[Midnight, Edge Mansion Underground Laboratory]

Researchers’ work is always extremely busy, often without the concept of day and night.

Because various experiments often require long run times, researchers must adjust on-site at any time.

Sometimes experiments that start in the daytime can only end at night, or even span across one or more days and nights, which also makes the researchers’ schedules generally irregular.

Overtime like this is all in pursuit of the most precise data.

The data stored in the lab computers can be said to be the most valuable asset of Edge Laboratory.

Among the new researchers at Edge, Luo Mingsheng is the most skilled and hardworking one.

Impressive professional standards coupled with a diligent work attitude have earned him great admiration from Future, who has already promoted him to be her assistant.

This night, Luo Mingsheng was organizing data on the computer, backing it up onto a hard drive and cloud storage terminal.

At this moment, a message notification popped up from the communications software window.

Luo Mingsheng clicked to check, it was sent by Su Mo, with a file attached.

Su Mo: [Lao Luo, quickly follow up on this new project with Future, it’ll be useful later]

Luo Mingsheng replied with an "Alright", then downloaded the file.

Just after downloading, before he could open it, the computer screen suddenly froze.

"Hmm?" Luo Mingsheng froze there, frantically shaking the unresponsive mouse, "What’s going on?"

Other researchers also gradually looked up, faces filled with confusion:

"My computer has frozen."

"Mine too, and the data isn’t saved yet, damn it."

"Could it be those Edge of Civilization hackers again? What’s their deal, constantly targeting us."

"Shouldn’t be hackers, no firewall alert popped up!"

Soon, Future hurriedly rushed out from the partition: "What’s happening? Infected by a virus again?"

The researchers said blankly: "Seems like it, everyone’s computer has frozen."

Future asked urgently: "Which computer had the issue first?!"

Luo Mingsheng quickly raised his hand: "It should be mine. The team leader sent me a file, and the computer froze after I just downloaded it."

"Are you sure it was sent by the boss?" Future hurried over to look at the screen.

Luo Mingsheng was sweating profusely: "It was sent by the team leader, I’ve confirmed."

Future anxiously stomped her feet, dialing Su Mo’s number on her phone.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently off. Please try again later."

The cold notification echoed from the phone.

Future frowned: "What’s the boss up to..."

Just as everyone was in a frenzy, yet another change occurred.

The previously frozen computer screens suddenly started moving, no one operating them, yet progress bars kept popping up and loading, coalescing into a flood of numbers.

Seeing the prompts on those programs, Future’s eyes were filled with fear, her voice breaking: "It’s destroying the underlying systems!!!"

Everyone was thrown into panic.

Once the underlying systems were destroyed, all data on the computer would be lost, the result of everyone’s hard work overtime.

Some data were precious samples obtained at extremely low success rates, and their existence was a miracle, hard to reproduce, once destroyed, who knows how long it would take to restore them?

Future shouted urgently: "Quick! Force shutdown!"

The researchers frantically pressed the shutdown button, but the invading virus had locked the shutdown program, no matter how they pressed, it was useless.

"Unplug the power! Unplug the power!" Future frantically crawled under the table, unaware of the head bump against the table corner, desperately pulling the power cord from the socket.

This physical disconnection successfully shut down the computer, but did not stop the virus’s rampage.

There were too many computers in the laboratory, each with access privileges to the terminal database, and only a dozen night-shift researchers, unable to unplug all power sources in time.

As they risked damaging valuable equipment to shut off the main power source, the torrent of virus programs had already flooded the terminals, destroying all systems including the database.

Future slumped to the ground, overwhelmed: "Gone... all gone..."

The disaster in the laboratory was just the beginning.

This virus, like an omnipresent ghost, silently spread to all electronic systems within Edge Mansion.

Printers started running at high speed, swallowing sheets of white paper and then endlessly spitting them out, fluttering like snowflakes in the air.

Sharp-eyed researchers noticed something amiss: "There’s writing on the paper!"

Everyone went over to pick up the paper to check it, only to break into a cold sweat.

On the paper, it read:

[Die die die die die die die]

Every sheet had the same message, filled with the words [Die].

The screens of computers that hadn’t been unplugged began to light up, first flashing with countless obscure codes, then suddenly going black, flooding with dense characters:

[Die die die die die die die]

The intelligent lights in the laboratory sparked with faulty hotspots, flashing frequently before abruptly going dark.

In the darkness, the projector on the ceiling started up, intertwining light to cast the blood-red letters on all sides:

[Die die die die die die die]

Papers with printed words flew wildly in the air, computer screens rolled with characters madly, projector images spread all around, almost dyeing the entire laboratory into a world of blood.

Even though the researchers present were steadfast materialists, faced with such an eerie scene they couldn’t help but feel their skin crawl and limbs turn cold.

Amidst this strange commotion, a sudden "buzz" sounded abruptly. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

At the end of the corridor in the laboratory, the carrier elevator started up, continuously sinking underground.

Everyone’s hearts tightened instantly.

It was midnight, except for these researchers on duty in the lab, everyone else should be resting.

Who could be coming down?

One researcher swallowed nervously, saying with a trembling voice: "Someone with permission is operating the elevator to the lab, it should be our staff, right?"

"No... not necessarily..." Future said vacantly, "The entire Edge Mansion network system is interconnected, the virus can invade the highest-security laboratory, it can invade the whole building."

"Now all systems in Edge Mansion, including permission recognition libraries, may have been infected... "

The researchers’ expressions froze: "Then who’s coming down now..."

"Buzz." With a muffled sound, the carrier elevator reached the floor where the lab was located.

Everyone’s hearts clenched together, unconsciously crowded into a group, retreating fearfully backward.

"Ding." The door opening sound chimed, originally crisp and clear, it sounded all the more eerie in this environment.

Slowly, the elevator doors opened.

Upon seeing what came out, everyone’s breath was immediately held, as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.