Chapter 19: I’m Sorry I’m So Small

But what that parrot said was bothering Ying Su. The Resource Exchanger could save her? What did that mean?

Or was it referring to something else, not the Resource Exchanger?

After thinking about it, Ying Su felt stupid. Never mind whether what it said was even true; with her ability to save and reload, what was there to be afraid of? It couldn't possibly block that, could it?

Still, the Resource Exchanger genuinely concerned her. For no other reason than the fact that her Love System was obtained there, and many of the transmigrator predecessors had died there.

What exactly happened?

With those precedents, Ying Su had to be extremely careful.

All E-Grade consumables would be recycled, processed, and thrown into the Resource Exchanger to produce specific nutrient paste that could supplement the human body's needs.

It couldn't be that all the transmigrators died and were tossed into that machine, could it?

Impossible. Ying Su had a save/load system. While not particularly powerful, it had still gradually helped her escape her predicament.

Those predecessors couldn't all have had garbage systems, right?

But, Ying Su roughly understood. Those predecessors probably died here as consumables, were thrown into the machine for recycling, and their systems likely remained attached to their corpses at the Resource Exchanger.

When she arrived, they all latched onto her.

The questions were piling up.

The parrot's words of unknown veracity, and the cause of death for the transmigrator predecessors.

However, given the situation here—comprehensive surveillance and terrifyingly strict control—if the base was systematically killing transmigrators, then it was normal for them to die one after another upon arrival.

Ying Su needed to hide even better.

Even Olivia had lie-detection abilities. It wouldn't be surprising if there were things here capable of reading minds.

"Ying Su, come here for a moment." Dr. Anna's voice interrupted Ying Su's thoughts.

"Okay, Doctor." Responding, Ying Su closed the page she was on, walked over, settled into Anna's lap, wrapped her arms around Anna's neck, and nestled facing her chest, avoiding looking at the screen.

Dr. Anna sniffed the tips of Ying Su's hair for a while, feeling more refreshed, then wrapped an arm around her waist and continued working.

To be honest, aside from being monitored with zero privacy, life as a research assistant wasn't bad.

There was a certain amount of freedom of movement. The work wasn't as difficult as imagined. Half the time, she was used by Anna as a charging device. Occasionally, she ran some errands for projects and had free time to play. It was fairly pleasant.

"You lied to me," Olivia said.

"Huh? Why would I lie to you... Of course, I want to get out early too, but I have no way right now," Ying Su replied. "And forget about me, how are things on your end?"

"..."

Olivia indeed hadn't found any good opportunities.

The base's defenses were tight. Even if her true form emerged, escaping would be difficult. Moreover, this base was located underground. If a real emergency occurred and the key passages were blocked, Olivia would never get out in her lifetime.

"The only way back to the surface is the main elevator," Olivia said.

"The main elevator... I know, but I can't get near it," Ying Su said.

As the base's only external interface, the main elevator located in the deep layers was responsible for the crucial task of resource transportation and was, in theory, the only way out.

The problem was, the main elevator's security was extremely tight, with complex authentication. After going up, one would encounter the base's garrison troops.

Just as Ying Su had learned before, only B-Grade personnel had permission to leave.

"Maybe we should kidnap the one in the office."

"Do you think they're all idiots? There are monitors everywhere here; the elevator is probably no exception," Ying Su said. "Can you get a close look at the main elevator's authentication method?"

"If you can get close enough," Olivia said.

"In a couple of days, when I go to pick someone up, think of a way. But be careful, don't slip up," Ying Su said.

Ying Su was also curious about the person she was going to welcome. Anna only said it was someone sent from another base to help. She didn't know who the other sister facilities had sent.

But whoever came should at least be a B-Grade personnel.

Even though Anna had Ying Su receive the guest, in reality, Ying Su could only wait outside the multiple heavy doors leading to the main elevator.

'According to base conventions, I think there are at least two doors and a corridor full of defenses before reaching the main elevator,' Ying Su thought, looking at the厚重的门扉.

Olivia looked at the perfectly sealed door and couldn't help but sigh. Forget liquid; this door probably wouldn't even let gas through.

Ying Su's only gain here was discovering that the access control mode was the same as Anna's office: it required matching password, fingerprint, and retinal scan to open.

Even if Olivia killed a B-Grade personnel and obtained their fingerprint and eye, she couldn't bypass the password.

Ying Su thought that if necessary, she could have Olivia get a password this time. Maybe in the next reload, she could use it to escape directly.

But Ying Su felt there was no rush. After all, she wasn't even sure what was behind the door. If the authentication method changed inside, she'd have wasted another attempt.

She needed more information about this place. Currently, it seemed she might have to stay here a long time to gather all the conditions for clearing this stage.

"This is terrible, Olivia. Be prepared to spend several years, even over a decade, with me. I don't think we'll be getting out anytime soon," Ying Su said.

"..." Olivia didn't speak. She had already realized this situation over the past few months.

But compared to her long lifespan, this was nothing. Moreover, staying inside Ying Su's body wasn't bad. At least after experiencing that terrible低温牢房, this was much more comfortable.

However, to avoid mistakes, the cautious Olivia didn't have much freedom either.

Chatting with Ying Su was already the best form of entertainment.

"Sorry, Olivia," Ying Su said. "I'm sorry my body is so small and uncomfortable for you to stay in."

"So you do know."

"Wait, it's actually uncomfortable?" Ying Su had just said it casually.

"Do you think you'd be comfortable stuffed into a bottle?" Olivia retorted.

But Ying Su looked at the system panel, which stated that Olivia's favorite thing was staying inside her body.

'Whatever, it's not the first day she's been tsundere.'

"Please bear with it. I'm entrusting my body to you," Ying Su said. In reality, Olivia also helped regulate Ying Su's body, preventing illnesses and accidents.