Professor Sotos didn't seem to be much of a talker.
When Chloe said she wanted to stay, Sotos didn't chase her away.
He continued his experiments in silence, not uttering a word.
Perhaps it was due to his age that he found it difficult to speak?
Chloe stifled a small yawn, and then showed her keen perception – whenever Sotos reached out, she knew exactly which instrument to hand over.
After half an hour, Sotos's gaze towards her clearly held a hint of approval.
Though he still didn't speak, his movements became much gentler.
Chloe was delighted to please him, working very efficiently, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Sotos's experiment.
Wasn't this a stroke of luck?
She thought idly.
Casually stealing a researcher's credentials, only to arrive and find that the person in question was the highest-ranking, behind-the-scenes senior researcher responsible for monster research in the lab.
Chloe inwardly whistled, wisely choosing to keep her mouth shut, while her gaze occasionally and secretly fell on the monster in the petri dish.
The creature hadn't taken shape yet, visible in the nutrient solution only as a brightly colored ball of flesh, still writhing and struggling unconsciously.
A flash of disgust passed through her eyes, but she ultimately said nothing.
After bustling about for who knows how long, Sotos finally stopped his movements.
Was the experiment over?
This was the first thought that crossed Chloe's mind.
Before she could put down the test tube she had been holding, Professor Sotos turned to look at Chloe, his gaze deep.
Chloe blinked her eyes and asked obediently:
"Is there anything else I can help with?"
After what seemed like an eternity, Professor Sotos finally spoke:
"Come with me."
His voice was raspy, reminiscent of a heavy smoker of twenty-plus years.
Chloe noticed that his teeth had yellowed.
Pretending not to have seen anything, she smiled and said, "Alright."
With that, she followed Professor Sotos towards an unknown destination.
At the end of the fifteenth floor, there was an office that belonged solely to Sotos.
Upon opening it, it was spacious and bright, equipped with everything from sofas, chairs, and a TV to a bed.
As expected of the Viper Group's chief researcher, the treatment was truly exceptional!
Chloe even spotted dinner that had been delivered in advance on the desk.
Enormous prawns that both hands could barely hold, delicious crab roe, eel rice – the aroma was tantalizing.
Chloe couldn't help but swallow involuntarily.
No, she couldn't eat the enemy's food, could she?
Wouldn't that be walking right into their trap?
What if it was poisoned?
While Chloe was lost in thought, Professor Sotos's voice came from beside her:
"Go ahead and eat, an old man like me can't finish all of this."
Chloe's eyes lit up instantly, but she soon regained her composure.
Whether this food was safe to eat or if it was a trap was still uncertain.
She couldn't just rush in to eat recklessly.
Chloe's mind was racing with thoughts, but her face revealed nothing.
Her eyes showed a look of honor as she said:
"Thank you, Professor!"
She then sat down at the dining table.
The inconspicuous hidden terminal on her wrist flashed, scanning all the dishes.
After confirming that all the dishes were glowing green and posed no threat, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, without hesitation, she tore off one of the prawn's large claws and ate it with great relish, dipping it in sauce.
Seeing this, a hint of a smile spread across Professor Sotos's face.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to fight you for it."
As he said this, Sotos sat down and leisurely began eating the eel rice.
To be honest, with such kindness, Chloe felt a pang of guilt when she thought about what she was going to do later.
Damn it, if you're going to be bad, be thoroughly bad! What's the point of this half-hearted wickedness?
Chloe thought this while taking another big bite of the prawn meat.
...
Meanwhile, outside the Viper Group's camp.
Daniel and his other companions, who had just finished their fight and returned, were sprawled on the hilltop, stuffing steamed buns into their mouths while whining:
"*cough cough* At least we can eat steamed buns, but Chloe went in there alone, she must be eating nothing but scraps and dregs, it's too miserable!"
Qin Huaibei: "..."
Although it was a bit of an exaggeration, he felt there was some truth to it:
"Hmm, looking at her location, it seems she's gone to the experimental room. I wonder if she managed to sneak in."
"Stop eating and save a bun for her. In that hellhole, who knows if she'll even get to eat anything."
Anderson and Katherine: "..."
What they wanted to say was that, given Chloe's appearance, it would be impossible for her to be at a disadvantage.
But Daniel and Qin Huaibei were so sincere that they didn't dare say anything more, silently nibbling on their nearly stale buns.
Their operation this time was actually planned well in advance.
The old Wolf King was eliminated, but in the end, he was just a pawn in the hands of the Viper Group.
Taking down the old Wolf King alone wasn't enough; they needed to uproot the entire Viper Group behind him.
Otherwise, when this Wolf King fell, thousands more would spring up in his place.
Chloe had volunteered to infiltrate enemy territory alone, and the others' protests were ineffective. They had wanted to put up more resistance.
Who knew that in the blink of an eye, that troublemaker Chloe would disappear, and when they checked her location—
Good grief, she was already at the Viper Group's headquarters.
Now they couldn't resist even if they wanted to, and could only scurry over to provide support from the sidelines.
They were waiting for Chloe's signal, at which point they would lead the army to charge in and raze the place to the ground.
That command would likely have to wait until Chloe found the Viper Group's ultimate boss behind the scenes.
...
Meanwhile, Chloe, who was the subject of everyone's endless worry, had just finished devouring an entire prawn claw.
The taste was truly exquisite, the meat thick and plentiful, and incredibly tender.
Just as Chloe finished the prawn claw, Professor Sotos handed her a bowl of crab roe rice, topped with two strips of crispy grilled eel.
She was in pure bliss now.
After Chloe finally finished her meal, filling her stomach that had been empty all day, Professor Sotos finally made his next move.
"Do you know what to do next?"
As soon as he spoke, Chloe's heart tightened.
What to do? How would she know what to do?
Chloe cautiously replied:
"I await your instructions, Professor."
Hearing this, Sotos stared at her for a long moment before saying:
"Go to my bookshelf, take the fifth book on the third row, and start copying it from the beginning."
Chloe's hand trembled.
Without any hesitation, she stood up and walked to the bookshelf, retrieving the book as Sotos had instructed.
It was a very ordinary introductory biology textbook, with nothing special about it except for its particularly abstruse and complex content.
By the time Chloe returned, the table had been cleared, and even paper and pen had been set out.
"Start copying," Professor Sotos said.
With no choice, Chloe sat down and began to copy the book.
The pen tip moved little by little, while Sotos himself lay on the sofa, falling into a deep sleep to the sound of the scratching pen.
Chloe wrote for about thirty minutes, and after making sure that Sotos had fallen asleep, she stood up, simultaneously casting a spell on the paper.
The pen began to write on its own, maintaining the same pace at which Chloe had been writing.
Chloe herself stood up and began to search through Professor Sotos's office.
She refused to believe that she couldn't find anything in this office.
