The real purpose is revealed

When Yilin woke up, the water was still warm.

Literally warm.

“f*ck!”

She jolted up from the bathtub, reacting on instinct, looking wildly around…

Her last memory was the stabbing pain in her forearm, then everything went black.

Now, as consciousness returned, all she felt was the tingling warmth of hot water.

At some point, she had been tossed into a grimy bathtub, inside a shabby wooden shack.

Clearly, the tub was a recent addition—maybe even just dragged in and installed.

Looking around, all she saw was misty steam and a neat row of freshly unwrapped bottles of shampoo and body wash.

Someone had even tossed in a brand-new bath bomb—still sealed in plastic.

Whoever threw it in must have seen “For Bathtub Use” on the label, without noticing it needed to be unwrapped first.

For some reason, though she usually liked bathing, Yilin felt uneasy.

It was like lying on a bed covered in potato chip crumbs—impossibly uncomfortable.

Someone… had thrown her in here to bathe?

She couldn’t see where her clothes were.

Her scalp itched—was it leftover shampoo?

Sleepily, Yilin scratched her head… and her fingers brushed something soft.

Furry.

Warm and pliant.

“Hm?”

This texture was…

Cat ears??!

Yilin froze.

She had always liked cats, even buying sausages to feed strays when money was tight.

She could never mistake that touch.

Her eyes unwillingly dropped to the water’s reflection…

Staring back was a white-haired, purple-eyed catgirl, ears twitching, and even a long slender white tail swishing behind.

A supernatural object.

It had to be.

If it hadn’t floated, she might have thought it was some unlucky cat’s tail stitched onto her body.

She’d even seen people say such things online.

So… she had become a catgirl?

That was even more shocking than waking up in this world.

The realization made her leap up instinctively—

But a harsh tug at her neck yanked her straight back into the water, splashing everywhere.

The pain made her grit her teeth.

A chain?

Why was there a chain on her neck?

Trembling, Yilin touched it.

It was a rusty iron chain, clearly once used to restrain something inhuman.

Thick beyond belief, covered in the marks of beastly teeth.

Because she had been submerged in the tub, the chain had been padded crudely with cloth, sparing her delicate skin from cuts.

But it was securely fastened to the water heater.

She could bathe freely—but moving even an inch beyond was impossible.

Even if she knew how to pick locks, this one was meant for livestock.

Without tools, her fingers could never pry it open.

No… no way…

Suddenly, the warm water felt icy.

She was… imprisoned?

Yilin had never liked this world.

If given the choice, she would happily stay inside playing games forever.

But that didn’t mean she wanted to be caged.

Not here.

Not in the predator’s den that was the radiation zone.

Had that female hunter… sold her?

Yilin had taken care of her body.

This vessel could earn profits most people could never touch—maybe worth a fortune.

But something about the hunter’s eyes… they hadn’t seemed like the kind to sell her.

Yet reality mocked her.

All her hard-won instincts, scraped together from the orphanage, from school, from the streets—meant nothing.

Here, where anything could happen, they were worthless.

How laughable.

She had learned to lie, to steal, to use makeup, to talk like someone she wasn’t—

Anything to survive.

And still, this was the end she met.

She fiddled with the chain, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe her suffering was finally over.

Thump, thump, thump…

Heavy footsteps echoed closer.

Yilin’s heart leapt into her throat.

The sound came from outside—then the wooden door creaked open.

No hesitation.

No knock.

The bathroom door swung wide.

W-what the hell?!

Yilin yanked the shower curtain shut in panic, sinking into the murky bathwater.

Only her terrified face and wide purple cat-eyes remained above the surface.

She knew her naked body had already been seen.

Still, a shred of shame and instinctive fear made her struggle to hide.

The one who entered was indeed the female hunter.

A metallic stench of blood instantly drowned out the cheap perfume of the soap.

Cold, suffocating, it filled the small bathroom, pushing out the last of the steam’s warmth.

Tall.

That was Yilin’s first impression—easily 175 cm.

She could lift Yilin with one hand.

Her protective suit was splattered with black and red stains—blood not yet dry.

Her rubber pants and tall boots were caked in mud and something darker.

Most jarring of all was her face.

Her raven-black hair, damp with sweat and blood, was tied loosely at the back.

Strands clung to her forehead and her sharp, beautiful cheekbones.

Her features were striking, carved deep—

A high, blade-like nose.

Thin, defined lips.

Cold composure that bordered on merciless.

And those eyes.

Long, narrow, upturned at the corners.

Golden pupils, like molten metal frozen inside amber.

The sight froze Yilin’s blood.

A faint scar slashed from her left cheekbone to the corner of her mouth.

It didn’t mar her beauty.

It made her look like a warrior, savage and untouchable.

Right now, those golden eyes pierced through the steam.

Locked on Yilin, curled trembling in the tub.

So sharp they seemed to strip away skin and peer into bone.

“H-hi there?”

Yilin forced a smile, fingers twitching stiffly as she waved from the water.

The woman didn’t respond.

She turned on the shower instead, rinsing blood from her waterproof suit.

Dark stains ran down into the drain.

“Is the water cold?”

At last, when Yilin thought she would never speak, the hunter’s voice came.

Halting.

Soft.

So different from her dangerous face.

Even… gentle.

And—was that a blush on her cheek?

Yilin understood instantly.

She wasn’t cold and aloof.

She was just… awkward.

Slow to respond.

A pure-hearted big sister type?

Maybe there was hope after all!

Yilin had worked in black markets and shady trades across the radiation zone.

She had been cornered more times than she could count.

The best trick was always the same—

Seduce the pure ones.

Make their brains overheat.

And maybe—just maybe—find a way out.

Anyway, since my body’s already here, might as well make use of it, right?

Even if it makes me sick, makes me want to vomit, even makes me want to die—at least it’s still better than actually dying.

“Not cold… um, big sister, thank you for saving me, but… well… could you maybe let me go?

I have money, and if not, I can pay in other ways…”

Yilin’s voice rose timidly again.

She forced herself to gather courage, slowly reaching out her hand toward the huntress.

“The Suville Assimilation Bureau is looking for you.

They’ve released your bank card information on the wanted list… so your account has been frozen.

Where would your money even come from?”

The huntress did not refuse Yilin’s touch.

Instead, she crouched down steadily, placing her hand on the edge of the tub in a way Yilin never expected—open, letting Yilin touch her.

Her eyes shimmered with joy, yet at the same time her expression was unnervingly calm.

“Uh… I… I can still earn, you know.

Just name a number, I swear I’ll pay you back tenfold…”

In that instant, Yilin felt like she’d been plunged into an icy abyss.

Her money…

It was over.

The debt she owed those bastards was due in just a few days.

If she didn’t pay, they would hunt her to the ends of the earth.

Her body alone would be enough to settle the debt.

“No need, Yilin.

They’ve been after you this whole time.

That border prosecutor issued your bounty.

Even if he can’t cross into Detelan himself, plenty of organizations will happily do it for him to curry favor.

You can’t go back, and you won’t be able to make money again.”

The huntress only shook her head.

Her soft words struck Yilin harder than any blow.

“…”

Yilin fell silent, her hand stopping in mid-air.

Once more, despair smothered her heart.

She… she was right.

The border prosecutor was not someone you could afford to cross.

Smuggling, s*ave trading, cross-border intelligence—he held sway over all of it.

Both the underworld and the authorities bowed to his reach.

Yilin had nearly beaten him to death—if she returned to the city, revenge was inevitable.

And if she couldn’t return… then she couldn’t make money.

Without money, the mobsters from the orphanage would never let her go.

Her fate then would be far worse than death.

And the people she still cared about…

“You… how do you know my name?”

Yilin’s voice slipped out in a daze, barely more than a mutter.

She was grasping at any other topic, anything to lessen the fear clawing at her heart.

“Your student ID.”

The huntress carefully pulled a small brown leather booklet from a hidden pocket near her chest.

Though her whole body was drenched in blood, she had somehow kept this thing perfectly intact.

The words scrawled over it by the border prosecutor had been gently wiped away.

It still held a faint trace of warmth from her body heat.

“My name is Utoya.

Hunter of the Radiation Zone.

Twenty-one years old… this is my ‘student ID.’”

Perhaps noticing Yilin’s dazed expression, Utoya spoke softly.

Her speech wasn’t exactly fluent, but her voice was firm.

She flashed the dagger at her waist—her name was carved right into the blade—trying to put Yilin at ease.

“Thank you, Utoya.

You’re… one of the very few good people I’ve ever met in my life.

Sorry I can’t repay you.

Thank you for saving me.

Um… could you unlock me?

If I stay here any longer, you’ll definitely get into trouble.”

Yilin forced a smile.

Even in such hopeless circumstances, at least she had met someone decent.

She hadn’t harmed her… aside from this strange iron chain.

She’d saved her, explained the truth about the bounty, even comforted her—and hadn’t handed her over to the prosecutor.

Clearly, she wasn’t like the scum outside.

“Good… person?”

Utoya blinked at Yilin’s words, almost surprised.

Then, to Yilin’s shock, the icy face softened into a smile.

She reached out, and under Yilin’s tense gaze, slowly lifted the chain from her neck.

“That’s right.

I’m a good person.

So I’ll protect you—until the very end.”

…Huh?

Yilin immediately sensed something was wrong.

She stared uneasily at the woman before her.

“You said… you’d repay me, didn’t you?

You did say that…”

“Then stay with me.”

“This way… I can protect you here forever.

Forever and ever.

No one will ever touch you.

The border prosecutor will never find you.”

Her voice grew more and more urgent—stumbling at first, then growing fevered, almost frantic.

Her grip on the chain tightened with every word.

Of course.

So the mask finally slips…

And she… she has no choice.

What could she say?

Refuse?

On what grounds?

Even if Utoya let her go, where could she go?

Supernatural mutations could fuse with someone’s body, but couldn’t just be pulled out.

Hers was already worthless now.

If she couldn’t repay her debts, the mob would have no problem selling her to the border prosecutor.

Even if she tried to make money, the city’s other factions would hunt her down—same result.

Even if she abandoned the city entirely and became a stray cat wandering the Radiation Zone…

Yilin knew she wouldn’t last a week here.

Not even seasoned bandits or trained soldiers could survive alone in this hell.

For now, the only option was…

Yilin looked into Utoya’s eyes—those eyes burning with wild, inexplicable fervor.

What was she after?

Her body?

Pure kindness?

Companionship?

Or maybe… a partner in the hunt?

Yilin didn’t know.

She couldn’t tell at all why this contradictory, beautiful woman would say such things.

But right now, her only choice was…

“…Alright.”

Yilin bit her lip hard, lifted her head, and forced a smile.

Even with all her self-control, it was nearly impossible to make it look real.

“Good girl.”

To Yilin’s shock, Utoya actually let out a breath of relief.

Without hesitation, she pulled a key from her pouch and unlocked the chain around Yilin’s neck.

And yet…

Yilin could only feel that she’d been bound instead by another chain—one she could never break, no matter what.