She was suddenly pulled into his arms, her slender waist locked tightly by his grip. His other hand seized her chin, forcing her to look straight into his eyes.
"You…" Selviera gritted her teeth, trying to break free, but her body felt as if countless chains were binding her, leaving her completely unable to resist.
"I want a drink of water." Negut smiled greedily.
Seeing the bottle in his hand, Selviera froze. A thought flashed through her mind, making her tremble. "Then… drink it. Why tell me?"
"I want 'you' to help me drink…" Negut's smile twisted into something deranged, making her shiver. "With your mouth."
He pushed the bottle toward her, but this time Selviera reacted violently. Two tears rolled down her beautiful face.
She remained seated, jaw clenched tight, motionless as if she had turned to stone.
"Good resistance." Negut laughed excitedly, bringing his face close to hers.
Feeling his breath against her cheek, Selviera flinched. Her face flushed red, yet she still tried to resist.
Resisting, if it could even be called that, was all she could do. Her eyes shut tightly.
'He wants to kiss me?' Selviera thought. 'Endure it… just endure it. Pretend it's a dog bite.'
Even though she tried to convince herself, she trembled uncontrollably. All her life, Selviera had guarded herself like a priceless treasure, and now that treasure was about to be stolen by a stranger. The humiliation and anger twisted inside her like a burning blade.
She even forgot that this young man was the one who gave her a second chance at life, at revenge, and even the power of an Awakened.
"Pfff! Hahahaha…" Negut burst out laughing at her stubborn expression.
He let her go and said, "Good. I'll wait for the day you kneel and beg me."
Freed from his arms, Selviera instantly stood up and backed away, hatred burning in her eyes. "I can serve you as a subordinate, but you cannot treat me this way."
"I have my pride. Even if I die, I refuse to be forced into using my body to serve you."
At her words, Negut's face darkened. His sharp gaze sliced toward her like twin blades.
She shuddered. Despite her body being far larger than his, at that moment she trembled like a rabbit before a wolf.
"Pride?" Negut scoffed. "Can that help you survive the apocalypse?"
"It seems you have forgotten what you said right before I gave you a second life."
Selviera trembled again, but she forced herself to stand firm. Her fists clenched, her face resolute. "I… I can be your servant. I can protect you, do anything for you, but I have only one condition: you are not allowed to touch me."
Negut leaned back in the chair, not replying yet. Instead, he silently asked the System, 'Can I reclaim Selviera's lifespan?'
[Ding! Because her life was granted by you, you may reclaim her remaining lifespan. However, the reclaimed time will be converted into Repair Points at 80 percent value.]
'Good. Take all her remaining time. Leave her with twelve hours.'
[Ding! Beginning extraction… extraction complete. You have obtained: 220 Repair Points. Current total Repair Points: 229.]
Negut glanced at Selviera, smirking mockingly. "You have no right to bargain with me. Remember this… everything I give, I can take back."
Selviera trembled. His smile looked like something belonging to a demon from hell. It terrified her, and infuriated her even more.
[Ding! Warning: Selviera's Affection Points have decreased. Current value: 60.]
Negut heard the notification but ignored it, as if it had nothing to do with him.
The room fell silent, yet the tension remained, stretched tight like a bowstring on the verge of snapping.
No. It seemed that only Selviera was tense, while Negut carried the attitude of someone who already held every advantage, calmly watching her act like a clown in the tiny circus she built for herself.
Selviera took a deep breath, then turned and walked back into the bedroom.
Bang!
She slammed the door. It shook for a moment, then fell silent.
Negut frowned and asked quietly, 'System, what is Selviera's current loyalty?'
[Ding! Warning: Her loyalty has decreased. Current loyalty: 58.]
Negut nodded. 'If it increases or decreases, notify me immediately.'
[Ding! Understood, my Master.]
Even though her loyalty kept dropping, Negut wasn't worried in the slightest. In fact, he wore a satisfied smile.
"Bitch! Because of you I have nothing to eat!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the hallway. Since Negut had broken the door earlier and his enhanced senses were far sharper than a normal human's, he heard the voice clearly.
It was a middle-aged man's voice, accompanied by the faint sound of something being dragged along the floor, and beyond that, the soft sobbing of a woman.
"Damn it! If you had slept with that bastard, he would have given us food and water! Do you know how hungry I am right now?"
SLAP!
A sharp sound echoed, followed by the heavy thud of someone falling to the ground.
Negut heard everything and immediately understood what was happening, but he had no intention of interfering.
He was not a hero, nor a savior.
He was just a selfish, greedy man trying to survive.
Shuffle, shuffle.
The dragging sound and the crying grew closer. Negut frowned, irritated. 'Damn it. Don't tell me it's going to be one of these situations again.'
Soon after, a thin, ragged middle-aged man appeared at the doorway. His eyes burned with rage and murderous intent as he glared into the room. His hand was gripping a woman's hair.
Negut couldn't clearly see her face, not because it was hidden, but because it was covered with so many handprints that several areas of her skin had cracked.
Blood streamed from her mouth, nose, and the cracked skin, mixing with her tears. Her messy blonde hair stuck to her face, making her look utterly tragic.
Despite the temperature having dropped to negative twenty degrees, she was wearing only a thin nightgown. Her body was covered in bruises, trembling violently from the cold. Her fingernails and toenails were turning purple from lack of blood.
Meanwhile, the man was bundled in multiple layers of clothing, wearing everything he possibly could.
His expression froze when he saw Negut, but his eyes quickly fixated on the water bottle in Negut's hand.
He clenched his teeth and shouted, "You bastard! Who the hell are you? Do you know whose house this is?"
"Drop my water bottle and get out of my house right now, or I'll call the police! Do you know who I am? I own a major factory, I… Huck!"
The man stopped abruptly when he met Negut's cold gaze. Terror swept across his face. His hand trembled so violently that he released the woman's hair.
Thud.
Even though he let go, the woman was too weak to stand. She collapsed onto the floor and lay motionless.
"You… you…" The man pointed at Negut with a shaking finger, stuttering, "I'll call the police… I'll… I'll…"
"Huh." Negut snorted coldly.
Just one glance was all he needed to understand the man perfectly. A coward.
A man who could only abuse his weak wife to soothe his pathetic sense of power.
Most domestic abusers were cowards in society, beaten down by life and venting that pressure on the weakest person at home to restore their brittle illusion of being someone strong.
The man stared hungrily at the water bottle in Negut's hand, swallowing hard as his dry throat burned.
He had not seen a water bottle filled this much in many days. Normally, he could only melt snow for drinking water. A small bottle of clean water had now become a priceless treasure.
"You… did you hear what I said? Put that water bottle down, that's my water… my water!"
Negut glanced at the man, a disdainful smile appearing on his face. "How do you know this is yours?"
"Of course… because… you're in my house, so the water is mine too."
Hearing that, Negut snorted. "You are wrong. This is my house."
"You… you…"
"Get lost. Before I break your skull." Negut spoke coldly. "And take the trash at your feet with you. I don't want to clean up your garbage."
He glanced at the woman lying on the floor, indifferent. On his way here, he had seen many corpses.
He had tried using the recycle function on those bodies, but the System rejected them.
It could only recycle monster corpses or items containing energy.
"You… I'm warning you, I… I know Robert, he has a gun, he will… he will…" The man tried to threaten Negut, but his voice trembled uncontrollably.
Negut sighed, irritation flickering inside him, as if a fly were buzzing around his head.
Suddenly, he looked toward the bedroom, then back at the man, and said with a slight smile, "Leave her to me. You can get out."