Caroline finally said what had been bugging her. "What if that was poison? You just ate it without even thinking?" Nelson gazed up at her with innocent eyes. "Poison doesn't smell like that. I'm not dumb." Caroline dropped the subject. She was getting ready to head up to the 66th floor to call for Tyler and Denton. She'd brought someone back with her, so she wanted to introduce them. But before she could move, Nelson dove right into his experiments. Caroline never got the chance to introduce anyone. Not only that, just as Caroline was thinking about leaving, the soldiers began moving equipment upstairs. Meanwhile, Nelson paid no attention at all. The guy was totally lost in his work. In fact, aside from speaking to Caroline, he completely ignored everyone else. So, things got awkward. The soldiers had brought their items upstairs and were now asking Caroline where to put them. She'd have to ask Nelson. Nelson relayed the message to Caroline, who then passed it on to the soldiers. What she didn't realize was that once Nelson started his experiment, he basically entered his own little world. He used to ignore everyone, as if shutting himself off from the outside world. Later, he realized this wasn't working; he had to leave some space for the outside world. Otherwise, he'd miss out on food and sleep and end up killing himself. So he left a small "window" open, just for one person he trusted. If that person told him to grab a meal or get some rest, he'd actually listen. Pretty much, when he was in full-on experiment mode, only someone he trusted could get through to him. And right now, in this unfamiliar place, that person was Caroline. Caroline didn't really mind. She figured since she was the one who brought him here, it was on her to look after him. However, the soldiers lugging gear upstairs thought the whole thing was pretty amusing. On their way back down, they started whispering. "Why does that guy Caroline brought only talk to her?" the chubby-faced soldier asked the long-faced one walking beside him. The young soldier with a long face looked no older than twenty, his expression one of simple honesty. "No idea ... Maybe they're playing some kind of game? Or ... maybe they're dating? People act weird when they're in love." After that, both soldiers—neither of whom had ever dated anyone—went quiet. They didn't even notice how ridiculous their logic was. But hey, they couldn't come up with a better explanation. Just as they hit the 66th floor, Tyler happened to overhear them. He frowned. Were they talking about Caroline? Without saying a word, he brushed past them and headed straight for the lab. He'd been upstairs the whole time, watching through binoculars, waiting for Caroline to return. He'd seen her talking to some strange guy earlier—and that weird-looking tree nearby had caught his attention too. He'd wanted to ask her about it once she came back, but she never showed. So he figured she must've gone down to the lab on the 65th floor. But on his way there, he overheard that little soldier gossip session about Caroline. And when he reached the lab, the door was wide open because the soldiers kept hauling stuff in. He froze for a second—Caroline was there, leaning over a skinny young man in a white lab coat, rolling up his sleeve. Her long hair fell forward, one loose strand brushing against his hand. She looked completely locked in on what she was doing. The guy in the lab coat didn't show much emotion—he just stared at Caroline with this blank look, like his brain had checked out. He seemed to be looking right at her, but you could tell his thoughts were somewhere else. So why was Caroline rolling up his sleeve? Simple. She couldn't take it anymore. Nelson's original lab coat had Harry's lab logo on it, so she'd made him toss it on their way back.Now he was wearing one she grabbed from storage space, but the sleeves were way too long. The cuffs kept catching on stuff, so she decided to fix them herself. She figured she'd ask Colonel Sutton later if he could get a better-fitting army lab coat. Honestly, Caroline had already realized Nelson was completely useless when it came to taking care of himself. But Tyler didn't see it that way. From where he was standing, it looked like the guy in the lab coat was absentmindedly playing with a strand of Caroline's hair. He was just twisting it around his finger, completely zoned out, like he didn't even notice what he was touching. Right then, Nelson's world was nothing like everyone else's.