Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1205, Chapter 1201: A Lucid Dream (Second Update)

Wanda Maximov had never dined at Latveria Castle before, so she was completely unaware that the Emperor's so-called lunchtime was actually an hour later than that of other civil servants. When he began his lunch, the civil servants also began their afternoon work, so even during lunchtime, the Emperor had to receive heads and secretaries from various departments. Just as Wanda Maximov picked up her appetizer of garlic butter bread and hairy crab legs in vinaigrette, three officers from the Ministry of Military Affairs, accompanied by Hammurabi, were led into the Emperor's private dining room, interrupting Wanda's attempt to share her food with her teacher.

The Department of Military Affairs functions similarly to a combination of the functions of the U.S. Department of Defense and Strategic Command. It is the broadest-ranging department in the Latvinian military, overseeing almost all planetary land, sea, and air support forces, except for the Void Fleet and genetically modified soldiers. The military forces of the Southern Federation were incorporated into this department after their surrender, reorganized around genetically modified soldiers, and the surrendered populist armed forces were also dispersed and reorganized. Political commissars were used as discipline officers and propaganda officers to prevent the resurgence of warlordism and populism that the emperor had suppressed within the military.

Although the importance of the planetary navy has been greatly reduced after the acquisition of sky carriers, the Ministry of Military Affairs still retains the planetary navy department and organizes it as a more economical planetary defense force compared to the void navy and sky carriers. Therefore, the status of the Latvinian navy is much more awkward than that of the air force and the army. The marine corps has been replaced by the air force marine corps, and most special operations are handled by genetically modified soldiers.

The emperor put down the biscuits in his hand, wiped his hands, and quickly glanced through the integration report.

This was a draft of the speech prepared by the Department of Military Affairs for the spokesperson. Much of it required his approval before it could be uttered. The three individuals were the general of the Planetary Defense Naval Command, the director of the Naval Propaganda Department, and the chief of staff, covering all functions from political to military. "No one knows the whereabouts of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Bush right now. The Pentagon report states it was destroyed at Naval Station Norfolk." The Emperor picked up a pen and deleted a paragraph. "We have already shared the nuclear-powered engines and the carrier's air defense armament with our allies. There's no need to further provoke the Pentagon and the White House. Let's pretend we know nothing."

"But this will slow down our progress in reaching a consensus with our European allies, which is our only way out of this predicament," an officer with a typical Yugoslavian appearance said seriously. He knew where the navy's predicament lay; after all, the Emperor valued the development of the Void Navy more, allocating the Planetary Navy to the Planetary Defense System, which made the world's naval-centric military power system very uncomfortable. "If we want Europeans to buy Romanian wine, we need to have enough trump cards up our sleeves."

The Emperor glanced at the planetary defense naval commander, unaware of his humorous nature when he promoted the officer. "We've already put enough pressure on NATO. It's a fragile balance. The complete destruction of the carrier strike group will only provoke NATO into a full-scale war with us, and Latvia cannot afford that now." The Emperor was particularly patient with his officers, especially naval officers. After all, there were very few planetary naval personnel in the Balkans, and promoting them to the Void Navy required a very long period of training. Therefore, the Emperor spared no time in personally educating his officers.

"After the Mars Foundry refits the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, they will be commissioned into the regular navy. Before war breaks out, we need stronger measures to control the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Once the carriers are launched, Italy and Turkey will understand what to do."

After the three officers saluted, they left the restaurant. Wanda thought she could finally enjoy her meal, but just three minutes later, another woman in a business suit was led in by Hammurabi. The report revealed that the Pentagon and CIA had used spy satellites to detect Latvinia's attack on the Sixth Fleet and the trajectory of the towed Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Bush. This report was intelligence sent by a high-ranking Hydra agent planted in the CIA, so very few people had access to it.

However, due to the potentially egregious political impact of the complete destruction of an entire carrier strike group—which could lead to dollar devaluation and capital flight—the president directly ordered the documents to be amended, buried amidst the ruins of the Norfolk Naval Base after the missile attack, and the investigation report to be permanently sealed. Even now, aside from the families of the sailors on that carrier strike group, many people believe that the Sixth Fleet is still at Norfolk Naval Base and has not yet departed. The sailors' families who caused the disturbance have also been subjected to various forms of wiretapping and surveillance by the FBI.

The Emperor had already reviewed the report once. The document bore the signature of Interior Minister Stephanie Malik and her proposed solution, which, in essence, echoed what he had told the three naval officers: even though Latvia's lithography machines were now operating at full capacity to produce low-end chips and earn foreign exchange, and more and more European allies were willing to cooperate with Latvia and break free from American hegemony, now was not the time to completely overturn the world order. This time, he needed to sign off on sealing the document and placing it in the Guardian Order's archives. This was the downside of Regent Victor von Doom's absence, to the point that the Emperor was beginning to consider whether to delegate more authority to Stephanie Malik.

"Pan-fried lamb chops, I like them, but they're a bit too greasy for lunch for others. Thank you, Diana, I really like the menu you've arranged. Please tell Stephanie she doesn't need to submit everything to me; Hammurabi's authority works just as well." The Emperor handed the document to Diana Lister, then turned to Wanda and said, "We have your favorite lemon oysters today, would you like some?"

"Of course," Wanda asked casually, "Is your lunch break always this busy?"

"Yes, that's why I scheduled the meal for this time, in order to handle more official business." The emperor popped a piece of mutton into his mouth, then took a sip of his treasured red wine. "I'm sorry, this certainly wasn't a pleasant dining experience. I much prefer a more convenient meal; a large bowl of noodles would suffice."

"Like this?" Wanda squinted, peering out to share her thoughts with the Emperor in the most intimate way. In her imagination, there was a bowl of Japanese ramen that would appear on a restaurant website, but in reality, the Emperor had to eat at least two kilograms of meat to feel even slightly full at lunchtime, just like when he quietly ate two kilograms of tomahawk steak on his first date with the witch.

So the emperor added a few strokes to her imagination, drawing simple, childlike doodles of animals and a little person running around the bowl to represent that he had to eat so much. This childish touch made Wanda laugh repeatedly, while Hammurabi, completely unaffected by outer-dimensional energy, was utterly baffled.

He only saw Wanda move closer to the Emperor and then start giggling. If he hadn't possessed the relevant knowledge, he might have deducted ten points from Wanda Maximov's mental stability score and concluded that she was on the verge of madness. In his theoretical knowledge, this kind of mental contact was similar to daydreaming and lucid dreaming, a kind of spiritual consciousness that required the caster to enter a meditative state—a mental phenomenon known as psychic resonance. But for Wanda Maximov and the Emperor, it was just a commonplace technique.

Hammurabi quietly walked towards the kitchen and instructed the chefs and waiters not to leave for the time being. Even if he didn't understand, he could tell that Wanda's outfit—a red leather trousers and a red off-the-shoulder corset—was for this lunch, and there was no need for anyone else to disturb the monarch's relaxation.

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(End of this chapter)