Mandate Research Institute of Science and Technology.
Inside the vast research complex, countless researchers had abandoned their experiments, their eyes glued to screens broadcasting the unfolding chaos outside. Data streams, simulations, and half-finished projects were left unattended, forgotten in the face of something far more exciting.
Well, everyone except one person.
Deep within a sealed laboratory, isolated from the noise, a lone girl continued working as if the world outside did not exist.
She stood beside a workbench cluttered with scorched components and half-disassembled devices, sparks occasionally flying as she used a compact plasma cutter, its blue-white glow reflecting off her safety glasses. She wore a lab coat that had clearly seen better days, stained with burn marks, ink, and traces of unknown materials. The sleeves were rolled up carelessly, revealing slender arms marked with faint scars, the quiet proof of countless failed experiments.
