The underground chamber fell completely silent.
Xiaoyu stood frozen beside the abandoned train tracks, her breathing uneven as the train car lights flickered weakly through the darkness.
Then the voice came again.
"Welcome back, Subject 7."
Cold spread instantly through her body.
No.
No, that wasn't her name.
Her grip tightened painfully around the silver key still in her hand while memories clawed violently at the edges of her mind.
White rooms.
Bright lights.
Needles.
Voices repeating numbers instead of names.
Subject 7.
Subject 7.
Subject 7.
Xiaoyu staggered backward slightly.
Lu Shen caught her arm immediately before she lost balance completely.
"Don't listen to them," he said sharply.
But his voice sounded distant now.
Because something inside her had already begun breaking open.
The train car door slowly slid open with a metallic screech.
A woman stepped out.
Tall.
Elegant.
Dressed entirely in white.
Unlike the armed men chasing them, she carried no weapon.
Only calmness.
That somehow made her more terrifying.
The woman's eyes settled directly on Xiaoyu.
And smiled softly.
"You survived better than expected."
Lu Shen instantly stepped in front of Xiaoyu.
His entire posture changed again.
Protective.
Dangerous.
"You shouldn't be here," he said coldly.
The woman tilted her head slightly.
"And yet here I am."
Her gaze shifted toward the blood spreading through Lu Shen's shirt.
"You're injured."
"Still enough to stop you."
A faint laugh escaped her.
"No," she replied quietly. "You were never capable of stopping us."
The armed men from the tunnel finally entered the underground chamber behind them, surrounding the exits slowly.
Xiaoyu's pulse quickened violently.
They were trapped.
Again.
The woman stepped down from the train car carefully, heels echoing against the concrete floor beneath the city.
Every movement felt controlled.
Practiced.
Like someone completely certain of the outcome.
She stopped only a few feet away.
Then looked directly at Xiaoyu again.
"Do you remember me?"
Xiaoyu's throat tightened instantly.
Because deep down—
some part of her did.
Another flash burst through her mind—
A laboratory room.
A child screaming.
The same woman standing behind glass calmly writing notes.
Xiaoyu gasped softly.
The woman noticed.
"There it is."
Lu Shen's expression darkened immediately.
"You erased her memories for a reason," he said sharply. "Leave them buried."
"Buried?" the woman repeated softly. "Those memories belong to us."
Rage flashed through Lu Shen's eyes.
"She's not your property."
The woman finally looked at him fully.
And for the first time—
her smile faded slightly.
"You became emotionally compromised."
The words landed heavily in the chamber.
Lu Shen stayed silent.
The woman sighed quietly.
"That was your greatest weakness."
Xiaoyu looked between them, confusion and fear twisting together inside her chest.
"You know each other."
Neither answered immediately.
That terrified her more than anything else.
Finally—
the woman spoke.
"He was one of our best subjects."
The world stopped.
Xiaoyu stared at Lu Shen instantly.
No.
Impossible.
But Lu Shen didn't deny it.
Her heartbeat slowed painfully.
"What… does that mean?"
The woman's expression remained calm.
"Before he protected you," she said softly, "he belonged to us too."
Another memory exploded through Xiaoyu's head—
A younger Lu Shen standing silently in a white hallway.
Blood on his hands.
Cold eyes.
Not protecting.
Obeying.
She stepped backward immediately.
"No…"
Lu Shen looked at her quickly.
"Xiaoyu."
"You worked for them?"
His jaw tightened.
"I was a child."
"But you knew."
The hurt in her voice hit harder than bullets ever could.
Lu Shen's silence answered everything.
The woman watched carefully.
Almost interested.
"He was trained to eliminate threats," she continued calmly. "Until your father interfered."
Xiaoyu's chest tightened violently.
"My father saved him too…"
"Yes," the woman replied. "Which is why Lu Shen betrayed us during the fire."
The chamber fell silent.
Thunder rumbled faintly above the city.
Everything finally began connecting together.
The experiments.
The fire.
The organization.
Lu Shen wasn't just connected to it.
He had been trapped inside it too.
Xiaoyu looked at him again.
For the first time since meeting him—
she understood the sadness hidden behind his eyes.
Years of guilt.
Years of violence.
Years spent trying to protect her from the same fate.
The woman stepped closer slowly.
"You both survived because of one mistake," she said quietly. "Your father underestimated how attached you would become."
Lu Shen raised his weapon immediately.
"Stop talking."
But the woman ignored him completely.
"You know why we need Xiaoyu back."
Lu Shen's voice turned deadly cold.
"You're not touching her."
The woman sighed.
"You still think this is about control."
Her eyes settled directly onto Xiaoyu.
"It isn't."
Fear crawled beneath Xiaoyu's skin again.
"Then what is it about?"
For the first time—
the woman's calm expression shifted.
Not emotion.
Concern.
"You're dying."
Silence crashed through the underground chamber.
Xiaoyu froze.
"…What?"
"The experiments damaged your body permanently," the woman continued quietly. "Your father stole you before treatment was complete."
No.
No, this couldn't be real.
Lu Shen stepped forward immediately.
"She's lying."
But something in his voice had changed.
Xiaoyu noticed instantly.
Fear.
Real fear.
The woman looked at him calmly.
"You know I'm right."
Lu Shen's grip tightened around the gun.
"She has time."
"Less than you think."
Xiaoyu's breathing became uneven again.
Every thought inside her head spiraled violently.
Dying?
Experiments?
Treatment?
Nothing felt real anymore.
The woman extended one hand slowly toward her.
"Come back with us willingly," she said softly. "And we can save your life."
Lu Shen immediately stepped between them.
"No."
The woman's eyes darkened slightly.
"You would rather watch her die?"
The question shattered through the chamber.
Because for the first time—
Lu Shen had no answer.