As usual, Lidi carefully replaced the wall tiles back to their original position, making sure the edges fit snugly with no cracks showing. Then she wiped the dirt off the iron spoon and tucked it back under her pillow.
“Lidi, give it up. We’re never getting out of here. It’s just wasted effort.” Lidi’s roommate Hemi shook her head, her voice drifting over from the bed, thick with a languid nasal tone.
Hemi rolled over, and the bed frame let out a creaky groan. “How long have you been digging now, and how long is the tunnel you’ve made? Five meters? Ten? Do you even know how far down we are from the surface? Even if you manage to dig all the way through, do you know where you’d end up?”
“But I want to get out.” Lidi said stubbornly. Her voice was soft, but it was as firm as a nail. “Father and Mother are still waiting for me... they must still be searching for me, working so hard. Don’t you want to get out too, Hemi?”
“There’s nothing bad about being here. We get food and drink every day, no work to do...” Hemi shrugged again, spreading her hands. “We just have to let them take a little blood now and then. It’s practically a god’s life.”
Hemi fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting to the water stain on the ceiling. “Back home, there was never an end to the work. I had to wash clothes from morning till night, and my hands were always swollen and red. When my parents were in a bad mood, they’d hit me... And I overheard them talking about selling me off. If I hadn’t ended up here back then, I’d probably have been dragged off to a brothel by now. I don’t want to face those stinking men.”
“Sorry...” Lidi’s eyes dimmed slightly, realizing she had brought up something painful for Hemi. She looked at Hemi with a trace of sympathy.
“If you’re really sorry... then let me give you a kiss! Hehehe, my sweet-smelling Lidi...” Hemi pounced onto Lidi, nuzzling against her neck, and the two of them tumbled and rolled across the bed. “I’d rather be locked in here with you forever!”
Lidi shoved Hemi away, a bit disgusted.
Her roommate was fine in every other way, except for this one tendency that left her frustrated—she was always spouting nonsense at her.
“Compared to men, I definitely prefer girls.” Hemi was always preaching her “incorrect” ideas to her, trying to drag her into the same mindset. “Girls are soft and sweet-smelling, and it feels so nice to press up against each other... Besides, isn’t it the most natural thing in the world for girls to like each other? Look, your hair is like the finest silk, and your eyes are as pretty as pearls... and also...”
Her hand began to wander upward, but Lidi grabbed it firmly.
“If you keep talking like this, I’m really going to hate you, Hemi.” Lidi said, deadly serious.
“Ah, sorry, don’t be mad...” Hemi put her hands together in apology. “I’m just joking.”
To this day, Lidi still wasn’t sure whether Hemi was joking or not.
But one thing Lidi could be sure of: Hemi was definitely on her side. Up until now, she had never ratted her out, and she had never tried to use it as leverage against her.
Luckily, no one ever came to check on the rooms anyway. The handlers outside probably had a hard time imagining that anyone would try to escape using such a primitive method.
“It’s about time, isn’t it?” Hemi asked.
“Mm.” Lidi nodded.
The heavy iron door outside slowly creaked open. A middle-aged woman pushed a cart inside, a syringe in her hand. The cart had three tiers—the top two were piled with fresh, shiny red apples, and the bottom tier was lined with equally crimson blood bags.
“Alright, you two lovely girls, time for your blood draw.” The woman said in a gentle voice.
Lidi and Hemi cooperated without complaint—taking blood was nothing. Those who didn’t cooperate when they first arrived ended up in a very sorry state.
The two of them rolled up their sleeves, revealing arms covered in a dense constellation of needle marks. Those purplish-blue blotches were like some kind of eerie tattoo, recording every single day of their imprisonment.
Lidi stared at her own blood flowing down the clear tube into the bag. That dark red liquid reminded her of persimmons ripening in autumn. Hemi turned her face away, softly humming a song nobody knew.
The woman finished her work quickly. After the blood was drawn, both girls looked a bit pale.
Hemi casually went to pick out some apples.
“There’s nothing to pick. They’re all the same.” The woman said with a helpless look.
“You never know. I got a rotten one last time.” Hemi muttered, but she didn’t waste the woman’s time. She grabbed two apples and came back to Lidi’s side.
The woman pushed the cart and started to leave.
“By the way, how old are you two this year?”
“We’re both fifteen.” Hemi bit into an apple and replied.
“Is that so? Well, once you turn sixteen, you’ll get to participate in the Reproduction Ritual.” The woman said casually.
Hemi’s hand froze midair. The apple was held right in front of her mouth, and the piece she’d bitten off fell to the floor.
“What?” Hemi’s face was full of disbelief.
“You didn’t know? The Reproduction Ritual.” The woman glanced at the two girls in the room. “If you don’t become a mother—can’t give birth—before you turn twenty, you’ll be weeded out.”
The apple slipped from Hemi’s fingers and landed with a wet thud on the floor.
“When the time comes, you’ll be grouped together with a bunch of others and be arranged for the Reproduction Ritual... Don’t worry, everyone will be around your age. No old men will be mixed in.” The woman waved a hand. “The first time might be rough, but after a few rounds, you might even start to enjoy it.”
The woman pushed the cart out of the room and sealed the iron door behind her.
The room went quiet.
“AH——!”
A moment later, Hemi let out a shriek and ran her hands wildly through her messy, straw-colored hair.
“No! I’m not doing the Reproduction Ritual! They can call it whatever they want, but that’s just an orgy!!! I’m not having babies! AH——!”
“After all, we’re just kept like livestock to provide blood. Once we’re old, we’ll be disposed of.” Lidi let out a faint sigh. “They’ll definitely demand we bear children... And our kids will suffer the same fate as us. No, theirs will be worse—no education, locked in rooms forever, never learning to speak. They’d really be no different from livestock...”
“No!!!” Hemi threw her head back and screamed.
“Shut up! Keep it down!” A voice shouted from the cell next door, and Hemi immediately clammed up.
Another silence followed.
Then, as if Hemi had made up her mind about something, she looked at Lidi with fierce determination.
“What is it?” Lidi asked, noticing Hemi’s burning gaze.
“Lidi... let’s break out of here!”
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
