Severe punishment

Ivy immediately replied: "I suddenly remembered what happened before."

"What happened before?" Lorraine asked, and then thought about what it meant, "...Last time was an accident."

Ivy was still looking at him with that look.

Like looking at a prisoner.

After the age of fourteen, Lorraine rarely encountered such gazes.

"We had a certain trust issue at that time, that's undeniable," he said.

Ivy immediately emphasized: "You don't trust me at all!"

After she finished speaking, she added: "But it's understandable."

This sentence made Lorraine feel complicated, and he would rather she didn't understand.

"...But understanding doesn't mean I will accept it," Ivy emphasized. "I understand you just because I have empathy, but it doesn't mean I will approve of you."

Lorraine said, "I'm not going to examine you this time."

Ivy continued to look at him with that look: "Thank you, noble Admiral Hector, for finally showing your precious compassion to a civilian like me - do I need to take off my hat to salute you and thank you?"

"No, Ms. Ivy, the empathetic one," Lorraine sat down, "Come, let's talk about you and controlling the silver ring snake."

Talk about controlling the Silver Ring Serpent.

That's great. Ivy thought the only topic they talked about snakes was snake handling.

Ivy glanced at the broken door anxiously: "But is it convenient here?"

"There's nothing wrong between you and me," Lorraine asked. "What's the inconvenience?"

For the first time, Ivy felt that the word "innocent" was not so clean.

She sat on her little bed and hid the torn cover of "Floating" behind her. Fortunately, Lorraine didn't seem to be very interested in the book at the moment, otherwise she might have ridiculed her for "still reading a love story" -

When Song Feng saw Ivy reading Jane Eyre for the first time, he laughed at her loudly, saying that she only knew how to read those love stories and that it was "not grand enough".

This caused Ivy severe reading difficulties. From then on, whenever she read a book involving love between men and women, she had to avoid people. Especially after Lily kindly recommended those adult romance novels to her, Ivy almost never read a love story openly again.

Lorraine looked like those strict teachers in middle school who would criticize students, "You are the worst class of students I have ever taught," "Each generation is worse than the previous one," "The earth will be destroyed in your hands sooner or later," "Focus on your studies and stop looking at those messy things every day" -

Generally speaking, underage students cannot undergo brain modification surgery. Some universities also require students to undergo physical examinations and do not allow students who have undergone brain modification to take the entrance examination. Most of the students in the middle school that Ivy attended were refugees and students from poor families. For them, the most comfortable life is to work hard on exams, get into a good university, choose a good major, and then be able to work better for the capitalists.

People like Ivy who apply to join the expedition team through their own efforts are really a drop in the bucket.

Although a lot of mess happened after the application was successful, Ivy never regretted her choice.

Of course, it would be better if there wasn't this messy marriage.

She sat on the bed obediently, like an ordinary student, accepting the teachings of her serious teacher.

Lorraine asked, "Where did the silver ring snake come from?"

Ivy replied: "Rescue."

"Help?"

"Well... because the new safe zone is industrial land, factories are going to be built there; there are many small rivers in this area, so they need to be filled..."

Ivy explained the whole story, and Lorraine's brows furrowed more and more.

Thank God, he didn't say things like "overestimating one's abilities" or "wasting one's effort".

Her opinion of Lorraine changed a little - maybe he wasn't the type to bully small animals.

He seems to enjoy nothing more than bullying humans and androids, humanoid creatures.

Luo Lin asked: "So it was Yu Mo who rescued him?"

Ivy nodded and added: "I will feed it too - but I really didn't try to tame the snake! Yu Mo said that the silver ring snake is very poisonous, so I stayed far away from it - there is no way I can control it!"

Lorraine said, "I know you only train dogs - train a silver snake to bite the person in charge? I prefer to believe that you trained a loose snake to bite him."

Ivy: “…”

"What about the dispute with the person in charge?" Lorraine said, "Someone said they heard you arguing."

"It's not a quarrel..."

Ivy was frustrated and recounted the conversation with the person in charge.

"I don't understand, it was clearly an accident," she said.

Lorraine stood up: "It does look like an accident."

"It seems?" Ivy stood up, thought seriously for a moment, and suddenly realized, "You mean, someone actually tamed the snake and blamed it on me and Yu Mo?"

She saw Lorraine had that "idiot" expression on her face again.

"More than that," Lorraine changed the subject, "you need to tell me what happened yesterday in detail. Nothing should be left out."

He really likes to use sentences like "you need" and "if you...must...". There is a sense of oppression in it, but it is clear and organized. At least now Ivy knows what to say and what to do.

She actively cooperated and told me everything that happened during the day.

Lorraine listened quietly.

Ivy's attention gradually shifted from his narration to his face. After not seeing him for a long time, his appearance was still handsome enough to make Ivy slightly suffocate. His eyes, like black spinels, were as calm as usual, like gems mined from mines and carved thousands of times, with a fair, objective rationality and alienation. His dark, slightly curly hair was so thick that Ivy envied him. Perhaps because he had just finished a meeting, he was wearing a more capable and exquisite military uniform today. Unlike usual, he did not have a black belt around his waist, but he wore a golden badge on his chest that indicated his status. The white shirt underneath was tied tightly, covering his beautiful collarbone, revealing only his motionless Adam's apple.

She almost forgot what she was saying afterwards, her eyes were always on the collar of his shirt.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Lorraine said, "Ms. Ivy, is there anything wrong with my attire?"

Ivy said, "Oh, no."

"That's good," he raised his chin slightly and pointed out grimly, "Your gaze made me think there was something dirty on my face."

Ivy: “…”

"So," Lorraine concluded, "you've never been alone with the silver snake, but you've been alone with Yu Mo many times - did you tell him about the conflict with the person in charge?"

"How could that be possible?" Ivy said. "I'm not the kind of kid who would run home and cry to my parents if I was bullied."

"You define Yu Mo as 'father'?"

"It's just a metaphor, a metaphor!" Ivy gritted her teeth. "Exaggerated rhetoric."

Lorraine said: "At least it proves that you do have this tendency. You have never used words like 'dad' to describe Song Xu or Song Feng, nor have you used it to describe me."

Ivy secretly thought that if it weren't for that handsome face, Lorraine would have received many beatings for his mouth when he was a child.

He continued to ask seriously: "What do you and Yu Mo talk about when you are alone together?"

“Animal rescue and stuff,” Ivy said. “And philosophy.”

Lorraine seemed to be hearing nonsense: "Philosophy? Yu Mo? Excuse me, if you want to discuss philosophy, turn right now and spend an afternoon free-fighting with lions on the grassland. It will be more rewarding than chatting with Yu Mo."

Ivy: "...he did very well in his philosophy elective."

"If grades are an indicator of cognitive ability," Lorraine said, "I'll start a course on 'How to Read People's Minds' right now and give you full marks immediately."

Ivy was speechless.

He changed into a relaxed posture, but still very elegant: "One last question left, classmate Ai Wei, why is Yu Mo's protective suit in your room?"

Ivy turned around and saw the protective suit she had worn.

“…My suit was torn and I had one in the wash,” Ivy said. “He was so generous as to lend it to me.”

The word "generous" was emphasized.

Lorraine nodded: "I will propose to increase the number of protective suits for the expedition team."

These were the most comforting words Ivy had heard today.

He stood up and said, "You continue to rest in the room. Contact me if you have anything."

Ivy said, "What are you going to do?"

Lorraine answered her briefly: "Bring back the silver ring snake."

Ivy: “…”

"It is indeed controlled by someone," Lorraine said without raising his head, "Don't run away, I'll take care of it."

Ivy whispered: "...I don't want to wander around."

"Don't go see Yu Mo either," Luo Lin's eyes were full of warnings, "Don't do anything stupid."

Ivy said, "Is there anything that is not stupid in your eyes?"

Lorraine paused and said, "If you learn to ask me for help, you won't be stupid."

He took off the badge on his military uniform and threw it away - the glittering golden object fell steadily into Ivy's palm. She held the expensive badge in her hand, extremely confused.

"Someone is trying to make things difficult for you. Don't be stupid and follow them," Lorraine said. "Time is running out. Xin Lan is looking for the silver ring snake and may not be able to make it in time. Take the badge. It can temporarily protect you from going to prison."

Ivy said, "I didn't expect you to be so nice to your ex-wife."

"Normally," Lorraine said, "Ms. Ivy, I didn't expect you to be so nice to every ex-boyfriend."

Ivy: “…”

He walked away, leaving Ivy alone.

Ivy would not leave the room, but she had no mood to read the romance novel now. She held the badge in her hand, and within ten minutes, she heard furtive movements at the door.

It was Song Xu. He poked his head out and brought Ivy the love soup he had cooked.

"I heard that you didn't eat much at noon," Song Xu said nervously, "You must be hungry now. The cafeteria has rules, so I went fishing and made soup according to the recipe on the Internet—"

Remove the lid.

The dark fish soup was bubbling with boiling water.

Ivy glanced.

She said, "Wow, that's excellent witches' soup - but did you forget to put the frog in it?"

Song Xu complained: "...You are talking more and more like Teacher Lorraine now!!!"

Ivy was worried: "Oh no, this thing is really contagious?"

No wonder she felt her moral character was declining.

Fortunately, Song Xu also brought other food.

He felt a little embarrassed. After all, he was about to return to the official safe zone and had almost eaten up all the food he had stored, with only a few dry and dehydrated bread rolls left.

Ivy didn't mind at all.

——Except for the death fish soup which seemed to be a great waste of food, the appearance of the soup had a British "stargazing" style——Matsuaki's Anglo-Saxon ancestry was not only reflected in his hair and eye color, but also in his cooking skills which could put him on the gallows at any time.

She ate the bread and filled her stomach before asking Song Xu.

"How's Yu Mo doing? Have you seen him?"

Song Xu shook his head: "...Not very good."

Ivy asked, "What?"

"Robert and Tsiri were investigating the death of a soldier nearby," Song Xu said. "They knew about your relationship with Lorraine, so they didn't interrogate you. But Yu Mo... Yu Mo was sent to the interrogation room half an hour ago."

Ivy stood up quickly.

She couldn't just turn a blind eye - she knew what kind of characters Tsri and Robert were, and what they were capable of!!!

In her palm, the golden badge that Lorraine gave her was cold. Ivy held it tightly and asked Song Xu, "Where are they?"

Due to the shortage of manpower, Iris's people are also responsible for the security work outside the interrogation room.

Song Xu was popular and brought Ivy into the interrogation room very smoothly. Through the door, Ivy could hear Yu Mo's painful voice inside, low and slightly panting, and his breathing became increasingly weak.

Song Xu bravely helped her forcefully open the door. Ivy held the badge, her forehead covered with sweat, and raised it to tell the two people in the room.

"… Admiral Hector is handling this matter," she said. "He will find out the truth. Before that, please don't resort to lynching - it's illegal!"

The room was filled with a strong smell of incense. The strong, passionate and lustful scent almost made Ivy vomit. After her nose had finally adjusted to the smell, she smelled a strong smell of blood.

——The end of the smell of blood is Yu Mo.

Without anyone's protection, six of his nails had been pulled out, and the hands that gently combed Ivy's hair and mended her clothes were now bleeding.

There were also multiple whip marks on his cheeks and body. His clean white shirt was torn by the whipping, revealing the beautifully defined muscles underneath. The whip had been so fierce that the skin and flesh at the scars had slightly flipped open, which was shocking to the eye.

Ivy calmed herself down and said, "You are breaking the law."

"Illegal?" Robert laughed, "Don't forget, we are the enforcers of the law."

Ci Li crushed the cigarette in his hand into the ashtray, squinted his eyes, looked at Ivy, and suddenly smiled in an ambiguous way: "Do you think Lorraine's hands are clean, little cutie?"

Ivy held up the badge and said sternly, "You can't torture the prisoner like this before you find evidence."

"We've found the evidence," Tsiri tapped the communicator in his hand. "The body of the silver ring snake that bit people has been found by our people. As long as we scan it, we can know whether anyone has touched its brain—"

"But," Tsiri changed the subject, "it is not necessary to convict you."

Ivy said, "What is my crime?"

"You broke into the interrogation room without permission and acted aggressively," Tsiri stood up, his shirt tied tightly on his chest, his red hair like flames, and he tilted his head. "How should I punish you, my little cutie?"

No more unnecessary punishment.

Now, smelling this suffocating perfume and listening to his weird talk was punishment enough, even enough to offset all the wrong things she had done before.

Ci Li obviously didn't think so. He relit a cigarette, squinted his eyes slightly, and looked at Ivy's figure in the smoke: "Also... I once met a girl who looked very similar to Miss Ivy in the Dark Zone. She was as agile as you..."

"There are many people with similar figures," Song Xu said, "Alice from our team is very similar to her."

Robert said, "Yeah, yeah."

Ci Li slapped him hard: "What do you have to do with this?"

Robert bowed, covered his face, and stopped talking.

Ivy didn't have time to talk to them in detail. She was very worried about Yu Mo who was being held up - he had closed his eyes and was apparently fainted from the pain.

She immediately walked over and opened the shackles on Yu Mo's wrists, ankles and neck. As soon as they were opened, he fell uncontrollably and limply. Fortunately, Song Xu was alert - he took one step first and hugged Yu Mo in time, preventing him from falling into Ivy's arms.

Ivy discovered that the scars on Yu Mo's body were still bleeding, and some of the exposed flesh was faintly black, a deep black color.

She had no bandages or disinfectant, and when she looked around she saw only a bottle of high-proof alcohol on the shelf.

Ivy remembered that alcohol could be used for disinfection.

Not particularly sure, she picked up the alcohol and asked Song Xu: "Can alcohol be used for disinfection? If I pour it on Yu Mo's wound now, will it kill the bacteria?"

"Just pour it," Lorraine's calm voice rang out, "The sterilization effect is uncertain, but the killing effect is very obvious now."

Ivy tightened the alcohol bottle cap in time.

Turning around, I saw Lorraine in military uniform.

Following behind him was Xin Lan - Xin Lan was wearing white gloves for a rare occasion, holding a silver ring snake covered with cement, smiling and winking at her as she greeted him.

Lorraine looked murderous.

It was like throwing the dying Yu Mo into a pool of high-concentration alcohol - no, a pool of sulfuric acid at any time.

Tsiri smiled and said, "Oh, I knew you would come. Lorraine, your wife seems to be in some serious trouble. Let me see, the man suspected of murder, and now with... um, what's the name?"

Song Xu said: "Song Xu."

"Oh, Songxu, you are Lorraine's student like Ivy?" Ci Li smiled complacently, "Lorraine, it seems that you are also a failure as a teacher."

Song Xu supported Yu Mo steadily, and he felt a little happy.

Today, someone linked him to Ivy and said that he and Ivy were companions.

We are already companions, and are only one word away from being partners!!!

Lorraine's face was as cold as frost. He ignored Ci Li's ridicule and asked Ivy, "Didn't I tell you to wait for me in the room?"

Ivy said: "But if I don't come, they will probably torture Yu Mo to death."

Yu Mo's blood is still flowing and his lips have turned completely white. If this continues, he will really die of anemia.

Lorraine's lips moved twice, trying to hold back from making any sharp remarks.

He turned around.

Ivy noticed that there seemed to be disappointment in the other person's eyes.

"Cris," Lorraine said in a voice that was emotionless, "Ivy did a lot of inappropriate things today."

Ivy said nothing.

His voice was cold: "To come here with an idiot whose brain is still in puberty, such a despicable behavior——"

Ivy's heart sank.

Robert was dumbfounded.

Ci Li swept the outer ear with a peacock feather.

Song Xu was wondering who the "idiot whose brain is stuck in puberty" that Lorraine mentioned was. He turned around in confusion, but didn't see Song Feng. The other party didn't come with him today.

"She must be severely punished," Lorraine said calmly. "After committing such a serious crime, she must at least write a ten-word self-criticism before she can be forgiven."