Chapter 224

Noelle dragged Elsie away until she was sure no one was around. Then she stopped, turned around, and, without any hesitation, she launched into a barrage of questions, eyes glued straight at her.

“Are you a transformer? Why are you here! Which lab are you from? What’s your mission?”

Elsie blinked her big, blurry eyes in confusion, tilting her head like a curious puppy. She didn’t seem to understand a word Noelle was saying.

Noelle frowned and gave her a light pat on the head, already annoyed. “Why do you look so clueless! Did you really hit your head that hard! Can your communicator still function! Can you contact anyone from your lab?”

Elsie tilted her head again, still uncomprehending.

The more Noelle observed her, the more she felt that this girl was seriously out of it. She’s really just dumb, she thought to herself, half exasperated.

Since there was no way to get information out of Elsie directly, Noelle decided to check her communicator. She reached up without asking and touched the girl’s earring, checking to see if it was still functional.

Under normal circumstances, the lab would never leave a malfunctioning subject unmonitored. But when she pressed the back of the earring, there was no signal. No response.

“Hello? Anyone there! Can anyone hear me?” she called softly. Silence. Nothing.

“Maybe the earring’s broken too,” Noelle muttered, frustrated.

Unable to get anything useful, she decided to contact Brandon instead. “Come with me,” she said, pulling Elsie along toward the pavilion in the garden. There, she reached beneath her collar and retrieved her necklace, activating the embedded communicator.

Within moments, Brandon’s familiar, warm voice came through. “Noelle, what’s up?”

“Brandon,” she greeted quickly.

Hearing his voice, Elsie suddenly leaned in, her eyes glued to it. Noelle quickly smacked her hand away.

Elsie gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment. Though she didn’t try to touch the necklace again, her gaze lingered on it with even more curiosity.

Brandon, having heard some of the noise, asked, “Noelle, who’s with you?”

Noelle didn’t hide it. “It’s like this, Brandon. My brother Adriel came back today, and he brought a girl with him—someone like me, from a lab. But something’s wrong with her. She’s got memory issues and can’t speak properly. I was hoping you could help me figure out which lab she’s from, and maybe reach out to them.”

There was a brief pause before Brandon’s tone grew noticeably more serious. “What kind of communicator is she wearing! Necklace or earrings?”

“Earring,” Noelle replied.

“Check the serial number on the back. Does it start with a ‘D’ or an ‘S’?”

Noelle did as instructed. “It starts with an 'S'.”

Brandon’s answer came without hesitation. “She’s from the Serpaton–Morria Alliance Laboratory.”

Noelle nodded slowly, then added, “Brandon, her brain’s messed up right now—she can’t talk at all. Her communicator’s probably broken too. Can you help her? Or contact someone from her lab?”

Brandon’s tone turned cold. “That’s not my responsibility. Sure, she’s a transformer like you, but the three regional labs are competitors. I have no reason to help a rival lab’s subject. If she’s lost her memory, the best thing is to dispose of her quickly.”

“What? Dispose of her?” Noelle was shocked.

But Brandon’s voice softened again, with a teasing smile. “What’s wrong? You getting attached already? Didn’t Adriel just bring her back? You can’t possibly be this sentimental.”

Noelle hesitated, then spoke her thoughts aloud. “Brandon, I can tell Adriel really cares about her. And since I’m still working on winning over the rest of my family, he’s the last one I haven’t gotten close to yet. I was thinking, maybe I can use Elsie to build a connection with him.”

Brandon chuckled. “So that’s your plan, huh? Alright. If you want to keep her around for now, fine. But listen to me—if she ever becomes a threat, you deal with her immediately.”

Noelle grinned, her tone sweet. “Thanks, Brandon.”

Brandon laughed lightly at her cheerful voice. “Everything on my end’s almost wrapped up. Give me another week, and I’ll come visit you. I'd like to see this girl for myself.”

“Really? You’ll be here in a week?” Noelle’s eyes lit up. She smiled so brightly it showed in her voice. “I can’t wait to see you, Brandon. It’s been way too long.”

He laughed again. “Then you better look forward to it.”

“I will,” she replied with a happy hum. “I have things to take care of now, so I'll talk to you later.”

“Okay, bye, Brandon.”

“Goodbye, Noelle.”

Once the call ended, Noelle carefully tucked the necklace back into her shirt. She noticed Elsie was still staring at her chest, so she reached out and grabbed the girl’s hands, swinging them gently with a teasing smile. “Elsie, I think Adriel really likes you.”

Elsie blinked, confused, then tilted her head again, making Noelle laugh.

She’d made up her mind. She was going to befriend Elsie—and use her to win Adriel over.

Smiling warmly, she said. “Let’s get along from now on, okay?”

Elsie didn’t seem to fully understand, but she smiled back and nodded. “Mhm.”

At the Atoraka–Nowedon Laboratory, Reid had just finished reporting on his current assignments. “That’s everything for now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

But just as he turned to go, Brandon called him back. “Wait.”

“Yes?” Reid stopped and turned around.

Brandon’s expression was calm, but his voice carried weight. “Look into Adriel. There’s a transformer with him—one from the Serpaton–Morria Alliance Lab. She’s with the Anderson family now. I suspect Serpaton’s up to something. Investigate.”

“Serpaton–Morria?” Reid’s expression turned serious. “Understood.”

Two hours later, Reid returned, urgency written all over him.

Brandon looked up from the file in his hands. “You found something?”

“Yes,” Reid replied, face grim. He handed over the documents. “Adriel’s been overseas on business. A month ago, there was a massive explosion in the area he was stationed. The girl he brought back—the transformer—was the only one rescued from that blast.”

“The official report blamed it on a flammable gas leak, but several of the bodies pulled from the wreckage were clearly transformer subjects. Some of them were even from our own lab.”

“That incident was quickly buried, but we took a closer look once we realized we’d lost some of our own. We reviewed the emergency signals that were sent out during the explosion. All of them had one thing in common.”

Brandon's gaze sharpened. “What did they say?”

Reid hesitated, his face pale. “They all said the same thing—Help me. There’s a monster. A monster is here.”