Chapter 2

Amidst the agonizing struggle with the wolf, the cold system prompt sounded again.

*Ding! Host's will to survive is strong, unlocking new skill: Memory Whiplash. You can select one of your most painful memories and 100% synchronize it to the empathy target, causing a mental shock.*

I spoke without hesitation: "Select the memory of the triplet's difficult birth!"

Memories surged like a tide, overwhelming Dominic’s mind through the system.

*Memory Scene One: The Delivery Room*

I was drenched in sweat from the pain, gripping the bedsheets, pleading with the doctor: "Please, a C-section! I can't take it anymore!"

The doctor’s face was expressionless: "We need a family member's signature."

The call went to Dominic.

In the background, Veronica's娇滴滴 voice: "Dominic, the doctor says my ankle is only a slight sprain, but I'm so scared! Stay with me, don't leave."

Then came Dominic's impatient roar: "Natural birth! Make her endure it! What woman doesn't go through pain during childbirth? Stop being so dramatic!"

*Memory Scene Two: Outside the Operating Room*

I was hemorrhaging, my life hanging by a thread.

The doctor rushed out and asked him: "Mr. Hayes, the mother's condition is critical. Who do we prioritize, the mother or the baby?"

He was gently applying a cold compress to Veronica's ankle, not even looking up.

"Save the baby. She won't die. It's just giving birth. Doesn't every woman give birth?"

*Memory Scene Three: The Hospital Room*

I was weak postpartum, suffering from incontinence.

The nurse’s aide, bribed by Veronica, deliberately left me on a bed soiled with filth for several hours.

She even loudly mocked me in front of everyone else in the room.

"Look at you, Mrs. Hayes, what a mess you’ve made! You're humiliating Mr. Hayes!"

The excruciating twelve-level labor pain, the bone-chilling abandonment, the boundless humiliation of being shamed, combined with the fear of being torn by the wolf—four layers of pain piled up, like a towering mountain, crushing Dominic's soul.

"Ugh… ah…"

His eyes rolled back, foam escaped his lips, and he collapsed onto the floor, convulsing violently.

"Dominic! Dominic, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

Veronica shrieked, but her first reaction wasn't to call a doctor. Instead, she quietly pulled out her phone, aimed it at Dominic's grotesque face, and started recording.

"Darling, look, he seems to be dying."

She cried hypocritically while rapidly texting her backup lover.

In the arena, the wolf seemed to pause for a thousandth of a second due to Dominic's violent reaction as the empathy target.

Now was my chance!

I seized the opportunity, picking up a sharp metal shard someone had dropped on the ground with my uninjured right hand. I used all my strength and slashed at the wolf's throat!

Warm wolf blood splattered across my face.

The wolf crashed to the ground.

*Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have achieved a counter-kill. Reward: Newbie Gift Pack – Potent Hemostatic Spray x1, Compressed Biscuits x3.*

I didn't stop my bleeding first.

The wound on my arm was still gushing blood, but I merely knelt on the ground, my trembling hands carefully breaking the three precious compressed biscuits into small pieces, feeding them bit by bit to my terrified daughters.

"Don't be scared, babies. Mommy's here."

This maternal love, born in the depths of despair, was clearly transmitted through empathy to the convulsing Dominic.

This feeling wasn't pain, yet it tormented him more than any pain.

Because in his memories, he had just personally ordered the扼杀 of the very source of this warmth.