Those red, bloodthirsty eyes were deep and deranged. A chill ran down Yu Zhizhi's spine, and her mind went blank.
"Hee..." A pale hand reached out toward her.
He seized her by the neck.
She was forced to tilt her head back, staring at him in terror.
He wore an ink-black uniform, similar to military attire. On the silver tag pinned to his chest, the faint engraving of a "K" was visible.
Whether from lack of oxygen or extreme panic, Yu Zhizhi couldn't think at all.
"Little prey, why aren't you crying?" he whispered, suddenly leaning in until their noses were almost touching.
His scarlet eyes grew increasingly manic.
"The stock the Housekeeper sends over gets worse and worse..."
"A rabbit... So fragile it'll die if I so much as touch it...!"
"But that's all right. Don't be afraid."
His lips drew close to her ear as he murmured, "After you die, I'll reward Jiru with your corpse."
...Yu Zhizhi's mouth fell slightly open. She was on the verge of suffocation.
'Looks like I won't have to wait for the mission timer to run out or for the conquest to fail—the very first male I've met is about to kill me.'
Suddenly, she remembered the items from her starter pack!
'System! System! I want to use them...'
'I want to stop time!'
ZAP!
The pressure from his hand froze, and Yu Zhizhi could finally breathe.
System: "You only have ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight..."
"The pheromones...!" Yu Zhizhi's voice was hoarse. The moment she spoke, a pale white glass vial appeared in her hand.
This was the item fully named [Pheromones That Drive Male Beastmen Crazy].
Note: Duration of 24 hours.
With no time to think, she immediately drank it down.
As the System counted down to "one," the time stop ended.
Yu Zhizhi couldn't find any other way to escape.
Even with time frozen, she still couldn't break free from his grip.
She closed her eyes, preparing for death.
But the pain she expected never came...
Yu Zhizhi anxiously opened her eyes to find him staring coldly at her.
The corridor lights were dim.
The small female before him was delicate and soft. She wore a long, light purple, cinched-waist dress, her figure frail yet voluptuous. Her snow-white skin was flawless, her frightened eyes were misty, and her pink lips were slightly parted, as if inviting someone to taste them.
He wasn't sure when it started, but he could smell a faint scent that made his body want to tremble with joy.
He tried to remain indifferent, but he couldn't ignore his primal instincts as a male.
The feeling was foreign to him.
As a battlefield monster meticulously groomed by the K family, his hands were stained with blood. Even when facing tens of thousands from the Imperial Army alone, his heart had never trembled as it did now.
Desire surged within him, and the Demon's blood-red eyes darkened.
"Perhaps..."
He released his grip on her neck, his fingers slowly tracing a path down her collarbone.
"Before I kill you, we could do a few other things."
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
He had carried her from the corner piled with wooden crates to a hospital bed in a room that reeked of disinfectant.
Next to the bed were various instruments for medical monitoring.
'Did it work...?' Yu Zhizhi was bewildered.
The System's voice rang out: "It takes one week after mating with a male before a pregnancy can be detected. Until then, this is considered the main quest's dormancy period."
"..."
'A week?'
'I have to stay with this terrifying guy for a whole week?'
'He's going to kill me...' Yu Zhizhi thought despairingly.
System: "The K family is one of the most powerful families in the Valoran Empire. Unfortunately for their male Beastmen, the more powerful they are, the harder it is for them to continue their bloodline. If you successfully conceive, the Empire will take great care to protect you."
'But the results won't be available for another week...'
System: "The Wolf Clan is incredibly devoted. If he falls in love with you, he will never harm you."
'Then... can you see his favorability score for me?'
System: "Of course."
'How high is it?'
System: "-50."
"What?!" Yu Zhizhi cried out involuntarily.
She asked anxiously, "How can it be negative?!"
System: "Perhaps he feels that you took his virginity."
Yu Zhizhi: "..."
"What are you shouting about..." The Wolf Clan Beastman awoke.
His voice was hoarse. His uniform jacket was tossed to the side. As he sat up, he saw the small female staring at him in terror.
Her eyes were dark, bright, and round, like lychees.
"You're so noisy." He reached out and covered her eyes. "Don't look at me."
'This little female is so noisy.'
He thought about how he'd been like a man possessed, tireless and insatiable, the feeling sinking into his very bones.
'In the Wolf Clan, a male's first night is meant only for his wife.'
'Wolves are aloof, noble, and fiercely loyal, unlike those other hybrid beasts.'
He was furious that he had actually lost control.
'As the heir to the K family, my wife must be the most noble female in the Valoran Empire, with the highest Fertility.'
'But this little thing was just tossed into my recovery domain as prey. It's obvious her status is pathetically low and her Fertility is Zero.'
On the Beast World Planet, a female's status was directly tied to her Fertility.
A female with no Fertility had only two possible fates—
either be sent to the Female Cave to satisfy the lust of males until the day she died,
or be treated as prey to be hunted at will.
"Heh..." The mania he had just suppressed began to churn within him again.
'I've been here recuperating for a long, long time.'
'The sight of any living thing makes my skin crawl.'
"Little thing, I promise I'll be gentle this time."
He opened his palm, and ink-black runes solidified at his fingertips, gradually materializing into a sharp dagger.
"I won't let you feel a thing."
Yu Zhizhi's eyes were covered by his hand, but she could feel a biting chill wash over her from the front.
Something sharp pressed against her neck.
'A dagger?!'
She instinctively grabbed the hand covering her eyes.
"Don't kill me!" Yu Zhizhi's voice trembled.
The young woman's purple cinched-waist dress was rumpled, and her long hair was a mess. Her delicate, snow-white shoulders were covered in red marks, a truly pitiable sight.
"I... I'm pregnant!"
Yu Zhizhi's heart was hammering, but she had to make her voice sound utterly certain.
The man before her clearly stiffened.
She pressed her advantage. "It's yours!"
Yu Zhizhi sounded like she was about to burst into tears.
In fact, she really was on the verge of tears.
'To suddenly arrive in a strange world only to have the first male I meet be a complete psycho.'
"You're lying," the Wolf Clan monster's voice was grim and low. "A female with a weak Constitution couldn't possibly conceive."
"Maybe the initial test was wrong!" Yu Zhizhi saw a glimmer of hope. "We'll have an answer in a week! Just... wait one more week..."
A long silence followed.
"Fine. We'll wait one week."
Yu Zhizhi's eyes were still covered, so she couldn't see him, but she heard his low laughter.
"Heh heh..."
"If you're not pregnant in a week, I'll have Jiru punish you."
The icy touch of the dagger vanished.
In its place were warm lips.
"It's far more vicious than I am. And it just loves to eat rabbit meat."