Ren was taken aback by the sudden turn of events. Was trusting Hari the wrong decision? Was he going to be turned into a brainless synth? Or was this a bad ending of the game?
Countless questions swirled in Ren's head as his eyes darted toward Hari and Garaki. The old doctor merely adjusted his glasses, watching him with an eerie smile.
His body tensed up as he eyed the tightly shut door. Escaping the room was a far-fetched dream.
Even if the door was open, Hari's quirk would've subdued me. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
A moment later, Hari burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry, man," he said, wiping a stray tear. "It was too good of an opportunity to not prank you."
"W-What do you mean?" Ren asked, still on edge. "What's this talk about the new project—!"
"Relax, dumbass. I'm not handing you over to be turned into a Synth. What do you take me for?" Hari said, struggling not to laugh. "You wanted strength, right? I brought you here to get some genetic advancements. You know, super strength, super speed, all that fun stuff."
Ren relaxed somewhat, but still the odd feeling kept lingering. Was it the truth or was it another plan of their to play with his emotions?
Upon noticing Ren's unsure gaze, Hari sighed. Without saying a word, he pulled Ren into a hug.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize the extent of Aizawa's torture," he whispered. "I just wanted to prank you like the old times and forgot a lot has changed. Please forgive me, I accidentally hurt you."
However, at that moment, Ren wasn't paying attention to Hari's words. Instead, he was focused on the glowing lines of text before him.
[Emotional bonding increased.]
[Corruption rate increased! 0% —> 9%]
Ren was panicking a moment ago but ended up finding the method to conquer the males of the twisted universe.
What an unexpected gift!
Slowly, Ren was understanding the world more. Since it was a world based on an eroge, he'd have to corrupt the females physically, while corrupting the males emotionally.
As happy as he was to have figured it all, it was also taxing. Ren did not have any skills regarding emotional manipulation at the first stage of corruption. Without such skills, corrupting the male populous would take a while.
I can figure it out later. For now… I should pay attention to the craziness around me.
"You good?" Hari asked.
"Don't do that again," Ren nodded. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Hari laughed before turning to Dr. Garaki.
"He's someone special to me. So be careful."
Dr. Garaki scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. Although he did that, he wouldn't dare offend Hari. After all, he was a prisoner there.
Soon after All For One's downfall, Dr. Garaki was captured, and the authorities wasted no time in shipping him off to Tartarus.
That was the plan, but Garaki never made it to Tartarus.
Instead, the convoy arrived at Chisaki's mansion. Before Garaki knew what was happening, he was imprisoned, not by the government but by the Shie Hassaikai.
Unlike the government, who saw Garaki as a criminal, Chisaki saw him as a resource. Someone who would perfect his dream.
With his Quirk and Garaki's expertise, he sought to create an army of mindless super-soldiers, Synths, who would bend to his will.
Garaki couldn't decline the offer, knowing death awaited him if he did.
And so, his prison life began in the Shie Hassaikai's underground facility. Forced to live under constant surveillance and work day in and day out.
That's why he didn't dare to offend Hari. Especially after a synth escaped the lab.
Meanwhile, Hari looked at Ren reassuringly.
"I'll be back later to pick you up, okay?"
Ren nodded as Hari left the lab. Dr. Garaki threw a hospital gown at him and gestured toward a small changing area.
"Put it on and lay on your stomach," he said, adjusting his gloves.
"Why on the stomach—"
"Do you expect me to operate on your stomach?" Garaki frowned. "Just do as you're told. It would be easier for both of us."
Ren took a deep breath and got changed. The thin gown made him shiver in the lab's coldness. Ignoring the cold, he made his way to the metal operating table and lay down as instructed.
The moment his body touched the table, restraints shot out of it, locking his body to the table. Forget about moving, he couldn't even tilt his head to see what was going on.
"What the hell—?!"
"Standard security measure," Garaki said. "We can't have you thrashing around mid-procedure, now can we?"
Before Ren could say a word, Garaki shoved a thick cloth into his mouth, before putting on soothing music. Then he began humming to the tunes while assembling the tools to rip Ren apart.
He walked over to a tray of tools and picked up a small handheld drill. Ren desperately wanted to yell. What was the crazy doctor doing without administering anesthesia?
As if reading Ren's mind, Dr. Garaki laughed, putting the drill right on his neck.
"It's going to hurt," he whispered. "Feel to complain to Hari. After all, he didn't give me funds to buy anesthesia."
Ren's eyes widened in fear. Suddenly, he thought getting strong through illicit means wasn't worth it. Unfortunately, it was too late.
"Stay still now," Garaki mumbled. "It would be a tragedy if you turned into a potato instead of a hero."
Ren's muffled screams filled the room as Garaki turned on the drill. The pain was unbearable like lava being poured into his head. But as the buzzing grew louder, his vision blurred and then everything turned dark…