1.4 In A Dead Body

The door seemed to open slowly as Wei Xin took in his surroundings for the first time.

Bleached white walls, smooth floors that looked like it was waxed, and the steel door that was currently opening. A figure appeared in his eyes, blurry and tall. But before Wei Xin could grasp the other's appearance a sharp piercing sound blared in his ears.

He knew this sound. It was the--

[Warning! Warning! Villain detected! May the Host follow the rules and avoid the villain! May the Host follow the rules and kill the villain!]

This fuc-

[Warning! Warning! Villain detected! May the Host follow the rules and avoid the villain!..]

Gritting his teeth, this alarm always managed to make his mind scrambled, unable to pay attention to anything. He really, despised this rule, this sound, this alarm.

Wei Xin screwed shut his eyes as he called out to Jiu in his mind. "Jiu turn this thing off!"

[Yes Host! Jiu is on it!]

It was like a mute button had been pressed and the damn alarm had finally gone away. Wei Xin gave a sigh of relief.

Rule #250: The Host may not have any interaction with the villain. The Host may not look upon the villain. The Host must kill the villain. If the Host violates Rule #250, punishment will be executed.

This rule would promptly sound an ear-piercing alarm upon meeting the villain and would only stop until Wei Xin either retreated or disposed of the villain.

[Since this rule is a part of the regulation for the previous role it is no longer applicable. Host, it will take approximately 3 minutes for Jiu to clear this program. Unfortunately, Jiu can only modify this program and not permanently delete it from the system. The program will still alert you if a villain is spotted. On the brighter side, the alarm sound will be deleted and the mosaic will be removed. Host we can now see the true appearance of the villain! Jiu has records of the villains not being inferior to the protagonists in any aspect! Host this is a chance!]

That little orb inside his space felt like it was vibrating in excitement. It shook and orbited in rapid circles, just looking at it made Wei Xin's head hurt even more. But upon thinking about the words the system spoke, there was an indescribable urge welling up.

He wanted to look upon this mystical being called a villain. From the time he started worldhopping, he had never seen the true visage of a villain, nor had he ever spoken to one either. The only interaction he had was the few times he ended their lives and even then all he saw was a large unmoving figure of mosaic.

Yes, that's right. Even in death, that damned rule had that damned program set a mosaic. All he was ever able to see was a deep mosaiced red seeping onto the floor.

It was horrid.

A disaster to clean up, nonetheless, being in close contact with the protagonists meant meeting villains more often. And then, either he or someone else would end up killing the villain.

All for the sake of love.

Hah.

Bitterness. That was the taste that filled his mouth and every swallow went down with a kind of grittiness. Like swallowing ash.

Yes, this was a chance. Villains are meant to kill the protagonists. However they all fail due to their very lacking underlings who had no defenses against the protagonists' halo. But if, if the villain could have someone who isn't affected.. then the protagonist can be taken down--

"Oh? How peculiar. Usually you're already awake by now..hmm.. Oh, I understand, does the baby want me to personally wake him up?"

It was a voice that sounded almost robotic under the conduct of the rule, but it brought Wei Xin away from his thoughts. What a familiar voice.

"Will you wake? C'mon don't throw a tantrum, Daddy apologizes for not letting you out yesterday. Look baby, your daddy has brought you food. It's very fresh, here, have a taste. You'll like it."

Something warm swayed in front of his face, bringing a tantalizing scent. It smelled of flowing red, flashing green and warmth. Taking a whiff, Wei Xin thought it smelled like life.

Uncontrollably, his mouth snapped open and closed with a harsh snap. There was something in his mouth. Saliva wetted the insides of his mouth as Wei Xin chewed it, pondering.

It was chewy, very juicy and reminded him of eating steak. Savoury, a little sweet, but it tasted oh so fresh. After chewing it to mush and swallowing it, this small piece made him jittery.

More, he wanted more. Hunger that felt like a knife gouging out his insides; he felt so empty and tired.

That person spoke once more, "Do you want more? If baby opens his eyes, Daddy will keep feeding you." Devoid of that robotic tone, it sounded full of warmth and gentleness.

"Ah." His eyes cracked open and Wei Xin praised Jiu that he didn't open his eyes to a moving mosaic.

It was a man, with slender phoenix eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. Light brown hair swept to the side, while a few curls framed his face. A fair toned face with full red lips smiling, dark eyes stared at him. It was a man that exuded beautiful handsomeness.

What a mesmerizing face. Wei Xin couldn't help but stare unblinkingly. "Jiu…" he whispered in his mind.

Even the system inside was stunned, whispering back,

[The records were correct.. They're like a whole different species..]

The villain smiled, in his hands, he held a plate full of bite sized chunks of a dark red meat. In fluid motion, he pulled up the chair and sat, leaning closer to Wei Xin with a fork of red meat.

"Since baby has opened his eyes, Daddy will feed you. It'll be less messier this way too. Say 'ahh' baby."

The fork approached Wei Xin's mouth, although he felt like protesting to being called "baby" and being fed, his mouth clamped onto the fork on its own. Unable to help it, Wei Xin surrendered.

Fine, fine, feed him like a helpless child. Embarrassment can wait, but his stomach couldn't take it.

Chewing bite by bite, Wei Xin's eyes narrowed, looking like a pleased cat. How nice it is to feel satisfied, although Wei Xin felt like he could eat more… there wasn't anymore left on the plate..

Forget it, he was already satiated.

Green eyes with hints of red, gazed at the man beside him. They were cold emotionless eyes, unlike the lively gentle ones he had before.

There was silence before the man spoke. "Do you remember?"

"Remember."

This one word took so much effort to get out. It was like his throat was numb, refusing to let any sound out. This one word came out hoarse, like brittle twigs snapping, barely coherent.

But that man heard it.

His lips quirked in a smug smirk, eyes almost twinkling as he slowly spoke word by word:

"It's good that you remember."

Then he stood, plate in hand, "We can slowly reminisce in a bit when I come back. In the meantime, try to control your state, though if you do revert back, I'm curious to know if you'd still be conscious.."

Mumbling to himself, he left and the steel door swung shut, leaving Wei Xin to his thoughts.

When I said I'd repay you with my body… this was not what I meant! I meant my core! Who the heck would keep a zombie alive?

This damned evildoer, Chu Xingnan!

Eyes closed, Wei Xin heaved a deep sigh. Though he said all of that, he truly couldn't feel angry. Only the heaviness upon his body and bleak sense of having no footing was perceived.

He was just tired.

___________________

"Sir, the sink has been filled, please let me take the dishes."

Handing the man the bloody plate and fork, the villain nodded and walked towards a special room. It was a room that only a select few could enter and only by his permission.

Stepping into the room, the cold white lights flickered on. In the middle of the room was a large metal table, a body was strapped on it.

As he approached the table, the body lying on it suddenly moved, bloodshot eyes flickered open. "Chu Xingnan, you bastard! Do you think nobody knows what you've done?"

The straps strained as the body tried to move. The man strapped to the table had a meticulously cut hole on the meaty part of his leg. It was still bleeding with a glistening red.

Ignoring the shouts, Chu Xingnan adjusted his glasses and turned to face a counter. Pulling out a drawer filled with bottles and syringes.

"The whole world knows! As soon as you caught me, they knew! Soon, they'll make their way here and kill you, you won't be able to escape!"

Turning around holding a syringe filled with unknown liquid, Chu Xingnan smiled. "Since the baby likes your taste very much, I'll keep you alive for a little while longer."

Giving the syringe a flick, he approached the table, every step closer made the man struggle harder.

Shouts filled the room, growing louder and louder.

"My, looks like you're very lively. I guess you were looking forward to your shot."

"You fucking lunatic! You're going to die! You fucking inhuman bastard! You should just die-- ahahhhhh!"

The needle jabbed into his arm. As Chu Xingnan pushed the syringe, slowly injecting the liquid, the man screamed.

Chu Xingnan leaned close to the man's face, smiling as he said in a gentle voice, "Fucking, fucking, this is all you ever say. Is this the level human language has fallen to?"

He pulled out the syringe, giving the spot where he injected the shot a small rub. A few droplets of blood leaked out, staining his fingers. Throwing away the syringe in a small bin, he took out a clothe from one of the drawers and cleaned his fingers one by one.

"Oh, you meant that group that came from District D's base #59? Thank you for worrying about me, but it's okay. They have been dealt with 2 weeks ago. What, do you not remember? Ah. That's right you were in a mild coma at that time."

Veins bulging, breaths coming out rapidly, tears rolled down the face as the man shook. The man's scream cut off as his body jolted before growing relaxed, dropping eyes giving slow blinks. He stared absentmindedly at the villain.

Chu Xingnan tapped his chin, giving a thoughtful look. "I wish they sent more though… the experimental subjects need more feed, not to mention my baby as well."

Standing, not caring if the man was still conscious, Chu Xingnan left the room with the lights off, muttering, "Should I go hunting? It's not easy to find good food nowadays.."

Stopping in the hallway, he stared at a corner. Pausing for a few seconds, those tantalizing lips curled upwards.

"Really? Wonderful, so they're coming towards me already. Finally, it's begun."