Day 24 Post-Impact - Morning
The network changed everything.
Sarnav woke to a chorus of sensations. Nisha's peaceful contentment as she meditated in the garden. Ishani's fierce joy as she sparred with Chen Wei. Ananya's lingering soreness mixed with deep satisfaction as she stretched in her borrowed quarters.
Three women. Three distinct emotional signatures. All connected to him, and to each other.
Good morning.
He sent the thought outward, testing the telepathic link.
Morning, sayang. Nisha's response was warm, immediate.
About time you woke up. Ishani's came with a pulse of amusement. Some of us have been productive for hours.
Morning... Ananya's was hesitant, still adjusting to the connection. This is strange. Good strange, but strange.
You'll get used to it, Nisha assured her. We all will.
Sarnav smiled, rising from bed. The network hummed in the background of his consciousness, a constant awareness of his wives that felt natural despite its newness.
This was power. Not just combat strength or cultivation rank, but connection. Unity. The foundation of everything he was building.
Breakfast was a communal affair.
The expanded faction now numbered nearly five hundred, the Sunway integration proceeding faster than expected. People moved through the cafeteria in waves, conversations mixing, relationships forming across the former divide.
Sarnav ate with his inner circle. Chen Wei, Encik Rahman, Mei Ling, and the three connected wives. Minji and Jade sat nearby, technically part of the leadership discussions but not yet integrated into the core group.
"The eastern sector needs reinforcement," Chen Wei was saying. "The old raider territory is secure, but the perimeter is thin."
"Agreed. Rotate some of our awakened to patrol duty." Sarnav's attention split between the tactical discussion and the background hum of the network.
Through the bond, he felt Ishani's boredom with the logistics talk, Nisha's quiet attention, and Ananya's nervous excitement at being included in leadership meetings.
Focus, he sent to Ishani.
I am focused. On how boring this is.
It's important.
Important and boring aren't mutually exclusive. But her attention sharpened, her emotional signature becoming more engaged.
"What about the other raider groups?" Mei Ling asked. "Jade mentioned there were six more in the greater KL area."
All eyes turned to the hacker, who looked up from her tablet with visible reluctance.
"Five now. One of them dissolved after we took out the central camp. The others are watching, waiting to see what we do next." She pulled up a map on her screen. "Two are too small to matter. Two are roughly our original size. One is bigger. Maybe four hundred people, fifty awakened."
"That's a significant force," Encik Rahman said.
"It is. But they're also the furthest away, near the old industrial district. They'd have to cross hostile territory to reach us." Jade's fingers moved across her tablet. "More pressing is this."
She projected a new image. Satellite data, somehow still accessible, showing a large structure to the north.
"A rift."
The word silenced the table.
"Where did you get this?" Sarnav asked.
"I have my sources. The point is, it appeared three days ago and it's growing. If the pattern holds, it'll stabilize within a week and start spawning creatures."
"How big?"
"Big enough to be a problem. The energy readings suggest D-rank threats at minimum, possibly C-rank." Jade met his eyes. "Your faction is the closest organized force. If someone doesn't deal with it, the spawn will overrun everything between here and Genting."
[JADE WONG - VALUE DEMONSTRATED]
[INTELLIGENCE: CRITICAL]
[FACTION BENEFIT: SIGNIFICANT]
[NOTE: SUBJECT CONTINUES TO PROVE WORTH DURING TRIAL PERIOD]
"How did you access satellite data?" Chen Wei asked, suspicious.
"I told you. I have my sources." Jade's expression gave nothing away. "Do you want to argue about methodology, or do you want to plan for the rift?"
"She's right," Sarnav said. "We can discuss her methods later. Right now, we need to assess the threat."
The meeting shifted to rift protocols, defense strategies, resource allocation. Throughout, Jade provided critical information, her expertise making her indispensable despite her prickly demeanor.
By the time the meeting ended, her position in the faction had solidified considerably.
Day 24 Post-Impact - Midday
Minji found him in the recreation room.
Someone had set up the salvaged PS4 she'd mentioned, connected to a generator-powered television. A small luxury in the apocalypse, but an important one for morale.
"You actually came." She was already holding a controller, her purple hair tied back, her gaming hoodie replaced with something more practical.
"You invited me."
"I invite lots of people. Most of them are too busy being important." She tossed him a controller. "You know how to play?"
"I managed before the world ended."
"Managing isn't the same as being good." She grinned, settling onto the worn couch. "Let's see what you've got."
They played.
Fighting games first, where Sarnav's enhanced reflexes gave him an unfair advantage. Then racing games, where Minji's years of practice evened the odds. Then a cooperative shooter, where they actually had to work together.
"Left side!" Minji called, her character covering a hallway.
"I see them." Sarnav's avatar flanked, taking out the enemies with precise shots.
"Nice. You're not bad for a casual."
"Casual? I had a gaming setup worth more than most cars."
"Having expensive equipment doesn't make you good. It makes you rich." She paused the game, turning to face him. "But you're actually good. The reflexes are insane. Is that the cultivation thing?"
"Partly. B-rank enhances everything, including reaction time."
"That's cheating."
"It's adapting."
She laughed, resuming the game. "I like that. Adapting, not cheating. Very diplomatic."
They played for another hour, conversation flowing easily between rounds. Minji talked about her streaming career, the tournament that had brought her to Malaysia, the chaos of the impact and its aftermath. Sarnav shared his own experiences, edited for discretion but honest in emotion.
"You're different from what I expected," she said eventually.
"What did you expect?"
"I don't know. The scary faction leader? The guy who destroys nests and negotiates alliances and has multiple girlfriends?" She set down her controller. "You're that guy, but you're also... this. Someone who plays games and makes jokes and treats me like a person instead of an asset."
"You're not an asset."
"Everyone's an asset in the apocalypse. The question is whether you're also seen as a person." She met his eyes. "You see me. The real me, not just the useful parts."
"The real you is the useful parts. And the annoying parts. And everything in between."
"Did you just call me annoying?"
"You literally insulted my gaming skills for an hour straight."
"That's not annoying. That's accurate." But she was smiling. "Okay, fine. We're both annoying. We can be annoying together."
Something shifted between them. The playful banter taking on a different weight.
"Minji."
"Yeah?"
"I need to be clear about something. If you join this faction, if you get closer to me, there are expectations. Complications. Things that come with being part of my life."
"You mean the harem thing."
"Among other things."
She was quiet for a moment. "I've thought about it. A lot, actually. It's weird, right? Sharing someone? But then I think about the alternatives. Being alone. Being with someone boring. Being with someone who doesn't understand games or cultivation or any of this insanity."
"And?"
"And I'd rather be part of something weird but real than something normal but empty." She leaned closer. "I'm not saying I'm ready for... everything. But I'm ready to try. If you are."
"I am."
She kissed him.
It was different from his other first kisses. Playful, almost competitive, like she was trying to win even in this. He responded in kind, matching her energy, turning the kiss into a challenge neither wanted to lose.
When they parted, she was grinning.
"Not bad, oppa."
The Korean honorific sent a jolt through him. She noticed, her grin widening.
"Oh, you like that? Noted." She stood, stretching. "I should go. People to help, illusions to practice. But this was fun."
"It was."
"We should do it again. The gaming part and..." She gestured vaguely at the space between them. "The other part."
"I'd like that."
"Good." She headed for the door, pausing at the threshold. "Oh, and oppa? Next time, I'm picking the games. These reflexes of yours need a real challenge."
She was gone before he could respond.
[FIRST KISS - PARK MINJI]
[HARMONY ESSENCE: +1,000]
[COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMED: 91%]
[BOND POTENTIAL: WIFE #5]
[EMOTIONAL STATE: INTERESTED, PLAYFUL, COMMITTED TO TRYING]
[NOTE: SUBJECT HAS BEGUN USING "OPPA" - SIGNIFICANT INDICATOR OF AFFECTION]
Through the network, Sarnav felt his wives react to the kiss.
Nisha's flicker of jealousy, quickly suppressed. Ishani's amusement and approval. Ananya's curiosity about the new addition.
Another one? Ishani's mental voice was teasing.
She kissed me.
And you kissed her back. Enthusiastically, from what I felt.
Are you complaining?
Never. Just keeping score. A pulse of warmth accompanied her words. She seems fun. I approve.
Me too, Ananya added hesitantly. She feels... bright. Through you, I mean. When you were with her.
Nisha? Sarnav reached for his first wife's presence.
A pause. Then: I'm fine. It's getting easier. The network helps somehow. I can feel that you still love me, even when you're with others.
Always.
I know. That's why it's easier. Her emotional signature steadied. Bring her home, Sarnav. If she's meant to be part of this, let's make it official.
Soon. She needs time.
Don't we all.
Day 24 Post-Impact - Afternoon
Jade cornered him in the communications room.
"We need to talk."
"About?"
"About the rift. About your system. About what you're really building here." She closed the door behind her, her pale face intense in the dim light. "I've been analyzing your faction's growth patterns. The correlation between your... romantic acquisitions and your power increases. The timing of your breakthroughs."
"You've been spying on me."
"I've been observing. There's a difference." She crossed her arms. "Your system requires bonds. Female bonds specifically. The more women you connect with, the stronger you become."
"That's not exactly a secret."
"The mechanics aren't. But the scale is." She stepped closer, her dark eyes sharp. "I've run the projections. If your current growth rate continues, you'll hit S-rank within two years. SS-rank within five. That's not normal cultivation. That's exponential advancement powered by human connection."
"You sound impressed."
"I'm terrified." The admission surprised him. "Do you understand what you're becoming? A cultivation engine fueled by love and sex? A power structure built on emotional dependency? The ethical implications alone..."
"Are you here to lecture me on ethics?"
"I'm here to understand." Her composure cracked slightly. "I've spent my whole life analyzing systems. Finding patterns. Predicting outcomes. But you... you don't fit any model I've built. You're a variable that breaks everything."
"Is that why you joined the trial? To figure me out?"
"Partly." She looked away. "And partly because I'm tired of being alone. Tired of watching from the outside. Tired of being the smartest person in the room and having nobody to talk to about it."
"You could talk to me."
"You're the subject of study. That creates bias."
"I'm also a person. Who happens to find your analytical obsession fascinating."
She stared at him. "You're not supposed to say things like that."
"Why not?"
"Because it makes it harder to maintain objectivity." Her voice was quieter now. "Because it makes me want things I shouldn't want."
"What do you want, Jade?"
"I don't know." The admission seemed to cost her. "I've never not known before. I always have answers. But with you, there are only questions."
"Maybe that's okay. Maybe you don't need answers right now."
"That's terrifying."
"Most worthwhile things are."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed. A short, surprised sound.
"You're infuriating. You know that?"
"I've been told."
"Idiot." But there was warmth beneath the insult. "Fine. I'll continue my trial. I'll keep analyzing. And maybe... maybe I'll stop fighting whatever this is."
"Progress."
"Don't push your luck." She moved toward the door. "I'm not like the others. I don't do vulnerability or emotional confession or any of that. If something happens between us, it'll be on my terms."
"I wouldn't expect anything else."
"Good." She paused, hand on the door. "The rift data. I wasn't exaggerating the threat. You need to prepare."
"We will."
"See that you do. I didn't join this faction to watch it get overrun by dimensional creatures."
She left.
[JADE WONG - STATUS UPDATE]
[TRIAL PROGRESS: SIGNIFICANT]
[EMOTIONAL STATE: CONFLICTED, THAWING]
[INTELLECTUAL RESPECT: HIGH]
[ROMANTIC INTEREST: DEVELOPING (SUPPRESSED)]
[NOTE: TSUNDERE ARCHETYPE - "IDIOT" USAGE INCREASING (POSITIVE INDICATOR)]
Day 24 Post-Impact - Evening
Mythili found him during dinner.
She sat across from him uninvited, her plate untouched, her expression contemplative.
"You've been busy."
"Always."
"I noticed the Korean girl. Minji. She seems... attached to you now."
"We're getting to know each other."
"Mm." Mythili picked at her food. "And the hacker? Jade? She's been spending a lot of time analyzing you, from what I hear."
"She's thorough."
"She's interested. Even if she won't admit it." His mother's eyes met his. "Four now. If you count the two new ones."
"Minji and Jade aren't bonded yet. It's just... potential."
"Potential." She repeated the word like it tasted strange. "How many potentials before the potential becomes reality?"
"However many are right."
"And you get to decide what's right?"
"They decide. I offer. They choose."
She was quiet, processing. The cafeteria bustled around them, but their table felt isolated, private.
"Your father never offered choices. He just took what he wanted." Her voice was soft. "I'm trying to see the difference. Intellectually, I understand it. Emotionally..."
"It's hard."
"It's confusing." She set down her fork. "I watch you with these women, and I see respect. Care. Something that looks like love, even if it's divided. That's not what your father had with his mistresses."
"No. It's not."
"But it's still multiple women. Still a structure that puts you at the center. Still a dynamic that I can't fully comprehend." She stood. "I'm not judging you, Sarnav. I'm trying to understand. Give me time."
"Take all the time you need."
She nodded and left, her plate still mostly full.
Later that evening, Ishani made good on her suggestion from the day before.
"Network-enhanced intimacy," she announced, pulling Sarnav into her room where Ananya was already waiting, nervous and curious. "Let's see what this bond can really do."
"Are you sure about this?" Ananya asked, her voice small. "I've never... with two people..."
"That's the point. New experiences. Shared sensations." Ishani crossed to the younger woman, taking her hands. "I felt your first time through the network. It was beautiful. Now I want to feel you directly."
"Feel me...?"
"All of us, together. Connected in every way." Ishani looked at Sarnav. "Tell me you haven't been thinking about this."
He had. Since the network activated, the possibilities had been impossible to ignore.
"Ananya," he said. "Only if you want to. No pressure."
She looked between them. Her emotions flickered through the bond: nervousness, curiosity, arousal, trust.
"I want to try," she said finally. "I want to feel what you feel."
Ishani smiled. "Then let's begin."
The experience was unlike anything Sarnav had imagined.
Three bodies, three minds, all connected through the network. Every touch was felt three times over. Every pleasure multiplied, shared, reflected back.
Ishani took the lead initially, her experience guiding Ananya through unfamiliar territory. The younger woman watched, learned, then participated with increasing confidence.
"I can feel everything," Ananya gasped as Ishani's mouth found her breast. "I feel what she's doing and what you're feeling watching and it's so much..."
"That's the network," Sarnav said, his hands exploring both women. "Let it flow. Don't fight it."
She stopped fighting.
The sensations built, layer upon layer. Ishani's aggressive passion. Ananya's sweet surrender. Sarnav's dominant guidance. All of it feeding into the network, amplifying, combining.
When Sarnav entered Ishani from behind, Ananya felt the penetration as if it were happening to her. Her back arched, her moan matching Ishani's.
"Oh god. Oh god, I can feel him inside you..."
"I know." Ishani pulled Ananya closer, kissing her. "It's incredible, isn't it?"
Through the bond, Sarnav felt everything. Ishani's tight heat around his cock. Ananya's sympathetic pleasure. The emotional resonance of three people becoming one.
More, Ishani's mental voice demanded. Give us more.
He did.
He switched between them, filling Ananya while Ishani watched and felt, then returning to Ishani while Ananya trembled with shared sensation. The network turned every act into a group experience, every orgasm into a cascade.
Ananya came first, overwhelmed by the combined input. Her climax triggered Ishani's, which triggered a feedback loop that nearly overwhelmed them all.
Sarnav held on, drawing out their pleasure, until finally he let himself join them. His release pulsed through the network, felt by all three, a shared moment of perfect unity.
They collapsed together afterward, tangled and spent.
"That was..." Ananya couldn't finish the sentence.
"Yeah." Ishani laughed weakly. "That was."
Still alive? Nisha's mental voice, tinged with amusement. I felt that from across the compound. Everyone probably did.
Sorry, Sarnav sent back.
Don't apologize. It was... educational. A pause. Next time, maybe include me?
Definitely.
Through the bond, he felt Nisha's anticipation. And beneath it, something he hadn't expected: genuine happiness that the network was working, that the connections were real, that she wasn't losing him to others but gaining a family.
I love you, he sent to all of them.
Three responses came back, overlapping, harmonizing:
I love you too.
[DAILY CULTIVATION SUMMARY]
[FIRST KISS - PARK MINJI: +1,000]
[NETWORK-ENHANCED THREESOME (ISHANI + ANANYA): +28,000]
[- BASE THREESOME: 2X PER PARTNER]
[- NETWORK AMPLIFICATION: +40%]
[- EMOTIONAL HARMONY BONUS: +15%]
[DAILY TOTAL: +29,000]
[CURRENT ESSENCE: 105,000 / 500,000 TO SOUL TRANSFORMATION]
[NOTE: DAILY CAP REACHED (100,000) - EXCESS STORED]
[HAREM STATUS: 3 / 32]
[- NISHA RAMACHANDRAN (SOULBOUND)]
[- ISHANI SUPPIAH (BONDED)]
[- ANANYA KRISHNAN (BONDED)]
[PROSPECTIVE BONDS:]
[- PARK MINJI: FIRST KISS ACHIEVED]
[- WONG YUK-KING: TRIAL ONGOING, EMOTIONAL THAWING DETECTED]
[NETWORK EFFICIENCY: EXCELLENT]
[SHARED SENSATION BONUS: CONFIRMED]
[UPCOMING THREAT: RIFT (NORTH) - REQUIRES ATTENTION]