Book 5 Chapter 2.5 - Growth
The next few days were quite peaceful. Su followed Li around, patiently guiding her recovery and restoration of abilities. The cost of giving birth was that Li's abilities comprehensively decreased to around three levels, but her potential wasn't harmed, which was something that made Su feel much better. Just like before, Li could still develop at least six levels of ability, but as for whether or not she could improve a step further, Su had no idea.
Little Luo was kept within a sealed room, with all water and food personally brought in by Li or Su. However, ever since Su came in once to deliver nourishment, Little Luo was clearly frightened, shrinking into a corner of the room without moving for an entire day after that, unwilling to eat anything during that time. Li lashed out at Su again, but no matter how Su tried to explain himself, it was still useless. From then on, she didn't allow Su to touch Luo alone again. If he wanted to see Little Luo, he had to have Li with her.
Li's sudden act of fierceness caught Su somewhat unprepared. However, he understood shortly after that for the sake of her child, any gentle and soft mother might immediately turn into the most vicious mother beast.
During this period of time where Li became a mother, in accordance with Su's orders, Li Gaolei completely took over military affairs. He had to take care of the training of new soldiers, reestablish the military logistics system, and finally had to constantly lead troops from time to time to root out the armed mobs that had reappeared around their area of control, leaving him under tremendous pressure, up to his ears in work. Meanwhile, the heavy responsibility of reestablishing of Steel Gate's military system was left up to Kane. This involved two electrical power plants, several mines, a steel mill, as well as factories capable of producing various components, gunpowder, and general goods. This enormous system, even if one wanted to begin familiarizing themselves with it, would still take at least a few months of time. That was why Kane was also extremely busy, busy to the extent where he couldn't even come take a look at Li and Su's child.
As for Madeline and Cirvanas who could sense Su's spiritual world, they understood Su's unwillingness to show this child to others, as as such, the two of them disappeared during the day, and when the curtain of night fell, they strolled past nightclubs one after another. Whenever they entered a store, they would drink up a large half of their inventory. As such, after night after night of wandering about, in the world of night entertainment, Madeline and Cirvanas' names were gradually becoming well known.
Due to his extremely seductive face and blood red lips, Cirvanas began to be referred to as 'Blood Rose', and this title began to quickly circulate. Perhaps there were many people who truly wished to snap this rose, but no one dared to truly take action, to the extent where they didn't even dare openly reveal these types of thoughts.
Roses all had thorns, but the number of thorns on Cirvanas was not all that important, because there was Madeline at his side, the young lady with the nickname 'Storm Goddess'. Madeline always carried a faint smile on her lips, but more and more people knew that this smile was a sign that this Storm Goddess' mood wasn't good. Meanwhile, those who dared to infuriate her during this time, the ones that were let off the easiest were thrown out from the bar.
However, these people didn't leave through the door, but through the wall.
Only, these heavily injured fellas all felt that they were extremely fortunate.
Cirvanas was extremely, extremely dissatisfied with his nickname. He really wanted to holler out that he was a true, genuine male. If others still didn't want to acknowledge it, he could use his own magic abilities that were halfway developed to second level to properly teach them a lesson. When several dozen magic attacks erupted at the same time, that was a true magical storm! Even if it was a fourth level ability user, Cirvanas still had confidence that he could blast them half dead. However, whenever Cirvanas wanted to take action, he would be faced with Madeline's ruthless suppression. Most of the time, this type of suppression was expressed in the forced drinking of several bottles of strong alcohol. Then, Cirvanas' flushed red face, his lips that were like replete blood, and his blurred, charming eyes would make him resemble the nickname 'Blood Rose' even more closely.
Madeline seemed to want to change him from both his outer appearance and mind completely into a woman. What left Cirvanas extremely terrified was that he began to suspect if Madeline had the techniques of the woman named Helen from Su's spiritual world, then that terrifying Storm Goddess would undoubtedly change him, at least physiologically, into a woman.
There was oppression everywhere in this world, and this was the case even between the two of them.
That was why he always wanted to rebel, that was why he was always suppressed, and that was why he was quickly growing up.
The days peacefully passed just like this.
This continued until early one morning when Li appeared before Su with a panicked expression, telling him that she couldn't find Luo.
Su immediately rushed to the room Luo was placed in. He saw a tiny hole in the corner where she previously curled up, just like the hole made by a mouse. However, this room was originally a secure warehouse. Not only was there a meter thick concrete wall, there was even a five centimeter thick steel plate! Meanwhile, the day Su came to feed it, Little Luo must have used its own body to hide its escape hole, thus avoiding Su's detection.
When he thought about how Little Luo ate several dozen kilograms of meat, yet her body always stayed around ten centimeters in size, only now did Su realize that she had always wanted to escape, and that was why she never made herself bigger. Meanwhile, the energy that was being consumed was all used to open up an escape path.
It was easy to imagine that she was always working hard to dig her way out.
When he saw this bottomless little hole, an indescribable feeling welled up in Su's heart. From the date of her birth, Little Luo was frantically seeking survival, her desire powerful to the extent where she wanted to harm her mother's body to death. In reality, if one looked at it from an organism's perspective, her actions weren't all that excessive. Many creatures, after their initial bodies were born, would eat their mothers or seize essential nutrition. However, did she have to choose such a defensive method? Could he himself have been one of the reasons why?
Su silently thought this.