Skye had always felt that she was terribly unlucky. She had been an orphan since birth and had been adopted several times, but she had never quite fit in with her new "parents."
Later, she suddenly discovered that her past was practically a blank slate. She couldn't find any information about her life online, and it seemed someone had deliberately erased all trace of her birth parents, too.
There had to be some secret behind it all. Maybe her parents hadn't abandoned her after all, but had disappeared for some reason beyond their control.
Every orphan imagined what their birth parents might be like, and those imaginings were usually more positive than not.
So before she was even an adult, Skye had escaped from the orphanage, determined to unravel the mystery by relying on her own strength.
Unfortunately, it was easy to imagine how difficult it was for a young woman to make it on her own in a place like New York. That was why she'd ended up living in the sewers, with rats and cockroaches for neighbors.
She'd never expected her luck to be this bad, though. She had only just decided to leave the sewers when she was kidnapped and brought to this bizarre laboratory.
Looking at the charred corpse being dragged away in front of her, Skye knew it wouldn't be long before she suffered the same fate.
The second human test subject struggled like mad, but in the end, they simply knocked him unconscious and threw him into the sleeping pod.
Through the glass covering the pod, Skye saw them inject him with some unknown substance while he was unconscious. Then flashes of electricity blazed around him, as if they were bombarding him.
When the blinding light faded, a wisp of smoke rose from inside. The man had been burned completely black.
"Damn it, another failure. Bring in the next one!" A cold, merciless voice rang through the laboratory over the speakers. The devil controlling everything from behind the scenes remained unseen, but those final words alone revealed just how cruel and vicious he was.
After watching a full performance straight out of hell, Skye's terror grew wildly, nearly making her faint.
"Please, save me. Somebody, please..." Skye's gaze had turned vacant, with only that one plea left in her heart.
Unfortunately, it seemed miracles simply didn't happen. The test subjects ahead of Skye all turned to charcoal, and then, completely powerless to resist, she was shoved into the pod.
As the pod's door closed, Skye smelled the stench of burning flesh inside. At last, she shut her eyes in despair. In a little while, she'd be nothing but a charred corpse, too.
Just as Skye waited for the blinding light to descend, everything suddenly went dark. She thought the brightness had made her lose her sight.
But why didn't it hurt at all?
Then a furious roar rang through the laboratory. "Why did the power go out? Get it fixed!"
"What's going on out there? Sounds like someone broke in!"
"Go check it out!"
After the scattered shouts, a series of hurried footsteps rang out. It seemed someone had rushed outside in a panic.
"Is this... luck?" Skye could hardly believe it.
She'd just been sure she was about to die horribly after enduring all kinds of torture, and now the power had suddenly gone out?
Once Skye's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that the pod door had somehow opened without a sound. Maybe the blackout had caused it.
In the nearly pitch-black surroundings, a tiny glow suddenly flickered in front of Skye, circling around in a figure eight like a firefly.
As if in a trance, Skye felt that the firefly was signaling to her. She carefully crawled out of the pod and followed it, as though it were a beam of light guiding her through the darkness of despair.
The faint glow was just enough for Skye to make out the path. She followed it until they had passed through two doors and seemed to have reached a room filled with cleaning supplies.
The firefly floated up and settled on a mirror.
Skye moved closer and saw that the firefly had transformed into a three-dimensional projection of Luo Xia from the waist up.
"Skye, are you all right?" Luo Xia's voice came from the projection, somewhat distorted, as if by electromagnetic interference.
At those words, Skye nearly burst into tears. But the tough young woman held them back and asked in a trembling voice, "I'm all right. How did you find me?"
Luo Xia didn't explain much. He only reassured her, "Stay here and don't worry. By tomorrow, everything should be all right. Once you're safely out of here, I'll explain everything."
Skye nodded vigorously, then curled up in a corner of the room. Luo Xia's projection disappeared, and the room sank into darkness again. Even the tiny glow from before had vanished.
But this time, Skye wasn't afraid anymore.
She had no idea how much time passed. Exhausted, Skye eventually fell asleep on the floor. She only woke when bright light reached her, and then she realized it was already the next morning.
The light was coming from the doorway.
Skye nervously watched the person opening the door. He was a strange black-haired man. Remembering that she was still in danger, Skye grabbed a mop from beside her and hurled it at him.
To her surprise, the man easily caught the other end of the mop and motioned for Skye to be quiet.
As she stared at him in confusion, his face shifted, revealing Luo Xia's features.
"Don't panic. I'm here to get you out," Luo Xia said with a smile.
All the fear she'd been holding back finally burst out, and tears streamed down her face. Skye threw herself into Luo Xia's arms and began to cry.
Luo Xia was squeezed tightly in Skye's embrace, so awkward that he didn't know what to do with his hands. Why had this girl suddenly become so fragile?
When they'd first met in the sewers, she'd even tried to play mind games with him. And during their video call last night, she'd seemed perfectly calm. But now...
Still, Luo Xia could only pat Skye on the shoulder and comfort her. "All right. It's over now."
It took a while for Skye to calm down.
Luo Xia changed back to his usual appearance and led Skye out of the room. Following silently behind him, Skye felt her thoughts were a mess. She couldn't understand how Luo Xia had found her, or why he'd risked rescuing a stranger who had once deceived him.
Lost in thought, she saw Luo Xia lead her to join a large group of people, all wearing the same prison clothes as she was.
A man wearing sunglasses and carrying a white cane asked Luo Xia, "Is everyone here?"
"Yes. She's the last one," Luo Xia replied.
The blind man then turned to a man in military uniform. "Well, Mr. Blonsky, now that everyone is here, let's sign the confidentiality agreement."
The short, muscular soldier took the documents from the blind man, signed his name with an unpleasant expression, and turned to leave.
Then Luo Xia said cheerfully, "All right, you're free to go."
Although Luo Xia had said it to everyone, Skye felt as if he were looking right at her.
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