Shanghai Elite Academy, Pudong District, Shanghai
The morning sun pierced the glass spires of Shanghai Elite Academy, casting jagged reflections across the courtyard where students buzzed like hornets in a gilded hive. The air thrummed with Mandarin, Shanghainese, and snatches of English slang, a cacophony of wealth and ambition. Liang Hao navigated the throng, his oversized backpack dragging at his shoulders, his thick glasses sliding down his sweat-dampened nose. At seventeen, he was invisible here, a scrawny nerd lost among the city's elite, his plain uniform a stark contrast to the designer labels around him.
"Hey, Lab Rat, still digging through trash for your next experiment?" Wang Jiaqi's voice cut through the noise, sharp as a switchblade. The cheerleading queen lounged against a sleek marble fountain, her long hair glinting like polished obsidian, her skirt just short enough to draw eyes. Her posse—three girls in matching pastel sweaters—snickered, their manicured nails tapping phones already primed to record Liang's humiliation.
Liang's ears burned, but he kept his gaze on the cracked cobblestones, clutching his chemistry textbook like a shield. "I don't dig through trash," he muttered, barely audible over the courtyard's clamor. Most times, his classmates usually leave him alone but at times they can tease mercilessly. Today was going to be one of those day. He tried to slip past, but Hu Tao, Jiaqi's bespectacled sidekick with a mean streak, stepped into his path, her grin wicked.
"Oh, come on, Liang," Hu Tao said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "You smell like you've been brewing potions in a dumpster. What's the latest? Rat poison cologne?" The girls laughed, a sharp, synchronized sound that drew a crowd. Phones flashed, capturing Liang's hunched shoulders for the school's WeChat group, aptly named Elite Gossip.
"I've got class," Liang said, his voice thin but stubborn. He pushed past Hu Tao, her elbow jabbing his ribs, and hurried toward the science wing. The laughter chased him, a relentless echo that clung like the city's humid air.
Inside the academy's air-conditioned halls, Liang's sneakers squeaked on polished tiles, the sound swallowed by the hum of wealth—posters for the Autumn Gala, where Jiaqi would no doubt reign, plastered every wall. Liang's world was narrower: equations, periodic tables, and a faint hope of escaping his family's cramped Xuhui apartment through a Fudan University scholarship. His spot at the academy was a fluke, earned by acing a national chemistry exam, but brilliance didn't buy friends in a place like this.
In the chemistry classroom, Liang slid into his back-row seat, the window framing Pudong's skyline—towers like steel fangs against the smog. Teacher Liu Mei entered, her heels clicking, her blouse and pencil skirt a quiet elegance that commanded respect. At thirty-two, she was younger than most faculty, her glasses framing eyes that missed nothing.
"Morning, class," Liu Mei said, her voice crisp as she tapped her tablet. "Reaction kinetics today. Page 142." Her gaze flicked to Liang, brief but pointed. "Mr. Liang, your catalytic decomposition report is due Friday. Don't disappoint me."
"Yes, Teacher Liu," Liang replied, nodding quickly. He admired her—she was fair, her expectations clear, unlike the teachers who pitied him or ignored him. But her scrutiny always made his palms sweat, like he was one misstep from unraveling.
As Liu Mei lectured, Chen Wei, a stocky classmate with a permanent smirk, leaned over. "Yo, Lab Rat," he whispered, his breath reeking of taro milk tea. "Heard you're interning at some fancy lab now. What, you mopping floors for pocket change? Or just sniffing chemicals to escape your sad little life?"
Liang's jaw clenched. "It's real research," he said, keeping his voice low. "Not that you'd get it." Chen Wei snorted, sketching a cartoon of Liang with a beaker for a head, complete with exaggerated glasses. Liang ignored him, scribbling notes on rate constants, but the jab lingered, heavy as the city's smog.
Lunch was a battlefield. The cafeteria's floor-to-ceiling windows showcased Shanghai's glittering ambition, but Liang sat alone at a corner table, picking at rice and braised tofu, earbuds blasting a lo-fi beat to mute the noise. Across the room, Jiaqi held court, her laughter slicing through the chatter as she recounted a weekend at a Jing'an rooftop bar. Her eyes met Liang's for a split second, and she smirked, whispering to Hu Tao, who giggled. Liang looked away, his appetite gone.
"You gonna eat that or just stare at it like it's a Nobel Prize formula?" Meilin's voice broke through, sharp but warm. His only friend slid into the seat across from him, her pixie cut messy, her hoodie emblazoned with a pixelated dragon. Her fingers twitched, a sign she'd been up all night hacking—probably a gaming server or the school's grading system for kicks.
"Not hungry," Liang said, pushing the bowl toward her. "Take it."
Meilin grabbed a piece of tofu with her chopsticks, grinning. "You're wasting away, dude. Gotta fuel that big brain of yours." She scanned the cafeteria, her eyes narrowing. "Jiaqi's at it again. Posted a meme of you in the group chat—'Lab Rat's Guide to Being Invisible.' Real original."
Liang groaned, slumping back. "Why does she bother? She's got everything—looks, money, followers. I'm just… me."
"You're not just anything," Meilin said, her tone fierce but soft. "You're the guy who outsmarted every kid in China on that chem exam. They're just mad you don't need their trust funds to shine." She paused, her cheeks pink. "Plus, you're… you know, not the worst to hang out with."
Liang raised an eyebrow, a rare smile flickering. "Careful, Meilin. That's almost a compliment. You sure you're not hacked?"
"Shut up," she said, flicking a grain of rice at him. It bounced off his glasses, and he laughed, a small sound that felt like defiance. Meilin was his anchor, the only one who saw past the nerd label. They'd grown up in the same rundown Xuhui block, her coding obsession matching his chemistry fixation. Lately, though, her glances lingered, her teasing carrying a weight he couldn't name.
After school, Liang caught a crowded metro to Jing'an, where his internship awaited at Lotus Biotech, a sleek research facility tucked in a nondescript tower. He'd landed the gig through his exam win, a chance to work on cutting-edge chemistry projects. The lab was all glass and steel, its security tighter than the academy's, with keycard locks and cameras at every corner. Liang assumed it was just corporate paranoia—pharma companies guarding their patents. He had no idea Lotus Biotech was a front for Jade Viper, the shadowy assassination organization behind the elixir.
The lab was quiet tonight, the hum of machinery a soothing contrast to the academy's chaos. Liang swiped his ID, the door hissing open to reveal rows of spectrometers, centrifuges, and refrigerated storage units. His supervisor, a curt woman named Dr. Fang, was rarely around, leaving Liang to catalog samples and run basic analyses. It was grunt work, but it was his escape, a place where he wasn't the Lab Rat.
He pulled on gloves, settling at a workbench to process a new shipment of compounds. The crate was unmarked, save for a single vial nestled in foam, its crimson liquid shimmering under the fluorescent lights. A note in sharp, elegant script read: Project Lotus. Extreme caution. No other instructions, which wasn't unusual—Dr. Fang often left vague directives.
"Lotus, huh?" Liang muttered, holding the vial up. The liquid swirled, almost hypnotic, catching the light in patterns that seemed to pulse. His curiosity flared, the same itch that had once led to a singed lab coat during a miscalculated experiment. He set the vial down, intending to log it, but his sleeve caught a beaker, knocking it over. The vial tipped, and a single drop splashed onto his hand.
"Damn it!" Liang hissed, grabbing a rag, but the liquid vanished into his skin, leaving no trace. A sharp heat seared his fingers, spreading up his arm like wildfire. His vision blurred, his knees buckled, and he gripped the counter, gasping. His heart thundered, too loud, too fast, and a strange energy surged through him, electric and alive. His body felt… different, stronger, as if every nerve was rewired.
He stumbled to a polished steel cabinet, his reflection stopping him cold. His glasses hung askew, but his face was sharper—cheekbones high, jawline defined, eyes dark and magnetic. His scrawny frame seemed taller, his shoulders broader. He touched his cheek, expecting acne scars, but his skin was smooth, almost luminous. "What the hell is this?" he whispered, his voice deeper, smoother, like it belonged to a stranger.
The lab's lights flickered, a low hum vibrating through the floor. His phone buzzed, Meilin's name flashing. "Liang, you there?" Her voice was tense. "I was poking around the dark web, and something's off about Lotus Biotech. There's encrypted chatter—military-grade. You sure that place is just a pharma lab?"
"I… spilled something," Liang said, his new voice unnerving him. "It's doing something to me. I don't know what."
"Spilled what? Liang, get out now!" Meilin's tone spiked. "I hacked their security feed—someone's accessing it remotely. You're being watched!"
Before he could respond, the lab's door hissed open. A figure stepped in, sleek and dangerous, her black leather outfit catching the light. Zhang Yuxin, Jade Viper's top agent, moved with predatory grace, her bobbed hair framing a smirk, twin daggers glinting in her hands. Behind her, Li Na, her red-dyed hair flashing, vaulted over a workbench, batons twirling.
"Liang Hao," Yuxin purred, her voice low and lethal. "You've touched something very dangerous." Her eyes raked over him, noting his changed appearance with a flicker of interest. "Madame Xu doesn't take kindly to thieves."
Liang's pulse raced, the elixir's heat amplifying Yuxin's presence—her jasmine scent, the curve of her lips. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice carrying a confidence he didn't feel. "What's this stuff?"
Yuxin stepped closer, her dagger twirling lazily. "We're Jade Viper. That elixir is our weapon—seduction and death in a single drop. Hand it over, or Madame Xu will burn your world to ashes." Her smile was sharp, but her gaze lingered, the elixir's effect tugging at her focus.
Li Na grinned, leaning against a counter. "He's cuter than expected, Yuxin. Maybe we keep him as a bonus." Her playful tone masked a deadly edge.
Liang's phone crackled, Meilin's voice urgent. "Liang, run! More are coming—I can't block their signal much longer!"
The lab's alarms blared, red lights flashing. Yuxin lunged, her dagger slicing the air, but Liang's new reflexes kicked in. He dodged, bolting for the emergency exit, the elixir fueling his speed. The stairwell door slammed behind him, Yuxin's laughter echoing—a promise of pursuit. Somewhere, in a neon-lit penthouse, Madame Xu watched through a hidden feed, her ruthless gaze already plotting Liang's capture… or his destruction.