Otto—Are You Planning to Turn Over a New Leaf?

"Elias, are you okay? Why is your head bleeding? What did they do to you!"

When Elias returned to the prison-like room, Sirin and the others immediately gathered around him.

Seeing the thick bandages wrapped around the boy's head and the bloodstains on his clothes, they were instantly startled, anxious yet unsure of what to do.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Elias reassured them immediately.

But he knew that even if he told them the injury was self-inflicted, Sirin and the others wouldn't believe him. So he simply claimed that it was those bastard scientists who did it.

This statement instantly ignited the girls' anger.

After repeatedly confirming that he was indeed unharmed, Sirin, Avrora, Galina, and Agata finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But soon, the little girls started crying.

"Elias, I... I want to go home."

"I miss my mom too, wuuu..."

"It's so cold here. Are we going to die?"

"The experiments hurt so much. I don't want to be cut open again. I don't want them to inject me with weird drugs anymore."

The four little ones huddled together, trembling with fear, tears streaming down their faces. They were just children, deceived and brought to this inhumane human experimentation facility.

In this gloomy, cold place filled with death and pain, it would be strange if they weren't scared.

Elias felt his heart ache for them. These were innocent girls who should have been living under the warm sunlight, experiencing all the beauty of the world, and embracing a bright future.

Yet now, they were trapped in this hellish place, subjected to brutal human experiments. This was undoubtedly wrong—utterly unacceptable!

"Yes, we will definitely escape from here. You all will never have to undergo experiments again."

"R-Really?"

"Of course. I never lie. No matter what happens, I will make sure you all survive."

Elias gently ruffled their little heads and wiped away their tears, comforting their frightened hearts. At this moment, he had already formed a plan.

"Although we still have to stay here for now, you don't have to undergo any more experiments. So… let's endure together until the day we can leave this place."

"Mhm!" x3

"..."

Hearing this, Avrora, Agata, and Galina felt slightly more at ease.

Feeling the warmth of Elias' hands against their cheeks, they instinctively leaned closer to him.

Only Sirin furrowed her brows, still anxious. She recalled the adults who had strapped her onto the experiment table.

Those people, with their ugly faces and cold gazes, looked at her as if she wasn't human, but merely a test subject, like a lab rat.

Would such cruel people really let them go? If so, how did Elias manage to make that happen?

"Elias, what exactly did you do?"

"...It's already late, Sirin. Get some rest. You're all exhausted, aren't you?"

Elias once again reached out to pat Sirin's head.

Her twin tails always stuck up stubbornly, no matter how many times he tried to press them down—like two little folded purple cat ears.

Elias didn't answer Sirin's question, instead urging them all to sleep. Though he knew that sooner or later the girls would learn the truth, for now…

Some things were simply better left unsaid.

…The next day arrived…

"Test Subject X1, come out for the experiment."

"...Tch, got it."

Sirin and the others stared blankly as Elias was led away by the guards. In that moment, they finally understood the price the boy had paid.

In order to keep them from undergoing experiments—

He had fed himself to those demons.

Tears welled up in the girls' eyes.

"…No."

Sirin ran forward, trying to grab Elias' hand, but he shook his head, stopping her.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Then, as the iron door of the prison closed, only Elias' smile remained in their minds.

...

"Get me five soft beds and five thick, warm blankets. This damned place is freezing at night—you'd wake up from the cold."

Having easily endured today's experiment, Elias spoke without looking back at the people beside him.

"???" xN

Babylon Laboratory was built in Siberia, a land of eternal ice and snow, and the conditions inside that prison-like room were abysmal.

There were only two hard, icy iron slab beds, not a single blanket. Last night, Elias and Sirin had to huddle together to sleep, and even then, they were woken up by the cold.

"I want them before tonight."

He emphasized again.

The four little ones were just children. As an 18-year-old elder brother in terms of mental age, Elias couldn't let them catch a cold.

After all, being trapped in this hellhole was bad enough—getting sick here would be even worse. He seriously doubted these beasts in human clothing would provide medical care for sick children.

"Hah? Who do you think you are?"

The scientists were stunned. Since the establishment of the Babylon Lab, this was the first test subject to make demands of them—not just once, but twice.

"If you refuse, I'll bash my head in."

Elias expressionlessly patted the wall.

The message was clear—if they didn't comply, he'd smash his head against the wall. And if he died, the ones who would suffer the most would be them.

The researchers' eyelids twitched.

Recalling yesterday's medical report and the bandages still wrapped around Elias' forehead, they knew this little brat was dead serious. In the end, they had no choice but to agree.

Though they were heartless scum, their efficiency was surprisingly high. Before long, four soft beds and thick cotton blankets were delivered to the cell, leaving Sirin and the others utterly stunned.

Elias: "Tch, I forgot about myself."

So that night, he had to squeeze in with Sirin again.

But this was only the beginning.

After that, every time an experiment ended, Elias would make small requests from these people.

"Starting tomorrow, prepare nutritious meals for us. The garbage you're feeding us isn't fit for human consumption. Remember, the food should taste good and be served hot."

"..."

"Get us some warm clothes. Hmm, two sets each… No, make it three."

"..."

"Buy a nightlight. Galina is afraid of the dark when she goes to the bathroom at night. She nearly twisted her ankle yesterday."

"..."

"Sirin had a nightmare last night. Get me some storybooks—ones in Shenzhou script."

"..."

Although each request was minor and easy to fulfill, being ordered around like a servant by a mere child—their so-called test subject—was infuriating for these arrogant researchers.

Even Otto, the bishop himself, sent a message asking, "Has Babylon Lab suddenly grown a conscience? Your recent procurement list doesn't match your usual style at all."

And rightly so.

Before, it was always scalpels, illegal drugs, Honkai energy reagents, or simply more 'lab rats.'

But recently, it had become fairy tale books, nightlights, children's cotton coats, and thick fleece blankets.

The shift in atmosphere was so drastic that even Otto couldn't help but be puzzled. He wondered if the group of deranged scientists at Babylon Laboratory—people who had nothing to do with humanity—were actually planning to turn over a new leaf and become decent human beings.