The night was quiet, and the stars were shining brightly. The sounds of crickets from the grass downstairs could be heard clearly, but the room was filled with an oppressive atmosphere that could drive anyone crazy.
Roth kept looking at Ding Meng. There were a few times when he really wanted to suddenly fly out from the balcony and call for the guards and robots, but his rationality told him not to be so reckless. If he did that, he would be killed before he even landed.
He could only wait patiently for an opportunity. As long as Ding Meng was the slightest bit careless, he was confident that he could escape first.
Sure enough, Ding Meng was the first to break this oppressive atmosphere. He slowly said, "You can still be saved!"
"Oh?" Roth was a little surprised.
Ding Meng said, "If you had attacked me with all your strength just now, you would be a dead man now. You're very lucky to have saved yourself."
These words dispelled all of Roth's hopes. The reason was simple. Ding Meng had already seen through everything about him. These words were even scarier than Ding Meng directly attacking him.
For the first time in hundreds of years, Roth felt like a beautiful woman who had been stripped naked and had her body stared at.
Ding Meng slowly walked forward, picked up the goblet on the coffee table, and took a sip. "The wine is not bad!"
Of course it was good. This was a special red wine from the Norse Empire. A bottle was worth hundreds of thousands of Star Credits. Even if you had the money, you could not buy it. Only the high-ranking officials had the right to enjoy it.
Roth still did not dare to move. Cold sweat had already soaked his bathrobe.
Ding Meng sat down on the recliner. "Actually, you should feel lucky. What happened on Rain Forest Planet two years ago was not a big deal to you. After all, you did not directly attack Head of State Wen Yang, and your past is not a big deal either. As long as I don't say anything, no one will know. You are still a general of the Empire."
Roth said coldly, "What is your purpose, sir? Please tell me directly!"
Ding Meng said, "The few of you chose to cooperate with the Hidden Front. Do you regret it now?"
He asked this question because he had heard the conversation between Ross and Yuwen Tuo. He didn't know what the other generals were thinking, but Ross's heart was obviously shaken.
Ross looked a little dazed. "Yes!"
Ding Meng said, "Is it because of Gong Ping?"
Ross seemed to have made up his mind before he said, "Because we know that he was wronged."
Ding Meng asked, "Then why don't you give him Bright Snow Ordinary?"
Ross shook his head. "It's impossible. There are too many interest groups involved in this. The Star Lord's ascension to power means that the interests of Chuang Yu, Beidou, and Fengyin Group will be at the top. No one will be foolish enough to go against such a colossus."
Ding Meng said, "Then why did you choose to work with the Hidden Front?"
Ross sighed. "We're all hawks of the Empire. We don't advocate long-term peace with the Federation."
Ding Meng understood. Gong Ping, Ross, Yuwen Tuo, and that Elder Zhang were all people who advocated war with the Federation. This explained why the Hidden Front could convince these veteran generals.
Ding Meng looked at him. "You can sit down and talk."
Ross definitely didn't dare to sit across from Ding Meng. He chose the large bed in the bedroom. He even leaned his body against the pillow as if he was afraid of Ding Meng.
Ding Meng laughed disdainfully. "Looks like you still haven't given up. I've already tampered with the personal sensor device at the head of your bed. Even if you shout at the top of your lungs, the AI guards below won't be able to hear you."
Ross couldn't speak again, but his face was as pale as a corpse.
Ding Meng poured himself a full glass of wine. "Your battle plan doesn't seem to be going well. Two years have passed, and there's been no movement at all."
Ross let out a long sigh. "Maybe we're all wrong."
Ding Meng asked, "What's wrong?"
Ross sighed. "After we returned from the Fertile Chalk System, Brother Gong didn't return. He still hasn't returned."
Ding Meng said, "With his crimes, he can't come back even if he wanted to."
Ross said, "Even if he can't come back, we shouldn't have lost contact. We only found out later that when the black handprint took the Chancellor away on Planet 1, it was Ding Meng who went to the space station."
"He was killed by Ding Meng?" Ding Meng asked without batting an eyelid.
Ross nodded. "That's the only explanation. Brother Gong was most likely killed by Ding Meng."
Ding Meng said, "Looking at your expression, it seems like you're still not satisfied?"
Ross sighed. "I just didn't expect someone as strong as Brother Gong to be killed by a junior. Even if he's dead, there's still no news of Ding Meng, and the Chancellor is nowhere to be found."
Ding Meng said, "But this doesn't affect your battle plan."
Ross sighed even harder. "It's not like that. The fake Chancellor was originally cooperating with the plan, but after he came back, he changed."
Ding Meng frowned. "What changed?"
Ross said, "It's like he's become a different person. He doesn't care about government affairs at all. Instead, he's passionate about attending all kinds of public events. When the Chancellor's wife was injured by Ding Meng, we could still understand it as him helping her recover. However, after she recovered last year, he either stayed at home or went to the Apocalypse headquarters every day."
Ding Meng suddenly had an idea. Back then, Wen Yang had determined that the fake Chancellor was that old classmate of his. His judgment was probably accurate.
"This open trade conference was probably organized by the few of you, right?" Ding Meng asked again.
Ross nodded. "Once the decree is passed, he has to sign it and take effect. Moreover, the large organizations and forces in the Federation will definitely cooperate with the Empire. When the time comes, we'll have another chance …"
Ding Meng could understand this train of thought. If the top organizations in the Federal Empire worked together, from a financial point of view, the financial resources of both sides would be combined. If the few of them played some dirty tricks, they could swallow up several large organizations in the Federal Empire in one go. Their financial resources would be guaranteed to a certain extent.
However, this was all too idealistic because the first person to be lured over was the Transit String. It was hard to say who would eat who.
Ding Meng suddenly understood why Guan Xinqing did not participate in the negotiations between these organizations. It was because he clearly saw the dangers of the world. His own children were not as important as money. Money was the most practical thing!
Ding Meng said, "You guys don't have a chance at all. Instead, you're old and foolish."
Ross was stunned. "Why?"
Ding Meng said seriously, "Who's the fake Chancellor?
Who's the real boss of the Hidden Front?
What's the composition of the Hidden Front?
I'm guessing that you old fogeys don't know anything about this. You've lived for hundreds of years and have seen a lot of things. To think that you would choose to work with the Hidden Front. How stupid is that? It's fine if you've already made a mistake, but you're going to make up for it with even bigger mistakes. Do you think nothing will happen? "
Ross fell silent. Ding Meng's words had completely hit the nail on the head. In the end, the Hidden Front had something on them. The Hidden Front then threw out Gong Ping as bait to make them think that they could really carry out their so-called great plans. In fact, it was all nonsense. This was mainly because these old fogeys had been fighting for their entire lives. They were indeed capable on the battlefield, but when it came to political strategy, they were pure rookies. Even a layman like Ding Meng could see more clearly than them. They were indeed old and foolish.
Ding Meng said again, "But at least you have some awareness. You know that something is wrong. It's not too late for you to turn back now."
Ross said, "What do you want me to do?"
"I think the best thing for you to do is to quickly admit your mistake and resign. That way, you might still be able to get away."
Ding Meng placed the wine glass in front of him and carefully observed the red wine inside. "But I know you won't do that, because it's too difficult for you to voluntarily give up such a high position and a life of luxury."
Ross fell silent. Ding Meng had hit the nail on the head again.
Ding Meng sneered. "You'd better pray that Wen Yang and Ding Meng are dead. If either of them is still alive, they'll come looking for you sooner or later. When that time comes, none of you will be able to escape."
Ross probed, "But they've already died in the Fertile Chalk Galaxy, haven't they?"
Ding Meng said, "Whether they're dead or not, I'm not sure, but they won't die so easily. You should know better than I do."
A layer of cold sweat appeared on Ross' head again. The other party was right. How could wargod level experts like Wen Yang and Ding Meng die so easily?
This was especially true for Wen Yang. Although the Chancellor seemed like an easy-going person when he was alive, he was actually very tough. He rarely listened to the voices of those who opposed him, let alone betrayal. That was something he absolutely could not tolerate.
Ross pondered and said, "Can you let me know who you are?"
Ding Meng put down the glass and slowly stood up. "Do you really want to know?"
Ross immediately raised his guard. He was very curious about the person in front of him, mainly because he was surprised that the other party knew so much about the inside story. He suspected that this person was someone from Wen Yang's faction. The Chancellor always liked to surprise people.
Ross braced himself and said, "If you can leave your name behind, I'll be able to convince the others."
Ding Meng said, "Alright, I can tell you …"
When he said the word 'alright', he was already behind Ross. He suddenly slashed down with his palm.
This movement wasn't fast, and Ross was able to react in time. He instinctively raised his palms to block.
However, Ding Meng's move was actually a feint. Ding Meng's palm grabbed Ross' wrist like a bolt of lightning and twisted it. Ross' expression also twisted.
He felt a powerful force that he had never seen before seal his entire body, including the Origin points in his body. Previously, he had been shocked by Ding Meng's unknown strength, but now he felt it for himself. He couldn't believe that the Norse Empire had someone so terrifyingly strong that he, a wargod general, could be sealed in a single move.
Ding Meng's emotionless voice came from above. "It seems like you're still holding on to hope. If you don't suffer a little, you won't have any fear."
Ross could already feel a great danger descending upon him. He instinctively wanted to struggle, but his body couldn't move at all.