Star Odyssey

Chapter 811: Probing

At this time, Lu Yin was sitting inside a spacecraft that was headed towards the war’s battlefront. This war was very important to him, and victory lay in speed. Once Wei Rong was able to stabilize the situation, it would become very troublesome. Lu Yin might be able to eventually win even against many surprise reinforcements, but he could not disregard the Dark Phoenix family. 

His gadget beeped quietly, and Lu Yin opened it to hear Ah mu’s voice call out, “Seventh Bro, Wei Rong has borrowed a huge amount of money from Millions City.” 

Lu Yin’s gaze trembled. “How do you know this?” 

“He told Angie, and she didn’t bother hiding it from me,” Ah Mu said.

Lu Yin immediately ordered, “Disconnect from this call and delete my contact info! You’re being tested, so think of a way to protect yourself.”

Lu Yin then immediately ended the call. 

War was all about utilizing resources efficiently, and borrowing money from Millions City meant that the Wei family could not hold out any longer. Once this news leaked out, it would cause a huge blow to the Wei family. Wei Rong was not foolish, and he would never allow this kind of information to be leaked. The only possibility was that he had intentionally leaked the information to Ah Mu in order to test if he was a traitor. 

Since Lu Yin had rushed to attack Armament Weave, it had seemingly forced Wei Rong towards different measures. Right, normally, he shouldn’t have rashly attacked Armament Weave before he united all of the eastern weaves into the Great Eastern Alliance. But since Lu Yin had done something unexpected, it was quite normal for Wei Rong to be suspicious. 

This news had to be false, and Lu Yin would not even try to verify it with Millions City, as such a move would confirm that Ah Mu was the mole. He hoped that Ah Mu would be able to handle this matter well and not be discovered. 

On the other end of the call, where the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was located, Ah Mu’s expression changed drastically after hearing Lu Yin’s words. He immediately erased all of Lu Yin’s contact details as well as all of his call records with Lu Yin. Simultaneously, he released several ant-like creatures. He then used his innate gift that allowed him to communicate with such organisms to give them certain instructions. Finally, he walked to the wall and pressed his hand against it before unleashing his star energy in a trembling pattern. 

On the other side of the wall was a woman from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe who had been resting, and she was knocked unconscious by Ah Mu’s star energy. 

At this moment, a commotion was heard outside the door to Ah Mu’s room, and quite a few people gathered outside Ah Mu’s room where they waited. 

Ah Mu’s expression did not change, and he inhaled deeply as he closed both eyes.

Before long, Angie arrived outside the door and knocked loudly.

Ah Mu opened the door and respectfully greeted Angie, “Young Mistress.”

Angie grunted in acknowledgement, but her focus was on Ah Mu’s gadget. “Did you call anyone just now?”

Ah Mu felt that this was a strange question. “Why is Young Mistress asking about this? Your subordinate’s gadget has been damaged since yesterday, and I forgot to repair it. Thus, I haven’t been able to communicate with anyone.” 

“Damaged?” Angie evidently did not believe this, as she made Ah Mu take off his gadget so that she could examine it. It was indeed ruined, but that was even more suspicious, since the timing was too coincidental. 

Wei Rong believed that Lu Yin had hurried to invade Armament Weave because he had somehow learned that Wei Rong was cooperating with the Dark Phoenix family. Few were aware of this news aside from Gui Wuzong from the Shadowsword Sect and the Dark Phoenix family itself. If Lu Yin truly was aware of this alliance, then that meant there was a mole among his members, and the possibility of Ah Mu being the mole was rather high. 

Although Angie suspected Ah Mu, she could not understand how Ah Mu could have possibly managed to get in contact with Lu Yin. Had the two of them met previously? There did not seem to be such a possibility, and their positions were strikingly different. Even if Lu Yin was capable of luring in Ah Mu, he could not have done it this quickly. 

Ah Mu’s status in the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was still quite acceptable. Although Angie was the Young Mistress, she still could not interrogate Ah Mu without cause. After thinking about it, she asked, “Did you tell anyone about the matter of the Wei family cooperating with the Dark Phoenix family?” 

Ah Mu hurriedly shook his head, but then he seemed to suddenly think of something, and his expression twitched. 

Angie’s gaze trembled. “Tell me, who did you tell?” 

Ah Mu replied, “I really didn’t tell anyone! On the way back from Millions City, I drank with Miss Qing and got a bit drunk.”

Angie immediately ordered, “Go and bring Ah Qing here.”

At the same time, she felt slightly puzzled. Ah Qing’s quarters were right next to Ah Mu’s, but despite being so noisy, she had not come out for a look. Why hadn’t she come out of her room? 

In the adjacent room, the girl who had been knocked unconscious by Ah Mu was the Ah Qing in question. Her gadget contained Lu Yin’s contact details, which was ironclad evidence that had been planted by Ah Mu’s ants. 

When Angie found Lu Yin’s contact details in Ah Qing’s gadget, the killing intent that filled her eyes caused the others to tremble.

“Go rest, and don’t drink alcohol anymore in the future,” Angie ordered solemnly.

Ah Mu immediately murmured in acknowledgement.

Everyone left, and Ah Mu released a pent-up breath. He had successfully passed this trial, and he was lucky that Seventh Bro had reacted so quickly and cut their call short, preventing their call from being traced. Otherwise, Ah Mu would have been doomed.

He fearfully wiped the dirt off of his gadget. Angie could not have possibly deduced that Ah Mu was behind everything that had happened. Thus, only Wei Rong could have guessed that there was someone leaking their secrets. 

That person’s thinking was too meticulous, and it was quite frightening. Even if he was only working with a guess, he still would not let go. Ah Mu clenched his fists tightly, as he had almost died this time. 

As for Ah Qing, Ah Mu did not feel even the slightest bit of guilt towards her. He hated the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and he hated everyone who was a part of it. His hatred had reached the point where he would not care even if they all died, and to some degree, he actually hoped that they would all die. As for Angie, he had simply brought her up as an attempt to deceive Lu Yin. He didn’t actually want Angie. Rather, he wanted to gain total control of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. 

The Allied Forces of the Great Eastern Alliance’s overall power surpassed Armament Weave’s. Even if the Wei family was able to call upon quite a few reinforcements, they were still only barely able to resist the invasion, and the Wei family had to struggle to defend themselves. 

Lu Yin had thought that it would only take the Allied Forces five or six days at most to push their way into the depths of Armament Weave. However, the Wei family’s reinforcements proved to be unending, and their reinforcements had also arrived much faster than he had expected. Thus, the defenders had managed to hold out for an additional half month. 

Something was going on; the space within the universe was fixed and could not shrink or change. The routes that the western weaves could send reinforcements through had been analyzed by the Great Eastern Alliance, and they had determined that it should be impossible for reinforcements troops to arrive this quickly. 

Within a battleship, Lu Yin looked at a distant skirmish as Peach and Aden followed behind him. There was also a row of Great Yu Empire soldiers behind the two captains as well as En Ya, Xueshan Auna, and some of the older veterans from the Lu Office of Defense. 

Although battles in space were common, a large-scale conflict such as this one was more uncommon. Lu Yin wanted to provide these people with some experience, as they would have to deal with even greater wars that he might have to conduct in the future. 

“Your Highness, Armament Weave’s reinforcements are arriving rather quickly, and this has essentially become us waging war on all of the central weaves. This deadlock will continue,” En Ya said. 

Lu Yin frowned and studied a star chart. “Why are their reinforcements able to arrive so quickly? Does anybody know?” 

Sigmund Mathers stepped forward. “There are only two possibilities why they can pull in reinforcements quicker than expected, since space cannot be changed. The first is the same as our Great Eastern Alliance, which is that an express military route has been created that allows their troops to travel about much more quickly. The second is that they have discovered new routes.” 

“However, it can’t be an expressway, as that would mean constructing a passageway that goes through the various borders, and no power would allow such a thing without some degree of trust. It should be the second possibility,” En Ya said. 

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered, and he quickly contacted Gavin. “Get Di Nuo to call me.”

It didn’t take long for Di Nuo’s image to appear on the screen. “My lord, you were looking for me?”

Lu Yin shared an image of the astral battlefield, and coincidentally, an Armament Weave spacecraft exploded at that same time. Countless bits and pieces of debris floated through space, accompanied by many corpses that were half complete or in even worse shape. Fresh blood floated through space, only to be burned up.

Di Nuo was taken aback by the macabre scene. “This is?” 

“This is the battlefield in Armament Weave, the largest battlefield in the Outerverse at this moment. There were almost 10,000 soldiers on that spacecraft, and they were all cultivators. Now, they’re all dead,” Lu Yin said coldly. 

Di Nuo did not understand why Lu Yin was showing him all this. “Lord, what do you mean by this?” 

Lu Yin looked at the man. “This war could have been finished quickly, but the opposing side has been able to call in reinforcements too quickly. This has led to things being dragged out, which has led to countless more casualties. I want to know if your Endless Borders has participated by assisting their transportation efforts.” 

Di Nuo was puzzled. “Lord, I’m just the person in charge of Frostwave Weave, so I truly don’t know.” 

“Then go and check everything related to this war. I don’t wish to face unknown enemies, and I also have no desire to not even know anything before new enemies appear!” Lu Yin barked. 

Di Nuo was stunned, and he immediately began to check into things. 

It was not easy to discover new transportation routes, which meant that the first group that had come to Lu Yin’s mind in this topic was Endless Borders. 

When the Great Eastern Alliance had first been established, Endless Borders had given Lu Yin a gift, which was a newly discovered route that greatly surpassed the efficiency of the known routes of the time. 

If Endless Borders was able to give him a route so easily, then that meant that they had better ones still. If that was the case for Frostwave Weave, then it meant that it was quite likely that they had more efficient routes for Armament Weave as well. 

Before long, Di Nuo called Lu Yin again, this time with an ugly expression. “Lord, I’m sorry. Endless Borders has indeed helped in transporting troops.” 

Lu Yin’s face sank. “What does Endless Borders mean by this? Are you trying to become enemies with my Great Eastern Alliance?” 

Di Nuo hurriedly denied such allegations. “Lord, please don’t be mistaken. This was not done by our headquarters, as it was the decision of Mo Si, who is in charge of Armament Weave. Also, he was forced into a corner.” 

“I don’t need to hear any excuses. This is war! And it should not be dragged out for another minute or second! Immediately contact Endless Borders’ headquarters. I want to speak to the highest ranking person.” 

“Lord, even if you are able to contact our headquarters, it’s no use. The situation within our Endless Borders situation is rather unique, and the one who is helping Armament Weave at this time is the captain of an expedition crew, Bach. These groups have their own, independent authority, and they are even able to reject requests from headquarters,” Di Nuo explained. 

Lu Yin sneered. “Are you saying that Endless Borders can’t control this so-called ‘expedition crew?’ Do you think that I’m that stupid?” 

Di Nuo’s face went pale. “Lord, all of these expedition crews have made great contributions to our company. As for the captains of these expedition crews, they are all a part of our board of directors. Even if headquarters sends orders to such a group, they must first receive approval from the board. Our Endless Borders’ foundation is in discovering new shipping routes, and these expedition crews are the core of Endless Borders. Moreover, Armament Weave hired Endless Borders for transport, and there’s nothing illegal about such a request. Thus, it is up to the company if they will accept such a request or not. Nobody can object even if Captain Bach accepts such a request.” 

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “So, as long as that Bach rejects this request, your company won’t bother with it either?” 

“That’s right. Our Endless Borders won’t participate in conflicts between powers. Generally, such requests that are related to warfare are not accepted, but Captain Bach seems to have some relationship with someone from the Wei family, so he accepted this commission. Our headquarters can’t do anything about it,” Di Nuo explained. 

“I want to talk to Bach,” Lu Yin said.

Di Nuo was placed in a difficult position. 

Lu Yin’s face turned much colder. “What? Can’t it be done?”

Di Nuo agonizingly answered, “I just spoke to Captain Bach, and he asked that you dismiss your troops.”

Lu Yin was stumped, but then he became so furious that he smiled. “Some captain of an expedition crew wants me to dismiss my troops? He’s got balls.” 

Di Nuo became even more nervous, and he did not even dare to look at Lu Yin. He had gained some understanding of Lu Yin during the time as the person responsible for Endless Borders’ business within Frostwave Weave, and he felt that nothing good would come of offending this person. Di Nuo had seen the fates that awaited even the disciples of powerful organizations from the Innerverse. Thus, he had tried to persuade Bach during their call. Unfortunately, Bach was haughty to begin with, and he had begun to disregard most people after becoming the captain of an expedition crew, even other expedition crew captains. This time, his disregard had stirred up a great deal of trouble.