Carol did not immediately grasp the meaning hidden in his words.
It took her several more minutes to gather her thoughts and understand what he had said.
After a long while, she drew a deep breath, stared into his eyes, and said with some displeasure:
"I don't find that joke particularly funny."
Yet Jonas showed no change in expression. He simply asked calmly:
"Do I look like I'm joking, Miss Carol?"
Carol remained silent for a long time. Only when the atmosphere grew tense did she speak:
"So, what exactly are you trying to tell me by saying all this...?"
Seeing Carol's expression, Jonas knew she had already been drawn into his verbal trap. He could not help marveling at how useful Beigong Ling's so-called Predecessor Civilization was. Whoever he mentioned it to needed a while to recover from the mental overload.
He said:
"I'm sure you've already seen the results of the Alt Conglomerate's recent research, Miss Carol... virtual reality. Before the Alt Conglomerate began developing it, research in this field had hit a bottleneck throughout District 25-or rather, throughout the entire Federation... Don't you find it strange that the Alt Conglomerate managed to develop this technology?"
"So you're trying to use that to prove you're the supposed heir to the Predecessor Civilization?"
Carol scoffed, seemingly mocking Jonas's wild fantasy.
In truth, the Alt Conglomerate had displayed anomalies in many areas. Whether in its handling of the Void Realm Church or virtual reality technology, it had shown a side that defied conventional explanation...
Just as Jonas had said, virtual reality was a technology that had hit a bottleneck throughout District 25, and even the entire Federation. What made the Alt Conglomerate capable of successfully developing it?
Still, asking her to believe an excuse like "heir to the Predecessor Civilization"