Chapter 1487

"Why? Did you cut ties with all your male friends after getting married?" Lily asked bluntly.

Rhea began to speak, but Lily interrupted, "Oh, I forgot. You're not married yet, are you?"

"How do you know I'm not married?" Rhea narrowed her eyes. "This is our first meeting, and I've never discussed my personal life with you."

"I've known about you for quite some time," Lily nodded meaningfully.

"Oh?" Rhea raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Your cousin, Anastasia, and your mother's decision to hire Austin to treat her. You must be close to Austin, right?" Lily turned to observe Rhea's reaction.

Rhea caught on. "Anastasia told you, huh?"

Lily smiled, offering no reply.

"I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding," Rhea explained casually. "I hardly see my cousin, though my mother treats her like a daughter and visits often. I wasn't even aware Mr. Fike treated her. I've been studying abroad and only recently returned to join the lab. It's a coincidence he works here. I'm not as close to him as you might think." She added, with a drawl, "You're closer to him than I am."

Lily nodded thoughtfully, unbuckled her seatbelt, and grasped the door handle. "Okay, I've said my piece. I won't interrupt your work. I should go."

She opened the car door. As she began to exit, she heard Rhea say, "Mrs. Russell..."

Lily paused, glanced back, and saw Rhea staring intently. "Thank you for telling us about Professor Thompson. Though I don't feel particularly saddened, I am sorry. The experiment won't stall because of his death. You've worked on it for so long and know its importance. Trust me. You'll soon witness the changes this experiment will bring to humankind."

Rhea's voice was earnest, her gaze hopeful, excited, and brimming with untamed desire—a desire Lily had once seen in Thompson's eyes, the desire for the lab's success and the fulfillment of his ambition. However, Rhea's seemed even more potent.

Lily was slightly taken aback. "I hope they're good changes, not disastrous ones."

"Good or bad, only time will tell!" Rhea watched Lily leave, then continued, "The ice age doomed the dinosaurs, but without their extinction, would humankind and civilization have risen? It's shortsighted to judge something solely on its short-term impact."

Lily, already exiting the car, didn't respond immediately. But as she turned to close the door, she retorted, "I'm shortsighted because I can't see the future or how the dinosaurs went extinct. However, I know their extinction was a natural disaster, not some death-seeking behavior. And the fundamental principle of being human is not to kill our own kind," she said, then slammed the door shut.