The Helix Pharma warehouse was located in the Eastern Industrial Zone, a graveyard of old factories where acid rain eroded concrete faster than the city could fix it. The building didn't look like much from the outside: gray bricks, barbed wire, and a sign reading "Insecticide and Pest Control."

  But to my nose, that place screamed.

  It didn’t smell like roach poison. It smelled like purified ozone and refrigerated blood.

  We parked the van two blocks away. The rain drummed on the metal roof, creating a nervous rhythm.

  "Alright, the plan is simple," I said, checking the vials on my utility belt. "We go in, copy the shipping logs, steal a few samples of the 'Beta Strain', and get out. No deaths. No explosions."

  Luna was in the passenger seat, eyes closed, hands extended toward the distant building. The air around her shimmered, like a mirage on hot asphalt.

  "It won't work, Doctor," she whispered, opening her eyes. Her irises glowed with a spectral violet hue. "The building... it's alive."

  "Alive like a 'mimic monster' or alive like a 'bad metaphor'?"

  "Alive like 'there are souls trapped in the mortar'." Luna shuddered. "They used crematorium ashes mixed into the cement. It's a Class B spiritual barrier. If we touch the wall, the ghosts will scream and wake up every security guard within a five-kilometer radius."

  I nodded, impressed. Architectural Necromancy barriers were expensive and illegal. Helix Pharma wasn't sparing any expense.

  "Can you calm them down?" I asked.

  "I can try singing a spiritual lullaby. But I need to get close."

  "Then let's move."

  We got out of the van. I approached the back fence. I took out a vial containing a viscous green liquid: Abyssal Slug Mucus.

  I applied it to the gate hinges. The metal hissed and silently dissolved into smoking goo.

  We entered the courtyard. Luna walked up to the warehouse wall, where ghostly faces seemed to push out from the concrete, mouths open in silent screams. It was a sight straight out of a nightmare, but Luna just sighed, pulled an incense stick from her pocket, and lit it with a snap of her fingers.

  "Shhh... hush little baby, don't say a word..." she hummed softly, blowing the purple smoke against the wall.

  The faces in the concrete relaxed. Their eyes closed. The barrier "fell asleep."

  "You are terrifyingly good at that," I commented.

  "I was an Idol for three years, Arthur. Calming hysterical crowds is my specialty. Now open the damn door."

  I used a vibrating lockpick to unlatch the service door. We slipped inside.

  The interior was a brutal contrast to the filth outside. White corridors, sterile LED lights, freezing air conditioning. The hum of computer servers mixed with the bubbling sound of fluid tanks.

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  We moved stealthily, avoiding the cameras. Arthur—the parasite inside me—mapped the environment through vibrations in the floor.

  [PROXIMITY ALERT: 20 METERS. SLOW HEARTBEAT. NON-HUMAN.]

  I pulled Luna into a dark alcove seconds before a patrol turned the corner.

  It wasn't a human.

  It was a Chimeric Guard Dog.

  It looked like a Doberman, but the size of a pony. It had no eyes, just huge nostrils and ears that swiveled like satellite dishes. Its skin was covered in plates of black chitin.

  "Damn it," I whispered. "They crossed Hellhound DNA with Cave Bat. It sees via echolocation and scent. If you breathe too loud, it finds you."

  The monster stopped. Its ears swiveled in our direction. It growled, a low sound that made my teeth vibrate. It knew something was wrong.

  Luna gripped my arm tightly, her nails digging into my coat. Her fear was like a pheromone beacon to that beast.

  I had to act fast. I couldn't fight; the noise would attract reinforcements. It had to be biological.

  I reached into my pocket and fumbled until I found a small red ampoule.

  Essence of Apex Predator Urine. (Extracted from the bladder of an Ancient Red Dragon, courtesy of Madame Gristle).

  I uncorked the ampoule and rolled it down the hallway, in the opposite direction from us.

  The glass shattered.

  The smell was instant and overwhelming. To us, it smelled like sulfur. To the Chimeric Dog, it smelled like "Imminent Death."

  Animal instinct overrode training. The monster yelped, tail tucked between its legs, and scrambled desperately away from the invisible "threat," skidding on the waxed floor.

  "Let's go." I pulled Luna. "We have two minutes before it realizes there's no dragon here."

  We ran through the corridors until we found the double doors marked "Synthesis Lab 04."

  Arthur hacked the biometric lock—or rather, the parasite projected a fake fingerprint onto my skin based on the residual touch a scientist had left on the handle hours ago.

  We entered. And stopped.

  The lab was immense. Rows upon rows of cylindrical glass tanks stretched up to the ceiling.

  But there were no monsters inside.

  There were organs.

  Just organs.

  A tank full of giant hearts beating in unison. Another full of floating eyes. Another with meters upon meters of dragon skin growing like fabric on a loom.

  "They aren't creating monsters to fight..." Luna murmured, nauseated. "They're making spare parts."

  "High-level cellular agriculture," I analyzed, fascinated and horrified. "They cultivate the most valuable parts to sell on the black market without the danger of hunting. It's genius. And totally illegal."

  I walked to a computer terminal in the center of the room. I started downloading the data.

  "Luna, watch the door."

  As the files copied, my eyes fell on a physical document left on the desk. It was a clipboard with a "Test Subject" report.

  I picked up the paper. There was a photo attached.

  It wasn't a monster. It was a boy. Human. Sixteen years old, maybe.

  Name: Subject 89.

  Status: Incompatibility Rejected.

  Disposal: Biomass Recycling.

  My blood ran cold.

  "They aren't just using monster DNA," I read aloud. "They're trying to do the reverse. They're trying to inject monster organs into humans. To create... artificial Hunters."

  "Arthur!" Luna screamed.

  I turned around.

  The lab door opened. But it wasn't the Chimeric Dog that entered.

  It was a woman.

  She wore an impeccable white lab coat, high heels, and held a tablet like a shield. Her hair was blonde, tied in a severe bun.

  But what caught my attention wasn't her outfit. It was her aura.

  Luna saw it too.

  "Doctor... she has no soul," Luna whispered, terrified. "Her body... is empty."

  The woman smiled. There was no warmth in the smile.

  "Visitors," she said. Her voice sounded synthetic, as if coming from a speaker in her throat. "Dr. Veras, I presume? Commander Jin warned us you were... persistent."

  [ANALYSIS INITIATED]

  The Parasite screamed in my head.

  [ALERT: NO VITAL SIGNS DETECTED. TARGET IS A BIOLOGICAL PUPPET. EXTREME DANGER.]

  "Who are you?" I asked, stepping back and placing my hand on my scalpel.

  "I am the Quality Manager," she replied. "And I'm afraid you two are contaminants in my sterile lab. Sterilization Protocol activated."

  The skin on the woman's face tore open.

  There was no blood.

  Beneath the fake human skin, chrome metal and pulsating purple monster flesh were revealed. Her arm transformed, fingers elongating into serrated bone blades.

  "Luna," I said, my voice calm despite the internal panic. "Remember that dead Wyvern on Paulista Avenue?"

  "Yeah?" Luna was already preparing an explosive talisman.

  "Guess where her parts came from?"

  The "woman" lunged with inhuman speed.

  "Run!" I shouted.