Morning arrived quietly.
Hospitals never really slept, but the early hours had a different rhythm. The corridors felt slower. Nurses spoke in softer voices. Visitors looked tired and half awake.
Lian stepped out of the elevator and adjusted the mask covering the lower half of her face. She wore a plain hospital jacket over simple clothes. Nothing that would stand out.
Kai’s voice came through her earpiece.
“You’re on the fourth floor.”
“I see the sign.”
The hallway stretched ahead in clean white lines. A nurse station sat in the center. Two nurses were speaking quietly while checking a tablet.
“Patient room?” Lian asked.
Kai was already searching the hospital system.
“Room 417,” he said. “Name is Wong Mei Ling. Sixty two years old.”
“What is she here for?”
“Routine treatment for joint inflammation,” Kai replied. “She’s been coming here twice a week for injections.”
Lian walked calmly down the hallway.
“And today?”
Kai paused for a moment.
“Today is her second dose.”
Lian reached the door marked 417.
Through the small window she could see the patient sitting upright in the bed. A thin woman with short gray hair. She was reading something on her phone.
A small tray sat beside the bed.
Empty syringe wrapper.
Lian’s eyes moved carefully around the room.
“No nurse inside,” she whispered.
Kai checked the hallway cameras.
“You’ve got one nurse walking toward the room,” he said.
“How long.”
“Maybe thirty seconds.”
Lian opened the door and stepped inside.
The patient looked up in mild surprise.
“Oh,” the woman said politely. “Are you the nurse?”
Lian closed the door behind her.
“Just checking something,” she said calmly.
The woman nodded and returned to her phone.
Lian moved toward the tray.
Her eyes scanned the labels quickly.
Standard saline.
Alcohol wipes.
And one small sealed syringe in a plastic case.
The label read VX9-B.
Kai’s voice lowered.
“That’s it.”
Lian picked up the syringe case.
Through the plastic she could see the pale liquid inside.
The patient glanced over again.
“Is everything okay?” the woman asked.
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“Yes,” Lian replied gently.
She placed the syringe back on the tray.
Then she turned toward the woman.
“Have you had any unusual symptoms after your previous treatment?”
The woman thought about it.
“Just a little tired,” she said. “The doctor said that was normal.”
Lian nodded slowly.
“Any fever?”
“A small one yesterday,” the woman admitted. “But it went away.”
Kai spoke quietly.
“First stage symptoms.”
Lian didn’t react outwardly.
Footsteps approached in the hallway.
Kai warned her. “Nurse is ten seconds away.”
Lian looked back at the syringe.
The door handle moved.
A young nurse walked in carrying a small medical case.
She stopped when she saw Lian.
“Oh,” the nurse said. “I didn’t realize someone was already here.”
Lian turned calmly.
“Just checking the medication order,” she said.
The nurse frowned slightly.
“I thought I was assigned to this patient.”
Lian held the syringe case.
“Yes. But I needed to verify the compound before administration.”
The nurse stepped closer.
“Is there a problem?”
Lian’s voice stayed calm and professional.
“Where did this injection come from?”
The nurse blinked.
“Pharmacy prepared it this morning.”
“Did you check the documentation?”
“Yes,” the nurse said, sounding confused. “Everything looked normal.”
Lian held up the syringe.
“Do you know what compound this is?”
The nurse hesitated.
“It’s part of the new inflammation treatment program.”
Kai muttered quietly in Lian’s ear. “That’s the cover story.”
Lian looked directly at the nurse.
“Have you read the full clinical trial data?”
The nurse shook her head.
“No. That’s handled by the research department.”
Lian slowly placed the syringe back onto the tray.
“Don’t give this injection.”
The nurse looked startled.
“What?”
“Not until someone verifies the compound.”
“But the order came from Dr. Zhou,” the nurse said. “He approved the treatment schedule.”
The patient watched them now with growing concern.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
Lian softened her voice.
“We’re just double checking the medication.”
Kai spoke again in her ear.
“Zhou is currently in the hospital.”
“Where.”
“Immunology lab on the sixth floor.”
Lian nodded slightly.
The nurse looked uncertain.
“If we delay the injection, I need authorization,” she said.
“You’ll have it,” Lian replied.
She picked up the syringe case again.
“I’m taking this for verification.”
The nurse reached out instinctively.
“Wait, I’m supposed to administer that.”
Lian’s eyes held hers.
“Then you won’t mind if we confirm it first.”
The nurse hesitated.
Something about Lian’s tone made her step back.
“Okay,” the nurse said slowly. “But please bring it back once it’s cleared.”
Lian gave a small nod.
“I will.”
She turned toward the door.
The patient spoke again.
“Should I be worried?”
Lian paused.
“No,” she said calmly. “You’ll be fine.”
She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.
Kai spoke immediately.
“You’ve got the syringe?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She walked toward the stairwell.
“What do the records say about this batch?”
Kai searched the files again.
“Same formulation as the others,” he said. “Second dose level.”
“And the expected reaction.”
Kai’s voice lowered.
“Symptoms start getting worse after this injection.”
Lian reached the stairwell door.
“Then it’s not going back to that room.”
Kai agreed instantly.
“Definitely not.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The quiet concrete space swallowed the hospital noise.
Lian held the syringe up to the light.
The liquid inside looked harmless.
Clear.
Still.
Kai spoke again.
“I can analyze it once you bring it back.”
“We will,” she said.
Then she began walking down the stairs.
“But first,” she added calmly, “we talk to the doctor who approved it.”
Kai already knew the name.
“Dr. Zhou.”
“Yes.”
The stairwell door on the sixth floor waited above her.
