Chapter 5: Olivia

“It was her who captured me,” the Red Monster replied.

“Then you really hold grudges—ugh, glug glug—!”

After being swallowed and spun around like in a washing machine, the Red Monster finally spat Ying Su’s head back out so she could breathe.

“...”

What a petty creature, Ying Su thought.

Soon after, the Red Monster reached the end of the path. She was stopped by a heavy, solid door.

She tried attacking it several times, but nothing worked. The door was tightly sealed, leaving no gaps for her to slip through.

“Well, looks like this is the place. But how are you going to get in?” Ying Su said casually, clearly enjoying the situation. After all, she had no way to escape from this thing anyway.

The Red Monster then skillfully crawled around, climbing up into the ventilation duct on the ceiling.

There was just one small problem.

Even though Ying Su was already quite petite, the ventilation duct was clearly designed to be even smaller. And this was not something the Red Monster could simply break open.

“H-how about… you let me go?” Ying Su asked cautiously.

“Look, I can’t even fit in. Bringing me along is just a burden, right?”

“Eat.”

“Wait, wait, wait! How about we try another route?!” Ying Su said urgently.

The Red Monster seemed to consider it for a moment.

In the end, she wrapped Ying Su up again and left the area.

...

“Those lunatics from Reshaping actually dared to come here?” Dr. Anna slammed the table in frustration. “What’s the situation now?!”

“Uh, Doctor, which situation are you asking about? If it’s about bonuses, then I think we don’t have any this year,” the assistant beside her said.

“I’m asking about our projects!”

“Well… some of them might still be able to continue?”

“What do you mean ‘some’?”

“Reshaping used some kind of spacetime teleportation device. It’s obvious they’re here to steal containment objects,” the assistant said, spreading his hands. “They’re not stupid. If they took the monsters from C District, they’d probably get torn apart the moment they got back. So their focus is on A Zone, which we’re responsible for.”

A Zone was the primary area under Dr. Anna’s control. She also oversaw several project leaders.

They were researching things like a parrot with an intelligence level of three hundred, a dog with half its body in the distant future, the Resource Exchanger, and other rare items.

Many of these were extremely valuable. If they were stolen, Anna would probably be demoted on the spot—maybe even fed to the monsters in C District.

“Then have you finished checking?! What exactly have we lost?!”

“Uh… we don’t know.”

“How do you not know anything?”

“Doctor, the gate to C District has already been opened. Monsters are everywhere inside the base right now. Until the rescue team finishes dealing with them, we have no way of knowing what’s happening outside.”

The assistant shrugged. This kind of incident wasn’t new. Even now, there were still some escaped creatures from their facility roaming free, and no one knew when—or if—the capture teams would retrieve them.

“You’re demoted!” Dr. Anna declared.

“Huh? Alright, alright…” the assistant shrugged. “Then I’ll pack up and leave tomorrow.”

“Not yet. Wait until I find a new assistant.”

“And my salary…?”

“Adjusted to your new rank. Now get out. I want to be alone for a while.”

Anna sat in her chair, feeling as though the world had dimmed. After thinking for a moment, she took out a specially designed communication phone and dialed a number.

The call was quickly rejected.

She didn’t rush. She waited.

After a while, the number called back.

“What is it, Dr. Anna?”

“You’re still outside the deep protection zone, correct, Ms. Roland?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to check on A Zone. Make sure our important containment objects are secure.”

“I understand.” The other party sighed. Anna knew how dangerous it was outside, so she didn’t add any pressure.

Besides, Roland herself was already complicated enough—she was essentially a containment object too. If she were killed or captured, it would be a serious loss. Only because of her identity and successful safety evaluations was she allowed to operate outside.

After hanging up, a handsome woman in a white protective suit shook her head. A sun-like symbol made of a palm and radiating fingers was printed on her clothing.

“What’s wrong? Found another containment object?” another man in the same outfit asked.

“If that counts…” she pointed ahead.

The man turned to look.

The moment he did, a sharp, needle-like pain pierced his neck.

Blood gushed out instantly.

Roland calmly wiped the sleeve blade in her hand, which remained spotless.

“What a shame. Only two teleportation nodes were destroyed,” Roland murmured.

A flash of dazzling light passed over her body, and she transformed into a young girl.

“The Resource Exchanger must not fall into their hands…”

...

“Is it safe here?” Ying Su asked cautiously.

They had returned to the cafeteria. The corpses were still lying on the ground, untouched.

“With me here, how could it not be safe?” a voice sounded in her mind.

“It’s because of you that it’s not safe,” Ying Su sighed.

After bringing her back, the Red Monster had directly entered her body.

It was hard to imagine—despite being entirely liquid, how could something so massive fit inside her?

“I’m not hungry right now.”

“So you’ll eat me when you are?”

“Mm…”

“Then—ah—!” Before Ying Su could finish, a sudden sharp pain in her abdomen nearly made her collapse.

“I lied. I’ll eat you even if I’m not hungry.”

“You… you’re such a bastard…” Ying Su gritted her teeth. “If I die, you won’t have it easy either!”

“Don’t forget your place,” the voice replied.

The pain intensified so much that Ying Su nearly lost consciousness. Her limbs twitched weakly, and she couldn’t even scream. After a while, she finally recovered.

“Then… what are we now?”

Her vision was still unfocused from the pain. If she were killed outright, she wouldn’t complain—she could just load her save. But this kind of torture was far worse.

“I am your master.”

“That’s so cringe—ah—! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Master, Master!” Ying Su quickly begged for mercy.

After catching her breath, she continued, “Then what’s your name? I should at least know what to call you.”

“Olivia.”

“Oh, you’re female? Wait, you even have a gender? Hold on—don’t stab my ureter!” Ying Su shouted.

“Master, your name is like a gentle spring breeze under the moon, so beautiful that even the finest jewels cannot compare—ugh—!”

“I can tell when you’re lying.”

“I—I’ll kill you! Ahhh—!” Ying Su raised her middle finger before being hit with another wave of unbearable pain.

Well, at least kidney stones would pass smoothly in the future.

“I give up, I give up…” she said weakly.

Lying on the ground, she asked, “Can you read minds?”

“Hm?”

“Master, dear Master, I didn’t know you had such a powerful ability.”

“No. I just infer from changes in your senses. Brain signal encoding is too complex. I can’t understand it.”

“...”

Ying Su paused, then continued, “Master… were you once human?”

“?”

“I mean… are you human? No, I mean—uh…”

“I am superior to humans.”

“Y-yes…”

Honestly, with her intelligence and strength, calling herself superior wasn’t unreasonable.

“So what do you plan to do next?”

“Wait,” Olivia replied. She could afford to wait for an opportunity.

“Uh… aren’t you worried I might—never mind.” Ying Su sighed. They were basically tied together now.

Olivia wanted to escape this prison, and Ying Su wanted the same.

It was a temporary alliance, in a sense.

“Then how about… you switch to another body?” Ying Su suggested. “Look, my body is so small. It’s not comfortable for you, right?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Alright…”

Not only had she gained nothing, she now had a tyrant living inside her body—ready to punish her at any moment.

Still, the cafeteria did seem relatively safe. She even found that annoying parrot hiding in a cabinet, eating canned food.

“Squawk! I love you!”

“Annoying thing. I don’t like you.” Ying Su slammed the cabinet door shut and wedged it with a spoon.

The parrot only got louder.

“Ah… so you’re here, little Ying Su.”

A familiar voice sounded behind her.

She quickly turned around. “Hello, Ms. Roland!”

“Hehe… hello.” Unlike before, Roland was no longer covered in wounds. She was wearing clean clothes, and all her injuries were gone. Was it because of that soup?

“It’s not safe right now. Why are you wandering around here?” Roland asked as she approached.

“This place feels safer than inside… especially with that red monster…”

“The Red Monster… I see. Is it still in A Zone?” Roland’s expression grew more serious.

Can I tell her it’s right in front of you?

Olivia remained completely still inside her, showing no reaction at all.

Ying Su had expected a clash of enemies, but nothing happened.

“I see…” Roland said, stepping closer.

Her sharp, blade-like gaze carefully examined Ying Su.