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

After saying goodbye to Himer, Saria walked out of Himer's apartment building. As she walked, she glanced down at the address on the next envelope. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar figure. Saria turned around and saw Felin, wearing an ill-fitting men's suit and with short, light green hair, walk into Himer's apartment.

"That's... Kal'tsit?"

Seria unearthed the name from her memories. She hadn't seen Mr. Wayne's butler for many days. How could she suddenly appear downstairs at Himer's apartment?

Out of caution, she turned around and followed.

Chapter Sixty-Four Hesitation

Columbia, Silicon Valley, undeveloped area.

It took Kelsey a full day to return to Silicon Valley from New York State, but thankfully, things went very smoothly with His Highness Wayne. She kept a close eye on the news reports about the diplomatic incident between Victoria and Colombia on various news websites, and shortly after returning to Silicon Valley, she saw the official announcement from Colombia regarding the Prince of Wales incident.

Now that there are no problems with His Highness Wayne, it's up to her to finish her work.

The name Pulitzer is more than just a journalist; it's a symbol, a pioneer, a role model. In the vision Wayne shared with Kelsey, the Pulitzer journalist was envisioned as the Theresa of journalism—lifting the clouds from this suffering land and bringing a ray of light.

Unlike Theresa, the Pulitzer is not a single person, but a group of many. His first generation was Wayne, who opposed religious dictatorship and pursued national sovereignty and independence; his second generation was Theresa, who opposed aristocratic corruption and exposed the suffering of the people; and as the third generation of this title, Kal'tsit deeply felt the weight of the responsibility on her shoulders.

This was a path that even Theresa had never imagined, and as one of the pioneers, she absolutely could not allow any accidents to happen on this path.

With that thought in mind, she knocked on the door of Olivia Himer, the beginning of everything in Columbia.

Having just seen Saria off, Himer opened the door in confusion, and froze for a moment upon seeing Kal'tsit. Before she could speak, Kal'tsit preemptively said:

“Miss Himer, if you don’t mind, could you let me in first? I brought what you wanted.”

Hamer glanced at the thick stack of folders Kal'tsit was holding in her arms. Kal'tsit quietly moved her fingers away from the folder covers a little. Hamer's pupils contracted slightly. It was the logo of Loken Water Tank.

"Please come in."

She quickly stepped aside and waited for Kal'tsit to enter before leaning out to peek into the hallway outside. Finding no one there, she hurriedly retreated back inside, closed the door, and even locked it.

“There’s no need to be so nervous, Miss Hamer. The political and military circles are too busy to keep an eye on you. Loken Tank has lost all their protection.”

Kal'tsit placed the documents on the table. She was a cautious person, but at this moment, she wasn't worried about eavesdroppers. She had already made preparations, placing the mon3tr (diamond-shaped object) behind the shoe cabinet outside the door. If anyone tried to eavesdrop, they'd have to ask the mon3tr if its claws were sharp enough.

"What's this?"

Although she already had a guess in her mind, an excited Hermer still asked incredulously.

Kal'tsit naturally turned to the first page of the document and replied:

"Information on Loken water tanks. The part that can't be found on any official website, the part that can't be seen in the light of day."

Hammerton remained where he was.

Information on Loken water tanks. So fast?

From the time she formally commissioned the Pulitzer reporter to the time Joseph Pulitzer came to Columbia to investigate the matter, less than half a month had passed, and the data from the Loken Water Tank Laboratory, the evidence of those demons' crimes, had already been delivered to her.

Himer was momentarily dazed. Thinking back, far too many things had happened in those fifteen days: first, the arrival of journalist Joseph Pulitzer; then, the acceptance of the commission; and then the surprising discovery that Joseph Pulitzer was actually a major shareholder of Rhine Life, which gave him the opportunity to become a full-fledged researcher at Rhine Life.

Finally, Rhine Life suffered a sudden and devastating blow, plummeting from its most glorious peak to the bottom of the valley, and she also lost her job.

Hamer once thought there was no hope left, and at the moment of Rhine Life's collapse, she deeply realized her powerlessness. Faced with the avalanche of corporate collapse, no matter how much she wanted to go against the tide, countless reasons forced her to become just another snowflake drifting with the current.

But now, things have taken a turn for the better. She learned from Seria the good news that Rhine Life was about to be rebuilt, and less than ten minutes later, she received a surprise from a Pulitzer reporter.

"If there truly is a God, then she must undoubtedly be the one who is favored," Hamer said with certainty.

Kal'tsit coughed lightly twice. She knew that Himer might be feeling a lot at this moment, but time did not allow anyone to express their emotions. Kal'tsit then explained why she had come to see Himer specifically.

“Miss Himer, although we have evidence of the Loken tank, there is still one issue that requires your final decision.”

Kal'tsit asked with a grave expression:

"Are you really sure you want to expose all of this?"

The contents of the documents obtained by Kal'tsit can only be described as shocking; they are nothing short of astonishing. During the years when Loken Water Tank rapidly rose to prominence and gained a monopoly in the medical supplies industry, Colombian government officials and members of parliament who had dealings with Loken Water Tank Laboratories were found throughout virtually every corner of the country.

They weren't all heinous criminals, but they were all involved in this massive crime. Each of them knew that Columbia was secretly developing super soldiers capable of fighting against special races like the Immortals, in order to gain a chance to stand on equal footing with the other nations. But not everyone knew that the price of this research was children. Some of them were universally praised benevolent individuals, implementing good policies in their localities and widely admired by the people. Others were outright villains, not only heavily supporting human experimentation projects but also specifically targeting war-torn countries—such as Kazdel, Sargon, and the border regions of Ursus and Casimir—buying up displaced children and sending them to their laboratories as guinea pigs.

Fully exposing the information in Kelsey's possession means exposing them, and exposing them means exposing the entire Colombian nation, bringing the dark side of the country into the sunlight, and exposing all the ugliness, conspiracies, and lies to the scorching sun and the gaze of the people.

But the consequences are self-evident. Colombia is already in chaos enough. His Highness Wayne has learned from the chief referee that the military has begun a rebellion. If it weren't for the rare instance of the political establishment uniting for their own interests and mobilizing the National Guard to suppress the rebellion, Colombia might very well have erupted into a civil war with a split between the military and the government.

The exposure of the Loken water tank incident may very well be the final straw that breaks the camel's back in the political arena.

Kal'tsit asked Himer to make the decision.

From Victoria's perspective, a living Colombia is more useful than a dead Colombia, especially since Colombia has just signed so many "mutually beneficial treaties" with them.

However, as a Pulitzer journalist, Kelsey had to inform Himer. She and Wayne's thinking was simple: they were happy to see Pulitzer journalists' actions bring benefits to a country, but they couldn't accept having Pulitzer journalists act in order to bring benefits to a country. The purity of the path was essential; one wrong step would lead to a series of wrong steps. This didn't align with Wayne's original intentions.

—In places where the sun doesn't reach, we use our flashlights to illuminate them.

"So, the choice is yours, Miss Himer. To expose or not to expose."

Chapter Sixty-Five: A Chain of Betrayal

While reading the materials obtained from the ruins, Kal'tsit learned that there was a classic unsolvable problem in philosophy called the trolley problem.

The principle is quite simple: a tram is traveling on a herringbone track that can change tracks. On one side of the track is a kind-hearted man tied to the tram, a man who has saved many lives and is loved and respected by all. On the other side of the track are five innocent children, carefree and catching butterflies. At this moment, a tram approaches. If it follows the normal route, it will undoubtedly run over the man tied to the tracks, causing countless poor people to lose their support and struggle to survive. If the tram changes direction, it will kill the five children playing on the tracks, a completely unnecessary tragedy for them.

And you are the one holding the track-changing control lever. At this moment, what would you choose?

Save one, or save five?

If we choose to save the child, are the lives of five people more valuable than the life of one? If we save one person, aren't the five children innocent?

This issue goes beyond philosophy; it involves psychology, sociology, and even a person's values, upbringing, and national environment. Therefore, it is an unsolvable problem. There is no perfect solution.

Hammer tried asking, "Can't we filter the cases and only expose Loken Williams' crimes?"

But all she got in return was Kal'tsit's silent gaze. This was impossible; it was a simple multiple-choice question with no third option.

Exposing only Loken Williams? That's pointless. No matter how much you expose Loken Williams' crimes, he won't be affected in the slightest because he has protectors. When powerful figures get involved in this abyss, they're already tied to Loken Williams; they reap huge profits while also taking on risks.

If Loken Williams is exposed, it means that this chain of interests has been broken. In this case, the bigwigs will do everything they can to protect Loken Williams.

"They're not protecting Loken Williams, they're protecting themselves."

Loken Williams will be fine. When the time comes, the officials who realize there's a problem will start destroying evidence. At that point, the information that Kal'tsit had worked so hard to obtain will become a joke without any evidence to back it up.

Himer fell silent. She didn't think as far ahead as Kal'tsit, but she understood the implications; this matter was far too significant.

She probably couldn't have imagined the blow this would have on the political scene, but on the tram in front of her were countless people who depended on Locken Tank Laboratory for their livelihoods, countless companies that had collaborated with Locken Tank Laboratory, and many more people.

Hamer had already experienced the life of losing his job due to economic collapse and company bankruptcy. Rhine Labs was considered a relatively conscientious company; although the salary for intern researchers was low compared to others, it was still among the best in similar jobs. Even so, Hamer had endured a long period of meager wages, not to mention the Loken water tank.

If the Loken tank were to collapse, optimistic estimates suggest that at least 30 percent of the healthcare industry in Silicon Valley would lose its jobs. No company could take them over, as another major player, RheinLife, collapsed even earlier than the Loken tank.

What will happen to them if they don't have unemployment benefits? And not every company will pay departing employees their last month's salary.

Himer fell into deep thought. On one side were innocent children who had endured suffering and pain, and now finally had hope for revenge; on the other side were ugly politicians who did not deserve pity, but who carried the lives of tens of millions of people in Colombia on their shoulders.

How to choose?

Kal'tsit awaited Hamer's reply. If she chose not to expose him, Kal'tsit would consult Wayne on whether to leave the information in Victoria's hands as leverage, or have other plans. If she chose to expose him, Kal'tsit would respect her client's wishes and, as Joseph Pulitzer, toll the final death knell for Colombia.

Kelsey suddenly remembered Wayne's assessment of Columbia:

"This nation, built on betrayal, will inevitably perish on betrayal in the end."

This assertion is indeed insightful. If Himer chooses to expose it, it will be the greatest betrayal of this century. A Colombian, for the sake of the Colombian people, betrays the country and personally shovels the last handful of soil onto its grave.

Instead of choosing to remain rational and calm, Prince Wayne chose to understand human nature, thus forging his own path and embodying the shared ideals of these ancient people in a different way. Truly worthy of being her kind!

"Never mind."

Himer's gaze swept over the documents in front of her one last time before she slammed the book shut and pushed it back in front of Kal'tsit.

"If you think I am indecisive, then I apologize for wasting your and the Pulitzer reporter's valuable time."

Hemer lowered his head, took off his small round glasses, and wiped his moist eyes with his feathered arms.

"However, I care more about my life with Fiona now than about revenge."

Kal'tsit nodded. She wasn't surprised by the answer, nor did she feel sorry for Himeru. In Kal'tsit's view, either option would have been perfectly natural.

"No, people make different choices. This is my business card. If you need help in the future, you can contact me through this card."

Kal'tsit took a business card from her pocket and handed it to Himer.

Hammer took the business card and suddenly asked:

"If it were you, what would you choose?"

"Does it matter?" Kal'tsit replied.

Himer nodded: "Indeed, none of that matters anymore."

“Then, according to the client’s wishes, this commission is cancelled.” Kal’tsit tidied up, picked up the documents on the table, stood up, and said, “I won’t stay any longer. Farewell, Miss Himeru.”

"Farewell, Ms. Kal'tsit."

Kal'tsit pushed open the door and went out. But she unexpectedly bumped into someone.

"Saria?"

"Madam? It really is you. What are you doing here? Isn't Mr. Wayne with you?"

Saria bombarded her with questions, and Kal'tsit raised an eyebrow:

"Are you curious?"

Seria then realized her rudeness. After all, the person in front of her was the secretary of a Rhine shareholder, and it was indeed a bit presumptuous of her to inquire about Wayne's whereabouts in front of her.

"Feel sorry."

"I'm here to see Miss Himer to ask her about some things. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

Kal'tsit turned around, walked to the shoe cabinet, and prepared to take the mon3tr that was placed there for surveillance.

This is truly strange. Saria has been standing here for quite some time, yet mon3tr hasn't alerted her? This has never happened before, and mon3tr is one of her most trusted allies.

“mon3tr”.

She called out softly, but received no familiar "beep beep" echo from the diamond-shaped compressor. Kal'tsit realized something, frowned, slowed her pace, and went around to the back of the shoe cabinet.

Immediately, her pupils contracted sharply for a moment.

Behind the shoe cabinet, where the wall once stood, now lay a metal prison. Mon3tr was encased within a massive, round alloy sphere, embedded in the wall, unable to move an inch.