Chapter 10: I Like You—Do You Like Me?

A little girl dressed in a white lace-trimmed nightgown gently hugged the doll in her arms, holding it close to her chest as if it were something precious. Her long hair cascaded down like a flowing waterfall, smooth and soft, carefully styled into a delicate and beautiful princess bun. Within her ruby-like eyes rested a calmness that clearly did not belong to someone of her age, a stillness that felt out of place. Her skin carried a faintly sickly pale tone, and even her lips lacked any real trace of color, as though vitality itself had been drained away.

“Oh! System, you can actually get photos like this? This is so adorable—completely my type!” Ying Su said in open admiration, her tone filled with delight as her interest and motivation were instantly reignited.

“Ahem… well…” Ying Su spoke again, lowering her voice slightly as if trying to sound more serious. “Olivia, there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Say it.” Olivia’s voice remained as cold and indifferent as ever. Although she had begun to think Ying Su was not entirely unpleasant to be around, at best she was merely slightly more appealing and slightly more appetizing than the other walking masses of flesh in this place.

“I like you,” Ying Su said, her tone unusually serious and direct.

“?”

What kind of nonsense was this girl suddenly saying?

However, after spending several days together, Olivia had already come to notice that Ying Su occasionally said strange and unfocused things without warning. Because of that, she did not take these words seriously at all.

Moreover, among their kind, emotions had always been faint and distant, and something like love was even rarer to the point of near nonexistence. Olivia could not even begin to imagine something as absurd as two individuals revealing their true names to one another.

If it turned out to be a trap, that would be disastrous.

Still, behavior like this could not simply be ignored. It required punishment.

But since Ying Su was still under constant surveillance, Olivia could not create too much of a disturbance.

So, with a subtle motion—

“Ahhh—!”

One of Ying Su’s legs suddenly cramped violently, causing her entire body to tense as she rolled around on the bed in pain.

After struggling and twisting for a while, she finally managed to recover and settle down. Once she caught her breath, she continued speaking as if nothing had happened, “I really do like you. You’re soft and smell nice—who wouldn’t like that? Look at it this way, even the researchers like me a lot.”

“Meaningless.” Faced with Ying Su’s shameless persistence, Olivia neither believed her words nor cared enough to entertain them.

To her, emotions were nothing more than unnecessary burdens. With their long lifespans, they could live perfectly well on their own without relying on anyone else.

“Don’t you have the ability to detect lies? Go ahead—I’ll say it again. I like you. Check if I’m lying,” Ying Su said, her tone confident and completely unshaken.

“...” It was true—she was not lying. Olivia hesitated ever so slightly. Ying Su was indeed showing genuine goodwill toward her, but Olivia still did not dare to accept it. “Perhaps you’ve learned some kind of trick to deceive me. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lied.”

[Olivia Favorability +3]

Despite her words of doubt, her favorability had clearly increased.

“Honestly, it took quite a lot of mental preparation for me to say that,” Ying Su added.

“You’re lying.” It had not been difficult at all.

After a brief pause, Olivia spoke again, her tone calm but sharp. “If you really like me, then die for me.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that,” Ying Su replied immediately.

“Hmph. Then what’s the point of saying you like me?” Olivia said dismissively.

“I’ve already put my life in your hands,” Ying Su said. At this very moment, Olivia could end her life instantly if she wished.

“Isn’t that only natural?”

“Fine then, I take it back. You’re not cute at all—ahh—!” Ying Su’s leg cramped again, interrupting her words as pain forced her to curl slightly.

After a brief silence, Olivia asked in a more serious tone, “How much do you actually know?”

“Know what?” Ying Su responded.

“Stop pretending. How much do you know about me?” Olivia wanted to determine just how much Ying Su had learned regarding her true nature.

Abilities like precognition were extremely troublesome to deal with.

“Not much. I don’t know everything. If I did, I would have already found a way to leave this place,” Ying Su replied calmly.

After chatting for a while longer on the bed, a researcher arrived as part of routine procedure and spoke in a neutral tone, “B347, it’s time.”

Personnel dressed in protective suits approached, placing a shielding helmet over Ying Su’s head before escorting her to the testing area.

Sylvia had already been waiting there.

The tests over the past few days had been relatively simple. Even the expendable E-grade subjects were being provided with proper meals and rest.

Ying Su’s assigned task was also straightforward—she simply had to sit beside a test subject for one hour each day.

Sylvia was currently focusing on evaluating addiction-related effects. The scent emitted from Ying Su’s body did indeed possess a calming property, and the effect was quite noticeable. Interestingly, it only worked on females.

Although the exact reason remained unclear, the facility contained countless strange anomalies, and phenomena that only affected one gender were not particularly unusual.

After several days of testing, all physical indicators of the subjects remained stable. Ying Su’s presence had not caused any disruption to their physiological balance.

After all, many addictive substances functioned by disturbing the body’s natural equilibrium. When such substances were removed, the body would lack something it had come to depend on, resulting in intense discomfort.

“Hmm… this should be enough to compile a report. We’ll increase the testing intensity over the next few days,” Sylvia muttered to herself. Despite having the capability, she was not particularly enthusiastic about the work itself.

She simply wanted to finish the project as quickly as possible.

Although Ying Su’s project showed some promise, it was insignificant when compared to the research being conducted in District C.

Immortality, resurrection of the dead, super weapons, communication with the future—

Those projects consumed rapidly grown clones on a daily basis. Any breakthrough led to immediate promotion, though the risks involved were extremely high. Previous incursions by hostile forces attempting to seize containment objects had already resulted in significant casualties.

Only projects with relatively lower costs, like theirs, could afford to use E-grade subjects.

Research in Zone A was often jokingly referred to as “retirement work.”

As the project leader, Sylvia possessed considerable authority. Even if someone were to achieve immortality and use it on themselves first, the council would likely ignore it as long as no major consequences arose.

Clearly, Ying Su’s project did not hold much appeal for Sylvia.

However, since it had been specifically marked as important by Doctor Anna, she still had to complete it.

“Next, testing related to bodily fluids… results are poor. Dilution is also ineffective,” Sylvia noted as she recorded her observations.

She had already drawn Ying Su’s blood and collected various bodily fluids for testing. While there were some effects, they were significantly weaker than simply being near Ying Su, and they could not be diluted.

The scent emitted by Ying Su seemed to result from a combination of factors rather than any single fluid.

“Perhaps some kind of microbial ecosystem?” Sylvia speculated. “And there’s still no clear addictive effect. If nothing changes, we can conclude the project soon.”

The next step was simply to increase exposure time—from one hour per day to five.

“Touch her,” Olivia instructed quietly. “Move your hand slightly to the side… your left hand.”

As Ying Su reached out and made contact, unseen by the cameras, blood slowly seeped from her hand into the bedsheet, then gradually spread into the other person.

Olivia separated a portion of herself and implanted it into the test subject. She could not rely entirely on Ying Su. If Ying Su were deceiving her, she needed an alternative plan.

However, without including part of her soul, the fragment would lack sufficient intelligence.

Their kind could divide their souls at will, but any lost fragment would be gone permanently.

This time, Olivia took a risk and split off one-fifth of her soul.

She also needed to find her own way to escape.

After regaining her intellect within Ying Su’s body, her thoughts had become much clearer.

Previously, she had either been driven to madness by prolonged starvation or forced into hibernation by extreme cold, leaving her unable to think at all.

The facility had not even realized that she possessed such high intelligence.

Even if Ying Su knew, she would not reveal it. After all, Ying Su herself had very limited means. Aside from her save-and-load ability and her unusual physiology, she could do very little.

After each day’s experiments, she could only return to her room and pass the time. When boredom set in, she would deliberately bother Olivia.

Although Olivia often found her constant chatter as noisy as a parrot, she still responded every time.

Having someone to talk to felt… unexpectedly comforting.

Given their current situation, finding small moments of relief within hardship was all they could do.

After nearly a month had passed, Sylvia compiled all the collected data and submitted it to Doctor Anna.

“Here it is, Doctor. All the research data on B347. Overall, it’s similar to our other projects—somewhat useful, but not particularly significant,” Sylvia said.

“I see… just summarize it,” Doctor Anna replied, casually setting the report aside.

“B347’s physiology produces a fragrant scent with a clear calming effect. There is no physical addiction or tolerance. In fact, the longer someone stays with her, the stronger the effect becomes.”

“Psychological dependence?” Doctor Anna asked.

“Yes. But it’s similar to how you favor the items in your cabinet,” Sylvia said with a slight shrug. Their long-standing working relationship allowed them to exchange such casual remarks.

“That’s actually quite good. I noticed the effect myself during initial contact. I think this can be put into practical use,” Doctor Anna said.

“Do as you like. What’s your reasoning?” Sylvia asked.

“Well… I haven’t decided on a research assistant yet. What do you think about choosing her?” Doctor Anna suggested.

“?”

Sylvia frowned slightly. “Then what about me?”

It seemed appreciation had run out.

“You? Didn’t you underperform?” Doctor Anna said lightly. “Such a simple project, and it still took this long.”

“You’re deliberately making things difficult for me, aren’t you? Fine. I quit. I’ll apply to transfer to District B tomorrow,” Sylvia said.

“Why are you in such a hurry? The new assistant will still need someone to guide her,” Doctor Anna said, stepping closer. Her fingers gently lifted Sylvia’s chin as she continued, “You’ll stay and help a bit longer.”

“Then I want assistant-level pay,” Sylvia replied, her fingers moving to loosen the clasp of her skirt.

“Agreed. I’ll transfer her allocation to you,” Doctor Anna said, leaning in and kissing her. “Besides, any transfer request still needs my approval.”