“I saw…
human experimentation…
and the Winter Capital reduced to ruins.” Columbina’s voice, clear and cool as moonlight, echoed crisply through the conference room.
As her words faded, a faint, almost imperceptible blush quietly brushed across her pale cheeks.
Hearing this, Pierro froze for a moment.
He knew she kept her eyes closed only because she refused to look upon a world wrapped in “lies.” That being the case, what she “saw” had to be a future that would truly come to pass.
With that thought, Pierro hesitated no longer and made a decisive command.
“Effective immediately, human experimentation is completely banned, and all responsible parties are to be executed.” Of course, “all responsible parties” did not include Dottore.
The sudden hundred-and-eighty-degree shift in the situation caught everyone present completely off guard.
A soft smile glinted in Arlecchino’s eyes.
That shameless fellow actually had a move like this up his sleeve.
Seated at the end of the table, Rosalyne let out a long breath of relief, her heart finally setting at ease.
Though immediately after, she inwardly cursed “that idiot” over and over for making her worry so much.
At this moment, Dottore was still unwilling to accept defeat.
“Lord Director, I can personally step in to seize the Gnoses.
Please reconsider.” Pierro merely gave him a cool glance, his tone carrying an unquestionable chill: “The matter is settled.
There is no need for further discussion.” Hearing this, Dottore had no choice but to back down.
This round, he had lost after all!
Fascinating.
Someone had actually managed to outmaneuver him.
So…
what delightfully interesting method should he use to torment this fellow?
Pierro paid him no further mind, shifting his gaze to Pulcinella.
“Pulcinella, I leave the cleanup of this incident to you.” Pulcinella replied respectfully, “Rest assured, Lord Director.
I will ensure this matter is concluded with proper decorum.” “Mr.
Mayor,” Dottore said in a placid tone, “before you address this matter, please allow me to relocate the facilities inside first.” At those words, Pulcinella’s wrinkled face betrayed a look of difficulty.
“If we delay too long, I fear it may lead to severe consequences…
for instance, regarding the Knights of Favonius expedition force…” “One day,” Dottore interrupted, his voice firm.
Pulcinella hesitated briefly before finally nodding.
“Very well.” He had no desire to overly offend this insidious and despicable Harbinger.
Dottore’s expression eased slightly.
As long as those facilities remained intact, his human experiments could continue.
Just then, a Fatui messenger hurried into the conference room, stepped quickly up to Pierro, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Though the voice was extremely quiet, Dottore still heard every word, and his face instantly turned as cold as frost.
He jerked his head up toward Arlecchino across from him, his eyes burning with malice and rage.
Arlecchino did not back down in the slightest, meeting his gaze head-on.
Had this not been the Zapolyarny Palace, the two would likely have drawn their weapons and fought to the death already.
Noticing the intense hostility between them, Pierro frowned slightly, though he said nothing.
Whether Dottore or Arlecchino, both were indispensable pillars of the Fatui.
Turning back to Pulcinella, Pierro said, “There is no need to wait.
Tartaglia has already destroyed the medical research facility.” Pulcinella froze upon hearing this, and then a flash of undisguised admiration swept across his shrewd eyes.
Since becoming the Mayor of the Winter Capital, he had seen countless geniuses, yet no one had ever possessed a mind as deep as an ocean and as impeccably calculated as Ye Xun’s.
Even the sinister, treacherous Dottore had been played like a fiddle in his hands.
If he was allowed to grow, he would surely become an extraordinary figure.
A pity…
Dottore would never grant him such a chance.
Before long, the meeting came to an end, and the Harbingers dispersed one after another.
Not far outside the conference room, a girl with a pretty face hurried over after Columbina.
“Columbina,” the girl said, stepping alongside her with a trace of suspicion in her tone.
“You’re acting a bit strange today.” Columbina turned her head to look at her, her expression unruffled.
“Sandrone, how am I strange?” Sandrone raised her chin slightly and snorted softly.
“I’ve been around you long enough—do you really think I wouldn’t notice?” “Are you worried about me?” Columbina asked softly in return.
“Huh?” Sandrone widened her eyes in utter astonishment.
“Me, care about a fallen deity like you?” Hearing this, Columbina corrected her in all seriousness: “I am not a fallen deity now…
Someone still gives me offerings.” “Gives you offerings?” Sandrone understood instantly, her disgust for a certain someone deepening by a few more degrees.
……..
“Teucer!” “Teucer!” “Teu—cer!” Inside the ruined medical research facility, Tartaglia had already donned his Foul Legacy Armor, frantically searching everywhere for his younger brother.
He had practically turned the entire ruin upside down, yet Teucer was nowhere to be found.
Could Teucer have been killed already, reduced to a heap of discarded flesh and blood?
Tartaglia’s eyes turned bloodshot as grief and fury welled up in his heart like a tidal wave, impossible to suppress any longer.
In a wild rage, he destroyed everything before him—walls, instruments, files…
smashing every breakable thing to pieces.
And the researchers were executed by his own hands, one after another.
Screams and wails echoed through the facility, quickly dying down into dead silence.
A thick metallic stench of blood pervaded the air, with severed limbs and mangled remains strewn everywhere.
The entire laboratory resembled a living hell on earth.
Long after, Tartaglia, drenched in blood, staggered out from the ruins.
The sky was overcast, and a drizzle fell.
Cold raindrops splashed against his burning face and struck his battered, aching heart.
An extreme exhaustion swept over him.
Disengaging his Foul Legacy form, his legs buckled, and he collapsed heavily onto his knees.
Just at this desperate moment, a thoroughly familiar voice called out from not far away: “Big Brother!” He turned his head in shock and joy, only to see Teucer clutching a Mr.
Cyclops doll, running toward him as fast as his small legs could carry him.
Moments later, Teucer threw himself into his arms, his voice choked with tears.
“Big Brother, I should have told you first!” In the rain, Tartaglia held Teucer tight, his heart overflowing with the joy of regaining what he thought he had lost.
Not far off, Arlecchino, who had just arrived, watched this touching scene.
On her lips, usually as cold and frosty as ice, there crept a faint yet genuine smile.