The women's restroom at Royal London University was paved with premium custom-cut Italian marble and scented with an expensive, suffocating rose fragrance.
"Please... let... let me go..."
Valerie Pierce was pinned against the freezing floor tiles, looking like a discarded, broken doll.
Her stepsister, Cindy, wore a pair of limited-edition sky-high stilettos. The sharp heel ruthlessly dug into Valerie's nape, pressing down with such vicious force it nearly snapped her slender, delicate cervical spine.
"Go to hell. You and your mother are nothing but shameless parasites sucking my father dry," Cindy sneered condescendingly, twisting her heel deeper into Valerie's flesh.
Riiip—!
Accompanied by the harsh sound of tearing fabric, Jenny, the loyal lapdog of the wealthy heiress Catherine, pressed a pair of sharp tailoring scissors against Valerie's skin. She callously shredded the only decent white blouse and skirt Valerie owned.
The cold tip of the scissors intentionally grazed Valerie's slender arms and thighs, drawing out fine beads of crimson blood.
"Don't move! Twitch again and I'll slice your face wide open!" Jenny cackled viciously.
Meanwhile, Tyson, a muscular sports major, was kneeling on one knee, his massive weight crushing Valerie's shoulder. One of his hands, like an iron vise, gripped her slender right fingers.
Then, with a twisted grin, he grabbed a handful of rusty thumbtacks and drove them ruthlessly into the tender flesh underneath each of Valerie's fingernails!
"Ahhh—!"
Agonized, Valerie let out a bloodcurdling scream. Cold sweat instantly soaked her entire body. The piercing, nerve-shredding pain from her fingertips triggered violent convulsions, her vision flickering black.
"What are you screaming for? So annoying."
A saccharine, delicate voice echoed through the restroom. Catherine, dressed head-to-toe in vintage Chanel, slowly crouched down like a queen inspecting her conquered territory. She possessed blonde hair, blue eyes, and the face of an angel. But deep in her gaze hid the ruthless cruelty of a demon.
She grabbed a filthy, foul-smelling rag used by the janitors and shoved it violently into Valerie's mouth. "Perfect. Much quieter now."
"Mmph—!"
Gagged by the filthy rag, Valerie suffered the agonizing double torment of physical mutilation and suffocating humiliation.
Catherine admired her "masterpiece," a sickeningly sweet smile stretching across her face. She grabbed Valerie by the hair and dragged her toward a recently used toilet bowl.
"Slut, doesn't this pretty little face of yours love seducing guys? Come on, let's wash your hair!" Catherine smiled like a poisoned poppy. "Drink a little while you're at it! Clean yourself from the inside out! That's the only thing fitting for your filthy bloodline!"
A revolting stench hit her face. Valerie struggled desperately, hot tears mixing with the blood on her cheeks as they splattered against the tiles.
"Mmph... please..." Valerie begged in despair, her voice muffled and trembling violently. "I swear I'll transfer schools tomorrow! I'll never appear in front of you again!"
"Heh, I don't want you to transfer. I much prefer torturing you right here."
BANG—!
Just as Valerie's face was about to be shoved into the filthy bowl, the heavy mahogany door of the restroom was kicked violently open!
"Stop!"
Lucas, the aloof and untouchable campus idol, rushed in. Looking at the bloodied, half-naked Valerie pinned to the floor, his pupils shrank abruptly. A storm of shock and absolute fury erupted in his usually cold eyes.
"Lucas? Why are you here?" Catherine's expression changed instantly, her sweet smile freezing and shattering.
"Let her go!" Lucas lunged forward to save her.
However, Tyson sneered and stepped up to intercept him. Being a heavyweight athlete, Tyson threw a ruthless punch straight into Lucas's stomach. Immediately after, the two male lackeys guarding outside rushed in.
Three against one, they mercilessly beat the usually pampered, intellectual campus prince to the ground.
"Serves you right! Who told a nerd to play hero!" Tyson kicked Lucas hard in the ribs, sending him sliding across the marble floor.
Suffering from severe abdominal pain and bleeding from the corner of his mouth, Lucas gritted his teeth. Like a dying beast in the desert, he dragged his broken body toward Valerie.
He completely ignored Tyson's fist swinging down again. Instead, he reached out his trembling fingers and tightly clasped Valerie's small, blood-soaked hand.
"Hold on... don't die..." He stared fiercely into her dilating pupils, roaring in despair.
As their fingers intertwined, the modified, high-tech smartwatch on Lucas's wrist suddenly emitted a blinding, erratic red light.
Click.
A custom-made Swiss Army knife popped open in Catherine's hand. Seeing Lucas risk his life for Valerie, her jealousy completely exploded into pure malice. "You bitch! Since Lucas is willing to throw his life away for you, I'll send you to hell right now!"
Without hesitation, Catherine plunged the blade viciously toward Valerie's heart!
In that life-or-death split second—
CRACK—KABOOM—!!!
The previously clear sky outside the window was suddenly cleaved by a bizarre, blood-red bolt of lightning! Simultaneously, Lucas's smartwatch detonated. Accompanied by a deafening thunderclap, an unimaginably massive, invisible Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) swept through the restroom!
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The fluorescent lights, the vanity mirrors, the exhaust fans—they all short-circuited and exploded simultaneously! Glass shards flew everywhere as the entire space was plunged into pitch-black, deathly silence.
"Ahhh!" Catherine screamed in terror. In the darkness, the shockwave blasted her arm away. The tip of her knife veered off from Valerie's heart, sinking deeply into Valerie's shoulder instead.
Just as Valerie went into hemorrhagic shock from the agonizing pain, her consciousness plummeting into the ultimate abyss...
A robotic, emotionless, yet god-like child's voice abruptly cut into her fading mind:
[WARNING! Host brainwave dissipation detected.]
[Boss Lady Maker Hidden Program—Baby King... Supreme override activated.]
[Extracting consciousness... 10%... 50%... 100%.]
...
In the real world, Valerie lay in a pool of blood, her chest no longer rising.
But in a vast expanse beyond the physical dimension...
Valerie felt herself floating in a weightless universe. The surrounding darkness gradually faded, transforming into a colossal, breathtaking hall where futuristic sci-fi intertwined with classical luxury...