The car ride was dead silent. Vorn sat in the back seat, expensive leather cool against his skin as he kept one foot pressed against Seren's wheelchair to keep it steady. Master Li was a statue of power in the front seat, saying nothing.
City lights blurred past the window - a world they were leaving behind.
When the car finally stopped, it wasn't at some building. It was at a massive gate flanked by marble pillars that disappeared into the darkness above. This was the Xiaotian family compound, and it was 'enormous'.
Seren was taken away first, whisked off by a team of doctors and nurses who moved with cold, professional efficiency. Vorn watched them disappear down a sterile hallway, his chest tight with worry.
The equipment they were using looked advanced - way beyond anything he'd seen at the Bureau hospital. At least his sister would get the best care possible.
'I made the right choice, I had to.'
Left alone in the magnificent, echoing entrance hall, Vorn started walking. His footsteps were swallowed by polished marble floors that probably cost more than his entire apartment building.
He activated his glasses, scanning for information rather than threats. Strange, fluctuating energy signatures came from a distant wing of the compound - something big and dangerous was happening over there.
As he passed a side corridor, he caught fragments of hushed conversation between two men in expensive suits.
"Another failure?" one murmured.
"The protocol... it's a bloodbath."
'Protocol. That can't be good.'
Deeper in the compound, he glimpsed a figure shuffling through a hallway - a man with vacant, madness-filled eyes and a body that looked subtly... wrong. Distorted in ways that made Vorn's skin crawl.
'A failed experiment. That's what the Apex Protocol does to people.'
[WARNING: EXTREME BIOLOGICAL HAZARD DETECTED]
[SURVIVAL RATE OF APEX PROTOCOL: 12%]
'Twelve percent. Fantastic.'
A formal meeting was convened in a grand chamber with a long polished table surrounded by at least a dozen men and women. These were the elders and influential members of the Xiaotian family, and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Old grudges and unspoken rivalries hung in the air like smoke.
Master Li entered, and every voice died instantly. His cold, unwavering gaze settled on Vorn like a microscope examining a specimen.
"Elders, I present Vorn. I intend to put him through the Apex Protocol."
The room exploded.
"Apex? Have you lost your mind, Li?" A stern-faced man in a high-collared jacket sneered. "Your own bloodline is failing, and you'd waste our last resources on an outsider? A mana-less boy from the slums?"
A woman with ice-cold eyes spoke up. "The rumors about your declining influence are true, then. You're desperate enough to risk the family's legacy on this fool's errand to save your own pride."
Master Li's voice cut through the dissent like a blade.
"He is not a fool's errand. He is the perfect candidate. His unique mana-less nature represents a scientific breakthrough that could revolutionize our family's power. It is a calculated risk."
Then he dropped the real bombshell.
"And if the Apex Protocol succeeds, Vorn will become my adopted son. His power will belong to the Xiaotian family."
'ADOPTED SON.'
The words hit the room like a grenade. Vorn could see the rage and fear in their faces - their own children's paths to power threatened by some nobody outsider.
The tension was so thick he could taste it.
'This is my moment.'
"I'll do it," Vorn said, his voice cutting through the hostile silence.
Internally, his mind was racing with ruthless calculations.
'If I can use matter manipulation on myself during the process... I might be able to control it. Reshape the catalyst at the molecular level, prevent cellular rejection, optimize the effects for my specific biology.'
'Instead of enhancing mana I don't have, I'll supercharge my physical attributes.'
His announcement seemed to vindicate Master Li's position. The old man's satisfied smile was sharp as a knife. The other family members looked skeptical and envious, creating new tensions Vorn could exploit later.
'Perfect. Let them fight each other while I figure out ways to get stronger.'
He was immediately taken to a highly secure laboratory deep within the compound. The air was cold and clinical, smelling of antiseptic and ozone. They stripped him down and put him in a simple medical gown, then strapped him into an apparatus that looked more like a torture device than medical equipment.
Cold metal clamps secured his arms and legs to the table.
The "catalyst" sat in a sealed nearby - a glowing, unstable liquid that hummed with barely contained power. It looked like liquid lightning mixed with molten gold.
[SUBSTANCE ANALYSIS: UNKNOWN BIOLOGICAL ENHANCER]
[TOXICITY LEVEL: EXTREME]
[ESTIMATED SURVIVAL RATE: 12%]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EVACUATION]
'Too late for that now.'
A needle filled with the volatile substance descended slowly toward his arm, guided with precision.
This was the biggest gamble of his life. He would have to use his matter manipulation secretly - that was the one absolute rule. Its discovery would mean death or worse.
But if he could control the process from within...
[BLOOD MIRROR COUNTDOWN: PAUSED]
[WARNING: NEW UNKNOWN THREAT DETECTED]
[APEX PROTOCOL: INITIATING]
[MATTER MANIPULATION: LEVEL 2 - READY]
The needle touched his skin.
'Here we go.'
[CURRENT LEVEL: 2]
[EXP: 15/200]
[STATUS: UNDERGOING BIOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: CALCULATING...]