Dr. Edison had already been stranded on Island P-21 for five days. Irritated and restless, he repeatedly rubbed his temples with force. His face was pale, his eyes bloodshot.
MOTH's psychologists had already come to see him. After observing his condition, they could only shake their heads.
Before arriving, once they heard that this was Vill-V's doing, they had already felt a bad premonition.
Vill-V's notorious reputation for completely breaking the interrogation department's psychologists had long since spread throughout MOTH's psychological counseling circles.
Dr. Edison had even attempted to fall asleep under hypnosis, hoping that he could be transported off the island that way.
Who would have thought that even in a sleeping state, the moment he was taken off the island, his heart rate would plummet wildly, approaching death? In the end, the psychologists had to carry Dr. Edison back again.
They could hardly haul Minister Edison back as a corpse.
The MOTH psychologists had gained quite the experience this time. Once they returned, they would probably detour around Vill-V whenever they saw her, staying as far away as possible.
After learning the full extent of his predicament, an enraged Dr. Edison drove those useless psychologists away.
What drove him even more insane afterward was the fact that this deserted island did not even have a radio signal. It was a genuine isolated island.
Because he had been so furious, Edison had even forgotten to ask the psychological consultants to bring supplies.
Thus, he was left to survive in the wilderness on this island.
Island P-21 had originally been a vacation paradise for MOTH's higher-ups, dotted with seaside villas. MOTH's upper echelon owned many private islands, and this had been one of them.
However, after a Honkai incident had once broken out here, the island had fallen into abandonment. Although the Honkai had already been cleared by MOTH, the high-ranking official who owned the island still found it inauspicious and tossed it to MOTH's Engineering Department.
Wild beasts roamed everywhere. After rummaging along the beach for days, he could only catch a few small fish and crabs—barely enough to sustain his life.
Every day, he searched ceaselessly for new food sources. He climbed hills, ventured into the forest, entered the ruins of seaside villas, trekked for miles—he had traversed every corner of this small island.
During that time, he was caught in traps, paralyzed by landmines, frozen, burned, left bleeding, and attacked by inexplicable robots.
Then, before nightfall, he would return to the crude wooden shack he had pieced together to shield himself from wind and rain.
If not for the MOTH equipment he had brought with him, Dr. Edison feared he would not have survived even half a day.
As for the prefabricated container house Vill-V had brought, Dr. Edison refused to use it. He could not swallow that humiliation.
But the consequences of refusing to use the prefab shelter were something Dr. Edison was about to witness. On this deserted island, the frightening things were not limited to MOTH's traps.
"Shoo, shoo..." Dr. Edison kicked away a monkey that kept begging him for food.
"This damned place doesn't even have a signal. I can't contact MOTH at all."
As he muttered to himself and turned around, he discovered that his fire drill and flint were gone.
"Damn it! You damned monkeys! So it was you! Give it back!"
Previously, when the fire-starting device he had modified from a pistol ignition mechanism went missing, Dr. Edison had thought it was deliberate sabotage by a MOTH robot. At the time, he had even wondered whether the magnetic field barrier he set up had malfunctioned.
Dr. Edison chased after the monkey that had stolen his tools, but the monkey was far more agile than he had imagined. Before long, it darted into the jungle and vanished.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Overcome with grief and fury, Dr. Edison could only imitate Dr. Tesla's trademark profanity as he returned to his shack and wrapped himself in a damp, cold pile of grass to sleep.
Once I get back to MOTH, I'll wipe out every last one of those monkeys!
That night, he even dreamed a beautiful dream of exterminating the monkeys with nuclear bombs.
But when he woke up, Dr. Edison was horrified to find that he had nearly been exterminated by the monkeys instead. The troop was jumping wildly around him, holding burning branches and leaves, preparing to set him on fire.
Left with no choice, Dr. Edison abandoned his pride and moved into the container house.
He did not want to remain in this hellish place for even a second longer. He found the communication device Vill-V had hidden inside the room.
Yes, a communication device—one that Vill-V had rigged with numerous riddles that had to be solved before access could be obtained...
But in the end, Dr. Edison cracked them.
"Vill-V, let's talk about the wager agreement..."
...
Dr. Edison's "wager agreement" had taken effect—but not entirely. Only half of the higher-ups acknowledged its validity. The other half outright refused to recognize it.
Without even thinking, one could guess how furious the North American faction leaders were at Dr. Edison for "handing over" the Third Scientific Energy Department.
And that was not all. During the summary conference of the Fourth Honkai Eruption, Dr. Newton, together with Dr. Mobius, proposed "On the Investigation and Elimination of Corruption Within MOTH"... a motion that received support from the majority of the council's higher members.
On the surface, it was an anti-corruption investigation. In reality, all the higher-ups understood—it signaled a complete rupture.
Yet it was indeed a perfect opportunity to consolidate power and rally support. After all, the once-dominant North American leadership had been severely crippled in the Fourth Honkai Eruption. With North America as the target, the other factions would hardly show mercy. Even the Far East faction stepped in.
Well, the Far East had always been opportunistic, siding with whichever side held the advantage.
There were also some higher-ups who hoped MOTH could become "purer," and thus the majority of the council approved the proposal.
But the North American leadership was powerless to resist. During the Fourth Honkai Eruption, North America's Strategic Commander, General Selwyn, had undeniably betrayed them by preparing to carpet the land with nuclear bombs. Even the North American government could not openly support such actions.
Moreover, the North American government was too busy dealing with the local Honkai aftermath to concern itself with international maneuvering.
Political games required capital—either economic sanctions or military deterrence.
But after the devastation of the Fourth Honkai Eruption, the United States was left in ruins. Where would such capital come from?
Not to mention that factions within the North American government were numerous and constantly eyeing MOTH as a prize. Many were waiting for the right opportunity to drag the current North American leadership down.
Now, having successively lost the Second Scientific Engineering Department and the Third Scientific Energy Department—two major cards—the North American leadership had few moves left.
But a starving camel is still larger than a horse. That was precisely the situation of MOTH's North American council faction.
"Bastards, have you forgotten that person?... Treating me as a discarded pawn... you... you will absolutely regret this!"
At the summary conference, the North American leadership left behind that cryptic statement in fury before cutting off the communication.
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