Chapter 32

"Did you agree? Did you agree? ...What did the email say?"

Several professors in the academy looked at the dean's laptop expectantly, but saw the dean's face gradually become frozen, and finally he sighed helplessly, "He refused."

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Was the email you sent insincere, or did you not include our school's enrollment brochure?"

"Did someone leak the news and the Imperial Star Military University got the first chance? He is obviously a good candidate for scientific research and should come to us!"

"Don't make any noise."

Norman adjusted his monocle and said gently, "The kid said in the email that he has social anxiety and that the economic crisis has been resolved, so he decided not to come."

The conference room was silent for a moment, and then an old professor said tremblingly, "How about not asking him to communicate offline, and just keep it online?"

"There's no rush for this!"

Norman was amused and angry. He waved his hand to end the meeting and said, "I'll try to contact him later."

The small impromptu meeting ended quickly, leaving only a highly respected professor sitting in the seat. Seeing Norman's serious expression, he comforted him with a few words.

Norman put down the information in his hand and sighed to the old professor, "I think it's difficult."

"Why do you say that? Is there any other reason?"

Norman mentioned another thing, with some emotion in his voice, "I wonder if you still remember the male insect named Yael that appeared before?"

"The male insect who was picked up from the battlefield, knew nothing about the Zerg, and couldn't even speak the language, and quickly completed the higher education course in two years?"

The professor recalled that this incident caused a sensation at the time. Many petty nobles became interested and wanted to drag him into it.

But a D-rank male insect... his level is just there, and the upper limit can't be much higher, so no one really takes it seriously.

What was unexpected was that the male insect rejected all invitations and finally seemed to have dropped out of school. He disappeared completely after leaving the main planet.

"He has extraordinary abilities and talents, and a good character."

Recalling the exam video he had watched before, the professor made a conclusion. Looking at Norman's complicated expression, he was suddenly surprised, "You mean...?"

"Yes, that's him."

The professor sighed, "That's really difficult. I remember that because of that incident, he was put on the Red Alert Protection List. Alarms would go off wherever he went. It must have been very annoying, so he chose to leave the main system."

Norman rubbed his brows tiredly, "Let me think about it again. Adelaide is a stubborn kid...either one or the other is a real worry!"

*

"Exon is a very famous research institute. It is the heart of the academic world that supplies high-quality fresh blood. Its fame and status are almost comparable to the Imperial Military University... Would you like to reconsider it?"

Xi Ze glanced at the familiar logo, then looked up at the distressed male insect in front of him, thought for a moment and whispered something to persuade him.

No matter what, it would be a pity to give up an opportunity to make yourself better. The supply of resources on the main star and the marginal star like Etal is a world of difference.

Yael was confused for a moment. When he received the money, he had already checked the information of this school. It was indeed a very powerful school, but...

"Forget it."

After confirming that the email had been sent, he threw the laptop aside, feeling somewhat hopeless and like a troubled teenager who hated studying.

"I don't want to go to places with lots of insects and deal with all kinds of insects. It feels too tiring. I'd better stay at home and study by myself."

Catching a glimpse of annoyance and fear in the male insect's eyes, Xi Ze was slightly startled, and unconsciously softened his tone, "It's okay, if you don't want to go, then don't go."

Yael uttered a vague "hmm" sound from the tip of his nose, his body slowly slid down, and he skillfully found a comfortable position on the sofa and lay there motionless.

"You stayed up late again last night. I'll take a nap first. Just find something to do..."

Xize picked up the laptop that had fallen to the ground. With his peripheral vision he caught a glimpse of the male insect's sleepy face, and consciously stroked its smooth surface with his fingertips.

But after a moment's hesitation, he put the laptop on the coffee table and reached out to tuck the quilt for Yer. "Okay, you take a rest first."

Yael finished his sleep in a daze, and when he opened his eyes again, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the female insect was leaning on the sofa beside him with her arms folded, closing her eyes and resting.

But even when he was resting, Xi Ze kept his shoulders and back tense, without that terrible weak and powerless look. His slightly wrinkled brows made him look serious and difficult to approach, as if he was a little uncomfortable.

Only then did Yael feel embarrassed for occupying someone else's bed. His ears felt slightly hot, yet he felt inexplicably at ease and relaxed.

"Hero Lord?"

Xi Ze noticed the movement and opened his eyes. He pinched his brows and woke up. His stern expression disappeared quietly. "Are you awake? Are you hungry?"

"It's okay. What time is it now..." Yael threw off the quilt and got out of bed. Suddenly he remembered that he had something else to do today. "I have to go out now."

Xi Ze hesitated for a moment, "Where to?"

"At the field hospital, the date for the pheromone trade has arrived. Go pick up your test report while you're at it."

Yael picked up the coat on the back of the sofa and put it on. "Tell 015 not to make my lunch."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Yael turned to look at him. The female insect on the sofa was looking at him intently, which made him suddenly realize something.

It seemed as if every time before going out, Tang Yuan would be waiting at the door in advance, with a pair of moist black eyes, a whimpering sound from the tip of his nose, and a soft tail rubbing against his trouser leg reluctantly.

"I'll be back soon."

He whispered subconsciously, and after coming to his senses, he curled the corners of his lips, "...Goodbye."

After that sound, silence returned to the room.

The balcony curtain shuddered and slipped off its hooks, casting a large, pale shadow over the living room.

*

Yael pulled down the hood of his coat, and the plush hood, mask, and scarf wrapped him tightly.

Soon, a silver suspended vehicle descended from the sky.

A female insect jumped down from the driver's seat and eagerly opened the door for him. "Please come in, sir. I'm the driver who's responsible for picking you up this time."

Yael said thank you, bent down and sat in the car, and the door was closed gently.

The ride of the suspended car was very smooth and the heater was turned on very high, which even made Yael feel a little stuffy. It was a temperature that could easily make him sleepy.

But when he raised his eyes inadvertently, he bumped into a pair of eyes in the rearview mirror that were hastily moving away. It seemed that an unknown shadow flashed across the bottom of the pupils, making the expression of the female insect look a little scary.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, just checking if you have your seat belt fastened. You have a strong sense of safety."

It was originally just a small episode, but the dark and gloomy gaze seemed to be there and not there, sticking to the body like mucus, making Yael feel a little uncomfortable.

With his finger on the quick alarm button on the optical computer, Yael looked up at the rearview mirror inside the car again, and this time he was met with a pair of dark eyes.

Without looking away, he slowly asked, "What are you looking at this time?"

The driver looked flustered and apologetic, and quickly looked away.

"It's because you are so good-looking, so I can't help it... I'm really sorry... If you don't like it, I won't watch it..."

Sure enough, on the rest of the journey, the sight that was glued to him completely disappeared, and Yael kept his hand on the alarm button without moving it until the suspended car successfully stopped at the hospital entrance.

The female insect got out of the car first, opened the door for him, and said respectfully, "We are here, sir."

Yael said nothing, unbuckled his seat belt, got out of the car, and walked straight into the hospital.

"I am truly sorry, sir."

The voice came from behind, but it inexplicably carried a gloomy smile, "But I should be the one to pick you up next time."

Yael said nothing and walked towards Elaine who was standing at the hospital gate to greet him. Before the female insect could smile, he said coldly, "Replace this driver immediately."

He didn't even try to avoid the driver who hadn't left yet, and his voice was cold and sharp with a slight downward pressure.

Elaine was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked why.

But the moment his eyes met the male insect's, he realized that Yael was not discussing with him, but was only telling him the inevitable result.

He looked respectful and said in a deep voice, "Of course, if you ask for it."

…

In view of the unpleasant incident that had just happened to the male insect, Elaine was very careful along the way.

I was afraid that he would not want to trade if he was unhappy, and that would be really heartbreaking.

But in fact that did not affect Yael's efficiency. He completed the extraction in less than ten minutes, and after coming out of the collection room, he was invited to the VIP lounge.

"The female worm examination report is now complete. I will ask the doctor to explain it to you in detail."

Elaine, who successfully obtained the pheromone, was beaming with joy. She woke up the computer and called in the insects that had been waiting outside.

"The condition of your female worms is not very optimistic at the moment." The attending physician handed the examination report to Yael.

"You just said that his eyes have recovered initially, right? The speed is much faster than we expected, which proves that his damaged self-healing ability is gradually recovering. This is very good news for subsequent treatment."

"But the female insect's leg bones are misaligned, and one of its knee bones is punctured. Surgery may be necessary. However, before surgery, we need to further confirm the condition of both legs and restore them to a condition suitable for surgery."

The doctor observed Yael's expression and saw that he didn't look surprised, so he continued.

"As for the bone wings on his back... there's really nothing we can do about it. Although there are examples of bone wings regenerating, they were basically just broken and damaged, far from being uprooted."

Yael looked at the reports and frowned slightly.

伊萊恩低嘆一聲，“如果有醫療艙就好了，那東西恢複傷口特別快，還不會留下後遺症。”

“不過醫療艙的價格貴到可以買下我們這十個醫院，而且沒有渠道根本搞不到……還是慢慢治療吧。”

耶爾若有所思地垂眸，嗯了一聲，“繼續吧。”

……

一個半小時後。

魚貫進入的幾位醫生紛紛走出，回到各自崗位。

“閣下要不要留下來吃頓午飯？不要的話我開車送您回去……”

相比之前在主星看到的，每次雄蟲出現時浩浩蕩蕩的架勢，再對比現在的幹脆利落卻簡陋無比，伊萊恩總有種莫名的愧疚和心虛感。

他試圖在各種地方找補一下，“或者就送您到門口也行啊。”

耶爾垂眸将口罩戴上，漫不經心地揮了揮手，把試圖跟随的伊萊恩阻止在原地。

他沒有離開醫院，而是沿着走廊慢慢走了一圈。

距離上次來已經有幾天了，大部分軍雌已經得到了妥帖的安置，沒有再像之前那樣滿身是血擠在走廊裏。

他下意識路過上次那個病房，透過門上鑲嵌的窄玻璃看進去，裏面并沒有軍雌在，可能是都去吃午飯了。

耶爾剛要收回視線，裏面卻突然傳出碰撞的細微聲響，他下意識往那裏看去——

卻恰好對上一雙海藍色的眼眸。

最裏面病床上躺着一個軍雌，身體被垂下的簾子遮擋大半，臉上戴着呼吸面罩，輪廓有些模糊。

如果他沒記錯，這個軍雌叫阿爾文。

他看起來已經好多了。

雖然還渾身纏滿繃帶行動不便，但明顯可以看到身體中逐漸煥發的生機，像是冰雪解凍後的綠苔，一點一點地重新爬滿粗粝的岩石。

耶爾和那雙眼眸對視片刻。

半晌，他垂下眸，往上拉了拉口罩，離開了那個病房門口。

而快要走到醫院門口時，身後卻傳來一個詫異的聲音。

“耶爾閣下？好巧，您今天也過來了。”

居然是休伊斯。

休伊斯向着面前的護士囑咐了一句什麽，就往這邊走來，将耶爾拉進了旁邊的一個空病房裏。

“那件事我也聽說了，還真是挺驚奇的。”

休伊斯眉眼間洋溢着驚嘆的笑意，和之前的禮貌而疏遠不用，帶着仿佛真正認可了的善意和親昵。

“您今天是來交易信息素的嗎？”

說話間耶爾已經摘下了臉上的口罩，聞言彎了彎眼睛。

“對，順便和他們讨論一下西澤的治療方案。”

“這樣啊……”

說起這個，休伊斯臉上的表情變了變，他猶豫了一會，還是決定告訴眼前的雄蟲真相。

“我實話告訴您一件事吧。”

他的神情非常嚴肅，耶爾愣了一下，“什麽？”

“您大概還不知道吧，您的雌蟲等級出乎意料得高，大概是S級甚至以上的雌蟲。”

“S級、雙S級的雌蟲就算是在帝國，也是鳳毛麟角般的存在，身份不會簡單，您……”

他卡殼了一下，突然就不知道要說什麽，也不知道自己為什麽要腦子一熱說出來了。

但看到耶爾對那個雌蟲如此上心，他有些擔心雄蟲會上當受騙，忙忙碌碌到最後，卻得不到真正想要的。

耶爾瞳孔驟縮。

他的動作靜止了幾秒，許久才緩慢地擡起頭來，仍然不可置信似的。

他張了張嘴，聲音很輕，“你說……什麽？”

雙目相對的瞬間，盡管他不想承認，但休伊斯神色無比認真，顯然并沒有在開玩笑。

西澤是……S級甚至更高級別的雌蟲？

這個念頭在空白的腦海裏轉了一圈，卻沒能激起什麽情緒的漣漪。

或許是太過震驚和難以置信，讓他完全沒有什麽真實感，下意識抵抗着往下深想。

但他居然有種果然如此的感覺。

難怪……

難怪。

他雖然想過西澤的身份可能會很不一般，但從來沒有想過他的等級會那麽高。

那被雌蟲一直隐瞞的，背後的身份又會是什麽呢？

耶爾怔住的時間太久，休伊斯都有些擔心起來了，謹慎地在他眼前揮了揮手。

“閣下？耶爾閣下？”

“這個消息可能一時有些難以接受，但不管怎麽說，現在他已經是您的雌奴了，這個事實并不會改變，所以您不必太過擔憂……”

但後面的話耶爾基本沒怎麽聽進去。

他有些倉皇地垂眸，戴上口罩才能勉強遮掩自己的神色，最終匆匆和休伊斯告別，快步離開了醫院。

……

街上的殘雪被溫熱陽光融化，緩慢彙成汩汩的溪流，被路過的靴底踩過，變得渾濁而肮髒。

耶爾從醫院出來後沒有打車，快走過幾條街才堪堪回神，停下了腳步。

幸好戴了口罩，街上來來往往的雌蟲沒有一個認出他的，不用費心思應付過于那些熱情的雌蟲。

而且他現在也……完全沒心情想其他的了。

醫院旁邊就有一座公園。

白色石板砌成的地面上，數十只不畏寒的飛鳥停着歇腳，偶爾振翅飛一段距離又停下，長尖的喙翻找着被埋在雪下面的小果子。

耶爾找到一把長椅坐下，被冰冷的風一吹，終于徹底清醒過來。

檢查報告被掃描打包發到了光腦裏，他翻來覆去又看了幾遍。

片刻後，鬼使神差地點進和015的聊天框中，上一條消息還停留在中午十二點。

而再往上，是翻不到盡頭的【雌蟲觀察報告】，堪稱事無巨細地彙報了西澤的行蹤和狀态，還夾雜着015孩子氣的碎碎念。

所有細節都歷歷在目，如在眼前。

甚至已經潛移默化地成為了一種習慣，讓他時不時就會翻一翻看又來了什麽新消息。

又因為015會固定在十二點到兩點這個時間段關機，進行一次沉浸式充電，這些消息便也會跟着停止刷屏一小時。

想了想，耶爾打開了新裝在客廳的電子攝像頭，在第一次雌蟲失控後他就買回來裝上了，但現在還是第一次打開。

鏡頭很快聚焦，正對着沙發，上面卻不見雌蟲的身影。

耶爾愣了一下，看向角落的充電口處，015确實在關機充電，但雌蟲去哪裏了？

他操縱攝像頭往下旋轉——

終于在客廳和餐廳中間的地板上，看見了躺在地上的雌蟲。

影像不斷聚焦，最終變得清晰起來，西澤的臉出現在畫面的正中心，而不遠處還擺着一架輪椅。

地板很涼，傷口也才剛結痂，就敢這麽折騰了？有什麽事不能等015開機後再做？

耶爾眉心瞬間緊蹙，又想起上次雌蟲一意孤行重塑精神圖景，還差點被凍死的事，心情變得有些糟糕。

但就要緊急喚醒015時，他注意到西澤的舉動有些奇怪——

似乎是怕弄髒地板，雌蟲把上衣脫下墊在了地上。

而他正躺在上面，做着一些擡腿和伸屈的動作，做了幾十次後又側身蜷縮，開始下一組動作。

他的胸膛起起伏伏，上面已經布滿了晶瑩的汗珠，額頭上也滿是細汗，沿着利落的下颌線滑落。

那些動作顯然給他造成了不輕的負擔，甚至是幾乎再次撕裂的劇痛。

但他始終安靜而耐心，帶着一種特別的節奏感，将每個動作都完成得十分完美。

等做完那些動作，西澤又将手指搭在大腿上，摸索丈量着距離，堅硬的骨節有節奏地按揉打轉，似乎在按摩穴位，并且上下循環了多次。

一系列運動終于完成，雌蟲的神情終于露出些許疲憊。

被充分活絡過筋骨的雙腿正微微顫抖，卻顯而易見地更加放松和靈活。

成效顯著。

伊萊恩無意間說過的話倏地閃入腦海——

“對于軍雌來說，相比于躺着靜養，他們更願意通過特殊的恢複運動，最大程度地激發自愈效果，有些甚至能達成兩倍至三倍的強效……當之無愧的戰争機器。”

而正當耶爾以為已經結束了的時候。

西澤手肘撐住地面，擡起半身來，後伸手按住旁邊的沙發扶手，讓自己完全坐起來。

然後——

他站了起來。

雖然有些顫抖，但他居然真的在雙腿骨骼都扭曲錯位，甚至還有一邊膝蓋骨被打穿的情況下，讓自己緩慢地站了起來。

雌蟲扶着沙發的手臂肌肉鼓起清晰飽滿的線條，青筋從小臂蜿蜒而上，像是樹梢上橫生分叉的枝條，蘊含着巨大而堅韌的力量。

那顯然很痛，但他掌握的度極好，傷口并沒有因此撕裂，甚至逐漸停止了原本細微的顫抖。

西澤臉上的表情凝重，嘗試着稍微直起身，雙腿移動着做一些簡單的動作，都是點到即止，時不時若有所思地掃過一眼，再變換一個姿勢。

全程大概五分鐘左右，他又摸索着坐回了輪椅上，然後坐在上面繼續按摩腿部的穴位和骨骼。

之前忽視的細節突然開始凸顯存在感——

之前015就奇怪過，明明突然沒電，醒來卻發現自己正在充電，而西澤腿上的傷卻再度撕裂流血。

Although she had been taking conservative treatment and her self-healing ability had been damaged, each time she went to the hospital for a checkup, the female worm's legs recovered better and better.

Yael checked all the surveillance footage from the past period, and sure enough, when he was taking a lunch break in the library and 015 was charging, the female insect was always doing this.

Whether it was Xi Ze Lei's unshakable military routine and habits, or some things he glimpsed from the exchanges -

All of this is enough to show that the female insect in front of us is not a casual, decadent, and laissez-faire person.

Quite the contrary, he was lurking like a wounded beast deep in the forest, biding his time and waiting for the moment to strike back.

There were clues for everything, but he never thought about it deeply, or rather, he was unwilling to think about it deeply.

Yael stared at the picture on the computer in a trance and pursed his lips subconsciously.

"Don't worry. That female insect doesn't look like the kind of insect that would repay kindness with enmity. What you pay now will be repaid a hundred or a thousand times over."

These were Hughes' words of comfort, but he never cared about compensation.

From the very beginning, he never thought about keeping the female insect. They shouldn't have had any deep interactions.

Everything that happened later was just a coincidence. He also told Caesar that after his injury healed, he would decide whether to leave or not.

He should be happy that things are going as expected.

...but he was not happy.

Because if the gap is really that big, once Xi Ze leaves, then this thin connection should be cut cleanly and decisively, and they will never see each other again.

Besides, before so many things happened at that time, and without the deepening emotions getting in the way, it was so easy to say "let him go".

In the picture, Cesar restores everything to its original state, moves from the wheelchair back to the sofa, and slowly calms his breathing.

During this time, he unconsciously glanced at the door several times, as if waiting for the door to open.

It seemed as if it had really been domesticated and was waiting obediently for him to come home when he went out, although Yer knew that it was a wild snow leopard temporarily living under the fence.

A gust of cold wind blew by, startling the birds on the floor and causing them to flap their wings.

When the wind passes, some of the birds return to the ground to rest, while others rush into the gray sky and fly high and far.

A few feather wings floated down from midair and landed on the light brain, just covering the female insect's neck.

The metal ring above was emitting a restrained dark light, like a chain that imprisoned a beast, binding him tightly to the house.

Caesar also wears a necklace of female slaves, which means "only for him".

This idea was extremely despicable, but it allowed him to draw a ray of oxygen from the suffocation.

The author has something to say:

Yeah Yeah: stuffed with sesame seeds, white, soft and sticky, but black when cut open.