Chapter 2

Two technicians behind Ned immediately stepped forward and plugged in an encrypted hard drive with practiced efficiency.

Around them, armed guards stood motionless like statues. Their rifles stayed lowered, but their eyes never left Luke for even a second.

"You made the right decision, Luke." Ned slowly stood back up.

A flicker of shock crossed his face before turning into something far more complicated. "Keeping something like this in a place like this would've been irresponsible to humanity."

He glanced toward the particle again. "We're taking it. And we're taking you, too."

"I already gave you the data," Luke said coldly. "I need sleep."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Ned placed a hand lightly on Luke's shoulder. "You'll need to undergo the highest level of protective quarantine."

He slowed slightly when he said the word "protective," and the muscles near the corner of his eye twitched almost invisibly.

Luke caught it immediately. It was the expression of a hunter watching a trap finally snap shut.

The walls of the underground facility were metallic gray, and the shadowless white lights overhead made everything feel fake and lifeless.

Luke sat restrained in an interrogation chair that looked more like a medical bed. Sensor patches covered his body, and tubes connected him to a life-monitoring machine beside him.

Ned stood behind a thick wall of leaded glass, holding a document stamped with a bright red seal.

"Luke, I'm sorry." His voice came through the speakers with an artificial electronic distortion that made the sympathy sound fake.

Ned entered the room and placed a medical report in front of Luke. Across the first line, bold letters read: Radiation Decay Index.

Beside the number sat a dark red warning symbol that practically screamed hopelessness.

"You were exposed to that particle for too long," Ned said quietly. "The subatomic radiation leaking from it is destroying your bone marrow from the inside out.

"In simple terms, your immune system has already collapsed."

He pulled over a chair and sat down close to Luke, lowering his voice almost to a whisper. "You have three months left."

Luke's fingers shook as he picked up the report. The faint rustle of paper sounded painfully loud in the silent room.

His eyes locked onto the shifting data, and his breathing quickly became uneven. Sweat slowly formed across his forehead.

"But in those three months, you could become a legend." Ned's tone suddenly changed. Excitement almost burned in his eyes.

He pointed upward toward the ceiling. "The government has already launched Project Echo.

"We're going to use this particle to create eternal energy. Luke, you're the only person alive who truly understands how it works.

"Even if it's only for your homeland, even if it's only so your name gets written onto the very first page of future history books after you're gone, you have to help us."

Luke stayed quiet for a long moment. His eyes moved across Ned's face. Ned looked so sincere, almost caring.

That crushing sense of duty to the country pressed down on Luke's already weak body so hard that he could barely breathe.

"What do you need me to do?" Luke asked, his voice rough and dry.

Ned pulled a brand-new agreement out of his jacket and handed Luke a heavy fountain pen. "Sign this. It says you are volunteering to become a stable container yourself."

He looked straight into Luke's eyes, and there was something almost tempting in his gaze. "The Abyss Particle's wave function is extremely unstable. Our current electronic shielding still cannot completely stop leakage.

"We need a biological resonance source. Your neural signals can neutralize the particle's amplitude. This is currently the only way to buy more time for the research."

Luke stared at the pen. The cold shine on the tip reflected against his pale face and the core lab behind him on the underground level.

The place looked less like a laboratory and more like a giant metal grave. A huge transparent sphere, about 10 feet wide, stood in the center of the room. That was the Abyss Particle's new home.

The lab door shut behind him with a heavy airtight sound. Luke was strapped onto a semicircular life-support frame while several cold probes pierced through the skin along his spine and temples, connecting directly into his nervous system.

"Researcher Luke Alexander, connection process starting. Please stay calm." The technician's emotionless voice echoed through the speakers.

A violent surge of electricity shot through his nerves instantly. Luke's whole body curled up hard. The veins on his back bulged, and the sound of his teeth grinding echoed through the empty lab.

He could feel it. The black dot floating inside the sphere had connected to his mind at that exact moment.

Every time his brain waves shifted, the vibration of the black particle calmed down with them. He had really become a human fuse.