After Felix Tate spoke, a brief silence fell over the room. His hypothesis was not entirely out of the realm of possibility. It was not without reason that since ancient times, humanity had placed such a heavy emphasis on the concept of immortality. Even those who toiled all day and still lacked enough to eat were terrified of death, let alone those who held entirely too much in their hands.

The wealthier and more abundant they were, the more power and authority they possessed, the more they feared losing what they had. Death was the ultimate loss. These people lacked neither money nor power, lacking only the time to fully enjoy everything they had amassed.

If CORE’s project could truly succeed, extracting a person’s brainwaves and memories and channeling them into another body, then even if it could not be considered true immortality, it would still solve the issue of insufficient time that those in power felt so acutely.

Thinking even broader, it was not just about confronting natural death, but hundreds of other issues as well. There were certain pleasures that could bring immense ecstasy to humans, but they also carried severe health risks. Now, if this method existed, they could freely indulge in these experiences. If one body fell ill, they would simply swap it for another.

But where would so many bodies come from for them to constantly replace?

This was precisely the reason why this research endeavor devolved into a development project fraught with issues of morality and human nature. Research regarding the transferring of human brainwaves was undeniably a monumental leap forward for humanity and medical science. The true problem, however, lay in its method of application.

Currently, technology had not yet advanced to the point where it could artificially manufacture a biological body capable of receiving someone’s brainwaves and then developing like a normal human being. Therefore, if a person’s brainwaves, memories, and behaviors could be altered, extracted, and transmitted into someone else, where would they find the host bodies to contain these new personalities? An even more crucial question was: where would the original personalities and memories go?

Ethan Caldwell stroked the soft strands of Julian Sterling’s hair, his pitch-black eyes dark and pensive as if he were contemplating something profound. After a long while, Ethan finally spoke, "I do not know to what extent their technology has developed, nor is it clear what A-01 means, whether it stands for the first experimental subject or simply an internal numbering system. However, what I wonder is, upon knowing Julian was not dead, why did they not seek Julian out? And even allowed Julian to marry me? This is not CORE’s usual style."

Julian Sterling had not interacted much with them, so he would not possess extensive knowledge about CORE, but Ethan Caldwell understood them all too well.

Looking at the way the people who participated in that research project years ago with Ethan’s mother were hunted down and ruthlessly exterminated, Ethan Caldwell did not believe the people from CORE would simply let Julian Sterling go.

Could it be said that they were wary of the Sterling family and the Caldwell family?

A family that had just barely set foot into the upper-class circle like the Sterling family was nothing but a speck of dust to them. As for the Caldwell family, although Ethan Caldwell felt a sense of pride because at least the current status of the Caldwell family had seen a phenomenal leap forward compared to the era when his father was in power.

But what did that matter?

The Caldwell family had developed, but it was not as if CORE had just been standing still in one place either.

Back then, even the ruling head of the Caldwell family could be murdered by CORE, so what value did a person whose only title was the fiancé of the family head’s nephew truly hold?

Therefore, Ethan Caldwell’s question had truly hit the absolute core of this matter. What exactly were they trying to do? Why would they spare Julian Sterling?

"Have you not noticed that lately they have been targeting me?" Julian asked. "Or to be more precise, they have been targeting the both of us."

If initially Julian Sterling thought this was all a scheme orchestrated by Gabriel Cole, even though Julian himself was not entirely certain why Gabriel Cole would do such things that yielded so little effect, now, after hearing Felix Tate and the others state that there was a high probability Gabriel Cole had already become a subordinate of CORE, Julian could think about the situation much more clearly.

The more he thought about it, the more there was to ponder deeply.

This entire affair was becoming increasingly complicated, and Julian Sterling’s memory felt like it had to pass through checkpoints. He could not always recall things at will, but whenever something suddenly came to mind, it was always an earth-shattering revelation.

"Perhaps they themselves did not expect that their experiment had actually succeeded." Julian Sterling guessed. It was likely that initially, they had evaluated A-01 as a failed experimental product. And the expected result of that failure was probably that the body would gradually reject itself and eventually die.

It was just that as Julian Sterling gradually recovered his health and revealed more of his abilities, perhaps over these past few days, Julian had exposed a little too much. Or perhaps, during their previous encounter, Gabriel Cole had been tasked with the mission to come and test him...

Too many thoughts swirling around in his head caused Julian Sterling to frown slightly. There were many matters where, being the ones exposed in the light, they had no way of seeing the hidden truths clearly.

"Well, we will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Julian Sterling let out a long sigh.

"Then we will simply leave the door wide open, set the traps, and wait for them to walk right into the cage themselves." Felix Tate chuckled: "I will have my people make the arrangements, and then I will contact the tech specialists back home. I will handle organizing this matter, so you can just rest assured."

They did not remain in Kensington City but instead made arrangements to return to St. Lawrence. The reason they had to stay in Kensington City beforehand was that Harrison Thornton and his daughter had extended an invitation, scheduling a meeting with Ethan Caldwell. However, looking at the current circumstances, it was much better for them to head back to St. Lawrence. After all, handling any situation would be significantly easier on their own home turf.

An additional reason was that Harrison Thornton had just contacted Helen Lloyd, claiming that his side was overwhelmed with business and it would be difficult to organize everything thoroughly at the moment, expressing fear that this might negatively affect Ethan Caldwell.

Therefore, after careful consideration, the group decided to split up and make their way back to St. Lawrence. Only Louis York was loudly complaining, as moving covertly was no easy feat for them. Up until this very moment, the fact that Louis York had come to Kensington City remained entirely undiscovered. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Complain as he might, in the end, he still had to pack up and arrange for his return regardless.