Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

A vein popped out on the commander's forehead.

This new shareholder has quite a few demands?

Wasn't he supposed to be very easygoing? Capitalists are all ruthless, so where does this talk of being easygoing come from?

It's already past closing time, yet I'm still being exploited. Is there no justice in this world?

I need to get my beauty sleep!

Although he thought this in his heart, the commander-in-chief still replied aloud:

"The Elizabeth Hotel, Silicon Valley. A branch of the Victoria Londinium Hotel brand. It's said that the owner has Aslan ancestry, but who knows how many generations it's diluted. But whether it's true or not, it suits Victorian tastes perfectly. It's just a bit pricey."

"The shareholder is not short of money."

Saria replied, glancing at Vayne, who had been looking completely bewildered since earlier, and silently nodded.

"Then this place will do. Thank you, Commander."

"It's nothing, a minor issue."

The commander replied through gritted teeth. While she was on the phone, the elevator doors closed again, this time heading upwards.

She missed it again.

But it's okay, it only took a few minutes. We can just wait a little longer.

A few minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and the elevator doors slowly opened again. Strangely, although the elevator had been going up, there was no one in the car after it came down.

The angry manager didn't notice the anomaly. She stormed into the elevator, but just then, her phone rang again.

"Dudududu!"

Stop yelling, you're trying to kill me!

I don't want to answer! I'm not answering no matter what! Nobody can stop me from going home to sleep!

......

"Damn it, Saria, what are you trying to do? Are you using me as a tour guide?!"

Stepping out of the elevator with hesitant steps, the CEO, hair blowing and eyes glaring, answered the phone and launched into a tirade of abuse.

On the other end of the phone, Wayne swallowed back the apology he was about to say, and turned to look at Saria with a bewildered expression:

"Is your boss always like this?"

Saria nodded, then shook her head:

Yes, but not entirely.

Wayne sighed and could only helplessly hang up the phone.

What kind of mess is this? He casually asked Saria where Rhine Lab had arranged for him to eat and stay that night, and declined her invitation to stay at the Rhine dormitory. Who knew that Saria would immediately call the Chief Administrator and ask all sorts of questions? Realizing that he had caused trouble for others, Wayne subconsciously wanted to apologize and, while he was at it, try to build a relationship with the salary-obsessed Chief Administrator whom he had never met before.

What followed was a barrage of beautiful Colombian profanities.

It seems the relationship isn't working out; in fact, the Commander-in-Chief might already be holding a grudge. Wayne was completely exasperated; this journey with Rhine Labs had gotten off to a bad start.

P.S.: Just one more English oral exam tomorrow and it's all over! Whew! I'm free! So happy!

Chapter 5 Saria's Questioning

Following the navigation, he arrived smoothly at the lobby of the Elizabeth Hotel, where he was greeted by a familiar-looking man. He then learned that this owner was actually the elder brother of the manager of the Elizabeth Hotel in Londinim.

Out of curiosity, Wayne asked about the man's family, since his ancestors had served as Aslan. This family, which owned hundreds of Elizabeth Hotels throughout Terra, was now quite prosperous, and he had over a hundred brothers.

While surprised, Wayne suddenly felt that he had discovered something incredible. Could it be that he had discovered something similar to the Nurse Joy family in Pokémon?

The thought of hundreds of men who looked exactly alike sent chills down Wayne's spine, and he ended the conversation.

The man led Wayne and the others to the presidential suite on the top floor of the hotel. After briefly instructing them to press the bell if needed, he hurried downstairs—it was peak tourist season in Colombia, and large numbers of tourists were waiting for his attention. Having lived in Colombia for many years, he naturally didn't show Wayne the same respect as Lontinim's younger brother and couldn't stay by his side to be at his beck and call all the time.

Wayne didn't pay much attention; as he said, having someone watching was actually quite inconvenient. After he left, Wayne turned his attention to Saria, who was standing at the door, unwilling to go in.

“Ms. Seria, please come in, find a seat and let’s talk about Columbia and Rhine Life.”

"Wayne said with a smile," said Saria, who closed her eyes slightly and shook her head bluntly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know much about these things. If you need help, I can call the commander-in-chief to answer your questions."

Another commander-in-chief?

Wien remembered the scolding he had just received, and his face stiffened slightly. He waved his hand and said:

"Then forget it. It's already late, so let's not disturb the Commander's beauty sleep."

"If there's nothing else, please allow me to take my leave."

Saria answered calmly, and before Wayne could nod in agreement, she quickly bowed and turned to walk towards the elevator at the entrance. Wayne opened his mouth but didn't stop her; instead, he frowned.

Saria's behavior is acting strangely. Why is she so cold towards me? This can't be explained away by simply saying she has low emotional intelligence. After all, even someone with low emotional intelligence knows that repeatedly calling superiors to ask for advice on their own work is an act that demonstrates their incompetence. It only lowers her standing and satisfaction with the commander and Wayne, serving no other purpose.

But Saria did it anyway. Even though she clearly saw the commander's angry voice, she still calmly suggested "make another call," which was definitely not normal!

Wayne considered himself fairly good-looking; his lineage was undeniable, and at least Theresa and Vina found his face pleasing to the eye. Moreover, if it were a matter of appearance, Saria should have already shown it during their first meeting, but Wayne didn't encounter such a problem during their interaction.

But now that this has happened, it means the problem must lie between the time period when Serea left Lontinim and when Wayne arrived in Colombia.

Wayne rubbed his chin, looked at Kal'tsit, and asked:

"Kal'tsit, help me recall what I did today that might have angered Saria?"

"For example, he might have me by his side, but he's busy trying to please his new lover and has never said a word to me?"

Kal'tsit raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, while Wayne obediently lowered his head and said sorry.

Kal'tsit shrugged, rested her hands on her hands, and ran her fingers through her loose hair, offering a gentle reminder:

“I don’t know the specifics, but Your Highness, I must remind you, never treat others as fools, and even more so, never treat others as ‘pawns.’ Not everyone is as willing to play this role as I am.”

.........

Leaving the Elizabeth Hotel, Seria reached out and flagged down a taxi that happened to be driving by. She casually said, "To Rhine Life," and then fell into deep thought in the back seat.

Even after she was out of Wayne's sight, Saria's unease did not diminish, as if something was already a fait accompli and she could not get rid of it no matter what.

She could only sigh softly.

It seems we've gotten ourselves into trouble.

Saria is a conservative person. She avoids trouble whenever possible, tries her best to avoid problems, and does everything she can to avoid disaster. She tends to take the lowest-risk approach in everything she does and does everything meticulously.

This led to her current role as the head of the defense department, specializing in risk avoidance and security, but it also shaped her somewhat "straightforward" personality.

However, while she was straightforward, it didn't mean she was stupid. An outsider might not see anything wrong with what happened today, but as someone directly involved, Saria felt something was amiss. And the source of this unease, after much thought, could only be the shareholder, VEEN.

From the sudden landing of the aircraft bearing the Victorian coat of arms and the Aslan tribal emblem at Silicon Valley International Airport, to the Colombian National Guard, usually so laid-back, mobilizing to disperse the crowd, and then to the familiar-looking federal congressman who was deliberately stopped by Wayne and tried to talk to him.

All of this was interconnected, as if a giant net had ensnared her. Saria might not be very sensitive in matters of the heart, but when it came to danger, her premonitions were always incredibly accurate. She could sense that behind all these "coincidences" was a powerful force secretly in control.

Like a game of chess that has already begun, both sides have played their cards, and Saria has unfortunately become a pawn for one side. Completely unaware of this, she finds herself unknowingly caught in the game, a tool in the battle.

Unfortunately, Celia didn't like being a pawn, and she was even less willing to be exploited by shady people for unclear goals. Her sharp mind quickly deduced that if one side of the game was a state legislator capable of mobilizing the National Guard, and even the federal congress, the highest authority in Colombia, behind that legislator, then the other side was undoubtedly only the shareholder, Veen.

Is that overly young entrepreneur using himself to achieve something shady?

Seria had been thinking and scrutinizing Wayne the whole way.

But it was precisely the good impression Victoria had left on her that prevented her from completely confirming her suspicions. She couldn't be sure if her guess was correct, and if so, she couldn't afford to offend Wayne, a shareholder, and cause trouble for the company.

Rather than resorting to thoughtless, direct questioning, Saria chose a less risky approach: lowering her standing in Vayne's eyes.

A chess piece becomes a chess piece because it is special. Just like if you pick up a stone from the ground and put it on a chessboard, it will not become a second rook or fortress. Saria believed that as long as she performed badly enough, she could make Wayne realize that she was just an ordinary worker and thus give up the possibility of being used.

Compared to other, more damaging methods, this approach of feigning ignorance and directly calling one's boss—a typical example of a mechanical office worker—is clearly the least risky and best reflects the "real-life situation of most Colombian workers." It's also more likely to convince Wayne.

As it turned out, she did succeed in part. Wayne realized the problems Saria was exhibiting and began to question whether her subconscious choices were correct. But she also failed in part, because no one could have predicted that Wayne had known about Saria's abilities from the very beginning. Her disguise only created a sense of incongruity that distorted her character and served no purpose whatsoever.

At this moment, the sixth sense that had made Saria's right eyelid twitch was still lingering in her mind, making her wonder if her guess was wrong? Was the so-called other side of the game not the shareholder who appeared by chance, but someone else she did not yet know?

Before she could delve deeper into this possibility or consider other people in her mind who might be capable of it, the taxi braked and came to a stop.

Seria instinctively picked up her purse and took out Colombian banknotes to pay the fare, but when she caught a glimpse of the scene outside the car out of the corner of her eye, she silently switched her hand from the banknotes to the telescopic baton on the other side of her purse.

The view outside the car window wasn't the familiar Rhine Life Building, but rather an unfamiliar, undeveloped area.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Saria asked coldly.

The driver removed his hat, which was emblazoned with the promotional slogans for the science expo and the logo of the organizer, Rhine Life. His professional smile, befitting a real taxi driver, vanished. Facing Seria reaching into her bag, he remained unperturbed and calmly replied:

“Ms. Seria, someone wants to see you.”

Chapter Six: I've Contracted the [Evil Spirit Disease]

At the same time that Seraya was taken away by the stranger, in the presidential suite of the Elizabeth Hotel in Colombia, Wayne, sitting on the edge of the bed, also fell into deep thought.

He suddenly felt a sense of unease. He didn't know when it had started, but he had subconsciously begun to see people as pawns, as actors. He arrogantly believed that as long as he made his moves and wrote his script, these independent-willed people would willingly cooperate with his actions.

This was undoubtedly a terrible thing, so much so that Wayne, who had been gloating over his rare display of compassion not long ago, was practically doused with a bucket of cold water. It turned out that he wasn't gradually getting closer to Theresa, but rather to one of Theresa's subordinates.

The evil spirit of the Tower of Babel that has yet to awaken.

Theresa upholds the ideals of openness and inclusiveness, seeking to save everyone on Terra, regardless of wealth, status, race, or nationality, with the spirit of an idealist. The evil spirit, on the other hand, adheres to absolute pragmatism, treating everything as a pawn and ruthlessly utilizing all available resources to achieve its own ends.

This goal, initially, might have been the same as Theresa's—to save and protect. The initial price might have been less significant, perhaps some money or power. But along the way, step by step, the path would stray, beliefs would become distorted, sacrifices would increase, and emotions would grow increasingly indifferent, until only a sense of self-importance and arrogant control remained. Ultimately, even those to whom they served as idealists would be sacrificed for a greater victory.

Wayne didn't dare show his panic and anxiety on his face, but the way he was rubbing his thumb betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

After a long pause, he raised his head and gave Kal'tsit a grateful look.

It has to be said that if it weren't for her timely reminder, I might have gotten even deeper into trouble.

Wayne was still shaken. He finally understood why those emperors and generals of ancient China, who could have easily extended their dynasties by decades with simple diligence and love for the people, still chose to embark on a path of wasting resources, tyranny, and incompetence.

Power can indeed corrupt, and Wayne himself couldn't deny it. When he saw the stubborn Duke of the North bowing down before him in repentance, and when he witnessed hundreds of thousands of Victorian soldiers swearing allegiance to him, his arrogance swelled. This arrogance ultimately led him to unhesitatingly include Seria, whom he had only met once, in the cast of his "stage comedy" in his planned trip to Columbia.

After all, at that time, all he thought was, "Even a dignified duke is nothing more than a pawn in my hands, a plaything in my palm. What are a mere Rhine Lab and the head of the security department? They can't escape my grasp either."

But what?

Neither Saria nor the others are fortresses, chariots, or bishops on a chessboard, nor are they clowns, princesses, princes, or witches on a theatrical stage. They possess their own thoughts and are leaders in their respective fields. They are living, breathing people who have survived to this day on the land of Terra, which is full of suffering, and have even found a place to thrive! Each of them is a wise person.

Arrogance and treating them as playthings will only lead to this result.