Emily had spent so much time repeatedly watching videos of the newly discovered anomaly in the forest that she didn't even realize how much time had passed. By the time she noticed, two whole hours had gone by. She was completely absorbed, analyzing the anomaly's behaviors and trying to learn more about its personality. Maybe this would help her understand why the anomaly seemed so friendly with humans.
(I feel a bit guilty about this, but soon we will have to move on to more extreme tests to determine its resistance and measure its strength)
It wasn't that Emily was trying to postpone the tests, but at the moment, she didn't believe they would be truly useful in the current situation. For now, Emily knew the anomaly had extraordinary healing abilities, capable of regenerating severed limbs in an instant, as well as demonstrating significant resistance to physical attacks. However, she still didn't know how far that resistance could go.
"Chief! It's me! I need to talk to you; it's urgent!"
Lost in her thoughts, Emily blinked when she heard Laura's voice from the other side of the door. Naturally, she got up from the table and walked over. Upon opening the door, she was confronted by a visibly distressed Laura. Even without hearing a word, Emily could already feel a headache starting to form.
"Stop shouting. Why are you so frantic? Is there another anomaly escape or something?"
With that simple word from Laura, Emily quickly deduced what was happening. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance as a mild headache began to creep in. However, she simply sighed in resignation at the end.
"Okay, thanks for letting me know. You did a great job. Leave it to me; I'll handle it"
After saying these words, Emily closed the door behind her and began walking through the long, distant corridors of the facility. Laura followed closely, but she was noticeably quieter than usual.
Although Laura hadn't provided additional information about his whereabouts, Emily knew exactly where to find him. After all, he had already shown interest in the matter even before arriving at the facility. As she suspected, as she approached the door of the newly discovered anomaly in the forest, there he was.
His usual white hair contrasted with his young physique, which always made Emily uncomfortable. His appearance did not match his age, except for the white strands that indicated his aging.
As Emily got closer to the man, her expression gradually became more serious. The man also noticed her presence, and they both stopped near each other, exchanging a fleeting glance. However, it was Emily who reacted first, putting a professional smile on her face.
“Director Graham, it’s a pleasure to welcome you. I hope your trip was safe and smooth”
Emily's smile was superficial, visibly forced for everyone present, including the director, who regarded her with a serene expression. However, he seemed indifferent to this superficiality and, like Emily, greeted her in return.
“Chief Researcher Emily, it’s a pleasure to meet you and be welcomed by you and your team. It's unfortunate that you were transferred to this facility, but we have high expectations for your future”
Emily's eyebrow twitched slightly, though imperceptibly, and her smile faltered momentarily, which did not go unnoticed by Graham. Although Emily already knew this, it was still irritating to hear those words from that man, after all, he was the one who had her transferred to this place.
Despite being one of the organization’s most esteemed researchers, a single convincing word from Graham was enough for her to be moved. Although this caused initial turmoil, the situation gradually calmed down. Now, until she became the general director of management, she would have to stay in that location.
Currently, Emily didn’t care much about it anymore, as she had found something much more interesting to study compared to the anomalies present at the organization’s main facility.
“We did our best to get everything ready before your arrival, but as you can see, it’s still not all set up. Your arrival was quite sudden; I hope you don’t mind”
Although these were Emily's words, she actually wanted to convey another message. Translating what she said, the meaning would be something like:
(You showed up out of nowhere and still expect a warm welcome, you old coot? Just go away already and stop bothering me)
“Don’t worry about that, Ms. Emily. I didn’t come here expecting a reception. I agree that my arrival was unexpected, but putting that aside, I heard that you managed to acquire a rather peculiar new anomalous specimen. If possible, I would like to see it”
Upon hearing those words, Emily thought, “There it is” She had been waiting for this moment, or rather, she was already preparing for it, as it was evident that it would happen. After all, what reason would the director have to visit a relatively isolated place with common anomalies? Of course, [Shadow] was an exception; despite its potentially dangerous nature, the containment method was simple. That’s why it was sent to this location, as a precaution in case of an escape.
This reminded Emily that Graham couldn’t know that [Shadow] was no longer there. How would she explain that? In fact, she had a perfect justification in mind, but she knew that instead of helping, it would only create more problems. Unfortunately, things couldn't go as Emily hoped.
“By the way, Chief Researcher Emily, while I was being escorted here, I heard rumors that [Shadow] is no longer under our custody. In fact, it seems that she was destroyed. Could you explain to me what happened?”
A cold sweat ran down Emily’s neck upon hearing this. Her only thought was, “How did this old man find out so quickly? Who told him?” Without a proper answer, the situation would become concerning. Against her will, Emily knew she would have to reveal the truth, but she was determined to mix a bit of a lie into her response.
“As for that... there was a small accident involving [Shadow] and the new anomaly we found in the forest... Unfortunately, [Shadow] did not survive the encounter”
As she spoke those words, Emily noticed a subtle glimmer in Graham's eyes. That small hint was enough for her to know that more headaches were on the way. After all, the new anomaly was of complete interest to Graham, and his involvement with anomalies usually didn’t end well.