Chapter 715: Replicate It.
[A weapon, huh?]
In that moment, Dante almost burst out laughing. It took a lot of restraint to stop himself, and thanks to 8-6’s helmet, his expression was hidden, allowing him to maintain Ghost’s aura. Once he regained control, the first thing he did was calibrate his Voxcore to avoid a chuckle slipping in as he spoke.
[Professor Sanches, you have worked for Gaia Industries for... how many decades?]
The elderly man fixed him with a glare.
"Fifty years."
[I see, I see.] Though Dante was nodding, it didn’t look that way to everyone else. [Fifty years. To stay there for that long must mean that you had no qualms about working for them, right?]
Kirk Sanches, one of the most awarded scientists in the world, a man with enough achievements to be talked about centuries after his death. The man had achieved a lot, and since he had worked for a megacorp, it was inevitable that those achievements would be used to advance its interests. Dante still couldn’t believe that he managed to nab someone like that completely by accident, but maybe his luck had been particularly great that day.
[You’re a smart man, so you must be aware of everything they have done.] Dante said. [Are you sure you want to lecture me about ethics now?]
"You are a villain who kidnapped thousands of people. I do not believe there is a point in doing so."
[But there is a point in my reciting all the crimes Gaia has committed, and all the harm they have caused. Would you like me to narrow it down to everything you had been involved in?]
Of course, the old man had no response. Someone as high up in the picking order as he couldn’t possibly be unaware of what his corporation was doing. His hands had been dipped in blood the moment he decided to join the megacorp, so there is no point in taking a stand now.
[Listen up.] Dante turned to the other scientists. [You are here not because you were chosen, or because you had some incredible abilities. I only picked you up by coincidence. Do you know what that means?] He paused, waiting to see if any of them were stupid enough to respond. [It means I have no reason to keep you alive.]
With Viktor’s list still in his possession, Dante still had plenty of candidates for his personal biolab. Though it might have become a little more difficult to nab them, Dante was confident that he could still do it with a little effort.
’I might even go after Eidolon’s brains next...’
[So, what do you say, Professor Sanshes?] He said. [Just to be clear, your decision will decide what happens to the others as well.]
Tension skyrocketed as everyone turned their gazes to the old scientist. Only Lev looked away, shaking as he did his best to stop a laugh from escaping him. In the end, no one dared to say anything, allowing their silence to be their response.
[Great. Then, I will now explain what we are trying to do here.] Holding up his hand, Dante took out a small gray box. [We run into some trouble while attempting to reverse engineer this. According to my associate over here, it seems to contain biological matter that can’t be synthesized with chemicals alone. Your job will be to figure out what it is and how to replicate it.]
Dante held out the small, gray box to Lev, who took it and handed it to Sanshes. The old man hesitated at first, but his curiosity seemed to take over soon enough. The moment he laid eyes on what was inside the box, his eyes shot wide open.
"This is..."
[I guess someone in your field would be familiar with it.] Dante said. [It’s the miracle drug that has been making the rounds as of late.]
Dante had no doubt that Catalyst had made its way not only to Eidolon but also to all the people with the resources to research it. That meant he was far from the first to attempt recreating it, and it wouldn’t be strange for the upper echelon in the science world to know something in that regard.
"The miracle drug..." Sanshes whispered. "Catalyst..."
"It’s mostly a highly concentrated nutrient pill," Lev said. "Most of it is juice that keeps the transformation going, and the biological matter is what causes it."
"I... I see..."
Apparently, the booster Lev produced was just an updated version of the fuel included in the pill, designed to be injected directly into the blood. The drug itself could kill if it’s taken without Catalyst.
[You have a limited number of samples to work with, so be careful,] Dante said. [A lot of things are going to change in the coming future, so if you manage to succeed... Well, you can look forward to a lot more than just your freedom back.]
~[ ]~
It has been more than half a year since he got that batch of Catalyst from Caligo, and he was finally making some progress in his goal of recreating it. Well, whether that could be achieved was still up in the air. The miracle drug might turn out to be beyond the science team he had gathered, so he had to be prepared in case he had to gather more brains.
’Catalyst, huh...’
The moment he returned to the original dimension and his NIM connected to the network, a message arrived from an unlikely sender.
’Caroline?’
The BEO commander hadn’t contacted him since the start of the month. He wondered if she had heard about John’s visit, but now seemed a little late for her to inquire about it.
’She doesn’t like to rush things, does she?’
Dante’s mind went back to the task the BEO commander came to him with. When the Catalysts attacked Flame Guard and Eidolon’s Neo-Vatra branch, they apparently came looking for something. Knowing what they were trying to create, he began to wonder if it was whatever Eidolon had been using to create their Genomes. With the only difference between the abominations being the time limit, it was clear that the world’s most powerful megacorporation was in possession of the secret to removing it.
