The group stepped into the tuning room.
Before everyone could approach further, they heard the voices of two tuners conversing.
"So, what do you say? Can you handle it?"
"Let me try again. The frequency of the Tacet Discord... This is truly a genius idea, but I can't reverse-engineer the frequency it utilizes."
"...It seems the key to the problem isn't these flowers, but the person who made them."
"She must be an extremely powerful Resonator, able to easily... scatter and reorganize these frequencies."
Lucian's gaze turned toward the center, where a blue phantom resembling an Echo was enveloped within.
And a Red Spider Lily emitting a faint glow was constantly rotating, as if continuously exerting its effect.
Scattering and reorganizing frequencies?
So that's the principle behind the Red Spider Lily.
No wonder those already dissipated Tacet Discords could be reaggregated and used by it.
"We'd better hurry and figure this out. Once their plan succeeds, we'll never get such a good research opportunity again."
At that moment, the surroundings suddenly lit up with red light, and a piercing alarm sounded.
The tuner was stunned, then somewhat panicked: "Who... who triggered the alarm!?"
Carlotta walked forward slowly with a cold expression: "Of course, it was me."
"Maybe, probably, it was accidental."
"Sorry for interrupting your work."
One tuner looked flustered, his eyes darting: "Miss... Miss Carlotta? It's you... Why are you here?"
Carlotta's gaze coldly swept over the two tuners: "Ah... Let me see."
"You've locked yourselves in the tuning room; what good stuff have you prepared..."
Approaching closer, Lucian then noticed that the Echo phantom in the very center was extremely similar to the heteromorphic armament of the vault guards.
In addition, there were many common Echoes around that could be seen at the Carnevale.
Rover, on the other hand, looked at the constantly rotating Red Spider Lily, then glanced sidelong at Phrolova: "It's those flowers."
"No doubt, from the hands of the Fractsidus."
Carlotta let out a cold hum, a flash of disappointment in her beautiful eyes, but this expression quickly vanished, replaced by indifference.
"Do you want to explain? You still have a chance now, oh?"
That tuner hugged his head with both hands, looking extremely regretful: "Miss Carlotta, we... were just following orders."
Carlotta remained expressionless: "Following orders?"
"Do you remember, when joining the family, the first 'oath' that everyone must swear?"
The tuner lowered his head, trembling as he said: "No one... shall harm or damage the overall interests of the family..."
Carlotta's voice was chilling: "The next line."
The other tuner lowered his head, cold sweat pouring, pupils trembling: "Violators shall... shall..."
The tuner hesitated to continue, and Carlotta's expression carried a cold resoluteness and killing intent; Lucian had never seen her like this before.
"Shall be subjected to liquidation."
"Privately using the family's assets, turning these Echoes that would be released into the Carnevale venue... into time bombs that could turn into Tacet Discords at any moment."
"Once this time bomb explodes, the Carnevale that countless people have meticulously prepared and spent countless amounts of money on will instantly turn to nothing, along with the reputation and fate of the Montelli family."
Carlotta laid out their actions and the consequences one by one, and the two tuners painfully hugged their heads and squatted on the ground:
"Second Miss, you... listen to our explanation..."
At this time, the vault guards, hearing the alarm, hurried over: "What happened here? Ah, Miss Carlotta..."
Carlotta nodded slightly: "You've come at the right time; I've found a few betrayers of the family."
"Wait a moment; I still have questions for them."
"I'll ask only once. Who... is behind you?"
Tuners' full name is Echo Frequency Tuners; these few are just staff members in the family.
Carlotta could be certain that behind them were family members of higher status and position directing them; otherwise, with these people's status and courage, they absolutely wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
Lucian smiled and waved his hand: "Hold on!"
Then, he redeemed an ultimate lie detector from the shop.
"Alright, you can speak now."
The tuner's expression was dejected: "I only know that he has a high position in the family..."
"He always communicates with us via encrypted lines, having us regularly pick up those flowers from some mysterious people wearing masks."
Carlotta said indifferently: "How many such Echoes have you made in total?"
"...A lot."
"As early as a week ago, we had already handed over the first batch of 'Echoes' to the venue."
"They look identical to ordinary Echoes at first glance."
"Even we might not be able to distinguish them."
Lucian glanced at the lie detector in his hand and saw that it didn't sound an alarm, and the small light bulb on it didn't light up.
Lucian nodded slightly: "They didn't lie."
"Good." Carlotta instructed the vault guards: "Take them away."
"Investigate all their recent financial transactions."
"Trace the source of every single Shell Credit."
"Then dispose of them according to the rules."
The vault guards respectfully said: "Understood."
Then, the two dejected tuners were escorted away by the guards and the Vitreum Dancers.
Rover glanced at the lie detector in Lucian's hand: "Is this thing really that magical?"
She pondered for a moment: "...Lucian is a pig."
"Beep—" The small light bulb on the lie detector lit up red, and it sounded an alarm.
Lucian: "?"
"Lucian is an idiot."
"Beep—"
"Lucian is not human."
"Beep—"
Lucian: "???"
"You're not using the pretext of testing the lie detector to curse me, are you?"
Rover ignored him and continued: "Lucian loves only me."
"Beep—"
Lucian: "..."
He gave an awkward laugh: "It seems this thing isn't very accurate after all..."
Rover pinched Lucian's ear and said hatefully: "Even the lie detector is this honest; can't you learn from the lie detector?"
Lucian: "..."
Me?
Learn honesty from the lie detector?
That sounds off somehow.
Carlotta approached with interest: "It's actually that powerful?"
"If the family had something like this, wouldn't we completely not fear getting wrong answers during interrogations?"
Lucian chuckled: "As long as the criminal doesn't speak, right?"
Carlotta was stunned, then laughed awkwardly: "That's true."
"But even so, this thing is still very useful..."
Carlotta thought for a moment: "Lucian, can we borrow this lie detector for research?"
"I can pay you a considerable reward."
Lucian's expression turned serious: "Miss Carlotta, if you're willing to let me marry into the Montelli family, I can directly gift the lie detector to you!"
Carlotta: "?"
Rover: "?"