Chapter 237

"A Sarkaz philosopher once said that thinking is the greatest pleasure of mankind. I never thought about the meaning behind that statement before, until one day... well, it's not a memorable experience. Amiya, you should understand the importance of thinking. If you can, I hope you will take this seriously."

Amiya paused for a moment, then began to extract the central idea from the statement. She knew that Kal'tsit sometimes spoke in a cryptic way, and it had taken her a long time to get used to it herself.

"I will try to think about it, Doctor Kal'tsit. But I have no experience in dealing with this kind of thing, and a wrong decision could have very serious consequences."

Very serious consequences?

Ha, forget it.

With Zhongli in charge, how far can the Beach Umbrella Company go, no matter how powerful it is?

If this pharmaceutical company can force Zhongli to take action, then they'll be quite capable. Anyway, Kal'tsit wouldn't mind seeing such a scene:

"Amiya, growing up is like an old black-and-white film, played frame by frame. A film isn't about right or wrong. There are only joyful moments, angry moments, sad moments, and regretful moments. Whatever the story, it's an indispensable part of the film. Haven't you always wanted to prove yourself to everyone? This is the perfect opportunity."

Your eyes... I know them well. When I was as young as you, I went through much worse. I was manipulated, used, and... well, never mind, you wouldn't want to know about those things.

Amiya, once you've chosen a path, the others cease to be paths and become detours. If you're still unsure which path to choose, perhaps you should temporarily set aside your choice and seek Zhongli's advice.

Some have weathered the scorching sun, others the harsh winds. They've walked through day and night, through bustling cities, through mountains, and through wilderness. At this moment, we can't be sure which path we choose will leave us without regrets. But if you ask those who have experienced it all, at least the answers you receive won't leave you with too much regret.

"..."

Amiya opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word. Her brain was racing, trying to extract the core meaning of this 'Kal'tsit language'.

The general idea is to let yourself make a choice with confidence. If you're really hesitant, then seek help from Zhongli?

"I understand, Doctor Kal'tsit. If you are unwilling to show yourself, I will take his advice into consideration."

Amiya and most of the Rhodes Island operator noticed that Doctor Kal'tsit seemed to be avoiding Zhongli.

Perhaps it was during the post-war debriefing meeting that the two sides had a falling out. Doctor Kal'tsit felt humiliated and had no desire to have any further contact with that man.

In fact, the Kal'tsit people are quite nice.

Although she often talks incessantly and uses obscure and difficult-to-understand language, Amiya could clearly sense that she was caring for others in her own unique way.

"Um."

Kal'tsit, regardless of whether Amiya understood what she was saying, closed the lab door herself.

Once Amiya returned to the This Ship's control center, most of the Operator representatives had arrived. The number of people attending today's meeting was almost the same as at the last post-war debriefing meeting.

She first had Operator photocopy the newspapers that Shi Lei and the others had brought back, and then distributed them to everyone present.

Once the Operator representatives had finished reviewing the information, Amiya called out Scavenger and other team members to the stage to explain the investigation process. Finally, Croissant from the Special Operations Team was invited to provide further details. It was crucial that everyone clearly understood the entire sequence of events.

To put it simply, it was an unexpected stroke of luck. They thought they'd found a place for human experimentation, but it turned out to be a shady workshop producing illegal drugs.

Now, the Beach Umbrella Company has turned the tables on them, seizing the Morality high ground and public opinion.

The hotel owner who leaked the whereabouts of the Scavenger team has disappeared. Shi Lei went there last night following the address, but the door was locked and no one answered.

"The purpose of today's meeting is to discuss how to resolve this issue. Everyone is welcome to speak freely and strive to come up with a solution that satisfies everyone."

Amiya looked around the scene with a serious expression, not at all like a child her age:

"The only evidence we have at the moment is the photos of the pharmaceutical workshop taken by the Special Operations Team. Beach Umbrella Company is one of the pharmaceutical giants in Trimon, with considerable connections and influence. Sending these photos to the local newspapers would likely result in them being rejected for publication."

An Operator raised their hand to express their opinion:

"They're slandering us so baselessly, and they can't explain themselves. Can't they just leave Trimon?"

Before Amiya could respond, the Operator Feline next to him stepped in to explain:

"No, we absolutely can't do that! We were in the right and still had a chance to turn the tables. If we just run away, wouldn't that be admitting to stealing the patented formula? What if they say our exclusive technology belongs to them? Will you hand it over or not?"

The other Operator echoed and agreed.

"That makes sense. Handing over the technology at that time would be returning it to its rightful owner, while refusing to hand it over would be an act of refusing to admit guilt. No matter what we do next, it will be wrong."

"Tsk, there's no way to run away, and publishing photos in the newspaper to explain won't work either, so what should we do?"

"Don't worry, it's precisely because this is a very tricky situation that Amiya has gathered everyone together to come up with a solution."

Running is definitely not an option.

The Beach Umbrella Company, by daring to publish its story openly in the newspaper, should have anticipated that Rhodes Island would follow suit.

There are many ways to deal with this if you just give advance notice to the major newspapers in Trimon.

For example, they could spend a large sum of money to bribe the editor-in-chief of a newspaper to delay the publication of the photos. Then they could take the negatives to other newspapers to print, claiming that they had just investigated a counterfeit medicine workshop.

In this way, the photos held by Rhodes Island would become counterfeit. Even if they were published normally afterward, the uninformed public would perceive it as photo theft. Rhodes Island's reputation in Trimon would be completely ruined.

The same principle applies to contacting television stations.

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. This is especially true for a large Pharmaceutical Companies like Beach Umbrella; their local connections and resources are certainly far greater than those on Rhodes Island.

If we simply wait for the situation to worsen, it will cause irreparable damage to Rhodes Island's reputation.

Amiya rejected all the Operator's suggestions. If she could come up with a solution, then dealing with the beach umbrellas would be even easier.

Now, I can't just run away, but staying to compete puts me at a disadvantage in various ways. I feel like I'm in a dilemma.

No matter how hard Amiya brainstormed, she couldn't find a suitable solution. She remembered Kal'tsit's suggestion and glanced at the man in the last row, engrossed in his book:

"Doctor Zhongli?"

Shi Lei was suddenly called upon and looked up.

"Um?"

Upon hearing the news, all the representatives of the Operator present turned their gazes toward it.

"Doctor Zhongli, do you have any suggestions regarding the Beach Umbrella Company's advertisement in the newspaper?"

Shi Lei inserted the bookmark into the book and asked:

"Are you sure you want to listen? I'm not giving you any serious advice."

Amiya nodded solemnly upon hearing this.

She had no other choice at the moment, so she really wanted to hear what Doctor Zhongli had to say.

"I'm sure."

Having received an affirmative answer, Shi Lei stood up. Wherever he went, eyes followed.

"Nothing in this world exists independently of others. It is always directly or indirectly connected with other people or things. For example, the incident of the beach umbrella blaming others can actually be linked to the investigation of human experiments mentioned earlier. As for solutions, I have three options: superior, medium, and inferior."

The best course of action is to leave immediately. Leave Trimon, or leave Columbia. Go to other regions and help those infected who also need assistance.

You don't need to worry about the influence a city newspaper can have. If it could influence the entire Terra, it wouldn't be a local newspaper.

The maximum scope is basically the entire territory of Columbia. If anyone asks, you can just provide evidence. Business continues as usual, and everything remains the same.

The middle strategy is to use their own methods against them.

They can hire someone to impersonate an employee of the beach umbrella company, then find a TV station lacking news to release a bombshell story. It's easy to spread rumors, but incredibly difficult to debunk them. As long as the Rhodes Island operator's identity isn't revealed, they can say whatever they want.

They'll then disappear again, and find someone to impersonate the whistleblower's relative. This person will then tearfully tell the camera that the whistleblower disappeared after being called away by their boss.

Anyway, they can get the TV station to censor it; they'll do whatever's sensational. People in any city love these kinds of conspiracy theories. Whether the Beach Umbrella Company explains or not, nobody will care what Rhodes Island did.

The worst strategy is to use one wolf to devour another.

It has already been discovered that the government has close ties with bases conducting illegal human experiments.

We should find a few media outlets, directly state that it was made from beach umbrellas, and provide concrete evidence. Let's pin the blame for human experimentation on them.

The advantage is that it can quickly defuse public opinion once the local government learns the truth. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, they will most likely make the Beach Umbrella Company take the blame. However, this will also create a rift with the government.

You will eventually have to make those human experiment data and information public. Once the evidence is exposed, it will still create a rift with the Trimon government.

"You're going to get into trouble sooner or later anyway. The specific strategy you choose is up to you."

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Shi Lei returned to the last row and posed the question to Amiya.

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301 Seeing Through the Fog 3K

After offering the options, Shi Lei returned to his seat and waited for Amiya to make her own decision.

In fact, besides the three strategies of superior, middle and inferior, he also had an alternative plan and a final plan.

Since the Beach Umbrella Company, relying on its status as a large local pharmaceutical company, is trying to manipulate public opinion and distort the truth, dragging Rhine Lab, another large pharmaceutical company in Trimon, into the mess is a targeted choice.

Once they discover that Rhodes Island is backed by Rhine Lab, they will need to consider whether they will face the same countermeasures before using any schemes.

Kristen, the current Director General of Rhine Lab, has, by a twist of fate, treated Shi Lei like a god. He'll likely help out of any predicament without Shi Lei even having to ask.

The final solution was simple and straightforward.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the problem of who created it. Before absolute power, any schemes and tricks will be rendered useless.

Shi Lei would personally visit the Beach Umbrella Company's decision-making level, wearing a mask.

If they're willing to back down, they should issue a public apology. If both sides compromise, Vast Sky. But if they're not pragmatic, then sorry to say...

They are clearly doing illegal things, yet they still incite public opinion to shift the blame, which is extremely egregious.

Shi Lei didn't mind being a great philanthropist and leaving all the management positions at the beach umbrella company vacant. This would provide opportunities for promotion for the lower and middle-level employees.

He's done this before—threaten a ruler. The Madam Sicily in Syracuse is the best example. Knowing he couldn't win, he became respectful.

Ultimately, if the other side resorts to thuggish tactics first, they cannot complain that we retaliate with even more thuggish methods.

Of course, he was exercising restraint. He wouldn't resort to the final solution until the situation became that serious.

After listening to Doctor Zhongli's three options—superior, middle, and inferior— the Operator representatives whispered among themselves, finding them feasible. They all turned their gaze to Amiya, eager to see her decision.

Leaving is definitely not an option.

This concerns Rhodes Island's reputation; they can't just run away and leave a bad name behind. After all, they'll need to come to Trimon frequently to purchase raw materials for Originium inhibitor.

Amiya is not yet ready to completely sever ties with the Columbia government. Her initial motivation for combating human experimentation was simply to save more victims.

"Then, the second one."

"Use their own methods against them."

Next, the group began to discuss suitable candidates to disguise themselves as beach umbrella employees and expose the incident on television.

Shi Lei kept his head down, reading silently, and didn't participate. He had already offered suggestions; there was no need to do everything himself.

Rhodes Island full of talented people, surely they can find someone like this?

Ultimately, the Operator representatives decided to send an Operator codenamed 'Yue Jian Ye'. They heard that he used to work in the service industry and had exceptional adaptability.

March 27, 8:30 pm

After getting off work, Saria rushed to visit Eve without even having time to change out of her Rhine Lab uniform.

Shortly after she entered the Structure Department, she saw Hemo and another female researcher walking towards her and began to explain:

"Sorry, I had something to do tonight and was a little late. How is Eve?"

Hemo bowed slightly, showing her great respect:

"Director Saria, we're just about to pick up Ifrit's Medical Record. Would you like to come along?"

"OK."

The three went to the department's archives and retrieved Ifrit's file. Researcher Joyce, however, for some unknown reason, suddenly fell asleep standing up.

Saria noticed something was amiss and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong with her? Didn't she sleep?"

Hemo grinned wryly and shook his head:

"No, Joyce sometimes falls asleep uncontrollably because of her health."

As she explained, she helped Joyce to the sofa. Seeing this, Saria offered to help.

Seeing Joyce fall asleep on the sofa, as if her brain had suddenly shut down, Saria seemed to realize something and frowned.

"The name Joyce sounds familiar. Is she the researcher whose brain was damaged in the experiment?"