Steve strolled through the street with apparent nonchalance. Occasionally, he paused in front of a store or shop, examined certain items, and engaged in conversations, only to return the items looking unsatisfied. He set the merchandise aside and continued his leisurely walk. A careful observer would notice that every time he inquired about an item, his eyes swiftly scanned the surroundings.
After covering seven or eight blocks, Steve abruptly vanished around a corner. Within a minute of his disappearance, a group of casually dressed men emerged at the location he had last occupied.
"Did the target vanish here?" inquired one of the middle-aged men, turning to his assistant.
"Yes, Captain. The target disappeared around this corner," the assistant replied.
The Captain surveyed the road ahead and behind him. It was relatively far from the business district, resulting in a sparse pedestrian presence. No one else was on the street after the corner.
"What does the tracker show?" the Captain inquired.
"The tracker indicates the target isn't in motion now. He is nearby," another assistant responded, handing over the tracker in his possession. The Empire's Intelligence Agency had already initiated its surveillance of Steve upon his arrival on this planet.
The tracker displayed a red dot amidst a cluster of green ones. The Captain gazed at a six-story apartment building beside him.
"Enter and search! Notify other teams to seal off this area," the Captain ordered, waving his hand. The intelligence officers under his command entered the apartment.
Following the tracker's signal, the intelligence officers reached a door on the third floor.
"Enter! Capture them alive!"
An intelligence officer swiftly applied a glue-like substance around the door lock, and the individuals surrounding him leaned back. Once the glue had solidified, a resounding "Boom!" occurred as the door lock blew open. The officer kicked the door open, and his partner rushed into the house with a drawn weapon.
The living room and kitchen were empty. The intelligence agents found Steve in the study. Yet, upon sighting him, they hastily shouted to withdraw from the premises, "Back away; he's activated a high-powered grenade!"
"You've all been deceived! While you were tailing me, my comrades transmitted intelligence. Our dream is about to become a reality! Haha..."
With his laughter, the high-powered grenade detonated, reducing the entire house and its occupants to dust in an instant.
In New Rome, atop a towering building, Count Barton, the director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, perused several reports with a somber expression. Senior intelligence officials flanked him, their heads lowered, anticipating the director's reaction. However, when he finished reading the reports, his response was less severe than expected.
"Is that all?" he inquired.
"Yes, sir. We conducted a total of twenty simultaneous arrests, but only two of them succeeded. The eighteen failures include capturing bait; they did not possess significant information," reported the director of the Operations Division reluctantly.
The director signaled him to sit down and then turned to the director of the Intelligence Analysis Division. "Have we deciphered any of the intercepted coded messages?"
"Some of the cipher messages have been decoded, but most of them employ a novel encryption method. Our team is working diligently to break them. Nonetheless, based on the decrypted data, we can conclude that this star field is plotting something adverse to the Empire," elucidated the Analysis Division's head, pointing to a virtual star map of the empire projected on the conference table. A star field turned red under his touch.
"Yes, Mr. Director. From the intelligence we've gathered, there is an anti-government organization named the Freedom Alliance operating in this star field. The apprehended targets are believed to be members of this organization," promptly reported the director of the Intelligence Division following the Analysis Division.
The earl listened to his subordinates' reports, brows deeply furrowed as he focused on the red star field. "I won't bother expressing disappointment or frustration, but I demand results. If we can't uncover the intentions of this so-called Freedom Alliance, the next group scrutinizing this matter will be the military court judges."
The Sigma system, nearly 500 light-years away from New Rome, the Empire's administrative center, was the red-marked star field during the Intelligence Agency's high-level meeting. The Sigma Galaxy was not suitable for human habitation, with only one planet, Wu Mu, being suitable for life. However, several asteroids in the Sigma system yielded high-energy ores, rendering it less desolate.
Nonetheless, a mysterious atmosphere loomed over Wu Mu Planet recently, suggesting that a significant event was imminent. Interstellar merchants had decreased their trips to the planet, and miners from high-energy mines had refrained from splurging in the local bars. The entire Sigma Galaxy felt the oppressive atmosphere.
Today was payday. As usual, Miner Bill headed to Wumu Star with his friend Sam after collecting their salaries.
"Hey, Sam, are we heading to the usual spot today? The waitresses there are quite attractive, and they always flirt with the customers. I'm determined to win over that fiery red-haired girl today. By the way, what happened last time? Weren't you interested in that dark-skinned beauty? Let's team up on them today!" Bill conversed with his partner, displaying a carefree attitude.
"Hey, Bill, I won't be going to Wumu Star today. I've decided to stay at the mine and play cards with Lao Wang and the others," Sam declined the proposal.
"Sam, what's gotten into you? Playing cards with Lao Wang and the gang isn't exciting. Why waste your time like that?" Bill voiced his surprise at Sam's choice.
"I don't know. You've got to be blind not to notice it. Lately, our fellow miners and those from other mines have been avoiding Wumu Star. Something big is brewing on Wu Mu Planet," Sam whispered. He scanned his surroundings carefully and approached Bill, continuing, "Bill, trust me on this. A security guard at the mine mentioned that Andy, whom you know, reported something fishy. His distant relative works in the intelligence agency on Wu Mu Planet."
"Ah, Andy! That guy's just full of hot air. His distant relative is just a civilian working in the local intelligence agency. If even a civilian knows this, I'm sure Wu Mu Planet's authorities have already taken action," Bill responded, evidently unconcerned.
"Can't convince you otherwise. It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not; I'd rather stay with Lao Wang to play cards," Sam concluded. Seeing that his old friend remained skeptical, he decided not to dwell on the matter further, greeted Bill, and departed.
Bill proceeded to the bar on Wumu Star, known as "Drunk." On typical payday nights, the bar teemed with customers, but today seemed unusually empty.
Seated at the bar, Bill struck up a conversation with the bartender. "What's going on today? Why are there so few customers?"
"I'm not sure, but there's an unusual atmosphere throughout our planet recently. Have you noticed? I saw many unfamiliar faces on my way to work today, and they seemed to be part of a tourist group, all wearing red ribbons on their arms," the bartender responded while polishing a glass.
"Tourist group? There's not much to see in the Sigma Galaxy aside from a few mines. Are they here for official duties? These folks might have money to burn," Bill said as he took
a sip of his drink.
"Who knows? Business has been unusually slow today. If we don't get new customers soon, we might have to close early," the bartender remarked casually. However, Bill was no longer interested in conversing with the bartender because he had just spotted the red-haired waitress.
Bill had just begun to chat with the waitress and learn her name when a loud noise emanated from the direction of the spaceport. The bar experienced a sudden, violent tremor, causing tables and chairs to topple over. "That was an explosion!" Bill remembered Sam's words. It appeared that Andy hadn't been boasting this time.
"Revolution! We're rising up!" declared a young man with a red ribbon, entering the bar. He addressed the stunned patrons before quickly exiting.
"Revolution? Uprising?" Bill felt as though he were in a dream.
In the Intelligence Agency, all the senior officials convened, and the director of the Intelligence Analysis Division addressed the assembly. "According to the analysis of the coded messages we've finally deciphered, Wu Mu in the Sigma system plans to declare independence today, on June 26."
"June 26? But that's today!" all those present, except for Earl Barton, exclaimed.
At that moment, the conference room's door burst open, and the Earl's special assistant entered. Paying no heed to the baffled expressions of the others, he placed an interstellar network terminal on the conference table. Upon activating it, a man appeared on the screen, accompanied by a squad of armed guards. "We're here, on Wu Mu Star in the Sigma Galaxy, to announce to our fellow Milky Way residents. Today, June 26, 8742 of the Galactic Calendar, Wu Mu Star officially declares its independence from the oppressive Golden Lion Empire. We shall establish our own planetary government..."
Throughout the Empire's 8,700-year history, there had been civil wars and uprisings, but these revolts primarily resulted from power struggles among the Empire's elite. Wu Mu Planet's independence was distinct, originating from the civilian population's voluntary organization. The group leading this movement called itself the Freedom Alliance. On the day of their declaration, the Freedom Alliance publicly executed Imperial nobles and high-ranking officials on Wu Mu Planet via the interstellar network. They took concrete steps to inform the entire galaxy that their actions were no jest!