Seeing the glint in Lily’s eyes, Victor continued. “Because it was dangerous.”
“That is expected.” A research about biotechnology. Lily was not dumb enough not to know what biotechnology is. While she doesn’t have the specifics about this research, she knew that biotechnology covers a considerable span of area. There is, of course, medical biotechnology, agricultural, cell biology, plant physiology, and many others. However, the aspect that made Lily interested in this specific science is Cell Biology and Medical Biotechnology. These two are pretty intriguing, she was fascinated by these two aspects and was sure that she was not the only one who thought this way.
If one would do a dangerous experiment, Lily concluded that it should be connected with these two areas. Were they researching a virus? Perhaps, that is possible. Now that Lily thought about it, she remembered Harringfort injecting Bei Tian with something. However, until now, Bei Tian was not showing any symptoms. Lily and Zhou Jingren thought it was a bluff.
But what if it wasn’t? What if these people are really studying viruses and wanted to complete their research using the information they got from Lilian? “But how dangerous… is ‘dangerous’?” Lily asked out of nowhere. “Are we talking about something that could wipe humans?”
“Not really, no.” Victor shook his head. “As far as I remember, it could wipe out certain people. However, I don’t have the specifics as I am not as smart as my father.”
“You— “
“Lilian used to work for my father.” Victor continued. Anger evident in his eyes. “But aside from running away, there is nothing else I can do against the government that killed my father.”
Lily opened her mouth before she closed it again. Then she chose to remain silent. Soon enough, silence filled the area. Soon, the crackling sound of the fire was the only thing that surrounded the quiet room as the heat coming from it caressed their skin like a warm summer breeze. The smell of the burning wood lingered in their noses. Lily sighed inwardly before she asked, “So, you are the son of that scientist?”
“The son of the assistant scientist.” Victor answered almost immediately. “Lilian saved me. She was my mother’s friend.” Lily maintained her silence. Victor instantly saw this as an opportunity to tell her more about the past. “I was twelve. Lilian was probably a little older than me, around nineteen? I am not so sure. She had a part-time job as… as a small attendant in my uncle’s office. Of course, that uncle was the scientist who led the experiments. Instead of having someone trained in security protocol, everyone inside that office were civilians. Of course, that was something expected, considering they don’t want to attract the attention of their… enemies. They wanted to keep everything unassuming and low-key.”
“This experimentation and research were from the cold war. Rather… it started during the cold war.” Victor added. “It is only normal for them to feel that way. Of course, on the outside, everyone inside the office was unassuming. But the people working in the underground facility were all from the military department. Even my uncle, mother, and father were trained military personnel.”
“However, the research was discontinued?” Lily asked as she listened to Victor.
“It was deemed dangerous. The underground office was destroyed, and all scientists who participated in the research were… imprisoned with their families. That is, of course, with the exception of the lead researcher and his assistant who happened to be my mother and father. They were not spared. They knew a lot of information about the research, and in this world, we know how knowledge can be very perilous once it falls into the wrong hands.”
Lily started frowning. “But, they spared my grandmother?”
“Every civilian working outside of the underground facility was spared. Some are still alive until this day. Of course, the reason why they survived was that they knew nothing about it. As I said… they wanted to keep it lowkey. Not many people knew about the real purpose of the establishment. However, Lilian was not like that. She just arrived in the US;struggling. But, she was smart and cunning. She immediately knew that something was wrong and became close with my mother. Then, she started attending our family dinners and even celebrated Christmas with us.”
“Why are you telling me everything?” Lily asked.
“Because she told me to.” Victor smiled in response. “Lilian knew that one day, the order would approach you. So she asked us to help you out.”
“Us?”
“Mr. Rossi and Cathy.”
“So you three….”
“We are working for Lilian, not because she was rich and mighty. We are working for her because we owe her our lives. She saved us at one point.”
“That— “
“Surprising?” He laughed, his eyes turning into crescents as a tinge of pride can be seen in his orbs. “Lilian may not look like it, but she helped a lot of people in the past. Madam Luo was one of them. She also saved my life— Literally. As well as Cathy’s and Mr. Rossi’s. I don’t have the specifics, but the three of us knew about the order, and what we were supposed to do once you start asking us questions.”
Lily lowered her gaze as she thought about everything in the past. Cathy and Mr. Rossi were people that she respected. They were both talented, and at one point, she saw them as mentors. The two helped her out in the industry for a lot of times and would take care of the more complicated side of the business. Lily was grateful to have them around. Now that Lily thought about it, everytime she tried to ask questions about Lilian, Cathy was the first person to show herself.
Even if Cathy was busy, she would always abandon what she was doing to see Lily. It was as if she was waiting for her to ask questions about the order, as if she expected it. Sadly, when Lily knew about the order, she immediately decided not to disclose it to Cathy and Mr. Rossi. It was simply because she didn’t know who she could trust. It is always better to be careful than regret her decision later.
Speaking of trust…. Her thoughts were soon filled with Yang Mi’s cold face. “Victor… can you tell me one more thing?” Lily asked. “How did my grandmother die?”
