Chapter 833 Give Me a Reason
Rylan was quite happy when Catherine called him, but his expression turned dark as soon as he answered the phone. Despite her generally cold demeanor, he could tell that this time, her coldness was different. While she was typically aloof, her current tone was laced with hostility, which he found unacceptable. “What do you mean, Catherine? What have I done to make you so angry?” he asked.
Catherine responded in a cold tone, You know what you’ve done. I don’t care about your intentions, but if you interfere with my experiment, you’ll be in trouble.”
Upon hearing this, Rylan realized that Catherine must have found out about his connection to Reelyne Technologies, which prompted her call.
He cursed inwardly the two people he had sent to handle the matter, blaming their incompetence. Since Catherine had known, he understood that denying it wouldn’t change anything. She could see through his lie easily.
“You don’t know how envious I am of Branden,” Rylan said. “I see how he sponsored your school and easily gained access to your lab to spend time with you. I also wanted to get closer to you in the same way. I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“Is that your only intention?” Catherine asked.
Rylan responded confidently, “What else would I do? And what else can I do? Catherine, can’t you understand my feelings for you?”
After a few seconds of silence, the call ended. Rylan put down his phone, his gloomy expression replaced with a hint of satisfaction.
Catherine hung up the phone and stepped out of the lab, where she ran into Marshall.
Seeing her upset expression, Marshall immediately began to reassure her, ” You don’t need to worry about the sponsorship. I’ve already turned down the offer from Ultan. We have the Duncan Corporation as our major sponsor now. So we don’t need another patron. I’m not that foolish.”
Catherine’s influence played a part in securing the Duncan Corporation’s sponsorship for the lab. Since the Duncan Corporation’s funding came in, they no longer had to worry about financial constraints. The Duncan Corporation was generous, and most importantly, it didn’t interfere with their work, allowing them to carry out experiments as they pleased.
In Marshall’s opinion, the Duncan Corporation’s sponsorship was the most satisfying he had received in years. He had no desire to terminate it for anything else.
Catherine nodded. However, inwardly, she remained on edge. No one understood Rylan better than she did. She knew he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. She hadn’t seen an issue with his methods before, given their shared history of overcoming adversity. She didn’t agree with his actions but chose not to intervene. Her life experiences had taught her that observing from a distance reduced trouble. However, at some point, she found herself increasingly unable to accept Rylan’s way of doing things. Now, she could only work behind the scenes to prevent him from getting involved in this mess.
Flash pushed open the door of the confinement room. Because of the information provided by Ronin last time, Flash was rewarded with a meal. As the door swung open, the fragrant aroma of barbecue greeted Flash.
Ronin sat at the center of the hall, enjoying the barbecue.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” remarked Flash, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Ronin, seemingly oblivious, looked up at Flash and gestured for Flash to join him. “Hurry. Sit down and eat with me. Barbecue is best enjoyed with company. I used to have it with Catherine every day, but not anymore…” Ronin rambled on for a while before falling silent.
Flash eyed him and coldly questioned, ” Go ahead.”
Ronin shrugged nonchalantly, appearing somewhat resigned. ” There’s no point in talking about it. There’s no chance in the future.” After a pause, he picked up a pepper, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it expressionlessly.
“Is it because you betrayed Catherine, so you can’t face her anymore?” Flash guessed.
Ronin gave him a thumbs-up in appreciation. “Exactly. You’re not as foolish as you look. Catherine despises betrayal the most. Since I’ve betrayed her, I know better than anyone how dire the consequences would be if I were to show my face again.” His icy voice was filled with bitterness and resignation.
Flash, who had originally intended to lecture him, changed the subject. ” When will you continue to retrieve the data? There are only three days left,” he asked.
Ronin glared at Flash. “I’ve already told you, it’s double-encrypted and takes time. I can’t do it right now. If you want me dead, you might as well kill me right now.”
Flash observed Ronin, not missing any of the changes in Ronin’s expressions. Flash had reported the situation to his superiors, and after their investigation, they found that Ronin wasn’t lying to them. Catherine had enlisted Winston to implement multiple layers of encryption. Even if her encryption system were cracked, it would be futile. Only under a double decryption scenario could one access the core area and obtain the experimental data.
“What if Professor Warner is right in front of you?” Flash said expressionlessly.
Ronin, who was having a barbecue, paused in an instant. He squinted at Flash. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Exactly what I said,” Flash responded coldly.
Ronin went furious and slammed his fist on the table, bellowing, “I warn you. Don’t touch Professor Warner, or I’ll kill you!”
“Humph.” Flash laughed coldly, not taking Ronin’s threat seriously. “What? Is your attachment to Professor Warner deeper than your loyalty to Catherine? You betrayed Catherine, yet you’re afraid of us capturing Professor Warner. Don’t you find that ridiculous?
Catherine not only saved Ronin’s life but also supported him for many years. Their bond was closer than that of siblings. While Winston was just Ronin’s mentor. Flash didn’t believe that Winston was more important to Ronin. However, Ronin’s display of anger seemed almost instinctual, which couldn’t be faked.
Flash was curious about the reason behind it. He fixed his gaze on Ronin -and questioned him, “Give me a reason why we can’t touch Professor Warner.”
