NIKKE, Swordmaster Ark Succubus Daily

“Enough, Elena,” Lemont said.

Elena retreated behind Lemont, lowered her head, and looked very humble.

‘Wow’

At the same moment, Lapi and the others quickly stood up, drew their weapons, and aimed them at Elena behind Lemon.

"Watch out, Commander! That Niki is dangerous!" Lapi said sternly. "Please come behind us."

“Tsk…” Yin Hua frowned.

Mihara, as if struck by a sudden thought, exclaimed incredulously, "This ability to have one's sensory nerves severed... could it be from Yuni...?"

“It’s an enhanced version. As long as they’re within sight, it can be used on multiple Nikis,” Lemon explained. “After all, it incorporates advanced Missilis technology.”

Li Zuoyi understood what he meant by 'sincerity': I could have just kidnapped you, but I still extended an invitation to you like a gentleman, only you had no right to refuse.

“I prefer to call this behavior a threat,” Li Zuoyi said with a cold laugh.

“Those in high positions basically have only two attitudes toward those below them: either they ignore them and don’t care, or they simply eliminate them to avoid getting in their way.” Lemon leaned on his cane, slightly raised his head, and looked at him with the contempt of someone in a superior position. “And you still have the right to be threatened? Isn’t that sincerity? You should feel honored.”

Li Zuo's lips twitched, and he said, "With your fake reputation?"

"Hahahaha..." Lemont couldn't help but laugh and said, "In some ways, I am indeed an imposter of Lemont."

"..." Li Zuoyi felt that Shu En might have said it backwards.

"Anyway, remember to come to the banquet tonight, otherwise, your Nikis..." Lemon left with a meaningful smile and turned to leave.

Chapter Seventy-Six: I am very satisfied

Li Zuoyi decided to take Shuen with him after receiving Lemon's invitation.

Although the Nikis at the outpost wanted to take them along, especially Yin Hua and La Pi who strongly insisted on bringing them, Li Zuoyi still refused, remembering the abilities of the maid Niki named Elena that he had met during the day.

After all, as Lemont said, if someone really wanted to kill him, there was no need for threats. With Elena around, the Nikis would be useless and might even die in vain.

He could barely withstand Yuni's abilities, but he wasn't confident he could hold out against Elena's enhanced powers...

However, Lemont still invited him out of the letter, indicating that he would at least not kill him at the beginning.

But if we want to know Lemont's purpose, it seems the only way is to attend the banquet.

In front of the Nikis, Li Zuoyi called Anderson to tell him about the incident, saying that if he didn't come out in more than three hours, he could lead his men to storm in. Only then did his Nikis reluctantly agree to let him go to the banquet.

As for Shuen, she didn't really have a choice; she could only go with him.

Before they knew it, it was evening, and Lemon sent a car to pick up Li Zuoyi and Shuen.

After saying goodbye to Niki and the others, he took Shuen into the car.

On the way, Li Zuoyi touched the inconspicuous ring on his right index finger, pondering how to get rid of Elena as quickly as possible if they fell out.

“I smelled a familiar scent on the maid Niki during the day.” Indeverly, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said this, which startled Li Zuoyi so much that cold sweat dripped down his neck. He thought she had been sleeping ever since the last time.

Li Zuoyi tried to communicate with her in his mind, "What familiar smell?"

"The taste of the food I ate before was just like the taste of the food before we met..." She yawned, "I'm so sleepy, if you don't feed me soon, I might just keep sleeping."

"I understand, I've been quite busy lately," Li Zuoyi thought to himself.

After the Metis forces were defeated by Indiveria, the Ark secretly sent several Niki squads over, but they were all swallowed up by Indiveria.

Li Zuoyi had previously thought it was Shu En, but she denied it. Now he knew that it was actually the board of directors of Missilis who sent it.

They're all the same, just causing trouble...

After that, Indivilla fell silent, presumably having fallen asleep again.

They drove in silence until the car stopped in front of a luxurious manor in the central district of Ark.

Li Zuoyi sent the coordinates to the outpost and, after receiving a reply, got off the vehicle with Shu En.

He saw Elena waiting outside the mansion, bowed slightly, and then turned and walked into the mansion, seemingly indicating that he should follow her.

Li Zuo took a few steps and realized that Shu En hadn't followed. He turned around and saw her clenching her hands, her body trembling, staring blankly at the mansion, as if she were afraid.

Li Zuoyi took her hand and walked into the manor, asking, "Have you been here before?"

Feeling the warmth from that hand, Shu En calmed down a bit and said, "I came here once before I became CEO and met with the board members."

"You saw them?" Li Zuoyi asked.

"No, they said a few words to me from behind the one-way glass and then let me go."

"It's quite mysterious."

Led by Elena, Li Zuoyi and Shu En entered the manor.

The mansion was strange; instead of electric lights, it was illuminated by candlesticks, and even the interior decoration resembled that of a medieval castle.

Elena led them into a long corridor covered with a red carpet. The walls of the corridor were adorned with oil paintings of figures who must have once been important people in Missilis.

In the dim candlelight, however, these oil paintings appeared unusually eerie, as if the figures in each painting were watching the people passing by in the corridor.

Elena pushed open the wooden door at the end of the corridor, which was carved with intricate patterns. At the far end of a long table covered with a white tablecloth sat Lemont, who had been waiting for a long time.

"Have a seat." Lemont stood up and gestured to the seat next to him.

Li Zuoyi sat in the seat closest to Lemon, while Shu En sat next to Li Zuoyi.

Li Zuoyi did not let go of his hand, which made Shu En feel very reassured.

Seeing this, Lemont couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

"What is your purpose?" Li Zuo asked directly.

Lemon waved for Elena to serve the food, then held up two fingers and said to Li Zuoyi, "Two purposes: first, to thank you for killing... that Lemon; second, the board members want to see you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Li Zuoyi said, frowning.

“Don’t play dumb. At this point, only you would kill that Lemon. Not only me, but the military, Tetra, and the higher-ups of Elysium must have already guessed it.” Lemon smiled. “Besides, killing him wouldn’t be a bad thing, especially for the board of directors.”

Li Zuoyi remained silent.

Shu En couldn't help but look at Li Zuoyi's expression and found that he had no expression at all.

"Good mental fortitude," Lemon said, looking him up and down. "His appearance is also very good."

Li Zuoyi felt like he was visiting his girlfriend's house...

“If it was Lemon who died, then who are you?” he asked.

“He is my clone, it’s that simple. As for the name… well, it doesn’t matter anyway. You can just keep calling me Lemon,” Lemon said.

Shuen interjected, "But he grew up with my mother..."

“I am of a much higher generation than your mother,” Lemon said, turning to Shuen. “After being cloned, he was sent to your mother, who was still an infant.”

"Why do you do this?" Li Zuoyi asked.

Lemon said, "The board needed someone who could go out at any time, and I took on that role, but due to health reasons, I couldn't stay outside all the time."

Looking at Lemon's youthful face, Shuen asked, "Are you a cyborg?"

"Well, to be precise, only the brain is her own; everything else is mechanical, and unlike Niki's body, which is both flexible and strong."

Lemon tapped his arm, producing a metallic clanging sound.

He continued, "The human brain is a very complex thing. No matter how realistic the signals simulated by the mechanical body are, it can still detect that something is wrong. The thoughts will gradually become out of sync with the mechanical body, leading to mental confusion. At this point, only a long period of rest can solve the problem. So Niki is really a very powerful being."

"You've already cloned it, why don't you just..."

Before Li Zuo could finish speaking, Lemon interrupted him, "Because I don't like the feeling of physical aging."

“Okay.” Li Zuoyi asked again, “But why should we thank the one who killed that clone?”

"Because he lost control. He should have been working diligently and waiting for me to rest before coming out, but instead he attacked Shuen, which is something the board of directors cannot allow."

Lemon looked at Shuen with the loving gaze of an elder looking at a younger person.

“Elena can’t harm humans, so she woke me up ahead of time. Just when I was wondering how to deal with her, you took care of it for me.” Lemon then turned his gaze to Li Zuoyi. “Although the whole Ark knows about it, it’s not a big deal.”

The first objective is clear... Li Zuoyi asked, "So the board of directors wants to see me for this reason?"

"That's about right," Lemont nodded.

"What about them?"

"It's alright, they've already seen you." Lemon's words reminded Li Zuoyi of the oil paintings in the corridor, sending a chill down his spine.

“And importantly, they’re very satisfied with you,” Lemon said with a smile. “I’m very satisfied with you too.”

"...Satisfied with what?" Li Zuoyi always felt that there was something malicious in the other person's smile.

"I'm satisfied with your choice as Shuen's husband."

Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Women of Missilis

"Huh?! What about my opinion?" Shu En broke free from Li Zuoyi's hand, her face flushed, and exclaimed, "Why does he have to be my husband?"

Marrying a man who sits on top of her every day... how could that be possible...?

Although he can be very reliable at times, even when everyone else chooses to abandon her, he still stands by her side...

And he likes to hit her; domestic violence is unacceptable! But initially, it was her own fault... He even said that as long as she behaved...

No, no! But...

The mind of Shuen, hailed as a genius researcher, was somewhat stunned by this sudden topic.

"It is the mission of the women of Missilis to bring excellent bloodlines into the family."

Lemon reprimanded her like an elder, "Although your father came from humble beginnings, he proved his abilities, which is why the board approved your mother's marriage to him."

"But, but..." Shu En grabbed Li Zuoyi's arm and said excitedly, "You, you should say something too!"

Li Zuoyi's lips twitched down, he glanced at her helplessly, and then said to Lemon, "I refuse."

After he said that, the atmosphere at the dinner table changed.

Li Zuoyi felt countless gazes emerge from the dark corners and focus on him in an instant, an invisible pressure enveloping him...

The dim candlelight cast a play of light and shadow on Lemon's face. Even though he maintained a smiling expression, his slightly narrowed eyes reflected the candlelight, as if flickering with an eerie glow.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that Shuen didn't dare to take a deep breath.

Lemon lowered his voice, as if suppressing his emotions, and asked:

Can I ask why?

Li Zuo sighed, gave a thumbs-up to Shu En beside him, and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested in little girls of this size."

There's another point: there's no such thing as a free lunch. In other words, when the cost is far less than the gain, then the deal is problematic.

Marrying into Missilis? They even brought up Shuen's father as an example... The intention to deceive couldn't be clearer.

However, Li Zuoyi still didn't understand why the other party wanted him to join Missilis.

If all they wanted was for him to do things for Misilis, they wouldn't need to go to such great lengths. What the other party probably wants is more than just obedience...

"You, you..." Shu En trembled with anger, tears welling up in her eyes. She never expected that this man would be so disgusted with her figure.

Lemont hadn't expected this reason either. He looked puzzled and said, "Do you know how many people would agree without hesitation if they were in your position?"

"So, do you think someone like that would have the chance to agree to your request here? Don't lump me in with other people." Li Zuo stood up, gave a thumbs-down, and said nonchalantly, "Going back now. Waited forever for the food, bad review!"

I need to get back quickly; something feels off...

"Hey... wait for me." Shu En watched Li Zuoyi leave his seat, and she jumped off her chair to follow him.

She didn't want to be left alone in such a gloomy mansion.

“Shuen!” Lemon suddenly called out.

Li Zuoyi and Shu En turned their heads, and then Lemon looked at the two of them and continued, "I was originally planning to give you a surprise, but there's no need for that now. Come out."

At the other end of the room, the door slowly opened, and a woman in a deep purple dress walked in. The woman had exquisite makeup, smiled slightly at Shu En, and said, "It's been a long time, Shu En."

“Mom?” Shuen felt her breath catch in her throat. “You, you’re not already…”

Mom and Dad have died of illness... This is something Shuen witnessed with his own eyes.

“There’s a reason for that.” Lemon rested his elbows on the table, interlaced his fingers, and looked at Li Zuoyi, saying, “But we can’t tell outsiders about that.”