The Show Is About to Begin!

New Expo Hall in Central City.

Alex had deliberately chosen this location: a lecture hall in an industrial district, a massive dome resembling an inverted bowl. Within a ten-kilometer radius, multiple signal towers had been temporarily modified into electromagnetic pulse emitters. These, combined with the sonar brainwave disruption Alex was researching, would create a ten-kilometer range of targeted sonar brainwave disruption. This equipment could directly destabilize Danton Black's brain and destroy his clones. If luck was on Alex's side, Danton Black's clones would act like funnels, absorbing these electromagnetic sonar microwave signals and causing his main head to explode.

During Alex's several days of research, he discovered an interesting phenomenon with Danton Black's abilities: the numerous clones he created shared his brainwave patterns. Furthermore, these brainwaves diffused and spread his own brainwaves, making them weaker and susceptible to specific frequencies, thus easily susceptible to interference.

The more clones he created, the more like funnels they became, ready to receive the feast Alex had prepared for him.

If a psychic were to control Danton Black, it would require only a fraction of the effort needed to control an ordinary person, making him as easy to control as a dog.

Alex lamented that he himself was not a psychic, otherwise, he could have gained a powerful subordinate with cloning abilities.

"I can do it, let me," the System eagerly offered.

"Get lost!" Alex's sharp retort silenced the System.

The late autumn chill could not mask the fiery atmosphere of the event. Reporters from nearly all of Central City had gathered. As soon as a car stopped at the New Expo Hall, reporters swarmed it like bees, surrounding the vehicle, eager for a heavyweight figure to emerge for a sensational report.

However, the reporters were destined for disappointment. Alex had intentionally avoided inviting any heavyweight figures. Entities such as the U.S. Secretary of Energy, the head of STAR Labs' branch, Ferris Air, LexCorp, Wayne Enterprises, and other world-renowned corporations and nations, all of whom had expressed immense interest and investment in controlled nuclear fusion.

Alex had politely declined all of them, scheduling separate, private discussions for a later date, stating he did not want them to come to the event and disrupt his plans. Of course, many corporations still wishing to curry favor with Martin Stein sent their Central City presidents, managers, and other important personnel to show their support for him.

Things were gradually slipping further out of Alex's control.

After all, this was not a genuine fundraising opportunity. He was merely using the information about controlled nuclear fusion to impersonate Martin Stein and lure out The Multiplicity.

Who could have imagined it would escalate to an international level, attracting widespread attention from numerous countries and global media coverage?

He had originally only intended for publicity within Central City's media...

Backstage.

In the mirror, Alex had transformed into a professor in his fifties. His white hair was slicked back, and his forehead bore several wrinkles. His straight spine was accentuated by a form-fitting black suit. He took a deep breath, tucking in his middle-aged belly. A neat bow tie was fastened around his neck, presenting him as a learned, vibrant man in his fifties, invigorated by his career.

Alex perfectly embodied Martin Stein. He smiled faintly at his reflection, looking energetic and rosy-cheeked, exuding the vigor of an older man in his prime. He picked up a pair of amber-rimmed reading glasses from the dressing table and put them on.

These reading glasses could display real-time feeds from any camera, allowing Alex to monitor the entire venue at all times.

He lightly tapped the communicator in his ear.

"Report location, instruments."

"Position 1 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 2 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 3 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 4 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 5 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 6 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 7 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 8 ready, instruments ready."

"Position 9..."

"10..."

"11..."

"12..."

"No issues with the monitoring room. All surveillance within fifteen kilometers is normal. Subject tracking and facial recognition searches are ongoing, with no matches found."

"Good, continue monitoring and stand by."

"Yes!"

"Alex, where are you? Are you sure The Multiplicity will show up?"

"I'm not sure. Nothing in this world is a hundred percent certain."

"You've mobilized over 240 police officers here. If this doesn't succeed, well, you can go home."

"Idle chatter is not allowed on the combat channel!"

Alex cut off the worried words of the speaker. The person speaking to him was Bert, his adoptive father, who had been seconded to assist Alex.

Neither the police nor Bert knew that the Martin Stein present was actually Alex. If they had known, this situation would not have occurred; at the very least, the police would not have allowed Alex to run such a wild operation.

In the main hall, a red carpet was laid out, and the lights were dazzling. The host had already finished warming up the crowd. As the last guests took their seats, the scheduled time arrived. After a final round of applause, Alex, backstage, was led to the stage by an usherette. Accompanied by thunderous applause, he began his official speech.

Position 5.

Starbucks, 5433 New Expo East Avenue.

Danton Black, dressed in a black trench coat and sunglasses, entered the Starbucks. He calmly ordered a cappuccino, then took his drink to a corner. He placed his laptop on the table, opened it, booted it up, and connected to the internet. He then opened the live broadcast of Central City News, where Martin Stein was confidently and radiantly speaking on television, his face flushed with excitement.

"The show is about to begin!"

Danton Black gently blew on the small bear-shaped foam on his cappuccino. He brought his lips to the cup, took a sip, and inhaled a bit of the foam. He slowly exhaled a breath carrying the aroma of coffee, then looked at the screen with a smirk.

5 AM surveillance position.

The computer screen was completely filled with surveillance feeds from all nearby kilometers. From the moment Danton Black entered Starbucks, he had been monitored by hidden cameras. The retrieval system had located him by comparing his build and appearance.

"Sir, Danton Black is at Starbucks, 5433 Xinbo Gongdong Road."

"Don't act rashly. Continue observing and comparing."

Alex, who was giving a speech, faced numerous cameras and audience members. Amidst the constant flashing of lights, he sent a message to the officers at the surveillance position, telling them not to act rashly.

Until it was certain they weren't clones, any rash action would alert the target.

Danton Black and his clones weren't exactly identical.

The clothes Danton Black's main body wore would also be mimicked by the clone's skin-mimicking ability, forming clothes. However, the clone's clothes were a form of skin mimicry, similar to human hair and nails.

In other words, strictly speaking, Danton Black's clones were naked.

From the pursuit battle in the lower city earlier, Alex had already discovered that the clothes on Danton Black's clones didn't move as freely as fabric, being rather stiff. This could be considered a weakness of The Multiplicity.

Outside the Xinbo Gongguan, three heavy trucks drove sequentially onto the street in front of its entrance. From the truck beds, identical Danton Blacks emerged one after another, holding various firearms, their cold gazes fixed on the Xinbo Gongguan's main doors.