Lucian's hand stopped in midair, still holding his teacup.
"Have you found out who did it?"
"They left no biological traces or identifying marks at the scene." Simona sounded grave. "But I pulled the nearby satellite surveillance and street access records. Combined with the recent unusual movements at the Pentagon and among those senior military officials, I suspect the military sent them. They're probably getting desperate and want to force our technical staff to talk so they can get the original formula for Compound V."
Lucian leaned back in the wooden chair, almost amused by what he heard.
"They've got that much nerve? Are those people in uniform all brainless? Don't they know who owns Vought?"
"The value Compound V has demonstrated is too tempting, boss." Simona sighed helplessly. "Once capital and the military get desperate, taking dangerous risks is standard practice. In their eyes, as long as they get their hands on a power that can upset the balance, they'll have leverage to bargain with, even if they have to face your wrath afterward."
At that point, Simona paused hesitantly before adding in a quiet voice, "This was my fault for not arranging a high enough level of security. That genetic biologist had only recently joined the company. She hadn't shown what she could do yet, or even started a formal experimental project, and then..."
"But rest assured, boss!" Simona hurried to promise. "I've already completely sealed off all the company's R&D areas. All field security personnel have been replaced with agents who've received the injection, and Jade Balance has taken over all monitoring permissions at the underlying level. This absolutely won't happen again."
After hearing her out, Lucian remained calm.
Kidnappings were commonplace in the covert struggles between major powers. As long as Vought Tower's core production lines