Chapter Eight: I Think You Desire My Body

Chapter Eight: I Think You’re Craving My Body

The next morning, Rose was the first to wake, her soldier’s discipline ensuring she rose early. Her slender waist traced a graceful arc as she stretched languidly. Glancing at the opposite cot where a certain Yun lay, she paused, recalling the young man who dared only flirt verbally last night, never crossing the line. A faint, enchanting smile curved her lips—a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, though, regrettably, no one was awake to witness it.

“Are you truly not afraid I’ll let my animal instincts take over?” she’d teased in the dark.

“Not afraid,” he’d replied.

“Fine then, but you’d better watch out.”

The tension was palpable, punctuated by the crack of knuckles in the darkness.

“Haha, I was just joking,” Yun Yang chuckled awkwardly.

“I knew you were joking. Otherwise, you’d already be kneeling and singing ‘Conquered’ by now.”

“Didn’t expect you to have such a quirk. I can’t afford to mess with you—you’re a real boss.”

“Ow, that hurt!” Out of the darkness, a pillow flew, squarely striking Yun Yang’s nose, making it sting and water. He grabbed the culprit—soft, yes, a pillow, but it hurt this much? Super soldiers truly lived up to their name.

“Throw my pillow back. I’ll need it tonight,” Rose demanded from the other side.

“No way. If it’s on my bed, it’s mine—won fair and square. Why should I return it?” Yun Yang retorted with righteous indignation.

Amid the rustling sounds of someone getting out of bed, Rose’s clear voice sounded: “Well, I’ll have to come get it myself. If I use too much force in the dark and hit somewhere I shouldn’t, don’t blame me.”

“Hmph, as if I’m scared. Who knows who’ll end up with the upper hand,” Yun Yang blustered.

Rose strode to his bedside. With her super-soldier vision, she easily found her way under the covers, yanked her pillow, and nearly dragged Yun Yang off the cot—he’d been clutching it to his chest. Flustered, he barely managed to keep his balance, breaking out in a sweat. Though he wasn’t tall, he certainly didn’t want the embarrassment of falling off the bed.

Noticing his pillow had vanished from his arms, he complained, “Brute! Robbery! I’m calling the police.”

Rose’s slightly haughty voice answered, “Go ahead—I’ve got a comrade whose father is the chief of police.”

“Abuse of power! Is there no justice…” Yun Yang grumbled under his breath.

“What are you going to do about it?” Rose mocked, her voice bright and cheerful.

“Careful, I might smack your butt while you’re sleeping,” Yun Yang shot back, determined to regain the upper hand.

“We’ll see how many punches you can take.”

Yun Yang was utterly defeated.

“Sleep, sleep. Who’d want to smack your butt anyway? It’s probably all muscle.” With that, Yun Yang pretended to snore, the sound so obviously fake it was laughable.

Rose wanted to protest that her behind was neither muscular nor unshapely, but saying so felt too brazen, as if she were inviting Yun Yang to touch it. She let the matter drop and closed her eyes.

Next morning, Rose dressed and walked to Yun Yang’s bedside, where he was still lost in dreams. Recalling how he’d pulled the covers over her last night, she gave the cot’s leg a hard kick—the cot was innocent, of course—and yelled, “Time to get up! Even the pigs are awake and you’re still sleeping.”

Yun Yang cracked his eyes open, mumbling, “Pigs? What pigs? What’s wrong with pigs?”

Rose was left speechless.

“Oh, right. If the pigs are up, I’d better get up too.”

Rose had the distinct feeling Yun Yang was calling her a pig, but she had no evidence. She returned to her own cot and simply sat, quietly watching Yun Yang put on his coat and get out of bed.

Awkward under her gaze, Yun Yang asked, “Why are you staring at me? Don’t tell me you’re attracted to my looks—craving my body?”

“Who’s craving your body? I’m just seeing who managed to sleep later than a pig,” Rose shot back, a faint and fleeting blush coloring her delicate features, though her words were merciless.

Dressed, Yun Yang went about his usual routine, intending to brush his teeth, but the unfamiliar surroundings reminded him he wasn’t at home anymore. The moment his mortgage was paid off, fate pulled the rug out from under him—what a loss. With no other choice, he turned to Rose for help, only to find her still watching him intently. Inspiration struck; perhaps he could turn the tables. He dramatically hugged his chest and declared, “You’re not really craving my body, are you? Let me tell you: even if you get my body, you’ll never have my heart. Give up, girl.”

Rose spat in exasperation, cheeks flushed, “As if! Hurry up and wash your face, we’re leaving soon.”

Seeing her flustered, Yun Yang gave himself a big mental thumbs-up. Score one for him—finally.

On Earth, at the edge of a nameless desert in North America, the leader of the continent’s largest underground organization—the Mafia—was deep in conversation with a garishly painted, alluring woman. Each had two bodyguards in tow.

This woman was none other than Morgana, the legendary greatest evil of the known universe, fresh from achieving the epic feat of toppling the King of the Gods. She was in high spirits. The man beside her was insignificant by cosmic standards—Zorn, the Mafia boss.

With a note of skepticism, Morgana asked, “They say your Mafia is the largest in North America, infamous for its wickedness.”

“Isn’t all of North America basically the whole world?” Zorn, though a minor figure, took pride in his homeland’s status as the world’s police. This pride had twisted into arrogance—he equated North America with the world, dismissing all other nations.

Morgana found his worldview laughably narrow, but didn’t dwell on it. She teased, “You know, aliens are attacking Earth…”

She hadn’t finished before Zorn interrupted, “What’s the fa… Skull Gang doesn’t care about that.”

Morgana chuckled softly and decided to lay her cards on the table. “Very well. I’ve brought nothing but gold bars…”

Again, she was cut off. Even a clay idol has its limits for patience—much less Morgana, a chief deity of her race. Her expression darkened.

“Bitch, who are you?”

Morgana herself remained unmoved, but her demon warriors—who would give their lives for her—were incensed at this human’s insolence. One was about to act, but Morgana raised a hand to stop him. She was in a good mood and wanted to play.

“If that’s not enough, I’ll add more,” she said, signaling her minions to lay more gold on the table. “I need fearless warriors.”

Zorn watched as three fools piled gold on the table, thinking he’d struck it rich again. He picked up a cigar, sniffed it theatrically, and asked, “Fearless warriors—to protect an Asian bitch like you? Ha! All I want is gold.”

He signaled one of his men with a throat-slitting gesture. The underling pulled out a gold-plated AK and unleashed a hail of bullets on Morgana and her two companions—no, her two fellow demons.

Without bothering to check the carnage, Zorn gestured to another lackey to light his cigar. This one, unusually clumsy today, nearly singed Zorn’s eyebrows. Furious, Zorn leapt up and pummeled his subordinate, cursing him with a string of expletives.

At that moment, a woman’s voice rose behind him.

“You… emptied a whole clip into my chest. Was that supposed to be fun? Is it so amusing? Who said you can buy loyalty with money, you scum.”

She punctuated her words with two crisp slaps to her demon underling, who didn’t dare dodge, afraid his queen might miss. After venting her irritation, she gave a signal. The little demon raised his pulse cannon at the three humans and barked, “Kneel! Address her as Queen Morgana!”

Suddenly, the three Skull Gang members realized something was very wrong. These were no humans—bullets had no effect. They were definitely aliens. They dropped to their knees, grumbling, “Why are you aliens speaking Chinese, Queen Morgana?”

The scene shifted to the demon flagship, Devil’s Wings, parked in low Earth orbit. Queen Morgana was chatting with her demons.

“These little brats—pick a leader among yourselves and look after them. Now that Holy Kaisa is dead, Earth is our new home. I’m giving you all a holiday, so go have fun—but stay safe.”

She laughed softly, her mood buoyant—after all, she’d just achieved an epic victory. What could make the Demon Queen happier?

A tall demon spoke up, “My Queen, they disrespected you. Should I behead them?”

“What’s the point? They’re just kids. Enough. The Queen needs to change—are you all going to follow me in? Go on, I’m taking a break.”

She glanced back with a smile—not quite bewitching, the makeup was too heavy—before striding into her private chamber.

To Morgana, all Earth’s humans were children. After all, as Demon Queen, she was over thirty thousand years old.

Among the demons outside, one who floated above the ground without legs mocked the tall one, “The Queen’s heart is moved, but it’s not for you, Atto.”

Atto replied candidly, “If the Queen loved me, she wouldn’t be my Queen.”

That was his truest conviction—a queen was to be revered, admired from afar, never defiled.

The scene shifted back to our protagonist, now riding Rose’s motorcycle. She sat behind him—a picturesque sight, the sort any man would envy.

But Yun Yang was far from happy. Rose refused to speak to him; he was nothing but a chauffeur. Even Xiao Yi had been taken from him, supposedly because “I don’t trust you with the supplies.” Now, all the convoy’s goods were stored in Xiao Yi’s virtual space.