The painter heaved a sigh of relief.

That's good.

Now she could be at ease.

The painter and the Tiger-Headed Man, having reached a new understanding, left the tavern.

Their departure, though it drew some attention, did not stir much on this remote planet; people were more focused on the conflict between Bai Fu, the Rebirth Empire, and Titan Industry.

Everyone was speculating on how this farce would end.

If the Rebirth Empire and Titan Industry were to clash, then things would get troublesome.

...

The Rebirth Empire initially intended to directly deploy their Legion to threaten Titan Industry, but during the troop mobilization, the Elder Council and the Emperor suddenly received news that Bai Fu was safe and sound while it was Titan Industry that had suffered a loss.

No need to mobilize anything!

Bulalo, a senior of the Elder Council, immediately contacted the Chairman of Titan Industry and let out a loud laugh of derision.

The Chairman of Titan Industry was so furious that his head was steaming, but with his granddaughter now in Bai Fu's hands, he dared not utter any harsh words. Instead, he promptly gathered the high-level officials of Titan Industry for an online meeting.

What to do now?

The decision to assault the spaceship and capture Bai Fu was made not long ago during a meeting of this group of high-level officials, so how to handle the current situation naturally required another meeting for discussion.

The participants' faces were as dark as if they had just been smeared with soot from a pot bottom.

Not long ago, they were still fantasizing about drastically enhancing their power based on Bai Fu's guidance once they captured her. Then, they received news that Bai Fu was not captured, and instead, their people were disastrously defeated. It's hard not to be angry.

What made them even angrier was that they quickly learned the details of the battle from Lei Mingdao.

Ah.

It turns out that while they had misjudged Bai Fu's power, the situation wasn't necessarily so dire; all the blame lay on Xue Quan, who fled the battlefield twice, the traitor from within, and Lupus, who suddenly appeared to help Bai Fu!

Damn Xue Quan, can you just go die quickly? Look at the mess you've made; upsetting things is one thing, but to get captured by Bai Fu at the end? Titan Industry will surely become more passive in the subsequent negotiations with the Rebirth Empire.

Even though Xue Quan was the Chairman's own granddaughter, no one gave her any face during the meeting.

This is just a useless wretch!

The Industrial Committee of Titan Industry was not a one-man show run by the Chairman; each committee member was a representative from a significant allied force within Titan Industry. Though not as powerful as the Chairman's own faction, the difference wasn't much, giving them the confidence to confront the Chairman.

Faced with everyone's accusations, the Chairman was suffering in silence, never dreaming that Xue Quan could mess things up to this extent.

At this moment, he could only lower his posture as much as possible and yield some benefits to calm the anger of other committee members.

As for Lei Mingdao and Zero's situation, even though they failed the Task, no one blamed them at this time.

What if they were scolded and ran away?

Let Xue Quan, the traitor leaking secrets to the Rebirth Empire, and Lupus take the fall for it all.

"I've already arranged for someone to investigate the traitor's identity, and I believe it won't be long before we get some news," Chairman Drano lightly tapped the mechanical Divine Throne. "Next, let's discuss Bai Fu and Lupus. What exactly is their relationship, and what are they trying to achieve?"

People in the conference room exchanged looks.

Lupus had traveled across billions of light-years to be the first to rescue Bai Fu. Honestly, when they received this intelligence, they thought they were hallucinating.

But it truly happened, and Xue Quan being captured alive by Bai Fu was solid proof. Even if Bai Fu and Lupus denied it, it wouldn't matter.

A committee member spoke up: "Bai Fu and Lupus are in cahoots, and since Lupus was once aligned with the Apostle Holy City, could it be that Bai Fu is an infiltrator sent by the Apostle Holy City?"

Another committee member laughed: "Are you joking? If Bai Fu truly were an infiltrator from the Apostle Holy City, then she'd be insane to help the Dominator and Super Supreme of the Rebirth Empire increase their power, right? Or do you think she's fooling the Rebirth Empire and they can't see through it?"

That makes sense.

"Since they're not from the Apostle Holy City's side, it suggests Lupus, by collaborating with the Saints, actually wanted to infiltrate the Apostle Holy City to gather intelligence. He almost succeeded, but for some unknown reason, his identity was suddenly exposed, leading to the Apostle Holy City publicly announcing that Lupus and Bai Fu were in cahoots."

This hypothesis gained the majority's approval in the conference room.

Because, on the surface, it had no apparent flaws and seamlessly connected all the events that had occurred so far.

Why did Lupus suddenly become stronger than the post-enhanced Annihilation?

Lupus had gotten guidance from Bai Fu!

Why were the Saints' hiding places continuously discovered by the Rebirth Empire?

Lupus leaked them!

"What a sly dog Lupus is, hiding so deeply."

What does it mean to be a master actor?

This is a master actor!

The committees of Titan Industry were steaming with resentment.

After all, they were the victims, so of course, they weren't going to praise Lupus' acting skills.

"First, deploy troops to strengthen the defense of the borders in case the Empire might launch a sudden attack under the guise of negotiations."

"As for Bai Fu and Lupus... let's reach out to the Supernova Battle Group and see what they think."