Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

"The Foundation is not a charity. If you want us to take these people in, you should at least let them demonstrate their value."

Across the negotiation table, Constantine, with his chin supported by one hand, changed his posture, picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip, then casually took out a piece of tea leaves from his mouth and placed it on the saucer under the teacup.

"Or, Mr. Chenxi, are you willing to make a contribution to the Foundation on your own to fill the gaps left by all of them?"

In the foundation, Constantine's office, Chen Xi sat lazily on the sofa, not taking Constantine sitting opposite him seriously at all.

Constantine looked at the young man in front of him. Beneath his strategic appearance, his heart was in turmoil.

What on earth caused this young man's temperament to change so much? When I saw him before, his behavior and temperament could be described as kind, but now...

This person, who looked like a gangster, really made Constantine feel intimidated. After all, ordinary gangsters could be easily taught a lesson, but not everyone had the strength to teach this young man a lesson.

But she still followed the feeling of past negotiations, trying to grasp the sovereignty of discourse.

Chen Xi didn't hesitate and threw a few pieces of meat on the floor of the office, letting them transform into his own appearance in front of Constantine.

But compared to Chen Xi himself, they lacked a pair of eyeballs, and the empty eye sockets just stared straight at Constantine.

With a snap of his fingers, they marched in neat steps towards Constantine, who was standing across the table. They didn't stop until the distance between them was so close that it would make people feel physically uncomfortable. Then Chen Xi stopped them and introduced them:

"My clone, unconscious, has, uh, maybe one percent of my abilities?"

The tea leaves that had been spit out earlier had gradually faded to dark brown due to loss of moisture.

"Don't underestimate this one percent. It sounds small, but it's actually not much at all. It's just my estimate of the limit of your foundation's research capabilities."

"After all, opportunities like this to directly study the powers you call gods are rare. Perhaps you can also gain clues about the rainstorm from them."

The continued loss of water causes the edges of the leaves to curl inward and wrap around their bodies.

"In short, they are tireless and will not wear out. You only need to give them instructions and they will execute them. You can just treat them like meat puppets."

"However, I still want to remind you that all their feelings will pass through here."

As he spoke, Chen Xi nodded his head.

"So, I advise you not to do anything too extreme. The ultimate control over them still lies in my hands."

The leaves have completely lost their water content, returning to their original appearance after tea production. However, they are now more fragile and vulnerable than before, and can be crushed to pieces with just a little external force.

"I don't think our Vice President Constantine has any shameful little secrets that require him to hide from me, his closest partner, right?"

Four pairs of empty eyes looked at him, but Constantine was not afraid. Instead, he chuckled.

"Indeed, the conditions proposed by Mr. Chen Xi are very tempting. It can be said that they are practically handing the future of mankind into our hands."

Sixty-six people, this is the number of people who died when the Foundation previously encircled and suppressed Chenxi. Later, after negotiation between the two sides, Chenxi resurrected them as awakened people.

Some of them chose to accept the flesh and blood bodies made by Chen Xi, while others chose the mechanical bodies provided by the Science and Technology Center.

But no matter which one it was, there were no problems in the long period of time since then, and there was never any loss of consciousness.

Even those whose bodies were resurrected unanimously stated that all their body functions were better than ever before.

This unbelievable thing made the entire foundation pay great attention to it, but because these were important employees of the foundation, they could only let them return to their jobs after doing the most basic physical examinations.

These four bodies, which were practically identical to Chen Xi's, could provide the Foundation with a great deal of operational space. Furthermore, from what Chen Xi had said, these four bodies seemed to possess the same self-healing abilities as Chen Xi...

Just thinking about this made Constantine excited, looking forward to what surprises they would bring to the foundation.

The sound of fingers tapping on the table pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Chen Xi staring at her helplessly:

"The smell of your evil thoughts is almost choking me. Sigh, I should have told you that I can synchronize the perceptions of these four bodies, right? Don't go too far with scientific research."

"Of course I know, Mr. Chenxi. The Foundation will definitely treat these four bodies well in the spirit of humanitarianism."

Sighing, knowing that Constantine didn't listen to his words at all, Chen Xi simply stopped talking.

Then he made his second request:

"You should also know that the cost of adopting a dozen people alone is far less than the cost of these four bodies."

"That's natural."

Constantine picked up his teacup again, and when he put it down, he just pressed down the tea leaf that he had spit out before.

The weight of the teacup broke it in half, leaving only half of it slowly rolling to the side under the pull of gravity.

"So I wonder if Mr. Chenxi has any other requests?"

"I want Team Hour to become a legally independent department, with more flexible autonomy and budgetary authority."

"This shouldn't be a difficult task for you. For the sake of humanity's future, could Vice President Constantine please make this easier for you?"

"Hmph~ It's certainly not an excessive request, but a major personnel change like this isn't something I can just casually decide. It requires a vote by the entire Foundation, and ultimately..."

Before he could finish his words, Chen Xi interrupted him by slapping the table:

"I need a document right now, acknowledging Team Sichen's independence. I'm going to see Verdin later, and this is a meeting gift."

"Chen..."

Before he could finish his words, Constantine saw Chen Xi across the table slowly melting, and black slime appeared under his feet. In the blink of an eye, it covered the office floor and spread up to his waist.

"My patience is limited. As you can see now, I can't always control my emotions and speak those repetitive words to you calmly."

At this time, Chen Xi's voice sounded a little manic, and the mucus he created began to vibrate and bubble as if boiling.

"Huh~ I understand. I'll issue a document right now and send it to Si Chen and the heads of the various departments of the foundation, acknowledging the independence and autonomy of the Si Chen team. I will be fully responsible for all subsequent negotiations and various issues, and ensure they are properly implemented."

As Constantine made his promise, Chen Xi gradually slowed down his breathing, the bloodshot in his eyes faded away, and he fell back onto the sofa behind him, letting the black liquid slowly flow back into his body.

"Thank you."

After saying this, Chen Xi stumbled out of the door without looking back. As the door slammed shut, he fell at the door of Constantine's office.

Just before he fell and lost consciousness, he heard a soft voice:

"master?"