Forbidden Nightmare

Chapter 91 Promotion?

High-end area, Jade Cafe.

Soft electronic jazz music flows slowly, and hovercrafts shuttle back and forth outside the window.

In a private room, next to a suspended coffee table, several old men were sitting on a circle of retro leather sofas. Although they were dressed simply, their scholarly temperament, which had been accumulated over the years, was awe-inspiring.

One of the bald and overweight old men said dissatisfiedly: "Frank, if you have something to say, just say it on the communicator. Why did you call us all here?"

Another old man said, "Felix, do you even need to ask? Frank finished his research report early, and he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't show off."

When this matter was mentioned, Director Felix became even more furious.

More than ten days ago, a physical examination report on the extraordinary type of the Vientiane system caused a sensation in the research department.

The author of this report, a Wanxiang staff member named Li Nanke, quickly became the object of competition among major research teams.

Although Frank said he was not interested, he secretly used the power of his family and eventually succeeded in recruiting Li Nanke into his team.

Felix heard that it was because of Li Nanke's help that Frank's team was able to complete the research report first, which made him quite indignant.

He snorted coldly: "Frank, using the cheating methods of a researcher from the Universal Department to complete the report is not a real skill."

“My team doesn’t need researchers from the Vientiane Department to submit accurate research reports.”

Felix placed extra emphasis on the word 'cheating'.

Frank's face darkened when he heard this. What the other party said was really harsh. The word "cheating" was a naked insult to a researcher.

Felix did not let Frank off easily and continued, "You used your authority as the director to retrieve a forbidden item from the containment station and gave the remaining pheromones as a reward to the researcher in the Universal Department."

"He also claimed that the low-level forbidden object that our team had thoroughly analyzed many years ago might have undiscovered hidden properties that need further verification... That's ridiculous. Frank, I have no objection to you rewarding that guy, but aren't you being disrespectful to our team's research results by saying that?"

The research director does not have the authority to directly "give away" forbidden objects because these forbidden objects are the assets of the organization, but each research team has the right to use a certain amount of pheromones for research, but the amount will be strictly controlled.

Frank rewarded Li Nanke with pheromones on the pretext of continuing his research on forbidden objects. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell what was going on.

This is the power of the research director, and it can also be considered a potential benefit of the research department, but it cannot be stated openly.

Frank said with a sullen look, "Last time you adjusted pheromones to reward team members, you used the same excuse as me, saying that my team might have missed the characteristics of the forbidden object and needed your team to verify it again."

"May I ask what you finally found out? Did I bring this up to prove my point?"

Felix was choked and couldn't find any words to refute, so he could only pick up the coffee and drink it all.

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, several directors nearby began to mediate.

"Felix, everyone has done this before. Frank doesn't mean anything against you."

"Frank, I suggest you change the name of the reward next time to avoid misunderstandings with other directors."

"That's right. If they really do discover some hidden features, Felix's team will deduct their bonus."

Felix frowned. "There can't be any hidden features. If you keep saying this, you're questioning the research level of our team!"

Several research directors fell silent.

Frank said, "Now I hope that boy can find something new to punish you."

Felix raised his brows and was about to fight back when he heard Frank's communicator ringing.

Frank picked up the communicator and heard Jiang Lei's excited voice: "Director, Xiao Li discovered the hidden characteristics of the 'Painful Thorn'!"

Frank froze.

Hidden features... Does the "Thorns of Pain" really have hidden features?
He originally just wanted to find an excuse to reward Li Nanke with pheromones and didn't expect that he would actually produce any results.

The argument with Felix just now was just a casual counterattack, but I didn't expect Li Nanke to really discover the hidden characteristics. Frank listened to Jiang Lei's endless report, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously rose, and the wrinkles on his face became more obvious because of the smile.

"…It's okay, the dinner will not be cancelled."

"As for the holidays, don't cancel them yet. I will come to the laboratory in person to verify the accuracy of the conclusions."

Frank hung up the communicator, coughed twice and said to Felix: "Felix, I was planning to invite you to the celebration party tonight..."

"I won't go, whoever wants to go can go!"

"Don't worry, I haven't finished what I'm saying. If you hear this news, I'm afraid you won't be in the mood to go even if you want to."

Felix frowned when he heard this, and had a bad feeling in his heart.

"I regret to tell you that the 'Thorns of Pain' does have a hidden feature. Li Nanke used your so-called 'cheating' method to find the feature that your team missed... Get ready for punishment, Felix!"

"Impossible, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Felix's expression was extremely interesting. He subconsciously retorted, "It's just a low-level forbidden item. What hidden properties can it have?"

Although he said this, he had already begun to waver deep down in his heart.

The reason why he said that the Universal System was cheating was because he knew how powerful this talent was in research.

Is it possible that the answer recognized by the Wanxiang system is wrong?

Looking at Frank's face that was almost smiling like a big daisy, he knew that the other party was convinced of the correctness of his conclusion.

When several research directors saw this scene, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Frank merely rewarded the team members with some pheromones, but he accidentally discovered the hidden characteristics of the forbidden object. The talent of the Universal System is truly amazing.

It's a pity that such an excellent researcher failed to join his team. It was a great bargain for old Frank.

They were very curious about the hidden characteristics of the forbidden object, but Frank refused to say more. He just said:
"Everyone, our team is holding a celebration banquet tonight. If you are willing to do us the honor, you are welcome to come."

Frank was in a good mood and didn't care about Felix's ugly face. He got up and walked out of the cafe.

"It seems like it's time to promote this kid to a higher position as an intern."

As soon as he walked out of the cafe, Frank's communicator rang again.

The person on the other end of the communicator was a younger member of the family. Normally, Frank didn't interfere much in family affairs, nor did he want the family to interfere too much in matters within the research team.

But after all, the family has secured for him a valuable talent like Li Nanke, so he was in a good mood today and was particularly tolerant of the younger generation's request to attend the dinner.

Frank was very happy, but Li Nanke was not in a good mood.

After he informed Jiang Lei of the characteristics of the forbidden object he had discovered, he left the Control Bureau alone.

The imbalance of reason brought about by his animal nature made him extremely irritated. He just wanted to roar to vent the burning feeling in his heart, and even had an urge to release this repressed emotion through killing.

In order to control his manic emotions, Li Nanke did not choose to take a vehicle, but ran all the way back to his apartment.

After returning to his residence, he immediately turned on the shower and rinsed his scalding body with cold water, but it failed to dispel the boredom in his heart.

He walked to the refrigerator, picked up a few bottles of liquor, bit open the bottle caps with his teeth, and gulped down the liquor with his head tilted back.

One bottle after another, until the floor was littered with empty bottles.

Li Nanke did not use his body's extraordinary abilities to speed up the metabolism of alcohol, but allowed the drunkenness brought by the strong liquor to gradually occupy his consciousness.

Finally, he fell heavily on the bed and fell into a deep sleep with a strong smell of alcohol.

(End of this chapter)