Alexia stared down the empty corridor, a chill crawling up her neck. She had heard someone call her "Acacia," a name she had discarded, a past she had killed. For so long, she had believed she waspletely severed from who she used to be, but hearing that name, the one that had defined her for over twenty years, she had reacted instinctively.


    "Ms. Alexia!" A man who looked like the hospital director approached with two nurses, smiling obsequiously. "The next batch of medication is ready. Shall we administer it to the test subjects today?"


    "How many times do I have to tell you? They''re patients, not test subjects," Alexia snapped, ring at him. "You make us sound so cruel."


    "Haha, you''re right, of course!"


    "By the way," Alexia asked, "did you see anyone suspicious on your way here?"


    The three of them exchanged confused nces. "Suspicious? No. Security here is pretty tight. It''s unlikely anyone could have snuck in."


    Alexia sneered. "This is Elmsworth, not Country M. We can''t be too careful."


    Elsewhere in the hospital, Hans had also arrived on assignment. As he walked down a corridor, two orderlies passed him, pushing a gurney. Hans paid them no mind until he heard a weak voice from the gurney call out to him.


    "Brother... help me... please..."


    He nced down dispassionately. The girl on the gurney was pale as death, her body convulsing. Her thin arms, exposed from under the white sheet, were covered in a grotesque pattern of blue and purple needle marks. His pupils contracted, and he stopped in his tracks. The girl''s eyes were filled with tears as she looked at him in agony.


    Hans had seen more than his share of death, but the look in this girl''s eyes struck a blow to his cold, numb soul.


    Finally, the girl, her face a mask of despair, was wheeled away.


    Hans grabbed one of the orderlies. "She''s still alive," he stated, his voice low.


    "Not for long. Ms. Alexia told us to dispose of her."


    Hans''s brow furrowed, his voice hoarse. "Was it the illness?"


    "The clinical trial failed," the orderly replied, his indifference chilling. "But even if it hadn''t she was terminally ill. She was going to die sooner orter. This way, she''s just out of her misery."


    *Out of her misery?*


    Hans clenched his


    his fists, the veins on the back of his hands mirroring the tight knot in his chest. He knew he was no saint, but the casual cruelty of some people still managed to shatter what was left of his moralpass.  s?novel


    Just then, Alexia walked up to him. "I have to go see Sir. You''re in charge of


    watching the man tonight. Those are your orders."


    Hans stared at her, his expression dark, but he said nothing.


    Suddenly, a male nurse ran up to them, clutching his neck. "Ms. Alexia... I was attacked!"


    Alexia froze. "What happened?"


    "I stepped out for a smoke this afternoon, and someone attacked me from behind. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the bushes, nearly frozen to death!" the man said, his lips blue from the cold.


    Hans''s expression remained unchanged, but a flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes.<fne152> Chapters first released on fι?dnοvel</fne152>


    "What did they look like?!" Alexia demanded.


    "I... I didn''t see..."


    "Useless!"


    "But... I think... it was a woman!"


    A strange light flickered in Hans''s dark eyes. A woman, sneaking into this ce? She had guts. Sir''s orders were clear: anyone who trespassed was to be eliminated on sight.


    "And... my ess card is gone! She must have taken it!"


    Alexia''s heart pounded. The voice calling her old name... maybe it hadn''t been her imagination. A cold sweat broke out on her back. She turned to Hans "I have to go see Sir now. I want you to check every inch of the security footage. Find out who has a death wish, and report back to me and Sir immediately."