Frostfire Legacy

Chapter 323 Accident?

Aster had lost all sense of time. Trapped in the sterile confines of the laboratory, he was completely cut off from the outside world—no windows, no sense of day or night, not even access to a lavatory. The messes he made mysteriously vanished, as though some unseen purification device sanitized everything around him.

The agony he endured in irregular intervals further shattered his internal clock, leaving him disoriented.

"U... ugh..."

All Aster knew was that he was still breathing—and that single fact deepened his despair.

The sudden creak of caster wheels jolted him from his haze. His body trembled violently as he recognized the sound, hyperventilating despite his battered state. It was a conditioned response born from severe trauma.

Turning his bloodshot eyes, he saw them—the usual group of men in white overalls approaching with their sterile tools, ready to extract more "samples."

'God... how long do I have to endure this?' he prayed inwardly, desperate for an end.

He wanted to cry but realized he had already shed every drop of moisture his body could produce.

His prayers went unanswered.

The men gathered silently around the operating table, as lifeless as automatons. They moved with mechanical efficiency, neither speaking nor acknowledging Aster's humanity. Their eyes never once met his, as though he were no more than an object to be used and discarded.

Aster braced himself for the familiar, excruciating torment. His mind prepared to fracture under the weight of pain—until it happened.

*SNAP!*

The sharp sound echoed through the lab, followed by sudden darkness as the lights went out. The blindingly white environment, which had long since numbed his senses, was veiled in pitch black.

"(What the—?! What's going on?)"

"(Did the breakers trip? That shouldn't be possible...)"

"(You—check the panel. We'll stay with the sample.)"

For the first time, Aster heard the voices of his captors. Though their words were unfamiliar, he recognized the intonation—it was the language of the East.

His mind, however, was too fractured to grasp the significance of their conversation. He simply lay there, waiting for whatever came next.

Suddenly, chaos erupted.

"(Ugh!)"

"(H-Hey, what—?! Argh!)"

"W-Who's there—?! Kugh..."

Before the lights could return, heavy thuds echoed through the room as the three men collapsed to the ground. Despite the noise, Aster's frayed mind couldn't muster curiosity.

He simply stared toward a faint presence in the darkness.

Someone had entered the lab.

But their aura was unfamiliar—neither friend nor foe, just an unknown entity. Aster, devoid of hope, made no assumptions.

The figure, clad in black from head to toe, approached silently until their silhouette was barely visible. As they drew near, Aster's cracked lips parted, forming words he hadn't uttered in what felt like an eternity.

"... Please... kill me," he begged, his voice hollow and broken—a man utterly exhausted, yearning for release.

The figure stood motionless, as though contemplating his request. Whether they were shocked or uncertain, Aster couldn't tell—and honestly didn't care. His hollow eyes remained fixed on the shadowy form.

Then, pain flared sharply in his leg.

Aster looked down, sluggishly registering the portable injector embedded in his skin. The figure had administered something unknown, and within moments, his vision spiraled. The room twisted and churned, as though he were being spun uncontrollably.

Darkness engulfed him, and he surrendered gratefully to it.

The figure waited briefly, ensuring Aster had fainted before undoing the restraints binding him to the operating table. With a series of swift hand signs, they triggered something unseen.

*CRACK!*

Glowing orange shards—like fragments of glass—materialized and shattered as they fell from Aster's body. The figure watched until every shard had disintegrated before hoisting Aster onto their shoulder.

"(Who's there?! Show yourself!)"

The harsh shouts of approaching personnel echoed through the lab as reinforcements arrived, speaking the same unfamiliar language.

Without hesitation, the figure drew a small device from their belt and hurled it toward the operating table.

Their movements were precise, calculated, and purposeful. Every action carried intent, and each step was executed with flawless precision.

In a flash, the figure melted into the shadows, vanishing without a trace.

By the time the reinforcements reached the scene, Aster and his rescuer had already disappeared from the high-security facility.

"(Damn! They took the test subject!)" Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire

One of the latecomers cursed, his flashlight sweeping over the empty operating table.

"(What?! No way! The Commander will kill us if he finds out!)"

"(Relax. The minus numbers are already deployed. They'll track the target soon.)"

Their tense conversation faltered when both men noticed an object at the foot of the operating table—a small cube wrapped in what looked like weathered bandages.

From the moment they spotted it to the instant they turned to flee, barely a second passed. But it was far too late.

*BOOM!*

A powerful explosion ripped through the facility, obliterating it in an instant. The blast left nothing behind—not even a whisper of its existence. No personnel escaped; everyone inside was wiped out.

Later on, despite the massive scale of destruction, there was no news, no reports of the tragedy that claimed hundreds of lives. The event was buried in silence, as though it had never occurred.

---

About five kilometers away, under the orange color of the sun at dusk, a figure clad in black moved steadily through a dense bamboo forest, a body slung effortlessly over her shoulder. Despite her burden, her pace was smooth and unbroken.

"... This far should be safe," she murmured, her voice gentle and melodic, like birdsong at dawn.

She knelt carefully, lowering Aster's limp form against a moss-covered rock along the forest path. Pulling down the cloth covering her face, she leaned closer to inspect his condition.

"... His Qi is completely chaotic. It's a miracle he hasn't entered Qi Deviation yet," she whispered, placing a pale hand against his cheek. "His pulse is weak but stable. No, it's not just his heart—his entire body is weakened."

During his time in captivity, Aster had been deprived of both food and water. His captors cared not for his survival—only for how much longer they could continue extracting "samples" from him.

The woman spent a minute carefully assessing his state, then hoisted him back over her shoulder.

"At this rate, he'll die before the plan even begins. I need to get him to Master immediately..."

She took a single step forward—and vanished.

A fierce gust of wind swept through the forest, scattering fallen leaves and wiping away all traces of their passage.

It was as though no one had walked there at all.