Underground Hospital

Dawn had just broken, but the snow had not stopped.

The stove in the farmhouse cabin had already gone out.

Pige Aaron stood at the door in a coat, his eyes vacant. His movements were not entirely natural, but the Nen Needle was hidden beneath his collar.

As for Illumi—

He was Ella now.

One hand supported Pige Aaron's arm while the other protected his lower abdomen. His steps were unsteady, his shoulders hunched, and his breathing short and ragged.

Bai Zhu stood by the window and watched for a long while before finally giving a serious assessment.

"Your ability and acting skills are incredible. You look extremely pregnant!"

Milluki hugged the controller and nearly spat out his breakfast.

"Can you stop using such disgusting words to praise my brother?"

Illumi turned his head with Ella's face.

A trace of startled confusion appeared on that pale, fragile face.

"What doesn't look right?"

Bai Zhu fell silent for a second.

"The fact that you asked that question."

Illumi nodded.

The next second, his eyes changed.

Fear, exhaustion, dependence, and panic all appeared on his face. Even the tremble of his lips resembled that of a wife tormented all night by her husband's breakdown.

The real Ella sat in a chair, looking at another "herself," a chill running down her spine.

"Has he... always been like this?"

Milluki chewed on bread and mumbled, "If my brother wanted to, he could trick even you into doubting whether you were real."

Bai Zhu clapped his hands.

"Alright, actors in position, cameras in position, props in position."

He looked at Milluki.

"Director, roll camera."

The moment Milluki heard that title, his chubby face became solemn.

"All departments, attention. Spider Punk No. 2 is online. Main camera, follow Pige Aaron. Camera two, follow my brother. Camera three, standby."

Bai Zhu said, "You're really getting into it?"

Milluki sneered. "What do you know? This is called professionalism."

Amid the wind and snow—

"Ella" supported Pige Aaron as they made their way toward Sankara Town, step by step.

They did not take a vehicle.

That was another detail Bai Zhu had decided on.

A frightened woman with complications during pregnancy could not possibly ride back comfortably in a car. Looking bedraggled was itself the best pass.

Two hours later—

At a shabby motel outside town.

Bai Zhu, Milluki, and the real Ella squeezed into one room.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut. A curved screen that Milluki had assembled on the spot sat on the table. Three feeds were lit at once.

Bai Zhu watched the screen and took a sip of instant coffee, his face immediately scrunching up.

"Who bought this stuff?"

Without looking up, Milluki said, "It was free at the motel."

"No wonder. After drinking it, I feel like I can see my eighteen-year-old great-grandmother."

Ella sat in the corner with both hands around a cup of hot water, her gaze never leaving the screen.

On the screen, the church spire had already come into view.

Milluki immediately sat up straight.

"Here we go, here we go. We're entering the dungeon."

Bai Zhu leaned closer.

"Danger ahead?"

"There's a guard at the entrance." Milluki enlarged the image. "He has Nen. Not much, but he knows how to use Gyo."

At the church entrance—

A man in a black priest's robe stopped Pige Aaron and "Ella."

He did not speak immediately. He simply stared at them.

A faint layer of Nen covered his eyes.

"What happened to you? How did you end up like this?"

Pige Aaron opened his mouth.

Illumi controlled his throat, making his voice hoarse.

"Something happened."

The priest did not look at him. His gaze fell on "Ella's" stomach.

"Her aura is in chaos."

"Ella" shuddered and immediately hid behind Pige Aaron, clutching the hem of his clothes.

That retreat looked utterly natural.

Bai Zhu applauded on the spot.

"Good!"

Milluki snapped, "Keep it down, they're recording sound!"

On the screen, the priest frowned.

"Raise your head."

"Ella" slowly raised her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked at the priest only once before immediately lowering her gaze again.

At the same time, a thread of extremely faint Nen spread from her body.

Chaotic.

Weak.

Like a fetus struggling within the womb, or the lingering reaction of a pregnant woman after baptism.

It was an illusion Illumi had forcibly created by using Nen Needles to stimulate his flesh.

Milluki's scalp went numb as he watched.

"He can even act that out?"

Bai Zhu stroked his chin.

"If your brother doesn't enter the entertainment industry, it'll be a loss for film and television."

Milluki snorted.

"The entertainment industry can't afford him."

The priest's suspicion finally eased somewhat.

He looked at Pige Aaron, his tone turning cold.

"Useless. The bishop said the vessel must not be allowed to wander around freely lately."

Pige Aaron lowered his head.

"She had a severe reaction last night. I wanted to take her somewhere safe."

"Safe?" The priest raised his hand and slapped Pige Aaron across the face.

Smack!

Pige Aaron's head snapped to the side, and the corner of his mouth split open.

Ella's hand tightened around her cup.

She said nothing.

But Bai Zhu still noticed the movement.

Apparently, the medicine was not enough. This woman still had feelings for Pige Aaron. Then again, she had been deceived into abandoning her faith and bearing his child; it would not be so easy for her to completely hate him.

The priest turned around and pushed open the church doors.

"Follow me."

The church was empty.

Behind the choir platform, the priest pressed his hand against the eye of a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Click.

The entire wall slid open without a sound.

Behind it was an old elevator, its iron doors carved with Creation Society symbols. The moment the doors opened, a wave of cold air poured out.

The camera feed on the screen shook slightly.

Milluki cursed under his breath. "What is that smell? Even the sensors are sounding alarms."

Bai Zhu asked, "What did they detect?"

"Disinfectant, blood, anesthetic, and some kind of sweet compound." Milluki tapped at the keyboard. "It seems to be a gas used to stabilize emotions."

Bai Zhu smiled.

"They prepared quite thoroughly. They even built a gynecology hospital."

Ella's face went pale.

The elevator descended.

No floor numbers were displayed.

There was only the sound of iron chains grinding, one scrape after another.

Bai Zhu's smile vanished.

At this depth, it did not seem like an ordinary basement.

The Creation Society had dug a real nest beneath Sankara Town.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened.

The three people in front of the screen fell silent at the same time.

The underground space was absurdly vast.

Rows upon rows of glass compartments stretched into the distance beneath stark white lights. Inside each compartment lay a woman.

Some were awake.

Some were unconscious.

Some had their eyes open but looked nowhere at all.

Tubes ran from their arms, necks, and abdomens, connecting to machines beside the beds. Numbers flashed across the machines, with labels attached beside them.

Not names.

Numbers.

Milluki's potato chip stopped halfway to his mouth.

"At this scale... there are at least two or three hundred people."

Bai Zhu said nothing.

Ella stood up and walked to the screen.

She looked at those women, her lips moving several times.

No sound came out. This was her first time seeing this place too.

On the screen, a man in silver robes approached.

He was not very old, with a thin face and a three-ring insignia hanging from his chest.

Milluki immediately marked him.

"His Nen is much stronger than the one at the entrance. He should be a mid-level boss."

Bai Zhu asked, "A bishop?"

The silver-robed man did not look at Pige Aaron.

He walked straight up to "Ella" and reached out to touch her stomach.

Bai Zhu's eyes flickered.

On the screen, "Ella" instinctively shrank back.

It was the retreat of a pregnant woman afraid of a strange man touching her.

The silver-robed bishop frowned.

"The vessel is in poor condition."

The priest lowered his head. "She had an abnormal reaction last night."

The silver-robed bishop said coldly, "The Holy Advent Ritual is in three days. All candidate vessels must remain stable."

He looked at the two nurses beside him.

"Take her to the purification room for observation. Perform the holy water baptism tonight."

Pige Aaron was left where he stood.

"Ella" was held by two nurses.

She asked softly, "The purification room... what kind of place is that?"

One nurse said impatiently, "Don't ask. Being allowed into the purification room is your blessing. The holy water will wash away the unclean things inside you and ensure the holy infant remains pure."

"Ella's" voice became even softer.

"After the baptism, will my child be alright?"

The nurse sneered.

"If you can handle it."

The moment those words were spoken, the temperature in the hotel room seemed to drop.

Ella closed her eyes.

Bai Zhu looked at Milluki.

"Can you trace it?"

Milluki was already typing.

"Their system is primitive. The local network is outdated. I just had the spider connect to the maintenance port."

The screen changed.

A mass of folders popped up.

Container Registration Forms.

Holy Water Formula Records.

Processing Records.

Milluki clicked his tongue.

"The password is Godbirth001. What kind of idiot password is this? It insults me."

Bai Zhu said, "Stop cursing. Look."

The list opened.

Rows upon rows of names appeared.

Behind them were their ages, stages of pregnancy, number of baptisms, and mental states.

The final column listed the processing results.

Bai Zhu glanced over it, and his smile vanished.

[Martha, 19 years old, processing complete.]

[Lucy, 23 years old, processing complete.]

[Beilin, 17 years old, processing complete.]

Under method of processing, the same four words were written every time.

Recycled as nutrients.

Milluki scrolled down.

One page.

Ten pages.

Thirty pages.

There was no end in sight.

Ella stared at the screen.

She did not cry.

She walked to the window and pulled the curtain back slightly.

Snow was still falling outside.

With her back to the two men, her voice was calm.

"Mr. Bai Zhu."

"Yeah?"

"I want to kill them myself."

Bai Zhu looked at her back.

This time, he did not joke.

"Okay."

Milluki looked up. "Are you serious? She might not even be able to hold a knife steady right now."

Bai Zhu smiled.

"She can hold it steady."

He turned to look at the underground hive on the screen.

"Three days from now, the Holy Advent Ritual begins."

His eyes lit up.

"With a stage this big, wouldn't it be a waste to only do infiltration and assassination?"

Milluki suddenly had a bad feeling.

"What are you planning?"

Bai Zhu rubbed his chin.

"I was thinking, what does a cult fear most?"

Milluki said, "The Hunters Association?"

Bai Zhu shook his head.

"Wrong."

He pointed at the rows of glass compartments on the screen.

"What cults fear most is their divine miracle failing on the spot."

Milluki fell silent for two seconds.

"You're going to pretend to be some holy fraud again?"

Bai Zhu corrected him. "Not pretend."

He grinned.

"I'm here to challenge their temple."

At the same time.

Deep within the underground base.

In a windowless room, dozens of instruments operated at once.

Pipelines stretched from the walls to the hospital bed at the center.

A withered old man lay on the bed.

His skin clung to his bones, yet a black crystal was embedded in his chest. Every time the crystal pulsed, the nen in the room contracted once.

An attendant lowered his head as he reported.

"Elder, candidate container number fifteen has been sent to the purification room."

The old man did not react.

Not until the surveillance feed switched to Ella's face.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

His cloudy eyeballs fixed on the screen.

"Stop."

The attendant immediately pressed pause.

The image froze on the moment Ella lowered her head.

The old man stared at it for a long time.

"This container..."

The attendant asked, "Her condition is poor. Should we eliminate her?"

The old man slowly raised a hand.

Every instrument in the room sounded an alarm at once.

A cold, sinister nen followed a perception like the surveillance lines, passing through corridors and iron doors before descending upon the purification room.

The old man bared his mouth.

Only a few teeth remained.

"No."

"Her soul is too resilient."

"Bring her to me."