“Curator, you just had surgery. You should rest. Weekly rehab at the hospital is enough—don’t push yourself,” Flora said softly.
“But I want to walk faster… Ha… Ha…”
The girl leaned on the desk, panting softly, her face unnaturally flushed.
Pain and itchiness radiated from her calves and knees, as if something writhed inside her flesh…
Sweat soaked her bangs, trickling over the bridge of her nose and down her cheeks, her body radiating alarming heat.
She tried to say something more, but her mind suddenly went blank, a long tone ringing in her ears.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Is it postoperative inflammation? I’ll contact Doctor Duke right away!”
–
Nocturnal Creature Museum.
Amber looked up at the Demon Flower Mantis cadaver on display. Its form was enchantingly beautiful, the enamel coating flowing with graceful arcs. She sighed regretfully,
“She was so gorgeous, but she fell into the hands of a bad guy. What rotten luck!”
“You’re telling me.”
Ashley acted like a servant, one arm draped with the black-haired loli’s hoodie that she’d taken off because it was hot, the other holding a milk tea as she attended to her carefully.
The museum was closed at night, with no visitors, and few lights on in the hall, giving it a deep, serene quiet.
Dim light filtered from afar, like sleepy eyes on the verge of closing, as if darkness could swallow everything at any moment.
With more and more cadavers from captures and preparations piling up—too many for the Blackfoot Workshop—Ashley had simply turned the museum into a warehouse.
Many cadavers were temporarily placed on display stands for easy access.
“So, that day we faced a Demon Flower Mantis that had already been made into a cadaver?” Amber glanced at her.
“Mm…” Ashley admitted hesitantly.
“To trick me out of the Undying Potion and S-Rank Relic? You set up a trap on purpose? Then a gang of criminals stumbled into it and you slaughtered them as a bonus?” Amber was quite clear-headed when not lost in lovesickness.
“No, no,” the Blue-Haired Loli shook her head like a rattle-drum, fawning, “Sure, I’m a despicable opportunist, but compared to scamming relics, I didn’t want to put Miss Amber in danger. That’s why I arranged it ahead of time—because it was a date!”
“Your little mouth is so sweet. Is it from eating figs all the time? Like a hummingbird’s beak, full of nectar.”
Amber eyed the obedient-looking Blue-Haired Loli suspiciously.
“Wanna find out just how sweet it is?” Ashley licked her lips, her pretty pupils rolling to the side in a sly, adorable expression.
Amber’s cheeks puffed up, a mix of shyness and anger. She stomped her foot,
“Don’t tease me!”
Hee hee, this silly loli is such a scaredy-cat…
Ashley stuck out her pink, glistening little tongue and licked her lips.
Neither spoke. Amber’s heart raced like a fawn on the loose. Though no one could be around at this hour, she still sneaked glances around to confirm they were alone, then anxiously eyed Ashley’s tender lips. She mustered her courage several times but never dared close the distance.
Seeing her cute, hesitant expression—like she wanted a taste but was too scared—Ashley beamed triumphantly, regaining control. She clasped her hands behind her back and happily rocked her shoulders.
Suddenly, a sharp scream shattered the night’s silence from afar!
Ashley’s face changed. Recognizing Flora’s voice, she dashed off!
Amber reacted quickly too, and the two raced one after the other toward the office door. There, the golden-haired loli slumped on the ground, while the Curator girl standing before her looked somewhat off.
Her once serene, gentle face with its baby fat had turned purple and rigid. Her legs—withered and weak from long-term paralysis—now bulged with uneven lumps and twisted, worm-like veins, stomping powerfully on the floor!
Through her white silk pantyhose, one could see long, twisting black lines wriggling ceaselessly beneath her snowy skin—eerie and unnatural!
It was the Horsehair Worm!
“That damn bio company didn’t fully deactivate them. Residual eggs in the material hatched!” Ashley pinpointed the cause immediately.
Amber breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it wasn’t a medical mishap from her father’s clinic. But the next moment, her heart leaped to her throat!
“Water… Water…”
The Curator girl’s eyes bulged wide, whites veined with blood. She lunged fiercely at Amber!
Ashley yanked her back just in time. The girl missed, crashing into the doorframe with a thunderous boom. Debris flew, and the metal frame twisted and deformed!
“Damn it, the Horsehair Worms have given her body superhuman strength. She’s incredibly powerful now!”
Ashley tensed up, finding it incredibly tricky. If it were an enemy, it’d be manageable, but Curator big sis was a kind person—one of her earliest friends.
“Has she… lost her reason? What do we do?” Amber asked frantically.
“Horsehair Worms release pheromones that make the host crave water. Human bodies are over 50% water, so to her, we’re tasty, juicy little apples she wants to chomp!” Ashley explained rapidly.
“Why is she only chasing me?!” Amber noticed Mavis’s gaze locked on her, licking her lips thirstily.
“Probably because out of the three of us, you have the highest water content. No wonder your tears never stop flowing.” Ashley took the chance to jab.
“You’ve got some nerve saying that! It’s all because of you!” Amber gnashed her teeth, glaring fiercely.
“Uh-oh! Those worms are starting to climb upward!”
Ashley’s sharp eyes spotted countless black lines gathering and wriggling up through the girl’s flesh, stark against her pale skin! It made her scalp crawl!
“What do we do?! Should I call for help?!” Amber panicked.
“No time for that! Stall her! I’ll be right back!”
Ashley spun and bolted!
Though unsure what she was doing, Amber trusted her instinctively.
Locking eyes with the girl, she called out loudly,
“Wake up! Mavis sis! It’s Amber! I’m not a little apple! I’ll take you somewhere to drink water! Don’t eat me to quench your thirst!”
A flicker of clarity returned to Mavis’s eyes, but it soon clouded over. With a roar, she pounced at the black-haired loli!
Amber crouched low, recalling judo moves from the Training Base. Once tackled, she curled into a ball, rolled, and kicked upward hard!
Mavis grabbed at air and lost balance from the loli’s rabbit kick, tumbling forward!
Amber rolled once and sprang up nimbly, hopping side to side to keep her balance as she circled her opponent.
But soon she sensed something wrong. Dizziness flooded her head, nausea rising. Looking down, in that brief contact, her arm had several bloody bite marks from the Horsehair Worms!
She quickly sucked out the poisoned blood and spat it, but the toxin spread fast: dilated pupils, photophobia, chills, dizziness, tinnitus… assaulting her nerves in waves!
Mavis lunged again!
Oh no!
Amber’s heart chilled. Too slow to react, the girl seized her neck, hoisting her small body into the air. Her face turned purple, legs kicking wildly.
Flora watched in terror, her pupils quaking, but she desperately thought of a way to save Amber. Suddenly, she recalled Ashley’s words: the worms drove the host to pursue water sources, and while Amber might have slightly higher water content than a normal loli, it wasn’t by much.
Flora gritted her teeth, a ruthless resolve surging. She grabbed the thermos from the office and poured it over herself!
Luckily, the water had cooled after sitting half a day—no burns.
This distracted the parasitized girl. She turned toward the golden-haired loli approaching, emanating delicious watery steam, and swallowed hard, weighing whether to switch to this even juicier target.
In that instant of hesitation, the air exploded with a boom! The museum’s street-facing floor-to-ceiling windows shattered in unison!
The Demon Flower Mantis flashed in, its razor-sharp blades slicing toward the sick girl!
Pfft!
Mavis’s little head flew high, her round face bearing a relieved smile.
