Li Shimin’s eyelids fluttered open, his vision swimming with a murky green hue that surrounded him. He was weightless, suspended in a viscous liquid that clung to his skin, cool and suffocating all at once. Pain throbbed dully at the edges of his awareness, and as he tried to move, he realized with a jolt that half his body was gone—replaced by a tangled web of tubes snaking into his flesh, pulsing faintly with his heartbeat. Where am I? The thought was sluggish, tangled like the liquid in his throat. A shadow moved beyond the tank, blurry and indistinct, but unmistakably human. The figure paused, its features obscured by the distortion of the glass, and Shimin felt a flicker of anger cut through his haze. Who are you?