"You see, we've been watching you for quite a while now. Your powers are a great mystery to us, and we want to study them more closely, but above all, to put them to good use. That's why we want to recruit you," said Sferi, leading the way through a massive documentation room. Lug followed in silence, drinking in every detail he could lay his eyes on.

"We have a mission for you," the Captain finally said.

"What mission?" asked Lug.

"As you might have noticed, we appear militarized. But appearances aside, we are primarily researchers. Our goal is discovering new remedies!" the Captain explained enthusiastically. After a pause, he realized he hadn't answered Lug's question.

"Ahem… Yes. We are foremost a pharmaceutical company, but as part of our mission, we sometimes have to defend against foreign interests and, of course, have spies to counter potential threats. That's where you come in," he added.

"You want me to be a spy?" Lug asked calmly.

The Captain chuckled, "No. One of our spies has gone rogue—we want you to find him. It's as simple as that."

"Why me?" Lug asked.

"It's for you to tell me. I've been ordered to make use of you, either as an agent or as a guinea pig. The choice is yours," the Captain retorted. His earlier boyish enthusiasm was replaced with an unsettling coldness. A shiver ran down Lug's spine.

"I don't understand..." Lug murmured. He steadied his stance, readying himself for any unexpected turns.

Noticing the subtle shift in Lug's posture and the intensity of his gaze, the Captain decided to allay his apprehensions.

"Don't do anything rash—I'm offering you a choice here," he asserted firmly.

"What choice? Do you honestly think anyone would choose to end up as a lab rat? What are you trying to achieve?" Lug retorted, his voice escalating.

The Captain scratched his head, looking flustered.

"You've misunderstood me. I'm offering a choice—be our enemy or our ally. Since you are a reasonable man, you'll choose to be our ally, but for that, you must prove your worth. Do you understand where I'm going with this?" The Captain gestured towards a document on the nearby table.

Cautiously, Lug approached. He began to read.

The document was about him. It outlined every detail—his start date at the graveyard, his sleep and work hours, his circus visits… His encounter with Hannah.

This last detail sent chills down his spine. But, he found almost no additional information on Hannah. That brought a sigh of relief to Luke.

"The Lab" had been meticulously tracking his every move. Yet, aside from his extraordinary physical capabilities, they knew very little about his powers.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He sank deep into his thoughts for a moment.

“They want to know my capabilities apart from my known physical prowess…” Lug glanced at the paper one last time before returning to his thoughts.

"They don’t seem to understand how reinforcement works, they know nothing about my powers… Mmmh… If I keep quiet, I’ll end up as a guinea pig, and God knows what they'll do to me, but if I reveal too much, I put myself in danger.” Lug stopped, looked around, and locked eyes with the patient Captain. "I mustn’t be a threat, nor a curiosity." he thought. He finally decided to respond.

"I can see ghosts," he said.

The Captain’s eyes widened, a mix of surprise and a tinge of disappointment.

“Mmh… Alright, I’ve heard of such abilities. That will be very useful for the mission I mentioned earlier,” the Captain said, trying his best to conceal his disappointment.

He signaled Lug to wait, fetched a blue folder from one of the nearby drawers, and swiftly returned.

"I'll explain the situation to you," he said.

About an hour later, Lug exited the same hangar he had entered. Sebastian had offered to take him back, but Lug declined, saying he needed to walk. And that’s precisely what he did.

It was night, and he was in the middle of fields, on a dirt road bordered by sparse trees. The moon was his only guide.

He had been walking for only ten minutes when he saw Hannah about 20 yards ahead on the road, waving enthusiastically.

"But… What's Hannah doing here?" Lug wondered. He continued walking and was able to ask her directly less than a minute later.

"I followed you in my car. Once they stopped, I stationed myself nearby and kept track of what you were doing using my powers."

"Your powers? I knew you could sense things, but not from so far away!" Lug responded.

"Never mind that, I couldn’t hear everything. What did the turtleneck guy tell you?" Hannah asked, looking tense.

"They know a lot about me; they have a file of all their observations," Lug replied calmly. As they began walking, Lug continued, explaining the most crucial information, "They work for an organization called 'The Lab'. It has four bases: North, South, East, West, with numerous smaller ones like this, and one main base : the HQ.

Apparently, they make medicines, but they seem to do more than that. They've recruited me and given me a mission."

His calm demeanor surprised Hannah.

"What mission?" she asked.

"I have to find a killer at a university. They've already given me a new identity to prevent him from recognizing my name since he knows some files; he was their former agent."

Hannah looked at him, astounded.

"I don't know what to say, Lug… That's a lot," she said.

"My name's Luke now," he said, half laughing.

"We need to runaway, Lug," Hannah said, not really paying attention to Lug’s comment.

"No, what I saw in there proves that running now is too risky. I'll take my time and find their flaws and weaknesses. And in the worst-case scenario, I'll fight them," Lug said, his voice filled with determination. But whether he truly felt confident or was merely bluffing was unclear.

Hannah shook her head. "I was with you in there, I saw the garage, their men, their weapons... These people are too strong, too many, too well-equipped, too well-informed. We don't stand a chance."

"I don’t stand a chance then; you have nothing to do with this. I saw in my file that they know about you, but they don't know anything about your powers. You can just leave; you shouldn't have any problems," Lug answered.

"I'm coming with you. There's no way I'm abandoning you… What's the name of the university?" she asked.

Lug looked at her with a sense of relief. "I believe it's Bracon," he said.

"Good, I'll make sure to join the same university. But first things first, I need to teach you a technique that could save your life," Hannah said seriously.