Chapter 778

Evenson didn’t pretend to understand the Biological Cradle on any particularly profound level. To him, the technology was essentially a loom.

The difference was that instead of weaving silk or cotton, it wove living tissue.

Missing a piece of someone’s body? Grow a replacement and patch it back in. The raw materials could be synthesized according to the body’s exact chemical composition, producing tissue that matched the original. Alternatively, other substances could be incorporated into the new tissue, provided they didn’t trigger a severe rejection response.

The Biological Cradle’s craftsmanship was remarkably sophisticated, too. Unlike a patch sewn onto a shirt, its repairs left no visible seams or mismatched sections.

Stephanie was a perfect example. After suffering an injury that should have left her permanently disfigured, she’d emerged without a single scar. Even the slightest variation in her skin tone had been eliminated.

Once she’d finished crushing the iron target into a ball, Stephanie underwent several additional tests. These were designed to measure her control over her newly acquired abilities.

One test required her to levitate an egg in an environment filled with intense noise, keeping it perfectly steady without cracking the shell.

She passed without difficulty.

The subsequent test involved lifting a piece of soft tofu.

That one didn’t go quite as well.

Considering how recently she’d acquired her powers, however, her performance was impressive. Besides, Japanese silken tofu was notoriously delicate. Even picking it up with your fingers without breaking it could be a challenge, let alone manipulating it with a newly acquired supernatural ability.

As Dr. Helen Hailun had reported earlier, Stephanie’s fluctuations remained well within acceptable parameters.

After she completed the tests, a thick automatic door at one corner of the chamber slid open.

Evenson entered with a smile.

"How are you feeling, Miss Malick? Satisfied with your new body?"

Stephanie gave him a sour look.

"Heh. So you’ve finally decided to show your face. Have you worked out how much you’re going to charge me?"

She’d been expecting a substantial bill from the beginning.

Umbrella had used cutting-edge technology to repair an injury that ordinary medicine couldn’t possibly have treated. And although the procedure came with certain side effects, most people would have considered those side effects a gift of extraordinary power.

Evenson had been absent long enough that she could only assume he was somewhere in a dark office, poring over her family’s financial records and calculating exactly how much he could squeeze out of her.

Damn it.

Ever since she’d become involved with these people, her family’s expenses had been climbing at an alarming rate. Their annual budget seemed to require revision every other week.

The Demonheart warriors alone had cost two hundred million dollars.

A fixed price of two hundred million might have sounded reasonable for an elite force of enhanced soldiers, but even a family as wealthy as the Malicks would feel the sting of paying that much upfront.

And that was only the purchase price.

Food, accommodation, uniforms, medical examinations, psychological counseling, personnel training, facility usage, equipment depreciation, graduation examinations, and supplementary examinations—all of it was billed separately.

And the most infuriating part?

Everything came as a mandatory package.

You couldn’t simply buy the soldiers and handle the rest yourself.

Umbrella insisted on selling the entire bundle.

No wonder the company kept such a low profile despite possessing technology that could change the world. With business practices like these, they’d be mistaken for a pyramid scheme if they ever advertised themselves openly.

"That’s a rather uncharitable way to look at it."

Evenson shook his head with a smile.

Then his expression turned serious.

"Regardless of how responsibility for this incident is ultimately assigned, our company must accept some of the blame for what happened to you."

He spread his hands.

"Restoring your health is simply our way of fulfilling that responsibility and compensating you for what you’ve suffered. How could we possibly charge you for it?"

No charge?

Stephanie stared at him.

Had the sun risen in the west?

She could hardly believe what she’d just heard.

Oddly enough, Evenson himself wasn’t entirely comfortable with his own words.

He’d spent considerable effort arranging Stephanie’s predicament, all to make her accept the augmentation willingly. Charging her for the procedure had never been part of his original plan.

Then she’d reminded him that money was, in fact, something he could charge for.

Naturally, he’d seen an opportunity.

Why turn down a chance to make money?

But he was also aware of his own limitations. He wasn’t confident he’d imagined every way to profit from the situation, and he didn’t want to squander such a promising opportunity by setting the price too low.

So he’d gone to consult the Eredar Twins.

He’d expected them to suggest a reasonable, conservative price.

Instead, the two demons had waved away the entire idea.

They intended to take a loss on this deal.

Not a single cent would be charged.

Evenson had nearly suffered a stroke on the spot.

Those two women were becoming increasingly extravagant with someone else’s money. They treated cash as though it grew on trees.

A customer had practically shoved a fortune into their hands, and they’d simply returned it.

Were they out of their minds?

He’d swallowed his objections, of course. Complaining aloud would have been a very poor career decision.

Still, the injustice gnawed at him.

Why could they be so generous with everyone else when he had to submit a written application just to get a little spending money—and even then, approval wasn’t guaranteed?

The Eredar Twins had immediately noticed his expression.

Orestes finally lost patience. She reached over and jabbed a finger sharply against his forehead.

"Are you an idiot?"

Evenson rubbed the spot.

"Think about it. If you secure that girl’s loyalty now, her family will become your personal treasury. Her clan has accumulated wealth for thousands of years. That fortune might as well have been saved for you."

She gave him a contemptuous look.

"Compared with what you could gain from controlling all those assets, why are you fretting over a little money today?"

Evenson grumbled under his breath.

It was easy to talk when the money wasn’t theirs to earn.

When a delicious steak was practically sitting on his plate, being told to save it for tomorrow was bound to sting.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny the logic.

The Eredar Twins were playing the long game, and their vision was undeniably impressive.

No wonder they could eat steak every night while he sometimes had to settle for instant noodles.

Though, to be fair, he usually bought the beef-flavored kind.

That had to count for something.

"One more thing," Salorass said coldly.

Evenson looked up.

"Don’t misunderstand what we said. We told you to secure control over that girl."

She emphasized the last word.

"Control. Don’t you dare decide to remove that little detail from the plan. Otherwise..."

She raised two fingers and made a scissor-like gesture.

Her smile was anything but reassuring.

"Trust me. You don’t want to find out what we’ll do."

Evenson’s mouth twitched.

"Haha. Of course. I understand."

He understood perfectly.

And he had absolutely no intention of forgetting.

"Well," Stephanie said, still struggling to process the unexpected generosity, "I must say, this is a new side of your company."

Before Evenson could reply, the iron sphere beside her suddenly shot through the air like an artillery shell.

It hurtled straight toward him.

Boom!

Evenson didn’t even flinch.

A shimmer of Void protection flashed around his body. The iron ball struck the barrier with tremendous force and shattered into fragments that scattered across the floor.

Evenson brushed imaginary dust from his clothes.

"Would you mind not doing things like that?"

Stephanie shrugged.

"I wanted to make sure you weren’t an impostor."

Evenson rolled his eyes.

Honestly, after the things he’d just said about refusing to charge her, he was beginning to wonder whether someone had possessed him.

Then Stephanie’s expression changed.

She raised her hands and drew the scattered fragments back together, reassembling the iron sphere.

"But..." Her voice grew quieter. "What am I now?"

She looked at the ball floating between her palms.

"I’m not really human anymore, am I? So what does that make me? An Inhuman? Some kind of biological weapon?"

The question was understandable.

She’d acquired extraordinary powers in a single day. Her body had been rebuilt using technology that barely resembled conventional medicine, and she could now manipulate gravity as easily as other people moved their hands.

It was only natural to wonder where she belonged.

Evenson tilted his head.

"I’m probably the wrong person to ask. Our company doesn’t spend much time worrying about ethical or philosophical categories."

He considered her question for another moment.

"Besides, I don’t think the distinction is particularly useful. Compared with our ancient ape ancestors, every modern human could be considered something of an Inhuman."

Stephanie frowned.

"So I should just stop worrying about what I’ve become?"

"Instead, think about what you can do with your new abilities."

He paused.

"And perhaps give some thought to what went wrong inside Hydra."

Stephanie blinked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Normally, your organization’s internal affairs aren’t my concern. I shouldn’t interfere."

Evenson’s expression grew serious.

"But considering the partnership between our companies, I think I have a responsibility to say something."

He looked her directly in the eyes.

"The man who attacked you took that risk because he was afraid of dying. Whatever his reasons, he clearly lacked absolute loyalty to Hydra."

Evenson paused to let the words sink in.

"There’s an old principle worth remembering: loyalty that isn’t absolute is no loyalty at all."

Stephanie considered it, then nodded.

"That’s a reasonable sentiment. But this was an isolated case."

"An isolated case?"

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps. For an ordinary member of the organization, that conclusion might be enough."

His tone sharpened.

"But for someone in your position, stopping there would be an unforgivable failure of duty."

Stephanie stared at him, puzzled.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"I don’t know how your father selected the five hundred people sent to us for the modification program."

Evenson held up a finger.

"But I can make one assumption. Your father personally screened them. He chose people whom he considered trustworthy in every important respect—men he believed were loyal, dependable, and devoted to Hydra."

He paused.

"And yet, even after such a careful selection process, one disloyal man still slipped through."

Stephanie’s expression slowly changed.

Evenson continued.

"Now, think about the people your father didn’t select. The ordinary members and lower-ranking officers he already had reservations about. There must be far more of them than the people who passed his screening."

He lowered his finger.

"If one disloyal person could hide among five hundred carefully vetted recruits, how many others might be hiding among the rest of Hydra?"

Stephanie went silent.

Some questions were dangerous because, once asked, they couldn’t be forgotten.

Her father had selected those five hundred people personally, choosing them from among countless Hydra operatives. He’d believed them loyal enough to entrust with a project that could determine the organization’s future.

And one of them had nearly killed his only daughter to save his own life.

If such a man could pass her father’s scrutiny, what about everyone else?

The overlooked soldiers.

The unremarkable officers.

The people who’d never been considered important enough to examine closely.

How many of them were waiting for the right opportunity to betray Hydra?

And how little would someone have to offer them to make them turn?

For the first time since awakening with her new powers, Stephanie found herself thinking about a problem far more disturbing than her own altered body.