After docking, they quickly sensed the abnormal atmosphere of the Germa Kingdom. The port inspections were much stricter than expected, with every entrant undergoing multiple identity verifications and biometric scans. Even more unsettling was that the personnel conducting the checks were not ordinary soldiers, but the world-renowned Germa modified soldiers—their gazes mechanical and cold, their movements too precise to be human.
"I noticed a detail," a perceptive member of the Revolutionary Army whispered to Kuma after passing through the checkpoint, "those modified soldiers have newly added patterns on their arms, looking like some kind of energy circuits. Previous intelligence didn't mention this."
Kuma nodded imperceptibly and continued forward. As they penetrated deeper into the kingdom, more anomalies began to show: the number of patrolling modified soldiers on the streets was unusually high; ordinary residents were restricted to specific areas; and the core region of the kingdom, which housed the main research facilities of the Vinsmoke Family, was completely off-limits to civilians.
More disturbingly, Kuma sharply noticed that some residents had a faint purple glow flashing in their eyes, bearing an extreme resemblance to the symptoms of the residents on the void-polluted island Aisha had described.
"It seems the influence of the void has already begun to spread here," Kuma said inside the team's secret rendezvous point—a secluded hotel room, "but strangely, the pollution seems to be contained within a certain range and hasn't continued to spread."
"This matches what our contact described," the intelligence officer replied, "he mentioned that the Vinsmoke Family is conducting some kind of energy control experiment. However, he doesn't know the specific details and is only responsible for collecting data."
"When can he see us?" Kuma asked.
"Tonight at midnight, in the laboratory area on the west side of the kingdom. He is an assistant there