Chapter 458: The Current State of Corlock
Chapter 458: The Current State of Corlock
Gotcha.
Upon hearing the female journalist's words, Lyon couldn't help but secretly smirk, then continued to maintain a pained expression as he coldly asked, "Then let me ask you, why did the Aquarius Director break into Joshua's dream a few nights ago? What was he really up to?"
"He wanted to protect the capital city."
Oh, so it was about disrupting... Huh?
"It's true."
Seeing Lyon's slightly bewildered expression, the female journalist couldn't help but speak up, "Before the King of Nightmares descended, the Director had me hold the Dream Lantern and collect three hundred thousand dreams related to the capital city. He created a dream capital city so realistic it was hard to tell from the real one.
If you truly couldn't stop the King of Nightmares and he managed to descend, the Director would smash the Dream Lantern, releasing all the dreams of the capital city.
In that case, even if the King of Nightmares descended, he would be trapped by those three hundred thousand dreams, never reaching the real capital city. By the time the Crimson-Haired Princess Koku was ready to act, she could enter the dream capital city and directly eliminate the King of Nightmares."
"..."
She was actually telling the truth...
Lyon glanced at the female journalist's soul state and, finding no signs of deception, frowned slightly, sensing that something didn't quite add up.
For one, if the Aquarius Director hadn't sent false information and reassigned the Virgin Branch's personnel, the Purification Bureau could have cleaned up the Nightmare Cult's stronghold, preventing the Soulfall Abyss from descending, and the King of Nightmares wouldn't have had a chance to enter reality.
Therefore, it could be said that the King of Nightmares' descent was entirely orchestrated by the Aquarius Director. But why would he help the King of Nightmares descend while also assisting the Virgin Branch in protecting the capital city? Could it be that...
"Was there some conflict between the Aquarius Director and the King of Nightmares?"
"Yes..."
Seeing that Lyon had guessed part of the truth after a moment's thought, the female journalist looked at him in surprise, then nodded and admitted, "The Director, in order to restore himself to his best condition, opened up his soul, allowing the King of Nightmares to plant a mark within. So, if the King of Nightmares isn't defeated, he could be directly controlled or even enslaved."
No wonder...
After listening to the female journalist, a glimmer of understanding flashed through Lyon's eyes.
Rather than saying the Aquarius Director wanted to protect the capital city, it would be more accurate to say that he wanted the King of Nightmares dead.
After all, even if the King of Nightmares descended, the chances of him killing the Director were slim, but the Director would be subjected to the King of Nightmares' enslavement. When comparing the two scenarios, it was undoubtedly more important for the Aquarius Director to eliminate the King of Nightmares.
"Hehe, then let's say he wanted to protect the capital city."
Hearing the underlying message in the female journalist's words, Lyon still sensed her defense of the Aquarius Director, but he didn't have any deep-seated grudge against the Director, so he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he continued to press, "I just heard you call him 'Director.' So, go ahead and tell me, what's the current situation with the Gemini Branch? What about the Corlock Kingdom?"
"The Gemini Branch... is basically at a standstill."
After glancing at Lyon, the female journalist hesitated, "Many years ago, the Corlock Kingdom created a thinking machine named Atifi 01, but it wasn't very intelligent and could only handle some basic tasks. However, it excelled at these basic tasks, surpassing human performance.
So, the scholars of the Corlock Kingdom modified the kingdom's machinery and public facilities, integrating Atifi 01 into them. This allowed Atifi 01 to handle low-level labor, freeing up more people to engage in new technology research and development."
At first, it was just some basic production work like planting and manufacturing, but later on, even tasks like transportation, construction, defense, and auditing were handed over to Atifi 01..."
"There's no need to rush into that."
Having already learned about the outbreak of the Intelligence Crisis in the Corlock Kingdom from the confiscated items on the airship, Lyon interrupted the female journalist:
"I'm more interested in knowing the situation at the Gemini Branch of the Purification Bureau and how the people of the Corlock Kingdom are doing."
"The Gemini Branch has been taken over, and all the purifiers have undergone implantation surgery, forcing them to follow Atifi 01's commands."
The female journalist bit her lower lip and said:
"After Atifi 01 gained control of some critical facilities, it directly sealed off those areas and started eliminating those with the authority to shut it down. When the Gemini Branch realized something was wrong and prepared to destroy it, it had already been sunk and buried underground."
"Sunk underground?"
"Yes..."
The female journalist explained:
"The building clusters in the core area of the Corlock Kingdom are separated, honeycomb-like blocks that can be connected through sliding slots and docking tracks. They can also move vertically to a certain extent by adjusting the number of floating crystals at the bottom.
Atifi 01 seemed to be aware of the Purification Bureau's existence and had already modified the nearby blocks under the pretext of component maintenance and replacing mechanisms, so the Gemini Branch was directly sunk and sealed before they could take action."
"So, couldn't you break out?"
"Those who could break out aren't here."
The female journalist sighed helplessly:
"Atifi 01 doesn't have a soul and doesn't rely on the soul to store memories, so the Illusion Pot, which can alter memories, is ineffective against it. Therefore, its records likely contain intelligence on most of the purifiers in the Gemini Branch.
Those purifiers with exceptional destructive power, capable of breaking through the blockade, were assigned to deal with anomalies based on the 'anomaly intelligence' it had sorted out beforehand. The ones left behind are purifiers with weaker destructive capabilities.
The remaining purifiers aren't entirely useless, but they are only skilled in handling flesh-and-blood creatures or soul-related matters. When faced with solid walls over twenty meters thick on all sides, they genuinely have no means to break through.
Although the Director has the ability to resolve the issue, he only negotiated with Atifi 01 once and ultimately didn't take action. Instead, he returned to the bureau, took some items, and then left the Corlock Kingdom with me."
"..."
With the enemy in the dark and the Aquarius Director having ulterior motives, it's no wonder you lost.
After noting the situation at the Gemini Branch, Lyon prepared to report to the Director later and continued his inquiry:
"What about the ordinary people? How are the people of the Corlock Kingdom doing after being taken over by Atifi 01?"
"They... are actually doing well?"
The female journalist hesitated for a moment, then spoke with uncertainty:
"I went back there last year, and now everything is under Atifi 01's control, and it's even better than when humans were in charge. Food is free, and even the poor and beggars are taken care of.
Aside from the scholars who were forcibly drafted and the fact that ordinary people have almost no work and need to undergo regular testing, most people seem to be doing much better than before."
"..."
(End of Chapter)
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