When Luo Wei regained consciousness, he found his body firmly secured to a chair.
His hands and feet were tightly bound with straps, and a taut straitjacket was fitted over his clothes. Except for his head, which could move slightly, his entire body was almost completely immobilized.
"Ugh... my head hurts so much..."
Luo Wei hissed, feeling a dull ache deep in his mind.
It must be the lingering effects of the mental contamination he had experienced earlier, which hadn't fully dissipated yet.
If his [Sanity] hadn't been relatively high, he wouldn't have been able to withstand such an impact. An ordinary person standing in front of Helena would likely have been driven mad with fear.
Gritting his teeth, Luo Wei observed his surroundings.
The only light source in the room was an old oil lamp.
The flame was weak, casting dim, oppressive shadows throughout the space.
This must be the basement of the old house, as there were no windows and the air was very stuffy.
Speaking of the air, Luo Wei suddenly noticed a heavy smell of blood permeating the room.
Guided by the flickering light, he searched the darkness for a moment before his gaze settled on a particular spot.
Teacher Evelyn's corpse lay there, a large hole gaping in her chest.
Her internal organs had disappeared, or rather, had been reduced to scattered, mangled pieces – a bloody, pulpy mess.
Helena had killed Teacher Evelyn in the most brutal way possible.
Luo Wei couldn't bear to look any longer, nearly vomiting at the sight.
If Teacher Evelyn hadn't died instantly but had merely fallen unconscious, he couldn't imagine how agonizing such a horrific death must have been.
A sense of melancholy rose in his heart, akin to a rabbit mourning a fox's demise.
Next, it might be me.
Helena's last words still echoed in his ears: "Time to properly reform big brother..."
So, how would she "reform" him?
Luo Wei glanced to his other side, where a long table stood, laden with various sizes of serrated knives, along with bandages and medicines for stopping bleeding...
The scene made his scalp tingle with dread.
He wanted to die.
He truly wanted to die, as death would at least be quick, and dying meant he could start over.
Unfortunately, he couldn't move at all now, truly finding no way to end his life...
The restraints on his body were too tight; even if he exerted all his strength, he couldn't budge them in the slightest.
This restraint chair, specially made for mental patients and forged entirely of metal, was also very effective for treating humans who had gone mad due to backlash. He had used it on others before.
He never imagined that one day it would be used on himself...
Escape was completely impossible, so it seemed his only option was to talk his way out.
Luo Wei glanced at his system panel.
[Negotiation/Pacification (Master), Skill on cooldown, CD time: 00:35:03]
Half an hour, just half an hour left on the cooldown...
This was his only chance.
As he pondered, the wooden door of the basement slowly creaked open with an unpleasant sound.
The firelight illuminated Helena's face as she entered, carrying an oil lamp and wearing a smile.
"Big brother, did you miss me?"
[Helena]
[Favorability: 100]
[Contamination: 85↑]
[A twisted being who is madly in love with you]
Luo Wei silently gazed into those blue eyes, saying nothing.
"Silence means yes, you know~"
Helena's smile widened as she gently caressed Luo Wei's cheek.
"Big brother, you saw what happened to that bitch, didn't you?"
Luo Wei remained unmoved, refusing to look at the corpse.
Helena frowned, then gripped Luo Wei's chin, forcibly turning his gaze toward Teacher Evelyn.
"I want you to look at what happened to that bitch!"
Unable to resist Helena's strength, Luo Wei was forced to once again face the scene he didn't want to see.
Teacher Evelyn's hollow corpse.
"Big brother looks so sad. Could it be that you're feeling sorry for your teacher?"
Helena's smile turned cold.
She glanced at the corpse, her eyes filled with extreme disgust. "Heh, this is the fate of any woman who tries to steal big brother away."
"This is what I wanted you to see, big brother."
"Do you remember it now? Big brother?"
Her sapphire eyes fixed on Luo Wei, observing his reaction.
Luo Wei stared at Teacher Evelyn's corpse, his emotions complicated.
Actually, when Teacher Evelyn first came for the home visit, he had been quite resentful of her, worried that her interference would undo all his previous efforts.
But now that she had paid with her life, dying in extreme agony, that resentment had dissipated like smoke.
He could only blame himself for overlooking something; he hadn't anticipated that the teacher would be so kind and caring. If only he had handled the school situation more carefully...
The regret and sorrow that appeared on Luo Wei's face, however, led Helena to misunderstand.
She thought her "shock tactics" had made Luo Wei realize his mistake.
Her smile deepened.
"Since big brother knows he was wrong."
"Then... next."
"Let Helena reform you properly! Trust me, okay? After the reformation, big brother will never make such mistakes again~"
Luo Wei shifted his gaze to the increasingly excited Helena before him, his brows furrowed deeply.
"What do you intend to do to me? What exactly do you mean by 'reformation'?"
"You'll know soon enough!" Helena walked directly to the long table that resembled a butcher's block.
Then, she patiently selected from among the various knives, finally choosing one that suited her best.
Luo Wei's eyes widened in horror.
He watched as Helena, having chosen the serrated knife, began to sterilize it with alcohol, then prepared a strange-smelling potion.
Familiar with potions, he knew this was an anesthetic, usable for surgeries in this era.
"Don't be afraid, big brother. Helena will be careful~"
Having finished preparing the potion, she approached with an odd smile.
"After drinking this, big brother won't feel any pain~"
"Isn't Helena thoughtful?"
Thoughtful? Thoughtful my ass! Luo Wei's eyes were fixed on Helena as she lovingly caressed his hand.
"It's such a pity. In the past, big brother would always use these hands to gently stroke me..."
"Enjoy the feeling of being able to control your limbs for the last time, big brother."
"Because soon, they won't belong to you anymore."
Luo Wei looked at her in disbelief, beginning to understand what Helena intended to do.
That knife with its fine serrated edge was for sawing through bone during amputations...
"Madwoman... You're truly an incomprehensible lunatic..."
After being insulted, Helena didn't get angry at all. She gazed at Luo Wei softly.
"Big brother won't be able to move anymore, but Helena will take good care of you."
"Didn't big brother have many places you wanted to go? When the time comes, I can push you, and we'll travel the world together."
"We can go to the flower gardens of Eden Castle. I hear it's especially beautiful there, with tulips stretching as far as the eye can see."
"Afterwards, I'll push big brother to Brugge, the Empire's most famous commercial port. There's food from all over the world there. We can go shopping and eat delicious things every day without repeating for a whole year!"
"Oh, that's right!" Helena grew increasingly excited as she spoke, "Doesn't big brother like to research those mysterious things? During the days you were gone, Helena learned a lot, you know, and bought so many books. Helena can read them to you!"
Listening to Helena's gentle words, one after another, as if she had meticulously planned out every day of their future life after crippling him...
Luo Wei felt nothing but endless bitterness in his heart.
This twisted and heavy "love" – had he destroyed the Milky Way in his past life? Why was he being punished like this?
He didn't want to die, but he certainly didn't want to become a disabled person with his hands and feet sawn off either.
What meaning would such a life have?
The only thing he could do now was to stall for time.
Less than thirty minutes left – how could he endure this agonizing period?
But he had to do what needed to be done.
Thinking this, Luo Wei deliberately put on a bitter smile and looked at the person before him.
"Helena..."
"Let's chat with big brother for a while."