The Heroic Master Is Tough-Talking but Soft-Hearted: The Aloof Major General Has Fallen - Chapter 14

Before the official end of the workday, Asher received a communication. His expression shifted, and he left shortly thereafter.

Yero watched the Major General’s hurried departure, feeling puzzled. He wondered if it had been a call from the Major General’s Master. Since Asher’s expression had looked troubled, as if he were being harassed by some sort of nuisance, Yero felt deeply concerned. He only hoped that nothing bad would happen to the Major General.

The Berwick family gathering was a monthly tradition. When Cen Li received the communication from Admiral Derek, he was somewhat surprised because the family dinner had been moved forward; usually, it took place at the end of the month. Admiral Derek explained that this was the wish of Duke Jolai, Cen Li’s male father. Cen Li did not press for details and simply stated he would arrive on time.

In the afternoon, Xi Ya appeared before him frequently, serving tea and pouring water with an attentive attitude that struck Cen Li as rather odd. By the time Asher’s usual clock-out time had passed and there was still no sign of the insect, the sense of unease Cen Li had been suppressing began to grow.

He sent a message to Asher, but as expected, he received no reply. When he inquired with the military headquarters, he received a startled response: “The Major General left the headquarters at 3:00 PM!”

Three o’clock.

Cen Li knit his brows, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing against the protruding bone of his wrist. After three seconds of silence, the voice on the other end asked, “Lord Cen Li, was it not you who made that call?”

“It was not.”

After hearing Cen Li’s answer, Yero’s grip on the communicator tightened. If it was not the male who had called the Major General away, then who was it?

Cen Li wanted to know as well. Just as he cut off the communication, he caught Xi Ya’s shifty gaze. He calmly suppressed his messy thoughts and asked, “Do you know where Asher is?”

“Ma, Master.” Xi Ya was already feeling guilty; being suddenly called out by Cen Li made him nearly jump out of his skin. He tried to make excuses for himself, but with the look of a ghost on his face, there was no way Cen Li would believe him.

“Speak up! Do not exhaust my patience.”

Only after repeated questioning did Cen Li learn that Asher had been called away early.

“What business could my male father have with Asher?”

Xi Ya did not dare meet Cen Li’s eyes, stammering, “I, I am not sure.”

Xi Ya was timid and a poor actor; his worries were written all over his face, making it obvious he was hiding something. Seeing that he could pry nothing more out of him, Cen Li set his thoughts aside and prepared to head directly to the ancestral estate.

Upon arriving, he still had not seen Asher, but he ran into Admiral Derek instead. The Admiral’s gaze fell upon Cen Li in his wheelchair, and he offered a small smile. “Does your head still hurt lately?”

Cen Li shook his head. “It is fine now.”

“That is good.” Admiral Derek nodded, his gaze lingering on Cen Li as if he wanted to say something more.

Cen Li was puzzled by the stare. “What is it, Father?”

“Well, it is just,” Admiral Derek cleared his throat, covering his mouth with a fist as he organized his words, “The spots on your face have faded quite a bit.”

He spoke tentatively, afraid of upsetting Cen Li. Cen Li’s fingers brushed against his jaw, his gaze flickering.

Seeing Cen Li remain silent and fearing he might overthink it, Admiral Derek offered comfort. “This might very well be a good omen.”

The Admiral had actually noticed the change in Cen Li’s face a while ago, but he had held back for fear that mentioning it would only lead to disappointment. This time, however, the change was so obvious that he believed Cen Li must have noticed it too.

Cen Li did not follow Admiral Derek’s lead. He sat in his wheelchair and remained silent, carefully playing the part of an eccentric and gloomy male. During this time, Xi Ya glanced at him several times and was caught once.

Cen Li interrupted Admiral Derek’s rambling and asked, “Father, where is Asher?”

Admiral Derek was taken aback. “He upset your male father. He should still be kneeling in punishment right now.”

Cen Li frowned. “How did he upset him?” Asher barely spoke two words; how could he have provoked Duke Jolai?

Admiral Derek was stumped for a moment and only answered after three seconds, “I do not know the specifics. By the time I returned from the headquarters, Asher was already kneeling.” The Admiral paused, then added casually, “You seem quite concerned about Asher now.”

Cen Li flinched and instinctively retorted, “How could I be? I was just asking in passing.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Admiral Derek’s face. He gave a soft “Mm,” though it was unclear whether he believed him. As he left, he tossed out one last sentence: “Asher is in the courtyard.”

Cen Li’s body stiffened. Recalling the Admiral’s meaningful parting glance, he felt rather restless in his wheelchair. He hoped Admiral Derek had not noticed anything unusual; it would be best if the System did not judge him as deviating from the original owner’s character setting.

The System chimed in: “Host, do not worry too much. Our primary task is to collect Humiliation Value. As long as the Mainframe does not flag you, there is no need to be nervous.”

Cen Li pondered this. This meant he actually had quite a bit of room to maneuver. The System warned him not to deviate from his persona simply to avoid others realizing the inner core of this body had been replaced, which would cause unnecessary trouble. As long as his daily behavior was not too outrageous, he would be fine.

His previous electric shocks were because the Mainframe detected him being passive and slacking off. Since he had accepted the situation and stopped harboring such thoughts, he had not been punished again. In short, collecting Humiliation Value was the top priority; everything else could make way for it.

Cen Li thought for a moment and asked, “How much Humiliation Value have I collected in total now?”

The System paused for two seconds before replying: “Detection shows the Host has collected a total of 286 Humiliation Value. You are still 99,714 points away from the target of 100,000. Keep up the good work, Host!”

Hearing that long string of numbers, Cen Li felt the future was hopeless. “There is still that much?!”

At this rate, it would take forever! Every time the value increased, it was only by single digits. He had thought over two hundred was a lot, but compared to one hundred thousand, it was barely a drop in the bucket. Cen Li felt that even if he lived out an entire lifetime here, he still might not collect the full amount.

The System encouraged him: “Host, do not lose heart. You can definitely do it! I will provide feedback to the Mainframe to generate optimized plot points for you, making it easier for the Host to collect more Humiliation Value.”

Cen Li noted, “Wait, so you are saying the plot points are not mandatory to follow?”

System: “You can understand it that way. Plot points are only established to help the Host complete the mission more effectively. Therefore, please do not resist and follow the plot diligently.”

Cen Li was about to say that he could just ignore the plot then, but given the System’s phrasing, he silently swallowed his words. If he could find a way to collect enough Humiliation Value without following the plot, the System would not be able to say anything.

He thought to himself: If things have come to this, if I can actually complete the mission and return to Earth to continue my life as a wealthy young master, that would not be so bad after all.

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