"Doctor... there's a problem in the Ecological Zone. The Mapusaurus pack broke into the Giganotosaurus territory. We tried sending the signals, but there was no response. Fortunately, they stopped after a brief skirmish... Doctor?"
In the vast, sterile laboratory, Dr. Wu sat alone at his workstation, staring at a report. He seemed distracted, and it took a long moment for him to react.
"Hm? Oh... yes. The urge to satisfy an animal's survival needs always outweighs everything else... Perhaps the introduction of the Giganotosaurus led to a food shortage. I will propose a change to the operating model of the Ecological Zone to Dodgson."
Dr. Wu's expression remained unchanged, betraying no internal thoughts. However, based on the assistant's experience with him... why did it feel like Dr. Wu was brewing something significant?
"Understood. I'll notify the monitoring department to maintain the status quo for now."
Curious as he was, the assistant didn't press for more information and excused himself, leaving Dr. Wu to his privacy.
The latter watched him leave, and not until the laboratory doors had clicked shut did he let out a sigh.
"I must find that girl..."
He muttered to himself in a voice barely audible, then returned his focus to the report. The content was nothing other than a laboratory analysis of the plants inside the locust culture dish.
The results weren't the main point. The point was that BioSyn had added a new component to their crops based on locust DNA, which directly caused the locusts to avoid eating BioSyn crops altogether.
Dr. Wu hadn't identified this in his previous experiments; botany wasn't his field of expertise, and all such content was handled by BioSyn's own staff.
In that light, the reason the locusts were ravaging American farmlands wasn't because his experiment had failed, but because it was a deliberate result orchestrated by Dodgson.
And so... the locusts' escape likely wasn't an accident either.
If it were just that, Dr. Wu wouldn't be worried; he had his own contingency plans. The problem was... the locusts had mutated.
Even accounting for a stroke of luck, under the extremely harsh conditions of the laboratory, the mutation rate of the locusts had still reached one in five thousand. What about the ones out in the wild?
"Sigh..."
Dr. Wu let out another sigh. He had originally intended to use a short-lived gene to eradicate the locusts, but now that these creatures were reproducing parthenogenetically, it was effectively cloning. However, one pioneer had succeeded in optimizing its own clone.
Dr. Wu looked at the photo of Maisie in the dossier, contemplating.
Dodgson was undoubtedly standing on the opposite side of him now, but... the man didn't know it yet.
"Fuu…"
It looked like there would be no good night's sleep until this problem was resolved.
…
"Fuck!"
Dodgson's composure nearly crumbled after receiving the report from his secretary.
It was one thing that the Giganotosaurus could cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was one thing that it had wiped out a capture team equipped with specialized weaponry.
After all, the stronger it was, the more Dodgson looked forward to its clone. But... this thing had locked onto BioSyn's location from nearly halfway across the globe!
And now, it wasn't even pretending anymore; it was charging directly toward their position!
"Dispatch a team to intercept it... and if possible, collect a blood sample."
The order was given, and Dodgson's face looked even worse than Masrani's just before his helicopter crash.
Reality wasn't a game, after all. Carlo wasn't something that could be stopped by four metal billboards and an oversized bear trap. If the creature really did find its way to their doorstep, he'd likely have to start his empire from scratch all over again.
"Understood. Also, the two distinguished guests invited by Dr. Malcolm have arrived at the Italy airport."
"Oh, God, I almost forgot. Have Ramsay take a helicopter to pick them up first."
…
Train engine roaring.
[Respected passengers, your train has arrived in Malta. Please follow the staff's guidance and disembark in an orderly fashion.]
What kind of noise is that?!
Hearing the human voices, Delta jolted awake from her slumber, only to find her vision completely black.
"Aok!"
Boss, it's bad! I've gone blind!
"Aok?"
Blue, who had been vigilantly watching the surroundings, was immediately drawn by Delta's panicked screech. She turned, only to realize that somehow, a piece of human clothing had ended up draped over Delta's head.
Riiiip...
A moment later, Delta regained her sight... and was met with the glare of her leader, who looked very much like she wanted to beat her up.
Delta hunched her neck, her gaze darting away. Only then did she realize that, in her sleep, she had torn apart several suitcases belonging to some unlucky humans.
Low growl.
Blue discarded the shredded human clothes, suppressing the irritation in her heart, and turned toward the skylight they had used to enter the train car last night.
Tap, tap...
With a light jump, she climbed onto the edge of the skylight, her hands gripping the top of the carriage. Before she could even crawl out completely, she froze.
Hot weather, high winds, sand... didn't I just come from the forest?! Where did you bring me?
Straining to climb onto the roof of the train, Blue looked around, bewildered. She didn't dare screech too loudly, so she just kept sniffing the air for residual scents.
Thud...
Echo and Delta were a step behind, also climbing onto the roof of the carriage, staring blankly at their surroundings. But for some reason... this environment felt somewhat familiar?
Low growl.
"Aok..."
Echo wanted to ask Blue, but was interrupted by the latter.
She had caught a scent she recognized.
…
"I have eyes on him."
"The target is heading to the pre-designated location."
Owen and Barry were lying flat on the rooftop, one on each side, using binoculars to monitor every move of the poacher leader, Mr. Rainn Delacourt.
"The undercover agent is right next to him."
Barry reported to his teammate via the headset. Owen was slightly surprised to hear this, as there was only one person next to Delacourt, the same guy who had previously advised him to abandon the Parasaurolophus.
So you're an undercover agent. No wonder.
"Target has entered the black market... Claire?"
"I see him."
Claire's voice crackled through the headset. It seemed today was the day of the trade they had been staking out for so long. Barry and Owen exchanged a look and rose simultaneously to relocate.
"Team Four, move west! Everyone, take your positions!"
Claire was in the black market, tracking the target from about twenty meters behind. Honestly, wouldn't her noticeably fair skin stand out in a place like this?
Snipers took to the roofs, locking onto the transaction site a hundred meters away; a team member held a specialized camera, recording the scene as evidence.
"Primary target located, potential transaction partner... no sign of the girl."
Rainn Delacourt walked down the alleyway with a cocky swagger, forming a sharp contrast with the poised demeanor of his deputy.
The blonde woman in the white dress seemed to be checking something inside a truck. Upon noticing Mr. Delacourt, she gave the truck's canvas cover a gentle tug to conceal the "cargo," then stood facing Delacourt from a distance of about five meters.
At the same time, the specialized camera on the roof began recording in absolute silence.
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