79: Wings are growing day by day

"What's with that expression? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Tony stopped, looking surprised.

He remembered how Lyon had looked in the forest yesterday. "Ah, I get it. That world consciousness thing came back again, didn't it?"

Lyon was stunned for a few seconds. When he regained his composure, his expression became odd as he nodded. "What it was trying to say was complicated, but the gist is that the SS serum won't work—it wants the earlier version of the evolutionary agent that had infectious properties."

"What? Is it out of its mind to say something like that? Well, I guess it doesn't have a brain," Tony exclaimed.

He found it strange. "So why can't we use the SS serum?"

"Because the SS serum is too stable and no longer has the potential for further evolution!"

Lyon was exasperated. "It wants something relatively stable but that still has the potential for evolution, or rather, the potential to continue mutating?"

Tony crossed his arms. "That's an interesting idea. It wants to keep evolving indefinitely? Sounds like the kind of advice Obama used to give me."

"He used to give you complex advice? Like suggesting 'a rainbow-colored black' or something?"

"Pretty much. So I usually just ignored him and did things my own way."

"Case closed, no wonder it wanted to get rid of you," Lyon said.

"Maybe, but I'm not about to create a rifle that can heat, cool, and also provide navigation, just because he asked me to," Tony responded.

"...Strange idea. It seems that every client in the world is odd," Lyon said as he returned to the lab table. "Fortunately, with the experience of developing the SS serum, creating a new type of S virus is now a walk in the park."

He had no intention of rejecting the world consciousness's request. After all, if something went wrong again in the future, it might come looking for him once more. And if it did, he figured, it would owe him some additional authority.

By then, who would truly be the world consciousness might be up for debate.

Lyon mused to himself that if he really gained control over the world's evolution one day, he might pull the world consciousness out and give it to Jarvis as a companion.

'That would be nice!'

Five minutes later.

The final version of the S virus, with an infection mutation rate of only 0.1%, was successfully born. Its effect was almost indistinguishable from the initial prototype and perfectly met the requirements for evolving life on a global scale.

After the new virus was synthesized, the world consciousness was indeed very satisfied.

The world consciousness sent over an excited emotion, urging Lyon to quickly spread the virus, like a playful farm dog wagging its tail enthusiastically.

"Alright, alright, let me have a meal with Tony first, then I'll find someone to test the virus on," Lyon assured repeatedly. Then, he shrugged at Tony, and they both headed to the elevator of the research facility.

As expected, most people had taken the day off after yesterday's celebration.

The research institute was completely empty, with only Lyon and Tony there as they left. The police station had only a few officers on duty.

On the way, Lyon complained that such a relaxed official institution would have a hard time managing a country effectively.

It wasn't until they ran into Jill that Lyon found out that she, the newly appointed president, had given everyone a day off.

The reason?

Lyon had saved the world yesterday, so today was declared a new Thanksgiving!

Heh~ Lyon couldn't help but change his mind, marveling at how efficient this new government was.

However, when he met Jill, the stunning beauty seemed to be in a bad mood.

...

In the former police chief's office.

"Uh, Jill, what's going on with you?" Lyon asked as he noticed Jill's displeased expression.

Tony, sensing the tension, had already slipped away, taking the two curly-haired women from last night with him, heading who knows where.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? What happened to you?" Jill asked, placing her right hand on her hip. "You did something so outrageous, yet you left Ada and me behind, disappearing for an entire day. I thought you had fled out of guilt."

"The term 'fleeing out of guilt' refers to criminals. You shouldn't use it so casually," Lyon corrected. "Last night, it was clearly you two, after drinking, who fought over it and decided to... be together. You can't blame me for that."

"In fact, none of you were even that drunk. You were just tipsy, using alcohol as an excuse to do naughty things," he added.

Jill's face turned red, and she turned away, avoiding eye contact. "Even so, you shouldn't have left the two of us behind."

"I didn't abandon you two. I even tucked you in before I left," Lyon said, picking up a paper cup and filling it with water. "I was just at the research lab, conducting experiments with my brother. No one told me there was a day off today."

"I was wondering why there were so few people around."

He drank the water in one gulp, then looked towards the door.

"By the way, Ada, why are you hiding behind the door?"

The door creaked open.

"Ah! Of course, I was waiting for you to call me in," Ada said as she pushed the door open and stepped inside, her steps still a bit unsteady.

Her physical condition wasn't as robust as Jill's, and after being 'injured' that night, she needed more time to recover.

"After all, I wouldn't want to interrupt a private conversation between my boss and her rival," Ada remarked with a sly smile.

Jill narrowed her eyes at the word "rival." "Shouldn't you be pretending not to hear and just walk away?"

"Oh, really? I thought Miss President and I would be on the same team," Ada moved closer, teasing Lyon with her words. "After all, compared to the two of us rookies, someone's skills are quite... exceptional."

"Hmm?" Jill hesitated for a moment, her gaze shifting towards Lyon.

Ada's words seemed to resonate. "No wonder it felt so... intense back then... Could it be you've had more... experience?"

"Ahem!"

Lyon cleared his throat loudly, cutting off the conversation. "Stop arguing, both of you! One's a president, and the other's a bureau director. How can the country run if you're squabbling about sex during a crisis?"

Both women fell silent, surprised by how deftly Lyon diverted the tension.

Lyon then spread his arms wide. "So, I think, as colleagues, we should sit down and have a proper discussion. What problem can't be solved through communication? And if there is, it just means we haven't communicated enough."

"What communication? Let me finish asking my question... mmm, mmm!" Jill was cut off abruptly with a kiss.

"Oh dear, someone's impatient, can't you wait for me?" Ada shook her head and followed behind.

...

The next morning, Lyon woke up in a familiar bed. Feeling refreshed, he roused the two "little elves" beside him. After some morning exercise, they washed up together and headed out.

In the police station lobby, the scene was vastly different from yesterday's emptiness.

Today, the place was bustling with public officials coming and going.

Tony was seated at a table having breakfast. His eyes were dark with heavy bags under them, his complexion pale—he looked utterly exhausted.

Lyon sat down beside him, grabbed a piece of baguette, and stuffed it into his mouth. The taste was indescribable, but he still chewed and swallowed it.

"Tony, were you up to no good again with those wavy-haired girls last night?" Lyon asked with a hint of judgment.

"Look at yourself, constantly indulging in those things. Do you even look like a scientist anymore?" Lyon immediately took the moral high ground. "If you keep going like this, how can you face Pepper?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Did I forget to pay her salary this month? I just gave her strawberries the other day. Come on, she's not even my girlfriend yet. How could I be betraying her?"

"Pepper is allergic to strawberries, Tony," Lyon said with a serious expression.

Tony nodded as he ate his baguette with milk. "Yeah, I know. She scolded me pretty harshly after I gave them to her."

"And rightfully so," Lyon replied. Seeing Tony enjoying his meal, he couldn't help but take another bite of the baguette himself, only to find it just as tasteless as before.

"And what about you? Don't think I don't know what you've been up to the past couple of nights after the events ended," Tony teased, elbowing Lyon. "How do you explain yourself to that special agent back at your fortress?"

"She's my subordinate, thank you very much," Lyon said, grabbing a paper cup and pouring half of Tony's milk into it.

"Oh, just a subordinate, huh?" Tony smirked and raised his milk cup, winking. "Alright then, here's to subordinates."

Lyon sighed, shaking his head. "I can never win with you... fine, here's to your wavy-haired girls," he said, clinking cups and downing the milk.

"But I still have to remind you," Lyon continued, patting Tony's arm as he stood up, "when you're about to enter back-to-back high-intensity operations, you should take care of your body."

"We're not exactly the same, you know."

"If I hadn't given that blood sample yesterday, I'd be in great shape right now!" Tony tried to defend himself.

"That's why we're different. If I gave that much blood, I'd still be as energetic as ever."

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don't you..." Tony muttered, watching Lyon walk away.

After a moment of silence, Tony took a bite of his baguette, suddenly jumping up with determination. 'No way, I have to finish the live experiment and inject the serum as soon as possible. This is another world—I can't let that kid show me up!'

________

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