Chapter 40: My Loyalty to the Saint Is Absolute

Slap, slap.

A moderate tapping sensation, mixed with the damp chill of icy water, repeatedly landed on his forehead.

Tucker’s groggy consciousness was forcefully dragged back to reality by this coolness.

His vision was blurry at first, then focused on a cold, unadorned metal ceiling.

The white light emitted by the embedded fluorescent tubes was not dazzling, but to him, who had just awakened from the dark, it still made his eyes feel slightly sore.

He instinctively narrowed his eyes.

A cold voice devoid of emotional fluctuation came from beside him, "Since you are awake, begin the experiment immediately."

Having said that, Clara turned and walked toward the laboratory door, her movements as precise as a programmed routine.

Tucker blinked and abruptly sat up from the experimental table.

The memories before he lost consciousness rushed into his mind like a tidal wave.

He had actually been scared to the point of fainting right in front of the Saint!

This realization made his heart skip a beat, then pound wildly.

He scrambled off the experimental table, frantically patted his entire body with trembling hands, and stammered, "D-Director, you didn't take advantage of my unconsciousness to carve away any unnecessary spare parts, did you?!"

"No."

Clara answered truthfully.

She was a "creation" nurtured through artificial test tubes and raised single-handedly by Bentley in order to continue his own "genius genes."

Under Bentley's upbringing, she mastered scientific knowledge as vast as smoke, but also developed a robot-like mindset.

As long as someone asked her a question, provided Bentley had not forbidden it, she would definitely give an answer.

Tucker was long accustomed to her indifferent attitude, and hurriedly chased after her to the doorway, asking, "T-Then how did the Saint react to my sudden fainting?"

"Very puzzled."

Clara's reply was concise to the extreme, with no intention of elaborating.

Tucker was so anxious that he grabbed his already messy "bird's nest" of hair and asked, "What about the Director? How is the Director?!"

"Father knelt on the spot instantly, knocked his head against the ground, and begged the Saint for mercy."

Clara stated calmly.

Tucker felt his legs turn to jelly, almost collapsing directly to the ground, his mind filled only with the desperate thought of "It's over, it's completely, utterly over."

He could no longer speak a word.

Clara was even less likely to speak initiative-takingly. She walked all the way to the D4 Zone Dissection Laboratory, raised her hand, and used her thumbprint to open the metal sealed door.

The interior was brightly lit, and everything was clean to the point of being ruthless.

On the central experimental table lay a dark-skinned middle-aged Demon man, his eyes tightly closed, evidently subjected to deep anesthesia and plunged into a slumber.

Beside the experimental table, Bentley and Nangong Lin's avatar were already prepared, wearing sterile gloves and masks, their eyes fixed intently on the "specimen" on the table as if admiring a delicate instrument about to be dismantled.

"Tucker, you've come just in time!"

Bentley didn't turn his head, his tone urgent, "Come over and monitor the life monitor and the anesthetic infusion rate to ensure this fellow absolutely does not wake up during the entire dissection process!"

Tucker gasped, and instinctively said, "The Saint strictly prohibits human experimentation of any kind!"

"Rest assured, the Saint granted personal special permission; Demon men do not count as humans."

Bentley's voice came through his mask, carrying a trace of suppressed excitement, "Dissecting them is acting on imperial decree, don't dawdle!"

"Oh..."

Tucker responded, walking forward with a complex mood. Glancing at the breathing, rising-and-falling torso on the experimental table, a trace of imperceptible inner conflict flashed across his face.

It had nothing to do with dissecting the Demon man; he was feeling uneasy about his previous unseemly behavior and the possibility of implicating the Director, hesitating whether he should apologize or explain something.

Bentley noticed his distraction and scolded him impatiently, "Clear all those messy, distracting thoughts out of my head right now!

This is precious experimental time, and your brain only needs to think about things related to the experiment!"

Although Tucker's fainting earlier had given him a solid taste of the terror of nearing death, Bentley held not the slightest bit of resentment or desire for revenge in his heart.

In his value system, a researcher lacking worldly wisdom and having low emotional intelligence was not a flaw at all, and could even be said to be a manifestation of "purity."

He only valued whether the other party's research capabilities were outstanding.

Even moral bottom lines were things that could be flexibly adjusted for the sake of scientific breakthroughs in his eyes.

Of course, the Saint had an absolute, untouchable iron law in this regard.

Bai Yujing's philosophy was very clear: science and technology must progress.

However, the ultimate goal of progress was to better serve all citizens of the Empire, and things must never be put the cart before the horse by wantonly sacrificing the interests of any citizen for the sake of scientific progress.

With this point, Bentley actually did not agree.

What he pursued was the infinite expansion of the boundaries of science and technology; as for whether the results "benefited the people," it did not matter at all.

Bentley had even once darkly contemplated whether he should "remove" the Saint, this greatest restriction limiter, to completely unleash the research potential of the Great Han Empire.

However, this crazy idea completely vanished into thin air after he once reviewed a top-secret file.

The file recorded:

The Saint had once traveled round-trip between the Blue Star and the Moon on foot in a split second, manually photographing high-definition pictures and casually bringing back some lunar rock samples.

The ability to move faster than the speed of light, and the physical strength to withstand such speed.

This was simply a monster wearing human skin!

Ever since then, Bentley had only absolute awe and superficial "loyalty" left toward Bai Yujing.

He only sought to wield his scientific research talent to the maximum within the framework drawn by the Saint, and never dared to harbor any improper thoughts again.

...

March 24th, clear skies.

The West Garden of the Saint's Palace, a huge artificial lake rippled in the sunlight.

The lake surface was extremely expansive, and at first glance, it even gave one the illusion of being by the seaside.

The western bank was even meticulously paved with fine white sand to create an artificial beach.

Bai Yujing sat alone on the fishing platform on the eastern bank, holding a fishing rod, his figure exuding a hint of leisure.

As the supreme helmsman of the Empire, he knew very well that before a matter had a result, there would be no result.

Therefore, there was no need to rush to explore the whereabouts of the Prophet and other Demon men; he could just patiently wait for news from his subordinates.

As for battle preparations for personal cultivation, Bai Yujing was not being arrogant, nor did he want to be lazy.

Rather, his superpower possessed the characteristics of eternal indestructibility and infinite autonomous evolution.

And the evolution speed was extremely fast.

So fast that before he could even finish the action of raising his hand, his physical body had already completed its evolution, leaving no room to stage a passionate, hardworking protagonist script.

Bai Yujing had no choice but to pour more time into his personal interests.

And fishing was definitely one of his favorites among many interests.

He sat by the picturesque lake for an entire morning.

Countless plump fish were clearly stocked in the lake.

Yet in the bucket by his feet, there were only a dozen or so.

Experienced fishing enthusiasts all knew that fishing was not for the sake of fishing, but to enjoy the leisurely time of fishing.

Therefore, the number of fish didn't matter.

He put away his fishing rod, stood up, poured the caught fish back into the lake, and said, "Alright, wrap it up, let's go eat."

It's finally over!

Lucia, who had been standing like a javelin for an entire morning nearby, breathed a secret sigh of relief inwardly.

She truly could not understand what fun there was in sitting blankly facing the water surface for half a day.

Nangong Lin closed the book in her hand and waved her right hand gently.

The next moment, the figures of the three vanished from the lakeshore, appearing directly inside the Imperial Study.

Lunch was usually delivered here promptly.

Bai Yujing glanced at the time; there was still a short while before mealtime.

He sat comfortably on the soft sofa, pulled out his mobile phone, and habitually began browsing the short video platform.

This was a way for him to understand the grassroots sentiment of the Empire, and occasionally he could stumble upon some appeals suppressed locally that eventually fermented on the internet.

Before Bai Yujing had scrolled through many posts, a startling event that ignited public opinion across the entire network was pushed right before his eyes.