Chapter 955: Visiting the Sun City Royal Palace
Chapter 955: Visiting the Sun City Royal Palace
But the four hours that followed did not sit well with the residents of Sun City!
While the residents of Sun City did not suffer the same oppressive pressure from Tina as those in Yangquan did, having three "time bombs" flying around recklessly overhead, with their own god-level protectors trailing behind them like lackeys, was enough to make anyone's blood boil.
Moreover, during these four hours, a lot happened on the internet.
Among the Skrulls, there were many experts studying Earth, and these experts began sharing various videos related to Earth.
Previously, the Skrulls had not been particularly interested in these videos, as they considered Earthlings a weak and easily crushable race, not worth paying attention to.
However, now that their lives were threatened by Earth's strong individuals, they naturally paid more attention to Earth-related content.
One video in particular went viral! Within just three hours, it surpassed ten million views and became a hot topic of discussion across the web.
This video was from the game Evolution, showing the self-destruction of the seventh-rank legendary hero, Madeleine.
In the first expansion pack of Evolution, the seventh-rank legendary paladin Madeleine sacrificed herself by self-destructing to prevent the Shadow Priest Xiva from ascending to the god level.
Her self-destruction occurred above Forest City, completely destroying it and killing most of its residents.
From this video, the Skrull residents got a taste of just how terrifying the self-destruction of a powerful individual from Evolution could be. And Madeleine was only a mid-seventh-rank cultivator.
Considering the current situation in Sun City, with a mid-seventh-rank Tina, a peak-seventh-rank Alysia, and a god-level Morning Star flying overhead...
While Sun City was many times larger than Forest City, if Morning Star and her companions were to self-destruct, the outcome would be unimaginable! The loss of civilian lives was a certainty.
Because of the Madeleine self-destruction video, the fear among Sun City residents intensified, and their dissatisfaction with the United Government and the god-level protectors grew.
They began discussing on the internet:
"Why aren't the god-level protectors taking action? It's been four hours!"
"Yeah, is it fun to just trail behind like a bunch of lackeys?"
"I think they probably won't act. In these four hours, these three Earth heroes haven't shown any intention of self-destructing. They seem to be having a good time. Don't push the Earthlings too hard. If they decide to go play in other cities and we push them too far, they might just blow up Sun City. Who would be responsible then?"
"Ah, you have a point."
"Right now, almost everyone in the city is trying to leave. I live in a small town on the eastern side of Sun City, and I can see an endless stream of vehicles heading towards the capital!"
"Indeed, all the exit routes from Sun City are now jammed with floating cars. I'm stuck in the middle of a traffic jam and can't get out!"
"I've been stuck for two hours and still haven't left the city. I'm about to explode with frustration!"
"Help! I'm about to be squished like a sardine!"
"But speaking of which, where is Lord Plante? Lord Plante appeared in Yangquan once, but then he disappeared. Where is he now?"
"Exactly, where is Lord Plante?"
"Not only Lord Plante, but also Emperor Manina III seems to be missing. Where have they gone?"
...
The online discussions were heated, and in reality, Sun City was in chaos.
The residents of Sun City had completely lost interest in work and daily life. Those who could flee were doing so, while those who couldn't were hiding in relatively safe places, praying that the Earth heroes wouldn't self-destruct.
Tina and her companions, on the other hand, were primarily sightseeing.
Occasionally, as they flew over crowds of Skrulls, they would make threatening gestures, causing panic below.
However, after four hours, they had pretty much toured all of Sun City's famous landmarks.
While enjoying the sights, they also took many photos and videos of these scenic spots.
These images and videos could be used to enrich Earth's database and could be brought into the Evolution world to show their people what the outside world looked like.
At the end of the four hours, they arrived at a place that wasn't exactly a landmark.
This place was the former "Lindragon" Research Institute, located in the north of Sun City.
Now, the institute was completely abandoned.
Two months ago, after the dragon clan left with the dragon king's body, Manina had ordered the area to be sealed off, prohibiting anyone from entering.
The research institute remained unvisited for the next two months, with the entire compound overgrown with weeds.
Morningsong, Tina, and Aijie flew to the small hill at the center of the institute.
The hill still bore the marks of the dragons' departure—a massive gash in its side, revealing the underground laboratory.
"Was this where a seventh-rank Dragon King was dissected for experiments?" Tina asked curiously, standing atop the hill and surveying the interior of the mountain.
"It must be," Aijie nodded. "Too bad we didn't come here two months ago; we could have witnessed the grand spectacle of the dragons laying siege to the city! That would have been truly magnificent!"
"Do you think we should pay a visit to the Dragon Isle to meet the dragons?" Morningsong, the cat, suggested. "Since the dragons are at odds with the Skrulls, the enemy of our enemy is our friend. Perhaps we can visit them?"
"Great idea," Aijie's eyes lit up. "Later, we can visit Long City and other major cities in the Solar Empire. We can stop by the Dragon Isle on our way to Long City."
As they chatted, the two humans and the cat entered the underground laboratory, taking a closer look at its interior.
Of course, their conversation was intended to mislead the Skrulls, pretending that the humans of Earth had no prior contact with the dragons.
However, Victoria, who was following them, rolled her eyes in disdain.
The Skrulls had long known about the connection between Earth's humans and the dragons; they just hadn't made it public.
In the past two months, the dragons had received a large batch of equipment from the humans, with over a thousand dragons now equipped with these new, internally storable devices.
The scale of the dragons' equipment was impossible to miss. Where did the equipment come from? Clearly, it came from the humans of Earth! Who else could have made it?
So, the Solar Empire had already known about the secret trade between the dragons and the humans; they just hadn't exposed it.
Now, Tina and her companions were acting as if the humans had never been in contact with the dragons, which was a terribly poor act. Who were they trying to fool?
However, another aspect of Aijie's words caught Victoria's attention.
"Long City"? Could it be that Morningsong and her companions planned to visit other cities after the Sun City?
"Otas, Hiber, if they visit other cities, should we continue to follow them?" Victoria communicated telepathically with her colleagues.
"Hmm..." Otas thought for a moment before responding, "I think we should. Otherwise, they might use their power to torment the ordinary citizens of the cities. Besides, they are a ticking time bomb; we can't afford to let them out of our sight."
"Agreed," Victoria nodded in agreement.
Hiber added, "I also think we should continue to follow them, but we don't need all of us. Let the seventh-rank go back; the three of us will be enough."
"Alright."
...
As the three Skrull deities deliberated, Morningsong, Tina, and Aijie had already flown out of the mountain's interior.
The secret laboratory inside the mountain had little to offer.
When the dragons left, they had taken all the bodies of their fallen comrades and any valuable data, burning everything else that couldn't be carried away.
Now, the entire laboratory was charred and blackened, with nothing worth examining closely.
"Phew~ Where should we go next?" Back on the hilltop, Tina stretched her arms to relax her muscles. "We've pretty much seen everything in Sun City. Should we visit other cities?"
"Hmm... wait a moment," Aijie suddenly remembered something, a mysterious smile spreading across her face. "We have one more 'attraction' to see, and it's quite famous."
"Another one?" Morningsong took out her phone and flipped through the travel guide. Hadn't they already visited all the listed attractions?
"No, Morningsong, this attraction isn't in the guide," Aijie reached out and gently held the cat's furry paw.
She then turned her gaze southward, where a grand palace stood—the Solar Palace!
"Oh, right! We haven't been inside the Solar Palace yet!" Morningsong realized. "The Solar Palace is definitely worth a visit. The architecture inside is a masterpiece of ancient Solar art!"
Tina chimed in excitedly, "Exactly, and we can also drag the Solar Emperor out and give him a good beating!"
Aijie and Morningsong: "..."
"Let's go, then!" The mention of the Solar Palace immediately piqued Tina's interest, and she took the lead, flying ahead.
Alyssa and Morning Star exchanged a glance and followed closely behind.
However, the three Victoria gods were taken aback.
What was going on?
Morning Star and the others were actually going to enter the royal palace?
Was this a place they could just walk into?
There was no need for the three Victorias to discuss this; a single glance was enough to convey their thoughts.
The royal palace was the last line of defense, symbolizing the dignity of the Sol Empire.
Even though they weren't Sol natives, they understood the importance of royal dignity. Such a place could not be allowed to be entered by Blue Star citizens.
Otherwise, the resulting public backlash would be severe, and the loss of the Sol royal family's prestige would be far worse than losing a war!
In short, they absolutely could not let Morning Star and the others enter the Sol royal palace!
After making their decision, they accelerated their flight to overtake Tina, who was leading the group, and intercepted them before they reached the palace.
"You can't enter the Sol royal palace!" Victoria stood in front of the palace's protective shield and said seriously, "The Sol royal palace is the core area of the Sol Empire. Entry is strictly prohibited without permission!"
"And what if we insist on going in?" Morning Star licked her paw, her tone now laced with danger.
"..." Victoria thought for a moment.
Before she could finish her thoughts, Otas, standing beside her, chuckled and said, "If you insist on going in, then we'll have no choice but to fight!
The Sol royal palace is definitely off-limits, and the same goes for the Expeditionary Force's command center above us."
Otas glanced up.
Directly above them was the spatial rift zone, and surrounding it was the Skrull Expeditionary Force's command center.
Morning Star and the others were free to visit ordinary tourist spots, but these two places were strictly off-limits.
...
Alyssa saw the three Victorias' firm stance and didn't force her way into the palace.
She just wanted to test the Skrulls' limits. This must be their bottom line, right?
"Then how about this," Alyssa said with a graceful smile. "Since we're already at the gates of the Sol royal palace, can we at least meet the Sol Emperor?
I am the ruler of a nation with hundreds of millions of people. Is it too much to ask to meet the Sol Emperor?"
"..." The three Victorias were speechless.
Manina had long fled and wasn't even in the palace. Even if Alyssa wanted to meet him, she couldn't!
Just as they were about to come up with some safety pretext, Alyssa seemed to read their minds and smiled, "What, not willing? Or is the Sol Emperor not even in the palace?"
When Morning Star heard Alyssa's words, she immediately understood what her best friend was up to.
They had lived together for a long time and were in perfect sync.
As soon as Alyssa finished speaking, Morning Star used her telepathic abilities to penetrate the palace's protective shield and began scanning the interior.
The Sol royal palace's shield had no mechanism to block telepathic scans. Who would dare to scan the palace directly?
Thus, Morning Star's telepathic scan passed through the shield unimpeded, scanning the entire palace.
Except for the emperor Manina's study and a few other heavily guarded buildings, the information from the rest of the palace immediately imprinted in her mind.
"You!" Victoria couldn't tolerate Morning Star's audacious behavior and immediately used her telepathic abilities to interfere.
Soon, Morning Star's telepathic scan was interrupted.
"Morning Star, did you find the Sol Emperor Manina?" Alyssa asked.
"No." Morning Star shook her head. "He's not in the palace."
Although her telepathic scan was interrupted, she hadn't detected any trace of the Sol Emperor Manina in the palace.
Unless he was hiding in a particularly secluded spot, he definitely wasn't there.
"Not in the palace, that makes things easier!" Alyssa's mind immediately formulated a brilliant plan.
With Manina not in the palace, this was a perfect opportunity to undermine his reputation among the people.
If used properly, it could significantly lower Manina's standing.
So Alyssa immediately said to Morning Star, "Morning Star, use your phone to translate a message for me."
(End of Chapter)
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