Ethan broke out in a cold sweat as soon as he heard those words, and the pain in his eye became a distant memory.

"Is this guy...interested in me?" he wondered nervously.

"Hey, William, thanks for the offer, but I really gotta go. Oh, right! Butter asked me to clean the ventilation ducts, so maybe another time?" Ethan could hardly wait to get out of there.

But William's smile turned cold. "Ethan, you might want to reconsider. If you don't have this drink with me, I can guarantee the days ahead won't be easy for you." His eyes were sharp, filled with a possessive menace.

Ethan understood the threat. He glanced at the six or seven lackeys surrounding William, all watching him intently. They looked at Ethan with hostility, as if, at William's command, they would tear Ethan apart, leaving nothing behind. Without another word, he quickly turned and left the cafeteria.

As soon as Ethan stepped into the ventilation ducts, unease gnawed at him. This place was too chaotic, like a cage where people, after being confined for too long, found twisted relief through violence and sex, driven by boredom and despair.

"No wonder they all want to get to Paradise Island..." he muttered, wiping his bruised eye with a clean handkerchief. Great pain at the site of the eye injury.

Next, he faced the daunting task of cleaning the two-kilometer-long ventilation ducts. It was overwhelming. Ethan stood there, staring at the endless tunnel, his heart sinking further into despair.

"Should've let Butter toss me into the boiler instead!" he muttered, lifting a large bucket of water and bracing himself for the grueling punishment ahead. The duct was dark, cramped, and filled with dust and grime. Cleaning it was a dirty, exhausting job, but at least it kept him isolated from the others, away from their abuse.

"This is torture... a complete nightmare," he mumbled, sweat dripping down his forehead, tracing a path along his face to his chin.

As Ethan crawled through the duct, a drop of water suddenly fell on his face. He looked up and saw a metal hatch. He stared at it, lost in thought. His arms were numb from the repetitive motions, but something about the hatch caught his attention.

After glancing around to ensure he was alone, Ethan carefully reached out and touched the hatch. It was heavy, but the edges had loosened over time. With all his strength, he slowly pried it open, and a bright light flooded his vision.

"What is this place? Looks like a lab..." he whispered to himself.

He cautiously lifted the hatch a little more, scanning the area above. Seeing no one, he quickly pushed himself up and out of the duct, hiding behind a cleaning cabinet, trying to stay out of sight.

Thinking quickly, Ethan spotted a set of janitor uniforms left behind by the cleaning crew. He found one that fit him, put on a mask, and grabbed a broom before heading out. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"God help me," Ethan thought, his hands trembling as he swept the floor slowly and carefully, terrified of being caught. "If they find me, Butter's definitely going to throw me into the boiler."

Around the corner, he overheard two guards talking as they walked by. They spoke in low voices, oblivious to his presence.

"Did you hear? Another clone is arriving tomorrow. This one's special."

"So, what's the plan?" asked a man in a white lab coat.

"We need to alter his memories..."

"What are they talking about? Clones?" Ethan's heart pounded.

"I need to get out of here, and figure this out tomorrow."

Ethan looked around at no one, quickly jumped into the manhole cover, as if it had never been here, the fat man in the monitoring room is dozing completely did not notice Ethan this action, but next time there is no guarantee that Ethan can be so lucky.

Following the dark exhaust duct, Ethan found the bucket, the space was narrow and the air was filled with the smell of dust and motor oil, it was very unpleasant, Ethan returned to the door of the exhaust duct the same way he had come, he used the key Butter had given him to open the door.

"Finally made it back without incident" Ethan took a long breath.

As time passed, Ethan realized he had to get back before he was discovered. He didn't fully understand what clones meant, but he knew the Phoenix guards were hiding something from them. Ethan jumps back into the ventilation tunnel and decides to use the penalty time to investigate further.

When Ethan emerges from the tunnel, he is dirty and exhausted.

Ethan quickly climbed back into the duct and decided to find Victor to learn more. Later, he made his way to Victor's boiler room, bringing a bottle of beer and a plate of peanuts—contraband he'd smuggled out during dinner.

"Hey, old man, look what I brought you." Ethan grinned as he pulled the beer and peanuts from his jacket. Victor's face lit up with a rare smile.

"Well, well, my favorite!" Victor took the beer, expertly opening it and taking a long, satisfying gulp.

"Old man, I had to clean the ventilation ducts today," Ethan said, settling down beside Victor.

"Cleaning the ducts? Ha! You must've messed up again. That duct is two kilometers long!" Victor laughed heartily, clearly enjoying Ethan's misfortune.

"Laugh all you want, but I found something strange in there," Ethan continued, his tone serious.

"What strange thing?" Victor's smile faded, and a flicker of anxiety crossed his face.

"I found a lab, in the upper levels of Fortress Omega. It doesn't look anything like this place," Ethan explained.

"How did you find it?" Victor's face grew pale, fear creeping into his eyes.

"There was a hatch above the duct, with some numbers and the year 2040 marked on it. I opened it and climbed up. They were talking about clones or something..." Ethan trailed off, carefully watching Victor's reaction.

Victor quickly lit a cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke—a telltale sign he was hiding something. Ethan noticed the shift, his suspicion growing.

"Old man, are you hiding something from me?" Ethan pressed, determined to get to the bottom of whatever secret Victor was concealing.

Victor put away the bottle of beer and walked over to the boiler room and continued to add coal to it, as if he hadn't heard Ethan's question, and Ethan was sure, from the way Victor was acting, that he must know what was going on here.