Yongye saw her reaction and grinned instead of getting angry.
All that attitude made it even more fun!
He stayed leaning against the lab bench, showing no sign of moving, and got straight to the point.
"The Regeneration Cradle system you developed is useful to me."
"I'm taking it."
Helen Cho raised an eyebrow.
At first she looked stunned. Then an almost amused expression crossed her face, as though a grade-schooler had walked into a university lecture hall and announced he wanted to be a professor.
"The Regeneration Cradle is the product of more than a decade of my work. Its core algorithms, the molecular ratios of its nanoscaffolds, the maps of its cell-differentiation signaling pathways—I wrote every line of code and tested every formula myself."
"I don't know where you heard about this project, but let me make one thing clear..."
"Not for sale!"
She paused, then seemed to decide those words weren't forceful enough.
"Even if you brought me mountains of gold and silver, I still wouldn't sell it!"
"This is my life's work, not a commodity to be traded."
Yongye listened and nodded, looking as attentive as a student at an academic lecture.
Then he smiled, with the wicked delight of someone enjoying how seriously she took it.
"I respect your decision."
"But I have a way to give us both what we want."
"Give yourself and the Regeneration Cradle to me. I won't pay you, so technically you won't be selling it."
Helen Cho's brows drew together, fierce wariness flashing through her eyes. "Then we have even less to discuss. Get out of my—"
Yongye raised his hands and clapped.
The service door on the side of the Laboratory was pushed open from outside.
Another Yongye walked in.
Helen Cho stopped breathing.
She stared at the