After realizing this, Ivy began struggling desperately to break free from Flossi’s grip, frantically slapping and pulling at the hand that was yanking at her hair.
But it was all in vain; the only response was Flossi’s merciless kick.
That kick landed solidly on Ivy’s stomach, causing her restless hands to immediately retreat, instinctively clutching her belly.
“Quiet.”
Suddenly, Ivy heard Flossi’s voice, and for a brief moment, the ringing in her ears was driven away.
Flossi’s breathing, along with an abrupt white noise that appeared around them, momentarily dispelled the buzzing in Ivy’s ears.
But the restored hearing lasted only ten seconds before Ivy’s world fell silent once again, overtaken by the relentless ringing.
Ivy clenched her teeth tightly, refusing to open her mouth, but Flossi had no intention of yielding to Ivy’s will.
She yanked on Ivy’s hair, forcing her head upward, then grabbed Ivy’s chin, trying to pry her mouth open.
Ivy bit down with almost all her strength; no matter how hard Flossi tried, she couldn’t force Ivy’s mouth open.
Smack—
Ivy heard a sharp, crisp sound echoing in her mind, accompanied by a burning pain on her cheek.
Still, she wouldn’t relent, clenching her teeth so fiercely that she didn’t give Flossi a single chance.
Flossi seemed to grow frustrated with Ivy and grew rougher in her attempts to pry her mouth open.
Ivy lost count of how many times she was slapped; she only felt her cheek go numb, as if it no longer belonged to her.
Her already dizzy head spun even more.
Eventually, Ivy could no longer hold on—the jaw she had clenched so tightly was pried open by Flossi.
Immediately after, Ivy felt something thick and sticky, foul in taste, like porridge, but with vegetables, meat, and possibly fish mixed in.
In short, it was a conglomerate of various foods forcibly stuffed into Ivy’s mouth.
The instant that taste hit her, Ivy began to vomit.
But Flossi held Ivy’s newly opened mouth firmly shut, not allowing her to spit anything out.
Ivy felt the food clogging her throat, choking her, pushing her discomfort to the peak.
Her body convulsed with dry heaves, trying to expel the contents of her mouth, but her gagged mouth made it impossible.
The food she fought so hard to spit out was instead swallowed down by force.
Tears flowed like a broken dam from the moment she was choked.
Flossi was thoroughly displeased with Ivy’s resistance.
Ivy felt her mouth forced open again.
This time, it wasn’t disgusting food but liquid—water.
Flossi mercilessly poured it in, and because of the roughness, some water even went up Ivy’s nose.
Drinking too fast, Ivy inevitably choked.
She coughed violently, water spilling from the corners of her mouth, and just as Ivy felt she was about to drown, Flossi finally released her, throwing her to the floor.
Then Ivy heard the second sentence she had heard all day:
“If you don’t want to eat, then don’t eat at all today.”
Flossi’s cold voice rang in her ear, and the world fell silent again.
Within a minute, Ivy felt the room shake once more—the door had been shut again.
Only then did Ivy slump to the ground in relief, clutching her stomach, gasping for breath.
The lingering foul taste still clung to her mouth.
Flossi was a monster—she had forced Ivy to eat scraps!
Ivy clenched her teeth, but gradually, her expression changed.
She had already gone a long time without food, her stomach was painfully empty.
Earlier, she hadn’t felt hungry simply because her mind was pushed to the limit.
That was why hunger was temporarily forgotten.
But the disgusting food she’d just been forced to eat, along with the water she’d drunk, had awakened her dormant stomach.
At first, Ivy felt slightly full.
After all, she had only taken a single bite, with the rest being just water.
But water alone cannot fill an empty stomach, and it was soon digested.
Hunger began to spread.
At first, Ivy only felt very hungry, but gradually, sharp pain bloomed in her stomach.
Sweat broke out in fine beads on her forehead.
She forced herself up and, feeling along the wall with trembling hands, staggered over to another corner.
There, Ivy finally collapsed, curling up in a ball on the floor.
The place where Flossi had kicked her now throbbed with pain.
The stomach pain and the pain from the kick seemed to overlap, and Ivy couldn’t help but let out a quiet sob.
Her body trembled as she gripped one arm tightly, digging her nails into her skin without caring about the pain.
She only prayed to endure this wave of hunger.
Time seemed slowed down by a hundred times, more terrifying than the unbearable ringing in her ears.
This was real pain; before, it had only been enough to cause mental collapse.
Now, it was physical torment driving Ivy to the brink of despair.
Finally, after an unknown length of time, the hunger began to subside.
Her grip on her arm slowly loosened, the pain in her arm and stomach forming a strange balance.
She had made it through.
Ivy thought this to herself.
But when it rains, it pours—the fragile calm lasted less than an hour before a new problem presented itself.
How was she supposed to go to the bathroom?
Before, she had only faint, vague sensations she could briefly ignore.
But now, the water she’d drunk began to take effect.
In the blood slave camp, Ivy had been locked in a cage, but her most basic physiological needs were still met.
Going to the bathroom was allowed; she just had to ask to be let out.
The reason Ivy had to ask first was that, unlike other blood slaves who could come and go freely, her cage was more like a small room.
Only she needed permission before the cage could be opened.
But now, where could she possibly relieve herself?
Fear suddenly gripped Ivy.
She understood why Flossi had suddenly come in to feed her and force her to drink water.
It wasn’t out of fear that Ivy would starve but to break her down this way.
Thinking of this, Ivy clenched her fists.
She slowly shifted from lying face down to sitting against the wall, trying not to move her body even slightly.