I set the rat I had been holding onto the dashboard.
"I'll do it…" Yoyo said through the rodent.
"I know you would be responsible," I replied, patting her despite not being fond of rats.
Because she was still slowly processing my new deal, she remained docile. That gave me the opportunity to touch her a little more freely—testing the boundaries and taking the first steps toward building her comfort with shared skinship.
Before she could snap, I pulled back.
I wanted the idea of me being more than a devilish fiend planted in her mind. It would make using her later much easier.
So I let her carry out my plans.
Through my rodent irises, I watched the junkyard. Her form collapsed into a swarm of phantom crawlers that poured out of the camper stationed in the back of the uncrushed car lot.
My own rat stayed where it was—not because I trusted her, but because she was still my hostage.
As long as the rat in front of me remained in sight, Yoyo couldn't run or disappear.
I moved my arm. White-pelted rats covered the car, fully under my control, a stark contrast to the black ones under her command.
Their gazes locked onto the single dark anomaly, ready to move if she tried to escape or pull something else.
"I would have thought you'd find a new playmate after you sent me off."
"An unknown woman, even…" Missy said, faking a dramatic gesture as she held her chest. "Did the games we played mean nothing, master?" she asked, closing her eyes.
"What can I say?" I murmured, sliding my hand beneath her skirt. "The women of this world have a charm that makes me want to play with them… some more than others."
Her eyes twitched.
I pressed a finger to her trembling lower lip. "All for different reasons. But you're above them all. Do you know why?"
Missy kept her left hand on the wheel.
"Is it my… feminine wiles?" she asked.
Her right arm—the one she had brought to her chest—lowered beside the seat. She shot me a seductive glance, her lashes fluttering as she reclined her chair.
"Well, they're certainly unique," I replied.
"But the real answer is your contagious excitement."
"Then we're made for each other," she said, sliding her free hand toward my crotch. "You're the only one who makes me feel that radioactive."
"You're getting me heated already."
I licked my lips. The way her palm moved was like pulling a trigger.
I leaned in closer.
At first I had planned to go for her neck, but her jester's collar blocked it, and with my smaller frame the angle was awkward. Instead, I buried my face against her chest.
It might have seemed taboo.
But who was I to deny a childhood dream?
I'll just dedicate this moment to my younger self, I thought.
My nose brushed the fabric of her jester corset.
"I didn't know you'd found a way to make the smell of gunpowder this seductive," I said reverently.
"I try… mm." She rocked her hips slightly. "I didn't know my new fragrance would affect someone as mighty as you."
She moaned softly, enjoying the silent explorations of my wandering hands.
Her own fingers slipped into my pants—
That was as far as my little tribute went.
My puppet moved to the dantian, drawing on its Qi and the vague spiritual energies of the abyss.
My body grew, filling out my clothes. Muscles formed, my skin roughened, and my hair curled into looser waves.
"Wait—I can't see the road."
Missy's voice sharpened as my shifting frame blocked the view.
"Don't worry. I've got the wheel." My free hand moved to the reclining lever. "Trust me… let go. Just keep your foot on the pedals."
She stared into my eyes, reluctant, but eventually released the wheel. Her back pressed flat against the seat.
"Now… lift your foot."
My fluffy rodents moved across the pedals while several gathered on the dashboard, fusing together into a delicate hand that ended at the wrist.
It reached forward and grasped the steering wheel, keeping the car steady.
My gaze turned to Yoyo.
She seemed absent-minded—until she realized whose arm was on the wheel.
Hers.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
I had won control over that portion of her swarm fairly. If she wanted it back, she'd have to beat me in a riddle.
And I had no intention of going easy.
I smiled and leaned forward, kissing Missy.
She let me in with little resistance.
My hand returned to her straps, already damp from our earlier teasing. I tugged the fabric down as her legs lifted onto the dashboard, sliding higher until they bent at the knees.
I swallowed, breathless.
Her adrenaline was spiking. The thrill of lying back in the driver's seat without seeing the road made her breathing hitch with excitement.
"Be a doll and shuffle toward the door for me."
My tone was both playful and commanding.
"Take off your underwear too."
"Aren't you assertive," Missy mused, bringing her knees together before sliding them off. "Should I gag myself with them~?"
I took them from her as she shifted toward the door, angling her hips.
I lifted the lace to my nose.
Sniiif.
The trapped warmth and scent filled my senses.
"Gagging you would be a waste," I said. "Instead… hold them stretched across your navel."
I placed them on her stomach.
"That actually does sound sexy," she purred, reaching behind her corset.
She loosened the string with a single finger, pulling it free.
Her dark eyes locked onto mine.
"That alone makes me wonder what you have planned."
"Explaining would ruin the surprise," I cooed.
"I guess I'll just have to wait then," she replied.
Once the string came loose, she opened the corset. "I hope it's something I'll thoroughly enjoy."
She smiled hungrily.
I leaned over the seat, the ghostly hand still steering.
"There'll be no denying it."
"I'll hold you to that," she said, tearing off the collar.
Before reclaiming what my puppet had been holding, she slid her underwear slowly up her thigh beneath her skirt, revealing more skin before placing them neatly back across her navel.
"Go wild."
That was the green light.
I reached for the door handle.
"Then I'll take you up on the offer."
The door swung open while the car was still moving.
Missy jolted in shock, not expecting the sudden rush of wind. When I kissed her half outside the vehicle, adrenaline burst through her like fireworks.
Her arms held the thong in place as the wind carried away both of our jester hats.
I loved the few seconds of bewilderment on her face.
"How's that for an appetizer?"
…
Their lips met again, deeper this time, while Qiren's consciousness urged the rats to push the car faster—making the reckless moment even more thrilling.
"Ah—"
"Ah… mmm…"
…
2:17 PM, Sunday, April 5th.
A black 1973 M-rolet Nova sped down a wet woodland road, the wind roaring through the windows.
Its tires had passed asphalt and cracked gravel paths.
Missy sat in the front, having regained the wheel, her skin glowing as one of her arms rested outside the car's frame.
The sudden change made the whole vehicle shudder.
Branches scraped along the sides as the path narrowed, tall pines closing in on both sides like silent sentries. The rats on the pedals adjusted automatically, slowing the vehicle as the forest thickened.
Ahead, the headlights swept across a rusted wooden sign half-swallowed by vines.
SUNHAVEN SUMMER CAMP
The letters were faded and splintered, one corner hanging loose as if the forest itself had tried to pull the sign down years ago.
Missy let out a soft laugh, her breath still uneven from the rush of the drive.
"Well… this is charming," she murmured. "You certainly know how to pick romantic destinations."
Qiren ignored the tease, his attention shifting beyond the sign.
"Well, there are only a few places we could lie low around the city," Qiren said, returning to his miniature size. "After what we did, it was either this, the sewers, or somehow staying in town."
He sat in the passenger seat.
His eyes turned to Yoyo's avatar curled into a ball.
His ventriloquist dummy leaned toward her.
"You know we're done, right?"
Qiren mimicked Missy's tone almost perfectly, his new voice used through the puppet as it "spoke" into Yoyo's rat's ear.
It twitched and moved away.
"Don't touch me with that, you barbaric swine!!!"
"Come on, I didn't do anything obscene," Qiren said, pulling the puppet back.
"Nothing obscene?! I saw you shove your fingers into her repeatedly!!"
He laughed, fixing his monocle.
"Exactly. I only used my fingers and kept my pants on to be considerate of my blushing informant."
"I said don't touch me, or I'll stop feeding you what these detectives are saying!!" Yoyo yelled from the back of a police car.
"Okay, I'll stop messing with you~," his voice low and smooth.
Her head turned with a blush. She bit her lip, trying to forget the sounds she had heard.
"Hmph." She puffed her cheek.
"You better—"
Qiren took out his pocket watch, speeding up time.
What was that just now…
Something instinctively made him accelerate his perception of time.
It was a subtle shift, and he didn't know where it had come from.
"A powerful spirit?" he asked nervously. "No."
His arm moved toward the handle of the car door.
"What happened didn't feel like a danger warning." Qiren's personality shifted in seconds. "But just to be safe…"
He opened the door.
He clenched the pocket watch.
Switching from his suave performance to straight caution, he forced the rats under his control to unfreeze—speeding them up to his current state.
"Go!"
Remaining time: 9 years, 341 days, 16 hours, 36 minutes.