Chapter 853: with translation of chapter title

NO．222：It's really useful for pressing vegetables.

In fact, confirming the core of the incident in the investigation of the "Artificial Belial" case is actually quite simple.

Just by asking Mr. Ke Fu of the Zhongshan Telsen underground laboratory a little, you can obtain the information that "the alien business alliance used not to be like this."

The Holy Terra Federation itself is a very stable regime, and its security and military forces are unsurpassed in the galaxy and even the surrounding star fields.

The vast majority of aliens who were carrying out the "Invade Earth" mission before crossing over, upon arriving in this world, had no choice but to go into hiding, or even switch careers directly—and the Alien Business Alliance was thus established.

The organization's founding ideology was very simple and pure, true to its name: it was a mutual aid association for business with the nature of a gathering of transmigrants, or rather, of fellow countrymen.

This nature was strenuously preserved throughout a long period of development, but in the end it could not be maintained.

Aburu's reputation among many colleagues and subordinates is proof of that.

But if that's all there is to it, it's not really worth noting.

The development path of private organizations, which tends to lose its human touch as they grow, can be seen in many companies' growth—it's so ordinary as not to be worth mentioning.

What truly deserves attention is the sudden involvement in high‑return but also high‑risk illegal projects, especially the cross‑border smuggling of Emiralna ore and the establishment of illegal monster factories.

The proposer and leader of this project are both that Hippolite alien leader.

Whether it's Mr. Ke Fu's testimony or Chairman Aburu's, they describe the leader's attitude change with words like "abrupt" and "unfathomable", as if that Hippolite alien had undergone a sudden major change, or perhaps been possessed.

But they also mentioned that at the time someone suspected this possibility, and consequently many affiliates cooperated to drag the leader to the medical examination table.

They had indeed become well adapted to this world, knowing how to use its technology to confirm mental state and soul composition, but they also received the answer "no abnormality" from it.

This left them only able to try to understand the change by asking about the other's recent situation.

Did they understand?

They probably did understand.

Looking at the neatly ranked crowd standing beside the Hippolite alien, Aomo finds it hard to believe those people were truly resisting the leader's change.

But after catching a glimpse of the gazes of a few "junior" members in that crowd, he could not erase the fact that someone was indeed struggling.

At the critical moment, the alien affiliates who turned to the police and provided channel assistance for dispatching spies were not just Aburu.

But they, like Aburu, were bound by the fait accompli situation and needed some external force before they could and dared to make a decision.

And this external force was provided by the police and the URA Association.

Of course, the list information obtained by the police and the association was handled by Aomo, but in fact it was provided by Aburu.

His reputation is that of a deadbeat, and he indeed was one in the past, but that does not mean Chairman Aburu is a deadbeat now.

Just because he never took sides in the past doesn't mean he isn't paying attention to the different factions within the alliance.

Rather, it's precisely because he is well aware and knows people on both sides that makes him more torn when he's indecisive.

Of course, those are just past worries.

The present worries still exist, but they are no longer related to taking sides.

"I didn't expect you to actually come, Aburu—you should know, Leibetes made a bet with me that you wouldn't come."

"Tsk, it's just a small bet over two ore deposits—what's there to say." The necromancer with a skull‑like face clicked his tongue, looked at the Aron person approaching in a military coat, displeasedly slapped his storage device into the Hippolite alien's hand, and turned to walk toward his own unit.

Compared to the monster embryos that require Gilbalis to connect the various branches for thawing and maturation, reviving the undead monsters in the monster graveyard is a breeze—just a wave of Leibetes's hands.

However, given the stock of monster corpses in seven monster graveyards, one can imagine he will have to keep waving his hands nonstop.

Even if other aliens capable of summoning undead monsters cooperate, it would still take a considerable amount of time.

I...

It was also while watching Leibetes drift away that Aburu glanced at Mefilas beside him, who gave a slight nod, and then turned his gaze to the leader.

"I only want to trust Mefilas, but I don't want to become Leonix."

"Don't you think it's a pity to reject the potential to dominate the universe?"

"I don't want to take part in battle."

"The power of Leonix lies in controlling monsters, Aburu—you don't have to become a 'true Leonix'."

"True Leonix combat" will faithfully reflect the attacks received by the monster onto the Leonix's body, even death synchronized—this, for a non‑bloodthirsty combatant, sounds like a Hei'an duel, full of negative feedback, a combat mode that only a Leonix who has reached a certain standard can unlock.

This is also a direct manifestation of the Leonix clan's warlike nature.

"No, no need—I will support my kin's super‑beast modification there, but… I don't want to go back to the battlefield."

"Well, I just need to remind you that this is your own choice," the Hippolite alien said regretfully, looking at this Aron person, "the newcomer you recommended agreed quite decisively, but don't become jealous when you see his later status."

He said this while cheerfully patting Aburu's shoulder.

The latter remained silent, not speaking, and Mefilas beside him also had no intention to speak.

For a moment, the scene became stagnant.

But in this seemingly quiet setting, there was also a sound coming through another channel:

"The spirit‑fusion detector shows no anomaly; that Hippolite alien has indeed not undergone spirit fusion."

"The instrument's mental reading is also normal, and it has not gone through any hypnosis procedure."

"You heard that too, President Mefilas—we need to carry out our respective missions."

"All right, thank you all for your hard work, and I wish you success."

Telepathy is a common essential skill for extraterrestrial contact among many aliens; for the technologically advanced Pedan people, it is even a basic of basics, and one can additionally set up defenses on top of it to construct more secret communications.

But even so, in what Aomo heard, these agent colleagues still referred to him as "President Mefilas" to avoid the possibility of being exposed if wiretapped.

After all, the current setting not only has too many people, but they are all aliens, and even the Pedan people's encrypted communications might run into some strange individual who could crack them.

"Let's go, Mefilas." The leader, feeling embarrassed in the silence, eventually spoke up to break it.

"We're going to the transfer hub, because Aburu's regrettable choice means we have to part ways with him now."

"…" Mefilas, upon hearing that, looked toward Aburu, who was still silently gazing this way.

"Your Excellency the Leader, may I have a moment to say goodbye?"

"Goodbye? What, you lack confidence in yourself?"

I have no confidence in Yabulu.

Hahaha, fine, you have three minutes; this is the time needed for the Ikarus aliens' dimensional engine preparation.

Thanks.

Get it done quickly.

The Hippolite aliens said, waving at the formation of over a hundred people, leading them away.

After he walked away, Yabulu then looked at Aomo.

You really became a Leonix too?

Perhaps.

How could this still be uncertain?!

No real feeling, Aomo shrugged, and he hasn't truly faced a monster; he seems to plan to let me try it out later in the field.

Alright, let's not talk about that for now; what should we do? The alliance leader truly hasn't been possessed or hypnotized.

Still do it that way; the alliance leader is fine, indicating the problem is with those around him, and these Leonix already sufficiently explain the problem… just go to the 'back' with peace of mind, and by the way, put this in the engine room.

Aomo said, extending his overly large palm, handing over a plastic bottle whose packaging looked like a stone.

What is this…?

Pickling stone.

Huh?

It can also be used for self-defense if an accident occurs in the engine room.