The morning broke gray and heavy. Clouds hung low over the city, the world outside painted in shades of silence.
Rui sat at the edge of the table, his laptop open, screens filled with old research files he had stolen from the facility before they fled.
Meilin leaned weakly against the wall, her blanket draped over her shoulders. The faint blue glow beneath her skin had dimmed through the night, but it hadn't disappeared.
"Did you find anything?" she asked quietly.
Rui rubbed his tired eyes. "More than I wanted to."
He turned the screen toward her. Rows of data scrolled by — chemical codes, experiment dates, patient IDs. One folder stood out.
Subject 001: Project Phoenix.
Meilin frowned. "Phoenix… the rebirth project."
Rui nodded. "It was Liang's earliest attempt. The goal was to recreate cellular regeneration — immortality, in simple words. But it failed."
"Failed how?"
He hesitated. "Subject 001 went insane. The serum changed his body faster than his mind could adapt. He killed everyone in the lab during the final trial."
Meilin's heart pounded. "And yet… they continued?"
"They perfected it using your DNA," Rui said softly. "You were never random, Meilin. You were chosen because you shared the same genetic markers as Subject 001."
Her breath caught. "Then who was he?"
Rui's voice dropped to a whisper. "His name was Shen Yan."
Meilin froze. The name echoed in her mind like thunder. "Shen Yan…"
"He was Liang's first creation — and your older brother."
Her knees buckled. Rui was there instantly, catching her before she fell. "No… that's not possible. I don't have a brother."
Rui looked at her with quiet sorrow. "You did once. But Liang erased every record. He used your family as the foundation for all his work."
Memories flashed in her mind — faint, blurry, almost like dreams.
A boy's laughter.
A small hand holding hers.
A promise whispered under cherry blossoms: "I'll always protect you, Mei."
Her tears fell before she realized she was crying. "He's alive, isn't he?"
Rui didn't answer.
"Tell me," she demanded. "He's alive!"
He met her eyes finally, pain flickering through his gaze. "Yes. But not as the brother you remember. Liang kept him alive… to perfect the serum. He became the template for all future experiments — including you."
The room seemed to tilt. Meilin clutched her head as fragments of forgotten memories flooded back — the facility, the voices, the boy screaming her name before being dragged away.
"Rui…" she whispered, trembling. "If he's still alive, I have to find him."
Rui reached for her hand. "If you go back there, Liang will find you first."
"I don't care," she said fiercely. "He's my brother. He suffered because of me. If I don't end this, no one will."
Rui stared at her for a long time, then nodded slowly. "Then we go together. But we need help — someone who knows the underground network."
A faint voice came from the doorway. "Then you'll want me."
They both turned sharply. A woman stood there — tall, wearing a hood, eyes sharp as knives.
Rui tensed. "Who are you?"
The woman smirked slightly. "The name's Lin Yue. I worked under Liang once… before I decided monsters didn't deserve loyalty."
Meilin's pulse quickened. "Then you know where my brother is?"
Lin Yue nodded. "I do. But saving him won't be easy. He's not the same person you remember. They call him 'The Phantom' now — the perfect weapon."
Meilin's blood ran cold.
Rui sto
od up, steady and resolved. "Then we'll face him — whatever he's become."