Fortunately, Orochimaru wasn't hiding any more secret perversions inside him and didn't kiss me. Just as his face was about to touch mine, he licked his own lips and spoke in an unsettling whisper.
"This isn't a moisturizer, but don't worry, it's something much more exciting, Eren. I just want to tell you about it later. Look at you. How calm you are. It's no coincidence that you've come this far in Konoha's swamp without support from any clan."
I took advantage of Orochimaru stopping to look deep into my eyes and asked him to step back a little, avoiding the risk of accidentally kissing him.
Apparently, I wasn't calm enough, because when I asked him to step back, my voice was so low that even I couldn't hear the words coming out of my lips.
And he just laughed. His usual silent snake laugh. "Hehehe." And he moved away from me.
Once he reached my feet, he grabbed the stretcher with one hand and began dragging it behind him. This was the first moment I found to fully examine him.
He had an upright gait, his steps were as calm as possible, he was wearing what looked like a kimono, and from what I'd seen in the Hyuga clan, it must have been a woman's kimono. I could tell this even though it was mostly black and patternless because the sleeves of the kimono were much longer than Orochimaru's arms.
His free arm, not having to carry the stretcher, was completely tucked inside the kimono.
I remember Orochimaru having a suspicious child in the future, I think. Some fans said it was a reference to the movie Predestination or something, damn it, I'm starting to forget.
Anyway, the important thing is that Orochimaru isn't planning to have a baby with me, right?
[A hint from Arataka Reigen: Well done! You finally found a way out. Make him fall in love with you and endure a little humiliation (tears), then you can be free. A good survivalist can make sacrifices when necessary.]
FUCK!
Damn system, do something useful and stop that fucking moron from talking to me. I don't know, mute the notifications or something. I've survived in this world with my mouth and my brain since I came into it, I can do much better than some con artist who can only fool old fools about ghosts.
[Of course, host]
At least the system isn't arguing with me in this situation.
Damn it!
The sudden light blinded me, so I reflexively tried to cover my face with my arms, but since my arms were tied, all I could do was make a sour face like I'd eaten a lemon.
Then, before I even had a chance to open my eyes again, I heard Orochimaru's voice.
"Tell me, Eren, do these look familiar to you? All these shiny things."
At Orochimaru's prompting, I started looking around and saw a lot of high-tech stuff, like a memory from the past coming back to life. The information I got from the S-level farming card came in handy for the first time.
An incubator, an old-generation large PCR machine, a centrifuge, judging by the position of the tubes on it, and that thing over there that looks like a gas cylinder is probably not a gas cylinder but rather a cryopreservation tank used to prevent DNA degradation.
Although the lab had many other strange tools and equipment, there was only one thing that constantly caught my attention: the PCR machine.
Because this machine, sitting in the corner of the room, possesses technology far beyond even those machines that mummify people in a strange solution.
And because this device can be used to observe microcellular effects like DNA, and can even map genetics if used correctly. Although it takes up much more space than the devices in my previous world, if I remember correctly, a microscope capable of allowing us to see the micro world was invented in Kumogakure only a few years ago.
Of course, I'd only heard about it from afar, and since then I'd assumed the people of Kumogakure were at the pinnacle of technology, but apparently I was wrong.
Orochimaru is on a completely different level.
With the devices he has, he can even perform simple cloning experiments. I wonder how well he knows how to use a PCR machine?
If I use it with a simple one-way airflow cabinet, I think I could produce super-efficient, mutated corn similar to the one in 7 Days To Die, eliminate the luck factor, copy the genetics of the best mutated product, and create a field of them.
"You have something to say, I guess?"
"Fuck off!"
Orochimaru got so close to me while my attention was elsewhere that I was almost scared out of my wits.
"Hehehe, since you're so focused, you must have been in this kind of environment before. I'd expect that from someone who's traveled the world as much as you have, but your eyes especially seem fixated on my masterpiece. Now start talking, Eren. Even though I'd like to devote my whole day to you, I'd prefer to do it with your genes."
It'll be a bit improvised, but I guess my first plan is to get his attention and keep it.
If I show nothing but fear like the previous people who lay on this stretcher, he'll probably think I'm boring. I don't want a psychopath to decide I'm boring.
I have to prevent him from mummifying me until I find a way to escape.
"Yes, it's the first time I've seen that device, but it resembles a drawing I've seen before. I bought something similar on the black market."
"Hmm, did the drawings I left behind when I left Konoha end up on the black market? If only Sarutobi sensei paid as much attention to other things as he did to protecting his seat. He doesn't even know what a treasure he missed out on. Poor guy."
"If I'm not mistaken, that must be a cell observation and replication device?" I was about to continue talking when I felt cold metal pressed against my neck. Orochimaru was looking at me with a completely different gaze this time. "Now you've piqued my interest, Eren. I'm sure my drawings weren't that detailed."