My Childhood Friend Turned Yandere in the Apocalypse

Chapter 244: Ch 244: Core Absorption - Part 1

The warmth Rin felt suddenly turned into a blazing inferno. His insides felt as though they were melting from the pain of being burned alive by the power pulsing inside him.

His consciousness was also fading, and Rin could hardly concentrate on what was going on. He gasped and thrashed around before he felt the darkness behind his eyelids change into a beautiful landscape.

But the landscape was burning, and in front of Rin stood the creature’s branch, unaffected by the heat and cold.

"How is the experiment going?"

A familiar voice asked, and Rin turned around, only to see Shelly’s mother standing behind him with a clipboard in her hand. She looked bored as she jotted down notes.

An unknown person (presumably her assistant) quickly replied to her in a nervous voice.

"T-The experiment is a success. We have managed to extract the heat-repelling genes from this creature. We have also extracted enough information from it that we won’t need it anymore."

Karina nodded, but she showed no emotion. Instead, she walked toward the test tubes lying not too far away and picked one up.

"Hmm, so all the preparations are ready?"

she asked, and her assistant nodded.

"M-Miss Karina, may I ask what you are planning? I know that the higher-ups tasked you with something burdensome. But are you really going to follow their lead and do as they asked?"

The assistant sounded confused and scared at the same time. It was unclear whether she distrusted the higher-ups or simply found their orders distasteful. But she was brave enough to question their decision.

Karina looked at her assistant with amused eyes before walking over to her and placing a hand over her lips. It made her assistant stare at her with a wide-eyed look.

"Shhh, don’t question what we have been asked to do. Otherwise, you won’t be able to work here for long. The best way to survive here is to keep your head down and pretend you don’t notice the oddities around you, alright?"

Karina told her assistant, and the person nodded, looking almost enchanted by Karina’s actions.

But Karina did not linger much longer. Instead, she carried the injection she had just mixed toward the other side of the room.

Rin tried to follow her, but pain assaulted his body, making it hard for him to move.

His instincts told him that he needed to see what Karina was doing, so he pushed past the pain and somehow managed to get close enough to witness her actions.

She injected the liquid genes into a tube, and Rin could see a small baby inside once she stepped back.

The baby was so small that it was impossible to tell who it was. But Rin had a feeling he knew the identity of that child.

"Miss Karina, did you just...inject some of those genes into your own child’s tube? Won’t she die?"

the assistant asked in a worried voice, her eyes fixed on the child in the tube before her.

But Karina did not show the same concern.

"This child will be fine. Since she grew up so close to that otherworldly creature, she has gained resistance to its power. That does not mean she’s immune, but she is much more accepting of it."

"And that means...?"

"That means she will be powerful once she grows up. She is no longer one hundred percent human, but at least she is more human than the other children involved in this project."

Karina’s voice held no emotion when she spoke about Shelly and what she was doing to her.

Rin felt anger burst inside him as he looked at Karina’s detached attitude toward Shelly. She was treating her own child like a toy.

"Madam, are you sure you should be playing with your child’s life like this? What if Shelly comes to hate you in the future because of all this?"

the assistant asked, and Rin had never felt so connected to someone before. He wanted to pat the assistant on the back and tell her that she was doing an amazing job.

However, Karina looked detached and even gave the assistant a look that seemed to ask, ’Are you serious?’

"Why would I care about a child’s feelings in this matter? As long as she’s alive and can provide me with the samples I need to wake her up, I don’t care whether she hates me or wants to date me. All I want is for her to stay alive."

Karina’s words held no affection for her child, and even her assistant flinched at the coldness before slowly nodding.

"I see. Well, I’m sure this kid will grow up strong. And since she has your looks, I’m sure she will be beautiful as well. Do you think she’ll get a lot of proposals?"

the assistant asked, trying to lighten the mood.

This was the first and only time Rin saw a smile appear on Karina’s face. But instead of feeling reassured, Rin felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Hmm, I’m sure the ones who like her will have a hard time getting close to her. After all, she has my DNA. I have a feeling she will inherit my obsession as well."

Karina sounded certain of herself as she looked at Shelly.

Rin also looked at Shelly with a sorrowful expression.

His chest was burning, but for a completely different reason now. He could not bear to look at Shelly any longer, so he looked away.

His eyes landed on the branch of the creature he was connected to, and his feet moved toward it. It was calling out to him.

Rin slowly reached out to touch the creature, and he flinched as his hand brushed against the branch before him. It felt cool and soothing to the touch, chasing away the burning sensation inside him.

He leaned against the tree a little more and closed his eyes to enjoy the silence.

"Can I stay like this...a little longer?"

Rin asked, but he did not receive an answer.

However, the silence was enough for him to close his eyes and fall asleep.