Chương 95: Two Kinds of Trust

At first, the golden threads were incredibly fragile, like freshly sprouted grass. The moment they emerged, they were immediately entangled, overwhelmed, and obliterated without a trace by the crimson threads. But as time passed, and as more and more of Vince's blood dripped into Zoe's mouth, the golden threads began to take root like tenacious vines clinging to a sheer cliff, gradually coalescing into thick, resilient cords.

Although the crimson threads were vastly more numerous, their movements were severely restricted by the effects of the potion. The golden threads, however, were completely unaffected, constantly strangling and shredding the clearly ominous crimson strands. As the golden lines began to display overwhelming, crushing power, the red threads wrapped around the Health Bar were thoroughly strangled one by one, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

Having lost the scent of their enemy, the golden threads slowly retracted back to the beginning of the Health Bar, and Zoe's HP finally began to slowly rise... [12/101] [13/102] [14/103] [15/104] [16/105] It worked! As the golden lines vanished completely, Zoe's Max HP ceiling, exactly like Claire's, had increased to 105! With her health recovering slightly, color finally returned to Zoe's face. Both her breathing and heartbeat completely stabilized.

Her tightly furrowed brows smoothed out, and she looked as if she had simply fallen into a deep sleep. Seeing that her Health Bar was no longer rising, Vince pulled his arm away from her face, equipped the [Revitalization Crystal], and began regenerating his own HP.

"... Vince, how is Zoe?" Seeing his sister's condition visibly improve, Cody hurried over and asked in disbelief.

"Mhm... she probably won't mutate anymore. But she lost a lot of blood, and with a normal person's recovery speed, it'll probably take a very long time..." As Vince spoke, he turned his head and suddenly noticed the purple border hovering above Claire, as well as her Health Bar, which had recovered from the [98] it was downstairs to [99]... Only seven or eight minutes had passed since then. Vince smacked his forehead. Isn't there a perfect example of a 'not-normal person' sitting right here?

With a casual flick of his wrist, as if performing a magic trick, a round crystal appeared in his hand. It was one of today's loot drops. Since he was conducting an experiment, it was best to control the variables as much as possible. The crystal Vince took out was identical to the one Claire had consumed—a [Stealth Crystal]. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the crystal, but only Claire seemed to understand. She turned her head and glanced at Zoe lying on the bed.

"Vince, what is..." Not understanding the situation, Cody couldn't help but ask upon seeing Vince pull out a stone. But catching Vince's gaze, he immediately realized that if he spoke any further he would just get dragged away by Seth again, so he promptly shut his mouth. Since his sister's condition had stabilized, there was no way Vince would harm her... Pinching the crystal between two fingers, Vince slowly brought it toward the mouth of the quietly sleeping Zoe.

Once it entered a certain proximity, Zoe's nose suddenly twitched, as if sniffing out a scent. She slowly opened her mouth like a baby bird in a nest, waiting to be fed. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"What the... mph..." Under Vince's sharp glare, Cody clapped his hands over his own mouth. Vince, meanwhile, dangled the crystal like a toy. He moved his hand to the left, and Zoe's head slowly tracked it to the left. He moved it to the right, and her head slowly tracked it to the right...

"Ahem..." A soft cough from Claire nearby interrupted Vince's "experiment." What an incredibly fascinating instinct...

"Ahem," Vince cleared his own throat guiltily. Holding his breath in concentration, he dropped the crystal straight into Zoe's mouth. Gulp. Zoe's throat bobbed, and the crystal was swallowed whole... Nearby, Cody's eyes were practically bulging out of his skull. Speechless, he could only stare at the bizarre scene playing out before him.

"Don't worry about it, it's a magic pill..." Patting Cody on the shoulder, Vince slowly stood up and stretched. The wound on his wrist had already closed and stopped bleeding. Vince poured some alcohol over his hands to wash away the bloodstains. Meanwhile, just like Claire, right where the golden threads had previously sprouted on Zoe's Health Bar, threads of purple began to slowly grow... Vince turned his head to compare it with Claire's border. Zoe's leaned slightly more blue; it was a bluish-purple...

Perhaps because she was too weak, the lines were growing slower than Claire's had, but they were still growing steadily... Vince returned to apartment 301, dug out an IV drip set, and hooked Zoe up to two bags of saline-glucose solution. The bleeding had stopped, and Vince didn't have any blood for a transfusion anyway, so the glucose would have to do. Given Claire's HP recovery speed, as long as... Uh... Vince's brain suddenly jammed. As long as what?

Recalling the tropes of novels he used to read, transitioning from a normal person to whatever Claire was now... calling it 'mutation' sounded awful. He'd just call it 'Awakening.' As long as she Awakened, she would possess an extreme budget-version of his constitution. Setting everything else aside, HP recovery shouldn't be an issue. If it were him, with the [Revitalization Crystal] equipped, recovering 100 HP would take about an hour and a half. For Claire, it might take eight or nine hours.

As long as Zoe successfully Awakened, a day of good food and proper rest would have her bursting with energy again.

"Claire, stay here and help take care of Zoe. Use these cotton balls and alcohol to wipe the blood off the edges of her wounds and her body. Let me know when the IV bags run out, I need to rest for a bit..." Getting an affirmative nod from Claire, Vince turned and walked out, bumping his shoulder against Cody and Seth behind him.

"You two, come with me..." He walked into apartment 301 and sat down on the sofa. Cody and Seth followed him in. Seeing him sit down, Cody suddenly felt a sourness in his nose. His legs gave out, and he was about to fall to his knees...

"Vince..."

"Stop!" Vince stuck his leg out, physically blocking him.

"Don't start with the endless dramatics. You know my personality..."

"But I have to thank you for saving Zoe..." Cody wiped away his tears, sobbing as he spoke.

"There's plenty of ways to thank me. Grab a stool and sit down. I have a few questions for you two..." Leaning back on the sofa, Vince continuously replayed everything that had just happened, and everything that had happened before that... One of the pathways to Mutation... or rather, Awakening... was hazily beginning to take shape. The remaining experiments would confirm it. Seeing the two of them sit down, Vince looked at them seriously and asked:"For these next questions, you absolutely must tell the truth.

It's incredibly important!" Seeing Vince so stern, the two hastily nodded heavily, promising to comply.

"Do you two trust me?"

"Yes!" The two answered in unison. Looking at the green and yellow Health Bars above their heads, Vince leaned back against the sofa, somewhat puzzled.

"Cody, you go first. Why do you trust me? Since when did you start trusting me, and what are you willing to do for that trust...?" Hearing this question, Cody fell silent for a moment. Wiping away his tears, he answered in a heavy voice:"... I can't remember exactly. Maybe it was at the gas station. Or maybe it's because Zoe trusts you so much. You saved us, gave us food, brought us out, taught us how to fight, and now, you've saved Zoe's life again..."

He paused, a trace of self-deprecation naturally bleeding into his tone.

"I hate that I'm so useless... I want to get stronger. Strong enough to protect Zoe myself. Strong enough to be an asset to you, rather than a burden... I believe in you. I will execute every single one of your orders without hesitation. I might be scared, but I will absolutely do it!"

"Mhm..." Looking at Cody, Vince could tell from his resolute gaze that he wasn't lying. And honestly, under these circumstances, there was no reason to lie. But looking at the yellow Health Bar above his head, Vince felt completely lost... He then turned to Seth and asked earnestly:"Seth, what about you?" Hearing Vince call his name, Seth looked up, also somewhat lost. It was clear he had been reflecting on himself while Cody was answering. As their two bewildered gazes met, Vince couldn't help but sigh.

But after a moment of silent contemplation, the confusion in Seth's eyes gradually morphed into a kind of intense paranoia that Vince couldn't quite decipher...

"I... I also believe in you, Vince. As for why... that day we ate together, you told us a lot of things... Actually, I don't know why, but that night, when I went back, I was finally able to sleep..." As if mustering immense courage, Seth continued:"I... I've seen what happens to weak... to weak people... It's not just as simple as dying, it's... it's watching helplessly... and being unable to do absolutely anything..." As he spoke, his voice cracked with a sob, and his eyes brimmed with tears.

"You... you're different from us... but sometimes, it... it feels like you're exactly like us..."

"You can ask me to do anything... anything at all. I just don't want to go back to being that... that useless trash who can only watch helplessly and do absolutely nothing..."