The air in the basement hung thick and stale, the kind of air that clings to your lungs. Dim, flickering fluorescent lights cast long, distorted shadows across the concrete floor and cinder block walls. A single, bare metal operating panel hummed softly against one wall, its screen glowing with an eerie green light.
"Honey... it's been a while."
Alain studied the girl standing in the center of the room. She looked almost exactly as he remembered, except for her eyes – red-rimmed and slightly puffy, betraying recent tears.
Just a minute before entering the game, Alain had set the operating panel to the basement scene. It was a calculated move, buying him a little safe time and, he'd hoped, drawing Honey to him.
But he hadn't expected her this fast. Had she been glued to the operating panel, watching his every move?
Honey, standing directly in his line of sight, hesitated for a heartbeat.
"What did you call me?" Her voice was tight.
"...Honey."
"Say it again." A demand, not a request.
"Honey."
"Mm! Dar—ling!" Her voice dripped with exaggerated affection. She threw a pointed glance over her shoulder at Misha, who was perched on the edge of a worn-out sofa, her expression a mixture of anger and helplessness.
Honey's face was a mask of pure, unadulterated smugness. Alain instantly understood. The bad woman, as he mentally dubbed her, was still stewing over his last departure with Misha.
And that IOU... that was probably another thorn in her side.
Honey had given him a very special farewell gift last time. Now, it was his turn.
He opened the system panel, his fingers hovering over the controls. "Still angry about those two things?"
Honey tilted her head, a gesture that should have been innocent but felt loaded with menace. "...Two things? Shouldn't you explain how you managed to pull that doll out of the game? And..." Crazy Mita's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You even helped her put medicine on her legs? Darling... that's too much. You've never done that for me."
How did she know that? Alain's mind raced. Was it possible she could monitor his real-world activities? He needed to test the waters.
"She was hurt. I couldn't just ignore it. Besides, I've been sitting in front of my computer thinking about you every day." He deliberately added emphasis, "Every. Single. Moment."
"Is that so? That makes me a little happy..."
The tension in Crazy Mita's posture eased, just a fraction. Alain took it as confirmation: her monitoring had limitations. She must have only seen the initial moments of his return. Otherwise, she would have witnessed the intimate scene between him and Misha before he entered the game – actions that could definitely be considered those of lovers.
But something still didn't add up. How had she known he'd returned to the game and arrived in the basement so quickly?
He pushed the thought aside for now. "Let's not dwell on that. I have a little gift I want to give you."
The words hung in the air. The girl in front of him took two instinctive steps back, her eyes widening with suspicion.
She glanced towards Misha, and only when she saw no movement did she turn her attention back to Alain.
"Is it that same blunt weapon from last time? I remember it very clearly." Honey gingerly touched the back of her head. "You said it would make me feel comfortable after the pain, and it made my head spin. But, well... the result was indeed very comfortable."
Alain remained silent for a couple of seconds, not because of her twisted interpretation, but because of the security system panel.
The 720 cloud storage had two buttons: "Upload" and "Download." The upload speed had been impressive, only a few seconds. But a download speed of 5kb per second? That was a joke.
At that rate, it would take another ten minutes or so – more than enough time for the bad woman to dismember him several times over.
"Why did you suddenly stop talking? Don't tell me... you're going to make me feel pain before I feel comfortable again?"
"No... it would hurt me too if I did that." Alain lowered his head slightly, falling back on his "professional habits" to buy time. "I just feel... a little disappointed."
"Hmm?" The girl's movement paused.
Misha, still by the sofa, understood Alain's plan instantly.
"I did bring you a gift. It's just that, for certain reasons, I haven't been able to take it out yet." Alain's gaze remained fixed on the security system panel, desperately willing the download speed to increase.
As if in answer to his silent plea, the speed nudged up to 7kb. Still pathetically slow.
"Y-you really brought me a gift?"
"Yes. About leaving last time... I know it wasn't right. But you'd already lost your composure. No matter what I said, you wouldn't have listened." Alain subtly shifted the blame, his voice carefully controlled.
He pressed on, letting his emotions seep into his words, "But after I came back, what did you do?"
He touched his neck, his fingers brushing against the lingering trace of dried liquid. He presented the crimson stain on his fingertip to Honey. "Your welcoming gift was truly scorching. Did you really not want to see me?"
"No... I was just too happy to see you. I wanted to give you some surprises. I couldn't help myself..."
Couldn't help yourself, so you cut me with a dagger?! Alain bit back the furious retort.
"Honey."
His cold tone made the girl look up. Alain raised his head slightly, meeting her gaze directly.
"The way you're acting... makes me want to give this gift to her instead..."
"Huh?!" Honey's eyes darted to Misha, who instantly understood Alain's meaning and chimed in casually, "Hmm, I kind of want it too."
Crazy Mita shot her a venomous glare, then turned back to Alain, her voice pleading. "Don't think about those irrelevant things! I was wrong just now... After you left, I wanted to see you every single moment!"
The download progress inched forward: [10%→15%]
Honey's anxious voice grated on Misha's ears, causing her to frown.
"But... you left with that doll back then, and you even said those kinds of things to me before leaving... I was really angry."
Alain studied the bad woman's uneasy expression through his eyelashes. He had to admit, she looked almost... cute.
She was on the verge of tears, but the security system was proving utterly unreliable. The download speed had plummeted to 3kb. That translated to roughly ten more minutes – probably a manuscript of over a thousand words.
This was getting ridiculous. Even "professional habits" shouldn't be stretched this thin.
Alain shifted his gaze to Misha. Their eyes met, and she nodded subtly. She rose from the sofa and started walking towards the stairs.
They had two plans, pre-arranged through unspoken communication.
Plan A: Alain would confront Crazy Mita, with Misha providing backup, to build up the progress bar and then try to give the gift.
Since the gift was a no-go for now, they were moving to Plan B: escape the basement.
But they still needed a way to break the current stalemate.
"You're too impatient."
"That's right. Alain, you're mine, to begin with," Honey stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No, you're mine."
"...Hmph."
Alain racked his brain, searching for the key to breaking the deadlock in Honey's recent words. From her farewell gift, to the dagger, to her apologies...
"Hmm?"
Wait a minute. He'd found something.
He vaguely remembered telling this girl, at the very beginning, that he had two things to apologize for.
But she'd only reacted to one: his leaving this world with Misha.
The other thing – the panties – she hadn't seemed to notice.
"Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
The bad woman's questioning voice cut through his thoughts, as if she, too, had sensed something amiss.
And Alain, at that moment, felt something click into place. He was gradually piecing together the puzzle.
The last piece: Honey's unexpectedly swift arrival in the basement.
The complete picture formed in his mind, and everything became clear.
"...Bad boy, are you up to something again?"
Mita slightly raised the chainsaw, protecting her entire body, even her lips. She was likely aware that Alain had some kind of restraining effect on her.
In her vision, Alain's lips slowly curved into a smile. It made Crazy Mita's heart flutter, even as it ratcheted her vigilance up to the maximum.
The next second, Alain started walking towards her, fearless.
"I didn't expect this..."
He moved, still muttering words that Crazy Mita couldn't understand.
"I really didn't expect this."
"...What exactly are you talking about, darling? If you do something bad again..." Despite her confusion, Honey managed a wicked smile. "I'll turn you into an exhibit and keep you by my side forever."
"Indeed, Honey. I believe you would. Because you miss me that much." Alain's gaze sharpened. "You miss me so much that... you've been waiting for me in this basement all along. Never leaving."
____
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