Chapter 548: Chapter 532: Settle Things Peacefully? Not Happening.

Inside the exclusive office of the Deputy Minister of the Anomaly Threat Response Department, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, the eternal azure ocean of the Great Library Plane shimmered in the light. A few seabirds trailing long tail feathers darted between the Floating Islands.

Allen sat in a spacious high-backed chair, his deep blue eyes reflecting the faint azure glow of the system screen hovering before him.

The display paused briefly before a waterfall of information cascaded down. Everything regarding the mandatory mission BR-0931—from its very inception to its conclusion, including every previously hidden detail—was now laid bare before his eyes.

He mused, "Being a high-ranking official sure has its perks."

His gaze did not linger on the convoluted procedural details; instead, he looked straight at the top of the file.

[Initial Mission Issuance Proposer: Kaspar Murphy]

[Position: Deputy Minister, Cross-Plane Trade Route Security Department]

[Reason for Issuance: The target Plane contains high-value ancient mechanical ruins but is accompanied by high-intensity Magic traps and unknown contamination. It is recommended that an investigator from the Alchemy School with the ’High-Contamination War Ruins Clearance Expert’ tag be dispatched to achieve maximum recovery value at the lowest cost.]

Kaspar Murphy.

An unfamiliar name.

"Jarvis."

[Commander, the search is complete.]

[Kaspar Murphy, Dawn Star Level Wizard of the Witchcraft School. Additionally, the Phillips Clan under his name holds a 72% stake in the Mechanical Gears commerce guild.]

Mechanical Gears?

Allen narrowed his eyes slightly.

He realized, "So, it’s an old acquaintance after all."

From the very first day Wesren Heavy Industry stepped into the war Golem market, this veteran in Golem Manufacturing had been like a foul, unyielding boulder blocking his path of expansion.

Over the past few decades, Wesren Heavy Industry had dominated the low and mid-tier Golem markets with its Spider Slayer and Educational Golem series, practically wiping the floor with Mechanical Gears.

To claw back their market share, the competitor had resorted to numerous despicable methods. Commercial suppression, channel blockades, spreading rumors... they had used every underhanded trick in the book.

But all of that was just a game within the realm of business.

"Retrieve all preliminary exploration reports associated with mission BR-0931," Allen instructed, delving deeper into the matter.

The light screen refreshed again, displaying three preliminary exploration reports submitted by Second-level Wizard squads. The contents matched exactly what Eleanor had originally told him, and there was absolutely no mention of the Mechanical Realm or the Purification Fleet.

However, the direct department of the three Second-level Wizards who issued the reports was none other than the Cross-Plane Trade Route Security Department—Kaspar Murphy’s direct subordinates.

The truth no longer needed to be pieced together.

A carefully doctored exploration report that concealed fatal risks.

A seemingly reasonable and flawlessly targeted personnel recommendation.

A perfect murder, utilizing the Association’s rules to send a rising commercial rival into a guaranteed deathtrap.

Murder by proxy.

What a masterful stroke of murder by proxy.

Allen could even imagine how smug and delighted Kaspar Murphy must have felt upon learning that he was trapped in the X-7734 Plane, facing that endless mechanical apocalypse.

The light inside the office seemed to dim slightly, and the beating of the heart pulsating in the nutrient fluid sounded somewhat muffled.

Unfortunately for Kaspar, Allen had returned from that Plane. Even the Mechanical Realm couldn’t keep him there.

Leaning slowly against the back of his chair with his fingers steepled before him, Allen recalled the series of abnormal actions Mechanical Gears had taken after his promotion to Morning Star.

They had voluntarily contracted their market presence, abandoning numerous business ventures that overlapped with Wesren Heavy Industry. They had even gone so far as to pull out the few spies they had previously planted within Wesren Heavy Industry’s supply chain.

That posture was practically a bow of defeat. It was evident that Kaspar had realized that the moment Allen returned, his little tricks would be easily seen through.

In the world of Wizards, conflicts between Morning Stars often spelled massive disasters. A newly promoted Morning Star was enough to make most opponents choose to forget past grudges. After all, it was highly unwise to offend a peer with limitless potential over a past failure.

Kaspar was certain that since Allen was new to this level, he wouldn’t dare to openly turn hostile over an "accidental mission." His subsequent compensatory gestures were purely for Allen’s benefit.

It was a pity.

Kaspar had miscalculated one thing.

Allen Wesren was an extremely rational man, but he was also extremely vindictive. He was never one to be magnanimous, and he certainly never waited overnight to exact his revenge.

Yet, Allen did not fly into a rage. He leaned calmly against his chair, his brain rapidly calculating the costs and benefits of various plans.

Storming into the Cross-Plane Trade Route Security Department’s office with murderous intent to demand an explanation? That was too crass and far too unprofitable.

Finding an opportunity to assassinate him directly?

Unrealistic. Killing a Deputy Minister with actual authority was tantamount to declaring war on the entire Supreme Council.

Augustus and those old monsters at the Gate of Truth would absolutely intervene and sanction him, which did not align with the principle of maximizing profits.

Falling out with him on the spot simply yielded too little reward.

At this moment, Allen was like a supercomputer, calmly analyzing all variables and possibilities.

Anger was the most useless emotion; it only clouded one’s judgment. And he never engaged in a losing venture.

"Since he enjoys playing the game of murder by proxy..."

The tapping of Allen’s fingertips came to an abrupt halt.

"...then I’ll gladly play along with you."

He lowered his eyelashes. His voice was as light as a feather brushing against ice, yet every word was dipped in a chilling venom. "Playing dead after doing something wrong, and hoping to sweep things under the rug? As if things were that easy."

The cold light of the screen flickered in the depths of his eyes. "If I don’t uproot his foundation completely, he’ll actually think I’m a pushover."

The moment his words faded, he tapped his fingertip lightly, instantly extinguishing the light screen before him. The surging chill in his eyes was reined in layer by layer. When he looked up again, his gaze was as placid and unreadable as an ancient well, as if the killing intent from just a moment ago had merely been an illusion.

He stood up slowly and casually adjusted the collar of his robe, which was embroidered with dark silver patterns.

With a single step, spatial ripples spread outward, and his figure vanished from Office 3901.

Within the Cybertron Half-Plane, a magnificent structure had just been completed. It was named the Soul Mine.

Allen’s figure appeared on the massive circular observation corridor; beneath his feet lay a bottomless matrix of computational power.

As far as the eye could see, tens of thousands of faint azure crystal computational modules, arranged neatly like a Hive, were operating in silence.

Within each crystal hovered a faint halo of light. Countless gossamer-thin data streams converged into them from all directions, undergoing purification and emergence before being extracted.

[Commander, the phase one construction of the Soul Mining Machine has completed its debugging process and is running stably,] Jarvis’s voice echoed.

[Current standard soul production capacity: five thousand units per day. It is estimated that upon the completion of the phase two expansion, monthly production can exceed the one million mark.]

Allen looked down upon this ocean of data and energy that was currently nurturing souls, his gaze deep and profound.

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