“You’re back!” the man said with his back to her. All she could see was the tall executive chair, not him. Rhea stood where she was and said, “Yes, sir.”“How did it go?”“There would soon be a tender event, and the project would fall into Fabian Moore’s hands. Our lab could then be placed within the vaccine development center.” Rhea paused for a moment. “Before I came, I went over to take a look. It has a good environment and is well-equipped. The government has also poured in a lot of money and resources, which would boost us.”“Terrific!” He sounded satisfied, but his voice was awful. Rhea picked her ear, despite herself. “But why is it taking so long? Can’t they just give the project to Fabian Moore?” He seemed to be impatient. “No, there’s a protocol to follow. If not, people might get suspicious and criticize how it’s done, which would be bad for us,” Rhea explained. “It’s troublesome to operate in your country, isn’t it?” He snorted dismissively. Rhea raised her b
Mike stared at her without saying a word. Rhea tilted her head. “Have you thought about how to explain it to the boss if you kill me?”“Are you important to him?” Mike finally spoke and mocked her. Rhea let out a calm smile. “Perhaps you could try killing me.”“You think I don’t dare?”“Then do it!”A dead silence ensued. All that could be heard was their breathing as they glowered at one another, seeing hatred and anger in each other’s eyes. “If the experiment succeeds, what would it lead to?” After a long while, Mike asked. Rhea laughed. “You’re the biggest investor, and you have no idea what it will lead to? You’re not much of a businessman, are you?”Ignoring her ridicule, he asked further, “If Austin is R18, then there must be an R1, R2… R17. Where are the other test subjects? I’ve never seen them before!”“You have a good imagination, don’t you?” Rhea rolled her eyes and did not answer him. “I bet you know!” He pressed his arm against her neck, and she could hard
Rhea had worked willingly for the boss because he had what she wanted, but Mike was different.‘All for the sake of a brat? Is it worth it? I don’t get it! What happened to Anastasia and me when we were young was driven by self-interest. My parents ignored me and went to save their niece first for personal gain. If I was down on my luck, I could have died!‘If I did, would they be sad? I think they would, but only for a while since they could get another child. So you see, there’s no such thing as parental love since it’s all about self-interest.’“You know nothing about love! You don’t know what it’s like to be loved. You monster!” Mike glared at her. His words stung her deeply.At first, Rhea looked as if she was indifferent and carefree, but her expression changed at his words. She chuckled coldly and said, “Yes, I’m a monster! I don’t know what love is or what it’s like to be loved. I only know these feelings are self-inflicting miseries brought upon human beings.“A cat would
Rhea’s response was quick. She stepped aside and dodged, but the man reacted quickly and whipped around, throwing himself over with his arms open. He chased after her in circles in the small room as if it was a game.Just as the man closed in, Rhea spun around and threw a handful of powder onto his face. She quickly jabbed him with an anesthetic syringe as he winced and halted in his path. Within seconds, he slumped onto the floor and could no longer move.Although he felt limp, his mind grew awake. He rubbed his eyes hard, and his roar turned into a whimper. When he opened his eyes again, he felt dizzy for a moment.“Rhea?”“I haven’t seen you for a few days. Do you miss me?” Rhea curled her lips into a smile.The man might find her smile rather charming under different circumstances and if they were in another place.Austin snorted twice and wanted to chastise her, but he had no energy for it and could only flutter his eyelids and roll his eyes.However, Rhea was pleased with
“What a shallow view!” Rhea snorted dismissively.She put her phone back into her pocket and stowed her notebook and pen. Seemingly not wanting to go yet, she took two steps forward and knelt before Austin to match his eye level.She asked, “Do all herbal medicine practitioners like you think you’re so great that you could save people from illness and contribute to humankind?”Austin chuckled coldly and retorted, “Do all mainstream doctors like you think our world is not chaotic enough that you try to prove yourselves using various viruses? What do you have without your equipment?”“You are right, but can you conduct your experiment without the equipment?” Rhea remained calm and clucked her tongue before stumping him with her words.Austin was at a loss for words but thought he was right and snorted.“I’m only curious how many people would risk their lives and act selflessly in the face of the virus during doomsday,” Rhea said thoughtfully, her arms dangling naturally and lying o
Lily has been exhausted since yesterday. Since Alexander’s condition was unstable, and for the sake of confidentiality and containment of the virus, she insisted on having only a doctor and two nurses attend to him besides her and Greg.She was bewildered by Greg’s ability to stay healthy, as he had been in close contact with Alexander for a long time without showing the slightest sign of infection. She asked him to make sure he was safe for his own sake, and she herself was careful.Judging from what she could tell from Alexander’s pulse, the virus would conceal itself and evolve fast. That was why he seemed to have recovered and would suddenly throw up blood.She was also careful when handling the vomited blood. She now understood why the pandemic spread so fast in Burnkwen.Now the small countries in Burnkwen were in a terrible mess, and Hyderland had tightened its border control so that no one could freely enter the country. If they didn't find a way to stop or protect against
Dominic chuckled. “Why? Don’t you miss your son? Giving him the cold shoulder, huh?”“The pandemic is worse than we imagined. Although I would take every safety measure, better be safe than sorry,” she said thoughtfully, having no mood to joke about such a matter. More accurately, she had not been in the mood to joke around recently. The spread of the virus would be unimaginable if they couldn't find a way to contain it. “Okay.” Dominic knew it, of course, and simply wanted to tease her. However, he stopped joking about it after hearing how serious she was. “Then do what you think is necessary. Actually…” After a pause, he chuckled. “Nothing. You’ll know when you’re here.” Lily was puzzled. “Be punctual, okay? Time is precious for them too!” He reminded her before hanging up. It was highly unusual, as Dominic had become somewhat arrogant after being famous in the herbal medicine field and flattered by everyone for many years.As the leading figure in the field, he rarely m
Leaving the hospital, Lily drove toward Dominic’s estate wearing a hazmat suit. Although she had taken full disinfection measures, she wanted to be safe. As Dominic was old and her son was there, she could not afford to make any mistakes. Lily did not drive fast, but she felt she was being followed not long after she departed. She did not expect that she would be tailed as she had not come back for a long time, and she had tried her best to keep her whereabouts from others. She glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw the car keeping a distance behind.She could vaguely see that the driver was a woman, but she could not see her face clearly as she was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, not to mention she was far away. ‘A woman? Could it be Rhea?’ Thinking so, she slowly sped up. The other person increased the speed as well. It was rather conspicuous, as her skill at tailing people was not good. Curling her lips, Lily narrowed her eyes and slowed down. She saw the traffic li