Chapter 8: Romance in Progress

But… that said…

It really did taste quite good, and after taking a few sips, Olivia clearly felt that her energy had recovered just a little bit more than before.

[Feeding successful, Olivia favorability + three]

[Feeding successful, Olivia favorability + two]

[Feeding successful, Olivia favorability + two]

[Feeding successful, Olivia…]

…

A continuous series of notification sounds kept ringing inside Ying Su’s mind without pause, and Olivia’s favorability bar was steadily, visibly increasing upward the entire time.

However, once it reached a little over twenty, it suddenly stopped increasing, and shortly after that, the feeding task itself directly turned gray.

“??”

“What’s going on with the system?!”

[The feeding task can no longer increase favorability. Please select other tasks.]

“…Forget it.”

After seeing that the task bar had already been filled to its limit, Ying Su quickly spoke to Olivia without hesitation, “Help me stop the bleeding first, or I’m seriously going to bleed to death!”

“?”

Although Olivia felt that the other party’s attitude was extremely arrogant and overly bold—under normal circumstances, she absolutely would not agree, and might even stab her a few more times without mercy until she was satisfied—

After all, she had always been the one making demands of others. Since when had anyone else ever had the right to demand something from her?

But now… in this moment… forget it. She would deal with everything afterward.

While quickly stitching Ying Su’s wounds shut, Olivia sprinted forward through the corridor at high speed, and eventually managed to catch up with Roland.

Ying Su immediately withdrew herself, carefully hiding and making sure she did not expose her presence at all. For the time being, Roland absolutely could not find out about the connection between her and Olivia.

“Damn it, Red Monster, it’s you again!” Roland shouted out loudly. She had already changed her form once more, but unfortunately, Olivia relied on scent to track people. Because of that, no matter what Roland transformed into, she could still be located without fail.

Immediately afterward, the two of them engaged in battle.

However, Ying Su had no way of knowing how the fight was progressing, because she was still completely submerged within Olivia’s body, unable to directly observe anything.

Still, in her mind, she figured that this time, Olivia probably wouldn’t let Roland escape again so easily.

Crackle—!

“Ah—what the hell—!” Ying Su cried out loudly as waves of electric current surged through her entire body one after another.

At the same time, Olivia’s body was also violently splattering under the effects of the electricity,

And then, from within her body, a massive electric eel suddenly burst out. The moment it landed on the ground, it instantly transformed into a bird and flew away at incredible speed.

“Cough… cough… you let her get away again. Are you even capable of handling this?” Ying Su poked her head out slightly and said this.

“….”

“Ahhh—ow—so painful—!” Ying Su let out a miserable wail as Olivia once again stabbed her wildly from within without holding back at all.

After venting her frustration on Ying Su for a while, Olivia chased forward again, only to discover that Roland had already slipped into District C. At that point, she chose not to continue pursuing.

District C generally had specific countermeasures prepared for situations involving escapes. Continuing the chase further would most likely lead directly into a trap.

“Alright, fine. Since she managed to escape, then just hide properly inside me. We can’t enter the deeper levels right now, so we’ll have to think of some other method,” Ying Su said after taking a moment to steady herself.

Putting everything else aside, Olivia’s attacks were truly ruthless. Ying Su was still submerged inside her body, and if her stomach had not been empty earlier, the pain alone would have been enough to make her vomit all over Olivia on the spot.

“And why should I listen to you?”

“Beatrix.”

After a brief pause—

[Olivia favorability - five]

“Huh?” Before Ying Su could even process what had just happened, an almost body-tearing level of pain suddenly spread throughout her entire being.

“AAAHHH—!”

After only a few seconds passed, Ying Su no longer even had the strength left to scream. Her body was in a completely ruined state, and her eyes had already lost focus entirely.

“How do you know my name? And exactly how much more do you know?”

Ying Su slowly and weakly raised her hand, trembling, and then extended her middle finger.

“Still not going to talk?”

Olivia directly lashed out with her tendrils, forcefully drilling them into Ying Su’s wounds and violently stirring her internal organs without restraint.

“Cough… haah… I’ll talk…”

“Speak,” Olivia said in a cold, emotionless tone.

“I have precognition… ahhh—!”

“Speak.”

“Damn it, even if I tell you, you won’t believe me anyway. What’s the point of saying anything? If you’ve got the nerve, then just kill me!”

“Heh…” Olivia instead revealed a faint smile. Want to die?

That depended entirely on whether she allowed it or not.

No matter how tough or stubborn someone was, she could still crush them all the same.

“If you really have precognition, then why didn’t you foresee that I would treat you like this?” Olivia asked coldly.

“You won’t kill me,” Ying Su replied. Based on what had happened before, Olivia—just like those other women—could not do without her.

“And what makes you so certain?” Even though her thoughts had been accurately exposed, Olivia still could not allow herself to show that outwardly.

“Then go ahead and kill me! Hurry up already!”

“Heh. Whether you live or die is something I decide,” Olivia said. Although this girl barked at her like a small, noisy dog, Olivia found that feeling… not unpleasant at all.

It had already been a very long time since anyone dared to speak to her in such a manner.

For now, she would spare her life, if only because it was entertaining.

Besides, something fresh and alive would naturally taste better.

[Olivia favorability + seven]

What exactly is wrong with this woman?

What did I even do that made her suddenly like me more?

“From this moment onward, you will obediently follow my instructions. Your life is entirely in my hands,” Olivia stated.

“Yes, yes. Let’s find a safe place first,” Ying Su said with a sigh. Her entire body hurt so badly that she could barely move at all. Olivia’s methods were truly brutal.

After that, Olivia directly took control of Ying Su’s body and began heading back.

“I’ll call you Olivia, and you call me Ying Su. We’ll keep things separate like that,” Ying Su said.

“Where exactly did you learn these names from?” Olivia asked. That was indeed the name she currently used, and her true name was only known by her parents.

The main reason for this was that, in this world, there existed certain things that could kill or curse someone remotely just by using their name. Because of that, a true name was extremely important and could not be revealed lightly.

That was also the reason why Olivia had reacted so coldly when Ying Su suddenly spoke her name earlier.

From now on, Ying Su could not be allowed to leave her side under any circumstances. Every single action she took had to remain within Olivia’s line of sight.

Perhaps what Ying Su said was actually true. She might really possess the ability to foresee the future. But if Olivia trusted her so easily, then her grave would have long since been overgrown with grass.

“So what exactly did you foresee?”

“Oh, that we’ll eventually become very close friends, and then we’ll escape from this place together.”

“You’re lying.”

“Then I’ll just take that as you believing me,” Ying Su said as she spread her hands casually.

“……” At the very least, Olivia had no better option available to her at the moment.

As they were about to return to Area A and passed by the cafeteria, Ying Su suddenly said, “Wait a moment, let’s eat something before going back.”

“?”

Ying Su quickly ran over to the cafeteria counter and called out to the rather battered Pig Chef inside, “Can we still get food right now?”

“Heh… it’ll be ready in just a moment,” the Pig Chef replied. Even though his current condition was clearly not very good, a customer was still a customer, and he needed to treat them properly.

Ying Su had just sat down when she suddenly felt a sharp stabbing pain in her backside. “Can’t you be a bit gentler? That seriously hurts.”

“……”

“Alright, let me explain the plan for what comes next. We need to enter the deeper levels and find a way to escape, but right now those areas are sealed off. The ventilation ducts might still be accessible—you could try going through there,” Ying Su explained.

“My plan is to wait until the chaos outside settles down and the deeper levels are reopened, then we’ll think of a way to get in. What do you think about that?”

It sounded fairly reasonable, but Olivia did not intend to directly agree out loud. Otherwise, it would make her seem unintelligent.

“If you’re not saying anything, I’ll just take that as you agreeing,” Ying Su said.

After the Pig Chef brought over a dish, Ying Su immediately began eating it eagerly. Very quickly, her body started to feel itchy and slightly sore—clear signs that it was recovering from the injuries Olivia had inflicted earlier.

After eating and drinking her fill, Ying Su wandered around outside for a while and then casually entered the staff living area. The facility’s equipment was actually quite good. Even though it was located underground, it still had things like a small bar and a gym.

“There’s even a game room. Not bad at all.”

For once, Ying Su managed to get access to electronic devices. Even though there was no internet connection, she still had plenty of fun playing, continuing until the chaos outside finally came to an end. Armed personnel then kicked the door open and conducted an inspection, at which point they discovered her.

“I surrender. My designation is B-three-four-seven.”

After that, she was taken away by the response team for identification and then thrown back into her familiar room once again.

It felt as though she had returned to her previous daily routine—waking up, waiting for food, eating, and then going back to sleep.

Although she had no freedom and no access to entertainment devices, life was still relatively comfortable. Someone handled the cleaning, and the bed was decent enough.

If only they would remove those damn surveillance cameras, it would be even better.

After some time passed, Dr. Anna appeared in the room again and sat down across from Ying Su.

She looked noticeably more exhausted than before and said, “Alright, Ying Su. It’s good to see that you’re safe. This afternoon, someone will come to carry out a routine physical examination. Please cooperate properly.”

“I understand. What about Ms. Roland?”

“As for her, she doesn’t have the time right now. I will provide you with some books. During this period, you should study on your own,” Dr. Anna said. These past few days had left her utterly exhausted.

All of the escaped containment objects needed to be recaptured, and all missing items had to be located. However, some things had simply disappeared without any trace.

Even the high-risk B-grade containment entity known as the Red Monster was nowhere to be found.

It might have ended up in the sewer system again. If that were the case, they would have to pour in coagulants to try forcing it out.

Ideally, it had been taken away by Reshaping. That way, the person responsible for District C would have to deal with the consequences instead of her. The more problems that arose there, the less attention would be directed toward her.

At the same time, losses still needed to be accounted for. If certain important items had been taken, the organization might even attempt a direct assault on Reshaping in order to retrieve them.

The greatest losses, however, had occurred in Area A. As the safest zone with the highest research output, it had become a priority target. More than a dozen stable containment objects had already been confirmed as stolen.

In order to stabilize morale and secure her own position, Dr. Anna needed to quickly initiate several suitable new projects to satisfy those higher-ups.

‘Forget it. Things will resolve themselves when the time comes,’ she thought to herself, slowly steadying her breathing. A faint fragrance drifted into her nose, slightly easing her agitated mood.

Containment subjects like Ying Su—safe, stable, and obedient—were very suitable for launching new projects.

However, Ying Su’s situation still left Dr. Anna feeling puzzled. She appeared harmless on the surface, yet somehow had caused multiple women to fight over her.