Because of Trust and Dependence

Lin Mo paused. Researchers had called that name over the intercom many times before.

Joanna clearly knew by now that it belonged to her. It was the name Vogelbaum had registered for her.

"Yes."

Lin Mo nodded slightly. "Your name is Joanna."

Joanna pointed at him next.

"Me?"

Lin Mo pointed to himself. Thinking Joanna didn't know his name, he was about to answer.

"Lin Mo... Lin Mo." Joanna said his name clearly, then looked at him expectantly, as though hoping for praise.

"Mm. I'm Lin Mo." Lin Mo smiled faintly and reached out to pat Joanna's little head.

The warmth against her head made Joanna's eyes widen at first. Then they narrowed slightly, as though she were enjoying it.

Lin Mo had never shown her that kind of affection before.

Then Lin Mo picked up two blank cards and scrawled "Lin Mo" on one of them.

On the other, he wrote Joanna's name in English and handed both cards to her.

Joanna stared at the two completely different sets of symbols, looking confused.

"This is you?"

She pointed to the card for Lin Mo and spoke tentatively.

"That's me."

"This is me?" She pointed to the card with her own name.

"That's you."

Joanna picked up the card with her name on it. After looking at it for a while, she tucked it into a fold of her blue blanket.

Then she picked up the one marked "Lin Mo."

"I want this one too."

"Why?" Lin Mo asked curiously.

"To remember."

Her answer came without hesitation.

Lin Mo didn't stop her.

"Then you can have both."

With Lin Mo's permission, Joanna brightened. She quickly stacked the two cards together and hid them carefully.

She seemed to believe that if she kept their names in the blanket, no one could easily take either of them away.

Behind the observation window, several researchers were recording the interaction.

They were all veterans, including Marty and Frank, as well as Vogelbaum.

But today, someone who had never appeared there before was in the Observation Room.

Stan Edgar stood behind the observation glass, silently watching the two of them interact.

He wore a neatly tailored dark suit, his hands resting naturally at his sides. At this point, he had not yet gained full control of Vought.

White executives who had joined the board before him still held most of the key positions within the company. As a Black man, he had little advantage.

But his cool judgment, keen grasp of political and business relationships, and almost unfailingly rational decisions had earned him a place in Vought's core management.

Edgar was the Vought executive directly in charge of Joanna's experiment. If it achieved a major breakthrough and Joanna truly became the face of Vought, he could take complete control of the company.

Unlike the researchers in the room, Edgar showed no surprise when Joanna said Lin Mo's name correctly.

He simply watched, studying Joanna's expression as she spoke and the way Lin Mo answered.

Vogelbaum stood beside him.

"These are the latest experimental results. HL-01's emotional stability has improved significantly."

"Because of that boy?" Edgar asked.

"Most of the improvement occurred after they began interacting," Vogelbaum replied.

"SOL-0 can withstand her strength. More importantly, he can correct her behavior in ways she understands."

Edgar kept his eyes on the glass. "I've read the report."

"I'm not asking whether he can teach her to control her strength. I'm asking why she's willing to listen to him."

Vogelbaum paused briefly.

"Trust."

"She can't form a stable relationship with us. Personnel change too often, and contact is frequently interrupted by accidental injuries. But she can't easily hurt SOL-0, and he always comes back when he says he will."

"So she's begun to depend on him."

"Depend on him."

Edgar repeated the words, his tone revealing neither approval nor disapproval.

Experimental data alone held little interest for him. That was for the scientists to worry about.

What mattered more to him was whether the final result could become a stable, predictable product that could be used over the long term. Vought had no shortage of test subjects with powerful abilities.

What it truly lacked were products it could package, manage, and bring to market.

A superhuman whose emotions might spiral out of control at any moment had no commercial value, no matter how powerful she was.

And if Lin Mo could keep her stable, the company had to determine just how reliable that stability was—and whether it could control it.

After watching the two interact a little longer, Edgar finally turned away.

"I want to see every recording of their previous interactions."

"I'll have them prepared," Vogelbaum said at once.

Edgar walked toward the Observation Room's exit. At the door, he stopped and glanced back at the two children inside.

"One more thing."

"Don't let them know I was here. Especially the boy."

Stan Edgar spent two days watching every recording of SOL-0's previous interactions with HL-01, then convened another research meeting.

Vogelbaum, Marty and Frank from the behavioral research team, and the other key members were all in the conference room.

No one spoke first. They were waiting for a decision from the man who had only recently joined the company's core management.

Edgar switched off the video screen and looked back at those seated around the table.

"I have three questions."

He looked at Vogelbaum.

"First, why is Joanna stable only with Lin Mo?"

Vogelbaum had clearly prepared an answer.

"It's a combination of physical conditions and emotional experience."

"Physically, Lin Mo's body is exceptionally resilient. He can withstand Joanna's strength, which she hasn't fully learned to control. That means their contact doesn't have to be repeatedly cut short by accidental injuries."

"Emotionally, Lin Mo is the only person so far who keeps coming back and doesn't pull away from her out of fear. He gives her clear feedback and keeps simple promises."

"Therefore..." Vogelbaum glanced at Edgar before continuing.

"Joanna has gradually come to see him as someone she can depend on."

Edgar offered no comment. He understood that much.

"Second."

"If we separate them, how long will her current stability last?"

Barbara took the question.

"We don't have enough data yet. A short separation of three days doesn't cause any obvious loss of control."

"She waits for him and shows heightened anticipation as the time for their next contact approaches."

"But if he doesn't return as scheduled, her emotions begin to fluctuate noticeably."

Edgar asked his third question:

"Can Lin Mo become a more effective means of control? Or rather, can Vought control Lin Mo?"

This time, Vogelbaum was silent for several seconds.

"Yes."