Inside the Homu Park infirmary, Dr. Einstein said expressionlessly, "Are you some kind of rabid beast? Please control your humanoid emotions, Dr. Tesla."
Dr. Tesla exploded in front of her. "Ahhh, and you still have the nerve to say that, Chicken-Nest Head! You tricked me again! You had me so worried. If something had really happened to you..."
This wasn't the first time Dr. Tesla had been fooled by Dr. Einstein. She fell for it every single time. If it had been anyone else, Tesla would have long since ignored them and let them fend for themselves.
"Mm...?" Einstein shot Tesla a teasing look.
Only then did Tesla realize what she had just let slip.
Seriously... they were both pushing thirty and had known each other for years. They knew each other's habits inside out. She could've just pretended she hadn't said anything and brushed it off. That way, everyone would be happy and nothing would have happened.
But this woman just had to react like that... clearly trying to make fun of her.
Of course Tesla wasn't going to lower herself and admit it. She crossed her arms proudly, turning her slightly reddened face away as she covered it up. "Ahem. What I meant was... that guy Edison is absolutely despicable!"
"He's already rich, yet he still curries favor and does whatever it takes to secure his position within MOTH."
Back then, Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, and Dr. Edison had all studied under the same mentor. They once shared the same ideals and worked together in passionate discussion.
But things did not go as they had hoped. Dr. Edison betrayed them, seized their research results, and squeezed them out of their positions within MOTH.
Dr. Einstein had fared relatively well. She had always been cautious, encrypting and backing up her research materials.
But the straightforward and careless Dr. Tesla was different. She would casually share her research progress and achievements with acquaintances. Especially when she was drunk, Tesla's mouth simply wouldn't shut—every secret would come spilling out.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been a big problem. Tesla only acted up in front of familiar faces, and even when sponsors came to toast her, she would prepare sobering medicine in advance.
But as an old acquaintance, Edison took advantage of this. He pried the password to Tesla's computer from her and published one of her major research results ahead of time under his own name.
As a result, when Tesla arrived at the presentation conference, she had nothing to show. Her researcher rating was lowered, her funding was cut, and she had to endure humiliation from sponsors.
As for reporting the matter to upper management...
MOTH, as humanity's ultimate war organization, was enormous. For different members, its meaning varied drastically. After all, not everyone was solely focused on perishing together with Honkai.
Clerks, MOTH soldiers, researchers, sponsors, and the MOTH Council—each saw only one side of the organization.
As a world organization with a heavy military character, in order to unify these groups, the MOTH Council always prioritized not whether something was truly right, but whether it could be kept under their control.
The MOTH Council possessed strong technical capabilities. But when they attempted to control everything, the impact on scientific research was extremely negative.
Dr. Tesla had personally tasted the bitter consequences of that negativity.
Though her status among researchers wasn't low, it wasn't particularly high either. At best, she barely squeezed into the top hundred researchers within MOTH.
After all, Dr. Tesla was famous for creating "little pieces of junk" that had no practical use.
Her research results had been stolen?
Would that cause things to spiral out of control? No. It would only affect her personal emotions.
Oh, then it wasn't a big deal. No need to intervene.
Thus, even though Dr. Tesla had previously filed reports about the research, she received no support from the MOTH Council or the review department.
Moreover, the personnel in charge of review were on Dr. Edison's side. They had long since colluded, reporting that Tesla was being unreasonable and that Edison had planned everything properly in advance.
Because of this, Tesla realized that Edison was not acting alone. Behind him stood a massive faction entrenched within MOTH.
"Hmph. Who knows when that guy started going down a different path from us..." Tesla crushed the soda can in her hand, seeming ready to breathe fire. Just thinking about Edison made her furious. He had relied on the trust she and Einstein placed in him to do something so despicable.
The the inorganic girl Einstein stared at the white curtain by the hospital bed and murmured, "Probably after Professor Planck passed away..."
"..."
At the mention of that name, the noisy Tesla's hand trembled. An indescribable sorrow surfaced in her eyes.
Einstein noticed Tesla's emotional instability, yet still suggested, "Say... when should we go visit Professor Planck again?"
"Chicken-Nest Head, what's the point of doing something like that now?"
"Once buried, it becomes—'a matter already concluded.'"
"And besides, in Haggard Cemetery, there are only her personal belongings..."
"Professor Planck... she was eaten by a Honkai Beast while protecting us..." Tesla's voice nearly broke into tears. "There wasn't even a body left. Planck... aside from us, she left nothing behind."
"No. She might still be there..."
"Huh?"
"I mean... perhaps the professor's soul is still there, waiting for us." Einstein picked up a Homu comic from the infirmary shelf and began flipping through it, as if trying to conceal something.
Because the truth was far crueler than what Tesla knew, Dr. Einstein did not wish to tell her just yet.
"Ha? ...Chicken-Nest Head, I'm not interested in discussing 'Nicolai's Ronde' with you. You, of all people—the most steadfast materialist theorist—believe in souls now?" Tesla's mouth twitched. This woman lectured her about material theory all day long, and now she was talking about souls? So souls only show up when convenient?