The gains from exploring the Moon Civilization ruins had not been as great as expected, but at least the main goal of buying time had been achieved.
The World Government had previously pretended to agree to a joint research effort, but not only had it chosen Holy Land Mary Geoise—a place even Mousse dared not set foot in—as the site for the research institute, the investment it promised had remained nothing but empty words.
Yes, the institute was being built, but the World Government had originally planned to move the Marine Science Unit's base to Holy Land Mary Geoise to tighten its control. Who could say which one was actually under construction?
Moreover, the reward the World Government had promised Totto Land and Mousse after the Flevance Kingdom had been saved still had not been paid!
What they were actually using was Totto Land's and Mousse's money!
Now that Mousse had dragged things out, the World Government could no longer keep up its deception. Especially after new "King's Fist" attacks emerged, Marine Headquarters demanded a further increase in military spending. With its finances growing ever tighter, the World Government had become determined to renege on its debt. After all, its earlier promise had only been verbal, with nothing in writing as proof.
The World Government might have been able to fool the public through propaganda, but it could not fool Vegapunk. When Mousse had spoken with the Five Elders, he had already considered the possibility that they would default and had deliberately brought along this half-mentor to listen in.
That said, even if Vegapunk still had reservations, Mousse had already found a way to make full use of his scientific talents through his previous cooperation with Germa 66.
The method was simple: break the project into smaller parts and give