Chapter 524: The Puppet and Corlock
Chapter 524: The Puppet and Corlock
"You must be Mr. Bell."
After flipping through the documents and personal belongings on the table, Lyon confirmed the identity of the homeowner. He then turned to the disheveled man being restrained by Alger, and calmly said, "Please rest assured, we don't intend to harm you. We just need to borrow your identity as a Research Scholar of Zone 1 to help us with something."
"Hmph!"
Before Lyon could even make a request, the man with the unruly beard snorted angrily and glared at him. "You're those fugitives, aren't you? After attacking Sector 3, you've now set your sights on Research Zone One?"
"Yes."
"I won't take you there, you can forget about it!"
The disheveled man put on a brave front, his neck stiff as he glared at Lyon. "Research Zone One is the heart of the entire Corlock Kingdom. Everything I have is given by the Kingdom, and I would never betray it!"
"Mhm."
After a casual response, Lyon, who hadn't slept all night, didn't continue the conversation with the disheveled man. Instead, he turned to Alger, who was holding the man down, and said, "It's up to you now, Alger."
"Alright."
Upon hearing Lyon's words, Alger nodded slightly. The right hand he had on the disheveled man's shoulder suddenly dispersed, transforming into countless fine threads, thinner than hair, and softly draped over his shoulder.
"What is this? What are you..."
In the terrified gaze of the disheveled man, the strange threads that hung on his shoulder began to burrow into his skin like earthworms, one by one.
Before the man could even react to his shock, the nearly transparent threads followed the crevices of his skin, moving towards his limbs and bones.
In just a few breaths, these eerie threads had traveled throughout his entire body, completely taking over his will and controlling his actions. Even his eyelids and tongue had dozens of these fine threads implanted, rendering him completely immobile.
"That should do it."
Lyon flipped through the disheveled man's ear, and after feeling a slight bump on the thinnest part of the skin behind his ear, he nodded. "This Mr. Bell is now under my control. If he shows any abnormal behavior, I'll detect and stop him immediately, ensuring he has no chance to call for help."
"Thank you for your efforts."
Lyon nodded at Alger, then searched the disheveled man's pockets in front of his terrified gaze. He took out the man's small notebook, glanced at the writings inside, and said, "It's time for Mr. Bell to go to work. Let's go."
Go? You...What?
Upon hearing Lyon's words, the disheveled man, in horror, felt as if there was another set of bones and muscles moving within his body. He actually lifted his hand, turned the doorknob, and stepped out.
The young man with black hair and eyes, along with the burly man missing his right arm, followed closely behind, walking openly on the street without any attempt to hide.
Stranger still, the passersby on the street seemed to be oblivious to the two criminals, who matched the descriptions perfectly, even down to their unchanged clothing.
How is that possible? Could they be invisible?
In the midst of the disheveled man's confusion, Lyon had already inserted his ID card into the pathfinder machine beside the road, requesting a route to Research Zone One. He then boarded the floating vehicle with the tall man who was missing an arm.
...
"Mr. Lyon."
As the vehicle started moving, Alger couldn't help but speak up, feeling a bit uncertain.
"Are we heading there directly like this? Wouldn't it be safer if we relied on Mona's Clear Path Forward?"
"It's fine, let's just go like this."
Sitting beside the disheveled man, Lyon flipped through the documents they had obtained the day before, responding without lifting his head, "I've checked carefully, and the Corlock Kingdom's technology doesn't include anything like video surveillance. With the Concealed Tail effect, it's enough to get us past regular checkpoints.
Including the specially developed large experimental areas nearby, Research Zone One covers an area of about sixty square kilometers. It's not a small place. As long as we avoid getting too close to the core area and don't appear in open spaces, the chances of being discovered are minimal."
"Oh, okay..."
Alger felt slightly more at ease after Lyon's assurance. He glanced at Lyon, who was looking down at the documents with a curious expression, and asked, "Mr. Lyon, are these documents just ordinary data? You've been looking at them all night, and you're still not done?"
"No, I've only gone through about one-tenth of them so far."
"So... have you found anything?"
"A bit."
Flipping through the thick 'Corlock Mineral Resources Policy' and the 'Annual Report on Major Energy and Core Materials' for comparison, Lyon spoke with a slightly cold expression, "The Corlock Kingdom's territory isn't large, but its resource consumption is astonishing. Just the consumption of floating crystals alone exceeds 100,000 tons annually, not to mention the consumption of whale fat, coal, special ores, and various rare metals, which are measured in millions of tons."
"Isn't that normal?"
Alger thought for a moment, then asked with confusion, "I don't understand this much, but I've heard that although the Corlock Kingdom is small, it's similar to the trade-oriented nation of Saio in the Sea Kingdom. They sell a massive amount of products annually, so this consumption rate doesn't seem unusual, right?"
"The consumption rate isn't the issue; it's even considered low considering the Corlock Kingdom's trade volume. The real problem is where these resources come from."
Holding his charcoal pencil, Lyon circled a few areas on the map attached to the 'Mineral Resources Policy' and frowned, "The Corlock Kingdom's 'territory' isn't large, but the 'mining districts' under its control, existing solely to supply the kingdom, are numerous.
These 'mining districts' are individually small and widely dispersed. However, when combined, the areas providing resources to the Corlock Kingdom through short-term development, semi-permanent leases, or outright purchases, already amount to approximately 400,000 square kilometers."
"What?!"
Alger was taken aback by Lyon's revelation.
"It's that much? Our Aleron Kingdom has a territory of over 1 million square kilometers! I thought the Corlock Kingdom was a small country of only 20,000 square kilometers!"
(End of Chapter)
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