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Chapter 491: Budding Entrepreneurship (2)

In the office of Corps Leader Thaal, after delivering the documents, Hal turned to leave but was stopped by Thaal.

Thaal, glancing over the documents, said, "To be honest, I'm surprised you forgave Owen. It seems you're a magnanimous person."

Hal paused and then said, "It's not that I forgave him. I just know that the headquarters needs manpower right now, and he often handles the bureaucratic work. Without him, we wouldn't be able to manage so much."

Thaal sighed, expressing some sentiment, "Since Sinestro's betrayal, they've been closely monitoring the headquarters. I've heard..."

Thaal lowered his voice and said, "They're intentionally forming a special constabulary unit. The members of this unit won't be Green Lanterns recognized by the Green Lantern ring, but rather, they'll be Green Lantern constructs they've created."

"You've seen Owen's situation before. That was an experiment they conducted. They've been trying various methods to extract Green Lantern energy, and the Green Lantern ring is just one of them."

"Will they succeed?" Hal asked.

"I don't know, but if they do, our situation won't be good." Thaal appeared somewhat concerned, and Hal could understand him. Anyone knows how terrifying a dedicated oversight constabulary can be.

Moreover, Green Lanterns are bound by certain regulations within the Green Lantern ring; they can't use lethal force. However, if the constabulary is created, it's uncertain whether they'll be restricted in the same way. But if they aren't, a terrifying purge might be on the horizon.

"I'm sorry, Hal, for involving you in this matter," Thaal said, averting his gaze to the report, but his thoughts were wandering far away.

"Earth is similar to my homeworld. It's very difficult for remote places like ours to enter space. Just when a standout appears, they're not born in the right era."

Hal walked back and stood opposite Thaal, saying, "Is that so? I don't think so."

"You don't understand the gravity of the situation, Hal. In reality, they pushed me into this position because I don't have a civilization backing me. If they put forth a Corps Leader from an advanced civilization and later try to replace him, they'll face resistance from the civilization behind him."

"But I... I'm just a bumpkin from a small place. After years at the headquarters, I've only managed to secure the position of Deputy Corps Leader's assistant. But when this position was handed to me, I knew what they were up to. Yet, despite that, I had to embark on this path, even if it might lead to a dead end."

Hal fell silent. He looked at Thaal's face; Thaal's appearance closely resembled Humanity's, making it easier for him to understand the emotions conveyed through Thaal's expression.

But Hal didn't say anything. He wanted to turn and leave the room. Just as he pushed open the door, Thaal uttered a puzzled sound, "Hmm?"

"Wait! Hal, come back!" Thaal called Hal back, frowning, and looked at the report, saying, "I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the financial report regarding Earth's aftermath..."

"Oh, really? But this part wasn't done by me." Hal revealed a slightly embarrassed expression. Thaal glanced at him and said, "If there's something, just say it. No need to beat around the bush."

Hal sighed and said, "Actually, I was doing this part of the work, but Owen said I'm from Earth. If I handled it myself, I would definitely be biased, so he took over this task."

Thaal furrowed his brows, seemingly a bit dissatisfied with Owen's approach, but he couldn't find any fault. Indeed, Green Lantern Corps had such regulations; it's necessary to avoid bias when dealing with one's own sector.

Thaal tapped the table and said, "Go find Owen. I can't quite understand the report he submitted."

After a while, Hal brought Owen over. Owen's face was impatient, his expression as gloomy as the bottom of a pot. Thaal didn't mind and asked, "Regarding the increased budget for energy usage in Gotham's aftermath work that you mentioned in the report, what's the situation? Isn't the existing budget sufficient?"

"Don't even mention it!"

Owen scoffed, saying, "It was that Schiller Rodriguez who wasted half the energy before. He's the one responsible for this mess."

"Do you think he managed to survive in Gotham for so long all by himself? On his own merits? Impossible! Do you believe that everyone is some kind of greatest Green Lantern?" Owen's tone was dripping with sarcasm, but Thaal still patiently inquired, "So, what did he do? And how does it relate to the budget?"

"He made empty promises and wrote big checks. He hired quite a few mercenaries, including the famous Constantine from the Spirit World."

"Spirit World? I'm not quite familiar with that. What happened with him?"

"You don't need to understand. Just know that he's a meddlesome person, an ultimate opportunist. If we don't pay, he will surely create trouble all the way to headquarters. Moreover, this guy is very mystical. Those who oppose him, as well as his teammates, will meet gruesome ends."

Owen took a deep breath and reluctantly said, "Unless we get rid of him, we're going to be sickened."

"But that's also unavoidable. If it were you, enduring in Gotham for so long, could you do it without external help?" Hal retorted loudly.

"That's not a reason to promise him a huge sum of money! Do you know how tight our energy resources are right now? Charging times for more than a hundred sectors' power batteries have been postponed!" Owen also shouted loudly.

Seeing that the two were about to argue, Thaal hurried to mediate. He said, "Alright, that's somewhat understandable, but Gotham demands compensation. This..."

"These damn surface-dwellers somehow found a way to communicate with space. They said that if we don't compensate them, they'll make a fuss about it..."

Owen rubbed his forehead with his finger and said, "Our reputation has already taken a massive hit. If another disturbance arises from this matter, Green Lantern Corps' prestige will be severely shaken."

"Of course, they're proposing those terms with absurdly high demands. I won't pay them the full amount." Owen crossed his arms and said, "At most, give them one percent. After all, they're just a bunch of ignorant surface-dwellers. A little money will appease them..."

"Each item may be small, but the sum is quite substantial." Thaal said worriedly, but in the end, he still signed off on it.

After Owen left, Hal didn't leave. He sat down across from Thaal and asked, "If the situation really deteriorates to the worst, what do you plan to do?"

Thaal shook his head and said, "If I had a solution, they wouldn't have chosen me."

Hal took a deep breath, and Thaal noticed he had something to say. Thaal contemplated and said, "Are you finding it difficult to bring up what you want to say?"

"No, I just want to know if there are surveillance devices left by them here?"

Thaal raised his eyes, locking onto Hal's gaze. But Hal looked back with a determined expression, showing no sign of guilt. Finally, Thaal said, "Rest assured, the previous Corps Leader, Sinestro, was quite paranoid. They were even suspicious of him. So, there certainly aren't any surveillance devices in this office."

"Don't you want to save yourself?" Hal asked, "Do you plan to wait until they create the constabulary, have it over your head, and possibly even kill you?"

Thaal fell silent. He said, "It's not that I don't want to, but that I can't, Hal. Not everyone has talents like yours, where they receive recognition from an Ion Shark right after getting the Green Lantern ring."

"But I have a way. Would you like to hear it?"

Thaal put down the report in his hand, looked at Hal, and a hint of hesitation appeared between his brows. He sensed that what Hal was about to say might be astonishing.

But then, he heard Hal say, "Not just for yourself, but for your civilization, your homeland, and places like yours and mine..."

"Go ahead, whatever you say won't leave this room, no matter what it is."

Hal pointed at the report and said, "You've seen what's written in this report. Owen and I each take one-fifth of all the energy consumption reported here."

Thaal slowly widened his eyes, a hint of anger creeping onto his face. But it quickly froze, and he said, "You two..."

"It's just as you're thinking. But we're only acting in self-defense. We have to accumulate strength for the possible purge that might come next, or we'll be sitting ducks."

"Thaal, they were the ones who betrayed us first."

As the words fell, Hal noticed Thaal's Adam's apple trembling as he continued, "And now, this plan is only one step away from completion. With just Owen and me, we can only handle small fights."

"And those energy reserves..." Hal extended his arm, pointing to the adjacent room, and said, "They're stored in there. After those damn constables kill us, they'll take them away. Do you plan to wait here?"

Thaal's lips quivered slightly. He said, "But I am the Corps Leader. I can't..."

Hal placed his hand on the desktop and said, "I don't believe you don't know. The Green Lantern Corps controlled by them doesn't represent anyone's justice at all. We're just the guns in their hands, and the green energy is the bullets."

Thaal fell silent. He took a deep breath and felt his chest tremble. Hal's words were like a devil's whisper. He had to acknowledge it. Faced with this temptation, he wavered, because he was acutely aware of how powerful the Green Lantern energy was.

"But we can't abuse this energy. You should know that without the ring's certification, you can't use this energy. Even if you can extract it, ordinary people can't use it."

"What if I have a method?"

Thaal felt his heart start to race. He said with a slightly dry throat, "Are you saying you have a way to make the Green Lantern energy usable by surface-dwellers? To become... a kind of energy source?"

"A universal energy source," Hal added.

Thaal's hands started to shake. He said, "Are you sure?"

Hal nodded, and Thaal began to be silent. He remained silent for a long time, about ten minutes. He didn't say a word. He seemed to be lost in memories. From his eye contact, Hal could see that he was thinking about his homeland.

Hal didn't feel surprised. Even though he didn't have a high education, he knew that if humanity could utilize Green Lantern energy as an energy source, even if not permanently, just to obtain some for experimentation and manufacturing certain devices limited by energy, it would be a quantum leap for civilization.

After a long wait, he finally heard Thaal say:

"...What do you plan to do?"

"Do you remember Schiller Rodriguez, who was stationed in Gotham before?"

"Uh... I do, but didn't you say he was injured in the skirmish and is recovering at his homeland?"

"Yes, but he's healed now. I've recommended him as the Deputy Officer of Internal Affairs for the Green Lantern Corps, in charge of finances."

Thaal hesitated a bit and said, "Are you saying he can..."

Hal nodded vigorously and said, "He's really capable."

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