"Gentlemen, looks like we are getting a raise today," Yvee said, pulling off her mask to reveal a triumphant, razor-sharp smile.
The recovery team moved quickly. Six heavily armed operatives hoisted the massive, reinforced cryo-pod, their muscles straining under its sheer weight beneath the starlit sky. They loaded the pod into the rear of an unmarked transport van. Three guards slammed the heavy doors shut, stepped inside with their weapons raised, and the vehicle tore away into the dark night.
Inside the sealed pod, consciousness returned to Jinu like a cold shock.
What the hell? It feels like I'm underwater... He flexed his fingers, feeling resistance against his skin. Wait. Water! I can feel water!
A surge of desperate hope washed over him. I'm alive. The ghost... the explosion... was all of it just a dream?
As he moved, the pod's internal locks disengaged with a sharp mechanical hiss. The heavy glass door swung open, and Jinu spilled onto a cold floor along with a wave of viscous fluid. Gasping for air, he scrambled to his feet in the dim, unfamiliar space. He was completely stripped of his belongings, but nearby, on a clean metal counter, lay a stark white jumpsuit conveniently left for him.
He quickly pulled the garment on. The moment the fabric settled over his shoulders, the dark room transformed.
The solid walls hummed, shifting and retracting to reveal seamless glass panels. Overhead lights flashed to life, drowning the shadows in a blinding, sterile white.
"Greetings, Jinu!" a cheerful voice echoed from hidden speakers.
The floor beneath him began to move like a subterranean elevator, carrying him upward as the dark walls melted away. When the platform finally clicked to a halt, Jinu's breath caught in his throat.
He was standing in the center of a colossal, sprawling facility. Dozens of people dressed in identical white coats moved bustling across floating glass walkways. Every eye in the atrium turned toward him, locking onto the pale, newly awakened boy at the center of the platform. A faint blue line illuminated on the floor beneath Jinu's feet, winding a path forward.
"Please follow the blue line," the cheerful voice prompted.
Realizing he had no choice, Jinu followed the glowing track down a sleek corridor. As he walked, a small metallic cube floated down from the ceiling. It hovered over him for a second before seamlessly integrating into the core embedded near his collarbone.
A tall man stepped into the hallway to meet him. He wore a crisp white lab coat, possessed silver hair, and had striking blue eyes that glowed like sunlit water.
"I'm Hue, but you can call me Professor H," the man said warmly, offering a hand.
Jinu only stared at the extended hand, his expression cold and guarded.
Professor H slowly lowered his arm with a light chuckle. "No? Okay, seems you're not the social type."
"Where am I?" Jinu demanded, his voice raspy from disuse.
"I was hoping you'd ask that," Professor H replied, turning to walk alongside him toward a high-speed floating platform. "This is a place far beyond anything you've ever known. A sanctuary where science, technology, and biology converge. Here, we study the means to advance humanity—to transform ourselves into something truly magnificent. A place where we might just achieve something close to immortality."
The platform glided effortlessly along an elevated rail, shooting through a final set of blast doors. A brilliant flash of ambient light blinded Jinu for a fraction of a second.
When his vision cleared, he looked out over a sprawling, impossibly futuristic subterranean city glowing with neon energy and advanced architecture.
Professor H spread his arms wide, a proud smile on his face. "Welcome to Alpha."