The Last Sentinel

"I'm so angry!"

"Hughes Thompson is clearly trying to mess with me, clearly trying to oppose me!"

"What could have been resolved with a single round of voting, he insisted on making it two rounds, and then he gave me a piece of his mind, slandering the Sentinels as future traitors!"

"damn it!"

Peng!

The titanium alloy water cup was smashed into a thin sheet by a single punch. Wu Budu's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he made no attempt to hide his desire to kill Hughes immediately.

Beside him, Captain Zhao Donglai looked at the furious Wu Budu and comforted him, "Senior, calm down. Hughes Thompson is right. Traitors are the key to the disintegration of the Earth Alliance. Preventing traitors is an important task that cannot be neglected."

"Bullshit!" Wu Budu pointed at Zhao Donglai's nose and cursed, "I wouldn't blame you for saying this kind of nonsense in a meeting, that's polite stuff. But now that we're behind closed doors, you're still spouting bullshit! Is this the time to talk about face? Behind closed doors, it's about positions. Whose side are you on?"

Zhao Donglai remained calm and composed, showing no anger whatsoever. Looking at the [Top Secret] Hughes Thompson's personal information on the screen, he said, "Hughes Thompson, an old relic from the Earth Alliance era, once served as the commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone of the Earth Alliance Support Battalion. During the Battle of Xuanxiao Star Gate, the three super-hull fleets of Blue Star went out in full force, only to be surrounded and trapped by five Sabitian fleets. Originally, the super-hull mothership of the Second Support Battalion should have gone to provide support, but it failed to appear on the battlefield for a long time."

"The deputy commander of the Second Support Fleet, the captain of the Kirin, launched a mutiny, with all crew members betraying the Second Fleet and refusing Hughes Thompson's command to hold the star system. They went to support the Xuanxiao battlefield. Hughes Thompson dispatched the Yukikaze to intercept the Kirin. Captain Hattori Sengun of the Yukikaze caught up with the Kirin, but ultimately did not engage it. Instead, he gave all his ammunition to the Kirin to help it support the Xuanxiao star system's major battle."

"In the end, the Battle of Xuanxiao was a crushing defeat. The Earth Alliance's three superhull fleets were completely wiped out, the Sabite aliens lost four superhull fleets, and the supporting Kirin and the flagship of the Fifth Superhull Fleet perished together."

"In this battle, Blue Star was rendered virtually dead, triggering a major earthquake in the Fifth Council and a change of power. Hughes Thompson, relying on the surviving Second Support Group, the only superhull fleet, successfully rose to power and became the Speaker of the Fifth Council, and then began a great purge."

"Kirin and Yukikaze were considered traitors. Kirin no longer exists. As a result, Captain Hattori Sengun of Yukikaze was sent to a military court, stripped of all his duties, had his memory erased, and became a free man."

"After that, the Earth Alliance began its decline through appeasement. The Second Support Battalion was just a temporary fleet and could not shoulder the responsibility of the main force. The Sabitians continued to invade, and the Earth Alliance finally disintegrated."

Hearing Zhao Donglai's words, Wu Budu blinked. "Little Zhao, do you mean the traitor is Hughes Thompson?"

Zhao Donglai smiled meaningfully and said, "I didn't say that! How could I possibly say something that would undermine unity?"

Wu Budu read aloud, "The Earth Alliance was born entirely out of a sense of crisis and survival. This alliance was built on passion, but passion cannot last. Once the Earth Alliance achieved a position of equal strength, all sorts of opportunists would emerge, willing to sacrifice the Earth Alliance itself for their own interests. The situation of the Battle of Xuanxiao Star Gate is shrouded in mystery. The two captains who had the opportunity to testify against Hughes Thompson were Hattori Senjun of the Yukikaze and Yang Qilin, the captain of the Kirin. The Kirin is no longer there. The sentry relayed that Hattori Senjun is dead. There is really no one in this world who can testify against that old man."

Zhao Donglai stood up and said, "No one can testify, but there are still many ways to mess with the old guy. Take the Earth-Splitting Beast for example. Why don't you talk to your Titan and let it take initiative? It's not good to directly confront it, but if your own dog goes out and barks a few times to give the other side a little shock, it might not be a bad thing."

Wu Budu chuckled and said, "Great minds think alike. These old fogies have been enjoying peace and tranquility all day long, forgetting the flames of war and fear. We must teach them a lesson. I'll contact Titan right now and have it find its little friends to visit Dr. Hughes."

Zhao Donglai spoke eloquently, "We need to learn to think like them. When they say we have weapons of mass destruction, we'd better actually have them. When they say our weapons of mass destruction threaten them, then we'd better actually point our guns at their heads. It's getting late, I have to go to a routine meeting. Old man, get some rest!"

Zhao Donglai left.

In the empty conference room, Wu Budu looked at Zhao Donglai's back and muttered to himself, "It's no wonder that this guy is called the Fox Prince. He's too cunning. His awareness far surpasses that of an old man like me. He never shows his emotions and kills without saying a word. Everyone says that the Sentinels are the biggest winners in this battle, but little do they know, Zhao Donglai is the real winner."

"Zhao Donglai originally had no chance to command the decisive battle in Tokyo. It was he who persuaded his master, the Great Wall Watcher, to step in and secure the job for him."

"He used this battle to directly connect with the Sentinels, gaining the support of the new generation's top combat power, in addition to the support of the previous generation's top combat power, the Great Wall Watchers."

"With Zhao the Fox's methods and ambition, as long as he takes over Perfect City!"

"That would be an absolute masterpiece. At that time, he would dare to rely on his Tokyo war achievements and the support of two generations of top-level combat power to take decisive action against that old geezer who was sitting on the ground doing nothing."

"A new power earthquake is about to begin."

"The future belongs to the younger generation!"

"It's truly a case of the new generation pushing the old one aside, while the old one dies on the beach."

Wu Budu took a sip of tea and quickly contacted Titan Soul.

Titan: Titan understands what Master means. You want to send some brothers who haven't shown their faces to Hughes' house for a stroll, right? Don't worry, we currently only have seven high-level Earthshattering monsters, no, I don't count them anymore, it's six. But there are plenty of B-rank and B+ rank ones. I'll have our boss, Blackie, send these little brats out. Soon Dr. Hughes will be able to encounter a chimera while fishing.

Wu Budu: Focus on harassment. Play small pranks on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, have a party on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and launch a monster attack on Sundays. As soon as he falls asleep, you should arrange for the monsters to attack and not let him have a single day of peace!

Titan: I understand, he won't have a good night's sleep.

Wu Budu: Very well, you dare to provoke me. Even if you are the Speaker, I will not let you off the hook!

Titan: Master, there's something else. The Sentinel says he wants to upgrade me using the latest technology, so he says the budget needs to be doubled.

Wu Budu: Flip it over? How much is that?

Titan: The Sentinel said that the new technology is not very stable. Considering that there may be failures, we should prepare at least three sets of materials and increase the budget by thirty times.

Wu Budu jumped up. Had the Sentinel gone mad? Thirty times? Did he even know the price I offered was enough to build one A-grade mech?! He wanted thirty times that price? Did he want to build thirty A-grade mechs? Why didn't he just rob me?!

Titan: The Sentinel said this is already a small amount, and the more he asks for, the more you will earn.

Wu Budu fell silent: "I earn a lot? Where would I possibly earn that much?"

After hanging up the call, Wu Budu rubbed his temples. How could he make money, or rather, how could he accumulate merit points? He couldn't very well borrow them!

Just then, the phone rang. It was my old buddy, [Great Wall Watcher]. "Old Wu, I heard you got in line at the sentry post? I won't hesitate, I'll cut in line for you, second in line!"

Wu Budu immediately understood what the sentry meant by "earning a lot"!

I can earn merit points by selling queue spots!

Holy crap, that sly little rascal Sentry actually thought of selling me the queue fee! He truly deserves his double-S genius title!

Wu Budu's face was filled with ecstatic joy, but he lowered his voice and said with great difficulty, "Alas, you're too late, old friend. Fenglang Juxu has already come looking for me. You're too late."

[Great Wall Watch]: I'll add money.

Wu Budu: This isn't about money.

Wall Watchers: Double!

Wu Budu: Can you please stop making things difficult for me? We've all been friends for years. If you do this, how will you view me after the Fenglang Juxu incident?

Great Wall Guardian: Five times! The merit points of five A-level mechs! Asking for more would be excessive!

Wu Budu: Okay! Five A-level mechs' merit points, but let me make this clear beforehand, these Mech Soul mechs are very expensive. One of them costs about the same as ten ordinary A-level mechs. That means you have to pay for at least fifteen A-level mechs!

Great Wall Watcher: Is this outrageous? Did he build an A-grade or an S-grade Sentinel?! You know, an S-grade only costs about ten A-grades! With all that money, if I end up with an A-grade, or even less than an A+, then all my merit points will have gone down the drain!

Wu Budu: Stop talking nonsense. If you can't afford it, then you'll be third!

Great Wall Guardian: Bullshit! You think I can't afford it? Who do you think you are?! The cost of fifteen A-level mechs? I'll transfer the merit points to you!

Not long after, Fenglangjuxu called.

"Ah! Old Wolf, why are you only calling now! You're too late! You're fifth now! The Great Wall team and their disciples are ahead of you!"

"What? I'm fifth? When did I get ranked behind my juniors?"

"This isn't about seniority; it's about who got here first having the advantage! Please understand!"

"I don't understand! I'll pay more!"

"This...this isn't something that can be solved by adding more money!"

"Ten A-level mech merit points will be used as a queue-jumping fee! Production costs are separate!"

"Well, it's not impossible, but mainly for the sake of our old buddies. I wouldn't dare do this to just anyone. Just transfer the merit points to me first. Sigh, really, all you guys do is pull strings. If word gets out, what will I do with my reputation...?"