Bianca woke up ready to stab somebody.
Which honestly felt like progress.
For the first few seconds, she just lay there staring at the ceiling above her.
White.
Clean.
Quiet.
No alarms.
No screaming.
No collapsing bunker.
The silence felt wrong.
Her body still expected danger every time she opened her eyes.
The room itself looked more like a hospital mixed with a hotel suite somebody tried too hard to make comforting.
Soft lighting.
Gray walls.
Large window.
Actual blankets.
Too nice.
Definitely suspicious.
Bianca groaned quietly and rolled onto her side.
Bad decision.
Pain immediately shot through her shoulder.
“…right. Still injured.”
Three days.
Apparently she’d slept through most of the first one after arriving at the facility.
Her body had basically crashed the moment survival mode turned off.
The doctors called it “extreme physical exhaustion.”
Bianca called it:
> getting absolutely wrecked by life.
She pushed herself upright slowly.
Outside the window, snow covered the mountains endlessly beneath a pale morning sky.
Beautiful view.
Still a prison.
The door clicked open suddenly.
Bianca immediately grabbed the metal cup sitting beside the bed and pointed it toward the entrance like a weapon.
A nurse froze halfway inside.
Silence.
Then slowly— the woman raised both hands.
“…that’s a spoon.”
Bianca looked down.
The spoon was still inside the cup.
“…intimidation is about confidence.”
The nurse looked deeply unconvinced.
Fair.
“You’re supposed to be resting,” the nurse said carefully while stepping inside.
Bianca lowered the cup slightly but stayed alert.
The woman placed fresh bandages and medication onto the nearby table.
No sudden movements.
Everyone here moved carefully around Bianca now.
She noticed.
Didn’t know how to feel about that.
“Ward said you’d probably wake up angry,” the nurse added casually.
Bianca narrowed her eyes immediately.
“Ward talks about me?”
“Mostly he sighs a lot.”
“…good.”
The nurse actually smiled a little at that.
Normal.
Relaxed.
Human.
Still weird.
Bianca watched carefully while the woman checked her shoulder bandages.
“You heal fast,” the nurse muttered.
Bianca stiffened slightly.
“How fast?”
The nurse hesitated.
Tiny pause.
Not good.
“Faster than expected.” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Translation:
> not normal.
Fantastic.
The system flickered softly across Bianca’s vision.
[ Physical Recovery Accelerated ]
[ Current Recovery Rate: 312% Above Human Average ]
Bianca stared at the screen flatly.
“…you could’ve told me earlier.”
[ You Did Not Ask ]
“Oh my God.”
The nurse blinked.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m being haunted by sarcasm in text form.”
Honestly, the system was getting ruder every day.
The nurse finished changing the bandages before stepping back.
“There’s food downstairs if you want real breakfast.”
Bianca immediately looked interested.
“How real are we talking?”
“Eggs. Pancakes. Coffee.”
Bianca nearly cried.
Underground survival trauma apparently lowered personal standards dramatically.
The nurse paused near the door afterward.
“Oh. And your friend’s awake.”
Bianca frowned slightly.
“Maya?”
The nurse nodded.
“She’s been asking for you.”
Something uncomfortable twisted softly in Bianca’s chest.
Nobody usually asked for her.
The nurse left quietly after that.
The room became silent again.
Bianca sat there for a moment staring at the snow outside.
Three days.
And somehow the world still felt unreal.
No Red Room.
No cages.
No Volkov.
Though honestly?
Bianca still expected the woman to walk through the door sometimes.
Trauma was annoying like that.
She dragged herself out of bed eventually and changed into the clothes they’d provided earlier.
Simple black hoodie.
Dark sweatpants.
Socks that cost more money than they probably should.
Rich people facility confirmed.
The hallway outside was quiet.
Warm lights lined the walls while security cameras tracked movement silently overhead.
Bianca noticed them immediately.
Of course she did.
A few guards stood at distant intersections throughout the building.
Not aggressive.
But definitely watching.
Temporary shelter my ass.
Still a cage.
Just prettier.
Bianca shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets and walked toward the elevator slowly.
The facility itself felt enormous.
Modern architecture.
Glass walls.
Steel support beams.
Everything polished enough to make her nervous.
By the time she reached the lower floor, the smell of actual food hit her like emotional damage.
Coffee.
Fresh bread.
Bacon.
Bianca almost sprinted.
The cafeteria area looked surprisingly normal.
Large windows overlooked snow-covered forests outside while small groups of children sat eating breakfast quietly.
Some looked better already.
Still shaken.
Still cautious. This story is hosted at g.com.
But alive.
That mattered.
Maya spotted Bianca almost immediately from one of the corner tables.
Relief crossed her face so fast it hurt to see.
“You’re alive.”
Bianca dropped into the seat across from her.
“Barely. Apparently my shoulder lost a fight with concrete.”
Maya stared at her for a second.
Then unexpectedly— she laughed.
Small.
Awkward.
Real.
Bianca blinked.
“…holy crap. You can smile.”
Maya rolled her eyes slightly.
“I hate you.”
“Oh good. Emotional recovery.”
That earned another tiny laugh.
Progress.
Several younger children sat nearby eating quietly while watching Bianca every few seconds.
Still following her with their eyes.
Still trusting her.
Bianca seriously needed to stop accidentally adopting traumatized children.
Ward entered the cafeteria a few minutes later carrying coffee.
The man looked like he hadn’t slept properly in days.
Good.
Character building.
His eyes immediately landed on Bianca.
“Thought you’d try escaping by now.”
Bianca took a bite of pancake first before answering.
“I considered it.”
“And?”
She pointed her fork toward the food.
“Your prison bribery game is strong.”
Ward sighed deeply while sitting across from them.
“You call everything a prison.”
Bianca looked around the heavily monitored facility.
“…because I have eyes.”
Ward couldn’t even argue that.
Interesting.
For a while, the conversation stayed quiet.
Normal almost.
Children eating breakfast.
Snow falling outside.
No explosions.
Bianca almost forgot about the Void.
Almost.
Then Ward placed a thin black folder onto the table.
And just like that— the mood died.
Bianca stared at the folder immediately.
“Nope.”
Ward blinked.
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“Correct. Still nope.”
Maya looked between them nervously.
Ward pushed the folder slightly closer.
“We found something in the Red Room archives before the collapse.”
Bianca didn’t touch it.
Every instinct screamed not to.
Ward’s expression darkened slightly.
“…your name was already in their system before you arrived.”
Silence.
Bianca slowly looked up.
“What?”
Ward held her gaze carefully.
“They were looking for you before the skydiving accident.”