Chainsaw Man, starting contract to cut down the Demon Line

It means to wholeheartedly satisfy all of the owner's needs!

My master needed to rest, but I made the sofa dirty. Not only did I fail to demonstrate my value, but I also caused trouble for my master.

And what he just said, "Do you expect me to keep sitting like this?"

The reason I'm saying this is definitely implying something! If I can't solve this problem at a time like this, there will definitely be more severe punishments to come!

So how do we solve the problem?

Thinking of this, Dongshan Xiaohong recalled some plots she had only read about in books. Originally, she was too ashamed to bring such vulgar scenes into reality.

Just thinking about it makes you want to crawl into a hole, but this is a life-or-death moment!

Through her own self-righteous imagination, Xiaohong finally managed to sort out her own logic. She suddenly stopped wiping and looked up again.

"I...I understand, Captain!"

"You understand..."

Before Yan Liang could finish speaking, Xiao Hong took half a step back and lay down on the carpet in front of Yan Liang.

She lay on all fours, bending forward, trying to straighten her back in a very strange posture. Because of this shameful action, large expanses of the girl's fair and delicate skin, as well as the soft flesh bulging out from the edges of her black suspender stockings, were fully exposed under the bright lights of the living room.

"Team leader..."

Little Red kept her eyes tightly shut, her cheeks flushed red as if they were about to bleed. She cried out loudly, her voice trembling with tears:

"I'm very soft... definitely more comfortable than that shabby sofa..."

"Please...please sit on my lap and rest now!! This is the punishment I deserve!! Waaaaah..."

"..."

Chapter Forty: Exhaustion is Useless

"..."

Looking at Dongshan Xiaohong lying silently on the ground, Yan Liang's eyes showed no lust, but instead turned completely cold.

If the miscellaneous troubles of the day only left him feeling exhausted, then at this moment, seeing Dongshan Xiaohong's shameless fawning made him genuinely unhappy.

These are two completely different concepts.

In Yan Liang's view, the former is permissible, since real life is not always smooth sailing and there will always be some unreasonable little troubles.

But the latter can be avoided...

His displeasure stemmed not from Dongshan Xiaohong making a mistake, nor from her disobedience.

It was her attitude that mattered.

Her tendency to kneel and beg for mercy at the drop of a hat really made Yan Liang feel physically uncomfortable.

The reason he didn't get rid of Dongshan Xiaohong in the first place was because he thought that keeping her by his side might come in handy someday.

After all, in Yan Liang's memory, even Dongshan Xiao Hong had her shining moments, such as suddenly bursting out in a crisis and saving Dianci's life.

But judging from the current situation, the other party's performance is completely different from his expectations.

She's always kneeling, never understands human language, and when faced with problems, she only imagines things and then hides behind him crying. Once or twice is fine, but if she continues like this, she'll just hide behind him like a decorative vase whenever something happens…

What use is Dongshan Xiaohong to him then?

"...Get up."

Yan Liang's voice was very soft, but it was precisely because his voice was soft that the seriousness in his words was all the more impossible to ignore.

"Huh? But captain, the sofa..."

Yan Liang emphasized his words and repeated them again:

"I told you to stand up!"

"Yes Yes!"

Overwhelmed by the aura emanating from Yan Liang, Xiao Hong scrambled to her feet from the carpet. She stood timidly before Yan Liang, her thin shoulders hunched.

Seeing her like this, Yan Liang took a deep breath and coldly said:

“I kept you by my side not so that you would do these meaningless and stupid things to me.”

"But before that, Dongshan Xiaohong, I have something to ask you."

Why are you begging me like this?

"You cry over the smallest things? Do you really think people will let you off the hook by putting on such a pitiful act?"

Faced with Yan Liang's questioning, Xiao Hong lowered her head, bit her lip, and unconsciously twisted her fingers together.

She thought Yan Liang was just venting his frustrations about the day, but what he said at that moment was completely unexpected.

Under Yan Liang's repeated questioning, Dongshan Xiaohong finally couldn't bear it any longer and subconsciously revealed her true feelings:

“Captain…you can certainly say that…”

"What?" Yan Liang frowned slightly.

Xiao Hong trembled with fright, but once she had spoken, it was like water spilled out—it could never be taken back.

She continued, her voice trembling violently:

"Because...because the captain is very strong."

"Only strong people can refuse others. If a weak person refuses even once, they will be scolded for being useless."

"When faced with problems, I want to say no, I want to stand up straight... but it's no use saying it, nobody cares about my thoughts. If I have to say anything, it's only because I'm weak..."

Xiao Hong raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes:

"So...so it's better to just agree from the start, to kneel down from the start. As long as you put on this useless act, at least...at least you can still eke out a living."

This logic sounds tragic, but it's also very reasonable.

But Yan Liang suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"So that's how it is. Because of weakness, one has no right to refuse. Because of fear, kneeling is also justified?"

Yan Liang stared into her eyes. Then, he abruptly changed the subject, throwing out a crucial question:

"So, back then, in that gambling game, was it because you 'had no right to refuse,' because you were 'afraid,' that you chose to betray me and push me out to my death?"

thump.

Upon hearing this question, Dongshan Xiaohong's heart skipped a beat, and her face turned deathly pale. She never expected Yan Liang to suddenly bring up the thing she feared most, leaving her mind blank and unable to find any reason to defend herself.

"No...I..."

She wanted to deny it, but when Dongshan Xiaohong met Yan Liang's eyes and read the murderous intent within them, she suddenly realized—

It's useless.

This time, Yan Liang wasn't joking with her.

He was serious.

At this moment, feigning pitifulness in front of him won't save her life. If she dares to ramble on, she'll definitely be killed in the next second.

Upon realizing this fact, Xiao Hong broke down.

This time, however, she didn't kneel down and beg for mercy. Instead, she directly acknowledged the truth she had been trying to avoid:

"No... I'm not innocent..."

She confessed while crying:

“I admit… I was simply afraid of dying! So I chose to push you out to shield you from the disaster!”

“I know that even if I cry or kneel down now, I can’t make it seem like that thing never happened…”

Xiao Hong closed her eyes. She knew that this confession was tantamount to personally sentencing herself to death.

However, the expected outburst of anger did not occur.

"That's right."

Yan Liang's voice remained cold, but his murderous intent had unusually subsided.

"At least, you've finally learned to forgive me!"

Yan Liang sat on the sofa with his arms crossed.

"Dongshan Xiaohong, listen to me carefully. I still haven't forgiven you."

"You need to understand one thing: fear is a biological instinct. When you encounter danger, you want to run away. That's called cowardice, and it's normal."

"But betraying others to save one's own life is not cowardice, it is despicable and disgusting."

"Back then, you were not only a coward, but also a selfish and despicable person."

Hearing Yan Liang's rebuke, Xiao Hong choked up and asked in a weak voice:

"Then...then why do you still keep me by your side..."

"Because you are still somewhat useful to me, and I hope you can become even more useful in the future."

Yan Liang's answer was very straightforward:

“I know perfectly well that the reason you’re so stupid as to try to please me like this today is because you’re afraid I’ll kill you.”

"Why are you afraid? Because you didn't listen to me today? No, you and I both know that the real reason you're afraid is because of your betrayal of me back then. You're afraid I'll take revenge on you."

“Since that’s the case, I won’t hide it from you. After I left that building alive, I did have the thought of killing you.”

Xiao Hong shuddered, and a look of panic inevitably appeared on her face.

"But you are not dead yet."

Yan Liang said bluntly:

"Because although I have not forgiven you, I can understand you."

“I can understand your thinking. I know what you’re thinking in a moment of panic, and I know you’re willing to abandon all moral boundaries to survive.”

"In my eyes, you're at most a fool, not a villain."

"There is a difference between a fool and a wicked person."

"Fools deserve to be corrected, but wicked people don't."

Yan Liang's words were utterly scathing:

“You say things like ‘I’ll do anything as long as you’re spared,’ but your actions show that you’re still acting according to your own logic.”

"They arrogantly followed me, arrogantly lying on the ground pretending to be a chair..."

"I can tell you plainly now: since you feel sorry for me, then you'd better listen to me and do your job properly."

"Because of your betrayal, your life now belongs to me. The reason I'm keeping you is because I believe that keeping you might generate more value for me in the future."

At this point, Yan Liang stood up, walked to Dongshan Xiaohong, and placed his hand on her shoulder:

“I don’t really want to kill you, but someone who just lies on the ground trembling when faced with trouble is of no use to me.”

"Think about what you should do from now on..."

Having said that, Yan Liang withdrew his hand, looking at Xiao Hong who was standing there dumbfounded.

He knew very well that if he really wanted to use Dongshan Xiaohong for his own purposes, he couldn't treat her with ambiguity, nor could he simply threaten her.

After all, he was educated and knew about human agency.

If we don't make things clear and leave her living in fear, Dongshan Xiaohong's initiative will never be stimulated.

He kept by his side a helper who needed to contribute, not a ticking time bomb who would act stupid and foolish when danger struck.

Today's incident provided him with an opportunity to warn Dongshan Xiaohong, allowing him to face up to her problems in advance.

Otherwise—

If it really comes to a life-or-death situation, and she has to draw her sword and fight, she suddenly lies down on the ground and says, "Please use me as a chair!"

……

Then he'll really be exhausted.