The Underclass - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

After confirming there was no radiation leak, they quickly exited through the doors.

A look of relaxed pleasure rested on 8824's face. Before parting ways with Galaxy, she slipped a card into her palm and smiled generously. "This is my card and my room number."

With that, she turned down a different corridor.

Life in the underground research institute was incredibly dull. Every day was spent either conducting R&D experiments or shuffling between different testing bases. There was very little entertainment during rest periods, and taking the elevator up to the outside world was a hassle. Few people, like the young researcher she had encountered earlier that day, would take a stroll outside for no major reason.

Therefore, the birth and sharing of physical desires weren't prohibited here.

In fact, one could say it was overly permissive; once night fell, the activities behind various closed doors were shockingly decadent.

8824 obviously favored Galaxy's looks immensely, eager to secure a beautiful night with her the moment they were out of danger.

Galaxy glanced at the room number on the card and quickly pocketed it. She turned her head to look back at the doors, where people were still constantly entering and exiting.

She thought she should steal a piece of the radiation-purged tyap-j. Fula's team had only studied their sample of unpurified tyap-j for a very short time before thoroughly destroying it once they confirmed its radioactivity.

Perhaps tyap-j was different before and after the radiation was cleared.

Galaxy roamed the massive underground institute for a full lap, managing to gather quite a bit of information under the guise of being 8927.

In a base of over eight thousand people, dropping a slight lie to verify details was trivially easy. Her original goal should have been finding An Hua, but locating her under a numerical code was simply too difficult.

Given An Hua's status and genetic intelligence, Galaxy figured she was easily in the top one hundred. But the identities and facial data of the top one hundred were strictly confidential. It was highly unlikely anyone would know where they lived or worked, making finding her as hard as ascending to the heavens.

Moreover, this place wasn't like the abandoned Lucia Town research base, where she could blow things up at will. If she made even the slightest malicious move and was detected by the emotion monitors, she might be executed on the spot.

So, she figured it was better to focus on stealing the tyap-j first, ensuring the trip wasn't a total waste.

When night fell, she ultimately went to find 8824.

8824's room was located in a corner of the institute. This entire sector housed researchers numbered 8500 and above. If Galaxy genuinely became a researcher, her ranking meant she would likely live here too. However, lodging in this area wasn't strictly assigned by number—you could choose your own room. Which meant if she really was a researcher, she might end up being 8824's neighbor.

Behind the door, 8824 had just finished showering. Her hair was still soaking wet. Having changed out of the stark white lab coat, she wore only a simple T-shirt and shorts. Seeing Galaxy arrive, her eyes lit up again, and she hurriedly pulled her inside.

8824's room lacked the cold, sterile aesthetic of the surrounding sector. Instead, the lighting in the one-bedroom apartment was incredibly soft. Plush charms were hung everywhere, and the dining table was draped with a pale yellow polka-dot tablecloth.

She led Galaxy into the bedroom. The bed was made with light blue plush sheets and duvet covers, and a ring of "Speaker Cats"—a toy popular in the outside world two years ago—was arranged above the pillows.

8824 likely hadn't left the institute in two years.

Galaxy stood slightly stunned. Only upon entering this room did 8824 feel like a real human being to her, rather than the blindly loyal researcher who had spoken so eloquently under that fake, artificial starry sky.

But before she could say anything, 8824 tenderly pressed her lips against hers. Pressing downward, Galaxy was forced onto the bed. 8824 cradled the back of her head, licking her lips like a kitten before delving into her mouth, leaving no room to breathe.

The Speaker Cats behind them were knocked aside. Under the pressure of their bodies, one of them emitted a slightly staticky greeting: "Hello, dear lady. Welcome to Niannian's home."

"Hello, lady. Welcome to Niannian's home."

Panting softly, 8824 buried her face in the crook of Galaxy's neck and said hoarsely, "That's me. My name is Niannian."

Galaxy felt dizzy from the kiss. She reached out, trying to pull the Speaker Cat out from under them, but 8824 pinned her wrist down. 8824's kiss fell again, and she deliberately pressed Galaxy back down against the Speaker Cat, triggering its voice line once more.

"Hello, lady. Welcome to Niannian's home."

The voice echoed in Galaxy's ears over and over. She gasped for air, finally managing to catch her breath when 8824 gave her a moment of reprieve.

She called out hoarsely, "Niannian? So I can call you Niannian in private from now on?"

8824 laughed, laughing so hard she almost trembled. She silenced Galaxy with another kiss, only pulling away when Galaxy was out of breath again. "No. There is no Niannian here. There is only 8824 and 8927. I don't need to know your name, and you don't need to know mine."

"But we know each other now, don't we?" Galaxy stroked her hair, her tone sweet, seductive, and slightly pitiful. "We'll be staying in the institute together from now on, spending many nights like this. Cold numbers make me feel a little empty inside."

8824 shook her head. "My name is an ominous thing. The friends who used to know my name all died in the labs right in front of me. I don't want you to die too."

"We don't need to know each other's names. It's enough to know that we are both entirely loyal to the Federation."

Galaxy frowned. She could already piece together the psychological state 8824 had developed since arriving at the institute.

Perhaps after coming here, she had endured the loss of her friends time and time again. Unable to leave, and unable to betray her loyalty to the Federation, she had to give herself a new anchor.

Only the Federation mattered. Her sacrifices, and the sacrifices of her dead friends, were all for the Federation.

She no longer needed to know the names of new friends. That way, in her heart, they were just a string of numbers. Even if they passed away, it was just a string of numbers that left.

Galaxy smiled somewhat foolishly, a deep blush across her face. "Then let me tell you my name, okay? My name is Eden."

8824 lowered her eyes, seeming somewhat helpless. She didn't answer, merely leaning down for another kiss. But this time, she trailed down her neck, effortlessly discovering another damp haven.

Galaxy felt the heat and seemed to hear 8824 softly murmuring the new, fabricated name she had just spun.

Eden.

This was a paradise.

A paradise belonging to 8824.

The Garden of Eden from old-era myths.

Galaxy finally found a chance to pull the Speaker Cat out from behind her, only to plunge right back into the delirium 8824 brought upon her.

Before coming, she hadn't expected 8824 to be so infatuated with her body. She didn't know how much time had passed before the other woman fed her half a glass of honey water, rescuing her parched throat. She lay limply on the bed. 8824 was exhausted too, burying her entire face into the crook of Galaxy's neck as if trying to escape from something.

Galaxy decided this wouldn't do; she still had information she hadn't managed to extract yet.

She formulated her approach and then, feigning casual conversation, said, "This morning when my mentor picked me up, a case of SAR broke out in the mine. It really startled me."

"Mhm?" 8824 didn't seem particularly interested, merely humming in agreement.

Galaxy continued, "At the time, the miners were begging my mentor to save this little girl. So we carried her back to the institute and put her in that tyap-j room right near the entrance."

Hearing this, 8824 snapped her eyes open. She violently pulled the naked Galaxy up and inspected her from head to toe. "You didn't carry that little girl, did you? You didn't go into that room, did you?!"

Galaxy blinked. 8824's reaction told her something was very wrong. Swallowing the leading questions she had prepared, she answered, "Of course not. The worker begging us was the little girl's older sister. The mentor had the worker carry the little girl down and go into the room, saying we'd check the results in three days."

8824 breathed a sigh of relief at this. She lay back down, drained of energy, and muttered to herself, "True, what was I so anxious about?"

Galaxy lay on her stomach beside her, resting her chin on her hands. "So, what's the deal with that room?"

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