Chapter 10: Clyde's Gift

"You didn't scream or shout, that's good. Mr. Walters, you see, we are all very reasonable people. As long as you behave rationally and cooperate nicely, our interaction will certainly be pleasant, understand?" The seated man nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with his cooperative demeanor.

"You know me? ...Is it that bitch Madeline who sent you? How much did she pay you? I'll double it, no, triple!" The man's calm tone finally allowed Philip to relax a bit, at least not trembling as much. The 'Madeline' he referred to was the ugly woman from his home, the damn woman! He knew that bitch was up to no good; just wait until he gets back at her.

Thinking he had figured out the reason, Philip became less afraid. He believed that with a bit more money, he could definitely get rid of these thugs, even his eyes started darting around, clearly plotting something else.

"Unfortunately, I dislike people who think too highly of themselves. It seems we need to let Mr. Walters understand directly with our actions," the seated man sighed, speaking to the other man. As soon as he finished speaking, the standing man moved to the bedside with indescribable speed and grabbed Philip's neck before he could react.

"Ergh... Ergh..." Philip made heavy sounds from his throat, frantically scratching with his hands trying to pry the grip from his neck, but the arm was like iron and steel, unaffected.

The masked man coldly watched Philip, who was firmly grasped, and slowly raised his other arm, a small, sharp spike about one centimeter long appeared at the tip of his nail. Under Philip's widened eyes, it swiftly pierced into his neck.

The poor guy hardly felt the sting, nor any discomfort, but found himself losing control over his body, unable even to make the slightest sound.

Next, the man loosened his grip on Philip, letting his body slump onto the bed, but not intending to let him go.

Although Philip's body was numb and devoid of sensation, his mind was still clear. His eyes wide open with a pleading look, filled with panic and astonishment, hoping this was all just a nightmare.

Oh God! Someone save me! If only I could wake up quickly!

But evidently, God either didn't think Philip was devout enough or didn't hear his call, as the terrible ordeal continued. In fact, he soon realized the nightmare had only just begun.

The bizarre man used his other hand to pry open Philip's mouth, slowly bending down while also opening his own mouth. From Philip's angle, he could clearly see the other's mouth not having a normal tongue, teeth, or throat, but filled with dense fuzz, transparent membranes, and even some parts were hard black carapaces. From this mouth, completely unlike that of a human's, slowly extended a white tube about the thickness of two fingers, deeply inserted into Philip's mouth.

Despite not being able to rely on sensation to judge, from the continuous wriggling of the long white tube, it seemed to have deeply penetrated into his body.

The tube was semi-transparent, so Philip could roughly see a round, egg-sized bulge rolling inside the tube, swiftly moving down the channel, soon disappearing into the end that entered deep inside his body, then the terrifyingly long tube slowly withdrew, retracting back into the man's mouth as he straightened up, turning to look at the seated masked man.

All of this occurred under Philip's watch, the entire process clear to him, yet he completely did not understand what was happening, nor could he feel the contact of the tube and the bulge with his body. His mind was in chaos, feeling like he was continuously falling into an endless abyss, unable to grasp even a straw to save himself.

The strange man opened Philip's mouth with his other hand, slowly leaned down, and opened his own mouth at the same time. From Philip's point of view, it was just clear that the other party's mouth did not have the tongue, teeth, and cavities of ordinary people. Instead, it was covered with fine fluff, transparent diaphragms, and even a part of it was a hard black carapace. From this completely unhuman mouth, a white tube about the thickness of two fingers slowly emerged and was deeply inserted into Philip's mouth.

Although he couldn't rely on his senses to judge, judging from the way the long white hose was constantly wriggling, it was probably completely deep into his body.

The straw was translucent, so Philip could roughly see that a round bulge about the size of an egg was rolling in the straw, moving down the inside of the pipe quickly, and soon disappeared into the inside of his body. Then the terrifying straw was slowly pulled out and retracted into the man's mouth. He also stood up straight again and turned to look at the masked man sitting.

All of this happened right under Philip's nose, and the whole process was clearly seen by him, but he had no idea what was going on, nor could he feel the contact between the hose and the bulge and his body. His mind was in a mess, and he only felt like he was constantly falling, falling, falling in a bottomless abyss, but couldn't grasp half of the straw.

"Mr. Walters, this is better, now you can quietly listen to me. Rest assured, both you and lovely Catherine will be fine. She's just temporarily unconscious. Of course — unlike you, she can't hear or see because I think some secrets are better kept between you and me. Once this is over, she'll wake up soon enough, thinking she just fell asleep, unaware of anything unusual."

The seated man remained very calm, watching everything unfold, even casually pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it, and leisurely blowing a smoke ring into the air.

At this point, Philip could hardly absorb what the other was saying, all his attention on himself. He vaguely felt something changing inside his body, as if something was slowly merging with his marrow, or some indescribable oddity was brewing inside, but still devoid of any sensation, he couldn't determine if this was merely an illusion, psychological effect, or something truly happening.

"It feels really nice, humans indeed invented quite some wonderful things. Would you like one? Oh, sorry, I forgot you can't move yet," the masked man on the chair took a puff of his cigarette, speaking in a tone half mocking, half serious.

"Where was I? Oh yes, lovely Catherine will be alright. As for you, Mr. Walters, you can relax too. From now on, as long as you obediently follow our instructions, your life can go on as before, or maybe even get better. You'll gradually come to realize this," the man got up from the chair, walked over, and sat on the bed. Despite the mask, the thin material allowed a vague outline of a smile to be seen.

"I guess you're eager to know what happened. In fact, our mutual friend, Mr. Clyde." He pointed to the other man standing by, who seemed to be more of a silent type, having said only 'Shut up' so far and remaining silent. "He just planted a little treasure inside your body. This fascinating thing can connect to your nerves, muscles, and even bones, allowing us to monitor all your conditions anytime. Everything you see, hear, smell, everything. So, Mr. Walters, can you be a good boy now?"

Philip's eyes, the only part he could control, darted around desperately, trying to convey his willingness to comply. The smoking man nodded, slightly signaling the other silent figure. Without any visible action from the masked man, Philip soon felt his body gradually regaining sensation. It was an odd feeling, as if parts of his body that seemed to have vanished were slowly growing back.