Chapter 4

Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [4]

Xu and Mira finished the meal when the sun was high up in the sky. At this hour, zombies were still very active. Even so, Mira already planned to leave, catching Xu off-guard.

"I haven't agreed yet..." Xu resisted.

Mira blinked, "Ah, that's right, how could I forget?"

She snapped her fingers. A pen and a piece of paper suddenly appeared in front of Xu, floating midair.

Xu looked at it with scrunched eyebrows.

It read:

"MASTER-SERVANT CONTRACT

This contract aims to establish a master-servant relationship between Party A and Party B.

The conditions are as follows:

1) Party A shall be the 'master' and Party B shall be the 'servant'.

2) As the master, Party A has to be mindful of Party B's safety and well-being at all times.

3) As the servant, Party B must abide by Party A's every word. Disobeying will result to a punishment determined by Party A.

4) Party A may impose any punishment or give any reward, as long as both do not cause irreversible physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional damage to Part B.

5) Party A shall not be allowed to inflict any irreversible physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional damage upon Party B, and vice versa.

6) Party B may choose to dissolve the contract upon [a] having brought Party A to Party B's base (X City Base) [b] Party A breaching the fourth and fifth conditions of this contract.

7) Party A may dissolve the contract whenever they wish to.

Party A - Mira Vilde [ signature ]

Party B - [ full name ] [ signature ]

This contract can only be dissolved and cannot be modified. The contract shall take effect immediately after the signing of both parties."

Upon reading the content, Xu's favorability for Mira once again hit rock bottom.

He looked at Mira's seemingly innocent face and said through greeted teeth, "I thought you needed a bodyguard?

"I changed my mind," Mira smiled, "But I still need a servant so... I just decided to let you be my servant."

Xu pursed his lips, "I don't agree."

"Why not?" Mira raised her brows, "With my strength, do you think I still need a bodyguard?"

"I don't want to be a servant."

"As my servant, you only need to run errands for me. I don't think you'd find it hard. Besides, you just have to sign a piece of paper. It's the apocalypse, what law could hold you back? This is simply for formalities," Mira shrugged, "Was it the job that bothered you so much, or the address?"

Xu stubbornly kept a cold face, "Since you say that it's just for formalities, why should a contract be necessary?"

Mira squinted her eyes, "I don't trust words of mouth. Also, I want to make sure I have legitimate reasons to kill you if it does come to that. I'm a responsible citizen, after all."

"Then, how can I make sure that you'll give me the antidote when we reach the base?"

"You can't," Mira's eyes expression turned icy, "Although I'm trying to be nice, I can kill you with just a thought. Remember, you're dispensable to me. It's either you sign, or you die. You won't lose anything if you sign, and I won't lose anything if you die," she smiled coldly, "Now, are you clear of your situation?"

Xu still had self-awareness. Their disparity in strength was too great. Although he was not afraid of death, Xu still had many unfinished businesses. He still had to free the current world from the monsters that his own father had created, so how could he die now?

He picked up the floating pen unwillingly, then looked at Mira.

"Will you really let me go once I take you to the base?"

Mira smiled, "Of course. After you bring me to your base, I'll no longer need you."

Xu clenched his jaw, "What will you be doing there?"

"I just want to go and take a look," Mira raised her brows, "Don't be so suspicious, I won't hurt anybody. If I planned on doing so, I would've slaughtered everybody there long ago."

"...Then, I'll agree," Xu stared at Mira intently, "But you have to promise not to hurt anybody."

Mira only shrugged, "Okay. I promise."

Xu relaxed a little, but he also knew that words were useless in the doomsdays. He looked back at the floating contract and hesitantly wrote his name and signed it.

"Great!" Mira grinned, and both the contract and the pen disappeared immediately, "Let's go!"

"Wait," Xu stopped her, "We can't go out yet."

Mira frowned, "Why not?"

"We still have to prepare, don't we?"

"I already have everything I need with me. We don't need to make any more preparations."

Xu sighed, "It's not good to reveal your space just like that..."

Mira blinked. Oh, Xu was right.

Although she had her own space, it was still necessary to cover up, after all, Mira didn't plan on revealing her abilities to the others.

It was so much more fun to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger.

She smiled innocently, "Oh, you're right. I'm just a weak and delicate lady with no abilities... You have to protect me well, okay?"

Listening to her coquettish tone, Xu's ears reddened. He looked away and murmured, "I'll try..."

Mira was amused by his shy expression. She strode to him and leaned in, placing a hand against Xu's bare chest. Xu felt that the place where Mira's skin touched his was burning.

"Hey, you should address me properly," she sighed.

Xu's face heated up, but he didn't move away. He only averted his gaze and stuttered, "W-what do you mean?"

Mira smiled wickedly, leaned in closer, and deliberately sprayed warm breath against Xu's ear.

"Call me 'master'."

In the quiet room, Mira could clearly hear Xu's gulp. Her smile widened, and she stepped back, creating a bit of distance from Xu.

Xu only felt that his entire face was hot and that his heart was beating wildly.

"Well?" Mira urged expectantly.

He avoided Mira's gaze and tried to speak, "Ma... Master..."

Mira couldn't help but grin when she saw Xu's reaction. She didn't expect that someone who was described as cold and calm in the 'other' Mira's memories would be so easily flustered by just a few words. Such duality was what Mira was most interested in when it comes to people. She found the contrast both cute and entertaining, therefore, her impression of Xu became much better all of a sudden.

She chuckled, making Xu feel even more embarrassed.

"Why don't you speak louder?"

Xu didn't know why, but he actually obeyed her.

"Master..." he called out loudly.

Mira was finally satisfied. She reached out and rubbed Xu's head gently, "Good boy."

Xu's face turned hotter. He bit his lip and lowered his head.

Not to mention Mira, even Xu was surprised by his own actions. He never expected that there would be a day that he would willingly call someone 'master'. Xu felt that he must have lost his mind. He even started to wonder whether he actually had the attributes of a shaking M...

°°°

In the end, Xu managed to negotiate with Mira to pick up his teammates before returning to the base. Mira didn't refuse, after all, Wei Lin was probably part of the team that Xu was referring to.

Of course, she also took this opportunity to bring out a few conditions.

One-Xu was not allowed to reveal Mira's real strength to anyone.

Two-In order to avoid suspicion, Xu must say that she was his girlfriend and that he fell in love with her after she rescued him.

Upon hearing the second condition, Xu immediately protested.

"Why should we pretend to be lovers?" he frowned, "Can't we just say that you were my savior and that I would bring you to the base to repay you?"

Mira smiled, "Isn't it more interesting to pretend to be lovers? Besides, this way, everything would be much more convenient. Nobody would give you weird stares if they see you peeling and cutting fruits for me, or carrying my luggage, or holding umbrellas over my head... they would only think it's natural since you're my boyfriend."

Xu's lips were pressed together. A thin blush appeared on his neck, and he looked away awkwardly.

"Why, do you want to tell your friends that I'm your master?" Mira curled her lips, deliberately putting emphasis on the word 'master'.

"I..." Xu hesitantly spoke, "I don't have any experience in relationships. I don't know how to pretend to be lovers..."

Mira blinked. She forgot about this issue.

Xu was a virgin boy with no romantic experience whatsoever. He never had any relationships and was also never interested in having one. To him, work was the most important, and now that they were in the middle of doomsday, saving the world became his new priority.

He didn't know how to act in love, so Mira 'considerately' decided to stay at the hotel for a while longer and let Xu adjust to her presence first before heading out.

They stayed at the hotel for three more days. Mira would cook for the two of them, and Xu would wash the dishes.

These days, Xu was already somewhat familiar with Mira's temperament. She was playful and mischievous, always teasing him without any reservations.

Often, when they were eating, Mira would ask him to feed her, saying that she was feeling too lazy to eat by herself. With the idea of keeping his end of the deal, Xu didn't resist. He would patiently feed her, even feeling a sense of fulfillment every time he saw Mira's satisfied expression. Sometimes, she would also ask him to give her a shoulder massage, or let him peel fruits for her. He had since gotten used to serving her and was no longer as opposed to the conditions as before.

What he still couldn't get used to was Mira's flirtation. She would tease him at random times. Sometimes, she would quietly lean into his ear and suddenly whisper while he was focusing on a task. This would make him surprised and flustered at the same time. She also had a habit of pinching his cheeks or his ears softly and calling him 'cute', making him uncharacteristically shy.

Additionally, Mira insisted on hugging and holding hands for at least two minutes every once in a while, saying that this would make Xu get more used to physical contact, allowing him to be less stiff and unnatural. Although embarrassed, Xu still cooperated. He soon found that this activity indeed seemed to work. He was no longer as awkward as before, and even hugging Mira felt more natural.

Just recently, Mira had given Xu a bunch of weapons as a 'reward for being obedient'.

Although he didn't know where Mira got these weapons from, these were extremely precious to their team. Even if most humans have evolved and gained abilities, weapons are still necessary for dealing with a large number of zombies. No matter how powerful the military was, thermal weapons are limited, so people would usually find it hard to gain access to guns and bullets.

Mira gave him these without blinking, so Xu's impression of Mira became even more unfathomable.

×××

Xu: Master made me ooc (╥﹏╥)