Chapter 85

Chapter 85

During the Insect Tide, many of the teams that reported from the scene set up channels on the Star Network, which became very popular.

They had an unwritten rule: while reporting on the local insect tide situation, they would also make other videos to enrich their content.

Remote places that usually had almost no news from them were the most popular. People were eager to learn about these places, which were considered quite mysterious in the outside world.

For example, the Wanderer Star Domain. Their channel hadn't officially started yet, but simply adding the Wanderer Star Domain tag led to a significant increase in followers.

Originally, the channel had accumulated a large number of followers even before it was opened. So, as soon as the first video about the garbage planet was released, it attracted many viewers.

The viewers after watching: !

Their attention unanimously went to the broken sword that appeared at the end of the video.

But soon, most viewers concluded it was a replica. A small portion of the audience, however, felt there were suspicious aspects and began conspiracy theories.

This content sparked a small-scale controversy among the audience.

Due to the debate, the team even filmed a special video focused on the sword hilt.

Images of the broken sword were also extracted from the video and people repeatedly viewed and studied them.

"Is there even a need for discussion? It's definitely not real. Let's not even talk about why the Little Prince's sword would appear on a garbage planet.

The sword at His Majesty's side has been used for years. You can see signs of use, but it still has its original shine. This one is too old. The Little Prince has used it for less than a year. Even without any maintenance, it couldn't possibly be in this condition."

"Currently, the possibility of it being a replica is relatively high. After all, Grath being imitated and admired is nothing new. Although no company has the right to make official merchandise, don't tell me none of you have secretly custom-made replica Grath sword figurines. The sellers quietly told me that too many people are asking, and they've stockpiled a large amount of related materials.

By the way, I custom-ordered a full set. The Little Prince's sword just arrived home recently, using the seller's recommended metal for the closest color match. It's said that some experts even use authentic, highly psychic-conductive metal.

Another complaint: the carving craftsmanship on the Little Prince's sword is too complex. It has the highest customization cost, and even then, it can only barely approximate it. I really want to know where the one in the picture was ordered from. With such high quality, how could anyone bear to throw it away? Author, consider selling it to me."

The majority opinion quickly overwhelmed the minority doubts. Even when someone released side-by-side image comparisons, it was only considered a sign of highly skilled replication craftsmanship.

Someone even gave a follow-up: "My cousin has contacted the author and purchased it. After fierce competition, he got his hands on it. He says he'll make a restoration video, adding a complete blade later, although I personally think keeping it as is has its own charm."

He also shared screenshots of the negotiations between his cousin and the author, conducted through a platform auction. It indeed took considerable time and cost a lot of money.

"Whoa, rich guy, so wealthy. So many people wanted to buy this? Also, I also think keeping it original is better! That look has such a vibe."

So everyone started discussing again whether to keep it in its original state.

Until that evening, both videos were deleted. Clicking on them showed the deletion reason: violation of privacy.

Like the first video, because it covered a lot of content, the exact reason for deletion couldn't be determined. But the second video, from start to finish, only featured that broken sword.

This action once again sparked controversy.

"It's normal for replicas to be deleted, right?"

"What do you know? Other videos featuring Grath sword series have never been deleted. To find a control group, I even dug up another deliberately damaged Grath sword—it was specifically made like that, a battle-damaged series, but it's still up fine."

What finally ignited the entire incident was a comment and a picture: "My cousin told me, the deal's off, can't buy it anymore. My cousin rushed to pay in full, but the video author is willing to pay double the compensation."

The picture showed a chat log between two people. The "cousin" sent several question marks, clearly angry, but still suppressed his temper and said he could pay more.

The video author apologized sincerely but didn't relent. Finally, they expressed willingness to pay double compensation. The "cousin" didn't care about the compensation and repeatedly pressed for answers, only getting vague, evasive replies, saying sorry, they had already returned it to its owner. Then the video author directly refunded the money and never appeared again.

"? I understand everything else, but this 'returned to its owner' is way too perfunctory. How was the owner determined? By fingerprints? Or pictures? I can find a bunch of real and fake videos and pictures right now. Besides Grath, who else deserves 'returned to its owner'? Probably some rich guy's deep pockets."

"Well, everyone, why can't that rich guy be Grath?"

From then on, this incident completely blew up, attracting many experts to come and observe. The videos had been deleted, but the pictures left from the discussions at the time were still there.

"Let me make this clear first. I work at a research institute specializing in making psychic-conductive bladed weapons.

Very few people know that the material used for Grath's swords is a rare psychic conductor nicknamed 'the Mourner.' This material only acknowledges and adapts to the first person who uses it. When the owner dies, it slowly puts on a black veil and gradually loses its easy psychic conductivity, unless the owner's psychic power awakens it again. Hence it's called 'the Mourner.'

Because it's produced in extremely low quantities, coupled with such special properties and very beautiful color, it's very expensive. Generally, only small pieces appear at auctions, used for jewelry. Apart from Grath, I've never seen such a large quantity of 'Mourner' metal elsewhere.

Our research institute has a small sample, bought at an auction as an antique. Its owner has passed away. The tarnish on it is quite similar to that in the video.

The two previous videos were posted with a slight time gap. You can see the darkening on the sword body intensified. And that's a garbage planet. Nearby 'Scavengers' clearing obstacles from navigation channels dump garbage there for further processing.

Now it can be basically confirmed that it is Cyril Grass's real sword. I speculate that either the video author, after learning its authenticity, sold it to a collector, or as they said, returned it to its owner. I personally lean towards the second possibility, unless someone wants to provoke Grath in a state of rage. If it's unfortunately the first case, it's best to return it as soon as possible. This is advice."

"Information overload. Let me summarize. As we know, Grath lost four warships in an ambush. That is to say, on those four self-destructed Grath warships, there was the empire's future and also the sole heir, Cyril Grass?!"

"Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Grath's fleet is heading towards the Wanderer Star Domain. You don't even need reconnaissance; you can see clusters of Grath fleets from afar."

...

Ye Mo leaned on the edge of the table, watching Faceless pack up. "What kind of person was my father?"

Faceless didn't even pause his movements, answering naturally, "A great man."

Ye Mo glanced at Faceless. He thought he would get an evaluation from Faceless similar to his mother's.

Faceless placed three doses of medicine on the table and checked them carefully again.

He turned to Ye Mo. "You must remember..."

Ye Mo nodded, reciting fluently, "I know. If someone discovers me, go find Chris and the others, leave this place with them, and then wait for you to come find me."

After saying that, Ye Mo hesitated for a moment and confirmed once more, "If I end up like before, in an unfamiliar place, remembering nothing, you will still find me, right?"

Faceless nodded. He took out one of the two medicines from the table and handed it to Ye Mo. "There's one dose of medicine in here. Inject it after one month. Before you inject the third dose, I will definitely find you."

Ye Mo didn't take it. He had his own little scheme. The first dose was to be injected after a month. If he didn't have the medicine, would Faceless find him a little earlier? He showed Faceless his hoodie with a small front pocket. "I have no place to put it."

Faceless looked Ye Mo up and down. Using his experience with concealing weapons, he secured the medicine case to Ye Mo's waist.

As he fixed it, he shared his experience with Ye Mo.

"This spot won't hinder movement, nor is it as prone to damage as on the forearm. The forearm is good for hiding a dagger."

Faceless's hand flipped, and he produced a dagger from who-knows-where, carefully securing it to Ye Mo's forearm.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Faceless paused his movements.

Ye Mo had said earlier he didn't want to eat. After Faceless finished with Ye Mo's clothes, he went to the door.

He first looked back and made a gesture to Ye Mo. Ye Mo understood and pressed close to the wall, hiding in the blind spot.

Only then did Faceless open the door, just a crack. When he saw the visitor, Faceless instinctively tensed up. It was Zero Three.

Zero Three leaned against the wall, still tossing a small knife up and down boredly. "The situation has changed. We need to prepare to leave. The nest-building King Insect matured early. The east side has already fallen. We can probably hold out for a few more days." "A few days?"

"A day or two, who knows. Anyway, get packed up and be ready to leave anytime."

Faceless nodded in understanding, and Zero Three slowly turned and lumbered off.

Faceless sighed in relief and tried to shut the door again, but Zero Three, who had turned back, jammed it with his foot.

Zero Three opened his eyes and broke into a smile. "Caught you."

While using brute force to hold the door, slowly engaging in a tug-of-war with Faceless, he slowly drew a triangular bayonet. Zero Three preferred small knives, but this bayonet was his weapon of choice for close-quarters combat—one he didn't often draw. "I heard another heartbeat. What are you hiding in there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zero Three shoved forward suddenly. Faceless was forced to take a step back, pulling a dagger to parry the bayonet.

The door swung fully open. Zero Three looked at Ye Mo, clearly surprised for a few seconds, but soon he smiled, baring his canines, which made him appear somewhat fierce. "So it's you, our little prince."

Both of their first reactions were not to continue fighting. Faceless was concerned about Ye Mo, while Zero Three's goal was to see what little creature Faceless was hiding.

Faceless parried the bayonet and turned his head to command Ye Mo, "Out the window! Find Chris!"

Ye Mo quickly smashed the window, vaulted over the balcony edge, and jumped out.

Zero Three's gaze returned to Faceless. "What, are you planning to betray the organization?"

The smile on his face widened further. "After betraying your country, now you're going to betray the organization. You really do enjoy being a traitor, don't you?"

Faceless snapped his gaze to Zero Three.

Zero Three's smile remained unchanged. "Don't get angry. It's not like I'm lying."

Zero Three adjusted his posture, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the table behind Faceless, then stopped. The smile vanished from his face.

He recognized that kind of serum. Among the children in his experimental group, only Zero Three had received the antidote and survived.

The antidote only worked on children. It was obvious who this was for. Zero Three wasn't stupid and figured it out almost instantly. "He's the organization's test subject? That Grath?"

Zero Three continued, "Why did you save him? Don't tell me it was for the country, for Grath. If you were that noble, you wouldn't have been tricked into the organization."

For once, Zero Three's face wasn't wearing a smile, instead showing a hint of gloom. "Tell me the truth, and I'll let him go. I won't reveal this to anyone else either."

Faceless struggled for a moment but quickly made a choice. "He is my family, and also my mistake. This is part of making amends."

Zero Three looked at Faceless and quickly judged that he was telling the truth. Faceless couldn't lie; every time he lied, he would stare at the wall, which was very obvious.

He swiftly organized this information and began speculating on various possibilities. "Did you know from the start that he was a test subject? Were you aware of this experiment? Did you participate in it? Did you know part of it?"

Zero Three probed the information he wanted from Faceless's reactions and smiled. "You really were a fool and a scoundrel when you were young."

Faceless didn't argue. He put away his dagger and went to check the serum on the table. After confirming that neither vial had been damaged and both were intact, he let out a sigh of relief.

Zero Three also withdrew his weapon and glanced at Faceless. "If I were him, the moment I learned the truth, I would kill you."

Faceless visibly stiffened for a moment but quickly replied, "That is his right."

Faceless wasn't surprised by Zero Three's attitude and tone. Zero Three himself was a failed product of the organization's "Project God-Making" laboratory experiment and harbored strong resentment toward anyone and anything related to the experiments.

Yet, he often held a bit of pity, or perhaps a sense of kinship, toward the test subjects.