"Proof of Intimacy"

Rete wrote several prescriptions for Lu Mi with mixed feelings.

"The medicines listed above all have a yang-tonifying effect, but Warden Lu will need to arrange for someone to purchase the ingredients himself."

Buying anything on Calamity Planet was inconvenient.

However, as the warden of First Prison, Lu Mi had channels for having people bring in goods.

Lu Mi accepted the prescriptions, and Rete quickly stuffed a small plastic bag into his hand.

"And this, Warden Lu... open it after you return to your quarters. I absolutely won't help you use it! But there are instructions inside."

Lu Mi gave Rete a suspicious look but did not ask further.

Rete was dependable in his work. In Lu Mi's eyes, he was a mature, steady, and respectable doctor.

Lu Mi tucked the items into his pocket, then said after some thought, "Rete, Yu Tu's condition isn't quite right."

Lu Mi had already vaguely sensed it before.

But Calamity Planet's harsh weather, combined with Yu Tu's overwritten memories, gave his irritability a reasonable explanation.

Yet today, when Yu Tu had pinned him to the ground in Cell Block 05 and rubbed him raw like a madman, that feeling had grown even stronger.

Yu Tu's condition definitely could not be explained merely by "losing his memories," "having his Energy Crystal dug out," "being thrown into prison," and "failing to adapt to the environment."

Rete asked, "How so?"

Lu Mi briefly considered his wording.

"Yu Tu now... demands things to a terrifying extent."

Lu Mi took a deep breath.

"Throughout the whole process, rather than seeming like a person, he was more like a beast acting entirely on instinct, without a shred of reason.

I even felt... that in his eyes, I was nothing more than an object for him to vent on."

Rete: "..."

OMG!

What had he just heard?

Was it too late to cover his ears now?

Why did he have to hear this?

Sob, Mother, I'm no longer pure!

Rete kept a calm expression while inwardly falling apart. "So?"

"So I wanted to ask whether there's any way to make a Diamond Energy Master... undergo such a change."

Rete frowned.

"You mean physical modification? But because Diamond Energy Masters possess such powerful origins, they are extremely resistant to outside interference. Therefore, there has not yet been a successful case of a Diamond Energy Master's body being modified anywhere in the interstellar world."

If an ordinary person lost an arm or leg, current interstellar technology could install mechanical limbs and even synchronize them with the person's thoughts. But Diamond Energy Masters were different.

"In cases like Commander Yu Tu's... I've seen similar ones.

Some people, in order to satisfy their personal desires, use drugs to alter people's bodies and cultivate exclusive slaves.

An overdose of those drugs can make them irritable and lose control. Even if such people are lucky enough to survive, they become useless.

And if those drugs are used on an Energy Master, the stronger the Energy Master's rank, the less affected they are by the drugs, and the shorter the drugs remain in their body.

It took at least half a month to escort Commander Yu Tu from Blue Star to Calamity Planet. Even if there really had been drugs in his body, they would have been metabolized and broken down long ago."

As for the possibility that an escort officer had tampered with him after he arrived on Calamity Planet, Rete did not even consider it.

Unless that escort officer had been in a hurry to die.

"Of course, there is another possibility—"

Rete suddenly looked directly into Lu Mi's eyes, his expression extraordinarily grave.

Lu Mi's heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"An alchemist. An alchemist developed a drug capable of making a Diamond Energy Master lose control.

Warden Lu, my suggestion is that you seek confirmation from Lord Lan regarding Commander Yu Tu's condition."

Lu Mi drew a deep breath. "That's the only option."

—

Lu Mi left First Prison and returned to his warden's quarters.

The moment he entered, he was greeted by terrible news!

He had left in too much of a hurry today and forgotten to put the cat teasers back where they belonged!

The several cat teasers he had pressed beneath the bookshelf were already beyond saving, reduced to splinters of wood, shredded string, and bits of fluff scattered across the floor.

"Black Shadow! Get your ass out here!"

The quarters were utterly quiet. Lu Mi inhaled deeply, then used the connection between owner and pet mech to accurately locate Black Shadow in a corner.

Hah, it even knew how to disguise itself.

Its huge body was buried among the clutter, yet it had somehow failed to hide its massive metal butt.

Lu Mi kicked it.

Black Shadow let out an "Awoo!" and poked its head out while clutching its head.

"You bastard! Didn't I warn you not to touch my cat teasers?"

"Awoo!"

"What are you pretending to be pitiful for? Do you think you're more pitiful than I am? Do you know how long I'd been saving those? And you chewed them all to pieces?"

With a frosty expression, Lu Mi proposed its punishment.

"Tonight, you're not allowed to sleep beside me."

A pet mech drew its energy from a Diamond Energy Master's Energy Origin. As long as it slept near its owner, it could "recharge."

The closer it was to its owner, the faster it "recharged."

For hard-bodied Black Shadow, this really counted as punishment.

"AWOOO!!!"

Lu Mi sneered. "Stop pretending to be pitiful. It won't work."

Could it possibly be more pitiful than his dead cat teasers?

There had even been a golden-feather cat teaser that he had collected for ages and taken out to play with for the first time today. It was rare! A limited-edition Meow-Meow Cat Toy release from last year! Even throwing more money at it would not get him another one now!

Lu Mi raised a hand and took off his clothes.

Black Shadow, which had been looking pitiful just a second ago, saw the miserable state of his body and immediately let out a frightening low "Awoo."

Lu Mi glanced sideways at it.

An owner and pet mech were connected in heart and mind, and the pet mech could sense when its owner was in danger.

But while Lu Mi had been with Yu Tu, he had cut off his connection with Black Shadow.

So Black Shadow did not know he had been hurt.

Now Black Shadow was cursing, shouting that it would bite the bastard who had hurt its beloved owner into scraps!

Lu Mi curled his lips.

"Stop howling. Yu Tu did this."

Mm... yes, that Yu Tu—the one you wanted to cuddle with, but who ignored you.

Just now, he cuddled with me a little too much, so he left some marks."

Black Shadow stopped growling. Though it was a mechanical mech incapable of subtle facial expressions, it somehow managed to convey an utterly blank look.

Lu Mi felt immensely pleased. He bent down slightly, grinned at Black Shadow, and stared into its eyes.

"This is proof of intimacy.

You~ don't~ have it! Hah!"

Lu Mi turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Outside the bathroom...

Black Shadow remained stunned for a while longer, then suddenly flipped over and sprawled on its back on the floor, all four legs flailing furiously in the air.

Its metal mouth kept going, "Awoo, awoo, awoo!"

Inside the bathroom.

Lu Mi sneered. As he took off his pants, he suddenly remembered the little bag Rete had given him.

He took it out and opened it.

It was a tube of ointment.

"Wash your hands before use..."

"Put on a finger cot..."

"Carefully squeeze it in..."

"Apply to the wound..."

"Use three times daily..."

"Avoid spicy food after use... abstain from sex."

After reading it, Lu Mi's face darkened.

Rete, what the hell had you misunderstood?!