Chapter 6

When No.17 woke up, Elara was seated by his chamber and tending to his wounds. She said, "Oh, you're awake. Are you in pain anywhere else?" Her voice was so soft and gentle that it felt like a feather had brushed past his ear. Behind her, No.11 leaned against the side of his chamber, his red eyes misty with tears as he looked at her. He tried to attract her attention by reaching out a hand toward her, but her attention was focused on No.17. She ignored No.11. No.17 leaned against the glass, his unhealed tentacles resting in Elara's hands. She massaged the cool medicative ointment onto his wounds, spreading an irresistible numbness through his body. He lowered his eyes, his lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Immense joy and happiness filled his heart. Being in pain really would win him her attention—this was great. He couldn't resist sitting up and pressing his handsome face to her hand, his newly-grown tentacles carefully sucking her clothes. His suckers clung to her as he let out a satisfied sigh. This was what it was like when a cold-blooded creature learned to rely on someone and be affectionate with them. Elara brushed aside the damp hair on his forehead, revealing his handsome, non-human face. As he looked at her dazedly, she said, "Open your mouth." He obediently did as told, revealing his barbed jaw plate. She fed him a piece of candy. "There we go." She pushed his jaw shut. "How does it taste?" No.17 didn't know how to smile and couldn't show emotion. Still, he clung to her hand before she could retract it and leaned against her. His voice was cold as he said, "It's sweet." He liked it. As he savored her warmth, an odd heat burst in his chest. She often soothed them by feeding them a small, compressed carbohydrate she called candy. Even if he couldn't taste it, hints of sweetness flowed into his cold bloodstream. No.11 reached for Elara even more, his beautiful face twisting slightly from jealousy. He bit his lip and glared at No.17, his animosity clear. If Elara were to turn around just then, she would see No.11's darker side—he was usually cute and gentle. Who said cold-blooded animals couldn't disguise themselves? Every member of the natural world had the instinctive ability to protect themselves, and they were good at putting on disguises to trick their enemies. A few examples were the chameleon, the oakleaf butterfly, and even the squid. These creatures would activate their defense mechanisms when they sensed danger and changed colors to blend in with their surroundings. Using false appearances to trick prey or enemies was a hunting instinct that had been etched into the DNA of all animals due to evolution and survival of the fittest. Since Elara liked docile creatures, her experimental subjects could pretend to be so for her sake. No.17 could, too. He shifted onto his side seemingly casually to reveal to Elara a more severe injury he'd sustained during the splitting experiment. In truth, most of his injuries had already healed. He'd just ripped them apart again to win her sympathy. As expected, Elara's eyes gleamed with heartache. She touched the jagged edge and stroked it softly. "Why hasn't this healed yet?" No.17 hurriedly lowered his head to hide the storm brewing in his eyes. Elara was touching his wounds so gently—it was a sensation a thousand times more stimulating than pain. No.11 became even more aggravated. His red eyes seemed to become even more so as he rammed against the glass. "Elle… I'm hurt… too…" He was about to hurt himself. Elara felt a headache coming on as she told him off. "Stop that! Be good." Soon, however, the two creatures vying for her attention straightened up, looking alert and on their guard. No.17 looked icily at the door, his muscles instantly tensing. Elara noticed this and followed his line of sight. She saw Eva Stone standing there, looking captivated. She asked, "What are you doing here?" "Why can't I be here?" Eva snapped out of her trance and met Elara's gaze. She crossed her arms slowly, looking haughty. "I came to congratulate you because I heard your experimental subject passed the splitting experiment." Her words conveyed one thing, but her tone conveyed another. Elara patted No.17's tensed arm and gestured for him to release her. He reluctantly yet obediently uncurled his tentacles. When he turned back to look at Eva, his gaze turned murderous. "This is my zone. You shouldn't be here." Elara stepped forward and stood in Eva's line of sight. Eva fluffed her hair, thinking Elara was beyond her. Although they were both researchers in Zone A, Eva's experimental subjects were vastly different from Elara's. Hers were grotesque, savage, and cold, inciting fear. Sea creatures had never been domesticated. Even dolphins and orcas, who were relatively affectionate with humans, couldn't completely act per human instructions, let alone these savage and unruly mutant sea creatures. And so, Elara's experimental subjects had become something of a legend at the research base. Everyone was in awe of her. Because of that, Eva had always coveted Elara's experimental subjects. She stared thoughtfully at the beautiful creatures in the water chambers. Her expression was hard to read as she said, "Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you from spending more time with them." Elara wouldn't have the chance to be with them anymore, after all. Elara frowned, feeling like there was a suspicious hint of smugness in Eva's tone. "What do you mean by that?" Eva merely threw her hair over her shoulder and smiled at she blinked at the humanoid creatures behind the glass. Then, she turned and left, almost as if she'd genuinely dropped by for small talk. … Ashley pulled up in her car outside the research base when it was time to get off work. She asked Elara to join her for some drinks at a bar in the city center. The research base paid them handsomely due to the dangers they faced at work. Beyond its walls, in the city's dazzling nightlife, people lived on solid ground, indulging in the illusion of peace and stability. Elara had a bit too much to drink—Ashley wailed about going through a breakup, so she and Elara kept clinking glasses and downing their drinks. Eventually, they lost track of how much they had. Fortunately, Ashley's car had a self-driving function. Some people were chatting at the table beside theirs. As someone mentioned mutant creatures, everyone else laughed. "That's fake! Don't tell me you buy into that bullshit." "I saw it myself some time ago, though. Half the guy's face was humanlike, but the other half was… rotten." "You had too much to drink, if you ask me. How can something like that exist in this world?" Elara and Ashley exchanged a look. Ashley said, "A low-level human experiment escaped from Zone D not too long ago. He was soon captured and sentenced to death." Elara silently put down her glass, and Ashley followed suit after a brief pause. A plain, nondescript death was the fate that awaited most worthless experimental subjects. How could mankind's imagination be even more cruel and vivid than reality?