"
Hearing the chime, a faint, knowing smirk crossed her lips.
She didn't rush to the door. Instead, she took her time, deliberately pouring a solution into a new beaker before finally strolling over to the entrance.
She pressed the release button for the lab doors.
Her expression practically screamed annoyance as she glared at the people standing outside.
She didn't even need to say a word; the heavy, oppressive coldness in her gaze radiated pure irritation.
Waiting outside was a group of staff from The Med-Tech Quarantine.
Seeing Serena open the door, the lead staff member plastered on a wildly sycophantic smile. "Ms. Panacea, my deepest apologies for the interruption. I just wanted to ask if you might need a few assistants to help you out? We have some incredibly talented people in The Med-Tech Quarantine who could certainly help speed up your mixing process."
That was the excuse, anyway.
But Serena easily noticed the other staff members subtly craning their necks, trying to catch a glimpse inside the lab.
It was all exactly as she had predicted.
She pretended not to notice their snooping, maintaining her icy, brooding glare as she stared down the man in charge.
Her stunning, luminous face remained completely unreadable.
Which only made the dark, predatory gleam in her eyes feel that much more lethal.
It felt like if he uttered even one more syllable, she was going to rip his throat out. Under that terrifying gaze, cold sweat instantly soaked through the man's shirt.
He swallowed hard, forcing a nervous chuckle. "I-I'm so sorry, Ms. Panacea. I know you prefer absolute silence. I-I was just... genuinely asking if you needed hands. If you don't, we'll... we'll leave immediately. We won't bother you any further..."
He practically bowed, scrambling to lead his team away down the hall.
Once the heavy lab doors sealed shut again.
The panicked staff immediately reported back to Director Silas Kaelen. "Ms. Panacea is definitely prepping formulas in there. The second the door opened, the smell of chemicals hit us like a wall..."
"Exactly. Her workstation was completely covered in mixing equipment."
"She's absolutely in the middle of a compound run."
Their offer to provide assistants had been nothing but a flimsy excuse to verify what she was actually doing inside.
After all, The Panacea had been sharp enough to instantly locate and blind their hidden camera.
With their feed cut off.
They had absolutely no way of monitoring her.
The ship's operators.
Director Kaelen's expression didn't relax in the slightest.
Someone as arrogant and brilliant as The Panacea would naturally refuse to let anyone near her proprietary work.
Those compounds were her golden goose, the very foundation of her terrifying leverage.
She would never give anyone the chance to reverse-engineer her formulas.
It was just that...
Were they seriously just going to let The Panacea operate Coff totally outside of
the g
surveillance network?
They didn't even know... how long she would take.
she stayed in there too long, it could be a major issue...
But judging by the body-cam footage his staff had just transmitted back.
Judging by that terrifying glare.
If they dared to interrupt her again, they'd probably become the test subjects for whatever lethal concoction she was brewing...
Director Kaelen's gaze darkened. "Are you absolutely positive she was actually mixing compounds?"
The staff all nodded in perfect unison.
Being assigned to The Med-Tech Quarantine meant they were well-versed in chemical setups.
Every single one of them had scanned the room while the door was open.
They could confirm that after blinding the camera, she really was deep into her work.
Director Kaelen stayed silent for a few agonizing seconds before taking a deep breath "Don't bother her for now. Keep an eye on things. If she still in there after an hour, find another excuse and go back in."
Right now, they still needed her expertise for the Living Assets.
Not to mention... she had just linked up with Project Zero-Transit's most elite buyer, The Sterling Sovereign.
They really couldn't afford to get on her bad side.
While Director Kaelen was issuing his orders.
Back in the lab, the second the doors had closed.
Serena had immediately stripped off the lab gear.
Without making a single sound...
She vanished from the lab entirely.
[Author's Note: I can finally settle down and write properly. Real life has been busy the past few days,
and mag m
toddler to a new
place was chaotic. But now, it's back
to focusing on the story.]