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

Wayne didn't know what Kal'tsit was laughing at, but the joke had gone too far, and what was about to happen wasn't exactly a comedy. He straightened his expression and said:

“Alright, there are no outsiders here, so let’s get straight to the point. The lady in front of you is my assistant, Kal’tsit. She is the teacher of Loken Williams, the head of the Loken Water Tank Laboratory. Hammer, I hope you can show her the ‘evidence.’ That way, our operation might be much easier.”

Hammer paused for a moment, hesitant, but after a long silence, her trust in the Pulitzer reporter and her pursuit of the last glimmer of hope overwhelmed her doubts. She asked earnestly, "Mr. Reporter, are you sure I can trust her?"

“You can trust me as much as you trust Wayne, Miss Hamer.”

Kal'tsit stepped forward, pressed her hand to her chest, and said sincerely:

"After all, he and I are exactly the same kind of people."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Do I Need a Shoulder?

Columbia, Silicon Valley, undeveloped area. 18:00

Wayne helped Himer get a leave of absence, and the superintendent approved it readily. Knowing that Himer was an acquaintance of Wayne's, she couldn't help but take a few more glances at the young intern researcher.

Birds of a feather flock together. Wayne, being able to become a shareholder of Rhine Lab at such a young age, must be no incompetent person. And Himer, being Wayne's friend, must also possess talent. Don't let her current position as an ordinary intern at Rhine Lab fool you; perhaps in the future, she will become a renowned scientist at Columbia University.

As the head of Rhine Life, she had to retain this talent for the company.

Unaware that she had already caught the eye of the commander-in-chief and that passing her internship was practically a done deal, Hermer was standing in front of her own door, pressing her fingerprint.

Before pushing open the door, she turned her head one last time to look at Kal'tsit and Wayne. She said earnestly:

"Although this isn't the first time, I still want to remind you both that Fiona is a sensitive child, so don't say too much about her identity and background."

In fact, if it weren't for punishing the atrocities committed at Loken's Water Tank Laboratory and saving the children still imprisoned, Himer wouldn't have wanted Fiona to relive those horrific experiences at all. She would have preferred that Fiona grow up healthy, have a happy family, and start a new future for herself.

Wayne and Kal'tsit both nodded knowingly; they could understand Himer's good intentions.

"Then, come in."

He pursed his lips, as if making a decision, then opened the door and called out into the room:

"Fiona, I'm back!"

"Ms. Hemer?"

Fiona peeked out of her room at the sound and looked towards the entryway with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you back so early today... um."

The sound stopped abruptly, and Fiona saw the Pulitzer reporter standing behind Hammer, and a woman named Felin whom she did not recognize.

That well-dressed man in a suit and tie...

Fiona bit her lip; his outfit reminded her of that person—Loken Williams. Perhaps influenced by Kal'tsit, his dressing habits were basically the same as Kal'tsit's.

【who is she?】

Just then, her "brother" asked a question before she could.

"I don't know," Fiona answered in her mind, "but I feel...not very well."

"Then hand over control to me, and I'll handle them."

"Brother," Fiona said, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

After a brief silence, Fiona raised her head again, a curious expression on her face, and asked:

"Ms. Himer, who are they?"

"You know the Pulitzer reporter, this is his assistant..."

Hamer thought about it and decided not to tell Fiona directly that Kal'tsit was Loken Williams' teacher, fearing it would upset the child's fragile nerves.

"Are they... here to see me?"

Wayne nodded: "Yes, we're here to ask you about some things."

"But I don't want to say. I don't know anything!"

Fiona glared hostilely at Wayne and Kal'tsit, then turned and darted into the room, the door clicking shut as it was locked.

Hamer looked at Fiona with surprise at her huge reaction, then turned away apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Pulitzer reporter, as you know, she’s not usually like this.”

Wayne's eyes flickered, then he nodded: "Mm."

Her assertive demeanor just now was completely different from Fiona's stammering, soft, and honest behavior during their last meeting. If anything, she seemed like a completely different person.

Another "older brother".

Wayne had always suspected that Fiona's body might contain another, or several, souls, like Rosemary. Perhaps because she was the first test subject, the technology in the Loken Water Tank Laboratory was not perfect, so the girl was not able to have an overwhelming main consciousness like Rosemary, but was forced into a state of coexistence with other souls.

However, he could not find any evidence. He had little knowledge of Fiona, the Loken tank, and the technology used in the experiment, so he could only make such a conjecture.

But judging from Fiona's performance just now, this conjecture may be becoming more and more realistic.

Bringing his thoughts back, Wayne shook his head at Himer and smiled:

"It's alright, let's take a look at the information first."

The so-called document was, of course, the "Fiona Medical Examination Report" that Wayne had secretly completed and seen at Hammer's house last time. Kal'tsit was Loken Williams' teacher and one of the top academic masters in all of Terra. With her unparalleled medical expertise in Terra, she might be able to glean some information from it that Wayne and Hammer couldn't.

Himer clearly knew this as well. He nodded, strode into the room, took out the reports from a hidden compartment in the wardrobe, and handed them to Kal'tsit.

Kal'tsit took the report, took a deep breath, and sat down on the sofa to begin reading.

"Confusion, suspected schizophrenia..." "Multiple Originium Arts adaptability..." "Loss of pain..."

With each line of text Kal'tsit read, she would utter a proper noun that seemed to be a summary, and her face would darken further.

"Brainstem implanted infected organ!" "Oripathic disease!" "Infected person.....!"

In the end, she gripped the report so tightly that she almost tore the paper to shreds.

This was the first time Wayne had ever seen Kal'tsit so angry. Whether in the pre-transmigration Arknights storyline or in their interactions afterward, Kal'tsit had always been a calm and rational figure, almost aloof. Her responses to external emotions seemed limited to a slight furrow of her brow or a gentle smile. But now...

Wayne had no doubt that if Loken Williams appeared before Kelsey at this moment, she would tear him to pieces with her own hands.

After a moment of silence and deliberation, Wayne suppressed the sudden surge of murderous aura emanating from Kal'tsit, walked behind her, and gently patted her back.

"You didn't do this."

“But he is my student, and this technology... strictly speaking, originates from me.”

Terra's research into the brain hasn't reached the point where it can support a brainstem implantation surgery. Due to the existence of Originium Arts in the medical field, medical science is currently limited to researching better staves and the treatment, suppression, prevention, and transmission of Oripathy. The most advanced achievement Terrans have made in brain research is controlling warriors by removing the prefrontal cortex.

The research into the secrets of the human brain was passed down from Kal'tsit to Loken Williams. She hoped this brilliant scientist would advance Terra's medical revolution in the future, but...

“Let me have some peace and quiet,” Kal'tsit said.

The facts are undeniable and irrefutable: only Loken Williams, her student, possessed both exceptional academic talent and knowledge, and the ability to conduct such research. Kal'tsit found it difficult to convince herself that anyone else had known this knowledge and committed such a crime.

She was unusually tired.

"Need a shoulder to lean on?" Wayne asked, sitting down next to Kal'tsit.

Kal'tsit glanced at him, closed her eyes, said nothing, and leaned closer.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Chimera of Colombia

Himer went into the room. Firstly, the current situation didn't seem suitable for her to stay in the living room. Secondly, she wanted to comfort Fiona, since Fiona was the one truly involved. Judging from Kal'tsit's expression, what Fiona had experienced might have been several times more serious than she had imagined.

It's no wonder Fiona got all worked up just now, given how often she recalls those kinds of things.

Even though I'm at home, why do I feel like the one who's superfluous?

Before entering the bedroom, Himer glanced back at Kelsey, who had just insisted at the company that she was "not his wife, but his assistant," but was now leaning on the shoulder of a Pulitzer reporter, and shook his head helplessly. Can't women these days just be a little more honest?

She probably never imagined that she would later come to hate women who were "too frank".

After Hamer entered the bedroom and closed the door, Wayne shrugged his left shoulder, looked at Kal'tsit, and said:

"What are you trying to say? Why don't you want Himer to be here?"

"...She really likes that child, so telling her some things would be too cruel."

Kal'tsit glanced at Wayne helplessly.

To be honest, for a fleeting moment, and only for a fleeting moment, she did feel a slight flutter at Wayne's question, "Need a shoulder to lean on?"

It's a pity... no, it's a good thing Wayne didn't notice her strange behavior just now. Otherwise, who knows what that man would have done.

"Don't try to create this kind of atmosphere to create a private space for two next time."

Kal'tsit tucked a stray strand of hair behind Sisheng's ear and whispered a reminder. She didn't want to have those dangerous thoughts again, like she had today, and feel guilty towards Theresa.

Wayne nodded.

Kal'tsit continued:

“What I just said is true. As you should know, Terra doesn’t have any in-depth research on the human brain; it’s part of our legacy. Based on this, it can be confirmed that Loken Williams is the instigator.”

She knew Wayne would understand what she was saying, after all, they were the same kind of people.

Wayne nodded, seemingly understanding. While comprehending Kal'tsit's riddle was a bit difficult, they were, after all, a long-time couple, so he could understand it. Kal'tsit meant that she had taught Loken Williams the technology, but he had later modified it for completely opposite purposes. Kal'tsit hoped he would drive a medical revolution and save lives, while Loken Williams used the technology to mass-produce war sorcerers, intending to create invincible weapons of war for killing.

But Wayne didn't understand why Hamer should avoid this.

Kal'tsit then explained:

"Because of Fiona, she is in great danger right now."

“I reviewed the Rhine Lab’s examination report, and in fact, many of the conclusions were wrong. This is not to say that Himer is not competent; in fact, to make such a close judgment without any relevant knowledge, she can be called a genius.”

"Her diagnosis of Fiona based on the report—that she has schizophrenia, intermittent mania, and amnesia—is not actually a diagnosis, but rather a diagnosis stemming from the same cause."

Kal'tsit's eyes sharpened, and Wayne replied knowingly:

"A second soul?"

She nodded, not surprised that Wayne, being of the same kind, would guess this fact.

With Kal'tsit's confirmation, Wayne finally confirmed his hypothesis. Although it's not very ethical to say it like that, Fiona was indeed an experiment of the "Rosemary Project," a sacrifice created to produce controllable Originium Arts masters who didn't need to learn Originium Arts.

Because she lacked a primary consciousness and was frequently possessed by her "brothers and sisters," her stability was far inferior to that of the later "Rosemary." Compared to Rosemary, she could be considered a failure.

This kind of thing, where innocent children become victims of experiments and are even labeled as failures, would make anyone angry and uncomfortable. No wonder Kal'tsit gave Wayne a look, signaling him to cooperate and to have Himer leave the room.

Just when Wayne thought Kal'tsit had basically finished speaking, Kal'tsit showed a helpless expression that said, "This is just the beginning."