Chapter 230

Judging from his appearance, this leader of Rhodes Island is probably not yet an adult. He's like a small blade of grass growing strong under the shade of a big tree, unlikely to reach a higher stage.

Was she pushed to the forefront and placed in this position because she had a 'god' backing her?

"Sit."

Kristen lowered her eyes and spoke concisely. She gestured with her right hand for the other person to sit down.

The table was laden with a sumptuous spread of dishes, mostly Victoria and Syracuse cuisine. For dessert, there were small Gaul treats from a kingdom that had already fallen.

Columbia, a country less than a century old, doesn't have many culinary specialties to boast about. The high-calorie foods that ordinary people frequently eat, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries, are hardly considered high-class.

Amiya was a little reserved, as this was her first time attending this type of collaborative meeting alone. She took a deep breath and tried to project a composure beyond her years:

"Miss. Kristen, thank you for your hospitality. Let's get straight to the point. What is the main reason you've come to see me today?"

Kristen stared at the other person, her red lips moving slightly:

"I have reviewed Rhodes Island's information and am very interested in you. I would like to explore deeper cooperation with you."

Amiya couldn't have asked for more, but she suppressed her joy and responded politely in a calm tone:

"Great, Rhodes Island also hopes to increase communication and cooperation with your company."

Kristen wasn't surprised by her calm demeanor. She sat down, crossed her arms, and said:

"Rhodes Island has extensive experience in treating infected individuals, which is exactly what we lack. We can share medical technologies and make progress together in the future."

As one of the top medical research institutions in Trimon and even Columbia, Rhine Lab has countless research projects. No matter how you look at it, Rhodes Island seems to have gotten a huge advantage from Kristen's proposal.

This made Amiya vaguely aware that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Is Rhine Lab a company that serves the people, and does its cooperation with Rhodes Island mean it wants to benefit the public?

Before Amiya could respond, Kristen stared into her eyes and continued to offer his chips:

"In addition, I heard that you frequently purchase inhibitors and raw materials for their production. If you can guarantee the quantity of each purchase, Rhine Lab is willing to sell to you at a price lower than the market price."

This is great news for Rhodes Island. Amiya was very happy and grinned.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Seeing the other party's delighted reaction, Kristen was quite satisfied. After making a series of concessions, she finally got to the point, saying casually:

"Since it's a deep collaboration, simply sharing medical data and technology is far from enough. I'd like to send a department head and a group of Doctor to Rhodes Island for a short- to medium-term collaborative visit."

Unable to contact Doctor Kal'tsit, Amiya needed to make her own decision. After careful consideration, she felt there was no reason to refuse, and nodded in agreement:

"Okay, no problem."

Seeing that little Casters had agreed, Kristen finally revealed her true intentions:

"I will send the head of the Ecology Department, Muelsyse, with a group of Doctor to Rhodes Island. In exchange, you can send Doctor Zhongli over."

Etc?

Zhongli!

Amiya's pupils constricted upon hearing the code name; she immediately realized what was going on. So all that buildup from Miss Kristen was for Doctor Zhongli!

If Doctor Kal'tsit were making the decision, she might use tactical deception. She would neither deny nor explicitly state it, waiting until the deed was done before revealing anything, thus avoiding the collapse of the cooperation.

But Amiya didn't want to do that. She shook her head with a wry smile, thinking it was better to be honest.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that won't work."

Kristen remained calm, having anticipated this answer, and continued to patiently guide her:

"Why not? As a leader, can't you command your subordinates? Don't worry about benefits, that's all negotiable..."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

Amiya waved her hands repeatedly, afraid of deepening the misunderstanding:

"I am not in a superior-subordinate relationship with Doctor Zhongli, so I cannot order him to participate in the exchange."

"I know that."

How could a god be commanded by mortals?

"No, you don't know. Doctor Zhongli is not Operator of Rhodes Island. She just signed a three-month contract with us and will leave after it expires."

Kristen's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing this, a fleeting look of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

Since this little girl, Casters, can't make the decision, there's nothing more to talk about.

Just then, Amiya's phone rang. She was about to hang up, but when she took it out, she saw it was Miss Zilan's number.

Amiya sensed something important might be happening, so she got up and apologized to Kristen. She then quickly went outside to answer a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Amiya, we just raided an underground base conducting illegal human experiments. We rescued over sixty infected individuals and captured some scientists. What do you think we should do? Or should we wait until you get here?"

Normally, Doctor Kal'tsit makes the decisions in such situations. Amiya wouldn't decide a scientist's life or death on her own, and after a moment's hesitation, she replied:

"Miss Zilan, let the infected decide for themselves whether to return to Rhodes Island for treatment or leave. Also, please Doctor Zhongli keep an eye on those people for now. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done here."

Kristen, who spends most of her time in the quiet environment of a laboratory, is extremely sensitive to sound. Even from several meters away, she can still hear what is being said on the other end.

Once Amiya returned inside, she skipped the preamble and stated bluntly:

"Miss Amiya, I actually have something very important I'd like to consult with Doctor Zhongli about. I think I overheard you saying you were going to see him. Could you take me with you?"

Kristen learned from the Structure Department's video footage that Zhongli would also visit Ifrit. As long as she stayed there, she could still see her.

But having someone introduce you and strike up a conversation makes a big difference. A true master living in seclusion might not bother with ordinary people, so having someone introduce you is extremely important.

"This..."

Amiya hesitated for a moment and asked:

"May I ask what it is about?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot disclose this information. It would be best to consult Doctor Zhongli in person."

Kristen possessed an extraordinary obsession with the heavens. Even knowing that tearing apart the Star Pod could potentially cause annihilation of Terra Planet, she still wanted to personally visit the gods to resolve the doubts in her heart.

A deity who may have been born during the time of Nuwa creating humans is a walking witness to history.

No, He is history itself!

Those stories, shrouded in mythology, have effectively filled in the gaps in the history of this land.

For scientists who seek the Istina, who can resist such doubts?

Even though Kristen's research focuses on aerospace rather than history, she still hopes to gain more unknown knowledge from Zhongli.

Amiya couldn't make that decision. She held up her phone, shook it slightly, and gave an apologetic smile.

"Excuse me, let me make a phone call and ask."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

March 24, 0:11 pm

Trimont City, in the southern suburbs.

In fact, Lappland and other Messenger rescued nearly two hundred infected people from the base.

However, most of them were tortured beyond recognition or carried biological viruses. When they learned that they could decide their own life or death, many gave up on survival.

A father, grieving the loss of his beloved daughter, took up arms and slaughtered all the surrendered soldiers. Finally, clutching a jar containing his daughter's organs, he went alone into the depths of the storage room and ended his own life.

The guards knew that human experiments were being conducted there, yet they did not choose to resign. From that moment on, they became accomplices to this evil, deserving of their deaths.

The Special Operations Team couldn't extract any information about the mastermind from the scientists who wet their pants. They were simply hired to work here, hiding from their families that they were on a business trip and didn't know who was paying their salaries.

The Frostleaf Squad collected a great deal of evidence of human experimentation in the underground base. They gathered it all, intending to make a decision once Amiya arrived.

Shi Lei actually wanted to burn these documents. Behind each shocking piece of information lay data obtained through the lives and suffering of the victims. Exposing this data would undoubtedly cause unnecessary secondary harm to the victims.

Since the Frostleaf Squad wanted to keep the data, Shi Lei didn't say anything more. After all, the law doesn't uphold Morality, but rather order.

Expecting the Columbia government to prosecute those behind the scenes is unrealistic. Often, it's minor figures like scientists who end up taking the blame, while the real perpetrators go unpunished.

Seeing so many retired soldiers at the base, Shi Lei even suspected that the local government was the real culprit.

These things are hard to explain.

Not long after Zilan hung up, he received a call from Amiya. Upon learning that the Director General of Rhine Lab wanted to see him, Shi Lei was completely bewildered.

Who is Kristen?

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"Who is Kristen?"

Amiya's response came from the other end of the microphone:

"She is the Director General of Rhine Lab."

Shi Lei had no recollection of the name and asked somewhat uncertainly:

"What does this person want from me?"

"Miss Kristen is unwilling to talk about it and hopes to communicate with you in person. I'm currently on my way to the coordinates Miss Zilan sent. Should I take her with me?"

"It's best not to, Amiya."

Shi Lei glanced at the base, which was now in the clearing-out phase, and politely declined the meeting invitation:

"We came to Trimon this time to crack down on places that conduct human experiments. The fewer people who know about these things, the better; try not to involve them."

She needs to see me, so I'll have to wait a bit. I'll be visiting Eve at Rhine Lab Sciences tonight; we can meet in the Structure Department then. I'm not entirely sure of the exact time, but I estimate around 7 or 8 pm.

Upon hearing this, Amiya glanced at Kristen not far away and promptly ended the communication.

"Okay, Doctor Zhongli. I will relay the message to her truthfully. I won't bother you any longer. See you later."

During the call, the Special Operations Team and Frostleaf Squad were carrying out cleanup work inside the underground base.

In particular, surveillance footage of them needs to be destroyed promptly to avoid leaving backup videos.

You can't take chances with this kind of thing and just do a cursory check. If you get caught later, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Fortunately, Shi Lei didn't need to worry about this, as there were two professionals on site to provide guidance. Texas and Lappland had done a lot of family Scavenger work back in Syracuse and were quite skilled at it.

After the cleanup was completed, the group gathered on a hill 500 meters from the base. The Frostleaf Squad conducted another surprise interrogation of the captured scientists, but still failed to extract any information about the forces behind the operation.

But this matter won't just end there.

Shi Lei walked straight to Xi's side, nodded politely to her, and asked:

"May I ask, how far away can those little guys you summon be from you at most?"

Xi hadn't expected him to contact her. A little flustered, she tucked her hair behind her ear and stared down at her chest, saying:

"I haven't calculated the exact number of meters, but it can't be too far away, otherwise it's easy to lose control."

"Understood, Miss Nian. I need your help now."

Although Shi Lei was at the Archon Realm, he was unable to create a creature with a certain level of consciousness like she did.

He summoned Frostleaf, conjured several interlocking rock rings out of thin air, and explained to the two of them:

"Such a large base should regularly report its progress to those behind the scenes. If those people can't contact this place, they might send someone to check it out on-site."

Frostleaf, your squad can't leave yet. A few people need to stay and keep watch near the base.

When the inspection team arrives, Miss Nian can remotely control the little guys. She can then lock this positioning ring to the car chassis.

"This way, once the troops inspecting the site leave, they can lead us to the location of the forces behind it all."

Shi Lei admitted that there was an element of gambling involved.

I'm betting that the research data in this base is valued by the forces behind the scenes and won't be easily abandoned.

These human experimental data are not readily available data, so they should have some research value.