Chapter 39

"What did you say?"

These words were almost chewed up and squeezed out from between teeth, and the anger in them is self-evident.

In the 3D projection, the female soldier in neat military uniform had a gloomy expression.

The medal on his chest and the magnificent office background behind him all demonstrate his superior status.

"That female insect was taken away?!"

The female soldier's sharp eagle eyes pierced straight outside the screen, where a group of timid female insects stood.

On the floor, there lay several tattered corpses of female insects.

Looking closely, the wounds are all very horrific. Each cut was made to the most painful spot. After all the cuts, there is no trace of the insect left. After being buried in the snow for a long time, it has become a pool of frozen rotten meat. It is extremely disgusting.

The bugs that did it seemed to hate them very much. They killed them after squeezing out all their value. They were not dug out until two days later by worker bugs from the female slave exchange. After a round of shirking of responsibility, the truth was finally revealed.

"Admiral, this is my fault!"

The one standing in the front and bearing the wrath was also a female soldier, her expression serious but with a hint of panic suppressed.

Facing such an existence that is beyond their reach, anyone would feel panic, especially since this admiral was obviously very angry.

Anto Edeka, a legendary military heroine.

He shone brilliantly in that world-renowned battle. When the commander-in-chief misjudged the situation and was about to lose the war, he single-handedly led the army to turn the tide and win the victory. He was eventually canonized as a general.

He is the second youngest admiral in the Empire after that one, but he is still more dazzling than that one...

The female soldier, who was inexplicitly distracted, stopped thinking immediately and concentrated on answering the admiral's questions.

"That female insect was taken to the torture chamber and has been tortured at the highest level for a year. After it was found that her mind was completely destroyed, she was sold at a discount and then disposed of in batches as defective products."

"No insect told me what was special about that female insect, so I didn't pay much attention to it until the worker insects at the female slave exchange found the corpse."

"The computers of these worker insects have recent transaction records with the female slave's number '36' as a note, proving that they secretly resold the female insect to make money under the guise of processing. During this period, they resold a lot of these defective products. I wonder if they offended someone and got killed."

The young female soldier with a pale face stopped talking, stood at attention and saluted, "I'm sorry! After I found the female insect, I am willing to accept the punishment!"

"Recently?"

Anto's eyes were extremely cold, as if he wanted to skin and bone all these idiots in front of him, "What's the specific date?"

"Report! It's December 22nd!"

Today is the 28th.

It was just that he had escaped for a week and hadn't caused any trouble. In the videos that were sent to him, the female insect had become so disabled that it couldn't even crawl on the ground...

Week after week...

The female soldier's expression relaxed slightly, but then turned stern again the next second. She suppressed her anger and asked, "Where is Lemande?"

"Report! The major general is currently suppressing the riots on Mix Planet and may not be back in a short time!"

"It's all just rotten crap!"

The enraged Anto slashed at the communication with a knife, and the screen suddenly spun around and even started to freeze.

The female soldiers and worker insects here were silent, and no insect dared to touch the mold at this time.

After a long while, the computer was picked up and thrown on the table, and a cold and hard command came over -

"Tell Lemand to contact me! Wherever he is on this bullshit mission, get him back now, immediately, right now!"

The next second, the communication was interrupted.

A fist slammed into the meteorite desk, leaving a dent.

Anto gasped heavily for a moment, then suddenly threw away all the piled documents on the table, and there was a sudden "crackling" sound.

"Damn it! Something went wrong at this time. If we had given him some breathing space and tried to contact his soldiers..."

"He should have been killed right away!"

The female soldier growled, and with the corner of her eye she saw the medal, which represented the highest honor, framed and hung on the wall. In her anger, she inexplicably felt an uncontrollable sense of uneasiness and fear.

"Has it been confirmed that his mind has been completely destroyed? A week? Ha, even if we give him a moment, he might be able to stir up chaos."

That guy is not an embroidered pillow, nor is he a piece of soft bone soaked in the rotten life of the aristocracy.

He is a weed with numerous roots that cannot be easily pulled out. As long as he encounters a little light, he will continue to grow wildly. If left unchecked, there will be endless trouble.

If it weren't for the help of his female father, that thing wouldn't even be able to get close to that guy.

Anto took a deep breath and calmed himself for a while. Then he remembered something and made another encrypted call with extremely cold eyes.

It was too far away and the military was busy with too many things, so he couldn't get there in a short time. But it didn't matter... there were more secretive and more suitable insects to choose from.

Meanwhile, Mixin.

"Bang!"

A dull bang arose out of nowhere, and the chaos that had lasted for a long time finally subsided, leaving only scattered dust.

The tall female soldier looked indifferent as she surveyed the battlefield from above. After making a judgment, she made a stop gesture.

The black hole of the weapon behind him was emitting heat, and it was obviously the culprit for the mess.

The female soldier was surrounded by a murderous aura, and no one dared to approach her at this time. However, the communication was really urgent, so the adjutant took a step forward timidly.

"Sir, there's a communication for you!"

The female soldier raised her chin slightly, and a sharp green slid under the shadow of her hat brim.

*

Yael placed the small bowl in his hand on the tea table. The silver-blue powder in it had been used up.

He stroked the female insect's bare back through a layer of gauze and asked in a low voice, "How does it feel now? Does it hurt?"

The female insect was lying on the sofa, exposing her naked back.

The powder of the Sicilian ore burned the wound like hot magma, making every inch of his muscles tense and bulge. The blue veins on his arms meandered up, looking somewhat scary.

He was trembling slightly, with beads of sweat covering his upper body, even wetting his half-closed eyelashes. Hearing this, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Fortunately... the pain is not as severe as the last few times. It's a little itchy inside, as if something is growing."

The bony wings are extensions of the female insect's endoskeleton. They are usually folded and gathered on both sides of the spine, and released when needed. The flesh and blood accumulated inside are tearing and wriggling, and the severe pain affects the female insect's sensory judgment.

Xi Ze raised his body with some effort, took the coat beside him and put it on, and whispered to comfort the male insect.

"Maybe it has grown a little inside... I'll try to expand it then."

This simple and rough treatment has been going on for several days, and the effect is unknown, but there is no other way. I can only wait and find a time to go to the hospital for a follow-up check.

"good."

Just as Yael was about to ask 015 to clear the things on the coffee table, he heard it barking in surprise in the kitchen.

"There's no food at home... ahhh, I forgot to buy New Year's goods!"

Yael blinked slowly and finally realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.

Fortunately, 015 suddenly realized something was wrong when he was tidying up the kitchen. If he had only remembered it on New Year's Day, the day lily would have gone cold.

"You should take a rest first. I'm going to the department store to buy some things."

He said hello to Cesar and quickly put on his down jacket and scarf, but when he picked up the black umbrella leaning against the side, he suddenly paused.

【If you need to go out, take your female insect with you. 】

Alvin's words flashed through his mind. After hesitating for a moment, Yael let go of the umbrella handle and stepped back to the sofa.

"How about you take a rest and come with me later?"

"What's wrong?"

Xi Ze looked a little confused, but he didn't ask any more questions. He quickly got himself ready and winked at Yael, "No need to wait, let's go now."

"Can you do it now?"

Yael pursed his lips and hesitated, "Why don't I go by myself? It's not..." how far.

"It's OK."

Caesar put one hand on his shoulder and led him to the door, while he picked up the big black umbrella with the other hand.

015 put his hands in his pockets and sent them out together, "Remember to buy everything on the list... and go home early!"

＊

"You have arrived at your stop, please get off."

The suspended car glided along the space track and stopped smoothly at the destination station, and the mechanical broadcast sounded at the same time.

The door was closed, the track emitted a faint blue light, and the suspended car continued to fly towards its next destination.

This is the central city area of ​​​​the planet Etal. There are strangely shaped buildings crisscrossing each other, spider-web-like streets extending in all directions, and countless bright neon lights flashing, like a field of bright stars.

"It's been a while since I've seen this place so lively."

Yael exhaled a breath of white air. The last time he saw such a scene was when he first arrived on this planet.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew. Even with my plush hat and scarf on, the wind could not penetrate my face, but it still hurt. At the same time, my fingertips felt a stinging pain from the cold.

Yael frowned and realized that he had forgotten to wear gloves. His fingertips and joints were frozen pink and so stiff that he could hardly bend them.

"ah..."

This down jacket had no pockets. He fumbled for a while and finally chose to put his fingers under the scarf, but his neck was frozen again.

There seemed to be a sigh from the side, but it was inaudible due to the cold wind.

But soon, a hand reached out from the side, pulled his hand out from under the scarf and held it in his hand.

The female insect in front of him had her eyelashes drooping. She was holding a pair of black half-finger gloves and was pinching his fingers one by one to put them in.

Finally, he tucked the openings of the gloves neatly into the cuffs of his down jacket and patted them as if he was coaxing a child.

The black gloves were obviously one size too big. Originally, a knuckle should be exposed, but now only a small part of the fingertips are exposed. It doesn't fit well, but...

He felt the tips of his ears getting hot. After a while, he came to his senses and coughed into his scarf to cover it up. "...Thank you."

"Let's go." Yael lowered his eyes in a panic and walked forward first.

"…I'm a little hungry, let's see if there's anything to eat."

Unlike the remote small market I went to last time, this place was close to where he worked.

But this also means that many bugs recognize him and can even recognize him at a glance even if he is wearing a hat or scarf.

"Happy New Year, Your Excellency!"

When Yael was stopped, he was still dazed. In his sight was a strange yet familiar face of a female insect, but he could not remember her name.

"Hello……?"

"Do you remember me, sir? I'm Hard. I invited you to dinner before, but you refused (whispering). But it doesn't matter. Can I invite you to dinner with me again..."

But before he could finish, he was pushed back by a hand and another face pressed forward.

The female insect cleared her throat and said in a very distinct bubbling voice, "Good evening, sir. Can I invite you to spend the night with me?"

"How dare you! You shameless fellow! How dare you invite you... to do that!"

Perhaps infected by the atmosphere, the female insects were particularly enthusiastic. Yael was almost overwhelmed by the faces he saw. He even suspected that he was hallucinating, otherwise how could he hear the repeated word "Your Excellency".

Compared with those tall and strong female insects, the male insect surrounded in the middle seems particularly inconspicuous, but he is the undeniable focus, like a shrimp dumpling surrounded by huge pastries, white and clean, and particularly sweet.

"Oh, sorry..."

Xi Ze was pushed to the outside, but he did not step forward to pull Yael out. He looked at him responding to various greetings in a somewhat helpless manner, and the corners of his lips slightly raised at some point.

He had long known that even if a star fell into the mud, it would still spontaneously attract countless love and covetousness because of its dazzling and warm appearance.

There is no living being that does not desire to hold the stars in its arms, but because of an inexplicable sense of sacredness and alienation, they dare not really reach out to desecrate them. At most, they try hard to spread their feathers like a peacock in an attempt to be noticed.

“…”

Xi Ze loosened his scarf a little, and white mist escaped from the corners of his lips.

He didn't know if it was because the cold wind was too biting, but it penetrated through the gap in his collar. He suddenly felt a little cold, and a slight bitterness spread to the root of his tongue, which seemed to be mixed with a hint of bitterness.

But Xi Ze lowered his eyes and felt it carefully, and found that the pheromones did not overflow.

strangeness.

"……Hello!"

A low voice with some annoyance was heard, and Xi Ze's ears moved slightly, and then he suddenly raised his eyes.

He realized that he had become the focus of attention, and the male insect not far away looked a little embarrassed, staring at him with wide eyes, gnashing his teeth and silently lip-syncing -

Come and save me!

Xi Ze was stunned for a moment, and the corners of his lips hidden under the scarf suddenly curled up.

The bitter taste turned into sweetness, like a piece of candy on the tip of his tongue, and even made him ignore the chill of the wind blowing on his face.

"Who are you? No, don't push me...!"

"Who the hell is it if not you?!"

I don't know how the female insect did it, but a crack quickly appeared in the three inner and three outer circles of the wall. When Xi Ze pushed away the swarm of insects and walked in front of him, even his collar was not messed up.

The broad-shouldered and long-legged military woman was a natural clothes hanger. She looked particularly slender and straight in a black wool coat. She looked at him with a lazy expression, with a slight smile on her lips, and stretched out her hand to him, "Come."

Yael was still a little depressed, but when he saw the broad and slender hand of the female insect in front of him, he reached out and held it.

The fingertips covered with the hard coil rubbed it unconsciously, then she grasped the male insect's wrist with her backhand, pulled him out easily, and half-held him in her arms to separate him from the female insects.

The expression on Xi Ze's face faded a little. He simply nodded to the astonished female insects and said politely, "He has a date tonight. Sorry."

Is it that easy to get away?

Even after he walked away, Yael was still a little dazed. He subconsciously wanted to look back, but his attention was attracted by the sound in his ear.

"Want some sugar-roasted chestnuts?"

"Where?"

Yael instantly forgot what happened just now and looked in the direction indicated by the female insect. As expected, he saw a stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. "Let's go."

After getting a bag of hot, soft, sweet chestnuts, he began to peel and eat them without distraction, completely forgetting the previous episode.

The chestnuts here are so big that they seem to be mutant, but they are fleshy and delicious.

Also, because there is only a small opening on the surface, you need to use a lot of force to pinch it open. Some of the harder ones can't be opened even after your hands turn red.

"?"

Yael boasted that he was quite strong, at least he was not the kind of weak person who couldn't open a bottle cap, but the chestnut in his palm was as hard and hot as a date, just like a piece of volcanic rock.

Unconvinced, he let the female insect hold the bag and tried to crack the chestnut with both hands. The scalding heat seeped through his gloves, so he could only pinch and blow at the same time, and his fingertips were burned red.

At this time, Xi Ze used the bag of chestnuts to replace the chestnuts in the male insect's hand, "Eat this."

Yael belatedly looked inside the bag and saw peeled chestnuts crowded together at the bottom, emitting a sweet aroma.

With the corner of his eye, he saw Xi Ze turn the chestnut between his thumb and index finger, and rub it gently. The hard shell broke smoothly in two, and then the flesh was put back into the bag.

He looked at Li Zi and then at Xi Ze, his expression becoming increasingly complicated.

Xi Ze brushed off the crumbs on his hands, noticed the male insect's gaze, and narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong? Eat it while it's hot."

"…You eat too."

Yael picked out a few particularly round ones and put them into the female insect's palm.

There are many shops and mobile stalls on the streets, which make the whole city bright and lively. The hot air rises in the cold air and dissipates in the air with the cold wind.

“This tastes so good!”

The male insect pointed at a squid leg as thick as his forearm, his eyes shining, and almost wrote "I want to eat" on his face.

The stall next to me was frying it with a sizzling sound. The soft, tender squid legs curled up and were sprinkled with cumin powder and chili powder. The aroma of tempura instantly burst out.

Xi Ze took a look and said, "This is the tentacle of the Yuyuri sea monster. The meat is very hard. You may not be able to bite it."

"Here! Take it!"

The female insect next to it took over the huge tentacle, selectively grew sharp teeth, and bit the "squid leg" with a crunching sound, as if a knife was cutting a stubborn piece of meat in a messy way.

“…”

Yael took a step back subconsciously and hurriedly pushed the female insect away, "... Let's go to the next one."

Passing by a snack stand that seemed to be selling jelly, he stopped and looked at the rows of transparent, soft jelly in small bowls, which seemed to have various kinds of jam fillings in them.

"This looks like a piece of cake. What is it made of?"

Out of caution, Yael asked another question.

Xi Ze took a look and said, "It's an unfertilized egg of a deep-sea star beast. I injected the core into it and froze it overnight. It became like this now."

"……ah?"

Yael looked stunned. He looked at him and then at the egg, his expression gradually becoming one of disbelief.

"Let's go, let's go."

He looked at the thing that looked like a piece of cake but was actually a giant beast egg with hatred, and held his breath as he pulled the female insect away.

"How many strange foods do the insect tribe have..."

He grumbled quietly, feeling lucky to have survived until now, "I'm really lucky not to have been poisoned to death."

Generally speaking, insects do not refer to their own species as the insect race.

A hint of doubt flashed across Xi Ze's eyes, but he didn't think deeply about it. He just lowered his voice to comfort the male insect.

"It's not all that weird. This is a border planet, so it's inevitable that there will be a lot of food with folk characteristics. It will be much better when we get to the main planet."

Yael suddenly turned to look at him, frowning slightly, "But how come you are more familiar with this place than I am? I thought..."

Aren’t female insects always kept in the female slave exchange?

And if he was in a high position before, he probably wouldn't know the special snacks of the fringe galaxies so well that he could tell them by just looking at them.

"I lived on junk planets and fringe planets for several years before I came to the main planet when I became an adult, so I know more."

Xi Ze said lightly, as if he didn't want to talk about it too much. He raised his chin slightly and said, "The one in the front tastes good. Do you want to try it?"

Yael seemed to be thinking about something, but he still nodded in agreement with the female insect, "Okay, let's go and take a look."

It turns out that there are still a lot of normal foods. With a reliable guide, this food street that was once full of hidden dangers suddenly became clear, and I began to eat here and there with peace of mind.

It can be said that he is so happy that he doesn't want to leave.

After finishing his dinner, Yael finally remembered the task of buying New Year’s goods.

He flipped through the list in his laptop and paused on the item "Buy a new set of clothes*3". There happened to be a clothing store across the street.

"Go in and take a look?"

He once again pulled the female insect's sleeve and gestured with a smile.

To cross the road, Caesar moved the food in his hand to his other hand, gently pushed away the sleeve that was being pulled, and circled the male insect's wrist with his backhand, moving up along the forearm, and clamped the arm with his broad palm.

A very firm and skilled pull.

"Okay, be careful."

Yael did not struggle against him, but there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "I'm not a kid who needs to hold hands with me to cross the road."

Caesar paid close attention to the passing cars and replied distractedly, "It's always better to be careful."

"The transportation system on the Edge Planet is not perfect, and there are many accidents. Etal's management is okay, but we still need to pay more attention."

I didn't let go of my hand until I crossed the road. My sleeves were wrinkled and the female insect patted them. I felt like I was really being treated like a cub that needed care.

It was half an hour later that I came out of the clothing store.

Both of them are guys who don't know how to choose. They usually just buy something that looks good to wear. Even if they buy new ones, they usually continue to buy old styles and at most try different colors.

"I'll see if there's anything else I need to buy outside. I'll go to the department store to buy the rest and then deliver it back together."

Yael flipped through the long list.

He spent last New Year in a hurry, without thinking about preparing anything, and he didn't even go out during that time.

But 015 took it very seriously. He cleaned the house and updated the decoration in advance, and also carefully prepared this list.

We can't just refuse its kindness.

A few snowflakes were floating in the sky, covering the streets and shops lightly and landing on the shoulders of the moving insects. They covered the fireworks and silver flowers with a soft veil, making the place lively and almost warm.

Yael occasionally turned his head to look at Cesar next to him.

Sometimes the female insect stared at him in a trance, and only lowered her eyes and turned away when she saw him turn his head.

Sometimes I help him pay attention to the shops around him, and it's kind of cute how he looks when he's concentrating on searching.

"Hmm..."

Yael pursed his lips, and the corners of his lips hidden under the scarf couldn't help but curl up.

…

Only after he finally came out of the department store and put all the bags in his hands at the delivery office did Yael finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, we'll go back after a while."

The night deepens.

The city was still bustling with activity, and the buzzing of insects seemed to light up this gray planet all night long.

But my ears seemed to suddenly detect a slight rumbling sound, which was mixed with the cold wind and could not be heard clearly.

A faint red light flashed in the dark night sky, but was instantly covered by clouds.

Xi Ze's expression suddenly changed. He grabbed his arm and his voice became extremely gloomy.

"Let's get out of here right now."