"Mm, that was explicitly stated. They said they would gradually relax the control measures on me based on my specific performance, and they also mentioned various benefits and treatments from Public Safety—said they wouldn't mistreat me."
"That's good. I'll help you."
Renji's gaze fell on the strawberry shortcake in front of him. He reached out to pick up a fork nearby, intending to taste it.
Reze noticed his movement and stopped him.
"Wait a moment."
Reze put her fork back into her mouth. Immediately after, her tender little tongue began to move flexibly around the tines.
In her mouth, she coated the fork with her saliva, fully enveloping it, and then took it out.
Under the warm, soft light of the coffee shop, the silver fork gleamed wet, the saliva adhering to it shimmering with a crystal-clear luster.
Reze handed the fork—covered in her saliva—to Renji, her face full of happy anticipation.
"Eat the cake with my fork. I cleaned it very thoroughly in my mouth. Don't worry about germs or anything. It'll definitely taste better."
Renji was slightly stunned but quickly recovered. He responded to Reze and took the fork.
Under her gaze, he slowly brought the fork to his mouth, licking it up and down, feeling the faint, unique scent of Reze on the metal. Finally, his throat moved, and he swallowed all the parts stained with her saliva.
"Delicious."
Reze was very satisfied with Renji's current performance. A smug expression appeared on her pretty face.
"Hehe~ But… even though Public Safety said that, I still feel a bit uneasy. Completely uncomfortable. It's like something is missing, but I just can't remember what."
"Also, Renji, where have you been these past two days? You haven't come to see me."
Her tone was soft and melodious, with a hint of reproach.
Renji used the small fork to pick up a piece of strawberry shortcake, put it in his mouth, and while chewing, responded vaguely.
"Ah? Mm, sorry, sorry. My partner and I went on an adventure outside. We wanted to see what was going on."
"Out…side? Adventure…?"
Reze felt something was wrong, and her head suddenly ached a little.
"Then… outside… did you find anything?"
Renji put down the fork, stood up, and said, "I'm going to get some tap water first. I'm a bit thirsty."
With that, he turned and walked toward the bar counter. He went behind the counter, picked up an empty glass, filled it with water, then casually grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from nearby, and walked back to his seat.
Makima's control ability allowed her to command low-level animals, listening to everything in the city through their ears. It was almost impossible to completely avoid these ubiquitous small creatures in the city.
In the deserted areas on the city's outskirts, there was no need to worry—small animals like rats were few and far between. Beyond the barrier, it was even more extreme: not a single sign of life could be seen.
As for Makima, her identity and purpose around Renji were always unclear. He didn't know what her position was.
It was Makima who first told Renji to look at the map, which was how he learned about the deserted areas and what lay beyond the barrier.
As for Makima…
Renji didn't know how to describe her for a moment. She seemed to have a…
…tacit attitude toward him.
Based on the original plot and some current details, there was a 100% chance that the Angel Devil had already been controlled by Makima.
Therefore, even telling Angel Devil to keep what they saw outside a secret would be useless—Makima could just check Angel Devil's memories.
But Reze wasn't. So he could tell her about this. There were also some things Renji wanted to ask Reze, to get evidence from her.
But no matter what, Makima's original role was still a major antagonist. So it felt like he still needed to be extra wary of her.
Renji wrote down everything he and Angel Devil had encountered outside, while verbally continuing to chat idly with Reze.
"Mm, I found something, but there's nothing good to see. It's all ruins, deserted. Not a single person."
"Oh, I see. Then the environment must be very good, right? How does it compare to the city's environment?"
"It feels pretty good. It's indeed much cleaner, and the air is very nice. But there are weeds everywhere."
Reze understood Renji's meaning. While responding to every word he said, she also kept throwing various daily questions back and forth, and they answered each other, just like a normal conversation.
As Reze's gaze fell on the content written on the paper, her expression shifted as she read along.
Her face did not show the excitement of discovering a shocking secret, nor an engaged, fascinated expression. Instead, it was filled with confusion—as if she was trying her best to puzzle over a key question.
It was exactly the same expression Angel had worn at that time.
And just as Renji had expected.
Immediately after, Renji wrote another line on the paper and handed it to Reze.
"Reze, do you know the country of the Soviet Union?"
Reze was slightly stunned, stopped writing, and after a long moment, wrote a question mark, then handed the paper back.
Renji continued writing.
"Mm… Then do you remember that time? When we went to the deserted rural area, at that middle school, on the school rooftop—it was raining then—I actually saw you naked, choking that perverted serial killer. Can you recall where you learned the language used in the song you sang back then?"
Reze lowered her head slightly and fell into thought. After a moment, she wrote down some words, somewhat uncertainly.
"Hmm… I guess I learned it from some books…"
Renji quickly wrote again.
"What books? What are they called?"
Facing his further inquiry, Reze's hand, holding the pen, simply stopped mid-air this time.
She looked up at him, her face showing extreme confusion—clearly unable to recall the relevant details at that moment.
"Reze, you said you were a warrior created by Man's Religion to fight to the death. Can you recall the training grounds in Man's Religion? And the appearances of those who trained you to fight?"
Reze frowned, staring intently at the questions on the paper. The dense words now seemed to transform into countless small insects, wriggling and gnawing incessantly in her mind.
Involuntarily, she stretched out her hands and forcefully covered her head, her expression pained.
Renji, facing her, felt a pang in his heart. He quickly picked up his pen and hastily wrote a line on the paper: "Don't think about it anymore. I was just asking."
After writing, he quickly pushed the paper toward her.
Reze slightly raised her head, glanced at the writing, and let out a small sigh of relief. But her headache had not lessened much.
"Oh, by the way, I actually sing very well. Do you want me to sing for you?"
Renji cleared his throat and began to sing a children's song to distract her. Reze's attention was gradually drawn, and her previously furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
She wrote another line on the paper and placed it in front of him.
"I remember everything."
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