Special ward, 18th floor.
Much like the VIP wards of certain nations, this room—exclusively for SDS higher-ups—was furnished like a lavish luxury hotel.
Its occupant was none other than Hugh Carlisle, a high-ranking official in the Commerce Department.
A grizzled, hawk-nosed old man with sharp, calculating eyes, his demeanour exuded shrewdness.
Dressed in a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, he tilted his head slightly, gazing out the window at the blue sky, white clouds, and distant skyscrapers.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
"Enter."
The stern command left Hugh Carlisle's lips.
As the words fell, the door beeped and automatically opened.
Then, Luo Shu walked into the room carrying a small basket of oranges, a smile on his face. He passed through the corridor, came into Hugh Carlisle's line of sight, approached the window, placed the gift box on the sill, and said with a smile:
"Looks like the old man's recovery is going quite well!"
Hugh Carlisle glanced at Luo Shu before asking calmly:
"As the mastermind behind this, have you come here to flaunt your victory?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu remained unfazed as he picked up an orange, peeled it, pulled over a chair, sat down, and replied with a smile:
"I'll pretend you never said that once I step out of here."
"After all, if one of the Commerce Department's executives accuses the Director of the Hidden Management Department of being the perpetrator, things could get very messy."
"Not denying that you are the mastermind, then?"
Hugh Carlisle gazed calmly at Luo Shu before curling his lips slightly:
"Good. It seems you're even more shameless than Lacus Clyne or Kirika Tachibana."
"I'm delighted someone like you is heading the new department."
At this, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, popped a peeled orange segment into his mouth, savoured the sweetness of the mandarin, and narrowed his eyes:
"Seems this incident has hit you quite hard."
"But rest assured, the Chairwoman has temporarily suppressed news of your illness."
Hugh Carlisle replied indifferently:
"That wasn't necessary."
"You don't think an old fossil like me, half in the grave already, would consider toying with women some grave sin, do you?"
"Don't underestimate me, boy."
"In my youth, I played far wilder games than you could ever imagine."
Hearing this, Luo Shu fell into rare silence.
Coming from this old man's mouth, Luo Shu believed it.
After all, Hugh Carlisle was a bona fide American tycoon.
And the games of the wealthy, while unclear to Luo Shu, were undoubtedly beyond his wildest imaginings.
So much so that he didn't even want to look them up in Raziel, knowing they'd shatter his worldview.
He had no desire for such pollution.
Seeing Luo Shu's silence, Hugh Carlisle chuckled:
"Little one, useless moral constraints will only hold you back."
To this, Luo Shu simply smiled and countered:
"If I acted recklessly, the world might end."
Hugh Carlisle sneered: "What does it matter if the world ends?"
"Or rather, what exactly is the world?"
His gaze sharpened as he slowly asked Luo Shu:
"Are you like Lacus, caring about protecting some so-called world?"
"Don't make me laugh. From the moment I met you, I knew you weren't that kind of saint."
Luo Shu couldn't refute this - he truly wasn't the type to care about the world's future.
Compared to something as abstract as the world, he cared more about his own safety and well-being, followed by that of those close to him.
Are the others very familiar with him?
Seeing Luo Shu remain silent, Hugh Carlisle revealed a satisfied smile:
"Actually, I investigated you the moment Lacus used the Chairwoman's authority to propose you as the Director of the new department."
"Although you're a descendant of the Luo family's collateral branch from Fujian Prefecture in China, because your branch withdrew from the family, you didn't inherit the family's martial arts. From birth till now, you've been an ordinary citizen, completely unaware of any family connections."
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow at this but remained unmoved.
He knew full well that whether it was his body or soul, he was still himself before the transmigration. His current background was entirely fabricated by the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System.
So, regarding this background, Luo Shu was only surprised that his ancestors were actually from a martial arts family.
But considering Fujian Prefecture's reputation for producing pirates and global underworld figures, such a martial arts background seemed rather mundane.
If you were to grab any random local from Fujian Prefecture, they'd almost certainly have similar connections.
Now that's what you call a den of iniquity~
"Just an ordinary person, one who showed no particular religious leanings or special abilities, yet after being recruited into the SDS, you were entrusted with major responsibilities. Though there were so-called merits involved, fundamentally, this doesn't align with that dreamy little girl's character."
"So from the very beginning, I knew."
"Recruiting someone like you into the organisation means your value must far exceed my imagination."
"And a few days ago, when reading the incident report from Akihabara, Japan, I understood the reason—or at least one of them."
"The SDS's hidden Demigod... heh." Hugh Carlisle gave a cold laugh before continuing, "This is probably one of the pieces of information they're allowing to be exposed, isn't it?"
"You and Lacus Clyne have always concealed the truly important things."
"I don't know what that is, but I'm certain it must be something Lacus Clyne believes can help her stabilise the world."
Listening to Hugh Carlisle's speech, Luo Shu couldn't help but yawn before calmly saying:
"So? After all this talk, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"These are things any senior insider could uncover with some effort, connections any moderately intelligent person could make. What benefit does this have for me?"
Hearing this, Hugh Carlisle paused, giving Luo Shu a deep look before asking solemnly:
"There's one question I'm very curious about now."
Luo Shu slightly raised his head, signalling for Hugh Carlisle to voice his query.
It was then that Hugh Carlisle asked meaningfully:
"Is the SDS currently under Lacus Clyne's control, or are you pulling the strings behind the scenes?"