle with you."

(End of this chapter)