Chapter 113: Stella’s Confession and the Hunter Zero Experiment

Stella’s voice was utterly captivating, an intoxicating allure tugging at Bai Yu, attempting to draw her into an immediate embrace.

However, Bai Yu was a person of integrity; how could she possibly fall for such a blatant lure?

This time, Bai Yu firmly reined in her desires.

Bai Yu gently pushed Stella away, then stepped off the bed.

“I didn’t know anyone was here; I’ll just switch rooms.”

Bai Yu said, her face flushed, already turning to leave the room.

Yet, Stella immediately caught her arm.

Bai Yu’s heart gave a sudden lurch, wondering what Stella intended.

She had only just managed to restrain her desires; how could Stella provoke her so?

If this continued, she would truly lose her composure.

But Stella’s voice abruptly cut through her thoughts.

“Please… don’t go…”

Stella’s voice was soft and weak, even tinged with a sob.

This prompted Bai Yu to quickly turn around, only to find Stella clad solely in her underwear, her head bowed as she wept.

At that moment, Bai Yu felt that Stella resembled less an adult and more a vulnerable child.

Though Bai Yu was reluctant to admit it, seeing Stella in such a state truly caused her resolve to waver for a fleeting moment.

“Alright, I won’t go. Why are you crying?”

Bai Yu couldn’t help but feel puzzled, as Stella’s current demeanor genuinely stirred a flicker of worry within her.

To think that Mother had sent her to protect Bai Yu, only for her to start crying the moment she arrived.

‘She’s a bit of a mess, isn’t she?’

Bai Yu couldn’t help but inwardly complain.

“N-nothing, really. I just want you to stay with me, just for a little while.”

Stella remained silent, her head bowed, yet Bai Yu could easily surmise the reason for her tears.

‘It’s about Mother, isn’t it?’

Bai Yu didn’t beat around the bush; she stated it plainly.

Of course, Bai Yu could guess; after Mother had so sternly rejected Stella back then, anyone would naturally feel dejected for a considerable time.

Yet Stella had only been upset for a brief period, then continued as if nothing had happened.

Anyone even slightly perceptive could have discerned Stella’s true state of mind at that time.

‘She probably didn’t want Mother to see her like that, as it would only have made things more awkward.’

‘Perhaps only an utterly straightforward woman like Mother wouldn’t have noticed anything at all…’

Only now, with Mother gone, did Stella finally have the chance to unleash the pain she had kept hidden deep within her heart.

This left Bai Yu feeling somewhat helpless; as it concerned Mother, she couldn’t directly intervene.

Moreover, she found Stella quite pitiful; although Bai Yu didn’t understand the reasons behind Stella’s affection for Mother, she could clearly see the sincerity of her feelings.

Otherwise, Bai Yu wouldn’t have felt such sympathy for her.

“Can you tell me why you fell for my mother?”

Bai Yu tentatively asked Stella, recognizing that while it might seem like prying into old wounds, it was the most effective approach at that moment.

After all, Bai Yu genuinely wished to help Stella; though she knew it was impossible to make Mother change her mind, simply listening to Stella’s grievances and helping her untangle her emotional knots was a worthwhile endeavor.

Furthermore, given how much Stella had helped Mother, Bai Yu still held no ill will towards her.

Stella hesitated, her golden hair drifting across her face, which made her appear even more forlorn, yet imbued her with a peculiar, tragic beauty.

This sight made Bai Yu swallow once more.

‘Your teacher is a cheating scumbag!’

“You should put on your clothes first!”

Bai Yu got off the bed and retrieved the clothes hanging on the rack, offering them to Stella.

Only then did she realize that Stella’s clothes had been on the hanger all along; she simply hadn’t noticed them upon entering.

It truly was her fault for entering the wrong room this time, though she mused that Stella hadn’t made a sound to indicate otherwise.

“Mhm.”

Stella sobbed, reluctantly draping the clothes over herself, yet they failed to fully conceal her voluptuous figure, creating a tantalizing glimpse that, to Bai Yu, felt almost more provocative than before.

‘This woman couldn’t possibly be doing this on purpose, could she!’

Bai Yu couldn’t help but think this, given that Stella always exuded such an alluring aura, even in moments of distress.

“Oh, forget it.”

Bai Yu simply ceased to dwell on it, choosing instead to listen to Stella’s narrative.

After all, she, too, was eager to learn what exactly had transpired with Mother over the past six months.

She had always believed that Mother had simply gone abroad to secure an ordinary position.

Yet, she had actually joined a perilous organization like the Hunter Guild.

According to Stella, Tianyu had joined the Hunter Guild after her.

What surprised Bai Yu even more was hearing from Stella about a secret experiment conducted by the Hunter Guild.

It was called the “Hunter Zero Experiment.”

Its purpose was to cultivate the most powerful, emotionless killing machine, intended to govern the entire Hunter Guild through the most extreme means.

The Hunter Guild selected a thousand children for this experiment, and each day of their lives was spent enduring inhumane training.

Slaughter, combat, and death—these were the only lessons they received from childhood, born without emotion, existing solely for a singular purpose.

Upon reaching the age of twelve, every participant would uniformly undergo a spiritual awakening, manifesting their spiritual core.

Bai Yu finally understood what Stella had meant by Tianyu’s ultimate spiritual core awakening.

As for those who failed to awaken, there was only a single, grim outcome.

That outcome was death.

Beyond that, no other possibility existed.

Such an incomparably cruel and inhumane experiment, by all rights, could not be tolerated by the world; nor could other Arcanist organizations simply allow it to persist.

Consequently, a few years prior, the Hunter Zero Experiment had completely collapsed under the frantic intervention of Arcanist organizations and governments across the globe.

All the children were eventually rescued, though of the original thousand experimental subjects, merely a dozen or so remained when they were finally liberated.

And Stella was one of those handful of surviving children.

The Hunter Guild, too, underwent a complete overhaul, with many high-ranking officials directly arrested and brought to justice.

However, this upheaval did not alter the fundamental nature of the Hunter Guild; even now, it remained a fanatical organization dedicated to the eradication of all Dark Spiritual Cores.

One could easily foresee the meager chances of survival in society for those children who had never received any form of social education.

Consequently, most of the rescued children returned to the Hunter Guild, for their lives had been stripped bare, leaving only slaughter and combat.

Stella was one such child; it could be said that before she met Tianyu, she was nothing more than a pure combat machine, devoid of pity or sorrow.

…

Bai Yu listened quietly to Stella’s account, and in that moment, she finally understood the profound fragility of Stella’s heart.

She was akin to a child who had only just discovered emotions, having never experienced any feelings before, which explained her profound sadness upon being rejected by Tianyu.

Yet Bai Yu firmly believed that Mother’s assistance to Stella was merely an act of camaraderie, and that any deeper romantic feelings were simply impossible.

After all, Bai Yu knew her Mother intimately; though sometimes a little violent, she was fundamentally very gentle.