Chapter 16 She finally understood why the Zerg...

the next day.

Ai Ying woke up in a luxurious bed that was over ten meters long.

Looking at the hundreds of glittering gems embedded on the top of the insect hive, there was no hint of the sudden wealth of a poor man in his eyes, but rather a sense of helplessness at the impending end of his life.

Just as she was about to close her eyes to avoid the disturbance, a rustling sound suddenly came from the doorway:

Those insects are coming to see their king again!

Ai Ying sat up smoothly and straightened the exquisite and comfortable clothes she had changed into yesterday.

Although she is now the Insect Queen, she can refuse to see these insects at any time.

but……

Who told her to be a fake queen?

Charlotte, who was beside her, also got herself ready in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, with Ai Ying's permission, the nest entrance was slowly opened.

The dozens of insects that entered the nest were of different colors and sizes.

But what they have in common are their obedient expressions, their upright antennae, and the inexplicable obstruction that appears on the same spot on their bodies.

The insect at the very front is the one that offered up its pincers.

He broke off the pincers and has already begun to grow new pincers.

He held a garment of unknown material in his hands, walked respectfully to the bed, and obediently and harmlessly knelt down.

The other insects followed closely behind him, all obediently kneeling before the nest.

At this moment, Ai Ying saw clearly the clothes that the insect pincers were holding.

It was a long robe in the style of a cape.

The color of the clothes changes from light to dark from top to bottom, with a light white collar that turns into a deep black at the hem.

The material of the innermost layer of the garment is unknown, but it appears both soft and sturdy. On the outer layer of the garment, light feathers of the same color are inlaid.

It looks comfortable but expensive.

At this moment, because the newly formed pincers of Keo were not yet very strong, the pincers holding the clothes accidentally trembled.

Ai Ying finally saw the material of the innermost layer of the long robe, and her hand hanging at her side moved unconsciously.

This is... clothing woven from Zerg carapace.

The color of the clothes is actually the color of each insect's shell.

Doesn't it hurt to have a piece of your carapace ripped off your body?

She looked at the insect crawling on the ground, her voice slightly hoarse without her even realizing it:

"What's this?"

Keo, who was in the lead, raised his head. He didn't care about the wounds on his insect body, nor did he care about the pain from the wounds.

In the vast insect nest, he could only see the king.

His chirping seemed to carry a sense of surrender from the very soul:

"Hiss—it's an insect's skin."

"It can help the king protect himself from danger."

At this point, Keo shrank his pincers somewhat self-consciously:

However, their level is too low; even the carapace before the insect core is not considered the best.

Wang... deserved the best of everything.

Ai Ying took a deep breath, her voice sounding no different than before:

"I see."

"You may all leave."

Although they had only seen the king for less than a minute, upon hearing the king's command, all the insects retreated without hesitation.

For them, just being able to see the king once was enough to make their insect lives worth remembering.

not to mention……

The king left behind the insect-skin garment!

An insect excitedly shook its body:

Would the king... wear this insect-patterned garment?

Even if you only wear it once, that would be fine.

No, no, no.

How could they possibly ask the king for help?!

The king did not wear insect clothing because it was not good enough.

It's their problem.

They should offer the best of everything to the king.

Inside the insect nest.

Looking at the insect garment made of pieces of insect scales placed on the rock table not far away, Ai Ying felt extremely complicated emotions.

Just how far can these insects go for their king?

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them.

Charlotte, having seemingly discovered something, walked step by step to the insect-cloak, stared at it for a long time, her voice trembling slightly:

"This is the Zerg's protective core armor!"

They actually dug out the Zerg's most important armor plate, just because... they wanted to make a garment for the King.

She realized once again the madness of the Zerg.

Ai Ying heard the shock in Charlotte's voice, got out of bed, walked to her side, and asked in confusion:

What is a protective shell?

Charlotte turned her head, looked at Ai Ying's bewildered expression, took a deep breath, and slowly said:

"The core is the most important part of every insect, even more important than the human heart."

"As long as the insect core is still there, they will have a chance to be reborn."

"Therefore, in front of the nucleus of each insect, there is a very hard shell to protect the nucleus."

“Other injuries to the Zerg can be repaired and regenerated, but this piece of carapace is the only one that, once lost, is lost forever and can never be regenerated.”

“So…” Ai Ying looked at the insect armor in front of her, her voice slightly hoarse, “this is clothing they wove from their most precious carapace.”

She had thought that the insects had already done their best by digging out their own shells.

Unexpectedly, they had unearthed such an important shell.

She lowered her head, even her breathing became heavy:

When these insects entered the nest, each one looked excited and active, and you couldn't tell at all that they had such bloody wounds.

Ai Ying looked in the direction of the insect hive gate.

Previously, she only wanted to stay as far away from these insects as possible, but this time, for the first time, she had the idea of ​​seeing them.

She took a deep breath:

Anyway, no one doubts her identity as the queen.

It should be okay if we just meet, right?

Thinking of this, she turned her head and cautiously glanced at Charlotte.

Charlotte seemed to have guessed her thoughts and nodded slightly:

The fact that the king stayed in the insect hive for too long without moving would also arouse suspicion.

not to mention……

She knew that Ai Ying wouldn't feel at ease until she saw the insects herself.

After seeing her nod, Ai Ying took a deep breath and walked to the gate of the insect hive.

Outside the insect nest.

The other insects were all happily busy preparing better gifts for the king.

Except for one severely injured insect.

Bilia's insect brain was destroyed by the higher insectoids, leaving him only able to passively await his death.

He was so injured that he could no longer stand up or walk.

But he stubbornly continued to crawl forward.

The insect claw dragged its cracked body, crawling slowly toward the entrance of the insect hive, leaving a long, blood-stained trail behind it.

His vertical pupils were already showing signs of dilation, and the blood on the insect's body was almost dried up, yet it still refused to stop.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally climbed to the entrance of the nest.

Villa did not knock on the nest door.

He simply used his dwindling pincers to place all the remaining items on his body, one by one, next to the entrance of the insect nest.

He's about to die.

He wanted to dedicate everything he had to the king before he died.

After he finished doing everything, his head drooped limply.

He looked at the patterns on the edge of the insect hive's entrance, and his curved antennae twitched slightly.

To die so close to the king.

very nice.

Villa lay on the ground, his unfocused vertical pupils narrowing happily.

After he dies, the other insects will drag his corpse away.

His death will not disturb the king.

very nice.

Just as he was about to close his eyes in relief, the door to the insect hive was suddenly opened.

The moment Ai Ying opened the door, she saw a severely injured insect curled up in a ball outside the insect nest.

His pincers and shell were covered with countless deep cracks that revealed the bone, and the antennae on his head were bent into a strange arc.

Beside him were some gems and repair fluids and nutrient solutions needed by humans, scattered haphazardly.

Compared to the glittering gems inside the insect hive, these gems aren't particularly good, and the repair fluid and nutrient solution aren't top-tier either.

But that's all he has now.

A dying insect and all his wealth.

Ai Ying's heart clenched for a moment as she watched this scene.

She recognized the insect.

This is the Zerg who, on that day, successfully concealed her existence after receiving a signal from the higher Zerg.

Ai Ying clenched her hands tightly:

Is it because he violated his hierarchical instincts and deceived the higher Zerg that he became like this?

Was he so badly injured because of her orders?

If she hadn't opened the nest entrance today—

Will he stay here and wait to die?

She wouldn't even remember the insect's existence.

Ai Ying stood there, stunned.

Villa sensed the familiar presence and its antennae twitched with difficulty.

He is the king!

How dare he disturb the king!

How could he let the king see him in such an ugly state!

Ai Ying watched him struggle to leave, then squatted down and gently stroked his carapace, which was covered in cracks and insect blood.

She dared not use any force, for fear that even the slightest touch would worsen his pain.

Looking at him so closely, she finally realized the similarities between the Zerg and the insects she liked.

The same agile and sensitive antennae, the same sturdy carapace that protects it, and the same waving pincers.

Even the tiny hairs on the insect's shell look remarkably like those of certain small insects.

She gently stroked his battered body as if to soothe him:

She had no idea what else she could do besides that.

As Villa sensed Ai Ying's movements, the entire insect suddenly froze in place, unable to move any further.

The king... touch him!

The king didn't despise his dirty, tattered insect body; he even...touched him!

In that instant, he felt countless wonderful emotions welling up within the insect core:

Warmth, peace of mind, and rest for the soul.

He must be the happiest worm in the world.

He strained to support his insect body, hoping that Ai Ying could touch him more easily.

However, he was too badly injured to fully control his body, and as he moved, the cracks in his carapace brushed against Ai Ying's fingers.

A few drops of blood flowed silently from her fingertips onto the battered body of the worm, Villa.

The cracks on his body healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his bent tentacles gradually stood up.

The areas most stained with blood were marked with deep red lines, as if branded.

His worm core was gradually repaired, and it throbbed powerfully with each beat.

Villa, who had been sentenced to death, regained his vitality.

Seeing this, Ai Ying suddenly realized why these insects mistook her for the queen:

Because of blood.

Because of her blood.

A note from the author:

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Mwah to all my darlings who are watered with nutrient solution, love you all~~

We're continuing to give out red envelopes today!