"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."
Fred shook his head at Alec.
He truly hadn't seen a dead person before, but his mental fortitude had long been tempered to be exceptionally strong.
Whether a headshot victim could genuinely affect him was something he was quite curious to find out.
"Alright..."
Seeing Fred speak so resolutely, Alec didn't continue to obstruct him. With a slight bow, he stepped aside to clear the path.
Without further delay, Fred quickly forced open the blood-soaked cockpit before him.
As the pressure door opened, the blood inside was instantly released.
Like a grotesquely blooming flower, it appeared both terrifying and eerie in the warehouse occupied only by the two of them.
Having prepared in advance, the blood didn't splatter onto Fred, who had taken cover to the side.
After only a brief moment of adjustment, as the young man's gaze penetrated deeper, the horrifying scene inside came into view.
A person with a contorted face floated like seaweed. If not for the seatbelt, they would likely have been swept away by the earlier airflow.
"I'll access the internal database. Alec, you check the external traces and the engine's internal serial number."
Ignoring the corpse, Fred spoke calmly.
"Got it."
Seeing Fred remain completely unfazed, Alec realized he had underestimated him and quickly nodded in agreement.
"On it."
For a while, the two in the warehouse busied themselves with their respective tasks, neither speaking.
It wasn't until over an hour later that the warehouse door opened once more.
"Brother Fred, have you found any clues?"
Lacus's voice sounded somewhat abrupt in the empty warehouse.
"Not yet. I only found out this Work Pod belongs to Junius City's Sector Three. The specifics of why its theft wasn't reported, among other things, remain unclear."
Fred looked up from the computer toward her, then shifted his gaze to Siegel, who stood silently behind Lacus.
His expression didn't seem surprised; in fact, he appeared quite composed.
"Mr. Siegel, hello."
"Hmm."
Siegel nodded in acknowledgment and then asked, "Aren't you surprised to see us here?"
"I was at first, but upon further thought, I realized it when Junius One District responded faster than I had calculated."
The difference between Alec's words and Siegel's orders was significant.
Their swift deployment was likely due to Siegel's involvement.
Thinking it through this way led to the conclusion that Siegel must have been here all along.
"Impressive as always."
Siegel remarked with admiration before continuing, "Mind having a chat?"
As he spoke, his gaze fixed on Alec.
"Alec, please step out for now."
Fred cooperatively suggested.
"Understood."
Alec didn't object. After all, the person before him was the Chairman of the entire PLANT.
If Siegel intended harm toward Fred, he would have acted long ago.
Moreover, whatever the two discussed was likely a secret between Fred and the Clyne Faction.
So, should he report this to his superiors...
"Aren't you afraid he might say something to Patrick?"
Siegel asked curiously, watching the door automatically close behind Alec as he left.
"He's someone who fights for PLANT."
In other words, Alec was not absolutely loyal to Patrick.
But he wasn't on his side either.
It had to be said that Fred seemed more capable of reading minds than his own daughter.
If he hadn't known that Fred wasn't involved in his wife's project, he might have truly believed he was dealing with a Newtype of the same kind.
Thinking this, Siegel didn't waste any more time and immediately continued.
"Then I'll get straight to the point."
"We found the person you mentioned, named Creuset. He hasn't gone to the Gene Screening Institute yet."
As he spoke, Siegel took a tablet from his briefcase and placed it in front of Fred.
It contained a lot of information, some of which Lacus had already shown him.
The rest, however, was something he had already guessed.
"It's him."
After quickly skimming through the documents, Fred nodded.
"Do you have any follow-up plans?"
Siegel asked.
"Yes."
Upon hearing this, Fred repeated the plan he had previously discussed with Lacus, though this time, he provided Siegel with a more detailed version.
"Are you sure he'll leave? And that he'll appear at Dr. Hibiki's former research institute in Mendel at the exact time you planned? Is Mendel that easy to enter?"
Siegel's eyes grew even more curious as he asked.
Fred's plan, unlike his previous cautious approach, seemed full of uncertainties in his eyes.
It felt somewhat lacking in finesse.
"He'll find a way to get in."
"As for the timing, it's not difficult."
"If he intends to infiltrate, the best time would be when the researchers and security personnel at the institute take shelter in the bunkers due to news of a terrorist attack."
"He'll seize that unique opportunity to enter."
If Creuset still wanted the data, he would definitely go there.
Based on his memories of the events, Creuset was certainly not entering for the first time.
Moreover, Durandal should still be working at Mendel at this time.
It wouldn't be impossible for Creuset to get in.
Not to mention, he also had that information broker.
If he could infiltrate a Union base, entering Mendel wouldn't be a big deal.
"Of course, it's not a hundred percent certain."
It couldn't be ruled out that Creuset had already been there and obtained the data. In that case, he naturally wouldn't go again.
Although he had checked Mendel's recent records, there had been no reports of data theft or terrorist attacks requiring evacuation since the Yamato couple's death.
Given this, it was highly likely that Creuset hadn't found an opportunity to go yet.
However, the possibility still existed.
"So, spreading the news is just the first step of the plan."
"If it fails to attract attention, our losses won't be significant."
Fred said frankly.
His plan couldn't be foolproof; he needed more information about Creuset.
Now that he had the help of the Clyne Faction, obtaining more intelligence on him would be much easier.
As long as they remained steady and didn't alert him prematurely,
there were still several years left, and it was even earlier before Creuset would enlist in the military.
With Fred operating in the shadows, even if this plan failed, it would only be a matter of time before another plan exposed Creuset's true intentions.
Moreover, by using this move, he could also gauge how much Creuset currently understood about his origins, thereby inferring whether Creuset had already begun his plan to destroy the world.
There were still two years before Mendel would truly be attacked.
If the plan to lure Creuset there failed, there would still be an opportunity to go to Mendel.
"Hmm..."