Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 518: The Butterfly and the Mummy
"Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, what is compensated dating?"
I don't know if she's genuinely naive or just pretending, but Little Ying stared at me with her innocent big eyes.
"It's called 'compensated dating'."
Originating in Japan, this is a euphemism for a young woman dating a man for material gain; nowadays, it often refers to a young woman engaging in illicit sex work for material benefits—should I tell her?
In short...
"You make money selling meat, you idiot!"
The answer wasn't from me.
It's Sick Spider.
With an indifferent expression, she twirled her long ponytail with her delicate, jade-like fingers, and in a mature and aloof tone that contrasted sharply with her youthful appearance, she succinctly explained what compensated dating entailed.
Hey, Mom doesn't remember raising you to be the kind of child who casually talks about compensated dating, okay? If you slap yourself like that in front of others again, I'll slap you! Have you finished your homework?
Haoyue seemed to find it very amusing, while Xiao Wu clicked her tongue in disdain, and Sin Annihilation was just an uninformed bystander.
And Little Ying--
"Oh, I see!"
She tapped her palm with her fist, a look of sudden realization crossing her face.
"Compensated dating, compensated dating, so this is such a simple job!"
""""... ha?""""
"But it does have a lot of potential... Okay, let's do this!"
Huh?
And so on and so forth.
Are you serious? Want me to slap you?
"Because, look~" she said, waving her index finger back and forth, "Haven't we heard that pork prices are going up these days? If we're business-minded enough, starting a livestock company to sell meat and make money is definitely a viable option! But I've also heard that quarantine and other procedures are very strict now..."
""""... ha?""""
... What a joke! Why did she have to be the first NPC I encountered in this other world?
I really want to punch her, I can't hold back anymore, what should I do?
"Xiao Ye."
"What's wrong, Haoyue?"
"Don't hold back at times like this, or you'll feel heartbroken."
Well said.
Thump! ×5
"Why did you hit me again?! Aa..."
Ignoring the goofy guy with five bumps on his head and teary eyes, I started to think seriously.
Compensated dating.
Making money by selling one's sexuality.
If we continue thinking along these lines...
Making money... if it's not about sex work, but just relying on your looks or figure to make a living?
Going a step further... performing arts but not selling one's body?
So... making money by performing?
"Hello, Haoyue?"
"What's wrong?"
"Do you still have the business card that man in his early thirties gave you?"
She herself did not know when the planet was born or when it developed its own will.
Moreover, what she awakened was less "consciousness" and more something akin to instinct.
In other words, it is the most primitive instinct of living beings to survive and avoid death.
Based on this, more consciousness was established, but the progress was extremely slow. Even on a scale of hundreds of millions of years, she only gained a level of self-awareness equivalent to that of a newborn cub.
But that's enough.
Then, everything was created and born on the planet.
This is certainly not the work of the planet. With only the most basic consciousness, she could not possibly have accomplished such a great thing. All of this is the result of the principles and laws of the world. She is merely the provider of raw materials and the carrier of new life, and has been forced to become the mother of all things.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, her consciousness was never mature enough to discern whether she was free. The birth of all things made her no longer alone, and they complemented and helped her survive—that was enough.
But at some point, a special child appeared.
Although it evolved from a lower species like other organisms, instinct tells the planet that this child is completely different from everything before.
"They are the true masters of this world, a world dominated by 'humanity'."
It seemed as if a voice from the depths of her being told this.
In a human-dominated world, everything else is merely an accessory, a cheap supporting facility.
As it turns out, humanity truly deserves the title of rulers. They evolved far too quickly; their sophisticated brains granted them unparalleled wisdom, and the supernatural abilities bestowed by the laws of nature gave them the most direct power. They quickly became the most intelligent of all beings.
They also became the rulers of the planet.
The planet was terrified.
Fear of humanity that could rule her, transform her, and destroy her.
The moment fear arises, the planet's consciousness acquires the concept of "self-preservation."
Thus, the Planet Will was born.
Although it is called "Planet Will", it is not the same entity as the will of the planet itself. Its relationship with the planet is like that between the World Will and this fragment of the human world: it is just a loyal dog born to protect its master.
The Planet Will is growing stronger, and so is humanity. The first generation of humans developed at an alarmingly rapid pace. While they probably won't destroy the planet they live on, they have long since abandoned any reverence for the earth beneath their feet, considering themselves the most intelligent of all beings and boasting of being the masters of the planet. This attitude keeps the planet in a constant state of crisis.
And so, after a long period of time, the first generation of humanity was destroyed, destroyed by the Planet Will.
Perhaps because it had exhausted its power, the Planet Will fell into slumber, powerless to interfere with events on Earth. Over time, the first generation of humans became a prehistoric civilization. However, with the evolution of primates, a new generation of humans emerged.
The emergence of a new generation of humans has made the planet acknowledge a fact: in this world, humans are the absolute dominant force. Even if the old generation is destroyed, a new one will emerge, and the planet can never escape the fate of being ruled.
So she gave up.
With her abandonment, the Planet Will also relinquished its important mission of "annihilating humanity," and instead only appears when "an entity that can directly threaten the planet itself (such as a Leader) appears," even though its power has long been greatly diminished.
The Planet Will is now dormant, not deep within the Spirit Star, but within a crystal coffin.
Inside the secret room, Yu He looked at the exquisitely crafted crystal coffin, then at the rapidly decreasing numbers in his bankbook, and sighed deeply.
Maintaining the secrecy of the Planet Will, preventing it from being discovered by those above, while also guarding against internal Planet Will and the various troubles that might arise from it—all these miscellaneous matters add up to an enormous expense. Despite this, Yu He decided to use the highest level (and most expensive) protection measures for Little Butterfly, because exposing her to the Leader would have consequences he couldn't afford.
Inside the crystal coffin, at the bottom, lay a soft velvet mattress, sprinkled with sleep-inducing spices. Little Butterfly lay on it, covered with a blanket made of the fur of an unknown species of demon beast. Her long hair was loose, her eyes were tightly closed, her long eyelashes overlapped, and her face had a charming blush. It was clearly an angelic sleeping face, yet it contained an indescribable, forbidden allure.
"Sometimes I think, the person who imprisoned this child has no sex drive, so I'm really wasting my life..."
If someone had a special interest—no, even someone with normal interests—they probably couldn't resist licking this child every day until their mouth was dry. If they were a pervert who didn't care much for women, they would probably [beep--] until they bled [beep--].
Imagining that scene, Yu He shrugged. Should he be glad that he had never been very interested in sex? He remembered the first time he masturbated as a child... he think he used a newly printed banknote to masturbate, and he accidentally tore the banknote in the end, and he was heartbroken for a long time.
Everyone has a dark past, hahaha.
Thinking back to the silly things he did in his youth, he couldn't help but laugh, but he quickly suppressed the smile. Recalling his precious first masturbation experience next to this young Sleeping Beauty, and even laughing out loud—it seemed a little perverted, didn't it?
But...
Yu He remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke again.
"I'm really sorry for forcibly taking you away from your good mother, but I have my own reasons. Let's try to understand each other."
There was no reply—of course. Yu He gave a wry smile. The beautiful young woman was fast asleep; who was he speaking to with his insincere words?
When she finally wakes up, what will she see and hear? Will she be reunited with her mother, or will Yu He tell her about her mother's defeat? Only time will tell, but Yu He hopes it will be the latter.
He stood up, put on his business casual jacket, and glanced back at Little Butterfly one last time.
"Anyway, please continue sleeping. I can't make it up to you... or rather, I never intended to make it up to you in the first place."
"I just want the result I desire, that's all."
However, Yu He immediately encountered a small problem... let's just call it a "small" problem.
As I stepped out of the secret room and sat down in my office to start reviewing the mountain of documents, an uninvited guest arrived.
A vortex of gray-black bandages appeared out of thin air, hovering in the void, and something emerged from it.
It was an extremely thin human figure, wrapped in gray-black bandages from head to toe. Its limbs were so thin that they looked as if they would break at the slightest touch, and its torso was as thin as a dead tree. From a distance, it looked like a withered mummy.
Every time Yu He saw this guy, he wondered if it was really human flesh under those bandages. As a human, this thing was far too thin; logically, such a thin body couldn't even fully contain its organs.
"Yu, He..."
The voice from the Void Realm spoke; it was a slightly hoarse voice, indistinguishable between male and female, that sent chills down one's spine.
"... Yo, isn't this the Void Realm? It's been a while since we've spoken alone. The last time we were alone was during the Northern Realm Rally, wasn't it? What brings you here?"
"Just checking things out on Leader..."
"He's really working hard. Although I've only just started, the Extra Weapon are all going really well."
"Leader wants is the result, not... the process."
"If the outcome is good, then everything is good, right?"
Yu He ignored the Void Realm and continued with his daily work, approving documents and making plans with practiced ease. This was a veiled dismissal.
"... There's a problem, I wonder if you've noticed it."
Suddenly, the Void Realm spoke again.
"What's wrong? You're making me anxious."
"Ye's group is missing one person."
"Oh? Which one are you talking about?"
"I also... watched the recording from the West Saint Continent. There was a girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, and now she's gone..."
"I'm not too sure either. It's always the same few people since they came to Business Capital. If you're concerned, I can keep an eye out for them."
"... Then so be it. Most of my power... is used to maintain the existence of the headquarters' Void Space, and usually... I can't carry out missions externally..."
"Don't worry, leave this to me."
"Since you put it that way..."
The Void Realm seemed to accept Yu He's explanation, and Yu He showed no unusual behavior from beginning to end.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing I need you to pay attention to."
"What's wrong now?"
"Just today, I discovered that someone in the organization has disappeared. I've already informed the Leader, and things are in complete chaos internally. It would be best... to let you know as well."
Who disappeared?
"Neumann."
"... ah?"