The Heroic Master Is Tough-Talking but Soft-Hearted: The Aloof Major General Has Fallen - Chapter 5

During dinner, Cen Li sat at the head of the table, flanked by Asher and Sia.

Sia, having been scolded by Cen Li earlier that day, ate his meal quietly without causing any trouble. This meal was entirely supervised by Asher, so Cen Li felt safe eating it, though he knew it was almost time for him to follow the scripted plot.

Cen Li scanned the table before his eyes settled on the truffle porridge to Asher’s right. He curled his knuckles and tapped the tabletop. In the quiet room, the sound was abrupt and sharp. Both insects looked over at the same time.

Asher met Cen Li’s gaze, then looked at the porridge and immediately understood his master’s intent. Across from them, Sia’s eyes flashed with schadenfreude; he guessed that the master was looking for a reason to make things difficult for Asher.

He was right.

Asher stood up and used an exquisite glaze bowl to serve a portion of hot porridge for the male. He handed it over respectfully. “Please enjoy, Master.”

The translucent vessel emitted a faint steam as the fresh aroma of food filled the air. Cen Li looked away from the military insect’s submissive expression. This foolish bug probably had no idea what he was about to experience.

According to the plot, this bowl of hot porridge was supposed to be deliberately splashed onto Asher. The military insect’s exposed skin would become red and swollen just as Cen Li intended, eventually breaking out into a dense, skin-crawling layer of blisters.

Cen Li slowly reached for the glaze bowl. In the next second, he suddenly knocked the bowl over. “Are you trying to scald me to death?”

The thick porridge splashed entirely over the military insect’s clean, tidy uniform. The wet fabric became dark and mottled. Under the bright crystal chandelier, Asher was the only one with disheveled clothing, looking both miserable and ridiculous.

The male had indeed lashed out. Asher thought self-deprecatingly that from the moment the male spoke, he knew nothing good would happen. He was merely relieved that the hot porridge had landed on his clothes rather than his skin, as this caused him no real harm and he was already long accustomed to the male’s daily fault-finding.

Asher knelt. “Please punish me, Master.”

The system announced that the Humiliation Value had increased by two.

Cen Li listened to the notification and narrowed his eyes. “007, why does it only increase by two points each time?”

He had only collected six points so far. Two points came from the plot on the day he arrived, two from his improvisation in the back garden, and the last two from just now.

Cen Li was dissatisfied. “At this rate, how long will it take me to reach the goal? Is your system lying to me? It is impossible to collect one hundred thousand points like this!”

“The Mainframe algorithm is never wrong,” the system replied. It tried to persuade him. “Host, small amounts add up. As long as we follow the optimal plot points calculated by the Mainframe, we will definitely reach the full amount.”

Cen Li was suspicious. This slow progress made the end feel nowhere in sight, and he felt like quitting again. However, that thought was immediately crushed.

“Warning! Detected that the host has passive and dangerous thoughts.”

Cen Li was speechless.

Seeing that Cen Li was staring at Asher without speaking, Sia believed he had guessed the master’s desire to humiliate the insect. He spoke up eagerly from the side. “Master, Asher actually let you get burned! As expected of a crude military insect, he does not know how to serve at all. He only knows how to fight and kill outside all day.”

Even while being accused, Asher remained kneeling in silence. He did not intend to make a useless defense because he knew the final outcome depended entirely on the male’s whim.

The sub-female fanned the flames with glee, completely unaware of the darkening look in Cen Li’s eyes. In the past, Sia’s instigation would have matched the original owner’s thoughts, and he would have taken the opportunity to punish Asher severely.

However, the master of this body had changed. Hearing Sia kick a man while he was down felt grating to Cen Li. He turned his gaze toward Sia with an unreadable expression. “You seem exceptionally excited, do you not?”

Sia’s back stiffened. The male’s eerie voice made his legs go weak, and he fell to his knees with a thud. He desperately tried to figure out how he had offended the male. In the end, Sia had no clue. He was close to tears and whispered, “Master.”

Cen Li looked at the two kneeling insects and thought to himself that the shadow left by the original owner was truly massive. Both of them were so afraid of him that kneeling was as natural to them as eating or drinking.

Cen Li used his only good leg to nudge Sia as a warning. “Watch your mouth from now on.”

Sia was terrified and close to sobbing. “Yes, yes, Master.”

Cen Li looked at Sia strangely. He had not used any force, yet Sia looked like he was about to die of fright, with tears welling in his eyes. Cen Li felt exhausted. He suddenly realized why males preferred torturing military insects over fragile sub-females. If one were to whip a sub-female, they would likely faint from the pain immediately, leaving a face covered in snot and tears that would ruin the mood.

Asher waited for a long time but did not receive any further punishment. Instead, the instigating Sia was the one who got scolded. This was unexpected.

The male’s voice suddenly rang out. “Asher, come to my room tonight.”

What?

Asher’s body froze. He could not help but look up, clashing with Cen Li’s deep blue gaze. He had not misheard; the master was indeed calling for him. But why him?

Asher lowered his head, pondering the male’s motives. Cen Li had never asked an insect to go to his room at night before, nor had he ever touched either of them. Asher thought basely that perhaps it was because of the male’s disability that he lacked the ability to do so. Regardless, as long as it was not the situation he dreaded most, it would be fine.

Sia looked relieved. He had just been scared out of his wits and only wanted to be as far from Cen Li as possible. As for anything else, he did not consider it much for the moment.

The plot point during dinner was just an appetizer. The upcoming plot was what gave Cen Li a headache. With the help of the intelligent butler, he finished washing up and lay on the bed, his back sinking slightly into the soft mattress.

Cen Li poked 007 in his mind, feeling extremely anxious. “Am I really supposed to do that thing with Asher later? I am a cripple; how am I supposed to overpower him?”

007 replied seriously, “According to the original text, Asher is the one who takes the initiative. You can just follow along, Host.”

Cen Li was silent. He was all too aware of that detail. He could not imagine what Asher’s cold face would look like when flushed with heat. Was he really going to give away his first time tonight?

As a product of high technology, the system clearly could not empathize with him, leaving Cen Li to mess up his hair in frustration.

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