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

Loken Williams still remembers the torment he suffered in college, scratching his head until he was bald from all the strange theories he didn't understand, asking teaching assistant Kelsey for explanations, only to be met with an even stranger set of theories, keeping him up all night.

He never knew where Kal'tsit's knowledge came from, nor did he dare to ask. He only knew that this woman was probably the kind of third-gender human "female doctor" that was rumored among his university classmates—extremely knowledgeable and with exceptionally high combat power, which made him respect her.

But Kelsey's Spartan-style education did indeed pave the way for his future success. When faced with difficult problems, he had a solution method that was completely different from others. He also had an excellent way of interpreting the expressions of his superiors. In the early days of the Loken Tank Laboratory, he relied on Professor Kelsey's theories to create the laboratory's first product, which made him famous among Columbia's top management and made him a giant in Silicon Valley.

He was grateful to Kal'tsit, but also fearful of her. He had considered inviting her to visit Loken Tank, but was afraid that the secrets of Loken Tank would be exposed by his teacher, whom he remembered as upright and honest. He was overjoyed to be able to reunite with his mentor at this unfortunate time of the Science Exposition, but was also shocked that Kal'tsit was already taken.

From this perspective alone, Wayne, who was able to conquer Kal'tsit, is definitely not a simple character. At the very least, his courage is absolutely commendable.

Withdrawing the hint of awe that had unconsciously crept into his gaze, Loken Williams turned around, activated the automated machinery behind the booth, and hung a sign that read, "Temporarily leaving. For assistance, please use the automated machinery. For manual assistance, please call the official Loken Tank Laboratory hotline: 114-514-520. The final interpretation right belongs to Loken Tank Laboratory." He then addressed Kal'tsit and Wayne:

"Let's go without delay!"

Wayne was slightly taken aback, not expecting that scumbag Loken Williams would be more enthusiastic than him:

"Aren't you going to take care of your booth?"

"No need."

Loken Williams shook his head dismissively:

"There's no point in guarding here. See that booth over there? It's an innovative building technology company. According to the rules of the technology expo's zonal exhibitions, they wouldn't even be worthy of being listed alongside Loken Water Tank. But they just happened to be blocking Loken Water Tank's way. Mr. Wayne, whose dirty trick do you think this is?"

It's Rhine Life, of course. Who else could it be? Wayne recognized those employees.

But of course, he couldn't be the one to say such a thing; he simply wore a thoughtful expression, waiting for Loken Williams to enthusiastically explain it to him:

“It’s Rhine Life. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be guests there today discussing cooperation with that construction company. Loken Water Tank will be hidden behind that wall, and no one will be able to find it. Guarding here is pointless. I might as well take my teacher and senior master to visit our company in person and let them experience the true value of Columbia’s No. 1 status.”

Kal'tsit glanced at Wayne. She wasn't particularly interested in visiting a student company, but it was still more interesting than just standing there chatting. However, if Wayne didn't want to go, she would respect his decision.

After all, Wayne is the one in charge. Kal'tsit has never heard of Wayne having any interest in biotechnology. Even if he did, he has already invested in Rhine Labs, so there's no need for him to get involved in the rival's business as well. Sometimes, betting on both sides isn't a good thing. He's not some cash-strapped Colombian who's always thinking about making money.

But Wayne agreed readily, as if he had truly been persuaded by Loken Williams, and developed a strong interest in the laboratory.

This made Kal'tsit feel uneasy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

Is Wayne interested in the lab? Of course!

What interested him was the laboratory, the experiments within it, and their results. However, compared to the Columbia leadership who orchestrated the Loken tank tragedy, their goals were diametrically opposed: one sought to use the experimental results to strengthen their own power, rival the military, and amass more wealth; the other, Wayne, aimed to expose them and destroy this evil scheme.

It's amazing, isn't it? Even when taking the exact same action, the outcome can be completely different depending on the perspective from which the person takes it. This is what is meant by "your position determines your perspective."

Loken Williams led the way towards the expo exit, with Wayne following behind. Behind him, Kal'tsit stood still, her brow furrowed, seemingly deep in thought. Wayne took a couple of steps, then, realizing the lynx hadn't followed, turned back and asked:

"What are you thinking about? Let's go."

Kal'tsit gently pinched her chin with her right hand, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

"Wayne, are you hiding something from me?"

Wayne nodded calmly:

"Yes."

Kal'tsit: "What is it?"

Wayne looked her into the eyes: "Are you sure you want to know now?"

"It has something to do with me?" Kal'tsit was slightly taken aback.

"It concerns you, so I've told you what you need to know, but you'd better keep your composure. This will surprise you, anger you, and even disappoint you, and I don't want you to become an obstacle to me after you know these things. Of course, you can also choose not to believe me, after all, I can't produce any relevant evidence."

If it involves me, it will make me angry, surprised, disappointed, or even damage my relationship with Wayne, pushing me to the opposite side and becoming an obstacle.

Kal'tsit's brow furrowed deeply. She was almost 70 or 80 percent certain that Wayne was talking about things that had become "history that no longer exists in any historical records."

Is it about something from a long time ago? About Wayne's true identity as a Watcher? Was he once my enemy? Then why are we so close now...?

Kal'tsit didn't want to use the word "ambiguous," but even with her extensive knowledge, she couldn't find a better word to describe the relationship between the two. Whether it was Wayne's feelings for her, or her feelings for Wayne, the relationship was somewhat "ambiguous."

"What's wrong? Teacher Kal'tsit, and your senior brother? Are you feeling unwell?"

Realizing that neither of them had followed, Loken Williams pulled out a microphone from his breast pocket and asked through the automated machine on the booth.

Someone was already urging him, so Wayne asked again:

"Do you want to know? If you do, I'll tell you. Although now isn't the best time, I won't object if you want to know."

After all, Kal'tsit would find out about the Loken water tank laboratory sooner or later. If she didn't ask, Wayne would find a suitable time to gather all the evidence and present it to Kal'tsit so she could understand everything. But since she asked, Wayne had no reason to hide it from her.

Was he really going to watch Kal'tsit continue to smile at a piece of scum? Wayne felt disgusted just looking at Loken Williams. Let alone watching Kal'tsit smile at a pile of non-combustible garbage.

Leos are very possessive; he was jealous and felt really uncomfortable.

Seeing that Kal'tsit remained silent with a frown, Wayne opened his mouth, about to speak. At the last second, Kal'tsit reached out and covered his mouth, interrupting him.

"Forget it, like you said, now is not the time."

Kal'tsit tilted her head slightly, looking at the man before her with a complicated expression. She couldn't be sure what the grudge from a thousand years ago was, but since Wayne believed it might lead to a falling out between them, Kal'tsit decided for the time being... not to know.

She didn't want to fall out with Wayne yet...

Yes, it's for Theresa's sake, and for Theresa's orders. Now she also has to fulfill her duties as a nanny!

"As for those things, tell me slowly after everything has settled down."

When the time comes, I will use my calmest and most rational judgment to decide what I should do.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Miss Menes, You're a Shareholder Now

RheinLife, Administration Building.

Executive Director Henry was in a good mood. His speech at the expo was a great success. Rhine Life's products attracted attention from all over Terra. Everyone was stunned into silence by the Saver's ability to suppress Oripathy. All eyes were on Henry and Rhine Life. Now, all they had to do was prepare, stock up on goods, and wait for large orders to be delivered to Rhine Life's administration building.

This is undoubtedly a cause for celebration, especially since it has been the only time since its inception that Rhine Lab has completely stolen the limelight from Loken Water Tank with its own products, technology, and strength, finally getting a good vent for years of being beaten down in every aspect!

It's a bit of a shame that the young shareholder, Director Henry, who arrived at the expo with him, was not seen clapping and cheering from the podium at this historic moment for Rhine Life.

Of course, it's also possible that there were too many onlookers and it was too noisy, so Henry simply couldn't find Wayne.

The executive director consoled himself with this thought as he picked up the internal phone on his desk and called the general manager.

Miss Menezes has been incredibly busy lately. During the expo, she was probably the busiest person at RheinLife. She was responsible for conveying the decisions of the board of directors and shareholders, coordinating communication between the R&D and production departments, juggling the demands of clients while simultaneously accompanying the board of directors to meet with leaders of major Silicon Valley research giants. She arrived at the company as early as 7 a.m. every morning and didn't necessarily leave until 10 p.m. She was a true model of a workaholic.

But this time, she genuinely enjoyed it. Because she truly loved the company, its philosophy, its atmosphere, its ideals, and looked forward to its future. So, even when her professional smile made her muscles stiff, she would jokingly say that it was like being a "Victoria's socialite," putting in effort to improve her status and earn rewards.

Of course, Rhine Life will not treat her unfairly now.

After the young lady, having composed herself, entered the executive director's office, Henry, unusually, didn't wear a stern face or give a reprimand—most of the time, being called into Henry's office was a prelude to a scolding—the thin, middle-aged man simply combed his hair, which had turned somewhat gray from being so busy these past few days, and asked as kindly as possible:

"How's the assembly line setup in the production department going?"

"We have already stockpiled 100,000 doses and are currently in orderly production. The manufacturing process of inhibitors is quite complex and requires special Originium Arts for auxiliary adjustment. However, our technology is not yet able to perfectly replicate this Originium Arts with machines, so we cannot achieve fully automated production, and our productivity is always limited."

"We need to find ways to overcome the challenges. On the other hand, let's temporarily halt the production of other products, gather all the relevant experts and researchers, and work together to achieve full automation while expanding production scale by leveraging other production lines."

Director Henry gave the order.

The commander hesitated for a moment, but still didn't voice his concerns: What if the inhibitors don't sell?

Upon closer examination, this is almost impossible. With such extensive publicity from Rhine Life and Columbia, and so many infected and high-risk individuals across the Terra world, this inhibitor will never lack an audience.

Expanding production lines is necessary. Market opportunities are only available once and are fleeting. Technology expos like today's will not be held again for another four years. Who can guarantee that Rheinlife will be as prosperous as it is today in 1096?

We must seize this opportunity to firmly establish RheinLife in Colombia and the entire Terra, becoming a truly giant enterprise. To achieve this, we must secure sufficient funding at this technology expo through the Saver, using it as a springboard for RheinLife to expand beyond biotechnology and into all fields.

"I'll take care of it right away."

The young lady was filled with excitement and anticipation for the future. Seeing this, Director Henry finally showed a smile he hadn't displayed in over a decade, and nodded to Menes.

"Go ahead, and while you're at it, submit this report to the shareholders' meeting."

Menezes instinctively took the report from Director Henry, but before she could turn around and leave the office, she suddenly realized what she had done and looked apologetically at Director Henry:

“Mr. Executive Director, you are probably too busy and have forgotten about this. I cannot pass on this report for you. I am not authorized to go up to the floor where the shareholders’ meeting is held.”

The shareholders' meeting has now ended. The manager, who originally possessed [S+] power and could attend the meeting and speak but did not have voting rights, now has her authority reverted to the standard department head level [S].

This set of access control rules was so cumbersome that more than one Rhine Lab employee complained that it was the most ridiculous rule in the entire company. However, it was precisely this set of rules that ensured that Rhine Lab's core secrets would never be leaked. Menes, as the head of the department, was well aware of the importance of this rule and was one of only two people in the entire department who supported it at the meeting.

The other is the head of the defense section, Seraya.

On a side note, Menes thought that if Saria hadn't sometimes been a bit awkward with words, and if she, as the commander-in-chief, hadn't been someone with extremely high emotional intelligence who valued the art of language, they might have been friends long ago, given all these similarities. They wouldn't be in this situation now, only reaching a relationship that's more than acquaintances but less than friends, through their collaboration at this technology expo.

The young lady's reminder brought a mysterious smile to Director Henry's face. He stroked his beard and said:

“But now you have that authority, Ms. Menes. As the executive director in charge of all matters related to the Rhine Life Science Expo, I have formally submitted a proposal to the Rhine Life board of directors to allow you to hold shares, and this proposal was formally approved this morning after my speech.”

Henry took a document bearing the Rhine seal from his desk and handed it to the governor.

"Although it's only three percent, starting today, you are also a member of the Zuge Group who will attend shareholder meetings."

"After you're done with this, take a break. Rhine Life needs talent like you in the future."

...........

"Why did you approve Henry's bill?"

The Rhine Life boardroom was dimly lit, illuminated only by sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. A deep, resonant male voice asked a question; judging from the tone, he was probably a burly man.

"There's no reason why. Anyway, this share will soon be worthless. Even death row inmates get a good meal before they die, so why can't I show some kindness?"

A languid female voice replied with a hint of amusement.

"That's true. When will we withdraw our investment?"

"It's not the right time yet. Didn't Henry just order an expansion of production? The political world is watching us closely. Let's wait until the cash in our accounts is tied up by this expansion before we withdraw our investment."

"This tactic is called 'drawing the firewood from under the cauldron'."

Chapter Thirty: Laughing to Death, I Absolutely Can't Afford It

Columbia, Silicon Valley, Loken Water Tank Laboratory.

"Building on the present, creating the future." Looking at this sign erected at the main entrance, Wayne couldn't quite manage a smile. Had Loken Water Tank contributed anything to the entirety of Colombia, or even the whole of Terra? The answer was undoubtedly yes, and perhaps quite significantly.

But the sacrifices it made to create these contributions are unacceptable. Rather than saying they are pillars of the present and paving the way for the future, it would be more accurate to say they are sacrificing the present of the innocent to create their own future.

Wayne didn't know if this was the norm for Colombian conglomerates; after all, if the timeline hadn't changed, Rhine Life would have ended up like this in the future. But if that were the case, on what kind of mountains of corpses and seas of blood was the progress of this country that claimed to be democratic and free built?

Those entering the Loken tank undergo basic checks, including having their carry-on luggage inspected at the security checkpoint, ostensibly to protect classified information. However, since the person leading the way was Loken Williams, the head of the laboratory, no security guards were oblivious enough to stop them.

Loken Williams simply told Kelsey and Wayne to put their cameras and similar devices in the lockers before allowing them to enter; he didn't even confiscate their phones. As for why Wayne was carrying a camera?