The afternoon sun slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the 47th floor, casting long shadows across the polished marble floor of the Operations and Maintenance Department. Zou Luyao stood by the water dispenser, her long hair cascading over her shoulders as she watched Nala, a junior technician, fill her cup with the usual milky white liquid.
"You're drinking that again?" Yaoyao asked, her voice carrying the authority of a department minister.
Nala's hand trembled slightly, but she recovered quickly. "Yes, Minister Zou. It helps me focus."
Yaoyao's eyes narrowed. She had noticed the pattern over the past few weeks—more and more employees gathering by the water dispensers, their cups filled with that opaque liquid. What started as an occasional drink had become a ritual. And now, watching Nala's dilated pupils and the slight tremor in her fingers, Yaoyao knew something was deeply wrong.
She found Tao Xiaonai in the Psychology Counseling Department, sitting behind a desk cluttered with patient files. Xiaotao's short hair was neatly combed, but dark circles shadowed her eyes. She had been working nonstop, dealing with the emotional fallout of the past years.
"Xiaotao, I need to talk to you about something," Yaoyao said, closing the door behind her.
Xiaotao looked up, her professional smile faltering. "What is it?"
"That milky liquid everyone's been drinking. I saw Nala just now. She's addicted."
Xiaotao's expression darkened. She opened a drawer and pulled out a small vial half-filled with the same white liquid. "RT liquid. That's what they call it. Short for 'Reactive Toxin' in Divine Race terminology."
Yaoyao's blood ran cold. "How do you know this?"
"Because I've been listening," Xiaotao said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "When they... when they use me, they talk. They think I'm just a hole for their frustrations. But I hear everything."
Yaoyao sat down heavily, her mind racing. "RT liquid. I've heard that name before."
Memories crashed over her like a tidal wave. Years ago, when she was still a combatant, the Divine Race had captured her. They considered humans inferior, perfect subjects for their twisted experiments. She remembered the cold metal table, the restraints biting into her wrists and ankles.
They had force-fed her a mutation potion. The pain had been unbearable—every cell in her body screaming, her breasts swelling until they felt ready to burst. For a month, they had kept her strapped down, electrodes attached to her nipples, delivering precise electric shocks that stimulated milk production. And then they would milk her, collecting the toxic secretion in glass jars while she screamed into her gag.
"Yaoyao?" Xiaotao's voice broke through the memory. "Are you okay?"
Yaoyao blinked, her hands trembling. "I know what RT liquid is. It's what they made me produce. My milk was the first batch of RT liquid."
The revelation hung heavy in the air. Xiaotao reached out and took Yaoyao's hand. "We need to tell the others."
They gathered in the conference room on the 30th floor—Yaoyao, Xiaotao, Sen Xiaomeng, and Mary. The room was sterile, white walls lined with holographic displays. Xiaomeng sat at the head of the table, her short hair spiky and unkempt, a sign of late nights in her workshop. Mary leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
"RT liquid enhances bodily functions for twenty-four hours," Xiaotao explained, pulling up data on the central display. "But it's highly addictive. Once you drink it, you crave more. Withdrawal symptoms include tremors, anxiety, and in severe cases, psychosis."
"And everyone in Star Dawn Pavilion has been drinking it?" Mary asked, her voice cold.
Yaoyao nodded. "I found records. At the beginning of the year, a Divine Race spy infiltrated the water treatment facility. They were killed, but not before contaminating the supply. By the time anyone noticed, it was too late."
Xiaomeng slammed her fist on the table. "So we're all addicted. Thousands of employees, millions of civilians. What do we do?"
"There's only one way to produce the antidote," Yaoyao said quietly. "My body. I can secrete RT milk. If I can lift the suppression, I can produce enough to synthesize a cure."
"No," Xiaotao said immediately. "You know what that means. The pain, the—"
"I know," Yaoyao interrupted. "But I don't have a choice."
That night, Yaoyao stood in her private quarters, staring at the breast pump Xiaotao had brought. The device was sterile, its plastic chambers gleaming under the soft lighting. She took a deep breath and undressed, her reflection staring back at her from the mirror.
She looked the same as always—long hair, full figure, C-cup breasts that had once been weapons of war. But now they were a liability, a ticking time bomb of toxins.
Xiaotao handed her a small vial of clear liquid. "This will lift the suppression. But the process will be... difficult."
Yaoyao took the vial without hesitation and drank it in one gulp. The liquid was tasteless, but she felt it working immediately—a warmth spreading through her chest, a tingling sensation in her nipples.
"I'll be outside if you need me," Xiaotao said, her voice soft.
"Wait," Yaoyao said. She picked up a pair of leather restraints from the table. "Help me with these. I need to be secured."
Xiaotao's eyes widened, but she nodded. She helped Yaoyao into a harness that wrapped around her torso, the straps tight against her skin. Handcuffs clicked around her wrists, and she lay down on the bed, her arms stretched above her head.
"Is this really necessary?" Xiaotao asked.
Yaoyao nodded, her jaw tight. "I know myself. The pain will make me want to stop. I need to not have that choice."
Xiaotao secured the last buckle and stepped back. "I'll be right outside."
The door closed, leaving Yaoyao alone in the dimly lit room. She positioned the breast pump over her nipples, the suction cups creating a seal. The collection jar sat on the nightstand, ready to catch whatever came out.
She closed her eyes and waited.
At first, nothing happened. Her breasts felt normal, maybe slightly warm. But then the sensation shifted—a deep ache, a pressure building from within. Her breasts began to swell, the skin stretching taut, the veins becoming visible beneath the surface.
Yaoyao gritted her teeth. She had expected pain, but this was worse than she remembered. It was as if her mammary glands were being inflated, each lobule screaming for release. She arched her back, the restraints creaking, but no milk came.
An hour passed. Then two. Her breasts were painfully engorged, hard and hot to the touch, but the breast pump remained empty. She had failed.
She called out, her voice hoarse. Xiaotao entered immediately, her eyes scanning the empty collection jar.
"It's not working," Yaoyao said, tears of frustration welling in her eyes.
Xiaotao helped her out of the harness and restraints, her touch gentle. "Let me get you a suppressant. We can try again tomorrow."
"No," Yaoyao said, her voice firm despite her exhaustion. "I need to keep trying. The staff needs this."
Xiaotao hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. "At least let me give you something for the pain."
"I don't want to dull the sensation," Yaoyao said. "If I can't feel it, I won't know when it starts."
Later that night, long after Xiaotao had left, Yaoyao lay in bed, unable to sleep. Her breasts throbbed with a dull, persistent ache that no position could ease. She tossed and turned, the sheets tangling around her legs, the pain refusing to subside.
Finally, in desperation, she reached for the handcuffs on the nightstand. She clicked them around her wrists, the cold metal a familiar comfort. If she couldn't sleep, at least she wouldn't give in to the urge to claw at her burning chest.
She closed her eyes, and the memories came again.
The Divine Race laboratory. The cold steel of the restraints. The electrodes attached to her nipples, delivering jolts of electricity that made her whole body convulse. The milk would flow then, forced out by the shocks, collected in jars labeled with the Divine Race's alien script.
She had been nothing but a breeding cow to them. A machine for producing their precious RT liquid.
Yaoyao's eyes snapped open. She could feel it—a tingle, a warmth spreading from her breasts outward. She struggled to sit up, her handcuffed wrists making the movement awkward. Maybe the electric shocks were the key. Maybe she needed to replicate the conditions.
She stumbled to her desk, where she kept a small device—a low-voltage stimulator, used for muscle therapy. She positioned the pads on her nipples, her hands trembling as she adjusted the settings.
The first jolt made her gasp. It was weaker than what the Divine Race had used, but it was enough to send a jolt of memory through her body. She increased the voltage, her teeth clenching, her body tensing.
Still no milk.
She increased it again. And again. Her vision blurred, a scream building in her throat, but she refused to stop. She could feel the milk building, a pressure so intense it was almost unbearable, but it wouldn't come out.
The next jolt made her vision go black. She collapsed to the floor, the device clattering beside her, her body wracked with convulsions. The last thing she saw before consciousness slipped away was the empty collection jar, gleaming mockingly in the dim light.
And then there was nothing.