Exhausted both mentally and physically, Professor Miles Warren returned home and collapsed into bed. Everything he'd experienced today felt like a nightmare.
It wasn't until noon the next day that hunger finally woke the family, restoring some of their vitality.
While drinking his milk, he casually flipped through the paper Bella had given him. He'd started with a condescending attitude—what could a young woman barely twenty years old possibly know about biology? Finding errors in his paper? Was she insane?
But as he read on, cold sweat began to form.
The mistakes on the first page were obvious. With his professional knowledge, he immediately saw that Bella's proposed verification process was undeniably more rigorous. Though somewhat tedious and mechanical, her approach was more correct than his—there was no question about it.
He just couldn't understand why someone with such brilliant insights would use such rigid verification methods.
He picked up the second page. These were excerpts from his own paper, things he knew inside and out.
He spent a full ten minutes on this page.
The more he read, the more nervous he became. He asked his wife and children to eat first while he retreated to his room to calculate. After working for hours, he reached a conclusion: he was wrong again...
The entire afternoon, he found himself trapped in a cycle of "wrong, wrong, still wrong."
Of the thirty errors, he confirmed twenty-eight. The remaining two required experimental verification—even with his expertise, he couldn't make hasty judgments.
Normally, with his arrogant personality, he would never admit to being wrong. I'm a biology authority! Everything I say is correct! But now, with twenty-eight confirmed errors staring him in the face, he didn't dare say such things.
Two days later, Professor Miles Warren accepted Bella's employment offer.
Unlike 006, he didn't need to face various risks publicly, nor did he have extensive connections. Bella only needed him to convert the Isu technology from the Apple of Eden into human-usable technology. So the contract was for monetary employment, not shares.
If he proved his abilities in the future, then they could discuss shares.
Bella's plans for herself were fairly clear.
She couldn't abandon her identities as scholar, explorer, and bestselling author. Once she had enough money, she'd buy Chanel and increase her Koenigsegg shares. That would complete her public image.
Meanwhile, Weyland's various research projects would continue in secret, with 006 as the public face.
One light, one dark—two identities would be enough to handle any situation.
She brought Miles Warren and his family to Newton, Texas.
Bella planned to start with the cloned organ project first.
This definitely raised serious moral questions, but it was undeniably lucrative.
Neither she nor 006 were wealthy, and to get their subsequent projects running, they needed a fast money-making business initially.
Newton had become a ghost town, with heavy machinery constructing surface facilities. Bella, 006, and Miles Warren held a brief meeting.
Cloning technology sounded high-end, but in reality, Umbrella Corporation had been researching this since the nineties.
The prototype for those Tyrants was a Russian-born commander among Umbrella's leadership. This commander had the highest compatibility with the T-virus, so Umbrella Corporation ultimately cloned a whole bunch of bald strongmen as Tyrant prototypes.
Creating clones and harvesting their organs—Bella's moral standards wouldn't allow her to do that.
Fortunately, the Stairway to the Sun provided an alternative.
Patients would provide their own genes, and human organs would be cultivated on plants derived from the Stairway to the Sun. These grew exceptionally fast. Treating the plant as a living host, nourished by nutrient solutions and photosynthesis to provide the energy the organ needed—once cultivation was complete, they'd simply snip it off and install it in the patient. This way, she had no moral burden.
The Apple of Eden contained human cloning technology. After scanning that Tyrant dozens of times and combining it with the Stairway to the Sun's biological structure, they'd calculated an incredibly complex cloning organ plan.
Even experts like Miles Warren found this plan cumbersome and mechanical, lacking any elegance—Bella herself thought the same.
Miles Warren had dared to fuse his own genes with a jackal's, so he had no moral qualms. Looking at Bella's cloning proposal, he nodded or shook his head at various points.
Some technical details he couldn't understand, so he asked questions.
Bella couldn't pull out the Apple of Eden to explain in person, so she could only say she didn't know.
But often, after taking a walk outside, she'd return with answers. If Miles Warren asked again, she'd go out for another stroll...
"Actually, there's no need to make it this complicated. Here, here, and here—we can actually skip some steps..."
Miles Warren truly had talent. He reduced the Apple's plan by a third, yet increased organ cultivation speed by a fifth.
The professor eventually brought up the cloning issue Bella had been avoiding: "Cloning technology shouldn't be demonized. Our technology is already very mature—why not go further?"
Bella looked him straight in the eye. "I have my own reasons. Cloning technology does have its uses for me, but I won't let it be used commercially."
Seeing both men's puzzled expressions, she felt she should clarify her position.
She addressed them both: "Weyland isn't some evil corporation. Cloning technology can be used, but it shouldn't be abused."
Seeing Miles Warren about to speak, she stopped him, indicating he should let her finish: "Creating clones and then harvesting organs is certainly simple, but that's not the right application.
Cloning technology and human clones should be kept separate. We're developing cloned organ technology to cure diseases. Though currently we can only treat wealthy patients, we don't save just anyone.
When someone's daughter needs a bone marrow transplant and there's no suitable donor, we should help. When someone loses a young child and lives in constant pain, we should help. When a husband faces organ failure and must leave his wife and daughter, we should help.
As for cloning people—who to clone and when will be my decision."
Bella looked at them both. "These are my principles. Don't cross my bottom line."
As she spoke, the room temperature visibly dropped. 006 and Miles Warren found their coffee rapidly freezing, cold wind pouring down their collars.
Bella withdrew her psionic power. "The reason I can discuss this with you both is because I have high moral standards. Once that line is crossed, you'll face a version of me that stops at nothing. Neither of you wants that to happen, right?"