I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Ahrendts slowly opened his eyes, clearly puzzled by the current situation.

At this moment, Himer continued speaking with a sincere expression:

“These past few days I’ve calmed down and thought about it. I did have some sympathy for the patients who were hurt and suffering, which affected my judgment and even made me talk back to you, teacher!”

"I even revealed the experimental process to outsiders... My teacher has been so kind to me, and I let him down."

"I am truly ashamed of this, please forgive me, teacher!"

"..."

Upon hearing Himer's apology, Ahrendts was slightly taken aback, then stood up, walked to her side, patted her on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Yes, that's great, Himer."

"I'm so glad you understand my good intentions! Of course I should forgive you!"

"Thank you, teacher!"

"very good……"

Hearing this, Ahrendts smiled and nodded, then seemed to remember something and changed the subject, saying, "By the way, Himer, start resuming Ifrit's treatment tomorrow, remember to prepare."

"As for your permissions, I will restore them to you before this treatment begins."

"!"

Even though Himer was mentally prepared, she couldn't help but be startled by these words.

Although she knew her teacher needed to "treat" Ifrit again as soon as possible, she didn't expect the time to be so tight, starting tomorrow.

However, Himer quickly suppressed his surprise, nodded to Ahrendts, and said seriously, "In that case, I will go back and prepare properly."

Then, just as Himer had turned to leave, she suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to look at Ahrendts.

"Oh, right! Teacher..."

P.S.: I've stayed up all night again without realizing it. I suddenly got stuck while writing. Goodnight everyone.

Chapter 119 Teacher-Student Confrontation

"By the way, teacher, since we're having treatment tomorrow, the new injection machine and other equipment data need to be adjusted. If you're busy, you can give me your employee ID card, and I'll operate it for you..."

"Oh!"

Upon hearing this, Ahrendts reached up to adjust his glasses, his eyes narrowing slightly as he smiled and said, "Look at me, I'd completely forgotten about that!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Hemer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ahrendts took off the name tag hanging around his neck and handed it to Himer in front of him.

"Ah."

After successfully obtaining the work badge of the head of the structural engineering department, Ahrendts, and leaving the office, Himer's smile vanished instantly, and he strode quickly toward the structural engineering department's database with a serious expression.

However, in her anxiety and tension, Hamer didn't notice that shortly after she left, the door to the head of the structural engineering department's office was opened again...

……

"Di-"

Hemer quickly arrived at the database, took out Ahrendts' work badge, scanned it, successfully opened the door, and then entered.

Once inside, she rushed to the computer where the structural data was stored and began searching for information related to the [Flame Demon Project].

“Click, click…”

As the rapid clatter of the keyboard continued, the information Hamer wanted to see quickly appeared before her eyes...

However, the more carefully she looked at the document, the uglier her face became, the more alarmed she became, and cold sweat slowly appeared on her forehead.

"[Project Flame Demon]... codename [Ifrit]?!"

"How could this be...why..."

"What...what are all these things?!"

Although Himer had some mental preparation before seeing the treatment plan because of the Serpent Lord, she was still incredulous and somewhat unable to accept it when faced with the detailed experimental plan.

"Clap clap clap..."

"!!!"

Just as Hermer was staring at the experimental plan in shock and anger, she suddenly heard light footsteps behind her, which startled her again, and she quickly turned around.

"Hermer, did you see everything?"

"teacher?"

However, upon seeing the kind face of the newcomer, Himer was so frightened that she leaned against the table behind her.

His expression showed a mix of anger and fear.

"It's alright, Himer can see."

Unlike Himer, who looked somewhat disheveled due to his turbulent emotions, Ahrendts appeared completely calm, simply smiling and "kindly" gazing at the student in front of him.

"These materials were originally meant to be given to you."

"..."

Seeing her teacher like this, Himer could no longer hold back and angrily questioned him, "Teacher, what are all these things?"

"Project Flame Demon... What exactly is this experiment all about?!"

"I'm sorry, due to confidentiality requirements, a lot of information could not be explained in advance, which resulted in you not being able to fully understand the significance of the experiment."

Faced with the angry Hermer, Ahrendts laughed even more heartily, and then slowly explained, "I hope you can understand my difficulties."

"Understand what? Understand that you conducted illegal human experiments?!" The calmer Ahrendts appeared, the angrier Himer became.

"So your goal isn't to cure Ifrit, nor do you want to prevent her Originium Arts from going out of control..."

"You...you're anticipating, anticipating the moment she becomes a killing weapon!"

“Hermer…”

Only then did the smile on Ahrendts' face fade, replaced by a look of helplessness.

"When you took on this project, didn't you realize it was a human experiment?"

"!"

Ahrendts, the teacher, uttered a single sentence that startled Himer, who was in the midst of a fit of rage.

"What...I don't understand...why?"

At this point, Hamer seemed to remember something and quickly brought up an old matter: "Didn't you oppose the experiment Joyce underwent before?!"

"Joyce?"

When faced with his student's question again, Ahrendts paused for a moment, then recalled the matter and said, "Oh, of course."

"Joyce was an excellent researcher, and her wisdom and life should have been dedicated to more valuable work. It would be a great loss for her to be harmed because of an experiment."

At this point, Ahrendts paused slightly, closed his eyes, and continued with a look of pain: "For experiments like that, if we recruited from the public, there would be an endless supply of desperate volunteers."

"!"

Hamer never imagined that the reason her teacher opposed her friend's participation in the experiment wasn't because of safety concerns, but simply because of... its value!?

This realization left Himer's mind in a state of chaos, and even caused him to experience a momentary ringing in his ears.

Finally, the unwillingness in his heart compelled Himer to speak again: "Didn't Ifrit's life have any value?"

"She's a human life too!!"

"Ifrit's life is certainly valuable. She is one of the very few precious experimental subjects who can withstand the fragments of the Flame Demon. Her sacrifices and contributions to the experiment will be recorded in history."

No matter how many times Himer asked or refuted, Ahrendts always answered with the same calm and unhurried attitude.

Upon receiving this answer, Himer's anger intensified, and he nearly ground his teeth to powder.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Illegal human experimentation...is an inhumane act! It's a universally recognized taboo in academia! How could you do such a thing?!"

“Sigh… I don’t understand, Himer.”

After waiting for his students to finish questioning and venting, Ahrendts took off his glasses, gently wiped them, and then said calmly, "I really don't understand."

"Scientific progress always comes with sacrifices; how could you forget that?"

"Progress gained at the cost of human lives... that's not science! That's a crime!" Hamer immediately retorted as soon as Ahrendts said this.

She simply couldn't agree with her teacher's views.

However, regardless of whether Himer agrees, Ahrendts continues to say: "Sometimes it is the life of the experimental subject that drives scientific progress, and sometimes it is the scientist himself."

"And the strongest driving force for technological progress is often war, and countless children like Ifrit have died in war."

"Many of the technologies we use today were born from countless sacrifices. It's hypocritical to point out the inhumanity of those sacrifices while enjoying these technologies, isn't it, Hemer?"

At this point, Ahrendts looked directly at Himer and his tone gradually became somber.

Chapter 120 Wavering and Doubt

"..."

After hearing his teacher's words, Himer fell silent, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead once again.

She knew in her heart that it wasn't like that, not like what her teacher said, but for a moment she didn't know how to refute it...

While Himer remained silent for a moment, Ahrendts spoke again, "Ifrit, we have saved her life. I even asked you to take care of her daily needs. She can not only enjoy a life of plenty, but also contribute to such a great experiment."

"How lucky she was compared to the children who died of Oripathy in the wilderness."

"No...no!"

Hermer, her mind in turmoil, began to refute again, but unlike her previous organized and targeted rebuttals, her mind was in disarray, and she just kept saying no.

However, Ahrendts's devilish words did not stop.

.

“This child has given everything for science, and yet you are criticizing science itself.”

"No! No..."