Chapter 280: Becoming the Focus
"That depends on what kind of information you want," Axel said.
They stood at a quiet street corner.
In a town painted entirely in pristine white, even a single unusual figure stood out sharply. Ivankov's appearance was especially conspicuous in a place where beauty, refinement, and constant smiles were treated as law.
Yet no one approached them.
Some residents clearly noticed the pair, but they simply looked away and pretended they had seen nothing.
Ivankov noticed that as well.
Before coming here, he had already investigated Prato Town and its customs. That was precisely why the behavior of the residents felt so strange.
The unsettling silence, combined with Axel's inexplicable knowledge of the Revolutionary Army, made the situation increasingly difficult to read.
Ivankov disliked the feeling.
It was as though invisible strings were wrapped around his body, guiding him wherever someone else wished.
Suppressing that irritation, he asked, "Obviously, I want to know how you learned about the Revolutionary Army and how you cracked our code!"
Those were the two most important questions.
Regardless of the secrets Axel had already revealed, the answers would determine how the Revolutionary Army acted in the future.
If their operations and communications were already known to an enemy before they even began, the consequences could be disastrous.
"Since you came to meet me personally, consider this information a greeting gift."
Axel's expression remained flat.
"The knowledge came from my memories."
"Your memories?"
Ivankov studied him carefully.
"Then where did those memories come from?"
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that."
Ivankov frowned.
Axel's answer was almost meaningless. It did nothing to resolve the danger surrounding the Revolutionary Army.
However, one word caught his attention.
Gift.
A gift could be given to an enemy, but it was far more commonly exchanged between friends.
Was Axel trying to express goodwill?
Ivankov asked, "Then what exactly do you want?"
His gaze sharpened.
"And more importantly, who told you to do all this?"
He refused to believe that a cipher beyond the World Government's intelligence network had been broken by a child.
Someone had to be standing behind Axel.
The only question was whether that person was a friend or an enemy.
"If I told you I arranged everything myself, would you believe me?"
"That isn't a very funny joke, girl."
Axel responded by reciting a sequence of coded phrases.
He rearranged the symbols and combinations without hesitation, then translated them into a simple sentence.
"Let's talk."
Ivankov froze.
Only then did the possibility he had dismissed as absurd become real.
The Revolutionary Army's cipher had truly been cracked.
And the person who had done it was a child.
If Axel had merely used the current code correctly, Ivankov could still have assumed someone had taught him.
But their encryption method had been changed only recently. It was not something one could learn in a short period.
More importantly, Axel did not stop at the current version.
He fluently reconstructed several previous arrangements and demonstrated how each had evolved.
Ivankov could no longer deny the truth.
A security barrier that even the World Government, with all its specialized intelligence agencies, had failed to overcome had been dismantled with ease by the child standing before him.
"How did you do that?"
Ivankov stared at him.
"Even the World Government couldn't..."
Axel showed no pride at his astonishment.
"If you had to choose between ten thousand scientists and Vegapunk, which would you take?"
The answer was obvious.
Vegapunk.
Through his efforts alone, he had achieved things that countless scientists across the world could not.
His individual value exceeded that of ten thousand ordinary researchers.
Axel's meaning was equally clear.
His mind surpassed the combined capabilities of the World Government's intelligence organizations.
It was an extraordinary claim.
Yet the calm certainty with which he spoke made Ivankov believe it.
"Even if you really did crack the code, you still haven't told me what you want."
"I need you to do me a favor," Axel said.
"A favor?"
Ivankov's expression became serious.
"If it harms the Revolutionary Army or ordinary people, we will refuse."
That was one of the Revolutionary Army's core principles.
They had gathered for freedom and their shared ideals.
If they abandoned those principles, they would no longer deserve to call themselves revolutionaries.
Axel shook his head.
Instead of stating his request immediately, he said, "The Revolutionary Army should already have reliable information about the World Conference."
"This time, you will be one of its primary subjects."
"You are about to face opposition from the entire world."
"We've been prepared for that for a long time," Ivankov replied.
"The moment we chose this path, such a confrontation became inevitable."
"It has merely arrived earlier than expected."
"Prepared?"
Axel looked at him.
"Don't lie."
His voice remained calm, but the words struck directly at the truth.
"The Revolutionary Army is not prepared."
"With your current strength, you cannot contend with the World Government directly."
"If you could, you would not have abandoned your secrecy to investigate this conference."
"The fact that you came here already proves your lack of preparation."
Ivankov fell silent.
His expression darkened.
Axel was right.
In terms of direct military strength, the Revolutionary Army was nowhere near capable of overthrowing the World Government.
The information surrounding the World Conference might even be bait deliberately released by the World Government.
But it was bait they could not ignore.
The unknown was always the greatest danger.
If the conference openly intended to target the Revolutionary Army, they had to investigate.
They needed to know which nations supported the proposal, which remained neutral, and which might resist it.
Without that information, they could not plan their next move.
Even if obtaining it required sacrifice, the Revolutionary Army would still act.
Revolution had never existed without sacrifice.
Then Axel offered his bait.
"What if I told you I had a way for you to infiltrate the Holy Land Mary Geoise?"
Ivankov's eyes widened.
"And what if I could give you an opportunity to obtain the information you want?"
"What is your purpose?!"
This was already the third time Ivankov had asked.
This time, there was no teasing in his voice.
He did not even wait for Axel to finish speaking.
The offer was too important.
Not only to Ivankov, but to the entire Revolutionary Army.
He needed to understand Axel's motive before he could judge whether the proposal was trustworthy.
"My purpose?"
Axel paused.
"To become the focus."
"The focus?"
Ivankov frowned.
"The focus of what?"
Axel remained silent for a moment before answering.
"To be more precise, I want to find myself again."
His voice was as flat as ever.
Yet for some reason, a trace of emptiness lingered beneath the words.
Ivankov found himself believing him.
Even so, he could not gamble with the lives of his comrades.
"I understand."
His expression remained guarded.
"Tell me your plan first."
.....
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