Carrot and the Stick

Three days had passed since Mark first settled down in Yuri's lab. Even though he was extremely wary of the woman at the start, he was coming to understand her more. She was real, true crazy. 

As long as he was useful for her research, she would never betray him. 

But he couldn't say that if he was useless, though. She would probably gut him on her own and scan his insides like some prized gem. That was how she was on the surface, at least—this indifferent scientist with a shell surrounding her mind could truly be considered a business partner more than anything. 

He only knew her surface for now, though. Mark wasn't one to judge a book by its cover, so with one of the laptops around, he did background research on the name Hakase Yuri.

The genius mad scientist was said to have been rejected multiple times in her wish to do experiments to one day evolve the human species. No wonder she was so well-versed in how demons evolved from Tier 0 to Tier 1.

…

Mark and Dona were on the couch. For the last three days, he had been trying to Evolve to Tier 1, but it had never gone his way. There were complications, and he was trying hard to figure it out. 

Yuri was preparing a more nuanced database for him, though, so it should be more clear then. Suddenly, his eyes shimmered as knocks echoed into the vast lab from one inconspicuous wall.

Somebody was here.

Yuri ambled towards the door and twisted a metal steering-like thing. The wall opened up, and a black-haired, blue-eyed youth walked into the room with a cool expression. He had a broken sunglass on his face, and there was a pot in his hand.

C Rank Hunter Choi Sung. The youth with the cold and hot fire ability.

Mark couldn't help but chuckle. 

"Didn't expect leaving you alive would end up of use."

Choi Sung froze in his steps and nearly fell back. His face had paled at some point.

"Demon!" he shrieked.

Yuri pushed the door closed, and the Hunter jumped into the room with a fearful expression. Mark just laid back against the couch and looked at the youth curiously. There were no eternal enemies or friends; he didn't mind cooperating with a past enemy.

Dona made funny faces at the youth, making Mark stifle a chuckle.

"So why did you need this pot of insects?" Yuri asked, looking at the small pot in Choi Sung's hand.

Mark didn't dive into details and made eye contact with the Hunter. Feeling nervous, the young man removed his broken sunglasses and gulped.

"Yuri, why does he become a lackey for you?" Mark asked, popping a grape into his mouth. Compared to demon meat, human food was indeed way better to his tastes. Dona also seemed to like it, so he gave her some, too.

"He wants to find a way to grow stronger, apparently." Yuri took the insect pot and placed it atop an empty table. "He believes I can find some way for him to do that. Well, I wanted to do research on him, but he said he would work for me instead of being my lab rat. So, he was my partner before you came."

"What?" Choi Sung blurted out. "You guys are partnering up?"

Yuri nodded. "Yep."

"Then what about my strengthening? Our partnership stands till you find a way, Professor!"

Yuri rolled her eyes. "That's also part of my goals. Don't worry about it. Now, you may leave. I need some more parts for the Mecha; try to find them; here is the list of materials."

Mark glanced over the list. It was full of materials and nothing else. His language acumen was indeed good.

Taking the list, still nervous, Choi Sung gave Mark a wary glance and quickly got ready to get out of this place. Mark smirked. 

Choi Sung had seen him. How could he let the guy leave so easily?

"Is he trustworthy, Yuri?" Mark asked.

Yuri smiled. "There was this Hunter named Contract Hunter. B-Rank. She helped me make a contract with Choi Sung—Neither of us could betray each other, and since betraying you is the same as betraying me, he can be trusted."

"Oh, is that Hunter still available?" Mark asked. He would like to use that Contract method to restrict Yuri.

"Yep, she is available. But she would probably kill you at first sight for being a demon. So we should not involve her until you are stronger than her."

Mark nodded. 

He wasn't too untrusting of Yuri for multiple reasons. He already had some incentive against Yuri, and also reasons to trust her. For one, he could kill her easily, so she wouldn't risk betraying him for nothing.

And for backhand safety, he had found a way to head out of this place directly into the Mega-Dungeon without even the scientist herself knowing or being able to stop him.

Just in case shit hits the fan.

This was an area near a sewage. If he was ready to swim in sewage water, he could easily escape the place by breaking a narrow wall to the side—there was even a conveniently huge hammer around to help him do so. 

With a way to leave and a way to kill, he wasn't afraid of her betrayal. But he still liked to be more cautious. What if she brought an A-ranker here to get rid of the Demon?

That worry was mostly covered by the cameras Yuri had left around the area.

He had already seen Choi Sung coming here from the camera broadcasts way before the Hunter reached here, so it was definitely a live broadcast, and he had never let the scientist tinker with it. So, if someone beyond his level were coming here, he would know in advance.

The machine was trustworthy, if not the person.

So, the Scientist betraying him became even less of a possibility. Since he was often drinking the Black Water, poisoning him or slowly draining him using some scientific method was not going to work either. 

Even if she wanted to hurt him in his sleep, she couldn't do that with his Physical Resistance.

All ground was covered.

He was keeping an eye on her, so he didn't have to be too worried about a betrayal. But he couldn't help but be a bit paranoid. Maybe his advanced animalistic instinct was making him so, or it was just the circumstance.

Obviously, he was cautious of Choi Sung going out and telling on him to outsiders.

Looking at the Hunter, Mark asked curiously, "Why are you wearing that broken sunglass?"

Choi Sung squinted. "It just makes me calmer."

"Next time you come, bring me some animals," Mark commented and dragged Dona towards the insect pot. "Goat, Cow, anything—bring them with you. You may go."

Choi Sung smiled at him. "So I am now your lackey, too?" He smirked. "Tell me, colluding with a Demon is a great evil. What do I get in return for helping you?"

Mark looked into the hundreds of cicadas in the pot, and his own face was graced with a devilish smirk.

"You get something, of course." His voice turned a lot deeper as he continued, "The Demon World has already targeted this world. The chance of it surviving for long is absolutely zero percentage. The mega-dungeon would grow bigger and bigger, and it would soon cover the entire world."

Both Choi Sung and Yuri became somewhat tense at the words. Mark's shadow hung heavy in the room.

He said calmly, "At the rate of the dungeon's expansion, I will give it five more years before every part of the world is a Dungeon. Demons would be everywhere, and Humans would have no place."

Mark put a hand into the pot and took out one cicada. He looked at it with a deep look.

"In five more years, life, as you know, would end. If my presumption is correct, truly dangerous Demons you have not even dreamed of—true horrors—will appear all over the world, and you two will just be one of the billions that die."

Mark clenched his hand. "But if you work for me, I will bring you to my world and give you a place there when this world ends."

It was an empty promise, but they didn't know that. To them, Mark was an intelligent demon the likes that had never been seen before.

Maybe, he had his ways to give them a life in the Demon World. In any scenario, the carrot and stick game always worked.

Here, the carrot was a comfortable place to live in another world after the whole apocalypse scenario storms them up. The stick was death in just five more years when the world ended.

Even if they had a chance to betray him now, they would hesitate.Even if they couldn't trust him entirely, they would hesitate.

And their hesitation was all he needed.

Heart Input!

Mark's mind easily entered into Choi Sung's, and his cold whispers echoed into the youth's mind. "This demon is trustworthy. At least somewhat so for my own life in the future. I shouldn't betray him and should never turn him into a lifelong enemy."

The carrot-stick tactic should make himself un-betrayable by default, but the Heart Input would make it way more trustable and solid. It would tip the scales in Mark's favor. 

The thought flickered through the youth's mind, and Mark looked away from him and back to the cicadas.

"So, if you wish to be my partner, don't forget to bring some animal when you come back next time. You may go," Mark calmly said.

Choi Sung left the same way he came. Yuri herself was also left curious.

"So why does that brat wear broken sunglasses?" he asked.

"I heard he does that so he would look like he had just come out of some grand battle every time. He likes to act like he is some brave warrior." She paused. "So why do you need these insects?"

"You sure are curious. You'll know when it's time. For now, let me do my own little research."