Chapter 66 - The Institute (7)

He was dreaming.

The world in the dream was fluid, full of blurred and weird colors, inverted lines, distorted waves. A blood red sky, white sun, dark blue trees and burnt yellow floors. He couldn't tell what was going on, but he knew he was dreaming.

He didn't have a sense of self, like a wisp of slowly drifting air, he seemed to be everywhere but at the same time nowhere. 

He had no resistance, no thoughts, he felt drunk, only existing in a dull blankness as he drifted among the reddish clouds.

Then he was falling, but there was no ground beneath him, just falling in an endless nothingness.

Falling....

Falling...

FALLING!....

Gasp!

Chu Yi woke up covered in sweat and a burning dryness in his throat. He didn't have time to assess his situation and a wave of dry heat washed over him without warning.

The old mattress in the ward that he lay on didn't feel like a place for sleeping anymore, rather more like a heated oven that sought to roast him alive. He felt as if all the water within his body was slowly evaporating bit by bit and even the pores on his skin seemed to open up to emit a light smoke as he cooked.

" Water…" He mumbled out weakly half-conscious, however, his voice sounded hoarse and cracked due to his dry throat.

I'm being transformed.

This thought didn't appear abruptly amidst his disorderly and overheated mind , rather he indeed felt this way.

He didn't feel like himself anymore, like something foreign had taken root in his body and was slowly changing him from the inside out.

Like a parasite.

He just didn't know how long this transformation would take or whether he would even survive it. He didn't fear this unknown however and even the feeling as if he was being burnt alive, couldn't stop the vague anticipation that had already started brewing in his heart.

He could hear around him, that the others were also in a similar situation but even the heavy and heated pants could not compare to the sound of his own heartbeat.

Trembling, he felt around the bed and shifted away the heavy sheets that covered him, trying to get up, but his fingers also felt extremely heavy, and he couldn't even find the strength to lift them.

His consciousness struggled against the blinding heat and dizziness, but then it once again fell back into a quagmire, completely losing his ability to think or resist. His body appeared to be just a large whirlpool filled with boiling magma, sinking, sinking, sinking...

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he had started believing that all the water molecules inside his body were about to completely burn away and as he was pondering the possibility of just combusting from the heat, he felt a strange coldness touch his skin.

It was instantaneous relief against his burning body and yet it didn't quench the thirst that had boiled over inside him and he unconsciously twitched in want.

Something soft and moist touched his forehead, replacing the hand, brushing against the skin with extreme care and forceful gentleness. He had no mind to think about what it was and his eyelids were too heavy to be lifted.

And then it lowered.

Like a man stranded in a desert, at the first sight of an oais, he could only drink desperately. Chu Yi raised his head in a fluster and readily captured the slippery tongue like thing that ventured inside his mouth nd tried his best to suck as much moisture as he could from it!

Something soft covered gently over his lips and he could vaguely hear a bad chuckle over the wet squelching noise, but that didn't stop him from sucking on the thing that was inside his mouth.

The moisture content taken into his mouth contained a light salty taste of seawater but also reminded him of the smell of dried herbs, nevertheless it had an astringent taste that instead of feeling refreshed, left him even more parched. It made him stretch out his neck like a fragile swan, wanting to take in more.

All of a sudden, the gentle but forceful strength placed on his lips became harsh and the soft thing in his mouth withdrew for a second and then dived back in, this time with the intention to plunder.

There was a cool and moist liquid with a bittersweet taste that flowed slowly into his mouth, eventually overflowing from his lips, as the soft object pried open, swept over and left his mark on every crevice inside of him.

Chu Yi gulped down hungrily, his own tongue touching the soft object, there wasn't much thought in his head but to get more fluid. Because the heat had never stopped , even getting higher the more he sucked.

He caressed the thing with his heated tongue and found a small opening at the end when trailing up along it.

Ah, these were lips.

He seemed to finally realize something but the tongue inside his mouth, didn't give him a chance to retreat.

It plundered and the heat burned like the tiny sun inside him!

The strong instinctual longing forced him to squeeze out the small ounce of strength left inside to allow my hands to grope at the person lying against him, pressing on my head, taking note of the wet threads, and forced the tongue even deeper,

Even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't, a compelling force held onto him tightly; he could only grasp the person tightly with trembling hands , underneath his hands that held the man's head, he seemed to feel a smooth and tightly curved object, like a small horn under the silky wet threads.

The man jerked and Chu Yi could feel him shudder under him, with one final push he came down further onto Chu Yi, a dark shadow casting over Chu Yi's greedy face. A cool silk thread of saliva flowed down from his lips to his hot neck like a chip ice, bringing him an unspeakable coolness and comfort. 

The last thing he felt before he collapsed into a heated faint was the man's cool lips imprinting a soft kiss against his forehead.

*******

Chu Yi was the first to get up the next morning and even though he knew it was useless, he still looked around heedlessly.

Not here. As expected,

Tang Shun came next and gradually with the rustle of sheets and exhausted groans, the others woke up one by one.

"Did you also go through it last night?"

There was no need to elaborate, with grim faces the players confirmed their stories against each other and by the time the iron gates opened and they trickled out to join the rest, from the tired and ugly faces of the rest, it definitely wasn't an isolated incident.

Chu Yi noticed that amongst the NPC's who were regarded as nothing but backdrops against the instance, there was a few of them that seemed sicker and paler than everyone else. 

Something was wrong.

His premonition was immediately proven correct when opon lining for the Physical examination and Medicine Distribution, a few persons suddenly dropped to the floors!

Their wide-open eyes were lifeless and glassy, even if they could still vaguely see their chests undulating as they struggled to inhale air, it still didn't lessen the shocks the residents felt.

Neither did it answer their questions.

Compared to the suprise and consternation on the faces of the players, the nurses didn't seem remotely surprised and even looked dissatisfied when counting the number of bodies on the floor.

Eventually they were wheeled out like body bags on a rickety old trolley. No one knowing what would happen to them.

The Head Nurse once again didn't give them enough time to process the recent events and immediately dropped a bomb on them.

"You will be allowed outside today. In order to ensure the long-lasting mental and physical health of the residents during this course, every other day you will be allowed outside of the building as long as you are on the immediate premises guarded by the fences. "

"If you are caught trying to escape, or you touch the fence you will be disabled and brought back to the Institute to be subject to punishments."

In this way, more and more did they resemble prisoners. Jailed cells, compulsory outdoor time and strict wardens.

The players didn't struggle on this aspect for long because the minute they walked out of the Institute, they felt as if they had waked into an entirely new time and space.

Almost as if it had been waiting for their appearance,, the grey sky suddenly brightened up with golden - yellow rays, as if the black cloth covering the sky was suddenly torn apart by invisible hands!

At the edge of the horizon, a new day was appearing, the sun rose and hung proudly above the horizon, the brilliance of it's afterglow sprinkled on the dumbfounded faces of the residents.

It hadn't been more than two days but the players felt as if they hadn't seen such a sight in years. At this moment, some of them, couldn't stop stheir eyes from tearing up in the slightest.

After the bout of unfounded emotions subsided, the players split into their default groups to discuss plans.

Tang Shun, Chao Bin and Chu Yi eventually settled on a deserted corner of the strait, near the fences, they couldn't avoid the snake like eyes of the guards in the watch tower that surveilled their entire movement, but they were at the very least abke to find somewhat of a blind spot.

And neither were they weren't the largest group, therefore the the conspicuous, some people even walked alone for this exact reason.

The largest group in hindsight, boldly occupied the middle of the yard, Chu Yi recognized one of them as Mu Fang from the shack, he had become the leader of the largest group among the players and was currently discussing something with with a solemn look.

Yet it was evident what they were talking, in fact almost, if not all of the players were on the same page; Last Night.

Suddenly Chao Bin stopped.

Obviously taken aback.

Before he could speak up to the others, he actually heard someone from outside the fence calling his name!

The other party seemed to be standing far away, and it's voice was as sticky as a rice cake, passing the through thick wires to his ears, almost as if it was caressing it with soft fingers.

Chao Bin immediately swallowed what he was about to say, carefully distinguishing the sound coming from the barren field.

This was not the voice of Chu Yi or Tang Shun nor was it anyone he knows... even... it didn't feel like a human voice!

And yet it seemed inexplicably attractive. And before he knew it, he lost control of his own body.

"Chi Nan? Where are you going?"

Tang Shun asked, looking at Chao Bin walking towards the fence without a sound.

"Chao Bin ?" Tang Shun lowered his voice, a little taken aback 

Chao Bin finally answered but he didn't stop moving even seemed to be in a little trance-like state "A voice...there is a voice calling me. l'll go and check it out."

The voice seemed to be made by many people at the same time, the distant calls were overlapping, and they densely lingered in his ears seemed to be a constant whispering curse or like a seductive sigh. 

He couldn't tell

He didn't want to know.

He just wanted to see it's face.

He wanted to find out, to look at the image behind the voice. It must be beautiful, a voice like a nightingale , a beauty like a fox, he could even faintly hear his heart speeding up the closer he got to the fence, he could even feel the danger signal in his brain going off but he didn't stop because of this, he must know the face, he must-

"This fucking idiot."

At the same time the voice was heard, Chao Bin felt a unresistable.force, then he was roughly dragged back by the collar to stand in front of a impatient Chu Yi. 

Chao Bin was stunned for a moment, and when he returned to his senses, he found that the curse-like sound had stopped, and he was only two steps away from the fence!

The fence was forbidden to touch and in the corner of his eyes, he could see an red glare from a gun pointed straight between his brows like a cold knife pointed straight at his face!

What happened just now?!