CHAPTER 1495: CHAPTER 20: THE STRIFE BETWEEN BAI MEI AND VOLCANO

It is foreseeable that the term ’Flame Sugar’ will soon be discarded, replaced by a new name that will be more revered and majestic, and people will gradually get used to her brilliance and heat.

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In August 1266 of the Sixth Era, shocking news came from the Central Star Domain: Prin Coco of ’Flame Sugar’ successfully advanced to Full Moon Level, becoming a songstress who could rival ’Bai Mei Vertical Harp’.

This upheaval brought a massive impact to the Central Star Domain. Many conglomerate forces that used to gather around ’Bai Mei Vertical Harp’ Evelyn began to change direction, investing in this newly prominent songstress. In the Federal Central Council, the split factions of congressmen also started a factional conflict, with constant disputes. Many previously agreed interests began to be re-divided. Amid this dramatic conflict and change, many small organizations and minority factions became the sacrificial victims of the struggle.

Several months later, the intense political struggle slightly eased. By this time, two major factional groups had formed in the Federal Center. The Elf Faction’s aristocratic gate valves and conglomerates still stood united by ’Bai Mei Vertical Harp’ Evelyn, while the newly ascended ’Volcano Queen’ Prin gathered a large number of human faction conglomerates around her.

In the clash between both sides, any minority factions that did not take sides were ostracized, including the always-taciturn religious forces, the weak alien factions, grassroots and lower social groups, and interest alliances formed by some giant businesses. Only the military faction was unaffected, maintaining a position that was not very high but certainly not low, in between.

Losing their positions in political discourse, many small organizations and factions began to protest. They organized demonstrations and incited voters, attempting to regain some power. However, these actions were easily suppressed by the two major factions that were fiercely battling, and related information was blocked from spreading on the network.

At this point, both sides had already torn off the facade, exposing each other’s secrets. Scandals and dirt burst forth every day, so they no longer cared about such trivial matters.

The past allowance of voice and power to these minority factions was merely to maintain the face of the Federal Central Council, demonstrating the broad-mindedness, fairness, and integrity of the ruling factions. But now, such facades had long been torn apart. With frequent exposures of various dark scenes and scandals between each other, there was no room for this anymore. Instead of leaving positions to insignificant minor factions, it was better to seize everything for their own faction and place their own people, so they could fully fight against opposing groups.

"What animal protection organization, it’s just a way to extort protection money. Now, who cares about them? It’s absolutely ridiculous." Such mocking voices were common on various online platforms.

"Hahaha, I find the Minority Rights Protection Council laughable too. In the past, they always claimed to be treated unfairly, demanding all kinds of privileges, demanding countless ordinary people change their ways of living and habits for the sake of this one-in-a-thousand minority."

"Now it’s great, nobody cares about you anymore. Those favorable treatments in the past have made them silly, and they truly thought that relying on moral binding could keep them at the top forever?"

"Although there are indeed some bad apples, you can’t just tar everyone with the same brush. After all, some people truly need help." Some netizens tried to correct this environment overflowing with hostility.

"Bullshit! Why didn’t you speak out and say their demands were excessive and unreasonable when they were asking for this and that? Now you act like a centrist."

"Well, everyone calm down, we’re just discussing it verbally. Ultimately, how to handle it depends on what those at the top think."

"I also want to say that the moderate environment of the past is likely gone forever. The political environment in the future will only become more extreme."

"Moderation is just the benevolence of those in power when they have ample leisure. When it gets down to the nitty-gritty, everyone should be cautious."

After this comment, everyone felt a bit disheartened, no longer as excited as before.

"Disperse, disperse."

"The situation will only get more complicated from now on. I’m afraid the peaceful days won’t last long."

"I have the same premonition. Under the overturned nest, no egg is intact. If there’s a chance, it’s better to go to Star Domains with stable situations. Although the Central Star Domain is prosperous, the gunpowder smell is the strongest too."

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In May 1267, Shui Yanqing of ’Feng Erguo’ left the Central Star Domain with a group of supporters, heading to the Feikelo Star Domain in the Eastern Federation, a Star Domain where pharmaceutical enterprises are concentrated, gathering several renowned giant pharmaceutical enterprises of the Federation.

In July, ’Volcano Queen’ Prin was assassinated during a performance and speech in the Flying Feather Star Domain. The attacker used an illegally modified Starship to shoot from space, and the high-temperature, high-energy particle stream instantly melted thousands of people to death on the spot, with tens of thousands seriously injured. Shortly after the incident, the illegally modified Starship was shot down by the near-star defense forces, resulting in many deaths, capturing only 11 surviving individuals.

After the incident, nearly everyone feared that Prin might have met a disastrous fate, but the songstress survived, completely unscathed. She lived through the extremely high-temperature environment and guided and protected most people on-site to evacuate, preventing the death toll from worsening further.

After the incident ended, the factions gathered around ’Volcano Queen’ Prin immediately demanded severe punishment for the culprits, denouncing it as the act of an assassin sent by the opposing Evelyn faction, intending to eliminate the Federation’s songstress and hope, using brutal and violent means to undermine the foundations of the Federation.