Merck family's meeting room.

"Sir, What should we do? We have no idea whether Professor Mark is alive or dead. How can we continue our investigation now that Mark and Benjamin are both gone? "

The head of the Merck family is Alex Merck.

He was sitting in a chair, deep in thought. His face is filled with confusion and worry.

He expressed deep concern and said,

"Why do I have the impression that it isn't over? Their goal could be something other than taking or killing Mark. Why did they feel the need to attack Planet Hella and frame us?

It's incomprehensible. Also, why didn't anyone contact us or ask us questions?"

Henry was a senior member there. He also agreed with Alex.

"It does feel strange, and I don't believe it's just about Mark. They don't need to go to this length to kill or kidnap Mark. Did anyone from outside the family contact any of you?"

"Not at all, sir."

The sirens suddenly began to sound. A man dressed in a military uniform is seen running toward the meeting room.

"Not good, sir. The radars show a large number of warships approaching us. "

"Calm down and speak clearly. How much is coming, and who owns that battleship?"

"Sir, there are far too many spaceships, and a huge number of families are marching towards us. It appears to be the entire galaxy approaching."

The hall fell silent all of a sudden. With concern and disbelief on his face, an elder spoke,

"It's impossible, because even though the planet Hallo was attacked, it didn't kill many people, and we have many good relationships with many families. More than half of the groups and families in Galaxy Zero owe us a debt of gratitude. How can they all come with their battleships even if they are not planning to attack?"

Suddenly, the family patriarch, Alex, rises from his chair, astonished.

"Is it something the enemy planned? Why did Benjamin suddenly betray us, and how did the incident make the news even before all of our family members knew?

Did they intend to exterminate us?

It must be, they must be unable to contain their greed, and someone must have used Benjamin to gain the agreement of other families. "

He suddenly felt sad and sat down on the chair. He said this with a tear in his eye.

"We helped others without expecting anything in return and never harmed anyone else. If we wanted to, we could have ruled Galaxy Zero.

long ago. "

Alex changed his expression quickly. He is, after all, the family head. With determination, he said,

"It doesn't matter if the entire world wants us dead. We will fight back with all we've got. It is not easy to bully us. We will show what Merck is capable of. When did we become someone who is easily bullied? We shall show them what the Merck family is made of. "

Henry also agreed with him.

"That's right. Outsiders may not realise it, but our forefathers also did some preparation. We've been to all kinds of strange galaxies and received a lot of strange toys as gifts. It's just that we're not very good at using most weapons. If only we had trained and attempted to strengthen our military. "

After taking a deep breath, Henry continued.

"There is no time for regrets. Alex, now, go and prepare for war; an old bone like me has no place in there. I have something else to do. We're all familiar with Mark. He and his wife made significant contributions to our family's success. But we failed to save his wife or find a cure for his daughter. Little Mark is now most likely an orphan. It's our fault that we put Mark in danger. Call little Mark and his sister. I have a message for him. "

A rare sadness formed in Henries's face. He continued to talk while looking towards the garden where little Mark was.

"I was the one who asked Mark's father to turn him into a scientist. It's time. There is no holding back anymore. A treasure that can't be used is worse than junk. "

Alex became respectful towards the elder as he bowed to him and left with the military commander.

*******

"Isn't it time to contact someone from the Merck family?"

Some people have already started to show unease.

Mr X ignored those remarks, while the white-masked man nearby inquired, perplexed,

"Isn't it better to talk some righteousness and turn the Merck family into villains before we attack? That way, we can gain the support of everyone. Why do we have to launch an attack as soon as we reach their defence range?"

Mr X laughed and said,

"We are not politicians here to win over everyone; we are here to steal and control a technology that every one of those guys wants. What do you think would happen if we followed your method?"

Mr X laughed once again and continued,

"They will feel no guilt and may even believe they have destroyed something evil. When it's all over, they'll demand we join forces to control gateways, or they'll thank us for removing a major threat to galaxy zero and kick us out like we're some outsiders who only helped them out of goodwill."

Mr X once again laughed as though he knew everything.

"What we want is complete authority. For that, we have to show those stupids how far we're willing to go. They will think twice before making a move. They will not rebel, and once we have control of the gateways, who can touch us?"

The white mask looked at Mr X with wide eyes.

"The boss is a great schemer; if I had half of the boss's brain, I would have risen through the ranks of the organisation."

Mr X was pleased and patted the white mask.

"Don't worry when we return, I'll make sure to mention your contribution to the organisation. We'll get real rewards this time. Merck has good relationships with some powerful families in Galaxy Nova, so the organisation wanted it to happen without alerting other galaxies. We have no ability to provoke them. We almost provoked a big shot the last time we stole the anti-ageing pills formula from a distant galaxy, which was fortunate for us. The organisation unexpectedly made the formula public, averting a disaster."

"It's no surprise we didn't get a promotion for that operation."

Finally, White Mask understood why they were returned empty-handed last time.

"It's time to go. Do what we planned. Make no mistakes. "

With that, Mr X walked away.