Sweet Hunting Ground [GB] - Chapter 4.1

Ani was thrilled that they had encountered each other.

It was the same thrilling excitement she had felt half a month ago when she discovered Lin, barely clinging to life, in an abandoned ruin. At last, she had encountered another specimen distinct from ordinary humans. Beneath her flesh, every writhing tentacle quivered with excitement, swelling into a deep shade of pink.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. They were pressed so close that it felt as if something should bind them together.

His pained breaths landed against her ear, yet in the fading echoes of his agony, there was another kind of shudder.

“…Ha…” The man’s Adam’s apple rolled visibly. He accepted Ani’s initiative without hesitation. Bl00d smeared between them, blurring into scattered patches of crimson. His cybernetic eye locked onto the girl’s face before he finally chuckled and asked, “Sweetheart, is there really a child in your belly?”

His palm pressed against Ani’s abdomen.

“Shall I open it up and see?”

Just a moment ago, he had been drowning in the pleasure of bl00d and pain she had bestowed upon him, nearly making him hard. And in the next, he was smiling, ready to carve open the smooth skin beneath his hand, to strip her apart as a memento of that intoxicating moment.

Yet the girl showed no trace of panic.

The white-haired girl with genetic defects, merely allowed him to hold her as if she were nothing more than a passive specimen under his examination. Her pale pink pupils darkened under the dim cockpit lights, swallowed by shadow.

“Alright.” Ani nodded after a moment’s thought. She gazed into his approaching eyes, where the red glow of his cybernetic lens flickered incessantly. Within his undamaged black eye, she saw a faint reflection of herself. “Then I want to see yours too. Your inside.”

Zero-One-Three couldn’t hold back his laughter. His body trembled with amusement, the vibrations passing freely to Ani. He was accustomed to brutal exchanges. From beneath his fingertips, alloyed blades shot out with a soft click. The blade as thin as cicada wings. He slid the edge of the knife smoothly into her flesh.

Ani glanced down at the wound, slightly troubled by how males always seemed eager to damage her outer shell. But she had a good temper, or at least, she believed so. Instead of reacting with anger, she tightened her arms around his waist, pressing his slender form firmly against her’s.

Zero-One-Three’s gaze followed the trail of her wounds, from her delicate face down to the fresh gash on her body, eager to witness the traumatising scene that would jolt his nerves. But the moment his eyes lowered, something slick and unseen slithered up and abruptly covered his vision.

His instincts kicked in. His hands immediately grasped at the tentacle.

For the first time, he was startled. The sudden sense of crisis sent every hair on his body standing on end.

Ani clamped a hand over his mouth.

She was very familiar with silencing others. Just covering his lips wasn’t enough. A slippery tentacle attached to her palm slid inside and sealed off his throat like thick, flowing liquid, cutting off all vibrations in his vocal cords.

“Mmph—! Mm…mm—”

His voice stopped short. Not even a muffled groan escaped.

The tentacle lifted from his eyes, but others coiled around his limbs, wrapping him in their deep pink grip. They bound his towering frame, pulling him into a forced kneeling position on the floor.

Ani remained seated on the console. Her stomach had been pierced, bl00d soaking through her tight-fitting top, but she seemed unconcerned. She only looked down at Zero-One-Three, her voice so sincere it was almost pleading. “Can I look at yours now?”

“…”

He couldn’t answer.

His voice had been swallowed at the root, and his eyes were locked onto the tentacles emerging from the girl’s waist. They were silent, insidious, tightening with every futile struggle.

When he lifted his gaze, he was met with her bright and earnest expression.

She was a monster. His shark-like teeth clenched inside his mouth, biting down, but the gelatinous substance sealing his throat merely wavered, like ripples across water—impervious to his attempt.

Ani hopped down from the console.

She spoke freely, explaining to Zero-One-Three. She had a tendency to get talkative when she was happy. “Finally, I’ve met someone different. You’re really special. Not like anyone I’ve encountered before.”

The more Zero-One-Three struggled, the tighter the tentacles constricted. Eventually, he stopped resisting. The red light in his cybernetic eye flickered as he studied her. Her harmless-looking, delicate face, and the tentacles extending from her waist.

He scoffed internally. This monster sure had a way with words, still trying to flirt even now.

Ani, oblivious to his thoughts, continued talking. “Besides Lin, it’s been far too long since I found a valuable male… Oh, a man. That’s what I should say. Zero-One-Three, this is the exchange we promised each other. You wouldn’t go back on your word, would you?”

Zero-One-Three stared at her. His eyes seemed to say—do I even have a choice?

Ani stepped closer, settling down before him. One hand braced against the floor, conveniently between his kneeling legs. With the other, she carefully began unfastening the many metallic devices strapped to his body.

“Voice-activated explosives…” She picked through the items, scrutinizing them with the experience she had gained from years of surviving in District Three. “I thought these were just decorations. Turns out they’re the real deal.”

Zero-One-Three glared at her, clearly irritated. For all his knowledge of interstellar criminals, he still couldn’t place what species she belonged to.

Ani removed the gadgets and casually tossed away his clothing as well.

For a brief moment, he seemed surprised. Then, more irritated. Ani inspected his exposed body carefully. Not a single wound. No matter how she tried to damage him, his mutated physique restored itself instantly.

She murmured, “Even if you can’t bear my child, I still like your abilities.”

Zero-One-Three’s eyelid twitched.

Then, he saw the change. Before his eyes, the girl’s pale fingertips elongated, growing sharp. Fine scales formed. This was a trait belonging to deep-sea sirens. Her claws pressed against his abdomen—

And, as effortlessly as a scalpel, slit through his muscles.

His breath hitched sharply. His head snapped up, eyes locked onto Ani’s focused expression.

The wound attempted to heal, but Ani wouldn’t allow it. She pressed down, deepening the tear, ensuring the gash remained open.

Heat flared through Zero-One-Three’s body. His muscles spasmed from the torment. Sweat seeped into his back, his Adam’s apple quivering with as. He tried to swallow. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to shout.

Something thick and gelatinous slid down his throat. A piece of Ani’s tentacles. He had swallowed it.

Ani leaned closer, watching the healing process with fascination. She nearly buried her face against his abdomen. Then, lifting her head, her tone was lighthearted. “I need to collect a sample from you. Who knows? You might truly become the father of my child. I could insert my tentacles inside, alter your body… What’s with the look? You don’t believe me?”

He seemed to question his own hearing.

Ani patted his shoulder in reassurance. “Don’t be afraid. It doesn’t hurt at all. It actually feels very, very good. If you can bear my child, I will treat you well for the rest of my life. I can reshape a male’s body, make it perfectly suitable for reproduction…”

Zero-One-Three’s breath hitched.