The man’s voice stopped abruptly. A grown man, he was now the picture of subservience, not daring to make another sound.
He was genuinely terrified. He was afraid that if she beca displeased, she would really silence him forever.
And there were many ways to be silenced forever. None of them ended well.
Kicking the door open, Stella Sterling hauled the man into the room.
The mont he entered the room, the man felt a wave of warmth wash over him.
For so ti now, everyone’s ho had been freezing cold, not much better than the temperature outside. People had taken to wearing many layers of clothing even indoors to fend off the chill. They were slowly getting used to this way of life, their bodies gradually adapting to the constant cold.
He had always assud everyone was in the sa boat. But the mont he entered Stella Sterling’s apartnt, he felt enveloped by warmth. He noticed she even had the air conditioner running!
For a mont, he thought his mory was playing tricks on him. The power had been out for so long, so how could she still have air conditioning?
If his limbs weren’t completely limp and he wasn’t being held immobile, he would have loved to look around and investigate.
Stella Sterling paid no mind to his shock. She dragged him into another room, which contained various instrunts and an anatomical mannequin. The mannequin bristled with silver needles. The entire room had a cold, sterile feel. On a nearby table lay several well-read dical texts.
The man wondered in shock, ’Was she a doctor before all this? But what kind of doctor is this ruthless?’
The thought had barely ford when he was thrown ruthlessly to the floor. His body, which already felt like it was about to fall apart, now ached even more. A pained cry rose in his throat, but he rembered she didn’t like noise and forced it back down.
"You’re very lucky. You get to witness the progress of my dical skills!"
Stella Sterling glanced down at the man on the floor, then turned and left. The man hadn’t yet grasped the aning of her words when Stella Sterling returned, a long chain in her hand.
The man’s heart lurched. In that instant, the word ’pervert’ flashed through his mind. A thousand thoughts raced through his head as the earlier terror assaulted him anew.
"Why are you looking at like that? An expression like yours makes feel like I’m so kind of pervert. It makes very unhappy, you know!"
Stella Sterling glared at him, dragged him onto a chair, and bound him to it with the chain. Then she cuffed his hands and shackled his feet!
’Aren’t you?’
The man swallowed hard but didn’t dare say the words out loud. He could only watch in terror as she did all this to him, unable to muster even an ounce of strength to struggle.
Stella Sterling surveyed her handiwork and clapped her hands in satisfaction. "Excellent. My little clinic has a new mber!"
This was the very room she had prepared for practicing her dical techniques. However, her progress had stalled due to the lack of a test subject, leaving the room unused.
For a while now, this had been a source of great frustration, and she’d seen no solution.
She had originally intended to kill this man. But when he begged for his life, his words gave her an idea.
’If I don’t have a test subject, I can just grab one.’
’And isn’t soone who cos knocking on my door, begging to die, the perfect candidate?’
’With soone like him, I don’t have to show any rcy or worry about making a mistake. He’s the absolute perfect practice dummy.’
The man looked up at Stella Sterling, the fear and unease in his heart swelling.
"Miss, what is it you need to do? How about you let go ho and pack a few things first? I’ll co right back and follow your orders afterward, I promise."
He asked tentatively, still clinging to a sliver of hope. ’If I get a chance to run, I’m never coming back!’
"Go back? No. You’ll be living here for the foreseeable future. There’s no need to go back."
Stella Sterling watched him with a detached expression. Seeing the fear and confusion on his face, she added graciously, "Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. I’ll even provide your als."
At the ntion of als, the fear on the man’s face montarily froze.
’In tis like these, it’s hard enough to feed yourself. Who could possibly guarantee they can feed soone else?’
’So our earlier guess was right. The woman on the 28th floor is loaded. If we had managed to take her down then, we would’ve been set for a good long while.’
’But we failed. And now, I’ve fallen into her hands, my life completely at her rcy.’
As if resigning himself to his fate, he asked, "You’ll really provide als? Every day?"
"Of course. You’re useful to , after all. I can’t have you starving to death."
Only then did the man relax. He said, resigned, "As long as I can stay alive and get fed, I’ll do whatever you want. I won’t back out!"
’He’d figured it out. If she wanted him dead, she wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. Since she wasn’t killing him and was even feeding him, what was there to object to?’
’After all, even if he made it ho alive, he’d still have to worry about his next al.’
’And in his current state—one hand severed, the tendons in his other limbs cut—he’d probably just end up starving to death at ho anyway.’
Seeing his suddenly resolute expression, Stella Sterling mocked him ruthlessly, "Even if you wanted to back out, you don’t have the chance. Your life is no longer your own to control. You should be thanking that you’re alive at all."
The man said nothing this ti. He knew she was telling the truth, but it was a harsh blow to his pride.
Stella Sterling couldn’t have cared less about his hurt feelings. She asked, "What’s your na?"
"Stephen Lawrence," he answered ekly.
Stella Sterling nodded, still holding his severed hand. "Now then, let’s see about reattaching this for you. Don’t worry, I’ve studied the theory. I don’t have any practical experience, but I’m sure it’ll be fine after a little practice!"
The man’s eyes widened. ’Is she using as a guinea pig?’
A flash of anger surged through him, but it fizzled out just as quickly. ’So what if she is? Do I have any way to resist?’
’Besides, so what if I’m a guinea pig? It’s warm here, and there’s food. When I think about it, it doesn’t seem so bad.’
’As for everything else... I’ll just consider it free dical treatnt.’
’Thinking about it that way, I’m not really losing out. In fact, there are quite a few benefits for .’ The man’s eyes brightened at the thought.
’Suddenly, this seed like a pretty good deal. Looks like my luck isn’t so bad after all.’
However, that thought didn’t last long.
"AHHH—"
He scread again. Even though he knew Stella Sterling hated noise, he couldn’t hold it in!
’This "doctor" doesn’t seem to know anything at all! How can you reattach a hand backward?!’
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