Negotiation
Drink your urine?
Hell!
Bobby immediately hurled the bowl in his hand at Stel.
It hit the railing above, bounced back, and shattered on the ground.
Crash!
Leaving shards of porcelain everywhere.
"You think you can drink it just because you want to? My urine is very precious. You'd have to kneel and beg me before I'd reluctantly agree to pee for you."
"Screw you!"
"I'd rather die of hunger and thirst than drink your urine!"
With that, Bobby stormed back inside.
He slammed the balcony door shut.
Seeing Bobby's enraged state, Stel's smile grew even wider.
At that moment, Elsie walked over.
"Master, did you go out today just to shut off his water valve?"
"That's right. With his water cut off, I want to see how long he can hold out."
Hearing Stel's words, Elsie shivered.
How much must he hate this person to risk his life going to the basement to shut off the water valve?
To cross someone like Stel was truly bad luck.
At the same time, Elsie understood more about the terrifying nature of Stel.
Her thoughts of resisting Stel diminished even further.
In the following days, Stel and Elsie's life continued as usual.
Still, two cans of food a day, plus some drinking water.
During this time, Elsie began to notice changes in her body.
Especially at night, she would often look at Stel in bed.
It felt like a fire was burning in her chest.
The burning sensation made her very uncomfortable.
But she couldn't tell Stel about her feelings.
She wanted Stel to hold her, to treat her roughly.
She even wished he would punish her severely!
She couldn't bring herself to say it, and even if she did, Stel would never agree.
Stel always decided based on his own whims.
No matter what, Elsie never had the right to make demands.
Moreover, in these past few days, Stel had become increasingly casual with Elsie.
It was as if Elsie were a plaything that he used when he felt like it,
and discarded when he lost interest.
While Stel lived comfortably,
Bobby's life was like living in hell.
On the first day without water, he relied on licking his lips and the faucet.
But by the second day, no matter how much Bobby licked,
there wasn't a single drop left in the pipes.
Bobby regretted why he only had instant noodles to eat.
Eating them only intensified his thirst.
But he had no water to drink.
And he couldn't skip eating.
He was stuck in a dire situation.
"Damn it, it's all his fault!"
Bobby pounded the sofa cushions furiously, cursing in anger.
But his anger only accelerated his body's deterioration.
By the third day, Bobby's lips were severely cracked,
splitting from the middle to the sides.
The skin around the cracks was white, as if bleached.
Even though the wounds appeared, Bobby no longer felt the pain.
He was too focused on finding water to care about his injuries.
Water!
Where could he find water?
Bobby, frantic, searched his home desperately for water.
If it weren't for his remaining sanity, he might have drunk an entire bottle of laundry detergent.
Initially, he thought starving or dying of thirst wouldn't be a big deal.
But when it came to this point, he realized just how strong his will to survive was.
Finally, Bobby looked at his own urine...
By the fourth day, he had no water left to drink.
He couldn't even produce any urine.
Bobby lay curled up on the sofa, his body twitching slightly.
He didn't even have the strength to blink.
"I guess... I'm dying..."
Bobby murmured.
For him, the situation seemed beyond saving.
Death was the only possibility.
He wondered if, after closing his eyes this time, he would ever open them again.
At that moment, Stel's face suddenly flashed in Bobby's mind.
He remembered Stel's words clearly.
"If you kneel and beg, I'll let you drink my urine..."
Urine...
Urine is still water!
I just need water!
A spark of life appeared in Bobby's dead eyes, and he couldn't bear it any longer.
He jumped off the sofa and, with great effort, pushed open the balcony door.
Without a word, he knelt down facing Stel's apartment with a thud.
Kneel!
He had to kneel!
To survive, Bobby abandoned all dignity.
After kneeling, Bobby looked up.
There was no one on Stel's balcony.
No one, he had knelt for nothing!
"No, I can't let this be in vain, he must know..."
Bobby decided to shout to get Stel's attention.
"Hey..."
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he found he couldn't make a sound!
Having not had a drop of water and eaten so many instant noodles,
his vocal cords were dried out.
Unbeknownst to him, his vocal cords had shriveled and torn.
Now Bobby couldn't utter a single sound.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"
He opened his mouth wide in rage, roaring silently at the ground.
From an outsider's perspective, Bobby looked like he was just opening his mouth wide at the ground, without making any sound.
He knelt on the balcony for twenty minutes.
During those twenty minutes, neither Stel nor Elsie came out to the balcony.
Naturally, they had no idea Bobby was kneeling there.
Bobby knew that kneeling like this wouldn't bring any hope,
But he still didn't get up.
Compared to the effort it would take to stand, Bobby preferred to kneel and conserve his strength.
As he sank into complete despair,
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
The doorbell suddenly rang.
What?
The doorbell?
Bobby turned his head in surprise to look at the door.
From his position on the balcony, he could see the door clearly.
The doorbell...
Zombies wouldn't ring the doorbell.
So who was ringing the doorbell?
Whoever it was, if they could give him water, they'd be his savior!
"Someone, someone's here to save me..."
A hopeful smile appeared on Bobby's face.
Quick!
Quick!
Using the last bit of his strength, he crawled and stumbled to the door.
He reached out and turned the door handle.
When the door opened, Stel stood there.
But his hands were empty.
"You, it's you..."
Bobby didn't know Stel's name, but for some reason,
the face he hated so much now looked incredibly handsome.
He even felt like calling him "dad"!
"Give me something to drink, please, I beg you..."
Bobby mouthed the words, unable to produce any sound.
Stel smiled slightly, understanding Bobby's plea.
"Don't worry, I've brought you enough supplies to last a lifetime."
With that, Stel took a step back.
"Hisssss-haa—!!!!!!"