I! Cleaner!
Chapter 279 - 279: 0234 Future Uncertainties_1

Facing the two choices presented by Leon, Prince Freckles uncharacteristically stood his ground.

He didn't choose to directly hand over the intelligence, nor did he choose to take Leon's slap hard; instead, he bravely carved out a third path...

First, he took a beating, then tearfully handed over the intelligence about the future.

*What were you even thinking?*

Seeing Joshua, with snot and tears mingled into a mess, still covering his swollen cheek while glaring at him indignantly, Leon couldn't help but sigh, feeling that he might have overdone it a bit this time.

Even though he carried the title of Prince and was causing trouble everywhere, Prince Freckles was actually younger than his sister Anna. He hadn't even grown a beard yet and was still essentially a half-grown child. Not only did Leon rely on force to beat him up, but he also snatched his "things," which was somewhat immoral.

But since this intelligence concerned the future of many people in the Kingdom, and possibly the safety of the Watcher's Palace, even the safety of all humanity, it absolutely could not be overlooked... Maybe the next time Joshua has an episode, Leon could hold back and hit him one less time, considering this as an advance payment!

As Prince Freckles sniffled and began to dictate from memory, Senior Jerry had already returned to the bureau ahead of time. Having decided on "advancing the payment," Leon took out a head of lamb, asked Prince Freckles a few questions to confirm the intelligence's authenticity, then directly took out the [Plague-Infected Blood Band] and wrapped it around his face to reduce the swelling. He then quickly left the Royal Palace and called a carriage to head to the Purification Bureau.

...

*So that's how it is...*

After unfolding Joshua's dictated intelligence about the future on the carriage and quickly skimming through it, Leon finally understood why the future Kingdom did not choose to cooperate with the Crolock Kingdom. Instead, they refused the proposal for joint "mining" development, eventually leading to an invasion by the Crolock Kingdom.

Because the so-called "energy minerals" discovered by the utopians of the Crolock Kingdom weren't minerals at all, but rather dozens of underground rivers of lava stretching over hundreds of kilometers, and eleven dormant volcanoes distributed across the two counties of the Kingdom!

Laine County, where he "originated," and Merino County, known for its wool production, were both situated atop a unique "hotspot" in the Earth's crust. The almost endless thermal energy underground, if harvested, would fulfill over eighty percent of the Crolock Kingdom's energy needs.

But the fatal issue was that the mining method proposed by the Crolock Kingdom was unimaginably crude, not only requiring the reopening of these eleven dormant volcanoes but also multiple deliberate detonations!

If the Kingdom really collaborated with the Crolock Kingdom, not only would the residents of both counties need to be massively relocated, but the ash and smoke from the erupting eleven volcanoes would also spread westward due to the monsoon, pervading much of the Kingdom.

Consequently, not only would Laine County and Merino County become uninhabitable for humans, but the countless large farms and ranches across the Kingdom would suffer from terrifyingly reduced yields or even total crop failures due to the volcanic impact, causing years of massive famine.

In addition, the crustal shifts from the detonations and the subsequent mining activities could also trigger intermittent earthquakes and large-scale ground collapses. Faced with such consequences, no matter how much the Crolock Kingdom offered, the Kingdom would never agree to it.

So... while one side was determined to obtain these underground energy sources at any cost, the other side was entirely unwilling to accept the consequences of mining. With such a core interest conflict, the only choice left was to resort to force and communicate directly with fists.

Although the Crolock Kingdom had a sparse population, the toughness of its fists was something the Kingdom could not match. Once the two sides started to "communicate," the situation would inevitably be one-sided, leaving the Kingdom with almost no ability to retaliate on a large-scale battlefield. The staunchest opposition leader, the Princess, would be killed, leading the Kingdom to near-total collapse and the brink of destruction.

Having finished reading the invasion-related intelligence from the Crolock Kingdom, Leon found that some of his doubts about the future were slightly resolved.

No wonder middle-aged Joshua chose not to flee at that time. Instead, he stubbornly negotiated with himself amid the rebels, hoping to persuade Leon to attack the Boarding Tower and kill the Crolock Kingdom's scouts. This was because it was the best possible way he could think of to potentially avoid that future.

And now it seemed, Leon really needed to pay a visit to the Boarding Tower himself. Even if he didn't want to kill those Crolock Kingdom scouts directly, as middle-aged Joshua suggested, he had to bring along the Phoebe sisters, who could alter memories, to prevent the "mineral" intelligence from being returned to the Crolock Kingdom, thereby averting the subsequent invasion war.

In addition...

Looking at the grim future recorded by Prince Freckles, where thick smoke filled the skies, ash covered the ground, the population of the entire Kingdom halved, and nearly sixty percent of the people suffered from lung diseases, Leon's brow furrowed deeply.

Since this future had indeed occurred, it meant that the Purification Bureau had not intervened at all, truly following the agreements between the Kingdoms, only dealing with anomalous situations and not interfering in non-anomalous issues.

From what he saw with his own eyes today, the state of affairs in the Purification Bureau, with each branch acting independently and nearly scattered in the absence of a large-scale operation, such a result was indeed possible.

Not to mention those Branch Directors who were deeply tainted by anomalies and whose behavior seemed to have started departing from the realm of "human," even the few present Directors were rather indifferent to the massive casualties privately caused by the Aquarius Director.

The only one who might care, the Taurus Director, was set to ascend to the palace next year. So, when the Crolock Kingdom invades, the only ones who might take interest would probably be the Virgo and Gemini Sub-bureaus.

And judging by the Aquarius Director's brain replacement surgery, the Gemini Sub-bureau's relationship with the Crolock Kingdom seemed "extremely close," likely making them reluctant to intervene, so...

*Where was the Director? What was he doing?*

Pondering his own Director's style, Leon's brow furrowed even deeper.

Though the Director wasn't particularly reliable, loved to tease people when there was no wine, and his brain would go offline after drinking too much, he was definitely a good man on the "benevolent side." Even if he felt it was inappropriate to intervene directly in such matters, he wouldn't do absolutely nothing.

However, in the future written by Joshua, there was almost no trace of the Virgo Sub-bureau, not even the Aquarius Director, who failed to succeed the Taurus Director to the palace, appeared a few times. Yet, his own Director seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, as if he had never existed, and even the entire Virgo Sub-bureau was silent.

With what he knew of the Director, such a situation was absolutely impossible, so... in the future where he didn't show up, could the Kingdom have encountered some extremely serious large-scale event, leading to heavy casualties in the entire Virgo Sub-bureau, or even...

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Just as Leon was pondering over the information written by Prince Freckles, thinking about what could have gone wrong, a sharp bark suddenly rang in his ear.

Leon turned his head in surprise and saw it was Senior Jerry's beloved dog... partner, Lady Lisa. This... this adult golden retriever was poking its head through the glass of the carriage compartment, stuffing a hastily scribbled note into his hand.

'Come back quickly, something happened at the bureau!'

?!!!