Herta clenched her teeth and forced herself to breathe steadily, steeling herself for the inevitable fall of that sword.
At the same time, Ruan Mei's story reached its saddest point. She turned back toward Jing Ye, eyes swimming with tears.
"It's okay. I'm here," he murmured.
He tightened his arms around her slender shoulders.
And at that same moment, the sword of Damocles finally dropped on Herta.
Ruan Mei's tears fell in big, heavy drops, soaking the front of his shirt like a breached dam.
She clung to him, sobbing out her grief, her whole body shaking with choked little whimpers.
Her eyes grew red and puffy from crying, wet lashes trembling each time she rubbed at them.
She wept into his chest like a wounded bird while he stroked her smooth back, whispering comfort in her ear.
She never heard the "gurgle" of that sword plunging into deep water and sinking.
Nor did she know that, on the other side of a wall barely a handspan thick, her best friend Herta was enduring the full impact of that blow.
Listening to every word, Herta could hardly breathe.
Ruan Mei hadn't come to her for comfort. She'd come to him. The weight on the scales of Ruan Mei's heart was painfully clear.
Ironically, Herta had gone through all this degradation to keep him away from Ruan Mei—only to be used by him, right in front of her.
At least he had kept one promise: he hid most of Herta's sounds well.
If Ruan Mei really discovered them like this, everything would be over.
"I'm sorry. I kept you out with me all night."
"You must be exhausted. Go get some rest."
As the first light of dawn brightened the sky, Ruan Mei finally drew back, gently touching his face in concern.
Far from feeling tired, Jing Ye was practically glowing. The night had left him more energized than ever.
Herta, on the other hand, was utterly done.
Every second had been torture. By the latter half of the night, she didn't have the strength to stand at all and could only slump against the ground.
But even then, he wouldn't spare her. He supported her "kindly," helping her keep her legs bent so she could just barely remain upright.
It was exhausting work. But he was happy to help.
At one point, she was so drained that the violet in her eyes almost disappeared, leaving only whites.
Even after a whole night of this, though, she'd done admirably well—not a single sound had escaped that Ruan Mei could hear.
When Ruan Mei finally calmed down, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying away, face burning.
He watched her retreating back, fingers brushing the spot where her lips had touched. The faint warmth and fragrance she left behind only stoked the fire inside him higher.
Herta, however, could no longer stand at all.
The moment he let go of her, she collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
Half-conscious, she heard him say something but could only twitch weakly in reply.
Students would be coming out soon. Before anyone could see, he hefted Herta onto his shoulder and carried her away.
Not that no one saw. But those few witnesses simply couldn't believe the great genius Herta, the noble young lady… would be carried off by a man.
After that, Pandora's box was open.
There would be no going back for Herta.
With the sword finally brought down in front of Ruan Mei, the whole university became their experimental grounds.
In the beginning, Herta could still offer token resistance. But every time he pulled out that recording and murmured, "If you won't, there's always Ruan Mei," her protests died in her throat.
From secluded groves, they moved to the laboratories she respected most, places she never wanted tainted.
Eventually, he even carried out experiments in the middle of lectures, right in front of their classmates.
In the name of "accuracy," they tried every angle and posture imaginable. None failed to leave Herta biting her lip in shame before she finally fainted.
The worst, for her, was the time he dragged her all the way to Ruan Mei's dorm room.
With only a single door between them, he began yet another "experiment."
No one knew how desperately Herta had to fight to keep from making a sound that time, even with the help of certain… devices she'd never wanted to use.
All the while, she had to listen to Ruan Mei on the other side chatting with him on the phone, the warmth in their words tinged with a budding intimacy.
They even mentioned her occasionally.
Every time they did, Herta's shame and fury soared to new heights. Her tension was something he took apart and savored piece by piece.
One day she realized she had to carry protection on her at all times—or risk accidents that would force her to change into a fresh skirt mid-day.
Raging, she demanded an explanation.
The result…
Was losing another one of her favorite long dresses and an entire evening from her memory.
…
When Jing Ye left immersion mode again, he still felt as though Herta's warmth and scent clung to him.
It confirmed what he'd already suspected: simple submission was a waste.
Only crushing her in front of Ruan Mei was truly delicious.
Licking his lips, he replayed the scenes in his mind. Over that stretch of time, he'd tried nearly every "experimental method" he could imagine with Herta.
Using test tubes and staff together, forcing her to record their sessions in front of a mirror, stringing her up with the leash she hated most…
He'd even called Ruan Mei mid-experiment, making Herta answer her while barely holding it together.
He discovered Herta was most nervous when she was lying on her stomach—maybe because it exposed her back to him completely, leaving her with no sense of control.
He wondered if Big Herta was just as… responsive.
Thinking of that woman who'd pinched his chin and tugged his leash, he hummed softly. This surely counted as revenge.
But the main purpose of taking Herta hadn't just been his own satisfaction.
It was to survive.
[After taking Herta in front of Ruan Mei, the time of the Herta family's attack draws near again.]
[To live through it, you shatter "Light Fingers" and trade it for a surge of magical power.]
[Having fulfilled the condition for "Equivalent Exchange," the perk activates.]
[By crushing Herta's pride 33%—taking her in front of Ruan Mei while offering Ruan Mei comfort with the same mouth that humiliates her friend—]
["Equivalent Exchange" shatters 33% of "Light Fingers," granting you powerful magic.]
[You feel your mind dull as "Light Fingers" breaks. The stolen genius seeps back into Herta, but you don't have time to care.]
[Though casting spells normally demands great intellect, the power you've bought doesn't depend on your current IQ.]
[The Herta family's killers arrive. This time, you survive the first wave with your borrowed strength.]
[You're shocked to discover they wield their own magic as well. Fortunately, the ones sent this time are weaker than you.]
[Herta, too, is attacked.]
[After defeating your own attackers, you rush to her side—but your magic, while strong, is too slow.]
[By the time you arrive, Herta is dead.]
[You hurry to Ruan Mei's dorm—she's dead as well.]
[The assassins who killed them turn on you next. Even with your new strength, you can't hold them back forever.]
[You die.]
[With your mind lingering longer this time, you see more of the ritual than before—]
[All the Herta family members stand cloaked around the array. Beneath their hoods, every face is female—there's not a single man.]
[You notice they share one common feature, but your vision fades before you can make it out.]
[Simulation complete. Rating: B–.]
[You successfully degraded Herta and survived the first wave of attacks, but still failed to save her or Ruan Mei, and eventually died.]
[Next time, do even worse things to Herta and Ruan Mei. Only then can you gain the power to live.]
Jing Ye frowned slightly.
Still not enough.
He'd thought taking Herta in front of Ruan Mei was bad enough.
But he'd only shattered a third of his perk. The simulator clearly felt he hadn't reached true villainy yet.
He'd mocked it for being "weak" before. Seemed it actually had some bite.
Clearly, if he wanted to face the Herta family, he'd have to go further with both of them.
He hadn't expected this of himself, but apparently he'd been too kind. He'd actually honored his promise not to touch Ruan Mei.
All because he'd been distracted by Herta's body.
How could he have been so foolish?
He should have pretended to agree, then gone after Ruan Mei behind Herta's back from the start.
He sighed at his own lapse—blinded by desire.
As for the family's secret, he'd uncovered more layers, only to find more questions.
He'd seen more of the ritual site and the faces beneath those hoods, but still didn't know what unified feature they shared, or how they'd obtained that magic.
Still, if "Equivalent Exchange" scaled with his cruelty, he'd eventually carve his way to the truth.
His eyes hardened. They wanted to kill him and his women?
After taking Herta, he now thought of her as his property. Not exactly a lover, but a toy he cared about. He'd never forgive anyone else breaking his toys.
He wanted to see how many lives the Herta family had left to throw at him.
The simulator spun up again.
[You are born. At zero years old…]
[You and Herta enroll in the world's top university…]
[You find Ruan Mei at her side…]
[To free up time to deal with Ruan Mei, you move up your schedule for taking Herta's maidenhood once again.]
[After taking Herta in front of Ruan Mei, you delay activating "Equivalent Exchange".]
[Only breaking 33% of "Light Fingers" is not enough to earn the power you need.]
[So you decide to keep your promise to Herta in words—and break it in secret.]
[While continuing your many experiments with Herta, you accept an invitation from Ruan Mei.]
[Naturally, you keep it hidden from Herta.]
[Special event triggered. Enter immersion mode.]
-------
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