Cohen called out "Lord Fusheng" once more.
Hearing the abruptly cut-off shout, Male Fusheng’s smile vanished. He glared at the Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) with dissatisfaction. "Continue. Do not stop."
Cohen cooperated, continuing to call out to Male Fusheng.
It was him—they were calling him. A ghostly, sinister screech echoed through the room like a vengeful spirit. Yes, keep calling. They were calling him, weren't they? Continue. Ah, he was here. It was wonderful.
Slowly, the volume began to fade. Male Fusheng frowned, clearly unsatisfied. He brandished his chains and roared, "Continue! Keep going! Louder!"
Cohen wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised his voice.
However, Male Fusheng remained unhappy. With a gloomy expression and furrowed brows, he shouted at the Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) by the bedside, "Louder! You, and you—every one of you... call me, and use my name."
The Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) in the room gathered around the bed, straining their throats to cry out, "Lord Fusheng!"
Listening to the cacophony of insect-like cries, Male Fusheng lay back on the bed, eyes squinting in enjoyment, letting out satisfied, strange chuckles from time to time.
Two hours later, Cohen and the rest of the group felt as though their throats were smoking. Cohen truly did not want to play this little game with the male Zerg anymore.
Yet, it was clear that the male Zerg on the bed was not yet satisfied. He gazed at them with bright, shimmering eyes, laughing happily.
Cohen found he could not resist such a look from the little male Zerg. He felt pained; though his throat was parched, he did not want the little male Zerg to be upset.
In truth, Male Fusheng’s demands were not particularly harsh—he was far less difficult than other male Zergs—it was just incredibly taxing on the vocal cords.
Fortunately, Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) recovered quickly, so there was no need to worry about permanent damage. His only concern now was whether the male Zerg would be agitated if they could no longer make a sound.
After a moment of silent deliberation, Cohen rasped a command, calling the military females from the doorway inside. Since he didn't know when the male Zerg would be satisfied, he decided to have them take turns with the others to ensure the male Zerg got what he wanted.
The volume in the room was significantly more powerful now; military females were simply different. Male Fusheng’s smile grew even more gratified, his laughter sounding both eerie and insane.
Hearing the male Zerg’s laughter, Cohen knew he was pleased. He instructed his assistant, a brown-haired Zerg (female/non-dominant morph), to prepare the equipment to check the male Zerg’s mental state.
As the assistant listened to the cries and the male Zerg’s strange cackling coming from the room, he muttered to himself that even without a check, it was obvious Male Fusheng’s mind was broken.
But the young assistant, his own throat raw, dared not speak it aloud. He knew that Cohen loved every precious male Zerg equally.
After the military females had been calling for a full three hours, Male Fusheng finally granted them a mercy and let them stop. The Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) breathed a sigh of relief.
Male Fusheng was tired of laughing as well.
The endless cries of "Lord Fusheng" had made his heart flutter. He was now absolutely certain that he had become Chris Fusheng. At the thought, the corners of his mouth twitched, unable to stay closed.
He had become Chris Fusheng. As for what happened to the real Chris Fusheng, that was none of his concern.
Of course, he would offer a one-second prayer in his heart, wishing for the other to be reincarnated quickly.
He was very satisfied with this body. He had permanently taken over the body of Fusheng. Fusheng was a deviant, but he was even more deranged, so this body was his now.
If anyone was unhappy, they could keep it to themselves; after all, he was the crazier one.
"Where is Alvano?" He had business with him.
He looked toward the corner from earlier, and sure enough, Alvano was still kneeling there obediently.
Hearing the male Zerg call him, Alvano immediately looked up and answered submissively, "Lord husband, I am here."
Just moments ago, Alvano had been counting his blessings that he hadn't made a sound when Fusheng woke up, or he would have been forced to call out for hours as well.
It seemed Fusheng had finally remembered him. Was it his turn to start calling now?
"Come here."
"As you wish, Lord husband." Although Alvano knew the male Zerg wanted to torture him, he responded obediently, preparing to crawl toward the bedside on his knees.
"Walk over here." Fusheng stared at Alvano, who was preparing to crawl, his brow knitting in annoyance.
Hearing this, Alvano looked stunned, suspecting he had misheard.
Watching the hesitant Alvano, Fusheng repeated, "Stand up and walk over. Do you understand?"
"I... I understand." Once Alvano heard clearly, he did not hesitate this time. He stood up cleanly, walked to the bedside, and knelt back down.
Fusheng looked at Alvano with a complex expression, shaking his legs, which were currently unable to move. His teeth ached.
"Give them a tip," Fusheng said to Alvano, nodding toward the door. He wasn't a cheapskate.
They had called well; this was their reward.
Alvano said nothing. He didn't know why Fusheng was being so generous to the Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) today, but he knew that Fusheng must have his reasons.
Thus, he obediently distributed a generous amount of Star Coins to each of them.
Every Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) was delighted by the tip, and they one after another asked Alvano if the lord needed anything else. They were willing to keep calling, as this was the first time they had ever received praise from a male Zerg.
Once finished, Alvano knelt back by the bed, waiting for the next command.
"Get up and open the locks," Fusheng said, glancing at the door and shaking the chains on his wrists.
Fusheng had thought about it: since Fusheng possessed no ghostly aura or malice, he gave up on the idea of using his ghostly powers to violently tear the chains apart.
"Lord husband, I don't have the key," Alvano said, looking at Fusheng in distress. He dared not stand up, as he knew Fusheng had only asked him to do so in order to unlock the chains.
Just then, Cohen entered with two doctors and some instruments.
"How is your lordship feeling now? Thank you for the Star Coins for the others," Cohen said, walking to the bedside with a look of concern.
"Very bad. Open them," Fusheng said, shaking his chains and turning his face away. He was unhappy and did not want to look at Cohen.
Cohen smiled, watched him for a moment, and changed the subject. "My lord, let us perform a small test. We will unlock them once we are finished."
"I won't. Open them. I want to lodge a complaint!" Fusheng kept his back to Cohen, rattling his chains until they rang, refusing to cooperate.
"My lord, it is just a few questions. The male Zerg who answers nicely gets candy." Cohen showed no impatience, instead coaxing Fusheng with infinite patience.
Hearing this, Fusheng immediately turned around. Answering a few questions—that was doable. He wanted the candy. His eyes sparkled as he stared at Cohen.
Seeing the shine in Fusheng’s eyes, Cohen knew he had him. He took a bag of candy from his assistant and shook it in front of Fusheng.
Fusheng’s eyes tracked the bag as it moved. Cohen was charmed by how cute he looked, just like a little kitten.
"This is your down payment, my lord." Cohen smiled and placed a single piece of candy into Fusheng's palm.
The candy was wrapped in colorful foil. Fusheng couldn't wait; he tore it open and popped the sweet, fragrant candy into his mouth. As the sweetness spread, his eyes curved happily.
The candy made Fusheng's cheeks bulge, but after a moment, he crunched it into pieces and swallowed.
Once finished, he continued to stare at the bag in Cohen’s hand. Fusheng licked his lips and swallowed his saliva.
He wanted more. It was so sweet; he hadn't tasted sugar in nearly two hundred years.
If his hands weren't chained, he would have snatched it away already. There would be no need to listen to the Zerg (female/non-dominant morph) drivel.
Answer questions and get candy—he liked this game.
Cohen placed one of Fusheng’s hands on an instrument and asked a series of nonsensical questions. The assistant recorded the answers while Fusheng, fully cooperative, kept his eyes fixed on the candy in Cohen’s hand throughout.
When all the questions were answered, Cohen looked at the expectant Fusheng and counted out three pieces of candy for him.
"You performed very well, my lord. This is your reward."
Fusheng ignored whatever Cohen was saying, cradling the candy and beginning to eat.
Cohen held the test results, his expression solemn as he watched the male Zerg eating his sweets.