“I like you very much. When you two get married, you must invite me,” she added with an amicable smile.
Calista reciprocated the smile. “Definitely.”
They received numerous blessings, and it wasn’t until a good ten minutes later that they managed to exit the banquet hall. It was clear that their strategy for the evening had been quite successful.
The best way to divert public attention is to create a bigger topic of discussion. And what could be more gossip worthy than Kallum’s love life, which had practically been non–existent before this?
“Phew…” Calista let out a sigh of relief. It’s exhausting to act like a woman devoted to love. How did I even do this for more than a decade in the past?
In contrast to her exhaustion, Kallum was in such a good mood.
The moon was bright and clear, and as the two of them passed through an open corridor, their hands remained firmly entwined.
Calista was exasperated. “Will you let go now? You’re squeezing my hand so hard it hurts.”
Kallum loosened his grip slightly but did not let go. “No. Who knows? Someone might see us?”
Calista could only let him be. “Shall we grab something to eat?”
They had just shown their faces at the banquet and hadn’t had anything to eat.
Kallum nodded. “Sure, let’s go grab a bite!”
They had barely taken two steps when Kallum suddenly asked, “Was what you just said true?”
“Hmm?”
Kallum didn’t turn around, so Calista couldn’t see his expression.
“You said that if I were to die, you would die with me…”
Though it seemed somewhat implausible, the moment Calista uttered those words, he felt that she might be telling the truth and that she was really willing to die with him.
Calista chuckled, which made Kallum feel uneasy. He halted in his tracks, turning to look at her. Serenity and peace filled the air as they were bathed in the moonlight.
“Why are you laughing?” Kallum was annoyed, wishing that he hadn’t asked.
Calista arched an eyebrow, looking up at him. “And what about you? What do you think of my earlier performance? Do you think what I said was true?”
Kallum furrowed his brows. Naturally, he believed it to be true. However, he was a bit skeptical and found it unbelievable, considering Calista’s usual attitude.
Calista smiled. Her smile held a hint of mystery coupled with her radiant, starry eyes.
Only complete authenticity can truly touch their hearts”
After finishing her sentence, she gracefully walked away, leaving Kallum standing rooted to the spot in a daze. He was like a young boy experiencing the stirrings of love for the first time, utterly at a loss.
So does that mean… everything she said was true?
Kallum’s smile grew wider as immense joy overwhelmed him. When he finally snapped back to his senses, he realized that Calista had already walked far away.
“Callie, wait! So, you meant it when you said you loved me? I’ll remember this! You can’t deny it now!” he exclaimed, catching up to her.
The joyous news from the banquet last night was bad news to Harvey.
“How much of that scene from last night was true?” he wondered aloud, his muttering overheard by the assistant who came to report to him.
Reflecting on the events of the previous night, the assistant said, “At least it seemed genuine to me.”
Distracted, Harvey nodded. He wasn’t there, so he still harbored some doubts.
Warrick was easily defeated this time. If he wanted to try again, he would need a more comprehensive plan.
“I must say, that Fairchild brat is tough to deal with. No wonder Sterling suffered at his hands. It was also my fault for being too caught up in Summerbank before this. Looks like I can only accept my bad luck and swallow this bitter pill,” Harvey said before asking again, “How’s Quincy doing? Is her condition stable now?
The assistant behind Harvey inwardly scoffed, maintaining a calm exterior as he said, “Not yet. She had a close brush with death this time and was severely traumatized. We’ve already switched her to a new psychiatrist.”
Harvey was exasperated at the mention of Quincy, “Like mother, like daughter indeed. Quincy’s nothing like me.”
“Perhaps she’s just not mature enough yet,” the assistant remarked indifferently. At least according to their investigations, Quincy’s ruthlessness was strikingly similar to Harvey’s
“Let’s hope for the best. Now that Sterling’s out of the picture, I don’t seem to have any other options besides her. Looks like it’s time for her to reunite with her family…” said Harvey.
Meanwhile, Sterling was blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location.
At this point, he was as thin as a rake, appearing to have aged decades in just a few short weeks. Every day was a living nightmare for him.
When his blindfold was removed, he saw Calista. Strangely, she was the only one in the room; there was no one else.
Sterling, with his mouth stuffed, could only let out unintelligible, muffled moans. The hatred in his gaze when he looked at Calista was almost palpable.
Calista pulled the cloth out of Sterling’s mouth. Since he was tied up, she wasn’t concerned about him posing any threat to her.
She clicked her tongue. “You look miserable. Have you not been eating in the quarantine area?”
With a mischievous smile, Calista sat across from Sterling, looking down at the latter, who was miserably. curled up on the carpet, bound from head to toe.
“Calista… you want to kill me?” Sterling glared at her. “Don’t bother wasting your energy. A few days ago, government officials said they were going to take me away for research. You didn’t know that, did you? Most people infected with the K Virus die within a month, but not me. I can survive! As long as I keep nourishing myself, I can live on. If you dare kill me, you’ll face the wrath of the government!”
Calista chuckled at his naivety. “In reality, I was the one who wanted to take you away for research. The government was just the front. They don’t care about you at all, just like they don’t believe that I’ll conquer the K Virus just by acquiring you.”
A chill ran down Sterling’s spine, and he glanced at Calista with a fearful expression. “W–What are you planning to do to me?” he asked.
“What am I planning to do?” Calista asked, her legs crossed as she leaned back on the couch, a thoughtful expression on her face. “I was originally thinking of setting up a research center, and then you’d become my first human test subject. It would make it easier for me to study the K Virus.”
Upon hearing that Calista did not intend to kill him, Sterling breathed a sigh of relief, However, the very next moment. Calista’s words plunged him into despair.
“Do you think being a test subject is better than being dead?” she asked.
Indeed, that was what Sterling thought. If the experiment was successful, I’d still have a slim chance of survival, right?
Calista laughed wickedly, brutally shattering his hopes.
“Compared to the average patient, your greatest advantage is that you don’t experience pain, right? Not matter how well a person can bear pain, their subtle expressions and movements will reveal it. The K Virus is known to cause unbearable agony, yet I haven’t seen a trace of suffering in you.”
Calista exposed him, “No matter how well a person can bear pain, their subtle expressions and movements will reveal it. The K Virus is known to cause unbearable agony, yet haven’t seen a trace of suffering in you.”
This was also why she was able to discern that Kallum’s condition was progressively worsening. No matter how well Kallum could bear the pain, it was impossible for him to show no signs, unless he had lost his sense of pain.
In the quarantine area, no one provided Sterling with painkillers or anesthesia. Yet, he seemed completely fine. There could only be one explanation–he wasn’t in pain at all.
Sterling’s complexion subtly shifted. He was apprehensive about falling into Calista’s hands, fearing that Calista would deliberately torment him, causing him immense pain.
Calista didn’t mind his silence and continued speaking. “You’re not feeling pain now only because you’re numb to it. Why else do you think you’re vomiting blood every day? You have a unique constitution, and the K Virus has paralyzed your pain receptors. It’s true that you’ll live longer than most because many typical reactions, like fever and other complications, won’t happen to you. But three to four months is your limit. You won’t make it past half a year.”
“That’s impossible!” Sterling reacted strongly, for he firmly believed that he was different from other. As realization dawned on him, he gnashed his teeth and said, “I get it now! You’re doing this on purpose deliberately spreading such rumors! So, after three or four months, when I’m dead, you can just tell the authorities that I died naturally, right? Dream on! Where’s my lawyer? I haven’t been stripped of my human rights! Where’s my lawyer?”
Calista chuckled softly. “At this point, you’ve been stripped of your human rights. Now, you only have two options: One is death, and the other is to serve as my human test subject:
There was joy in her voice. “Once you become a human test subject and enter the treatment phase, the virus‘ paralyzing effect on your nerves will lessen. You will soon experience the same pain as other patients. Because of your unique constitution, I will do my best to prolong your life for my research. Then, you will live each day wishing you were dead… Trust me, I will make your life a living hell.”
Her bone–chilling, eerie voice echoed throughout the room, making Sterling shudder.
He detected the resentment in Calista’s voice and was surprised to discover that Calista harbored such intense hatred toward him.
Your worries.
Calista continued smiling. “When the time comes, the pain caused by the virus is the least of agony you experience during drug trials is worse than that. Every medicine injected into your body will react violently with the K Virus. Regardless of whether the virus overpowers the medicine, or the medicine suppresses the virus, you’ll experience the thrill of pain so intense it almost kills you… Have you ever experienced the sensation of pain so intense that it knocks you out, only to be awoken by the same excruciating pain, repeating over and over for three days, drenched in sweat? I’ll bind your limbs securely, stuff your mouth with cloth, and tie you to the bed. I’ll watch as you struggle for three days and nights, at the pain wakes you, as you scream, as thick blood seeps from your eyes… You’ll surely find that experience fascinating, won’t you? Staying alive in agony is better than being dead, isn’t it?”
For the first time in his life, Sterling felt his heart sink. Calista’s words dripped with bloodlust, though it might sound exaggerated to an ordinary person, he, as someone. infected with the K Virus and understood its terrifying nature, knew Calista wasn’t joking. The scenario she described could genuinely happen to him.
“Why?” Sterling sprawled on the ground, his expression filled with sorrow and despair, his voice barely a whisper as he questioned, “I admit, I ruined your plans the moment I appeared, and I admit that I even tried to kill you later… But I gained nothing from you! Why… Why do you hate me so much? Why are your torturing me like this?”
Indeed, she hated him.
Every word she uttered seemed like a curse from hell. Her gaze and even her smile carried an intense bitterness. Sterling couldn’t understand where her deep–seated hatred was coming from.
Calista laughed silently. “Why? I’ve experienced the same pain because of you… Of course I hate you.”
Sterling thought that Calista had lost her mind. She is the apple of Kallum’s eyes! Anyone who dares to hurt her will face severe retribution! How could she possibly have experienced the pain she just described?
Calista appeared deep in thought, her eyes slightly unfocused as she studied his dejected expression. “You seem perplexed. How about I tell you a story? Do you believe in reincarnation?”
In the pitch–black night, under a dim yellow light, Calista finished telling her story. Sterling’s expression morphed from disbelief to acceptance, then to madness, and finally to hysteria.
“So that’s how it is! I can’t believe this…” Despite being tied up, he continued writhing and struggling, fixing eyes on Calista and shouting in a crazed manner. He opened his eyes so wide, his mouth distorted into. a grotesque, huge grin. looking like a lunatic.
His voice hoarse, he enunciated each word, “So, this is why you transformed overnight! I was wondering why you were completely different from how Yelena describe you! Now it all makes sense! Now it all makes sense! No wonder you’re so enigmatic and can see the future! So, you’re the most unique carrier! As long as I have your body, I can survive! You are the key to conquering the virus! I want your brain, too. When you become mine, I’ll have everything I ever desired!”
As he finished speaking, he lay flat on the ground, straining to gaze at Calista’s blurry face greedily, laboriously trying to crawl over to her. “As long as… I have you, I’d achieve success… I’d reap both fame and fortune, and I’d myself of this d’mned virus and rise again!”
Calista nodded affirmatively, her voice faint. “Theoretically, you’re right. Right now, all you need is a phone, and all it would take is for you to make one phone call to Harvey, and you could potentially turn things around. Imagine this: with me as your test subject, you could easily conquer this global conundrum. With all the knowledge stored in my brain, your family could be propelled to great heights, basking in glory!”
Sterling’s eyes lit up when he heard that, as if he saw hope and a dazzling future ahead. With these cards in hand, I’m sure Harvey would do anything he could to rescue me. Everything I ever dreamed of is now within my reach…
Spotting the desire and hope fill his eyes to the brim, Calista leaned back in her chair with a smile and poured herself a glass of wine, her voice laced with a hint of mockery as she spoke. “But now… do you think I’d give you that chance?”
Sterling was taken aback.
Narrowing her eyes, Calista swirled the glass in her hand, her gaze filled with mischief and disdain. “In my previous life, I missed my opportunity, misplaced my trust, and was too timid. That was why I lost everything. But in this life, you’ve fallen into my hands…” Pausing, she continued smugly, “Moreover, you’re the one infected with the virus, not me. It’s time for you to experience everything I ever endured in my previous life Sterling are you read to face my resentment and war retribution?”
she only shared such a huge secret with him because she wouldn’t allow him the opportunity to spill it.
She was the source of his hope but also his greatest nightmare. The rollercoaster of emotions. overwhelmed him, his expression a mix of joy and sorrow. In his daze, he even began to question whether he was in a dream!
Calista observed the situation closely, noticing that Sterling was on the brink of an emotional breakdown. He was just a step away from the breaking point.
“Do you know why I studied the K Virus in this lifetime? It’s not entirely because it claimed my life in the past.” She spoke, smiling maliciously, making it hard to tell whether she was telling the truth.
Sterling stared at her, numb from everything. At this point, nothing could faze him anymore. What could possibly be more absurd than reincarnation or more tragic than the current state he was in?
Calista lowered her gaze to look at him, her gaze piercing as she chuckled chillingly. “The reason I studied it was because of Kallum. Did you know? He was also infected with the K Virus.”
Sterling felt as if he was suffocating.
“Is he… a special infectee too?” Sterling asked, his voice faltering with uncertainty.
Kallum could only have been infected a year ago in Lostaria. If he didn’t have a unique constitution, he couldn’t have possibly survived until now.
“No, no.” Calista waved her finger, grinning as she spoke evilly, delivering yet another blow to Sterling. “Have you forgotten? My medical skills can extend one’s life!”
“What? Kallum treated you poorly in your previous life! Why would you even bother saving him?” Sterling lifted his head in disbelief, almost wanting to sit up and see if Calista had lost her mind.