Akira felt a little annoyed by the blatant threat by Hu Lei. The woman seemed to think that she was the queen and the world was her footstool. Furthermore, it was laughable to think that this woman with a belly the size of a planet could do anything.

However, when she remembered how fast Hu Lei could move and the ease with which she grabbed her sword, she realised that the woman had some capital to be arrogant. Still, it did not sit well with her to be threatened.

​​

"I think I have something that you want, and I need protection until I can safely give birth to my baby." Akira folded her arms stubbornly over her chest. "If anything, our current relationship is a transaction with interests."

Hu Lei looked at the adorable and seemingly guileless face of the other woman. She was quite pleased with the show of a backbone. But again, if she did not have her own thoughts and stubbornness, she would be swallowed alive by Kaito.

Hu Lei's lips stretched to a smile.

"I like your spirit." She said.

"Don't be condescending." Akira retorted.

"You should be a little more trusting. I am giving a genuine compliment." Hu Lei rolled her eyes. "Since you are quick to draw lines, why don't you show me your cards? And they better be good. I will have you know that protecting you from the International Health Alliance will not be easy."

"They hunted me for quite some time last year. And I have been subjected to their means and methods. If you fall into the hands of any of them, you might not be able to keep your little life. So, your cards need to be good enough for me to take the risk."

Akira smiled. "I have all the evidence that Helen and Harriet Brown collected on the International Health Alliance. From what I understand, it is enough to ensure that the top people in the organisation are prosecuted."

Hu Lei did not leap up in joy as Akira thought she would. Instead, she looked at her with a lifted brow as if she had discovered something. It made Akira feel vulnerable and exposed.

"So what you are telling me is that you do not know exactly what you have. In other words, you have not checked the details and cannot gauge the precise value of the information. How do you dare to negotiate like this?" Hu Lei asked.

"Sorry I was too busy running for my life to stop and check the details of my freshly acquired information." Akira blew up. "Since you have not managed to put away those people, you should be anxious to get something useful, right?"

Hu Lei laughed.

"You are mistaken. My husband wants to bring those people to justice as a warning to those who might want to harm me again. I, on the other hand, have never put too much stock in the law. Those rats are scurrying back to their little corners." She said.

"If I find out that they have been causing more trouble, it will only take a week or so for me to deal with them. I am sure I can find a way to make sure that none of them is found again." Her golden eyes had a hint of bloodthirst.

Akira felt that the woman before her was bonkers.

"You are like a hundred weeks pregnant." She rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"That's why I need a week." Hu Lei's eyes twinkled. "But you are right. I would like information that I can use to bring down the IHA board members in a decent way. Who told me to marry such an upright and considerate man?"

Akira became angry at the constant show of affection by Hu Lei. Even if she did not have a husband, she had her Kaito. She could also show affection if she wanted. She stood up with annoyance.

"I will get the drives. Can I borrow a computer?" Akira asked.

"We can use the one in my study. I want to see the value of your data." Hu Lei responded.

She did not intend to let this Akira use her computer without her presence. She did not know if she could be trusted completely. Even though they seemed to have a common goal, their primary interests might vary.

She would wait until Zhong Feng gave her complete information on the lady before deciding how to deal with her. Of course, she had no ill intentions towards her, especially if she was Kaito's love. But she would also not allow harm to come to her people.

A while later, the two women were seated in front of a desktop computer in the library. Zhong Feng installed it for Hu Lei in case she wanted more computing power. He was even pushing for her to learn game design so that she could be more involved in Etude Technologies management.

His efforts could be considered successful in a way. Hu Lei had gained an interest in video games, and she would play when she had time. However, she was too lazy to learn to program. Her only current interest was creating a game story.

Zhong Feng did not mind her disinterest in computers. He was looking forward to playing a game made by his little wife.

"I don't know the exact organisation of the data in the drives. We can only hope that we will be able to decipher something from them." Akira said as she set up the new device.

Then, her fingers flew over the keyboards as she went through the layers of decryption. She had the key, but as an additional precaution, the people who prepared the drives had buried the information under a few layers to prevent illicit access.

Finally, the drive opened and displayed the files and folders of information. Akira was not sure about the organisation of the three drives, so she picked one at random. She looked at the folders and wondered how to approach them.

"Search for 'test subject alpha'." Hu Lei suddenly said with a hidden look in her eyes.

Akira glanced at her before typing in the keywords. The drive displayed a range of files on the screen, including several video files. Akira was a little hesitant because she did not know why Hu Lei asked about this matter.

However, she had a feeling that she would probably recognise the said test subject.

"Play this one." Hu Lei pointed as she spoke without inflexion in her voice.

Akira clicked on one of the files and saw a laboratory facility. There was nothing strange about it unless one looked in the edges and discovered the grotesque humans in the glass-like cabinets. Well, and the girl strapped down on a bed.

A man in a lab coat appeared on the video and looked directly at the camera.

"Test subject alpha has shown some changes in the phenotype after the inclusion of electrical therapy into the protocol. The increasing voltage is well-tolerated. It is unclear if this is an effect of the changes or an intrinsic characteristic of the test subject." The man said.

The camera turned to the test subject, and as expected, Akira saw Hu Lei more clearly. Though she was strapped down with tubes and wires sticking to her body, she did not seem to be scared. She even looked calm.

"Don't worry, little one. This won't hurt a bit." The man said while stroking the girl's head.

Then, the man tapped a small remote fob he had in his hand. An electrical volt surged through the girl's body like a crashing wave. Akira could tell that the process was incredibly painful for the girl, but she did not show signs of distress except the involuntary stiffening of her body.

Akira could not bear it anymore. She closed the video window and turned to look at Hu Lei, who was watching the video with interest as if it had nothing to do with her. She even seemed enraptured by the events taking place.

"Why do you want to see this?" She asked angrily.

Hu Lei turned to her with an eerily honest look in her eyes. "I don't have photos and videos of my father. I miss him a little."

That response creeped out Akira more than anything else would have.

"I have seen enough for now." Hu Lei did not care about her thoughts. "Your information has value to me. Copy everything to my computer. I will need to borrow the original drives, but I will return them intact. Let it not be said that I take advantage of juniors."