Even as I screamed for help, the other end of the call seemed to be frozen in ice and snow, and all I could hear were Lucas' fragmented questions.

At that point, I realized that Zachary had cut off communications from my end, and despair welled up uncontrollably in my heart once more.

I could only listen as his troubled voice altered the truth.

"Don't make this difficult for me, Lucas. Sophie's always had more of a mind of her own, compared to regular women. She even told me that before she breaks through her limits and returns on her own, no one's allowed to contact her."

My heart bled, hearing the nonsense he was spouting, and I couldn't help but try and adjust my signal, trying to explain my side of the story:

"Lucas! They're the ones who tampered with the car and the protective suit! Help me!"

But on the other end, all I could hear was Lucas' sigh, followed by Luna's voice, tinged with fake sympathy, "She really did go too far this time. No matter how badly she wants to become famous, she shouldn't risk the unit's samples like that…"

Those words clearly struck a nerve, because Lucas' voice shot up, stern and angry, "I don't care what her personality is like! Now that she's here, she'll have to follow discipline!

"She's gone too far this time! Even if she comes back with the samples, I'll have her suspended for investigation!"

Bam!

With the heavy slam of a door, my final shred of hope shattered.

…

Just as I was about to lose consciousness, Luna's giggles came over the comms again. "Did you hear that, Sophie? Even if you die, everyone would just hold a grudge against you for bringing the samples with you.

"If you beg, Zachary and I might feel generous enough to go collect your corpse."

My silence only earned sharper mockery.

Zachary spoke coldly, "Before you die, remember to put those samples back into the car. Luna still needs them for her merit, you know?

"Besides, if you hold it while you die, who knows what bad karma it's going to bring for a pregnant woman like her?"

The samples…

I had found them through countless observations, nearly exhausting myself in the process, and now they wanted to take even that from me.

A surge of fierce unwillingness rose in my chest.

Dragging my nearly frozen body upright, I stood again.

The axe was still at my side.

I grabbed it and staggered back to where the pipeline had cracked earlier.

The flames of revenge burned fiercely in my heart.

'Zachary… Luna…

'You two want to use my life in exchange for her permanent position, right?

'Then let me make sure that you get a permanent assignment… in hell!'

Crash! Crash!

I stood over the fractured ice once more and swung the axe with every last ounce of strength.

I hadn’t removed the camera from my helmet.

Immediately realizing what I was doing, Luna screeched, "Sophie, are you crazy?!"

I ignored her, continuing to raise my numb arms and swing them down, mechanically repeating the motions until…

Crack!

With a sharp crack, the ice split completely apart, exposing the heating pipe underneath.

Taking aim, I lifted the axe high—

"Sophie!"

Zachary's voice burned with fury, as if he was unsatisfied at me being impertinent enough to go against his death sentence. Practically roaring, he ordered, "Put that down right now! Who gave you permission to do this?!"