Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Reform
After giving his orders, Elliot Chapman took a moment to recover, his mind growing a bit fuzzy. The sap inside the branch was toxic.
"To the hospital," Elliot Chapman said calmly. Then he passed out, and his assistant rushed to catch him.
The remaining researchers exchanged glances. One of them tilted his head to look at the agitated bougainvillea in the glass enclosure, a flicker of triumph in his eyes.
...
「Inside the lottery shop.」
Lily Hart was eating a late lunch—hot and sour fatty beef over rice. It was incredibly appetizing, the kind of place where you could get unlimited refills on the beef.
She shoveled it down, getting two refills of fatty beef and one of rice along the way, successfully eating until she was stuffed.
Roman Rowe was eating too and asked curiously, "This morning, I think I saw a few of the directors from Central Command. What were they here for?"
The gazes of everyone else at the table shifted to her, their expressions tinged with worry, though it was unclear for whom.
Lily Hart finished the last piece of fatty beef in her bowl and said nonchalantly, "To play the scratch-offs."
"Huh?" everyone asked in unison, confused.
Lily Hart put down her bowl. "What’s the matter? They’ve admired the prestige of my lottery shop for ages and finally had a chance to experience it. That’s perfectly normal, isn’t it?"
That did sound pretty normal.
But they were from The Mysterious Clan, and The Mysterious Clan practically hated Lily Hart’s guts!
Frost Shaw asked, "They didn’t say anything, did they?"
Lily Hart recalled, shaking her head. "No." ’She even mocked Steven Gibbs for his bad luck.’
"That’s good," said Leo Colby.
"What’s there to be afraid of?" Owen Warren said arrogantly. "If anything happens, just call me. I’m close by, I guarantee I’ll come over and kick them out."
He grabbed a sweet corn from the table and started gnawing on it. It was surprisingly sweet and juicy.
Lily Hart gave him a fake smile. "Thanks, but that won’t be necessary."
’By the time you got over here, I’d have solved the problem myself.’
Owen Warren didn’t seem to notice her perfunctory tone and replied, "No problem. Happy to help."
Lily Hart rolled her eyes at him. ’This guy really can’t tell when he’s not wanted. I guess a zombie’s brain is wired differently from a normal person’s after all.’
After finishing her meal, Lily Hart flopped onto the sofa. The system encouraged her: [Keep earning points, Host~ You’re about to reach Level 6~]
Upon hearing this, she opened her Light Brain to take a look. She’d spent points on a minibus this morning, so her balance was a little lower.
But for a number with that many digits, it was hardly a noticeable drop.
Her current balance was seven figures. She was just a few hundred thousand points away from breaking into eight figures!
At Lily Hart’s current earning speed, a few hundred thousand points was just a matter of days.
She replied, [What changes with Level 6?]
The system was being mysterious. [You’ll find out when you get there~]
’You cold, heartless woman. Three hundred Chapters in, and you’re still just as cold and heartless!’
But this suddenly sparked her desire to earn points. ’I need to make money! I can’t just keep fooling around anymore!’
...
「Inside Central Command.」
At the 3:00 p.m. regular meeting, Chad Yates still hadn’t shown up, and neither had the new director.
Elder Shaw scanned the room and noticed Elliot Chapman wasn’t present. He had wanted to ask about the progress on the "Plant Death" bomb research; he’d heard they had transplanted a Third-Rank mutated plant for the experiment.
’He’s probably in the middle of an experiment and couldn’t get away,’ Elder Shaw figured. He didn’t dwell on it and announced the start of the meeting.
During the meeting, Brian Booker reported, "The Elimination Plan has officially launched. Preliminary preparations are complete. Supplies, personnel, and logistics are all in place."
The Elimination Plan, talked about for so long, was finally being set in motion.
The next item on the agenda was the "Plant Death" bomb. Brian Booker was about to call on Elliot Chapman, but when he realized Elliot wasn’t there, his brow furrowed.
Seeing this, Elder Shaw spoke up to smooth things over. "He’s probably in the middle of an experiment, unable to step away at a critical moment. You know how researchers are—they tend to get completely absorbed in their work."
Brian Booker snorted. ’He hasn’t been director for long, and he’s already getting too big for his britches, daring to skip a regular meeting.’
Suddenly, the conference room door was flung open. A man in a white lab coat rushed in, composing himself slightly upon seeing the room full of people.
He walked over to Elliot Chapman’s seat and sat down, placing his hands on the table. He kept his head bowed, cutting a timid figure.
Brian Booker demanded sharply, "Where’s your director? Does he think he can skip the meeting and just send you to get rid of us?"
The man flinched and stammered frantically, "N-no, that’s not it."
After a long pause, he managed to say, "The... the director injured his hand. He’s at the hospital receiving treatment, so he can’t come for the time being."
Elder Shaw’s heart clenched, and a terrible premonition washed over him. He shot to his feet, asking anxiously, "His hand is injured? Is it serious? What did the doctors say?"
"The doctor said... the nerve was damaged..." he stated precisely. The corners of his mouth lifted in an uncontrollable smirk for a split second before he quickly suppressed it.
Elder Shaw’s mind went blank, as if he’d heard devastating news, and he sank back into his chair in a daze.
Brian Booker latched onto the crucial point. "The nerve was damaged? Will he be able to conduct experiments later? If his recovery isn’t good, that will have an impact, won’t it?"
Everyone seemed to sense that something was amiss.
"The doctor said that only if his recovery goes well is there a chance it won’t be affected," he said slowly, observing the directors’ every move.
Steven Gibbs said, "So what happens while he’s recovering? Who will bear the director’s responsibilities? Who will manage his affairs? And who will carry on with his experiments?"
The man seemed to make a great decision. "I... I can. The director always had me assisting with the experiments. I understand all the procedures."
"No," Elder Shaw said firmly. "Elliot Chapman only damaged a nerve, and he can recover. It’s not like his hand was cut off. Do you think the research institute will stop functioning without him?"
"He only needs to provide guidance from the side, to direct with his words. Once he has recovered, he can resume his experiments." He paused before adding, "The research institute cannot lose Elliot Chapman!"
’If Elliot Chapman is relegated to a secondary role, the entire research institute will revert to its previous state.’
’He was vaguely aware of what The Mysterious Clan had been doing to the institute.’
’Whenever they made the slightest bit of progress, the moles The Mysterious Clan had planted would make a move—either by incapacitating the director...’
’...or destroying the research, or even just installing one of their own people as director to solve the problem for good.’
’Similar things had happened often in recent years. Over time, rumors started spreading through the base that the research institute had bad feng shui, that going in would mess with your head.’
’That the researchers there never produced any results.’
’After the last director died, he was the one who had pushed through all the opposition to make Elliot Chapman director. He knew that very few people in the institute actually did any real work.’
’They were all just coasting...’
’But before, he had spent most of his energy searching for Fred. He was only vaguely aware of this situation, not fully understanding it, and had been turning a blind eye.’
’But now Fred was found, and Elliot Chapman’s skills and attitude were genuinely impressive. He had to protect him.’
Steven Gibbs sneered, "Elder Shaw, recovery takes time. If he’s not doing any of the actual work, will his subordinates even obey him?"
Elder Shaw retorted without holding back, "And is there anyone in the research institute who *is* doing any real work?"
Everyone fell silent.
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