Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 41: Winning over the target - Completed.

Shortly after the video was released, the secret communication channel that Zhang Qiming left for Lieutenant Colonel Saveyev was revealed.

Seeing this, Zhang Qiming put the unicorn mask back on.

When the call connected, Lieutenant Colonel Saviev's tired face appeared on the screen. He was still wearing his uniform, and the epaulets looked particularly heavy in the cold light, but his eyes were much clearer than during the last call.

"Thank you. Skydrive destroyed that place and released Ilya from that jar... I can now answer the question you gave me before."

"I am willing to join Skyward, and I am willing to work with you to change Mars."

Zhang Qiming watched him through the screen. The unicorn knight mask concealed all his expressions, with only a faint smile in his voice.

"Trust the Skydrives, Lieutenant Colonel."

"The College of Cardinals has ruled Mars for too long. We will end this corrupt system and allow the Mechanical Church to return to its rightful place."

Saveyev remained silent for a moment, and finally just sighed.

"I hope so."

The two did not chat for long on the phone.

Zhang Qiming simply gave a few instructions, telling Lieutenant Colonel Saveyev to maintain his original identity for the time being, not to rush to reveal his stance, and not to take the initiative to contact other suspected Skydrive members.

He didn't reveal much information, including things about St. Sophia, which he didn't share with the lieutenant colonel because it wasn't the right time yet. When the time was right, the other party would know what needed to be known.

The communication ended quickly.

After the screen went dark, another secret link lit up immediately.

This time, he was contacted by Hagia Sophia, who did not turn on video and only communicated via encrypted text.

Zhang Qiming had reported today's operation to Saint Sophia, but he only said that there would be a big show tonight, and that Saint Sophia and Ares might need to cooperate with the Sky Drive to put on this show.

"Before you took action, you only said that Ares needed to cooperate with Chiseiro in putting on a show."

"But you didn't tell me the specific details and behind-the-scenes information about this play. The Cardinals really went to great lengths to deal with me..."

"The College of Cardinals has now approached me, asking me to handle the public opinion situation as soon as possible and stabilize the Martian Internet—they believe that only with Ares' cooperation can the spread of public opinion be suppressed in the shortest possible time."

After reading the message, Zhang Qiming tapped his finger lightly on the terminal.

"You can leave now. Chishiro will cooperate by acting like he's being suppressed. We'll reduce the buzz, but we won't let it disappear completely."

"In addition, Chiseiro will leave behind several traceable backdoor clues during his retreat. These clues will point to several people from the Office of the Holy Inquisition and the College of Cardinals. They will be used as bait to prepare for the subsequent purge list."

There was a pause of a few seconds on the other end of the line in Hagia Sophia before a new message popped up.

"To be honest, many of us, including myself, among the reformists had no idea that the College of Cardinals was doing these things behind our backs."

"After tonight, many people's trust in the College of Cardinals will be shattered."

Zhang Qiming's eyes flickered slightly as he read this sentence; this was the true value of the Bloodstained Item after its exposure.

A destroyed wet component node is merely a tactical victory.

However, if it allows reformers to recognize just how corrupt the College of Cardinals really is, and if it brings those who originally wanted to solve problems through negotiation, compromise, and internal repairs to a more radical position, then it will be a step forward in the situation.

He replied:

"Then take this opportunity to reach out to them. What you need to do now is not only to clean up the mess of public opinion for the College of Cardinals, but also to see who has value for united front work in the process of cleaning up the mess."

"I will complete the task of winning over the targets on the list as soon as possible, and I can also take this opportunity to start working on the final list of those to be removed, but the specific plan still needs to be considered more."

Santa Sophia responded quickly.

"clear."

After exchanging a few more pieces of information, confirming the pace of public opinion suppression, the timing of Chishiro's retreat, and the locations of several deliberately left tracking clues, the communication was immediately cut off.

Soon, deep within the Martian internet, Saint Sophia officially entered the fray, beginning to coordinate Ares's fight against Tomoyo.

Chiseiro also cooperated in the act, and the two sides maintained several rounds of fierce fighting.

Subsequently, it gradually withdrew its battle lines, abandoned several conspicuous transmission nodes, and left several disguised backdoor traces along its retreat route.

On the surface, the Martian Internet appears to be a clash of AIs where Ares has finally exerted its power, forcefully breaking through Chishiro's dissemination network and suppressing the Skydrive organization's propaganda video.

The public opinion department of the Office of the Censorate finally seized the opportunity and began to conduct a thorough review.

The number of videos on public channels began to decrease, trending topics were replaced one by one, and the comment section gradually changed from frantic spamming to scattered arguments.

The Martian Internet has finally quieted down a bit, but this matter is far from over.

Next, the College of Cardinals will have many more headaches to deal with.

What Zhang Qiming needs to do now is to speed up the process of compiling the list of people to be won over.

Lieutenant Colonel Saviev is the most valuable piece on this list. He has an actual military rank within the Covenant system, experience in commanding the local SA Aerospace Forces, and carries the blood debt of Ilya. He can enter the key links of the military and has a strong enough motive to betray the Holy Cardinals.

Such a person, once willing to join the Skywards, could not only shake one or two junior officers, but an entire undercurrent of anger suppressed by the Covenant Army's discipline and faith.

What he needed to do next was to continue to complete the tasks on the list of targets to be won over. He had information from his previous life and knew what would cause these people to be disappointed, waver, or betray him in their original timeline. He even knew on what day and year some of them were driven to the brink of despair by the orders of the Holy Cardinals.

Some lost loved ones, some had their research findings taken away, and some were utterly disillusioned with the corruption of the church...

The Holy Cardinals are truly inhuman; even without the Skywards, they would have been overthrown by the Martian people sooner or later.

He and Sky Chaser merely accelerated this historical process. Once the list of recruits is complete, only the final elimination list will remain of the three lists. He can take this opportunity to smear the targets on the elimination list.

The Martian Mechanical Church is supported by four major factions. Although the College of Cardinals appears to be sitting around the same table, each faction actually has its own agenda.

Labor Commune, Mental Choir, Forging Brotherhood, Iron Templars—everyone wants to grasp more power into their own hands, and everyone has secretly planted mines for other factions.

All I have to do next is throw the bloody bone in front of them and let them fight like dogs.