NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Caught completely off guard, Helen let out a cute gasp of surprise. Then, she glanced at the unfazed Lapi, and then at her speechless lieutenant girlfriend; for some reason, the noblewoman's cheeks flushed slightly.

“…Okay, okay, Commander.”

Chapter 210 Shuen, who has been held hostage by the lieutenant until now

After these days of getting to know him, Helen had a lot of confidence in the lieutenant's character.

However, from the audience's perspective, the fact that Helen was taking her female subordinate into a room for a private talk in front of her girlfriend made her feel somewhat uneasy.

Actually, she didn't know what she was feeling anxious about, but... she was just very uneasy.

Click.

The lieutenant gently closed the door to the private room.

Phoenix, standing behind the door, turned to look at the noblewoman who was also standing ramrod straight inside the room, sighed helplessly, and said:

"I want to know the connection between obedience drugs and Missylis."

For example, was this drug manufactured at Missillis headquarters or by a subsidiary pharmaceutical company? Who was in charge of manufacturing it? Who are the ultimate stakeholders?

In short, if you're willing, you can tell me anything you know or anything that's convenient for you to disclose.

If all else fails, we can do an intelligence trade. You sell me the information you have, and we can discuss the price later.

"..."

As Helen expected, since the lieutenant asked to speak with her privately in front of Anise and Marianne, the matter must have been serious.

Obedience drugs...

The girl's already complicated feelings became even more turbulent as the memories resurfaced.

Images representing ugliness and evil flashed through her mind like a misordered marquee, sometimes layered upon each other, sometimes fleetingly.

Moreover, all the negative emotions that erupted at that time, along with the memories, surged back, brutally eroding her reason and emotions, just like at the club two days ago.

"Hu... huh-"

My breathing became erratic instantly.

Seeing Helen struggling to breathe, Phoenix didn't care whether she was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder or something else. He quickly stepped forward, slightly arching his back to look the girl in the eye.

"Helen, calm down, look at me."

However, the usually dignified and proud noblewoman now awkwardly shifted her sea-blue eyes from side to side, as if unwilling to meet anyone's gaze, muttering to herself:

"They...they...are in the corner...peeking at me through the cracks..."

"Everyone's staring at me...everyone...nobody's saying a word..."

"All...all..."

The situation is far worse than anyone anticipated.

Faced with Helen's apparent panic attack, Lieutenant Phoenix, who was taking on the role of a psychologist for the first time, was also at a loss. The man, who did not know what to do, could only put his hands on her face.

Snapped!

The cool metallic touch and the domineering chin-lifting motion instantly attracted the girl's attention.

Coming to her senses, Helen finally refocused her gaze on the lieutenant's eyes.

The next second, a husky voice, enough to put anyone to sleep, gently enveloped her ear.

“Look at me, I’m here, and Labi and the others are waiting outside. Remember, if anyone dares to hide in a corner and spy on you, I’ll kill him on the spot.”

His words are full of murderous threats. If it were any other man, such crude and perfunctory words of comfort would not only be unlikely to have a positive effect, but might even have a more tragic negative impact.

Because everyone knows that the other person would never actually kill a spy for their own sake.

But the second lieutenant is different.

Helen knew very well that her boss was not so much comforting her as he was genuinely stating a fact.

—Anyone who dares to peek at her at this time, her boss would really dare to kill them on the spot.

An almost overflowing sense of security, emanating from the coolness on both sides of her cheeks, entered the noblewoman's heart. Then, with an overwhelming force, it suppressed the negative emotions in her memory one by one back into her heart.

"……Um."

After a long pause, until the man's metal palm had warmed up, Helen regained her resolute expression. Her azure eyes shone brightly again, and her tone became even more forceful.

"I will tell you everything I know, Lieutenant."

If it were possible...

I mean, if the lieutenant is willing, I'll definitely go with him to destroy the production line for this drug.

……

……

After ten minutes,

After the girl recounted the remaining memories in her mind in fits and starts, Phoenix gained a general understanding of the so-called "obedience drug."

According to Helen, this thing was an unexpected byproduct of a research and development project, which dates back at least fifty years. The Missilis Pharmaceuticals team responsible for the drug's development has long been disbanded.

The pharmaceutical team at the time intended to develop a new type of analgesic, but accidentally invented a psychotropic drug that could put people in a state of confusion while retaining conditioned reflexes.

Because the drug did not have the expected analgesic effect and had significant side effects, it was scrapped by the pharmaceutical team and put into the archives.

"Based on these known conditions, it can be deduced that someone retrieved the drug from the archives, manufactured it on a small scale, and used it on victims to provide sexual services to nobles and high-ranking government officials."

After organizing all the information in his mind, Phoenix started a brainstorming session alone, talking to himself:

"It's impossible that Missilis' management went to the drug registry to get the drugs. Those guys don't have the time or inclination to do that."

Therefore, there are only two groups of people getting the medicine.

The first batch, people from the pharmaceutical team back then.

The second batch consists of pharmaceutical and research personnel who have the authority to access drug files and who actually go through them one by one.

Regardless of who they are, they are all top pharmaceutical talents in large companies. Once they get the detailed production process, they can most likely assemble it by themselves.

Then he needs to find someone to cooperate with.

Human traffickers who specialize in high-end services, brothel owners who provide erotic services and corresponding training, and most importantly, powerful figures who can provide extensive connections with influential people.

If he were just an ordinary pharmaceutical worker, he couldn't possibly have the power to organize a prostitution ring of this caliber, which means...

Alternatively, the person who obtained the medication might be a technically skilled manager, belonging to the lower echelons of the elite class who hold shares in technology.

Or, he's a businessman who can find all sorts of people involved in organized crime and also has connections with powerful figures—someone who has influence in both the legal and illegal worlds.

Having sorted out his thoughts, the lieutenant quickly took out his phone from his pocket, completely unaware that Helen was staring at him with a gaze as intense as the sun and the ocean, her expression somewhat mesmerized.

drip-

"Hey……"

"Hey you, hey! Are you trying to breach the contract on purpose? You're always looking for trouble and locking yourself in jail. What, is the rehabilitation center your home? You feel comfortable in there???"

On the other end of the phone, Shu En's uniquely shrill voice began to torment the quality of the speaker diaphragm.

Phoenix, who had moved his phone away from his ear beforehand, followed his usual practice and gave Shuen absolutely no say, simply uttering a single word.

"Obedience drug".

Shuen: "..."

As if the music playing had been abruptly paused, the lieutenant uttered only three words, which silenced the CEO of Missilis.

The considerate man didn't rush her; he, like Helen, patiently waited for a response and attitude from the other end of the phone.

After a few breaths...

"Hey, how do you know this term? Who told you about it?"

Still employing her usual guileless rhetoric, Shun demonstrated her current state of mind to Phoenix with her raw emotion.

--urgent.

Even though the little devil had deliberately softened her tone, the two consecutive questions that went straight to the point still showed that she was in a hurry.

They were so anxious they wanted to know right now who had leaked the scandal from back then.

“There are also people manufacturing this drug and selling it to the outer areas.”

Having confirmed that the fish had taken the bait, the lieutenant said without batting an eye:

"Actually, I wasn't really concerned about this matter, but the dead man told me before he died that the drug was a banned substance produced by Missilis, so I felt it was necessary to report it to you."

Okay, since you seem to care a lot, send me your information and I'll see if I can help you investigate this matter. Consider it extra compensation.

Of course, you can interpret it as an apology if you wish.

"Huh? I'd rather believe Ingrid will get married than believe you'll apologize."

The strange, sarcastic words started babbling out of the little female ghost's mouth again.