Lauriel approached Aleksis and patted her back affectionately, "Are you not feeling well? Do you want me to make a fresh concoction of your favorite mushroom?"
He knew that Aleksis was hiding something, but he did not want to force Aleksis to tell him was bothering her.
Aleksis looked at Lauriel sadly. She could keep many things a secret from her parents when they were far from her, but now that her godfather was in front of her, she felt very guilty and could not lie when looking into Lauriel's eyes.
"I'm fine, Uncle Rory ..." Aleksis could only shake her head and look away. She could not look at Lauriel in such a situation.
Lauriel pretended not to notice Aleksis' anxiety. He sat next to her on the sofa and signaled Terry to talk more deeply about his project. "Then how far have you obtained the information?"
Terry seemed excited and forgot about Aleksis' strange attitude. "Well, I have a very cool partner. He is the world's best hacker today ... Actually, he contacted me because he was interested in my research. He even told me that he had been investigating them for the past 7 years! He started becoming suspicious after the psychological crisis which resulted in many people committing mass suicide ..."
Lauriel seemed to be increasingly interested. "What does the psychological crisis have to do with Rhionen Industries?"
"Well, my partner, using the pseudonym Wolf, discovered Rhionen Industries' contribution to the crisis. They used special targeting through the social media platform, Splitz, to make people who were psychologically weak to see contents that made them lose their grip on life and commit suicide."
"Does Splitz have the ability to do that?" Lauriel asked in amazement.
"At that time it was still in the experimental stage, but the impact was really fatal. Imagine how much progress they would have achieved in seven years? If they are not immediately stopped, Wolf is worried that Splitz would repeat this incident on a larger scale. They have gathered data profiles on so many people everywhere in the world …" Terry sighed in horror, "In addition to Splitz, Rhionen Industries also oversees Gen23, which is a technology company that has mined genetic data of nearly a quarter of the earth's population ... I can't imagine what would happen if they combined the two ... They would be able to eject viruses that target only people with certain genetic codes, for example …"
Even Lauriel, who was always calm and emotionally organized, now frowned in terror. "What is their purpose of doing this? Do you or Wolf have a theory?"
Terry shook his head, "Either this is the work of a lunatic, eccentric, or someone who really hate humans ..."
Aleksis could only bite her lip at the conversation of her brother and godfather were having.
Only she knew the reason ... but she couldn't tell them ...
Alaric hated humans because he blamed the war-loving humans for causing his mother's death. Indeed, several decades ago, wars still raged in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa, and nearly 100 years ago there were two massive wars that carved a very dark record in the history of mankind, World War 1 and World War 2.
"Maybe that person has a reason for hating humans ..." Aleksis said suddenly. She looked at Lauriel attentively, "You also hate humans, right? You choose to isolate yourself from worldly life because you don't like the way humans live and because they enjoy fighting and destroying nature ..."
Lauriel stared at Aleksis for a long time, then he nodded, "That's right ... but it is never my dream to wipe out the human population ..."
Aleksis fell silent. Lauriel was right. Lauriel had an equally strong reason for hating humans; his girlfriend and his unborn child died in war, but Lauriel did not blame humans and and he had no desire to kill them all ...
Why couldn't Alaric be more like Lauriel? Aleksis thought sadly.
Meanwhile, Lauriel closed his eyes, thinking.
Image after image flashed through his mind as he thought about that young man who had helped Aleksis on the train to Chiang Mai. The man who had a dragon tattoo on his right chest.
The same dragon tattoo that Famke had, for being a member of Rhionen Assassins.
It meant that the young man could possibly be an assassin of the mysterious organization.
Rhionen Assassins may indeed have a relationship with Rhionen Industries, which was now being investigated by Terry. Lauriel noticed how Aleksis turned pale at the mention of the company during their conversation.
Had Aleksis met her Prince Siegfried and learned that he was indeed part of Rhionen Assassins?
If that were true ... then Aleksis shouldn't be allowed to stay for long in Singapore. She must be taken home immediately, Lauriel thought.
Lauriel regretted making Aleksis promise to continue her studies for a year in Singapore to fulfill her commitments. It would be very dangerous to let the girl linger in Singapore and meet 'Prince Siegfried' who had such a shady background.
He opened his eyes and looked at Aleksis, "Aleksis, honey ... I changed my mind about your commitment to study here ... I want you to come home and live with me in Africa. What do you think? Besides, this is where Rhionen Industries' new headquarters is set up, and according to Terry, they are very dangerous ... I don't want you to stay this area with them around ..."
Aleksis was stunned by Lauriel's words. Her godfather must have suspected something. Just last week he told Aleksis to continue her study in Singapore ... and now, he wanted Aleksis to come home ...
Unfortunately, she could not follow Lauriel's words now. She was married to Alaric and she wanted to wait for Alaric to come home, then take him to her family ...
"Uhmm ... I like staying here, Uncle ... I'm even starting to have friends ... I think it's good for me to get this new experience. Besides, why are you worried? I have my brother Terry here ... I also have bodyguards who take care of me ..."
Terry snorted at Aleksis' words, "That's right! She has four bodyguards now, even though her life is very easy … Lauriel, you don't need to worry, my sister is very well protected ..."
Lauriel frowned, "Four bodyguards? I have met two people. Where are the other two?"
"Uhm ... I told them to take turns in doing the work so they don't get tired ..." Aleksis said hurriedly. "Tomorrow I will introduce the other two to you. Then you can see for yourself that I'm safe here ..."
Pfew ... it was a good thing that she had always been a quick thinker. If not, she would be quickly cornered to explain why she had four bodyguards.
All right ... tomorrow she would bring Carl and Sascha to meet Lauriel to clear his suspicions.
"Alright then." Lauriel finally gave up. He could not force Aleksis to return with him to Kenya if indeed she had enough protection in Singapore. However, he could not let Aleksis continue with her plan to meet that 'Prince Siegfried' ... He had to think of an appropriate way for Aleksis to stay away from him.
Aleksis's phone-watch vibrated and she saw an incoming message from Alaric. Her heavy heart immediately calmed down and she became happy. She hurriedly excused herself from Terry's study and read Alaric's message in the living room.
A smile appeared on her face when she read the text from her man.
[Will land in London soon. I miss you.]
I miss you too, Aleksis whispered softly.