Chapter 861

Take it.

After hearing the female journalist's words, Li Ang's lips subtly curled, then he maintained his somber expression and asked coldly:

"Then let me ask you—why did Director Aquarius enter Joshua's dream the other night? What did he really want?"

"He wanted to protect the capital."

Oh, so he wanted to destroy… what?

"It's true."

Seeing Li Ang's startled expression, the female journalist couldn't help speaking up:

"Before the Nightmare King arrived, the Director had me use the 【Dream-Traveling Lantern】 to collect three hundred thousand dreams related to the capital, creating a dream capital indistinguishable from the real one."

"If you truly can't stop the Nightmare King and it succeeds in descending, the Director will shatter the 【Dream-Traveling Lantern】, releasing all the dreams of the capital at once."

"Then even if the Nightmare King descends, it will be trapped by those three hundred thousand dreams, forever unable to reach the real capital—and when Blood-Hair Lady has the chance, she can enter the dream capital and kill the Nightmare King directly."

"…"

She's telling the truth…

After checking the female journalist's soul state and confirming she wasn't lying, Li Ang frowned, sensing something was off.

Leaving aside other matters, if Aquarius hadn't passed false intelligence to divert the Virgo Branch personnel, causing the Black Cult of Nightmare to remain undetected, the Abyss of Fallen Souls could never have descended, let alone the Nightmare King entering reality.

Thus, the Nightmare King's descent was entirely Aquarius's doing—but why would he help the Nightmare King descend while simultaneously aiding the Virgo Branch in protecting the capital? Could it be…

"Is there some conflict between Director Aquarius and the Nightmare King?"

"Yes…"

Seeing that Li Ang had deduced part of the truth with just a moment's thought, the female journalist glanced at him in surprise, then nodded in admission:

"The Director opened his soul completely to restore his peak state, allowing the Nightmare King to imprint itself within him—so if the Nightmare King isn't killed, it can directly control or enslave him."

No wonder…

After hearing the female journalist's words, a look of understanding flashed in Li Ang's eyes.

It wasn't that Director Aquarius wanted to protect the capital—he wanted the Nightmare King dead.

Even if the Nightmare King succeeded in descending, it likely couldn't kill the Director—but the Director would be enslaved. Compared to that, eliminating the Nightmare King was far more important to Aquarius.

"Heh, fine, let's say he wants to protect the capital."

Hearing the journalist's underlying defense of Aquarius, Li Ang didn't press further—he had no blood feud with Aquarius—but continued pressing:

"I just heard you call him Director. Tell me—what's the current situation of the Gemini Branch? And what about the Kingdom of Coroc?"

"The Gemini Branch… has basically shut down."

After glancing at Li Ang, the female journalist hesitated:

"Many years ago, the Kingdom of Coroc built machines capable of thought. But the machine named Artifice-01 wasn't very intelligent—it could only handle basic tasks, though it far surpassed humans in those."

So Coroc's scholars modified the kingdom's factories and public facilities, integrating Artifice-01 to replace low-skilled human labor, freeing more people to devote themselves to new technology research."

"At first, it was only basic production like farming and manufacturing, but gradually, transportation, construction, defense, auditing—all were handed over to Artifice-01…"

"None of that matters right now."

Having already learned of the Coroc Kingdom's AI crisis from the Artifice-128 seized aboard the airship, Li Ang interrupted:

"I want to know the current state of the Gemini Branch—and what happened to the people of the Coroc Kingdom."

"The Gemini Branch has been taken over. All Cleaners have undergone implant surgery and must obey Artifice-01's commands."

The female journalist bit her lower lip:

"After Artifice-01 gained control of key facilities, it sealed them off entirely and began eliminating anyone with authority to shut it down. When the Gemini Branch realized something was wrong and tried to destroy it, Artifice-01 had already sunk them underground and sealed them in."

"Sunk underground?"

"Mm…"

The female journalist explained:

"The core buildings of the Kingdom of Coroc are separate hive-like blocks, connected by sliding channels and docking rails, and can be moved up or down slightly by adjusting the number of floating crystals beneath them."

"Artifice-01, aware of the Cleaners' existence, had previously modified nearby districts under the pretense of maintenance and part replacements—so before the Gemini Branch could act, it was already sunk and sealed."

"Can't you just break out?"

"Everyone who could break out is gone."

The female journalist sighed helplessly:

"Artifice-01 has no soul and doesn't store memories in the soul—so the 【Illusion Jar】, which alters memories, is useless against it. Its records likely contain data on most of the Gemini Branch's Cleaners."

"Those Cleaners with high destructive power, capable of breaking the blockade, were already dispatched under 'anomaly reports' to eliminate anomalies—leaving only Cleaners with weak destructive capabilities."

"The ones left aren't weak—they're just skilled at handling flesh-and-blood creatures or soul memories. Against solid walls over twenty meters thick in every direction, they have absolutely no way to break through."

"The Director could have solved this—but after one conversation with Artifice-01, he didn't act. Instead, he returned to headquarters, gathered some items, and left Coroc with me."

"…"

The enemy is hidden, we're exposed, and Aquarius has ulterior motives—you lost fairly.

Storing the Gemini Branch's situation in his mind for later reporting to the Director, Li Ang pressed on:

"What about ordinary people? How are the citizens of Coroc faring under Artifice-01's control?"

"They… are doing fine?"

The female journalist hesitated, then said uncertainly:

"I went back last year. Everything is now controlled by Artifice-01—and it's better than when humans ran things. Food is free, even the poor and beggars are cared for."

"Apart from scholars being forcibly conscripted, and ordinary people having no jobs and having to undergo regular tests, most people seem to live far better than before."

"…"