Chapter 31

The laboratory was a sterile, cold expanse of white walls and steel countertops. Rows of beakers, test tubes, and glass cylinders lined the shelves, each filled with various neon-colored liquids. The scent of chemicals, a mix of acid and burnt plastic, lingered in the air. The faint hum of fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting pale illumination across the room. Machines beeped intermittently, indicating processes running in the background—calculations, synthesizing compounds, monitoring experiments that had yet to yield any results. The entire space felt lifeless, devoid of warmth, as if the walls themselves had grown weary of the experiments conducted within them.

Among the rows of equipment, a man stood hunched over a workstation, his blonde hair disheveled and unkempt. He adjusted his glasses with one hand while the other scribbled frantic notes onto a clipboard. His fingers, stained with the residue of chemicals, trembled slightly as he worked.