Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 919 - 164 The Cause

Chapter 919: Chapter 164 The Cause

Xiang Shan and Zhu Xinyu stood at the entrance of the air-conditioned room, lost in deep thought.

"Do you think that woman is deliberately leaving us hanging here?" Xiang Shan nudged Zhu Xinyu with his elbow: "What do you think?"

Zhu Xinyu gritted her teeth: "If I had known, I wouldn’t have worn formal attire..."

She regretted it deeply now.

The long sleeves she wore were truly very hot.

Yawgmoth’s ex-wife, Niyaguti, was the only person who hadn’t been drawn over by the helicopter just now. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed the helicopter; she was simply focused on her work.

The research vessel’s unmanned diving equipment can use a grapple to collect samples near the hydrothermal vent on the seabed.

Every time the TV grapple retrieved a sample onto the deck, biological samples had to be collected immediately. If there was any delay, the samples could be contaminated.

The researchers had to search in each small compartment of the grapple for biological samples clinging to rocks or sediment. Microorganisms in the seabed sediment also had to be quickly transferred along with sediment samples to a laboratory environment. The laboratory also needed to cultivate, isolate, and identify the archaea inside as soon as possible. The sediment itself needed to be sifted. It must be washed with water first, then filtered through a sieve to obtain benthic organisms greater than 0.25 millimeters in size.

All of this needed to be completed within two hours.

Yawgmoth even naturally walked over to ask if he could help. But the woman waved him off. It seemed she didn’t trust Yawgmoth’s performance in the laboratory.

Those who perform outstandingly in the laboratory must be excellent researchers. But excellent researchers don’t always perform well in the laboratory.

Yawgmoth was a theoretical researcher.

Now, they were waiting in some office cabin on the research vessel.

Yawgmoth had just been called over by Niyaguti’s assistant, seemingly for a discussion. Xiang Shan didn’t feel too worried since Yawgmoth was wearing listening equipment. It was one of the conditions for his free movement.

"Speaking of, that woman Niyaguti..." Zhu Xinyu asked Xiang Shan, "What’s your impression of her?"

Xiang Shan pondered for a moment: "I haven’t even seen her face. You ask for an impression... upper arm muscles are well-proportioned and beautiful?"

"Wow, that’s really something." Zhu Xinyu rolled her eyes, "I have a feeling Yawgmoth’s relationship with his ex-wife isn’t that bad?"

"They’re from the Federation; their views on marriage are quite different from ours." Xiang Shan shrugged, "It’s hard to imagine, a guy this young, already married and divorced."

Zhu Xinyu’s tone was somewhat teasing: "Oh, you’ve suddenly turned traditional on this matter."

"Who said I’m traditional? Don’t talk nonsense. You know about defamation, right?"

Zhu Xinyu thought for a moment: "So you’re saying they don’t have emotional entanglements?"

Yawgmoth happened to push the door open and come in. He probably guessed what the two of them were whispering about and said irritably, "Even though I can’t understand what you’re saying, if you want to ask about the divorce, just ask directly."

Zhu Xinyu widened her eyes and switched to English: "Well, that’s great. Just tell us how it all started and how love turned to hate..."

"There aren’t such complex emotional entanglements." Yawgmoth shook his head, "We were classmates in university and at the research institute, studying under the same mentor, with some overlapping social activities in our spare time, and we got together. After graduation, we got positions at different universities and research institutes in different cities, so we saw each other very little. Before joining the Rama Project, I was even prepared for the idea that I wouldn’t be able to leave for ten years."

"Since I couldn’t fulfill family responsibilities, I thought it wouldn’t be right to start a family to avoid causing each other pain. That’s how I saw it."

Zhu Xinyu found it somewhat unbelievable: "Just... just for this?"

"It’s not an incomprehensible thought." Xiang Shan pondered, "But you considered leaving the Rama Project just a few months after joining, right? You divorced before joining, and if you had actually left at that time, wouldn’t the divorce have been in vain?"

"It makes it sound like I divorced just to join this damn project." Yawgmoth snorted, "In our brief marriage, I felt like I wasn’t suited to play a role in a family. I think it was bound to happen sooner or later. The Rama Project just made me decide earlier."

"You didn’t even have a fight, didn’t argue ..." Zhu Xinyu found it hard to accept.

Xiang Shan changed the topic: "What did Niyaguti’s assistant want from you?"

"Just greeting; we’ve met a few times before. They seem to want to determine what’s going on with the alleged plagiarism."

After a brief wait, Niyaguti arrived late.

Niyaguti had dark skin, large eyes, but thin lips. At this moment, her face was full of worry, loaded with negative emotions. However, those negative feelings were not directed at Yawgmoth and the others.

"Yog." Niyaguti exhaled deeply, "Sorry, I had to handle samples in the lab urgently."

"Understandable," Yawgmoth nodded.

"I heard you wanted to see me. Coincidentally, I also have a few questions for you." Niyaguti rubbed her temples and then pulled out a bottle of medication from a drawer. Xiang Shan glanced and saw other small bottles in the drawer, all nutritional supplements familiar to fitness enthusiasts, generally belonging to a category proven effective and safe.

Niyaguti distractedly took two supplements and then turned to Xiang Shan: "These two must be from some secret agency, right? Can we discuss this incident here?"

She currently only knew that Yawgmoth worked at some government-backed secret research institution.

Xiang Shan spread his hands: "Go ahead."

Niyaguti said, "Firstly, I want to apologize for this incident. One of my assistants somehow got hold of your leaked research materials. At first, I almost overlooked it. The enzymes you’re researching resemble my research subjects... structurally identical, and should show almost identical behavior in most reactions. Even I initially thought you were researching the same thing as I was, and the differences could be because one of our conformation diagrams might have issues—I even spent some time double-checking to see if it was my problem."

"We might have been studying similar subjects simultaneously. I originally intended to clarify this. But some ’other government department’ guys contacted me, saying this matter must remain under their control..."