ra stood just outside, holding her breath as she listened in. She''d seen the blood beneath the little girl earlier and assumed something horrible had happened to her. She''d even started thinking about scavenging some medicine, hoping that maybe, if she could, she''d help her escapeter.


    But now, it was clear: that sweet-faced Ling was faking it, ying the helpless victim to win sympathy-then turning on anyone who let down their guard.


    The whole factory was in chaos, everyone on the hunt for Charles and ra.


    ra hid out until almost dawn, her brows knit with worry as she searched the edges of thepound for a ce toy low. There was nowhere to go. Every hiding spot was either upied or too risky.


    Suddenly, she remembered someone mentioning that higher-ups would be patrolling soon.


    She ducked into a shadowy corner and waited. Sure enough, a tall man in a mask came down the hallway, nked by two others in identical masks.


    The tall man was led through a door, while the other two stayed outside, standing guard.


    ra hurried to find Charles. When their eyes met, they didn''t need to speak— they both knew what to do.


    They took out the two guards quickly and slipped into their uniforms, then stationed themselves by the door, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.


    The leader stayed inside for about half an hour. When he finally came out, he walked straight ahead without saying a word.


    ra and Charles followed. After a few steps, the man stopped suddenly and nced back at them. ra''s heart jumped. Had they been found out? But he just looked at them for a second, then kept moving.


    ra could feel cold sweat running down her back as they followed him, passing throughyer afteryer of security cameras, until they finally reached the top floor.


    Rumor had it only the top brass lived up here.


    A woman with striking features sauntered over to the masked man, a teasing smile on her lips. "Jules, are you happy with this batch of test subjects?"


    He nodded. "Yes."


    She slipped her arm around his, leaning in close. "That''s good. So, how many do you want this time? Our boss has the perfect specimen right now, but the price... well, you know how it is."


    Before she could finish, a side door swung open and a man in his fifties stepped out.


    "Mei, don''t talk about money. It just kills the vibe," he said with a rxed smile. "Jules has been working with us for years. Money''s nothing between friends. No need to ruin the mood."


    He might have been older, but he looked tough-there was a deep scar across his neck, like someone had once tried to cut his head clean off Clearly, he''d survived more than his share of close calls.  s


    He sat down in a chair, and Mei came over to rub his shoulders.


    "Boss, this specimen grew up on meds. She''s basically a wild animal now-doesn''t feel pain, fights like a pro. If we let her out, she''d wipe the floor with any assassin out there. People have already offered three ed three billion for her. Are you seriously


    going to let Jules haggle the price down?"  s


    The man with the scar just smiled. "This time, we''ve got another top-tier candidate, but things are a littleplicated. Old Mr. Ferguson from the Ferguson family dropped the kid off and told me hot to touch him didn''t have to worry about the Fergusons in North America, I would''ve started the experiments already. With his genes, the results would blow everything else we''ve done out of the water."  s


    "Boss, the old man already promised-if we keep the kid safe for six months, we''ll


    get the chance to open up shop in North America. We have to keep him safe."<fnaba8> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? Find[?]ovel</fnaba8>