The black screen soon displayed new visuals: a snowy morning where Xilin, with slightly tattered clothes, silently followed the troop, her body trembling.
Unlike the surrounding environment, her face was filled with hope, even receiving encouragement from her companions.
"Xilin, you have to hold on. Once we reach the sanatorium, everything will get better."
"Bella... I... I don't think I can make it..."
Xilin's face was ashen. Days of arduous travel, coupled with the cold wind and snow, had pushed her stamina to its limit. But if she lost her strength, their leader would mercilessly abandon her, perhaps with the guise of saying: "This child is either sick or disabled..."
Everyone watching the video felt a chill. It was as if they stood on the icy plains, watching it all unfold with helplessness, unable to change anything.
"How can they do this? Making a girl wear such little, tattered clothes in the freezing snow, and still force her to travel?"
Hu Tao was the first to voice her displeasure. Did this leader have some serious issues? I hope they don't appear in my game, or I'll beat them to a pulp!
Those unfamiliar with this game could only pity the little girl, offering sympathy but nothing more.
The video continued. After crossing mountains and rivers, the group arrived before a tall tower... named the Tower of Babylon.
"This... is the sanatorium? Bella... I really can't hold on anymore..."
Xilin collapsed into Bella's arms. When she awoke again, she found herself in a prison cell, surrounded by two or three other girls. Each cell seemed to hold about five people.
The naive Xilin believed this was the promised sanatorium and wanted to explore. However, she saw the locked doors, the patrolling soldiers, and the doctors in white coats.
"Bella... where is this place? Weren't we going to the sanatorium?"
Bella didn't answer, her eyes a dull gray, like a girl who had lost all hope, no longer struggling, becoming numb...
"Answer me, Bella! Are we... really at the sanatorium?"
As soon as she finished speaking, someone barged in. A person in a white coat selected a girl, and two nearby soldiers dragged her away.
Outside, a person in a white coat said with a smile, "This batch of children is quite good, quite strong. I wonder how many times they can endure... Hopefully, they'll last longer in the experiments..."
Hearing this, Bella shrank further, her eyes filled with terror. Unlike the unconscious Xilin, she had seen everything. She had truly seen the girls with green tubes inserted into them.
Thinking it might be her, all she felt was dread, not wanting to face it.
The screen went black again. The viewers were silent. Even the Traveler, on her way to Mondstadt, felt a pang of disgust. Experimenting on girls was too much, more sickening than the Doctor himself. How had those people lived so long?
At the tea shop, Zhongli accidentally crushed his teacup. He didn't know why, but a feeling of indignation welled up within him. It had been a long time since he felt this way... as if he were witnessing it firsthand, so real.
This scene reminded him of Hu Tao's grandfather. Hu Tao, that child, was truly pitiful. Both her parents were dead. She was raised by her grandfather, but even he couldn't escape the clutches of illness and passed away...
The first funeral she handled was for her grandfather, the one who had raised her. He had made a contract with me to look after Hu Tao as an esteemed guest in the future.
But now, it was that child taking care of me. Old Master Hu, do you see?
The screen lit up once more. This time, Xilin had grown significantly, but the light in her eyes from childhood was gone, replaced by confusion. The only thing supporting her now was Bella.
"Tomorrow is Bella's birthday... How should I celebrate it?"
In this so-called sanatorium, having leftover scraps to eat was considered fortunate. How could there be any time or resources for a cake?
Just as Xilin was contemplating how to celebrate Bella's birthday, a corpse was unceremoniously thrown in, landing heavily on the ground. Its eyes were filled with terror, regret, and a hint of release.
And the owner of that corpse was Bella.
"Bella...? You... you promised me you wouldn't kill her! You broke your word! You beasts, may you be cut into a thousand pieces!"
Xilin's last line of defense shattered. The balance within her heart was broken. Her eyes were filled with hatred. She wanted to kill everyone in front of her, soldiers and researchers alike. All of them deserved to die!
"Heh? Just you? You can't even get out, and you want to kill us? That so-called promise was just to keep you compliant. Don't tell me, after all this time, you still don't understand us? You are nothing but lab rats waiting to be slaughtered..."
Behind those in white coats, evil smiles seemed to appear. They circled Xilin again and again. With a *crack*, something seemed to shatter.
"Do you... need power? I can give you the power to kill everything, even all of humanity! Now, give me your answer, yes or no?"
A voice echoed in her mind. Xilin clenched her fists, her nails piercing her skin, drawing blood.
"I... I need power... Please give me the power! I want revenge! I want to kill everyone who brought me pain! Please, lend me your strength..."
The owner of the voice seemed satisfied. With a wave, four gems floated serenely before merging into her body.
"From now on, you are no longer called Xilin. You have only one name: Herrscher of the Void!"
Powerful Honkai energy blasted the iron cage in front of her. Her long purple hair floated in the air, and a flicker of madness appeared in her golden eyes. I will return all this pain to you!
Within the vast underground space, countless laboratories were hidden. The unsuspecting researchers inside were all annihilated. Everywhere Xilin went, blood followed.
All the viewers watched the deaths of those people without sympathy. They were all madmen with countless lives on their hands, especially those of girls. How could they deserve sympathy? Some even felt a sense of grim satisfaction, as if their own resentment had been appeased.