There is no way the Liberian girl could lay eggs!

Yara pushed the poured wine in front of Ferdinand, made a gesture of invitation, then picked up the wine glass and turned to look out the window.

It seemed that in her eyes, the scenery outside the window was much more beautiful than Ferdinand and attracted her attention more.

"Do you think I'm a guide for the military?"

Only then did Ferdinand "understand" why Yara was cold towards him.

Yara glanced at Ferdinand calmly without saying anything.

"No... They want to take action in Rhine, but I don't agree because I know that if the Vice President dies in Rhine Life, then Rhine Life will be finished!"

"Christen may not take Rhine's life seriously, but I can't!"

Ferdinand slammed his fist on the table in front of him, his emotions a little excited, even the wine glass was knocked over.

"Be gentle! It's not easy to exchange for a table like this. Do you think this will show your determination? Or are you trying to intimidate me?"

There wasn't much wine in the glass, so Yara drank it in one gulp and put the glass aside. Finally, she turned around and touched the table with a distressed look on her face.

"Don't tell me you don't know what happened today. An entire city block was blown up. That's not something that can be covered up by some military drill."

"It's fine if ordinary people are kept in the dark, but can't you, the director of Rhine Life, see through it?"

"I remember that today's event ended smoothly, and the Vice President successfully returned to his home using the route I provided. Did something go wrong?"

Tilting her head to look at Ferdinand, Yara asked in a surprised tone.

However, her acting was a bit unsatisfactory, which was a mistake that should not have happened to her as a professional actor, but she did it anyway.

more importantly...

Ferdinand was irritated by her.

"You're still playing dumb now? Don't play dumb with me, Yara."

"You may know more about the people in the army than I do. What happened today could happen again at any time. If you can protect him once, can you protect him forever?"

"Before those barbarians completely tear apart the hard work we've put in over a decade, can you please tell me the truth?"

Ferdinand slammed his hands on the table and stood up abruptly: "Tell me where Christen is and what she wants to do?!"

"Didn't Colonel Black tell you?"

Taking the bottle of wine from the side, Yara poured herself another thin layer of wine.

"Since the first day Ms. Wright disappeared, I handed over all the information related to the project and the Directorate."

"Oh, and I submitted it more than once. I worked overtime for more than ten days just for this matter."

Taking a sip and savoring the sweet and slightly sour taste, Yara's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

"Heh...Ms. Wright, you're talking as if you two aren't familiar with each other and just have an ordinary partnership."

"Is not it?"

After hearing Yara's answer, Ferdinand let out a breath and sat back in his chair dejectedly as if he had given up.

Just when Yara thought that the "traitor" was about to give up, Ferdinand said something that made her hair stand on end.

"Want me to show Blake the photos from the secret drawer in your office?"

"Or perhaps our dear HR director has already figured out how to explain why he's still hiding the New Year's card little Christen wrote to you twenty years ago."

In an instant, Yara stopped shaking the wine glass, and the expression on her face froze for a moment, but she quickly reacted.

"...It's just an old piece of paper. What? Didn't your student write to you?"

Ferdinand's face froze as he should have reacted. Yara's rebuttal made him look like a fool.

My cheeks began to throb slightly.

"Children are often not so cute and obedient when they grow up. I think you should know this better than me."

"That punch you received at Base 359, does it still hurt?"

"...Heh, she hid away, like a child holding onto a toy and refusing to let go."

Ferdinand forced a smile, obviously not wanting to talk about this topic.

Therefore, the topic between the two was brought back to Kristen.

"But you and I both know that this isn't some toy. It's a damned super weapon! A super weapon that can destroy the core of a city in an instant!"

"And there are countless secrets behind it!"

"As long as you still care about her! You should drag her out!"

Ferdinand's words were sincere and his reasons were sufficient, leaving Yara with no reason to refute.

but...

"Indeed, I couldn't bear to see her go to that point, but why do you think I could stop her?"

Putting down the wine glass, Yara finally looked at the colleague in front of her.

"That's Christine, Ferdinand. She's made you lose everything."

"Is it possible that she would allow such a big weakness and wait for you to threaten her? In other words, if I really am that important to her, then I should be with her now instead of cleaning up this mess outside."

Yara's words were very clear, and it wasn't difficult for Ferdinand to understand.

If Yara was really Christen's closest relative as he had discovered, then Yara would not be standing on the stage so carelessly now.

Let them have the upper hand.

Maybe Christen was hoping they would attack Yara to sever this last bit of bond.

Whatever the answer was, it wasn't a good one for him.

Besides...Christen could actually do such a thing.

"...Okay, very good. I'm not surprised that you refused to cooperate."

Ferdinand pinched his eyebrows with his hands and felt extremely tired.

Things were piled up on him one after another, and nothing went smoothly.

Blake is in a dead end. If he doesn't find Christen, they will all die together. But Yara has a different idea from him.

I originally thought I could control him, but who knew that this "relative" was actually a pawn thrown out by Christen to attract their attention.

Now... I'm afraid there is only one way to go...

"What about the others? I need to talk to them."

Ferdinand tapped his fingertips on the table and looked at Yara.

Yara looked confused and felt a little "at a loss" when faced with Ferdinand's nonsensical question.

"What other people?"

"Sareya."

Seeing that his old colleague was still pretending to be stupid, Ferdinand was too lazy to beat around the bush with her and said it bluntly.

"You can hide it from Blake, but you can't hide it from me. You rescued Saria and hid her around here."

"Besides, you talked to me so much just to buy time for her to leave, didn't you?"

"We're not all fools, so let's stop saying those polite words..."

"What do you think?"

Volume 9: Chapter 71: Boss and Subordinates

"I understand you want to protect them. After all, we're colleagues. Besides, you've watched them grow up."

"But have you ever thought about this: even if Saria successfully leaves here, where can she go? Who can she find?"

Having grasped Yara's "weak spot," Ferdinand continued, "Is it the Rhodes Island that's stuck in the quagmire, or those Melander agents who, like you, like to hide their heads and show their tails?"

"Others have a way out, but she and the others don't. All they can do now is to go all the way."

"...I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Well, perhaps I need to come up with something substantial to convince you, Director Yara."

Ferdinand stood up, took out a USB drive from his pocket and placed it in front of Yara.

"Just now, the military received a message."

"Sareya... and the company behind her, Rhodes Island, are suspected of helping Christen steal secrets related to national security."

"Others can escape unscathed, but Saria and Kristen can't. Yara..."

"Have these past ten years at Rhine Life made you so naive... that you think your former employer is some kind of messenger of justice?"

.........

The smoke spread.

The Tin Man leaned against the wall alone, puffing out smoke.

Next to it was a long-abandoned sewer pipe. The rotten smell rushed into the tin man's nose, making him sneeze unconsciously.

"Huh... the familiar smell of the sewer, the familiar place where the streetlights can't reach."

"These alleys really all look pretty much the same."

Taking the pipe off, the Tin Man shook off the ashes and then twisted some tobacco on top.

As the Tin Man inhaled, the tobacco that had just been put in was quickly ignited, and a red light like the scorching sun appeared on the small pipe.

"The entire city was erected from the wilderness in such a short time. Perhaps even the urban planners couldn't come up with so many new ideas."

"The only problem is, after seeing so much of this scenery, I sometimes miss the old days."

"You are right, my old subordinate."

"Wouldn't it be better to have a better view of the city from up there?"

After saying this, the Tin Man stopped moving and leaned against the wall like a sculpture.

A gust of wind suddenly blew in the deserted alley, and the smoke, which had not yet dissipated, was blown back into the cracks of the tin man's body.

The Tin Man wondered if he should cough a few times at the right time.

The spark on the pipe could not withstand the sudden wind and was blown out immediately, but as soon as the spark went out, a lighter was handed to him.

The man was wearing a black coat, with green feathers draped on the side of his head in a strange posture, and his thick tail kept shaking.

“For a city without any history, ‘lacking originality’ is a harsh assessment.”

With a click, the lighter switch was pressed, and a flame appeared in front of the tin man.

The Tin Man raised his eyes to glance at the subordinate in front of him, leaned forward without any hesitation, and smacked his hands twice.

The cigarette was relit and the smoke was inhaled into the empty body of the Tin Man.

"Hol Haiya... your contact was much later than expected."

"Oh? From my impression, you're not a punctual person either."

Holhaiya's hand loosened and the lighter fell to the ground with a click.

The metal shell rubbed against the ground, creating brief sparks.

"It's so noisy. Why did you choose to meet here?"

Listening to the harsh noise around him, the Tin Man looked at Holhaiya in confusion.

This place is very close to the factory in District 13, and the noise of large machinery running is everywhere.

If possible, he prefers a quiet place like a cafe.

"Have you forgotten? This is the closest place to the crash site."

Pulling his hand back, Holhaiya said nonchalantly, "You're just as indifferent to these matters as ever, just like those helpers you hired."

"Did you find the fallen object that day?"

"Yes... Unfortunately, only fragments remain. Fragments of a star, unable to guide anyone lost."

"What about Kristen's whereabouts?"

The Tin Man asked, smacking his pipe twice.

"Well..."