[Year 3113] [Collins Burg Temple]
“Today’s fog isn’t like usual,” Lula murmured as she stepped out of the temple, carrying a bucket toward the well.
Thick fog hung low, shrouding Collins Burg Temple. In a world slowly dying from relentless climate change, the temple had become a beacon for the desperate.
The peaceful atmosphere shattered when the temple bell began tolling incessantly.
Lula had just returned to the kitchen when the echo of heavy footsteps resounded through the corridor.
The Temple Mother Superior ran toward her, gasping for breath.
“Lula!” she shouted.
Before Lula could respond, a powerful explosion shook the building’s foundation.
BOOOOM!
The stained-glass windows in the main hall shattered into countless pieces.
“What happened?!” Lula screamed, ducking down as she set the bucket of water on the floor.
The Temple Mother Superior went pale as she looked toward the window.
“You have to hide! There are armed strangers outside!”
But it was too late. The massive wooden doors slammed open. Five men wearing black face shields entered with their weapons raised.
“Target acquired,” one of them said.
Lula backed away until her back struck the wall. The bucket overturned, spilling water across the floor.
“Who are you?!” Lula asked in a panic.
A man in medical scrubs entered the room, ignoring Lula’s screams. He pulled a syringe from his bag.
In the corner of the room, the armed attackers held down the Temple Mother Superior and covered her mouth as she sobbed hysterically.
“Shh,” the doctor whispered as he approached. The sharp needle pierced Lula’s neck with precision. “This won’t hurt.”
“No… Mother! Help me!” Lula’s voice slowly faded as her consciousness was dragged into darkness.
Lula woke in an unfamiliar place. The roar of helicopter blades thundered overhead.
WHUPP... WHUPP... WHUPP…
Her body was locked onto a medical bed. She turned her head and saw only snow falling without end.
“The Subject is awake,” a man in front of a monitor reported.
“Add another dose of sedative,” replied a more authoritative voice.
“But the previous dose is still active, Doctor.”
“Give it to me.”
Lula struggled against the overwhelming sleepiness.
“You…”
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” the man interrupted as he approached.
Again, the syringe pierced her neck, pulling her back into the void.
Far beneath the mountains of Askja Glacier stood an unregistered massive facility, absent from every database in the world.
[LOCATION: Askja Glacier MT – Deep Underground Research Complex] [Depth: -500m | Structural Integrity: 88%]
Professor Octa Sergia Vinn stood in the V-Level observation room, staring at a massive holographic display. Behind him, a line of global chemical corporation directors watched the data.
“Is that the ‘Healer’?” a woman asked.
“That’s right,” answered Jerry, one of Professor Vinn’s assistants.
“Is it real?” the woman continued, pointing at her own predominantly brown hair and eyes.
Vinn smiled faintly. “Don’t compare her to yourself.”
Another director opened a digital report.
“If her regeneration is genuine, we won’t just control the global healthcare market…”
“…we’ll control humanity’s survival,” Vinn added. The room fell silent until a greedy smile broke the tension.
“Quite satisfying, if you ask me. We’ll make a fortune,” one executive said proudly.
Lula lay on a biopsy scanner table. Infrared sensors mapped her molecular structure in real time.
“Begin blood extraction. Volume: 500 cc,” Doctor McLarren ordered his assistant.
[EXPERIMENTAL PHASE 01: Extract & Synthesis]
Thick red fluid flowed through a micro-tube. In the botanical laboratory, Bloomberg Flower extract was injected into the sample.
[SYSTEM PROCESSING] [ANTIGEN-SYNTHESIS... 99% COMPLETE]
“Antigen stable. Bloomberg Antigen ready for production.”
NII..IIIN! NII..IIIN! NII..IIIN!
[SEISMIC ALERT: Tectonic Shift Detected | Magnitude: 2.8 SR]
The floor shook. Corridor lights flickered, signaling that the geothermal power system was unstable.
“Magma activity from the Katla volcano is increasing,” the geologist reported.
“Ignore it,” Vinn cut in. “That volcano is nowhere near us. It’s only an earthquake caused by a collapsing glacier. This project takes priority.”
“Are we staying here?” one of the directors asked anxiously.
“The extraction process is complete for now. If you have no further business, you can return on the aircraft we’ve provided,” Jerry replied.
“We’ll contact you regarding the continuation of this project,” he added reassuringly.
“All right, Mr. Vinn. Keep us informed as soon as possible,” the executive said with a cheerful smile before leaving the laboratory.
Before long, the room was empty. Professor Vinn muttered, “Loud people who care about nothing but money.”
The earthquake had stopped. He changed into special clothing for entering the incubation room, then gazed intently at Lula.
“Truly beautiful…” he said enthusiastically.
Seven days later, the experiment continued. This time, the corporate people were absent.
“There aren’t any executives or people from the medical companies attending the second phase today?”
“They’re nothing but a pack of noisy pigs. We’re going to create something that makes them eat their own flesh,” Professor Vinn replied to the head of the laboratory, Doctor McLarren.
“What about the serum you discovered?” he continued.
“The research is complete. It just hasn’t been fully analyzed yet,” McLarren answered quickly.
“All right. Bring it here.”
“Do you want to use it?”
“Why are you asking again? Bring both of them.”
“I don’t agree, Professor.”
“Hmm?”
“Can’t you see? The Subject’s condition makes it impossible for her to receive that rare serum.”
“She’s the Healer! You know that. She’ll survive. The virus won’t hurt her.”
“Then what’s your goal, Professor?! It’ll kill her!” McLarren cried in protest.
“All right. If you insist, I have nothing more to say,” Professor Vinn replied, standing and leaving the room.
Doctor McLarren brought two vials containing viruses: green M-VRs and orange PTH-VRs.
He reanalyzed them and confirmed that the viruses were safe for humans.
He engineered and modified M-VRs and PTH-VRs into a single sample.
The sample was dark blue and labeled MP-VRs.
He tested it on a rat first. When there was no response for an hour, he assumed all three viruses were safe. He stored the virus in an airtight ice tube in its usual place.
He returned to the rat incubation room where his experiment was being conducted. He saw the rat in shock and completely dead.
He recorded in the database that the virus was unsafe and potentially dangerous. What he didn’t know was that he had created a mutation.
The rat was then burned, and he collected a sample from it for another experiment—using it as fertilizer to observe its effects on plants and flowers.
After completing the test, he left the laboratory and headed to his room.
He fell asleep from exhaustion. Suddenly, someone knocked on his door.
TOK! TOK! TOK!
“Yes? Come in,” he called.
Jerry and Claire entered his room.
“What is it?”
Claire approached him and…
CRASH!
Claire shoved Doctor McLarren’s head into the table.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Professor Vinn entered the room with imposing confidence. Claire pulled Doctor McLarren’s hair and pressed a gun to his right temple.
Jerry handed Professor Vinn a tablet. It displayed CCTV footage from inside the incubation room.
“Did you just create something even greater?” Professor Vinn asked with a smile as he sat in the chair across from McLarren.
“What do you mean?!”
“Come on… you made that without orders, Doctor McLarren,” Professor Vinn continued with a cunning smile.
“Professor! We haven’t finished analyzing the two viruses yet!” Doctor McLarren shouted as he struggled.
“If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
THUD!!!
Claire struck Doctor McLarren on the back of the neck.
“Jerry, prepare our departure back to Collins. We’re doing it tonight.” Jerry nodded.
[1:00 A.M.]
They had arrived in Collins. Professor Vinn had been eagerly awaiting the right day to conduct an experiment using the E.V.E System (Evolutionary Vitality Engine).
This time, he had two Subjects. One was a woman, and the other was someone who wasn’t on his list: Doctor McLarren.
[EXPERIMENTAL PHASE 02: M-VRs | PTH-VRs | MP-VRs] [LOCATION: Collins Underground Facility | Beneath Collins Burg Temple] [Depth: -500m | Status: Active]
The atmosphere in the laboratory beneath Collins turned ominous when Professor Vinn ordered the dual-injection phase. Lula, still only half-conscious on the examination table, could do nothing but stare blankly as the first needle pierced her skin.
“Who is that…” Lula muttered, occasionally struggling against her restraints.
“Calm down… you’ll be perfect soon,” Vinn whispered.
The green fluid entered Lula’s bloodstream. There was no significant pain; instead, Lula felt a strange warmth flowing through her, as though all her wounds had healed in an instant. But Vinn did not stop. Without allowing Lula’s body time to adapt, he immediately drove in the second serum.
At once, a heartbreaking scream shattered the silence of the room.
“AAAAARRRGGHHH..........!!!”
Lula’s blood felt like it was boiling. The second serum attacked her nervous system brutally, as if burning through her molecular structure from the inside. A faint golden light briefly glimmered beneath her skin before finally going out. Lula convulsed violently, her eyes bulging wide, then her body went limp and slumped to the side.
“Subject 001 is experiencing systemic shock! Heart rate dropping drastically!” Jerry shouted.
“Calm down,” Vinn replied coldly.
BEEP... BEEP... BEEEEE…P
“Her heart rate is gone, sir!” Jerry panicked. Claire rushed to retrieve the defibrillator, alternating it with CPR. Professor Vinn continued analyzing.
“Impossible! It’s a genetic mutation! Hahahaha…” Professor Vinn exclaimed.
Exhausted, Claire added, “Her heartbeat is back. But it’s weak. The Subject may be in a coma.”
“Put her in that tank immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Suddenly, a low boom echoed through the facility walls.
DUMMM!!!
[SEISMIC ALERT: Tectonic Shift Detected | Magnitude: 3.2 SR]
“Jerry! Hurry and help me!” Claire shouted when she saw Jerry frozen in place. Jerry sensed that something was wrong.
“Claire, wait. The Subject…”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Look… her body is releasing particles… like… spores?”
“Yeah… This is… s-spores? Ah. Calm down. Maybe it’s natural. The serum came from a plant,” Claire explained.
“Did you touch them? Take this. We need to hurry. The Subject has to be moved immediately. Let that old man go crazy!” she continued, handing him decontamination clothing and a vaccine serum.
At the next table, Subject Number Two, a helpless middle-aged man, became the next target. Vinn picked up the modified dark-blue sample, [MP-VRs].
“Let’s see if your creation is strong enough for you, Doctor,” Vinn said as he injected the entire vial directly into Subject Number Two.
The Subject showed no signs of regeneration. His eyes bulged, the veins in his neck swelled until they burst, and his skin turned deathly pale within seconds. His convulsions stopped abruptly. His head drooped, and his breathing ceased.
BEEEP!
[E.V.E System Alert!] [Subject 002: FAILED] [SEISMIC ALERT: Tectonic Shift Detected | Magnitude: 5.2 SR]
GRRRKKK...!
Red emergency lights flashed and spun as deafening sirens blared. Dust began falling from the facility’s ceiling, burying the expensive medical equipment.
“Katla earthquake!” the geologist shouted over the intercom.
“Sir! The Collins foundation is unstable! We have to get out of here!” Jerry shouted after returning from moving Lula.
Vinn turned toward Subject Number Two, lying rigid on the operating table.
“This project has reached its critical limit,” Vinn said in a tone devoid of remorse. “You’ll stay here, buried with your own serum.”
“But Professor, what about the research results?” Jerry asked uncertainly.
“We have nothing to worry about.”
Professor Vinn, Jerry, and Claire hurried toward the emergency elevator, abandoning the Collins laboratory as it began to crack and collapse.
Amid the darkness engulfing the underground chamber, the massive tank containing Lula remained standing upright in the middle of the wreckage, while Subject Number Two’s corpse was slowly buried beneath the continually falling rubble.