For the moment, however, it seemed that Vill-V bore no obvious malice toward her or Kevin, so Dr. Mei had no intention of falling out with either Vill-V or Dr. Newton.
Vill-V understood Dr. Mei's concern. "Su? He's doing quite well. He's currently focusing on medicine, researching ways to treat Honkai Sickness. He's already refined several batches of elixirs together with Occultist. Don't worry—the facilities over there are well-equipped. He won't be infected by the Honkai."
"That's good."
After hearing this, Dr. Mei finally let out a breath of relief. A weight that had burdened her heart since the Third Honkai Eruption at last fell away. She had always worried about her old friend's safety.
Though Kevin had never shown it, Dr. Mei knew very well that he was even more concerned about his close friend than she was.
Noticing that more and more attendees were filling the venue, Dr. Mei lowered her voice and said to Vill-V, "If we continue talking now, it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Let's speak again later."
"Let's go, Dr. Newton."
Mei gave a small nod, signaling that Newton could continue walking.
The relationship between Newton and Dr. Mei was like this: on the surface, Dr. Newton appeared to be Dr. Mei's superior, yet in truth she was more like Dr. Mei's little attendant. Every action required Dr. Mei's guidance.
Of course, this was not to say that Dr. Mei controlled Newton. It was simply that Newton genuinely did not know how to handle certain matters.
To pretend she was the same "kind" as other researchers, she could only maintain a cold and aloof demeanor in daily life, doing her best to avoid exposing herself and making a fool of herself. Because of this, she was labeled by other researchers as an "untouchable goddess."
Since receiving guidance from Dr. Mei—who was more of a researcher than most researchers—Newton's behavior had finally relaxed somewhat. For someone as lively as Newton, this was a wonderful development. Naturally, she began relying on Dr. Mei's instructions in many of her actions.
After some time, MOTH's quarterly scientific research report conference officially began. It was Vill-V's first time witnessing what MOTH referred to as its "upper echelon"—the MOTH Council of Review.
These so-called upper echelons did not attend in person. Instead, they appeared in projection as silhouettes accompanied by audio. Each blackened screen displayed the outline of a different region.
Those were the seven standing representatives of the MOTH Council of Review.
Shenzhou, North America, the Far East, Russia, Europe, West Asia, and the Mu Continent—seven in total, hence they were also called the Seven-Person Council.
South America, Africa, and Australia were considered regions receiving aid, so they were not included.
The Arctic Ocean and Antarctica were jointly developed properties of all nations.
"They're really cautious, aren't they."
Vill-V spoke with faint regret. As expected, MOTH's "upper echelon," in order to avoid assassination or public pressure, were all extremely careful. Not a single face or voice was revealed.
If they had shown their faces, Vill-V would have immediately assembled the Mad Hatter Party and stormed their headquarters. Or, to be safer, simply plastered black technology over their faces.
Then she could create a few puppets to impersonate the upper echelon. MOTH would be entirely within her grasp...
...
At the beginning of the meeting, multiple parties engaged in self-praise.
Although they had already boasted once during the quarterly meeting following the Third Honkai Eruption, it was clear that the high-ranking officials present were still not satisfied. This meeting once again revolved around how much they had contributed at the time, how properly post-disaster matters had been handled, how the people had applauded in approval, and so on.
Especially the high-level representative from the Far East region—there were hardly any civilians left there, yet somehow there were still applause and praise...
Though to others it might have sounded like empty flattery, Vill-V could discern three major factions within MOTH on the surface.
The Honkai Resistance Faction—the mainstream of MOTH and the very reason for its existence. They were wholly devoted to fighting the Honkai, determined to eradicate it and save humanity.
The Honkai Coexistence Faction—they believed the Honkai was unbeatable. Humanity could only coexist with it, treating it like natural disasters such as earthquakes or typhoons. They were committed to preserving humanity's spark and formulating disaster-response measures against the Honkai.
The Vested Interest Faction—on the surface, they appeared enthusiastic about combating the Honkai. In truth, they were enthusiastic about the benefits it brought. As long as there was upheaval—even Honkai disasters—they believed there was profit to be made.
They typically disguised themselves as members of the Resistance or Coexistence factions, using eloquent rhetoric on stage to feign concern for humanity's survival. In reality, they cared only for their own interests.
These were merely the three major factions visible on the surface. Beneath the surface flowed countless undercurrents.
The Human Self-Destruction Faction—attempting to limit the Honkai's development by destroying humanity through technology, in order to preserve what remained.
Honkai-worship organizations—no need to elaborate. Traitors to humanity, selling out human interests for personal gain, or simply wishing to drag everyone down to destruction together.
The Human Exodus Organization—this was something Dr. Newton had told Vill-V about. An underground Human Exodus Organization had secretly invited her to join. Since Dr. Newton was responsible for developing humanity's cutting-edge aerospace technology, the organization was naturally eager to recruit her.
And so on. There might be more, but Vill-V had not yet obtained the relevant intelligence.
One had to admit—MOTH truly was a human organization.
Only after thoroughly displaying every aspect of human arrogance and complacency did they slowly begin addressing the formal topics of the meeting.
These included departmental research progress, reconstruction efforts in the Far East region, requests for reinforcements due to manpower shortages—and among them was the "Mobius Laboratory Volunteer Recruitment Plan."
Looking at the personnel list displayed on her computer, Vill-V could not help but exclaim, "Damn. There are actually this many new recruits volunteering for the Mobius Laboratory? Am I out of touch with the times, or has MOTH's rumor network failed to keep up with Dr. Mobius' 'benefits'?"
She glanced at the benefits column.
Hmm. Food and lodging provided. Three daily meals of instant noodle-type products. Housing in the laboratory. Sleeping on laboratory tables...
Alright. Could it be that Dr. Mobius had actually toned things down and stopped conducting dangerous experiments?
She opened the "Risk Disclosure Statement" attached to the "Mobius Laboratory Volunteer Recruitment Plan." It openly stated: "Accident rate within the first year before volunteers undergo experimentation: 94.82%. Minor injury rate: 89.22%. Severe disability rate: 76.54%. Mortality rate: 74.91%..." and so on.
The contents of the recruitment agreement were practically helping the volunteers draft their wills.
At the end, there were even five full pages of "Posthumous Affairs Authorization Forms." They were not even pretending anymore.
"Tsk tsk tsk. MOTH's new recruits really do have a spirit of dedication."
After finishing the recruitment plan, Vill-V could not help but sigh. It seemed MOTH's soldiers were not entirely beyond redemption. She had thought most of them would be the type who bullied the weak and flattered the strong.
At the same time, she had not expected Dr. Mobius' reputation to be this high—to have so many new recruits willing to join her laboratory. Apparently, Vill-V herself was the clown with the lowest reputation in MOTH.
...
Damn it. I need to try harder. Perhaps I should go up on stage right now and perform an explosive magic trick to boost my popularity?
After listening to a pile of miscellaneous agenda items, Vill-V finally reached a topic related to herself.
Dr. Newton's "Engineering Department Prison Construction Plan v7: Project—The Deep End."