Poverty makes me capable of anything.

"So what exactly are these rumors?"

"Some say that your ruler has been captured by the Royal Knights. I'd like to know if this is true or false?"

When Hughes asked this question face-to-face, he was fully prepared for the partnership to break down.

They had actually discussed it internally. The reason they chose to fund the Time-Space Empire was entirely because of An Ran. An Ran was a worthwhile investor. Although he couldn't reach the level of Night Owl, he could still bring huge trouble to the Empire.

If the rumors are true, then there is no need to continue funding the Hyperdimensional Dimension. Without Anran, the Hyperdimensional Dimension is just a bunch of worthless "rotten fish and shrimp".

Even if the relationship breaks down, it's not a problem.

If the rumors are false, although An Ran might feel uncomfortable, based on the analysis of her past, she is still a person who considers the big picture. No matter how uncomfortable she feels, she cannot resist the aid of real money.

Juliana remained silent.

With Her Highness the Princess not by her side, the only people on Dolphin Star who make decisions are her and Heloise.

If you want to ask Her Highness the Princess's opinion, you must ask through Ella, which will take half a day.

The daylily buds got cold in half a day.

Hughes said expressionlessly, "It just so happens that our intelligence department has a major operation recently, which requires your cooperation from beyond time. How about this, I will accompany the transport unit to your headquarters to have a face-to-face talk with His Excellency Anran."

“Just tell me what your plans are,” Juliana said.

"It seems you've already given your answer."

Hughes shook his head.

It's obvious that the rumor is true, otherwise Juliana wouldn't have hesitated for so long.

A woman without her own opinions.

Hughes sneered inwardly, feeling a surge of annoyance that his long-planned scheme had been thwarted.

The materials sent out were worth a fortune, but the only feedback from the transdimensional space-time continuum was some insignificant news.

"We didn't want to see this news either, but since it has already happened, we can only try to minimize the losses. With Anran temporarily gone, the Superdimensional Dimension probably won't have the energy for external operations for a short time, so these materials are useless to you. However, although the cooperation has failed, you don't need to worry too much. If we have any intelligence related to Anran, we will notify you as soon as possible."

Hughes hung up the call without hesitation.

Juliana stood there stunned for a long time, then angrily punched the wall.

She's so useless!

How could she explain this to Her Highness the Princess? Juliana was consumed by deep self-reproach.

"If only I had learned more about this when I was the captain of the guard..."

With her fingers almost digging into her palms, Juliana clenched her teeth, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Those who didn't know what was going on were immediately frightened and hid in a corner when they saw Juliana like this. What's going on?

"Go and apologize to Her Highness the Princess."

Juliana thought this to herself, and then passed the message on to Ella.

"The cooperation with the intelligence department has fallen through?"

Anran, who was enjoying an iced cola, blinked while biting her straw.

"It seems that someone is spreading the news that An Ran has been arrested."

"..."

Anran used a straw to blow air outwards.

After chatting idly with Olina for a while, his brain cleared up a bit, and he asked, "How much supplies have we gotten in total?"

“Juliana said that 1.4 Heimdall ships can be built.”

1.4 times, more than expected, is already a huge bargain.

Therefore, An Ran was not angry at all with the Star Alliance Intelligence Department; on the contrary, she was very grateful for their generosity.

“Reserve 1.2 times the amount of materials, and the rest can all be given to you, Ella,” Anran decided.

"Eh—"

Ella's voice suddenly became incredibly long!

Ella, now that she's grown up, isn't an emotionless machine, but she rarely experiences such strong emotional fluctuations.

Because she understood the meaning behind An Ran's words.

Let 0.2 Heimdall motherships become her food supply!

The Heimdall, a super-giant ship with a total length of 37.2 kilometers.

If the Heimdall were divided into five equal parts, it would still be 7.44 kilometers long. This is not made of the low-quality metals sold outside; about one-eighth of the material is Heimdall superalloy.

"Eat without worry. After I finish my business here, the Holy Prison of the Royal Knights will also be yours, Ella. There are many metals here that are of higher quality than Heimdall Superalloy."

Ella's eyes lit up with excitement as she gazed at the starry sky.

In this vast and boundless world, only two things could interest her.

Eating, and being with Anran.

"Mmm... Anran is the best!"

"Oh, right, there's something else I need you to do with Juliana and the others. Listen to me..."

On the distant planet Dolphin, Juliana, who had been up all night, finally received Ella's reply.

"Her Highness is not angry with me, but..."

Even after learning about An Ran's attitude, Juliana still felt guilty.

If she were smarter, she could definitely get more resources from the intelligence.

"I need to do better! I can't let Her Highness down."

Having made up her mind, Juliana continued reading.

The following section is the core of Ella's reply, taking up three-quarters of the text.

"I see." Juliana nodded repeatedly. "I understand, Your Highness. I will definitely cooperate with Ella!"

……

Star Alliance.

Somewhere in Krishnamurti.

After losing contact with Juliana, Hughes quickly returned to the intelligence department's first-level office.

After his message was relayed back, all the key figures in the intelligence department had already entered the conference room.

"The failure of this collaboration is entirely my fault."

Minister Lucas stood up and apologized to everyone present: "I will punish myself with three years' salary."

"Okay, let's get back to business."

The show's over; it's time to get down to business.

Lucas sat down again, looked around, and said, "Let Sue explain the current overall situation first."

The young woman with special glasses stood up at the sound, and a virtual panel popped up in front of her.

"We currently have three parallel plans. The time-space line has been interrupted, so only two plans can continue to be executed."

She erased the box that represented timelessness.

The remaining two plans were codenamed "Visa" and "Frontier Project".

"Due to the changing situation of the Imperial Civil War, contact with the Vesa side has made very good progress."

"On the other hand, the border plan is also progressing as scheduled. The misleading messages have been effective, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, there should be results soon."

"Did those insects agree?"

Su nodded: "I agree."

"very good!"

Exhilarating cheers erupted in the conference room.

The foolish Zerg progenitor finally chose to cooperate with them.

While everyone was laughing at the "Cai Chicken" rebels who were being beaten up, who would have thought that they could actually bring the Zerg in?

Because they are genuinely foolish, no one will suspect them when they are playing the fool.

"This time, we must cause the empire to split apart; if it can collapse completely, that would be even better!"

"Haha, there's no such thing as a good thing. Once the Zerg and the demons enter the Empire, those old fogies will definitely make their move. It won't be so easy to make the Empire collapse."

"I'll just think about it."

……

Ronald listened quietly to the reports from his subordinates.

This is a routine he follows every morning, and everything is progressing according to his plan.

Even though many people outside said that the Imperial Civil War was instigated by the Royal Knights, with the prospect of profit at stake, no one would delve into the matter, and most people simply laughed it off.

Even if someone realizes something is wrong, it's difficult for them to just watch the opportunity slip away.

All living beings have a gambler's mentality.

"What if we win the bet?"

As long as they have this idea, they will enter the game, and once they enter the game, Ronald's plan will be accomplished.

He only needs to get started and the result; the process is not Ronald's concern.

"You may leave now."

After dismissing the messenger, Ronald focused his attention entirely on the pillar of life before him.

The orange-red light illuminated his eyes, but a discordant touch of cold white was mixed into that pure color.

"Who put this in there?"

Ronald gently rubbed the spot where the cold white dot was located with his thumb.