[Animal Mimicry LV1] Skill description: Through prolonged contact with animals, you have learned to glean some of their skills and traits, gaining supernatural powers that humans do not possess. Humans have limits. Stop being human! But remember: you are meant to learn their strengths, not their odd habits or "special talents." If you really are interested in dead crabs and headless fish, forget I said anything...
Clang.
The cell door opened once again.
Froy walked in carrying a tray. Seeing her, Chen Lun stopped doing push-ups and pondering, then got up to meet her.
"You're here."
Chen Lun first poked his head out to check the corridor. Only after confirming there were no guards nearby did he take the bread and mushroom soup from her and thank her.
He had been secretly exercising while the guards slacked off. Although this improved his attributes extremely slowly, any little bit helped, given his dire circumstances.
There was no shame in a prison workout.
He had exercised this way at home in his previous life. The results had been fantastic-his health had gotten worse by the day.
In truth, his hereditary illness had simply been too stubborn. Exercise could no longer help, and he would die when his time came regardless.
"Were you... doing those strange exercises again?"
Froy sat down beside Chen Lun and watched him take huge bites of bread.
Over the past few days, she had occasionally visited while the guards sneaked out to drink. The more time she spent with Chen Lun, the more curious she became about him.
In a place like this, he showed no fear. He could even convey a sense of optimism to her instead.
How strange.
But Froy enjoyed that feeling.
After her brother died, her cold-blooded parents had abandoned her, then sold her to the Red Apple Church.
Everything she had seen and heard was among the darkest, bloodiest things in the world.
The ill-intentioned guards, Brother Will's daily remarks, either cruel or obscene, and the malice that occasionally flashed in Father Carter's eyes had driven the already pessimistic, numb Froy further into despair.
Yet being close to Chen Lun had brought back the feeling she once had beside her brother.
Peace and safety.
Chen Lun ate a little too quickly and choked. Only after taking a sip of hot soup did he manage to swallow the food.
"Yes. Exercising."
He set down the bowl and turned to look at the girl beside him, feeling something strange he could not quite describe.
She would become a major figure in the future-the kind who could leave players crying for their parents.
More than once, Chen Lun had seen players post rallying calls on the forums to take her down. Every time, they had returned in defeat, utterly crushed.
Top-ranked experts, massive guilds backed by financial conglomerates-it made no difference. Before the renowned Silent Nun, they were all fodder she could kill with a single slap.
Perhaps players would eventually manage to defeat Froy, but in that version, she was the ceiling of power. She remained so for several versions afterward, too.
Players were not the only ones who could grow stronger. NPCs could as well.
Age of Mysteries was a complete, real world. Every character in it had their own path through life and their own journey of growth. They were flesh and blood, with souls of their own.
That had always been part of the game's appeal.
Yet even though Froy had brutalized the players countless times, they still treated her like their first love, seeking her out day after day.
It was not merely because she had a beautiful face, a great figure, and exceptional poise. Her tragic past also stirred their pity...
All right, the vast majority of players were there because she was pretty.
During that major version, countless players had complicated feelings toward Froy. They loved and hated her, and could never forget her.
Chen Lun was no exception.
But what concerned him more was Froy's tragic fate.
He knew her tremendous power was inseparable from that [Grade A supernatural item: Sun-Averting Potted Plant].
And that was also the key to her tragedy.
From the very beginning, Froy had been raised as a pawn of the church, intended to serve as a vessel for the [Sun-Averting Potted Plant].
They had snuffed out an innocent girl with their own hands, crudely forging her into a living weapon.
As a result, Froy would ultimately have her personality erased, becoming a soulless shell, a blade wielded at the Red Apple Church's whim.
Chen Lun had once lamented this, but there had been nothing he could do.
It was simply how the game was written. By the time players entered its world, Froy's fate had already been sealed.
But now, I can change her fate.
Chen Lun thought to himself.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Froy froze for a moment, then averted her gaze.
"Are you planning to escape?"
"Yes."
Chen Lun admitted it without hesitation, then fell silent for a moment.
"I'm also planning to take you with me."
"!!"
Froy turned back toward him, her eyes wide.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm serious."
Chen Lun wore an earnest expression.
"I can tell you don't really like it here, but you have no way to leave."
Froy remained silent.
He raised his hand, curled his index finger, and moved it slightly. A faint glimmer flashed at his fingertip.
Then he opened his mouth a little and let out soft, shrill squeaks, just like a rodent.
Soon, before Froy's astonished eyes, seven or eight fist-sized black rats swarmed out from the cell's corners and cracks, gathering at Chen Lun's feet.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
One rat jumped into Chen Lun's palm and raised its head to squeak at him.
Chen Lun answered it. Its companions at his feet occasionally chimed in, and he nodded.
"They say this place has three levels and fourteen iron doors in total. The door leading to the exit aboveground is especially sturdy. There are also over twenty guards stationed throughout the place."
Froy covered her little mouth. After a long while, she asked softly to confirm:
"Are you... a supernatural being?"
Chen Lun nodded and waved the rats away.
"Now I believe you can get me out... What do you need me to do?"
Froy pressed her lips together, her small hands clenching slightly beneath her red robe.
Since her brother's death, she had never experienced such a powerful surge of emotion. Even when her parents sold her, she had merely remained silent.
Only those who had experienced darkness would yearn more deeply for the light.
Chen Lun leaned closer and began whispering into Froy's ear.
"I need you to do this... blah blah, yadda yadda..."
Froy felt his warm breath against her ear. Slightly uncomfortable, she began to blush.
At the same time, however, the light in her eyes grew brighter.
Chapter 8: Infuriating Will Three Times
"What are you standing around for? Let's go."
Standing at the cell door, Chen Lun looked back and spoke to Froy.
"Go...?"
She was still absorbed in the plan Chen Lun had described, sitting where she was without coming back to her senses.
"It's time for today's sacrifice. Don't forget, I'm still a sacrificial offering here."
Chen Lun shrugged.
Honestly, he was looking forward to it.
If he had not feared that spending too long reading the notes would arouse Will's suspicion, he would have gladly lived in the basement, eating, drinking, and relieving himself right on that altar.
Deciphering them was out of the question. Philip had such a way with words in his diary, and Chen Lun absolutely loved it there.
Froy murmured an acknowledgment and obediently stood up. She quickly left the cell, then led Chen Lun toward Basement No. 7.
Just then, the mustached guard and another guard approached from the opposite direction, having returned from slacking off.
Chen Lun slipped into character instantly, becoming a drooling idiot once more.
Reeking of alcohol, the guard with the little two-part mustache grinned and lifted his hat in greeting.
"Sister Froy, sorry for the trouble."
"Mm."
Froy responded coldly, her eyes fixed ahead the entire time.
They passed each other, and the other guard turned to brazenly rake his gaze over Froy's retreating figure.
His malicious stare seemed to seek a way through her loose, dark red robe to see what lay beneath.
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