Chapter 639 I Will Handle It

Chapter 639 I Will Handle It

"Getting this info is a huge help to us," Juliette said, her excitement barely contained.

Juliette was a lab enthusiast, and as soon as she got the data, she rushed back to her office to dive into it.

But Ruben couldn't leave just yet.

"Besides, our H5 serum is still missing one crucial ingredient, and only the Institute for Global Strategy and Analysis has it," Ruben pointed out.

"I'll handle it," Juliette replied without hesitation.

The whole reason she joined the Institute for Global Strategy and Analysis was to research the H5 serum, so there was no way she would back out now.

"It's gonna be tough on you," Ruben said, concern evident in his voice.

Ruben knew the folks at that institute weren't exactly friendly. If it weren't for the precious experimental results, he wouldn't want their key researcher to endure such a place.

"Pressure makes diamonds, right?" Juliette quipped.

"Anyway, we're all glad you made it back safely from the mission. I'll set up a celebration dinner for you. Bring your fiancé along," Ruben had already started planning.

Zoey nodded. After facing so many crises during the mission, it was rare to sit down quietly for a meal.

Ruben turned to make arrangements, but as soon as he got back to his office, he was swarmed by other professors.

Who wouldn't want to have dinner with Zoey?

Ruben threw up his hands in surrender, "Alright, everyone, don't rush. I've already arranged it. We're having a celebration dinner for Zoey, and everyone can come as long as you don't have experiments tonight!"

Only then did the crowd calm down and stop surrounding him.

They all started thinking about what to wear to the dinner.

This gave Ruben quite a scare.

After all, to become a professor and reach this position, they were all of a certain age, yet they were acting like teenagers, worrying about what to wear.

Zoey went back and told Henry about it.

Henry immediately agreed.

"I'd like to meet those professors, too."

However, Zoey didn't mention that she was going as Dr. K, only that she was going as Dr. K's disciple.

Henry asked, "Will Dr. K be there this time?"

Zoey paused.

"Not this time, because Dr. K isn't coming."

"A celebration dinner for you, and Dr. K isn't coming?"

"Dr. K is busy," Zoey had already prepared her excuse, "Dr. K has important experiments and can't join us right now."

"Okay."

"Do you need to talk to Dr. K about something?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been able to reach her lately."

Zoey thought for a moment. The only connection between Dr. K and Henry was the initial press conference. "If it's about your collaboration, I can pass the message to Dr. K for you."

"That would be great."

Henry rubbed his temples, "The collaboration has stalled because we can't reach Dr. K. Some things only she can teach."

"Don't worry, I'll contact her and arrange a meeting for you."

"You're the best, Zoey."

He hugged Zoey from behind, lowering his head slightly, their cheeks touching.

"Are you coming back after dinner tonight?"

"If not, where do you want to go?"

Henry kissed her lightly on the ear, his words full of strong hints, "I was thinking, since we survived, shouldn't we go somewhere romantic?"

Like a candlelit dinner, a couple's hotel, something like that.

"You're quite the dreamer," Zoey said, looking at him.

Henry laughed, "Of course, I dream big. As long as you're by my side, I can dream about many things. After all, you are beautiful."

She always made it hard for him to control himself.

Zoey glared at him, "Let's attend the celebration dinner first. We'll talk about the rest afterward."

Henry sighed lightly.

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

After Zoey returned, she didn't stay idle. She went to the research institute, but her phone was ringing off the hook.

Sawyer from the police department also called.

"Any leads on what I asked you to investigate? Have you caught that fugitive?"

"There are some leads, but nothing concrete yet."

"What do you mean by 'nothing concrete'?"

"It means we have suspicions but no evidence."

"No evidence won't do," the police department was all about evidence. "Can you look into it further, or maybe find another way to get our people inside? You've become a hero after completing this mission. It shouldn't be hard to get someone in, right?"

Zoey said calmly, "Don't you trust me?"

"That's not what I mean," Sawyer explained, "How could I not trust you? If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have given you this task in the first place. I just think your situation isn't great, and I don't want to add to your burden."

He knew Zoey was different from ordinary people, but he hadn't expected her to cause such a stir after going in, even completing some kind of pollution zone rescue.

"I'm just worried you have too much on your plate and might get overwhelmed."

"Don't worry about that. My suggestion is not to insert anyone at this time; it might alert the other side," Zoey advised.

Sawyer immediately changed his mind, "Alright, I'll follow your lead."

At the celebration dinner that evening, Zoey and Henry arrived early at the venue, and Ruben and the others were already there.

Ruben's gaze fell on Henry.

Henry felt uncomfortable under his stare. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Ruben snorted lightly, "Nothing, just checking out how you look."

Henry was silent. 

To be honest, this wasn't their first meeting. Hadn't they observed him before?

"Come on, sit down."

As soon as Henry sat down, he felt what it meant to be the center of attention. 

A group of old men stared at him. 

The scene was quite unsettling. 

He swallowed and took a sip of water, trying to stay calm.

"Do you need anything? If there's something I can help with, just let me know."

After all, they were Zoey's elders, and he should help if he could.

The group of old men shook their heads.

Ruben said, "What could we need your help with? If it's about experiments, you can't help. Don't mind them; they're just bored."

Henry was silent. Zoey saw this and felt a bit helpless. 

During a bathroom break, she told Henry, "Don't mind them. They just have a fatherly feeling about marrying off their daughter."

"I understand. It's nice that they care about you."

Henry was genuinely happy for her. He felt everyone should like her and treat her well.

As they left the bathroom, Zoey suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. 

She frowned slightly, "You go back first. I need to check something out."

Henry saw it too and didn't want her to go alone. "I'll go with you."

"One of us needs to go back, or the professors will worry," Zoey said and walked down the hallway.

Henry sighed lightly and went back to deal with the old professors.

Zoey chased the figure out of the venue, but found the familiar person was gone. 

But she had clearly seen her just now. 

Linda. 

It wasn't strange for her to be at the venue, but acting suspiciously was odd.

A car sped past her. 

The window rolled down, and Linda was inside, hands tied and mouth covered, her eyes pleading with Zoey for help.

Zoey turned and got into her car, giving chase.

The white sedan tore through the night like a bolt of lightning, its engine roaring angrily down the empty streets. 

Zoey gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles white from the pressure, her eyes locked on the black sedan fleeing ahead. 

Inside, Linda's muffled cries were drowned out by the engine and wind noise. 

Outside, it was a race against time.

The driver of the black sedan quickly noticed the car chasing them, "Damn, that woman is catching up."

He started weaving through traffic, trying to use the remaining rush hour cars to block the white sedan. 

Zoey's foot expertly alternated between the gas and brake; the steering wheel in her hands seemed to come alive. 

The white sedan narrowly missed the back of a truck, maintaining its speed and closing the gap.

Zoey smirked, "Think you can get away?"

Ahead was a large roundabout with sparse traffic. 

The black sedan saw an opportunity and floored the gas, trying to speed away. 

As it entered the roundabout, Zoey made a bold decision. 

She didn't follow the curve but sharply turned, sending the white car onto the inner edge of the sidewalk. 

The tires screeched against the curb, sparks flying.

This shortcut gave her a half-car length advantage, and as the black sedan exited the roundabout, the white car was already on its tail. 

In the next moment, Zoey jerked the wheel to the right, slamming the front of her car into the black sedan's left front wheel. 

The move was quick and ruthless, throwing the black sedan off balance. The driver screamed, "Shit!"

The car lost control, veering towards a large green fire hydrant. 

A loud crash, metal twisting, and a massive spray of water erupted. 

The black sedan's front end crumpled against the hydrant, the hood twisted, smoke and steam mixing in the air. 

The wheels spun a few times before coming to a stop.

The white sedan executed a clean drift, blocking the black car's path completely. 

Zoey stepped out, water splashing her pants, but she didn't notice. 

She walked slowly to the black sedan, "Care to step out and chat?"