Free Web NovelChapter 448: Chapter 448 Demon Project_1
Indeed identical.
Aiden was convinced that the experiment conducted by the Empire, described by Heinz, was the same as the one discovered by Qiqimora in the Kingdom’s testing ground.
Yet he feigned a look of surprise, "From what I understand about the theory of dark magic, life alchemy can’t accomplish such a feat."
"So it must be some kind of ’secret technique’, and you surely know more about that than I do," Heinz reminded. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Is it really the power of authority? Alright then, what does this have to do with Professor Dodge?"
"At that time, the Kingdom’s Central Intelligence Agency was directly responsible for infiltrating and probing the project, while also assigning us to investigate all possible Empire military personnel involved in the project. We compiled a list of twenty-three officers, including Professor Dodge, but until the end, we were still in doubt, without concrete evidence of his participation."
Aiden’s eyes widened slightly. At that time, it had been a doubt, but now Heinz brought it up, it must mean he was certain.
Was Professor Dodge really personally involved in this criminal project?
"Professor Dodge was arrested ten years ago, then escaped from prison. If he was also involved in this experiment, does that mean the project existed ten years ago?" Aiden inquired further.
"According to my speculation, Professor Dodge’s arrest might well have been precisely because he was part of the project. In fact, there are quite a few doubts about the Empire’s act of imprisoning him on the charge of conducting necromancy in private ten years ago," Heinz said seriously.
"Thrown in jail to be silenced?"
"No, it might only have been a warning," Heinz shook his head, "His choice to escape from prison means he left the project and officially made enemies with his former employer."
Aiden realized that Heinz’s words seemed to connect with the Witch Assembly’s observations in the Kingdom.
Professor Dodge was related to the Empire’s magic (let’s call it that for now) project and was likely a participant. Later, for some reason, he was warned by the Empire’s military and falsely accused, leading to his imprisonment. Consequently, he chose to escape using the Obliteration Hand he had secretly kept.
Since then, three years had passed—about seven years ago from the present day, the Gistas Kingdom’s military intelligence and the secret police’s espionage department noticed the Empire’s project and began to probe into it.
Then two years ago, or even earlier, Professor Dodge arrived in Sunset City of Gistas.
And now, a covert magic project had also appeared in the Gistas Kingdom, suspected by Aiden and his team to be related to Professor Dodge’s long stay in Sunset City.
——Correct, sorting out the timeline, it does indeed connect, though a few key pieces of the puzzle are still missing.
"So his son, who vanished from the grave, is also related to this?" Aiden continued his inquiry.
"We visited some friends and relatives of Mr. Dodge from the past and according to them, Mr. Dodge was quite good to his son, always trying to find a cure for the child’s illness. For this, he even applied to the military to research life alchemy," Heinz looked into Aiden’s eyes and spoke gravely, "Don’t you think it’s likely that such a person would stop at nothing to cure his own child?"
"You mean..." Aiden thought it over, understanding Heinz’s point, "He involved his own son in the project?"
"Logically, if he was truly a participant, it’s very likely," Heinz said earnestly, "The military would surely not refuse such a volunteer subject."
"Choosing to gamble is better than sitting idly by and waiting for death, that I can understand," Aiden nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder the grave was empty. So, since Professor Dodge was eventually arrested and then escaped from prison, this means the treatment must have failed, right?"
"Whether his son survived or not, it’s probably not an outcome that satisfied him," Heinz replied.
"I’ve been wondering about something, where does the Empire find people for such experiments? I’m guessing they can’t find so many people who are both terminally ill and willing to take such a desperate chance," Aiden asked further.
The Gistas Kingdom’s project used refugees as materials, according to the Royal Secret Police’s intelligence. The southern war was manipulated by the Gistas Kingdom behind the scenes—perhaps providing materials for the project was also one of the objectives in planning that war.
"We’ve looked into this as well. Some of the subjects were prisoners set for execution, while the origins of others remain unclear. But there is always a way. With unscrupulous means, the power that can make such a project possible won’t be thwarted by such obstacles," Heinz stated nonchalantly.
"That’s true," Aiden agreed, "Before overwhelming power, human lives are worth nothing."
After thinking for a while, he looked up at Heinz and added, "Like the war currently happening in the southern part of your Kingdom, for instance."
"That’s straying from the topic," Heinz replied, unflinching.
"Is it really off-topic?" Aiden stared intently into Heinz’s eyes.
At this point, Aiden had pretty much surmised that Heinz probably knew what was happening at the military base in Sunset City.
The incident in Sunset City was essentially a copy of the Empire magic project Heinz mentioned.
If what he said was true, then the magic project that the Gistas Kingdom was conducting might well have been learned from the Empire through some channel.
Heinz claimed to have been involved in some of the project’s investigations and to have connections in the military’s intelligence agency. A considerable part of the project’s intelligence must have flowed through his hands, and the Kingdom’s military using this intelligence to replicate the project, to say he was completely unaware is highly unlikely.
The fact that he hadn’t mentioned it meant he didn’t plan to tell Aiden.
That was not surprising. They had reached an agreement, with Heinz promising to provide Aiden with the information he desired. But he was still a Gistastonian, and naturally, he would not disclose all secrets to a collaboration partner who was not considered particularly stable. He could talk about the Empire’s secrets, but sometimes he would conceal those of the Kingdom.
However, he didn’t know that Aiden’s other informants had already touched on this secret.
So, after listening to the information Heinz was willing to share, Aiden decided to bring this matter up, to catch him off guard and extract parts that Heinz was unwilling to reveal.
"What are you talking about?" Heinz asked in return, his expression still without any flaws.
"I know that the Kingdom’s military has done some ’good deeds’ in Sunset City, that ’coincidentally’ resemble the situation you just described. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. You promised me, you would give me the information you know related to Professor Dodge, and I hope you keep your word," Aiden pointed at Heinz, "I could use the ’Wordless Code’ to force you to speak, but I’d rather you do it willingly—this is my good faith, I hope you can show yours."
