Chapter 29
New Expo Hall, Central City.
This location had been deliberately chosen by Alex — an industrial district lecture hall with a massive, bowl-shaped inverted dome ceiling. Within a ten-kilometer radius, multiple temporary signal towers had been converted into electromagnetic pulse emitters. Combined with the sonic brainwave disruption device Alex had developed, they could release targeted sonic-brainwave interference across a ten-kilometer range. This would directly scramble Danton Black's brain, destroying his ability to control his duplicates. With luck, the duplicates would act like funnels, absorbing the electromagnetic-sonic microwave signals and exploding Danton Black's real brain.
During the days Alex spent researching, he discovered an interesting phenomenon in Danton Black's ability: all the duplicates shared the same brainwave frequency as the original. These brainwaves spread out, thinned, and formed a specific frequency that was extremely susceptible to external interference.
The more duplicates he created, the more easily they formed a funnel-like structure, ready to absorb the "feast" Alex had prepared for him.
If a psychic were to control Danton Black, they would need only a fraction of the effort required to control a normal person — enough to turn him into a loyal dog.
Alex felt a slight regret that he didn't possess psychic abilities. Otherwise, he could have gained a very useful subordinate capable of creating duplicates.
"I can do it. Let me handle it," the system volunteered eagerly.
"Get lost!" Alex's sharp rebuke instantly silenced the system.
The coolness of late autumn could not suppress the fiery atmosphere at the venue. Almost every reporter in Central City had gathered here. Whenever a car stopped at the New Expo Hall, a swarm of reporters would surge forward, surrounding the vehicle in hopes that a heavyweight figure would step out and provide explosive headlines.
However, the reporters were destined to be disappointed. Alex had intentionally prevented major heavyweight figures from attending. The U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary, the head of the S.T.A.R. Labs branch, Ferris Air, LexCorp, Wayne Enterprises, and other world-famous corporations and national representatives had all expressed enormous interest and willingness to invest in controlled nuclear fusion.
Alex had politely declined their presence, arranging secret meetings a few days later instead. He told them there was no need to attend the event and disrupt their schedules. Of course, many groups still wanted to show goodwill to Martin Stein and sent important executives, presidents, and managers from their Central City branches to support the occasion.
Things were gradually spiraling beyond Alex's original control.
After all, this was never meant to be a real fundraising event — it was merely a trap using the controlled nuclear fusion information to lure Multiple out under the guise of Martin Stein.
Who could have predicted that it would blow up internationally, attracting widespread attention from numerous countries and global media?
He had only intended to promote it through local Central City media…
Backstage.
In the mirror, Alex had already transformed into a middle-aged professor in his fifties. His white hair was combed back neatly. Several wrinkles adorned his forehead. His straight spine fit perfectly into a tailored black suit. He took a deep breath and sucked in his padded middle-aged belly. A clean butterfly tie sat neatly at his collar. He looked exactly like a knowledgeable, energetic man in his later years, full of vitality from his successful career.
Alex had perfectly embodied Martin Stein. He gave a slight smile to the mirror — spirited, with a healthy flush on his face, radiating the vigor of a middle-aged scholar. He picked up a pair of amber-framed reading glasses from the dressing table and put them on.
These glasses could display real-time footage from any camera, allowing Alex to monitor the entire venue at any moment.
He lightly pressed the communicator in his ear.
"Report positions and instrument status."
"Position 1 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 2 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 3 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 4 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 5 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 6 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 7 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 8 ready. Instrument ready."
"Position 9…"
"Position 10…"
"Position 11…"
"Position 12…"
"Monitoring room clear. All surveillance within fifteen kilometers normal. Body and facial recognition search in progress — no matches found."
"Good. Continue monitoring and stand by."
"Yes!"
"Alex, where are you? Are you sure Multiple will show up?"
"Not sure. Nothing in this world is 100% certain."
"Over 240 officers have been mobilized here because of you. If this fails… well, you can just go home."
"Idle chatter is not allowed on the operations channel!"
Alex cut off the worried speaker. The person talking to him was Bert, his adoptive father, who had been assigned to assist him.
Neither the police nor Bert knew that the Martin Stein appearing today was actually Alex. If they did, this kind of reckless plan would never have been allowed — at least not by the police.
Main Hall.
A red carpet covered the floor. The lights were dazzling. The host had already warmed up the crowd. As the last guests took their seats and the scheduled time arrived, after one final round of applause, Alex — backstage — was led onto the stage by the hostess. Accompanied by enthusiastic clapping, he began his formal speech.
...…
5 o'clock direction.
New Expo East Road, No. 5433 — Starbucks.
Danton Black, wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses, stepped into the Starbucks. He casually ordered a cappuccino, then carried it to a corner table. He placed his laptop down, opened it, connected to the internet, and tuned into the live broadcast of the Central City News. Martin Stein appeared on screen, confident and glowing, delivering his speech.
"The show has begun!"
Danton Black gently blew on the bear-shaped foam of his cappuccino, brought the cup to his lips, and took a small sip, sucking in some of the foam. He slowly exhaled a breath carrying the rich coffee aroma, then watched the screen with a playful smile on his lips.
...…
5 o'clock monitoring position.
The computer screen was filled with surveillance feeds from all nearby areas within several kilometers. The moment Danton Black entered the Starbucks, he was detected by hidden cameras. The recognition system compared his body shape and appearance and locked onto his location.
"Sir, Danton Black has appeared at No. 5433 New Expo East Road, inside the Starbucks."
"Do not take any action. Continue observation and cross-checking."
While delivering his speech, Alex — facing numerous cameras and the audience with constant camera flashes — sent a message to the monitoring team, instructing them not to move.
Until they confirmed whether it was the real body or a duplicate, any rash action would alert the target.
Danton Black's duplicates were not completely identical to the original.
The clothes worn by the real Danton Black were mimicked by the skin of his duplicates, but those clothes were essentially a form of skin camouflage — similar to human hair or nails.
In other words, strictly speaking, Danton Black's duplicates were naked.
From the previous chase in the Lower District, Alex had already noticed that the clothes on the duplicates did not move as freely as real fabric — they were somewhat stiff. This was one of Multiple's weaknesses.
...…
Outside the New Expo Hall, three heavy trucks drove up to the street in front of the venue. Inside the cargo compartments, identical Danton Blacks armed with various firearms poured out one after another. Their cold eyes locked onto the main entrance of the New Expo Hall.
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