I am a keeper of exotic beasts in Sector Alpha.

When I woke up this morning, I realized they had all mutated.

The octopus's eight tentacles were trying to coil around my body, the Merman was looking at me with undisguised heat, and even the usually gentle jellyfish was extending its stinging filaments toward me.

Their eyes were flooded with desire as they clumsily repeated the scandalous words I had once teased them with:

"Master... ravish me..."

Early in the morning, while I was still drifting in sleep, I was jolted awake by a phone call.

I reached out to answer, and a deafening voice blasted through the receiver:

"Dawn, something's gone horribly wrong!"

I rubbed my ears and took a deep breath.

"It's too early for this, Aster. This better be important."

The caller was Aster, a fellow keeper from my sector.

There was a lot of static and the crackle of electricity on his end, making his voice hard to catch.

He shouted at the top of his lungs: "It's a disaster! The beasts you're raising have mutated. They're tearing through the lab's power lines. The Director is absolutely livid!"

The drowsiness vanished instantly.

I threw on my clothes, hopped on my electric scooter, and raced toward Sector Alpha.

By the time I arrived, the scene was chaotic.

Power lines were shredded, sparks flying and hissing everywhere.

Several culture tanks had shattered, sending glass shards and water flooding across the floor.

My heart hammered in my chest.

Money! That was all I could see—wasted money! Given Director Vance's stingy nature, my job was as good as gone.

"Dawn!"

Vance's voice boomed from behind me.

I winced and quickly forced a smile, trying to play it off. "Good morning, Director. Have you had breakfast yet?"

His face was a shade of bruised purple, twisted in disbelief.

"You're thinking about breakfast?! Get to your lab right now. Your specimens have gone completely insane!"

Before he could truly start his lecture, I took off, disappearing toward my lab like a gust of wind.

Because the power was out, the lab was shrouded in total darkness.

I finally fumbled my way to the door.

The handle felt sticky and slimy. Whatever had caused this mess was gone.

"Subject 003? Are you there?"

My voice echoed through the room.

There was no answer.

I switched on my specialized flashlight, keeping it on the lowest setting to avoid startling them into a defensive reaction.

"Subject 004?"

Clang—

Near the water tanks, something heavy hit the floor with a dull thud.

I clicked off the light.

I carefully felt my way forward, only for my foot to snag on something soft and rubbery.

I pitched forward.

A second later, I crashed into something incredibly soft and was instantly wrapped in a wet, heavy embrace.

Tentacles held me tight, dripping with cold moisture.

Relief washed over me. I looked up. "003?"

He didn't seem happy. A strange, low rumble vibrated from within him.

Zzzzt—

An exposed wire sparked, and a brief flash of white light filled the room.

I saw the massive octopus. His eyes were glowing with an unnatural, blood-red intensity.

Only then did I realize that what had tripped me was one of his tentacles.

That limb was now coiled around my ankle.

Countless suckers clamped onto my skin, suctioning firmly against my bare leg.

Slowly, inch by inch, it began to crawl upward.

As a professional keeper, I knew better than to pull away.

That would only make him tighten his grip or trigger an aggressive response.

Instead, I reached out with my fingers.

I gently stroked him, trying to offer comfort.

"003, it's okay. Don't be afraid, it's just me."

To my surprise, the tentacle suddenly stiffened.

It actually started to retreat.

Thinking I had touched a wound, I quickly caught the tentacle in my hands.

"Be good," I whispered softly. "Relax. Let me check you over."

My fingers slid over the wet, slick surface of the limb.

At my touch, his entire body twisted like a braid. With a soft pssh, he released a small spray of white bubbles.

His other seven arms curled tightly, almost forming a ball, crushing me deeper into his soft, rubbery mass.

I was pinned against him, held in a crushing grip.

"003?" I gasped, confused by his reaction.

Then I looked closer.

The specific "arm" I was stroking had a distinct groove running from the base to the tip.

My brain hit a dead end.

Oh god... I was stroking his hectocotylus—his mating arm.

His touch began to wander over my body. His massive, quivering form completely enveloped me, the folds of his mantle rubbing against me.

A tingling, warm sensation spread through my skin.

He let out a single, raspy word in a clumsy voice: "Hungry..."

The tentacle began to slide toward the inside of my thigh.

It teased me, light and deliberate.

I looked into his eyes, and a terrifying thought crossed my mind.

A few days ago, the lab had surgically removed his beak, and I had been feeding him a concentrated liquid diet ever since.

Now he was hungry, and he kept trying to slide beneath my clothes.

If... if he was mistaking my body fluids for a food source...

My face burned with a deep, humiliating flush.

I tried to struggle, but he only pulled me tighter.

"Master... hungry..."

The slick, wet weight pressed down on me, pinning me to the floor.

3

Just then, a massive, beautiful fish tail glided through the water tank above.

Crash—

The tank shattered!

Long, pale fingers gripped the edge, veins bulging with effort.

His upper body had already transformed, with white hair cascading down and a face of breathtaking beauty.

Caspian climbed out of the tank and stood before us.

His deep, ice-blue eyes flickered as he uttered stumbling, human words.

"Azul... traitor..."

Giving names to subjects was strictly forbidden in the lab.

It would lead to unnecessary emotional attachment.

But I had been selfish.

I gave the usually well-behaved octopus a pleasant name, Azul.

I never expected Caspian to remember it. In a flash of survival instinct, I cried out to him in panic:

"Subject 001, help me!"

He had always been very obedient.

Whether it was experiments or feeding, he was always cooperative and deeply concerned if I was ever hurt.

Hearing my plea, the blue-tailed Merman started to move forward to assist me.

Suddenly.

Azul turned his massive body, looked up, and hissed a string of strange syllables.

In that moment.

Caspian actually hesitated.

When he looked back at me, his beautiful finned ears had turned a deep shade of pink.

Meanwhile, Subject 004—a small jellyfish—was perched on Caspian's shoulder.

Its elegant, translucent body pulsed slowly, emitting a soft, warm orange glow.

It looked... like the state they entered only during mating season.

Their abnormal behavior sent a shock through me.

My inner thoughts were racing: ?

Seriously, what did that devious octopus just say to you both?!

Before I could process it.

Azul released one tentacle, freeing a space for one of my legs.

Caspian's eyes lit up.

He crawled over and knelt before me.