Lian didn’t speak again until she was outside.
She walked calmly down the side street toward the motorcycle.
Kai’s voice returned in her ear. “You’re clear. No one followed you.”
“I know.”
She reached the bike and slid the helmet back on.
The engine started with a low rumble.
“Where to now?” Kai asked.
“Safehouse.”
The motorcycle pulled away from the curb and slipped into the late night traffic.
Hong Kong was still alive even at this hour. Neon signs flickered above restaurants that hadn’t closed yet. A tram rolled slowly down the tracks a few blocks away. Groups of people stood outside small bars laughing too loudly.
Normal life.
Lian rode through it quietly.
Kai was already digging through the files they had taken.
“I’m going through the patient records again,” he said.
“Find anything new?”
“Not yet,” he replied. “But there’s a lot here.”
She didn’t rush him. Kai worked best when he talked through things.
A few minutes later he spoke again.
“Okay, here’s something interesting.”
“Go on.”
“The first recorded injection in the database happened twelve days ago.”
“That’s recent.”
“Yeah,” Kai said. “But the research notes attached to the compound go back much further.”
“How far.”
“About six months.”
Lian turned down a quieter road.
“So the hospital started using it recently.”
“Looks that way,” Kai said. “Before that it was just lab testing and small controlled trials.”
“With volunteers?”
Kai made a small sound.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean.”
“The trial logs don’t list volunteers,” he said. “They list subjects.”
She didn’t respond.
Kai continued reading.
“Looks like they ran early tests through a private clinic network. Patients who came in for routine treatments.”
“Did they know.”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
The city lights passed across Lian’s visor as she rode.
Kai kept talking.
“The compound itself has a code name.”
“What is it.”
“VX nine.”
Lian repeated the name quietly in her head.
Kai opened another file.
“There are research notes attached to it,” he said. “Most of them are written by lab technicians.”
“And the lead researcher.”
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Kai paused.
“Yeah.”
“Say it.”
“Doctor Han,” he said.
The engine hummed steadily beneath Lian as she rode.
She didn’t change speed.
Kai kept reading through the files.
“His notes are short,” he said. “Mostly observations about immune response levels and dosage adjustments.”
“No ethical concerns.”
“Not that I’m seeing.”
“Side effects.”
“Oh they’re documented,” Kai said. “Very clearly.”
Lian’s voice stayed even.
“And he kept going.”
“Yeah.”
They rode in silence for a minute.
Then Kai spoke again.
“There’s another name that keeps appearing in the reports.”
“Doctor Zhou?”
“No. Someone from the foundation.”
“Who.”
Kai zoomed into one of the documents.
“Administrative liaison,” he said. “Name is Liu Jian.”
“What does he do.”
“Looks like he handles funding and program oversight.”
“LSK connection?”
“I can’t prove it yet,” Kai said. “But the foundation itself already smells bad.”
The motorcycle turned onto a narrow street lined with old apartment buildings.
The safehouse was three blocks away.
Kai kept working.
“Okay,” he said after a moment. “I’m seeing a pattern.”
“Explain.”
“The patients who received the injections,” he said. “They weren’t random.”
“How so.”
“They’re all from different demographics.”
“Age groups?”
“Yeah,” Kai said. “Young adults. Middle aged. Elderly.”
“Health conditions.”
“Same thing,” he said. “Some healthy. Some with mild illnesses.”
“Variables.”
“Exactly.”
Lian slowed slightly as she approached an intersection.
Kai exhaled quietly.
“They’re studying how different bodies react to the compound.”
The motorcycle rolled through the empty intersection.
A stray cat darted across the road.
Kai spoke again.
“There’s also a dosing schedule.”
“How many injections.”
“Usually two,” he said. “Sometimes three.”
“And the reactions.”
“Most patients start feeling sick after the second dose.”
Lian turned into a dark alley.
The safehouse building sat halfway down the block. Old concrete. No signs. Just another forgotten structure in the city.
She parked the motorcycle in the shadow of a delivery truck.
Kai was still reading.
“Wait,” he said.
“What.”
“I found the shipment records.”
“For the compound?”
“Yeah.”
“Where is it coming from.”
Kai opened the logistics file.
“A lab facility,” he said. “Registered under the Han Medical Research Foundation.”
“Location.”
“Industrial district near the harbor.”
Lian removed her helmet.
“How big is the facility.”
“Pretty large,” Kai said. “Several floors.”
“Security.”
“Hard to tell from these records.”
She walked toward the building entrance.
Kai’s voice softened slightly.
“You’re thinking about hitting the lab.”
“Yes.”
“Tonight?”
“No.”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside the dim stairwell.
“We watch first.”
Kai nodded even though she couldn’t see him.
“That’s probably smart.”
They climbed the stairs in silence.
Inside the safehouse apartment the lights stayed off. Only the faint glow of the city slipped through the curtains.
Lian set the helmet on the table.
Kai finally spoke again.
“There’s something else in the files.”
“What.”
“A list of future patients.”
Her eyes shifted slightly.
“Scheduled injections.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
“How many.”
“Twenty more.”
“When.”
“Over the next two weeks.”
Lian stood still for a moment.
Kai continued.
“The next patient appointment is tomorrow morning.”
“Same hospital.”
“Yes.”
She walked over to the window and looked out at the quiet street below.
People somewhere in the city were already sleeping.
Others were still awake.
None of them knew anything about VX nine.
Kai broke the silence.
“So what’s the plan?”
Lian turned away from the window.
“Tomorrow,” she said calmly, “we visit the hospital again.”
Kai leaned back in his chair.
“I figured you’d say that.”
Her voice stayed steady.
“This time we don’t just look at files.”
“What are we doing then.”
Lian picked up her gloves from the table.
“We stop the next injection.”
