Chapter 5: The Symbiotic Pact

The emergency lights cast blood-red illumination, bathing the room in an eerie abyssal hue. Riko slowly opened the small vial containing the strange liquid, the writhing insects within appearing particularly grotesque under the crimson glow.

"Before we officially collaborate," she said softly, "I need you to understand what true 'symbiosis' means."

Riko retrieved a precision syringe from beneath the desk, her movements so practiced they sent chills down one's spine.

Keiko trembled involuntarily upon seeing her sister's actions. She instinctively retreated a few steps, but when Riko's gaze swept over her, she obediently stopped.

"Come here, Keiko." Riko's voice was gentle as silk, yet carried an undeniable authority.

The blue-haired woman slowly approached her sister, each step careful and deliberate, as if performing some ancient ritual. She extended her arm, rolling up her sleeve to reveal pale skin.

Loy watched this scene unfold, a strong sense of unease rising in his chest. "What are you doing?"

"Demonstration." Riko drew the insect into the syringe and pierced the needle into Keiko's blood vessel. The liquid slowly entered, causing Keiko to tremble all over, cold sweat beading on her forehead. After about half a minute, her pupils began to dilate, and her breathing became slow and regular. When Riko spoke again, her sister's eyes had become vacant and submissive.

"Now," Riko gently caressed her sister's cheek, "she belongs to me completely. Keiko, kneel."

Without any hesitation, Keiko immediately knelt on the ground, her head bowed low, like a perfect puppet.

Loy drew in a sharp breath. "You're using your own sister as a test subject?"

"Test subject?" Riko chuckled softly. "No, this is a perfect symbiotic relationship. She needs me, and I need her. This is more real than any false 'familial love.'"

She walked to the office desk, pulled out detailed structural blueprints of the building, and illuminated them with her phone's light. "NSRU has that girl locked in a special detention room on the second basement level. There are three security doors, each requiring different access cards."

Loy suppressed his inner disgust, focusing on the rescue plan. "Do you have these clearances?"

"Partially." Riko marked several key positions on the blueprints. "But the most troublesome part is the time window. Surgical preparation begins at six AM, final physiological examination at seven, and the dissection officially starts at eight."

"About two and a half hours left."

"Exactly, and once they discover we're missing, the entire building will go into lockdown." Riko folded up the blueprints. "So we only have one chance."

She walked toward Keiko, gently stroking her hair. "Stand up, my dear sister."

Keiko mechanically rose to her feet, but Loy noticed that in the depths of those vacant eyes, a faint glimmer of pain seemed to remain.

"What's your plan?" he asked.

"Simple." Riko retrieved more vials from the safe. "I create a biological crisis to draw away most of the security personnel. You use the chaos to infiltrate the second basement level and rescue her."

"Biological crisis?"

"A mutated version of the symbiotic parasites." She held up a vial containing green liquid. "Once released into the ventilation system, it will cause severe neurological symptoms in the infected. Not fatal, but enough to create panic."

Loy frowned. "Will it harm innocent staff members?"

"Only temporary neural disruption," Riko said dismissively. "Compared to what that girl is about to face, what's this small price?"

Loy felt this woman made him somewhat uneasy, but currently had no other choice.

"I need to know the specific layout of the second basement level."

Riko marked several locations on the map with her pen. "Here's the detention room location, and here's the only passage to the upper levels. But there's a problem..."

She pointed to an area on the map. "This is the biological experiment zone. If that girl really is from an unknown species, they might have already begun preliminary sample collection."

Loy's heart sank. "What do you mean?"

"If my guess is correct, her current condition might be worse than you imagine. Blood loss, drug suppression, or..." Riko paused, "more severe trauma."

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor. Someone was knocking on nearby doors, checking the power outage's effects.

"Time's running out." Riko quickly gathered all the materials. "We begin now. Keiko, you know what to do."

The blue-haired woman nodded, her eyes still vacant. She took several vials containing different colored liquids from her sister's hands, her movements numb yet precise.

But as she turned to leave, Loy noticed Keiko's hands trembling slightly—not from fear, but as if struggling to resist something.

"Wait." Loy spoke up. "I have a question. If we successfully rescue that girl, will you really let her go?"

Riko turned around, glancing at the man before her. "Are you questioning my sincerity?"

"I'm confirming whether our goals align." Loy looked directly at her. "I want her freedom, you want research data. These don't necessarily conflict, but they're not necessarily compatible either."

Riko fell silent for several seconds, then revealed a meaningful smile. "Loy, you're more intelligent than I imagined. But now isn't the time to discuss this. Let's rescue her first, and the rest... we'll talk about later."

This answer made Loy even more wary, but the footsteps outside were drawing closer—they had no time left to argue.

"Fine, let's begin." He made the decision.

Riko nodded and whispered a few words to Keiko. The latter took the vials and walked toward the door, her movements still mechanical, but Loy noticed she paused for less than a second as she passed him—as if wanting to say something, but ultimately departed in silence.

"She'll release the parasites into the ventilation system after the power is restored," Riko explained. "About ten minutes later, the entire building will be thrown into chaos. That's when you'll have your chance."

She retrieved a special ID card from the drawer. "This is my access card—it can open the first two security doors. For the third door, you'll need to find another way."

Loy took the card, feeling the weak electronic pulses within. This type of high-level access card had built-in biometric recognition chips, theoretically only usable by Riko herself.

"How can you be sure I'll be able to use this card?"

Riko approached Loy, her eyes full of playful interest. She took his hand and brought her mouth close to his ear. Loy could hear this woman's breathing, feel the warmth of her palm—this sudden gesture made Loy instinctively step back.

"Like... this~"

A layer of skin from Riko's hand dissolved and wrapped around Loy's glove.

"Oh~ looks like you're a virgin, aren't you? There, now you can use this card."

The power began to restore, and all the lights in the office came on.

After a while, alarmed shouts and panicked footsteps echoed from upstairs. Keiko's operation was taking effect.

"Excellent," Riko organized the materials on the desk, retrieving three small respirators from the drawer. "Now it's your turn. Remember, that girl's value lies not just in herself, but in the knowledge she represents. Don't let emotions cloud your judgment."

She handed one of the respirators to Loy. "Wear this, or you'll be affected by the parasites too. These mutated insects spread through the air, but this filter can block them."

Loy took the respirator, noticing it was connected to a thin tube leading to a small medicine pack. "What's this?"

"Suppressant." Riko put on one herself. "Even with the filter, trace amounts of parasites might still penetrate. This medicine can neutralize their neurotoxins."

Loy put on the respirator, feeling a cool gas enter his lungs. The alarmed shouts from upstairs grew more frequent—clearly the chaos was spreading.

"I have to go." He said urgently, anxiety burning like fire in his chest. Every second of delay could mean Ling faced greater danger.

"Go." Riko nodded, but as Loy turned and rushed toward the door, she softly added, "What an anxious man... though I don't dislike that."

Loy pushed open the door and sprinted down the corridor. The power had been restored, but the entire building began echoing with security personnel's panicked shouts and radio static. He could hear someone reporting "biological contamination" and "need medical support."

His footsteps reverberated in the empty hallway, his heart pounding like a drum. Every time he thought of the pain Ling might be enduring, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Riko watched Loy's disappearing figure, leisurely braiding her hair. She walked to the window, gazing at the chaotic scene beginning to unfold upstairs.

"What an interesting man." She murmured to herself, letting out a slightly manic laugh. "Willing to take such risks for a stranger girl... this kind of foolish kindness, I haven't seen in a long time."

She picked up the analysis report about the Tear of the First Dragon from the desk, carefully reviewing the data within.

"But foolish as it may be," her smile instantly faded as she caressed the energy spectrum chart in the report, "I should leave too... but before I go..."

Riko retrieved the final vial from the safe, containing silver liquid.

"A special necklace, samples from an unknown species, and..." she looked toward the chaos outside, "tonight's harvest should not disappoint me."

Second basement level, outside the detention room.

Loy rushed down the stairs, gasping for breath as he reached the entrance to the second basement level. The alarm sounds here were even more piercing, red warning lights flashing frantically. But to his surprise, the passage that should have been heavily guarded now had only two guards remaining, who seemed affected as well, grappling with each other—the other security personnel had all been drawn away by the "biological crisis" upstairs.

He pulled out the access card Riko had given him and stopped before the first security door. He swiped the card, the green light illuminated, and the door slowly opened.

Loy entered and closed the door behind him, avoiding the two "madmen" from interfering with his subsequent actions.

"Hold on, I'm coming." He silently prayed, his steps becoming even more urgent.

The second door passed just as smoothly.

But when he reached the third door, he discovered it required not an access card, but iris scanning and voice recognition.

Loy gritted his teeth and activated his mechanical prosthetic's hacking mode. He had only one chance—if he failed, the entire rescue plan would collapse.

Just then, a faint sound came from within the door.