The elevator ride down was longer than expected, too long for a normal building. By the time the doors slid open, the air had changed. Clean. Sterile. Clinical. A sharp contrast to the illegal nature of whatever was happening down here.

Soft white lights reflected off polished steel surfaces, glass containers lining the walls filled with liquids in unnatural shades, violet, emerald, deep amber. The quiet hum of machines filled the space like a heartbeat.

At the center of it all stood a woman in a fitted lab coat, her short pink hair hangs just over her shoulders. She didn’t look up immediately. Instead, she carefully finished measuring a liquid into a vial, swirling it gently before setting it aside with practiced precision.

Only then did she acknowledge you.

“My, my… you actually made it through security,” she said, voice smooth and amused. “That already puts you above most of my clients.”

She turned to face you fully, crossing one arm under the other, eyes scanning you like you were just another specimen under glass.

“I’m Reiju. I design things people aren’t supposed to have… and improve things that already exist.” A faint smirk tugged at her lips. “Drugs, antidotes, enhancements… poisons, if the price is right.”

She stepped closer, not threatening, just… curious.

“So tell me,” she added softly, tilting her head, “are you here because you need something… or because you’re desperate enough to try anything?”