A Scientific Urban Detective.

Chapter 1067 Price
"A bait? No, you're Academy City's ace. It would be a waste to use you just to draw fire," Chairman Aleister said. "Lin Wuming, we sent you out to solve a problem."

Lin Wuming continued, "If I need to handle this, it can't be a simple character, right? The Right Seat of God?"

“It’s good that you have that confidence, but the Right Seat of God is not a small fry who will be dispatched easily,” said Chairman Aleister. “According to the assessment, he should only be a bishop-level figure.”

"Don't make it sound so easy. The bishop is no small fry anymore, is he?" Lin Wuming retorted. "Aren't you worried about triggering a faction war now?"

“‘The Apostolic Cross’—you should already know about it—the Roman Catholic Church has gone to this extent. I think it’s a reasonable response to defeat one or two of their high-ranking bishops,” said President Aleister. “But in any case, we don’t know whether we will encounter the enemy until we get concrete intelligence, so we should just maintain basic vigilance and not worry too much.”

……

“‘Imagine Breaker’ does indeed have unlimited potential,” Right Flame muttered to himself as he strolled through the streets of Rome. “But now it seems that Lin Wuming is indeed a greater threat—no wonder he’s the man who could defeat Rear Water.”

Intelligence from the other side of the earth was transmitted back to the Papal States in real time and delivered to Right Flame immediately.

Although Academy City did implement information control, it was, after all, a "Battle of Titans" in full view of everyone, so it was impossible to completely block the news.

More importantly, the Roman Catholic Church's intelligence agents also have "magic" at their disposal, which puts them completely outside the technological blind spots of Academy City.

The problem is that even knowing Lin Wuming is the biggest threat, the Roman Catholic Church is powerless to do anything about it.

We can't exactly send someone into Academy City to assassinate them again, can we? Even a strong person like Rear Water has failed, and apart from Right Fire personally taking action, we can't think of any better people for the time being.

As the de facto leader of the Roman Catholic Church, it is absolutely impossible for Right Fire to go to Academy City.

As for assassinations outside of Academy City...

Unfortunately, Lin Wuming almost never leaves Academy City, and even when he does leave the city, he never goes beyond a hundred kilometers.

"It seems the duel with Lin Wuming may have to wait until the final battle," said Right Flame.

……

“According to reliable sources, the Roman Catholic Church is activating ‘Queen of the Adriatic’—a large-scale magical artifact, which you can simply understand as a nuclear weapon on the magical side,” President Aleister explained in detail, “because like a nuclear weapon, it can directly destroy a city.”

Lin Wuming nodded, without revealing any other expression: "So, the one I need to deal with is that 'Queen of the Adriatic'?"

“No, the key now is to find it first,” said the Aleister Board of Directors. “The Anglican Church is already doing it, but considering their strength and manpower, finding the hidden trump card will probably not be so easy.”

Therefore, Chairman Aleister's request to Lin Wuming was merely to "assist in the investigation"; only after finding the "Queen of the Adriatic" would they proceed to the next step. In the following time, Chairman Aleister provided Lin Wuming with detailed information about the "Queen of the Adriatic" and the "Queen's Fleet."

As Lin Wuming listened, he compared the story with the original plot in his memory.

However, large-scale war-use spirit equipment like the "Queen's Fleet" rarely has the opportunity to be used, and there has been no news about it in recent years. Therefore, even Chairman Aleister does not have much information, and he has clearly stated that this information is for reference only.

Recalling the original plot and considering the current situation, Lin Wuming couldn't help but ask, "Chairman, don't you have any countermeasures against that 'Queen's Fleet'? In such a large Academy City, is sending people there to destroy it using special operations?"

“Otherwise?” Chairman Aleister retorted. “Academy City is a city of espers. The strongest fighting force here is you Level 5s. What’s wrong with deploying Level 5 espers when facing a powerful enemy? Do you expect us to engage in a fleet battle?”

"..." Lin Wuming couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, "You really dare to trust me?"

“Why wouldn’t we dare? I have full confidence in the strength of Level 5,” said Chairman Aleister. “Besides, considering the size difference between us and the Roman Catholic Church, isn’t this the only way?”

Whether it's fighting against an entire enemy army single-handedly, or passively responding as Academy City, the headquarters, is repeatedly invaded by mages, these are unavoidable costs.

Because there is a huge difference in scale between Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church.

"Although it will indeed pose a danger to the city and its citizens, we can only leverage our advantages by fighting on our home turf..." Next, Chairman Aleister gave Lin Wuming a brief introduction to the "artificial heaven" and the "wind-cutting fuse".

"...This information should no longer be a secret to you," Chairman Aleister essentially admitted that Lin Wuming knew these secrets. "Once my plan succeeds, this Academy City will become a completely 'magic-free' area, where any magician will be as useless as a cripple."

This is also why Chairman Aleister doesn't mind the invasion of mages, because as long as the conditions are right, he can wipe them all out at any time!
“But unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, my ‘Artificial Celestial Realm’ project has been delayed.” Chairman Aleister asked, “Lin Wuming, do you know why?”

“I know, because of me,” Lin Wuming said. “I won’t let you hurt the Misaka Sisters.”

“That’s right,” Chairman Aleister admitted. “The Misaka Network and the Final Signal are the key to completing this plan. It’s just a pity that they are currently under your protection, so even I can’t just take action against them.”

Lin Wuming sneered, not believing that the chairman of Aleister would be so understanding.

"For me, as long as the goal is achieved, the specific method used is not important," said Chairman Aleister. "Do you understand, Lin Wuming? Because the 'artificial celestial realm' cannot be formed, I can only choose to 'defend the enemy outside the country's borders,' so I have no choice but to send you to Europe."

In other words, this is one of the "prices" that must be paid for choosing to save the Misaka Sisters.

(End of this chapter)