Living Together?

Vogelbaum's tone was firm.

Edgar narrowed his eyes and gave Vogelbaum a surprised look. He clearly hadn't expected him to speak with such confidence.

"You're really calling a three-year-old child a means of control?"

"That's precisely Lin Mo's value," Vogelbaum replied.

Frank opened the report.

"The problem is, Lin Mo himself may not be entirely obedient."

"He interprets orders selectively. He once told Joanna she didn't have to listen to everyone."

"He also told her she could ask why when given an order."

Edgar looked at Vogelbaum.

"Did you teach him that?"

"No."

"Then he came up with it himself."

Vogelbaum did not deny it.

"Lin Mo's cognitive abilities have always been ahead of other children his age, but he has shown no clear hostility toward the company. He cooperates with examinations and can meet most of our requests."

"He simply has a habit of interpreting things his own way."

But Edgar went straight to the heart of it. "A control tool that decides for itself what orders mean isn't truly a control tool."

Vogelbaum smiled, then continued:

"Don't forget who provides him with everything. He depends on Vought for all of it."

"Food, shelter, education, and the chance to see HL-01. Without us, Lin Mo would have frozen to death somewhere long ago, an abandoned infant."

"As long as the company raises him, someone with his intelligence will never turn against it."

The conference room fell silent again. Edgar did not argue.

Vogelbaum was right. Putting everything else aside, who had given Lin Mo the power to become a superhuman? Who had raised him? Even if Lin Mo learned Vought's true purpose one day, he likely would not turn against it. This was the place where he had grown up.

That was why, whatever Homelander did in the original story, he had never thought of destroying Vought.

Vought had raised them from childhood. That gave it an advantage from the start.

It was also why Edgar had always been confident in the plan for raising Homelander and rarely came to check on Joanna. People were contradictory. Reason could tell them something was wrong, while emotion held them back.

Vogelbaum seemed to see where Edgar's thoughts were headed and pressed his advantage.

"Their relationship isn't complicated. They depend on each other. Even if Joanna loses control, Lin Mo can stop her."

"That dependence can be guided. It can also be used."

After hearing him out, Edgar was silent for a moment. Then he stood and walked to the front of the conference room.

"I've decided to expand the shared-living experiment."

Everyone in the conference room immediately looked up.

One researcher asked, "You mean they'll live together?"

"We're not putting them in the same living area immediately," Edgar explained.

"First, extend their contact time from forty minutes to two hours."

"Add meals, lessons, and free time together."

"Then gradually reduce how often they meet again. By then, Joanna should have formed her values, and there'll be no need to waste time on anything else."

Vogelbaum nodded slightly.

"That was our plan for the next stage as well."

Edgar looked at him.

"The less a person has, the more likely she is to lose control completely when the one thing she does have is taken away."

"If the company wants to control her, it also needs to shape her desire for the world's approval. We can use Lin Mo to guide her toward that."

No one raised another objection. At the end of the day, they were only employees. How could they stand against those who held the money?

After the meeting, the new experimental plan was issued without delay.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, had no idea what had happened in the conference room. His routine remained unchanged.

Each day, he soaked up some sun, listened to the private tutors Vought had hired talk at length, and spent time with Joanna. It was a decent life.

But when he next met Joanna, he noticed the playroom had changed again.

He was used to that by now. Still, what was the deal with the two beds?

When he went in that day, he and Joanna stared at each other. The room's once-open space had been divided up.

Two small beds stood on one side. Bookshelves, a dining table, and storage cabinets had been added on the other.

A colorful clock hung on the wall, and there were even two sets of tableware on the table.

Joanna also stopped in the doorway for a long time when she entered.

She first made sure Lin Mo was still there, then studied the new furniture.

"What are we playing today?"

She sounded curious.

"I don't know either."

Lin Mo walked to the table. Two lunches had already been set out on trays. Since they were here, they might as well eat first.

Before, Vought had always told him what to do before he met Joanna, such as what to teach her or what lessons to explain. Today was a little unusual.

The researchers had let him in without saying a word. They had not even told him when he would leave.

Was Vought planning to have them live in the same room now?

Since when had Vought become so considerate?

They probably want to watch how we get along.

Lin Mo looked at the two beds in the corner and quickly guessed the company's intentions.

Vought probably believed that gradually increasing their time together would make him a reliable tool for controlling Joanna.

He sat down at the dining table and opened the milk in front of him.

Joanna dragged her chair over beside him. Even though there was a seat across the table, she still refused to sit too far away.

"How long are we staying today?"

It seemed to be something she had to ask every time they met.

Lin Mo glanced up at the clock, uncertain.

"Probably longer than before."

Joanna's eyes brightened a little.

"A long time?"

"Maybe until we finish lunch together." Lin Mo took a sip of milk. It was delicious. No wonder Homelander loved milk. He must have picked up the habit as a child.

"And then?"

"Maybe we can read, too."

"And then?"

Lin Mo looked at the two little beds that had yet to be used.

"I don't know."

Joanna lowered her head and began arranging her spoon with great care. Then she noticed Lin Mo drinking milk. Her eyes lit up, and she opened her own carton.

Joanna took a small sip and froze. She seemed to have drunk something like it before. It tasted wonderful.

She stuck out her tongue to lick the milk from the corner of her mouth, then pushed her carton toward Lin Mo.

"You can have it."

But Lin Mo could see the reluctance on her face. She even swallowed.

Lin Mo looked down at the milk she had offered, then raised his head and shook it. He pushed both her carton and his own, from which he had taken only one sip, toward her.

"You drink it. I don't like it." Lin Mo looked at Joanna with fondness. Who would dare take milk from a milk-loving Homelander? Well, he had done it—and Joanna had offered it to him herself.