The cold scent of cedar and liquor pheromones.
Samuel did not pay much attention to the sudden pause of the little white snake. He assumed it was tired from crawling and had stopped to rest. Consequently, he shifted his focus away from the snake coiled around his waist. He looked up and reached out to activate the drying system, intending to dry the little snake off before carrying it out.
Halfway through raising his arm, Samuel froze. A wave of immense disbelief washed over him, and a fiery red blush stained his pale cheeks. He nearly lost his balance and toppled over, but he reacted just in time, bracing himself against the tiles with a bent arm.
He looked down in shock and uncertainty. It turned out the little white snake, completely unaware of the chaos it had caused, had crawled toward the showerhead used earlier. It had coiled around the handle and accidentally bumped the switch, causing the water temperature to spike.
A strong, battle hardened Zenith could withstand heavy artillery fire, but he could not endure the rush of scalding water. The little snake, dampened by the water on the floor, felt even colder against his skin. Its soft body was tangled around the shower handle, creating a startling contrast between the icy snake and the burning showerhead. Stimulated by this extreme combination of heat and cold, Samuel arched his back slightly, supporting himself against the wall with one hand while the other scrambled toward the showerhead, desperate to pull away the meddling snake.
The moment his hand touched it, the little white snake, which had been loosely coiled, sensed a threat. It tightened its grip instantly, turning three loops around the handle into four. Now it was impossible to pull off, and the movement pushed the switch even further, making the water scalding hot. The heat was so intense that even the ears of Samuel turned a burning red.
He was both humiliated and furious, yet he could not immediately remove the interfering snake. He could not use brute force either; the more he panicked, the tighter the snake clung to the handle.
Shortly after, a cold scent of cedar and strong liquor began to permeate the room through the shower.
Samuel looked at the pure white ceiling with hazy, dark red eyes. The Marshal of the Zenith race was now slumped on the floor, his chest heaving violently as if he were struggling to breathe, gasping for air repeatedly.
The little white snake, still coiled around the showerhead, was struck by the sudden surge of cedar and liquor pheromones. It looked up dizzily, appearing intoxicated, and turned toward the source of the strongest scent. Finding it coming from the shower, the snake began to crawl slowly along the handle toward the tempting, hot spray of the nozzle.
Still recovering, Samuel noticed the movement of the snake. Enduring the uncomfortable hot water, he stiffly pushed himself up to check the handle. Seeing the snake heading for the back of the showerhead, his water rimmed, dark red pupils shrank. To prevent the hot water flow from increasing, he ignored his exhaustion, hurriedly grabbed the snake by its neck, and yanked it away with force.
Following a loud thud from the showerhead, a muffled groan echoed in the bathroom. Because the snake had been coiled so tightly, the sudden pull nearly broke the fixture, causing even more hot water to spray out. Now, Samuel sat there holding the dazed little white snake, while the cold scent of cedar and liquor grew even more concentrated.
After a long while, Samuel finally composed himself. Although he was a mature Zenith, he had never experienced anything like this. From birth until now, he had never sought self satisfaction like other single Zeniths. Even if a Zenith were to do so, it certainly would not involve a shower handle. Samuel never expected the handle to be so stimulating; after all, for a Zenith, it was usually just a fixture. To have his pheromones flood the room twice because of a little snake coiling around a handle left the hands of Samuel trembling with shame and anger. Yet, he could do nothing to the snake because it belonged to that Male.
Being toyed with twice without any way to vent made Samuel feel increasingly humiliated and aggrieved. He shot a sinister glare at the little snake, which looked as though it were drunk. He stood up, opened the door, threw the snake onto the bed, and slammed the bathroom door shut. He then used his mental power to reinforce and lock the bathroom.
Having finished this series of actions, Samuel punched the wall hard. The powerful recovery abilities of a military Zenith ensured he no longer felt weak, but the sensation of that moment was deeply etched into his heart. The mere memory made him clench his fists. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and turned on the cold water to continue his shower.
On the other side, Winslow finished his bath quickly. Upon exiting the bathroom and looking around, he discovered that the little white snake was gone.
Wandered off to play again, Winslow thought blandly.
Winslow had always been skeptical of the saying that a spirit body reflects its master. While the spirit bodies of Guides and Sentinels in the White Tower were indeed highly compatible with their owners, like the white deer of his mother, which was as gentle and elegant as she was, Winslow still had his doubts. His own spirit body felt completely out of place with him. He sometimes wondered if it even belonged to him, but the evidence was clear: the little white snake could enter and leave his mental domain at will, and he had total control over it. It was undoubtedly his.
It is just a bit too active, Winslow sighed imperceptibly.
He changed his clothes just as a robot arrived to deliver dinner. Winslow felt a brief moment of unease because the little snake was not there to beg for food, but he quickly pushed the feeling aside and sat down to eat.
Just as he reached out, Winslow remembered the accident the snake had caused in the mental regulation room earlier. His pale, slender hand paused in mid air and then retracted. He lowered his gaze in thought and decided to sever the sensory connection with his spirit body.
Both Guides and Sentinels could unilaterally cut off the sensory link with their spirit bodies. Furthermore, if a spirit body were harmed, it would automatically return to the mental domain. Therefore, Winslow was not at all worried about the snake being in danger. Knowing that no one else could see it made him even more relaxed. Now he did not have to worry about a repeat of what happened in the mental regulation room.
With that done, Winslow began to eat peacefully. After the robot finished tidying up, Winslow silently admired the advanced technology and convenience of the Zenith race before going to bed. He had a dreamless night.
The next day, Winslow automatically processed and absorbed the mental energy converted from the black mist while he slept. Upon waking, he felt full of vitality. He checked his mental domain and found that the little white snake had returned at some point and was now fast asleep. It seemed to be in a very deep slumber.
Winslow used his mental power to form a tentacle and gently poked the sleeping snake. There was no reaction; it was indeed out cold. Winslow silently withdrew the mental tentacle.
He selected an understated outfit from the newly delivered wardrobe: a white satin shirt and a pair of black trousers. He looked at himself and, comparing it to the eye catching silver and white formal wear from yesterday, nodded in satisfaction.
After changing and eating breakfast, Winslow set out for the mental regulation room to begin his day of work.
Samuel had not slept at all after the events of the previous night. However, for a military Zenith, staying awake for a few days had little impact as long as their mental sea was in good condition.
The sleepless Samuel had spent a long time in a cold shower and had activated the pheromone purification system to wash away the lingering scent of cedar and liquor. When he finally emerged from the bathroom, his brow was still furrowed and his ears remained red. In all his years, he had never used the pheromone purification system. To use it for the first time because of this.
The humiliated Marshal was furious, only to find the culprit, the little white snake, had vanished. This made his mood even gloomier.
Feeling restless, the Marshal decided to take his anger out on others. He summoned all S Class and A Class military Zeniths in the border district to the training grounds. In a one on many match, he crushed every single one of them.
Despite his dark mood, the Marshal felt his anger had not yet been fully vented. After defeating all the Zeniths and leaving them in a heap, he ignored their looks of worship and admiration. In the middle of the night, he boarded his black and red aircraft and left the base.
While Winslow was easily regulating the remaining Zeniths and the little snake was snoring in the mental domain, the Marshal returned after cooling off.
That Marshal had taken his anger out on the Tianga Empire. In the dead of night, he had single handedly challenged an entire Tianga fleet stationed near the border.
He won, of course. After destroying several Tianga warships, the anger of Samuel had finally dissipated. On the way back to the base, he tried to reason with himself: the little white snake had not done it on purpose. It probably got lost last night and happened to find something fun to play with.
He could not convince himself. The fists of Samuel tightened. Consequently, the Marshal turned around and struck again, giving the resting Tianga army another beating before finally heading back.
Upon returning to the military base, Samuel learned that Winslow was still in the mental regulation room. He did not return to the room to supervise his suspect; instead, he went back to his own quarters.
His official duties were still waiting. After a busy night, the Marshal began another hardworking day.