I'm on the Ark, and I started as a succubus.

The light was dim, and it was impossible to see the surrounding environment clearly. I could only vaguely sense that I was being imprisoned in a facility that resembled a dungeon.

My wrists and ankles were handcuffed to an 'X'-shaped wooden frame, which is why I couldn't close my legs and hug myself.

Aya was lost in thought for a moment, as memories other than happiness and wonder rushed back to her. She finally remembered Franka, Liskarm, and the Ursus man who cared so much about the corrupt Ursus empire.

There's also that incredibly terrifying, endless feeling of suffocation, so close to death.

Terrible memories flood back, but the body, mind, and soul's yearning for pleasure and happiness becomes even stronger.

It was so intense that it almost shattered her self-awareness, but at the last moment, a pinkish-purple glow appeared, and an enchanting, intricate pattern emerged from beneath her battle-damaged clothing, protecting her just as her self-awareness was about to collapse.

"Hiss... Hiss—"

Ya Ye opened her mouth and breathed lightly. Whether it was because the environment in Ursus was too cold or because her breath was too hot, when she breathed with her pink tongue slightly sticking out, her hot and moist breath appeared as clear white vapor under the firelight.

"Hiss... Hiss... I really, really want it... I want to be happy."

Aya murmured absentmindedly.

After a while, supported by some kind of force, she regained her senses and focused on looking around at her surroundings.

The only source of light in the dimly lit dungeon was a fire not far from her. It was an iron barrel about half a person's height, with flames flickering and twisting inside. Even more striking than the firelight were the terrifying instruments of torture placed inside the barrel.

The red-hot branding iron, when used to heat someone, would sizzle and smoke, inflicting the greatest pain; the bright red-hot fire poker, thick and menacing, was almost a size larger than her slender arm; the bright red-hot...

Ya Ye stared at the torture instruments in the iron barrel for a while, then her delicate eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She realized that she might not be in the Ursus dungeon.

The environment here is very similar to the places in Ursus specifically used for detention and interrogation, but it's too clean and tidy.

The dungeons in Ursus used to imprison people wouldn't be this clean and tidy. They're so clean and tidy that even someone like her, who has a bit of OCD, can't find a single fault with the environmental hygiene.

It was as clean and tidy as a suite in a high-end hotel.

It doesn't look like the Ursus dungeon at all, which is used to imprison, interrogate, and torture prisoners.

This interrogation room, this torture chamber...

Ok?

A strange sound suddenly interrupted Aya's thoughts.

She tilted her head slightly, raised the triangular ears on her chestnut hair, and focused her attention to listen, recognizing that the sound coming from the unseen darkness of this dim dungeon was some kind of water sound.

Thick, dull, yet crystal clear.

.

Finally, the atmosphere of the Ursus dungeon is starting to feel a bit awful.

'There's probably a leak somewhere; there's a lot of water, and it's very viscous... It's probably a broken drain pipe.'

For some reason, after learning that she was in the 'Ursus Dungeon', Aya felt a strange sense of relief.

It seems that deep in her heart, there is a place even more terrifying than the Ursus Dungeon.

The sense of security had barely begun to rise when Aya noticed something was wrong. The viscous, muffled sound of water, which was unusually clear in the silence, seemed to be mixed with other sounds.

It sounds like... it sounds like splashing water? Like water falling from a great height and hitting the ground.

No, that sound should be the sound of a thick, ferocious whip striking a person.

With this thought in mind, Aya felt that after realizing what the sound was, her senses were amplified countless times, making her hear it more clearly and distinctly.

The sounds coming from the impenetrable darkness still echoed with the sounds of fierce collisions, and the plaintive pleas that escaped from between the lips, filled with bitter sobs and choked cries.

'That voice...'

After listening for a while, feeling her cheeks and ears inexplicably burning, Aya finally recognized the owner of that familiar voice—

—It is frosted leaf.

Frostleaf is undergoing a terrible interrogation and torture.

150. Just watch and see~

"Frosty Leaves?"

Aya narrowed her eyes, focusing her attention on a dark patch not far away.

If this place is a dungeon-like structure, then the opposite side should also have cells like this one, and there should be people imprisoned there as well, and it's highly likely that it's Aya.

Suppressing the strange, churning sensation in her body, Aya took a few deep breaths and then shouted at the top of her lungs into the dark space opposite her:

"Frostleaf, is that you?!"

no respond.

Or perhaps all that answered her was the increasingly clear sound of water.

That sounds incredibly abundant.

Splat... splat... splat!

It's so clear that you don't even need to concentrate to hear it clearly.

Sticky and dull, yet incredibly clear.

It sounds like someone is vigorously wielding a wet whip.

Ya Ye knew the punishments of Ursus, and even more so, she knew that a whip soaked in water would inflict excruciating pain when used to lash someone.

She bit her cherry lips hard with her pearly teeth, and tears welled up in Aya's beautiful eyes once again. She knew very well that Shuangye was going through something terrible and horrific at this moment, and it was unimaginable that misfortune was befalling that beautiful, music-loving Katz, giving her the most terrible punishment.

Shuangye... Shuangye is such a beautiful, gentle and kind girl, she shouldn't have to endure those things, no matter what, she shouldn't have to endure such terrible things.

Even though Rhodes Island secretly infiltrated Ursus this time, and after their plan was exposed, they carried out the Doctor's plan and turned Chernobog upside down, Frostleaf shouldn't have suffered such terrible punishment. She... she can only be considered a very pretty girl at best.

splat... splat...

The thick, dull sound of the whip lashing out became even clearer.

Along with this came sobs and choked cries filled with bitterness and anguish.

Just like the extremely strong-willed Frost Leaf, who could no longer withstand the harsh and terrible interrogation and questioning, and could no longer clench her teeth, she finally loosened her tightly clenched silver teeth and let out a mournful cry that symbolized weakness and submission.

"Frosty Leaves!"

Aya was certain that Frostleaf was right next to her, enduring a terrible punishment. The grotesque and horrific instruments of torture, designed specifically for punishing people, were currently ravaging the seemingly gentle and beautiful girl from Carter's, trying to pry open her mouth with endless pain and force her to reveal information about Rhodes Island.

Ya Ye suddenly paused for a moment.

Intelligence on Rhodes Island?

Do you know about Frosty Leaves?

Let alone Frostleaf, even she, Kal'tsit's apprentice, was unaware of the specific situation at Rhodes Island.

The companions on Rhodes Island mostly use code names, and they are often not clear about why each other chose to stay on Rhodes Island temporarily. They also rarely talk about their past.

—Many of them have very special roles as operators.

Their identities and backgrounds are all involved in the shady struggles within various countries on this land.

Sometimes, the oblivious Gavial and the nonchalant Warfarin would even joke that there were a lot of princesses on Rhodes Island.

What exactly does Rhodes Island want to achieve?

A confused thought suddenly arose in Aya's mind.

Because, because... she suddenly realized that even as Kal'tsit's disciple and assistant, she didn't actually know many people on Rhodes Island.

Those operators are extremely mysterious. Their identities and backgrounds are all kept secret. Their whereabouts are unpredictable. They don't need to report to Rhodes Island when they go out on missions. It's even impossible to know who those operators contact on Rhodes Island are.

Treating the infected... Rhodes Island does indeed do things to treat the infected, but the number of infected they can help is actually very small, even pitifully small.

Rhode Island has never had its own pharmaceutical industrial park, and the amount of drugs it can produce has always been extremely limited. How could such a small production volume possibly meet the demand?

For some reason, Kal'tsit and the others never wanted to stay in a mobile city, or to conduct business there, so that Rhodes Island could have a pharmaceutical industrial park and a mature production line for the Oripathy cure.

With a mature production line and the support of a mobile city, we can produce cheap medicine that everyone can afford, and only then can we completely eradicate Oripathy, right?

Well, perhaps eliminating Oripathy might not save this land from suffering. In fact, many problems are not caused by Oripathy alone. Even without Oripathy, many things will not be solved.

But at least they can solve Oripathy, right?

May this incurable disease, this nightmare that terrifies this land, be completely eradicated, may countless people suffering from this affliction no longer be tormented by it, and may countless infected people who lose their lives to Oripathy each year be saved.

Shouldn't doctors do that?

She was a doctor, and she initially had this idea in mind as she worked hard to learn about medicine and strive to become a qualified medical professional.

But many people on Rhodes Island don't seem to think that way; they don't seem to prioritize completely solving Oripathy.

It just... it seems like they don't care much about the Oripathy issue.

They would even tell them that the problem they faced was not Oripathy, but that they would be dealing with something as complicated as Ursus's constant diversion of blame when dealing with infected people.

Ya Ye agrees with this view and even strongly supports it.

However, neither she, as a doctor, nor Rhodes Island, as a medical organization, prioritized completely eradicating Oripathy.

—Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?

Sometimes, she even felt that Rhodes Island didn't really care about the Oripathy problem at all. Rhodes Island cared more about other things, some secrets and secrets that she had no way of knowing or understanding.

"No! No! It's going to break... it's going to fall off soon!"

Suddenly, a loud, choked sob and a mournful cry broke out, pulling Aya back to reality and making her realize that this was not the time to think about Rhodes Island.

"Frosty Leaves!"

Aya shouted again into the darkness ahead.

Deng!

With a crisp sound, a blinding light suddenly flashed in the cell. The bright light made Ya Ye feel as if a sun had suddenly risen not far away. The light was so bright that her eyes felt a slight pain.

After a short while, Aya squinted and looked at the scene in front of her again. Unlike an interrogation, there was no light shining directly on her face. The light source was not far away, and when the light spread out, it was even blocked by the tall figure, leaving only a shadow when it fell on her.

He was a Sarkaz man, handsome and beautiful to the point of being bewitching.

Bai Chen paused his sprint for a moment, then gave Ya Ye a malicious smile. "Oh, if Ya Ye cares so much about her friend, then let Ya Ye take a look at her friend."

151. Frostleaf has always been a very strong and beautiful girl~

"What are you looking at?"

Aya was somewhat confused by the Sarkaz's words.