Yumiel didn't waste any time, wanting to test her thesis as quickly as possible. She went to get her flask from her bedroom.
When she came back, she saw Jack and Poppy digging, widening the hole for the secret room; Marie was nearby, sleeping soundly. Yumiel grabbed her flask and picked up Marie, who was still asleep.
Leaving the bedroom, she placed Marie in her parents' room to keep her from waking up because of the noise, then went back to the living room.
Yumiel opened her flask and spread a 500 ml puddle. Then she went to her bedroom, where she spread another 500 ml puddle.
She returned to the living room to avoid being disturbed by the noise. She stood on her blood puddle, focusing on both it and the other one, trying to make them resonate.
After long minutes, Yumiel couldn't manage to bring them into resonance, but she could feel them.
She could sense what was happening on the other side, feel if an object or a person walked over it, as if she could see one from the other. All that was missing was that famous invisible bridge, that resonance allowing them to connect together.
« Hmm, how can I connect the two ends… »
Yumiel was trying to activate the switch. Once found, everything would fall into place.
Yumiel tried again by opening her senses. Standing on the puddle, feeling the other one. From there, in her mind, she drew something like a line, like pulling a cable from point A to point B, while seeing both puddles.
Once finished, the two cables connected before vibrating, converging, and exploding.
For Yumiel, that's how she saw it, because the next instant she was in her bedroom. Jack and Poppy were staring at her in surprise.
« I DID… HRRAAK… » Yumiel started vomiting blood with a bit of what she had eaten.
Her head was spinning; she deactivated her senses and lay down for a moment, the effect fading very quickly.
« Pff, wimp, throwing up over so little. »
« Well, go on, try it. » Jack left the bedroom and stepped onto the puddle in the living room.
Yumiel felt a presence on the puddle, repeating the same process but this time without opening her senses.
Pulling a cable from each side. The same thing happened: it connected, converged, and exploded. Yumiel was paying close attention; at the moment the cable exploded, Jack came out of the puddle in the bedroom.
Jack looked at Poppy, then at Yumiel.
« See, I've got… nothing, it was… HRRAAK… »
At the same time Jack vomited, Yumiel felt a fairly strong headache, though it went away after about ten seconds.
Yumiel muttered: « I can tell this ability is going to piss me off fast. »
She now had a question: if the passage opens at the moment of the explosion, is it open both ways?
« Jack, go back onto the puddle in the living room, and Pocahontas, get on this one. »
« No, Yumiel, the effect is really awful, and I mean it, my head still feels like it's spinning. »
Yumiel didn't need to speak; she simply stared at Jack, who eventually gave up and headed to the living room.
Focusing and repeating the same process, at the moment the cables exploded, Poppy disappeared and Jack appeared.
A few seconds later, the effects kicked in: Jack had a headache, and so did Yumiel. On the other side, they could hear Poppy vomiting.
« It seems that when I connect them, they open at the same time, letting things pass through from both sides. Jack, get back on the puddle. »
Jack wanted to refuse but resigned himself. Standing on the puddle this time, Yumiel tried to connect him twice in a row.
Connecting him once, making Jack disappear, then immediately doing it a second time, making him reappear.
After a few moments, Yumiel felt the effects, almost three times more violent, giving her an intense headache, strong enough to make her clutch her head. After about thirty seconds, the effects began to fade.
« Yumiel, do it again! »
Jack could see Yumiel's fatigue, but he was asking for a good reason.
Yumiel sighed, then waited for him to step onto the puddle, repeating the process, followed again by the headache.
Jack opened the bedroom door and looked at Yumiel.
« I barely feel anything anymore. The effects have become minimal. »
Once the headache passed, she replied:
« Great, but for me there's no improvement. I'll have to try over longer distances. »
She moved her blood puddle from the living room to the upper floor, the farthest place, then began moving from one puddle to the other until she got used to the vertigo of the transfer.
Jack and Poppy had made good progress; Marie had woken up in the meantime, and Poppy had fed her before she joined them, helping to dig out the room. Jack was at the PC, once again fixing the table.
Yumiel kept going, running countless tests, transporting larger and larger objects, allowing her to assert two points.
First, the larger the object or person—regardless—the greater the overall mass, the stronger the headache. And second, to transport something from point A to point B, the ground circumference on both sides must match that of the object or person.
After continuing for long hours, Yumiel felt that to progress she needed to increase the distance, but for that she would need access to the outside.
Sighing, she lay down on the couch, thinking about what to do tonight. Then she gently closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she felt a presence approach her and snuggle up against her—it was Marie.
Curled up against her, Marie fell asleep. Yumiel could hear her little heart beating and her breathing. Yumiel simply closed her eyes. Until Jack came to disturb her.
« Yumiel, we need to talk! » Jack's tone was sharp and clear.
She understood it was serious.
« I'm coming! »
Yumiel looked at Marie nestled against her. She stared for a moment at her angelic sleeping face. Wanting to run her hand through her hair, she instead simply brushed aside a strand that had fallen over her face, speaking to herself.
« I think I no longer have a choice. »
Yumiel stood up, leaving Marie asleep on the couch, and joined Jack, who motioned for her to follow him into the bedroom, kicking Poppy out.
She sat on the bed and looked at Jack. « So, what is it? »
« Yumiel, are you still in favor of finding allies or new members for our group? »
She raised an eyebrow slightly.
« I already told you yes, and with the coalition's announcement, I can only agree. »
« Great, because I think I've found a new member to add to our team. »
« Don't tell me it's that Pocahontas…?! »
« Hahaha, no, it's just a simple human. I spotted him on the internet, I scoured the Net trying to find as many monsters as possible capable of fitting with our team. He's the best possible choice for us and for the future, complementing us perfectly. »
Yumiel sighed at Jack's long speech. « Spit it out! »
« Look. »
Jack went to the PC, typed into the search bar, and started a video. Yumiel stood beside him and watched.
In the video, they could see a wolf standing on two legs, rather tall, killing soldiers and feeding on their flesh. The video cut right after, but it was already impressive.
« That was… a werewolf? »
« Exactly. He's perfect for us. He won't get in our way—your blood, my brains, and his flesh. A magnificent combo. »
« It's more the blood contained in the heart, but yes. After seeing the video and how easily he slaughtered the soldiers, I can only approve. Have you contacted him? »
Suddenly Jack became awkward; Yumiel noticed his discomfort.
« Uh… well actually… he lives in a forest, so we need to travel… »
« No problem, let's go tonight. »
Jack suddenly let out a breath, as if relieved, feeling calmer.
« I'm glad you're taking it this way. Let's leave tonight. »
Yumiel nodded.
« Simple question: can you fly a plane? »
« … »
« … »
« … what? »
« I'm asking, because at the airport we'll surely find a plane to steal, and I'll just have to eat two or three brains. »
Yumiel jumped onto the PC and checked where the video was posted from. Finding: Da Hinggan Ling: location China.
« Chi… Chi… CHINA!! »
« So yes, I know, it's surprising, but listen… »
« FUCK JACK, ARE YOU KIDDING ME! YOU THINK I'M GOING TO GO TO CHINA, THE COUNTRY THAT'S TRYING TO KILL ALL OF US. ALL THAT FOR A WEREWOLF? »
Jack stood up and grabbed Yumiel by the shoulders.
« Listen to me! It's our only chance before the seraphs kill him. We are unique. »
« Unique, what the hell are you talking about? »
« Genius, but not at everything, it seems. System, are we unique, both in terms of ability and deep nature. »
-------
All people who have been changed in their deep nature are special. Some may resemble you, but they will never be exactly like you.
-------
Yumiel saw the system window Jack had just summoned.
« See? We're unique. There aren't two like us—no two vampires, no two zombies, and no two werewolves. »
Yumiel questioned the system in turn.
« System, what do you call special? And when will I rank up? »
-------
Anyone who has been changed in their deep nature is special. And different from others in their own way, even if they may be similar; it is only what you decide to make of it that makes you unique. I will notify you upon a rank increase: current rank 0.
-------
Yumiel slowly began to calm down.
« Okay, okay, I see where you're going with this, I understand… »
Yumiel took a deep breath.
« I never thought I'd say this to you, but… what's the plan? »
Jack smiled at Yumiel.
« Tonight we go to the airport, steal a plane leaving tonight, arrive in the evening in the city of Harbin in China, near the forest where the werewolf is. We pick him up, and you teleport us back here. Simple and effective, taking us only about two days. »
Yumiel touched her frontal lobe while listening to the plan.
« Idiot, it's not teleportation, IT'S SCIENCE! Your plan is shaky. I already struggled to transport myself from here to the upper floor, and now you're talking about thousands of kilometers! »
« Since when do you judge the risks? Worst case, train harder, otherwise we'll just take the plane back. But the problem is Marie—what are you going to do? »
Yumiel sat down on the bed, and Jack prepared to go back to widening the secret room he was digging.
« That's exactly it, I also wanted to talk to you… with everything that's happening, Marie can't stay with me anymore. So I'm planning to leave her with Andrew; I'm sure she'll be fine there. »
Jack saw Yumiel was resolute, and at the same time a bit melancholic, without it making him feel sadness.
« Why don't you turn her into a vampire then? »
At the words of her zombie friend, she looked up at him, saying coldly, with the utmost seriousness:
« Am I that kind of monster in your eyes? »
Jack chuckled softly as he approached his vampire friend, then placed his hand on her shoulder.
« You're the kind of monster who does whatever she wants… so keep going, haha. »
Yumiel stared into the void for a moment while Jack continued digging.
« System, is it possible to change a human by granting them the same abilities as our deep nature? »
-------
Some natures can be transmitted to others under certain conditions.
-------
« System, what are these conditions? »
-------
Rank 3, steel claw required,
-------
« At least I know it's possible. »
Poppy entered the bedroom with a tray and some tea.
« Ah, sorry, am I interrupting? »
« No, no, it's fine. »
All three of them drank tea.
« Well, I'm going back to scavenging over there. »
Poppy grabbed Yumiel, lightly touching her to stop her.
« Wait, I'd like to ask you something—may I speak with you? »
« Isn't that what you're already doing? »
Yumiel simply left and sat down on the kitchen table, creating as many swords as possible and making them fly around the room. Poppy sat down in front of her.
« I'd like to ask for the possibility of staying longer. »
Yumiel was really fed up with Poppy, directing her swords just behind her before making them spin around the room again.
« No, now it's my turn—why are you so persistent? »
Suddenly Poppy began to tremble slightly before starting to cry, answering Yumiel with small tears slowly falling.
« I have nowhere to go. »