The neon lights of the laboratory pulsed with a cold, impersonal white light. Fatigue tugged at every nerve in his body, but adrenaline kept him alert. He was almost there. Years of research, sleepless nights, an all-consuming obsession with a project that was to revolutionize the world.
On the screen in front of him, the numbers scrolled by at dizzying speed. Five years. His program could extend human life expectancy by five years. Yet this was only a fraction of what he had just discovered.
The real breakthrough was far greater. An anomaly in the data, a phenomenon that followed no known biological law. Once activated, this hidden mechanism could open unsuspected doors in the human body-a potential never before exploited. A power no one was meant to understand.
A noise behind him.
He gasped, turning his head sharply. There was no one there. Only the shadows cast by the screens on the laboratory walls. He massaged his temples. Paranoia was beginning to set in.
His phone suddenly vibrated on the table.
"You've gone too far. Stop everything. Or disappear."
An icy shiver ran down his spine. He stared at the message, his throat tight. He'd received several anonymous warnings in recent weeks, but this one was different. More direct. More threatening.
He opened his office door and glanced down the corridor. It was empty. Yet he felt a presence. Someone was watching him.
He returned to his screen, his heart pounding. He had to complete the final adjustments before transferring his data to a secure server. He knew that what he had discovered would change everything-and he also knew that someone wanted to prevent him from succeeding.
He opened an encrypted file, his fingers running over the keyboard. He had to get these results to his team before it was too late.
A noise behind him. This time, it wasn't his imagination.
The air seemed to freeze. He pivoted slowly.
Three figures stood in the shadows of the corridor. Their faces were masked, but he could make out dark jumpsuits, the metallic glint of a weapon concealed under a coat.
They were there.
Time seemed to slow down. He leapt to his computer to trigger the transfer, but a searing pain exploded in his right arm. A syringe.
His breath hitched. His heart was pounding. His body burned from the inside out. His muscles contracted painfully, as if crushed by an invisible force.
He tried to fight, but his strength was failing him. The room blurred, the lights fading around him one by one.
Before total darkness engulfed him, a single thought crossed his mind:
"If I could do it over again... I wouldn't make the same mistakes."