CHAPTER 629: CHAPTER 383, NO WAY OUT!_3

The head of the Security Bureau, Guo Nu, stood up with a ’huff’ and said, "Minister Shen, I am here."

Although he was the director of the Security Bureau, he was also a loyal direct subordinate of Shen Wuxiang.

The Security Bureau belonged to the Military Department, but it was also Shen Wuxiang’s Security Bureau.

Inside, it was so tightly managed by them that not even water could leak through. If Shen Wuxiang wanted someone dead, a mere glance was enough to signal it.

They could then frame and entrap the target person, concocting a list of accusations...

The authority of the Security Bureau was vast, and Guo Nu’s position was critical.

Therefore, he could only desperately cling to Shen Wuxiang’s coattails.

Because he knew better than anyone that if he were abandoned by Shen Wuxiang, those he had framed would tear him to pieces...

Like the Monitoring Bureau, it was a job that made enemies.

Thus, they had to rely on powerful backing to exist.

For example, the Monitoring Bureau relied on the Royal Family, depending on Zhong Daolong’s trust.

The Security Bureau relied on the foundation of the Shen Family, depending on Shen Wuxiang’s dominance.

"Alright, alright, I’m asking you questions, so just answer them," said Shen Wuxiang with impatience, waving his hand.

"Yes," Guo Nu responded in a deep voice, "We sent salvage ships to collect the fragments of those pirate ships... After testing and analysis, it was found that the hulls of those pirate ships had been reinforced on the exterior, and their internal systems had been modified and upgraded..."

At this point, Guo Nu hesitated, a conflicted look on his face as though he wanted to speak and yet he did not.

"Hmm?" Shen Wuxiang snorted coldly and said, "Whatever it is, just say it. Do you dare to conceal such matters?"

"Do you know what those pirate ships have done? They attacked the Royal Fleet, they attacked the Fire God upon which the Eldest Prince was aboard..."

"What is this behavior? This is war, this is a declaration of war against our Phoenix Empire... All participants, all conspirators, are traitorous bandits, engaged in treasonous acts..."

Seeing Shen Wuxiang get angry, Guo Nu knew he could no longer hesitate.

Even if speaking out would push him into a dead end...

"Identified by the expert group of the Imperial Science and Technology Research Institute, the external reinforcement material used by those pirate ships that attacked the Royal Fleet is U37... It’s a high-tech defensive coating researched and developed by Lu Ban Mountain..."

"The internal system of the pirate ships used the Vermilion Bird 9981 system... This, too, is proprietary technology from Lu Ban Mountain, not yet made available to the outside world, and not even equipped on the fleets of the Royal Family..."

As Guo Nu spoke, he handed over various research materials and the signed appraisal results from the expert group to all the committee members present.

Shen Wuxiang glanced over the documents and asked in a deep voice, "So, this means... there’s a close connection between this attack and the Lu Family?"

Guo Nu clenched his teeth and said, "Yes. Even though we didn’t manage to capture any pirates alive, the technology used in those pirate ships indeed came from Lu Ban Mountain..."

"That’s also the reason they were capable of inflicting such severe damage to the Imperial Starships; mere pirate ships wouldn’t have been able to do that."

"Isn’t it them who did it..." Shen Wuxiang’s fingertips lightly tapped the tabletop as he looked at Guo Nu, "Why not call over Lu Dongsheng for a talk and ask him?"

Lu Dongsheng was the Minister of the Imperial Mechanical Industry Department, the face of the Lu Family and an influential figure on the bureaucratic stage.

For Shen Wuxiang to insinuate that Lu Dongsheng should be brought in for interrogation was akin to dragging the Lu Family’s reputation through the mud...

"Minister Shen, is this really appropriate? After all, without concrete evidence to point the blame, to hastily summon a minister-level official for investigation... Could the backlash be too severe?" Committee member Wang Banshan of the Military Committee raised an objection.

Shen Wuxiang swept a somber gaze towards Wang Banshan and asked, "Is this not conclusive enough evidence? Can you produce U37 material, or can I? Which of us here could produce that?"

"And that Vermilion Bird system... That is core technology from Lu Ban Mountain, something that even our Empire’s warships don’t have installed yet... but those pirate ships got their hands on it first... Who else could it be?

"Besides, we’re just inviting them to cooperate with our work... Who said anything about an investigation?"

Seeing Shen Wuxiang’s adamant attitude towards detaining Lu Dongsheng, unease began to spread among the others.

Was Shen Wuxiang really about to burn bridges with the Lu Family?

Was the Lu Family going to collapse in this round of struggle?

Was this the stance of Shen Wuxiang alone, or was it that of the Phoenix Palace? Or perhaps, was it the shared view of the majority?

"Guo Nu, go to the Mechanical Department and please invite Minister Lu to cooperate with our work."

"Yes," Guo Nu saluted and called out loudly.

There was no turning back now, one could only charge forward with their head tied to their belt.

From today, from this moment, he was in a life-and-death struggle with the Lu Family.

Shen Wuxiang, with an eagle-like gaze, swept over the faces of those present, and after seeing no more opposition, suddenly spoke as if remembering something, "Oh yes, give a heads-up to the Monitoring Bureau... ask them to cooperate with our work and conduct a joint investigation into Lu Ban Mountain’s involvement in the case."

"Yes."

------

Tang Fei received the order to cooperate with the case while he was in his office having tea and chatting leisurely with Tan Yu.

A beauty was always a delight to the eyes, and even if he harbored no ulterior motives, just talking and chatting was still quite enjoyable.

Especially when the woman was also interesting.

"The Lu Family? Lu Dongsheng?" Tang Fei said in disbelief, "The Lu Family attacked the Royal Fleet?"

(ps: Dear friends, have a healthy Dragon Boat Festival!)