Leo had only just begun to recover from the blood transfusion when the voices around him grew louder— sharper, more frantic.
"It's the boy's family! They're trying to rescue him. Don't stop them—call off the guards. Let them walk into the chamber willingly. If we contain them, we can test all of them at once," one of the scientists said, his tone brimming with twisted excitement.
The words struck Leo like a bolt of lightning, every warning bell in his mind going off at once.
'Why are they here?' he thought, panic creeping in, as he began to restlessly struggle against his binds.
"It's too late," the second voice replied in a rising pitch. "There's no intercom, no way to contact them from here. I'd have to run to stop them manually—"
"You fool! I told you a hundred times to install basic intercoms. You're a disgrace of a disciple!" the first snapped.
"I'm sorry, Master. I'm unworthy—"
"Don't bow, run! Try to salvage the specimens if you can!"
