Chapter 81 81: Who is Next?

— — — — — — "Six doses?" Eirin paused when she heard the number Veyron requested. "I could've sworn the princess told me that chat group you're in—the one that connects you with people from other worlds—only has seven members total, including you, right?" "..." "Yeah," Veyron nodded. "And she also said that, besides you, the other six are all girls?" Veyron gave another nod. "...You people don't think that's a little suspicious?" Eirin stared at him, half-concerned, half-doubtful. She hesitated a moment, opened her mouth, closed it, then finally gave in and asked, "You sure everything's... normal with that group?" "...For now," Veyron said after thinking it over, "aside from a few unique quirks, it's really just a regular old chat group." "Then why are you trying to unlock the gene lock for all of them?" Eirin looked at him like he'd gone insane. From her perspective, whether it was the value of the gene lock itself or the main ingredient needed to synthesize a compatible T-Virus, none of it seemed like the kind of thing you'd just casually hand out to your online buddies. "Well, for one thing," Veyron began, "the gene lock belongs to one of those 'anyone-can-use-it' types of power systems—to be precise. It won't conflict with their existing abilities, and it'll actually be a huge boost for all of them. So, giving it to them early on can only help." Then he sighed, a little conflicted. "And also... well, over the past few days while I was mulling it over, I realized something about myself." His mental shift started when he learned about the Treeborn World's looming crisis and returned to this world to discuss options with Kaguya. After dropping a bunch of unfiltered statements like "I don't care how wild you get out there, the first taste still belongs to me,"—Kaguya had calmly offered her thoughts. Flashback— "If you're hesitating this much, Daddy," Kaguya said with a sly smile, "why not compromise a little? Try 'helping' some random girls from that other world—you know, the ones you don't even know the names or faces of. Hehe~ just enjoy them~" "..." "What kind of dumb suggestion is that?!" Veyron shot it down immediately. "Ooh?" Kaguya shrugged. "So you do want to do it—just not with strangers? But you don't really know anyone in that new world yet, so there's no emotional baggage. If you do want to help, there's only one option left... you still have to sleep with them." "..." Dammit. Why did that actually make sense to me? Is it just because I want to believe it? "You say you're gonna do it," Kaguya had continued, "but when they finally reach out and hand you the ladder, you still can't bring yourself to take that first step." She shook her head in mock disappointment. "Father, you know what that is, don't you?" "What?" "Tsundere. Scum. Coward." "..." He stood up, reached out—and caught her. "Hey, hey, what's with the sudden move?!" The princess playfully struggled in his grasp. Veyron: "..." —End flashback. --- Anyway. Back to the chat group—seven people, including him. Wouldn't it be better if they were all on equal footing? Nice and neat, just the way it should be. Now, if we were talking about a decent guy, sure—he might've wanted to power up everyone, but not until he maxed out their relationship points first. But Veyron? Yeah... he wasn't that kind of guy. Ever since that three-day "black history" where he completely lost control of his lust—a time he kinda regretted, especially on the days when the feelings came after the act—Veyron had made a mental note to rein himself in. From now on, he'd treat his girls better. Still, it only took a few weeks after that for one truth to hit him loud and clear: He was definitely not anyone's idea of a "proper" man. But people change... right? R-Right?? — — — One Piece Carrying six doses of the T-Virus, each paired with its own tailored antidote, Veyron returned to Ruskaina Island with Fujiwara Chika, who had already been training at Eientei under Eirin to learn how to harness spiritual energy. At that moment, three members were already on the island—Merlin, Hancock, and Fubuki. The other two, Selena and Gwen, were quickly summoned from their respective worlds after receiving the message in the chat group. After exchanging a few greetings, they didn't waste time with small talk. The group of seven jumped straight to the point. Holding up a syringe loaded with the T-Virus, Veyron glanced around and asked: "Who's going first?" "I will go!" Fujiwara Chika raised her hand right away, clearly trusting both Veyron and Eirin. Veyron gave a nod, took her extended arm, and smoothly injected the virus into her soft forearm. Then, using the heightened perception granted by his fourth-stage gene lock, he monitored how her body reacted to the virus. One of the key abilities at this level—Genetic Control—wasn't just for tweaking and optimizing his own DNA. Those with strong enough control could actually modify or repair other people's genes too. Just observing the T-Virus's progress like this? Child's play for him. ... Over ten minutes passed. Once he felt her body nearing its absolute limit—any longer and she'd probably turn into a zombie—Veyron calmly injected her with the antidote. "How is she?" Gwen asked from the side. Chika's eyes turned a little dazed. She raised her hand and, with a wave, caused the sand beneath her feet to shift and swirl. Thanks to the telekinetic abilities awakened by the virus, she sculpted an eerily lifelike sand statue—an exact replica of herself. "Don't try to stay in this state for too long the first time," Veyron reminded her. "The side effects can get... pretty rough." "Got it," Chika nodded, her focus returning to normal as she exited her unlocked state. And then— Her whole body started trembling violently. Sweat broke out across her forehead in an instant, and a pained groan escaped her lips. Good thing Veyron caught her with his telekinesis, or she would've collapsed face-first into the sand. She grabbed a pouch of white sugar that had been prepared in advance and dumped it straight into her mouth. As the bone-deep pain and numbing ache slowly faded, her body still twitching from the aftereffects, Chika finally let out a relieved sigh. "According to the info you posted in the chat, next time shouldn't be this awful... right?" "It'll be a bit better," Veyron nodded. "But don't get your hopes too high." He explained, "The first few unlocks won't be as harmful as the initial one, but they'll still hurt. How much the pain eases up depends on the individual." "With how much meat you've been eating lately—and your physical condition improving several times over compared to a normal human—not to mention the fact you're already training in spiritual energy... You should adapt pretty quickly." "Ugh, I really hope it doesn't hurt that bad next time..." Even now, remembering the pain left her shaken. In her entire life, she'd never experienced anything remotely close to that—not even a tenth of it. Still trembling slightly, Chika scooted to the side and gratefully accepted a plate of roasted Sea King meat that Merlin handed her, immediately digging in. Meanwhile, Veyron prepped another syringe and loaded the next dose. "Alright—who's next?" . . .