Chapter 934: The Key Point of 532 ZB Is to Launch a Surprise Attack First

“My dear Andre~”

In the underground chamber of Research Zone 1, Atifé 00 sipped her cold coffee and smiled sweetly:

“You’re good at reading people, but it seems they’ve read you just as well.”

“From the aftermath traces, he likely guessed your plan—so he never gave the real address, instead waiting on a rooftop several kilometers away, watching the whole thing unfold like a comedy. Your scheme was completely exposed~”

“…”

Ignoring Atifé 00’s mockery, Prince Andre remained silent for a moment, then spoke without expression:

“What have you found on the matter I assigned you?”

“You mean the food and water pickup logs, and unusual travel records? Those were also figured out~”

Atifé 00 replied with a smile:

“They suspected you’d use such methods to narrow down their general activity zones, so they stole many identity cards and check multiple neighborhoods each time to avoid detection.”

“As for necessities like food and water, there are no purchase or pickup records at all—I suspect they’re stealing small amounts each time, so nothing shows up in the logs.”

“Beyond that, every place where living in this city inevitably leaves traces, they’ve covered up—anything they couldn’t fully conceal, they’ve deliberately muddled. I’ve gathered plenty of data, but most of it can’t be verified as true or false, so it’s useless for tracking.”

“…”

They noticed even this?

After hearing Atifé 00’s report, Prince Andre rubbed his temples, feeling a dull headache forming.

Strange—Leon came from a backward kingdom, one where even identity cards didn’t exist. Someone from such a place shouldn’t have this kind of secrecy awareness. The Scorpio Division’s people were caught because of their travel logs.

But Leon is different—he clearly understands these matters. He knows that seemingly insignificant data, when aggregated, reveals one’s location, so he’s hidden himself with extreme care. This makes things difficult.

Though the Kingdom of Korok is small, it’s still a nation. If they keep hiding like this, I’ll have to launch a full-scale operation just to pull them out…

“So, will you finally hand over the entire kingdom to me now?”

Watching Andre’s expression, Atifé 00 took a sip of coffee and smiled brightly:

“If you temporarily lift the restrictions—let me not just control computing power, but grant me full administrative authority over the kingdom—I can dig out those two little mice and deliver them to you, skin and bones, within fifteen hours.”

“…”

Prince Andre glanced at her sidelong, saying nothing—but his thin lips twitched slightly, revealing a clear expression of scorn.

“Don’t worry. Even though you treat your aunt poorly, I still recognize you as my nephew.”

Atifé 00 didn’t get angry. She sipped her cold coffee slowly, calmly continuing:

According to your agreement with the Blood King's Guild, as long as they assist you, you will never have children. The Korok royal line ends with you. But that doesn't mean there aren't loopholes.

“With the body-alchemy technology you and Atifé 01 developed, we can mass-produce soulless husks, then extract the brains of the most qualified ones to serve as core units, and the next tier as sub-bodies.”

“With my computational power and the kingdom’s resources, in thirty years we can produce twenty thousand Atifé sub-bodies. At that point, you could simply…”

“Shut up!”

Scowling at Atifé 00, Prince Andre spoke coldly:

“Do you think I’m stupid? If I give you full authority, one of those twenty thousand Atifé sub-bodies will definitely use my brain!”

“Don’t worry. You’re not even worthy.”

Atifé 00 smiled sweetly:

“When you were very young, I examined your brain. Yours is highly developed—even comparable to Philia’s—but the areas that are developed aren’t what I need.”

“Judging from active sectors, you might have talent in art—but as a cybernetic core? I’m sorry to tell you, the gap between me and Philia is roughly seven hundred of you. Using you as an Atifé sub-body would be pure waste of materials.”

“Oh, then I should thank you—if you hadn’t found my brain unworthy, I might have been… already…”

“Dong dong dang dang~”

As Prince Andre narrowed his eyes to retort, a stirring instrumental melody rose softly, followed by a familiar broadcast voice from the speakers in Research Zone 1:

“Citizens of the Kingdom of Korok, this is the morning news bulletin.”

The announcer’s sweet voice briefly drowned out Prince Andre’s words.

“First, yesterday’s top story: Scholar Bell Graham, who improved the wireless long-range intercom, was attacked by a fugitive criminal… Ah? Who are you? This area is off-limits! You! Get out right now!”

Huh?!

Hearing the disturbance in the speaker, both in the chamber froze. Prince Andre seemed to realize something—he shot to his feet, face filled with disbelief.

“We’re truly sorry, but we had no choice but to use this opportunity to speak out… Miss Announcer, please step aside for a moment.”

A voice Prince Andre recognized clearly came from the speaker. The original announcer let out two muffled “ Wuwu ” sounds before being dragged away from the mic.

“Citizens of the Kingdom of Korok, I regret to inform you that the kingdom now stands at a critical juncture of life or death.”

Amid the stunned expressions of the aunt and nephew, the voice from the speaker spoke with profound sorrow:

“Prince Andre has conspired to murder King Fein—and has slaughtered every single member of the royal family. Now he plans to use the new technology developed in Research Zone 1 to forcibly control the thoughts of all citizens, and then…”

“Deploy troops immediately!”

Realizing what Leon intended, Prince Andre’s temple veins bulged. He whirled around and roared:

“Seal off—no! Bomb Zone 19! Cut all broadcast signals! Make him shut up now!”

“I already did!”

Atifé 00 bit her lip, face flushed with fury:

“But the moment the broadcast began, all fifty-two external signal stations in Zone 1 were severed simultaneously—except the underground copper pipes. My commands can’t get through.”

“?!!!”

Prince Andre’s face darkened. He stared in disbelief:

“All fifty-two? Not one left? Didn’t you hide even one backup station?”

“How?”

Atifé 00, her signal stations destroyed, seemed to lose control of her limbs, snapping back angrily:

“The districts are semi-closed! Zone 1’s core is underground, surrounded by high-rises. If you place a station too low, it’s blocked—worse, even shouting won’t carry farther than a few meters! Tell me how to hide one?”

“Citizens of the Kingdom of Korok, I am the Sixth Princess Philia… and the sole survivor of the royal massacre.”

As the aunt and nephew argued, a voice both knew well—trembling with tears—accused:

“Andre has gone mad. To satisfy his ambition, he killed his father, his mother, everyone. Now he plans to control everyone, bit by bit, through brain data chips and identity cards.”

“I… I have no family left. I beg you—for the kingdom, and for yourselves—stand up and resist his tyrannical rule!”