Inside the Genetic Evolution Matrix—better known as GEM—every monitor flickered at the same moment. The conversations stopped. The robotic arms assembling genetic cultures froze in place, and even the endless hum of centrifuges seemed quieter. Across every screen in the laboratory, one line of text appeared: PRIORITY AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED. Beneath it came another: PRIVATE AIRCRAFT H-01 PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF. And finally—AUTHORIZED BY: KAELEN.
For several long seconds, no one spoke. Then Dr. Vahn slowly removed the pipette from his hand. "...No way."
Dr. Aris looked up from the microscope, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. "What?"
Vahn pointed toward the nearest monitor. "The Boss."
Aris walked over, his face stiffening as he read the screen. "He approved the flight."
A fourth line appeared: DESTINATION: FREENLY CITY.
The laboratory exploded. "What?!" "He's actually going?" "Personally?" "That's impossible." Researchers abandoned microscopes and workstations, gathering around the central holotable. Some stared, while others simply blinked at the screen as though it had malfunctioned. Finally, Aris let out a slow breath. "...He's serious."
Vahn broke the silence first. "So..." He leaned against the holotable. "...How impossible is Malcolm Ford?"
Aris gave him a deadpan look. "You've read the files."
"I know. I want to hear someone else say it."
Elias snorted, counting on his fingers. "Twenty-four candidates. Eighteen months. Seven countries. Thirty-two operations." He raised another finger. "Every one of them failed."
"They weren't ordinary women either," Aris added. "They were selected after years of psychological profiling. " He sighed. "Every personality Malcolm Ford has ever shown interest in... we manufactured."
"And?" Vahn asked.
"And nothing," Aris shrugged.
Vahn blinked. "Seriously! So what happened?"
Elias spread both hands dramatically. "Morning happened."
Laughter rippled through the room. "The collection kits?"
"Empty."
"The sheets?"
"Clean."
"The women?"
"Emotionally destroyed."
Even Aris couldn't suppress a smile. "It's become a running joke among the medical division."
"What joke?"
"If Malcolm Ford ever has children... we'll assume they were delivered by divine intervention."
"But that's exactly what bothers me." The voice came quietly from the far side of the laboratory. Everyone turned as Dr. Julian slowly closed the genetic sequencing report in front of him. Unlike the others, he hadn't laughed. His silver hair was streaked with age, and decades spent inside laboratories had left permanent shadows beneath his eyes.
"What bothers you?" Aris asked.
Julian looked toward Malcolm Ford's genetic profile rotating above the holotable. "Everyone keeps calling him impossible."
"Isn't he?"
"No." Julian stood up and walked closer. "I think he's simply the most disciplined Alpha alive. He isn't rejecting women. He enjoys their company intimacy and affection. He simply refuses..." Julian tapped Malcolm's profile. "...to surrender control."
Vahn frowned. "You make him sound terrifying."
Julian smiled faintly. "No. He makes himself terrifying."
Another thoughtful silence followed. Finally, Elias sighed, gesturing helplessly toward the flight authorization. "So if twenty-four beautiful women couldn't crack him... what exactly does the Boss think he's going to do?"
No one answered immediately. Then Vahn scratched the back of his neck. "Actually... I have a better question." Three pairs of eyes turned toward him. "If Malcolm likes women... and the Boss is a man... is this mission already doomed?"
The laboratory fell silent once again. Then, a quiet chuckle escaped Julian. The others looked at him in surprise, as it was rare to hear the old scientist laugh.
"You've never seen him." Julian murmured.
"Seen who?"
"The Boss."
Vahn frowned. "None of us have. I've worked here five years and I'm not even sure he has fingerprints."
A faint smile touched Julian's lips. "I've seen his face."
Everything stopped. Even the machines seemed quieter. Aris stared. "What?"
"I saw it."
Elias frowned. "Impossible."
"It was three years ago." Julian looked around the laboratory to ensure no security drones were nearby, then he lowered his voice. "It happened by accident."
The four scientists instinctively stepped closer. No one noticed the genetic sequencers continuing their endless work behind them. For the first time that morning, Project Z had been forgotten. Only one question remained.
"What..." Vahn whispered, "...does the Boss actually look like?"
Even Dr. Aris, a man famous for dismissing gossip as "a disease of the intellectually lazy," leaned forward. "You're serious?"
Julian nodded. "I've kept that secret for three years."
Vahn frowned. "I thought no one had ever seen his face."
"No one was supposed to." Julian let out a slow breath before speaking again. "It was during the annual medical examination."
Aris blinked. "The Boss actually allows those?"
"He allows exactly one." Julian smiled faintly. "Even perfection requires blood tests." A few chuckles rippled through the room. "The examination had already ended. I was carrying his analysis to the private wing. The security team escorted me through the eastern corridor." His expression slowly became distant. "Someone made a mistake. A security door opened too early. And..." He paused. "...I looked inside."
No one interrupted.
"I only saw him for three seconds. Three." Julian held up three fingers. "But those three seconds have stayed with me longer than my wedding day."
The room erupted. "Oh, come on!" "You've got to be exaggerating."
Julian shook his head. "I wish I were." He folded his arms. "You all imagine an Alpha should look powerful. Broad. Rugged. The Boss isn't."
That caught everyone's attention. "He isn't?"
Julian slowly searched for the right words. "Imagine... if elegance became a person." The room grew quiet again. "His face... there wasn't a single feature out of place. His skin looked almost unreal. His eyes..." Julian smiled bitterly. "I don't even remember their color. I only remember forgetting why I had entered the room."
Vahn burst into laughter. "You? The man who once continued operating with a fractured wrist because he 'didn't notice'?"
"The same one." Julian sighed dramatically. "I walked straight into the wall afterward."
Even Aris laughed at that. "I spent an entire week convincing myself I hadn't."
Elias wiped tears from his eyes. "So... you're saying he's handsome."
Julian looked at him. "No. I'm saying handsome is what ordinary people become when compared with each other. The Boss... is something entirely different." Silence fell over the room. "You've all studied genetics." Heads nodded. "Then think of him as... an impossible mutation."
Vahn groaned. "Great. So now our employer is genetically unfair."
"He always was." Aris folded his arms thoughtfully. "If he's really that attractive... then maybe the mission isn't impossible."
Vahn looked at him. "You serious?"
Aris nodded. "Physical attraction opens doors."
Elias snorted. "And his personality slams them shut."
The room laughed again, and Vahn couldn't resist joining in. "I've worked here five years. I've never seen him smile."
Aris nodded. "I've never heard him laugh."
Elias added, "I've never even heard him sigh."
Julian rubbed his chin. "I once saw him blink twice."
Three heads turned. "...Really?"
"No." Julian smiled. "I wanted to know if you were paying attention."
The laboratory exploded with laughter. When the laughter finally died down, Aris sighed. "Let's be honest. The Boss has many talents. He can predict political coups. He speaks twelve languages. He memorizes entire genetic sequences. He defeated three Fortune Five Hundred CEOs in negotiations before."
Vahn nodded. "True. But flirting?" He shook his head dramatically. "I'd sooner believe a refrigerator could seduce someone."
More laughter followed. Elias leaned back in his chair. "Imagine it. The Boss walks into Deviloy. He finds Malcolm Ford." He straightened his posture, lowered his voice several octaves, and imitated the Boss. 'Good afternoon.' Everyone nodded. "So far, believable," Elias continued in the same emotionless tone. 'Would you care to accompany me for dinner?' Vahn burst out laughing. "Then what?" Elias kept a perfectly straight face. 'Romantic feelings have been scheduled between seven and nine o'clock.'
The laboratory dissolved into hysterics. Even Julian covered his mouth, while Aris leaned against the table trying to breathe. "I can actually hear him saying that!"
When the room finally settled, Julian's smile slowly faded. "You laugh. But don't underestimate him." The amusement disappeared almost instantly. "He didn't build Project Z because he was lucky. He built it because he learns." Silence blanketed the lab once more. "When he wanted to master economics... he did. When he wanted to master military strategy... he did. When he wanted to understand genetics... he surpassed professors." Julian looked toward the glowing flight authorization. "If he decides to learn emotion... he will."
Vahn scratched his head. "You really believe someone can learn to smile?"
"I believe he can learn anything."
"What about love?"
Julian hesitated. For the first time, he didn't answer immediately. "I don't know."
Before anyone could respond—BEEP! A sharp alarm shattered the room, and every monitor flashed red: BIOHAZARD ALERT GENETIC STORAGE BREACH LEVEL ONE LOCKDOWN INITIATED.
The laboratory froze. "What happened?" Aris exclaimed.
One screen switched to the security cameras. An Alpha sprinted through the eastern corridor, clutching a silver containment case against his chest. His prison uniform hung in torn strips, exposing tattooed arms covered in blood, while the reinforced security doors behind him looked as though they had been ripped from their hinges.
Vahn's face turned white. "No."
Aris stared at the monitor. "It can't be."
Elias swallowed. "Titan."
The name alone drained the color from everyone's faces. Titan—one of the empire's most violent enhanced Alphas. He had been captured five years earlier after slaughtering an entire private military unit. Even restrained inside GEM, he required reinforced alloy restraints capable of holding aircraft engines. And now... he was loose.
"He stole Sample Eight!" one technician screamed. "If he escapes, years of research disappear with him!"
The emergency lights bathed the laboratory in red as scientists fled behind doors and automated defense drones detached from the ceiling. Titan laughed as bullets ricocheted harmlessly from the armored plates woven beneath his skin. "PATHETIC!" He swung the containment case like a hammer, and a drone exploded against the wall. Another followed. Smoke filled the corridor as Titan grinned. "Tell your precious Boss... he should've killed me when he had the chance!"
He took another step, then stopped. Someone stood at the opposite end of the hallway, completely still. Black coat and a mask. Hands resting behind his back. The emergency lights painted his silhouette in red.
Titan's grin slowly faded. "Boss." The title escaped him before he realized he'd spoken.
The masked man remained silent, his voice echoing through the corridor. "You've damaged my laboratory." Titan forced a laugh. "So what?" No answer. "You've killed six guards." Silence. "You've stolen what belongs to me."
Titan tightened his grip on the silver case. "I'll steal your life too!"
With a roar powerful enough to shake the walls, the giant Alpha launched forward. The floor cracked beneath his feet as scientists watched through reinforced glass. One whispered, "Move." Another closed her eyes. "No one can survive that."
Titan's fist shot forward like a cannon. The impact... never came. Gasps filled the laboratory. The Boss had caught the punch with one hand, without taking a single step backward.
Titan's eyes widened. "Impossible."
The Boss tilted his head slightly. "You've become slower." Before Titan could react—CRACK! His wrist folded at an unnatural angle. The scream echoed through the corridor as the containment case slipped from his grasp. The Boss caught it effortlessly with his free hand.
Titan swung his remaining fist, but the Boss ducked with almost lazy precision. His elbow struck Titan's ribs three dull impacts. Nothing flashy yet each strike landed with terrifying precision. Titan coughed as blood splattered across the floor and his knees buckled. "W-What..."
The Boss calmly adjusted one of his gloves. "I broke your liver." Titan stared. "I collapsed your left lung. I shattered three vertebrae."
The giant Alpha tried to move, but nothing happened. His body refused to obey. He collapsed face-first onto the floor. The strongest enhanced Alpha inside GEM had fallen in less than ten seconds.
The Boss crouched beside him, his voice remaining calm. "So much strength. So little discipline." He stood up. Without another glance at the unconscious man, he handed the containment case to the nearest trembling scientist. "Verify the sample."
"T-...Yes, Boss!"
Medical teams rushed into the corridor, though none approached until the Boss had already begun walking away. The scientists instinctively parted to make a path, and even Julian lowered his head. The Boss stopped at the laboratory entrance. Without turning around, he spoke. "Project Z will remain under your supervision. Continue your research." His coat swayed gently as he resumed walking. "I'll return... soon."
The doors slid open, and beyond them waited Kaelen. "The jet is ready, Boss." A simple nod followed, and then the two figures disappeared into the corridor as the doors sealed shut.
Only after several seconds did anyone remember to breathe. Vahn looked at the unconscious Titan. "Did... did he just defeat Titan with one hand?"
Julian smiled faintly, watching the corridor where the Boss had vanished. "No. He defeated him with his attention elsewhere."