Zongman: The wrong person on the ground, double Shenwei at the beginning

Just as Noin was nestled on the soft sofa like a lazy cat, engrossed in playing a game, suddenly everything went white before her eyes.

She subconsciously looked up, only to see a huge, exaggeratedly large cotton candy that completely filled her field of vision, making it impossible to see any human faces.

Noin's lips twitched slightly, and a complex mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment welled up inside her. Helplessly, she put down the game console.

"...Mariu, what do you need me for?"

Maru's two slender, snow-white fingers were nervously poking at each other, and her pure and pretty face was slightly flushed, as if she was a little embarrassed.

"Um...I...I'm a little nervous..."

She spoke in a barely audible voice.

"Noin, you...you spent so much time with Rhodes, do you...do you know what he...he likes?"

What does Rhode like?

Noin leaned back on the sofa, rested her chin on her hand, and gave me a "leave it to me" look, then thought about it very seriously for a moment.

"Although he often visits newly opened stores, if you ask him what his favorite is, it's definitely 'this'!"

She flashed an incredibly happy smile, her right hand seemingly grasping an empty, staff-like weapon, and then... she shook it rhythmically.

"Eh?!!!"

A loud "boom" echoed in Maru's head, as if a volcano had erupted instantly.

She instantly conjured up some unhealthy images that absolutely could not be described in public!

In an instant, her face turned as red as a boiled apple.

Maru suddenly lowered her head, almost fainting from shame and the overwhelming imagination.

"This, this...that, that..."

Noin seemed completely oblivious to Maru's unusual behavior, and instead enthusiastically shared her "exclusive secret" with her, gesturing wildly.

"That's right~ First, use that soft thing to...yes, that...secure it! Then, like this, gently, lightly knead it~"

"!!!"

"Then, something sticky will overflow from inside... and then..."

"Ugh...!"

Maru finally couldn't listen anymore.

She covered her burning cheeks with both hands, turned around abruptly and ran, shouting as she ran.

"Thank you so much for your suggestion! I... I'll try my best to give it a try!"

"Ah, Maru, about tonight..."

Leyana originally intended to come over and say something to Maru, but instead saw her cover her face and run away like a frightened little rabbit, leaving her completely confused.

"what?"

Norin blinked her beautiful big eyes in confusion, then puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Really! It's rare for someone to be so kind as to share my most treasured, exclusive experience with her!"

"What did you just say to Maru?" Leyana asked curiously.

Noin immediately revealed an extremely smug smile and repeated the previous action.

"Wasn't I teaching her how to make Rod's favorite dessert?!"

She gestured as she explained.

"First, put the kneaded cookie dough into a piping bag, then squeeze out beautiful shapes, refine them, and bake them in the oven until cooked. Finally, you can enjoy this loving dessert with Rod!"

Leyana's expression instantly became incredibly subtle.

"...Putting aside the fact that your so-called 'exclusive experience' is incredibly ordinary...Rhodes probably only says he likes certain foods to make you happy."

She paused, then looked at Noin with the kind of look one would give an idiot.

"Besides, that gesture you just made... was way too easy to misunderstand, wasn't it?"

"Eh?"

Norin paused, looking down at her gestures and recalling her earlier description...

Several seconds passed before she belatedly realized what had happened.

"boom--!!!"

An even more exaggerated plume of steam than Maru had just released rose from the top of her head.

Noin's cheeks flushed instantly. She grabbed a cushion next to her and threw it at Leyana!

"W-what are you saying?! This is the Court of Stars!"

"How could you say such things in such a sacred public place! You shameless woman!"

Although they had a lot of fun in private while in another world.

But here, in the territory of Astrea, the goddess of virginity, discussing such topics is still too stimulating and too taboo for pure young girls!

Leyana easily caught the flying pillow and said helplessly.

"Hey...you didn't know? Tonight's rock-paper-scissors game...Maryu won."

"Huh? So... what she actually came to ask me was..."

"That's the one..."

"..."

"..."

Noin and Leyana stared at each other, the air seeming to freeze.

They could almost imagine that if Maru actually followed Norin's "secret formula," she might... be seen by Rhodes as some kind of extremely strange and perverted person...

Noin suddenly felt a chill run down her spine and jumped up from the sofa.

"I... I'd better run back to my room and lock all the doors and windows."

"Ming, don't call me out before Maru leaves tomorrow morning!"

The next morning, the hour hand had just passed six o'clock.

A roar powerful enough to shake the entire Court of Stars exploded like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

"Noin—!!!"

Accompanying the roar was a ferocious banging on the door, like a battering ram.

The force was so great that it seemed as if it would smash the heavy oak door into pieces at any moment.

"Open the door for me—!!!"

The girls trembled and hid at the other end of the corridor, peeking out with only half their heads peeking out.

"I...this is the first time I've ever seen Maru so angry..."

"No wonder Rod said never to mess with a healer... How scary, meow..."

Just then, a door at the other end of the corridor creaked open, which was quite inopportune.

Rod, with his messy black hair and an indescribable expression that was a mixture of reminiscence and subtlety, walked out with an air of nonchalance.

Well, last night's experience was indeed... well, quite novel.

Paired with Maruna's Cotton Candy, which ranks second in the entire Familia, it's... a truly unique experience.

"Cough cough!"

A soft cough interrupted Rhodes's reverie.

Leyana stood not far away, frantically gesturing with her eyes for him to rescue Noin, who was about to be "exorcised" by "physical therapy".

Rhodes simply pretended not to see it.

Let that idiot draw Maru's fire.

Otherwise, once Maru realizes what's going on, I, the real beneficiary, will probably face her humiliating and indignant iron fist.

"Ahem, I'm going to the dungeon now. It might be a bit chaotic there today, so you'll all be going on patrol duty."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure suddenly became illusory, as if twisted by an invisible force, and in the next instant, with a "whoosh," he disappeared without a trace.

Divine power activated, collapse and retreat!

"Eh?"

Leyana's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and finally fell helplessly, offering only a silent prayer for Noin.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and Lyra appeared at the other end of the corridor, looking terrible.

Where is Rhodes?

She looked around, her brows furrowed with an unyielding sense of unease.

"They just left. What happened? What's wrong?" Leyana's heart jumped.

Leila took a deep breath, as if to expel all the frustration in her chest, and wearily pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You...know that I've been looking for suitable properties for Rhodes recently, right?"

"Yes, of course. Have you run into trouble?"

“To be precise, the previous trouble was simply that there was too little available funding.” Leila’s voice was slightly hoarse.

"And... now?"

Leila's eyes became extremely complex, a mixture of confusion and disbelief at the absurdity.

She looked at Leyana and said, word by word.

"The problem now is... there's just too much money available."

"???"

A huge question mark slowly appeared above Leyana's head. She even wondered if she was hallucinating because of Maru's roar.

Lyra seemed to read her mind, shrugged helplessly, and stepped aside to clear the way to the door.

"If you don't believe me, come with me to the entrance and take a look."

Her tone was filled with helplessness.

"The trucks carrying Farley are almost lined up in a long queue. I went out early this morning and received complaints from the neighbors..."

Leyana was truly shocked; her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.

"Eh?! But... what's going on?!"

"Where did those cars come from? Did they...did they get the wrong people?!"

Leila forced a smile, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"The leader named names, saying the destination was the Court of Stars, and the recipient was Rhodes. As for where they came from..."

Leila slowly raised her head and looked out the window at the dazzling blue sky, her expression extremely complicated.

"It is Bergen, the city of sinners."

Meanwhile, in the underground city.

Rhodes's figure moved silently through the dark passage like a ghost.

The monsters that he used to have to be extremely careful to deal with now seemed to have encountered their natural enemy, and didn't even dare to come within ten meters of him.

A deep-seated fear permeated the air, causing them to tremble and lie prostrate on the ground, too afraid to move an inch.

He traveled smoothly all the way, but when he stepped into the twelfth level, the silent underground city finally seemed like an enraged beast, managing to launch its belated counterattack.

Shadow Warrior, Needle Rabbit, Killer Ant, Imp, Bat, Armored Armadillo, Silverback Ape...

They charged in droves, wave after wave, towards that leisurely strolling figure with fearless ferocity!

But... Rhodes didn't even lift his eyelids; he just walked forward indifferently, step by step.