"Thank you, thank you so much for everything you've done for my grandfather," the old man's granddaughter said, hugging him tightly as she cried through her words.
Rilley froze, unsure of how to react to the situation. His hands rested against the young woman's back, and through the thin fabric of her dress he could feel the smooth warmth of her skin, which made him realize she was not wearing a bra.
Rilley felt somewhat embarrassed. For her part, the girl did not seem to notice the situation at all and kept thanking him, with no intention of letting him go. The grandfather, meanwhile, let his granddaughter do as she pleased. He understood very well how deeply she had worried about him. If she had been in the same situation, he too would have felt such a heavy burden pressing down on his shoulders. Now, after seeing him in good health, she was simply overwhelmed with happiness, and the weight she had been carrying spilled out through her sobs and in the tight embrace she held Rilley in.
"N-no, your thanks aren't necessary. We've simply fulfilled our part according to the terms agreed upon in the contract," Rilley said, trying to calm her while awkwardly explaining himself.
"That's not enough. I understand perfectly well how heavy Grandpa's pain has been, how incomplete he's felt even while trying to show nothing but a brave face to others. I'm not blind. I've been with Grandpa for a long time. You gave him a chance to recover what he had lost." Even with tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, her voice turned serious as she said those words.
Noticing Rilley's discomfort, the old man stepped closer and urged his granddaughter to let him go. "Iris, that's enough. They've helped us more than enough. We mustn't cause trouble. Both the doctors and the company are our benefactors."
The girl shook her head without releasing Rilley. "Grandpa, we have to do something to show our gratitude. My father always said we should be grateful to those who help us selflessly."
The girl raised her eyes to Rilley's face, and Rilley was already looking down at her. As a result, the two of them ended up meeting each other's gaze directly.
Only then did Rilley truly pay closer attention to the young woman. Earlier, his glance over her had been so brief that her face had barely registered. One could almost say he had already forgotten it, set aside among so many other thoughts. It was not because she lacked attractive features capable of catching his attention, but because Rilley simply had no interest in remembering the faces of people he considered irrelevant.
That was normal for him. He never gave passersby a second look if he was unlikely to meet them again. Instead, he preferred to focus all his attention on what truly interested him. Rilley had a selective memory. He was terrible at remembering irrelevant names and faces. Even in conversation, he rarely looked people directly in the eyes. His gaze tended to drift around them without truly observing their features.
But now, because of their closeness, he found himself noticing more. The girl had bright eyes, a gaze as clear as crystal, utterly transparent and without the slightest trace of cloudiness. It was like looking into shining gems, their color a captivating honey-gold. Across her nose and cheeks, if one looked closely enough, there were small freckles. They did not lessen her beauty in the slightest. On the contrary, they seemed to refine it into something even lovelier.
The grandfather then spoke. "Well then, what do you say to inviting our benefactors to dinner? Would that be alright? You can take care of it. The food you make is very good."
The girl's eyes seemed to shine even brighter, as though she were delighted by the idea. She quickly turned back to Rilley and asked without looking away, "Would you be alright with that? As a sign of our gratitude, I'll prepare the best dinner you've ever had," she said, her excitement plain to see.
Rilley then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped the tears from her face. "That sounds fine to me. You can count on my attendance. I'll need to ask Dr. Connors and the other assistant who couldn't attend today."
Rilley agreed quickly, without giving the matter much thought. He had not accepted out of any particular interest in the young woman. Certainly, she was pretty, but Rilley was not that shallow, nor was he someone incapable of controlling his libido. He had accepted because there were other matters he wanted to discuss with the grandfather, and being invited to a gathering with them only made things easier rather than troublesome.
"It's certain that I'll be there. But I still need to check with Dr. Connors and the assistant, so I can't promise that all of us will attend," Rilley added, with no intention of giving the young woman false hopes.
The grandfather agreed. After the girl finally let go of him, Rilley handed her his business card. Not long afterward, the pair thanked him once again and left.
When Rilley approached, Dr. Connors was speaking with several of the guests.
As soon as he noticed him, Dr. Connors called out, "Rilley, my boy, come here. The guests want to know more about the «Ultra Plus Rays»."
Rilley stepped toward them. "No problem, Doctor. I'll explain any doubts the guests may have about the «Ultra Plus Rays»."
Without further preamble, Rilley began with a brief introduction.
"As Dr. Connors mentioned earlier, the «Ultra Plus Rays» are similar to gamma rays, but with greater advantages and without the many drawbacks associated with the latter. One of their most notable advantages is that they are easier to manipulate in a controlled environment and can also be adjusted according to specific requirements. So there is really no risk of the experiment going out of control."
Those words caught the attention of one of the guests, a middle-aged man in military uniform. Outwardly, his expression remained calm, but many thoughts were clearly moving through his mind.
Rilley paid no attention to the subtle shifts in his listeners' expressions and continued his explanation without interruption.
"For example, according to the requirements of today's trial, the «Ultra Plus Rays» were calibrated only to provide a supportive effect on the body in order to accelerate the assimilation process through their reaction with the serum. Unlike gamma rays, which are highly ionizing and remain so no matter what is done, the «Ultra Plus Rays», when properly adjusted, are harmless to everyone present. At least for this kind of application, specialized protective equipment is unnecessary, since they react only to certain compounds within the serum itself."
Having finished his brief introduction, Rilley moved on to questions, asking whether there was anything specific they wanted to know or anything that still remained unclear.
The man in military uniform made a gesture, asking to speak.
Everyone else fell silent at once, with not the slightest intention of interrupting him. He had graying hair and a mustache streaked with silver.
"You say the «Ultra Plus Rays» are similar to gamma rays. Then is it possible to replace gamma rays with «Ultra Plus Rays» for use in other experiments?"
Rilley recognized the man, since he had a certain closeness with his parents. "That's a good question, Lieutenant General Ross. I have some idea why you're asking. The answer is yes. Yes, it is possible to replace experiments that use gamma radiation with «Ultra Plus Rays». I would even dare say the results could be better."
That answer seemed to satisfy General Ross. His eyes sharpened with determination, and then he spoke again.
"And if the experiment were to go out of control, what would the consequences be?"
Rilley seemed to consider the question for a few seconds before answering.
"General Ross, as I said earlier, the use of the «Ultra Plus Rays» is completely safe and manageable. I've studied these rays for several years now, and a great amount of resources and manpower has gone into their development. Our team worked hard and achieved excellent results."
Rilley paused briefly before continuing.
"But if, for some reason, things begin to go wrong, it's enough to deactivate the primary feeder. Even if that fails, there are ways to destabilize the system and force the entire setup to collapse. Once that collapse occurs, the energy disperses like mist or vapor, without posing any danger to the people nearby."
Rilley gave that answer with General Ross's possible intentions in mind. And in truth, he was not opposed to lending the technology for military research purposes. One could even say he had been waiting for the moment when General Ross himself would take the initiative and propose a possible collaboration.
Rilley believed that the more experiments were conducted with the «Ultra Plus Rays», the more data he would obtain, allowing him to continue developing new technologies and applying possible improvements. But wanting more data did not mean he was willing to hand over his technology to just anyone who came asking for it, especially not government officials.
He would only consider it if the request came from General Ross, and that was solely because of the good relationship Ross had with his parents. Even then, he would never surrender the technology completely. Instead, he would establish a collaboration in which they would work together without fully revealing the core technology.
He had done something similar with Dr. Connors. The two of them had worked together on the development of the regenerative serum. Although Dr. Connors had already made great progress on his own, he had run into a bottleneck, and that was mainly due to the difficulty of stabilizing the formula.
Dr. Connors had faced mounting difficulties, and as a result, he had gradually begun to lose patience. If Relly Glass had not pressured him not to rush, Dr. Connors might already have tested the serum on himself. Something very similar to what would likely have happened had he joined Oscorp's scientific team, with the only difference being that there would have been no one there to stop him.
For the first time, Rilley chose to lend out the «Ultra Plus Rays» technology. He wanted more data and wished to put his research to a broader test. It had been a tremendous opportunity.
Within a matter of months, thanks to the «Ultra Plus Rays» technology, the «Cellular Regeneration Serum» was finally stabilized. The results were so satisfactory that Dr. Connors once again considered applying the serum to himself immediately, but once more, Relly Glass kept him in line with a firm hand and threats of consequences. Thanks to those measures, the birth of «Lizardman» was avoided, even if that had never been the primary objective.
Back in the early days of GIG, when it had still been a small pharmaceutical company, there had been an incident during an experiment meant to test the effects of a medication. It nearly turned into a disaster, one that would not only have harmed innocent people, but also driven the company itself into ruin.
That had happened because the scientists in charge of the project, overcome by excessive confidence, had rushed to confirm the reliability of the medication after only two successful trials and a minimal waiting period for side effects.
Fortunately, the negative consequences were avoided, and the company's future was preserved. But the incident remained as a deep mark. No matter how large the company became, it never allowed itself to fall into complacency. That experience drove it to become far more rigorous in testing each of its products, establishing a series of filters to ensure both quality and safety.
It was Relly Glass himself who set the standard at a total of five testing phases, along with an extended waiting and monitoring period to detect side effects. From that point on, he also exercised complete control over every scientist working under him, preventing them from doing whatever they pleased.