Rebirth of the Interstellar Pope <Mecha>

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

[Anno: I only cared for Rufeite for a month. During that time, he remained like a newborn baby, showing no signs of growth despite the passing days.

A month later, I piloted the newly developed mecha of the religion to Hades. Using the identity of a retired soldier arranged for me by Anshuo, I entered the security department of the business center. Within a year, I had become Arthur's personal bodyguard.

My singular goal was not to gather information or become an insider within the religion; it was to kill Arthur.

In Hades, in Jindi, or anywhere in this vast interstellar space, assassinating a significant political figure or business elite is no simple task. Upon entering a planet, the optical brain analyzes all potential reasons for my arrival based on my identity. If anything appears amiss, the optical brain swiftly and accurately identifies all suspects.

If Rufeite hadn't stolen my consciousness, eliminating Arthur would have been effortless. Now, however, I had to lay low.

Anshuo had his reasons for advising against any action against Arthur. He argued that Hades, under Arthur's influence, served as a crucial check and balance for the United Nations. If Arthur were to die, the first organization the United Nations would suspect would be the religion. While war was inevitable, it would still require time to unfold.

Thus, I needed to pursue a different course during my covert mission in Hades.]

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The entire Silver Empire was engulfed in sirens, as electronic and early warning robots surged in from all directions. This once-prosperous city, adorned in gold, suddenly found itself in a state of emergency in the dead of night.

Panic-stricken, the wealthy and their families fled from their opulent mansions to the underground shelters. Confusion reigned, and everyone assumed it was the onset of war.

Fear and anxiety quickly wrapped their tendrils around the entire city.

Inside the underground shelter, transparent biofilms partitioned the space into various levels. Young girls huddled together, weeping, while men in pajamas or merely underwear gathered, smoking with furrowed brows. Navigation robots assigned rooms and meals, while scanning robots checked the identities of everyone they encountered.

A cool man in black, with a shaved head and a rugged face, stood verifying his identity with the scanning robot.

"Jialan Coconut Su merchant Anno, identity verification completed. Thank you for your cooperation. Your refuge area is H9," the robot announced.

He returned his digital watch to his wrist, nodded politely, and headed towards H9.

As he walked, an electronic scanning robot zipped past him, checking the identities of individuals below.

The H9 area was populated with free traders from Jialan and their families. The man was alone, carrying nothing and wearing a pair of slippers, as if he had just been reading in his study when the alarm sounded, prompting his hurried descent.

He fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, found a seat in a corner, and leaned against the wall to light one. Before he could take more than a few puffs, a voice interrupted him.

"Sir, my wife has been coughing a lot lately. Could you please put out the cigarette?"

The man nodded apologetically to the speaker and extinguished the cigarette. "Hello, I'm from Jialan. I'm in the coconut su business."

The other man, cradling his wife in his arms, nodded. "I'm in the bonsai business, also from Jialan. Do you have any idea what's happening outside?"

Anno replied, "No, I'm not sure. It might be a war. I was just reviewing a recent report on Jesus production in my study when the alarm rang. I might have been a bit slow to react. Perhaps it's a conflict with the religion or the military? I hope not, because we small business owners from the United Nations would suffer greatly."