Chapter 16: If I Die…

Ying Su and Olivia were very close, practically at a negative distance, yet not as close as one might imagine.

Olivia hadn't told Ying Su many things—about her family, her experiences, her past, her bloodline...

And Ying Su knew better than to ask about those things. Their conversations remained firmly at the level of friends.

After all, she had her own little secrets. And while the photos the Love System had shown her were cute, Ying Su wasn't someone so desperate she'd chase anything.

The reason she was pursuing Olivia, aside from the system tasks that offered rewards, was that she genuinely needed a partner to escape with.

So, Ying Su felt their relationship was best maintained at the stage of good friends.

Or rather, comrades with a shared goal.

To ensure her comrade wouldn't betray her, maintaining a good relationship was very important.

And as the only person currently communicating normally with her, Ying Su really did quite like her.

It even seemed like the pursuit progress was quite fast...

Anyway, even if the pursuit bar filled up, it's not like they had to become lovers or anything, right?

There's no shortage of close girlfriends who can comfort each other, right?

They're just good girlfriends, what's wrong with a little touch?

But thinking about it, she'd already been at this base for nearly half a year. Her hair had grown a lot. Who knew when she'd finally be able to escape in the future? Thinking about these things now seemed a bit too distant.

Thanks to the gastric perforation, Ying Su could lie on the white-sheeted bed in the spacious hospital room without her obscuring helmet. Although it reeked of disinfectant, it was much more comfortable than that cramped little room.

Though there were still surveillance cameras here, of course.

'Damn it, is there anywhere in this hellhole without surveillance?'

It was a place with absolutely no human rights.

"Olivia, don't be in a hurry to fix me. I want to stay here a bit longer," Ying Su said. It really was much nicer to live here than in her tiny room. What's more, she didn't have to work here.

Although her job was just being a body pillow and occasionally a... toy, Ying Su didn't dare move recklessly, afraid of making a mistake. She'd rather lie here freely.

"I wouldn't do that," Olivia said.

"That's good. I was worried you might be secretly repairing my body. It doesn't seem to hurt as much as before; maybe it's psychological," Ying Su said.

Olivia silently tore open the spot she had almost finished repairing.

"Hiss... It... it hurts again..." Ying Su quickly said, but she couldn't cry out under the surveillance.

Ying Su's injury sounded serious, possibly requiring the removal of several organs from her abdominal cavity. However, with Olivia protecting her, nothing went wrong. After the surgery, Olivia could even have her walking the next day.

"Anyway, our situation should improve a bit after this," Ying Su said. She had set a trap for Sylvia, though the outcome remained unknown.

'Sylvia, you're the one who reached out first. Don't blame me if you get hit.'

---

"Doctor Anna, you called for me?" Sylvia said as she pushed the door open. The moment she entered, she felt the air was oppressively heavy.

Doctor Anna's expression was the same as during the day, not a hint of a good mood. Sylvia was used to it.

"Mmm, Sylvia, how long have you been with me?"

"Uh... about two years?" Sylvia said. She remembered very clearly. She had struggled at D-Grade for about five years before earning Anna's favor and becoming C-Grade personnel.

But this was the highest rank she could reach easily. Anything beyond was troublesome.

"I see. This is for C Zone, Experimental Subject C776, the 'Formless Priest' project. Take it and handle it. If you complete it, I'll submit your promotion report."

"I understand! I'll definitely do it well, Doctor Anna!" Sylvia was overjoyed. She hadn't expected the opportunity to come so quickly. She had been troubled about what to do before.

Logically, Doctor Anna was the supervisor of A Zone, responsible for safe but very low-rated anomalies.

Cross-zone projects like this could be applied for and could rapidly increase one's rating. Completing three B-Grade projects was enough to apply for promotion to B-Grade personnel. However, projects of this level were strictly controlled by the supervisors. How could one get them?

She never expected Anna to just give her one today!

Watching Sylvia leave happily, Doctor Anna just took a sip of the coffee on her desk and sneered.

Sylvia certainly had ability, but she was still too green.

C-Grade personnel, to supervisors like them, were just slightly less expendable consumables.

Anna had lost count of how many assistants like her she'd gone through.

And someone as eager as Sylvia couldn't be allowed to be absorbed into their ranks.

Projects like the Formless Priest weren't something supervisors clung to out of greed, but because they genuinely couldn't handle them. They were extremely dangerous anomalies. The escape of any one of them could turn the containment facility upside down.

The requirements for C Zone projects weren't focused on utilization like theirs, but on researching their characteristics and functions under conditions ensuring their destruction.

Anna had given her another chance. If she could complete the project, she could stay in her C-Grade position. If she couldn't...

Well, she'd probably already have perished in the project.

These kinds of projects were always a major drain on C-Grade personnel.

Meanwhile, Anna looked at another application form on her desk. It was an application for a D-Grade personnel promotion to C-Grade, which she had already approved.

The photo and name on it were clearly Ying Su.

In just one day, Anna had casually arranged the fates of two people. Their life and death were merely a matter of her whim.

---

Still in the hospital room, Ying Su naturally had no idea what awaited her after her recovery. With nothing to do on the sickbed, she continued listening to Olivia talk about her daily stories.

"Misha was someone I caught a hundred years ago. After I killed her parents, I saw she was pretty good-looking, so I took her back and raised her."

"Uh... isn't that a bit..."

"If a dog from outside bit your family member, and you went out and kicked over the doghouse, then happened to find a cute puppy, what's wrong with raising it?"

"Wouldn't she hate you or something...? After all, you did kill her parents..." Ying Su's head ached listening. Only when the other party casually mentioned such horrifying things did she realize that although Olivia was easy to talk to, she was indeed a monster.

"She forgot long ago. She's even forgotten her parents' names. I am her mother. Everything fades and is forgiven under the erosion of time," Olivia said indifferently.

"That's terrifying. It seems if I die one day, you'll forget me very quickly too," Ying Su said.

"......"

After a moment of silence, Olivia spoke. "Of course."