Chapter 145: The Mission’s Client And The Negative Favorability!
While Neve was deep in thoughts about the system, the mission, and the mysterious reward, he did not realize that the cave itself had changed.
The temperature dropped suddenly. The air became cold and heavy. It felt like ice was spreading through the stone walls themselves.
Popi felt it immediately. She started to shiver, her entire body trembling from the sudden cold. She stared at her own trembling hand in confusion.
What was happening? Why was it so cold all of a sudden?
She looked toward the cave entrance. Both of the guards who had been standing there were suddenly on their knees. Their faces were pale. Their bodies were shaking.
Something powerful had arrived.
"Neve?" she called his name, trying to pull him back to reality. But he was still deep in his thoughts. He was staring at nothing. His eyes were unfocused.
"Neve? Neve, wake up!" she called again, more urgently this time. "Is he shocked that he can’t speak? Damnit!"
She cursed under her breath and stood up, waiting for whoever was coming. She wanted to snap Neve back to reality. She wanted to grab him and shake him and force him to wake up. But she could not. Her hand was shaking too much. Even her legs were trembling so badly that she could barely stand.
But she could not kneel. Not yet. Not until she knew what was about to happen.
"You must not touch him," a familiar voice said from the entrance. It was cold. It was dangerous. It was the voice of the snake beastman from earlier.
It was Zyreth.
Popi gritted her teeth together as if that would help her stay calm. As if her anger could protect her from what was coming.
But suddenly, both Zyreth and another figure appeared right in front of them.
Popi went straight to her knees.
She could not help it. The pressure radiating from both of them were too much. The raw power was suffocating. Her body refused to remain standing.
"My kings!" the guards chorused from outside, their voices filled with absolute fear and respect.
Of course. Popi’s suspicions were confirmed. The snake beastman from earlier was really the snake king. He was the chief of the outcast snake tribe. The one with the teleportation ability.
And standing close to him was another beastman. A shark. The shark tribe chief. He looked cold and calculating with silver eyes that seemed to pierce right through her.
Both kings had arrived.
They moved deeper into the cave as Zyreth waved his hand at the guards. The gesture was simple but absolute. The guards immediately scrambled to their feet and left the cave, disappearing down the dark stone corridors.
Popi was left alone with Neve and two of the most dangerous beastmen in the outcast territory.
"You," Popi gritted her teeth together. She wanted to curse him. She wanted to say something defiant and angry. She wanted to spit in his face.
But she could not.
His cold eyes were locked directly on hers. She could only tremble in fear. She could only kneel there and accept the weight of his gaze.
"Sit," he ordered simply.
Popi whined but obeyed immediately. She shifted her position to sit properly instead of kneeling.
Zyreth looked at Neve who was stuck staring at thin air. The red panda was completely unresponsive. Lost in his own mind.
"There he is," Zyreth smiled, his expression dark and possessive. "My new prized possession."
He turned to the shark chief.
"I do hope your possession is able to cure my mother," Maren frowned, looking directly at Neve with cold silver eyes.
Zyreth gestured toward Neve casually.
"Neve can do anything," he said with complete confidence. "He can cure poison. He can heal wounds. He can do whatever you need him to do. That’s why I brought him here."
Neve finally snapped back to reality.
His eyes focused. His mind became clear. The fog lifted from his consciousness as he suddenly became aware of his surroundings again.
"What’s going on?" he asked, sitting down because Popi was sitting too. His eyes trailed over Zyreth, remembering vividly how evil this snake had been earlier. Remembering how he had thrown Cael and Sable like they were nothing. Remembering the absolute dominance he had displayed.
It terrified him.
Maren stepped forward, his tall shark frame casting a shadow over them.
"How do we take him underwater to cure my mother?" Maren asked Zyreth, his voice cold and businesslike. "The outcast caves are not equipped with water. We would need to transport him to the shark territory."
"I’ll create a temporary room where he can see her every day," the other voice replied and Neve looked away from Zyreth to try to locate who was speaking.
He really wanted to see who was standing behind Zyreth but the snake king was blocking his view. Zyreth was standing directly in the way, deliberately positioning himself between Neve and the newcomer.
"I didn’t agree to curing anyone," Neve said suddenly, finding his voice and his courage.
The words came out before he could stop them. The defiance came from a place deep inside him where he refused to be controlled.
Both Zyreth and Maren snapped their attention directly to him.
Their gazes locked onto Neve with the force of a physical blow.
The man standing behind Zyreth appeared and finally moved into view. Neve’s jaw dropped.
The man was Maren. The exact person from his system mission. The shark chief himself was standing right there in front of him.
That meant the woman the system wanted him to treat was Maren’s mother.
That meant Maren was connected to his survival. Maren was connected to his reward. Maren was a mate.
"What did you say, Neve?" Zyreth asked, his voice becoming dangerous. "Are you refusing me? Are you refusing to help the shark chief?"
The words were a threat wrapped in a question. The tone was absolutely cold.
Neve looked at Maren who was standing there with an expression of complete indifference. The shark chief looked like he did not care about Neve at all. Like Neve was beneath his notice.
He looked above Maren’s head to see his favorability meter.
[Maren: -10%]
A negative number. That was a first. Neve had never seen a negative favorability before. All the other mates had started at 0% or higher. But Maren was at negative 10%.
That meant Maren actively disliked him. That meant Maren saw Neve as an enemy. That meant Maren would not be as easy as the other mates. Building a bond with Maren would be much harder.
It would require more work. More effort. More emotional investment.
’Fuck,’ Neve thought to himself as he stared at the negative number floating above Maren’s head. ’I have to work harder than I ever have before.’
But the question remained unanswered in his mind.
’Do I have the energy for that?’
He questioned himself, slightly confused on what to do next.
The silence stretched between them. Neve could feel Zyreth’s cold gaze on his face. He could feel Maren’s indifferent stare. He could feel Popi’s fear radiating from beside him.
Everything depended on his next move. Everything depended on whether he accepted this mission or refused it.
If he refused, Zyreth would probably hurt him. Or hurt Popi. Or hurt both of them.
If he accepted, he would have to work with Maren. He would have to try to build some kind of connection with a beastman who clearly hated him. He would have to use all his medical knowledge to save Maren’s mother.
And he would have to do all of this while pregnant. While exhausted. While trapped in enemy territory.