Arcanum: Chaos Path

Chapter 113: Mr. Men recharged the money?

But… Russell suddenly thought of something, smiled bitterly, and said, “Actually, even if you really wanted to use me as an excuse to get Bernadette to work, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to do it. Bernadette… she probably hates me.”

Roselle still remembered the disappointed and disgusted look in his daughter's eyes after he met Bernadette for the last time. He and his little princess had completely broken off after that time and were never the same again.

"That's not necessarily true." Luo Lin smiled when he heard this and said, "Bernadette does dislike you, even hates you, because of everything you've done, but she also loves you deeply because you're her father. She's been looking for you for all these years."

In the mausoleum, Russell was stunned. He probably hadn't expected such an answer. His lips trembled before he said, "I... I'm sorry."

"You should say this apology to her, not to me." Luo Lin said this and poured himself a cup of black tea. He was a little thirsty after saying so much.

Russell smiled bitterly again. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again: "You can contact Bernadette, but you cannot force her to work for you."

"I never force anyone to work for me. All my employees are volunteers," Luo Lin said with a smile, and even asked in return, "Aren't you the same?"

Russell was speechless. Was he working for Luo Lin voluntarily? Probably!

After all, Rowling holds his life in his hands, and also holds the thing he wants most.

"You really are a born capitalist." Russell said this after holding it in for a long time.

"Please call me a conscientious businessman, thank you." Luo Lin corrected with a smile. He then took a sip of his tea and said, "Don't be too nervous. I have many people working for me, including the Red Angel Medici, Mr. Gate Bethel, the Bound God Tolzner, and so on. To be honest, if it weren't for you, I really wouldn't be interested in Bernadette, a Sequence 3."

Russell was speechless again.

It turns out that these days you have to use backdoors to work as a slave.

Russell felt dejected, but he knew that what Rowling said was true. With the other party's ability, there were probably countless people who would rush to work for him just in exchange for shelter or to reunite with their families.

"By the way, do you need me to help you reunite with Bernadette?" Luo Lin said with a smile after taking a sip of black tea. "That way, you can explain to her in person what happened, and it will also prevent me from deceiving your beloved little princess."

Russell fell silent again. He was clearly conflicted, but after some hesitation, he said, "My area is heavily polluted, so it's not suitable for Bernadette to come here. When the time comes, you can let him see my past self!"

"Sure, I'm fine with that. But I've been busy lately, so it might take a while before I can contact your little princess." Luo Lin smiled, nodded, and then asked, "Enough of the small talk, let's get down to business!"

His expression turned serious and he asked, "How are you doing now?"

Like a conscientious doctor, Rowling carefully asked about Russell's condition in all aspects, and he was also like a laboratory researcher examining his own guinea pigs.

Since it was about whether he could escape the contamination, Russell naturally didn't hide anything and answered all of Rowling's questions one by one. Finally, he complained half-truthfully:

"Is there really no gentler treatment? I almost thought I was going to be blown to death just now."

"Of course. Don't worry. Since you've asked me to, I'll definitely try using gentler methods to remove the contamination for you next time." Rowling smiled as he wrote down Russell's data. "I feel like you're using me as a guinea pig," Russell grumbled.

"Be more confident, you are indeed a guinea pig." Luo Lin nodded without hiding anything.

"No, buddy, you're just admitting it like that? Aren't you afraid that I'll be angry?" Russell felt speechless. He had seen honest people before, but he had never seen anyone as honest as this.

"Why deny it? In the field of removing the pollution of foreign gods, all the contaminated people are guinea pigs. Of course, if you don't like this name, I can also call you Subject No. 2." Luo Lin said seriously, his tone very serious.

"...So how are experimental subjects any better than mice?" Russell couldn't help but complain, but he wasn't really angry.

After all, his current situation is equivalent to a cancer patient who receives treatment with special medicine when he is originally thought to be dying. In this case, it is good enough to be alive, so what else does he need?

Russell even felt like asking, "Who is Subject 1?"

"The Bound God, Tolzner." Luo Lin didn't hide anything and replied, "His condition is worse than yours. Before I treated him, he was completely lost. But now, after the first phase of treatment, the Bound God, Tolzner, has regained some clarity. His condition is probably similar to yours, but better."

Russell wasn't surprised by this answer, but he quickly thought of something and asked in confusion, "What about Mr. Men? Is he Subject Three?"

Even if he didn't know it in the early years, by now, Russell was almost clear about Mr. Men's situation and naturally knew that he was also contaminated by the Mother Goddess.

"Mr. Men is a VIP customer and will not participate in the experiment." Luo Lin said without blinking.

"No, why? Did he recharge the money? Didn't you just say that all polluters are guinea pigs..." Russell's eyes widened instantly, and he asked unconvincedly.

"Why?" Luo Lin took a sip of his tea and said slowly, "Because He is a good man. Because He would rather endure the torture of the Outer Gods, would rather see His family wither than surrender, and would not let the world take any risks. Because He would sacrifice Himself in the future just to protect this world. Because He has never thought of shirking His responsibilities."

Russell was silent for a long time before he said, "Ah, then He indeed deserves preferential treatment."

"But what does the future mean?" Russell keenly noticed this key word.

"The future is the future!" Luo Lin smiled and said without further explanation, "Time is like a long river in front of me. I stand in the middle of the river, but both ends of the river are clearly visible to me."

Russell clearly understood what this meant, which made him hesitate to speak. He couldn't help but ask, "Boss, are you really a human?"

"At least I have a human heart." Luo Lin neither admitted nor denied it. He then took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "It's getting late, Russell. Let's talk next time! You probably won't be able to hold on for much longer."

Russell did not deny that although the pollution in his body was suppressed for a while, it did not mean that he could stay awake forever. Before long, he would fall into chaos again and would have to sleep.

So Rowling and Russell's first meeting ended here.

(End of this chapter)