Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Mysterious Opponent_1
Silence enveloped the entire office, and as Aiden locked eyes with Heinz, he felt the chill in the otherâs gaze.
After a while, he was the first to break the silence, "Buddy, staring at me like that without saying a word makes me wonder if youâre considering killing me to shut me up."
He wasnât worried about Heinz lashing out unexpectedly; firstly, he knew there was no reason for the other to do so, and secondly, he was fully capable of handling Heinz now.
"Sorry, professional habit," Heinz averted his gaze to look at the desk, "Iâm just surprised you know so much."
"Just because I need you to gather intelligence for me doesnât mean I donât have other networks of information," Aiden responded.
"Alright, there are things Iâd prefer not to talk about, but since you already know, thereâs nothing I can do," Heinz sighed slightly, "How much do you know?"
"I know thereâs a military base on the outskirts of Gistasâs Sunset City, where theyâre experimenting with breeding new varieties of demons, using refugees from the southern wars as experimental subjects. When you first mentioned the Empireâs project, I even thought you were trying to smear your own dirty laundry onto the Empire."
"Itâs all true. Both the Empireâs army and the Gistas Kingdomâs forces have done the same thing," Heinz said somberly.
"Is Gistasâs experimental project modeled after the Empire?" Aiden asked.
"It would be more accurate to say they stole it," Heinz explained, "After the Kingdomâs Central Intelligence Agency learned of the projectâs existence, it took nearly two years to infiltrate, and then they planned an attack on that base. Our department handled some of the auxiliary work and didnât get involved in the core part. I believe the Kingdomâs military must have obtained the key materials and research documents for the project in this affair."
"And then the Kingdomâs forces didnât hesitate to replicate the dirty deeds of the Empire?" Aiden frowned.
"To spend so much time and cost to stop the Empire, of course it wouldnât be for justice," Heinz replied unflinchingly.
"The Empire didnât retaliate over this? They just swallowed the loss?" Aiden continued.
"There were actions taken, but they didnât make a big splash. After all, itâs not something that can be disclosed publicly," Heinz answered, "Moreover, as far as I know, the Empire was not having much success advancing this project, so they didnât care too much about the sabotage. On the contrary, our Intelligence Agency having done this, exposed a part of their well-established spy network, and even we were implicated to some extent. Strictly speaking, the Kingdom did not gain much advantage."
"Have you investigated Gistasâs project in depth?"
"No, itâs not appropriate for me to interfere in military affairs, and to handle a project of this scale, naturally those would be influential people within the military," Heinz paused then added, "Nor did I intend to get involved."
It was a clear refusal; Heinz did not plan to intervene in any projects within the Gistas military.
Aiden didnât give him too much pointless reproach. Heinz, who led the Royal Secret Police, had done plenty of dirty work, and even knowing these secrets, he wouldnât have the sense of justice to stop it all.
In fact, Aiden himself didnât feel much righteous indignation. These matters were too far removed from him; just being a listener, it was hard to be deeply moved.
"Does the King know about this project?" Aiden asked.
If the ones moving the project forward were the Kingâs supporters, Heinz would have a reason to oppose the projectâto undermine the current King and support Seraâs seizure of power.
"Itâs a project that was approved by the former King and the current King is tacitly allowing it to continue," Heinz understood Aidenâs meaning, "But this doesnât mean that the people operating the project are all from the Kingâs side. Different issues, different authorities involved; the project involves several people with power and varying political stances. Iâm currently trying to secure a title for Sera and canât afford to make enemies of all of them; even if I truly intended to do something, it would likely be difficult to shake this situation. Sorry."
An even clearer refusal, it seemed that trying to use Heinz to intervene in this project was a no-go.
However, the information Heinz provided was indeed meaningful; at least Aiden could almost be certain now that Professor Dodge had stayed in Sunset City, Gistas, precisely for this demon project.
"Then tell me everything you know about the Kingdomâs execution of this project," Aiden said, "That shouldnât be too much to ask, right?"
This time Heinz didnât hesitate much before nodding, "Alright. To my knowledge, five years ago the Kingdomâs Intelligence Agency successfully sabotaged the Empireâs project, then transferred the critical data and materials back to the country; the project was established at that time, codenamed âInfection.â"
"Has the project been going on for this long? Or has the preparation work taken all this time?"
From Aidenâs understanding, one of the difficulties of the project was the living subjects needed for the experiments.
The turmoil outside Gistasâs southern border had occurred only recently, suggesting that it was after this event that the Gistas military had secured a steady supply of experimental subjects.
"After the project was established, it didnât progress smoothly; the research bottlenecks encountered by the Empire were also met here, and the project was put on hold for a while. It seems there have only been breakthroughs in the past two years," Heinz said.
"Professor Dodgeâs activities in Sunset City must be aiming at Gistasâs execution of this project, right?" Aiden said.
"Highly likely," Heinz replied.
"Such vital intelligence, you knew it from the beginning but didnât tell me immediately," Aiden said, staring at Heinz.
"I am sorry," Heinz apologized, his expression unmoved.
Aiden exhaled sharply through his nose, but he didnât pursue the matter further. After all, his current cooperation with Heinz was really just to ensure Seraâs safetyâthe very reason he couldnât allow any mishaps to befall his prisoner in jail. From this perspective, he couldnât expect Heinz to "loyally" hand over military secrets of his country to him; they were, after all, only collaborators.
"What does Professor Dodge plan to do with this project? Do you have any idea?" Aiden asked.
"I suppose he must be aiming to stop the project," Heinz concluded.
"Why do you think so?"
"Actually, when the Intelligence Agency and we were plotting to sabotage the project, we received mysterious assistance," Heinz said, "Someone periodically sent us anonymous intelligence that was crucial. It was with this intelligence that we discovered the existence of the project and managed to infiltrate and sabotage it."
"There were insiders leaking information to you...Do you think the opponent could have been Professor Dodge?" Aiden asked.
"We didnât consider him at that time because we werenât sure about his connection to the project. But now, piecing it all together, it seems very likely," Heinz answered.