"That Adakrys who has entered the Hotlands twice and made it out alive—this time accompanying Rhine Lab—has arrived in Trimounts. Is this information accurate?"
"It should be correct."
At the Columbia Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium, as well as the Bureau of Originium Products Management's outpost in Trimounts, a hushed conversation took place.
"To be honest, I don't understand how he managed to evade the Sargonian blockade and cross our borders. Those Sargonian Lord Ameers may be arrogant and foolish, but they wouldn't let a loose end like this slip through."
"Let's take a look at his identity records... Hm, a flawless disguise—assuming it really is a disguise. Do you really believe that a native from the fringes of Sargon could evade three Lord Ameers and a Padishah, only to suddenly appear 1,500 kilometers away in Melun City, deep within Columbia?"
"According to intelligence from our informants, this 'Mr. Garde' got separated from Rhine Lab's convoy while in the Hotlands and eventually ended up in Melun City."
"Melun City is 2,000 kilometers from the edge of the Hotlands. If he had truly been separated from Rhine Lab's convoy, he should have surfaced in one of the Lord Ameers' territories near the border instead."
"So, what are you suggesting?"
"I suspect that Rhine Lab is deceiving us. Perhaps they really did find some ancient relics or lost technology within the Foehn Hotlands—maybe even something akin to a universal cure. But they likely anticipated that someone would try to snatch their discovery, so they entrusted a skilled and Sargon-savvy 'local' with the formula and had him travel directly to Melun City to rendezvous with their contacts."
The man sneered, as if he had uncovered the truth.
"Otherwise, I see no logical reason why a native of Sargon would travel across vast distances to Columbia, only to head straight for Trimounts and immediately seek an audience with Rhine Lab's CEO."
"So what do we do now?"
"Right now? Nothing. We're already too late. We have no solid proof that the Adakrys was carrying any formula. My guess is that the cure was split into two—one half left in Sargon, and the other half is here."
The man sighed.
"Our only option now is to compete for the half that remains in Sargon. And to do that, we'll have to offer Rhine Lab enough benefits to convince them to hand it over—while also contending with the Sargonians."
Columbia was too far from Sargon, which meant they were receiving information only via sporadic couriers.
None of them believed that Rhine Lab could actually escape the Foehn Hotlands. Most assumed this was just a desperate attempt by Rhine Lab to stay relevant.
They saw only two paths forward for the company: either accept military investment and become a government-backed research institution, or vanish from Columbia's corporate landscape, just like so many rising stars that had burned too bright and too fast.
A third option? Impossible.
Any new player trying to establish themselves in this land had to learn one thing first: compromise.
Yet, against all odds, Rhine Lab had succeeded.
Though the news was brief, no one believed that Rhine Lab would dare lie about something of this magnitude.
Because if they were deceiving Columbia, the repercussions of crossing Sargon would be far beyond what any small research company could bear.
Even now, couriers were riding tirelessly through the wilderness, and soon, with the arrival of Columbia's official diplomats, updated intelligence would be delivered.
But to the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium and the Bureau of Originium Products Management, the news had already arrived too late.
The informant they had bribed within Rhine Lab's convoy failed to grasp the significance of the information he had.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until after the Adakrys entered Trimounts to send his report. He should have alerted them before he ever stepped foot in Columbia.
"What do we do next?"
"Keep a close watch on every new experimental project Rhine Lab launches in the coming days—especially anything under their Structural Section. If it's related to Oripathy treatment, there's a high chance Rhine Lab will entrust it to them."
Rhine Lab's Structural Section specialized in biological sciences, focusing on researching the foundational biological particles that make up Terra's lifeforms, as well as how structural modifications affected their core functions.
Historically, 90% of Rhine Lab's Oripathy treatment developments had come from the Structural Section.
"Ahrens Parvis—watch him closely. He's the director of the Structural Section. If any major new project is underway, there's no way it won't go through him."
The Columbian Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium and the Bureau of Originium Products Management director in Trimounts tapped his desk with a solemn expression.
"If we uncover anything substantial, promotions and raises are just around the corner."
"What about the Adakrys? Should we investigate him?"
"No, don't startle him. He may just be a Sargonian native, but if he managed to escape from multiple Lord Ameers and a Padishah, he must possess exceptional counter-surveillance skills. As long as we confirm that he's still in Trimounts, that's enough."
For someone who had successfully entered and exited the Foehn Hotlands twice, the director felt that Garde deserved a fair amount of respect.
Knowing that the Adakrys had made it through the Hotlands twice and still underestimating him would be outright foolish.
Before long, with the director's orders, intelligence was relayed in batches to their informants stationed throughout Trimounts.
What they needed was evidence of the formula's existence—or any unknown intelligence—before Rhine Lab caught wind of their investigation.
In Columbia, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arts Units and Originium and the Bureau of Originium Products Management were essentially equivalent to the FBI.
They did everything from deploying spies to collect foreign intelligence, destabilizing other nations, and interfering in foreign affairs, to investigating criminals, gathering evidence of corporate violations, and combating terrorist activity.
Even the Columbian military hesitated to provoke these lunatics.
And now, their sights were set on Rhine Lab's Structural Section Director, Ahrens Parvis.
<+>
"Achoo!"
Inside a luxurious villa, the old Caprinae sneezed, then inserted a record into his phonograph, allowing soothing music to fill the room.
He was in a great mood.
His long-awaited Seaborn experiment was finally about to commence.
Previously, due to Rhine Lab's precarious financial situation, his request to establish a new research lab had been left unanswered for far too long. At one point, he had even considered jumping ship to another company.
Fortunately, that Adakrys arrived.
The Seaborn, the Oripathy-suppressing formula, and now, he even heard that the Adakrys had been appointed as Head of Defense in Trimounts.
For Parvis, this was nothing short of fantastic news.
Sure, Saria wasn't here.
But with that Adakrys's strength, even if something unexpected happened during the experiment, he would definitely be able to contain the situation, right?
If that was the case...
Wouldn't that mean he could make his experiments even more aggressive?
'Mr. Garde, you truly are my lucky star.'
Oblivious to what was coming for him, Parvis chuckled contentedly.
'Perhaps... I should let Hermer spend more time around him.'
<+>
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