Chapter 119: The True Capabilities of Scientific Researchers Demanding Funding
"Of course, I won't disturb you then," Irene smiled. It seemed Cocolia had indeed taken the bait. "If you're interested, you could give me a copy of the recording. I think it could be used for some fun."
"That wouldn't be very nice," Einstein shook her head.
No matter what, she would be their financial backer soon. They had to save her a little face; that way, when it came time to extort her, they could be completely ruthless without any misgivings.
"Well then, let's talk again next time."
After Irene's farewell came through the communicator, the call was disconnected. Einstein put the device away, then turned to look at the other screen, which displayed an incoming call from Cocolia.
Beside her, Tesla rubbed her hands together, a wicked grin plastered on her face. She had finally caught a chance to properly scam this vixen. If she didn't scam Cocolia until she coughed up blood, her name wasn't Tesla.
"Reel it in," Einstein said, glancing at Tesla. Her face returned to an expression as placid as an ancient well. "Looking like that, are you afraid Cocolia won't realize we're trying to fleece her?"
"So what if she knows?" Tesla shrugged, though she did manage to wipe the grin off her face.
They had to preserve at least a bit of face if they wanted to successfully demand money, after all.
If they completely tore away all pretenses, Cocolia knew when to cut her losses and run. She wouldn't stubbornly jump into this pit and refuse to turn back even upon death.
Once Tesla put away her smile, Einstein stepped forward to answer the call.
Looking at Cocolia on the screen, Einstein raised her head and gave a listless, feeble wave.
"Hello there. What brings Madam Cocolia here? I was just in the middle of some research, so I was delayed a bit."
A trace of dissatisfaction flashed across the face of Cocolia, who had been left hanging for quite a while. However, unable to express it explicitly, she simply shook her head.
"It is fine."
"My call this time is to catch up with the two doctors and discuss a potential cooperation while we are at it."
"No need for the greetings," Einstein waved her hand, adopting a 'let's hear what you have to say' posture. "Let's discuss the details of this cooperation Madam Cocolia speaks of."
"Though speaking of which, I seem to recall that the supply volume to several of our factories has inexplicably dropped by more than half recently. Does Madam Cocolia have any idea why?"
The supply volume from their reagent raw material factories had suddenly plummeted over the past few days. Did it even need to be said who was meddling behind the scenes?
However, it didn't matter to them for now. They had to let Cocolia try and fail, realizing she couldn't produce it herself, before she would obediently come and cooperate with them.
"...Tsk." Cocolia clicked her tongue as she looked at the indifferent Einstein on the screen.
She wasn't an idiot. There was a reason she was known as a vixen.
She knew full well that this item was something they had deliberately thrown out as bait. Their goal, nine times out of ten, was to find a financial backer.
The problem was, she had no choice but to take the bait.
Having once fought on the front lines, Cocolia knew exactly what Honkai Resistance meant. It was a ticket to the battlefield, something countless people yearned for but could never obtain.
And now, a reagent that could enhance Honkai Resistance had appeared. The total value it could bring was simply incalculable.
Leaving everything else aside, there were plenty of wealthy merchants and various high-ranking officials who knew about the Honkai, and they would be more than willing to pay massive sums of money or other resources to purchase this type of reagent.
Think the Honkai won't happen near you? I'm sorry, but the Honkai is not an attack; it's a disaster. It never operates according to human will.
Their luck might have been pretty good up until now.
But what about the future? Who could guarantee that the Honkai wouldn't descend right in their vicinity? Could they really gamble on whether their natural Honkai Resistance could withstand a Honkai eruption?
In the past, there was no other way. If they were really that unlucky, they could basically only accept their fate and gamble with their lives.
After all, this resistance was innate, and there were virtually no methods to alter it.
This wasn't a virus where prolonged exposure would build immunity. Anyone who dared to try building resistance that way had basically passed away instantly.
And now, Einstein and Tesla had somehow cobbled together this reagent, shattering the original status quo. Even if the enhancement wasn't huge, it was still an enhancement.
Not even Schicksal had something like this. The only similar thing was apparently the Honkai energy clearance reagent created by some Dr. Magi, but that was an entirely different concept from a Honkai Resistance Enhancer.
But there was no point in bringing up that doctor. That guy was probably long dead.
It's just that he was somewhat useless, failing to even bring back the Gem of Serenity for her.
But there was nothing she could do about it. It was a Gem of the Herrscher, after all, and she didn't know who Otto had dispatched to retrieve it.
Furthermore, this reagent wasn't just for making money; it could also be used to...
Cocolia thought of the children in the orphanage and let out a sigh.
Subsequently, Cocolia looked at Einstein. "Mmm, perhaps there is a shortage of raw materials. I will look into it for Miss Einstein. I believe the supply should resume very soon."
"Oh, is that so? That's good then," Einstein nodded. "My, it's wonderful that this issue can be resolved. We've been having quite a headache over it for a while."
"Oh, right, Madam Cocolia said she was here to discuss cooperation, correct? Go ahead, what kind of cooperation?"
Cocolia wordlessly pulled out a vial of reagent and placed it on her desk. "I want to talk to you about this."
She wasn't worried that the two would ask where the reagent came from. They were all smart people; there was no need to dwell on such trivial details.
"Oh, just for this," Einstein drew out her words, her face still wearing that unmotivated expression. "And here I thought Madam Cocolia didn't like this sort of thing."
Beside her, Tesla crossed her arms and snorted unceremoniously, muttering in a voice that was just loud enough for the communicator to pick up, "Weren't you acting all tough when you cut off our raw materials earlier? Now you realize this thing is good?"
Veins faintly throbbed on Cocolia's forehead, but she still forced a smile onto her face. "Dr. Tesla must be joking. There were indeed some misunderstandings in the supply chain earlier."
"Aren't we seeking a solution and a deeper cooperation right now?"
"Cooperation? Sure." Einstein leaned back lazily in her chair, lightly tapping her fingers against the desk. "How about this: we need to focus on our research, and you should know that this reagent isn't fully perfected yet."
"Therefore, I would like Madam Cocolia to be responsible for all future raw materials, research funding, and a series of other issues. How does that sound?"
Upon hearing Einstein's terms, Cocolia's expression darkened instantly.
But then, Einstein rattled off a whole series of additional conditions that made Cocolia's face turn completely black.
This wasn't a cooperation; they were clearly treating her as an absolute sucker and an ATM.
"Dr. Einstein, aren't these conditions a bit too harsh?" Cocolia's voice dropped a few degrees. "Technology is the core, yes, but technology alone is useless. These conditions are simply too demanding."
"That's fine, Cocolia." Tesla acted as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world, a grin plastered on her face.
At this moment, she wasn't intimidated by Cocolia in the slightest.
"Then you can just go find some other experts, right?"
Hearing Tesla's words, Cocolia took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
She knew her current predicament very well: she had no leverage to negotiate.
The technology was in the hands of Tesla and Einstein, and the two of them would definitely never betray each other. Meanwhile, she didn't have any qualified researchers to analyze it.
The group of good-for-nothings under her command had looked at the reagent after receiving it and practically fell to their knees begging for mercy, crying that it was beyond their capabilities.
Even after she robbed the raw materials from the factories supplying Einstein and Tesla, they still loudly proclaimed it was impossible.
She had no choice but to cooperate with these two!
"Alright, my tone was a bit hasty just now." Cocolia looked at Einstein, completely ignoring Tesla's sneering face. "But I hope Miss Einstein can propose a slightly more reasonable method of cooperation."
"I haven't become that much of a sucker yet."
"You can't put it like that," Einstein spread her hands. "Madam Cocolia can choose not to cooperate. It's not like we can't find other partners. Do you really not understand how important the effects of this reagent are?"
"Right now, it is Madam Cocolia who came to us for cooperation, not us seeking you out for cooperation."
These words hit Cocolia right in her weak spot.
She had no doubt that if talks broke down here, Einstein and Tesla would immediately go find someone else to cooperate with without any hesitation.
Furthermore, there was absolutely no shortage of leaders willing to accept the aforementioned conditions.
Right now, Cocolia was finding it hard to dismount from the tiger she was riding. Those guys were counting on Anti-Entropy to oppose Schicksal's policies every single day.
Of course, don't expect them to be doing it for ordinary people. They simply wanted to become the new Schicksal, the new world overlords. Those guys were no nobler than Otto.
And to maintain their support, Cocolia had to constantly produce results, whether it was launching attacks on Schicksal or presenting the special steel plate manufacturing method Gray Serpent had given her last time.
Otherwise, that bunch of guys could easily drown Cocolia.
Who among those who played this game didn't face the risk of a severe backlash? As far as Cocolia knew, Otto was the only exception.
Because that guy could demand everyone serve him while single-handedly suppressing them all. He could chop everyone down and still ensure everything kept running normally everywhere.
Unlike Cocolia, who was propped up by these people, Otto put people into those positions himself.
All he needed was someone in that position to handle those tasks; it didn't even matter if they were human.
But Cocolia couldn't do that, so she had no choice but to coax that group of people into continuing to provide her with funding and facilities.
Of course, there were definitely some among them who joined purely to fight the Honkai, but the speed at which that specific group would agree to Einstein's invitation would only be faster than anyone else.
"We can all calm down for a moment, Miss Einstein." Cocolia suppressed her bulging veins and began to negotiate in a seemingly calm and even tone.
What followed was a grueling tug-of-war.
Einstein and Tesla played good cop and bad cop, thoroughly demonstrating a scientific researcher's sheer thirst for funding.
Tesla even whipped out a multi-page "List of Potential Technical Difficulties and Estimated Solutions," hinting that these were "bottomless pit" R&D costs.
Meanwhile, Einstein appeared to mediate, even reducing the amount Cocolia needed to pay. But this was merely Einstein testing her limits.
Cocolia's patience was slowly being ground to dust. She felt like she wasn't in a negotiation, but rather being pinned to the floor and mugged by two scientific hooligans.
Just as Cocolia's eyes flickered, nearly unable to hold back from tearing away all pretenses and preparing to use her influence within Anti-Entropy to cause trouble for these two...
A slight gleam flashed in the eyes of Einstein, who had been constantly observing her expression.
The time was ripe. If they pushed any harder, this vixen might take a desperate risk or decide that if she went down, they were coming with her.
Ultimately, their goal was to find a financial backer. Pushing the backer into a corner until they rebelled wouldn't do them any good.
"Alright, Tesla." Einstein patted Tesla, who was still dealing out verbal damage, and turned her gaze to the livid Cocolia. "Madam Cocolia, it seems we do indeed have some disagreements on certain details."
"However, for the sake of our common goal of combating the Honkai, I believe we can all make some concessions."
Subsequently, Einstein slightly reduced the previous conditions. These were the absolute limits of what Cocolia could accept, which she had deduced from Cocolia's reactions—well, perhaps slightly above those limits.
Cocolia took a few deep breaths, staring at the two scientific hooligans before her. After a long while, she practically gritted her teeth, forcing out a single word from between them:
"...Deal."
She had no choice. The potential of this reagent was too great, so great that she couldn't give it up. Even if it meant being exploited and treated as a sucker by these two bastards, she had to get on board first.
Once she got her hands on this reagent, she could secure a higher position and greater importance among that group of opportunists.
Although it hurt her wallet deeply... it was worth it.
"A wise choice." Einstein revealed her first relatively sincere smile of the day. "A pleasure doing business with you, Madam Cocolia."
Cocolia snorted heavily. She didn't want to stay a second longer; she just wanted to end this mentally exhausting negotiation immediately. "Since we've reached an agreement, let's leave it at that. I have other matters to attend to..."
"Please wait a moment, Madam Cocolia." Just as Cocolia was about to cut the transmission, Einstein spoke up as if she had suddenly remembered something. "Before we end the call, there's a piece of trivial intelligence you perhaps ought to know."
Cocolia paused, furrowing her brow. "What intelligence?"
"Our monitoring station set up at the Eye of the Deep transmitted a brief anomalous fluctuation not too long ago," Einstein said casually, as if discussing the weather forecast.
"It seems a Valkyrie emerged from it, bringing a blue-haired little girl with her."
Upon hearing this, Cocolia's pupils abruptly contracted.
Einstein seemed entirely oblivious to Cocolia's drastically changed expression as she continued.
"However, it's a pity that we don't know where they're heading for now. Calculating their trajectory is quite troublesome, after all. If Madam Cocolia requires it, we can discuss matters regarding this as well."
As soon as Einstein finished speaking, she very decisively cut the communication.
As the screen in front of her darkened, it left Cocolia standing alone in her silent room, her expression constantly shifting.
"Tsk... Bastards."
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