Chapter 524

“You must be Mr. Bell.”

After flipping through the documents and personal items on the table, Leon confirmed the identity of the room’s owner and turned to look at the scruffy man held down by Algernon. With a calm expression, he said:

“Please rest assured, we don’t intend to harm you. We just want to use your status as a scholar from Zone 1 to help us with something.”

“Hmph!”

Before Leon could state his request, the bearded, scruffy man snorted angrily and then glared malevolently:

“You’re those roaming criminals, aren’t you? What? After attacking Administrative Zone 3, you’re now targeting Research Zone 1?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t take you there; don’t even think about it! You can forget it!”

The scruffy man showed great resolve, sticking out his neck and glaring at Leon as he said: “Research Zone 1 is the core of the entire Crocodile Kingdom, and everything I have comes from the kingdom. There’s absolutely no way I would betray it!”

“Hmm.”

After casually acknowledging him, Leon, who hadn’t slept all night, didn’t continue talking to the scruffy man but instead said to Algernon:

“Senior Algernon, it’s up to you from here.”

“Alright.”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, Algernon nodded slightly, and the hand pressing on the scruffy man’s shoulder instantly dispersed into countless threads finer than hair, softly draping over his shoulder.

“What is this thing? You… what are you going to do?”

Under the terrified gaze of the scruffy man, the strange threads hanging from his shoulders suddenly pierced through his skin like earthworms burrowing into the ground, one by one entering his body.

Immediately after, before he could react in fear, these almost transparent fine threads began moving along the gaps in his muscles toward every part of his body.

In just a few breaths, these eerie threads had spread throughout his entire body, completely taking control in place of his own will. Even places like his eyelids and tongue were implanted with dozens of the finest threads, leaving him unable to move even a little.

“That should be enough.”

After checking the scruffy man’s earlobes and feeling slight protrusions under the thinnest part of the skin on the back side, Algernon, whose right arm disappeared up to the shoulder, nodded and told Leon: “Mr. Bell is under my control now. If he exhibits any abnormal behavior, I’ll detect and stop it immediately, ensuring he has no chance to call for help.”

“Thanks.”

After nodding to Algernon, Leon rummaged through the scruffy man’s pockets, took out his small notebook, glanced at the scheduled itinerary written inside, and then said:

“Let’s go. It’s already time for Mr. Bell to go to work. We should set off.”

Set off? You… ah?! Upon hearing Leon’s words, the scruffy man was horrified to discover that, as if another set of bones and muscles were exerting force inside his body, he actually reached out, turned the door handle, and walked out.

And the young man with black hair and black eyes, along with the muscular man missing an arm, followed directly behind him, walking straight onto the street without hiding.

Even more bizarrely, facing these two criminals whose appearances matched the broadcast descriptions perfectly, even their clothes unchanged, the pedestrians on the street acted as if they hadn’t seen them, showing absolutely no reaction.

How could that be? Do they have invisibility powers? As the scruffy man puzzled over this, Leon had already inserted his identity card into the nearby guidance machine, requested a ride to Zone 1 Research Area, and then boarded the floating car with the tall man missing an arm.

“Mr. Leon.”

Seemingly unsure in his heart, once the floating car started moving, Algernon couldn’t help but ask:

“Are we really just going straight there? Wouldn’t it be safer to go via Mona’s [Smooth Path]?”

“It’s fine, let’s just go this way.”

Sitting beside the scruffy man, Leon continued flipping through the captured documents from yesterday while answering without looking up: “I’ve carefully checked, and among Crocodile Kingdom’s technologies, there’s nothing like surveillance cameras. Relying on the effects of [Secret Tail], it’s enough to get us past regular checkpoints.

And including the specially designated large experimental areas around it, the total area of Zone 1 Research Area is roughly sixty square kilometers, which isn’t small. As long as we avoid getting too close to the core area and don’t appear in overly open spaces, the chances of being discovered are slim.”

“That’s good…”

Upon hearing Leon’s assurance, Algernon felt somewhat reassured and then looked curiously at the man who was flipping through the materials, asking: “Mr. Leon, aren’t these captured documents just ordinary data? You’ve been reading them all night. Haven’t you finished yet?”

“Not yet, I’ve only gone through about one-tenth so far.”

“Then… did you find anything interesting?”

“Somewhat.”

Flipping through the thick *Crocodile Kingdom Mineral Resource Policy* and the *Annual Statement of Major Energy and Core Material Income and Expenditure* used for comparison, Leon said coldly:

“Crocodile Kingdom may not be large in size, but its resource consumption is astonishing. Just the airborne crystals alone consume over 100,000 tons per year. The consumption of other resources like whale fat, coal, special minerals, and various rare metals is measured in hundreds of thousands of tons.”

“Isn’t that normal?”

After thinking for a moment, Algernon asked somewhat confusedly:

“I’m not very familiar with this, but I’ve heard people say that although Crocodile Kingdom is small, it’s actually a trade-oriented nation like Thousand Sails Sea Country Sai Ao. It sells a massive amount of products each year, so this level of consumption doesn’t seem unusual, does it?”

“The level of consumption itself isn’t unusual, and considering Crocodile Kingdom’s trading volume, it might even be considered low. But the real issue lies in where these resources are coming from.”

Using his charcoal pencil to circle several areas on the attached map in the *Mineral Resource Policy*, Leon frowned deeply and said:

“Crocodile Kingdom’s ‘territory’ may not be large, but the actual ‘mines’ it controls—those existing solely to supply Crocodile Kingdom—are extremely numerous.

Even when taken individually, these ‘mines’ aren’t large, and their locations are highly scattered. However, the regions providing resources to Crocodile Kingdom under short-term development, semi-permanent leasing, or even direct purchase agreements add up to nearly forty thousand square kilometers.”

“What?!”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, Algernon couldn’t help but be greatly shocked.

“There are that many? Our Alleson Kingdom, which is so vast, is only a bit over a million square kilometers! I thought Crocodile Kingdom was just a small country with less than twenty thousand square kilometers!”

(End of Chapter)