Chapter 7: The Romance System, Activated!

Roland pursued them relentlessly the entire way, not slowing down for even a moment, and in the end, she finally caught up to them and cornered them in a tight, enclosed corner with no obvious way out.

Ying Su, having no room left to retreat, could only press herself into the corner and call out helplessly, her voice carrying a mix of nervousness and forced composure, “Um… Ms. Roland…”

Bang—!

Without even the slightest hesitation, the gun was fired in a single second, the sound of the shot echoing sharply through the confined space.

“Damn it!!!”

Ying Su had already known from the very beginning that this plan was terrible to the extreme, practically doomed to fail, but she truly had no other choice available to her. As a weak and powerless little girl, she simply had no ability to resist or oppose what was happening to her.

If she dared to refuse, Olivia, who resided inside her body, would stab her again and again without restraint, forcing her compliance through pain.

In the end, Roland did not fall for the trick at all. She did not hesitate, did not question, and did not show even the slightest concern for Ying Su’s life—she simply fired directly.

However, Olivia’s reaction speed was just as fast. The moment she realized that deception would not work on Roland, she immediately abandoned the attempt and slipped out from Ying Su’s body, moving swiftly to intercept the incoming bullet.

Logically speaking, Olivia was completely capable of dealing with the bullet before it could ever reach Ying Su, stopping it midair with ease.

But for some unknown reason, just as Olivia extended her tendrils and was about to block it, the bullet suddenly behaved as if it had a will of its own. It abruptly curved in midair, changing direction unnaturally, and shot straight toward Ying Su.

In the blink of an eye, it had already struck her chest directly.

“Ahhhhh—!” Ying Su let out a sharp scream of pain, her voice tearing through the air, but very quickly, Olivia reacted again, extracting the bullet fragments from within her body and stopping the bleeding before it could worsen.

“Something’s not right… why is this bullet like this?” Olivia voiced her confusion after noticing that the shape and behavior of the bullet were clearly abnormal. Almost immediately after, she felt something even more unsettling—her blood was beginning to coagulate.

“Ah… so this is what snake venom feels like…” Ying Su muttered weakly as waves of pain washed over her body. Her blood seemed to thicken and stagnate, clogging within her veins. She vaguely remembered that certain snake venoms caused exactly this kind of reaction.

Meanwhile, Roland, seemingly worried that the dosage might not be sufficient, pulled the trigger completely and continued firing.

Fortunately, before the agonizing effects of the poison could fully claim her life, Ying Su was killed by the barrage of bullets, ending her suffering more quickly.

………

“Is there anything you need?” Dr. Anna asked in a calm and professional tone.

“…” Ying Su’s face looked completely lifeless, devoid of energy or expression. After a brief pause, she said, “I want a few books. Not children’s literature. I’m an adult.”

“Mm, alright.” Anna nodded in acknowledgment. Originally, she had planned to bring some children’s books, fairy tales, or fables, but now… she decided she would simply grab a few books from her own room to pass the time.

[Current Save Point: one]

[Remaining Loads: seven]

“Sigh…”

Another death.

She had not expected that one of her lives would be lost so easily, so casually, as if it meant nothing at all.

She had once been thinking about how to escape from this place, considering possibilities and plans, but now, looking back, it all felt like nothing more than unrealistic fantasy. Someone as weak and insignificant as her, thinking about escaping?

She might as well stay here quietly and live out the rest of her life. If she got lucky and died of old age, she could always load back and enjoy life again.

[System correction… System ready to activate.]

Hm?

What was that supposed to be?

Hearing the sudden voice echoing inside her mind, Ying Su immediately became alert and excited, quickly turning her attention inward to check what she considered her “cheat.”

At that moment, she noticed that three cards had suddenly appeared within her mind.

Each card was clearly marked with a letter—A, B, and C—making it obvious that she was meant to choose one of them.

She paused briefly to think, then reached out mentally and selected the second card, the one labeled B. The moment she made her choice, the other two cards vanished instantly, leaving no trace behind, as if they had never existed at all.

It seemed that only one card could be chosen at a time.

[Ding! System reboot complete. Affection System loaded.]

[This system will assist you in capturing the hearts of your desired beauties. Simply complete assigned tasks to increase the target’s affection level, and you will rise to the peak of a life surrounded by a harem. Completing targets will also grant you generous rewards!]

“……”

The moment she finished reading, Ying Su’s expression immediately collapsed, her small face twisting into disbelief.

What use was something like this?!

And more importantly, where in this place were there any so-called beauties to begin with?!

Ms. Roland?

Just looking at her elderly appearance was enough to kill any interest.

Dr. Anna?

Well, she was well-maintained, but she clearly was not young either. Not her type at all.

Thinking back, the women who had previously imprisoned her were not unattractive either. For reasons she could not fully understand, even when she did nothing, beautiful girls seemed to gather around her like bees drawn to honey.

Which made this system feel even more pointless…

Hm…

“System, do I choose the target myself?”

[Yes. Please select your desired target.]

“Then I choose Olivia.”

[Searching… Search failed. Correcting… Search successful. Target: Beatrix Walker Isadora Nocte…]

[Beatrix: A pureblood royal vampire who was accidentally captured by the facility while wandering outside and mistakenly identified as a blood-based monster.]

[Current Affection: zero]

After hearing the long and complicated name—one that clearly did not include Olivia at all—Ying Su finally realized the truth.

Damn it, she had been completely fooled. That was not even the name Olivia used.

“System, set her alias to Olivia.”

[Alias set.]

“So she’s actually a vampire…” Ying Su thought to herself. Considering Olivia’s massive, fluid-like form, it was extremely difficult to associate her with the pale, nocturnal vampires she had imagined before.

However, that did explain her unusually high level of intelligence.

[Affection tasks have been issued.]

[Feed the target personally (Hint: Olivia enjoys the blood of virgins) Affection +five]

[Communicate with the target (Hint: Olivia is extremely empty inside and arrogant) Affection +five]

[Fulfill one of the target’s needs (Hint: Olivia enjoys hearing screams; self-harm may be attempted) Affection +twenty]

[Upon completing the first stage of affection: gain two system points and unlock new tasks.]

[Upon completing the second stage: gain rewards related to the target and unlock the final task.]

[Upon completing the third stage and final task: gain one of the target’s abilities.]

Although it all sounded extremely tempting on the surface, Ying Su found herself completely speechless after reading through it.

“What kind of useless system is this?! What do you mean ‘try self-harm’?!” she complained internally.

Forget it. A system like this clearly belonged in some refined Tokyo high school romance setting.

Placing it into a world filled with monsters and horrors like this was honestly asking too much of it.

Ying Su then proceeded to ask several important questions to clarify its functions.

For example, system points served as a universal currency within the system. Just like her save system, she could spend one point to purchase one additional load.

“So that means my load count can be replenished now.”

That was undeniably good news. It meant her margin for error had increased significantly.

Now, she needed to carefully plan her next steps.

First and foremost, she absolutely had to leave this place.

From what she currently knew, the deeper levels were where high-ranking personnel of the facility resided. Those people might have knowledge about how to exit the facility.

However, once chaos broke out, the entrance leading to the deeper levels would be sealed shut. Even Olivia had been unable to do anything against that massive, heavy gate, so Ying Su had no chance at all.

She would have to search for another method.

Then there was Room B-fourteen. She needed to investigate it thoroughly and understand why so many of her predecessors had died there.

After all, she had the ability to load. At worst, she could simply trade one life in exchange for valuable information.

Finally, there was the matter of building affection with Olivia.

With her current frail and weak body, having some form of supernatural ability to rely on was extremely important.

Recalling how she had been chased around helplessly in her previous life made Ying Su feel a deep sense of exhaustion and powerlessness.

She had already made up her mind—this life would also be used to gather information.

And so, after another three weeks passed, Ying Su carefully timed her move and calmly said to Roland, “Ms. Roland, there seems to be some movement in the restroom!”

Taking advantage of the moment when Roland went inside to check, Ying Su immediately dashed out like a streak of light, even going so far as to shut the door behind her.

She sprinted forward at full speed, not daring to slow down for even a second. Right now was not the time to meet Olivia. She needed to wait until Olivia had eaten her fill first.

Soon enough, she encountered the familiar parrot once again. Before it could even open its mouth to speak, Ying Su quickly spoke first:

“Professor Spencer’s scientific forum on October seventh promotes the exchange of scientific and cultural knowledge among youth…”

“His immense contributions to pedagogy are admirable. He is a person worthy of respect…”

“?” The parrot, which had just opened its beak, froze in confusion, only to be immediately grabbed by Ying Su.

As it paused, seemingly about to say something, Ying Su expressionlessly added:

“Ah… I love you, my dear. You are so beautiful, so pure.”

“Ugh! Who would say something like that to a parrot?!” it shrieked in disgust.

“Alright, enough. Help me with something!” Ying Su said. This time, instead of following her previous route toward the A Zone staff cafeteria, she found a room to hide in, waiting patiently until the chaos outside between Olivia and Roland subsided before stepping out again.

“Stay quiet for now. You heard that noise earlier, didn’t you?” Ying Su asked. The parrot nodded obediently.

Seeing that it was behaving, Ying Su released it, allowing it to land lightly on her shoulder.

She then brought the parrot to Room B-fourteen. The door there was already open. Instead of entering directly, she tossed the parrot inside first. After confirming that there was no immediate danger, she cautiously stepped inside herself to take a look.

“This doesn’t seem right… this machine doesn’t look dangerous at all…” Ying Su muttered, scratching her head in confusion.

“No, I have to figure this out.” After all, so many transmigrators had died here. There was a real possibility that she could meet the same fate.

Dr. Anna likely had records or documents related to this. She would need to find them.

“Sigh, that’s one more thing I have to do… and next… I’ll go find Olivia and farm some rewards.”

With that, Ying Su headed cheerfully toward the cafeteria, arriving at just the right moment. Olivia was currently engaged in a fierce fight with the Pig Chef on the ground.

“Damn it, why are you still fighting?! Roland already ran!” Ying Su shouted as she took a running start, leapt forward with both arms spread wide, and plunged directly into Olivia’s body with a splash.

In that instant, Olivia’s rationality returned to clarity.

That was right—her goal was to chase Roland and kill her. Why was she wasting time here fighting?

“Roland ran toward the C District! If you don’t chase now, it’ll be too late!” Ying Su said as she poked her head out.

“?”

Although Olivia did not fully understand what this small creature was doing, considering that Ying Su had effectively entrusted her life to her, she decided to believe her—for the time being.

Thus, Olivia began sprinting in the direction Roland had fled, carrying Ying Su along with her.

[Olivia Affection +five]

“?”

What exactly had she done to increase the affection?

Ying Su scratched her head in confusion, unable to figure it out. Then, without hesitation, she took out a prepared blade and sliced open her own arm.

“Ugh, that hurts, that hurts… here, you must be hungry, right? My blood tastes really good—drink as much as you want!” Ying Su said as she directly shoved her bleeding arm, from which blood was continuously flowing, into Olivia’s body.

“????”

Olivia was completely and utterly stunned.