Mental Corruption System

Hugo's kisses grew more intense.

She guided him to the next spot, the little hollow above her collarbone, at the very top of her breastbone.

[Current infatuation value: 75/100.]

His lips were no longer satisfied with the places she guided him to.

He pulled his hand free of hers and gripped her shoulders with both hands, trying to find a better purchase.

In the darkness, an uncontrollable urge to laugh suddenly welled up inside Ririko.

It was like a poisonous vine sprouting from the soil, climbing through her chest until it finally burst out in peals of seductive laughter.

"Hugo."

She addressed him by name.

Hugo's lips stopped against her shoulder, his breath still warm against the skin above her collarbone.

"You like me... you like me, your little test subject... how disgusting~~~"

Those words struck home.

His hands tightened sharply around her, almost leaving deep finger marks, like a drowning man desperately clutching his last piece of driftwood.

"That's right."

Hugo's broken voice squeezed out of his throat.

"I can't stop thinking about you. Day and night, I can't get you out of my head. I'm going insane."

He pressed his forehead into the hollow of her shoulder, his whole body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

"Tell me," he murmured, almost to himself, "am I insane?"

Ririko laughed even more recklessly.

A string of laughter echoed through the dark bathroom.

She tipped her head back, the back of her skull touching the wall tiles. Their chill spread from her scalp through her entire body.

"You're a lunatic, and you still think you can study other people? Don't you know how disgusting you are?"

Hugo's body slowly crumpled.

His hands slipped from her waist, and he sank to his knees like a sinner confessing before an idol.

"Please," he sobbed. "Don't hate me."

[Current infatuation value: 80/100.]

Ririko still couldn't suppress the laughter inside her.

Why was this happening...?

She realized something was wrong with her.

A system notification appeared.

[Notice: Target character "Hugo Strange" has reached an infatuation value of 80/100. The next stage has been unlocked.]

Ririko's smile froze.

The system opened a new interface she had never seen before.

[Infatuation value stage guide, 80-100:

80: The target character begins to develop an irrational dependence on you.

85: The target character cannot bear your contact with other people.

90: The target character cannot tolerate any of your social interactions.

95: The target character considers you his sole source of emotional support.

100: The target character will personally kill and dismember the host.]

The laughter froze on Ririko's lips.

Kill the host? Dismember her?

She had always thought the system offered her a path to wealth and freedom.

She had never imagined that once the infatuation value reached 100, a lunatic would kill her.

This wasn't a mental corruption system. Shouldn't it be called the lunatic system?

She glanced at the broken Hugo. There was already someone at her feet who might kill her.

She hurriedly searched the system for a way to lower the infatuation value.

[When you are more than one mile from the target character, the infatuation value will decrease moderately.]

Ririko cursed the deathtrap of a system inwardly.

The entire Arkham grounds didn't even span a mile. In other words, as long as she stayed here, Hugo would go off the deep end no matter what.

[Notice: The current infatuation value has reached 80 or above. The system will award one resurrection opportunity. Do you accept?]

Ririko stared at the words.

First I get killed, then I get resurrected? Shove shit in my mouth, then give me a piece of candy?

What heavenly law did I break to deserve this garbage system?

[We apologize for the unpleasant experience. Would you like to redeem the resurrection opportunity?]

"Of course I want to redeem it! Of fucking course I do."

Ririko spoke irritably.

Hugo was still muttering at her feet, pleading mournfully with her not to leave him.

She bent down, grabbed Hugo by the hair with one hand, and dragged him under the showerhead.

She sprayed cold water over Hugo's face. His body jolted, like someone being shaken awake from a nightmare.

He blinked several times after the cold water washed over him, his pupils struggling to focus in the darkness as he tried to make out what was in front of him.

"Ririko, I want..."

"No, you don't!"

The moment Hugo raised his head, her palm struck his face.

She slapped him hard several times, until even her hand began to hurt.

Hugo didn't dodge.

"Sedative..."

He struggled to get the word out.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Ririko hadn't realized he had actually been trying to ask her to inject him with a sedative.

She reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small syringe.

She bit off the syringe cap and drove the needle hard into his firm buttock.

She used a little too much force, and Hugo's body arched sharply.

Hugo collapsed onto the wet bathroom floor. It took him a long while to stagger back to his feet.

His breathing returned to that rapid, unsteady rhythm.

When the bathroom door opened, Ririko saw that he had somehow split his lip, and both his cheeks were red.

He looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing and left the dorm room.

Once she had gotten him out, Ririko finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At least she had obtained the most important information: she would be able to meet Thomas Wayne tomorrow.

Tomorrow, she would leave Arkham.

Just as she made her plans to keep an eye on Thomas's movements early the next morning, a click came from the door.

She hurried over to the dorm room door.

Gripping the handle, she pushed down hard...

The door didn't budge.

Ririko stood before the door with her arms folded across her chest.

For fuck's sake.

She had been locked inside her dorm room.

Could Hugo be trying to keep her from contacting Thomas?

But he shouldn't have recovered his senses so quickly...

Ririko turned, her gaze landing on the room's little window. Outside was an enclosed courtyard. Three stories up-not much of a challenge.

The window was tiny. A grown man couldn't have squeezed through even if he dislocated his shoulders.

That was probably why Hugo had never considered that she might escape through it.

She made up her mind. This was her only chance to leave!

She looked around the room and finally took just one thing: that hideous Clown Doll.

Ririko pushed her head through first, then her shoulders...

Then, "Damn it, my boobs are stuck."

Ririko took a deep breath and squeezed with all her might until she finally forced her way through.

She climbed down the drainpipe into the courtyard.

Nine in the morning.

Three gleaming black cars stopped outside Arkham's main entrance right on time.

The door of the stretch Lincoln in the middle opened first. The Warden personally stepped forward to greet its passenger, his smile looking welded onto his face.

Thomas Wayne stepped out of the car.

The executives from Wayne Pharmaceuticals followed, all in dark suits, their steps in unison.

The last to emerge was the young Bruce.

He had only recently come of age, and his features hadn't fully matured. His face held equal parts boyish softness and masculine definition.

He followed behind the others, moving gracefully as they entered the notorious Arkham Asylum.

Bowing slightly, the Warden beamed as he led the distinguished guests through the recreation room and the psychiatric treatment area.

Those carefully cleaned areas, meant for outsiders to see, were brightly lit and so spotless that they seemed never to have witnessed anything monstrous.

Bruce walked at the very back of the group.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the observation windows lining both sides of the corridor.

Suddenly, a woman with white gauze over her left eye appeared in a window's reflection.

Bruce whipped around.

Ririko stood at the corner of the corridor, her red lips curving into an alluring smile.

"You're finally here."

She spoke softly.