chapter889

Before, whenever Yara made a plan, everything always fell into place, just the way

she wanted. But this time, things had gone off the rails in a way she never expected. The school forum was supposed to be a free zone, somewhere everyone could say what they wanted. So why had it suddenly switched to a real-name system

overnight?

She felt relieved, at least, that she hadn't posted anything questionable from her account. If she had, things would be a whole lot messier right now. Still, what was she supposed to do? Everyone around her was looking at her differently, whispering, convinced she was the one who started that infamous PK thread. How was she supposed to shake off those stares and the rumors that clung to her like static?

When a girl feels lost and scared, her mind always seems to drift toward the one person she wants to see most. For Yara, that was Garrett. She couldn't help but imagine him showing up out of nowhere, just like a hero, telling her not to worry... that he'd take care of everything.

Almost without realizing it, she found herself standing in front of the advanced lab. No one could understand just how much she wanted to see Garrett right now. Even if it was just a quick glimpse from a distance, it would be enough.

If only Garrett liked her, too. That would make everything better. Maybe there was a chance he did. After all, she was the campus beauty, the girl everyone admired, talented and popular. Plenty of guys from rich families wanted to date her. The more she thought about it, the more her heart raced. She started to believe Garrett must like her a little, even if he was too shy to say so.

Inside the lab, Garrett, Lydia, and a few others were working late as usual. Lydia had been analyzing the glacier samples for days, and tonight, she finally found something important.

"How's it going, Lydia?" someone asked.

Lydia's face was serious as she stared at her results. "There's a connection," she finally said.

Garrett blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

She glanced at the tense faces gathered around. "We can confirm the virus strain at

the border was artificially created. We need to report this, now."

Everyone in the room froze. The shock hit them all at once. Someone had actually released a virus at the border on purpose? And then tried to cover it up by making it took like t came from melting glaciers? It was almost too awful to believe.

Lydia pressed her lips together, worry etched across her forehead. This was turning into a nightmare "Our top priority is to develop a cure as fast as possible," she said. "Now that we know the virus is man-made, there's probably more trouble waiting for us."

She called Kevin over, and he joined the group, looking just as grim. He'd suspected something like this, but it stung to have if confirmed. f it's artificial, they're definitely going to try to spread it further," Kevin said quietly. "This is serious."

"We have to find their lab, get solid evidence, and expose them to the world, someone said.

"Yeah! Once we have proof they made the virus, there's no way they'll escape punishment," another chimed in, everyone's voices rising with anger. Using a virus to hurt innocent people was beyond cruel.

Garrett spoke up, his voice calm but firm. Finding evidence won't be easy. For now, we need to report what we know and make sure the border is locked down. Most importantly, we need to finish the cure."

Kevin nodded in agreement. "Mr. Norwood is right. The government can handle gathering evidence. Our job is to come up with that cure, fast."

This was a deadly virus. They couldn't afford to take any chances.

Lydia took a deep breath, thinking for a moment before looking up. "We have to finish the cure within two weeks, no excuses. Also, I'll need to be away for a couple of days."