Chapter 223

Upon realizing someone had noticed the thin copper plate on the back of her head, Aquarius Director couldn’t help but feel a jolt of surprise. She quickly glanced back at Leon with a blank expression and said, “Are you suddenly bringing this up now to forcibly find an excuse to blame the malfunction of the memory furnace on me?”

“Not exactly forcing it, just covering all bases.”

Seeing that the Aquarius Director didn’t answer directly, hinting at an attempt to sneak through, Leon immediately got the gist.

That metal piece must be very important to the Aquarius Director. Even if it’s not the reason she can bypass memory readings, it probably isn’t legit.

As for whether this suddenly exposed metal piece was intentionally revealed by the Aquarius Director as a flaw… the possibility is slim.

Not to mention, after being thoroughly licked by the brain-eating demon twice, his brain almost boiling, if he still had the brains to set a trap, then he’d deserve to fall into it!

After making up his mind, Leon immediately began pressing hard, raising his voice to question:

“Aquarius Director, you haven’t answered my question yet. What exactly is that metal piece? Why is it embedded in your head?”

“I actually know a bit about this.”

Before the Aquarius Director could respond, the Gemini Division Director stepped forward and replied in a monotone:

“That’s Crocodile Kingdom’s info chip. It records basic identification information, equivalent to other kingdoms’ ID cards. You need the corresponding level of info chip to use the corresponding level of kingdom facilities… I have one too.”

Slightly lifting the hair at the back of his neck, showing the copper plate hidden beneath to everyone, the Gemini Division Director continued explaining:

“Crocodile Kingdom has too few people; many facilities and instruments cannot be assigned dedicated personnel to manage them. Therefore, they once considered using info chips instead of manual labor to identify and allocate usage permissions. If the Aquarius Director really was the previous Gemini Division Director, then it makes sense that she would have this.

Additionally, although the info chip was developed long ago, some citizens of Crocodile Kingdom resisted implanting the copper plate, fearing it was a way for the kingdom to control them, so it never gained widespread adoption.

This thing has been preliminarily abolished for decades. The young people of Crocodile Kingdom don’t even know about it, let alone those who haven’t been there. So questioning it is completely normal and not deliberately targeting the Aquarius Director.”

“…”

Good grief… no wonder the kingdom known for its technology a hundred years ahead actually has such sci-fi stuff?

Realizing the person who stood up to explain was the Gemini Division Director, and that this “ally” also had a copper plate on their head, Leon couldn’t help but feel extremely disappointed. He thought he had found a blind spot.

If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter, but the Gemini Director, who provided the most evidence, also came out to prove the copper plate was fine. This thing is probably normal, maybe he overthought it.

And the Clearing Bureau Director, after hearing the Gemini Division Director’s explanation, similarly looked disappointed at Leon and turned around to urge:

“Continue, don’t waste time anymore.”

“It’s not me wasting time.”

With a cold look, the Aquarius Director shot back, deeply staring at Leon, then stood in front of the divine-level brain-eating demon again…

“Wait!”

This time, it was the Red-haired Bureau Director stepping forward.

Narrowing his fox-like eyes and staring at the Gemini Division Director for a moment, the Red-haired Bureau Director stood up under everyone’s gaze and requested:

“Aquarius Director, if this is indeed a defunct info chip with no function, could you please repeat your earlier action and press it a few more times?”

Hearing the Red-haired Bureau Director’s words, the Aquarius Director seemed to finally “reach her limit.” Driven by unbearable pain in her brain, her eyebrows furrowed as she rebuked: “Don’t go too far!”

Fake! His anger is fake! That so-called info chip really has issues! With his right hand bound by a bright red hair strand tightly pressed against the horn, Leon, seeing the Aquarius Director’s wavering soul which clearly wasn’t angry but anxious, couldn’t help but feel ecstatic inside! Almost got fooled! Truly impressive for a sober director!

“Aquarius Director, may I ask where my request is excessive?”

Exchanging glances with Leon and receiving an “affirmative” response, the Red-haired Bureau Director’s lips finally curled up again, smiling as he continued:

“You’ve already pressed it a few times before I made the request, so it should be harmless to you. If that’s the case, why can’t you press it a few more times?”

Of course not!

Every time you press it, the current doubles. If you press it a few more times, by the time memory reading begins, my brain will likely be damaged first…

Even though there’s an answer, how can I say it? Seeing the Clearing Bureau Director’s gradually narrowing eyes, knowing the situation is lost, the Aquarius Director sighed softly without further useless defense.

Denial is futile now. Since it’s already noticed, whether or not I press the copper plate, it will definitely be examined thoroughly, inside out.

And the Clearing Bureau people, even if they don’t understand Crocodile Kingdom’s technology, once they uncover the copper plate and see the metal wires embedded in my brain, they’ll surely notice something’s off. All because of this one-day difference, I’m utterly finished.

If the Director hadn’t returned and the inquiry hadn’t started a day early, my newly replaced brain would have completely synchronized with my body, allowing me to fool the divine-level brain-eating demon’s readout without relying on electric shocks, avoiding attention on the copper plate issue…

One day! Damn it! Just one day short!

…

“It seems you’re no longer planning to explain.”

After waiting a moment and hearing no defense from the Aquarius Director, the Clearing Bureau Director quietly raised his hand and said:

“I now propose, in my capacity as Clearing Bureau Director, to dismiss the Aquarius Director from her position and temporarily seal the Aquarius Star Palace… Let’s vote.”

Following the Clearing Bureau Director’s words, the originally bright meeting hall suddenly darkened. The kilometer-thick rock walls became transparent, instantly transforming into an endless pitch-black night sky.

Then, eighty-seven patterns composed of countless large and small star points lit up around the center of the hall and began slowly rotating according to a certain pattern. The only place without star points gradually revealed a massive crack, splitting like an eye to reveal the true starry sky.

The sun, which had been millions of miles away, was instantaneously pulled closer by some unknown force, turning into a brilliant golden pupil within the “eye,” glaring fixedly at the Aquarius Director. Among the twelve seats exclusive to directors surrounding this sun-eye, four seats were successively illuminated.

“Four votes passed.”

Announcing the voting result, the Clearing Bureau Director raised his hand, dispersing the Aquarius Star Palace composed of 90 star points, cutting off all possibilities for the Aquarius Director to escape headquarters. He then announced expressionlessly:

“Privately manufacturing abnormalities, causing mass harm to innocents, attempting to infiltrate the Watchtower Palace… multiple crimes punished together!”

“I sentence the former Aquarius Director to death, in my capacity as Clearing Bureau Director!”

(End of Chapter)