Fred was quiet, but Rhea's words resonated with him. After a moment, he cleared his throat and said, "What's your—"

"Rhea Moore," she replied proudly, puffing out her chest.

"The 'boss' has been dead for some time. That means you've had that thing for a while, too. Why have you only come to me now?" He suspected her motives. Rhea understood and said, "I didn't realize it at first, and I didn't know how to approach you. I was also detained by Alexander Russell and his gang."

"Alexander?" Fred stood, looking at her intently. "He and his gang?"

"Yes! Escaping took time, but I came straight to you. I know only you can give me what I want, and I'm the only one who can help you," Rhea stated confidently.

However, Fred was more concerned about something else. "How did you escape?" He knew Alexander's capabilities and doubted her ability to elude him.

"I...used a trick of mine," Rhea smiled mysteriously, lowering her head. "You don't need to know. Rest assured, they didn't send me as their spy. If you don't believe me, investigate. Thanks to them, my parents are arrested, and I've lost my home. Those bastards are my enemies!"

Fred nodded. "Well, I'll verify your story."

"So I can stay?" Rhea asked hopefully.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Fred cautioned. "I can offer you protection for now, but you must prove your worth. If you can't help me, there's no point in keeping you."

"Don't worry, I'll show you what I can do. You'll soon see I'm better than Lily!"

"Lily?" Fred wasn't surprised she knew about Lily; Rhea had worked in the laboratory for a long time. He smiled knowingly. "I guess we'll see about that. Anyway, what the hell is R20?" He'd never heard of the codename. He knew nearly every experiment and codename, but it stopped at R18 due to various incidents. The existence of R20 shocked him.

"It's a codename I devised, following the sequence," Rhea chuckled. "If you don't like it, we can change it."

"It doesn't matter. I just want to know what it does." Fred scrutinized Rhea. She knew gaining his trust was crucial; she couldn't stay if he suspected her.