Chapter 83: Punishment
Faced with Yi Ning, who looked like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, Lu Zheng was at a loss.
He could only keep threatening her with force.
“I’ll really hit you, you know.”
“Getting beaten up really hurts.”
But these threats had no effect on Yi Ning, who had already prepared herself to get beaten.
Under Lu Zheng’s repeated intimidation, she could still laugh and provoke him.
“Then go ahead and hit me.”
“Surely not, surely not? The great hero isn’t scared to discipline a member of an evil organization, is he?”
“What a loser~ loser~”
Faced with Yi Ning’s performance, Lu Zheng felt helpless.
Due to the imbalance in their needs, his position had been lower than Yi Ning’s from the start.
In this unequal dynamic, even his next moves were subtly constrained by Yi Ning.
He had to fulfill his promise—give her a good beating for not cooperating.
Otherwise, knowing Yi Ning’s personality—
If he didn’t punish her now after thwarting her evil plan, he could forget about doing it later.
She would latch onto this as an excuse to argue with him all day long.
Thinking this far, Lu Zheng sighed and let go of Yi Ning’s hand.
“Huh?”
Yi Ning landed on the ground.
She breathed a sigh of relief, though a trace of dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes.
But that hint of dissatisfaction quickly vanished, replaced by smugness.
“What’s this? The great hero is going to let an evil scientist who arbitrarily enacts her wicked plans go? So kind of you.”
Though she continued with her provocations, deep down, Yi Ning was somewhat dissatisfied with Lu Zheng’s actions.
Based on what she knew of him, he wasn’t someone who would easily let her off just because of her gender, especially after committing wrongdoing.
Just last week, he’d stuffed her head into one of her evil inventions—proof enough of that.
Could it be that becoming friends with Lu Zheng brought such perks?
Yi Ning began calculating.
With plans to develop long-term in D-City, she’d originally intended to foster good relations with local heroes. But now that they truly were friends, she felt a bit of regret.
Not getting beaten was nice, but as a member of an evil organization, it was hard to accept going unpunished.
As a villain, she could choose to evade punishment herself—but for the hero, the executioner, how could he just let the villain go?
It left her feeling extremely unbalanced and irritated.
Without realizing it, her words began to take on a sharper tone.
“So generous, huh? I wonder if the great hero is this kind to every member of an evil organization?”
By the end, her sarcastic tone turned somewhat cold.
Yi Ning turned her head, waved a hand at Lu Zheng, and intended to leave her base and go home to rest.
She really didn’t feel like seeing Lu Zheng right now.
“Smack!”
Lu Zheng grabbed Yi Ning just as she was about to leave.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
He pulled her wrist, dragging her back to his side.
“I don’t believe I said you could leave yet, did I?”
His pixel screen displayed a devilish grin made of pixel dots.
Before Yi Ning could retort, he glanced around, then dragged her by the wrist toward the chair by the showerhead used for rinsing off near the hot spring.
“Huh?”
Yi Ning looked a little puzzled.
She tilted her head in confusion, didn’t resist, and let Lu Zheng pull her to the chair.
Lu Zheng sat down, grabbed Yi Ning’s arm, and flipped her over his lap.
Seeing the scene unfold, even if she had still been confused, Yi Ning could now guess what was about to happen.
Her expression turned a little timid, but a trace of excitement flashed in her eyes.
“Just a guess,”
Yi Ning turned her head toward Lu Zheng.
“But is this heading toward a spanking?”
“What do you think?”
This time, Lu Zheng’s pixel screen didn’t show anything, but the hand pressing on Yi Ning’s waist silently confirmed it.
“You’re such a pervert.”
Yi Ning once again flashed her signature provocative grin.
“All this talk of punishment is just a front—you really just want to indulge your dirty little desires, don’t you?”
“……”
Lu Zheng almost lost it.
A string of ellipses appeared on his pixel screen.
After a moment’s thought, he tried to defend himself.
“I mean, I can’t exactly punch you in the face, can I? What if I accidentally ruin your looks?”
“Didn’t you used to do just that? Just last week, you stuffed my head into my evil invention and even blew up my base.”
Yi Ning pouted, visibly displeased.
Clearly, she was still holding a grudge about what happened last week.
Month-end was approaching, her evil budget was already stretched thin, and now she had to spend a large chunk to rebuild her base.
There was no way she’d let that go for at least ten days or half a month.
Faced with Yi Ning’s protest, Lu Zheng’s pixel screen displayed a helpless emoji.
“Last week, our relationship wasn’t this good yet, was it?”
“Now we’re at least friends. If I’m going to teach you a lesson, I should at least pick a more appropriate way.”
He continued his justification.
Unfortunately, Yi Ning always had a way of cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
“So spanking counts as an appropriate lesson?”
“Doesn’t it?”
Lu Zheng’s pixel screen displayed a “correct” circle.
His tone even had a hint of self-righteousness.
“Didn’t your parents spank you when you were little and misbehaved?”
“No.”
A rare shadow flickered across Yi Ning’s gaze.
“When I was little, my parents were very busy. They were rarely around.”
“Uh…”
Lu Zheng froze.
He felt like he might’ve touched a nerve.
“Sorr—”
He had just begun to apologize when Yi Ning, having already returned to her usual self, interrupted him.
A provocative look appeared once more in her eyes.
“And all this talk about parents—don’t tell me you’re trying to become my father?”
She deliberately put on a falsely fearful look and cast a disgusted gaze at Lu Zheng.
“I almost forgot I’m a girl right now.”
“To think you’d want to be the father of a blooming young girl… Mr. Lu Zheng, you really are an unbelieva—OW!”
Before Yi Ning could finish, a sharp pain from her butt made her scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Overwhelmed by the irritation Yi Ning had stirred, Lu Zheng landed a hard slap on her round little butt.
Feeling the tight elasticity in his right palm, Lu Zheng subconsciously flexed his fingers in the air, as if relishing the softness he’d just experienced.
Originally, he truly hadn’t harbored any ** thoughts.
But now… he couldn’t be so sure.