Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

Chapter 420 Energy Costs
Duan Mingyuan further learned the specific details of the attack.

The flagship that came under attack was one of the flagships of the Adventurers' Association. Unlike the rebels of the United Front and space pirates, they were legal interstellar travelers certified by the company and the Chamber of Commerce. This sudden attack not only wiped out all the crew members on the assault ship, but also severely damaged the flagship of the Adventurers' Association, resulting in the deaths of 174 adventurers.

This is a serious diplomatic incident, and representatives of the Adventurers' Association have already started negotiations with the Iron Guard Consortium.

This answered some of Duan Mingyuan's doubts.

For example, why Billy Kaman has two long-branch guards to protect him.

It turned out that the two Nagaeda guards were not there to protect him, but to control him to prevent him from escaping or doing other dangerous things.

It's just that Billy Kaman has a big heart like his brother, and he even has the courage to ask the people who came to monitor him to help him get the gifts.

The reason was that the weather was too hot and he was in danger of fainting from dehydration at any time on the street. If the Long Branch Committee did not want to see an officer unconscious from heat stroke, they should do some physical labor.

After all, the armor of the Nagaeda Guards is equipped with a temperature control system, and the high temperature of 50 degrees is nothing to them.

"I could become a war criminal and be court-martialed at any moment."

Billy said cheerfully, as if it were an honorable deed.

"Let's check it out."

Duan Mingyuan lowered his voice, "You mean you want me to write a diagnosis to prove that your sergeant has a serious mental illness, and that his sudden loss of control and crashing the assault ship into the Adventurer's Association's main ship was an uncontrollable behavior?"

"Can?"

"Both navigation syndrome and post-traumatic stress syndrome may have contributed to this outcome."

Duan Mingyuan said after thinking for a while.

"In fact, it doesn't matter if I'm sent to a military court. What's important is that I suspect there's something fishy going on here. My subordinates are not lunatics or warmongers."

Billy handed Duan Mingyuan another investigation document.

If we dig deeper, we will find that the Adventurer's Association is an important legal military force of the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce. Everyone knows that interstellar adventurers are actually only a thin line away from space pirates, and the Iron Guard Consortium's fleet has just suffered a defeat on the united front, so this move was naturally interpreted as a revenge action.

It is emotionally understandable, but it has no legitimacy.

Billy went on to say, "As far as I know, the 4th, 6th, and 12th regiments all had conflicts with space pirates or the Allied Front on their way to the Holy City, and each suffered losses. But before setting off, the commanders of all regiments received orders from their superiors, prohibiting them from launching attacks without authorization. Although I don't know whether it's true or not, the feedback from those regiment commanders is that their subordinates violated the order without authorization."

Assuming that this is not an excuse fabricated to shirk responsibility, it seems that they can understand that someone is trying to provoke an all-out war between the company and the chamber of commerce.

"I don't have much time left. If nothing unexpected happens, in two hours I will be taken to the Military Commission for investigation along with the three commanders. I don't know when I will be reinstated."

Billy explained the purpose of his trip. "But in the coming days, you should see the company's top executives frequently. If there really is some kind of power that can manipulate people's minds, they may have infiltrated the top executives of various consortiums."

"I see."

Although he did not get any promise, Billy Carman felt relieved. He stood up, shook hands with Duan Mingyuan, and then casually called the long-branch guards who were waiting outside.

"This has nothing to do with the Coven."

After he left, the room returned to silence, and the voice of the Dark Night Witch was heard from the mirror.

She heard the entire conversation between Duan Mingyuan and Billy.

Although this does sound like the method used by the Wizards' Coven, their target of revenge is the Church of Embers, and they don't have the time to control a non-commissioned officer from the Iron Guard Consortium and ram the flagship of the Adventurer's Guild.

"No one has accused you."

Duan Mingyuan faced the woman in the mirror and spoke.

"That's what I said."

The Night Witch leaned lazily on the rattan chair under the air conditioner, which had become her base in the Holy City.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. The inquisitors of the church would never frequently visit the mansions of their colleagues at this critical juncture.

More importantly, there is air conditioning here. She now thinks that air conditioning is one of the greatest inventions in human history. If the world is destined to be destroyed, she also hopes that the masters who make air conditioners can survive.

The witch is a creature that hides during the day and comes out at night, so she can take a nap in the mansion peacefully during the day.

"Today I went to the Holy City Library to read some records about the Sun King, but there were very few positive descriptions of the Void Demons. What do you know about them?"

"Why should I tell you?"

The Dark Night Witch glanced at Duan Mingyuan.

She and Duan Mingyuan were not even friends, and even in the Wizarding Association, anything related to fictional demons was considered taboo knowledge.

There was a hint of disdain in her eyes.

What an arrogant man, what made him think he would reveal these secrets to him.

She is the Night Witch——

"Hey! Are you a pervert?!"

The next moment, the Dark Night Witch could no longer sit still, and she jumped up from the chair with a "swoosh".

Just now, a gust of hot wind blew on the back of her head.

Turning up the heat in 50 degree weather is something only the craziest people in the world would do.

"Because you're using the air conditioner I built and you're not paying your energy bill."

Duan Mingyuan presented facts and made sense, and this is the confidence that patent rights bring to people.

"I can give you money, how much do you want?"

"I don't want money."

Duan Mingyuan raised the temperature by another 3 degrees, and calmly repeated his previous question, "What do you know about the Void Demon?"

"Do you threaten me?"

"I'm just stating a fact. If you offend me, there won't be another air conditioner in this city for you to use."

"What a demon!"

The Night Witch admitted that she had miscalculated.

Her mind was full of revenge against the Church of Ashes, and she had made all kinds of plans, but she forgot that the 50-degree temperature in the Holy City was not a place for human beings to stay.

The reversed world will reflect the same temperature.

Although the heat cannot kill her, it will take away her calmness and elegance.

Whenever the Dark Night Witch thought about how she had set up the ritual array, wiped out the remnants of the Church of Ashes, and appeared before the Pope with a haughty look on her face, but now she was sweating profusely and her clothes were soaked with sweat, her scalp went numb.

"Of course you'll be hot if you dress like this on such a hot day."

Duan Mingyuan pointed out the problem.

She was wearing a Gothic-style long skirt with thick hem and her legs wrapped in thick stockings. Without air conditioning, it was hard for him to imagine how such a person could survive.

"You win."

The Dark Night Witch glared at Duan Mingyuan viciously, "What the officer just said does sound like the result of being parasitized by a parasite."

"Parasite?"

"That's what I put into Yelena's body. It's a void creature that can control the host after parasitizing it."

(End of this chapter)