Chapter 43 Voting

The Doctor’s face managed to display a rare smile.

"Mr. Councilman, although I have no evidence to refute the video provided by Mr. Adam!"

"However, I now seriously doubt the authenticity of Mr. Adam’s video!"

"I will show you a live broadcast, and you will understand immediately!"

The imagery on the light curtain in front of everyone shifted.

It was replaced by a live broadcast from inside a containment cell.

On the screen, a delicate and refined young man was busy with his head lowered.

He was gripping a name tag in his hand, scrawling something crookedly upon it.

At this moment, the camera zoomed in.

On the name tag, the youth had written in clumsy handwriting: 'S069 - Prison Doctor'.

Following that, the lens focused on the young man's expression.

The youth was smiling brilliantly, muttering quietly to himself.

"Mr. Prison Doctor will definitely love this name tag!"

Then, he picked up the name tag and walked out of his containment cell.

The camera followed Lu Xiao as he moved continuously.

With practiced ease, Lu Xiao arrived at the Prison Doctor's containment cell.

Politely, he reached out and pressed the doorbell.

The door opened, and the Prison Doctor greeted him.

"My friend! Do you have anything you need me for today?"

Lu Xiao offered a shy smile, pulling the hand-crafted name tag from his pants pocket.

"Mr. Prison Doctor, I made this myself, I hope you like it!"

As he spoke, he took out his own name tag and hung it around his neck.

The Prison Doctor froze, then extended a single finger to hook the name tag closer.

After examining it closely, he too hung the name tag around his neck.

"Thank you, my friend! I really like this little gift!"

Immediately after, the feed ended.

Everyone who watched this video wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

The Doctor spoke up.

"This is the very S292 mentioned by Mr. Adam!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you believe that the S292 in my video and the so-called S292 in Mr. Adam’s video are the same person?"

"Ever since we rescued S292 from the Dark Abyss, he has always been a child full of love!"

"He frequently crafts little gifts by hand to give to the anomalous entities who are his fellow containment subjects!"

"Those containment subjects all adore this child and affectionately refer to him as a friend!"

"Such a united and loving child—how could he possibly do such a cruel thing?"

"Furthermore, S292 possesses an extremely strong sense of belonging to the Containment Facility!"

"Look at his chest; that name tag was crafted by his own hands!"

Everyone was stunned, then turned their gazes to Lu Xiao's chest.

Sure enough, there was a name tag there, and the characters written upon it were crooked and slanted.

One had to admit, the Doctor possessed quite a talent for lying.

He delivered this entire speech without even a fraction of a change in his expression.

The leaders seated around the table looked amongst themselves.

Adam’s video hadn't provoked much of a reaction from them.

In contrast, the Doctor's video made them feel rather eerie.

Within a containment facility, was the existence of such a loving scene even normal?

This was their doubt.

Adam, meanwhile, looked at the Doctor with a smile.

"Mr. Doctor, this proves nothing!"

"For a human who managed to survive in the Dark Abyss, one obviously cannot view his actions with normal human thinking!"

"The authenticity of the videos is something all the leaders present can surely discern!"

"And the reason I released that footage was merely to raise doubts about your competence!"

"Regardless of whether you are experiencing containment issues or making errors in judging the safety levels of containment subjects—"

"None of this conforms to our Warden regulations!"

"Therefore, I question you here: do you truly possess the capability to contain an entity like S09?"

"If a serious incident such as a containment breach were to occur with S09, it would trigger a catastrophe for the entire world!"

"Consequently, I believe that transferring S09 to our A01 is the optimal choice!"

Adam’s remarks were logical and well-grounded.

Some individuals who had originally intended to cast abstentions now began to waver.

Another faction also started to harbor suspicions toward Adam.

After all, the Doctor's live stream felt somewhat more genuine.

That young man appeared so radiant and cheerful.

He simply didn't fit the image of some twisted entity crawling in the shadows.

The councilman looked toward the Doctor.

"Mr. Doctor, do you have any other evidence?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"Mr. Councilman, my presentation of evidence is complete!"

The councilman nodded and turned his gaze back to Adam.

"Mr. Adam, may we now proceed to a vote?"

"As for the potential containment breach involving C03, we will establish an investigative committee and initiate investigative procedures!"

Adam raised a hand and said,

"Mr. Councilman, the vote may commence!"

Simultaneously, two options appeared on the light screens before each participant.

One was in favor, the other against.

The voting period was five minutes.

Failure to vote within five minutes would be regarded as an abstention.

The voting data updated in real time.

Very quickly, the affirmative votes approached forty percent.

The Warden’s tone carried a hint of heaviness.

"Adam’s maneuver has caused most of those who would have abstained to vote in favor!"

"The outcome of this vote is becoming unpredictable!"

The Director’s expression grew grave as well.

The Doctor casually clicked the opposing vote, then spoke in a detached tone.

"I’ve done everything I could; how the follow-up is handled is up to that person now!"

Two minutes later, the affirmative and negative votes were tied.

The remaining individuals who had not yet voted were still sitting on the fence.

Perhaps a few of them would abstain, but the majority were simply hesitating.

They didn't care whose hands S09 fell into, because it would never end up in theirs anyway.

Their sole concern was the benefits they could personally extract.

At this point, it depended on which side could promise greater rewards.

During these final few minutes, private communications would be established to negotiate conditions with them.

According to the roundtable rules, any motion decided by a vote could not be brought up again for the next ten years.

Therefore, the result of this vote determined the allegiance of S09 for the coming decade.

Soon, those who had yet to vote received personal communications from Adam.

In an instant, the affirmative votes skyrocketed.

They quickly surpassed the count of negative votes.

Clearly, Adam had promised them astonishing benefits.

The councilman announced the result at that moment.

"The motion passes! Will the C03 facility please arrange the handover procedures as soon as possible!"

Hearing this outcome, the Warden and the Director found it hard to believe.

Even the Doctor’s brow was furrowed tightly together.

"What a pity, the eyes of all the leaders are discerning, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Doctor?"

Adam’s uninhibited voice drifted across the room.

"Bullshit! Can't those idiots use their pig brains to think properly for once?"

"Once A01 possesses both S02 and S09 as divine entities, will their lives still be comfortable?"

"I honestly want to slice open those idiots' brains to see if their cerebrums developed fully!"

"And once I've checked, I'll shove their heads right up their asses!"

The Doctor’s voice lost all of its customary composure.

The last time he had cursed so crudely was when he was containing Lu Xiao.

The Warden said in a heavy tone,

"Did that person not make a move?"

Hearing this, the Doctor’s gaze immediately shifted to a middle-aged man in a black suit occupying a seat belonging to the Supreme Office.

At that moment, the man had one hand resting on the table, his index finger gently tapping the surface.

Adam stood up and gave a slight bow toward the councilman.

"Thank you, Mr. Councilman!"

Adam was naturally well aware of the roundtable regulations.

Once S09 arrived at A01, it would remain in containment there for at least ten years.

As for ten years later, China’s containment facility attempting to reclaim S09 would be practically impossible.

Adam had long since made his plans: to ruthlessly suppress China during the decade they lost S09.

By the time the ten years were up, China would have lost the ability to compete with them.

The councilman offered Adam a smile.

"You are welcome, Mr. Adam!"

He then cleared his throat and announced,

"We will now proceed to the next agenda item!"

"Regarding the allegiance of S02 - The Angel!"