()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>325</BIN><BGM>GF_EV9_Story</BGM>:At the Galatea Corporation Building. +Inside the Gray Biotechnology Research Center.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Open</SE1>:Sorry, but the research center will not be entertaining interviews for the... Wait, Nele?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:After seeing who the visitor is, the researcher who's still in the labs exclaims in surprise.
NPC-Nele(5)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Good evening, Herr Eicher. +I need to apologize, I was too rash last night.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Don't worry about it, everyone's like that when they first start out. +Back then, I was really impulsive and hot-blooded too.
NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...I arranged a meeting with Mrs. Gray here, but I came a little early.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Nele returns to her former place and sits down, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:I see, it must be about your termination. +Now that everyone's being processed, I guess it should be my turn soon.
NPC-Nele(5)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Hm, I haven't thought about where I'll be going next.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_Click_Keyboard</SE1>:Nele looks at him and while she keeps the conversation going, she quickly switches on her own computer.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Didn't Iverson mention a research institute in Bremen last time? Are you interested?
NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...Bremen's too far away... +I prefer Berlin.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Though her heart is pounding, Nele does her best to keep her expression perfectly neutral. After all, she needs to plug a hard disk in while Eicher is watching... +Save the evidence... She needs to save the evidence... 
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:But it shouldn't matter where you go since you're so young, right?
NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:I think being in Berlin will be more relaxing.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Fair enough, to each their own.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_keyboardtype_sci</SE1>:Beepbeepbeep... +Access granted... +Copying files... 
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Speaking of which, how many months of salary are you going to ask for?
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Oh, I... I haven't considered that question.
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Huh? Aren't you here to discuss your severance bonus?
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...What I mean is, I didn't think about asking for extra severance pay. +I'll take whatever Mrs. Gray gives me!
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:What?! If you don't ask about it, she'll only give you the minimum required amount in your contract! +Considering we all worked less than a year here, in theory it means we won't get much.
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Say what?! Less than a year...? So none of you have been working here for more than a year?
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:That's right. Iverson's been around the longest, but even he only joined last November.
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...Herr Eicher, when you joined the company, you knew what the research direction was, right?
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Of course.
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:But this institute has been around for years... What about our previous seniors?
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Well, I heard that their incompetence got them all... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Walk</SE1>:... 
()<Speaker>Eicher</Speaker>||:Ah, Mrs. Gray! +Nele, which room were you going to use for your meeting?
NPC-Nele(5)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The progress bar is at 87%... Nele is so tense that her face is turning red. +She slowly turns around... 
NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Mrs. Gray.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Gray is standing at the doorway. She narrows her eyes as she looks at Nele, and smiles.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>||:Eicher, would you mind stepping outside for a moment? I have something to discuss with Nele.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Door_Open_Close</SE1>:Eicher hurriedly nods and practically runs out of the room.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>||:It's been a while, Nele.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:As she looks at Gray's inscrutable smile, Nele works up her courage.
NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Mrs. Gray, the first time we met, you once told me... +Skills are secondary; morality is paramount.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(4)||:That's what we tell outsiders, but in the industry, people will only pay for your skills, and not your sense of ethics.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(4)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:You knew very well that Idunn couldn't be used for human trials after changing the research direction, right?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(4)||:It's true, I should have informed you earlier. I've already taken care of that refugee brain death incident. You won't be taking any of the blame.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(5)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...You once went to many refugee districts, where you conducted trials of Idunn.
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(5)||:It was all legal.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Even if Idunn passed the pharmacological trials, the fact is that for those suffering from ELID, its growth factors accelerate the spread of infected cells.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||<震屏3>:Mrs. Gray, this is murder!
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:No, this is salvation. +The only way to cure ELID is with the patient's own immunoproteins.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...But nobody has developed immunity so far!
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:Those people didn't make the grade. They were too weak. +Once we select for a satisfactory immunosome, we will have truly succeeded in developing the cure for ELID.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Does everyone in this lab approve of your madness?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:I thought you were a smart one. As long as the experiments succeed, your name will be in the history books.
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:And what about the people who died to make it happen?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>||:...Every advance in humankind's history has been accompanied by sacrifice. +It is the price that we must pay.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:To Nele, the fact that Gray can so casually utter the word "sacrifice" is both incredibly offensive and insulting.
NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...Who ARE you, Mrs. Gray?
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:... 
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Medicines were created because people couldn't just leave their sick friends for dead! +Humans aren't like wild beasts, they can't just abandon, slaughter and cannibalize their fellows who can't find food! That's why we help them to find medicine and ease their suffering!
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:... 
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:EVERYONE is weak in the face of illness. +And we will all become weak some day. +That's why we need to treat the development of every serum, every medicine with the utmost respect!
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||:... 
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:How could the woman standing before me be the same one who told me that before? +To think you could just dismiss people's pain and suffering as "sacrifice" so casually... "Old Pete" is still in St. Marien-Hospital right now, and my conscience is plagued day and night because of that. Mrs. Gray, how could you "take care" of that? How DID you "take care" of it, anyway?
NPC-MrsGray(0);NPC-Nele(7)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:Your heart once beat with compassion, Mrs. Gray. +But as you are now, I doubt you even have a heart... 
NPC-MrsGray(0)<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>;NPC-Nele(7)||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:...I don't have such a weakness, of course.
NPC-Nele(6)<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:?!
()||<黑点1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<黑点2><BIN>411</BIN><BGM>GF_EV9_Intermission</BGM>:A smile creeps across Gray's face. She is now buzzing with the excitement of a predator sighting prey.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Gray_Hand_Mech</SE1>:The stinger hidden behind her back slowly reveals itself, reaching out toward the impudent girl.
()<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:You... 
()<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>||:I can't believe this is where I slipped up... +We were short-handed back then, so I thought using someone with an empty CV like you wouldn't be a problem. +But it's plain to see there is nothing else for us to talk about, isn't that so?
()<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Gray smiles in amusement.
()<Speaker>Mrs. Gray</Speaker>||:Didn't you want to know who I was?
()<Speaker>Nele</Speaker>||:...I think I have a rough idea.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>129</BIN><黑屏2><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Mia approaches the bedroom, carrying a tray that is heaped with a much bigger helping of dinner than usual. She calls out in a coaxing voice.
APC556(3)<Speaker>Mia</Speaker><Position>0,120</Position>||:Nele, it's time to eat.
APC556(3)<Speaker>Mia</Speaker><Position>0,120</Position>||:...Please don't be mad, I stopped you from going for your own good. +Why don't we have dinner? I made pasta and your favorite cream of mushroom soup.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:There is no sound at all from behind the door. Nele still seems to be sulking. +Wait... no sound at all?
APC556(5)<Speaker>Mia</Speaker><Position>0,120</Position>||:...Nele?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Realizing that something is wrong, Mia puts the dinner tray on the nearby side table and fishes out her key to unlock the door.
APC556(2)<Speaker>Mia</Speaker><Position>0,120</Position>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Door_Open</SE1>:—Nele?!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:The window in the empty room is wide open. The curtains and bedsheets aren't in their original places; they have been tied into a rope which dangles outside the window.
APC556(2)<Speaker>Mia</Speaker><Position>0,120</Position>||:...N-Nele!!!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mia runs out of the room, and in her panic, she knocks the tray on the side table over.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_21Winter_OperatingDisc_Drop</SE1>:The sticky mushroom soup and the spaghetti bolognese spill onto the floor.
()||<黑屏1>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>82</BIN><黑屏2><BGM>m_avg_casual</BGM><SE1>AVG_21Winter_Close_Stool</SE1>:J slowly exits the bathroom in high spirits, even humming a tune.
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:... +...Urgh! Why are you still at the door?
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:You were in there for 36 minutes and 47 seconds, Agent J. Are you unwell?
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Please don't keep annoying records like that. +I simply spaced out in there because I didn't want to see you.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:But—
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_doorknock_wood</SE1>:Knock knock knock.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||<SE1>Select</SE1>:—!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Alarmed, Mona springs to her feet and tightens her grip on her gun, before turning to look at the doorway from which the knocking came.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:...An unsolicited visit. Please wait here, Agent J, I'll go get the door.
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Wait, that ought to be... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Door_Open_Close</SE1>:Mona ignores J's attempts to stop her and walks up to the door with her gun ready before carefully opening it.
RPK16(4)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:Hello~♪
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:W-what?!
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:As she sees the Doll outside, a yelp of surprise escapes the ever-calm Mona.
RPK16(4)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:May I come in?
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:W-wait!
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Please come in. +I invited her here.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:You invited— Agent J, what did you do in the bathroom?! +How did you contact her? Isn't this the missing member of Task Force DEFY?
RPK16(6)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:Please, Mr. J, you're skipping over too much. +I'm sorry, Miss, but in truth, I was the one who contacted Mr. J first.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:You... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mona eyes RPK-16 warily as she enters the house.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:...Why did you choose to suddenly show up now? Where did you go when that Soviet agent...When Miss Angelia disappeared?
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:I've already explained the details to Mr. J over the comm. +Simply put, when Ange was captured, I was outnumbered and alone, and could only operate in secret to verify the location where Ange was being held. +I originally wanted to contact the Commander, but I never got the chance.
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:I just received a set of coordinates leading to a certain Paradeus plant. Since Frau Silver Fox's investigation also points toward the same plant, I think we hit the jackpot this time... If nothing goes wrong, Ange is very likely to be there...Right?
RPK16(6)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:Indeed.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:...I still find it hard to believe. This is just too rash. +I'm sorry if this offends you, RPK-16, but I find your abrupt appearance rather dubious. At the very least, I should report this to Frau Romy before deciding what to do next.
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:I understand your concern, but I can't wait that long. +The battlefield is ever-changing, and if we miss this opportunity, there's no telling when we'll be able to find another clue to Ange's location.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:RPK-16 rummages in her tactical bag and pulls out a small object, then tosses it to J.
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:You've already given the coordinates to the Commander, haven't you? +If you can't make it, I don't mind going alone. As it happens, I can meet up with the Commander and the others by myself.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:J catches the object RPK-16 threw to him. It feels cool against his skin. +He slowly opens his hand. The sight of the object makes his eye twitch.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:"U"... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:It is a cufflink engraved with the letter "U".
NPC-Keven(5)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:...I'll go with you.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:Agent J?!
NPC-Keven(5)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Report it to whoever you want. That woman won't be stopping me even if she turns up in person.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:J clenches his fist and puts the cufflink on his own sleeve.
NPC-Keven(5)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:I've made up my mind to do this long ago. Even if I regret it now, there's no taking it back.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Wait, what do you mean by "no taking it back?"?
()<Speaker>Stasi Agent</Speaker>||<BGM>GF_21summer_avg_SecretAgent</BGM>:Boss! You home?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Crowd</SE1>:Another commotion comes from the doorway. Mona looks toward it and her jaw drops; there are over a dozen Stasi agents crowding around it.
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Did you really think I spent so long in the bathroom just to chat up Frau Silver Fox?
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:... 
()<Speaker>Stasi Agent</Speaker>||:Boss, this is everyone we could assemble. +We're with you, no matter where you go!
()<Speaker>Stasi Agent</Speaker>||:Yeah!
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:...What a surprise. +Turns out you're quite popular, Herr J.
NPC-Keven(5)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:Since we're all here, let's move out. +We've already fallen behind, we mustn't keep the Commander waiting.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:Wait... Please wait!
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:...Frau Silver Fox, could you keep Mona quiet for a bit?
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:I can do that, but I'm not going to take responsibility for it, you know?
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Mona stares at the hot-blooded mob and has no choice but to shrug in resignation.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:Alright, I understand. +I won't report this to Frau Romy for now. +But in exchange, I'm coming with you.
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:...Say what?
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:If you must go, then I'll go with you. +My mission is to keep an eye on you and I have to carry out my mission wherever you go.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:J looks at Mona, momentarily at a loss for words.
RPK16(0)<Speaker>RPK-16</Speaker>||:Won't an extra hand be better?
NPC-Keven(0)<Speaker>J</Speaker>||:...Whatever.
SP9(0)<Speaker>Mona</Speaker>||:... 
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Seeing as J is no longer objecting, Mona lets out a quiet sigh of relief. She turns and glances at RPK-16, who is still smiling warmly at them.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:...Perhaps it's just her imagination, but she has a bad feeling about this.
()||<黑屏1>: