Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 123: Meeting Nori (2)

The bodyguard handed her a space button and said, "Inside are two new model mechas. Please show your payment code, and I’ll transfer the funds immediately."

Yuka pocketed the space button and, seeing an extra digit in her account balance, knew that the one million astracredits had been deposited. She looked up at the man in the black suit and asked, "When can I get my answer?"

The bodyguard gestured for Yuka to lie in the holographic pod.

Once Yuka was inside, the man quietly left, locking the door and standing guard outside.

Inside the pod, Yuka slowly opened her eyes to see a laboratory with a chaotic yet ordered arrangement of various apparatuses, reflecting a strong personal style.

Recognizing the familiar layout, she raised an eyebrow.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Yuka slowly turned around.

Upon seeing the person behind her, she gritted her teeth and said, "Nori, is that really you?"

Nori, who still looked the same as when he left the Taira family, seemed untouched by the passage of time, his handsome face calm and composed.

His hands were casually tucked into the pockets of his white lab coat as he asked Yuka in a familiar, teasing tone, "What’s all the shouting for? Haven’t you grown up at all?"

Yuka couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

Yuka resisted the urge to argue with Nori and instead changed the subject to something lighter, asking, "Why are you here? Did you open this underground arena?"

"Of course, I’m here to answer your question," Nori looked at Yuka as if she was still the naïve kid. "I opened this arena in cooperation with the Alliance Army. Though they’re a bunch of fools, why wouldn’t I take the opportunity to freely collect various holographic human body data and get funding for my experiments?"

"Also," Nori continued disdainfully, "I heard from Hideki about your plan to clear my name. There’s no need. With your intelligence, taking on those people will be tough. And has being a fugitive affected my experiments? No. You don’t need to worry about me."

Yuka didn’t want to respond. She shouldn’t have bothered with this jerk, nor should she have cared about his life or death... They say a disaster always lasts a thousand years, and Nori, being such a calamity, would surely live a long life.

"Also, didn’t I tell you to act more ladylike? Look at the fuss you’ve caused on the interstellarnet, even becoming a candidate for Fleet Admiral. You’ve given the Alliance Army another reason to act against you," Nori frowned. "And what about the butler who’s always by your side? How is it taking care of you?"

The butler, hiding in Yuka’s mental realm, dared not speak.

"Huh," Yuka scoffed coldly, pressing her hands on the lab table and leaning close to Nori, staring into his face, "How about we settle the score now? You became my teacher without a teaching certificate, forcing me to attend UUA and study mecha specialization?"

"Do I really need a teaching certificate to prove my ability to teach?" Nori retorted confidently. "You being arranged to study was a trick by the General Fleet Admiral. Even if you hadn’t missed a single class of compulsory education before turning eighteen, they would have found a way to get you into UUA."

Yuka could hardly contain her urge to hit him.

"Ask your question quickly," Nori urged, glancing at his watch.

Yuka unclenched her fists and asked, "It’s the same question I’ve always wanted to ask. Why did I travel through time?"

Just as she finished speaking, the virtual laboratory they were in shook violently, with half of the space turning black and losing connection. A loud electrical noise filled the air, making Yuka frown and look towards Nori.

Nori stood still, looking very troubled, and said to Yuka, "The fools from the Alliance Army are here."

Nori pressed a button on his wristwatch, stabilizing their half of the laboratory, and quickly contacted Hideki. After completing these actions, he turned to Yuka and said, "Now that everyone is here, it’s time to tell you about the agreement."

"But before that, I need to answer your question." Nori’s expression turned serious. "Did you know? Cells are fascinating things—they have memory."

He continued, "The dean once led Humphrey and me in writing a paper titled ’Longevity, Humanity’s Eternal Pursuit: Research on Human Cells..’ Although the three of us collaborated on this paper, our research directions were actually different. The dean was interested in how human cells could promote health and longevity; Humphrey was more focused on longevity in general. Cells didn’t necessarily have to be human, which is why he later came up with the twisted idea of injecting human bodies with ’the Queen’s’ cells. My interest was in memory. With sufficiently precise instruments, I could extract the memories of a cell’s owner—"

"Including memories from a past life."

Yuka breathed lightly.

She remembered the paper on cells, the one she had bought earlier from the black market on Nori, sent to her by Kishi through Black One.

The photo in the paper showed three people - one was the dean, another was Nori, and now it seemed the third, whose face was unclear, was Humphrey.

"So," Yuka asked Nori, "what cell memories did you see?"

Nori replied, "The Queen’s, and yours. The Queen’s cells were taken from the specimen library of the research institute, and yours, I extracted from you with your consent."

"Right, you must know about the Gate," said Nori. "You floated out of it the second time it was opened. Back then, you were a ball of light, but with your own consciousness. Although not very intelligent, just like now, you had learned some interstellar languages. After communicating, you agreed to let me extract cells from you for research once you became human."

"Do you still have memories of your past life?" Nori asked Yuka. freёweɓnovel.com

Yuka, digesting this flood of information, nodded cautiously and said, "I remember."

She hadn’t forgotten a bit.