Dr. Lupo became incredibly intrigued by the Intelligence Candies that Ves handed out.
"I have to bring these candies to my lab right this instant!"
Ves shook his head. "No. Eat them up. You're not leaving this office until you've consumed them all."
"That is an immense waste! These candies are too exceptional!"
In the end, Ves had to call Nitaa over to restrain the exobiologist and force the candies into his mouth one by one.
Lupo looked incredibly resentful afterwards. How could those precious candies be wasted without giving him the opportunity to study their properties?!
"Do you have more of these candies?!" He pushed.
Ves did not mind the lack of respect. In fact, he preferred it if his subordinates were blunt. Lupo wasn't being disrespectful on purpose. He just expressed his dissatisfaction at missing an opportunity related to his specialty.
As a mech designer, Ves understood Dr. Lupo's frustration. That did not mean that he was willing to give the doctor another candy for him to play around.
Attribute Candies were some of the most important advantages he possessed. Ves was not interested in figuring out their makeup or reverse-engineering their method of production.
With how hard it was to keep secrets, Ves was very sure that once Dr. Lupo began to study the candies, someone would eventually find out.
Perhaps the MTA would pay a visit to him the very next day!
To minimize the risks, Ves could only deny Lupo's request.
The exobiologist already had a busy schedule. Even with his abruptly-boosted intelligence, he still needed to do a lot of research and investigation in order to complete his assignments!
"You don't look so good now, doctor. I suggest you take some time off and think on how you can fulfill your responsibilities."
"I.. you're right." Lupo wearily replied. "Please excuse me. My head is pounding."
Unlike with Ketis, the candies hadn't strained Lupo's head too much. Perhaps it was because Lupo was a pure intellectual with a better-developed mind. He required fewer candies to boost his intelligence attribute to 2.0.
Ves called over a guard to escort Lupo back to his accommodation at the newly-erected site of the Larkinson Exobiology Institute.
As he was watching his eccentric new subordinate go, Ves contemplated whether he was making the right decisions.
He knew that he was taking some very substantial risks.
First, entrusting Dr. Lupo with the Archimedes Rubal was very delicate. Even if he already ordered Crindon to keep a close eye on Lupo, a spy was not an exobiologist.
Lupo could easily tamper with the implant and leave no one observing Lupo's actions the wiser.
The only ones who might be able to restrain Lupo was another biotech expert, but that just perpetuated the same problem over multiple people.
At this stage, putting his trust on a single exobiologist in his employ was his limit. There was no way Ves would accept extending his trust to yet another specialist.
The downside of piling up so much work on a single person was that there was no way Lupo could address so many priorities.
This was why Ves took a second gamble and fed this fellow with enough intelligence candies to boost it all the way up to a score of 2.0!
Ves knew the risks of doing so. Someone as knowledgeable as Lupo would definitely be aware of the effects of the candies.
He could only hope that Lupo could keep the secret to himself. As long as Crindon detected anything amiss, Lupo would not be able to stay alive for long.
"I expect good results from you, doctor." Ves smiled in anticipation.
Anyone whose intelligence had been elevated to this height would definitely be able to improve quickly. Lupo would definitely become much more useful to him after a few years of focused study.
The only concern aside from leaks was the possibility that Lupo might quit and work for someone else. He wasn���t a slave or refugee, so Ves did not have any way of preventing his defection.
After the incident with Carlos, Ves had become much more reticent about handing out attribute candies.
If not for the necessity to implant the Archimedes Rubal in his head, Ves would have stuck to his earlier decision to withhold them from his subordinates.
"I hope Lupo is smart enough to realize the implications of my actions." Ves muttered.
Revealing the attribute candies and feeding them to Lupo so he could experience their effects for himself was a show of strength.
Someone who had access to such remarkable goods was not a normal person.
Working for Ves would allow Lupo to gradually come in touch with the goodies that Ves held back from everyone.
As long as Lupo completed his assignments and proved his worth, Ves did not mind rewarding his pet exobiologist with another treat.
"Researchers are so easy to manipulate." He grinned.
Part of the reason why he was confident in keeping his new biotech expert in line was because hardly anyone was as generous as him. To a junior exobiologist like Dr. Lupo, they could forget about receiving a few billion bright credits to play around with every year.
Even though Ves wasted a lot of money that he could have spent on expanding his mech forces or acquiring new ships, he did not regret this investment.
A brilliant exobiologist could not be obtained so easily. Even if Ves could poach a senior exobiologist, it was very hard to be assured of the loyalty of those with past connections to other organizations.
This was also why so many powers emphasized nurturing loyal subordinates early on. Hiring them young and indoctrinating them straight away minimized the chances of defection.
"Working for me is a lot better than working for someone else."
If Lupo worked for someone else, then they had to work under the direction of a senior exobiologist. He would have to work as a coolie for a few years before he earned enough trust to perform more advanced research.
Even then, it was doubtful whether Lupo would be allowed to pursue his own research interests.
Ves shook his head and stopped considering whether he had made the right decisions. Just like Dr. Lupo, he was swamped with responsibilities.
"Send in the next appointment."
Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson entered the office with a confident gait. Though he looked a little older since Ves last saw him at his birthday party, the elder looked a lot more respectful than before.
"My thanks for inviting me to your office." Raymond said with a mild smile. "I hope I can take charge of the LMC quickly. The company urgently requires the direction of a real leader."