Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl

"I'm so sorry. I thought you were smarter than this, but you're just impulsive." Howard looked disappointed, but it quickly disappeared. Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.

He had expected her to have backup plans, but it turned out he didn't even need to try too hard. She simply took his word about the hidden passageway and even went inside by herself.

"The room... Did you put something in it?" Pearl found herself getting weaker and couldn't even lift her hand, yet her mind was still sharp.

"I guess you were too anxious to notice the herb incense I was burning." "You're so cunning." Pearl couldn't do anything other than mock him.

"Have you figured out why I got you here?" Howard's grin grew wider. "Your mom is a great test subject, and so are you." Howard gestured with his hand, and two men appeared from a shadowy corner.

"Take the woman on the floor back and tie this one up in the inner room." Pearl's gaze was icy. "I won't let you get away with this." "I look forward to seeing you try." Howard's expression seemed regretful. "But be careful, staying here too long might weaken you." Becoming an experiment was harmful, and Pearl was aware of that. All she had left was to cup with a backup plan.

* Now tied up, Pearl was shocked. She had never been in this part of the place, and it was filled with other test subjects. They all looked worn and thin, snearly at death's door. The only one who seemed a bit lively gave her a sympathetic look when she was thrown in, then they closed their eyes.

Left in a corner, Pearl noticed another woman her age across the room, seemingly calmer than her. She appeared tortured and dangerously thin.

But unlike the others, she wasn't bound, and she didn't seem interested in escaping, just laying there.

"You seem to be in better spirits than the rest. Did they bring you here recently too?" Pearl sensed this woman could be her ticket out, and possibly a source of more information. "If you think this is bad, just wait." The woman wasn't in the mood to chat and turned away.

"You're not tied up. Why aren't you trying to escape?" "You don't need to know everything." the woman snapped back.

Pearl wasn't put off by the cold response. She felt sure the woman would eventually warm up to her.

As expected, dinner was served, and her portion was slid through a slot in the door. The others lacked the strength to move, only the woman got up for her meal. Pearl did the same.

Although they were test subjects, the food was surprisingly good. Pearl watched the woman eat and took a seat beside her to have her own meal.