The sound of clapping echoed slowly through the underground station.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every person in the chamber turned toward the darkness.
The woman in white went completely still.
For the first time since Xiaoyu had met her—
she looked afraid.
Not worried.
Not nervous.
Afraid.
A figure stepped forward from the shadows.
Tall.
Well-dressed.
Calm.
The rhythmic clap stopped.
Silence followed.
Xiaoyu's pulse hammered against her ribs.
Something about him felt wrong immediately.
Not because he looked dangerous.
Because he looked comfortable.
Comfortable standing in the middle of everyone's nightmare.
The man smiled.
"Well."
His voice was smooth.
Controlled.
Almost pleasant.
"What an emotional reunion."
The woman in white lowered her eyes.
A reaction Xiaoyu had never seen before.
The man noticed.
And laughed softly.
"You always were terrible under pressure."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Lu Shen stepped slightly in front of Xiaoyu.
The man's smile widened.
"There he is."
Recognition.
History.
Hatred.
All hidden beneath those simple words.
Xiaoyu looked toward Lu Shen.
His face had gone pale.
Not from blood loss.
From something else.
Something far worse.
The man noticed that too.
"You look disappointed."
Lu Shen's voice emerged low and cold.
"You should be dead."
The smile never left the man's face.
"I hear that a lot."
The underground station felt colder.
Xiaoyu's chest tightened.
She didn't know who he was.
But everyone else clearly did.
The woman in white finally spoke.
"Why are you here?"
The man looked amused.
"Because you failed."
Her jaw tightened.
"You said she remembered nothing."
"And now she remembers everything."
The woman fell silent.
The man slowly shifted his attention toward Xiaoyu.
His eyes studied her carefully.
Like a scientist observing an experiment.
Like someone seeing a result years in the making.
"So."
He smiled.
"You're Xiaoyu."
Fear crawled beneath her skin.
The way he said her name felt wrong.
Possessive.
Interested.
Dangerous.
The man nodded slowly.
"Your father talked about you constantly."
Xiaoyu froze.
"My father knew you?"
The smile widened.
"Oh yes."
The answer came far too easily.
"We worked together for years."
Silence crashed through the station.
No.
That wasn't possible.
Her father had spent years fighting the organization.
The man tilted his head slightly.
"Didn't they tell you?"
Xiaoyu looked toward Lu Shen immediately.
His silence felt heavy.
The man laughed.
"Of course they didn't."
Thunder rumbled somewhere far above.
The station suddenly felt like a trap.
Not because of the armed men.
Not because of the organization.
Because every truth she uncovered seemed connected to another lie.
The man slowly walked closer.
Nobody stopped him.
Not even the armed men.
That alone told Xiaoyu everything she needed to know.
He wasn't part of the organization.
The organization answered to him.
The realization sent a chill through her body.
The woman in white finally looked up.
"You shouldn't have come."
The man smiled.
"And miss this?"
His eyes shifted toward the hidden archive room.
Rows of evidence.
Files.
Records.
Decades of secrets.
Then back toward Xiaoyu.
"Especially after she found the archive."
The station fell silent.
Then the man sighed dramatically.
"You know..."
He looked almost disappointed.
"Your father ruined everything."
Rage flashed across Xiaoyu's face.
The man noticed immediately.
Another smile.
"He was brilliant."
Those words caught everyone off guard.
Even Lu Shen looked surprised.
The man nodded slowly.
"Honestly, he was the smartest person I've ever met."
His voice carried genuine admiration.
Which somehow made him more terrifying.
"That's why I couldn't let him leave."
The world stopped.
Xiaoyu froze.
Her breathing halted completely.
No.
No.
The man watched the realization spread across her face.
And calmly confirmed it.
"I killed your father."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The words echoed through the station.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The woman in white lowered her eyes.
Lu Shen's hand tightened around his weapon.
Xiaoyu felt something break inside her.
Not sadness.
Not grief.
Something deeper.
Her father.
The man who spent years protecting her.
The man whose voice she had only just heard again through recordings.
Gone.
Because of him.
The man continued speaking casually.
"As unfortunate as it was."
His expression never changed.
"Your father became a problem."
Xiaoyu stared at him.
The tears were gone now.
Only anger remained.
Cold.
Sharp.
Focused.
For the first time in her life—
she wasn't afraid.
The man noticed immediately.
And smiled.
"Ah."
He pointed toward her.
"That's exactly why you were special."
The station grew quiet again.
Then he revealed the final piece.
"The experiments were never about memory."
Everybody froze.
Even the woman in white.
Even Lu Shen.
The man spread his arms slightly.
As if presenting a masterpiece.
"They were about decision-making."
Confusion crossed several faces.
The man continued.
"Memory."
He pointed toward Lu Shen.
"That was merely proof of concept."
Then he pointed toward Xiaoyu.
"And she was the real objective."
The chamber fell silent.
Xiaoyu's heartbeat slowed.
"What are you talking about?"
The man smiled.
The smile of someone who had waited years to say the truth aloud.
"You weren't Subject 7."
Cold spread through the station.
The man looked directly into her eyes.
"You were Subject 1."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then the man whispered the words that changed everything.
"The first successful subject."
And suddenly—
every memory Xiaoyu had fought to recover began rushing back at once.