"I'm worried the others might get suspicious," Rhea murmured, holding the phone.

Fred dismissed her concerns. "If he can't even answer your call, we might as well cut him loose. Call him while I'm still interested, got it?"

Rhea realized Fred only cared about R10; everything else was secondary. She'd always tried to impress him with her achievements, but she now understood nothing mattered to him as much as R10.

She didn't think much of R10 herself, but Fred was the boss. She called Mike; after several rings, he answered groggily, "Hello?"

"Mike, you called me," Rhea said, watching Fred's expression.

"Huh? Oh, I called this afternoon," Mike replied, apparently forgetting.

"You called many times. Something urgent? Did you secure the invisibility potion formula?" The call was on speakerphone; Fred could hear.

Though silent, Rhea sensed Fred's satisfaction, at least for the moment.

"Rhea, do you know what time it is?" Mike grumbled. "Don't you need to sleep?"

"I was busy and missed your calls," Rhea said seriously. "Now, tell me. Did you get the invisibility potion formula? You wouldn't have called so many times otherwise."

Fred frowned, and Rhea's nervousness intensified; her palms grew sweaty. She feared Mike would say something compromising.

Mike sighed. "Yes, I secured the formula, but I'm not sure it'll work. Are you sure you want it?"

"What do you mean? Don't they have data to confirm it works?" Rhea asked, puzzled.

"I have no idea," Mike said defensively. "As you know, I'm not a scientist. I only know they analyzed the ingredients, and I went to great lengths to get the formula. I wouldn't risk verifying it—they could have caught me."

Fred's expression remained unchanged; Mike sounded reasonable. "Then send me the formula. Let me take a look."

"That... might be difficult," Mike hesitated. "Could I deliver it in person?"

Rhea was stunned. She saw Fred's suspicious gaze.

Fearful, she quickly said, "Why? It's inconvenient for you to come here. Why can't you just send it to my phone?"