[Above the plate, inside the Shinra Company.]
As usual, Hojo arrived early at the office. But as soon as he opened the office door, he saw a woman in a red dress sitting in his chair.
"Scarlet." Hojo narrowed his eyes behind his round glasses and coldly said the na of the woman in red.
Though both worked at Shinra, his science departnt had never had any interactions with Scarlet's weapons developnt departnt. Now Scarlet entered his office without any notice, aside from surprise, he was also furious. Like a venomous snake, his shadowy eyes radiated danger.
"Don't be angry, Professor Hojo. I didn't touch anything in your office," Scarlet heard Hojo's displeasure and offered an explanation.
Hearing this, Hojo glanced at the docunts in the office. As a scientific researcher, he had an astonishing mory, and indeed, he didn't find any signs of them being looked through.
Hojo slightly restrained his anger, walked to the desk, looked at Scarlet, and said, "Even so, you shouldn't have entered my office without permission."
"Without permission? No, no, no, I didn't co in without permission." Scarlet smiled and shook her head, then placed a docunt on the desk.
"I have the president's authorization," Scarlet said.
"The president's authorization? What kind of authorization?" Hojo was a bit puzzled. He picked up the docunt and quickly scanned it.
After a long while, Hojo put down the docunt and asked with confusion, "Why does the president suddenly want to research this?"
The docunt he read contained an order from Shinra headquarters for Scarlet and him to jointly develop a new type of combat weapon.
And this so-called new type of combat weapon was completely different from the current combat weapons being developed by Shinra Corporation. It was neither the biological weapons made from human experints under Hojo's responsibility, nor the chanical combat weapons under Scarlet's charge.
Instead, it was a new type of humanoid combat weapon, with the human body as the core, machinery as support, and ultimately controlled by a chip.
"Probably dissatisfied with the company's current special forces. You know, the few 1st class SOLDIERs our company once had, now there's not a single one left." Scarlet said with a smile.
But upon hearing her words, Hojo's gaze beca even colder, because all the special forces in the company were created by him.
And those most powerful 1st class SOLDIERs, dead, missing, or even defected.
So Scarlet's words, without a doubt, were implying that his research was a failure.
"The company needs absolutely loyal special forces, which is why the president issued the order to establish a joint research departnt." Scarlet continued, "I suppose you don't have any objections, do you?"
Of course, what she told Hojo was incomplete. The so-called reason that the president was dissatisfied with the current Shinra special forces didn't exist. With Shinra's current control over the planet, whether or not there were 1st class SOLDIERs didn't really matter.
But no one dislikes having more power in their hands. So, when Scarlet proposed implanting the newly developed chip from the weapons departnt into the human body to create special forces capable of absolute loyalty, the Shinra president imdiately drafted a docunt appointing Scarlet as the lead and jointly developing the project with the science departnt.
"Of course, I don't object. But I don't like people pointing fingers over my head." After hearing Scarlet's words, Hojo took a deep breath. Although he was a mad scientist obsessed with bioweapons, that didn't an he had no desire for power and control.
"I understand." Scarlet nodded. "Although the president's order puts in charge, I also know that the most important thing for humanoid weapons is the flesh that carries the chip. So in terms of research direction and resource allocation, I will fully support you and not interfere."
"That's more like it." Hojo licked his lips, very satisfied.
"However…" But Scarlet continued.
"However what?" Hojo frowned and asked.
"However, although I won't interfere with your research, I need all the data reports and samples. After all, I still need to report the progress to the president. Hmm… you wouldn't want to waste ti on that, right?" Scarlet crossed her hands, propped up her chin, a trace of amusent flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"That's not a problem." Hojo didn't mind Scarlet wanting the research data. Besides, he didn't like wasting ti reporting progress to superiors anyway. Now that Scarlet was taking the initiative to handle this task, he definitely wouldn't refuse.
"Then it's settled." Scarlet stood up and said, "I'll take my leave. If there's anything, you can send soone to find ."
"Fine. I won't see you out." Hojo said coldly.
———
Back in her own office, Scarlet sighed.
Since parting ways with Aiden last night, she had begun her plan to take control of Shinra.
Of course, Shinra Corporation was a giant, and with her personal power alone, it was almost impossible to succeed. In her hands, she needed an army capable of opposing Shinra.
But how could she create an army under Shinra's nose? After a night of deep thought, she thought of a thod, that is, the content in the docunt she had just shown Hojo.
To create a batch of special forces that could be controlled by chips.
As head of the weapons departnt, she could totally leave a backdoor in the implanted chips. When the ti ca and the mont was right, she could use the backdoor to control those special forces.
Of course, besides that, there was another thing, she needed a large amount of human experint data related to Jenova. The issue of aging had always troubled her.
She knew that there had once been an experint, after a senior citizen was injected with Jenova cells and soaked in Mako fluid, they actually recovered their youthful appearance in a short ti. Although the test subject died soon after due to inability to endure it, it still deeply moved her.
That's why she told Hojo she needed all the research data, including experintal samples. As long as conditions permitted, she was preparing to experint on herself.
However, whether it was rging with Jenova cells or soaking in Mako fluid, for her, both were extrely risky actions.
Since Shinra Corporation discovered Jenova and began using Mako, they had done countless human experints. But the number of surviving subjects was pitifully small, and even fewer survived and beca powerful 1st class SOLDIERs.
Scarlet didn't expect to beco a 1st class like Genesis. She just wanted to beco younger.
Of course, if she could also beco powerful, that would be even better.
"Aiden, I will absolutely not let you down." Scarlet poured herself a glass of red wine, gently swirled the glass, downed it in one go, then picked up the phone and began issuing orders to her subordinates.
———
In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.
Aiden, who had already moved into a room with Aerith, had deepened his relationship with her over the past few days.
Of course, their current situation was still just sleeping in the sa bed. As for progressing further, it would take so more ti.
And Aiden noticed that as ti went on, a trace of worry began appearing in Aerith's eyes that wouldn't fade.
And on the third-to-last day before the official start of the story, that night, Aerith unexpectedly didn't go out to sell flowers. Instead, she locked herself in her room.
"Aerith, what's wrong? It's already past seven, we need to go sell flowers." Since the door was locked by Aerith from the inside, Aiden could only knock outside.
"I don't want to go." Aerith buried her head in the quilt and shouted loudly.
"Why? Are you feeling unwell?" Aiden stood at the door, a bit anxious.
"I'm not sick, I just don't want to go out. And not just today, I don't want to go out for the next few days either." Aerith wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, shrunk into a corner of the bed, her face full of struggle.
"You don't want to go out for the next few days either?" Hearing this, Aiden was stunned, then frowned deeply.
At this ti, Aerith suddenly acting so abnormally and resisting going out made him think of a possibility.
That was, Aerith might know sothing about the future. And the world he was in might be the Remake version of the storyline, or maybe a blend of the original and the remake.
Thinking of the various possibilities, Aiden felt a mix of emotions, because if it was the original storyline, then after his unexpected interference, Aerith wouldn't get involved with that blond guy Cloud, and naturally the subsequent events wouldn't happen.
But if it was the remake storyline, that would an Aerith might be on her second playthrough, aware of everything that's going to happen, and was bound to throw herself into the fate already laid out.
At this point, Aiden began to understand why Aerith had beco like this. She seed to be resisting the arrangents of fate, especially after seeing soone like him, who shouldn't exist in her destiny, she decided to try sothing new.
However, as ti ticked closer to the actual events, Aerith began to feel fear. She worried she couldn't resist fate. So she wanted to take action in advance, like now, locking herself in her room. She probably thought that as long as she didn't go out, she wouldn't et that person.
After figuring this out, Aiden called into the room again, "Alright then, if you don't want to go out, just rest well at ho for a few days. I'll go sell flowers these few days."
"You're not allowed to go either." Aerith imdiately replied. "You stay here and keep company."
"Alright, alright." Aiden replied quickly.
Then the room door opened. But just as Aiden was about to enter, the phone in the living room suddenly rang.
"Aerith, I'll answer the phone first," Aiden said.
"Okay."
Then he walked into the living room and picked up the phone.
"Hello? Who is this?" The number looked familiar, but Aiden couldn't recall who it was, so he asked.
"Aiden, it's , Tifa." On the other end ca Tifa's lively and pleasant voice.
"Ah, Tifa. What's up?" Aiden looked back at Aerith's room and lowered his voice to ask.
"Can't I call you if I don't have anything?" Tifa snorted, clearly displeased by his words.
"Of course you can." Realizing her tone, Aiden hurried to reply.
"Hmph!" Tifa snorted again, then said, "But I do have sothing I need to talk to you about tonight."
"Then go ahead, what is it? If I can help, I definitely will." Aiden said.
"It's hard to explain over the phone, so could you co over to Seventh Heaven?" Tifa glanced at Barret and the others drinking at the bar counter.
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