Arknights, the Angel of Justice is waiting for level 16

"The target is correct. Take him back and get Director Ferdinand's bonus!"

Chapter 171: Saria, you are so stupid

It was already late at night, but the lights were still on at the Rhine Life headquarters. After working overtime for nearly a week, Saria finally couldn't stand it anymore...

However, the reporters outside the gate changed one after another, and there were countless paparazzi waiting for news all night, so she couldn't feel at ease and go home to rest.

"Director Saria, you haven't slept for two days. Take a rest. You still have to deal with the investigation team tomorrow."

"Okay, call me directly if anything happens."

Saria felt annoyed again when she thought about those "investigators" who took bribes and tried every possible way to extort money from her.

Unfortunately, anger and force could not solve any problems. Saria could only force herself to calm down and arrange the patrol routes for the guards on duty.

After doing all this, Saria finally breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and walked out of her office.

The Vaifan girl pondered what would happen next, unconsciously walked to a laboratory, and swiped her ID card.

The door opened, and when Saria came to her senses, she saw an empty room with no appliances.

"Ha... I was so busy that I forgot about it."

Saria originally planned to come and see Ifrit and chat with Hemer. After all, they had not been in touch since the phone call a few days ago.

Looking at the empty laboratory in front of her, Saria suddenly remembered that in order to prevent the investigation team from finding out the clues, everything related to the "Flame Demon Project" had been transferred.

——The new laboratory is not far away, it is a highly confidential area located underground.

The Vaifan girl didn't think much about it, turned around and left the room, and soon got on the elevator that led to the underground.

However, when Saria swiped her ID card and tried to go to the top-secret area, the screen showed that she did not have enough authority!

"..."

Saria felt as if someone had hit her on the head with a hammer. It was difficult for her to describe her feelings at the moment because they were too complicated and confusing.

The Vaifan girl slowly clenched her fists. Her body was as tense as a bowstring, and her aura filled with anger was extremely scary.

Finally, Saria pressed the button to go to the top floor, and this time she was allowed to go...

In the general manager's office, Christen was still busy working. When she heard Saria knocking on the door, she thought it was the secretary bringing coffee.

"Just put the coffee on the table, you can go out first."

"Kristen, it's me."

Saria stood in front of her best friend, her eyes were complicated and sad, the anger in her heart was gone, she just felt very tired.

"Sareya? What's wrong? Is there something going on again?"

"Fortunately, no unrelated people broke in."

Saria looked tired at this time. Christen motioned for her to sit down, but Saria refused.

"Kristen, my access to the underground laboratory has been revoked."

"Ah... This is my mistake. Muirseth was kidnapped and I was worried that the kidnappers would use her ID card to sneak in, so I made some adjustments."

Christen looked apologetic and tried to explain the situation, but Saria just looked at her without saying a word.

"..."

"Sareya, I will restore your authority now."

Kristen sensed that her best friend was in a bad mood, so she took a deep breath, operated on the computer, and unlocked Saria's permissions.

"Well, Saria, your authority in Rhine Life is now second only to mine."

"Kristen, you are the smartest person...I have ever met."

Saria is not a person who likes intrigue, but her emotional intelligence has improved significantly over the years of her working career.

What's more, she knew Kristen too well. They used to be best friends, close and trusting of each other.

"If you don't believe me, I will leave, and I can leave now."

"Sareya, you misunderstood! I admit... there is something going on here."

Kristen originally thought that with her friendship with Saria, this kind of thing could be easily resolved by just apologizing.

However, when she looked at Saria's sad expression, she finally realized that she was terribly wrong this time.

"Sareya, I have never distrusted you. You are my best friend. This company was built by the two of us!"

"It was Ferdinandi's suggestion to modify the authority. You also know about Muerseth's situation. We must be on guard. Besides, there is also the investigation team."

"As for the fact that your access to the underground area was locked, that was something Ferdinand told me. He didn't want you to see his research. I agreed because I was afraid that you would have a conflict with him."

Christen did not hide anything and directly confessed Ferdinand. She knew better than anyone that the person Rhine could trust the most in his life was only Saria.

"Sareya, I admit that I was inconsiderate and I apologize to you."

"Okay...I accept your apology."

Saria nodded slightly and smiled at Christen. Then she turned around and walked out of the room without listening to any more explanations.

The corridor leading from Christen's president's office to the elevator is only twenty or thirty meters long.

But this section of the road, Saria walked very slowly. She burst into tears without realizing it. She didn't realize she was crying until she walked into the elevator.

"No, my friend, we seem to have drifted apart. We were very happy together in the past. But now, we are incompatible. We should go our separate ways. This is life. Maybe we will meet again in the future. Please don't forget me."

Saria repeated this sentence in a low voice. She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, looked at herself reflected in the elevator wall, adjusted her expression several times, and finally smiled...

When Saria's expression finally looked less stiff, the elevator door just opened.

But what the Vaifan girl didn't expect was that there were far fewer people in the underground experimental area than she had imagined.

Saria stopped a researcher who happened to be passing by and asked him about it. Then she found out that the previously escaped experimental subject had been caught. Now, Director Ferdinand and Director Parvez were conducting a physical examination on him.

"An escaped...experimental subject?"

The face of the young man flashed through Saria's mind. She hesitated for a moment and ultimately did not follow him. Instead, she asked about the location of the 'Flame Demon Project'.

After the relocation of the Fire Demon Project, the laboratory area was much smaller than before. When Saria walked into the room, she saw only Hemer left there.

"Sareya?"

Hemer pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose. He never expected that Saria would appear here at this time.

Hemer originally thought that when she saw Saria again, she would be filled with anger. But at this moment, she looked at Saria with red eyes and just sighed without saying anything bad.

"Sareya, you didn't have to come."

"Why didn't I have to come? Where's Ifrit?"

Saria noticed Hemer's coldness and couldn't help frowning, but she didn't know that Hemer's mentality had changed, and his attitude towards her was still the same as before.

This caused Hemer's dissatisfaction.

"Heh~ Ifrit? Do you still care about her?"

"What do you mean? Why don't I care about her?"

"Really? As the head of the defense department, why are you here all of a sudden? Are you here to see Ifrit? Or..."

Hemer was used to showing the rationality of a scientific researcher, but at this moment, she was full of grievances and became excited.

"Or did you come here to see Ji Luo? That's right, he was caught! An escaped experimental subject, who made a lot of nonsense in the media, discrediting Rhine Life, and was caught directly!"

"Hemer, what do you mean? What does this have to do with Ji Luo?"

Saria still didn't know what was going on with Hemer's attitude. She was just sure that Ji Luo had been captured and death was waiting for him.

"Sareya, you... why do you still have that expression? Don't you know? A week ago, Director Ferdinand and Director Parvis decided to cancel the Fire Demon Project and use Ifrit as a replacement for Ji Luo and implant him into the remains of the Star of Misfortune!"

"How... is this possible?! No one told me."

Saria really knew nothing about this. She was busy in the defense department and Hemer completely ignored her. How could she know this?

"Hemer, I really don't know about these decisions, and I haven't participated in them. If I knew, I would definitely deny it!"

"Sareya, what's the point of you saying these things now? It just proves your stupidity even more!"

Hemer had long been fed up with Saria's behavior, so she overturned the table at this time.

"Sareya, you are the co-creator of Rhine Life, one of the only two creators! You are not a thug! You shouldn't just be a security guard!"

"Why are you willing to be the head of the defense department, guarding the simple force and only knowing how to follow orders? In the entire Rhine Life, how many people support you, how many people respect you from the bottom of their hearts?"

"Sareya, you initially protected Rhine Life all the way. At that time, the company was weak and needed force. But now, if Rhine Life needs to use force, the military, mercenaries, and Black Steel International can all fight!"

Hemer was really sad and angry at Saria's confusion at this moment. She was the founder of Rhine Life, why did all the major decisions of the company have nothing to do with her?

Even her opinion is dispensable, and it is just a process during the vote, and no one will really care.

"Sareya, you should look at yourself clearly! What's the use of your fighting ability? Can you still swing your fist at General Kristen?"

"I……"

Saria's mind was a mess now. She covered her forehead with her hands and couldn't even answer Hemer's questions.

"Sareya, even at the beginning, you knew that Ifrit would become a victim of the 'Scary Star Remains Project'. What could you do?"

"I...will stop it."

"What right do you have to stop it? Among the ten departments of Rhine Life, apart from the Defense Department, which other department cares about you and listens to your orders? And you are only the director of the Defense Department. How can you manage the experiment?"

"I...will go find Kristen."

"Heh~ General Manager Christen is your best friend, and everyone in the company knows it. But do you know what she is responsible for? The military, capital, government, and even the internal factions are all holding their own agenda. Will her words really work?"

Hemer had seen too much of the internal strife within Rhine Life, and he had seen it too clearly. Saria had always lived in her own world, and she had no idea what Rhine Life had become.

"Director General Christen, the reason she was able to sit in that position is not because she is a co-founder like you. It is because she balances the power and attitudes of all parties and maintains the operation and progress of the entire company. Rhine Life is no longer a small company. It will not go bankrupt without anyone."

"Yeah...it's the same without anyone."

Saria had been stuck in her own little corner of the Defense Department for too long, sitting at the top of her own mountain with little interaction with other departments, which left her living in her own fantasy, thinking that nothing had changed.

"Careya, everything has changed. Everything..."

Hemer's words were meaningful, but unfortunately, Saria was so shocked that her mind was confused and she didn't notice the girl's feelings.

The reason why Hemer suddenly said so much was, firstly, because of her emotional outburst, and secondly, she was ready to leave, and Saria would still stay in Rhine Life. She had to know and understand these things.

The funny thing is, only Hemer would say these words, and only she would tell her.

"Sorry……"

Saria had a lot of words stuck in her heart, and finally she just said sorry. Hemer calmed down at this time, and she smiled and nodded, accepting it.

"Sareya is a good person. Unfortunately, Rhine Life is not a good company."

"Hemer, don't worry, I will protect you and Ifrit."

Saria was not discouraged by Hemer's words. She might be weak in her heart, but she has never been cowardly or given up.

"No matter what, Ifrit will not be the recipient of the 'Remains of the Star of Misfortune'. I will go talk to Christen, and if that doesn't work, I will use force."

"No, no, Saria, you don't have to worry about this."

Hemer picked up a document on the table, handed it to Saria, and signaled her to read it now.

"We at Rhine Life had a total of four pieces of the remains of the Star of Misfortune. One piece was implanted into the experimental subject G100, but now G100 is missing and cannot be recovered."

"One piece was traded to Holhaiya by General Kristen. No one knows the details of the transaction. The third piece was taken away by Locke Williams. He has now gone to the wilderness and is gathering pioneers on a large scale. I don't know what he wants to do."

"Now, there is only one piece of the remains of the star of misfortune left in the headquarters, which was originally planned to be implanted in Ifrit. But Jilo was captured. He was identified by Ferdinand and Parvis as the most suitable test subject. So before Jilo dies, Ifrit will be fine."

Hemer's words, without any embellishment or concealment, bluntly exposed the nature of Rhine Life's disregard for human life.

Chapter 172: Dorothy Wants to Believe

As Saria listened to Hemer's story and looked at her expression as if she was accustomed to all this, she felt an indescribable sadness and horror in her heart.

When did the company she founded become the distorted and terrifying thing it is now...

"I know... we are doing human experiments, but I never thought those people were so inhumane."

A long time ago, Saria tried to stop human experiments, but was persuaded by Christen with various reasons.

She had also wondered whether Rhine Life would go down the wrong path and eventually fall irretrievably into the abyss.