A Time to Clear Your Head (Physically) / Clashing Ideals (A Fight Between Beautiful Women)

"It's worth a try. I haven't seen such a powerful flame in a long time." Upon hearing this, Sakura did not give a definite answer.

After hearing Sakura's answer, Saria nodded, then said to the other members of the Security Department, "Stop putting out the fire. You may all step back."

After receiving Saria's order, the Security Department members who were holding shields and trying to put out the fire retreated in an orderly manner, pulling the defensive line back considerably.

"Give it a try..."

As she spoke, Saria gazed at the scorching black flames that obscured her vision, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes, and added in a low voice, "Ifrit is still inside."

"Um."

After listening to Saria's instructions, Sakura nodded slightly, then opened her sword pouch and took out the exquisitely crafted and translucent Spirit Blade, Frozen Hell Ice Sky.

Then, without anyone, including Saria, seeing it clearly, she drew her sword.

The long sword was drawn, and with a single slash, an extremely cold wind and snow instantly swirled up in the room along with the sword energy, extinguishing all the black flames in its path.

Noticing that most of the flames had been extinguished, Saria glanced at Sakura with some surprise, but didn't say anything more. Instead, she took the opportunity to rush inside, searching for the person she had been thinking about.

Sakura noticed Saria's gaze, a hint of helplessness flashing across her face. Finally, she shook her head and followed, helping to extinguish the remaining black flames.

Honestly, Sakura felt she had already held back enough; that last strike was just an ordinary slash...

If she got serious, those black flames wouldn't have been extinguished so easily; they would have been frozen instantly and then shattered.

After searching several rooms in the vicinity that had been damaged by fire and explosions to no avail, Saria's face was now terrifyingly dark...

Because she couldn't find the child Ifrit, and because of the flames, she couldn't even see a trace of her.

After checking again and confirming that she had found no clues related to Ifrit, Saria turned to the members of the Security Department outside and said:

"Take a count of the wounded, then investigate and find out exactly what happened!"

"Yes!"

After assigning various tasks to her subordinates, Saria turned to Sakura, who had been following her, and said, "Next, I'll need you to do some more work and check if there are any more of those flames around."

"Once you've made sure nothing's been missed, you can go and rest."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Sakura nodded slightly, and then went off to investigate with her mission in mind.

Of course, this investigation was just for show. Just now, she had contacted Griseo in her mind and asked her to instruct the Tyrant to extinguish all the flames he had released, to ensure that nothing was missed.

After checking the flames, Sakura didn't rush back. Instead, she checked for other potential hazards and traces. Once she confirmed there were no problems, she reported back to Saria before leaving.

However, before Sakura had gone far, she encountered Muelsyse pacing anxiously outside.

When Muelsyse saw Sakura, her eyes lit up, and she rushed over, asking, "Sakura, what happened inside? How is the situation?"

Originally, Muelsyse intended to go directly to Ifrit's place after leaving the archives, but before he could even get close, he was deterred by the scorching heat and flames, and remained anxiously at a distance.

"I heard it was Ifrit that went out of control, but I don't know the specifics... As for the current situation, although the flames are very hot and terrifying, they haven't spread widely... So, apart from the equipment damage, only a few people suffered minor injuries, and there weren't too many casualties."

Seeing the anxious look on Muelsyse's face, Sakura calmly and earnestly explained the situation of the accident to her.

"Is that so? What about Ifrit then?"

After hearing Sakura's words, Muelsyse first nodded slightly, then seemed to remember something and quickly asked.

"Well..."

Upon hearing this, Sakura sighed softly, then lowered her eyes and gently shook her head, saying, "She has vanished without a trace. Neither Director Saria nor I have been able to find a single trace of her."

"!"

P. S.: There will be another chapter later. I'm feeling better now. I almost sent it yesterday. To make matters worse, I had my period, a cold, and a recurrence of hives. Ugh...

Chapter 144 The Right Time to Sober Up (Physical)

"!"

Upon hearing Sakura's answer, Muelsyse was slightly taken aback, her expression a mixture of confusion, shock, and sadness.

To be honest, before receiving this answer, Miss Elf had already mentally prepared herself for all sorts of things, and even thought that Ifrit's physical condition would completely deteriorate because of this loss of control.

However, she never imagined that the child would simply disappear without a trace...

Whether Ifrit was merely missing or burned to ashes, Muelsyse dared not ponder the question at this moment...

"Don't overthink it. There wasn't a single trace left at the scene, and no remains were found..." Noticing Muelsyse's unusual mood, Sakura reached out and gently patted her shoulder, comforting her in a soft voice.

"Phew... I won't overthink things. The fire over there should be completely out by now, right?" Faced with Sakura's gentle reassurance, Muelsyse took a deep breath to calm herself down before continuing.

"It's been completely extinguished. Do you want to go and see? I can go with you." After hearing Muelsyse's question, Sakura nodded gently and replied.

Upon hearing this, Muelsyse shook her head disapprovingly and said, "I'll go check on it, but you don't need to come with me. You didn't sleep a wink last night; you should go and rest now."

"Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore. In fact, I'm older than you, Sakura."

"We'll make up for today's breakfast next time we have the chance. You go and rest now, I'll go see if there's anything I can help you with."

After saying that, Muelsyse didn't give Sakura a chance to say anything more, nimbly bypassing her and running towards the scene of the accident.

"..."

Sakura watched someone's departing figure for a moment before shaking her head helplessly, then turned and left to rest.

She'd already gone to such lengths to remind her; hopefully, Muelsyse can connect the dots with what happened before and realize that Ifrit is only missing, and won't be so worried...

After all, after spending this time together, Sakura had come to regard Muelsyse as a friend.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are certain things and secrets that you can't tell even your friends.

Headquarters Office --

"With such a big commotion, is everything done?"

In the office, Kristen rested her chin on her hands, her expression unusually languid, and asked the "uninvited guest" beside her.

"Hmm, the person has already been taken away, without leaving a trace. I bet right now, your dear Saria is still wondering whether the person simply disappeared or was burned to ashes~"

In response to Kristen's question, Mobius replied casually.

"However, you've really neglected your duty as commander-in-chief. Didn't you even ask how many people were injured or killed in this accident?"

"I trust you'll know your limits in this regard. My intuition tells me you're not the kind of person who enjoys indiscriminate killing... In that case, you can naturally handle the rest, including Saria." Upon hearing this, Kristen didn't even lift her eyelids, speaking calmly.

"You really trust her." After hearing Kristen's confident words, Mobius raised an eyebrow slightly, then a cryptic expression appeared on his face.

Although Mobius wasn't sure whether Kristen knew about Saria's investigation into Haydn Laboratory and Ifrit, she could clearly sense the arrogance emanating from the person before her.

It's as if Saria wouldn't do anything to her even if she knew; in Mobius's opinion, this might just be the confidence of someone who's been favored.

However, regardless of her thoughts, Mobius had no intention of reminding Kristen. After all, she was prepared to let things unfold as they might.

Moreover, in her view, this incident was also an important "growth" point for Kristen. Saria's departure made her gradually and completely abandon all distractions other than her goal.

"Saria is my most important friend..."

Hearing Mobius's exclamation, Kristen slowly lowered her eyes, then spoke in a low voice, word by word, without any attempt to conceal her feelings.

"Heh~"

Upon hearing this, Mobius chuckled lightly but did not refute it.

"..."

But it was Mobius's soft chuckle that made Kristen close her eyes completely, and a moment later, she gave him the order to leave.

"If there's nothing else, go ahead and do your work. Aren't you going to treat that experimental subject?"

"Hmm~ It's almost time. In that case, I'll take my leave." Upon hearing this, Mobius, who had only taken a little time out of his busy schedule to come and inform them, turned and left without any hesitation.

"..."

Watching Mobius's departing figure, Kristen thought about her earlier words, and a sudden sense of unease arose in her heart.

Is Kristen truly completely fearless?

No... that's not it. She was actually gambling to some extent, betting that... Saria wouldn't abandon or leave her.

If she were truly completely fearless, there would be many things she wouldn't hide from her longtime best friend.

It's because I understand Saria's personality and character so well, and I'm also aware that there's a slight possibility that I might be abandoned...

Therefore, over the years, Kristen has kept many things from her close friend, such as the relationship between Rhine Lab and [Haydn Laboratory], and Ifrit's [Diablo Project], etc...

"Well..."

Kristen, sitting in her office chair, sighed softly, slowly opened her eyes, and then stretched out her hand, looking at the ceiling as if she wanted to pierce through the layers of obstacles above her head and grasp the starry sky in her hands.

Structural Department

After Sakura left, Saria tried her best to suppress her anger and investigated many more times out of resentment. However, apart from Ifrit's "disappearance" itself being a suspicious point, she still couldn't find any useful clues.

The surveillance cameras didn't capture any intrusion of people or objects, and no one witnessed Ifrit's situation in the flames behind her. There were no remains left in the burned ruins...

"Muelsyse, you stay here and keep watch. Let me know if you find any clues." With that, Saria left the knife at her waist, her face grim and her anger barely contained as she picked up her shield and slowly walked away.

If the previous fear was about missing the best time to find and rescue Ifrit, then the current lack of clues is, in Saria's view, a perfect opportunity to wake up.

P. S.: Going to sleep now, everyone. Goodnight.

Chapter 145 Clash of Ideas (Beautiful Women Fighting)

"Click--"

With a loud bang, the door to the general manager's office was violently pulled open by a bandaged hand.

Kristen, seated at the center of her desk, showed no surprise at the arrival of the guest. Instead, she rested her chin on her hand and said with a smile, "Saria, I knew you could handle this."

"The Structural Department just submitted a rapid report stating that there are some suspicious points regarding the cause of this incident. The experimental subject 'autonomously' erupted without any apparent stimulus. Do you have any leads?"

"..."

With a somber expression and suppressed anger, Saria didn't immediately answer Kristen's question. Instead, she remained silent for a moment before saying, "Are you really sure she wasn't traumatized?"

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

Upon hearing this, Krysten gently raised her head, looked directly at Saria, whose face was dark, and said.

Standing there, Saria lowered her eyes to meet Kristen's gaze before gritting her teeth and retorting, word by word:

"You're telling me that the child didn't suffer any trauma from the [Diablo Project], this heinous and illegal human experimentation?"

"[The Diablo Project]..."

After hearing Saria's question, Kristen seemed to suddenly remember something, glancing casually at the report in her hand, and exclaimed, "Ah... the report is referring to this project."

She then put down the report in her hand, smiled at the person in front of her, and continued:

"Why bother? This is just another cooperation to appease official demands."

"So you knew... but you kept it from me."

Upon hearing Kristen's words, a hint of disappointment flashed in Saria's eyes, but she then spoke with certainty, enunciating each word clearly.

"No, if I remember correctly, it was a biochemical project. The Security Department wasn't even in the internal bidding process from the beginning. Director Parvis was very interested, so I handed it over to him."

Kristen responded calmly to Saria's words.

"Including condoning his illegal human experiments?" Kristen's rebuttal sharpened Saria's eyes; she was barely able to contain her anger...

Noticing Saria's gaze, Kristen's smile faded, and she leaned back slightly, replying expressionlessly:

"As I said before, I trust my colleagues' judgment. I have no intention of interfering with how experiments are conducted, and this applies to all departments."

"Clang--"

Kristen's words ignited Saria's anger, causing her to clench her fists so tightly they cracked.

"Your indifference has led them to disregard all human ethics!"

"Once the truth about Haydn Pharmaceuticals comes to light, you will drag Rhine Lab into an abyss of no return!"