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

Now, the military wants to bypass parliament, refuse negotiations, and directly demand relevant information. The military's intentions are quite ambitious.

But this has nothing to do with me.

"I refuse."

Loken Williams answered quickly, decisively, and resolutely. As a good dog, he knew his master. Changing jobs at the last minute was a major taboo; nobody likes a thug who will betray them.

"Won't you reconsider?"

The brigadier general wasn't in a hurry and asked again.

Loken Williams shook his head. There was no point in even considering it; he absolutely could not agree to the proposal if he didn't want Loken Water Tank to go bankrupt tomorrow and his body to be hanging from a streetlamp outside his door.

He was just a company owner; he couldn't afford to offend either the military or the political establishment. Having decided to cling to one side, he absolutely couldn't let go, or he would surely meet a gruesome end!

The brigadier general shrugged, showing no anger, as if he had already anticipated this outcome. He nodded, picked up his briefcase from the side, and stood up.

"Then I'll take my leave, Dr. Williams. Also, I have a military jammer in my briefcase; your recorder and internet connection won't record anything. Finally, I wish you good health, and I hope you won't regret this decision later."

Loken Williams did not answer. He stood up and watched the brigadier general's tall figure disappear at the end of the corridor outside the reception room.

Stepping out of the Loken water tank, the brigadier beckoned to his attendant, who was standing in the newsstand outside holding a copy of the Columbia Illustrated Weekly, and said:

"As expected, Loken Williams refused to cooperate."

"So what's the next step, General?"

"How do you do it? Do I need to teach you? Suppress Rhine Life."

The brigadier general said,

"Let's take advantage of this technology expo to completely crush Rhine Labs... Yes, I'm talking about Rhine Labs. Loken Tank has been mingling with those political scoundrels for too long, and the stench is indistinguishable from theirs. Instead of forcibly capturing this stubborn dog, we might as well just raise a new one."

"If nothing unexpected happens, those people in the political arena will start suppressing Rhine Labs during this technology expo. Those insects love balance the most, but we don't care about balance; we like to crush. Have our people ready to give Rhine Labs a push from behind while the political establishment is suppressing it. They want to cripple Rhine Labs, right? Then we'll give them a push and make them break its bones. Ideally, we'll break their spines completely and shatter the balance!"

"When the time comes, we'll send a smart person to find a reason to expose this political matter. Betrayed by the Federal Parliament and with their backbone broken, when Rhine Life is unwilling to give up and wants to stand up again, we will become their saviors."

The brigadier turned around, looked up at the tall building of the Loken Water Tank Laboratory, and smiled contemptuously.

"The experiments for 'mass-produced soldiers' aren't limited to this place. Rhine Labs is a good place too, isn't it?"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Impeachment

Columbia, Silicon Valley, Rhine Life headquarters.

When they arrived at the headquarters of Wayne and Kal'tsit, the entire building was already bustling with activity. Researchers were taking off their white lab coats and changing into smart suits or tuxedos, making final preparations for the second live broadcast of tomorrow's technology expo.

The commander, Monica, and Saria were also among them. Wayne spotted them immediately. The reason was simple: out of all these people, they were the only ones who hadn't changed their clothes and were still dressed as researchers.

The commander's office lady suit and pencil skirt were fine, but Saria was wearing a charging suit with a large "X" pattern on it, just with a white lab coat over it. Monica was similar; she had a great figure, but the loose white lab coat made her look rather unremarkable.

This outfit is outrageous for this occasion, but considering it's Saria, it's not entirely unreasonable.

Wayne thought for a moment and told Kal'tsit to go find where Director Henry was, while he went up to greet the three of them.

He had exchanged a few words with the Commander-in-Chief, and only met Monica once when he arrived at Rhine Labs. The only person he was truly familiar with was Saria. He was just very curious: where did Saria go that afternoon?

"Saria, Miss Commander, and this lady, the Minister of Technology, good morning."

Wayne greeted her, and Saria turned around, a wary expression on her face, but it quickly disappeared.

The matter is related to Wayne, but that's just her speculation. At least based on the existing evidence, Wayne is completely innocent. To suspect someone without cause and to maintain prejudice and indifference towards them is unethical, and Saria wouldn't do that.

She nodded politely and extended her hand to shake Wayne's.

"Hello, Mr. Shareholder."

"Hello, Mr. Shareholder, what can I do for you?"

The head of the department shook hands and took over the conversation. In this temporary trio, she held the highest position, had the broadest jurisdiction, and was the most experienced, so it was only natural that she raised the question.

Wayne shrugged:

"It's nothing, I was just a little curious because you were the only ones dressed differently. I remember Mr. Henry posted in the company's LINE group that there would be a rehearsal today and all employees were required to wear formal attire."

The young lady nodded knowingly, a somewhat helpless smile appearing on her face.

“We are in a special situation, and we have explained this to Director Henry and obtained his understanding.”

Their current situation is indeed special. In fact, during the three days that Wayne rested at home, the Commander, Saria, and Monica did not leave Rhine Lab's headquarters at all.

That night, after repeated experiments, they finally confirmed that the enemy had targeted the three of them. No matter which one of them left the headquarters, this "sanctuary," they would be attacked by the enemy. Perhaps the enemy thought they had a good relationship with Saria, and therefore wanted to capture them both to threaten her?

This is truly a terrible misfortune for the Commander-in-Chief. It's true that Monica and Saria are close, but what connection does she have with Saria that she's suddenly facing this bloody disaster for no reason? Although, given Saria's personality, she might indeed accept the threat to rescue the Commander-in-Chief.

The three had no choice but to make do with the staff dormitory that night via the glass skybridge connecting the four buildings. It wasn't until the next day, when Executive Director Henry arrived at the company, that the matter was finally reported.

Even so, they dared not leave Rhine Life alone.

Although Director Henry was aware of the matter and had begun an investigation, investigations take time, and whether they would yield any results remained to be seen. After all, Saria had offended two powerful forces: one was Loken Tank, a force on par with Rhine Labs, and the other was a Federal Congressman who was clearly of higher status than Rhine Labs. It was difficult to guarantee that they wouldn't take risks and pursue them while they were out alone.

When the time comes, even the strongest Saria, alone and without support, cannot handle the crisis. So, the two of them, who consider themselves just "humble clerical staff" and "weak data specialists," will be even less able to cope.

Therefore, the three ultimately chose the safest approach: they informed Director Henry of their speculation and received permission to remain in the Rhine Life building for the remainder of the day.

As he pondered, the commander-in-chief suddenly realized something and informed the commander:

"If the shareholder is here to see Director Henry, he is not here now and may not be back until tonight."

Wayne was slightly taken aback. He really had come to see Director Henry to discuss investment and shareholding, but this usually diligent director, unlike the three others who were forced to work, and who almost wanted to live in the company, was not there.

"Where did he go?"

The governor replied, "The federal legislature of Washington state, the capital of Colombia."

.........

The capital of Colombia, Washington State, also known as the District of Columbia.

Like Silicon Valley, a paradise for researchers, this is a paradise for bureaucrats. The resources consumed by this mobile city are almost entirely supplied by several surrounding mobile cities that regularly intersect and connect their shipping routes. Inside, it is a giant consortium composed of politicians, members of parliament, lawyers, and various law, political, military, and political universities.

Its core city is the location of the Colombian State Assembly, also known as the "National Assembly," which is the federal assembly and the federal parliament.

At that very moment, Henry, the executive director of Rhine Life, was descending the towering stairs after completing a report to the Federal Parliament regarding the location, plan, and content of a technology expo.

During the briefing just now, he also publicly announced another matter—the impeachment of Silicon Valley State Representative Chianti Antrias. He accused her of disregarding the law, illegally obtaining evidence, persecuting, attacking, and even imprisoning legitimate RheinLife employees for her own illegal profit-making purposes.

This impeachment caused a huge uproar in Congress. With the overwhelming evidence presented by Henry (companies like Rhine Life have always had leverage over their cooperation with government officials, but usually presenting such evidence means a lose-lose situation and will lead to a counterattack from the other side, which is not good for either side), and with the help of the Chianti opposition, who were already envious of the huge interests in Silicon Valley, Senator Chianti, who was in Silicon Valley but did not attend the meeting, was inexplicably labeled a "defector of federal law and order," and the National Guard was already on its way to arrest him.

This incident would inevitably enrage Senator Chianti, but Henry no longer cared. So be it; he couldn't tolerate Senator Chianti's brazen and shameless actions towards his own employees. Rhine Life was the organizer of the technology expo, and countless politicians would want to support them for their own benefit. Why would they fear a mere Senator Chianti?

So it seems the matter is basically resolved. Next, I just need to take the plane back to Silicon Valley, get a good night's sleep, and prepare for tomorrow's tech expo.

But did things really go so smoothly?

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Mind Full of Schemes

Columbia, Silicon Valley, main exhibition hall of the technology expo. Ten minutes before the expo opens.

Regardless of how future historical records document this day, Wayne is certain they will begin with the statement: "Today is a sunny day." The weather in Colombia is always unpredictable, especially in Silicon Valley. Although it's located in an area less prone to natural disasters, it's downstream from the wind, and dust from natural disasters in the wilderness often travels through the city with strong winds, resulting in mostly overcast skies and rarely sunny days like today.

Everyone at Rhine Labs considers today a good day; even the most irreverent scientists will offer a prayer at this moment, attributing the good weather to God's blessing upon Rhine Labs and this exposition.

Ten minutes before the opening ceremony began, Wayne finally met the belatedly arriving Director Henry. He was a little surprised. Judging from his personality, Director Henry should be like Seria, someone who values ​​details, time, and rules. If Wayne hadn't informed Rhine Lab beforehand, he would have worried that something might have happened to him on the way.

But in reality, Henry did encounter some problems on his return journey.

He was a meticulous person, especially attentive to security, and had a deep understanding of shady dealings. If Seraya was Rhine Life's internal safety valve, then Director Henry was Rhine Life's external barrier.

Before boarding the plane, he specifically asked his entourage to check for listening devices, cameras, or anything similar on board, paying particular attention to seemingly inconspicuous crystal balls and glass beads. He had learned his lesson from these before and vividly remembered the possibility that they might be surveillance devices.

However, those are things that are not to be told to outsiders, and he has never mentioned them to anyone to this day.

The investigation revealed a shocking discovery: no listening devices or surveillance cameras were found, but a hidden compartment filled with highly concentrated Originium explosives was discovered beneath the aircraft's cabin floor. The compartment was completely covered by the cabin carpet, making it appear perfectly normal whether stepped on or viewed from above. If Director Henry hadn't insisted on conducting a metal detection test, the accompanying personnel would never have discovered the bomb's existence.

If this highly concentrated Originium bomb were to explode mid-flight, absolutely none of the dozen or so people on board would survive. Even if they weren't killed by the explosion, they would be thrown out of the cabin by the blasting airflow and fall to their deaths. Even if you were incredibly lucky and survived both the explosion and the fall, you would still contract Oripathy from inhaling the massive amounts of Originium dust produced by the explosion, and your condition would rapidly worsen. You might even crystallize before you even land!

No one can survive an explosion, a fall, and an environment with extremely high concentrations of Originium radiation. This is a triple-insurance killing move, and the person who planted the bomb clearly had no intention of letting Director Henry live.

As for who planted the bomb, Director Henry had no doubt that it must have been one of Senator Chianti's men. After all, the only person he had a direct conflict with now was that perverse senator.

Unfortunately, Henry was still one step ahead and prevented the plot from succeeding.

The only thing he couldn't understand was that, since only the Washington State ground crew had conducted a routine safety check on the aircraft from the moment it left the airport until it returned to the cabin, why did they not only fail to detect any safety hazards, but also find an extra bomb on the aircraft?

Could it be that those two people were bribed by Senator Chianti?

This is illogical. If he had the ability, why didn't he just bribe the ground staff at Silicon Valley International Airport to detonate a bomb and kill him en route to Washington State? Silicon Valley is his sphere of influence, and it would be much easier than bribing the ground staff in the capital. It would also prevent his impeachment, which is obviously more cost-effective.

Unable to understand, Henry could only hastily write a letter of complaint at the airport and have his subordinates deliver it to several members of parliament who opposed the Chianti faction, asking them to use it to create momentum and completely destroy Chianti. He himself stayed at the airport, waiting for the aircraft to undergo a thorough inspection to ensure it was safe before taking off.

This caused a delay. He didn't return to Silicon Valley until half an hour ago, and then rushed to the expo.

Opposition lawmakers, of course, welcomed this "knife" that had been delivered to them.

Henry, the chairman, probably never imagined that the bomb on the aircraft was planted on the orders of the very members of the Federal Congress who had just been moved by his impassioned speech. Who else could possibly have the power to influence the Colombian oligarchic corporation, "Colombian Federal Airlines"? Some of them were essentially agents of Federal Airlines; wouldn't it have been easy for them to instruct ground crew to plant a bomb?

As for Senator Chianti, he was merely a scapegoat, unknowingly taking the blame to secure greater benefits for the entire parliament and the oligarchs behind them.

Things were unfolding exactly as the Federal Parliament had planned. Defeating, or rather abandoning, Senator Chianti and attacking Rhine Lab were two completely independent things. Abandoning Senator Chianti was for the purpose of gaining more benefits, and attacking Rhine Lab was also for the purpose of gaining more benefits. Letting them fight each other would allow the political world to reap the benefits. This was their favorite and most proficient method of balancing things.

It's somewhat regrettable that Director Henry, widely considered by politicians to be Rhine Labs' "most capable but also most threatening" leader, didn't die in an "accidental" flight crash, slightly slowing down the progress of dismantling Rhine Labs and turning them into a compliant tool. But it doesn't matter. After this, his conflict with Senator Chianti will intensify, and the political world will benefit no matter how you look at it. Besides, there are many ways to eliminate someone; if this fails, there's always next time. The senators aren't in a hurry.

Unaware of these events, Wayne and Henry were on the scene, waiting to witness this historic moment for Rhine Life.

In ten minutes, the Columbia Science Expo, the grand science event of all Terra, will open in this newly completed prototype exhibition hall! At that time, 160 technology companies from Silicon Valley and more than 200 research companies and organizations from all over Terra will participate and showcase their latest and best research results from the past four years.

This will be a grand celebration. And in this grand celebration, Rhine Lab will become the star of the show, thanks to its groundbreaking Oripathy suppressant drug—Saver!

Henry and Wayne both believed this.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Hello, Teacher Kal'tsit

"The Colombian Technology Expo, a quadrennial spectacle of wonders."

"They are not magicians, yet they can do things that magic cannot accomplish."

"Focus on the greatest scientific research event in all of Terra, witness the technological development of all of Terra, all at Columbia, Silicon Valley, the Circular Expo Center!"

With such overwhelming propaganda, whether genuine or fabricated, sweeping across the land, from the storm villages beside the Sami snowfields to the tropical rainforests of the far south of Sargon, from octogenarians to schoolchildren, the name of the Columbia Science and Technology Expo became known to everyone.

Clearly, the officials of the Federal Parliament have spared no expense on the Science and Technology Expo. Although they have made the decision to balance the strength of Rhine Lab and Loken Water Tank, it does not mean that they will sacrifice a large-scale event held once every four years. They want to make money in the future, and they also want to make money now.