Asura in Arknights

The people all gave Li Ang, who walked in through the door, different looks.

There was disdain, hostility, and curiosity, but Joyce's gaze remained as calm as a frozen surface of ice, showing no change whatsoever.

"Mr. Kennedy, you've finally arrived."

Sitting at the head of the table, Palvis smiled and said to Leon, "Please find a seat wherever you like; the meeting is about to begin."

Li Ang nodded, then glanced around the conference room before walking over and sitting down next to Joyce, amidst Himer's complicated expression.

There was no other way; all the other places were already full, and Li Ang didn't want to join that small group's fun, so he had no choice but to choose this place.

Considering Himer's hostility towards him, Leon deliberately chose the side closer to Joyce... although what had happened not long ago made him feel a little uneasy.

However, something unexpected happened to Li Ang: Hermer suddenly stood up, pulled Joyce aside, and switched places with her.

Li Ang stared blankly at Hermer, wondering what she was up to.

He had already taken the initiative to avoid it to avoid any misunderstandings... so why did Himer still come up to him on his own?

Before Li Ang could find out the reason, Palvis, who was in the main seat, had already begun his speech.

“To begin, I would like to summarize the recent ‘chimera therapy’ experiments,” Palvis said.

The researchers present had all participated in previous chimeric therapy experiments to varying degrees. Logically, they should be quite familiar with chimeric therapy, so there was no need to hold this meeting.

However, they could roughly guess that the meeting was not held for them at all, so they had no objections and obediently took out paper and pen to start taking notes on the meeting's content.

Afterwards, Parvis gave a detailed presentation, almost like he was holding a press conference, about the so-called 'chimerism therapy' and its broad prospects.

This is essentially a pie-in-the-sky promise, clearly aimed at Li Ang.

“Unlike traditional treatments for Oripathy, chimeric therapy has achieved excellent results in treating severely infected patients. We have successfully controlled the patients’ conditions, and they are now showing signs of improvement.”

As Parvis introduced the presentation, the PowerPoint slides on the large screen transformed into a medical record with the patient's name concealed.

Although the file contained no name or photo, Li Ang was able to deduce, based on a few key physical measurements, that it was most likely the file of that brat Ifrit.

But... what is Parvis doing? Li Ang couldn't help but wonder about Parvis's purpose.

Was this an attempt to entice him? Li Ang raised an eyebrow.

Palvis had previously investigated his background and should also know that Pol Pharmaceuticals had been collaborating with Rhodes Island since last year to treat infected individuals in the Great Knight Territory, and that a dedicated infected plot was under construction.

From a purely commercial perspective, Palvis's 'chimerism therapy' still has considerable value.

According to this medical record, Rhodes Island has no treatment options for infected individuals of Ifrit's severity... at least based on their current technology, they are unable to treat such severely infected individuals.

Even disregarding the cost of treatment, as long as a few examples can be presented for publicity, there's bound to be profit.

Because it gives those infected a glimmer of hope, and as we all know, hope is the most expensive thing in the world.

Tsk, no wonder Colombia made its fortune by exploiting infected people... They really know how to use these methods to their fullest extent.

If the person sitting here were Adams, or any normal businessman, they would probably understand the subtext that Palvis is trying to convey.

Parvis probably thinks... that Leon brought rosemary to Rhine Life to seek more benefits?

He might have miscalculated.

However, Li Ang still carefully reviewed Ifrit's medical records. Even if there were many things he didn't understand, he could write them down and seek advice from other professionals.

Leaving aside those who are far away, Joyce, who is sitting not far away, is a good candidate.

If the voice she heard was indeed the will of Originium, then Li Ang definitely couldn't escape it. He might as well think of a way to help this unfortunate girl break free from the control of the Originium's will.

With that in mind, Li Ang carefully read through Ifrit's file again.

With Li Ang's level of expertise and Palvis's explanation, he could roughly understand the treatment process during this period in the file. Apart from the irreversible original fusion rate of somatic cells, the chimera therapy did reduce Ifrit's blood Originium crystal density to a safe level.

Even the tissue that had been assimilated into Originium was effectively controlled because the artificially implanted Originium crystals caused the Originium infection mechanism to misjudge the situation.

Aside from the somewhat rapid consumption of implanted Originium crystals, Li Ang did not find any drawbacks, which was most likely due to his own insufficient skill level.

After reading through the entire file, Li Ang paused for a moment when he inadvertently glanced at the race section.

Because the race listed on it was Saffra, not Sarkaz...

Although her horns and tail showed signs of crystallization, their shape clearly indicated that they were characteristic of the Sarkaz.

Unless... the records on it weren't Ifrit's treatment records, but Leon had already searched the place thoroughly with his senses, and the only person who fit the criteria was Ifrit.

Many questions popped into Li Ang's mind, so he nudged Himer beside him and whispered, "Ifrit is Saffra? Then what about her horns and tail?"

Although she had a million reasons not to talk to Li Ang, after thinking of Joyce beside her, Himer still answered in a slightly stiff voice, "Racial trait mutation caused by Oripathy infection."

This explanation seems plausible; Ore-borne diseases can sometimes cause strange symptoms. However, Li Ang always felt that Ifrit's symptoms were not so simple.

With severely infected people everywhere, why did Palvis choose Ifrit as the subject of his chimeric therapy experiment?

Although it was a coincidence, Li Ang was more inclined to believe that Parvis had ulterior motives.

While Li Ang was pondering, Parvis, sitting at the head of the conference room, was explaining the most crucial part of his presentation.

"...However, current chimeric therapy has also reached a bottleneck."

"The side effects of active agents prevent existing analgesics from working effectively, or at least only partially. This not only causes patients a lot of unnecessary suffering during treatment, but also limits the dosage of active agents, making it impossible to achieve the theoretically optimal effect."

"At the same time, there are some problems with the processing of Originium fragments, which has led to a consumption rate far exceeding expectations. This not only increases the treatment cost of chimera therapy and limits its application, but also causes many sequelae to patients due to overly frequent implantation surgeries."

"Now, our most important task is to find a way to overcome these two problems."

As he spoke, Palvis pushed up his glasses and looked at Li Ang, who was sitting in the corner.

"As you've probably all noticed, we have an unfamiliar guest at this meeting. He is Mr. Kennedy, the chairman of the Casimirpol Pharmaceutical Group."

"I wonder what Mr. Kennedy's... thoughts are on our chimeric therapy?"

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Chapter Twenty-Seven: Timely Loss Mitigation

"Oh?"

Hearing what Palvis said, Li Ang immediately perked up.

At this moment, everyone's attention in the conference room was drawn to Li Ang.

"Chimera therapy... this technique doesn't seem to have been developed to treat Oripathy."

Looking at Palvis, Leon said with interest, "Human modification, the super soldier project... implanting processed Originium fragments, mimicking the condition of some infected individuals to grant the test subjects powerful magical abilities... Is this an order from the Colombian military?"

The destruction of the Loken tank was inextricably linked to the Colombian military, and it was through this channel that Rhine Labs obtained some of the experimental data.

Li Ang was just guessing based on what he knew, but... it seems he accidentally hit the nail on the head?

Although Palvis's facial expression remained unchanged, his inner emotions experienced a momentary surge of intensity, a change that only occurs when a secret in his heart is exposed.

Therefore, the Structural Science Department is indeed colluding with the Colombian military, using that brat Ifrit to research some kind of special biological weapon.

Well... there's really nothing strange about it; there's nothing new under the sun.

If Ferdinand can cooperate with the military, why can't Palvis make a deal with them?

However, this makes the obstacles that Saria and Muirse encounter during their investigation rather intriguing.

No wonder they hadn't found anything after all these days; it turns out there was a mole inside Rhine Labs sluggish things...

With the combined efforts of Rhine Lab and the military, wasn't Saria's investigation meticulously planned? It's likely that Saria has already realized this, which is why she specifically went to the chaotic periphery to investigate clues.

"Mr. Kennedy is joking. Rhine Labs is just an ordinary technology company. How could it be involved with the military?"

Palvis explained gently, “However… you are right about one thing. Chimera therapy is indeed based on a human modification technology that I think all of you have heard of, the Loken tank experiment that shocked all of Colombia a few years ago.”

The others in the meeting room erupted in an uproar. Palvis's explanation had caused a huge commotion among them, and they all lowered their heads and began to whisper among themselves.

That was a scandal that shocked almost the entire Colombian nation; it would be strange if they hadn't heard of it. However... none of them expected that the chimera therapy, which had been going on for several months, was using the Loken tank technique. Their faces couldn't help but show some surprise.

"However, every technology has two sides. Technology itself is innocent; the guilty ones are the humans who use it. Even if chimeric therapy originated from cruel experiments that defied human ethics, it can still save the lives of countless infected people and become a bridge for Terra to enter a new era."

Palvis spoke with righteous indignation, seemingly implying that Leon was the sinner who hindered Terra's technological progress and prevented the infected from seeing any hope of recovery.

He's so adept at standing on moral high ground and pointing fingers; I wonder how many times he's done the same thing before.

"Well said."

Li Ang clapped enthusiastically for Palvis's brilliant speech.

Just as Palvis felt he had achieved his goal, Leon suddenly changed the subject and said, "You just asked me what my opinion was... My opinion is very simple."

"No matter how noble the reasons may be, you have no right to demand that some people make sacrifices for others."

After saying that, Li Ang tapped the table with his knuckles, as if he hadn't noticed Parvis's slightly gloomy expression at all.

“I’ve listened to your technology presentation. Rhine Labs truly lives up to its reputation as Columbia’s top technology company. So… shall we begin the formal meeting now? Don’t forget your agreement with Rhodes Island.”

Li Ang said without any mercy.

The agreement signed at the time clearly stated in black and white that Rhine Life Structural Sciences would work with Rhodes Island to provide medical services to Rosemary.

After all, Parvis couldn't very well write in the agreement that he planned to use rosemary for human experiments, could he? If the agreement was strictly followed, Parvis really wouldn't have any opportunity to do anything underhanded.

At this moment, the fake smile on Palvis's face finally disappeared. After a moment of silence, he called Joyce over.

"Joyce, let's begin. Connect with Rhodes Island."

"learn."

Joyce nodded and took out a laptop that had been prepared beforehand.

Soon after, Kal'tsit, Warfarin, and some Rhodes Island doctors that Li Ang didn't recognize appeared on the computer screen.

"Director Palvis."

On screen, Kal'tsit gave Palvis a curt greeting.

Although the image quality is terrible, it's sufficient for attending meetings.

"I understand the situation. Let's begin the meeting."

Once Kal'tsit announced the start of the meeting, what happened next had little to do with Leon, or rather, with most of the people in the meeting room.

The main participants in the discussion were Palvis and Kal'tsit, with Warfarin occasionally chiming in from Rhodes Island, while from the Structural Department... even Himeru, personally trained by Palvis, found it difficult to participate in such a discussion.

She would try to say something, but would quickly realize her mistake and swallow back the suggestion she hadn't yet made.

After this happened several times, Himer lost the will to interrupt.

As for the others... their skill level is not even comparable to Himer's, and like Li Ang, they are just there to make up the numbers.

If it weren't for the inconvenience of contacting Rhodes Island from here, and the need to be wary of Palvis exploiting information asymmetry to spread rumors, Leon wouldn't have needed to attend this meeting.

Regarding Rosemary's treatment plan, Palvis and Kal'tsit actually agreed that the small foreign object in Rosemary's brain was a potential hidden danger, but they had some differences on specific details.

During his argument with Kal'tsit, he inevitably revealed some of the original data about the Loken tank.

Regardless of its feasibility, Palvis has at least presented a treatment plan on the surface, but it is still too risky.

Strictly speaking, Rosemary's problem does not stem from the artificial infected organ in her brain, but from the 'brothers' stitched together with her soul.

The safest solution is to cut off Rosemary's connection with her brothers. As for that thing in her brain... it's best to leave it alone if possible. Palvis couldn't have been unaware of the consequences of doing so; he just didn't care at all.

After all, even if Rosemary unfortunately died during the surgery, the Originium device in her head would still have considerable research value, which Parvis never cared about.

However, judging from the information that Palvis had inadvertently leaked earlier, as well as the treatment plan he presented, Palvis... seems unaware of the existence of Rosemary's 'brothers'? This suddenly makes the situation even more confusing.

The meeting lasted for more than two hours, until Parvis announced its end, somewhat weary, without the two sides reaching a suitable solution.

This is quite normal; Palvis and Rhodes Island have different goals, so it would be strange if they could reach an agreement so easily.

The only thing they agreed on was that the structural department could perform some basic examinations on Rosemary to help treat some of her minor ailments.

The ordeal she endured in the Loken tank left Rosemary with numerous aftereffects, which she couldn't fully recover from even during her treatment at Rhodes Island. Naturally, Rhine Lab continued to take care of her there.

After the meeting, Li Ang wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Joyce, but Hermer seemed to have been prepared and pulled Joyce away. Li Ang could only watch helplessly as the two of them left.

Li Ang didn't know what Hemer had misunderstood, but he felt that her attitude was a bit strange.

However, Himer has long since left, and Li Ang has no way of knowing what she was thinking.

Just as Li Ang was about to leave, Palvis approached him.

“Mr. Kennedy, do you have time to chat with this old man?” Palvis said with a smile. “I’d like to talk about the topic of which child Rosemary is.”

“Okay.” Li Ang thought for a moment and then nodded.

Seeing that Li Ang had agreed, Palvis said to the few researchers who hadn't left the conference room yet, "You should leave quickly too. Remember to write a report on chimeric therapy when you get back."

"You should have gained a lot from this meeting. I'd like to hear if you have any new ideas... Go on."