Chapter 67: Bewitching

After escorting that cute, slightly scatterbrained little technician to the women’s restroom on the fourth floor, Lu Ze leaned against the cold wall of the corridor, waiting idly.

Even though she had shown her work credentials, Building F was still the core facility of ReCon Biotech, hiding too many secrets that could never see the light of day.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was safest for an internal researcher like him to keep watch personally.

Come to think of it, his mood had actually been terrible today.

Just an hour ago, Dr. Evelyn Reed—his mentor—had rejected his radical proposal for a “directed infection” model yet again, diverting more experimental resources toward Lin Xue’s “reverse transcription” project. Safe, conservative, unimaginative.

(What’s so good about that boring junk?!)

The thought burned in his chest like a stubborn, unquenchable flame.

(All for the sake of so-called safety and stability—throwing away bold innovation… That’s just patching holes on a map drawn by predecessors. Even if she succeeds, she’s only a master craftsman, never a pioneer!)

He recalled the earnest, overly academic expression Lin Xue wore as she explained her theory in the meeting, and an uncontrollable wave of irritation surged up inside him.

(That woman… doesn’t understand at all!)

He wasn’t referring to Lin Xue.

He meant Dr. Reed.

(She doesn’t understand what my ‘directed infection’ model represents! If it succeeds, we wouldn’t need to adapt to genes—we’d write life like gods!)

(That is the true essence of the “Prometheus Project.” That is real fire-theft. And Lin Xue’s project? At best, she’s poking around the ashes of an already-burnt-out fire hoping to find a scrap of leftover charcoal.)

(Science without radical thinking isn’t science. It’s archaeology! Pathetic cowardice dressed as research!)

But now, his gloom had unexpectedly lifted a little.

(…Who knew a contract company like Dawn would send someone that naïve?)

A smug thought drifted through his mind, swelling uncontrollably.

He replayed the image of the gray-haired girl…
Her shy, trembling expression when she looked up at him with inferiority and admiration…

“tsk, tsk…”

He even let out a soft chuckle—one tinged with a hunter’s delight.

(Her brain seems a little slow, and her horizons painfully narrow… but at least she knows her place.)

(Someone from a dump like Hive District finally getting a job at Xinhai University—it’s no wonder she was shaking like that.)

(But that little ‘Brother Lu Ze’… that was pretty sweet.)

The thought made the corner of his mouth lift involuntarily.

He savored the feeling.

After all, it soothed the pride that had been bruised by his mentor’s indifference.

Just as he was basking in that cheap sense of superiority, a sudden physical urge cut through his thoughts.

(Tch… that black coffee I had earlier is kicking in.)

He frowned and glanced toward the heavily secured door of the core laboratory zone at the far end of the hall.
Walking back there would take at least five minutes.

(Forget it. Too much trouble.)

Without further thought, he turned and pushed open the door to the men’s restroom nearby.

This was Xinhai University— even the bathrooms were as pristine and luxurious as a five-star hotel.
Clean, tidy, with a faint scent of cedar in the air.

Lu Ze walked to the sensor-activated urinal and relieved himself.

Even then, his mind continued to replay the gray-haired girl’s voice.

“…Someone like you is on a level I could never reach in my whole life…”

“Heh…”

As he savored the memory, his aim wavered from how good it felt.

After shaking off the last drops, he stretched in satisfaction.

He headed to the white marble sink to wash his hands.

That was when he heard two researchers passing by outside the hall.

“Hey, did you hear? Junior Lin Xue’s project made another breakthrough this morning! She optimized the new task Dr. Reed assigned—overnight!”

“No way! Even Dr. Reed thought that problem was tricky! Ugh, geniuses really are everywhere these days, like mice in a wet market.”

“No kidding. With her here, we so-called elites feel like idiots just keeping the emperor company…”

Their voices faded as they walked away.

But their words—full of awe and inferiority—stabbed into Lu Ze’s ears like several red-hot needles.

His hand froze mid-wash.

Then, the gray-haired girl’s “admiring” words replayed in his mind at the worst possible moment:

“…Dr. Reed also has a very, very brilliant student! I think her name was… Lin Xue?”

(…Lin Xue.)

(Lin Xue again!)

(Why?! Why is everyone always talking about her?!)

The thought exploded inside him like a firestorm.

He splashed water onto his face, trying desperately to calm down.

It didn’t work.

The flames of jealousy only burned hotter.

(Why… why won’t anyone talk about me?!)

(I’m a P3-level core researcher of ReCon Biotech, the spearhead of the Prometheus Project! My directed infection model could overturn the entire field of gene editing!)

(And her? What has she done? Riding her tiny bit of cleverness to score points with the mentor! Her work is nothing but a footnote—a supplement—to a far greater system! It can’t compare to mine at all!)

The more he thought about it, the more violently resentment surged in him.

He could never forget the open appreciation that gleamed in Dr. Reed’s blue eyes whenever she looked at Lin Xue.
And when she looked at him—she valued him, yes, but always with a faint, intangible barrier between them.

(Why?!)

His jaw clenched painfully.

(Just because he’s prettier? Just because he’s a perfect little poster child?)

(And me? Just because I offered ‘a few harmless optimizations’ to your theory, you look at me like that?!)

(You don’t understand a thing, woman! My talent—my ambition—are leagues above yours!)

(One day, I will prove that I am the one destined to lead the Prometheus Project to the divine realm!)

(I… am the one who will make Xinhai—)

Then—

“…Yes…”

A voice whispered right beside his ear.

Soft. Gentle. Seductive.

“…You are the most brilliant one.”

“Who?!”

Lu Ze jerked violently and spun around, shouting.

No one.

Only the rows of white tiled stalls, beads of water reflecting cold light.

(…Hallucination?)

He frowned, temples throbbing.

(Have I been overworking…? Too many late-night experiments…?)

He turned off the tap, flicked the water from his hands, and raised his head toward the spotless mirror.

The face staring back—twisted by jealousy and rage—was his.

And yet… something was wrong.

“You’re dissatisfied, aren’t you?
Born with talent surpassing everyone else, yet forced to kneel beneath them.”

The voice came again.

Clearer.

And this time—
it came from inside the mirror.

“You crave recognition.
You long to prove you’re the one true genius.”

Lu Ze’s breath stopped entirely.

He stared at the reflection.

Then he saw it.

His distorted reflection… was changing.

The resentment and anger melted away like ice under spring sunlight.

In their place appeared a calm, confident smile—
even tinged with pity.

“Look at yourself,”
the reflection said smoothly, with the poise of someone above all others.

“You sit atop a treasure mountain, yet don’t know how to mine it.
Pathetic.”

“Your ‘directed infection’ idea is correct.
But your approach… is childish.”

The reflection shook its head like a mathematician watching a child boast about solving a simple equation.

“Using high-intensity energy to induce gene-chain mutation…?
That crude method is inefficient—and easily criticized by stubborn women like Reed.”

“Why not choose a path… more direct, more powerful?”

The reflection’s smile deepened.

“Your thinking isn’t radical enough, Lu Ze.
Not nearly enough.”

The reflection moved.

Its lips formed silent words—
yet Lu Ze understood every one of them as if they were spoken directly into his mind.

“Why not draw upon the power of Subspace?”

“Wha—”

Lu Ze froze.

“Subspace?!”

Fear flashed across his face for the first time.

As a core researcher at ReCon Biotech, of course he knew what Subspace meant.

It was an absolute forbidden domain—top-level classified, strictly off-limits.

He had once seen a file describing a reckless researcher who injected trace Subspace energy into a chimeric embryo.
Within three hours, it mutated, tore through all physical containment, and turned the entire seventh underground floor into a flesh hive.

Cleanup had required help from an external organization and cost millions.

“You’re afraid?”
the reflection laughed, dripping with contempt.

“A s*ave to fear of ‘negative energy’?
A coward cowering from danger?”

“Your greatest flaw, Lu Ze, is letting rules cage you.
Who told you Subspace is only danger? That label is nothing but the excuse of the incompetent!”

“The truth is—Subspace is a treasure trove of infinite possibilities!
It is the key to godhood!
And you… are standing right before the door!”

As those words fell, the reflection extended a hand—
one that slipped out of the mirror as if the glass were water.

It hovered before Lu Ze.

“Come, Lu Ze,” the reflection whispered, voice dripping with allure.

“Merge with me, and everything you desire will be yours.
Knowledge. Power. Recognition.
And the gift… the true talent… strong enough to leave Lin Xue in the dust.”

Breathing hard, Lu Ze stared at the hand—then at the perfect, confident version of himself in the mirror.

He knew it was a trap.

But he couldn’t refuse.

He wanted—no, needed—to win.

His trembling hand reached out and clasped the other.

“Good,”
the reflection said, smiling with satisfaction.

“Now… close your eyes.
Feel the transformation…
and recite with me.”

“Change is eternal.
Conspiracy is truth.”

“One truth—”

In that moment, the voice grew ecstatic.

“—that all things return to One!”