hotmtlnovel Chapter 4180 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (2)
Chapter 4180 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (2)
Chapter 4180 is, The Supreme Mage (20)
The propaganda minister was quickly taken away by law enforcement officers from the security department. Everyone present knew he couldn't possibly reveal the whereabouts of the embezzled funds; it was all just a trap.
This confrontation also showed everyone in the Interstellar Council that the Sorcerer Supreme was not only good at fighting and killing, but also understood human relationships and possessed strong but cunning political skills, and dealt with the troublemakers who jumped out in no time.
Moreover, he didn't rashly turn against the secretaries-general of the three empires; instead, he knew when to stop and exercised great restraint. This was actually his brilliance. Because the entire executive body was now under the rule of the three empires, a complete break would render any decrees impossible to implement. Instead, this approach—subtly sabotaging them while superficially smoothing things over and making them owe him a favor—was the best solution.
As Strange walked back to his office after the police took the propaganda minister away, he could clearly sense that the people around him had quieted down considerably, and the subtle, scrutinizing glances had disappeared. He was in a very good mood.
The Supreme Intelligence following behind him was utterly devastated. He carefully reflected on where he had gone wrong. The most important factors were Schiller's bookkeeping skills and the powerful hacking abilities of the guy who modified the data.
While a seasoned accountant can produce flawless accounts, precisely timing the falsification of records is the final step in these seasoned veterans' path to promotion. Falsifying accounts carries risks, and knowing how to leverage those risks to maximize profits is a complex art.
Schiller, however, was playing his cards right this time. Everyone knew he was falsifying accounts, including the three great empires that most wanted to find fault with him. In any other case, they would have investigated thoroughly, but unfortunately, the three great empires also wanted to settle their debts as quickly as possible. So, no matter how outrageous his falsification was, everyone had no choice but to accept it.
Although the Supreme Intelligence had a backup plan, intending to seize data evidence at the last minute, they failed. There's not much to say about that; they were simply outmatched. The Supreme Intelligence had several suspects, but couldn't be certain.
First is Stark, the Iron God, a veteran figure in the universe, though he's never been seen displaying any hacking skills. Next is Reed Richards; during their last war, he was the one who opened the antimatter portal, summoning a swarm of bugs that cost them a fortune without much success. However, he's also an expert in mechanical engineering, and there's no record of him making any achievements in software.
Of course, it could also be Loki. Loki used the Infinity Stones to rewind time countless times, honing his hacking skills. He has since been roaming the universe committing crimes, and the supreme intelligence of electronic life is most familiar with his methods.
But as far as he knew, Loki wasn't that powerful. When the two clashed, Loki usually retreated first. Even the God of Deception was no match for electronic lifeforms in the realm of electronic information, though he was too fast for the Supreme Intelligence to catch.
These people don't seem to fit the description, so who could it be?
The Supreme Intelligence suddenly remembered that he had previously discovered someone stirring up trouble on the interstellar internet, spreading various rumors detrimental to the three great empires. So far, they hadn't found the mastermind behind it. Could they be the same person?
It seems there's a super hacker lurking on Earth whom they don't know about. They must be much more careful from now on; one mistake like this is enough.
Back in his office, the Supreme Intelligence had already adjusted its threads. The only problem was that the body's cooling module was truly faulty, burning out some of the hardware. He needed to go back and replace it before the Sorcerer Supreme discovered it.
He was fine in the hallway, but as soon as he entered the enclosed space of the office, Strange immediately sniffed, turned to the Supreme Intelligence, and said, "What's wrong with you? Why do you smell like something's burning?"
"That bastard has a pretty good nose," the Supreme Intelligence cursed inwardly. But on the surface, it still put on a forced smile and said, "My machine has some malfunctions and may need to be replaced."
He thought Strange would mock him or make things difficult for him, but Strange waved his hand and said, "Go on, or you'll burn my office down."
The Supreme Intelligence suddenly realized that the five senses of carbon-based life forms were still useful. If he really had eyes now, he really wanted to roll his eyes at Strange. He turned to leave, but then heard Strange say behind him, "By the way, wear a suit, pay attention to your appearance, don't embarrass our department."
The smell of burning from the Supreme Intelligence became even stronger.
Strange, however, was in a very good mood. He strolled over and sat down on the sofa by the French windows. Schiller walked over to him. Strange put his hands behind his head, looked out at the bustling new district, and said, "You know what, this feels pretty good."
"What kind of feeling?"
"With power in hand, the world is under our control."
"Is this not the time for you to emphasize focus?"
"When practicing magic, one must be fully focused. But when in a leadership position, one should still enjoy life to the fullest."
"You think that's all?"
"What do you mean?"
Schiller smiled and said, "The Minister of Propaganda was just a scapegoat. Although we took him down as quickly as possible and deterred others, it's not enough. After all, for the three great empires, a mere minister of a small department is dispensable. The functional departments have long been sidelined; the real scourge is the entire executive body."
Strange sat up, squinted, and said, "The next step is to deal with them?"
"Not the next step, but this one."
Tap, tap, tap. The sound of leather shoes echoed in the empty corridor. A purple-skinned humanoid creature in a suit walked ahead. He had four eyes, two backward-pointing antennae on his head, and his appearance somewhat resembled Mantis from Guardians of the Galaxy.
“This way, Mr. Schiller.” He gestured towards the end of the corridor. Schiller nodded, and the two walked together to the end of the corridor. Down the stairs here lay the prison cells.
This is the security department's high-crime detention center, generally used to hold serious interstellar criminals about to go to court. There are quite a few large, intimidating-looking men in the cell, but they're all behaving themselves now. Only from the deepest cell comes the sound of cursing.
Schiller walked over and saw the Minister of Propaganda pounding on the wall and cursing. He cleared his throat outside the railing, and suddenly there was complete silence. The Minister of Propaganda turned and glared at him.
"Don't look at me like that, Mr. Pinault. You know why I'm here."
The other person remained silent, staring coldly at him. Schiller gave a wink to the permanent secretary of the Security Department beside him, who nodded and turned to leave. Standing outside the railing, Schiller said, "The day the Sorcerer Supreme became Speaker, you should have understood that anyone could become a victim in the struggle between humanity and the three great empires. You are the first, but not the last, and certainly not the special one. At no time do you matter."
The other person's expression clearly showed a hint of panic. For politicians, calling them cunning and treacherous is equivalent to praising them; calling them stupid is equivalent to objectively evaluating them; but saying they are unimportant is a genuine insult.
"When those people from the three great empires are sent to prison one by one, who will remember you? When the people from the three great empires are too busy taking care of themselves, who will be able to save you?"
“Mr. Pinault, let’s get straight to the point. You can only rely on yourself now, but you do have one important bargaining chip. Think carefully about what you can do with it.”
After saying that, Schiller took a newspaper out of his pocket, threw it through the gap in the railing, and said, "Think more about your mother's people."
After Schiller left, the Minister of Propaganda clenched his fists, trembling with rage. But soon, as if he had suddenly lost all his strength, he collapsed to the ground.
He was indeed a member of the Shi'ar Empire, but the Shi'ar Empire itself was a syncretized civilization, and all civilizations had been assimilated by the Shi'ar gods, including his mother's tribe.
However, this assimilation is similar to brainwashing; some people are easily brainwashed, while others have a certain immunity. Unfortunately, Pino, the Minister of Propaganda, was one of those who wasn't deeply brainwashed. He didn't have a strong sense of imperial ideology, but rather valued his own people more. Clearly, his people weren't doing well in the Shi'ar Empire, and he was the most successful member of his tribe.
If he is imprisoned, his clan's status will only be lowered further, and those nobles are capable of anything. The speaker's political advisor is right; the three great empires are too preoccupied to save him.
So he bent down, picked up the newspaper from the ground, and saw the headline on the front page: "Space Pirates Rampant Again, Residents Around Centaurus Take Note!"
"Chips...chips..." he muttered to himself, then suddenly rushed to the railing like a madman, pounding on it and shouting, "Help! Help!!!"
The prison guards rushed over immediately, banging on the bars with sticks. The head of the propaganda department took a deep breath and said, "I need to confess."
What do you want to explain?
"Where did the embezzled funds go? I know where those 20 trillion went!"
Centaurus. In the Raider Base, Yondu rested his hands on the table, staring at the scrolling headlines on the interstellar news network, and shook his head, saying, "What kind of nonsense are those old men in the Interstellar Council up to now? Environmental protection? Environmental my ass!"
Star-Lord rolled his eyes, stood up from his chair, and said, "You said you read the Star News Network to learn about the latest developments of the Star Council so you could respond, but you ended up criticizing all of them."
"I understand now, don't I?" Yondu said, spreading his hands. "Making this thing was pure idiocy. Talking about environmental protection with the three great empires? In your next life!"
Star-Lord sighed and said, "I'm warning you one more time. You'd better tone it down lately. Humans are scavenging their spoils all over the universe right now. If you insist on competing with them, what good will that do you think you'll do?"
“I wasn’t planning on fighting them for it.” Yondu immediately looked a little guilty. “I was just scavenging for scraps near Centaurus. That race has already advanced to the interstellar age; they wouldn’t be trying to take those small ship fragments from me, would they?”
"Ha, you don't understand human greed. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Sorcerer Supreme hasn't been out and about lately. If he ran into those superheroes or mutants, he'd be beating you to a pulp!"
"Fine, fine, you're so cautious." Yondu walked out from behind the table, slamming things down as he said, "There are so many raiders, so many mouths to feed! You're not letting us out, but tell me, how are I supposed to feed such a huge group of people!"