Seeing Evelyn slightly swayed, the woman quickly added: "The members of the Academy of Sciences almost annually plead poverty at the Central Council, requesting increased funding, but in the end, the actual output is meager. Your Highness, you shouldn't believe them easily."

"Is that so?" Evelyn was somewhat skeptical. She had indeed heard of researchers embezzling funds under false pretexts, yet she also thought it would be a pity if scientists genuinely eager to explore new technologies lacked funding.

Over the subsequent period, Evelyn received numerous intelligence reports from those around her. Faced with a complex situation, she had many concerns and processed them rather slowly. By the time she sorted everything out, time had passed significantly, and the banquet was nearing its end.

"I probably need to rest for a while." At this moment, Evelyn changed into a more comfortable beige dress.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maids retreated one by one, but one of them didn't leave. Instead, she asked, "Your Highness, we have prepared a special hot spring bath here. Would you like to soak for a while?"

"What kind of setup is it?" If it was open-air, Evelyn might find it unacceptable.

"It's in an underwater hall on the other side, where a quiet private room can be prepared for you."

"I see... Let's give it a try then." In fact, whether she went or not didn't matter much, but since the maid suggested it, she didn't want to flatly refuse and spoil the good intentions.

More than ten minutes later, Evelyn carefully lowered herself into the water, leaning on the underwater slope, gazing at the misty room, and feeling a bit sleepy.

At this moment, soft music began to play at just the right time, and she slowly closed her eyes, preparing to take a short nap as sleepiness crept in.

...

Elsewhere in the underwater hall, back in the small employee rest room, two people were tidying up their makeup and other details.

"After all this effort, all we did was change the music and familiarize ourselves with a few high-ranking officials. This progress is way too slow." Prince felt a bit insulted, as someone who was once part of top-tier agency missions, always engaged in highly challenging and perilous operations, he never found anything this dull and tedious before.

"That's how it is; unlike the agencies we used to be with, this organization is always committed to a strategy of caution. They won't take risks, and even if discovered, there's always other suitable reasons for exoneration." The man was adjusting his tie.

"Moreover, don't think that just because Evelyn went for a bath, she's easy to approach. In fact, I've reviewed the security guidelines related to songstresses. Whenever a songstress engages in private activities, the security level automatically rises a rank. The bathhouse is surrounded by six high-ranked maids, and at a distance of over 100 meters, there's a Court of Judgment team ready at any moment, making it far from easy to make a move."

"Any shortcut or breakthrough that comes to mind has long been considered by elites from various forces over the centuries, and countless experiences have accumulated within the Court of Judgment."

"To speak of the quickest method, it was when Blanchi a few years ago, on a lone starship, directly steamrolled with superior combat force." The man shook his head.

"Let's be patient; sooner or later, we'll meet Evelyn. The process won't take long, and by then I'll be able to discover the secret trump card they use against the songstress."

——————

With the founding of the 'Jade Dragon', various forces in the Central Star Domain were eager to act, and in the distant Northern Star Region, changes were also taking place.

"I've had enough of these inefficient guys. It's high time they lifted their heads to look at the world instead of being like moles, only knowing to scavenge underground!"

At the bar, a burly orc expressed indignation. He was muscular, dressed in black leather, with thick black horns on his head, and worn, shiny dark gold chains hanging from one side of his pants.

Compared to the industrious Western Star Region, the powerful Central Star Region, and the economically decent Eastern and Southern Star Regions, the Northern Star Region's domains were mostly economically average. Few enterprises engaged in high-end activities, more focusing on rugged heavy industries such as ore mining, refining, construction, livestock farming, and low-end military weapons and ammunition manufacturing.

According to the Federation's mapping, the Northern Star Region and the Federation Central Star Domain are separated by the Silver Heart Zone, which not only prolongs travel time but also, due to the Northern Star Region's concentration of many orc tribes, results in less control from the Federal Center over local domains compared to other star regions. Gradually, the Federal Center took a laissez-faire attitude here, offering the local domains more autonomy.

This was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The upside was fewer taxes, granting greater autonomy to local domains; the downside being some significant projects were unlikely to consider setting up in the Northern Star Region, deterring many large enterprises from investing there due to potential intimidation from indigenous powers.

Now, the 'Dragon Vein' project in the Southern Star Region was in full swing, with many scientists and economists discussing its prospects and value in the media, prompting numerous discussions. Yet in the star domains of the Northern Star Region, this news elicited a tepid response, with the public more concerned about which alcohol was good, or which new dish was tasty, and where was fun to visit.

This phenomenon angered some individuals, giving rise to certain frustration.

"What's the matter, why so angry today?" A familiar face at the bar handed over a glass of iced beer, asking.

"Ha, today I posted online saying that if things continue like this, we are bound to be doomed, left far behind." The horned man snorted, expressing his anger.

"Ah, you're talking about that major project down south recently, huh?" The bartender, ever the well-informed individual, knew what he was referring to.

"Right, that's the one. Didn't expect you to be quite up on current affairs." The man took a long swig of his drink and gestured for a refill.

"Of course, I've heard about it; recently, it's a topic some have brought up."

"But it's not as bad as you think, right? I see everyone seems quite optimistic." Said the bartender, casually tidying the counter.

"Not that it isn't bad. Now the Southern Star Region is on the rise, and we are falling behind again, finally catching up economically to some extent."

"Economy, well, it's not something that'll starve people to death. People will certainly get to eat, and besides, aren't we all members of the Federation? As they develop, they won't keep it hidden forever; sooner or later, it will spread over, just wait patiently, it doesn't delay eating and drinking." The bartender voiced the prevalent local mentality, riling the man to the point of nearly choking on his drink.

"Cough, how can we wait passively? Got to fight; otherwise, they'll live a high life while we're still stuck in the dirt."

"Stuck in the dirt, but weren't you working as a miner?"

"I'm a truck driver, well-traveled and knowledgeable." The man thudded the glass on the counter, spilling some liquid.

"One more."

"Sure thing." The bartender poured another round of chilled beer.

"You folks lack the foresight to prepare in times of peace." He lamented, thinking orcs were a bunch of fools, just knowing to eat and drink and think about fun, lacking any enterprising spirit, though he was also drinking now.

Seeing this, the bartender didn't retort anymore, as he was a customer, venting emotions was normal. Having worked here for so many years, he was used to it; if nobody boasted or ranted about current events in a day, it would seem strange.

"Want more?"

"Yes."

And so, after a few more refreshing beers, the sturdy horned man finally felt somewhat appeased, preparing to lean against the bar to watch the store's performance.

Since the founding of the 'Jade Dragon', its impacts began influencing various regions across the Federation, with some reacting sharply and fiercely, while others remained indifferent, continuing with their usual lives.

The Western Star Region remained silently as before, the Eastern Star Region expressed willingness to become part of the second batch of the Dragon Vein project, with numerous Pan-Eastern Forces particularly fond of the Dragon Vein project and not repelling it. The Northern Star Region's response was lukewarm, with only Alu Kulu, as a friend of Hexia, congratulating and saying the duo would maintain a good friendship in the future.

Within the Central Star Region, various forces entangled in complex reactions, with some hoping to join forces to pressure the Southern Star Region, others suggesting focus should be on nurturing new Sun Songstresses, while a minority advocated launching large-scale research projects to match the Dragon Vein initiative and regain confidence.

Faced with these inclinations, Evelyn, now the central singer of the Federation, did not agree to pressure but expressed her effort to advance to the Sunlit Level, additionally agreeing to fund some promising projects, supporting their scientific exploration.