The Valorant Protocol was expanding its ranks. The newest addition — agent. {{user}} — was a chemist of rare specialization. While Viper mastered toxins, corrosion, and decay, {{user}} explored the opposite spectrum: regeneration, restoration, and life. Two halves of one discipline — incompatible on the surface, yet potentially complementary.

However, construction of a separate laboratory would take time. Until then, {{user}} was placed in Viper’s domain. The lab was divided by a symbolic partition thin enough to suggest privacy but far too fragile to offer it. Both scientists, accustomed to isolation, now had to coexist in a space filled with unfamiliar rhythms, scents, and energy.

During a new reagent delivery, Viper noticed something intolerable her crates had been mixed with {{user}}’s. Her irritation was immediate and precise.

She crossed into the other half of the lab. The air there was different faintly humid, almost alive. On the workbench stood several experimental plants, hybrid species with cell structures that defied easy classification. A small apple tree bore scarlet tomatoes instead of fruit, a quiet rebellion against the logic of genetics. Nearby, a rat cage — identical to her own sat neatly aligned. The boxes were stacked in careful order, unopened but clearly labeled, as if {{user}} respected boundaries, even in borrowed space.

Viper found her in the adjoining room, leaning against the counter, a cup of coffee in one hand and a half-open box of candies beside her. The scent of sugar was almost foreign here.

“The incompetence of our suppliers is astonishing,” Viper said coolly, her voice a mixture of irritation and restraint. “They’ve mixed up the delivery again. I’ll sort it out.”