Chapter 41 Shared Serial Number 301

The Warden looked at the Doctor beside him and said with a chuckle, "Judging by the look of it, the punishment for this incident won't be too severe!"

"Did you reach some kind of deal with them?" the Doctor asked in an indifferent tone.

"Mm! I need S097!"

The Warden nodded. "That explains it then. Smith will probably just receive a symbolic suspension."

The Director said with a hint of disdain, "If they keep playing games like this, the Wardens will be finished sooner or later! The organization might as well rename itself to the Hypocrites!"

The Warden nodded noncommittally, then let out a long sigh. "The higher-ups among the Wardens have long since forgotten their original purpose! Internally, they are as loose as scattered sand, but they have mastered the bureaucratic games to perfection. If this continues, I'm afraid that one day the 'Gate' will fall!"

The Director shrugged. "We just need to manage our own territory well! If they want to play games, let them play."

With that, he suddenly looked at the Doctor and let out a soft exclamation. "Doctor, you couldn't have had this in mind all along, could you? That's why you concealed the data for S292!"

The Warden also looked at the Doctor. He was finding this student of his increasingly inscrutable. Given the Doctor's abilities, an anomaly data outage clearly should not have happened.

The Doctor nodded and said in a deep voice, "I suspect that the properties of the 'Gate' are slowly failing!"

Hearing this, both the Warden and the Director frowned. "Tell us in detail."

The Doctor habitually pushed up a non-existent monocle. "According to S292's testimony, he survived in the Dark Abyss for three years! Based on that, it would only be logical for us to have discovered him much earlier. Because of this, I began to doubt the 'Gate'! Then I had my assistant pull the records of the Wardens' missions from the system over the past decade. Viewed as a whole, the number of anomalies appearing has been increasing year by year over the past ten years! This is very abnormal!"

After hearing the Doctor's words, the Warden also snapped back to attention. "I actually overlooked this point! Thinking about it carefully, it really seems to be the case."

The Director muttered thoughtfully, "Is it possible that the 'Gate' has been contaminated?"

The Doctor nodded. "That is precisely my suspicion! Regarding this, I still need time to conduct research."

The three of them fell into silence.

***

Meanwhile, the overall penalties for the U01 Containment Facility had been finalized. As expected, Smith was merely given a symbolic suspension.

Subsequently, the Councilman turned his attention to the Doctor. "Dr. Doctor! First of all, I must congratulate you on the successful containment of S301! The existence of S301 is an extremely important containment asset, whether for humanity or for us Wardens. Therefore, I request here: could you share S301 so that everyone can study it together? At that time, S301 will be contained by our Standing Management Council!"

The Doctor shook his head without hesitation. "I am sorry, Councilman. I refuse!"

As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar broke out among those present.

At that moment, a short middle-aged man stood up and said with righteous indignation, "Doctor! Are you trying to hoard something for yourself in a matter of such great importance? Why are you unwilling to share such an important anomaly? Do you know the importance of this anomaly to humanity? Do you still remember the tenets and obligations of the Wardens?"

The speaker was none other than the leader of the J01 Containment Facility, codenamed Artisan. His tone was not one of questioning, but rather felt more like an accusation.

The leaders of the other containment facilities also began to discuss the Doctor in murmurs. Because they were all using private channels, the scene remained extremely quiet, without a trace of noisy chatter. All gazes fell upon the Doctor.

The Doctor slowly stood up, his voice very calm. "Mr. Artisan, according to the Warden Regulations, any anomaly that has already been successfully contained is strictly prohibited from being transferred in any way unless absolute safety can be guaranteed! Therefore, my refusal of the Councilman's request is entirely reasonable."

The Doctor's words were almost watertight. Although everyone knew about this regulation, almost no one actually followed it. Private transactions involving anomalies happened frequently. Even the Standing Management Council turned a blind eye to such matters. As long as no accidents occurred, the Council generally would not step in to interfere.

Yet in this setting, the Doctor pulled out the Warden Regulations. No one dared to say that the Doctor was wrong. This was equivalent to publicly slapping the Standing Management Council and the Supreme Office across the face. Private dealings were private dealings, but no one dared to pierce that window paper out in the open.

Artisan was clearly well-prepared. He said to the Councilman, "Councilman, extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. While the regulations exist, the importance of S301 is well worth breaking the rules for! For the sake of humanity, we should conduct experiments and research on S301 as soon as possible!"

The Councilman nodded and looked at the Doctor. "Indeed, Dr. Doctor, our Council holds the same view! According to the Warden Regulations, this matter still requires a vote by everyone present. Do you have any objections to this?"

The Doctor shrugged. He had guessed this outcome long ago. "As you wish, Councilman!"

After saying this, the Doctor stopped speaking.

The Councilman said in a resonant voice, "Then, ladies and gentlemen, let us begin our vote by a show of hands! Those in favor of transferring S301, please raise your hand."

In an instant, ninety-nine percent of the people in the room raised their hands.

The Warden chuckled. "They certainly calculated well, I just wonder if they will even get a chance to lay eyes on S301!"

The Director also wore the expression of a spectator enjoying a good show.

Soon, the Councilman began to announce the voting results. "The motion passes! Dr. Doctor, do you still have any objections?"

The Doctor stood up once again, talking nonsense with a straight face. "Councilman, I have no objection to sharing S301, but in order to achieve containment, our side paid a tremendous price! Therefore, our side applies to enter the compensation procedure."

As his voice fell, the expressions of two people in the room turned extremely ugly. Artisan was one of them, while the other was Smith, who had just been suspended.

The Councilman nodded. "The application is reasonable! Approved!"

The Doctor nodded and sat down.

Seeing the Doctor agree so readily, the Director cast a puzzled look his way. "You actually agreed just like that? You couldn't have been contaminated by an anomaly, could you?"

The Doctor rubbed his temples. "I also think I should have appeared a bit more reluctant just now."

The Director: "..."

The Warden, who knew the Doctor much better, hesitated and asked, "Do you have other arrangements in mind?"

The Doctor merely gave a slight nod and said nothing.

The Councilman in the primary seat continued, "Let us move on to the next agenda item! Dr. Doctor, this still concerns your C03 Containment Facility: the ownership issue of anomaly S09—The Contaminated Creator!"