Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva
Chapter 1129 - 154: Golden Pocket Watch of Paused Time_2

'They are lying and afraid!'

'They fear us uniting under one voice again, they fear the bullied people uniting to resist!'

'They are not stupid, but calculated and evil, they have extinguished our hope!'

The excited crowd shouted this in front of the journalists' cameras.

This incident resonated with and drew sympathy from many; governors and councilors from other Star Domains also pressured the Central Council, hoping the officials would give a stronger explanation and punish those who ordered the fleet to fire.

No one dared to take the blame. Such a crime is not just political posturing; it would be etched in the annals of history, and even if the person died, their descendants would be entangled in hatred, with potential assassins from the Western Star Domain coming to eliminate them one by one even a hundred years later.

Within the Federal Central Council, there was an intense argument about this. The general who gave the order was thoroughly investigated; anyone slightly connected to him, regardless of identity, was arrested for questioning, but no convincing evidence was found to indicate he was ordered by someone else to fire.

Letting him take all the blame aligns with the objective reality, but it is extremely inconsistent with the current surging situation. People's anger needs an outlet, and a fleet commanding general cannot bear this pressure.

The official delay in providing an answer left more and more people disappointed. Finally, a gunshot from the Hemu Star Domain signaled its declaration of independence from the Federation and the seizure of all Central Star Domain assets.

Before the suppressing fleet could leave the military port, various Western Star Domains began to respond one after another.

As everyone held their breath, tensely observing this earth-shattering change in situation, an even more explosive piece of news came: severely injured but still alive, Blanchi appeared in the Sharp-Snout Shark Star Domain.

No one knew how she survived; her entire body had undergone severe deformation. When she appeared, covered in medical bandages, in the Life Support Pod, the entire Western Star Domain was ignited by this scene, and even the Star Domains that were still hesitating immediately declared their support for Hemu Star Domain's independence.

To suppress the rebellious groups, the Federation's troops and fleets stationed in the Western Star Domain opened fire on the rebels, and conflict began in the streets, government buildings, the sky, and within Star Harbor.

"This is simply the worst outcome." A councilor from the Central Council commented.

Even if Blanchi returned to the Western Star Domain previously, it wouldn't have had such a significant impact. Suppressing it with the official military power would have been easy, but that rash incident of firing made the officials lose their righteousness and justice, allowing many to justifiably refuse to execute suppression orders, while Star Domains from other regions also chose to observe rather than stand clearly on the official's side.

"Firing is one thing; after all, you did something bad, but the most unacceptable is that despite causing such a terrible impact, you still failed; it's downright pathetic!"

...

Three days ago, just before the Starship explosion.

Harsh alarms blared, the entire interior of the Starship was in intense vibration and sway, many were pressed against the inner hull due to inertia, screams arose, glass and blood splattered, and surging high-temperature heat flow spread from the breached parts of the Starship, sweeping through the corridors, engulfing members along the way.

Blanchi sat in a mini escape craft, feeling the world spinning. The craft she was in hadn't even started when the entire escape protection zone was penetrated by intense ion streams. Clearly, this area was targeted during the attack.

Amidst the fire and explosions, her escape craft was lifted and slammed into the inner hull of the port. The craft deformed, and its entire outer contour melted. If not for a special defense system installed inside the craft, Blanchi would have been incinerated within it.

Inside the protective pod, Blanchi was near unconsciousness. With multiple fractures from the impact of the explosion's shockwave, she could barely open her eyes and pressed the ejection button at hand, letting the protective pod break away from the high-temperature environment, escaping this molten fiery sea.

However, there wasn't much time left before the Starship's engine detonation. If she couldn't leave the Starship shortly, she would eventually be swept and melted by the violent explosion's impact.

Lying inside the protective pod, Blanchi hadn't realized this point yet. She struggled to sit up, injected herself with a Healing Potion, and then activated the limited power system of the pod to move away from the Starship's fractured gap towards a relatively 'safe' interior area.

Along the way, many melted bodies floated in space, making her somewhat nauseous and mentally disturbed.

Did I make a mistake? At this moment, her previously firm thoughts began to waver.

Before she could think too long, another wave of firelight engulfed the outside of the protective pod, and then a blurred figure rushed over, tearing open the pod's exterior with a Sword and urgently pulling Blanchi out.

"Move!"

The figure pulled Blanchi into the Star Sea, followed by a violent explosion from the Starship. The strong shockwave blasted them away, and as the high-temperature heat flow was about to engulf them both, Blanchi only felt everything around her become blurry, as if sinking to the bottom of the deep sea, with all light and sound fading away.

Time seemed to fall into a standstill at this moment, everything turned incomparably silent, and the surroundings were terrifyingly empty, with no substance, and the body seemed to no longer exist.