One month later. . .

  "ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS!"

  "ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS!"

  *SLAP*

  "AAAAAAAAKKKHHH!!!"

  "Hahahahaha! I won again, Mi-chan!"

  "Grrrrr! Why are you so good at this?"

  Currently, in the same metal room as previously, Michelle and Experiment #496, the girl in black, are playing rock, paper, scissors against each other, standing at the center of the room. They have become close friends after spending every day for an entire month with each other.

  "I'm just good at whatever I do!"

  "I never thought you'd become the type to gloat."

  "Only about victories against you! Hehe!”

  "Okay, okay! Congratulations! This is like the tenth time you've beaten me at rock, paper, scissors."

  "Hehehe, thanks!"

  "By the way, I wanna ask you, did you use your Faith power to read my movement?"

  Suddenly, the girl in black was sweating and looked the other way, avoiding direct gaze with Michelle.

  "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about. . ."

  "Wow, you're so bad at lying. COME HERE YOU STUPID GIRL!! I'LL SLAP YOU FOR CHEATING!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  The girl in black screams in fear. Michelle is raising her right hand to show dominance.

  "COME HERE!!"

  "Noooooo!!"

  Michelle swings her hand to slap Experiment #496's cheek, but she easily dodges out of the way.

  "DON'T DODGE YOU IDIOT!! THIS IS FOR CHEATING! ACCEPT YOUR PUNISHMENT!!"

  "SHUT UP!! I AM NOT GETTING SLAPPED BY YOU!!!"

  "WHAT? COME HERE!!!"

  *BEEP BEEP BEEP*

  Experiment #496!

  Experiment #496!

  You have been summoned to undergo your daily experiment!

  Please come to the experiment room as usual!

  Be quick on your feet!

  ". . . ."

  "I have to go. . ."

  "Okay. . . I'll wait for you!"

  "Don't forget, I'm still waiting for the name that you said you'll come up with! It's been an entire month already!"

  "Of course! I've been thinking hard about that every day, you know!"

  "Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it."

  Michelle and Experiment #496 both wave goodbye to each other.

  .

  .

  .

  Experiment #496 has been brought to an experimental room inside the facility. This time she's not doing the usual minigun one.

  She's inside a large round room. There's a big chair at the center of the room with a device hanging on the ceiling directly above the chair. There are also multiple computers surrounding the chair in a large radius, and so many researchers are monitoring those computers.

  "What is that equipment?"

  Experiment #496 asks one of the researchers overseeing her experiment as she points her finger upwards.

  "You'll find out soon enough! Go take a seat in that chair."

  "Alright. . ."

  Experiment #496 takes a seat at the big chair in the center.

  *KA-CHLACK*

  *?*

  Experiment #496 was startled as the hands that she rested on the chair's arms were suddenly tied and locked by a metal handcuff. Her legs were also tied up using the same method.

  "W-What is this? Why am I tied up?"

  "Experiment #496! Calm down! Those are safety precautions! Don't worry about it!"

  "Is that so?"

  "Yes! Just focus on what's about to happen! You'll experience something amazing!"

  ". . . okay."

  "Alright, guys, we can start!"

  "Roger!"

  One of the researchers presses a button on one of the computers. The device hanging from the ceiling is slowly descending towards where Experiment #496 is sitting. The device slowly and surely adjusted itself automatically to fit tightly into Experiment #496's small child's head.

  "Experiment#496! Once you're inside the simulation, please do your best to solve whatever problems that are going to come your way. Please don't lose control of yourself. Oh, and also, you cannot use your Faith power inside the simulation."

  Experiment #496 nods.

  "Then, let us begin our new VR experiment! Let's start the simulation!!"

  *BEEP BEEP BEEP*

  SIMULATION START

  . . .Loading Environment 100%.

  . . .Loading Human Files 100%.

  . . .Loading Dialogue 100%.

  . . .Loading Interaction 100%.

  . . .Loading External Files 100%.

  . . .All loading sequence successfully loaded.

  Begin simulation in 5. . .

  Begin simulation in 4. . .

  Begin simulation in 3. . .

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Begin simulation in 2. . .

  Begin simulation in 1. . .

  .

  .

  .

  ". . ."

  Experiment #496 opens her eyes. She has entered the simulation. The facility has created a very high-end Virtual Reality Simulation technology that can fool the human senses into thinking that the simulation feels real and indistinguishable from actual reality.

  The first thing Experiment #496 saw was two adult human figures. When she saw them, she was programmed to immediately address them with certain honorifics.

  "Papa! Mama!"

  Experiment #496 hugs her 'parents'. And afterwards, she finally notices that she is wearing something completely different. It was a black gothic-loli clothing that fit her well.

  "Woaaah! It's so pretty! Thank you for the gift, Papa! Mama!"

  "Let's go to a mall, dear ****!"

  "Okay, Papa!"

  Her 'father' picks her up and carries her in his arms while her 'mother' is stroking her hair gently back and forth. She slowly closes her eyes in her father's arms.

  At that moment, Experiment #496 felt. . . love. A parent's love, to be exact. Realistically, this should be a bizarre feeling for Experiment #496 as she has never experienced it. However, thanks to the simulation, she can feel that love, or at least that's what the program is telling her mind that what she currently experiences is the same thing as the real one.

  There are other human figures in the simulation labeled NPCs. But these NPCs have no actual texture, and they're just black humanoid figures walking around inside the simulation, mimicking a real-life scenario. However, these things don't seem weird to Experiment #496 as she has been programmed to acknowledge them as "other people" in the background.

  And then inside the simulation, she spends an entire month with her parents. She went fishing, riding a boat on a calm lake, riding a safari bus inside a zoo and see various animals, going snorkeling at the sea, building sand castles at the beach, going to a cinema to watch a movie, going to a night festival to enjoy the food and games available at the stalls, etc.

  However, all of these are happening only for an entire hour in real-world time.

  But then the entire scenery and atmosphere inside the simulation immediately switched to a darker tone. Experiment #496 was suddenly strapped to a chair, unable to move or to free herself. And then she saw that her parents were being tied up as well to chairs in front of her. But the only difference was that her parents' heads were covered by a paper bag.

  "Papa? Mama? What's going on?"

  And then suddenly, there's an NPC figure appeared in the center of her parents. It is the same unfinished human models used by every NPC, but to her eyes, the NPC appeared as a man wearing a clown mask holding a box cutter in his hand.

  "Who are you?"

  And then the clown suddenly skins the father alive, starting from his toes.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!"

  "PAPAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

  The screams of her parents sounded in so much agony that it hurt both Experiment #496's heart and ears.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

  "PAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!"

  "STOP IIIIIITTTT!! DON'T HURT MY PAPAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  Her body in real life is shaking violently on the chair, but she stays in place because of the metal lock earlier.

  "STOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!!!"

  The clown didn't stop, and he had already skinned her father's entire feet. And then the clown turns around and starts skinning her mother alive.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

  "MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

  "KYAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHH!!"

  "DOOOOOOOOOOONNNN'TT!!"

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!"

  "STOOOOOOPPPP!!!"

  Her body in real life starts glowing in a light blue color. The researchers are starting to panic as they keep monitoring Experiment #496's mental state on their computer.

  The clown did not stop or slow down at all, and he kept skinning her mother alive. Experiment #496's screams of fear and agony slowly change into a deep, hateful anger.

  "I! SAID! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPP!!!"

  *!!!!*

  "RUUUUUUUUUNNNN!!!"

  The researchers screamed in panic when, all of a sudden, light came out of Experiment #496's entire body, and the light caught everything inside the round room.

  *pant pant pant*

  Experiment #496 was freed from her bonds on the chair. The chair itself is gone, and so is the VR device, and so are the computers, and so are the researchers, and also the floor and the ceilings, and the walls. They are all gone after they were caught in the radius of her light.

  Experiment #496 is sitting on the ground, actual soil ground. She tries to catch her breath, and she has successfully gotten out of the simulation unconventionally.

  What actually happened was that Experiment #496 has unlocked a new ability of hers where she is now able to accelerate a target's state in time towards a very distant future, causing them to fade away or disintegrate from existence.

  *BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP*

  EMERGENCY! EXPERIMENT #496 HAS COMMITTED TREASON!! DISPATCHED SECURITIES AT ONCE!!

  I REPEAT! EMERGENCY! EXPERIMENT #496 HAS COMMITTED TREASON! DISPATCHED THE ENTIRE SECURITIES AND BRING HER BACK TO US IMMEDIATELY!!

  An announcement was made throughout the whole facility.

  *pant pant pant*

  "I. . . have to go back to Mi-chan!"

  Experiment #496 stands up and starts running back towards where Michelle is. As she ran through the facility, the entire facility was in complete chaos. It turns out her shining light from before actually affected some security equipment located above the VR experiment room, and it caused a massive number of equipment malfunctions throughout the facility. Metal doors are sliding open, locked doors are opened, the gates leading towards the first floor were opened, and even the gates towards the outside were also opened.

  "This is a chance to get out! I have to grab Mi-chan!"

  After five minutes of running, she has returned to where Mi-chan is.

  "Mi-chan! Let's escape! This is a chance! Let's go!!"

  As soon as she enters the open room towards their room, she finds Michelle sitting in the corner of the room facing the wall.

  "Mi-chan?"

  Experiment #496 slowly approaches her. She crouches and places her hand on her shoulder.

  "Mi-chan?"

  *!!!!*

  Michelle finally turns around. Experiment #496 was shocked because Michelle was wearing layers of bandages wrapped around her head, but the wrapping was asymmetric. She quickly found out that it was because the bandages were wrapping around her swollen left eye. The bandages are also deep red on the part that directly covers her left eyeball.

  "MI-CHAN, WHAT HAPPEEND TO YOU?"

  "Ah. . . it's you. . ."

  *THUMP THUMP THUMP*

  All of a sudden, a herd of footsteps came inside the room.

  "EXPERIMENT #496! HANDS UP IN THE AIR! I REPEAT! HANDS UP IN THE AIR OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!!"

  "(Tch! Bad timing!)"

  "She's not obeying us!"

  "Well, then, FIRE!!"

  *BANG BANG BANG BANG*

  There are 10 security guards inside the room, standing near the door, and they all opened fire towards Experiment #496 and Michelle.

  "(I HAVE TO PROTECT MI-CHAN AT ALL COSTS!!!)"

  Experiment #496 subconsciously raises her right arm towards the incoming bullets. She immediately thinks of a shape that can protect Michelle from the bullets.

  *CTANG CTANG CTANG*

  *!!!*

  All of the bullets were successfully deflected. Experiment #496 has erected a 'shield' with the shape of a clock, complete with Roman numerals and a very elegant design, glowing in light blue color.

  "W-WHAT IS THAT?"

  "But, the researchers told us she doesn't have that kind of ability at all! What is this?"

  "Were they lying to us? Are they feeding us to this small girl?"

  Experiment #496 stands up. She summons forth her sword in her right hand.

  "Let us go or I'll kill all of you!"

  Her gaze shows a clear sign of actual murder intent. That was the first time Experiment #496 had ever threatened someone's life in her life.

  But then, after all that bravado, one of the security guards pulls out a remote, and he immediately presses it.

  *ZZZRRRRTTTTT*

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

  "KYAAAAAAARRGGGHHH!!!"

  The metal collars on both Michelle and Experiment #496's neck activate and zap them both as they collapse to the ground.

  "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHH!!'

  "KYYYAAAAAARRGGHH!!"

  The zapping continues as they keep struggling to hold on to their consciousness.

  "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPP!!!!"

  And then all of a sudden, a clock appeared at the back of Experiment #496's hand. The clock shines brightly, and time inside the whole facility was put to a complete halt.

  *pant pant pant*

  "The collar stops?"

  Experiment #496 tries to catch her breathing as she approaches Michelle on the ground.

  "Mi-chan! Let's get out of here!"

  Somehow, Michelle was unaffected by the time stop.

  Experiment #496 helps Michelle to stand, and she helps her walk by putting her left hand around her shoulder. She noticed that the security guards were just standing there motionless.

  "(Did I do this? Is this a time stop? That's great! This is a one in a lifetime chance! I have to get out of here with Mi-chan!!)"

  Experiment #496 and Michelle walk through the entire facility towards the first floor above the basement. As they walk, they keep seeing children trying to escape the facility by taking advantage of the chaos caused by her. She also saw that so many children were shot dead in their attempts to escape the facility. Some of the children were also hiding as they tried to sneak past all the guards towards the exit. Both she and Michelle are about the only ones to walk freely inside the facility.

  They have reached the final gate on the first floor. The gate was a giant metal door that could only be opened by entering a passcode in the terminal on the right side.

  ". . . I have to do this!"

  Experiment #496 places her hand on the gate.

  "Accelerate!"

  She uses her 'accelerate' ability to send the state of the door to a distant future where it has rusted away and disintegrated. A hole was open in the gate that was big enough to let the two of them pass.

  "Mi-chan! We're finally going to escape this place!!"

  ". . . . Lily. . ."

  "Pardon?"

  "Your. . . name. . . Lily. . . you are the flower of purity and love. . . you are genuine with your feelings. . . and your love for your friend is unmatched by anything else in this world. It. . . also has the meaning of renewal. . . which kinda fits. . . your Faith power. . .hehehehe. . ."

  "Mi-chan. . ."

  *sobs sobs*

  Experiment #496 starts crying after hearing Michelle's words.

  "From now on, my name is Lily! *sobs sobs*"

  "Yes. . . Lily-chan. . . you are. . ."

  "Thank you for the name, Mi-chan! It's beautiful."

  "Hehe. . . Don't. . . mention it. . ."

  And so, Lily and Michelle have successfully escaped the facility, and they remain the only ones to ever do so in the history of the facility throughout its hundreds of years of activity.