Hu Lei heard multiple people speaking around her in emotionless and controlled tones. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt swollen and heavy. She tried to move her arms or legs, but they felt bound and immobile. Her throat felt dry and hoarse. Even if she wanted to call out for help, she could not.

This feeling… it seemed that she had been sedated once again. She wanted to curse out at her luck which did not seem to be getting better. But what she could not fathom was how she had fallen into yet another trap. After the incident involving her father, she had become more vigilant.

She tried to recall what had occurred before she had ended up where she was at the moment. Nothing strange had happened as far as she could remember. She had spent the day as she always did. She had gone to the gym, flipped through some books and napped. When evening came, she had eaten before taking a shower and going to bed.

When had she been drugged? And how had she been taken away without realising?

Failing to come up with an answer, she could only assume that the lab had finally acquired or created a drug she could not detect. If it had been in her food, she would have been knocked out cold while sleeping. She would not even notice if people came into her room and dragged her out.

She tried to gather her strength. Right now, she did not know anything. But it did not take much consideration for her to understand that nothing good could be happening. If she was an enthusiast, she would assume that they had taken her out of the lab. However, she had always been pragmatic and never looked at anything through rose-coloured glasses.

If she was not in her room, she was definitely in trouble. With much effort, she began to wiggle on whatever surface she seemed strapped onto. The struggle was futile, but at least, she felt that there was nothing wrong with her body.

"Ah-Lei, do not worry. I won't let anything bad happen to you." A familiar voice spoke to her in a soothing tone.

Unfortunately, this gentle voice did not ease her worry. She felt more apprehensive and tried to struggle even more. With difficulty, she finally opened her eyes into narrow slits. Everything seemed blurry, and the light was harsh on her eyes. There was no mistake. The man before her was her father.

She tried to open her mouth to ask what, why and where, but her dry lips and parched throat did not allow her to speak.

"This is the only way I can protect you." Her father whispered gently. "I was wrong to come here and even more so, to lure you here because of my selfishness. When we get out of here, I will be a good father."

Hu Lei's painful eyes could not bear the blurry sight of her father. She could not. She closed her eyes, and a single drop of a tear came out of each eye. She did not feel anger or disappointment. She just felt tired and heartbroken.

In that moment, she felt her will to fight fade from her body. It was not that she did not want to leave and live. She just realised that it was futile to keep fighting if her father was not on her team. How could she win if the game was already rigged?

She wondered if she had accumulated too much bad karma. But she did not want to accept this type of stupid reason. She had not lived a righteous life, but she had never harmed the innocent. She did not consider herself kind, but she had never been unduly cruel. Her heart was not pure, but she was not vengeful.

Even though she had been evil, had she not paid the price many times over? She could only assume that her place in the world was being a living sacrifice for the sake of the advance of the human race or in this case, a few people who were barely human. It seemed that her rescue from that lab when she was younger did not mean that she had escaped her cruel fate.

"If it is what you wish…" her hoarse voice finally formed those words.

Hu Ming felt pain as he looked at his daughter lying in that lab, but he could do nothing. He knew that he had been foolish, and she was paying the price. He promised himself that they would get out of this place and never suffer again.

Hu Lei's life as a lab rat began just like this, about a year since she was held hostage on the ice continent. She had planned to escape during this period, but she could only watch as the noose around her neck was tightened.

At first, the scientists in the lab had been afraid that she would cause problems for them. However, she was completely docile. She would sit quietly as her father drew blood, injected her and tested her. She did not complain about painful tests. She would not even cry out during electrical body stimulation which was known to be excruciating.

However, this docile girl would not allow anyone else to come close to her under any circumstances. Once, the head scientist decided to perform some tests since the process was going so well. Already, Hu Lei's body was becoming significantly stronger than an average human, and there was no sign of degeneration. She was afraid that Doctor Hu would take all the credit.

Unluckily for her, the girl who had seemed completely harmless and sedated had opened her eyes immediately and backhanded her, causing serious damage to her face. It seemed that though Hu Lei was no longer fighting to escape, she had her bottom line.

In the nights, Hu Lei remained locked in a glass cage. It could be called a room, but it was really a cage. She was like a zoo animal. Apart from the times she would perform her ablutions, she did not have a moment of privacy.

During these cold nights, the little part of Hu Lei which desperately wanted to get out of this situation would cling to the only link she had to the outside world. She would remember the immortal-like face of her big boss. She always closed her eyes intermittently, especially when the pain got too much, and focused on his face, his few words and the feeling of his hand patting her head.

She was afraid… terrified of forgetting him. In her heart and mind, she knew that if she let go of him, she would have no reason to hold on to her sanity. Even though she had given in to her worst nightmare of an experimental subject, deep in her heart, she wanted a miracle.

In these moments, she would imagine that Zhong Feng was always thinking of her and hoping for the day she would return. There was a high likelihood that he had forgotten her. After all, they had not known each other for long. But in her dream, he would always be waiting for her.