Chapter 56

Why are you crying?

Children always complain and cry, refusing to listen to reason. But as long as they get a cuddly hug, they can tear the truth to shreds and throw it away like unimportant trash.

They cry when they've done something wrong, and they cry when they haven't done anything wrong, while Fei believes in the principle that "tears are like sand, more is not better."

He was harsh on his soldiers, reserved his only tenderness for his younger brother, and thus had no patience when dealing with an unfamiliar, ugly, and rustic native.

Is it because of the wound? It looks like just a minor injury.

He stood up with a frown, his face devoid of any sympathy.

He rarely spoke to anyone in a bad tone, and when he gave orders in a cold and polite manner, he always had a slight smile on his face. However, his enemies and subordinates became increasingly apprehensive.

"Okay, stop crying."

His request was simple.

He didn't know that Toto's female father also made the same request. Adult insects have a limited tolerance for tears, and the female father would not let Toto cry out. He would always say, "Toto, it's nothing, just a little blood, just a scrape, just a fall... You have to learn from it, you'll be sensible, right?"

Yes, Toto did a great job, but why can't the female and male fathers spend time with him even though he did such a good job?

There must be something he hasn't done enough. Toto knows many things, and he can't be unreasonable and ask his parents for things they can't give him. But he really wants his father to hug him, even though he's not four or five years old anymore, or seven or eight. He wants to bury himself in his father's slightly worn-out coat and say, "I'll buy you a medical pod."

That feeling was probably like the coat the instructor gave him, wrapped up in layers, incredibly warm, almost like a feather blowing on his heart.

That was all he asked for, but he was too timid to tell his father, which is why he missed the opportunity.

Toto felt extremely sad.

Fei wanted to stop him, but the child's tears flowed like a summer river, streaming down his stubborn face, weaving a sorrow that was impossible to ignore.

When Fei first met him, he didn't think he was a child, but now that Toto keeps reaching out to refuse him, he thinks that this is indeed an immature insect larva.

He tried to wipe away Toto's tears, but Toto kept dodging away.

Tears soaked his dark gray eyes, and he continued to weep, showing no sign of stopping.

Fei forcefully held Toto's shoulders steady, his hands incredibly firm, his dry, warm palms a stark contrast to his cold expression and words. The young boy's face was cold from crying, like a frozen egg, soft and delicate. Fei cupped his face, paused for a moment, and then used his vest to wipe it clean with water.

Toto's heart felt so heavy that it couldn't stay inside his body. He longed to be enveloped by something light and warm, so that it could breathe and not feel so heavy anymore.

But only the wind passed by him, and the setting sun had already sunk far into the horizon. Although it wasn't an insect outside, it felt like one.

At that time, Toto couldn't accurately describe that feeling. It wasn't until some late night when he was older, walking alone in a quiet, empty place, that he realized that feeling was loneliness.

Children don't understand what loneliness is.

The wind slipped into his eyes, making them red and his nose sting.

When Fei said, "Go home," Toto picked up the axe and firewood. Without a word or struggle, a worm carried the firewood down the hillside.

Fei stood there for a moment, shaking his head inwardly. He couldn't empathize with the entanglement between these natives and the captured Federation insectoids.

At this point, Toto was just a slightly more obedient little nymph, better than the other males.

Meanwhile, Toto returned home but found nothing. Just as he had expected, there were no Zerg in the tent, and of course, nothing inside had been taken away.

Toto sat on a small stool and chopped wood, one stroke at a time.

A large bump swelled up on his forehead, but his face remained expressionless. By the time the moon climbed into the sky, Toto was drenched in sweat. He had chopped all the firewood, washed all the dishes, and cleaned every nook and cranny.

There's no work to do at home anymore.

Toto looked at the large tent, put down his small axe, and slowly walked back to his own small tent.

He huddled in the floral carpet, the sounds from all directions clearer than ever before. He tried to tell himself that tonight was no different from any other, but as he listened to the cicadas and frogs, he realized that he had never truly known the meaning of fear before.

The moon climbed up from the treetops and then set again.

One day after another.

After being busy for several weeks, Fei suddenly remembered to visit the training camp.

Most of the male insects were still in poor condition, but they were much better than before. After adapting to the rigorous training, they were even able to keep up with the instructors.

Professional training uniforms have been distributed, and as the camp is built, various benefits will be distributed according to the genetic rank of the male insects.

This is when you can see the difference between high-level males and low-level males.

The Alliance is a federation of states established by overthrowing the old monarch. Although it abolished the old system, it still inherited the hierarchical system, but it further subdivided the ranks into genetic qualifications, while the lowest-ranking male insects were not valued.

Fei didn't see Toto at the training ground, so he casually asked and learned that Toto was sick and on leave. He was surprised to hear this news, but a little surprise was not enough to make him overly concerned.

Sorim has been leading a special operations team into the deep mountains to catch any remaining fugitives. The capture has reached a critical juncture, so the child must have been living alone for so long.

Night falls, on the way back from a mission.

Suddenly, I remembered that not far away was the old yurt of the Solim family. After he was captured, his family members were all moved to the camp, so the place was abandoned.

Fei had been here before when he was an undercover agent. It was late at night, and thinking he could rest for a while, he followed the path to the tent in the ravine.

Less than a month after the victory, the place was not completely abandoned. You could still see the traces of a long period of life there. A lot of hay was drying in the small courtyard, but it had been damaged by the wind and rain before it could be brought in.

Fei was soaking wet. He lifted the tent flap and met a pair of deep gray eyes.

Author's Note: