Chapter 207

“…”

Having just spoken not too long ago, Leon was already up and about, lively as ever. Watching this scene, Middle-aged Joshua couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

This mysterious “Xiaoba Jin,” seemed like some kind of divine punishment specifically sent down to torment him. All the efforts Joshua had invested over so many years were undone in a mere thirty minutes by this guy.

Now, the rebellion he painstakingly built himself would no longer have anything to do with him. Worse still, looking at these people’s expressions, they were probably already considering whether or not to take him out. If things dragged on any longer, it might even be questionable if he’d be able to leave at all.

“…”

“Hmph… I admit you win!”

Glaring across the table at “Xiaoba Jin,” the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and admitted defeat: “But don’t think that this is the end. Once these fools follow you and hit a wall, once they realize how impractical your ideas are, they’ll betray you just like they betrayed me today!”

“You’re wrong. In this room today, there hasn’t been any act of betrayal.”

Touched his chest where phantom pain lingered, Leon resisted the urge to grimace and shook his head solemnly before delivering the final blow: “You can’t deliver the results they want, you can’t make them believe in your ideals, and you can’t offer them a future worth looking forward to. Of course, they won’t want to follow you.

Or, if you insist on calling it betrayal, it’s not that they betrayed you, but rather that you betrayed them first.”

“…”

“I’m not going to argue with you about this!”

Realizing his verbal skills weren’t even worthy to tie the other’s shoes, and understanding that the situation was beyond salvaging, the middle-aged man decisively abandoned further debate with Leon. Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fists tightly and tried to negotiate as rationally as possible:

“Xiaoba Jin… regardless of whether you’re really Xiaoba Jin or not, I’ll call you that for now.

If you’re truly planning to save this country as you claim, then you must do as I say: lead a raid on the boarding tower, kill those Crocodile Kingdom scouts, and destroy all records related to the kingdom’s mineral deposits!”

“…”

Not expecting that even in such a situation, Middle-aged Joshua would still be fixated on attacking the boarding tower, Leon frowned and asked:

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you!”

Upon hearing Leon’s question, the middle-aged man darkened his face and said without hesitation:

“The more I reveal about the future, the greater the impact, and the faster I will die! Understand? Also, since you’re so smart, why don’t you guess yourself?”

“…”

The taste of someone who deserves a beating… confirmed, this guy is definitely Joshua, 200%.

Looking at the middle-aged man who clearly wanted to “ask for help” but insisted on maintaining an air of superiority, Leon couldn’t help but shake his head and click his tongue.

Yesterday, he thought the guy looked somewhat familiar, but didn’t associate him with Joshua because the then “Lord Nathan” seemed emotionally intelligent and polite in dealing with people.

A person like that, compared to the Joshua from the royal palace who shakes his head slightly and has his tiny brain rolling around uncontrollably, seemed impossible to connect.

But now it seems, after personally experiencing the fall of his country and family in the future, this guy has grown quite a bit. Even when losing his temper, he still shows his true colors, but at least he’s learned how to pretend during normal times.

Hm… so his words need careful consideration.

After pondering the possible situations based on Middle-aged Joshua’s words, Leon narrowed his eyes slightly and said: “Your meaning is, those scouts found extremely valuable mineral deposits, and the Crocodile Kingdom would go to war with the kingdom just to obtain those deposits?”

“I didn’t mean that!”

The middle-aged man sniffed upon hearing Leon’s guess and denied it without hesitation, yet he adjusted his hair slightly, showing Leon his grayer temples.

Suddenly getting older… so does that mean I guessed right?

Facing the intelligence Middle-aged Joshua sacrificed his life to provide, Leon’s eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow, vaguely understanding why he suddenly wanted to attack the boarding tower.

…

If we were to rank the twelve countries of this world by overall strength, the kingdom could only place around seventh or eighth, while the so-called Mechanical Capital, Crocodile Kingdom, is firmly second-to-none.

That country, with only a few million people and an area smaller than half a county of the kingdom, though its territory is extremely small, its level in mechanical industry surpasses other kingdoms by at least a hundred years, with most work already being replaced by machines.

However, high mechanization brings an almost pathological thirst for energy. Besides basic coal and oil, the thunderstorm minerals unique to Van Dastone in the Thunderstorm Country, the concentrated whale fat refined by the whaling ships of Saio in the Thousand Sails Sea Country, the sunbird feathers from Riflai in the Reflection Kingdom…

Anything that can provide energy will be immediately targeted by them, and they will forcibly propose purchase demands. If they cannot acquire it through conventional means, they won’t hesitate to start a war.

Even the skyships flying through the skies and the boarding towers standing on the territories of various kingdoms are themselves technologies “freely” shared by the Crocodile Kingdom to achieve the goal of finding energy.

The only cost for granting “the power to ascend to the sky” to the various kingdoms is to ensure that the scouts dispatched by the Crocodile Kingdom travel unimpeded, allowing them to obtain information about various mineral deposits and energy sources first, showing just how great their demand for energy is.

But… this still doesn’t seem quite right, does it?

After contemplating the relevant situations in his mind, Leon couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Although the Crocodile Kingdom is extremely dominant, due to its small population and inability to easily sustain losses, and also possessing many advanced technologies, it earns money very easily in “international trade,” so it usually behaves reasonably.

This country isn’t the type that’s completely unreasonable and incapable of cooperation; it wouldn’t choose to resort to force unless necessary, especially in transactions involving the purchase of energy, where it’s surprisingly generous.

So if it were just ordinary energy deposits, given the kingdom’s usual attitude, it should choose to directly hand over the mining rights in exchange for a large amount of money and technological support from the Crocodile Kingdom, right? Or to put it more bluntly, the kingdom’s muscle mass and the Crocodile Kingdom aren’t even comparable. The latter probably just needs to flex its muscles slightly, and given the kingdom’s consistently weak foreign policy style, it would likely surrender immediately. How could it escalate to the point of war?

“Are you sure?”

Stealthily grabbing the horns of the black goat, Leon seriously asked: “In the future, will the kingdom really come to the point of having to go to war with the Crocodile Kingdom because of the mineral deposit records in the hands of those scouts?”

“I know nothing.”

Mouth saying “I don’t know,” but his hand raised, pointing to his graying temples, the middle-aged man said with a dark expression: “I’ve already said it, you guess yourself!”

“…”

No need to guess, your soul has already given me the answer…

Looking at the intense yet stable soul flame of the middle-aged man, confirming that he wasn’t lying and had indeed witnessed war from the Crocodile Kingdom in the future, Leon frowned and asked: “So why?”

Realizing that Middle-aged Joshua wasn’t making empty threats, although he didn’t entirely agree with his rash move to attack the boarding tower and anger the Crocodile Kingdom, Leon still asked:

“What did those scouts discover? Why has it caused such a big stir?”

“Do you want to know?”

“If you want to know, then lead a raid on the boarding tower and seize the mining records!”

Hehe, Xiaoba Jin, don’t think that ruining my plans now will change anything. But I believe, after reading those records, no matter what you think inside, you’ll eventually make the same choice as me!

While speaking, the middle-aged man raised his hand and pointed remotely at Leon, full of hatred and provocation: “Wait and see! Facts will prove who between you and me is correct!”

“…”

“Also, you shouldn’t think you can catch me.”

Looking around at the varied expressions of the rebels inside the room, some of whom were even forming a subtle encirclement, the middle-aged man said disdainfully: “Don’t waste your effort. As soon as any danger appears, I’ll be instantly teleported away! You traitors will never…”

“Prince Joshua.”

?!?! Hearing his name from “Xiaoba Jin,” the middle-aged man couldn’t help but be startled, cutting off his half-spoken threat, and gazed at Leon opposite him with eyes full of horror.

And the group of rebels inside the room hadn’t understood the meaning of this name until they saw his expression, then the smarter ones among them suddenly realized and looked at their former leader with astonished faces.

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…

“Judging from your expression, I should have guessed correctly.”

Seeing that the older version of Prince Joshua was about to run, lacking the means to keep him, Leon could only break his identity open.

And after successfully achieving his purpose, delaying Prince Joshua who was about to withdraw again, Leon secretly tapped the little mirror to signal Young Puppy to urge Emma Senior, while calmly asking: “Prince Joshua, I’m curious, what exactly did you experience in the future that turned you from a proud, naive prince into this form?”

“…”

“Xiaoba Jin… you’re a terrifying person…”

Silently silent for a moment, Middle-aged Joshua took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket, wiped off the light powder used to conceal his cheekbones, and revealed those two distinctive irregular freckles under the stunned stares of the rebels.

“Yes, I am Joshua… but not the current stupid prince, but the future Joshua, Joshua as the last king of the kingdom!”

“This… this…”

“How is this possible!!!”

“Prince? The leader of the rebels is the prince!”

Faced with Middle-aged Joshua, who frankly admitted his identity, all the rebels couldn’t hold back anymore. The bald woman, a staunch supporter of the leader, painfully hugged her head.

If the leader of the rebels is the prince, and even the entire rebel movement was created by him, then what have they been opposing all along? A bunch of fools! Contemptuously glancing at these former subordinates, Middle-aged Joshua directly shifted his gaze to “Xiaoba Jin” across from him, perplexed and asked:

“Tell me, how did you figure it out?”

“…”

Actually, it wasn’t me who figured it out, it was another you who had nightmares, and then Emma Senior and the Bureau Director discussed and ruled out other possibilities, directly deducing your existence. I just piggybacked on the results they came up with.

Of course, these truths are naturally impossible to tell Middle-aged Joshua.

Slightly curling the corner of his mouth, giving the puzzled middle-aged man a profound smile, Leon made something up on the spot: “It’s simply because you’ve revealed too many clues.”

“Clues?”

“Yes, clues.”

Stealthily glanced at the wristwatch of the middle-aged man, estimating how much time Emma Senior needed, Leon slowed down his speech to continue buying time:

“Even though you’ve changed a lot, and can treat me, an ordinary person, kindly, that inherent arrogance is still unchangeable.

Moreover, your obsession with saving the kingdom, and that inexplicable hatred for the kingdom’s parasites, are very different from others.”

Pointing at others, Leon continued to earnestly bluff: “Others may also want to save the kingdom, but they aim to make changes and move towards a better future. However, the hope you’ve expressed is more like trying to recover regrets;

Others’ hatred for those parasites stems from empathy for the victims’ experiences, but your anger feels more like someone is destroying something that belongs to you.

Perhaps individually it’s not obvious, but when you’re together with others and simultaneously express emotions like hope and anger, you stand out awkwardly.”

“…”

“…”

Just because of these minor differences, I got exposed right away?

Having no idea that the other version of himself had nightmares, after listening to Leon’s bluff, the thoroughly bamboozled middle-aged man couldn’t help but take a deep breath and stared at Leon with complicated eyes: “So in your eyes, I have a family environment that can foster arrogance, view the entire kingdom as my property, know what happened in the future, and am desperately trying to save the kingdom… These aren’t enough! Xiaoba Jin, it’s understandable that you could see through the kingdom’s situation and propose feasible plans earlier, but I don’t believe you could deduce my identity based solely on these trivial details!”

“…”

Indeed, because I didn’t deduce it.

I just infiltrated yesterday, how could I know what details or not? These words are reverse-engineered answers, purely fabricated to buy time, sounding unreasonable is normal!

“Of course, relying solely on these isn’t enough. I do have other information.”

Narrowing his eyes to examine the middle-aged man’s expression, Leon successfully set a trap and smiled as the group of rebels watched him in awe, counter-questioning: “Then, Prince Joshua, now we both have things we want to know. Do you wish to make an exchange with me? You tell me what those mineral deposits are, and I’ll tell you how I guessed your identity. What do you think of this deal?”

“I…”

Unaware that Leon was planning to get something for nothing, facing his proposed exchange condition, the middle-aged man filled with questions instinctively tightened his fists and began an intense internal struggle.

After a short while, his tightly clenched fists loosened slightly, gritting his teeth, he shook his head and said:

“You devil… I won’t trade! If you want to know, look for yourself!”

With great determination, rejecting the transaction with “Xiaoba Jin,” fearing he might change his mind, the middle-aged man immediately pulled out a gun and aimed it at his own head, preparing to activate the contingency plan left by the Aquarius Director by creating a crisis.

However, what the middle-aged man completely didn’t expect was that at the moment he pulled the trigger, the so-called “Xiaoba Jin,” who supposedly could only make people bow, merely lifted his hand and grabbed at the air, directly crushing his gun into a pile of scrap!? !!! When he saw the golden arc flashing pendant hanging inside “Xiaoba Jin’s” collar, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but tremble all over, nearly popping his eyes out!

“You… you’re!!!”

(End of Chapter)