"Didn't I tell you to feed it once a week?"
Kalamy turned an ice-cold stare on the alluring woman.
"I..." The woman had barely begun to explain herself.
Bang! A bullet punched a finger-width hole through her forehead.
Thud. She collapsed to the floor, her pale legs still twitching now and then.
A gun had appeared in Kalamy's hand. A wisp of smoke curled from its muzzle.
"Bitch. All you know how to do is moan. What use are you?"
He set the gun on his desk, his face grim. The Den Den Mushi in the drawer was his only lifeline.
The woman had deserved it. Starving a Den Den Mushi to this state must have taken two or three months without food or water. With its vitality, it would never have ended up like this otherwise.
Kalamy placed the Den Den Mushi on his desk, then hurried out of the office.
Less than a minute later, he returned with some leafy greens and fruit.
Kalamy carefully held a piece of fruit before the Den Den Mushi. It struggled to poke out its head but lacked the strength to bite through the skin. The little creature was far too weak.
Kalamy was frantic. He urgently needed the Den Den Mushi to contact someone. Only that person could save him from Werther, or so Kalamy believed.
The fruit was no good, so Kalamy offered it the leafy greens. They were much softer, and the poor Den Den Mushi began devouring them.
After eating quite a few leaves, it regained enough strength to start gnawing on the fruit.
Two minutes later, it looked a little more alert, though it was still limp.
Clinging to his last hope, Kalamy picked up the receiver on its back.
"Please connect. Please connect! Hang in there,