Under the bright moonlight, the two were pressed tightly together, Lock quietly feeling Annie's struggles beneath him.
Two minutes later, Annie finally stopped moving as if resigning to her fate.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly as Annie panted softly.
Lock looked at the flush on Annie's face and reached out to wipe away the nosebleed she was leaking.
"You lost, Annie."
Annie turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Lock grabbed Annie's chin, forcing her to turn back.
"Look at me, Annie."
"This is what war is like; there's no such thing as fairness or justice. The strong devour the weak."
"You see me as a demon, and I see you as a slave of Marley. Although we share the same roots, we were born enemies, destined to fight to the death."
"You actually shouldn't have trusted me, nor should you feel guilty for causing Marco's death."
"Annie, you are an unqualified warrior."
Annie stared blankly at him, tears streaming uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Lock released her hands and got off her.
He sat beside Annie, gently wiping away her tears.
Lock looked toward the carriage approaching from not far away and said softly, "Annie, it's time to go."
He pulled an anesthetic dart from his breast pocket and stuck it into a vein in Annie's arm.
Annie slowly closed her eyes.
The carriage arrived; the driver was Buffon, the head butler of the Leon Family. He nodded to Lock.
Lock picked up the sleeping Annie and went to the carriage.
The door opened, and Elise was waiting inside the carriage.
Lock carried Annie onto the carriage and placed her on a long table covered with a white cloth in the middle of the compartment.
"Young Master."
"Everything is prepared, right?"
"It's ready."
Elise took out a carefully tied cloth bundle from beside her.
Lock nodded and said, "Then let's begin."
He pulled a glowing crystal about the size of a fist from a pouch at his waist; Lock had chiseled this from the Reiss Family's underground.
He placed the crystal into a small metal basket hanging from the ceiling of the carriage.
The interior of the carriage was instantly illuminated.
Elise lowered the rolled-up white cloths on the windows and door, carefully covering any gaps.
Lock gently rolled Annie over from her back, positioning her so her back faced him.
"Elise, hold her steady."
"Okay."
Elise stood opposite Lock, forcefully bending Annie's legs and pressing her head toward her chest.
Together, they arched Annie's lower back.
Lock lifted Annie's shirt, completely exposing her smooth back, and used his hand to feel for the puncture site.
Lock opened the first layer of the bundle. On the surface of the second layer was a pair of white gloves. Lock put them on and then opened the second layer of cloth.
Inside lay a metal tray with several compartments.
"Elise, alcohol."
"Yes."
Elise took a dark glass bottle from a cabinet in the carriage.
She uncorked it, held the bottle over the tray, and gently poured the alcohol into one of the compartments.
Lock picked up a long-handled metal clamp from another compartment, gripped a small square silk cloth, and soaked it in the alcohol.
After three seconds, he picked it up and applied it to Annie's back, disinfecting in a spiral outward from the puncture site, three times in total.
After disinfecting, Lock took out a thin needle nearly fifteen centimeters long from a long compartment.
Don't underestimate this needle; it embodies the pinnacle of manufacturing technology currently on the island.
It consisted of two parts: an exceptionally thin hollow metal tube on the outside and an even thinner metal stylet inside.
Lock took the needle and moved behind Annie, aiming at the previously noted entry point and gently piercing it in.
Guided by the subtle sensations transmitted through the needle, Lock advanced it with absolute steadiness.
The needle passed through the Ligamentum Flavum, the Dura Mater, and the Arachnoid Mater.
Lock gently pulled out the stylet. Under the cold light of the crystal overhead, he noticed a transparent liquid flowing from the end of the metal tube.
And that was Annie's spinal fluid.
The fluid that flowed out quickly evaporated upon contact with the air.
Lock frowned and reinserted the stylet. Holding the needle with one hand, he took a needleless syringe from the tray with the other.
Lock pulled the stylet out again, holding it between his fingers, and quickly attached the syringe.
The two fit together perfectly.
Lock slowly drew out the spinal fluid with the syringe.
1 ml, 5 ml, 10 ml.
The syringe capacity was only 10 ml. Lock removed the syringe and reinserted the stylet.
He took a syringe needle from a small compartment in the tray, attached it, and said without looking up, "Elise, the bottles."
Elise opened a wooden box containing eight small sealed glass bottles.
Lock stuck the needle into a small vacuum vial, injected half the spinal fluid, and then injected the other half into another.
Next was repeating the steps.
Lock took a total of 40 ml of spinal fluid from Annie's body before stopping. He packed up his tools and took off his gloves.
Finally, he placed Annie back into a flat position and removed the ring from her hand. Lock guessed she had quietly put it on after realizing she might not be able to escape.
How clever, Annie. Unfortunately, you met me.
Lock tucked the ring into his breast pocket.
Exhaling softly, Lock knew this was the limit of what he could achieve.
Technical conditions within the Walls were limited; it was impossible to be exactly like the other world.
Lock could only do his best to reduce the risk of sample contamination.
Next, experiments had to be conducted. If it were in that other world, this would certainly never pass ethics.
Thinking of this, Lock gave a self-deprecating smile.
But who could help it? This was a feudal society, and he was a top-tier noble within the Walls.
The family now had death row inmates transported from the Central Military Police Brigade; he hoped it would work on the first try.
Lock looked at the sleeping Annie and couldn't help but reach out to stroke her cheek, gently smoothing her slightly furrowed brow.
"Young Master!"
"Hmm? What is it?" Lock looked at his little maid.
Elise said solemnly, "The butler is asking if we can leave now."
Lock nodded and smiled. "Let's go. We're going home."
The carriage slowly started moving. Elise noticed that her Young Master was still staring at this outsider, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
What on earth did her Young Master see in this woman?
...Using this method to try and turn into a Titan was actually Lock's backup plan.
He had originally thought of finding Rod's black briefcase at the Reiss farm or in that underground space.
But during his training with Kenny's Squad, Lock had never found a single trace of it.
He had no idea where Rod had hidden that thing.
After searching for a week without results, he finally had to give up...
Lock remembered something and turned to look at Elise, only to find her staring at Annie with a dark expression.
Realizing Lock was looking at her, Elise immediately looked straight ahead and regained her usual cold demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
Lock was quite familiar with this side of Elise. He knew his maid appeared taciturn and aloof on the surface, but she had a lot of internal drama. In short, she was quite cute.
He asked with a smile, "Elise, has the letter been sent?"
Elise replied, "Someone was sent this afternoon. They should be arriving at the Survey Corps Headquarters soon."
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