I! Anomaly Cleansing Agent!

Although it’s still unclear what exactly is going on, the source of this anomaly is probably over 90% likely to be in the Royal Palace. As for why I can make such a judgment…

Let’s just say it’s fortunate that I’ve had the habit of studying diligently in both my past and present lives.

Squinting at the distant citizens who are currently being transformed, I roughly estimated a curved boundary. Leon then took out a charcoal pencil from the Mirror World, along with a map of the area near the palace obtained from the rebels, and drew a relatively accurate arc on the map.

According to the common knowledge about work that Emma Senior taught me, anomalies affecting large areas generally have two modes of effect.

Either all individuals meeting certain conditions are immediately affected, like my [Aspiration], or it spreads outward in a circular pattern from where the anomalous item holder is located.

Now, all the citizens near the palace have already turned into tin people, but those further away haven’t been fully affected yet, showing a clear “one after another” distinction. Therefore, we can conclude that the mode of effect for this anomalous item is the latter.

So, since we know the effective range of the anomalous item is a circle, and it’s continuously spreading outward from somewhere, the next step is a classic geometry problem.

Given an arc of a circle, how do you find the center of the circle?

The answer is to take points A and B on the arc, connect A and B, and draw a perpendicular line; then find point C, connect B and C, and draw a perpendicular line to BC. The intersection of these two perpendicular lines will be the approximate location of the center of the circle.

Holding the charcoal pencil, I scribbled twice on the map and looked at the two perpendicular lines intersecting at the palace. I then drew a big X on the palace, confirming the rough location of the “tin anomalous item.”

My initial guess was correct; that thing should indeed be in the palace.

Moreover, we can almost rule out parts such as the Glory Square, the Royal Gallery, the Memorial Hall, the Royal Stables, the Foreign Ministry Office Area, and other buildings in the front half of the palace complex, directly locking onto the sleeping quarters in the back half.

Based on the intelligence I gathered, the princess should be under house arrest in the sleeping quarters. We’d better hurry over there. Also… the coup d’état mustn’t stop!…

Looking at the X on the hand-drawn map, Leon stretched his hand which seemed normal but felt cold and hard when touched, and immediately decided to continue the operation.

Though I don’t know what the “tin anomalous item” does, I have the substitute death ability of the [Aspiration], so the possibility of danger isn’t too high.

Even considering my identity as the leader of the rebellion, if the [Aspiration] fails, I can declare war on the kingdom right there, activating the combat immortality effect of the [War Diagonal], adding another layer of immortality.

With double insurance from two layers of immortality, if I could still be eliminated by this suddenly appearing “tin anomalous item,” then I might as well accept my fate.

Besides, regardless of the possibly dangerous princess, opportunities for such a good coup aren’t always available.

If the Bureau Director hadn’t received Snow Maiden’s message and found out that the female journalist following Aquarius Director had possibly infiltrated Soulfall Black Abyss, rushing off to the Dream Realm to capture her, I really wouldn’t have been able to lead the rebels to storm the palace.

You see, there must be the Bureau Director’s hair in the palace.

Once the Bureau Director’s killing blood hair senses the approach of the anomalous item’s aura, with the Bureau Director’s speed, it would probably take less than half a minute to arrive at the palace.

Only when she goes to another world and cannot sense the aura here can I lead the anomalous item holders of the rebellion to raid the palace. Otherwise, it would really only be possible to pile up lives.

So, facing this God-given opportunity, no matter what the tin anomalous item is about, it’s worth taking a gamble!”Guest?”

Watching Leon, who had pulled Freckled Prince back into the carriage, the tin carriage driver’s mouth opened slightly, revealing a simple but somewhat eerie smile.

“Are you done with your business?”

“Hmm, yes.”

Nodding toward the tin carriage driver, Leon said:

“Keep going forward. Carriages aren’t allowed inside the palace, so after you take us through the square in front of the palace, stop at the registration office… Here’s the fare.”

“Alright!”

After receiving the silver wheel from Leon, the tin carriage driver’s smile became more sincere, and the carriage parked by the roadside started moving again with the shrill neighing of tin spurs.

Hmm… Now I understand why Joshua unexpectedly avoided my hammer strike last time.

Figuring out the reason, while Joshua stared in terror, Leon pulled the small silver hammer stuck in the seat and, with a concerned look, said:

“Aren’t you feeling dizzy? Do you want me to help you sleep?”

“…”

Seeing the small silver hammer in Leon’s hand, the Freckled Prince, who was already numb, shivered instinctively and wanted to get off the carriage and run, but thinking of the cold and eerie tin world outside, he couldn’t bring himself to move.

Although staying in the carriage might mean getting beaten, at least this guy in front of him still looks human. Plus, given his prince status, he should… perhaps… not very likely to kill him… right?

But those weird tin people outside, they might not care about his identity, so between the two options, staying in the carriage and getting beaten is safer.

“Could you put the hammer away?”

After doing some psychological preparation, looking at the shiny hammer in Leon’s hand, the Freckled Prince said mournfully:

“Couldn’t you just hit me with your hands like before?”

“…”

“As you wish.”

…

“Bang!”

Just as the Freckled Prince successfully negotiated for preferential treatment, at the rear position of the palace building group, in the serene-looking princess’s bedroom, harsh noises were constantly ringing out, making the lady-in-waiting guarding outside the princess’s bedroom pale.

“Clang!”

Judging from this sound, it seems the desk has been overturned by Her Highness!

“Clang!” “Crash!!”

This sound… She’s dismantling the bed, and it’s probably completely disassembled already!”Bang!” “Squeak———”

Finished, most likely the cabinet has been pulled down by Her Highness, scraping the carpet, and then dragged forcefully on the floor! What… What should we do? And while the lady-in-waiting outside was anxiously pacing around, wanting to go in but unable to, a series of angry footsteps came down the corridor.

“What’s going on!”

Listening to the harsh noises continuously coming from Princess Veronica’s bedroom, the Queen, who arrived after receiving the report, couldn’t help but scolded with a face full of anger: “Is this how you watch her? Just letting her make a fuss inside?”

“Your Majesty…”

Hearing the Queen’s reprimand, the two ladies-in-waiting quickly knelt down. One of them, plucking up courage, said: “The door has been locked by Her Highness from the inside, we… we don’t have the key, and we dare not enter, so…”

“Useless things!”

Glaring at the lady-in-waiting who answered, the Queen, with two parts madness, three parts arrogance, and five parts condescension, her demeanor identical to Joshua before he got beaten, angrily said: “Someone! Break down the door for me! I want to see what she’s doing in there!”