Rhodes Island's Psychologist

Chapter 160: Judgement

"Did you catch a cold?" ACE glances at Lin Ye.

"No, uh, I don't think so." Lin Ye rubs his nose.

"Maybe someone missed you." ACE grins, "After all, you are really popular, especially with the ladies."

"..."

Waiting behind Rhodes Island's representatives, Lin Ye looks at the factory in front of him, "Do you have the feeling that we're here for something else?"

"Huh?" ACE asks, "What do you mean?"

Lin Ye tilts his head slightly, "It's like we are in a gang meeting, where two opposing gangs meet each other for a secret deal, and everyone is armed and ready to fight. That worries me."

"You're just imagining things."

A moment later, several people in lab coats walk out of the factory to greet Silence.

"Long time no see, Silence." A female researcher shakes hands with Silence. "It's been almost two years, right?"

"Yes, it is." Silence says in a professional tone, "How are you doing, Hannah?"

"Well, if I say things have been going well, that'd be a lie." Hannah says, "We wouldn't be selling the equipment in that case."

She sighs, "Either way, it doesn't matter what we say now. Rhine Lab is gone."

A glint of loneliness flashes in Silence's eyes. She says, "That may be true, but we need to look forward."

Lin Ye is looking around in boredom, but he's been paying close attention to the conversation between Silence and Hannah. Saria warned him of Rhine Lab, especially the group his ground is meeting right now. However, he hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Weird.

So far, it's just two people reminiscing about their past.

Lin Ye leans slightly toward Ifrit, "Do you know those people?"

Ifrit turns to him, seeming a little bit annoyed, "Why would I know them?"

"Those people, they were your mother's colleagues." Lin Ye asks, "Have you never met them before?"

"Silence worked with so many people. How am I supposed to remember all of them? The only other person that I know is Saria. Wait. Did you just scold me? Why do you always do this?!"

"What?" Lin Ye rolls his eyes, "When your mother is here, how can I possibly scold you?"

Ifrit falls into thought. What Lin Ye said makes her feel better, even though it made no sense. When she realizes that, she can't help but feel annoyed.

To take her mind off Lin Ye's words, Ifrit looks at the people Rhodes Island is meeting, but for some reason, she feels really uncomfortable, as if she can't breathe. She moves closer to Lin Ye subconsciously.

"You don't seem to like this place." ACE suddenly asks Lin Ye.

"Nah, I think it's fine." Lin Ye looks at the factory and says, "But I admit, it's quite different from what I had in mind."

"I know, right? Why does an abandoned factory have so many workers, especially here in Longmen? They also seem to be well funded." ACE grins.

Lin Ye shrugs, before turning to Ace, "Speaking of which, aren't we here to purchase equipment? Why do you have so much armor on you?"

"You don't understand how important those machines are." ACE explains, "Let me put it this way. They are the culmination of years of research and innovation done by Rhine Lab. No amount of money can buy them, not even in the black market. You might not know this. We have to get this deal, before Lungmen or even the LGD hears about it. Otherwise, it'd be really difficult for us to compete with them. After all, they have more resources to outbid us."

Lin Ye is puzzled. He asks, "In that case, why don't they just sell the machinery to Lungmen directly instead of us?"

"There are many reasons." ACE says, "The most important one is that the former Rhine Lab employees are not willing to sell those instruments to people they don't know, so having Silence helped us gain a lot of leverage in the negotiation. Also, we have the drugs that they really need right now."

{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}

"We can't just bring the big ones here. It'd be too obvious." Hannah says, "But we have brought the smaller parts for you to inspect. Once we have reached an agreement, the main machinery will be delivered to you in two days."

Silence nods, "I understand, so do we meet on the outskirts of Lungmen?"

Hannah shakes her head, "No, it's further away. We will give you the location later."

Nearing the end of the negotiation, Silence makes a proposal, "How about you all come to Rhodes Island instead? We really need talented people like you."

"Rhodes Island?" Hannah smiles apologetically, "I'm sorry, Silence. We can't."

"Why?"

"We already have our own plan," Hannah says vaguely.

Lin Ye suddenly perks up after hearing that.

However, the subtle connotation behind Hannah's words didn't alert Silence. "What a pity... Nevertheless, I wish you all the best for your future endeavors."

"Thank you." Hannah smiles, "Now, let me show you the equipment."

While Silence follows Hannah to check the equipment, accompanied by ACE and the other guards, Lin Ye and Ifrit are left waiting outside.

Lin Ye glances at Ifrit and notices that she seems to be uncomfortable with the environment, so he pats her head in reassurance.

{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}

On the top floor, Cardo whispers to the researcher next to him, "Did you see that?"

That researcher nods, "Yeah, that's Ifrit."

"No, I was talking about the man next to her," Cardo says.

"What?"

"Rhodes Island sent nine armed guards to protect Silence and Ifrit. Eight of them follow Silence, but only one man stays with Ifrit. That's not normal. In Silence's eyes, Ifrit should be more important than herself, but she lets that man take care of Ifrit alone."

"?"

"Write it down. Write it down." Cardo says with a shaky voice, "He's definitely stronger than the other eight combined!"

{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}

Draft by Jaqqy10

Proofread by Demosama & PanzerComrade56

Edit by Jaqqy10