Chapter 721
For years, the institute had been chasing any clue they could find about Asclepius, but every lead had fizzled out.
People said Asclepius was some ancient genius, probably close to ninety. But standing here was Charlotte, who looked barely seventeen or eighteen, claiming she could break down the formula for Drug No. 1. It just sounded ridiculous.
“You…”
“Three minutes left.” Charlotte didn’t even look at the guard. She just watched the clock and spoke quietly.
“Two minutes.”
The guard started to sweat. He couldn’t tell if Charlotte was for real or just putting on a show. Worried he might mess up, he stepped aside to make a call. After a brief conversation, he nodded and signaled his team to clear out of the way. His face stayed as cold as ever. “Someone will take you to the director. Don’t touch anything inside. If you break it, you can’t afford it.”
The director was desperate to crack the secrets of Drug No. 1 and push the experiments forward. At this point, he was willing to try anything, even trusting a random girl who walked in off the street.
“Let’s go.”
Charlotte lowered her cap, shrugged off the guard’s stare, and walked in like she owned the place, Jackson and Adonis right behind her.
As they watched the trio disappear inside, one guard scoffed, “Just another scammer looking for a payday.”
“Unless she’s actually Asclepius, there’s no way she can solve the Drug No. 1 problem. It’s impossible.”
The other guards all nodded in agreement.
***
Inside, the group wasn’t taken to the director. Instead, they were led straight to a lab.
Start the extraction right away? Adonis frowned.
Charlotte had come here because her mom used to work on experiments in this institute. She’d left behind some notes, but anything about Nora had been wiped out and locked away. If Charlotte wanted answers, she needed to get her hands on these records. And the only place to find them was in the institute’s secure room.
“Wait for me out here.”
Charlotte glanced through the glass at the chemicals, tossed her backpack to
Jackson, handed her jacket to Adonis, and grabbed a protective suit and mask from the side.
The researchers nearby stared in
shock. The person who claimed she could separate the formula was just a teenager Dozens of them bald already tried and failed. How was she supposed to pull it off alone? The director must have been totally out of options to trust her.
Charlotte ignored the looks, tied up her long hair, and walked straight into the lab. She started working with the equipment, her movements confident and practiced.
“What’s Charlotte thinking…” Adonis couldn’t hold back, his brow furrowed. “What if she really does it, and they still refuse to give us what we want?”
Jackson didn’t look away from the lab. “Then it’ll go badly for them,” he said, totally serious.
Adonis fell silent. Right, doubting Charlotte was just insulting her.
Suddenly, the separator in the lab began to beep.
Did she actually do it?
The researchers, who had been standing around in boredom, jumped up and crowded the lab
door But before anyone could get a proper look, Charlotte nudged the separator with her finger. It fell into a vat of water, and the separated chemicals were destroyed in an instant.
What the hell?
Everyone stared, frozen in shock.
Charlotte walked out of the lab, peeling off her suit and gloves. She kept her gaze
low, her voice calm and cold. “One minute. Get the director here.”
“Right away.” The lab supervisor didn’t even hesitate; he ran off to call the director, terrified Charlotte would be gone if he waited even a second longer.
If she left, their one shot at cracking Drug No. 1 would disappear with her.