Chapter 373: Loranze Cathedral

Oren’s expression hardened into anger. "That bitch... She thinks she’s untouchable just because my father protects her. Why wasn’t I informed immediately? What were Dermila’s security detail doing?"

Sean remained quiet, letting the tense silence fill the room.

"What else?" Oren snapped.

"Madam Kronia dismissed the bodyguards assigned to protect her," Sean explained carefully. "Left without protection, the Young Miss was also targeted by a mugger and nearly lost her life. Fortunately, she was saved by a group of young men at the last moment."

Oren said nothing, but his tight posture and heavy breathing signaled the boiling intense rage.

Without another word, Oren stood up, unholstered a handgun from a side table, and turned toward the doorway. "I’ll end this myself today. I’m going to kill that woman."

"Please calm yourself, Young Master," Sean advised quickly. "Madam Kronia is not at the castle."

"Where is she?!"

"The Old Master took her to his private penthouse."

Oren paused, staring at the gun in his hand before looking back at Sean. "If I eliminate that bitch now, what are the odds of avoiding an all-out war with my father?"

"Sixty percent," Sean replied.

"That high?"

"A sixty percent chance of mutual destruction—assuming the Mustrump Family remains neutral. If they intervene, ninety percent of our armed forces would be eliminated."

Oren slowly lowered the weapon and rubbed his temples, working to regain his composure. "Fine. Deploy members of my private security team directly to Dermila. Ensure she is guarded at all times. Unfreeze her accounts immediately. If that bitch Kronia tries anything else, issue Dermila a black card under my name directly. I won’t allow another such incident to happen."

He paused, his eyes narrowing. "Who was the bastard who tried to hurt my sister?"

"He is currently in custody with the Jiangnan Police Department."

"Make sure they finish him off inside."

Oren then turned his attention back to the details of the rescue. "And these young men who saved her—what are their intentions? Do they have designs on her?"

"There are no signs of ulterior motives so far," Sean reported. "They have become good friends with the Young Miss. According to her, they are organizing a club and thus required initial funding."

"If their intentions are genuine, that’s fine. What kind of club?"

"A volunteer aid group."

Oren let out a quiet sigh. "That sounds like my sister. Her kindness is the main reason she gets bullied by that bitch." He shook his head slightly. "Let her play around outside a bit longer as long as she is safe. Support her with everything she needs. I don’t want my sister to think her dear brother doesn’t care about her."

"As you wish, Young Master," Sean bowed deeply before quietly stepping out of the room.

***

Loranze Cathedral was one of the most famous monuments in Noerdon Country, an imposing Western-style structure that had stood for more than a century. Tourists came to admire its architecture and history, completely unaware that deep beneath its foundations lay a forgotten underground facility built during the great war a century ago.

The facility had originally been constructed as a military weapons laboratory, but after the war ended, it was abandoned and eventually erased from public records. The cathedral above it was later preserved as a historical monument, while the existence of the underground complex became known only to a handful of people. With nothing of apparent value remaining inside, even those who knew about it eventually stopped caring.

Several years ago, however, the forgotten laboratory was discovered by one of the few people capable of appreciating its true value.

Dr. Adrian Veyne.

Now in his early fifties, Veyne was a brilliant scientist specializing in biotechnology, cybernetics, genetics, and weapons engineering. His age had done little to dull his intellect; if anything, years of research had made him more patient and methodical. He rarely raised his voice, rarely showed anger, and almost always spoke with an unsettling politeness.

Veyne had once been a prominent researcher at the Noerdon Science and Research Association, or NSRA in short, where his work had initially attracted considerable attention. With investments from Vineal Oberson and access to NSRA’s facilities, he had been able to pursue increasingly ambitious projects.

However, a few months ago, everything changed.

For some reason, the NSRA discarded his projects, removed him from his position, and eventually withdrew its support. To them, who always wanted his reserch to succeed the most, suddenly his research had become too dangerous, too unethical, and too difficult to justify.

Veyne was confused, but when didn’t want to stop after coming so far.

He believed humanity’s greatest weakness was its dependence on natural evolution. Nature imposed limitations, while science offered the ability to choose what humanity could become.

Nature creates limitations and Science creates choices.

That philosophy had driven Veyne’s research for years. He wasn’t searching for a single ultimate weapon. Instead, he was conducting a long-term experiment to determine which combinations of biological modification, artificial tissue, cybernetics, and genetics could produce superior humans.

Different subjects received different enhancements. Some succeeded and others failed.

Veyne recorded the results of both with the same detached curiosity.

Fortunately for him, the abandoned laboratory beneath Loranze Cathedral had already become his private facility. While working at the NSRA, he had secretly diverted enough resources and equipment to develop the place into a laboratory capable of supporting experiments that could never be conducted openly.

When the NSRA finally turned against him and wanted to deal with him, Veyne had already disappeared. Before anyone could investigate his more questionable experiments, he had retreated back here.

And now, this is where his research continued.

---

Inside the underground laboratory, cold lights illuminated rows of advanced equipment while monitors displayed streams of biological data. At the center of one section stood a massive cylindrical container filled with green liquid.

A human figure could be seen floating inside.

Veyne stood before the container, studying the readings as if examining an ordinary laboratory sample...