Mr. Zhongli, we can't slack off anymore!

"I'm back. Elheisen, how's that Liyue girl you brought back?" A clear yet unfamiliar male voice came from the living room outside, penetrating my ears distinctly.

Yet another... dangerous stranger has appeared!

Hiding in the corner of the bedroom, my heart suddenly clenched, and my nerves, which had just relaxed slightly, tensed up again. I could almost hear my teeth chattering.

That voice... I think I vaguely remember it.

Yesterday…or perhaps in that hotel room? It was a man with blond hair…oh right, his eyes…were red!

Red eyes... Could he be some kind of vampire?

Or... it's a very serious case of conjunctivitis! The contagious kind!

I see!

This cult is a criminal gang that specializes in spreading conjunctivitis! That blond guy named Kawi is an infected patient!

How many people are in this kidnapping cult group?

What do they want to do to me after they've captured me? The terrifying thought sent chills down my spine.

“Kavi, shut up,” the fierce-looking man named Elhesen replied in his signature cold tone.

"Hey! Can't you be a little nicer, Elheisen!" The blond guy named Kavi seemed to be angered by his attitude, though he lowered his voice: "Who cleaned up the bedroom overnight for us to sleep on the sofa? You can't be so ungrateful!"

But... I still heard him clearly.

They cleaned the bedroom all night... and now they want me to sleep there? You're going to sleep on the sofa yourself?

Would the bad guys in the kidnapping gang really be this kind?

Could it be... that this blond guy named Kavi isn't actually a born bad guy?

Was it just... that he was too poor and forced by life to join this organization? Did he still have a sliver of conscience deep down?

“It’s good that you know to bring her some food, so the food problem can be solved, but she… has been staying in that room since last night… what about the bathroom problem?” Kavi then raised a very practical, even somewhat embarrassing, question.

What he said is precisely one of my current predicaments.

I really need to go to the bathroom... Waaah... But there are strangers outside, I'm too scared to go out...

"Elhesen, what did you do to that girl? She's hiding in her bedroom and won't come out." Kavi's tone was reproachful and questioning.

“She has amnesia,” Elhesen replied calmly.

Amnesia?

I... have amnesia?

Upon hearing this, I instinctively lowered my head and examined my body more closely. These hands, these legs... they looked like my own body, but something felt different.

I felt like Alice who had wandered into Wonderland and drunk some kind of... enlargement potion? My whole body grew bigger, especially... a certain embarrassing part of me.

Physical fatigue struck again, just like a pre-programmed sequence.

It was only a little past noon when a heavy drowsiness enveloped me like a thick fog. My eyelids felt like they were filled with lead, and I couldn't open them no matter what I did. Only one strong thought remained in my mind—to sleep.

No! I can't sleep!

I pinched my arm hard, trying to use the pain to drive away my sleepiness.

What if they do something bad to me while I'm asleep? Like drawing my blood? Or doing a conjunctivitis virus test?

However, willpower ultimately couldn't overcome extreme physical exhaustion. My consciousness gradually faded, and I sank into darkness...

*

I seem to have had a terrible nightmare, filled with images of chasing and shattering, but when I struggle to recall it, I can't grasp any specific details. All I remember is that at the end of the dream, there was a deafening explosion!

It was this loud noise in my mind that jolted me awake, causing me to yank open my eyelids, which felt as if they were glued together.

The moment my gaze focused, right in front of me stood the blond-haired Kavi, who had been sneaking into the room stealthily!

He was holding a bunch of tools in his arms, the exact nature of which was unclear. His red eyes were wide open, filled with the terror of being caught, staring intently at me as I suddenly woke up.

We stared at each other, the air seeming to freeze.

"Uh...sorry...did I disturb you?" Kavi was the first to react, stiffly and slowly squatting down, frantically picking up the few items he had dropped in his fright: "I...I just came in to grab something, I'll be right back!"

I dared not move, but cautiously and slowly moved my body to the other side of the bed, trying to create distance between myself and him.

My gaze was fixed on his hand as I watched him bend down and pick up a gleaming, sharp-toothed wooden saw from the ground!

The cold metallic luster and the menacing serrations instantly ignited my deepest fear!

Could it be... could it be that he wants to dismember me?

My breathing grew increasingly heavy and loud uncontrollably, my chest heaving violently. Fear surged like a burst dam, and I couldn't hold back any longer. I opened my mouth to scream, "Ah—uh..."

Before I could even utter a complete shout, Kavi pounced on me with astonishing speed and covered my mouth with his hand.

The other tools he was holding fell to the ground with a clatter, but the terrifying saw remained tightly gripped in his other hand.

"Shh...shh...don't make a sound! Please, don't shout!" He lowered his voice, his tone urgent, his face filled with panic: "Elhesen explicitly forbids me from entering your room! If he finds out I sneaked in and woke you up, that would be terrible..."

What? You mean if I shout and attract that fierce guy named Elhesen, he'll actually stop this Kavi?

Then... then wouldn't I be able to take advantage of their argument and find a chance to escape?

With that thought, the instinct for survival instantly overwhelmed the fear.

I bit down hard, with all my might, and bit the hand that was covering my mouth!

"Ugh!" Kavi's facial muscles contorted instantly in pain as he gasped for breath, but he managed to hold back and not make a sound.

He threw away the dangerous saw in his hand, and then used his freed hand to bind my struggling hands even more tightly: "Sorry, sorry! Did I scare you? Listen to me, I'm not a bad person! I really am not! My name is Kave, and I'm an architect! These tools I had, including that saw, are for making architectural models. They're tools, not murder weapons!"

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" I couldn't hear his explanation at all and continued to struggle desperately, using my hands and feet to try to break free from his grip.

But he was much stronger than me, and I was like a butterfly with its wings pinched, completely unable to escape his control.

"Miss Lü, Lord Lü! I beg you, please don't make a sound, please don't attract Elhesen's attention!" He was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead, and he pleaded in a low voice, his words flying: "Are you thirsty? I'll make you my best Sumeru specialty flower tea! Are you hungry? I'll go and make you something delicious, anything! As long as you promise me you won't make a sound, I'll agree to anything!"

Hearing him say that, my confused brain started working at lightning speed.

I feel... this Kavi doesn't seem like he's going to hurt me right away.

Moreover, he is now terrified of being discovered by Elhesen. If I confront him head-on now and provoke him, or actually attract Elhesen's attention, the situation could become even more complicated.

Perhaps... we should pretend to comply for now, lower his guard, and let him relax his vigilance.

Anyway, now that he's holding me, there's nothing I can do.

If I shout and attract another, even fiercer guy, and if the two of them are in cahoots and team up against me, then my chances of escaping will be even slimmer.

After weighing the pros and cons, I stopped struggling, relaxed, and nodded gently to him.

Kavi breathed a long sigh of relief and carefully, tentatively, released his hands from my mouth and my hands.

"I...I want to go out for some fresh air. It's so stuffy in this room." I looked up, trying to put on a cute but slightly pitiful expression. "Could you take me out for a walk?"

“Sure, sure! Of course!” Kavi immediately beamed and nodded eagerly, as if I had made some insignificant request: “Later, after Elhesen goes out, I’ll take you out for a walk!”

Yay... Step one of the plan, a success!

This guy named Kavi seems easy to talk to, and he appears to be quite simple-minded.

So, could I... take this opportunity to ask some other questions and get more information?

"Brother Kavi..." I spoke again timidly, my voice even softer.

“Kavi…brother?” He was clearly very uncomfortable with this sudden and overly intimate address, and his expression was somewhat subtle.

I continued in an innocent tone, "Excuse me... you do that kind of architecture... design, isn't it not very lucrative? Is that why you're so poor that you had no choice but to... become a hoodlum?"