Chapter 224: Catwoman Maid
After Zhou Ming left No. 3 Outpost, he did not immediately return to the Underground Dark River Camp. Instead, he headed straight for Qinghui Base.
That was because only there did mobile signals exist, allowing him to contact the Scorpion-Lion to obtain the foreign-race language materials he needed, and at the same time purchase the resources he required within Qinghui Base.
Just as Zhou Ming rode Silver Scale and approached the outer-city security zone of Qinghui Base, his phone rang with a message notification.
“Lei Yuan?”
Before even opening the message, Zhou Ming roughly guessed that it was probably sent by Lei Yuan. After all, he did not have many friends.
As for the Scorpion-Lion, that proud lion would not casually send messages to check on him.
Naturally, Zhou Ming himself only contacted the Scorpion-Lion when he had business.
Using words from his previous life, friends who did not contact each other for a year or two would only reach out either to get married or to borrow money.
He opened the message interface, and just as expected, it was indeed a message from Lei Yuan.
“Big Brother Zhou, I’ve already received the Evergreen Fruit you mailed. Thank you for the gift.”
However, the very next sentence made Zhou Ming experience firsthand why women were so troublesome.
“But why did you give me Evergreen Fruit? Are you afraid I’ll grow old and ugly? Did you meet a prettier girl? Are you abandoning me……”
This long message was filled with sighing tones and a large number of aggrieved emoticons.
Zhou Ming read the message with a frown. He had only sent a gift—how did Lei Yuan end up thinking so much?
Were all women like this?
Unable to understand, Zhou Ming directly scrolled to check the other messages.
The subsequent messages were clearly much more normal, such as her saying she was about to start new research, telling Zhou Ming not to worry if he could not contact her.
She also asked when Zhou Ming would go to Alliance Headquarters to look for her.
There were many messages, almost all sent within the same month. It was likely that this period was Lei Yuan’s break time when she could contact the outside world.
As for the matter of helping Zhou Ming seal off information, Lei Yuan did not mention it, because she feared that once Zhou Ming knew, he would act with even fewer scruples.
After reading all of Lei Yuan’s messages, Zhou Ming pondered slightly before selectively replying.
He did not reply to the first message at all. Even without any romantic experience, he knew it was a huge pit—once he replied, there would definitely be even more questions.
After handling Lei Yuan’s messages, Zhou Ming directly dialed the Scorpion-Lion’s number and stated his purpose.
Foreign-race language materials naturally existed within the Duanmu Family. After all, the foundation of a major power covered all aspects, not just pure strength enhancement.
The Scorpion-Lion naturally did not refuse Zhou Ming’s request and agreed to send the foreign-race language materials over the phone shortly.
On the other end of the call, the Scorpion-Lion stared at the phone in his hand after hanging up, silently pondering why Zhou Ming needed foreign-race language materials.
Based on his understanding of Zhou Ming, there was no way he would request such materials without reason.
“Uncle Leng, has anything happened recently in the Panlong Mountain Range?”
After thinking briefly, the Scorpion-Lion immediately asked Uncle Leng, who stood behind him.
He had been busy breaking through to Mid-level Professional Rank in recent days and was unaware of what had been happening outside.
After hearing this, Uncle Leng immediately recounted the events that had occurred in the Panlong Mountain Range.
“Catwoman? Could it be Ten Thousand Snakes?”
After learning what had happened, the Scorpion-Lion was not particularly interested in the Catwoman, but instead vaguely felt that this matter was related to Zhou Ming.
Although the guess sounded somewhat absurd, the Scorpion-Lion was very confident in his intuition.
At that moment, he felt pressure from a peer for the first time. The joy of having just broken through to Mid-level Professional Rank vanished completely.
Three Mounds Ridge, Underground Dark River Camp.
After obtaining the materials he wanted and purchasing the experimental materials needed at Qinghui Base, Zhou Ming returned immediately.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
Back inside the small building by the underground lake, Zhou Ming focused most of his energy on learning the foreign-race language.
Learning the foreign-race language was not only for communicating with Aina, but also preparation for entering another world in the future.
Blue Star being devoured by the Tamu World was an outcome no one could change.
With Aina acting as a practice partner, Zhou Ming was soon able to communicate normally with her using the foreign-race language. With Spiritual Power strengthening the brain, his memory far surpassed ordinary people’s, and learning a simple language posed no difficulty.
“Aina, follow me upstairs.”
Wearing a lab coat, Zhou Ming gave the command in a slightly awkward and stiff tone.
“Yes, yes, my lord.”
Aina, dressed in a maid outfit, answered nervously after hearing Zhou Ming’s command.
After Zhou Ming returned to the small building by the underground lake, aside from cleaning and helping feed the Ironthread Snake swarm, Aina’s main task was accompanying Zhou Ming in practicing the foreign-race language.
The imagined torment never occurred. The only change was that she had put on a black-and-white maid outfit.
If it was merely losing her freedom and becoming Zhou Ming’s maid, Aina was already very satisfied with such an outcome. In the Tamu World, becoming the maid of a powerful individual was not considered humiliating.
It could even grant extremely high status due to the master’s formidable strength.
However, as a Catwoman whose strength rivaled that of a Professional Beast Tamer, even though her power had been sealed, her sensory abilities still remained.
She could clearly sense the dark aura emanating from the second floor, as well as extremely dense resentment.
This was perhaps the unique perception she possessed due to the Catwoman race’s innate affinity with shadow energy particles.
Facing Zhou Ming’s command, an instinctive sense of rejection rose within Aina’s heart.
But she no longer had the right to refuse.
Aina followed Zhou Ming to the second floor. Various instruments and experimental equipment came into view. The laboratory, dominated by white tones, reflected light that made Aina feel icy cold in her limbs.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s just a small test. Take off your clothes and lie down on the experimental platform.”
Zhou Ming’s tone was gentle. To prevent Aina’s nervousness from affecting the test results, he even revealed a faint smile.
But in Aina’s eyes, that hint of danger was terrifying, completely shattering the last line of defense in her heart.
“Can my lord not do this? I can serve you.”
Facing Zhou Ming’s command, Aina gathered her last bit of courage and pleaded in an extremely humble tone.
“Rest assured, there won’t be any danger.”
The cold gaze combined with the gentle smile at the corner of Zhou Ming’s mouth filled his expression with a sense of dissonance.
Yet it was precisely this dissonance that made Aina no longer dare to resist his command.
The black-and-white maid outfit fell piece by piece, revealing a body like white jade carefully carved within the laboratory.
When Aina lay down on the experimental platform, the icy touch erased the final trace of resistance.
“Click……”
The restraints of the experimental platform activated. The perfect work of art seemed bound by instruments of punishment, radiating an eerie sense of beauty.
At this moment, Zhou Ming raised a syringe and began drawing Aina’s blood.