Nick greeted the Section Chief with a nod and gave a friendly nod to the two colleagues standing nearby.


    The Section Chief nced at his watch and cut straight to the chase, handing Nick a data sheet. "So, Mirabe, you knowb number three recently developed a new drug, right? It''s already in human trials, and two out of the first group of subjects have had some adverse reactions..."


    He paused, his expression growing serious. "Lab three ns to conduct a detailed examination on the subjects, and our department needs to assist. With your background at the T5 Research Institute overseas, you''re the best person to lead this surgery."


    Nick furrowed his brow. Hadn''t he destroyed that batch of drugs himself? How were they still around?


    Just then, the Section Chief''s phone rang. He turned to answer it, cutting off any response from Nick.


    "Manuel''s pushing us to get moving, let''s head over," the Section Chief said, hanging up and heading to the door.


    Nick was still caught up in his thoughts about the drugs and didn''t move until a colleague''s pat on his shoulder snapped him back.


    "Nick?" the colleague said, scrutinizing him a bit. "You look a bit off."


    Nick managed a small smile. "Probably just jetg from the long flight."


    "You sure you''re good for the surgeryter?" the colleague asked with concern.


    Nick hesitated briefly before shaking his head. "Should be alright."


    "d to hear it. I reckon the surgery''s gonna take a while," the colleague muttered, walking ahead.


    Nick pressed a hand to his chest, feeling a dull ache that had started in the car. He kept pace with his colleague.


    "Oh, while you were away at the conference, something big happened here. A bunch of valuable research data got stolen. It was a massive hit," the colleague shared, sounding a bit like he was sharing a juicy piece of gossip.  swnovel


    Nick looked up, surprise crossing his features briefly. He recalled the person who had helped him escape that night. Could it have been them?


    "Isn''t security here supposed to be tight?" Nick asked, puzzled. "How did a theft happen?"


    "Probably an inside job," the


    colleague shrugged. "No one else could''ve pulled it off. Lucky you were


    at the conference abroad e


    be caught up in the mess."  swnovel


    Nick''s expression shifted slightly. "What do you mean?"


    "On the night of the break-in, a colleague had a run-in with the intruder. They matched six people here by height and build," the colleague exined.


    Nick quickly put two and two together. "So, I''m one of the six, huh?"


    "Yep," the colleague nodded. "That''s why I said you were lucky to be away. The


    other five are still locked up, likely having a rough time."


    Nick fell silent, fully grasping the seriousness of the situation. Research data, the culmination of countless hours of work, held immense value. If it got into the wrong hands, the repercussions could be catastrophic.  swnovel


    And those five researchers? Their ordeal was likely far worse than just having a "rough time."