After moving for about another forty-eight hours in the Sea of Quanta, Jun An, Prometheus, and Vita arrived in a pure white space.
"This is the entrance to Froth you mentioned?"
Jun An looked at Vita in front of him. These past two days, she had been pretty much thoroughly disciplined by him. Whenever she seemed happy, he'd hit her with the calm buff. Although the routine was the same, it was indeed effective.
Right now, her face was flushed crimson, but she only felt an unsatisfied, halfway sensation, which put her in a terrible mood.
After begging many times, she finally obtained the privilege of "moving on her own."
And she cherished this opportunity very much, moving faster on her own than anything else.
"Yes, this... is Sa's... Stigma Space. It's, um, the transition between Froth and the Ark. From here, we can reach Froth."
Vita answered Jun An honestly. For two days, Jun An hadn't let her feel satisfied even once; she needed to finish quickly this time.
Of course, Vita hadn't stopped complaining to Jun An these past two days either.
Vita then chose to use a provocation tactic: Did you know? Men who can't satisfy a woman are usually... incompetent in that way. Don't tell me you're incompetent?
What she got in return was just a round of torture. If it weren't for Sa's power and her recent habituation to pain, she felt she might have become completely withdrawn.
After all, compared to Sa, besides seeing her as a "person," Jun An really wasn't much better.
As for why she still said Jun An saw her as a person despite such misery, it was because she could genuinely feel Jun An being wary of her here, and sense that Jun An truly intended to maximize his benefits before their transaction ended.
Coupled with his vastly different attitude towards other girls compared to her, Jun An definitely had sadistic psychological tendencies. However, he couldn't use those things on "good girls" like Seele, so he could only vent them on this unlucky wretch who happened to cross his path.
Moreover, although Jun An's physical punishment included whipping, it didn't actually damage her bones or tendons. Afterwards, he would even use the power he copied from Seele to heal her slightly, leaving almost no unsightly scars.
Although Jun An's treatment of her was somewhat inhuman, at least it was just because of his kinks.
In contrast, while Sa wouldn't deliberately inflict mental torture on Vita, relatively speaking, in Sa's eyes, Vita wasn't even a will deserving of "freedom."
From Her attitude, Vita was just a useful tool that wouldn't betray, couldn't betray. As for the tool's thoughts, She didn't care.
This became particularly evident after She separated the parts representing humanity into the seven Little Vitas.
In the不知道 how long period since separating Her humanity, She had been constantly exploiting Vita, this easily manipulated employee, sending her to various world bubbles to inject the rule called "Wish," observing whether any variables would appear in each world bubble.
From Vita's personal perspective, watching those people struggle and despair time and time again felt like looking at her own future—endless.
Morality was consumed in repeated destructions; hope was extinguished after appearing time and time again.
Sa grew stronger, while her chances dwindled, like a canary in a cage constantly plucking its own feathers.
If not for the seven Little Vitas still giving her some hope as an "older sister," she felt she would have broken down long ago.
Until this man appeared—the Captain of the Hyperion, Jun An.
A savior from the Third Planet. Although he didn't think so himself, he was indeed someone whose mere appearance could throw Sa into disarray!
Since Vita awakened self-awareness until now, over a vast expanse of time, countless people had encountered the traps set by Sa, yet none had been as incisive as the Captain!
None had been able to propose countermeasures immediately upon appearing like the Captain!
And none had cracked Sa's overt schemes as effortlessly as eating and drinking!
Countless world bubbles were destroyed by the same trick; only this person allowed Vita to see the seed called "hope"!
Although this person wasn't exactly omniscient or omnipotent, even a bit inhuman, his gentle side was almost never shown to her, and he had even ruined her original plans at one point.
But even the filthiest hope is still hope.
And to save her family, to grasp this hard-won hope, Vita was willing to offer everything!
—So this is just to deal with Sa, definitely not to deliberately please him!
Vita strengthened her resolve amidst the torment.
Prometheus, meanwhile, was responsible for understanding the entire process of creating humans, recording everything. As payment, she would have to send Jun An a copy later.
"Then how do we enter Froth?"
Although Jun An possessed Misteln's characteristics as a Stigmata crystal, unfortunately, Jun An wasn't very familiar with this ability yet and couldn't directly enter Froth from Sa's Stigma Space.
"I just need to open a little back door, and we can get in."
Vita tried hard to please Jun An, saying, "Should we go now?"
"Not yet," Jun An looked at Vita's white back and asked, "This place should also connect to the inside of the Ark, right?"
"Yes, it does... connect..."
Vita asked with some confusion, "How... did you know about the Ark?"
"That thing flew out from Earth; why wouldn't I know?"
Jun An said, "Then send me to see Griseo. She should still be around, right?"
Jun An asked with some uncertainty. Although no main character had died before meeting him so far, there had indeed been cases where they were near death when he encountered them.
So Jun An was quite worried about Griseo's safety.
"Griseo?"
A guess instantly formed in Vita's mind, and her body tensed. "You actually came to Froth to find her, right?"
"What else?" Jun An retorted, reminding her, "I already told you, your body doesn't hold enough charm for me to risk fighting Sa to come to Froth with you."
"One life saved for seven lives; by calculation, you still profited."
Jun An noticed Vita's body suddenly tense up; her mood seemed somewhat off.
But Vita didn't ask further, saying, "Alright, since you came looking for her, I'll take you to see her."
Vita snapped her fingers, and Jun An, Prometheus, and Vita appeared in a completely new environment, like the interior of a large facility.
And what Vita was currently leaning against was the cryo-pod containing Big Griseo.
Now, even in front of Big Griseo, Jun An felt his desire return. After all, with such a good side dish present, Jun An certainly wouldn't refuse. He simply picked Vita up directly, enjoying the feeling of immorality.
Two minutes later, Jun An and Vita successfully reached the summit, collapsing exhausted to the ground, trembling. The dampened ground and cryo-pod were testaments to Vita's diligent sweat.
Prometheus answered honestly, "Data collection is nearly complete. Now, returning to the previous topic, what is our next plan?"
Jun An looked at the sleeping Griseo. "Naturally, wake Griseo up. Prometheus, you should have access permissions for the Ark, right?"
"Mm."
Prometheus nodded. "I see, so this is why you brought me here. Then I'll immediately..."
"Don't!"
Jun An looked at Vita, drenched in sweat. "Wait ten minutes or so first."