Chapter 105: Threats and Discipline

Sitting in the darkest corner of the psychokinetic vehicle heading back to Almirex Academy, Irina squeezed her arms tightly until the intense pain forced a groan from her lips. Every time she made a wrong decision, she punished herself this way.

After each punishment, the lingering physical pain gave Irina a strange sense of excitement. In those moments, her mind also seemed sharper and clearer than ever.

Irina had deliberately gone to the Governor’s Mansion late at night, fully expecting that Governor Temiso would order Oude to retract his decision. Therefore, she hadn’t tried to avoid being seen. Many instructors from the academy and guards from the Governor’s Mansion had noticed her hurried trips to and from the mansion.

If this visit had succeeded, Irina’s status at the academy would undoubtedly have soared. But now, she had been humiliatingly driven away by Governor Temiso!

It wouldn’t be long before the news spread throughout Almirex Academy. And she, Irina, would become the laughingstock of the entire academy for her arrogance and stupidity! Just imagining that scenario made Irina feel like she was going mad.

Absolutely not going to let this slide! She must stop Oude! But if Governor Temiso refused to intervene, who else could do it? No one! No one at all! Irina gripped her arms tightly, screaming inside.

No! Maybe there was still someone… Irina vaguely felt another thought lurking in the depths of her subconscious, like a ghost hovering nearby. But every time this thought was about to surface, Irina deliberately pushed it aside. It unsettled her more than the current desperate situation.

Anxiety and unease exhausted Irina. When the psychokinetic vehicle stopped, she absentmindedly stepped out without even checking where she was.

After walking a few steps, Irina realized that the vehicle had not stopped at her destination—the west-side instructor’s dormitory—but at the academy’s back gate.

Annoyed, Irina turned back, only to find that the vehicle had already driven away.

Almirex Academy strictly forbade instructors from flying within the campus, so Irina could only walk. From the back gate to the west-side dormitory, the walk would take at least an hour!

Damn it! Irina cursed under her breath and resigned herself to the long trek.

The area around the academy’s back gate had always been the most neglected part of campus. Most buildings near the gate had been abandoned for years, and the only path was overgrown with weeds and vines.

During the day, walking along this path might be pleasant, surrounded by lush greenery and fragrant flowers. But at night, when it was pitch black and impossible to see one’s hand in front of one’s face, the path was something else entirely.

But for Irina, the minor inconvenience of the path was the least of her worries. From the moment she entered the back gate, the ghostly thought that had been haunting her seemed to gain new strength, almost breaking free from the mental barriers she had built. Irina could only try her hardest not to think of anything and quicken her pace, hoping to leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Irina had never heard the ancient Eastern proverb—“Haste makes waste.”

Just as Irina reached a spot where she could already see the academy’s artificial lake, her heel suddenly sank into a crack in the ground, overgrown with weeds. She cried out in surprise and fell. When she tried to stand up again, a sharp pain shot through her right ankle.

“Damn it…” Irina angrily yanked off her right shoe and hurled it away.

Thud! The expensive high heel flew over a patch of bushes and landed behind her. Irina sat there, massaging her ankle for a while before taking off her left shoe as well, revealing a pair of delicate, ivory-like feet.

At first, Irina had half a mind to stubbornly walk back to her dorm barefoot. But after only a few steps, the sensation of her tender soles stepping on rough stones and dirt made her regret her decision again. Not to mention, the price of the shoes she had thrown away was something she couldn’t easily bear to lose.

Although instructors in the Physical Arts Department at Almirex Academy were well-paid, it would still take Irina three or four months of salary to afford such a pair of shoes.

“Damn it! Stupid ground! Ugly…!” Irina thought to herself, doing something no one would ever expect—she began to curse, letting out a string of vulgarities that could rival even the crudest language of prostitutes living in the冒险区 (Adventure District).

Still cursing, Irina turned back toward the bushes where she had thrown her shoe.

But the moment she stepped past the bushes, she suddenly froze. Her face went pale, and her body trembled as if she had seen something terrifying.

Following Irina’s gaze, a small house by the lake came into view, its windows glowing with a soft yellow psychokinetic light, standing out starkly against the pitch-black night. Everyone at Almirex Academy knew there was only one person living near the back gate.

“Zhang Wen…” As Irina whispered the name, her pale face flushed red, as if all the blood in her body had rushed to her cheeks.

At that moment, Irina could no longer suppress the terrifying thought in her mind. The ghostly idea transformed into a monster—it had not only broken free from her control but now gripped her tightly in its grasp.

That’s right! Now, only Zhang Wen—only he—could stop Oude. Zhang Wen had just brought unprecedented honor to the Psychic Arts Department! Across Almirex Academy—and even the entire planet of Cassares—Zhang Wen’s reputation was at its peak. If he publicly opposed Oude’s decision, the open test would definitely be canceled! Then, she would still be the winner! After that, the junior instructors in the Psychic Arts Department would support her! The position left by Professor Katerina would never fall into anyone else’s hands!

But…

The flush on her face and the sweat on her forehead revealed how violently Irina was struggling inside. Yet, her long, slender legs moved as if enchanted, carrying her step by step toward the small house.

Knock knock knock…

Soon, clear knocking sounds echoed from inside Zhang Wen’s house. Zhang Wen frowned, ending his nightly practice of the Spring Water Technique, and opened the door.

“Irina?” Seeing the visitor at the door, Zhang Wen was very surprised. Ever since he had warned her on the spaceship, Zhang Wen had assumed she would stay as far away from him as possible.

“Teacher Zhang Wen.” Irina greeted him with her usual coldness, showing no sign of the inner turmoil she had just experienced.

“What’s wrong, Teacher Irina? You don’t usually look this disheveled.” Zhang Wen glanced at her and noticed that she was only wearing one shoe and her feet were bare.

“It was just an accident. The back gate of the academy is like a garbage dump.” Even though she desperately needed Zhang Wen’s help, Irina still tried to maintain a tone of disdain.

“Oh?” Zhang Wen smiled slightly. “Irina, you came all the way here late at night just to tell me that I live in a garbage dump? Also, if you wanted to visit me, you wouldn’t have needed to come through the academy’s back gate, right?”

“That’s none of your business!” Irina snapped, her face changing.

“Fine. I don’t care to meddle. Then, goodbye.” Zhang Wen shrugged indifferently and started to close the door.

“Wait!” Irina anxiously blocked his path.

“Is there anything else, Teacher Irina?”

“Of course!” Irina gritted her teeth.

In her urgency, Irina took a big step forward when she stopped Zhang Wen. As a result, she practically threw herself into Zhang Wen’s arms, her body pressing against his, and her full, soft breasts pressing against his right arm as he was closing the door!

Irina wasn’t sure whether Zhang Wen had felt his arm touch anything, but the pressure she felt from her sensitive chest was enough to make her feel humiliated and ashamed. What made her feel even more degraded was that she couldn’t pull her chest away from Zhang Wen’s arm—she had to press even harder! Otherwise, Zhang Wen might shut the door and leave her outside!

Even though Zhang Wen had never had the slightest affection for Irina, when her warm, soft body pressed tightly against him and her elastic, full breasts pressed against his arm, Zhang Wen still had to admit that, purely as a woman, she had every reason to be proud.

“Teacher Irina, are you throwing yourself at me?” Zhang Wen looked at her with a half-smile.

“Are you joking?!” Irina blushed furiously and stepped back, her right arm tightly across her chest.

“Alright, no jokes. Let’s talk about the real matter. It’s late. If people see you sneaking to my place at this hour, the academy gossip won’t be good.” Zhang Wen yawned lightly.

“Fine.” Irina bit her lip and said one word. Then she paused for a moment before lifting her head and staring at Zhang Wen, saying slowly and clearly, “Oude is planning to hold a public test at the academy. I want you to make him cancel it!”

“Make Acting Dean Oude cancel the public test? Irina, don’t you think you’re overestimating me?” Zhang Wen shook his head at her.

“Hmph! Don’t pretend. I know you can do it.” Irina said firmly.

“Whatever you say.” Irina’s persistence finally made Zhang Wen a little impatient. He turned to close the door again.

But Irina stubbornly blocked the door. “You must do it!” she said proudly.

“Must do it? Why?” Zhang Wen couldn’t help but frown.

The tone of command in Irina’s voice would probably make anyone feel unpleasant.

“You’re asking why? Because you owe me!” Irina sneered coldly.

“Owe you?” Zhang Wen blinked in confusion.

“That’s right! Zhang Wen, you know what you did on the spaceship back to Cassares a few days ago, don’t you?”

“I remember exactly what I did. But I don’t recall owing you anything.”

“That doesn’t matter. I can always remind you.” Irina’s smile was icy and smug. “And don’t forget, that day in the cabin, everything you did was recorded by psychic monitors on the spaceship. Zhang Wen, surely you haven’t forgotten the academy’s rules? What do you think would happen if I filed a complaint with the Ethics Committee for attempted molestation?”

“Oh? Irina, am I to understand that you’re threatening me now?” Zhang Wen’s smile grew wider with each word she spoke.

Irina thought Zhang Wen’s smile was just a bluff, so she smirked confidently. “Exactly! You’re the Cassares hero now, right, Teacher Zhang Wen? If you don’t want to fall from heaven to hell again, you’d better do as I say!”

Exposed, Irina threw all pretense aside and laid everything bare.

Although every word Irina spoke was filled with provocation, once she dropped her mask, her performance looked ridiculous to Zhang Wen.

“Do whatever you want.” Zhang Wen, now amused, tried to close the door for the third time.

“Wait!” Irina blocked him again for the third time.

To Irina, Zhang Wen’s final words clearly indicated that this man she hated most had finally submitted!

“My shoe fell in the woods over there. Go get it back for me.” Irina waved her hand dismissively, as if ordering her dog to fetch a frisbee.

“What?” Zhang Wen looked at Irina with an expression bordering on disbelief.

“You didn’t hear me? My shoe fell in the woods over there. Go get it back. And remember, be careful not to damage it. Otherwise, not even tearing down your shabby house would be enough to compensate!” Irina insulted Zhang Wen with the lowest vocabulary, her eyes filled with the ecstatic thrill of revenge.

Then, Irina pushed past the stunned Zhang Wen and walked straight into the house.

As soon as Irina sat down on the only bed in Zhang Wen’s small house, she was surprised to see that Zhang Wen didn’t leave but instead closed the door behind him!

Bang! The sound of the door closing sent a jolt through Irina’s heart.

“What… what are you doing? Why haven’t you gone out to get my shoe? I don’t have time to stay in your shabby little house.” Irina still tried to maintain her superior tone.

“Have you made a mistake, Irina?” Zhang Wen said, slowly approaching her. “You don’t really think that little trick of yours can scare me, do you?”

“Zhang Wen, don’t act tough. even if you won against temis academy with two pretty boys and two shameless little sluts, you can’t…”

“Shut up!” a cold, emotionless shout from zhang wen cut irina off mid-sentence.

“irina, you really don’t understand what it means to learn a lesson. do you remember what i told you on the spaceship?” zhang wen’s house wasn’t big, and in just a few steps, he had already closed the distance between them.

“i…”

“i know you must have forgotten. but no worries, i can always remind you.” zhang wen returned irina’s words with a blank expression. “i told you to stay away from me and my students.”

irina leaned back in fear, but still couldn’t stop threatening zhang wen. “what are you going to do? aren’t you afraid of being punished? i swear, if you don’t leave right now, i’ll make sure you end up doing hard labor on a penal planet for the rest of your life…”

at this moment, irina was like a gambler who thought she still had many chips left, only to look back and find her bag empty. she threw in her last chip, desperately placing it in a game she knew was hopeless.

“oh? you’re going to run crying to the adults? go ahead.” zhang wen said coldly, his smile making him look particularly ruthless. “who do you plan to complain to? ode? irina, you should have just come from governor temiso, right? how did it go? did you beg governor temiso to stop ode, only to make him furious instead? i can tell from your face that i’m right! tomorrow, everyone in the academy will know that you’re opposing ode. do you think he’ll still listen to you?”

“zhang wen…”

“oh, right! even if they did listen to you, what could you say? are you going to tell them i harassed you? what a joke! don’t you remember, whether on the spaceship or now, i never invited you! you came to my room on your own and refused to leave! not only did i not do anything to you, even if i had raped you, it would have been your own fault for coming willingly!”

zhang wen’s tone was mocking, each word striking the most fragile nerve in irina’s mind. in an instant, irina’s fantasy shattered like glass. the intense humiliation, regret, and sudden loss of control left irina in a state of panic.

“you… bastard!” irina swung her fist at zhang wen with all her strength.

her psychic energy, at the master level, surged forth, and her fist seemed to be wrapped in a psychic cannon blast, hurtling toward zhang wen. but in that split second, the sound of psychic energy tearing through the air made irina suddenly regain her senses.

“ah!” irina screamed in realization. she had lost control, and now, even if she wanted to stop, she couldn’t pull back her punch.

zhang wen was just a “mere ninth-stage” physical martial artist, while irina was a master-level psychic practitioner! the result of a tenth-stage psychic practitioner’s full-force punch hitting zhang wen could only be one thing!

irina suddenly realized—if she killed zhang wen, she would never escape the empire’s pursuit. and what would people think after this came out? just as zhang wen had said, this was his room! no one would believe that she had killed him out of unbearable humiliation. they would think she had killed him out of jealousy for his victory at temis academy!

if she killed zhang wen, what would happen to her? the moment this thought flashed through her mind, her blood seemed to freeze.

however, irina’s punch did not hit zhang wen as she had expected. zhang wen had already grabbed her wrist like lightning the moment her attack began.

irina felt a sudden, unbearable pain in her wrist, almost making her scream. then, she found herself pinned to the bed by zhang wen, her hands held down, his body hovering just ten centimeters above hers. they could almost feel each other’s breath.

but when irina realized she had been subdued by zhang wen, her first feeling was not anger, but relief. under zhang wen’s pressure, irina’s stiff body suddenly relaxed, and her blood began to flow again.

“irina, were you trying to kill me just now?” zhang wen asked emotionlessly.

“that was just an accident!”

“accident? you can say whatever you want now. but i wonder what ode or governor temiso would think if they found out?”

“what are you talking about?” the color returned to irina’s face, only to drain away again.

“that’s right. when i went to phila planet, i was worried that someone might steal things while i was away, so i borrowed a set of psychic monitors and installed them under the psychic lamp. i just got back today and haven’t returned them yet. i didn’t expect them to capture the scene of teacher irina attempting murder…”

“you… you want to frame me!” irina struggled with all her strength. but even as a tenth-stage psychic master, she couldn’t overpower a ninth-stage physical martial artist when her hands were pinned. as she struggled, her warm, soft body entangled with zhang wen’s, almost like a “special service” offered to him.

“frame you? even if i did, it would be something i learned from you.” looking at the panting irina, zhang wen continued coldly, “teacher irina, you should know what punishment attempted murder carries in the empire. being sent to a penal planet to do hard labor for life would already be your luck. the most likely outcome is being thrown into the dungeon under the governor’s mansion by the furious governor temiso. dark, damp, never seeing the light of day, and every day having your psychic energy drained by machines. you wouldn’t even have the strength to shoo away insects crawling on your face…”

“stop! stop it!” irina screamed hysterically, her long legs kicking wildly in the air.

zhang wen suddenly released irina’s hands and took a small step back. irina, unaware of the movement, continued struggling fiercely for a moment before gradually calming down.

by then, irina’s clothes were in complete disarray. a button on her uniform top had popped off, and the collar, like a low-cut party dress, was wide open, revealing half of her white, full breast and a deep cleavage. her knee-length skirt was almost torn to shreds from her violent kicking, with rips running from the thighs to the waist! every time she moved slightly, the skirt failed to cover her white, sexy legs, and even parts of her firm buttocks were exposed.

but irina didn’t have time to care about her exposed body. lying half on the bed, she stared at zhang wen like a wounded beast, panting heavily.

“now you’re going to kill me for real?” zhang wen suddenly asked, meeting irina’s gaze.

irina didn’t answer, but the feverish flush on her face and her heavy breathing were enough proof that zhang wen wasn’t wrong.

“looks like i was right. no problem, feel free to try.” zhang wen’s relaxed smile made irina clench her teeth in hatred, but it also gradually eroded her determination.

“what do you want?” after a full minute of silence, irina finally spoke.

in irina’s eyes, there was no longer the previous ferocity, only deep regret. irina knew that by asking this question, she had already surrendered. in the battle with zhang wen, she had once again become the loser.

with the awareness of defeat, irina finally noticed her disheveled clothes. instinctively, she curled her legs, trying to cover her exposed body. but the more she tried to hide, the more the torn skirt opened up. her smooth, white legs slid completely out of the skirt, and her entire buttocks, along with the white silk panties beneath, were fully exposed to zhang wen’s gaze.

as a result, no matter how one looked at it, irina’s action didn’t seem like an attempt to cover herself, but rather like she was trying to seduce zhang wen with her body! the moment she realized this, irina caught zhang wen’s gaze. she felt that his eyes were filled with contempt and disdain, as if clearly saying two words to her: “disgraceful.”

humiliation! intense humiliation made irina feel like she wanted to disappear.

normally, such intense humiliation would drive irina to lose control and fight zhang wen recklessly. but the courage she had just lost couldn’t be gathered again. irina had never imagined that the word “coward,” which she had always deeply despised, would one day apply to her!

irina knew that zhang wen was now shamelessly staring at her body. and she herself, instead of hiding, had exposed the most shameful parts of a woman to zhang wen like the lowest prostitute!

this thought made irina too ashamed to even meet zhang wen’s gaze! her blood felt like molten lava, scalding her almost to the point of screaming. at this moment, all thoughts of resistance vanished from her mind. she could only beg silently for zhang wen to stop looking at her like this.

but irina’s plea was obviously not granted. because zhang wen had no intention of letting her off the hook!

a beautiful, sexy, and venomous woman. just seconds ago, she was still her enemy, trying to humiliate him over and over again! and yet, this very woman was now almost completely exposed, revealing her sexy body.

zhang wen enjoyed the sight of irina, taking in every detail of her expression filled with shame and humiliation. inside him, the spring water technique’s battle energy surged like an explosion. this was the moment of ultimate conquest, one that no man could resist!

“irina, the question now isn’t what i want, but what you want. you weren’t invited here by me.”

“i know!” irina gasped, lifting her head and quickly looking away. although the shame that almost broke her finally eased with zhang wen’s voice, his gaze still made her feel an unprecedented sense of degradation.

“then, is there anything else you want to say?” zhang wen asked with a faint smile.

“nothing.” irina dared not say a single extra word. she forced herself to maintain her pride, got off the bed, and hurried away…