Night fell as silently as the dark corridors of the abandoned building located on the border of Jakarta and Bekasi. No one would have suspected that within its wallsy aboratory operating with sophisticated facilities.


    Footsteps echoed along with the swing of a shlight beam from the building’s guard. A bespectacled man in a neatly tailored suit walked alongside the guard toward a secret door on the third floor.Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    “New cologne, sir?” the guard casually remarked, knowing today was payday. If only his boss wasn’t in a bad mood, his sry might not be dyed. The stout man in his early fifties didn’t want his family to suffer hunger like African children.


    Nevertheless, his sry had to be paid today.


    “Hmm. Can you smell it?” replied the boss, starting to remove his sunsses. The area was sufficiently dark, and the eyes of uninvited guests were unlikely to prate the double security of this mysterious building.


    The man reverted to his true identity and discarded his disguise.


    “The scent is pleasant, sir. Seems like an expensive perfume, isn’t it?” the guard asked with a suspicious smile. But, of course, the boss understood his subordinate’s intent.


    “Check your ount. Amber has transferred it,” he said, avoiding small talk. He was very busy.


    “Wow! Mr. Seno is so generous!” eximed the guard with joy. He was thrilled that his sry, along with the sweet-mouthed bonus, was valued at several million by the boss who had a secret job below. Whatever it was, he didn’t want to know anything except that his sry was paid on time.


    ***


    Seno arrived at the third floor. Security became tighter there. A lift with a retina scanner greeted him before he could step into the 3×2-meter room.


    As the green sensor blinked and the retina scan verified that Seno was the one attempting to enter the lift, the door opened automatically. Seno immediately pressed the B button, and in an instant, the control lever sank downwards, lowering the lift to the basement.


    Seno could feel a gentle vibration as the lift began to descend. The atmosphere inside the lift was cold and silent, with only the faint sound of the lift mechanism escorting Seno into his secretive world.


    “They should have developed the antidote by now! Damn it!” Seno grumbled.


    Lately, all his ns had been disrupted because of his bad mood. Seno couldn’t control his emotions to finish the secret project of testing the illegal drug he was working on.


    Actually, many scientists could work on autopilot, but Seno’s will was also an important consideration they had to fulfill for the sess of this drug.


    “Damn! Useless women!”


    Seno cursed all the women he had encountered in his life, especially… Mahya! He was so curious and wanted to taste Mahya’s scent, at least once in his lifetime. Seno was very intrigued by her.


    When the lift door opened on the basement level, Seno was faced with a long corridor with concrete walls on both sides. Neon lights on the ceiling provided sufficient illumination. Seno stepped out of the lift and walked along the seemingly endless corridor.


    After a few steps, Seno arrived at a thick metal door that seemed to have no conventional handle or key. Next to the door was an electronic control panel with a touch screen emitting a soft blue light.


    Seno nced around before pressing several codebinations on the touch screen. The metal door slowly opened, revealing the sophisticatedboratory inside.


    “Phew…”


    Seno sighed deeply after sessfully entering the security code with various follow-up questions known only to him. Shortly after, the door opened with bright light emanating from the clean white room inside.


    The atmosphere of theboratory immediately became apparent, with its distinctive aroma and serene, entrancing ambiance. LED lights gave a futuristic and cold vibe, as if Seno had entered a different world from the old dim building before.


    “Wee, Boss!” A bald man in a white suit rushed to shake Seno’s hand as he entered theb. He had juste out of the administrative room, not far from the research room.


    The cold atmosphere and the sound of monitors and machine whispers were audible. Seno’s mood was somewhatforted by the orderliness there.


    “How’s the progress?” he asked after receiving a spray of disinfectant over his body. The hazmat suit and essories made Seno and theb environment protected, including the bald man.


    “It’s still in development, Boss,” the bald man replied, trembling. For three weeks now, those were the only words he could utter. Seno was obviously furious.


    “When will it be done?” he impatiently snapped. However, the bald man seemed unable to provide certainty. “It’s… still in progress.”


    “Silence!”


    Seno was tired of the irresponsible statements. “Where is the head responsible?” Seno asked, scanning the researchers working there. They fell silent as Seno seemed about to erupt like a volcano toward them.


    “Doctor Hanung is in the cultivation area, Boss,” the bald man pointed to another room across the ss room they were upying.


    “Huh! Watch out!”


    Seno growled before heading to the cultivation room. The bald man once again only followed as before, and they finally entered the cultivation room as Seno nned.


    Dr. Hanung, in his whiteboratory uniform, was already waiting in his room filled with sophisticated equipment and monitor screens disyingplex data. He weed Seno with a warm smile.


    “Wee, Boss. Is there anything I can assist you with?” Dr. Hanung asked, offering a seat. He had just finished checking the nts and was currently writing a report for the next sample testing phase.


    Some time ago, the extraction sample of the herbal nt poison had failed. Hopefully, this time their research could yield the expected results.


    “Assist me with what! How’s the progress? I can’t wait any longer!” Seno yelled, refusing to sit in the designated chair.


    Dr. Hanung smiled bitterly, feeling unable to meet the deadline given by his employer. “It’s quite difficult,” he sighed. But, of course, he wouldn’t give up easily.


    “When will it seed? Hhhh! So useless!”


    Seno cursed angrily, imagining all theplications and failures that had urred in this secret project. Dr. Hanung tried to exin some technical details, but Seno refused to listen to any exnations.


    “However it takes! This research must seed!” he shouted without wanting to hear any further exnation from the doctor.


    Dr. Hanung sighed deeply. Indeed, these repeated failures were frustrating. But… he could only wait for a miracle.


    “Give me one more chance, Boss….”


    Suddenly, the monitor screen in the room flickered, catching Seno and Dr. Hanung’s attention immediately. Both of them stared at the screen in amazement as the data disyed something extraordinary.


    “What’s this?” Seno asked, his eyes widening as he saw graphs and figures showing a significant change in the development of this secret project.


    Dr. Hanung quickly checked the data. His smile immediately widened. The awaited moment had arrived.


    “This is amazing, Boss! It seems there’s a major breakthrough in chemical reactions and nt processing. We might…”


    Seno didn’t listen further. His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. He felt a new hope for this project. Without a word, Seno left the room and headed to the ss room overlooking the cultivation area.


    There, the exotic


    nts being tested were growing healthily. The UV exposure gave a special shine to their colorful leaves. This sess looked very promising.


    “I will soon conquer the world… with your help, Dlopa!”