<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles pointed at the poisonous insect in Yvette’s hand, disbelief written all over his face. “Yvette, it’s fixated on you…</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette raised an eyebrow, her clear eyes lifting to meet his. She spoke slowly, “Maybe. It probably thinks I look pretty</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles was momentarily speechless.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jeremiah stepped forward, noticing the poisonous insect in Yvente’s palm. He furrowed his brow. “Could it have any effect on your body?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette picked up a box and ced the poisonous insect inside, sealing it. The other poisonous insects in the nearby boxes, which had been restless moments ago, instantly grew quiet. The one she had released earlier was now huddled in a corner, trembling.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette spoke again. “No, it’s developed intelligence.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles felt as though he had stepped into an unfamiliar world today. Yvette had just mentioned a poisonous insect developing intelligence. ‘How many strange and mysterious things are still hidden in this world?‘ he thought.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">The world was vast, and nothing seemed too bizarre to exist. Today, Charles had witnessed something truly eye–opening. Every time he was with Yvette, he seemed to encounter one strange event after another..</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jeremiah didn’t seem particrly surprised by Yvette’s words. His expression remained calm and unaffected.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Just then, a faint voice drifted in from outside. “Help me.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles’s expression darkened. “Yvette, aren’t these all puppets? How is it that someone is speaking?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette exchanged a nce with Jeremiah. He murmured, “Let’s go check it out.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Stepping outside the small hut, they found arge jar nearby. A woman, Winnie, suddenly emerged from it. Her face was a sickly pale white, yetpared to the others, her eyes held a flicker of rity.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">The moment Winnie saw Yvette and the others, she excitedly tried to reach out but then remembered her hands were bound and couldn’t move. She hadn’t had water for several days, and her voice was hoarse.</font></font>Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org.
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Her face was scarred and disfigured from being bitten by poisonous insects. “Please save me. I beg you. Please help me,” she cried.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Charles rushed forward, smashing the jar to free Winnie. Her lower body waspletely rotted, oozing pus, a disgusting sight.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Yvette looked at her with an expressionless face. She pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and ced it to the side. Winnie would not survive long after leaving the jar.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">The candy would only temporarily ease the spread of the toxins in her body and alleviate the pain, nothing more.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Winnie grabbed the candy and gulped it down without even chewing, desperate for the relief it promised. Once she had eaten the candy, a warmth spread through her body, and her breathing became slightly easier.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jeremiah observed her, his gaze deepening. “The candy in Yvette’s hand is indeed extraordinary,’ he thought.</font></font>
Charles, watching Winnie, asked, “How did you end up in the jar? What happened?”
Winnie, enduring the pain in her body, spoke in broken Clusian, recounting how she had been tricked intoing to Dungo Vige.
She began. “I’m not from Dungo Vige. Ie from a small town in South East Aploth. A few years ago, a group of people came to our town.
“They said they could offer good jobs, with sries far higher than what we could earn at home, more than ten times what we made. Almost everyone in the town signed up.
“At first, we didn’t believe them, but after a while, those who left would send money home regrly. Over time, we began to trust them, and everyone wanted to leave and work with them.”
Winnie paused, regret flooding her heart. If only they hadn’t been so easily deceived, she wouldn’t have ended up in this terrible situation, transformed into something unrecognizable.
She wiped her tears and continued, “But after that, those people never came back. We didn’t suspect anything until half a year ago when I was chosen toe here.
“At first, I worked as a servant at the Jacobs residence. A month ago, Sheldon… he… he raped me. Then I was drugged. When I woke up, I found myself inside this jar. Holden and Sheldon are both scum.
“Everyone who came with me has already lost consciousness and turned into hosts for poisonous insects. Since Sheldon still finds me appealing and is obsessed with my body, he keeps me here secretly, hiding it from Holden.
“It wasn’t until a few days ago when I angered him, that he threw me into this jar with the poisonous insects. If it weren’t for your arrival, I probably would have be just like them in a few days. Thanks… thanks so much.”
As Winnie finished speaking, her head began to feel increasingly heavy. She sensed that her time was running out.
In the dim silence of the secret room, Yvette looked at Winnie’s trembling form, pressing lightly at the corner of her eye
Yvette spoke calmly. “I have a way to keep you alive, but I can’t restore your looks or heal the damage to your body. You’ll have less than ten years left to live, and during that time, pain will be your constantpanion.”
Jeremiah tilted his head slightly, his gaze cold and prating. Charles was stunned. He hadn’t expected that even with Winnie’s serious condition, Yvette might still be able to save her
Hearing this, Winnie nodded excitedly. She could hardly believe what she’d just heard.
“Miss, I… I… ten years, even three years… I’ll take it. I want to go home and see my parents. I don’t want to die here,” Winnie said.
Yvette lowered her gaze, taking out the ornate box holding the poisonous insect. She opened it and, with a serious tone, addressed it inside. “Wake up. It’s time for you to get to work.”
Charles was utterly bewildered. “Yvette, who… who are you talking to? Who’s supposed to work?”
Jeremiah looked intently at the poisonous insect in the box, a thoughtful expression deepening in his eyes.
Charles nced into the box and saw the insect. He was incredulous. “Wait, Yvette, you’re saying it… it can heal?”
The poisonous insect moved, stretched its tiny wings, and then shot Charles a look of pure disdain.
Charles rubbed his eyes. ‘What the heck? Did that big, fleshy insect just give me a look of contempt? This world’s he thought.
The poisonous insect then flew out of the box. Yvette pointed to Winnie lying on the ground. “Go on.”
gone mad,
The insect flew around Winnie, sniffing her scent with a hint of disgust. It tried to turn and fly back, but Yvette’s steely gaze made it change course, and it reluctantly went back to Winnie.
Reluctantly, it settled onto her, and Winnie froze, not daring to move an inch.
Half an hourter, the poisonous insect’s belly had swollen significantly, while Winnie’s face grew visibly healthier. Finally, Yvette said, “Come back.”
As if it understood, the poisonous insect immediately pped its little wings, flew back to the box, and flopped down, belly up.
Charles, who had watched everything from start to finish, had gone from initial shock toplete numbness. His heart had settled into an unshakable calm.
Winnie’s face became gradually rosy, strength returning to her body. After the insect flew away, she was able to support herself against the wall and stand.
Ovee with joy, Winnie bowed to Yvette. “Thank you, Miss. I promise to repay you once I leave.”
Yvette sidestepped her, still looking rxed and indifferent. “No need. Go and do what you want to do.”
Meanwhile, Holden exited Sheldon’s room, his face dark, gripping the note Jeremiah had left behind yesterday.
The words on that note stabbed painfully at Holden. Despite his rage, he couldn’t bring himself to tear it up. It was his only clue.
No matter how much hatred he felt, Holden was determined to hunt this person down and tear them to pieces.