Huo Ning swallowed hard, then began in a soft voice.
She said in a hesitant voice,
"The institute… they were researchers, scientists, people who called themselves doctors. They told us they were trying to 'fix' us, that we were special."
Su Jiyai's eyes narrowed. "Special?"
Huo Ning nodded.
"They said we were born different, and that's why the world outside rejected us.
They told us they could make us stronger, give us powers, so we could survive in the apocalypse better than anyone else."
There was bitterness in her voice as if she now understood the lies that had been fed to her.
"What did the place look like?" Su Jiyai pressed on gently.
Huo Ning's eyes grew distant as she recalled the memories.
"It was… cold. Everything was white and sterile, like a hospital but worse. No windows, just endless hallways with locked doors.
