First Interstellar Guide Chapter 96: Celebration Banquet

Chapter 96: Celebration Banquet

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Due to the long-standing layout of the Dark Night Organization, the number of evolvers supporting President Harrison far exceeded that of his competitor, Mike. Although the results had not been announced yet, President Harrison’s reelection had become a sure thing, pending only the announcement from Congress.

After more than a month of voting, the deadline finally arrived, and all major star domains sent their tallied votes to the capital planet.

On August 10th, Lu Tingyu, Harrison, and others prepared to return to the capital planet for the final strategic deployment. On the night before departure, Lu Tingyu privately found Mohr and asked softly, “Mohr, are you coming back with us?”

“No, I want to stay here,” Mohr looked towards the direction of the cave, his eyes indescribably gentle, “As an A-class healing guide, going to the capital planet I won’t be of much help. It’s better to stay here with him. I don’t want to leave him alone.”

Lu Tingyu knew very well who Mohr referred to as “him.” Lu Tingyu glanced at the golden eagle hidden in the cave. During this time, Mohr came to see him every day, carefully bandaging his wounds with the silk given by the Spider Queen and feeding him some fruits. Although he didn’t like to eat much, Mohr persisted, treating him as a “person.” He was the person Mohr cared for, not some ugly mutant.

Lu Tingyu said softly, “Even when he has changed like this, you still won’t abandon him… You’ve really worked hard.”

Mohr smiled, “General Lu, no need to be polite. Taking care of him is my personal wish. If there’s a chance in the future, I hope you can find a way to cure him. In case…” At this point, Mohr’s expression became somewhat lost, but his eyes were firm, “In case he can’t be cured, I’ll stay on Red Spider Planet and accompany him for the rest of his life.”

A pang of bitterness swept through Lu Tingyu’s heart. He gently patted Mohr’s shoulder, “We will find a way.”

Except for Mohr, all members of the Eagle Special Forces secretly returned to the capital planet with General Lu and the President. With only a few days left, they had to make final preparations for the decisive battle. Marshal Qin Xiao had already arranged everything, awaiting their arrival on the capital planet. Once they met, they quickly discussed the plan.

This operation couldn’t afford any leaks, so the participating personnel had to be carefully selected and strictly confidential, preferably reliable elite forces. Both the Lu family and the Xie family’s special agents were mobilized.

On August 15th, the Federal Congress held a plenary session with representatives from the military present as well. The votes on the big screen kept accumulating. After more than ten minutes, all votes from various star domains were counted.

The Speaker of the Congress announced loudly, “Next, I declare that in the 500th year of the Stellar Era presidential election, Mr. Harrison received a total of 257896365332 votes, with a support rate of 75%! Mr. Harrison is officially elected as the 101st President of the Federation!”

The Congress chamber erupted in enthusiastic applause, and Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan also joined in applauding and congratulating.

Amidst the applause, Harrison stood up, smiled, and walked to the rostrum to deliver his inaugural speech, “It’s an honor for me to be elected as the new president of the Federation. Here, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the federal citizens who voted for me!”

He bowed deeply to the audience, and the applause grew even more intense. It was evident that this lengthy speech had been prepared in advance. Harrison promised that after being elected president, he would help solve problems in healthcare, employment, and other areas for the citizens. He also pledged to distribute the latest research drugs to all sentinels in the Federation for free, alleviating their suffering from frenzy.

The passionate speech lasted for more than ten minutes, and his emotions were very well expressed. All federal television stations were broadcasting it simultaneously.

At this moment, in a villa in the suburbs of the capital planet, watching the live broadcast of the “real President Harrison” on TV, the expression on a certain someone’s face was extremely complicated. He looked at the person on TV, who was 99% similar to himself, and muttered, “Even I have to doubt if I have a twin brother.”

Lu Tingyu was shocked, “If it weren’t for Ranran uncovering the truth, I would have completely failed to recognize that he was a fake!”

Zhu Tianyi calmly said, “His left ring finger has a 0.5 cm difference from His Excellency the President’s.”

Harrison raised his hand and carefully observed for a moment, then looked at the person on TV… 0.5 cm, this tiny difference was imperceptible to the naked eye without deliberately measuring it with a ruler. He had only shaken hands with the President, the head of the Guide Association, a few times with his right hand. Perhaps that was why the monster hidden in the President’s body hadn’t paid attention to the problem with his left hand fingers.

It clearly hadn’t expected that there would be such a difference between the President’s left and right hands.

Lu Tingyu speculated, “Zexuan should have seen the real President at the funeral and later saw the imposter, noticing this slight difference?”

Zhu Tianyi said, “General Lu’s eagle eyes are better than my spider’s. I often meet with the President and know him very well, which is why I noticed the problem with the fingers. General Lu only saw him once but could remember all the details. Perhaps, this is also the key to them distinguishing between the real and fake President.”

Harrison looked at his left hand, feeling amused and exasperated. He hadn’t expected that this difference would actually save his life.

At the scene of the Capitol Building, after Harrison finished his inauguration speech, the Federal Congress formally concluded amidst applause. There were many people in the capital who supported the president, taking to the streets in a parade. The streets were filled with jubilant scenes. At this moment, people had no idea that beneath the president’s skin lay a massive and terrifying monster.

After the meeting, Yu Ran indeed received a notice—President Harrison would host a celebration banquet tonight at 8pm, located in the Presidential Palace. Most of those attending the banquet were members of the Dark Night Organization, with some others intending to ingratiate themselves with the president.

Yu Ran went home to change into formal attire. At dinner time, accompanied by Lu Zexuan, they went to attend the banquet.

Tonight, the Presidential Palace was brightly lit, filled with joyous atmosphere. The venue was luxuriously decorated, with a red carpet extending from the entrance all the way to the banquet hall. Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan attended the banquet together, wearing custom-made suits, not particularly conspicuous among the crowd. After all, most of those attending tonight’s banquet were either rich or powerful, and Lu Zexuan was one of the youngest generals in terms of seniority.

In the banquet hall, many guests who had arrived early were chatting with each other. Yu Ran looked around, but didn’t see any trace of Ludwig—Adeline, now the president of the Guide Association. Ludwig had voluntarily “retired” and hadn’t shown his face for a long time. After all, he needed to focus on playing the role of the president, and disappearing was the best way for Ludwig.

When Adeline saw Yu Ran in the crowd, she smiled and walked over, raising her glass and saying softly, “Yu Ran, the president’s successful election is greatly thanks to you. Speaking of which, back in the Norma Constellation, it was I who saved you and recommended you to join the organization. I must say, I have a good eye.”

Yu Ran thought to himself, “Of course you have a good eye. You recommended the biggest undercover agent.” Outwardly, he politely clinked glasses with Adeline, saying, “I was orphaned and had nowhere to turn. Thanks to your guidance and kindness, I will never forget your favor.”

Adeline, listening to his words, felt pleased, “Follow your master well in the future, and you won’t be treated unfairly.”

At that moment, Kroger also approached, smiling and saying, “Yu Ran, when I interrogated you with violence back then, I was actually testing your background. I hope you don’t mind.”

Today, Kroger was dressed in a white suit, looking dashing. Colorful butterflies surrounded him, flying around Yu Ran’s fox, indicating friendliness. The fox graciously wagged its tail in response.

Yu Ran good-naturedly said, “I’m not that petty. Congratulations on becoming the new head of the Investigation Division.”

Kroger clinked glasses with him, smiling, “That annoying Black Spider has been torn apart by a wormhole. Now that I’m the head, I’ll definitely cooperate with your actions. Rest assured, such interrogations won’t happen again.”

Just then, Morvi also approached, asking, “What are you guys talking about with my apprentice?”

Adeline joked, “Professor, don’t worry. He’s your apprentice; no one will take him away.”

Morvi laughed heartily and clinked glasses with them. He was in a particularly good mood today. With Harrison’s successful re-election and his promise to allocate funds from the government to establish specialized experimental bases in various star systems, their grand plan had finally taken a crucial step forward.

Seeing the joyful demeanor of these people, Yu Ran couldn’t help but sneer inwardly—enjoy your happiness now, but you might not be smiling later.

A moment later, the main character of tonight’s event, President Harrison, arrived at the banquet venue. Harrison smiled and said, “Please be seated, everyone. I’ve had professional chefs prepare a sumptuous feast to thank you all for your support!”

The crowd erupted into excited applause and cheers. Some took the opportunity to flatter, “It’s our honor to support your re-election!” 

“Yes, President Harrison is the most outstanding president in nearly a century. He’ll surely go down in federal history.”

Yu Ran quietly brought along his “puppet” Lu Zexuan and sat at the same table as Morvi.

Meanwhile, outside the Presidential Palace, Xie Chen personally led the elite troops of the Starlight Legion, swiftly surrounding the entire Presidential Palace; in the sky, General Lu Tingyu led the elite Eagle Legion, blocking all airborne escape routes; underground, Zhu Tianyi, leading the Investigation Division, had already laid out a meticulous net to prevent Adeline and her associates from escaping through the secret passages.

The entire Presidential Palace was tightly sealed off. On the surface, underground, and in the air, they were encircled from all directions, not even a fly could escape!

Inside the palace, there was lively chatter and excitement, Harrison smiled, “The banquet is about to begin. Tonight, let’s feast and celebrate the victory of this election!”

Once again, applause resounded through the venue. However, before the applause could die down, several people suddenly walked in side by side through the doorway. A voice exactly like Harrison’s on the stage coldly said, “Hold on. Your performance is about to end.”

Everyone turned their heads simultaneously, many of them surprised, some even dropping their jaws—

What’s going on?! Why is there another President Harrison? And isn’t Marshal Qin Xiao critically ill, bedridden? Why is he standing beside that Harrison? Didn’t General Lu Tingyu sacrifice himself long ago? How is he standing next to Harrison too? Didn’t Zhu, the head of the Investigation Division, voluntarily resign and hand over the position to Kroger? And General Xie Chen, the commander of the Starlight Legion, who’s supposed to be recuperating at home, why are they all here at the celebration banquet?

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.

At the next moment, Marshal Qin Xiao straightforwardly commanded, “Move!”

As soon as the words fell, Lu Zexuan, who had been thought of as a “puppet” on the side, suddenly leaped into action. He flipped over from the table, lightning-fast, and with a lightning grip, instantly seized Professor Morvi’s neck!

Morvi’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.