The air instantly tensed.
The surrounding technicians didn't dare to breathe. The confrontation between the two high-level executives seemed to lower the temperature in the control center by several degrees.
Natasha and Director Zhao stared at each other, their gazes clashing in mid-air.
She knew that Director Zhao was betting at this moment, betting on whether she could immediately produce substantial evidence of a "headquarters directive," or betting that she had reservations.
Her communication with this guy was limited to their first meeting. There was no enmity between them, nor much interaction. The reason he was doing this was simply because he was loyal to Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical.
And loyal to the force behind the founding of Heliopolis—the Shenzhou government.
After a few seconds of silence, Natasha suddenly sighed softly. Her tone softened, with a hint of "collegial" helplessness. "Alright, Director Zhao, you're always so... dedicated to your duty."
As she spoke, she seemingly unintentionally placed her left hand on the biometric scanner on the side of the main console.
"But sometimes, being too rigid can make you miss important windows of opportunity." Her right hand discreetly displayed a complex symbol.
The smile on Director Zhao's face instantly froze, a flash of incredible shock in his eyes.
That symbol... wasn't that the symbol of a top-tier assassin from the Web?
Could it be that—the other party had fully recovered from her injuries, passed her recuperation period, and had officially accepted an important mission from headquarters?
He suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Natasha, as if trying to find a flaw in her face.
Natasha returned his gaze calmly, her left hand steady on the scanner as the green scanning light swept across her palm.
"Verification passed, identity confirmed: Dr. Natasha Cioara," the cold electronic voice sounded.
The muscles on Director Zhao's face twitched. Finally, the formulaic smile returned to his face, but this time, with a bit more genuine awe and distance.
"I was overthinking it, Doctor," he took a step back and bowed slightly. "The 'Styx' protocol, please continue. I will ensure that the reception work here in Sapphire City is flawless."
He no longer obstructed.
The meaning behind the symbol Natasha had shown was that headquarters, or even the government, had to use a top-tier assassin hidden in the shadows for certain matters. This was far beyond what a regional security director like him could touch.
Some muddy waters should not be waded into.
Natasha secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her face remained calm. She just gave a faint "mm" and refocused her attention on the light screen.
The progress bar reached 99%.
Just a few more seconds...
Just as this final step of success was about to be taken—
Buzz... buzz...
Her personal encrypted communicator in her pocket suddenly vibrated.
This frequency... was not Heliopolis's internal line, nor was it any of the emergency contact channels she had reserved.
Natasha's eyes suddenly narrowed. She wanted to ignore it, but the communicator vibrated persistently, with a sense of not stopping until its goal was achieved.
While Director Zhao and the others' attention was still on the soon-to-be-completed dispatch procedure, Natasha forcefully stopped her fingers from trembling and, without changing her expression, turned sideways and took out the communicator.
On the screen, there was no number displayed, only a blank space.
An indescribable, cold feeling instantly gripped her heart.
She hesitated for a moment, but still pressed the answer button and brought the communicator to her ear.
At first, there was a deathly silence from the receiver.
Then, a voice she was so familiar with it was etched into her bones, yet so foreign it was terrifying, slowly sounded.
It was like an echo from the abyss, yet it contained a twisted, soul-shaking sense of intimacy.
"...Natasha..."
It was her brother's voice.
But, it was no longer the voice of a human that she remembered.
The voice on the other end of the communicator was low and gentle, with a familiar, scholarly tone of concern, almost completely overlapping with the voice of her brother Vakh in her memory:
"...Natasha? Can you hear me? Your signal seems to be a bit unstable."
Natasha felt her heart being squeezed by an icy hand in that instant. Her knuckles turned slightly white from excessive force.
But when her voice was transmitted through the microphone, it was so steady that there was not a single ripple, even deliberately carrying a hint of a slight tremor from a long-awaited reunion.
"Brother...? It's me. I can hear you. Are... are you okay?"
She forced herself to ignore the overly intimate "little sister," and poured all her energy into this dangerous performance.
"I'm fine," the "Vakh" on the other end still sounded gentle, even with a hint of a pleased smile. Being cared for by someone you care about, anyone would show this emotion.
But Natasha's heart sank even deeper, almost falling into a bottomless abyss.
After letting out that pleased laugh, the person on the other end asked with concern, "Little sister, I noticed you initiated the 'Styx' protocol, and you're dispatching reserves from ARC City.
"What happened? Do you need help? Why didn't you contact me first?"
A series of questions, filled with a brother's sincere concern, questions a younger sister could easily answer.
Natasha took a deep breath, her tone becoming slightly more serious, as if she were reporting on a formal job. "It's just a temporary high-level field mission, directly ordered by headquarters, with a very high security clearance.
"The target appeared in Sapphire City. The situation was urgent, so there was no time to go through the regular procedures. I was also afraid of disturbing your... research."
She deliberately paused slightly on the word "research." "I came to Sapphire City because of this mission. I thought it would be resolved quickly, but I didn't expect to need to use 'Styx'."
The reason she gave was reasonable, fully utilizing the characteristics of mutual secrecy and priority of authority within Heliopolis's internal projects, and also explaining the reason for her sudden appearance in Sapphire City.
"...They didn't inform me," a hint of anger appeared in "Vakh's" voice, with an irrepressible impatience. "I clearly had an agreement with them, that no matter what, they should inform me first about anything related to you..."
"Brother!" This protective tone almost broke through Natasha's psychological defenses, but she interrupted this genuine concern.
Natasha took a deep breath, trying to make her voice softer, even as her nails dug into her palm, so hard that it began to tremble slightly.
She succeeded... by relying on her rationality.
"I'm not a child anymore. Occasionally... give me some space of my own..."
This almost coquettish sentence drained almost all of Natasha's strength. And "Vakh," after a long silence, let out a doting yet helpless laugh.
"Alright... no matter what, be safe, little sister. You know, no matter what you do, your brother will support you."
The call ended in a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
In the control center, only the green "Dispatch Complete" prompt on the light screen flickered quietly.
The surrounding technicians, including Director Zhao, subconsciously remained silent, as if unwilling to disturb Dr. Cioara's private call with her family.
Natasha stood in place, her back to everyone, motionless.
A few seconds later, she whispered extremely softly, almost inaudibly, as if confirming a cold and cruel fact. Her voice was as light as a sigh, yet it carried a heart-stopping sense of detachment after all the disguises had been suddenly stripped away—
"But brother... never calls me 'little sister'..."