Chapter 484: One-Third
Chapter 484: One-Third
"So... you came running to me?"
Standing in the hallway of the Happiness Apartments, after hearing the female police officer relay the threat from the Cole Ambassador, Lyon couldn't help but touch his cufflinks as he listened to Isabella, who had come knocking on his door early in the morning. He then changed the subject, saying, "But I'm on vacation right now. If you want me to help you find something, you should report it to the Purification Bureau first, and after three working days..."
"Pfft, don't you dare deny it!"
Seeing that Lyon was still trying to fool her, the female police officer, who was so angry that her teeth were clenched, stomped her foot and then, suppressing her voice, said, "I've already figured it out. The person who attacked the Docking Tower is you! Others may not know, but I'm very clear about it. The people who attacked the Docking Tower had real documents and uniforms, all taken from the Secret Investigation Bureau's spare parts warehouse. And before that, you asked me for a permit!"
"..."
Sure enough, the truth was out...
Looking at the female police officer, who had been working overtime due to the Docking Tower incident and now had dark circles under her eyes like a national treasure, Lyon couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He then cleared his throat slightly and explained awkwardly, "I'm sorry, but there's a reason I've been keeping this from you..."
"I don't care about your reasons. The Cole Kingdom wants their stuff back, right?"
Grabbing Lyon's collar, the female police officer said in a slightly annoyed whisper, "I know you wouldn't do something reckless. There must be a reason for doing this, so although the Police Department found the spare parts warehouse, I didn't expose this matter. I've been covering for you, but now what are you saying? Although I don't understand international relations, I know how important Cole Kingdom's technology is. Now that the Police Department can't find the culprit behind the Docking Tower attack, they're getting anxious and want to impose sanctions. What will the Kingdom do then?"
"Don't worry, let me think."
After patting the female police officer's hand to comfort her, Lyon furrowed his brows and analyzed the current situation.
The sudden aggression from the Cole Kingdom was likely due to them dealing with the airship wreckage and discovering that Attifi 128 had been taken. Since they couldn't find Attifi 128, they could only resort to official means and put pressure on the Kingdom.
For the Kingdom, which was in a weak position, the best solution at the moment was to hand over Attifi 128. However, the problem was that this item couldn't be handed over under any circumstances. Its "brain" most likely contained the Kingdom's energy exploration records.
Once it was returned, whether he was exposed or not was a minor issue. If the existence of 'volcanic energy' in the Kingdom was revealed, the Cole Kingdom would undoubtedly choose to go to war. This would be the most devastating blow to the Kingdom, which had just shown some signs of vitality, so...
"The item is indeed with me, but I can't give it back to them."
?!
Hearing the first half of Lyon's statement, the female police officer couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that Lyon had admitted to having the item. But before she could finish her breath, Lyon's second half of the sentence caught her off guard.
"The reason is a bit complicated... To put it simply, if the item isn't returned, the Kingdom will only face sanctions. But if it's handed over, the two countries will have no choice but to go to war."
After briefly explaining the reason for not returning the item, Lyon, seeing the female police officer's slightly dazed expression, reassured her, "Also, regarding the so-called sanctions, you don't need to worry too much. The situation with the Cole Kingdom is a bit special. The Purification Bureau is preparing to investigate the matter and will take action after the investigation is complete."
"The Bureau probably won't take direct action."
After giving an unexpected answer, the red-haired director, seeing Lyon's slightly dazed expression, said helplessly, "The Cole Kingdom's situation is important, but Lord Taurus is about to ascend to the palace. Regardless of anything else, at least for this month, all matters must give way to this. The Bureau's intention is to prioritize the investigation and take action after the situation is clear."
"There's no rush." Lyon thought for a moment before speaking. "It's just over a month, and Lord Taurus will soon ascend to the palace. A month or two of sanctions won't be a big deal for the kingdom."
"It's not just a month or two. It might take half a year, or even longer."
"?"
"You see, there's more than one kingdom with issues, not just the Cole Kingdom. We can't act rashly, so we'll wait until we have a clearer picture before making a move."
The Red-Haired Director explained, "Lyon, while you were on vacation, the Archer Director asked each division to conduct a self-inspection. They found that, aside from the Cole Kingdom, there are..."
"Wait!"
Lyon couldn't help but interrupt, "You asked each division to inspect themselves? Didn't that iron doll say there's another traitor in our bureau? What if the news leaks during these self-inspections?"
"Don't worry, the bureau won't make such a rookie mistake... well, usually we don't." The Red-Haired Director added, lacking confidence.
"After you exposed the Aquarius Director and discovered he was also the Gemini Division Director, eleven of us, including myself, underwent inspections. We even used two Anomaly-class items for temporary Word Spirit restraints."
"The use of those items is quite costly, so the number of Word Spirit restraints is limited. We can't guarantee the smaller non-Zodiac bureaus, but we, the major division directors, can assure our loyalty. After all, if we can't even guarantee that, the Purification Bureau wouldn't have lasted this long."
"..."
So that's how it is. Impressive, my bureau... But I have a question. Which bureau did the Gemini Division Director betray? The Cleaning Bureau? The Processing Bureau? It's definitely not our Purification Bureau, right?"
"Ahem... Anyway, the Zodiac Division responsible for guarding the Twelve Kingdoms conducted a self-inspection and found issues with four royal families, including the Cole Kingdom."
"What?!?!"
As Lyon's expression showed utter shock, the Red-Haired Director sighed, "The royal ship of the Thousand Sails Sea Country, Seo, has completely transformed into a phantom ship. When exposed to the full moon's light, all living beings on board instantly become ghosts. If the ship didn't permanently dock in the Veiled Moon Sea, shrouded in fog year-round, it would have been doomed long ago."
"The Witch Nation Miphala also has problems. Their royal family has always had a single lineage, and the current Great Witch Queen is over 130 years old. She's likely to die soon, but her only daughter has gone missing, and the one left behind is a fake. We can't confirm if the real one is still alive."
"..."
"The Twin Nation Calven is also in trouble. The two former Calven Kingdoms had completely different beliefs, worshipping light and darkness. After the Serpent Division's incident led to the destruction of the Eastern Calven Kingdom, the Lumina Church of the light worshippers should have disappeared.
But recently, this church has resurfaced and joined forces with the Obscure Church of the dark worshippers in Western Calven. They seem to be planning to modify the state religion and revive the Eastern Calven Kingdom on Western Calven's soil, which may involve taking action against the royal family."
"..."
So, including the Cole Kingdom, which is in the midst of the Automaton Crisis, one-third of the twelve kingdoms in the world have been infiltrated? What are the twelve Zodiac Divisions doing?
This is a huge mess! The Purification Bureau never makes rookie mistakes... True, they don't often make rookie errors, but they sure make life-threatening blunders, huh?
(End of Chapter)
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