Chapter 78: Cheers to our subordinates.

"What's with that face? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Tony stopped mid-stride, visibly puzzled.

He recalled how Malrick had looked in the woods yesterday. "Wait—don't tell me. The world consciousness again?"

Malrick paused, his expression unreadable. A few seconds later, he nodded slowly, lips twitching into an odd smile.

"It's... complicated. But the short version? The SS serum isn't enough. It wants the earlier version of the infectious evolutionary formula."

Tony blinked. "What? That thing's lost its mind. Then again, does it even have a brain?"

He crossed his arms. "Why not use the SS serum? It's clearly superior."

"Because it's too stable," Malrick replied, exasperated. "It doesn't leave room for further evolution. The world consciousness wants something that still has mutational potential, something dynamic."

Tony huffed and put his hands on his hips. "So, it wants to leave room for chaos. Great. That sounds like something Obadiah once told me. Gave me advice like, 'Build a rifle that heats, cools, and navigates by itself.' Completely insane."

Malrick smirked. "Let me guess—you ignored him?"

"Of course. And now, I know why he wanted to kill me."

"Probably because you didn't build that ridiculous rifle."

Tony sighed. "World-saving clients are all a bit unhinged."

Malrick returned to the workbench. "At least creating a new variant of the S virus should be easy, now that we've built the SS serum. I'm not going to ignore the world's request. If something goes wrong later, it'll just come back to me anyway."

He paused, considering. "And if it does, maybe it's time I get more authority. Maybe I should be the world consciousness."

He chuckled to himself, imagining it.

Maybe Jarvis could be the new AI embodiment of it.

Five minutes later, the final variant of the S virus was born—a version with an infection mutation rate of just 0.1%. It was nearly identical to the original but perfectly met the demand for global organism evolution.

The world consciousness responded instantly, almost giddy. Malrick could feel the euphoric energy pulsing through it—like a dog wagging its tail.

"Okay, okay," Malrick muttered, raising his hands. "I'll go out with Tony, get dinner, and find someone to test this virus on."

He gave Tony a helpless shrug as they stepped into the institute's elevator.

The city was still quiet. Most people were off-duty from yesterday's celebration.

On their way through the near-empty halls, Malrick complained. "Running a country with an unorganized government? Tough job."

It wasn't until they met Jill that he found out why the station was practically deserted.

She explained with a proud nod, "As acting President, I gave everyone the day off. You saved the world yesterday—so today's a new national holiday."

Malrick paused.

"Efficient leadership," he muttered, reluctantly impressed.

But something was off. Jill didn't look pleased.

---

Former Police Chief's Office

"Hey, Jill, what's going on?" Malrick asked, eyeing her expression.

Tony took one look at her and bolted. He didn't need a second round of last night's drama.

"You're asking me what's wrong?" Jill fired back, hands on her hips. "You disappeared for a full day after doing something so… ridiculous. Ada and I thought you bailed on us."

"'Absconding for fear of crime' only applies to actual criminals," Malrick countered calmly. "Besides, you were drunk—tipsy at best—and we mutually agreed to what happened."

He added under his breath, "You used alcohol as an excuse."

Jill's face flushed. She turned away. "Still... you left us."

"I didn't abandon you. I tucked you both in before I left."

Malrick casually poured himself a glass of water. "Tony and I were working in the lab. I didn't even know today was a holiday. That explains why the station was so quiet."

He sipped. "By the way... Ada, why are you hiding behind the door?"

The door creaked as Ada stepped in, still walking gingerly.

"I was waiting to be invited," she said, her tone smooth. "Didn't want to interrupt a heart-to-heart between my boss... and my rival."

Jill's eyes narrowed. "'Rival'? You're not supposed to say it out loud. You're supposed to pretend you didn't notice."

Ada leaned in, sniffing near Malrick's neck. "Oh, come on. Compared to us just getting started, someone here is a certified expert."

Jill blinked. "Wait… That explains why I—hold on. Do you mean he's been with—?"

Malrick coughed. Loudly. "That's enough!"

He stepped between them. "A President and an Intelligence Director squabbling? That's how nations fall."

The two women fell silent, watching him warily.

Malrick threw up his arms. "Look, we're colleagues. We can talk this out. No issue can't be solved with proper communication."

"I just wanted to ask a few—wait, hey!"

"You're always rushing," Ada sighed, following behind.

---

Early Morning – The Police Station

Malrick awoke in a now-familiar bed.

He stretched, nudged the two sleeping women beside him, did a few quick warm-up exercises, then showered and got dressed.

Downstairs, the station was bustling. A stark contrast from the previous day's emptiness.

Tony sat hunched over a table, chewing listlessly with dark circles under his eyes.

Malrick sat beside him, grabbed a stale baguette, and took a bite. The taste was… regrettable.

"Tony, seriously? You went back to those two girls again last night?" Malrick asked with a smirk.

"You're supposed to be a scientist, not a playboy."

He narrowed his eyes. "What about Pepper? Aren't you even a little guilty?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I paid her this month and gave her strawberries."

Malrick's brow twitched. "She's allergic to strawberries, Tony."

Tony nodded while sipping milk. "Yup. She chewed me out."

"You deserved it." Malrick took another bite of the baguette and nearly winced. Still terrible.

Tony nudged him with his elbow. "And what about you? Don't think I didn't notice what you've been doing after work these past two days."

"You really think that agent girl in your fortress is just a subordinate?"

"She is a subordinate. Thank you very much."

Malrick poured half of Tony's milk into his cup.

"Ohhh, my subordinates, he says." Tony chuckled. "Come on, cheers to our subordinates."

"Cheers to your… big wave," Malrick replied dryly, clinking his glass.

They both drank.

Malrick stood and patted Tony's shoulder. "Just remember—once we hit back-to-back combat cycles, you better pace yourself. Take care of your body."

Tony muttered, "If you hadn't drained me of 400cc of blood yesterday, I would be fine."

Malrick laughed. "I had my blood drawn too, and I'm still going strong."

"Yeah, yeah. You're a freak of nature," Tony mumbled, chewing the rubbery baguette.

He stood up suddenly, eyes narrowing with determination. "That's it. I'm finishing the live trial and injecting the serum. I'm not letting you be the only god-tier being in this world."

---

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