"What the f*ck?"
Question marks popped up incessantly on Aiven's head.
Holy sh*t, what kind of melodramatic plot is this?
Derwent ignored him and continued his explanation.
"Of course, these are all my speculations."
"The information I received was that the Dwarf had mentioned a woman of black gems to some people before."
"And Naxiah's codename in many mission worlds was also Black Gem..."
"Given the Dwarf's inherent lustfulness and not a small number of offspring, I think the possibility is very high..."
Before the question marks in Aiven's mind could finish popping, he couldn't control his mouth.
"How are you so sure Naxiah is the Dwarf's daughter and not his woman?"
Derwent didn't particularly want to deal with him.
A foolish younger brother doesn't need to know; as long as Joseph understands, that's enough!
Joseph snapped his fingers.
"Because the Dwarf never mentions any of his women in front of others!"
"He only talks about what good deeds his daughters or sons have done!"
Giving a casual explanation, Joseph nodded at Derwent.
"Your speculation is not without merit."
"It's just, have you ever considered that if Naxiah is truly the Dwarf's daughter, why didn't he seek revenge from Shan Hai afterward?"
Derwent: "I've thought about it, of course I've thought about it."
"I have some speculations on this too."
"The Dwarf only mentioned Black Gem once, and it was during a private gathering, an accidental slip of the tongue."
"And Naxiah's information is registered as a subordinate of the Fifth Faction, the Gold and Silver Tree."
"So, can we suspect that Black Gem, who is Naxiah, is a spy the Dwarf planted in the Gold and Silver Tree?"
"If Naxiah is indeed the Dwarf's daughter, then the only reason she's in the Fifth Faction and not the Seventh Faction is because she's the Dwarf's spy..."
Spies are something every faction has to some extent; they are countless.
"And the reason the Dwarf wasn't busy with revenge was likely to avoid alerting us."
"Under the circumstances at the time, with Shan Hai becoming Li Xie Qian's favored subordinate, if the Dwarf personally hunted Shan Hai or found someone to do it, it would have aroused suspicion."
"Even though Naxiah is dead, her identity as a spy cannot be exposed, otherwise the Fifth Faction would have grounds to declare war on him and demand compensation."
This was also an unwritten rule.
Everyone plants spies in each other's factions. As long as they aren't caught, everything is peaceful.
Once exposed and caught, none of the First Sequence factions will speak up for you; you can only offer compensation.
Derwent continued with his speculation.
"And now that Shan Hai has become the leader of the Fifth Faction, the Dwarf is even more afraid to act recklessly!"
"The Seventh Faction's overall strength is inherently inferior to the Fifth Faction."
"Shan Hai also displayed unexpected power in the faction competition."
"So, I now suspect that the anonymous message was sent by the Dwarf."
"His goal is to instigate conflict between us and the Fifth Faction, to use our hands to kill him..."
Derwent narrowed his eyes and made a chopping gesture with his hand.
His gaze was icy, and the lights in the room seemed to dim.
Based on the collected intelligence and deductions, Derwent was more than fifty percent confident that the anonymous message was sent by the Dwarf.
It was fine for the Dwarf to target Shan Hai, but if he was using them as a tool to kill, then that was a big problem!
Joseph narrowed his eyes, clearly pondering Derwent's speculation.
It was logical and well-reasoned, with no loopholes.
If Naxiah was indeed the Dwarf's daughter, acting as a spy for the Fifth Faction, then everything made sense!
Moreover, based on his own investigation, the information received and the conclusions drawn were largely the same.
The only thing that caused some confusion was why the Dwarf was only making a move against Shan Hai now.
But even if this point was unclear, it didn't prevent Joseph from guarding against him, nor was it something that absolutely needed to be clarified.
Joseph's gaze was icy: "If it really is the Dwarf, then the Seventh Faction will have a new leader this time..."
"By the way, is there any news about Dionna?"
If the Dwarf was a problem, then Dionna and Shan Hai were also problems.
After several days of investigation, Joseph was convinced that Shan Hai was hiding Dionna.
If Dionna wasn't out on a mission, then why was Shan Hai hiding her?
Could it be that the Seventh Faction had also provoked Shan Hai somehow? Making Shan Hai misunderstand him in certain aspects, so as to better stir up non-existent conflicts between the two sides?
If that were the case, the situation would be quite dire.
"There's no news about Dionna, but she's likely being hidden by Shan Hai on the main planet."
"We don't have the authority, nor were we invited, so we can't enter the main planet unless we attack."
An attack was out of the question. Attacking a faction's main planet would be a unilateral declaration of war.
"It is indeed a bit troublesome..." Joseph frowned, feeling a little agitated.
This Dwarf, he hadn't provoked him or offended him, so why was he trying to use them as a weapon?
Were there any hidden circumstances he didn't know about?
It seemed this matter would need to be investigated as well.
"Has Shan Hai not returned yet?" Joseph irritably glanced at his personal terminal and casually asked.
Derwent also checked his terminal.
Shan Hai's status on it still showed as offline.
How many hours had passed?
"It seems not yet..."
Derwent was about to agree when he suddenly stopped.
Just a second ago, Shan Hai's avatar had flickered, rapidly changing from gray to colored, like an online notification in a chat tool.
He looked up at Joseph.
Joseph was also looking at him.
"He seems to be online?"
Joseph remained silent, his eyes narrowed.
After a moment, he typed out a message and sent it...
Lin Feng, at this very moment, had indeed just returned to the main planet, bringing An, who was as happy as a child.
An, having developed emotions, had developed a different kind of curiosity towards everything she was familiar with before.
For the past two days, she had been excitedly researching the structure of her mechanical body!
Lin Feng had just returned to the central hall, intending to find Othelia and see how her investigation was going.
But almost as soon as he sat down, his terminal popped up with a message.
He looked down.
Sender: Leader of the Third Faction—Joseph...
A playful smile curved Lin Feng's lips.
He reached out and opened the message.
The content was not long, but every word was to the point.
Joseph and his two brothers wanted to invite Lin Feng to a private gathering.
The message mentioned speculations about the Seventh Faction, and Shan Hai was urged to attend!
At the end of the message, the time and place were attached.
Lin Feng's smile remained unchanged. He tapped a few times and replied with four words: I will be there on time...
The fish had taken the bait!