Blinding white light.
That was the first thing Su Nuan felt when she regained consciousness.
Instinctively, she tried to raise a hand to shield her eyes, only to discover that her limbs felt as heavy as lead. She could barely move even a single finger.
"You're awake?"
A gentle female voice sounded beside her.
"Don't try to move yet. The sedative hasn't completely worn off."
Su Nuan struggled to focus her vision.
A woman who appeared to be in her fifties was leaning over her, checking her vital signs. She wore old-fashioned round glasses, and her gray-streaked hair was neatly tied into a bun. Beneath her white lab coat, the collar of a pale blue Chinese-style shirt was visible.
"Where… am I?"
Su Nuan's voice was so hoarse that it was barely audible.
"Somewhere safe."
The woman handed her a cup of water and gently lifted her head so she could take a few small sips.
"My name is Lu Wenjun. You can call me Dr. Lu."
Su Nuan looked around.
She was lying inside a small but spotless medical cabin. The walls were made of some kind of silver-gray metal, and the lighting automatically adjusted in response to her movements.
The entire space seemed to be a strange blend of futuristic technology and old-world tradition.
Advanced medical equipment stood beside blue-and-white porcelain teacups, while a piece of traditional calligraphy hung beneath an electronic display screen.
"This is…"
Su Nuan listened carefully to the faint mechanical hum surrounding her and sensed the unusual confinement of the space.
"A submarine?"
Dr. Lu nodded approvingly.
"Sharp observation. Just like Lin Xue's daughter."
"Yes. This is the Siren, a research submarine."
Memory came rushing back like a tidal wave.
The helicopter crashing into the sea.
Fu Linyuan being shot.
Xu Zheng's betrayal—
Su Nuan suddenly sat upright, only to be overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness.
"Fu Linyuan!"
She gripped the edge of the bed.
"Is he alive?"
Dr. Lu's expression became complicated.
"We only found you."
She paused.
"According to intercepted intelligence, Mr. Fu was taken to General Wang's Penglai Base."
Alive.
At least he was still alive.
The fingers gripping the bedsheet slowly loosened.
"Who are you?"
Su Nuan looked at Dr. Lu.
"And why did you save me?"
"So many questions."
Dr. Lu smiled.
"To put it simply, we are the Watchers."
She pressed a button beside the bed.
Part of the cabin wall suddenly turned transparent, revealing the deep blue seawater outside.
Several glowing deep-sea fish drifted past, their faint light illuminating the distant outline of a massive underwater structure.
"That is…?"
"Guixu Outpost."
Dr. Lu explained.
"Our headquarters."
"One of the underwater bases your mother helped design. It was built to withstand both a nuclear explosion and an EMP attack."
Su Nuan tried to process the information.
Her mother had not only participated in genetic research—she had also helped design an underwater base?
Just how many secrets had Lin Xue been hiding?
"I need to contact Ark Island."
Su Nuan tried to get out of bed.
"I need to know whether the others are safe."
Dr. Lu placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ark Island has already fallen. The survivors have scattered and evacuated."
"As for the Watchers…"
Her expression grew more serious.
"We never directly interfere in conflicts. We observe from the shadows and protect key individuals."
"Key individuals?"
Su Nuan frowned.
"Like me?"
"Especially you."
Dr. Lu looked directly into her eyes.
"You are Lin Xue's greatest creation."
"And humanity's last hope."
The words made Su Nuan deeply uncomfortable.
She was tired of being treated as a creation.
Or a weapon.
Even if it was supposedly for the sake of saving humanity.
"I'm just a doctor."
She said tiredly.
"Not some kind of superweapon."
Dr. Lu suddenly smiled.
"Your mother used to say something similar."
She walked toward a safe embedded in the wall and entered a biometric authorization code.
"I have something you need to see."
The safe opened.
Dr. Lu removed a small holographic projector and placed it beside Su Nuan's bed.
When she activated it, a three-dimensional image slowly formed in the air.
It was Lin Xue.
Su Nuan's mother.
She stood inside what appeared to be a laboratory, wearing a white lab coat. She looked far more alive than she ever had in photographs.
"This message was left for you."
Dr. Lu spoke quietly.
"It was programmed to unlock on your twenty-fifth birthday… or under special circumstances."
She looked at Su Nuan.
"I think this qualifies as a special circumstance."
After pressing the playback button, she quietly left the room.
Su Nuan was alone with the image of her mother.
"Xiao Nuan."
Lin Xue's holographic voice was gentle, yet steady.
"If you're seeing this, then it means the worst has already happened."
"Please forgive your mother for not telling you the truth myself."
"Your genes were indeed specially designed."
"But that does not change the fact that you are an independent person with free will."
The holographic image of Lin Xue stepped closer, as though she could look directly into her daughter's eyes across time and space.
"The key lies in your brain."
"To be precise…"
"The pineal region."
"Hidden there is the activation code for the antibody."
"It can transform an ordinary antibody into a universal cure."
Su Nuan's breath caught.
"That is why the Purifiers need you."
Lin Xue continued.
"Not just a sample of your blood."
"You."
"Alive."
Su Nuan unconsciously reached toward the back of her neck.
A cold shiver ran through her body.
Vivisection.
Was that what Xu Zheng intended to do to her?
"The code was designed so that only you can activate it voluntarily, through a specific form of neural stimulation."
Lin Xue continued.
"Fu Linyuan knows the method."
"He is the person I trust most."
"And the only one who can protect you."
At the mention of Fu Linyuan, a complicated emotion flashed through Lin Xue's eyes.
It was an emotion Su Nuan could not understand.
"One last thing."
Lin Xue's voice softened.
"Remember these coordinates."
"Thirty-two degrees, fourteen minutes north."
"One hundred and twenty-four degrees, seventeen minutes east."
"There, you will find the key to ending everything."
"I love you, Xiao Nuan."
"No matter what happens…"
"Please believe that this world is worth saving."
The image disappeared.
Su Nuan was left alone with countless unanswered questions.
Where did those coordinates lead?
What was the method Fu Linyuan knew?
And what exactly had happened between her mother and Fu Linyuan?
The cabin door slid open.
Dr. Lu returned, carrying a tray of food.
"Finished asking your questions?"
"Actually…"
Su Nuan gave a bitter smile.
"I have even more questions now."
She hesitated.
"My mother and Fu Linyuan…"
"Were they really just colleagues?"
Dr. Lu set the tray down.
Her expression became strangely subtle.
"Their relationship was…"
She paused.
"Complicated."
"Fu Linyuan was once your mother's student. Later, he became her research partner, and eventually…"
She stopped herself.
"Anyway."
"He promised to protect you, even if it cost him his life."
Her eyes lowered.
"And from what I've seen, he kept that promise."
Su Nuan remembered Fu Linyuan standing in front of her.
Remembered the bullet tearing through his body.
A sharp pain tightened in her chest.
She had to save him.
No matter the cost.
"Where is Penglai Base?"
She looked up.
"And how heavily defended is it?"
Dr. Lu raised an eyebrow.
"You're planning to rescue him?"
"In your current condition?"
"He took a bullet for me."
Su Nuan looked directly into her eyes.
"I'm not leaving him behind."
Dr. Lu let out a long sigh.
Then she took a data tablet from her pocket.
"I knew you were going to say that."
"This is the structural layout of Penglai."
"General Wang's floating fortress."
She activated the screen.
"It has one of the most advanced defense systems in existence."
Su Nuan carefully studied the blueprint.
The longer she looked, the heavier her heart became.
Penglai was a massive semi-submersible platform—essentially a small city floating on the ocean.
Thousands of soldiers and researchers were stationed there.
Even if she could get close…
How could she possibly break through layers of security and rescue Fu Linyuan?
"Does it have a weakness?"
"One."
Dr. Lu pointed toward the center of the blueprint.
"The energy core."
"If it shuts down, the entire platform will switch to emergency power for twelve minutes."
"During that time, all electronic locks will fail."
"But there's a problem."
"It requires dual biometric authorization."
"General Wang himself…"
"And the chief scientist."
"Who's the chief scientist?"
"Lin Xiu."
Dr. Lu's voice was filled with disgust.
"The traitor is doing quite well for himself now."
Su Nuan clenched her jaw.
Lin Xiu.
Xu Zheng.
Both traitors.
And Fu Linyuan was now in their hands.
She did not dare imagine what he might be going through.
"I need to rescue him."
She raised her head.
Her eyes were filled with determination.
Dr. Lu shook her head.
"It's too dangerous."
"Besides, you don't even know where Fu Linyuan is being held."
"I do."
A deep male voice came from the doorway.
Su Nuan turned.
A tall man was leaning against the doorframe.
He appeared to be around forty years old, with bronze-colored skin. His left eye was covered by an eyepatch, while his right eye was an unusually striking amber color.
He wore a black combat uniform that revealed the powerful lines of his body.
There was something dangerous about him.
Something predatory.
"Han Lie."
He introduced himself briefly.
"Captain of the Siren."
"I've been intercepting General Wang's communications for three years."
"Fu Linyuan is being held in Sector B7."
"The special detention zone."
"How do you know?"
"Because they're waiting for something."
Han Lie stepped into the room.
A cold light flashed in his single visible eye.
"They're waiting for you to come rescue him."
Su Nuan froze.
"It's a trap."
She clenched her fists.
"So what?"
"I can't leave him behind!"
"No one is asking you to."
Han Lie grinned.
His teeth looked almost shark-like.
"We just need a better plan."
"For example…"
He paused.
"Making them believe they've captured you."
Dr. Lu sharply inhaled.
"Are you insane?"
"You want to use her as bait?"
"Not real bait."
Han Lie took a small bottle from his pocket.
Inside was a strange blue liquid.
"Disguise serum."
"It can temporarily make someone look like another person."
"We send in a volunteer pretending to be you."
"They get captured, we create chaos, and then…"
"And then I use the opportunity to rescue Fu Linyuan."
Su Nuan finished.
Dr. Lu still looked unconvinced.
"It's too dangerous."
"If it fails—"
"Staying here is even more dangerous."
Han Lie interrupted.
"The Purifiers have already located this region of the ocean."
"They'll launch an attack within forty-eight hours at the latest."
"We have to relocate."
"And Fu Linyuan is the only person who knows the locations of the other safe sites."
Su Nuan had already made up her mind.
"What do I need to prepare?"
Han Lie studied her with an approving look.
"You've got courage."
"First, you need to learn the layout of Penglai."
"Second, you need to learn how to use basic weapons."
"And finally…"
He paused meaningfully.
"You need to activate the code inside your body."
"What?"
"The neural stimulation your mother mentioned."
Han Lie explained.
"When you're under extreme danger, your brain releases a special signal that can activate the full potential of your antibodies."
"Fu Linyuan knows how to trigger it."
Su Nuan remembered her mother's words from the holographic recording.
Fu Linyuan knows the method.
But what was that method?
And why did it have to be him?
"When do we leave?"
She asked.
"At dawn tomorrow."
Han Lie turned toward the door.
"Use the time you have to rest and learn."
"Dr. Lu will explain Penglai's structure in detail."
The cabin door closed behind him.
Dr. Lu looked at Su Nuan with deep concern.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Fu Linyuan sacrificed himself to protect you."
"Exactly."
Su Nuan spoke quietly.
"That's why I can't let his sacrifice be meaningless."
She lowered her eyes.
"And besides…"
"I need to know what really happened between him and my mother."
Dr. Lu seemed as though she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she only sighed.
"Some truths…"
She said softly.
"Perhaps only Fu Linyuan can tell you."