When did she start synthesizing medicine? Who trained her?
Where did she operate in her early years?
And exactly when did she acquire the kind of terrifying capability that could shake the entire underground medical world?
There were zero concrete records.
Of course, a clean slate didn't inherently prove The Panacea's identity was fabricated.
In their world, it was perfectly normal for heavy hitters to remain buried in the shadows for years, only stepping into the light when a specific need arose.
Some ghosts vanished for decades.
Others burned their identities the second they crossed a border.
It was entirely plausible that The Panacea had simply operated off the grid her whole life.
But for The Raven, the sheer perfection of it was suspicious enough.
His note on the file read: [No direct flaws in the identity framework, but the concentration of verifiable history is highly suspect. Cannot rule out the possibility that this persona was recently and meticulously constructed.]
Then came the side-by-side comparison of their technical expertise and operational tactics.
Jerrick's eyes grew darker and colder by the second.
[Serena Lancaster: Mastery in neuro-medicine and pharmacology. Possesses deep structural knowledge of specialized genetic modification and neural-control frameworks.]
[The Panacea: Capable of suppressing Specimen Seven's extreme biological rejection within seconds. Successfully severed the augment's target-lock and neural command protocols.]
[Serena Lancaster: The only publicly recognized granddaughter of Aria Wynn. Holds access to Aria Wynn's classified early research data.]
[The Panacea: Instantly recognized The A.W.S. Designation System. Employs advanced neural-isolation techniques derived directly from Aria Wynn's foundational research.]
[Serena Lancaster: Has repeatedly decimated Obsidian Sun's experimental operations. Highly familiar with the physiological vulnerabilities of Obsidian Augments.]
[The Panacea: Since boarding, has subdued Specimen Seven, hijacked Specimen Fourteen, and successfully executed a reverse-intrusion into Obsidian Sun's apex command override.]
One by one, the parallels were laid bare.
If it were just the boarding timeline, he could write it off as a coincidence.
If it were just their shared mastery of neuro-pharmacology, he could assume they studied under similar schools of thought.
But when every single coincidence converged onto one person, the word 'coincidence' lost all meaning.
Especially her terrifyingly deep understanding of Aria Wynn's research framework.
It was so profound that she hadn't just recognized the augment modifications Obsidian Sun had stolen from Grandma Aria.
She had weaponized that knowledge against them. She severed their
I.ne
control, hijacked their authority and edtheir own research to back
them into a
corner
Her capabilities vastly exceeded anything a standard top-tier pharmacist should possess.
Jerrick had watched The Panacea operate with his own eyes.
He knew better than anyone that the dossier wasn't exaggerating.
Staring at the relentless strings of comparison data, Jerrick's breathing grew heavy.
His fingers slowly tightened around the device.
Memories of everything The Panacea had done since boarding the ship flooded his mind.
She had forced Specimen Seven to his knees.
She had hijacked Specimen Fourteen in the lower hold.
She had effortlessly seen through every single trap Obsidian Sun had laid.
She had deliberately baited the entire ship into hunting for the
Sentient Cargo, weaponizingel
greed of every faction on board
She had stood on that auction stage and, in front of the world's deadliest, players, s meticulously washed away the filth Obsidian Sun had tried to smear on Aria Wynn's name.
And then there was her sheer, unrelenting arrogance that absolute need to dominate the board.
A style that was wildly reckless, yet mathematically precise in its execution.
It was familiar.
God, it was too familiar.