Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 575 Project Progress (Second Update)

"You can hand them over to the law."

Faced with Laura's utterly naive words, Salomon could only offer her a charmingly helpless look. Ancient orders like the Holy Trinity that have survived to the modern era are invariably part of capitalist-affiliated systems like the Knights Hospitaller, built on alliances with powerful corporations. Only those orders operating on a capitalist basis can survive, except for the overly arrogant conglomerates like the Knights Templar. Without the financial backing of powerful corporations, or rather, without the corporations themselves being the Holy Trinity, a single order based solely on faith couldn't afford armed helicopters; even the Roman Catholic Church lacked that capability. At least not outwardly. Salomon knew all too well how sharp the Roman Catholic Church's blade could be behind the scenes.

As for that damned Morru, he seems to have acquired some prophetic abilities. Salomon received an email from him after returning to Earth. Of course, Salomon, who has always despised the Church, chose to ignore it as usual, rendering Father Morru's carefully crafted words useless.

Salomon was certain that the attack helicopters shot down by those immortal cities in Siberia were very likely Apache helicopters that Britain had purchased and upgraded from the United States. In a few days, news of the attack helicopter training crash would appear at the very bottom of the red box on the Prime Minister's desk, and the diligent and honest Permanent Under-Secretary of State would very considerately mention this unpleasant news at a busy time/when the Prime Minister was drunk/at three in the morning, ensuring the Prime Minister's right to know. This was almost certain; senior civil servants would be dutifully responsible for their inflation-indexed pensions, titles, cricket tickets, opera tickets, and every banquet they attended.

He politely declined Laura's request.

After promising not to kill the two, he sent Laura Crawford, who had been asking questions, back to the temporary work station he had set up in Siberia. The Immortal City itself was a great underground city filled with artifacts and historical relics, encompassing everything from ancient Egyptian artifacts to modern science. Laura lingered in the museum that Salomon had set up, and her discoveries there almost made her forget about the Lost City of Siberia.

There was still much work to be done, and Salomon's engineering team left behind was extremely busy, such as burning corpses and rebuilding homes. Although Jacob had planned to have Sophia lead the people to the Immortal City, much work remained to be done before that. The first was to provide them with scientific education. Jacob could only teach his people survival skills, philosophy, and theology; beyond that, they knew very little. Most villagers didn't know how to use smartphones or computers, and even basic radio communication required learning.

Jacob was an exception. As Salomon's carefully chosen prophet, he possessed extraordinary learning abilities, which Sophia inherited. She would become the leader of her people, continuing to guide their survival. Sophia ignored Salomon's suggestion that they abandon their faith. It wasn't because the girl harbored hostility towards those who might take her father's life; she was acting purely out of pragmatism—although she knew her father wasn't a true prophet, the unwavering faith that had held the village for millennia was the true unifying force, supporting her father's journey from Byzantium to Siberia.

Even if this belief is completely false, even if Sofia is completely ignorant, she will not give up this power.

Salomon offered no comment. He believed that with a scientific education, those people would realize how foolish those religious rhetoric tactics, which only fooled children, were. Science and reason were the mainstream of progress in the Immortal City; all religious beliefs were ignorance—this was the tone Salomon set for the entire organization. Upon returning to the Immortal City, he found a distraught Stephanie and gently embraced her—while also checking on her physical and mental well-being.

Unsurprisingly, Stephanie was in excellent health. The heavy workload hadn't broken her, and her mental state was excellent. As for Salomon's concerns about her talent, Stephanie didn't show any signs of it. He told Stephanie that he had taken it upon himself to arrange an enhancement surgery for her to slow down aging; it was the result of a biological laboratory, capable of promoting telomere division and DNA recombination. Combined with expensive bio-alchemy, she could regain the youthful vitality of a twenty-year-old.

Stephanie was deeply moved, especially after hearing that Salomon was going to hand over the alien technology to her research department, which further confirmed her place in Salomon's heart. Salomon instructed Stephanie's research group to focus on studying peripheral neural connections, rather than using easily disruptive methods like amplifying and compiling electrical signals.

Salomon wouldn't stay in one place for long; he had many areas to inspect. For example, Lorelei in the underground cell—she had been chained to restraints before Salomon left, and no one had helped her remove them; she had remained there. She could hear nothing, see nothing, only her consciousness remained active, accompanied only by her own echo. This extreme silence was torture for anyone, so much so that after he removed Lorelei's shackles, her first words were, "F*ck me!"

Stockholm syndrome has taken hold, and Salomon can send her to Asgard to work at any time.

She will become Salomon's most important spy, involved in a grand future plan.

Maya Hansen's gene-alchemy lab also needs care.

Salomon spent some time examining the work of the Druid Order of Sora Redwood and Maya Hansen's neuroepigogenetic experiments on historical figures. Maya Hansen provided Salomon with the results of these experiments, with Salomon being most interested in the genomes of the Knights of the Round Table. Gene-editing technology was now mature within the Immortal City, and with the terrifying knowledge shared by Salomon, the biological laboratory was venturing into a realm currently unexplored on Earth.

They certainly cannot replicate the Celestials' genetic engineering of humanity like the Kree did, but with the unlocking of that alien technology, their biological laboratories will receive the same technological support. They will undoubtedly win the Nobel Prize, but unfortunately, these experiments will remain unknown to the public because they contain far too many ethical and moral violations.

The mere fact that Salomon used felons as live subjects for experiments was enough to land him on Interpol's wanted list.

As for research in artificial intelligence, it would make the US intelligence community, their rivals, wish Salomon would be shot eight times in the back and commit suicide. No one hates stealing information from the world's internet more than they do, because it's part of their job. However, Salomon has always been remarkably good at protecting his identity; to this day, no outsider knows he participated in the Battles of New York and London. Even if someone did find out, Gideon Malik, in the State Department, would step in to help.

Salomon still doesn't know what happened to the Malik family. In a news report he missed, Gideon Malik had been recuperating at home for some time.

"Good evening, my dear!" Salomon entered the apartment carrying a large bouquet of roses, only to be met by a flying cat and a bullet. Jeanne used everything at hand that could be used as a weapon, including the Cheshire Cat who had just been eating cat food. Salomon caught the cat, dodged the bullet, stuck a rose into the muzzle of Jeanne's gun, and finally placed the bouquet in Bayonetta's arms. The black-haired witch curled her lips into a smile, adjusted her glasses with satisfaction, and the butterfly shadows reflected on the wooden floor fluttered happily.

She keenly noticed Salomon's difference.

"Hmm~" she drawled, her voice alluring. "It seems you've learned a lot since you left home, Boya."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)