Three hours later.
Seated on a bench in the lobby of Experintal Base No. 4, Yoren let out a long sigh.
Big. Enormous. Too damn big.
In the past three hours, he had explored the entire Rhine Life Base No. 4, from the first to the fourth floor, visiting every accessible area. No one had stopped him. Occasionally, passing staff mbers glanced at his na tag but paid him no further attention.
The base covered an imnse area—easily tens of thousands of square ters. Each floor had nurous rooms, though most were off-limits. Every door had a fingerprint scanner, and aside from his assigned quarters on the fourth floor, Yoren could only enter common areas like restrooms, smoking rooms, dining halls, and recreation areas.
Yet, sothing felt strange.
There were barely any staff in the entire facility. Over three hours, he had encountered no more than thirty people, mostly on the first and second floors. The third floor was nearly empty, and on the fourth floor, aside from Aina, he hadn't seen a single soul.
Snowsant trotted over, holding two cups of juice.
"Big Windmill, here!"
Yoren took the cup, montarily rembering Aina's earlier warning that he should only eat normal food starting tomorrow.
Eh, whatever. He'd probably live.
Taking a few sips through the straw, he recognized the familiar taste of apple.
"Snowsant, where'd you get the juice?"
She pointed toward a room at the end of the hall.
"Over there. There's a machine inside where you can get it yourself. It's free, and no one's watching. I co here all the ti now!"
Yoren chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"So, having a good ti?"
"Yeah!"
"Good to hear."
"Even better now that you're awake! Hehe."
That's when Yoren noticed the thin tal ring around her neck—the sa kind he was wearing. A monitoring and suppression device for oripathy.
Leaning back in his chair, he glanced around.
The hall was eerily silent. At that mont, it was just the two of them in the vast, empty space. The entire base felt sealed off. There were no windows, only softly glowing panels embedded in the walls, emitting a steady artificial light. Ti, weather, location—everything beyond these walls was a mystery.
Yoren had no idea where Experintal Base No. 4 was located. Maybe it was hidden in a major Colombian city, perched atop a snowy mountain like Chaldea, or buried deep in a desert. There was no way to tell.
Still, for now, he and Snowsant were safe. Not only had he received treatnt, but she had too. Say what you will about Her, but she was reliable.
Ding ding ding!
A chi rang out from the ring around Yoren's neck, followed by a voice.
"Number 020, Number 020, please return to the fourth floor. Specialist White-Faced Owl has sothing to discuss with you."
Yoren flinched at the unexpected noise, but after a mont, he recognized Aina's voice.
So the ring had a built-in communicator. Probably a tracking function too—Aina had known exactly where to find them.
Well, whatever. Living under soone else's roof ant dealing with so surveillance.
Yoren finished his juice in one gulp, tossed the empty cup, and patted Snowsant's head.
"Let's go. Ti to see that white-haired woman."
"Okay!"
Back on the fourth floor, Aina was already waiting outside his room.
"You're back. The specialist is waiting inside."
Yoren nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Sis Na."
He told Snowsant to head back to their quarters before stepping toward the adjacent room.
Beep!
His fingerprint unlocked the door. The room inside resembled a small conference space.
Seated at the table was White-Faced Owl.
She wore a crisp white dress, an armband emblazoned with the Rhine Life insignia, and beneath her snow-white hair, her striking orange eyes glowed faintly.
Strangely, Yoren felt no nervousness eting her. Aina had been intimidating at first, but White-Faced Owl? He had spent far too many hours poking her head in infrastructure mode, watching her make amusing expressions completely at odds with her usual deanor.
With the casual ease of a man sitting down to dinner with his cousin, Yoren pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. If there had been more space, he might have even propped his feet up on the table.
White-Faced Owl remained expressionless, her voice cool and chanical.
"Number 020, you seem to be in good spirits. Unexpected."
Yoren waved a hand dismissively.
"Eh, could be worse. By the way, where's Her? Don't tell he's still sleeping."
"Dr. Her left the base half an hour ago. He's at Rhine Life's headquarters, reporting the progress of the Originium project. He is expected to return by 11 PM."
So, Her wasn't in charge of the project yet. That made sense.
Yoren shifted in his seat. "Alright, so what do you need from , Xiaobai?"
"Xiaobai?"
"That's your nickna."
"Number 020, refrain from assigning strange nas. I am the data maintenance specialist for Rhine Life and Dr. Her's assistant. Address as White-Faced Owl."
"Got it, Bai Gugu."
White-Faced Owl fell silent.
Yoren grinned. Teasing her was surprisingly entertaining.
After clearing his throat, he decided to get serious. "So, Specialist, what did you want to talk about?"
"You saved Subject 019. Dr. Her promised to treat your oripathy. I am here to explain your preliminary examination results."
"Go on."
"According to the angiography test, Number 020 exhibits blurred internal organ outlines, abnormal shadows, and irregular Originium particle detection in the circulatory system. The fusion rate of somatic cells and Originium is 12%, with a blood crystal density of 0.48u/L. You are classified as a moderate oripathy case."
Yoren blinked. "Uh... I didn't catch half of that. Could you put it in simpler terms?"
White-Faced Owl stared at him blankly before responding.
"Your body is highly unusual. In an extrely short ti, your Originium fusion rate reached 12%. This is an alarming progression rate. Fortunately, the deterioration has been suppressed—thanks to Dr. Her's efforts. He worked tirelessly for two days and nights to stabilize you."
Yoren felt an unexpected warmth in his chest.
So Her wasn't just going through the motions. He had genuinely worked himself ragged to save him.
"Damn... I really owe him one. Oh, by the way, I told Her about so other weird things happening in my body. Any updates on that?"
White-Faced Owl paused, as if processing sothing.
Then, after a long silence, she spoke chanically.
"The anomaly is extrely complex. Dr. Her will explain it to you himself."
Yoren frowned. "That serious, huh?"
She said nothing more.
Realizing he wouldn't get any further answers, Yoren stood up. "Alright, I'll head out. Anything else?"
"You are dismissed."
"Cool. Later."
He reached the door, but just before leaving, he hesitated.
After a mont of contemplation, he turned back, stepped toward White-Faced Owl, and—
Grasped the tuft of feathers on her head.
Gently, he gave it a tug.
Nothing happened.
The room fell into an awkward silence.
White-Faced Owl remained motionless, her expression unchanged.
"Number 020, I fail to comprehend your current behavior."
Yoren let go. "Sorry, just had to check. Bye."
As he left, he muttered to himself.
"Why the hell can't I pull it out? I thought it would pop off and stick back in. Weird..."
After leaving the eting room, Yoren returned to his quarters.
That evening, White-Faced Owl ca to his room and injected him with a light green serum.
He didn't see Her before falling asleep.
Nor did he see Ifrit.
Late at night, the lights in the room dimd automatically. Yoren lay on the bed, his mind drifting in a strange, erratic state.
The sensation was unsettling. He wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep, nor if he was dreaming. He knew he was lying down, yet his body felt numb, his perception dulled, his thoughts sluggish.
In the haze, he vaguely felt himself being moved—lifted from the bed and taken sowhere else.
He had no sense of ti passing before he heard distant voices.
"Dr. Her, the experint can continue."
"Let's begin."
April 28, Rhine Life IV Experintal Base, northern Colombia.
Including the days he spent unconscious, this was Yoren's seventh day in Rhine Life.
A full week had passed, and he still hadn't seen Dr. Her. Every ti he asked Aina, she would simply reply, "Dr. Her is sleeping."
Apart from Aina, White-Faced Owl, and Snowsant, he hadn't spoken to anyone else. The entire fourth floor of the base felt like his personal territory.
When Aina found out he had drunk juice on the first day he woke up, she scolded him but ultimately allowed him to eat normal food as they had agreed beforehand.
He didn't have to go to the cafeteria. Every day, Aina delivered als to his room on a cart. The food wasn't the most exquisite, but it was well-made and tasted good. He could even request specific dishes.
All in all, life was comfortable.
After lunch, Yoren sat in the empty hall on the first floor, staring at the ceiling.
This had beco part of his routine—he had too much ti on his hands.
"Ahhh..."
He let out a long yawn.
Life here was easy, but for so reason, his sleep had been restless. Nightmares plagued him, though he could never recall their content, and every morning, he woke up with a dull headache.
Snowsant ca running over from a distance, holding two cups of juice.
"Big Windmill, here!" she chirped.
"Thanks."
Yoren reached out with his left hand and grasped the cup.
Bang!
The cup slipped from his fingers, crashing to the floor. Juice splattered everywhere.
Snowsant pouted in dismay.
"Big Windmill, why are you so clumsy? What a waste! I'll get you another one and grab a mop. Wait here."
She turned and dashed off.
Yoren barely heard her. He was staring at his palm, frowning.
He wasn't left-handed—he always used his right hand for eating. But sothing had felt off since this morning, and the mont he tried to grab the cup, he was sure of it.
His hand hadn't slipped. His left hand had no strength at all.
He quickly rolled up his sleeve and examined his arm.
His skin, untouched by sunlight for days, was pale. His previous injuries had healed without leaving a trace.
Then, he noticed sothing.
Squinting, he saw faint red lines just beneath the skin on his wrist, resembling blood vessels.
What the hell?
He turned his palm over and gently squeezed it. He could feel blood circulation, but only faintly. The red threads beneath his skin wrapped neatly around his wrist, forming a strange, symtrical pattern.
At that mont, Snowsant returned with a mop.
Rushing too fast, she accidentally stepped on the mop head, causing the stick to detach from its base.
"Oof!"
She stopped, walked back, and jamd the stick back into the mop head with a firm push.
Yoren's eyes widened.
He stared at the mop, then at his wrist.
A horrifying thought hit him.
No way...
Soone cut off my entire palm... and reattached it.
It was just a theory, but as he stared at the red ring around his wrist, he beca certain.
It wasn't impossible. For so unknown reason, his entire hand had been severed and then surgically reattached. With Rhine Life's technology, reconnecting a severed limb was certainly within their capabilities. The surface skin had healed seamlessly—likely thanks to so kind of Originium healing arts.
Most healing abilities could only nd external wounds, healing from the outside in. On the battlefield, dics who wielded such arts played a crucial role in keeping soldiers alive.
But in Yoren's case, this was rely a superficial fix.
The outer skin had been allowed to heal to prevent him from noticing. From the outside, his wrist appeared unscathed. But inside—his tendons, bones, flesh, and nerves—were still recovering, fragile and incomplete.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down his temple.
For the first ti, reality sank in.
He had been living like a king this past week—eating, resting, walking as if he were on vacation. The only thing missing was a birdcage for him to complete the illusion.
The truth was far worse.
Rhine Life's higher-ups had refused to et with him at all.
It seed like they had forgotten him, but in reality, he had undergone countless experints while unconscious.
This ti, I noticed my wrist.
But what about the things I haven't noticed?
The thought made his stomach churn.
Yoren had accepted that Rhine Life would experint on him. As long as they kept his oripathy in check, it was a price he was willing to pay. He also wanted to understand the changes happening within his body.
But he had to know. He had to be inford of the experints being conducted, the procedures, the risks.
He was not a slab of at to be cut apart in the dead of night.
Anger flared within him. No—if he couldn't see Her, he would at least speak with Aina or White-Faced Owl. This was unacceptable.
Furious, he pushed himself up from his chair, ready to storm back to the fourth floor and demand answers.
Then, he felt it.
A pair of cold eyes watching him from the shadows.
Yoren turned sharply.
At the far end of the corridor, a thin girl stood in the corner, her narrowed eyes locked onto him.
She had short, light brown hair. An orange jacket covered her black turtleneck. A strange chanical device was strapped to her waist.
Yoren t her gaze, realization striking him.
lantha!
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