"The pill formula hasn't been completed yet, Dr. Choi!" Fei Qinyue's voice echoed through the narrow corridor of the laboratory, her tone sharp with urgency. Her fair-skinned face flushed as she raced after the man. The faint hum of machinery buzzed in the background, but all her focus was on him.
"If you take it like this, it could lead to disastrous consequences! Rather than save lives, it will take them!"
Dr. Choi's pace quickened, his polished shoes clicking against the pristine tiles. The middle-aged man—stoic and usually composed—looked agitated, his eyes darting between the path ahead and the metal briefcase in his hands. His lab coat swung wildly as he turned a corner.
"You've spent years on this, Fei Qinyue," he snapped over his shoulder, his voice heavy with irritation. "You've delayed it enough! Do you realize how much this formula is worth? How many people want it? This isn't about perfection anymore—it's about power and opportunity!"
Her steps faltered briefly at his words, but she pushed forward, her hands tightening into fists. "Opportunity?" she repeated, her tone laced with disbelief. "Is that what this is to you? A shortcut to wealth and influence? What about the risks? The lives it could destroy if it's used in this state? It's unstable! It's..it's poison"
Dr. Choi spun around suddenly, stopping in the middle of the hallway. His sharp gaze met hers, his features twisting into a scowl. "You don't understand how the world works, Fei Qinyue. The formula doesn't need to be perfect—it just needs to be profitable."
Her stomach churned at his words. For years, she had worked alongside him, believing he shared her ideals: to save lives, to use science for good. But now, it was clear—he had been waiting for the moment he could sell her research to the highest bidder.
She shook her head, taking a step closer. "You're wrong," she said firmly. "I won't let you take it. That formula is dangerous. If you sell it in its current state, the blood of countless innocent lives will be on your hands."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Dr. Choi smirked, his fingers tightening around the handle of the briefcase. "Stop me?"
The two stood frozen for a moment, locked in a silent standoff. Then, without another word, he turned and ran.
Panic surged through Fei Qinyue. The last chemical needed to stabilize the pill was still in her laboratory. Without it, the formula in that briefcase was no better than poison.
"You won't get away with this!" she yelled, sprinting after him.
Her voice echoed down the hall, but before she could reach him, a deafening crash shook the entire building.
The tremor knocked Fei Qinyue off balance, but she quickly steadied herself against the wall. A loud, roaring explosion echoed through the halls, and the air suddenly grew hot, thick with the acrid scent of burning chemicals.
Boom!
Boom!
Dr. Choi stumbled, turning back briefly, his face twisted in fear. "What the—?"
Before he could finish, a second blast resounded from deeper within the building, sending shockwaves rippling through the corridor.
Glass shattered, and fire began to pour in from the edges of the walls, racing down the hallway like a living creature.
Fei Qinyue froze in place, her heart pounding as the flames surged toward them.
"Run!" she shouted, but her voice was lost in the deafening roar of destruction.
She forced herself forward, her eyes locked on Dr. Choi. He wasn't moving—just standing there, paralyzed as the fire drew closer.
And then she saw it.
Amid the chaos, a figure appeared, standing at the far end of the hallway, bathed in the flickering light of the flames. They were cloaked in shadow, their face masked, but there was no mistaking the malice in their stance.
Fei Qinyue's breath caught. That figure…
They weren't here to help.
The figure stepped forward, slow and deliberate, as if savoring the chaos. They tilted their head, mocking her even without words, and the faint sound of laughter echoed faintly in the corridor.
Dr. Choi finally snapped out of his stupor and bolted toward the exit, abandoning the briefcase on the floor. Fei Qinyue made a desperate move to grab it, but the fire was too close now. She flinched as the heat licked at her arms.
"You!" she shouted at the figure, her voice hoarse and trembling. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
But there was no response—only that mocking presence, and the silent promise of destruction.
Fei Qinyue clenched her fists, her teeth gritting in fury. This wasn't just an accident. Someone had planned this. Someone had set her up.
And as the flames consumed the lab, the realization settled in her heart: she had been betrayed.
Her vision blurred as the heat became unbearable, her body growing weaker with each breath. But before she lost consciousness, she made a vow—a silent, unshakable promise.
I'll come back…
And when I do, you'll pay for this…
When Fei Qinyue opened her eyes, there was nothing but darkness.
She couldn't feel her body—no weight, no pain, no heat from the flames that had swallowed her whole. The suffocating heat of the explosion had vanished, replaced by an endless, bone-chilling cold.
"Am I… dead?" Her voice echoed around her, but it sounded distant, as if it didn't belong to her at all.
Memories flashed through her mind: the explosion, the roaring fire, the mocking figure in the hallway, and Dr. Choi's panicked face. Anger boiled within her at the thought of the betrayal. He had left her to die, and that figure—whoever it was—had orchestrated everything.
As her fury simmered, the darkness around her began to shift, curling and swirling like smoke. A faint light appeared in the distance, faint and flickering, like a candle struggling against the wind.
The light grew closer, pulling her toward it. She didn't move—she didn't think she could—but the void seemed to fold in on itself, dragging her forward.
"No," she whispered, fear creeping into her voice. "I don't want to disappear. Not yet."
Her vow echoed in her mind, clear and unrelenting: I will come back. I will find them. I will make them pay.
But the light had swallowed her whole.