chapter 1: silence at the summit
Han Mina moved through the crowded conference hall like a ghost, her studious demeanor and medical lanyard allowing her to blend seamlessly with the event staff. The global biotech summit was reaching its final keynote address by the night's honored guest - Dr. Chen Yuzhe.
Mina's eyes remained impassively fixed on her target as he took the stage to the thunderous applause of his peers. Chen was a brilliant mind in genetic engineering, but also the hidden architect behind the development of biological weapons sold to rogue states and terror groups. His crimes had finally caught up to him - a massive bounty was offered for his life.
As Chen launched into his speech, Mina subtly palmed the vial from her pocket. It contained a cutting-edge neurotoxin developed by her own organization - ingeniously undetectable and designed for an untraceable kill. Her other hand checked the micro-air dispenser disguised in her lanyard.
With studied nonchalance, Mina made her way through the crowd towards the stage-side engineering crew. No one batted an eye as she fell into their rhythm, adjusting her face-shield and checking non-existent equipment readouts.
Chen was mid-sentence, self-importantly pontificating about the future of biotech, when Mina struck. Two quick taps activated the dispenser, atomizing the toxin in an aerosol cloud that caught the airflow directly towards the target's face.
The effect was instantaneous. Chen's voice hitched, his hands came up to weakly grasp at his throat as his body betrayed him. He collapsed to the stage floor, eyes rolling back as the paralyzing poison took hold.
Chaos erupted as the crowd realized something was wrong. Security swarmed the stage, calling for medics, as Chen's twitching body was obscured by the panicked throngs. In the confusion, Mina simply removed her face-shield, blended back into the sea of staff, and calmly walked out while the mayhem unfolded behind her.
By the time the escalating emergency drew the first sirens, The Surgeon had long since vanished, leaving only her latest dead patient behind.
The news cycle exploded with the shocking death of the renowned Dr. Chen Yuzhe. Captured footage showed the seemingly healthy luminary crumpling mid-speech from an apparent aneurysm or stroke. An outpouring of grief and memorials for the "lost genius" filled the media airwaves.
But Han Mina felt no remorse as she cleaned and stowed her gear back at her safe house bolt-hole. Stripping out of her medical disguise, she showered the stench of the conference floor from her body and changed into nondescript street clothes. A new hair color and subtle makeup shift completed her "mask" transformation.
As she settled in to monitor the coverage, Mina's burner phone buzzed with a new encrypted message. A six-figure payment had already been wired to one of her anonymous accounts. Another successful job complete - and this one leaving absolutely no trace of foul play.
The police and private investigators would no doubt run themselves ragged analyzing the footage and evidence. But they would find nothing. No overlooked DNA, no lingering toxicology hits, no witnesses to a "suspect." Her weapon, an aerosol dispersion device, had dispersed completely and evaporated within minutes.
Mina was a professional, and the more high-profile the hit, the more meticulous and seamless her work became. She would fade back into the persona of unassuming Dr. Han, continue her research at Zhengli Memorial, and wait for the next encrypted call for her "surgical" services.
As for poor Dr. Chen, his deadly sins had finally been paid in full. Slain by an bulletless assassin's hand and leaving only a silent, inexplicable corpse behind as her calling card.