The Warden looked at the Doctor beside him and said with a chuckle.
"By the looks of it, the punishment for this incident won't be too severe!"
"Did you strike some sort of deal?"
The Doctor said calmly.
"Yes! I need 097!"
The Warden nodded.
"That explains it. Smith should only get a token suspension!"
The Director said with some disdain.
"If they keep playing these games, the Prison Wardens will be finished sooner or later!"
"They might as well rename the organization the Two-Faced Bastards!"
The Warden nodded noncommittally, then let out a long sigh.
"The higher-ups among the Prison Wardens have long since forgotten their original purpose!"
"They're a loose collection of individuals internally, but they've certainly mastered bureaucratic games!"
"If this goes on, I'm very worried that the 'Gate' will fall one day!"
The Director shrugged.
"We just need to look after our own little patch!"
"If they want to play, let them!"
As he spoke, he suddenly looked at the Doctor and gave a little sound of surprise.
"Doctor, don't tell me you'd already been thinking about this, and that's why you concealed 292's data!"
The Warden also looked at the Doctor.
He found this student of his increasingly difficult to read.
With the Doctor's abilities, something like a halt in the Contained Anomaly's data updates clearly should not have happened.
The Doctor nodded and said gravely.
"I suspect the 'Gate's' properties are slowly failing!"
At these words, the Warden and the Director frowned simultaneously.
"Tell us more!"
The Doctor habitually adjusted his nonexistent monocle.
"According to 292, he survived in the Dark Prison for three years!"
"In that case, we should reasonably have discovered him earlier!"
"That was what made me start to question the 'Gate'!"
"Then I had my assistant retrieve the Prison Wardens' mission records from the system for the past ten years!"
"Looking at the overall picture, the number of Anomalies appearing has increased year by year over the past decade!"
"That's very abnormal!"
After hearing the Doctor out, the Warden came to a realization as well.
"I did overlook that!"
"Now that I think about it, that really does seem to be the case!"
The Director mused.
"Could the 'Gate' have been contaminated?"
The Doctor nodded.
"That's precisely what I suspect!"
"I still need time to research that!"
The three fell silent.
Meanwhile.
The punishment for the U01 Containment Facility as a whole had been finalized.
Sure enough, Smith had only received a token suspension.
Then the Councilor looked toward the Doctor.
"Doctor! First, I must congratulate you on successfully containing 301!"
"The existence of Sequence Number 301 is an extremely important Contained Anomaly, both to humanity and to us Prison Wardens!"
"So I would like to ask you here whether you could share 301 so that everyone can study it together!"
"301 would then be contained by our Standing Management Council!"
The Doctor shook his head without hesitation.
"I'm sorry, Councilor, but I refuse!"
His words caused an uproar among those present.
At that moment, a short, middle-aged man stood up and said indignantly.
"Doctor! Are you trying to keep something for yourself in a matter this important? Why are you unwilling to share such an important Contained Anomaly?"
"Do you know how important this Contained Anomaly is to humanity?"
"Do you still remember the Prison Wardens' mission and obligations?"
The speaker was the leader of the J01 Containment Facility, codenamed Artisan.
His tone sounded less like questioning and more like accusation.
The leaders of the other Containment Facilities also began discussing the Doctor.
Since they were all using private channels, the room was extremely quiet, without the slightest noise.
Everyone's eyes fell on the Doctor.
The Doctor slowly stood up, his voice very calm.
"Mr. Artisan, under the Warden Regulations, once a Contained Anomaly has been successfully contained, any transfer is prohibited unless absolute safety can be guaranteed!"
"So my refusal of the Councilor's request is perfectly reasonable!"
There were virtually no holes in the Doctor's argument.
Although everyone knew this regulation, almost no one observed it.
Private trades in Contained Anomalies happened frequently.
Even the Standing Management Council turned a blind eye to such matters.
As long as no accidents occurred, the Council generally did not intervene.
In this setting, the Doctor had invoked the Warden Regulations.
No one dared say that the Doctor was wrong.
Doing so would amount to openly slapping the Standing Management Council and the Highest Office in the face.
What happened in private stayed in private; no one dared expose it in public.
Artisan had clearly come prepared. He said to the Councilor.
"Councilor, special circumstances call for special measures. Although the regulations exist!"
"301 is important enough for us to break them!"
"For humanity's sake, we should begin experimenting on and researching 301 as soon as possible!"
The Councilor nodded and looked at the Doctor.
"Yes, Doctor, our Council thinks so too!"
"Under the Warden Regulations, this matter still requires a vote by everyone present! Do you have any objections?"
The Doctor shrugged.
He had long since guessed that this would be the outcome.
"As you wish, Councilor!"
After saying this, the Doctor spoke no further.
The Councilor announced loudly.
"Then, everyone, let us begin voting by a show of hands!"
"Those in favor of transferring 301, please raise your hands!"
At once, ninety-nine percent of those present raised their hands.
The Warden said with a chuckle.
"They've certainly worked out their little scheme, but who knows whether they'll even get a chance to see 301!"
The Director also wore the expression of someone watching a good show.
Soon, the Councilor began announcing the result.
"The motion passes!"
"Doctor, do you have any further objections?"
The Doctor stood up again and spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"Councilor, I have no objection to sharing 301, but we paid an enormous price to complete its containment!"
"Therefore, we request that compensation proceedings be initiated!"
As his words fell, two people present looked particularly displeased. Artisan was one, and the other was Smith, who had just been suspended.
The Councilor nodded.
"A reasonable request! Approved!"
The Doctor nodded and sat down.
Seeing the Doctor agree so readily, the Director gave him a puzzled look.
"You actually agreed that readily? Don't tell me you've been contaminated by an Anomaly!"
The Doctor rubbed his forehead.
"I also think I should have acted a little more reluctant just now!"
The Director: "..."
The Warden understood the Doctor better. He asked with some hesitation.
"Do you have other arrangements?"
The Doctor only nodded lightly without speaking.
The Councilor at the head of the table continued.
"Let us move on to the next item!"
"Doctor, this also concerns your C03 Containment Facility!"
"The question of ownership of Sequence Number 09—the Corrupted Creator!"
PS: These two chapters planted a lot of clues, so they might seem a little boring.
Before you continue