Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

This may not be a natural disaster. The key to Columbia's collapse may really be himself, or a leak from the Loken Water Tank Laboratory... a betrayal of him by his mentor Kelsey in collusion with Joseph Pulitzer that he himself was unaware of.

“You… Pulitzer….”

Loken Williams gritted his teeth. He couldn't accept this answer.

If he were truly a discarded pawn, a tragic figure lamenting "fate has decreed my demise, not my fault in battle," then so be it. But the fact that he was manipulated by his teacher, Kelsey, and the Pulitzer journalist is something he finds difficult to accept.

What did he do to offend them?

He always fulfilled his duties as a student to Professor Kal'tsit. Even though she was already a giant in the field of bioscience at Columbia University, he did not put on airs in the slightest. Instead, he voluntarily gave up his business at the science expo and personally took Professor Kal'tsit to the Loken Water Tank Laboratory, acting as her guide and explaining the new scientific research technologies to her.

After learning about Wayne's relationship with Professor Kal'tsit, he maintained the utmost respect for him. He not only proactively informed Wayne about the market insider information regarding Oripathy inhibitors, saving him from the prospect of losing everything by investing in this area, but also introduced him to numerous investment opportunities. Furthermore, out of respect for Professor Kal'tsit, he even opened the door to investment in Loken Water Tank Laboratory for him. It should be noted that for a company like Loken Water Tank Laboratory, which has always insisted on 100% ownership and a one-man rule, opening up to investment and selling shares was unprecedented and unparalleled for someone as arrogant as Loken Williams.

He may indeed have let down the children he used as tools, the parents whose families he tore apart, the researchers at the Loken Water Tank Laboratory who lost their jobs after the company went bankrupt and couldn't find new work because of the Loken Water Tank scandal, and even all the people of Colombia who believed in the name of Loken Water Tank.

But he absolutely did not let down Professor Kelsey and journalist Joseph Pulitzer!

But these two people, with whom he had very little interaction and whom he treated as friends and family, did something that none of the others had done—betrayed him and even obtained research data from the Loken Water Tank Laboratory from who-knows-where and published it.

“I know you have a lot of questions to ask, such as why Kal'tsit and I betrayed you, who instructed us, and what our purpose was.”

Wayne paused for a moment, then said coldly:

"In fact, you have never escaped my grasp."

"Everyone thinks that releasing Joseph Pulitzer to Colombia was to attend the Columbia Science Fair and to investigate the organizer of the fair—Rhine Labs. But in reality, our target has been you from the very beginning."

“I’m not Colombian. I’ve never changed my goals from the beginning, so there’s no question of betrayal. Your so-called good intentions are just wishful thinking on your part. The Joker has only ever had wishful thinking from the start.”

Loken Williams was speechless; his questions and angry curses were stuck in his throat. Wayne was right. If his purpose from the beginning was to investigate the scandal at Loken's Water Tank Laboratory, then everything that followed was an action taken for that purpose. He had never betrayed anyone; he had merely taken advantage of his respect and trust for Professor Kal'tsit, unilaterally inviting a wolf into the house.

"But why? You're not Colombian, and you've never had any dealings with Loken Water Tank. Your activities have always been within Victoria. Why are you suddenly targeting me?"

Wayne answered his question with a simple sentence:

"Those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish."

Why I've targeted you is not a question you should be asking me. When you did those things, using children as experimental subjects, treating lives as disposable items on the operating table, dismantling and destroying one Colombian, Sargon, Victoria, and Letanian family after another, and then turning them into weapons to be sent to the battlefield, you should have known this day would come.

The only difference is who will be the one to punish you.

In the original timeline, it was Kal'tsit, who visited Columbia, and your professor who discovered your atrocities through "Rosemary" and ultimately punished you.

Here, it is Wayne, a time traveler who knew all this in advance, who punishes you in another way.

Have you considered the consequences of your actions?

Loken Williams suddenly countered with a question,

"Joseph Pulitzer, you did succeed, you upheld your justice, but open your eyes and look. You put me in jail, buried Loken Water Tank in the dustbin of history, you used Professor Kal'tsit, manipulated the conflict between the military and the political world, and buried everything you thought was wrong. But is this a bright and beautiful new world you brought?"

"Colombia, once a peaceful land, is now engulfed in war. The military and politicians are constantly at war, and countless people you thought you saved have simply died in a different place. Human experimentation will not stop; it will only intensify under the pressure of greater war. You have only destroyed me; the justice you bring is nothing but atrocities. Don't you feel any regret or shame for this?"

Wayne shook his head firmly.

How could he not know what Loken Williams was talking about?

In fact, when he handed the information to Himer, he was giving Himer time to think and choose, and at the same time, he was giving himself time to think.

Consider whether it's worth doing this.

Wayne sometimes quipped that his identity as Joseph Pulitzer's champion of justice was undeserved, because no matter what, his pursuit of justice always brought corresponding misfortune. In saving something, we often also take something else away.

Just as in Victoria, he initiated the Reformation, which indeed freed Victoria from the spiritual control of the Laterans. However, it also caused the collapse of faith among countless devout Lateran believers in Victoria, leading to their decline and loss of spirit. It also caused many Lateran Catholic monasteries and churches to become financially unsustainable, with priests and nuns suffering from hunger. Many innocent monks were also implicated and subjected to blame, cold shoulders, and undeserved misfortune.

Just as he exposed the Duke of Normandy's rebellion, he did indeed spare the North from war, maintain national unity, stabilize Vina's throne, and enhance the prestige of the royal family. However, in return, he disappointed the Northern royalists who hoped he would ascend the throne, and the purge of the nobility inevitably resulted in innocent casualties. The fall of families that had been rooted and flourishing for millennia created a power vacuum in the counties of Victoria, leading to numerous acts of violence during that period.

Just like now, he thwarted a Colombian conspiracy, captured the mastermind Loken Williams, and dealt a heavy blow to the ruthless capitalist tycoons who were manipulating Colombian politics. This is undoubtedly a great victory to boast about and remember. But what about the corresponding outcome?

The Great Collapse of Colombia began, displacing tens of millions of people and causing widespread unemployment. The shadow of war loomed over the land. The casualties caused by his actions may have been far more horrific than those caused by the human experiments conducted by Loken Williams and the Loken Water Tank Laboratory.

He always does the right thing, but it always leads to more serious consequences afterward. Can he therefore refrain from doing these things?

And so, knowing that everything was bound to happen, they watched as Laterand manipulated Victoria, watched as the Duke of Normandy dragged Victoria into the flames of civil war, watched as Fiona died, and watched as more children were strapped to the operating table, watching this tragic chain continue to link.

This is impossible.

Whenever faced with such a decision, Wayne becomes even more acutely aware of his incompatibility with this land. This land has become accustomed to sacrificing a portion of its people for the peace of the vast majority. They sacrifice the Infected to ensure the lives of ordinary people; they sacrifice the Sarkaz to maintain the prestige of other races; they sacrifice the poor, the old, the weak, and the sick for a brief respite. The people here are used to this, even considering the sacrifices of others their due. Therefore, they commit atrocities, sending those they deem worthy of "sacrifice" into the indiscriminate mouth of the earth.

If we turn a blind eye to atrocities in the name of stability, then more atrocities will follow. Just look at the Chernobog incident in the future, that infected riot that also caused huge casualties, that Integration Movement led by the Black Serpent that sacrificed the lives of millions in a city in order to start a war—it is a tumor formed by the toxic blood flowing in this land!

We can't avoid removing tumors just because it will kill benign cells like Frostnova and Patriot; otherwise, they will only grow bigger and bigger, eventually rotting the whole world.

"I have no regrets. I will mourn, I will try to make amends, but I will not regret it."

“While it may not be fair of me to draw such a conclusion from a small matter, based on my personal experience and the conspiracies I have witnessed on this land, I don’t believe that if I hadn’t done this and let you go, things would have turned out better.” Wayne picked up a crossbow bolt that the crossbowman had dropped and aimed it at Loken Williams’ head. “If you’re trying to use this reasoning to make me condemn myself, then I can tell you, it’s not that this land can’t tolerate someone like me, it’s that I can’t tolerate this land.”

"And people like you, if they stay in the world, will only make rice more expensive."

He pulled the trigger, and the crossbow bolt pierced his heart.

Wayne threw away the crossbow and turned to leave.

Loken Williams is probably indeed dead. But countless "Loken Williams" live on in every aspect of this land.

This is truly a despairing situation, not only having to fight against a deeply lurking and powerful evil, but also enduring the enormous casualties that come with that fight. Even Wayne would feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.

He was beginning to understand Kal'tsit better. In her long life, during countless firefighting missions, how many times had she faced questions like those from Loken Williams?

Absolute rationality that abandons emotions may sometimes be more than just wisdom; it may also be a layer of armor she uses to fight against evil.

Fortunately, they are no longer walking this long road alone. Theresa, Vina, and each other—their companions will only grow stronger.

Chapter 82 Maybe he can?

Catching up with a little girl in the middle of the night in the wilderness is no easy task, but Kal'tsit is no ordinary person either. At this distance, mon3tr can easily catch the sounds of Fiona and the mechanical dragon moving, thus pinpointing their exact location.

With the Firin race's considerable night vision, Kal'tsit soon spotted the conspicuous mechanical dragon in the distance. That was Fiona's Originium Arts; as long as it remained intact, Fiona was temporarily unharmed.

But what puzzled Kal'tsit was why she suddenly stopped?

However, before she could think further, the steel dragon suddenly turned its head and pounced towards Kal'tsit. Kal'tsit had no choice but to immediately raise her hand, causing Mon3tr to switch to defensive mode and block in front of her.

"boom--!"

A tremendous clanging sound of metal echoed across the wilderness. Amidst the rising dust, Kal'tsit, who was crouching on the ground, looked up at mon3tr and frowned deeply.

She had been standing, but now she was forced to crouch down, not to avoid the impact, but because the approaching body of the mon3tr forced her to crouch! In front of Kal'tsit, the tall mon3tr was visibly slammed into the ground by the huge impact, its four scythe legs crossed in front of it trembling uncontrollably, two of which had even begun to break.

This is a Mon3tr, its hard armor is so tough that even the sharp blades of the Ursus Guards cannot cut it, yet it was smashed to pieces by brute force!

And this is just one head of the mechanical dragon; it has three heads like this that can launch attacks!

Is this the power of the war machine that Locken Williams created and intended to mass-produce?

It's hard to imagine what kind of hell the battlefield would become if such magical creations were actually deployed. Existing warfare models could be completely rewritten, and the advantage of numbers could be completely wiped out. At least Kal'tsit doesn't think that Victoria's steam-armored troops, known for their individual skill and teamwork, could gain any advantage against such an overwhelming behemoth.

mon3tr; "(A heart-wrenching cry of unbearable pain!)"

Sensing mon3tr's warning, Kal'tsit immediately rolled several times to the side and forward, her smart suit covered in dust, but she didn't care. Only after she was completely out of the giant dragon's attack range did she dust herself off, stand up, and give the order:

"mon3tr, come back!"

mon3tr: "(A weary growl)"

Kal'tsit looked surprised.

mon3tr gave an unanswerable reply. The attack had nearly exhausted his strength, and his entire shell was almost on the verge of collapse and paralysis.

With just one strike, mon3tr was almost rendered incapable of fighting.

"Tsk..." Kal'tsit gritted her teeth helplessly. Fiona was more difficult to deal with than she had imagined. After weighing the pros and cons, Kal'tsit decisively issued her final command:

"mon3tr, destroy yourself!"

mon3tr: "(A furious roar of resentment)!"

With an indescribable roar, the Originium behemoth, emitting a shimmering green light, suddenly increased in brightness, its body rapidly contracting before emitting creaking sounds. A few seconds later, it exploded with a deafening roar. Only a small wisp of gray shadow remained, quickly darting back behind Kal'tsit.

Undestructible reconstruction is initiated. This is mon3tr's last resort. With this emergency measure, mon3tr can launch a self-destruct attack of considerable scale and power when it loses its combat capability and the enemy is off guard, while taking the opportunity to extract its core from the battlefield.

However, this also means that mon3tr will be unable to rejoin the battle for a short period. It needs time to reassemble its outer shell and regain its fighting power.

This is bad news for Kal'tsit. As a strategist, her own combat strength is not actually that strong. Although her physical attributes are not bad and she has a lot of combat experience, she is still too insignificant when facing the unconventional power of the steel dragon.

But Kal'tsit didn't panic. In fact, she became even calmer in this situation. Although Fiona's sudden attack had cost her a major fighting force in an instant, she hadn't come here to fight Fiona. Her fighting force was just a guarantee of safety. Without Mon3tr, Kal'tsit did lose the ability to counterattack immediately and ensure her own safety. But this wasn't the first time she had encountered such a situation in thousands of years.

Besides, panicking won't help.

“Fiona, whether you are Fiona or [Brother] now, I know you can see me. I won’t ask why you attacked me, but considering I withstood this blow, I think we can talk.”

To Kal'tsit's surprise once again, Fiona answered quickly, and without any of the expected aggressive tone. Instead, she answered like a frightened child, her voice slightly trembling with tears:

"I'm sorry, Ms. Kal'tsit, I didn't mean to... but I couldn't control it..."

The moment Fiona realized she had attacked Kal'tsit, she regretted it. She had simply been afraid of pursuers, so she had the thought of "stopping them," and the mechanical dragon had automatically launched its attack. The process was so fast that she hadn't even had time to react.

She never imagined that a casual thought of hers would almost send Kal'tsit crashing into the ground.

However, when she tried to control the mechanical dragon and make it retreat, she found that the dragon no longer obeyed her commands. She called out to her brothers, but there was no response. An eerie silence filled Fiona with intense tension until Kal'tsit emerged from the dust and spoke, finally bringing Fiona back to her senses.

"Lady Kal'tsit, where are you? I'm coming to find you..."

"No need, I'm already here."

Kal'tsit brushed the dust off her suit and, using her sense of direction, walked to Fiona's location. Despite being mentally prepared, Fiona's appearance still made her clench her teeth.

At this moment, Fiona was like a small nightlight in the darkness, radiating a pale golden light that illuminated a small patch of land in the pitch-black frontier. But Kal'tsit knew that this light was not a good thing; it meant that Fiona was fully utilizing her Originium Arts.

But was Fiona really casting a spell? At least subjectively, Kal'tsit didn't think she was doing so. But the presence of the steel dragon and the terrifying attack just now objectively proved it.

Then there is only one answer. Referring to the Consciousness Empire, the relationship between mental power and Originium Arts, Fiona is indeed not actively releasing Originium Arts. She is passively and unconsciously exerting all her efforts to support this mechanical dragon!

The Originium device on her brainstem should have been completely destroyed by the overload. The souls of her brothers are being released to serve as nourishment for the mechanical dragon. Once her brothers are completely consumed, it will be Fiona's turn. Until then, there are only two ways to save Fiona.

First, immediately implant a second Originium device, like installing a valve on a reservoir, to help Fiona control the release of Originium Arts. This is the most scientifically feasible method.

Second, we now invite Theresa to directly interfere with Fiona's mind through the Demon King's Originium Arts, severing the connection between the pieced-together Fiona and the mechanical dragon, and manually interrupting the release of Originium memories.

But neither of these methods is feasible.

Not to mention that Kal'tsit wasn't confident she could perform such a surgery she had never encountered before, even if she dared to try, there were no surgical tools or the necessary sterile environment here! Loken's water tank laboratory was finished; those qualified Originium devices had either been taken to the provisional government in the west by politicians or destroyed, and the manufacturing methods had been consigned to hell by Loken Williams. Performing brain surgery was even less likely in this dusty, backwater zone.

The second option... even if a special plane were sent to Victoria overnight to pick up Theresa, it would take until at least the afternoon of the following day to see the Demon King in the frontier area, dozens of miles from the airport. Given the current rate of soul dissipation, Fiona definitely wouldn't last that long.

Have all the strategies been exhausted?