Compared to the little snake of the future, the big snake of the present was far easier to talk to.
The little snake of the future was a true viper—cunning, mad, and dangerous. The MANTIS surgery would drastically change a person.
As for the big snake of the present, she had yet to develop that sharp tongue full of "little white mice." At least on the surface, the impression she gave Vill-V was closer to that of a proper female scientist. Calling her big sister would not even be an exaggeration.
Of course, that was only in comparison to the future Flame-Chaser snake. Even now, the big snake's cunning was no less than in the future. Within this era's MOTH, everyone avoided her like the plague.
After all, a proper scientist would not carry various dangerous reagents around at all times, nor examine every person with the predatory gaze of someone sizing up prey. If you agreed to her invitation, chances were you would find yourself lying on an operating table the very next day.
And yet, such a Mobius hurriedly slipped away right after the meeting ended, straightening her rumpled clothes as she left.
After all, Vill-V possessed intelligence from a higher dimensional level. Id being a socially anxious old snake-skin who would be led around by the snake was another matter altogether.
As for Conductor, who nearly understood Mobius' entire life inside and out, if she still fell into a disadvantage before a disarmed Mobius—meaning her reagents had been locked away—then Vill-V would truly have to question whether she was a fake genius.
Of course, Mobius' resistance was not without merit. When it came to flirting, she was indeed far more skilled than seventeen-year-old Vill-V.
Unfortunately, the cards in Vill-V's hand were simply too many. Not only did she possess technology, intelligence, and connections, she had even promised that in the future she could in turn provide research funding to Mobius' laboratory. All of this moved Mobius.
Heh, the feeling of becoming a little rich woman—it was truly amazing!
Although for now it was nothing more than an empty check. In reality, Vill-V was still in debt.
Vill-V had originally wanted to press her advantage and admire a few more shy CG expressions from Mobius, but Dr. Edison, descending from the high platform, blocked her path.
"Ha, Vill-V. I heard your Chicago Prison was torn apart by the Herrscher of Wind?"
Dr. Edison spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Thank you for your contribution to the Fourth Honkai Eruption. However, the inspection date we agreed upon will not change."
Faced with Dr. Edison's provocation, Conductor Vill-V remained calm. She even felt like laughing. This department head, who prided himself on being the one in MOTH most skilled at picking sides, was really in such a hurry to hand over his minister position to her.
Vill-V was determined to obtain the position of Minister of the Energy Department.
Through her in-depth exchanges with Mobius during their experiments, Vill-V had learned of MOTH's most cutting-edge Honkai technologies. Dr. Mobius only possessed a portion of them, primarily those related to biological Honkai research.
The truly complete set of technologies, however, was controlled by the Energy Department. To MOTH, Honkai was, in essence, a form of energy.
Vill-V had an urgent need for the forefront of Honkai technology. As mentioned before, she only possessed technology akin to that of the Three-Body civilization, but lacked Honkai-related techniques. All along, she had relied on self-developed, unconventional methods.
For formal Honkai research, one had to look to MOTH. After all, MOTH was a massive organization capable of conducting large-scale experiments. They had abundant experimental samples and could even explore lunar ruins. These were not things Vill-V could rival on her own.
Therefore, if Vill-V wished to surpass MOTH in Honkai technology, the fastest shortcut was to first acquire MOTH's own technology.
Not only that, the soulium materials and Honkai reactor materials she required were mostly stored within the Energy Resources Department. These soulium materials were all world-class strategic resources, more precious than oil or rare earth elements. Naturally, MOTH would not allow them to circulate freely.
As long as she secured the position of Minister of the Energy Department, Vill-V could fully display her talent for reallocating resources—making materials vanish without anyone noticing, or rather, making them "evaporate" in a perfectly legitimate manner.
With that batch of materials, Vill-V was confident she could single-handedly take on a Herrscher. As long as it was not some ascended Herrscher, she would crush them all.
Still, she could not be careless. Even a lion must use its full strength to catch a rabbit, let alone a large fish already hooked.
Conductor Vill-V deliberately adopted a troubled expression. She raised a finger and lightly tapped her forehead, then gave a small cough before replying, "My memory is perfectly fine. I do not require Dr. Edison's 'kind' reminder. Or perhaps... you wish to conduct the inspection of that prison right now? Are you certain?"
Noticing Vill-V's small gesture, Dr. Edison's gaze turned sly.
Hmph. Putting on airs. I've been keeping a close eye on P-21 Island. Over the past year, aside from our people, not a single member of the Engineering Department has set foot on that island!
With that thought, Dr. Edison revealed a gentlemanly smile and nodded. "If you wish to deliver it now, I have no objections. There is only one month left before the inspection deadline. Delivering it early will spare further suffering—for you... and for Dr. Newton."
Though Dr. Edison spoke lightly now, ever since learning that Vill-V's Chicago Prison had taken flight, he had been tormented by anxiety, afraid his own words would come true.
Dr. Edison was no fool. He clearly understood the engineering difficulty of constructing a prison capable of flight. Anyone able to design such a structure would undoubtedly be among the world's top grandmasters of engineering.
Who would have thought that he, a top scholar of the world and a man of vast knowledge, had truly misjudged her?
Who could have imagined that a female con artist who made her living through deception would be a top-tier engineer?
You earn tens of millions a year as a legitimate engineer, yet you abandon that to engage in illegal activities where you might be executed at any moment. Are you sick in the head?
I truly fell for your enormous scam!
However, after confirming that the Chicago Prison had not flown to P-21 Island and had instead been dismantled by the Herrscher of Wind, Dr. Edison, seated on the plane fleeing Australia, finally felt the plaque of "Great Wronged Fool" hanging over his heart fall away.
He immediately let out a wildly arrogant laugh that made the pilot shudder, nearly causing the aircraft to lose control.
With the prison Vill-V built reduced to rubble, no matter what, she could not possibly stir up any waves from nothing, could she?
According to the intelligence, Vill-V had not even set foot on P-21 Island.
To have already completed construction of the prison on P-21? The very thought was impossible.
She could not possibly have built a flying, mobile air prison as well, could she?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Faced with Dr. Edison's impatience, Vill-V casually pulled out her schedule and said, "Very well. Then let us arrange the inspection. How about tomorrow?"
"..." Dr. Edison had not expected Vill-V to accept her "defeat" so readily. For a moment, he did not know whether he should be angry at her lack of resistance—or burst into laughter at his own victory.