Tania shook her head. Her brows stayed pinched tight, and she still looked out of it. "Let her rest a while. That's what she needs right now." Professor K's voice drifted in, cool and distant. Theresa heard him and asked, "So she's really alright now?" "She'll be fine after some sleep." A long breath left Theresa. She looked at Tania, who still seemed weak, then pulled a blanket over her. "Aunt Tania, get some sleep. Don't worry about anything. You're home. No one's ever touching you again." At the sound of her voice, the tight knot between Tania's brows slowly eased. She drifted off, looking completely at peace. Once she saw that Tania was out, Theresa got up quietly. She glanced at the dogs in the room and motioned for them to stay put and keep watch. Then she threw a look at Professor K, telling him to follow her outside. He signaled his dog, and it tugged his wheelchair toward the door. Outside, Kyle, Tyger, Elias, and Quentin were already standing guard. The moment Theresa stepped out, all four of them perked up. Kyle got the first words out. "How is she?" "She woke up." Everyone let out a breath at once. Theresa didn't bother praising anyone. She brought Professor K to the small pavilion outside her bunker. "Old man, that Legion Evoloid you mentioned. What is it?" "I'm tired. I'm going back," Professor K said flatly. "Woof woof!" His dog barked twice. It wasn't trying to act tough. It just wanted to play with Theresa. She glanced at the dog and tossed it a big meaty bone. "Go on." The dog lit up. Its tail wagged like it was about to fly off. It circled the bone in pure excitement but didn't eat it. Instead it scratched at Professor K's wheelchair.Professor K sighed. "Go eat." The dog let out a soft whine, then charged the bone and started chewing with complete dedication. Theresa spoke again. "Old man, still feeling tired? Tell me what I want to know and I'll make sure your dog gets good meat and good bones every day." "You little brat. You look young but you've got a whole toolbox in that head of yours." Professor K shot her a look, clearly annoyed. "Trying to survive the apocalypse isn't exactly easy." Theresa grinned at him. She pulled out the Eclipse Serum again. "So what is this thing exactly?" "The Evoloid we use in Legion soldiers." Something complicated flickered in Professor K's eyes. "How many soldiers do you even have? Where's your HQ? What kind of strength are we talking about?" "You think I'd know?" Professor K shot back, cold and sharp. "You're unbelievable. You don't know this, and you don't know that. Aren't you supposed to be an S-Rank employee?" "Don't waste your time provoking me." He looked right at her. "I already told you. Every department works alone and stays isolated. I'm in research. I don't have Legion intel. What I can tell you is that this Eclipse Serum is the final product. It was made for Legion." Theresa went quiet. She fell into her thoughts as his words sank in. The Eclipse Serum is used in Legion, but from what I learn back in the Production Company, the base research material is zombie blood. Can this stuff even be used on a person? And what happens to an ability user if they take it? She couldn't help thinking about the mother and daughter from the Legion she ran into at Firestone. They never acted like trained soldiers at all. And in the end, both of them turned into zombies. "Old man, can you tell me what you were really working on?" "Evolution." Professor K let the word fall out. Theresa heard that familiar term, and her mind went completely blank for a moment. Evolution again. Tania's ex told me the same thing. Is the Starborn Order trying to use this thing to push humanity forward? Are they planning to turn everyone into an ability user? "Last question. What's the highest rank in your Starborn Order? As an S-Rank employee, you're part of the inner circle. You must know." She actually hit the right spot with that one. Professor K glanced at her. "In the Starborn Order, ranks A, B, and C are just regular outside hires. Only S-Rank and above count as core members. Right now the highest level is SS-Rank. They're the ones who make the big decisions and there are ten of them." Ten of them. And it reminds me of Aunt Tania's ex, Herold Norris. He seems like he's one of the SS-Rank. "But the Starborn Order doesn't have a true leader at the moment." "Why not?" "The core leader is still being created." Professor K said it with this strange glow in his eyes as he stared at Theresa. "What's that supposed to mean?" "I'm tired." Professor K shut her down. He tugged on his dog. The poor thing had only half a piece of meat left and looked heartbroken as it whimpered at the part it hadn't finished.