Underground Encounters
The streets of Eden's underground city remained steeped in an eerie silence, with only androids wandering about. The occasional glow of light spilling from a few buildings was the sole hint of life. Though the odds were low, running into humans was never a good idea, so I moved carefully toward the lab, doing my best to avoid any encounters. But just as I crossed the street between two buildings, my eyes met a man's.
I turned my gaze away naturally, but his footsteps were already drawing closer. "Hey! You there!"
I ignored him and quickened my pace to slip away, but soon I heard the sound of running. Persistent, aren't you?
"Wait a second!"
Carrying someone on my back, I was caught in no time. I turned around with the most annoyed expression I could muster. A man who clearly reeked of wealth was panting heavily, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. For a moment, I considered just leaving him there.
"Huff, huff. Damn it. What kind of mess is this after coming here as a tourist?"
"What do you want?"
"Hoo, haa. Just wanted to ask for directions."
"There are androids all over the place, you know?"
If he was a tourist who had entered the underground city, he should have had a pass. Showing it to an android would have gotten him an escort. He seemed to notice my puzzled look and spoke with a hint of indignation.
"Of course I tried! These tin cans won't even talk."
"Ah, I see."
I had never tried conversing with anything other than the security androids, so this was news to me. The ordinary androids roaming the streets were probably just for surveillance. At least the ones working inside buildings could hold a conversation, so that seemed likely.
"Damn it, I lost the android that was guiding me because I got distracted for a second, and now they're all identical. How am I supposed to find it?"
"Sounds like your own mistake."
Despite his flashy appearance and clothes, his tone and mannerisms were far from appealing. I adjusted Master's slightly disheveled posture on my back while shooting him a pitying glance. Once I straightened up, he met my eyes and made an exaggerated show of surprise.
"What? You're an Angel? Do you know the layout around here?"
"Roughly. I'm busy, so keep it short."
"You feel different from the Angels I've seen on the surface. Anyway, got it. Do you know where the racetrack is?"
"The racetrack? The one with the Mares?"
"Yeah, that's the one!"
So he was a racetrack customer. There weren't many places worth visiting in the underground city anyway. It was bleak, and most areas were highly classified. If this man had wandered into a restricted zone, he would have been dragged away by force. Since he was a customer at the racetrack—one of the lab's main sources of income—I figured I could take him there on the way.
"I'm heading in that direction, so just follow me."
"Really? Lucky me. By the way, what's your name?"
"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?"
"Ah, right. Angels don't usually care about my name. Call me Richard."
The name he offered with a slick, playful tone sounded highly suspicious. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like his real name.
"A fake name, right?"
"Of course! The fewer people who know I'm here, the better."
"Makes sense."
"And you?"
"Call me Lisa."
I didn't want to give my real name, so I made something up. He didn't seem like my type anyway, and after a brief conversation, he struck me as the frivolous sort. I had no desire to get friendly.
"Hey, slow down! Why are you walking so fast?"
"I told you I'm busy. Just keep up."
"Oh, for crying out loud. You're already tall as a beanpole, and those heels make it even more annoying to look up at you. And you don't even listen."
I was tall for a woman, but he was short for a man—though he probably didn't realize it. I tuned out his noisy complaints and kept moving until we reached the racetrack. Even with the soundproofing, I could faintly hear the thunder of hooves and the roar of the crowd. A race was underway.
"Here we are."
"Ugh, that was exhausting. It's farther than I thought."
Security androids still stood guard at the entrance. During my infiltration, those upright-walking robots had seemed a little intimidating, but now that I thought of them as protectors of the racetrack and the lab, they felt reassuring. It was all a matter of perspective, I supposed.
As I approached, the central security unit scanned my ear tag and Master's before stepping aside. Previously, the verification process had been thorough, but since Faust had registered us as personnel, the procedure was now simplified.
We passed through the open entrance, and just as we did, a commotion erupted behind us.
"Outsiders must present identification."
"What? You let those two in without a word, so why are you stopping me?"
"Present your identification. This is a warning."
"These damn tin cans..."
Just as the noise suggested, proper procedures had to be followed to enter. I glanced back and saw the man grumbling as he was escorted inside by an android. The cheers from the racetrack continued, though muffled.
Come to think of it, I wondered what had happened with the Mares' mating arrangements. The moment we entered the lab, the temperature noticeably rose. Perhaps because of the warmth, Master stirred awake.
"Mmm... Where are we?"
"We've arrived at the lab. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. I slept so comfortably. I kept waking up yesterday, though..."
Master buried her face against my back and mumbled that it was comfortable, curling up even more. No wonder she had looked strangely tired—she hadn't gotten proper rest. The vital energy filling her Yin Brand probably kept her body in a constant state of arousal.
By the time we reached the room and I set her down, she seemed fully awake. Master stretched and loosened up before tapping my waist.
"Is your back okay? Was I heavy?"
"I'm sturdy. Compared to a carriage, you're like a feather, Master."
"Oh, right. For a Mare, that must be true. Do you train regularly?"
"Of course. You should train a bit too, Master. Look at how much weight you've gained."
"Exercise is such a hassle."
Master flopped onto the bed as if fleeing my words, burying herself in the soft blanket while I pinched her noticeably softer belly. I asked about her past habits.
"You used to do yoga and all kinds of sports. Why don't you like it now?"
"I'm a brain type. I don't need exercise."
"That's an order."
When I met her eyes, channeling vital energy into my gaze, and gave the command, her pupils grew hazy and she answered obediently.
"Okay, got it."
"If you want to be a good female, you have to take care of your body. I'll speak to Mother, so start exercising little by little."
"Yeah."
Since Master couldn't manage her own body, I had no choice but to force her. It would be a shame if she got fat from poor maintenance after getting a new body. When I withdrew the vital energy from my eyes, the hearts in Master's pupils darkened briefly before fading, and her gaze cleared.
"I just have to do what QA says?"
"Yes, just follow her instructions."
"She recommended it because she's worried about me, so I should try my best."
"Hehe, thank you."
"By the way, how are the children's preparations going?"
"Ah, I'm thinking of starting to distribute them soon."
Considering what Red Mask had said last time and Isabel's words, I didn't think Eden had much time left before its collapse. That was why I planned to begin the symbiosis project for the Angels who had been waiting for the right moment.
"Isabel's symbiosis is going smoothly. Now it's time to send the children to the Angels."
"The Angels need to become our reliable allies."
"What about the other residents?"
"Whether they stay or leave is their choice."
Master explained that the plan was still being revised. The plan was to concentrate all sex-related industries in the underground city while turning the surface into a large-scale research complex. Faust was in the process of contacting and recruiting the directors of selected, less inhumane labs as allies.
"Whether it's because Faust's standards are strict or because that's just how it is, the ratio is way too low. At best, we might fill less than ten percent."
"Faust's criteria are a bit peculiar. For someone who cares so much about humans, he created the Human-Horse Arena, after all."
"Hmm, maybe his goal is the evolution of the human body rather than the human mind. Look at me—I'm an Abaddon in spirit, but my body is human, and that's apparently acceptable."
That was true. Faust's lab was entirely focused on how to develop and evolve the human body to achieve immortality. He seemed to have some minimal ethical standards regarding the human body, but his criteria for the mind were lax.
"We're excluding labs that stray too far from ordinary human ethics, which is why there are even fewer. Honestly, it's ridiculous that I—an Abaddon originally—am the one nitpicking human ethics. This place is insane."
"That's probably why opposition forces like Isabel and her collaborators appeared."
"Eden is twisted, of course, but compared to other countries, it's not that bad. Did you know? Other nations are secretly conducting all sorts of cruel experiments to catch up with Eden's technology."
Master rested her chin on her hand, lying prone and kicking her feet as she spoke in a disbelieving tone. So other countries were doing it too. Well, my own body was the product of human cloning experiments. How many test subjects must have died to complete just this one body? Even so, Eden stood out with its superior technology, so other nations were probably sending spies to uncover its secrets. They were also keeping each other in check to prevent any one country from claiming it.
As Master said, if Eden's technology were made public and the overwhelming technological gap disappeared, the four nations would have no reason to leave Eden alone. Eden's location was right in the center—a transportation hub and strategically vital position that other countries coveted. In fact, before Eden was established, the area had been devastated by frequent local wars.
"Ah, I should ask Lyana to prepare Kentus's assistance. You should also prepare to meet your family, Master."
"Yeah, you're right. Okay."
Her voice carried a hint of hesitation, so I sat beside her and stroked her hair. Master quietly leaned into my touch.
"Is something bothering you?"
"It's just... thinking about having human parents feels strange."
Well, it had taken me some time to get used to QA as a mother too. Even with the sense of kinship as fellow Succubi and the brainwashing, it had still felt odd. I could understand how unreal the existence of a family she'd never met must feel.
"Besides, Mother doesn't look much older than you on the surface, and Father is Liam—the original of Lyana. It's a bit weird, isn't it?"
"Genetically, they're the parents, but publicly, it'll be presented as the hidden daughter of the genetic grandparents. Well, they're probably willing to cover up an unmarried daughter having a child and unethical experiments."
"Once you meet them and spend time together, you'll get used to it. You don't have to force yourself to accept it, either."
"Hmph, are you comforting me? What about you? Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"They were originally your family. I feel bad, like I took them from you."
"I don't know. Even when I found out about my family, it didn't feel real. And now, I think of you as my family too."
Honestly, now that I considered Master family, I had no intention of worrying about who was "real" family or not. Our silence, as we both fell into thought, was broken by Mother, who appeared after opening the door.
"Maria~ I finally finished my punishment~ And I had a daughter, too~"
Seeing us on the bed, she leaped onto it.
"Eek! Put some clothes on!"
"What's with the sudden modesty~ Hah!"
Mother, ever the skilled Succubus, stripped Master's clothes off in an instant and clung to her. The sight of the two of them tangled together naked, squabbling, was so pleasing that I started recording it on video.
"This is wonderful. We should preserve moments like this."
"Stop it! Get off me, QA!"
"I haven't tasted Maria's body for days, so no~"
Master's struggles in Mother's arms quieted instantly when the tail was inserted into her. The lewd sound of wet sucking filled the room in time with the tail's leisurely movements.
"Hehe~ Maria gets so obedient when her pussy has a tail in it~"
"Ugh, you're the one who made me like this."
"Mmm~"
Master's face grew even redder as Mother sucked on her nipple with smacking sounds. Though she protested verbally, Master meekly submitted to Mother's teasing—she was a perfectly trained female.
"Mother, Master needs to exercise regularly, so please watch over her and teach her."
"Oh my~ Maria really hates exercising~"
"She'll do it now."
Mother looked into Master's eyes at my words and smiled knowingly.
"Aha~ I see~ Got it~"
"Please take care of her."
Leaving Master, who was now panting under Mother's relentless caresses, I stepped out of the room. Since I was already in the underground city, I thought I'd stop by the stables before heading to the surface. The racetrack, attached right next to the lab, was quiet—the race must have ended. I entered the arena through the entrance and headed for the stables, but it was empty.
Ah, they must still be in the waiting room. The androids I usually saw were nowhere to be found either, so they were probably caring for the Mares there. As I walked toward the waiting room, I wondered if it was okay to go there in my non-Mare state, but since I had become something of an insider, it probably didn't matter. I went anyway.
When the automatic door to the waiting room opened, a familiar sound reached my ears before my eyes could take in the scene inside.