"He... Wang Ming was my assistant back then. After I left, he took over all the on-site work." Bai Ya sat curled up on the chair, legs tucked beneath her, cradling a cup of coffee in both hands. "I haven't seen him since I left headquarters."

After dinner and a shower, Yue Ge sat on the sofa as usual, playing with Little Ash. With nothing much to do late at night, he fiddled with his new tablet. Though it connected to the net freely and cost nothing, Yue Ge skimmed the manual and lost interest. Little Ash, full and well-rested, climbed onto his lap. Yue Ge simply set the tablet aside.

After so many days together, Little Ash had completely abandoned Bai Ya for Yue Ge's embrace. Bai Ya rarely had time to play with it, often leaving it to roam freely. Even when Little Ash approached, she'd only stroke its head absently, eyes glued to her tablet. She wouldn't call it over unless she remembered she owned a cat. Naturally, Little Ash preferred Yue Ge. Unlike ordinary cats, it was far more energetic. Bai Ya had warned it not to go outside these past days—Fate Inner City was far more dangerous than a normal city. To avoid accidents, she didn't want it wandering.

When Bai Ya finished her work and paused to make coffee, Yue Ge could already guess what they'd discuss next. Whether to lay cards on the table or brush it off lightly, it was unavoidable.

So, Bai Ya returned with her coffee, sat across from Yue Ge, and they naturally started talking about the day. At first, it was trivial stuff—like questions Yue Ge had about Essence production, which Bai Ya answered one by one. Gradually, the conversation turned to that topic.

If that man hadn't deliberately bumped into Yue Ge, he wouldn't have remembered him. It wasn't pettiness; Yue Ge had faintly sensed killing intent from him. Though deeply hidden, Yue Ge never mistook it. Anything tied to Death gave him a vague, instinctive feeling.

This wasn't the cursory "drop dead" hatred from grudges—it was genuine, a desire to end his life. Otherwise, Yue Ge wouldn't have bothered bringing it up.

"A friend?" Yue Ge asked, scratching Little Ash's belly.

"...Who knows." Bai Ya looked away, took a slight sip of coffee, then continued. "He's the son of the Execution Department Head. He was transferred directly to Research using his authority. Around... when I first took over the department. You met him today. Better keep your distance."

"Vague answer... I'll be careful," Yue Ge said with a wry smile. He knew he wouldn't get more from Bai Ya. He could tell she didn't want to continue—this was as far as it went.

"Let's drop it. We won't stay here long anyway..." Bai Ya waved a hand.

"When do we leave?" Yue Ge asked first.

"After handling those High Danger Class monsters. The ordinary ones... forget them. They're not important." Bai Ya sighed. "Besides, moving everything from the old outpost takes time. Going early would be pointless."

More importantly... she needed days to observe others' reactions.

Bai Ya narrowed her eyes slightly, watching Yue Ge. Though he hadn't realized it, Bai Ya knew Lingkong wouldn't hide Yue Ge after learning his identity. The Fate Organization had no reason to. Most likely, he'd leak it to some people—or even use it as a bargaining chip.

When necessary, that man might even reveal it fully. With Lingkong's boldness and character, nothing would surprise Bai Ya. Only a capable person could run the entire Fate Organization smoothly.

"So... four or five days?" Yue Ge estimated. The hardest part of Essence production wasn't the final making—machines handled most of that. The longest, highest-failure step was processing the raw materials.

Essence production wasn't just slicing monster flesh and tossing it into a machine. That would mix in impurities the human body couldn't absorb, guaranteeing failed batches. Even usable ones would degrade or cause messy issues.

Yue Ge didn't grasp the theories—he only knew material processing was far trickier than the final step of turning it into test tubes. Today, Bai Ya spent half a day processing materials; tomorrow, making the Essence would take little time.

Usually, one whole monster yielded two or three bottles of Essence. But with bad luck and high failure rates during production, sometimes not a single bottle came out. Even Essences from the same monster could manifest different abilities when absorbed.

All this—from material processing to production, absorption, and ability manifestation—was Research Department's focus. Current research had only perfected the full process, far from assembly-line efficiency.

This was within the Fate Organization. Other groups, excluding the Force, couldn't even grasp the production flow. Zone B—the research area—was mostly closed off. Even researchers faced strict controls. Bai Ya couldn't fire them; at best, she assigned hard labor like today. Their work never lessened.

"If we're quick," Bai Ya nodded. Handling three full High Danger Class monsters in six days was troublesome even for her. Others would take twice as long.

When she demonstrated techniques, others often couldn't replicate them. Many steps required specific physical conditions or Essence-sensing. Extracting Essence seemed simple but relied on instinct. Having processed High Danger Class and even Divine Class monsters, she found these easy now.

Yue Ge didn't know this, wearing a perfectly natural expression. He likely took everything Bai Ya said as obvious.

Sometimes Bai Ya found it dull. Her skills weren't historically unmatched, but calling her a genius wasn't an exaggeration. Pity Yue Ge didn't appreciate it. No matter what she said, he always wore that same look.

What Bai Ya didn't know was Yue Ge's expression wasn't from ignorance.

"Going to the lab again tomorrow?" Yue Ge set Little Ash on the floor and asked.

"You're coming too." Bai Ya tapped the tablet on her lap. "No complaining about boredom."

"I won't... but am I actually helping?" Yue Ge asked curiously.

"Not really. I can manage alone." Bai Ya didn't sugarcoat it—anyone could see that. "Helping... more like you've blocked my workspace several times. Stand beside the table tomorrow."

"...Saying it outright stings," Yue Ge scratched his cheek. "Surely there's something I can do?"

"Hmm... fine. Come early tomorrow. I'll teach you simple processing. At least earn that 'assistant' salary." Bai Ya said.

Yue Ge nodded silently. Her words reminded him—he did get paid. As Bai Ya's assistant, his monthly wage was surprisingly high. The man who'd been leeching off her suddenly had money.