Chapter 1182: Black Owl

"Very well..."

Before he could even begin his complaint, he was cut off in advance by "His Majesty the King." The person in charge of the 1st Research Zone couldn't help but choke, secretly guessing that His Majesty might be dissatisfied with his recent progress, so he had to report in a hurry:

"Your Majesty, the progress of the fifteen major research projects in Zone 1 has been basically stable recently. However, four of them—Artificial Soul, Aging Delay, Memory Implantation, and Spiritual Materialization—are still the same as before, with no changes for the time being..."

"Hmm, I see."

After hearing the report from the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone, Prince Andre, lying on the recliner, nodded, then continued in an aged and serious tone:

"Compared to the other eleven major research projects, these four are indeed more difficult. Not only is there little connection to what you have learned in the past, but they haven't been running for long. It was only after capturing those cleaners recently that they finally got on the right track. I can understand the lack of progress for now."

*Phew*... Looks like I passed.

Just as the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the tone of "His Majesty the King" shifted slightly. He tapped the armrest twice with his knuckles and said with considerable dissatisfaction:

"But what about the other research? Why is the other research still just 'stable'?

How much energy have I allocated over the past few years? How much budget support have I given you? Every time, your answer to me is that progress is stable, but what about the results? Why can't you produce a single result?"

"..."

Damn it... I shouldn't have come to make this complaint...

Facing the stern questioning of "His Majesty the King," sweat appeared faintly on the back of the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone. He had to bite the bullet and say:

"This... as you know, these fifteen research projects in Zone 1 are all great studies that, once they have substantive results, could add a day of celebration to the calendar of our Kingdom of Kroke.

Research of this level is indeed not something that can see results in a short time. The time span is generally measured in decades, and it may even take several generations to maintain it continuously before some results can be produced, so..."

"So, while I am still alive, there is a high probability that I won't see these studies come to fruition, right?"

"This... it's hard to say..."

After secretly wiping the sweat from his forehead, the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone said sheepishly:

"Many research projects in Research Zones 2-18, although not as important as Zone 1, are related to the research in Zone 1. If those related studies have major breakthroughs, perhaps our research progress in Zone 1 can also take a big step forward."

"Then tell me, how many more steps do you have to take before I die of old age to let even one of these studies come to fruition?"

"This... the progress of scientific research is not that specific, so it's not easy to calculate, but it is estimated that it will take many more steps..."

"Fine, then take your time stepping!"

After tossing the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone around, Prince Andre, feeling much more comfortable, crossed his legs again and said leisurely:

"We'll talk about the research later. How is the preparation that Andre asked you to do coming along?"

"It's all done!"

Seeing that His Majesty the King finally stopped harping on research progress and turned to ask a question he was confident in answering, the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone suddenly let out a long breath and responded very eagerly:

"The second day after those people from the Kingdom of Alesund arrived, we had already replaced the agents in the city's sprinkler system, swapping the original insect repellent and nutrient solution for an adrenaline antagonist soaked in the flesh and blood of gods.

The two cleaners who abducted Atifi 01 came late, so the effect is not yet certain, but the cleaners from the Kingdom of Alesund have received more than a week of spraying in advance, and their reaction speed can no longer be improved to a superhuman level.

In addition, in all 864 blocks of the upper and lower layers of the entire kingdom, we have placed stance stones extracted from anomalous objects. The positions are all corresponding one-to-one. After being attacked, the power will be directly diluted and shared equally among all blocks, ensuring that there will be no major damage!"

"Hmm, this matter was handled quite well." After hearing the report from the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone, Prince Andre nodded with satisfaction, then said with a lazy demeanor and a majestic tone:

"Go busy yourself with your research, and try to produce at least one or two results before I die of old age."

If you can do it, then everything is negotiable, but if you can't, then on the day I die of old age, you, the person in charge of Zone 1, will accompany me to the Dead World and continue to do it for me to see!"

"Ve... very well..."

Facing the threat of "His Majesty the King" to either bring results or be taken away by him, the person in charge of the 1st Research Zone only felt a chill on his neck. After responding, he didn't dare to make another sound.

And after there was completely no movement, Prince Andre on the recliner let go of his hand. The metal sheet with a tension spring hanging at the end of the copper wire suddenly snapped back with a *whoosh* and retracted into a hidden compartment on the other side of the bookshelf.

This guy is really... although he has the ability to handle things, he is also becoming more and more annoying.

Glancing at the hidden compartment on the bookshelf to confirm that it had completely closed and would not be discovered, Prince Andre couldn't help but sigh. Then he put his legs on the footstool and leaned back on the recliner to ponder.

The most difficult part of dealing with cleaners is actually not those weird abilities. After all, except for a very few cleaners who can destroy a city in a short time, the destructive power of most cleaners can only be said to be okay.

And with the Kroke Kingdom's technological level far exceeding other countries, if they really went all out to mobilize the products of the military industrial sector, it wouldn't be difficult to destroy a city. If they really confronted a director of the Zodiac Branch head-on, they might not necessarily lose.

But the trouble is that those cleaners at the level of Zodiac Branch directors are mastering this destructive power as "individuals." Compared with the heavy weapon legions that need to be mobilized, their flexibility is really too high.

Coupled with those weird anomalous objects, if they want to mix in and do something, you really don't know where to stop them. After all, you can't let the legion turn its guns and wash the entire Kroke Kingdom, right?

So, either don't take action against them at all and play dumb as if they don't exist, or you have to do it all in one go. Once it comes to the point where you have to take action, you have to do it thoroughly.

As for whether it is necessary to take action now...

After frowning and pondering for a while, Prince Andre got up and walked to the balcony. He rummaged through the shelf on the side, found a dusty black owl mask, and pressed it firmly onto his face.

*Whoosh*...

Gray mist permeated. In the strange space filled with gray fog, the familiar long bone table reappeared. But unlike before, the seats around the long table were basically empty, and only two figures were pulled over.

"You are... Black Owl?"

After identifying the other party's mask, the hooded person sitting behind Prince Andre raised his head, revealing a snake-faced mask.

"Don't you never participate in the affairs of the King-Slaying Society? Why are you looking for me suddenly?"

"I need support."

After stating his request cleanly and neatly, Prince Andre behind the Black Owl mask said:

"Snow Owl has been captured by the Cleaning Bureau. Now is the time to take action, and my arrangements may not be effective against the Zodiac Director. So I hope you can provide me with support to ensure that I can kill the Director of the Scorpio Branch!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1183 =====