Footsteps rang out on the steel floor, but the man whose voice they had heard earlier came no closer. Only a low electrical hiss lingered in the intercom speaker in the corner.
Lin Hao pulled May behind the cultivation tank. Golden nutrient fluid swayed behind the glass, and the artificial Moltres hung with its wings drooping, a point of light pulsing inside its chest.
The door opened, and two researchers entered. Each carried a data tablet, their lab coat hems brushing against the console. The first thing they checked was not the cultivation tank, but the surveillance screen.
May was about to raise her hand when Lin Hao nudged the edge of her shoe with his toe. She tucked her phone into her sleeve, its recording screen still lit.
"The surveillance feed went black for a while just now." The older researcher connected his tablet to the main computer, and a string of red warnings immediately appeared on the screen. "Who's been in Core Room Three?"
"The patrol team said the wiring was acting up." The other researcher flipped through the records, his expression tense. "The seventh batch of gene chains has been injected, but stability still won't improve. Giovanni's deadline is this weekend. We won't have anything to deliver."
"Giovanni doesn't want stability. He wants something that can fight." The older researcher brought up an acceptance checklist and tapped the field marked twenty-minute survival threshold. "Clear this requirement, and the project passes."
"But once the gene chains collapse, the energy leakage will engulf central Goldenrod City too."
"That's the League's problem. It's not our place to worry about it for them."
May gripped the phone inside her sleeve tightly, its screen pressed against the heel of her hand. The recording continued. Lin Hao did not look at her; he