BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
The sound of beeping was the first thing to reach Declan’s ears, and it wasn’t soothing at all.
If anything, it was a haunting melody that kept him from finding any real peace in the darkness surrounding him.
He wanted nothing more than to shut the damn thing off, and eventually, it was so annoying that it gave him enough energy to snap his eyes open.
Before him was again, darkness, illuminated only by bizarre green motes of light hovering around.
They provided enough light for him to make out the shape of a desk with several display monitors sat against one side, while another was cluttered with test tubes, syringes, and various pieces of equipment.
In a way, his point of view felt strangely elevated, as though he were looking down at the room from above.
He turned to look at himself and soon realized why.
He was inside a massive glass tube, also filled to the brim with glowing green liquid.
A large mask covered his face, allowing him to breathe without drowning in the liquid.
He tried moving his hands, but it was almost impossible.
A chain had been fastened inside the glass chamber, keeping both arms separated, while an iron clamp held his ankles together.
’Oh, great. This is really great. I escaped that dangerous forest just to become a lab rat?!’
Declan stared in disbelief at his own terrible luck.
CREAAAK!
A creaking noise reached his ears, and his eyes immediately shifted toward the far end of the laboratory.
A metallic door stood there, its knob currently being twisted.
It opened and someone stepped inside, initially hidden by the darkness.
The figure continued forward until reaching the desk where the monitors were positioned.
Quickly typing something into the keyboard, paused as though confirming the information on the screen, then stood and walked toward Declan’s glass tube.
As the green glow of the liquid illuminated their features, Declan could finally make out the who it was:
It was a woman dressed very sharply.
A dark blouse was tucked neatly into an equally dark short skirt, with tight pants covering her legs, while a long black coat hung over her shoulders, its collar trimmed with crimson fur.
Yet Declan’s attention quickly fixated on the sword at her side, its blade hidden beneath the coat.
Her long, dark hair spilled over her shoulders and cascaded down her back.
She was a truly beautiful woman, staggeringly so, yet her face was cold...Frigidly cold.
Her eyes were a deep crimson, devoid of even the slightest hint of emotion.
She reached into her coat and pulled out a crimson cigarette case.
Taking one cigarette, she slipped it between her red lips.
PSSSH!
CLING!
A lighter snapped open, and flames briefly danced over the tip of the cigarette before she flicked the lighter shut and slid it back into her coat.
She inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
And right then, Declan saw something unexpected:
Her cold expression thawed.
For the briefest moment, a hint of relief flashed across her otherwise cold features before her crimson eyes settled on him.
"You shouldn’t have lived."
Those were her first words, and they cut through the silence like a blade, making no echo.
"The force of the bomb colliding with that pod should have been enough to turn an ordinary man into mush."
"Yet all you suffered were a few scratches from the panels and several broken bones."
She paused to take another drag from her cigarette.
"Then you were impaled straight through the stomach, with your liver and kidney skewered into mush. That should have been enough to seal your fate."
She exhaled slowly.
"But you survived once again."
Declan didn’t say a single thing.
"This serum I’ve placed you in is a Grade X Healing Serum, quite above average, but healing someone as severely injured as you back to their original condition, including regenerating entire organs, should have taken at least forty-eight hours."
"Yet you’ve already completely healed after only eight hours. That level of regeneration should only be possible for Nexians, but according to the scan, you don’t have a single Nexian Seed or Heart implanted in you, nor have you ever been injected with Bionic Fluid."
She took another inhale of the cigaratte.
"By every measurement, you’re as ordinary as ordinary can be."
"And yet..."
Her crimson eyes glinted sharply, as she slowly raised them to look straight at Declan.
"...we both know that isn’t true, don’t we?"
Declan remained silent, simply staring at her.
"Whatever you have in you that makes you such a monster of an ordinary human...is very special."
"So special that those bastard organizations would pay billions to get their hands on it."
She paused.
"And I bet they wouldn’t mind splitting your brain into countless pieces just to find out exactly what is it with you."
"Selling you out would put at least a few hundred million in my pocket...not bad money, right?"
The amount was staggering, but Declan knew she wasn’t exaggerating.
There were Mech Designs that cost hundreds of millions.
But this?
The secret of how an ordinary human could rival a Nexian without Bionic Fluid or a Nexian implant?
That would be a world-shaking discovery.
Those organizations would have no problem spending billions to obtain it and keeping the secret for themselves.
Yet as Declan looked at the woman and those soulless crimson eyes, he didn’t think she was particularly impressed by the money.
"I have no need for money,"
She said in that moment, almost like she could read his mind.
"Nor am I interested in your little secret."
"Then what do you want?"
Declan finally spoke,
"What I do want..."
She murmured, taking another drag from her cigarette before exhaling a long stream of smoke.
"...is for you to work for me."
Declan’s brows arched.
"If you do, your secret stays safe. Even from those who are itching to rip you into pieces right now, say...the Mechnoheart Organization."
"In short, I’ll protect your secret...and your life."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"So, what do you say?"