Chapter 292: Are You Going to Punish Me?: A Wide Variety of Instruments of Punishment—An Ruo Trembles in Fear

Ulysses finally confirmed that the punishment room was meant for the god himself.

This was simply unheard of. Absolutely shocking.

Who had ever heard of a punishment room used to lock up a “Male Zerg”?

Ulysses’s understanding of the world collided head-on with the completely different reality before him, causing his brain to shut down. He stood at the doorway for a long time, not knowing how to react.

The punishment room, which had been built underground precisely so that no Zerg would discover it and his reputation would not be affected, was now holding a “Male Zerg.”

This was completely different from what he had imagined when he put the punishment room underground, yet through a bizarre twist of fate, it somehow fit perfectly. If word of this got out, it really would be enough to utterly ruin his reputation. It might even cause a greater uproar throughout Zerg society than the news of his marriage to An Ruo.

Absolutely no Zerg could ever find out.

This had to be kept completely under wraps.

Then he suddenly remembered the things he had prepared inside the punishment room—the heavy-duty punishment chair capable of restraining a high-ranking Female Zerg, that bed, and all the things inside the cabinets...

Ulysses’s expression nearly froze.

If An Ruo saw those things, he did not dare imagine what An Ruo would think of him.

Perhaps he would think Ulysses was a pervert.

He desperately wanted to go inside and dispose of everything before the god discovered it, but the door had already been closed, and he had not been permitted to enter.

A single door obviously could not stop him. Should he simply force his way inside?

No.

Forcing his way in would be equivalent to admitting what he had done right in front of the god. It would be no different from turning himself in.

He still held on to a sliver of hope and could not help thinking that perhaps the god had not discovered anything yet.

Maybe the god inside the room had remained completely focused on writing, paying no attention whatsoever to anything around him, much less opening the cabinets.

Then, once the god finished writing and came out, Ulysses could take the opportunity to clear everything away without anyone noticing or suspecting a thing.

That was the best-case scenario.

Reality, however, could also turn out to be the worst-case scenario.

Everything in the room was far too conspicuous. Even if the god was not curious enough to open the cabinets, that chair was sitting openly in the room, along with a mirror that occupied an entire wall directly opposite it. Seeing the two together made it extremely easy to imagine certain things.

Ulysses pressed a hand to his forehead, overcome by the feeling that he had woven a cocoon around himself.

He had dug his own grave.

But pacing outside the door like this would solve nothing. After confirming that the god had no intention of coming back out, and seeing that it was nearly time for the meeting, Ulysses could only leave for now.

As for what he should do afterward...

He would deal with whatever came his way.

There was nothing else he could do but respond according to the god’s attitude when the time came.

......

The meeting was held in the conference hall on the second floor of the Marshal’s residence.

It was a military-political conference attended by ministers from various government departments as well as several military generals.

Cyril, who had only just returned to active duty, was among them.

It had been less than a week since Cyril laid the egg, so he was still well within the period covered by his maternity leave. There was absolutely no need for him to rush back to work.

However, he had already taken several months of pregnancy leave beforehand. As a workaholic, staying home for too long left him feeling restless all over. So after spending several days at home playing with the egg to his heart’s content, he decisively returned to work.

There was still a long time before the egg would hatch. Right now, it remained quiet every day and did not make any fuss. It did not particularly matter if Cyril, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} its Female Parent, was absent. Normally, it could simply be left in the incubator.

That was what most Zergs did. The incubation period did not interfere with Female Zergs’ work.

Only Enzo’s congenitally defective premature egg had required a Female Zerg to keep it close and watch over it at all times.

Cyril had not returned to the Third Military Region yet and would remain on Capital Star for the time being, so going home was convenient as well.

Now, he worked during the day and got off work punctually in the evening. Once home, he would take the egg out of the incubator and incubate it himself for a while—or rather, play with it for a while.

Most of the time, however, he could not find the egg in the incubator at all.

His Male Lord frequently carried the egg around with him, while the Female Attendants at home also liked secretly stealing the egg away.

After Cyril returned home, he often had to go from Zerg to Zerg to retrieve it.

It had never been this troublesome when they were incubating Hill. Sure enough, once there were more Zergs in the household, even finding the egg became difficult.

Cyril pulled his thoughts back and listened to the Marshal speaking from the head of the room.

Prince Metis of the Tianjia Empire was still staying among the Zergs and had not left. He had also participated in several diplomatic talks and was extremely interested in the Zergs’ new Psychic Soothing equipment, actively seeking possibilities for cooperation.

Such an obvious change in the Tianjia Empire’s attitude was being conveyed through Prince Metis, a particularly special male member of their Imperial Family, as a signal of goodwill.

Regardless of whether this represented the Tianjia Emperor’s intentions, it deserved to be treated seriously.

For the Zergs, this was also a major decision.

Should they take a step forward and attempt friendly exchanges?

Or should they maintain the status quo and continue their longstanding hostility?

The Zergs and the Tianjia Empire had been enemies for far too long. Almost every Zerg was accustomed to regarding the Tianjia as their greatest opponent, just as the Tianjia were accustomed to treating the Zergs as their mortal enemies.

That belief had practically seeped into their blood. Suddenly asking everyone to change was something neither side could easily adapt to.

The Zergs were not a species that yearned for peace.

The pro-war faction still wanted to continue fighting the Tianjia. Their past hatred was one reason, but more importantly, to them, war itself held meaning.

Meanwhile, the conservatives still felt that even this approach was too conservative.

Recently, however, some voices had begun exploring the possibility of peace.

The sharp increase in hatchlings being named “Axel (Peace)” alone showed that more ordinary citizens really had begun longing for peace.

And then there was another group that simply consisted of Prince Metis’s fans.

An S-rank male arriving among the Zergs would naturally attract widespread attention.

Since the two nations were still enemies, no Female Zerg had directly rushed up to confess his love. In fact, whenever they happened to “pass by,” they would deliberately keep their faces taut and their backs straight, looking cold and radiating a murderous military aura, absolutely refusing to disgrace the formidable reputation of Zerg military females.

It was just that they “passed by” a little too often.

An endless stream of all sorts of Zergs could also be found in front of the residence where Prince Metis was staying.

Some Zergs even privately referred to Prince Metis directly as their “Male Lord.”

Considering Tianjia customs, these Zergs had even held a debate over whether they should call him “Male Lord” or “Male Husband,” ultimately splitting into two separate factions.

Such a rich variety of voices and opinions would have been extremely difficult to encounter among the Zergs in the past.

Both the Zergs and the Tianjia Empire had reached a crossroads in history. Which road they would take next, and whether they would open up an entirely new possibility, had become the most important issue before them.

Naturally, one or two meetings could not produce a conclusion.

But the fact that the Zergs had not attacked Prince Metis while he was currently within Zerg territory, had not restricted his movements, and had not expelled him already offered a glimpse into the upper leadership’s position.

Ulysses would not casually promise the Tianjia anything, nor would he directly turn them from enemies into allies.

No matter who came, that was impossible.

Even the Tianjia Emperor could not accomplish such a thing immediately.

For now, the best course was to maintain contact while both sides observed, tested, and gradually adapted to each other.

As for Prince Metis wanting the Zergs’ Psychic Soothing equipment...

That would depend on whether the Tianjia Empire could offer sufficient benefits in exchange.

After the meeting ended, the Zergs in the conference hall remained gathered in small groups, continuing their discussions.

Cassian waited for a while. Seeing that practically no one was leaving, he began to feel anxious.

If they kept lingering, the Marshal himself was going to leave.

Remembering what he had promised his Male Lord before leaving home, Cassian could only steel himself and walk forward.

“Marshal, I heard that you and An-shen have already registered your marriage. Congratulations.” Cassian offered his congratulations with a smile.

Ulysses gave a reserved nod, deliberately slowed down as he organized the documents on his light screen, then calmly remained seated to listen to the congratulations.

He was suddenly in no hurry to leave.

Once Cassian started, the other Zergs came over one after another to congratulate him. The entire conference hall filled with an atmosphere of envy mixed with sincere happiness.

Cassian stood nearby. Seeing that the Marshal seemed to be in a good mood, he found an opportunity to ask,

“My Male Lord is one of An-shen’s devoted fans and has always liked An-shen very much. Ever since meeting him at the banquet last time, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him. He thinks about An-shen every day. I was wondering whether there might be an opportunity for him to come visit?”

Hearing this, Ulysses remembered the albino Male Zerg hugging An Ruo and crying at the banquet.

He was not particularly pleased.

Then, hearing that the Male Zerg wanted to visit, he remembered that An Ruo was currently in the punishment room—uh...

The confinement room.

The little black room.

Before Ulysses even had time to become displeased, he immediately felt awkward.

Absolutely no Zerg could ever learn about this.

What if that Male Zerg came to visit while An Ruo was still inside the little black room?

If he could not see An Ruo, he would certainly ask questions. Yet concealing the truth would inevitably make him suspicious.

This was a major problem.

Even Ulysses, who feared practically nothing and did not care what other Zergs said about him, did not want to face rumors that he had “imprisoned his Male Lord” or “used torture on his Male Lord.”

Ulysses coughed lightly and politely declined on the grounds that “An-shen is currently preparing a new book and isn’t receiving outside visitors.”

Technically, he was not lying.

An Ruo really was preparing a new book.

As for where he was preparing it...

Don’t ask.

Cassian returned to his place in disappointment. He had no idea what he should say when he got home to lessen his Male Lord’s disappointment.

Still, with the news of a “new book,” his Male Lord should at least be a little happier, right?

Thinking of that, Cassian relaxed somewhat.

......

For the fifty-second time today, Ulysses checked his terminal.

There was still no message from An Ruo.

In other words, he still had not finished writing.

Ulysses had sent robot Zergs in twice with fruit and snacks. An Ruo had not refused them, but he still would not see anyone.

Ulysses did not want to disturb him, either. He only looked through the robot Zerg’s eyes and saw An Ruo sitting at the desk, facing the light screen while eating snacks.

Rotating the viewing angle showed that almost nothing in the room had been touched. The punishment chair remained inactive, and none of the cabinet doors covering an entire wall had been opened.

The bed, however, showed signs that someone had lain on it.

Perhaps An Ruo had grown sleepy while writing and lain down for a short nap.

But judging from the shape of the wrinkles in the blanket, Ulysses thought it looked more like An Ruo had been unable to write anything and had thrown himself onto the bed to roll around.

An image appeared in his mind: An Ruo throwing himself onto the bed and rolling back and forth with miserable little cries, wailing that he had no inspiration and could not write anything, before eventually having no choice but to clutch his hair, sit back up, and continue.

He found the image adorable.

Even now, while worrying that An Ruo might discover the secrets he had hidden inside the room, Ulysses could not stop the smile from appearing at the corners of his lips.

Ulysses checked the time and decided to go find An Ruo.

He did not actually care whether the new book could be written.

Even if An Ruo wrote half a chapter in ten years, Ulysses would stay beside him and coax him into happiness.

Compared with those things, he cared far more about An Ruo’s mood and physical condition.

If An Ruo wanted to write, Ulysses would cooperate and let him stay inside the little black room to write without disturbing him.

But it could not be allowed to affect his health or his mood.

Seeing that enough time had passed, Ulysses decided to call An Ruo out for dinner.

An Ruo had said to let him out before dinner, but he had never specified how long before dinner.

Noon was before dinner.

Morning was also before dinner.

If necessary, they could simply eat dinner one star-hour earlier.

Or two star-hours earlier.

There was no rule saying that dinner had to be eaten at a particular time.

Ulysses decided that from now on, dinner at the Marshal’s residence would always be served earlier.

Ulysses arrived in front of the special room on the underground floor and knocked on the door.

Naturally, Ulysses would never lock the door from the outside. Even though An Ruo had specifically asked him to, Ulysses had still left a way for the door to be opened from within.

Before long, the door opened from the inside, and An Ruo appeared before him.

He looked somewhat dejected. Clearly, he had failed to achieve his goal.

This was entirely within Ulysses’s expectations, and he had long since prepared words of comfort.

What puzzled him, however, was that when An Ruo looked at him, there was also a trace of nervousness and...

Fear.

Ulysses’s heart sank.

He suspected that the things inside the room had already been discovered.

He pinched his palm and forced himself to remain calm before asking gently,

“Were you unable to finish it? There’s no need to rush something like this. Take your time.”

An Ruo nodded, but still did not dare step outside. He looked timidly at Ulysses, bit his lip, and asked, “Then... are you going to punish me?”

“Punish... you?” Ulysses froze slightly, confused.

An Ruo whispered, “Those... instruments of punishment...”

An Ruo had wanted a little black room where he could lock himself away and write.

So Ulysses had prepared a dazzling variety of instruments of punishment.

There were so many that An Ruo hardly dared look at them.

Authors suffering from procrastination who wanted to write but simply could not make themselves move often wished that someone would hold a knife to them and force them to write.

When An Ruo was feeling lazy, he had imagined scenarios like that in his head too.

But he had never expected Ulysses to actually prepare all those things.

An Ruo had accidentally opened one of the cabinets and caught only the tiniest glimpse of what was inside.

It had frightened him so badly that he trembled.

He desperately wanted to get something written, but the more anxious he became, the less he could write. Nor could he bring himself to fake some results and deceive Ulysses.

And now Ulysses had come.

An Ruo had nothing to show him for inspection.

At this moment, An Ruo felt that Ulysses was even more terrifying than a strict school disciplinary director.

When he thought of those horrifying instruments of punishment, he became even more frightened.