Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 233 - 153: Stars and Ocean

Chapter 233: Chapter 153: Stars and Ocean

Duan Mingyuan’s mood these past few days had not been good.

He was just a mere teacher at an academy, so how had he suddenly become the spiritual leader of the United Front?

Three rebel factions were fighting tooth and nail with the Iron Guard Consortium on the other side of the universe, yet they claimed to the media that they were inspired by him. This matter was also being widely broadcast under the secret maneuvering of the Shanqi Commerce Association, causing many alien friends who didn’t know him to have mixed opinions about him.

Some believed he was a philosopher leading the push for universal peace, while others saw him as a terrorist ringleader inciting rebellions on various planets.

Jiuyue would activate her intelligence network every night, compiling evaluations from alien friends and reading them aloud to him.

Suddenly, Duan Mingyuan discovered that this little fox was a deeply hidden troublemaker.

With her efforts, the notoriety of the ogre chieftain had spread throughout the universe. Many who had never seen him really began to believe he was the new leader of the Ogre Tribe, and there were even false news stories circulated about him eating Cosmic Relations Coordination Department executives raw.

This is the terrifying nature of rumors!

People always see only what they want to see.

The mainstream view was that internal corruption within the consortium had been exposed, quite rarely putting it at a disadvantage in public opinion.

However, Duan Mingyuan knew very well that the shift in public opinion was the handiwork of the Shan Clan’s Commerce Association.

To bring about the merger between their consortium and the Shanqi Commerce Association, the Shan Clan People spared no effort, launching multiple initiatives. Not only did they incite small-scale wars and use sentiment control to suppress opponents, but they also focused attentively on the Sixteen Star Summit.

According to the procedure, the passage of any motion at the summit required the approval of a majority vote. The Chamber of Commerce’s goal was to reduce the number of opposition members before the summit began.

Blue Star, which was very likely to join the summit, was naturally also a subject of their attention.

Last night, the Third Prince sent a message saying that representatives from the Shanqi Commerce Association would visit Yunhai Academy tomorrow to hear their opinions on the merger between the Chamber of Commerce and the consortium.

From the standpoint of a third-party force, the Sixteen Star Summit naturally would not support the merger bill.

If one party’s power becomes too strong, all their efforts so far and all the agreements they’ve signed would become null and void.

Only when the strength of both parties is nearly equal does the game make sense. The true intent of the Shan Clan was to control the supreme power in the truest sense by merging the universe’s two mightiest forces into one.

However, after continuous space disasters, even those in the summit with firm opposition stances fell into silence, evading the issue even when brought up in public.

In such a process, sacrifices are inevitably made.

Duan Mingyuan felt he was very likely to be one such sacrifice.

Being a leader of the United Front was not a good title to hold, as history had proved time and time again that when the time comes for settling scores in autumn, such "leaders," such "instigators," are the first to be purged.

And now, the sudden reappearance of Extraditors, absent for hundreds of years, at this critical moment, made Duan Mingyuan feel that things were not simple.

In the past two days, Duan Mingyuan had looked through all the books related to Extraditors in the library and discovered they were not a family. The connections between them resembled those of members belonging to the same organization.

All information about Extraditors disappeared on the same day, hundreds of years ago.

On the vast lands of Blue Star, from that day forth, there has been no more mention of the descendants of Extraditors.

Unknowingly, the sky outside the window had darkened.

There was an activity held by the student union at the academy today, leaving Duan Mingyuan alone in the library.

The lights overhead flickered on and off, as if heralding the onset of a horror film, and the librarian had fallen asleep unknowingly, drooling all over the table.

As time passed, the scenery outside the window had quietly transformed.

After the sun set, a blood moon enveloped the sky, and the world outside the windows seemed as if it had been plastered with red cellophane. Despite the silence that usually pervaded the library, now and then, the cawing of crows could be heard.

Duan Mingyuan had found himself inexplicably linked to crows these past few days, often encountering them flying through the sky unintentionally. The crows had crimson pupils, and Jiuyue thought they must be monsters, but strangely, the mountain spirits behind the mountain all said they didn’t recognize such a crow monster.

Jiuyue felt that this crow monster boded ill, likely being a malevolent being.

Jiuyue also said that one should never discard the monster carcasses following a defeat, but rather, coat them in egg wash, roll them in breadcrumbs, fry them until golden and crispy, and remove them from the oil; such a dish was beloved by both the young and old, making the spirits on the mountain yearn for it.

Whether this crow monster was good or evil, whatever purpose it had for coming here, Duan Mingyuan felt he was about to find out soon.

The cawing of the crows got closer and closer, their size no bigger than a palm, not even half as large as Mister Hei Yu, but when the small crow alighted on Duan Mingyuan’s desk, the aura it emitted was incomparably more dominant than that of Mister Hei Yu.

There was no blood-colored moon in the sky, nor were the windows tinted red; these perceptions were the result of the barrier.

The Extraditor’s ability wasn’t limited to shape-shifting monsters into humans, he could also alter reality within the confines of the barrier to a certain extent.

He had adjusted the library’s windows, which made it seem as if everything external had changed.

Duan Mingyuan had to admit it was a very deceptive and clever tactic.

It appeared that he was dealing with someone of his own kind, a Power User.

"I have been observing you for a long time, and it seems you are quite interested in our affairs," said the crow standing on the desk, its voice low and pressured, just as Li Hua had described.

That one sentence revealed its identity as an Extraditor.

"I am interested in all things unknown, especially unknown dangers," Duan Mingyuan replied.

"Oh? What danger?"

"I don’t know, for instance, if someone were planning to assassinate an envoy of the Shanqi Commerce Association within Yunhai Academy, it would likely cause quite a bit of trouble for the Academy."

In fact, having read about the Extraditor’s fate, Duan Mingyuan had been curious about how they ultimately evaded the pursuit of both corporate and Imperial Court forces and had managed to disappear without a trace.

From the records in the book, it wasn’t hard to discern that the Consortium attached a much greater importance to this group than to a defeated band of rebels; if they had set their minds to unearthing the Extraditors, then surely there would have been no place for them to hide.

Unless...

Just like the cosmic public opinion storm this time, there was another power that had secretly lent them a hand.

"Endangered Species Protection Association—that is the organization I’m with now," said the crow, looking up at Duan Mingyuan.

"It’s a charity funded by the Sixteen Star Summit. The mission of the organization is to rescue endangered species throughout the cosmos."

"Has it always been this way?"

"For hundreds of years, my ancestors did just so," the crow asserted.

"The founders of the association placed a high value on the Extraditor’s Ability, coming to their aid in moments of crisis, and precisely because of this, we left this planet hundreds of years ago," the crow explained.

"So, the purpose of the Endangered Species Protection Association’s visit is?"

"To protect an endangered planet."