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

"There's just too much data."

In a single sentence, he revealed the countless crimes committed by Loken Water Tank over the past decade.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Deceiving the Heavens and Substituting the Beams for the Pillars

Columbia, New York, Wall Street.

When the fully armed National Guard arrived at the main street in front of the financial exchange, took up their advancing posture, raised riot shields and heavy crossbows and gradually advanced, ready to fight a fierce street battle with the army, they found that the roadblocks that had been blocking the road for two weeks had been removed and moved haphazardly to the side of the road.

The garrison captain surveyed the scene with suspicion, but remained vigilant. This was likely a feint by the army, designed to lull them into a false sense of security so they could launch an ambush with far fewer troops.

But the closer he got to the financial exchange, the more doubts he had.

"It's so quiet, Captain. There's no sign of Colombian troops on the streets."

"A member of the National Guard muttered to himself. The captain scratched his head. If he had studied the military treatises of Yan, he might have been able to come up with a reason like 'this is an empty city ploy by the enemy,' but unfortunately, his knowledge wasn't that broad. At this moment, he could only reply sullenly:"

"The military has probably redeployed its troops to be stationed near the financial exchange."

As he spoke, a small sense of accomplishment welled up inside him for some reason. This was perhaps the first time since its inception that the National Guard had directly clashed with the military. As pioneers, they had actually achieved a resounding victory. The military, intimidated before the battle even began, proactively chose to consolidate its defenses, handing over large swathes of Wall Street to the National Guard!

In the future, once the political situation is settled and the military is appeased, he might even get a medal or something as the person who fired the first shot. That would be a huge bonus, and he wouldn't have to worry about the rest of his life.

Indeed, hard work pays off. As long as he keeps moving forward, the road will continue to extend and eventually lead to wealth and prosperity!

"Stay alert, speed up, and raid the financial exchange!"

The security captain immediately gave the order. He knew the situation on Wall Street; the military had been deployed throughout the city until yesterday, and it would take time for them to tighten their defenses today, and their lines were certainly not yet firmly in place! If they seized this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, their chances of success would be very high!

But he never imagined that he would see such a scene when he arrived at the gates of the financial exchange.

Nearly three hundred Colombian soldiers sat in neat rows on the ground, like a military formation resting during a training exercise. Their hands were uniformly bound tightly with military nylon rope. Each person had their head down, appearing as if they were asleep. If it weren't for the rise and fall of their chests visible through their uniforms, this scene might have become a nightmare that haunted the garrison captain for the rest of his life.

Crossbows, swords, and even some expensive replicas of Laterano firearms were tossed aside like trash, piled up in small mounds. Meanwhile, the valuable high-energy stone bombs, grenades, and even rare military-grade staffs—each one fetching a hefty price on the black market—were stored in new safes, seemingly just pulled from the exchange.

What's going on here?

The guard captain felt his brain short-circuit. Had the Colombian military simply surrendered?

But how could that be?

Just seeing the weapons and ammunition strewn across the floor sent chills down the guard captain's spine. He had no doubt that, given his hasty and reckless decision, if he dared to appear at the financial exchange, he would be riddled with crossbow bolts.

With so many weapons, the army had no reason to surrender. Moreover, even if they did surrender, there was no need for them to tie themselves up. They could simply negotiate with them, armed with weapons, and try to secure a more favorable outcome that resembled surrender rather than actual submission.

But they didn't. They chose the most dishonorable way.

What happened here?

The guards exclaimed in surprise, expressing the doubts that were on the minds of the entire National Guard.

Just then, a car horn rang out from the quiet street corner. A black luxury sedan stopped across the street. The security team immediately raised their weapons, but the people who got out of the car made them breathe a sigh of relief and lower their weapons.

"Your Honor, Chief Referee."

The security captain immediately went to greet him. Unexpectedly, the chief referee slapped him hard across the face.

"Dare you come any later?!"

The chief referee roared,

"Do you know what just happened? I was almost killed by the rebel army!"

He pointed to the gash on the right shoulder of his suit jacket and the red bloodstains visible beneath his clothes, roaring furiously:

"If I hadn't been prepared and dodged that arrow, and hadn't drawn my gun and killed that damned lieutenant general, the person you see lying there now would be me!"

The chief referee pointed to the financial exchange, and only then did the security captain see a body dressed in Colombian military uniform hanging from the obviously damaged fence in front of the exchange. Judging from the stars on his shoulders, he was likely a lieutenant general.

Is he the military leader here?

A dignified lieutenant general has actually died, this is truly...

But then again, if a lieutenant general is dead, how did you survive? And with so many soldiers here, why didn't they avenge their lieutenant general, but instead surrendered without resistance?

The security captain cast a questioning look at the chief referee, only to be met with the chief referee's furious glare.

He wisely chose to keep quiet.

How this political heavyweight survived was none of his concern; perhaps the man had some trump card up his sleeve? After all, he was the head of the Federal Parliament; it wasn't surprising he possessed some survival skills. He couldn't afford to ask too many questions. He was still young and didn't want to get himself killed by saying, "You know too much."

A bright future awaits him; he hasn't even received his medal yet, nor has he started a company to become a big capitalist like Black Steel!

Faced with the referee's anger, he decisively chose to back down, immediately bowing and scraping:

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, checking the equipment took a little time and I was delayed on the way. I'm really sorry!"

There will be no next time!

The chief referee roared, taking a deep breath and softening his tone slightly:

"Also, go in immediately and rescue the people inside. They are all heroes, especially the handsome, calm, decisive, and exceptionally intelligent Prince of Wales. We must persuade him to come out safely. Without his help, these rebels would not be so easy to deal with!"

The security captain's lips twitched; he was utterly disdainful of the chief referee's blatant flattery. But a superior is a superior; if a superior wants to flatter someone even higher up, he can't. He'd better just stick to his job!

"understand!"

He gave a military salute, turned around and beckoned to several security guards before entering the financial exchange.

Outside the financial exchange, the chief judge, seeing the security captain enter, turned and retreated into his car, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"I made it in time, I wasn't late. How was my acting, Kal'tsit?"

“It’s terrible, Your Highness. Logically speaking, no foreign dignitary would lavish praise on another country’s royal family in front of their subordinates. Moreover, if you hadn’t insisted on personally retrieving the data on these Loken water tanks, we wouldn’t have made this trip, and we wouldn’t have almost missed the deadline.”

Kal'tsit glanced at the cardboard box piled high under the passenger seat and pursed her lips.

The "chief referee" blinked his golden eyes, waved his hand, and smiled:

“Kal'tsit, your logic is in the general sense, while what I grasp is the humanity of Columbia.”

Humanity?

Kal'tsit lowered her head and pondered for a moment. Just as she was about to say a few words to Wayne, she heard Wayne speak again:

"Besides, I don't think it's flattery; these are all facts."

Kal'tsit swallowed back the words she was about to say, rolled her eyes, and replied:

"Instead of wasting your time lying to me and complaining about you, you should just stop your Originium Arts. You're tired enough, you need to rest!"

Wayne shrugged helplessly.

"Thank you for your concern. I'll be going now."

He then closed his eyes, and a short while later, the chief referee slumped limply into the back seat.

Seeing this, Kal'tsit took a deep breath, pulled up her disguise mask, disguised herself as an ordinary driver, and drove away quickly.

She had to go and complete the second task Wayne had given her.

[Pulitzer reporter] The third generation is about to be born.

Chapter Sixty-Three Casual Talk

Hamer's life hasn't been very good lately.

The collapse of Rhine Labs resulted in thousands of employees who had relied on Rhine Labs for their livelihood losing their jobs. Hermer, an intern researcher who had been confirmed to be a full-time employee with a promising future, also suffered an unexpected disaster in the incident, losing not only the opportunity to become a full-time employee but also his job.

Colombia has no labor laws or unemployment relief laws. At a time when most countries are still using infected workers on a large scale, such laws to protect workers' rights are simply a pipe dream, let alone in Colombia, which is driven by profit and controlled by oligarchic capital.

They've already set a bottom line by not letting people work for free, let alone providing relief after you lose your job. They'd rather throw you into the wilderness to fend for yourself, preferably get you infected with Oripathy, and then drag you back to mine, so that human resources can be recycled at zero cost.

Even in Victoria, Wayne is currently unable to fully push through labor legislation. The eight-hour workday is already the limit; if he goes any further, he might take too big a step and end up hurting himself.

Hamer's financial situation worsened day by day after losing her job. The salary for an intern researcher at Rhine Labs was already low; the main focus was on learning techniques and accumulating experience. If Hamer were alone, it wouldn't be so bad, but with the added responsibility of caring for the sick Fiona, her finances became extremely strained. She hadn't saved any money over the years, and since losing her job, she was living beyond her means. If she hadn't chosen a residence in a remote, undeveloped area on the edge of an industrial zone, she might have faced the predicament of not being able to afford rent.

However, even in the darkest of times, there is always some light. Although Rhine Lab has collapsed, new shoots seem to have recently emerged from its ashes.

Director General Menes, Minister Celea, Minister Monica, and Henry, who was recently reappointed as an executive director, have also been working hard to pay the final wages of former Rhine Life employees before their departure. This is not an easy task for Rhine Life now, and the difficulty lies not only in terms of finances but also in terms of psychology.

Colombian law makes no provision requiring companies to pay their employees their final wages before bankruptcy. Yet Rhine Life is doing so willingly, appearing foolish to its peers.

"We're just doing what we're supposed to do."

Having met Himer a few times and being somewhat familiar with her, Saria took on the task of delivering Himer's salary.

Unfortunately, Rhine Life's bank cards were frozen, and the bank cards of several Rhine Life executives, including Henry and Menes, were also subject to transaction tracking. Seria had no choice but to distribute the money one by one by sending cash.

But to be honest, if it weren't for this trip to deliver cash, she wouldn't have been able to travel all over Silicon Valley and see the appalling shadows in the dark alleys beneath the projections of those glamorous giant corporations.

Sitting in Himer's home, Saria picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and sighed:

"This is probably a kind of farewell. Having settled everything with Colombia, Rhine Life is about to embark on a new journey."

"What do you mean?" Himer blinked, puzzled. "A brand new journey, is Rhine Lab going to rebuild?"

Seria nodded. This news hasn't been officially announced yet; it's only been revealed to a few former ministerial-level figures at Rhine Labs. Very few people have responded to the reconstruction news so far; everyone seems to have lost faith in the future of Rhine Labs' reconstruction.

But this may be because Henry did not inform the other ministers about Rhine Life's relocation to Victoria.

More important than their joining is maintaining purity at Rhine Life. After the Columbia incident, Henry finally understood that it was better to recruit one pure comrade who would never abandon or give up on Rhine Life when it was on the verge of collapse, rather than recruiting a thousand disloyal people to kick them while they were down.

Otherwise, no matter how glamorous the building is, it will ultimately just be a shoddy construction project.

Saria told Himer about this without any ulterior motives. She did have high hopes for Himer's future; he was a researcher valued by shareholder Wayne, had received high praise from Professor Androkov during his internship, and was neither arrogant nor impatient. However, Saria didn't have high hopes that Himer would choose to join Rhine Lab.

She still had a sick child to support. No one needed money more than her. And Rhine Life Insurance clearly couldn't provide her with the funds to solve her immediate crisis.

We can't expect to convince Victoria's new backers to approve a special fund to win over a researcher who is only "promising," can we? With that money, capitalists obsessed with making money will definitely use it for advertising, or, to put it another way, to hire an already famous scientist.

"We will rebuild, just not in Colombia."

Saria stood up. She had rested there long enough; she still had several paychecks to deliver and couldn't linger any longer. However, before leaving, she hesitated for a moment, then turned back and said:

“Miss Himer, if you ever wish to join Rhine Lab again in the future, you can come to Victoria to find me.”

“Victoria? Are you moving there?” Hamer asked.

“Yes. Victoria, New Wales, that’s where our future headquarters will be located. Rhine Life in Columbia will officially become history after we pay off the last of our owed employee wages,” Celia replied.

Himer frowned slightly, her expression one of regret. She currently had no plans to go abroad. Firstly, she lacked funds; she still needed to treat Fiona's illness, and going to Victoria meant being in an unfamiliar place, which she might find difficult to adapt to. Secondly, there was the matter of Loken's water tank; he had an appointment with the Pulitzer journalist, and she wouldn't leave Columbia until she witnessed that monster fall with her own eyes.

But Himer still silently memorized the address. She really liked the work atmosphere at Rhine Life, and if one day she could break free from these constraints, perhaps she would choose to go to Victoria again to pursue her dreams.