Shen Zueran just shook his head with a bitter smile.
"We haven't even managed to develop a drug that can replace the calming effect of a female."
"The soothing agent only forcefully suppresses their heat. But afterward, it triggers an even more violent backlash."
"It's unrealistic to hope we can invent a drug that restores sanity to a beast all at once."
"So," Shen Zueran shrugged, "everyone imprisoned here are males who, according to machine diagnostics, have suffered a spiritual power collapse of over 90% because they have no female to soothe them."
Yu Lan was horrified.
Her gaze swept over the men before her.
'That means... everyone in front of me now... they're all still lucid.'
'They will face their fate fully aware.'
'Waiting for the day they finally lose their minds.'
'It's just too cruel.'
"If they haven't completely lost their minds yet, can't we..."
Yu Lan's words died in her throat under Shen Zueran's all-knowing gaze.
'No, they couldn't.'
'Survival of the fittest.'
'The fittest survive.'
'If they couldn't win a female's favor when their spiritual power was still intact...'
'...what chance did they have now that they were on the verge of losing their minds?'
'Cruel.'
'It was just too cruel.'
Especially when Yu Lan's gaze fell on the man closest to her and noticed a wound that was clearly fresh, only recently bandaged.
They were warriors who had followed Huo Zhanting to fight in Zone 13 and on the Dark Planet.
They were heroes of the Empire.
Their fate shouldn't be to perish silently in this dark prison.
Yu Lan had to do something.
"I want to develop a new drug. Can I?"
Yu Lan looked at Shen Zueran, her eyes pleading.
Shen Zueran understood what Yu Lan meant almost instantly.
Yu Lan herself was a capable Advanced Researcher. It was certainly possible for her to start her own R&D team for a new project.
Shen Zueran nodded. "You can. I approve."
"But you have no experience in personnel management or leading a team. Until your project yields results, the funding from the Science Research Institute will be significantly lower."
"Yes, I understand."
Yu Lan nodded repeatedly. She understood the principle: no kind investor makes a bottomless investment without seeing results first.
She understood this principle.
After getting Shen Zueran's approval, Yu Lan turned her gaze to the males cowering behind the rows of iron cages, their faces numb and hollow. Her clear voice echoed through the corridor.
"Everyone, my name is Yu Lan."
"I'm an Advanced Researcher at the Science Research Institute. I want to start a project dedicated to researching a substitute for a female's Healing Power—something that can help males get through their heat and alleviate spiritual power collapse."
"I already have some preliminary ideas for the research. Now, I want to know... is anyone willing to help me complete this study?"
Her words fell.
A dead silence filled the hall.
Not a single male responded.
Shen Zueran's brow furrowed slightly.
'There was no need to ask these males for their opinions. This was research for the Science Research Institute, after all.'
'He could just call the Guard Team and have them taken away.'
That said, Shen Zueran had felt a brief moment of pleasure at Yu Lan's polite and egalitarian approach.
But he knew that if she asked like this, not a single male would agree. No one wanted to be a guinea pig.
Just as he was about to speak,
from a corner,
a male raised his hands, his voice raspy from disuse.
"I don't know if this research you're talking about will ever succeed."
"Maybe it never will."
"But that's okay. You're the first female I've ever met who is so beautiful and gentle. I don't have much time left while I'm still lucid, and I'm willing to spend it helping with your research."
"I like the word you used just now: 'help.'"
Yu Lan's eyes instantly brightened.
Even in the darkness of the prison, Shen Zueran could clearly see flames ignite in Yu Lan's amber eyes—flames of conviction.
"We will make it happen."
Yu Lan clenched her fist.
*
"What is your beast form?"
"A bear?"
"How are you feeling now? Does your head hurt?"
It was a bright, clean office. On a nearby windowsill, several pots of fresh flowers sat, their beautiful buds swaying gently in the breeze.
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the beautiful, gentle female before him and bathing her in a golden light.
Durant was in a daze.
He was the male from the Mad Hero Institute who had agreed to participate in Yu Lan's experiment.
The moment he entered the Mad Hero Institute, he had known his fate.
Either he would cooperate with the Science Research Institute's research during his few remaining days of lucidity...
...or, if the researchers didn't need him, he would simply count down his final moments and leave his last words.
They were free to choose whether to live on as a beast after completely losing their sanity, or to be put down with a single bullet from the Guard Team.
But his fate was absolutely not supposed to include...
...a moment as pleasant and comfortable as this.
The beautiful, gentle female exuded a faint, fresh fragrance. She looked at him with a kind gaze, holding a chart and gently asking him questions.
It was as if he were still a normal male, not one of the 'mad ones' whose spiritual power had collapsed by 90%, ready to lose his mind at any moment.
This made Durant feel happy.
Even the constant pain in his head seemed to ease.
"Alright, that's all the basic questions."
"Next, we need to draw a vial of blood for some tests. Is that okay?"
'The female before him was so beautiful and gentle.'
Durant, in a daze, nodded again and again, agreeing to Yu Lan's request.
*
「Six o'clock in the evening.」
Having finished her long day of work, Yu Lan left the Science Research Institute right on time.
As she sat in the levitating car on her way home, a news anchor's sorrowful voice came from the onboard screen.
[We have breaking news: Marshal Huo Zhanting, after leading the First Legion to a successful victory against terrorist forces on the Dark Planet and saving the people of Zone 13, has unexpectedly vanished from the battlefield. Junior General Su Xingye is currently handling the aftermath in Zone 13 and organizing the search for Marshal Huo. He is expected to arrive on the Central Star in the coming days.]
'Huo Zhanting is missing?'
Yu Lan froze.
She recalled the moment she had first arrived in this world, when she had suddenly met a pair of fierce, piercing golden eyes.
The man had a formidable presence—he was handsome, sharp, and incredibly powerful.
'How could he possibly be missing?'
'Could this be some kind of tactic that couldn't be made public?'
Yu Lan shook her head. She pondered it for only a moment before pushing the thought to the back of her mind.
'Worrying about it wouldn't change a thing.'
When she arrived back at the villa, it was completely empty.
Yu Lan couldn't afford the wages for so many servants; every day they stayed cost her an extra ten thousand Star Coins.
She had successfully reached a peaceful separation agreement with the butler at noon.
Now, the entire villa was silent.
Yu Lan pushed open the main door. With her back to the staircase, she fumbled around from memory, searching for the light switch.
She didn't notice...
...that at the top of the stairs, a pair of golden eyes was watching her silently.
'So fragrant... so fragrant... so fragrant!'