Nick walked out of the Containment Unit into the small locker room.
His four employees were waiting outside the locker room.
Right now, Nick was alone.
As soon as Nick entered the locker room, he sat down near a wall and looked at the ground.
The mix of emotions he was currently feeling was intense.
Physically, he felt amazing, but that was exactly what made him feel terrible mentally.
It felt disgusting to have such strong feelings for something this horrible.
While the Lover had been doing its thing, Nick had seen visions of a group of men cutting holes into a limbless torso and fucking them.
The vision drew Nick in, and he almost felt like he had been one of the men.
He had been so incredibly disgusted.
But it had felt so good.
It was horrible.
Working with the Lover was absolutely horrible.
Of all the Specters that Dark Dream owned, Nick wanted to work with the Lover the least.
As Nick sat on the ground, he only looked forward with a lifeless expression.
He felt like shit.
After a while, Nick started to think about how to deal with the Lover.
He couldn't possibly force any of his employees to work with it.
It was just that bad.
However, hiring normal people would also be impossible.
First of all, normal humans didn't have the mental fortitude to resist something like the Lover, and most likely, after just working with it once, the normal person would find their sexual desires irrevocably and permanently changed.
Even more, the normal people would then know about the Lover, making it easier for other Extractors and Manufacturers to plan something.
Additionally, Nick would feel horrible about the damage the normal people would receive.
Just for a couple of grams of Zephyx, a life would be destroyed.
One had to remember that this was different from feeding the Screaming Coffin corpses.
After all, they purchased the corpses from the city, and the corpses weren't created because Dark Dream asked for them.
These were simply the corpses of people who died of whatever.
Dark Dream buying corpses did not result in new corpses being produced.
But with the Lover, it would be different.
Dark Dream would actively ruin the lives of many people.
Extractors had the mental fortitude to resist the Lover, but they would need breaks.
Working with it every day was bad.
'I can't make anyone work with it,' Nick thought. 'I just can't.'
After a bit more thinking, Nick released a sigh and left the locker room.
When he left, everyone was looking at him with worry and interest.
Nick took a deep breath.
"It's bad," he said.
Trevor and Jenny looked with discomfort and fear at Nick.
"You don't have to work with it," Nick told the two of them, which surprised them.
"It's so bad that I can't ask any of you to make this sacrifice. I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Nick said with a sigh.
"If you are desperate for money and really want to take care of it, you may do so, but I will never ask any of you to go in there."
"It only produces five grams of Zephyx per day. I would rather not have those instead of asking you to go through something like this."
Kiara and Jonathan were quite surprised.
Back in Cycle, Stephen had said that working with the Lover was a necessary evil and a part of the job.
But now, Nick was saying that it wasn't necessary.
Jenny and Trevor looked with concern at Nick, but they also seemed relieved.
What they had heard about the Lover seemed terrifying.
"The Lover is actually not a problem," Kiara said.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kiara.
It seemed like he hadn't expected her to come forward.
"What do you mean?" Nick asked.
"Well," Kiara slowly said before she took a deep breath.
"I was specifically hired to work with the Lover back then."
Trevor, Jenny, and Nick looked with surprise and shock at Kiara.
"During my job interview, Stephen asked me many personal questions. Back then, I was quite angry, but I needed the job, which was why I answered."
"Then, he told me what would happen to me if I accepted the job."
Kiara looked to the side.
"I wanted to make something of myself, which was why I accepted."
"I've been working with the Lover almost every day for about two months."
The other four looked with sympathy at Kiara.
"You don't have to do this," Nick said. "I felt firsthand what something like this can do to you."
Kiara shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore."
"It's too late anyway," she said with a quiet and uncomfortable voice.
The others realized what Kiara meant, and they felt horrible for her.
"I'm already used to it," Kiara said. "The bad part is already there. By now, it's just switching from one bad part to another."
Kiara took a deep breath.
"But the good thing is that my job is essentially secure. I'm the only one that can work with it, which gives me a unique position. So, it's not all bad," she said with a more positive voice.
Silence.
"But do you want to work with it?" Nick asked with furrowed brows.
"What's the alternative?" Kiara asked with a shrug.
"Not working with it," Nick said.
"That's not a choice," she said.
"Yes, it is," Nick said.
"No, it isn't," Kiara answered. "With the three new recruits coming, we will be seven Extractors, excluding you. The Screaming Coffin, the Dung Heap, and the Bleeding Lady barely need any work, leaving only the Dreamer and the Lover for us."
"If I don't work with the Lover, nobody will. Then what? Am I supposed to fight over the Dreamer with six other Extractors?"
"I would rather work with the Lover," she said with annoyance.
Nick looked with concern at Kiara, who refused to look at Nick.
In the end, Nick released a sigh.
"If that is truly what you want, you are free to do so."
"But if you need a break or anything similar, you have to tell me, okay?" he urged.
Kiara furrowed her brows but still didn't look at Nick.
"Sure."
