**4**
56%
Although Eleanor Vance had resumed normal breathing, the brief oxygen deprivation had
reactivated the virus within her.
Eleanor Vance lay in Dorian Blackwood’s arms, her breath growing weaker. Black
vascular patterns began to appear on her skin, signs of the virus’s spread.
Dorian Blackwood completely broke down.
He knelt before the glass wall, frantically pounding on the transparent barrier:
“Seraphina! I was wrong! Please, save Eleanor! The virus is taking her life!”
“I’ll give you anything! The corporation, the fortune, the power! Just save her!”
I looked at his pathetic state, a slight smile playing on my lips: “For the sake of what we once were, I’ll give you a chance.”
As soon as I spoke, the lab’s automated equipment activated.
A mechanical arm slowly extended to my arm, precisely extracting cell tissue. Culture
dishes began to churn, complex biochemical reactions unfolding in transparent containers.
A progress bar appeared on the large screen.
Antidote synthesis: 1%… 5%… 12%…
Dorian Blackwood and Eleanor Vance’s eyes instantly lit up with wild joy.
“Seraphina! I knew you still cared for me!” Dorian Blackwood’s voice trembled with
excitement.
Eleanor Vance, though weak, her eyes sparkled with a desperate will to live: “Dorian… I’m
saved…”
The progress bar steadily climbed: 35%… 58%… 74%…
07:59 Thu, 26 Jun
<
They watched the screen intently, seeing the hope of survival.
89%…95%… 98%…
56%
Just as the progress bar was about to reach 100%, I pressed the pause button.
*Ding-*
With a crisp chime, the entire synthesis process stopped.
Dorian Blackwood froze: “Seraphina? Why did it stop?”
I turned around, the smile completely gone from my face: “Oh, I forgot something.”
“The key to initiating the final synthesis is my heartbeat.”
“And right now, I’m–not–in–the–mood.”
Eleanor Vance’s eyes widened, staring at me in disbelief: “You… you’re joking, right?”
“Joking? Like you two joked with my life?”
The immense chasm between hope and despair instantly shattered Eleanor Vance.
She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but couldn’t draw another breath.
Her eyes wide, she simply breathed her last.
“Eleanor! Eleanor!” Dorian Blackwood clutched her lifeless body, letting out a raw
scream.
Consumed by loss and rage, he violently ripped open his collar, revealing a miniature bomb detonator: “Seraphina! I’ll make you die with her!”
“Let’s die together!”
The moment he pressed the button-
All the lights and power in the entire base flickered out.
07:59 Thu, 26 Jun
<
Darkness consumed everything.
Only a soft blue light, emanating from my chest, illuminated my face.
It was the glow from my heart rate monitor.
56%
“Forgot to tell you,” my voice echoed in the darkness. “The lab’s highest authority isn’t electricity, it’s not software.”
“Your detonator signal can’t get out.”
“It’s my heartbeat.”
“Here, I am a god.”
