182: A pleasant surprise

The meeting lasted two hours, and both parties reached a preliminary cooperation agreement. As the talks concluded, Lisa led them to the lounge area, and Emma subtly nudged Carl's elbow.

"Miss Lisa," Carl suddenly spoke, "I have some technical details I'd like to discuss further with your Engineers. Would that be convenient?"

Lisa glanced at the time: "Of course, I'll arrange for you to meet with the Ministry of Energy's Engineers."

Emma seized the opportunity and said, "Then I'll head back to my room to rest. Kovalev, you go with Carl."

The three tacitly split up. Carl and Kovalev followed Lisa to meet the Engineers, while Emma returned alone to the guest room prepared for them.

Upon entering, she quickly inspected the entire room, and after confirming there were no surveillance devices, she retrieved a small scanner from her underwear. This was the latest equipment provided by the Business Consortium, capable of detecting hidden surveillance and listening devices.

The scan results showed the room was clean. Emma breathed a sigh of relief and took out a miniature communicator from a hidden compartment in her luggage.

"Viktor, phase one is complete," she reported in a low voice, "Winston has indeed received the enhanced serum, just as the intelligence stated. His physiological characteristics are at least thirty years younger than his actual age."

Viktor's voice came through the communicator: "Excellent. As planned, you will attend the Sky Palace City reception dinner tonight. That's a good opportunity to make contact with more 'samples'."

"Understood." Emma paused, "Oh, and I made an unexpected discovery. Sky Palace City's security system doesn't seem to be as strict as rumored; all the equipment we brought passed through smoothly."

Viktor's voice suddenly became alert: "Don't be careless, that could be a trap. Proceed with caution."

After ending the communication, Emma took out an evening gown from her luggage and began to prepare for the evening's banquet. Her plan was simple: use her charm at the dinner party to approach a comprador representative and gather more information about the enhanced serum. If possible, she even aimed to obtain a sample directly.

But fate seemed to have other plans.

The banquet that night was held at the Sky Palace City's most luxurious "Bird of Paradise" hotel. Emma wore a deep blue gown, looking elegant and intellectual. Carl and Kovalev were dressed in formal wear, acting as her assistants.

The banquet hall was resplendent, with elegantly dressed guests conversing in small groups. Emma held a glass of champagne, pretending to wander aimlessly, but in reality, carefully listening to every conversation.

"...The new batch of serum is even more effective than the last..."

"...The company raised the price, but it's worth it..."

"...I heard the Eastern Federation has already developed a second generation..."

These fragments of conversation made Emma's heart beat faster. Just as she was about to approach a group of comprador representatives who were talking, she suddenly noticed a furtive figure slipping into the banquet hall from a side door.

It was a man in his early thirties, with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a company uniform, but his demeanor was unusually nervous. He kept looking around, clutching a small cooler tightly in his hand.

Emma's professional instincts were immediately triggered. She quietly followed him, maintaining a safe distance.

The man avoided the crowd and walked directly to an elegantly dressed old man in the corner. The two spoke in low voices for a few moments, and the man cautiously opened the cooler, allowing the other person to glimpse its contents.

Even from a distance, Emma recognized the faint blue glow. Enhanced serum!

Her heart rate suddenly accelerated. This was completely unexpected. A company employee, privately trading serum?

The transaction was quickly completed. The man slipped a small envelope into his inner pocket and hurried out of the banquet hall. Emma followed without hesitation.

"Carl, Kovalev," she whispered through the micro-communicator, "I've found something unexpected. A company employee is privately selling serum. I'm going to follow him and see, you two continue to monitor the compradors."

"Too dangerous!" Carl's voice was filled with worry, "It could be a trap!"

"I'll be careful." Emma cut off the communication and quietly trailed the mysterious man.

The man was clearly nervous, constantly looking back. He passed through several corridors and finally arrived at the hotel's staff lounge. After confirming no one was around, he opened the cooler hidden in a cabinet and greedily looked at its contents: two blue-glowing serums!

Emma's mind raced. Her original mission was to steal intelligence from the compradors, but now, there were ready-made serum samples right in front of her, guarded by only one unsuspecting company employee.

This was a rare opportunity.

She quickly made a decision, took a small tranquilizer gun from her handbag, and quietly approached the unaware man.

"Don't move." She pressed the muzzle against the man's lower back, her voice calm and dangerous, "Slowly turn around."

The man froze, slowly turned around, his face pale: "You... who are you?"

"That's not important." Emma's gaze fell on the cooler, "What's important is, how much is what you have in your hand worth?"

A hint of cunning flashed in the man's eyes: "You want the serum?" He suddenly lowered his voice, "I can sell it to you, twenty million credit points per vial."

Emma sneered: "Or, I could just take it, and then hand you over to the company's security department. Illegally reselling serum... I'm guessing the punishment won't be light?"

Cold sweat beaded on the man's forehead: "Wait! We can talk! My name is James Wilson, P5-level Material Dispatcher. I... I have stable supply channels!"

Emma's eyebrows raised slightly. P5-level? That's just a minor employee in the company, yet he can get enhanced serum?

"Prove it to me." She slightly relaxed the muzzle, "Why should I trust a small-time employee?"

Wilson wiped his sweat: "Because I'm responsible for the daily maintenance of the serum warehouse." He forced a ingratiating smile, "Every month there are 'losses' due to random checks, no one will notice if a few vials are missing."

A glint flashed in Emma's eyes. This was even better than she had imagined: an insider with direct access to the serum warehouse!

"Interesting." She slowly lowered the gun, "But why? Why would a company employee take such a big risk?"

Wilson's expression suddenly turned gloomy: "Do you know I've been with the company for ten years and I'm still P5-level? Those Eastern Federation-faced guys, they look down on me!" His voice was filled with resentment, "Just because I'm from old Fog City, they suppress me at every turn!"

Emma nodded thoughtfully. A disgruntled company employee, this was practically a gift from above.

"James, I think we might be able to become partners." She flashed a charming smile, "How about we find a safer place to discuss this in detail?"

Ten minutes later, in a secluded, empty cafe near the hotel, Emma and Wilson sat in the furthest corner.

"So your plan is..." Emma sipped her coffee, asking in a low voice.

Wilson's eyes gleamed with greed: "I can get three to five vials of serum every month. Through your channels, we can sell them for thirty million each!" He excitedly lowered his voice, "Those business magnates are willing to pay anything for longevity."

Emma pretended to think, but in reality, she was quickly weighing the pros and cons. Cooperating with Wilson meant betraying Viktor and Blue Star Dawn, but the profits... far exceeded the original plan.

"I need a sample to verify its authenticity," she finally said.

Wilson hesitated for a moment, then still took out a vial of serum from the cooler: "Here. But the rest will have to wait until we've agreed on the split..."

Emma took the ampoule and examined it carefully. The blue liquid shimmered enticingly under the light, exactly as she had seen in the data before.

At this moment, she made her decision.

"The split is simple." She suddenly pulled out a silenced pistol from her handbag, "I'll take it all."

After two faint "plop plop" sounds, Wilson's eyes widened, looking in disbelief at the blood gushing from his chest. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound, slowly sliding to the ground.

Emma calmly put the serum and cooler into her handbag, then dialed a number.

"Carl, Kovalev, emergency." Her voice was filled with urgency, "I found that company employee in the cafe on the east side of the hotel! He attacked me and stole the serum sample! I need backup!"

Twenty minutes later, when Carl and Kovalev rushed over, they only saw Emma slumped in the corner, a streak of blood on her forehead, her handbag ransacked.

"He ran!" Emma said weakly, "Stole the serum... towards the east district..."

Carl immediately gave chase, while Kovalev stayed to tend to the "injured" Emma.

"Are you alright?" Kovalev asked with concern, "What happened?"

A barely perceptible cold glint flashed in Emma's eyes: "Nothing serious. But..." She suddenly raised her hand, and a sharp dagger accurately pierced Kovalev's heart.

Mikhail's eyes widened, his lips trembling: "You... why..."

Emma leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Because one vial of serum is enough for one person, my dear."

She gently pushed Kovalev's body down and quickly left the cafe. Ten minutes later, she waited for Carl at the agreed rendezvous point.

When Carl ran back, panting, Emma had already tidied herself up again.

"Couldn't find him!" Carl said in frustration, "Sky Palace City's surveillance system is too comprehensive; I didn't dare to be too conspicuous."

Emma feigned a sigh of disappointment: "Never mind, at least we still have a backup plan." She glanced at the time, "The banquet should be ending soon, we should go back and continue monitoring those compradors."

Carl nodded and turned to lead the way. At that very moment, Emma's silenced pistol fired again. Carl's body jolted violently, and he slowly fell to the ground.

"Sorry, old friend." Emma looked at Carl's twitching body, her voice icy, "But there's no place for you in the new world."

She quickly disposed of the three bodies, then returned to her hotel room with the precious serum sample. After locking the door, she eagerly took out the serum and examined it carefully against the light.

The blue liquid shimmered enticingly, as if alive. Emma took a deep breath and aimed the needle at her arm.

After a sharp pain, an unprecedented sensation swept through her body. She felt every cell cheering, her vision suddenly became incredibly clear, even the finest dust outside the window was perfectly visible.

Emma looked in the mirror, watching the fine lines around her eyes gradually disappear, her skin becoming firmer and more elastic. She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She succeeded!

She looked at her refreshed self in the mirror, and a bolder plan formed in her mind. James Wilson might be dead, but the serum warehouse and internal channels he mentioned... that information was priceless.

As for whether the company would come looking for her, she wasn't worried. That Wilson, he was probably an arrogant guy. Maybe he even got into the company with a 'bought' degree; otherwise, how could he still be a P5-level small fry?

After all, she had helped the company get rid of a traitor, so even if they didn't thank her, they wouldn't make things too difficult for her.

"Looks like I need to go back to Blue Star," she murmured softly, "and personally discuss a new cooperation plan with the Business Consortium..."

Emma began to quickly pack her luggage, preparing to leave Sky Palace City. She carefully hid the remaining vial of serum; this was her leverage for the future.

At the same time, a test application from the Technology Research and Development Department had appeared on Chen Hao's desk.