Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

The only thing that could prove their existence was his own wounded body and the charred, long crater that somehow appeared in front of Bardock.

It was as if a huge amount of energy had evaporated the land, which stretched for tens of meters in front of them, in an instant.

"So, what's going on on this mountain? Are they not letting people sleep?"

[Main Text] Siesta's Hottest Holiday: Chapter Forty-Four "I'm Expensive"

Those few people in tattered black suits were the ones who had escaped the insect swarm from the mountain.

They rushed into Cronin's office in a panic without being stopped, and everyone knew that they had encountered some terrible situation and needed to report to the acting mayor in person.

"...Mr. Kronin, something terrible has happened!!!"

"I've told you so many times, you have to call me Mayor."

Kronin stopped falsifying the financial statements and glanced impatiently at his men, who reeked of sulfur. He recognized them as the men he had sent to the volcano to carry out a necessary mission.

—If he fails to seize power and force the mayor to abdicate while the mayor is in the new construction area, he will use the final means to completely take over the city.

That was an artificially induced volcanic eruption from an abandoned obsidian mining area.

By hiring sorcerers to prepare spells and deploy explosives, a large-scale explosion can be used to activate the volcano once preparations are complete.

As a messenger of natural disasters and a scholar of Originium, Kronin knew very well how to make a volcano on the verge of erupt when he needed it to.

At that time, everything in Siesta, except for himself, his men, and the private soldiers hired from V3 Mining Company, will be swallowed by lava.

He will then take over the rich Originium veins beneath the volcanic rock after the dust settles.

But the fact that his men appeared before him looking disheveled meant that his plan had been thwarted.

Although his first thought was how to punish these incompetent and troublesome subordinates, his concern for the matter itself outweighed his anger at the prospect of punishment.

"What happened? Weren't you supposed to be setting up explosives?"

"The explosives...the explosives were detonated prematurely due to the high temperature, killing several warlocks on the spot..."

Qualified military-grade Originium explosives would not have such a blunder.

However, obtaining such items without leaving a trace is not easy, so he prepared almost exclusively homemade Originium bombs for his subordinates that would not leave any trace of circulation. The general formulas could be easily found with a simple online search.

"You bunch of good-for-nothings, you can't even plant a bomb properly?"

Of course, Kronen would not blame himself for the mistake because of this reason.

If it wasn't done well, then it's the subordinate's fault.

"No, no, Your Excellency..."

"What?! You still dare to argue?!"

When Cronin saw that his subordinates were about to object, he immediately slammed his hand on the table and stood up, staring intently at his obsequious subordinates with a sharp and cold gaze like that of an eagle.

"No... what we mean is... 'that's not the point'... the point is that a huge swarm of Originium Bugs emerged from the crater caused by the explosion, and a whole bunch of them rushed down the mountain..."

"What...? Say it again?"

Kronin left the table and walked towards the men in black suits, approaching them little by little, while questioning them again about what they had said.

Suddenly, Kronin grabbed one of the men by the collar, shoved him against the wall, and struggled to lift him up—though the man didn’t budge.

"A huge swarm of Originium Bugs rushed down the mountain, and you didn't even try to stop them, you just ran back like that?"

His eyes blazed with fury beneath his glasses as he roared and spat on their blackened faces.

"Do you think I pay you to mess everything up? Go stop them on the mountain! And then wipe them all out?!"

"No...that's impossible. There are at least a thousand of them. If we don't call in the army to wipe them out, it's just suicide..."

"waste!"

Kronin used a word that perfectly described his current state to insult his subordinate, then, in a fit of impotent rage, he flung his hand away, sweeping the documents off the table. He braced himself against the table, breathing heavily, and then slowly took off his glasses.

"You all, take everyone here to the mountain, make sure they're armed, and don't say anything to anyone else. Also, notify the authorities in the surrounding areas to evacuate their people; say the area is temporarily sealed off..."

Directly calling upon the sorcerers or armed personnel within Siesta City would be too easy to expose.

After all, these transfers all require permission from Mayor Hermann. If they slip up at this time, a simple investigation will reveal that someone is operating in a restricted area of ​​the mine—and then it will come back to haunt them.

The large-scale appearance of Originium Bugs will also raise alarm, and the same information can be found by following the tracks of the swarm... They must be stopped!

But just as Kronin was about to lash out at the few people who hadn't even started moving, the office door opened again.

Another man in a tattered black suit entered Cronin's office, followed by another tall man who was not one of Cronin's subordinates.

Badak also came here.

"...Who is this? Didn't we say not to bring irrelevant people to the office? Can't we just hand over any tourists who have objections to the Siesta construction to the receptionist?"

Perhaps the presence of strangers calmed Kronin's agitation and rage slightly, but he still spoke to Bardak with an impatient and arrogant tone completely different from his usual broadcasts.

"No, Mr. Kronin, this is the benefactor who helped clear out a large number of Originium worms!"

After Bardak dealt with the Originium Bugs, the man in the black suit immediately realized that the person could not be left unattended on the mountain any longer.

Since he offered his help, there's a chance to win him over; at the very least, it would make amends for his past mistakes.

Bardock wasn't initially interested in the black-suited man's words, such as "the mayor will thank you properly."

It wasn't until he kept emphasizing that he just wanted to rest quietly and told the man in the black suit to get lost that the man in the black suit had a sudden inspiration and said, "I know a good place to rest quietly," which made Bardock accept his invitation with some skepticism.

The two then arrived near the city hall, which was indeed very quiet.

"Hey, didn't you say there was a place to sleep? Where's the bed? Oh well, I'll just have to make do on the rooftop around here."

Just as Bardock was about to leave, the man in the black suit finished whispering in Cronin's ear.

After hearing about Bardak's strength from others, coupled with his seemingly honest attitude, Cronin felt that this rough-looking man might indeed be more worthy of being won over than he appeared.

Now, he needs to use his brain to get Bardock to bring him some useful value...

"Sir, have you ever considered a well-paying job?"

"I charge very high fees."

[Main Text] Siesta's Hottest Holiday: Chapter 45 Should the Coffin Be a Flip-Top or a Sliding-Top One?

"...In short, everyone's consensus is that although there is a tendency for volcanic activity, it is unlikely to cause an eruption unless there is a strong external stimulus?"

On Rhodes Island, the temporary meeting convened by the Cataclysmic Messenger to process data from the Siesta Volcano was finally coming to an end.

With the help of professional messengers and advanced equipment analysis, Ceylon obtained a result that was not too bad.

—There is a possibility of eruption, but it is still in a safe state.

“That’s right, but I heard that Siesta City has stopped mining obsidian. These recent data fluctuations are likely the result of human intervention. Have you really stopped mining?”

Eyjafjalla inquired about obsidian mining in Ceylon. In her view, mining was the activity most likely to cause local geological disasters, and the mining sites that had been established near volcanoes were definitely related to the current anomalies.

"The most likely explanation is that someone has carried out blasting operations on the volcano, which has led to the volcano becoming more active than in the past."

As Eyjafjalla replenished her strength, Skyfire, with a hint of arrogance, spoke to the young lady before him:

"Before you start worrying about the possibility of a volcanic eruption, you'd better thoroughly investigate the people in charge of the mine. There might be a mole among the higher-ups at Siesta."

Obsidian was once a well-known souvenir of Siesta, and still is, but due to the impact of over-mining on the local ecosystem, mining ceased more than a decade ago. However, the existing stockpile is sufficient to allow it to continue appearing in shops as a souvenir—a decision that seemed somewhat abrupt at the time. But given the publicly stated reasons, the people of Siesta, who have always attracted tourists with their beautiful scenery, did not object too much.

After all, if it's really as they say, continued mining will affect the ecology and turn this place into a desert, and everyone will lose the major advantage of tourism resources.

Therefore, in order to protect the current tourism resources, the obsidian mining area has always been a key protection target, which has been handed over to the mayor and Kronen for management. Anyone who can take action against it must have considerable power, and even his father and the local disaster messenger have been involved.

Ceylon also found it hard to accept this reality for a while—although her father had been very cold to her since her mother's death, she knew very well his passion for the whole city. This was where her mother was buried, and her father would never let the lava destroy everything here.

What about cronin?

Although he is not very approachable and often ignores questions, he has always been dedicated to running Siesta, and many foreign companies have entered Siesta through his connections.

What good would it do him to cause the volcano to erupt?

"But...but if the volcano erupts, who will benefit?"

Ceylon still did not believe that destroying everything would benefit anyone.

She knew that natural disasters were merciless, but she didn't fully understand that the human heart could also be cruel.

The fact that "someone is interfering with the volcanic environment" is almost a foregone conclusion, but Ceylon still prefers to believe that it is a natural process.

"Benefits? Many people can benefit from them, such as the Colombians whose tourism market has been taken over. Without Siesta, they can occupy a larger market share." The blond Cataclysm Messenger from Rembiton, Reinhardt, said to Ceylon in a tone as if stating common sense, "Misleading Cataclysm Messengers, or directly providing them with false information about the Cataclysm, and then letting them perish in the Cataclysm, is not uncommon."

“However, it could be for reasons that are not easy for us to guess.” Tianhuo continued to suggest, while urging Qixilan to take action quickly using his identity. “Anyway, no matter what the reason is, it would be better for you to contact someone trustworthy and investigate thoroughly.”

The outcome is not wrong. Even though the current situation is not too bad, it has been confirmed that someone is expecting the "volcanic eruption" and inducing it to become a reality.

And now, neither his father nor Kronin seems to have noticed this.

The only thing that can prevent the disaster is Ceylon.

"I..."

She hesitated—but not for long. After a fleeting moment of confusion, she resolutely gripped her communicator.

Then, he dialed Kronin's number.

"Mr. Kronin, are you there?"

"Is this Miss? Is something the matter? I'm very busy right now. If there's anything that needs to be done, just have my men do it..."

"No! Mr. Cronin! I have something very important to discuss with you face to face. Please tell me where you are, and I will come to you immediately. This cannot be explained in a few words over a communication!"

"...I understand. I'm at the city hall now."

Kronin, on the other end of the communication, agreed so readily that Ceylon found it hard to believe.

This person, who usually refuses to discuss academic issues, actually agreed to meet and discuss with me without me explaining the specifics.

"Okay... Thank you very much, I'll be there right away!"

She understood! It must have been her sincere attitude and urgent tone that made Mr. Cronin realize that there was something important to discuss with him, so much so that he readily agreed to her request.

Meanwhile, at the city hall, Kronen hung up the call with a grave expression.

He did indeed sense that Ceylon, a girl who usually perfectly embodied the term "young lady," had displayed an unusually serious attitude in their conversation just now.

Even she spoke to me in such a serious tone...