Poverty makes me capable of anything.

I'll try my best.

Anran nodded, and after ending the communication, she led Ella into the portal.

Chapter 54 It turns out everyone else has connections except me.

Compared to the spatial passages created out of thin air by the Holy Church, passing through the portal felt like coming home.

Two words—

Comfortable!

With a blink of an eye, you're on the other side of the portal, without any worry about falling into endless turbulence while walking slowly through the spatial passage.

Of course, if something were to happen to the portal at this moment, dying would be exceptionally swift and decisive.

It's turned to dust, completely beyond saving.

Anran and Ella were quite lucky; the portal, which hadn't been activated for many years, was still running smoothly.

Stepping onto the red earth covered with pebbles, Anran immediately opened the game map.

As Guedes said, the first destination of this teleportation portal is the uninhabited planet codenamed Rcloud-1911 in the Xianyun region. Since no players have been there before, the only map that has been safely lit up is Rcloud-1911.

The large map was covered in a gray fog, making it impossible to discern directions.

Fortunately, the people who built the portal had considered a more dire situation. At least Anran had a game map to refer to, but what if the refugees didn't have a star map? Wouldn't they be trapped and die in this starry sky?

"Drip-drip-"

The fingers covered by metal gloves tapped the side of the portal several times, and soon a virtual screen appeared on the portal.

[The star map is under construction, please wait!]

Anran attached the bracelet to it.

Please verify your identity.

A surge of etheric power poured directly onto it, instantly leaving the intermediate AI on the portal dazed and confused.

[Verification successful, star map download in progress... Star map download complete!]

"okay."

After finding a suitable spot, An Ran safely retrieved the Flying Starship from the sealed chamber.

Since unlocking the spatial skill "Sealed Space," carrying mechanical items has become much more convenient.

An Ran can ride the Flying Starship, and the Flying Starship can also "ride" An Ran.

The hatch of the Flying Star Ship opened automatically, and just as An Ran was about to step onto the ship, her bracelet suddenly received a message.

This is Irene's private channel!

"Is the main quest about to start?"

An Ran slipped into the spaceship and closed the spaceship door before reconnecting with Ereshki.

"Something terrible has happened!" Irene exclaimed, her face filled with anxiety.

An Ran calmly asked, "What happened?"

“The Royal Council, which convened not long ago, has already classified Anran as a traitor on the same level as Vesa. Once the resolution is issued, the agencies under the Royal Council will likely begin implementing the decapitation plan. Moreover, who knows when those old fogies of the Imperial Royal Family might take matters into their own hands? The current situation is far from optimistic,” Ereshki said.

"Rebellion? I'm not an Imperial citizen, what kind of rebellion am I talking about?"

“This is not the time for joking around. Be serious, Anran!” Eresh said sharply. “You must realize how bad your situation is and find a way to get out of the battle in the Selene military district as soon as possible. If possible, it would be best to hide for a while and come out when the situation of the war becomes clearer.”

An Ran asked, "How powerful are those people in the Royal Council?"

"There are four Grandmasters on the surface, but I don't know what other trump cards they have hidden. These four Grandmasters are all very old, and no one knows exactly how much their strength has declined."

"No matter how chaotic the situation was before, it was an internal dispute within the Imperial Royal Family, and the Royal Council had no say in it. But now, Vesa's actions have crossed the Royal Council's bottom line, and these old fogies might just have the nerve to take action themselves," Eresh explained.

Four grandmasters whose strength has declined?

The empire's accumulated wealth over the years must have included far more than just this many people.

As for Eresh's claim that she didn't know, Anran didn't believe it. If the Royal Knights didn't understand this, how could they dare to do something malicious in secret?

An Ran looked down at the bracelet: "There's something I don't understand. Can you help me figure it out?"

“Go ahead and ask,” Eresh nodded.

"Why aren't the Royal Council members taking action against the Royal Guard?"

Eresh said, "This touches on some high-level decisions. Since our star system hasn't had a star system ruler for a long time, the presence of Grandmasters has become the benchmark for measuring whether a force has entered the star system level. These Grandmasters have reached an agreement that they cannot take action unless it is a matter of life and death. Ordinary fleets and masters are no match for Grandmasters. Once a Grandmaster is mobilized, even if one side wins in the end, all that will be gained is a world full of devastation."

"Oh."

An Ran nodded.

Think about it carefully, it's like nuclear weapons. If a major power were to launch a nuclear attack right from the start of a war, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Eresh continued, "The man behind the Royal Guard is known as the Empire's greatest genius in the last fifty years, and he is in his prime. The Royal Council is still quite wary of him. In addition, the Fourth Prince has indeed gone too far and is no longer suitable to succeed to the throne, so the Royal Council turns a blind eye to it."

An Ran narrowed her eyes.

In this world, if you are strong, you are right.

When dealing with these old scoundrels, if you can take action, don't waste time talking.

All the words can't compare to a single "truth bullet" that can blast the enemy's stronghold to smithereens.

"So, does that mean Visa's operation is doomed to fail?"

“That’s not the case.” Eresh shook her head. “The reason why the Boyle family is one of the top families in the empire is because they also have a Grandmaster. Although this Grandmaster did not support Vesa’s actions at first, his attitude has now become ambiguous.”

Holy crap.

An Ran rolled her eyes.

So it turns out they all have powerful backers; no wonder they act like they're fearless.

Not only do I have no powerful connections, but I'm also constantly being schemed against. My fate is truly tragic!

"Since Visa has powerful backers, I should be relatively safe."

"It's better to be safe than sorry," said Ai Leixi.

"Yes, I will seriously consider it."

An Ran had been observing Ai Leixi's gaze the entire time, especially when she asked that question—

"I recently advanced to the peak of the Master level as an Ether Mechanic, but I find that I seem to be bound by an invisible shackle. Although the threshold of Grandmaster is right in front of me, as soon as I try to touch it, this threshold seems to escape into the distance."

Eresh's eyes flickered.

Will this trigger the main quest?

An Ran was extremely tense. She decided that if anything unexpected happened, she would immediately lead her people to escape to the Dust Territory.

Basic mechanical knowledge can be found anywhere, even in the Dust Territory. Does the absence of Butcher Zhang mean we have to eat hairy pigs?

At worst, I'll just give up the generous main quest rewards, ignore this damn void, level up to the peak of Grandmaster level in one go, and then come back to kill all these idiots.

Make them kneel down and call her "Your Majesty"!

An Ran's inner thoughts are extremely rich, but her appearance shows no abnormality at all.

After a moment of silence, Eresh said, "I suspect this was something the Void secretly did while you were making the agreement with them, Anran."

"..."

What you said makes so much sense!

I even pretended to believe it!

"I'm completely clueless right now. If I can't break through to the Grandmaster level, I'll just have to keep hiding. ε=(?ο｀*))) Sigh."

He let out a long sigh, filled with melancholy.

Even Irene felt a little sorry for her after seeing this.

Being cute really does give you the freedom to do whatever you want.

“I have actually thought about it seriously. To break this shackle, I can only find someone more powerful to help me. But I don’t know any of those grandmasters, so I can only pin my hopes on other places. Maybe I can go to Hidden Sands and see if I can dig out an ancient god. Although the void is powerful, it is still no match for an ancient god.”

An Ran clearly displayed the appearance of someone who was "desperate for a cure".

Eresh quickly tried to persuade her, "Anran, don't worry. You hide first, and I'll help you find a way. I know some grandmasters, and the Holy Council has always been handled by the Royal Knights. Maybe I can find some useful information."

"As expected of Irene! She's so reliable! If you were in front of me, I would definitely hug you!"

An Ran clenched her fist in "excitement".

"You're still the same as always."

"the same as you!"

"Anran, take good care of yourself. I'll contact you again once I find the relevant information."

"Okay, Irene."

The "sweet" conversation came to an end.

Seeing Ella looking jealous, Anran quickly hugged her and comforted her, "How can a thirty-something-year-old auntie be as cute as Ella!"

"..."

That sounded quite encouraging, and a smile immediately appeared on Ella's face.

After releasing Ella, Anran tapped the bracelet a few times, and the game map automatically recorded the nearby star map.

"Still the same as always."

An Ran rubbed a strand of bangs that was on her forehead.

Eresh said her personality was still the same, but her reply was actually referring to Eresh's eyes.

The look in his eyes during that moment of silence was very similar to that of the girl, Ereshki, whom Anran saw when she was freed from her shackles.

Everyone has their own story.

The similar look in her eyes made An Ran believe even more strongly the three scenes she had witnessed.

"Alright, let's not think about that anymore. Let's go for a walk around the area and see if there's a direct route to the Mushroom Cloud Galaxy."