Chapter 960
Serena pulled on a pair of latex gloves and crushed the pill into a fine powder. “Come help me. Once the chemical breakdown is finished, we’ll know exactly what this is p>
The two quickly moved to assist her.
The powder was transferred into a test tube and mixed with a reactive solvent.
They loaded it into the mass spectrometer.
The three of them worked in tense silence.
Lines of data began rapidly cascading across the monitor.
Caleb and Lydia leaned in closer.
Even though the complex chemical breakdowns were beyond their full understanding.
The rapidly multiplying red warning sirens flashing on the screen drained the blood from their faces.
Ten minutes later.
The machine spat out a comprehensive diagnostic report.
They stared at the terrifying list of red-flagged compounds, a heavy lump forming in their throats. “What… what is all this p>
Lydia pointed at a heavily bolded string of text reading *Neural Pulse Stimulant*, her voice trembling uncontrollably. “Is… is this something humans are supposed to consume p>
Serena peeled off her gloves, pointing directly at the molecular structure displayed on the monitor, her eyes dark. “This is an experimental compound designed to hyper-stimulate specific biological functions. The primary ingredient is p>
“And right here, this is an unidentified neurotoxin p>
“When injected into the system, it aggressively forces the cerebral cortex into overdrive. It creates a false sense of hyper-focus and completely masks physical exhaustion p>
“But the cost is p>
Serena looked up, meeting their terrified eyes.
“Long-term exposure guarantees total organ failure p>
“In severe cases… instantaneous brain death p>
“Organ… failure? Brain death?” Lydia’s knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the pristine floor of the lab.
Every ounce of color vanished from their faces.
“The Doyle family… they were using us as lab rats?” Caleb’s hands shook violently.
“Worse than that,” Serena said coldly, scanning the remaining data. “How long have you two been taking this p>
“Two years, Caleb rasped. “Since
set
the day we signed the sponsorship QOK it every day
agreement we took it all
Every sponsored student did p>
Lydia violently trembled, a suffocating wave of despair crashing over her. Tears streamed down her face. “Then… then Faith p>
She covered her mouth, sobbing
hysterically. “What happened to
Faith? The ones who were sent
abroad for their studies
were
they… did they p>
Serena looked down at the devastated girl, refusing to offer her false comfort. “Yes. They are likely dead p>
Those words shattered whatever was left of Lydia’s composure. She buried her face
in her hands, weeping in absolute agony.
Deep down, she already knew the truth.
They had been consuming a lethal toxin for two solid years. Their organs were already shutting down.
The “study abroad” program was
nothing more than a cover-up for when faith’s biometrics reached the
exact breaking point thet
family wanted to observe.
That was why p>
That was why Faith had vanished without a trace.
She hadn’t gone abroad. The Doyle family had dragged her into a black-site lab to be dissected!
“How could they do this… how could anyone do this p>
“How did the Doyle family get away with this?! We are human beings p>
Caleb staggered backward, gripping the edge of the steel table to keep from falling.
They had been swallowing poison for two years.
It was a literal death sentence.
He thought of his sick grandmother. He thought of all the years he had spent
begging like a dog for Bianca’s mercy just to survive.
He thought of the countless nights he had spent exhausted, forging Bianca’s academic papers.
A violent wave of nausea hit him.
Followed by a crushing, hollow sense of betrayal.
“To people like them, we were never human,” Caleb whispered, his voice broken.
“We were just data. Just disposable lab rats p>