Possessed Wolfless: From Rejected to Vengeful Lycans' Queen

Chapter 192: Night Again

Viona’s POV

The two young men exchanged glances, as if wondering whether I was telling the truth or not.

But I didn’t want to leave even the slightest room for doubt. So I leaned closer.

"You know..." I lowered my voice into a whisper. "This institution has really good welfare benefits, and I honestly love the coffee vending machine here. I want to work here for a long time, so... do you think something bad will happen if those two projects get merged?" I put on an innocent yet genuinely worried face. "Should I start preparing to look for another job somewhere else?"

The suspicious frowns on the two young scientists slowly shifted into awkward sympathy instead.

Good. My acting was working.

"You don’t need to worry, ma’am." The second young man reassured me while shifting his attention back toward the podium. "Even if the robotic project fails because of that side project, you’ll still be able to keep your job here."

"Yeah..." The first young man beside me added while glancing sideways at me, checking whether I could follow his explanation this time or not. "For scientists, this merger feels like a ticking time bomb. If both projects get merged, the current scientists from these institutional associations could end up threatened because the side project would most likely overshadow the robotic technology completely. That’s just how the algorithm would work."

I kept nodding attentively while listening to him, slowly beginning to understand where this conversation was leading.

"Euck..." I made a sour face toward the podium. "So this candidate is basically going to make a lot of scientists depressed then. Haven’t they already worked hard on this robotic project for the past five years?"

"Whoa... ma’am... you actually got the gist of it." The second young man grinned at me in surprise. "Yeah. It was already a high-risk project to begin with, especially since the final product is supposed to be used for public healthcare too."

"Well then, the scientists should oppose it no matter what!" I got fully immersed in my little act and started siding passionately with the protesting scientists. "At this rate, this candidate won’t get any scientist votes at all. What was even the point of inviting them here just to make them angry?"

The two young men beside me giggled softly at my overly innocent complaints.

"But sadly, that’s the tempting part too." The first young man started speaking again. "Dimitri Island really is a sly fox."

"Huh?" I tilted my head with the same curious expression I usually copied from Reece. "What do you mean?"

The young man sighed.

"I’ll tell you since you’re technically part of this institution too." He lowered his voice slightly. "With the merger between the two projects, Dimitri also guaranteed that if the robotic project fails, his regime won’t throw the responsibility onto the entire robotics scientist team. The researchers can directly transfer into the side project as additional staff instead."

I nodded again while listening to him.

Then my eyes drifted toward two middle-aged scientists seated in the VIP section at the front. They suddenly stood up and stormed out of the auditorium with irritated expressions written all over their faces.

"But someone still has to take responsibility though."

My voice turned colder as the pieces inside my head slowly started connecting together into a clearer picture of what kind of person my father truly was.

My eyes shifted back toward him.

Even while being cornered with difficult questions, my father still answered everything calmly from behind the podium.

"This massive robotics project is being funded with public taxes for research purposes, isn’t it?" I continued quietly. "So if it fails... shouldn’t someone still be held accountable for that failure?"

From the corner of my eye, I could feel both young men beside me turning to stare at me now, probably wondering why my tone had suddenly changed.

"Whoa... you actually know a lot, ma’am..."

A faint smirk almost slipped across my lips, but I made sure neither of them noticed it.

Then I turned back toward them again and grin.

"Cleaning ladies need gossip to survive." I broke into a fake laugh.

And thankfully, they laughed along with me too.

"Yeah... the professors leading each institutional team would be the first ones held responsible." The second young man explained. "That’s why those two left the auditorium looking so agitated."

"Whoa... that’s a bold move." I clicked my tongue bitterly while shaking my head slowly. "He really dares to lose the professors. Tsk... tsk..."

"But he’s saving thousands of young scientists."

The first young man beside me spoke with clear awe in his voice.

"This project was high-risk from the very beginning. Most of us joined right after graduation fully aware, if it failed, we could lose everything, including the public’s trust." He chuckled softly while still staring at my father on the podium with a strange mixture of admiration and skepticism. "We all know the government can’t fully protect us either."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Except him."

I stayed silent and let him continue.

"Most candidates promise not to abandon the professors so they can build new projects again with their teams." He scoffed faintly. "But everyone knows what really happens in reality. The young scientists would be the first ones kicked out once the research budget gets cut."

Then he suddenly turned toward me and smiled.

"You know, ma’am..." His expression looked almost painfully sincere. "Dimitri might lose votes from dozens of elite professors. But he could gain three thousand votes from young scientists and their families instead."

He grinned wider.

"That alone already makes around ten thousand votes."

For a brief second, the hopeful look in his eyes reminded me of Roey whenever he genuinely believed Kronosaurus could become a good character and save the world.

"And he’ll gain your vote too." He lifted his hand toward me for a high five. "So make sure you spread this good news to all the cleaning ladies too, okay?"

I stared at his raised hand for a moment, weighing whether I should respond to it or not.

But right now, I was still acting.

So...