CHAPTER 126: IS HE DEAD?

"""Trigger Warning:""""""""This Chapter contains intense and potentially triggering material. It may include themes and situations that some readers could find disturbing or emotionally difficult. Please read with care, and prioritize your well-being—take breaks if needed or skip this section entirely if you feel uncomfortable.""""""

Inside, nestled in a padded slot, was a small vial filled with a transparent liquid that shimmered faintly under the sterile lights.

Her lips curved into a smirk as she picked it up, eyes sparkling with a disturbing mix of pride and anticipation.

"This is the newest serum," she said, her voice cool and confident. "Coded and perfected by our team. An upgraded version of the last formula."

She handed it to the attendant. Without hesitation, he drew the liquid into a syringe and injected it into the patient whose heartbeat had nearly flatlined.

Hunter held his breath.

Within seconds, the monitor changed—flatlining was replaced by a surge of rapid beeping.

The heartbeat raced faster and faster, unnaturally strong. The subject’s chest heaved, his breathing ragged.

Then—suddenly—it stopped. The monitor went dead still.

The researchers stiffened, exchanging stunned glances. For a moment, silence reigned.

"Is he dead?" one of the assistants asked nervously, his voice cracking as he stared at the motionless boy on the bed.

The new team exchanged glances.

A collective sigh rippled among them, and for a moment their faces carried the same expression—disappointment, not grief.

To them, the boy’s death was nothing more than a failed trial.

But then—

Within seconds, the air in the room shifted. The boy’s fingers twitched. His chest jerked once, then again, harder this time.

His eyes snapped open, bloodshot and wild, and the monitors that had gone flat suddenly screamed back to life with frantic, irregular beeping.

Then the boy on the bed convulsed violently, his entire body jerking as though electricity tore through his veins.

His back arched off the bed, muscles straining against the restraints. His scream ripped through the ward, raw and bloodcurdling.

"What is happening? His heart monitor just flatlined—so how is he still reacting?" one of the assistants shouted, panic rising in his voice.

The beeping alarm shrilled, red lights flashing across the ward.

Nurses and aides rushed toward the bed, fumbling with restraints as the boy’s body jerked violently, veins bulging and pulsing under his skin.

Chaos spread—clipboards clattered to the ground, a tray of instruments crashed over.

"This has never happened before!" another voice cried, trembling.

But in the corner, Dr. Lopez and her colleagues did not share the panic.

Their lips curled almost imperceptibly, eyes glittering as they exchanged quick glances.

While everyone else saw horror, they saw breakthrough. A flicker of glee danced in their eyes—something was working, something new.

"Hold him down!" one of the lead scientists barked.

Assistants rushed to his side, gripping his arms and legs, but the boy thrashed with terrifying strength.

His veins bulged under his skin, turning an eerie shade of blue as though poison coursed through his bloodstream.

Hunter’s stomach dropped. His voice shook as he whispered into the comm, "Knight... what the hell is happening to him?

What was in that serum? His heart stopped—I saw it flatline. Then how the hell is he still moving?"

Knight, already reeling from the shock of what he was seeing through Hunter’s feed, could barely process it.

In his whole fucking life, he had never witnessed anything like this.

His voice came ragged through the comms, "How... how the hell can a dead heart start beating again?"

Hunter, equally shaken, muttered under his breath, "The hell I know..."

Knight exhaled sharply, trying to steady himself.

"I’ve saved the entire footage of this mess. Every second of it. Hunter, find out what that serum was—the one they injected.

The boy’s screams grew wilder, echoing through the sterile chamber. The assistants struggled, their grips slipping as his body convulsed with inhuman force.

"Sedate him!" another scientist shouted.

Ron—the assistant Hunter had seen attending the captives earlier—hurried forward with a syringe.

With steady precision, he plunged it into the boy’s arm.

Within seconds, the violent thrashing slowed, his screams breaking into choked sobs before fading completely.

His body went limp, slumping lifelessly against the bed.

Ron pulled back, wiping sweat from his brow. His voice was flat, almost rehearsed. "This one couldn’t make it."

Dr. Lopez’s lips curled in disdain. "Then prepare the next subject."

Ron gave a short nod, but before moving, she raised a hand sharply. "Wait."

Her cold eyes scanned the other captives.

"Administer Vial Z3 as sedatives for the week.

All of them. Keep their vitals steady. We’ll resume the experiment in seven days."

Ron bowed his head. "Yes, Doctor."

With that, Dr. Lopez’s heels clicked against the floor as she turned sharply. "We need to see the next batch," she announced, her tone leaving no room for question.

The team of six—including Hunter, who kept his façade flawless—moved toward the end of the corridor and turned left.

A staircase spiraled downward, colder and darker with every step. At the base stood a mechanical iron door, thick and imposing.

Dr. Lopez stepped forward with practiced ease, pressing a six-digit code into the panel. With a hiss and a heavy clang, the door rammed open.

The moment it shut behind them, the sound changed—low, guttural roars reverberated through the walls.

Hunter stiffened. What the hell now... he muttered under his breath, careful not to draw attention.

As they walked the corridor, a massive laboratory opened before them.

Steel bars lined one side of the room—rows of cages held wild predators: cheetahs pacing restlessly, lions snarling low in their throats, and gorillas pounding their fists against metal in protest.

Not all were caged; some lay restrained on experimental beds, tubes piercing their bodies, strange fluids pumping into their veins.

Machines whirred and blinked beside them, screens scrolling with indecipherable genetic codes.

White-coated researchers bustled around, adjusting dials, scribbling notes, and speaking in hushed urgency.

The team Hunter followed stopped abruptly and bowed to the man standing at the center of it all.

Hunter’s stomach clenched—he recognized him instantly. It was the old man he had seen earlier that morning. The one they called Master.

Hunter bowed with the rest, forcing his expression into blank obedience.

"Master," Dr. Lopez said, her voice almost reverent. "The new serum was administered. It failed again... but this time, we witnessed changes—significant ones."

The old man’s eyes glimmered with something dark and satisfied. Slowly, he nodded.

"We are at the edge of a breakthrough, Ria." His smile widened into something twisted.

"The perfected serum will be developed." A raspy, chilling laugh escaped his lips. "Hahahahaha..."

He handed her a small encrypted drive. "Look into the files stored here. Adjust the sequencing. Upgrade the formula."

At his gesture, all the assistants—including Hunter—set down the briefcases they carried.

One by one, metal latches clicked open, revealing rows of vials, each filled with liquids of different hues—crimson, amber, obsidian black, faintly glowing blue.

Researchers rushed forward, snatching them up, eyes alight with hungry curiosity as they hurried to analyze the contents.

Dr. Lopez clutched the drive close to her chest and inclined her head. "I will upgrade the new concoction, Master. You have my word."

"Good," the old man rasped.