Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 690 Internal Problems (First Update)

"Where did Stephanie go?" Dita frowned, looking somewhat unhappy.

It's currently the time for training new recruits, and Stephanie should have approved the necessary materials for their training right now. Some expensive surgical supplies and medicines need to be produced by pharmaceutical companies controlled by Stephanie, as Wakanda's low production capacity simply cannot meet the needs of the Immortal City.

She wasn't wearing power armor, but rather a long, dark gray robe with a belt buckle bearing the Sorority's insignia. Although Dita appeared frail at this moment, she could actually kill two fully armed adult men in close combat in a second, easily twisting their heads off—this was the combined effect of her bionic muscles and magical metal skeleton; her artificial soul and inexhaustible magic drove her every move. Homoncourus was undoubtedly Salomon's most perfect alchemical creation besides genetic alchemy. Without the power of the Aether, the Philosopher's Stone, he simply couldn't have mass-produced such a large number of androids.

"She went to Moscow with the witch. I bought a French restaurant there from an actress." The sorcerer took the documents from Tita, glanced at them casually a few times, signed his name, and sent the paperwork to the next department. "Anything else? I have to go to class in an hour," he asked. "I don't want to be reviewing documents during class."

Dita looked troubled. "Your Majesty, you assigned me and Stephanie to oversee the Martian foundry mission..."

"What did Malbus do?" Salomon touched his five-pointed star pinky ring.

This was the contract between him and the seventy-two Demon Pillars. Although he hadn't yet used their great magic to do anything, as long as he wore this ring, he had a certain degree of control over all the Demon Pillars. This was also why he trusted Tita and Stephanie to manage a Demon Pillar—simply providing Malbus with a furnace wouldn't keep this mechanically inclined fellow in check. Although the furnace could fulfill its design, the production capacity was too low and the equipment too scarce to satisfy its needs. In the Immortal City, only Salomon and a few high-ranking officials knew Malbus's true identity. Everyone else thought he was a mechanical expert Salomon had hired. Surrey, in particular, was always thinking about exchanging ideas and learning from Malbus, but the Fifth Demon Pillar was a true recluse. He wouldn't see anyone except those he absolutely needed, burying himself in research and development.

"He's too obsessed with improving existing machinery, even though the results are far from bad," Tita sighed. "He's already installed systems on the power armor in the underground warehouse and designed a surgical procedure to connect the nerves to the armor, but we're still lacking some necessary materials, requiring a breakthrough in materials science. At the same time, he's improved the stability of the plasma weapons and modified the Sisterhood's power armor several times. I've seen the blueprints; Malbus's power armor and weapons are indeed superior, but we simply can't produce them right now."

"Why?" Salomon asked curiously. "Shouldn't we be pursuing the most advanced technology?"

"All the furnaces are operating at full capacity for the preliminary work on the Martian foundry. The seawater near the underwater exhaust pipes is boiling and bubbling, and salt crystal clusters cover the seabed like snowflakes. We must have more furnaces, even if they are temporary. I think Sofia and her people would not object to building the furnaces in Siberia. I also need some places where girls can be taught mechanical skills; they need to be able to maintain their own firearms and armor."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Salomon's expression suddenly turned serious. He had noticed a seemingly insignificant detail among the complex documents. This detail, as insignificant as a speck of dust in the vast work of the Immortal City, could become a crucial obstacle at a critical moment. With Stephanie's abilities, this situation shouldn't have occurred, and even if it did, it should have been resolved immediately. "I mean, when the research department encountered technical difficulties that you couldn't solve, why didn't anyone tell me? You should know we're pursuing efficiency; why was I the last to know after a problem arose?"

Dita felt as if she'd been struck on the head with a hammer; her previously flowing thoughts abruptly ceased. She realized something; her android skin flushed red, her delicate features contorted, and she looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Before this, she had been so invincible, yet the person sitting before her had so easily shattered her. "I just…" She felt the air she breathed become dry and scalding, as if the monarch's gaze had evaporated the perfectly humid air. She stammered, "I just… I know you're busy…"

"There will be no punishment this time because I know your loyalty, but this will be a one-time exception."

Salomon's face was cold, and his tone was as sharp as a blade, so cold that Tita couldn't help but tremble.

"Don't try to guess what I want or don't want. Your behavior is tantamount to defiance, and even if I like you a lot, I will definitely punish you. The same goes for Stephanie, but I won't punish her directly." Salomon placed his hand on a thick stack of documents. Tita's innate obedience prevented her from even considering resistance. Her soul and body were both born from the hands of the man before her, and this indescribable, deep love made her dizzy, unable to believe what foolish thing she had done. Salomon took out his phone and sent Bayonetta a text message, then continued to Tita, "Now we need to deal with the consequences of your mistake. As for Stephanie, let her rest for a while. Go and call the clerks and accountants from the Ministry of the Interior; we need to thoroughly clean up the Ministry. Also—"

He stared directly into Tita's eyes, as if trying to see through the android's soul.

He was as calm as if analyzing whether there was a problem with the operating logic of the androids. Tita felt herself being dissected layer by layer under his gaze, her most shameful parts exposed without reservation to her master. Salomon sensed something different about this. He didn't believe Tita would make such a decision; someone must be guiding her, using her to influence the Immortal City. This was standard espionage. Salomon was indeed a powerful mage, but he wasn't as proficient in his field as Romanov. She had mentioned this sign to him when she helped the Immortal City establish its counterintelligence department, which had alerted Salomon.

"—Tell me, who gave you this idea?"

The Immortal City's power is currently expanding rapidly, and the workload of the internal affairs department is also increasing dramatically. The already small number of internal affairs department clerks, due to secrecy requirements, are working overtime, inevitably leading to oversights. While the Immortal City's resilience is high, with the continuous increase in population, background checks on each member cannot be as thorough as before, necessitating counter-espionage efforts. Therefore, he issued a new task to the intelligence department, requiring them to conduct regular internal reviews. To this end, he even accessed a portion of the currently maintained artificial intelligence's permissions, authorizing Victoria Hand to investigate all communication information throughout the Immortal City's communication system.

He hoped the problem was internal.

He knew that there were also restless people within the Malik family's Conservative Party Hydra, and he hoped it was one of them.

"Or is it you, Dr. Whitehall, who guided her to do this?" Salomon stood in front of the culture tank, gently tapping the glass wall with his fingers. "If that's the case, you're quite the troublemaker. Let me see what you're capable of, let me see how many people you've bewitched this time. If it really is you, I'll make good use of your talent."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)