When Her Heart Turned to Stone
Chapter 299: Can You Save Me
After that, Raylee’s hellish journey began. Initially, she had assumed it would be a simple stint in jail for reform. However, she ended up being sent to the infamous prison often referred to in legends as the devil’s prison.
Once again, Raylee dreamt of her time in District Nine Prison, a period in her life that was akin to a living nightmare. Over there, she had endured all sorts of unimaginable ordeals. Raylee was treated like a lab rat by that beastly professor, subjected to inhumane experiments. Dissections, drug tests, and ovum harvesting were some of the many torments she was subjected to. She felt like a lamb to the slaughter, subject to others’ whims.
Whenever there was a phase of progress in the experiment, the Epean professor would burst into fits of maniacal laughter. Then, in his broken Corvainan, he praised her, “Subject 008, you truly are one of a kind! Your presence has, at the very least, advanced my experimental project by a hundred years!” The more elated the Epean professor became, the more excited he got, acting as if he was on a euphoric high.
He had Raylee bound tightly to the hospital bed, leaving her unable to move. His eyes were full of vigor and determination as he picked up the scalpel and resolutely made an incision on her skin. It wasn’t until the tenth cut was made that the Epean professor would stop. By then, Raylee had already succumbed to the overwhelming pain and passed out.
Day after day, her once healthy body would be left ravaged and riddled with wounds. Raylee couldn’t bear these harsh treatments, and living was nothing short of torment for her. However, each time she contemplated ending her own life, the Epean professor would always find a way to revive her.
Later on, to prevent Raylee from taking her own life, he confined her within a human-shaped iron cage. Her limbs were restrained by iron chains, and her mouth was gagged with a specially made clamp. That left Raylee incapable of doing anything that would harm herself. It was unclear how many days had passed under such inhuman conditions.
At last, there was a time when the Epean professor took her to the seaside to conduct sunburn experiments. Raylee found her chance to escape and submerged herself underwater, swimming with all her might. Eventually, she reached a remote island a few kilometers away and took refuge there. The Epean professor deliberately chose not to recapture her. Instead, he left Raylee to fend for herself on the remote island, which she later discovered was artificially created.
The island was devoid of any food necessary for survival, littered only with mountains of medical waste, and bodies that could be seen everywhere. Raylee was constantly hungry, her clothes barely covering her body as she endured immense physical and emotional torment.
Finally, she could no longer bear it and tried to swim further away. It was this very instance that she nearly drowned. In the vast expanse of the ocean, Raylee had inhaled a significant amount of seawater into her nostrils and lungs. She initially thought her life was about to end right there as a crushing sense of suffocation steadily stole her life away, second by second, pushing her to the brink of death.
Suddenly, a voice whispered into her ear, “Do you wish to live? If yes, then nod, and I will save you!” While Raylee was alive, she felt as if it was better off being dead. When she truly faced the brink of death, however, it ignited a fierce desire to survive. She gave a firm nod, and was quickly lifted out of the water and brought back onto the remote island.
The man who saved her had a slender figure and was clad in a white robe. His face was concealed behind a thick mask, making it impossible to discern his features. “Why do you wish to keep living? You’re clearly in so much pain,” asked the man in the white robe.
As soon as he had spoken, Raylee instantly recognized him as none other than the Epean scholar’s apprentice. She had seen him a few times, but it was always through the laboratory door. She never managed to get a direct look at his face. Even so, she instantly recognized his voice.
“I want revenge. I want to make those who had conspired against me, landed me in prison, and caused harm, pay for their actions! I can’t just suffer in vain! That’s why I want to live!” Raylee replied, voicing her reasons with unwavering conviction. “That’s right! My only desire right now is to get out of prison and get my revenge!”
“Then you should stop recklessly jumping into the water. You’re just a delicate woman, so don’t try to conquer the sea,” said the man in the white robe.
Raylee pleaded earnestly, “Can you save me? If you can, I’ll do anything to repay you!”