Chapter 6: Punishment

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“Doesn’t number 37 engine oil come in all sorts of flavors? Don’t worry, just drink it,” Su Yi said casually.

He didn’t want to spend too much time explaining to Loli Xi—it was exhausting trying to clarify. Instead, he simply told her that the cola was actually number 37 engine oil. That way, the girl wouldn’t be bound by any regulatory restrictions.

“Oh, by the way, give me your dagger,” Su Yi suddenly remembered after packing for a while. He had given himself the exoskeleton, armor, and chest wrap, but strangely, the dagger was nowhere to be found. He had no idea where it had been hidden.

“Do I have to hand over the dagger too?” Loli Xi looked up at him, unusually reluctant.

“Of course!” Su Yi answered firmly.

People from the wasteland were easily startled by the slightest noise—he remembered how, when he first traveled back, his bedside was full of knife marks. It was dangerous to leave the dagger in the girl’s hands.

“Alright… sir…” The silver-haired girl flicked her hand, and the palm-sized dagger suddenly appeared from somewhere, so fast even Su Yi didn’t get a clear look at it.

Noticing Loli Xi’s expression darken as she removed her chest wrap without a trace of emotion, Su Yi took the dagger and quietly asked, “Does this have some special meaning?”

“It was given by my grandmother, a gift for soldiers leaving the lab,” the silver-haired girl replied honestly.

Something from Ifi…

Su Yi weighed the dagger in his hand; it felt good, and he detected no residual radiation. It seemed to be an item that could absorb energy automatically.

After a moment’s thought, he glanced at Loli Xi’s forlorn expression and sighed deeply. He then handed the dagger back to her.

“Forget it. Just treat it as a keepsake from the wasteland. But remember, don’t use it to harm anyone!”

“Yes, sir!” Loli Xi answered crisply this time.

“I’m going to cook now. Remember, don’t touch anything in the room you don’t understand,” Su Yi reminded her again. After receiving her response, he grabbed the plastic bag full of instant noodles and headed to the kitchen.

Even with just a little exertion today, he felt exhausted and hungry—a sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

It was all because Earth’s overly comfortable environment suppressed his body without radiation energy. His strength was less than one percent of what it was in the wasteland.

Su Yi could only make up for the physical depletion by eating large amounts of food.

Instant noodles, cola, hamburgers, fried chicken—these unhealthy, high-calorie foods were all quick ways to restore his energy. Now, he was the envy and desire of every girl on Earth: a saintly body that could eat without gaining weight.

The price? The Engel coefficient at home was skyrocketing exponentially.

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In the kitchen, Su Yi poured water into the electric cooker and brought it to a boil before tearing open eight packets of instant noodles and tossing them in.

That was the cooker’s capacity limit, not his.

Watching the pot bubbling, Su Yi nodded with satisfaction. He preferred cooking on high heat rather than just pouring hot water—it made the flavor better.

He had eaten these to the point of disgust back in high school, but during his ten years in the wasteland, he dreamed of having even one packet.

As he busied himself in the kitchen, Loli Xi watched the fizzing cola in her hand, her eyes full of confusion.

According to her wasteland experience, drinks unrecognized by the database were collectively called “number 37 engine oil.” But this one’s composition was too complex—high in phosphoric acid and xanthine alkaloids (caffeine).

And its taste seemed far too delicious…

Sweet, refreshing, with a delicate frothy texture—something she had never enjoyed before. It was even better than the supplements her grandmother Ifi had given her.

However, Loli Xi, equipped with a sophisticated wasteland intelligence chip, quickly realized the problem.

The reason it tasted good was that she was too impatient and hadn’t followed the wasteland custom for drinking number 37 engine oil.

Before drinking, the bottle needed to be shaken well to disperse the unpleasant but energy-rich sediment, preventing the last sip from becoming undrinkable and wasting precious resources.

Wasting was unacceptable—Loli Xi wouldn’t let “Commander Sequence Two” down.

Resolute, she tightened the bottle cap, gripped it firmly, and shook it up, down, left, right with wild abandon.

Gradually, she felt the bottle swell slightly, filled with energy.

Satisfied with her handiwork, Loli Xi nodded contentedly.

The girl never worried about the taste of energy supplies. In the wasteland, she had swallowed discarded nuclear waste that made her whole body tingle and sting.

As long as resources weren’t wasted, anything was acceptable.

“Instant noodles are ready…” Su Yi called, carrying the iron pot from the kitchen. Eight packs were too many to serve one bowl at a time; it was better to eat straight from the pot.

Then, he witnessed Loli Xi twist open the bottle cap and bring the mouth of the bottle to her lips.

“Fsssh—”

Brownish-red foam erupted from the “number 37 engine oil” like a volcano suppressed for tens of thousands of years, splattering all over Loli Xi’s face. Her silver hair, school uniform, and the small sofa she sat on were stained with sticky residue that no amount of wiping could remove.

“Sure enough, everyone who drinks cola ends up spraying it,” Su Yi said with a resigned shake of his head.

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Holding the iron pot, Su Yi shook his head helplessly. Even with care, some people still shook the cola crazily before returning it to the supermarket shelf, turning their purchase into a surprise lottery.

Looks like laundry was in order…

But Loli Xi, drenched in cola, was far from calm. She had no idea what had happened, and in the blink of an eye, less than a quarter of the bottle remained.

The silver-haired girl instinctively turned to Su Yi, only to see Commander Sequence Two’s face cold and expressionless, holding an unknown container and shaking his head—clearly furious.

She hadn’t wanted to waste anything but ended up causing even more serious consequences.

Loli Xi was overwhelmed with self-reproach and guilt. A “number 37 engine oil” that tasted so good was certainly no ordinary resource. She became confused, her eyes flickering with green light.

“Sir Commander…”

“It’s—it’s Loli Xi’s fault. Please punish me…”

Su Yi walked past her, placing the instant noodles on the dining table.

Then, picking up a mop, he moved to the sofa and cleaned the cola spilled on the floor, quietly asking, “How do you want me to punish you?”

The silver-haired girl stood silently, bowing her head.

“According to Resource Control Regulation Article 231, soldiers who waste large amounts of resources face punishments based on severity, including flogging, dismemberment, or decommissioning.”

Su Yi paused, leaning on the mop.

“I won’t punish someone over something worth two bucks.”

“Two bucks? Was that bottle of engine oil worth two gold coins?” Loli Xi whispered.

“If two yuan could buy two gold coins, I’d be a billionaire by now,” Su Yi said with a helpless smile, shrugging. His eyes glanced at the cola then back to the green flicker in the girl’s eyes.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, his expression grew serious as he approached her.

“If I’m not mistaken, you just followed the chip’s prompt to shake the number 37 engine oil before drinking it.”

“Mm…”

Loli Xi curled up like a scolded kitten, her fur softening, standing still without daring to move.

“Alright. Then as you wish, I will punish you.”

Su Yi clenched his fist until his knuckles cracked, then slowly reached out toward the girl.

Like the soldiers she had seen before, Loli Xi offered no resistance, closing her eyes calmly and waiting for the decommissioning procedure to begin.