【The second Desperate World has been generated.】
The cold, inorganic mechanical voice resonated abruptly in her mind, like a shard of ice dropped into her murky, drifting consciousness, jolting her back to absolute clarity in an instant.
She reflexively shifted her body. The next second, her right arm grazed against something, sending a surge of agonizing pain searing through every nerve like an electric shock.
【In this Desperate World, one base Sin Value point will be deducted for every year the inmate survives.】
A whole year for just one measly Sin Value point?
Talk about stingy!
Ye Li grumbled internally. Once the pain subsided slightly, she forced her heavy eyelids open and strained her unfocused vision to scan her surroundings.
This was a laboratory.
She was still lying on the operating table from before, but the researchers previously crowded around her were nowhere to be seen. She was left entirely alone, accompanied only by a cluster of cold, sterile instruments.
【Completion criteria for this Desperate World: The character portrayed by the inmate must reach complete death.】
This routine again?
Ye Li glanced at her severed limb, a foreboding sensation creeping into her chest.
【Side mission for this Desperate Realm: Protect the Savior!】
A side mission...
Ye Li raised an eyebrow. Now that was a novel twist.
“Is there any reward for completing side missions?” she asked mentally.
【Completing side missions grants additional Sin Value deduction points.】
Ye Li asked again, “Is there a designated target for the Savior?”
【Specific details are for the inmate to explore independently during their sentence.】
【Wishing you a smooth sentence.】
Ye Li: “...”
Fine, figure it out herself.
There was no way they were going to make anything easy for her anyway!
Ye Li lay there for a moment longer. Once she had regained a bit of strength, she prepared to sit up and climb down from the table. Right then, footsteps echoed from outside the door, accompanied by the murmur of conversation.
“...There’s still one last one over here. Once we send her back, we can switch shifts and take a break.”
“Awesome. I’ve been running ragged all afternoon; my legs are about to break off.”
“That’s just ’cause you’re new here. Give it a couple of days to get used to it. Our gig is practically the easiest job in the whole facility. Sometimes, you can even find a little fun!”
“What kind of fun?”
“Hehe, you’ll find out when the time comes.”
With a creak, the door swung open. A tall man and a short man wheeled a flat gurney inside, heading straight toward Ye Li.
Catching sight of the woman lying quietly on the operating table, the shorter man sucked in a sharp breath. “Look at that bloody wound... they didn’t even bandage it up. Can she even survive like this?”
“Whether she lives or dies ain’t our problem. We just do what the higher-ups tell us and haul her back to her cell,” the tall man said, completely unfazed. “Besides, among these Mutants brought in here, how many actually survive? In the end, they all just end up tossed into the incinerator.”
As he spoke, he moved to lift the woman off the operating table. “Come on, give me a hand. You grab her legs.”
“One, two, three, lift!”
With one taking her shoulders and the other her feet, they hoisted her onto the narrow gurney together.
Jostled by the rough handling, Ye Li felt darkness swarm across her vision, nearly passing out from the agony.
Yet she gritted her teeth, not making a single sound and playing dead to the bitter end.
“Is this chick already dead?” Seeing that she hadn’t stirred in the slightest, the short man drew his neck back nervously.
He was a rookie who hadn’t seen many dead bodies yet.
The tall man swept aside the hair veiling her face and held a finger under her nose. “Not dead. She’s still breathing!”
With that, he chuckled with a lecherous smirk. “Hey, this chick doesn’t look half bad!”
Hearing that she wasn’t dead, the short man relaxed as well and chuckled. “Come on, her face is covered in blood. How can you even tell what she looks like?”
“I’m not bragging, but your big brother here used to roll around among plenty of flowers back in the day. I can tell prime goods with just a glance. Look at this tender, delicate skin—you can tell she’s young...” The tall man pinched her cheek, an illicit grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
He jerked his chin toward his partner. “Don’t say I don’t look out for you. Look, here’s your fun right here. What do you say? Wanna mess around with her tonight?”
Caught off guard, the short man blinked nervously once he caught his drift. “Th-That’s probably not a good idea, right? What if someone finds out? Besides, she’s so badly injured...”
“What the hell are you afraid of? Everyone does it!” The tall man scoffed, picking up a folder nearby to skim the log. “Man, what luck! She’s a newcomer, assigned to a cell on basement level ten. Don’t worry, the Mutants locked down there are completely disposable, and they don’t pose any threat. Even if you play her to death, nobody will hold you accountable!”
“That’s still not right...” While the short man demurred verbally, he couldn’t suppress the illicit stirrings in his chest.
The woman’s figure really did look great!
The tall man said, “What’s wrong with it? Being stuck down here, we don’t even get to step outside once every ten days or half a month. I’m going out of my damn mind.”
“Still...” The short man remained hesitant.
“Quit your ‘stills’! It’s an unspoken rule everyone knows about!” the tall man cut him off impatiently. “Let’s go, let’s go. Wheel her back first, and we’ll talk tonight.”
The wheels squeaked and clattered across the floor. Amid the jolting vibrations, Ye Li endured the pain and cracked her eyelids open just a sliver.
She was moving down a corridor. Bright white overhead lights flickered past above her in a steady rhythm. White-tiled walls lined both sides of the hallway, flanking a series of tightly shut laboratory doors.
After twisting and turning through the long hallway, they finally entered an elevator.
It descended smoothly, came to a halt, and opened onto another long corridor.
Ye Li was wheeled forward without pause.
Down here, the lighting along the corridor was dim and yellowed. Narrow, dingy cells lined both sides in tight succession. Through the gaps in the barred doors, she could occasionally glimpse the people locked inside.
Every single one of them had vacant eyes and numb, lifeless expressions. They showed not the slightest reaction to the newcomer being brought in, long since desensitized to the sight.
The air was thick with an indescribable stench, reminiscent of a sewer that hadn't been cleaned in years—clammy, humid, and rank with filth.
Before long, the gurney came to a stop in front of an empty cell. The barred door swung open, and Ye Li was hauled inside like an insensate corpse and tossed unceremoniously onto a hard, cold concrete bed.
Clang!
The barred gate slammed shut once more.
Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did Ye Li open her eyes again to inspect her surroundings.
The cell was tiny, less than ten square meters. Aside from the narrow concrete bed beneath her, it held no furnishings whatsoever.
The concrete bed held only a thin mattress pad, so stained and filthy that its original color was entirely unrecognizable.
In the innermost corner sat a makeshift squat toilet, wafting waves of nauseating stench.
There were no lights inside the cell; the only illumination came from the dim, yellow glow filtering in from the corridor.
The entire cell could only be described in three words: filthy, dark, and foul.
Ye Li furrowed her brows in deep disgust and immediately began searching through the original host’s memories in her mind.
This was clearly not a peaceful setting. She needed to understand her current situation as quickly as possible.
Rate on N.U.
