Having obeyed their professor, all the students had gone back to their respective rooms, and Victoria was in her own room, while Rozer was in another room at the moment, with another male student.
After learning about the conditions in Mexico and listening to the things told by the guest house owner, Victoria's heart sank. She had understood that whatever calamity had struck the people of Mexico was not a natural disaster at all, but part of some deep conspiracy—one that Victoria needed to uncover before it was too late. She knew now that this was no ordinary illness; someone had definitely tampered with Mexico's water supply. The only thing Victoria was not certain about was whether this web had been spread by a human being, or by some demonic force that wanted to wipe out the people of the earth.
"I have to find out the reason behind this disease no matter what, and for that I will have to test the water from the local water supply. And for that, I will have to go to the water supply department. But how will I go?" Victoria said, thinking to herself.
Just then, the Truth Fairy came to Victoria and said, "If you want, I can go there on your behalf and do the work for you, Victoria. Or why don't you do one thing—take that friend of yours, Rozer, along with you? After all, he's been following you around like a madman anyway, and you yourself once told me that he's the best when it comes to research."
"Oh, you've given an absolutely perfect idea. I'll just wait for it to get a little dark, and then I'll talk to Rozer and go with him to the water supply board to collect a water sample from there," Victoria replied to the Truth Fairy.
Then, under the cover of night, she convinced Roger, and the two of them quietly set off toward the main water supply plant.
"Victoria, why are you so mischievous? Do you even realize that if the professor finds out that we both slipped out of the guest house so late at night without informing anyone, the college authorities will definitely hand us our transfer certificates tomorrow—or suspension is guaranteed for us," Rozer said, looking at Victoria as she walked ahead of him.
"Rozer, first of all, speak a little more quietly. And why are you talking like a coward? Come on, be a man—men aren't supposed to be afraid. Don't forget, whatever we're doing is for the good of the people, and it won't take much time. We'll go there quickly, collect the water sample, and come back," Victoria said with a smile, trying to reason with Rozer.
Hearing Victoria's words, Rozer nodded in agreement and moved forward with her. Before long, they reached the water supply plant. Once inside, Victoria collected a sample of the water and began testing it with the mini lab kit she had brought along with her.
"Oh my God! How is all this even possible? The chemical composition of this water has completely changed," Victoria said in distress. Then, continuing, she added, "Rozer, look closely. There are elements in this water that do not exist in any periodic table on Earth. How can this even be possible?"
But Victoria did not know that a danger was also closing in on her family in New York—something she was completely unaware of. There in New York, the next morning, as Victoria's father, Allen, was returning home from his office, he received another call from that same mafia.
"Allen, is the money ready, or should I prepare your funeral?" the mafia boss threatened.
Enraged, Allen hurled a string of abuses at him over the phone and said, "I'm not afraid of anyone. If I start handing over money to street thugs like you, then hundreds of goons will line up at my doorstep every day to beg just like you. This money is my hard-earned sweat and blood, and not a single penny will go to you. Do whatever you think you can!"
But Allen had no idea that this very courage would prove costly for him. When he stepped out of his office to attend a meeting, and as soon as his car reached a deserted road, two black vehicles boxed him in from both sides. The very next moment, a hail of bullets rained down on Allen's car. His driver was killed on the spot in the barrage of gunfire. Allen somehow survived by ducking down, but this attack had clearly been orchestrated by that same mafia—to make Allen understand that his threats were not empty words, and that whatever he said, he was fully capable of carrying out.
As soon as news of the incident broke, several local police and medical vehicles rushed to the spot, and Allen was immediately taken to the hospital. Upon hearing about the attack on Allen, his wife Olivia also arrived at the hospital.
While his wounds were being dressed, Allen held Olivia's hand and said, "Don't tell Victoria anything. She's in Mexico—if she finds out, she'll panic. Let her finish her trip."
Meanwhile in Mexico, Victoria received the news that it wasn't just Mexico anymore—three other major neighboring cities' water supplies had also become contaminated, and the poison spreading through the water was advancing rapidly.
On the other hand, in space, General Samuel watched Aqua-Mortis's progress on a hologram, and he was deeply pleased that Aqua-Mortis was living up to his expectations. The time had now come for Samuel to move on to the second phase of his plan. Turning toward his army, he made a terrifying announcement.
"Listen, my warriors! Aqua-Mortis has nearly completed its objective of contaminating 15% of Earth's water, and soon it will achieve its 75% TARGET AS WELL. Humans are writhing in thirst, and their forces have already fallen apart. This is the best opportunity for us to launch an assault on Earth. Exactly 48 hours from now, we will attack the planet. This will not be a war—it will be a massacre, one that the people of Earth will remember until their very last breath!"
Meanwhile in New York, Allen's condition was critical, and the doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital under observation, but he refused to stay. Olivia supported him and brought him back home. Bandages were wrapped around Allen's head and arm, and the fear for his family's safety was clearly visible in his eyes.
Olivia had barely helped him lie down on the bed when his phone rang. It was a call from the college dean.
"Hello, Mrs. Olivia? This is Mr. Alexander, the dean of Victoria's college, speaking. Actually, there's a problem, and I called to inform you about it. We have just received an email from the owner of the guest house in Mexico—an email that seems to have been sent much earlier but was delivered only now due to a server outage. It says that a disease has broken out in Mexico and the situation there is quite alarming. The government is continuously trying to bring the conditions under control, but it seems the communication system there has completely collapsed. We are informing the parents of the other students as well, because we are unable to establish contact with either the students or the professor who went with them."
On learning that her daughter was in danger, Olivia was completely stunned. She had not yet recovered from the shock of the attack on her husband, and the moment she heard this, the phone slipped from her hand.
Allen asked anxiously, "What happened, Olivia? Whose call was that, and what were they saying? Is everything all right? Did Victoria call?"
But Olivia's silence pierced Allen's heart. Sitting in New York, the family now found itself trapped in an unknown terror. On one side, the mafia loomed as a threat over Allen and his family, and on the other, their youngest daughter was stuck in a place where a civil war could break out at any moment.
There in Mexico, Victoria's heart was sinking. She decided that she would take the water sample report to the authorities and tell them the truth. Carrying the water sample and her research report, she immediately reached the office of the Ministry of Natural Resources. But the minister present there was refusing to meet anyone. After persistent insistence, however, she was finally granted an audience with him.
"Rozer, you stay here. I'll go inside and talk to the minister and come back. He thinks this is a natural disaster, but it isn't. You wait for me," Victoria said, and then headed toward the minister's cabin.
Hearing Victoria's words, Rozer nodded in agreement and sat down outside, while Victoria went into the minister's cabin to meet him.
The minister was seated in his large cabin, leaning back and slowly turning his chair. In her urgency, Victoria said, "Sir, please listen to me! The elements present in this water are not from this world. This is a conspiracy. Please have the water supply shut down immediately, import water from outside, and instruct the army not to use baton charges on people, but instead to calmly persuade them to stay inside their homes!"
The minister listened to Victoria, then took the entire report from her, snatched the sample, and said in a cold tone, "You are a student. Don't teach us how to run a country. I'm keeping this report, and once my team verifies it, we'll decide what needs to be done and how. Now get out of here before I have you arrested, and don't you dare get involved in this mess again. Now leave!"
Seeing the minister's behavior, Victoria was left in shock. She walked out of the cabin immediately.
"What happened? Did you show the report to the minister? What did he say?" Rozer asked, looking at Victoria.
"Nothing. That minister is useless and isn't going to do anything. In fact, I feel that he himself is responsible for everything that's happening in Mexico. Come on, let's get out of here. Whatever needs to be done, we'll have to do it on our own," Victoria said, gesturing for Rozer to follow her as she headed toward the exit.
As she and Rozer were stepping out of the office, Victoria turned back and looked toward the window of the minister's cabin. The minister was standing there, watching Victoria and Rozer leave. There was no trace of humanity in his eyes—only a strange glint, as if he was pleased with the events unfolding in Mexico. Victoria found this very unsettling, but without dwelling on it any further, she left with Rozer.
But Victoria did not know that while she was standing with the people of Mexico to protect them, her own family was in danger at that very moment. How Victoria would handle this double crisis—she herself had no idea.