Chapter 38
After washing up, the male insect said good night as usual, yawned and went back to his room to sleep. He walked to the corner and plugged in the power supply of 015, which entered the standby mode.
The lights in the living room were turned off, leaving only a vague darkness.
If there are any creatures still awake, they will find that the female insect is sitting on the sofa and did not say good night as promised.
An invisible mental barrier was deployed, isolating all sounds.
Xi Ze woke up the computer screen, and after a series of complicated operations, a horizontal frame appeared on the suspended screen.
After entering a string of keys, the small optical computer screen instantly linked to another optical computer.
Xize narrowed his golden eyes, his cold brows suddenly became serious, and he laughed in a low voice.
"Good evening, Adjutant Bai."
At that moment, the shadow and glory of the past returned to this scarred body, filling it with blood and bones, forming unique meridians, and emitting the sharp edge of the light of the empire in the past.
And light years away, on an extremely desolate and backward garbage planet.
On the top of an abandoned mountain stood a shabby wooden house, inside which stood a female soldier with her back straight.
The computer was placed respectfully on the table. He stood in front of the table, looking unkempt but extremely resolute.
Hearing the familiar voice, the female insect's face glowed with excitement, and she immediately answered in a loud voice -
"Good evening, Admiral!"
This is the adjutant of the First Army General, Blanc.
The First Legion was once the leader of the four major legions of the Empire.
Rumor has it that the general of the First Army trains his soldiers like animals, and the intensity of the training is unimaginable for other legions.
This severity also resulted in the First Army always having the lowest casualty rate in every post-war statistics, and sometimes even no casualties.
The female soldiers of the First Legion basically have no noble status. They are all selected one by one by the admirals, and there are also some civilian female soldiers who are suppressed by the class and cannot get ahead.
The kindness of being recognized and appreciated is heavier than Mount Tai.
After that, they followed the admiral in battles for several decades. The loyalty of each of them reached an extremely high level. They were his confidants who would even rebel against him at his command.
The First Legion at that time was like an iron barrel, the most trusted army of the people, the sharpest blade of the empire, a strong thigh that friendly armies could hold with confidence, and a living king that the enemy army was terrified of.
And there was no bug named Anto Edeka there.
Anto was originally a female soldier of the Fourth Legion. After the Third and Fourth Legions clashed fiercely due to power struggles, for some unknown reason, he led a group of female soldiers to form a "Fifth Legion", intending to break the long-standing inherent structure and become independent, and directly become the fifth admiral.
But in the eyes of those old foxes, this trick was nothing but a ridiculous and stupid farce. After coordinating the distribution of interests, the Third and Fourth Armies quickly reconciled and became good comrades fighting side by side again.
At this time, the "Fifth Army" seemed extremely embarrassed and was simply a blatant eyesore.
After being passed around and laughed at, and even facing a military court, the retired old marshal of the empire, who was also the admiral's teacher, came to ask the admiral to help Anton.
Soon after, this "Fifth Army" became a supernumerary unit of the First Army.
As for what happened later, anyone who knows about it would spit on it and curse it as a single bad apple spoils the whole barrel.
Thinking of that group of malicious guys, Bai Lang could hardly contain the rage in his chest.
If those bastards had not been accepted at that time, perhaps the admiral would have become a marshal now, and the First Legion would still be doing well.
In the five years since the admiral's sacrifice, the First Army has almost fallen apart, with some dead, some injured, and some transferred away. The small group that remains has never stopped calling for an investigation into the truth.
When Bai Lang received the admiral's call not long ago, he could hardly believe his eyes.
After answering the call with trembling hands, the extremely familiar voice coming from inside instantly made his rationality collapse. He howled in ecstasy and was almost crazy with excitement. He pinched his thigh until it turned purple before he finally dared to believe that this was not a dream.
Their admiral came back alive.
Some time ago, the admiral arranged a team to sneak into the exchange, control several worker bugs, and obtain the video in the optical computer.
It was then that they realized what kind of life the Admiral had been leading for the past five years. He had gritted his teeth and endured humiliation to crawl out of the devil's cave of hell.
The address to which those videos were sent was the private email address of Anto, that beast who is worse than a pig or a dog!
Five years, that was five full years of torture...!
Bai Lang's expression was extremely ferocious, and he could hardly suppress his boiling murderous intent. He could only take deep breaths to barely maintain his sanity.
Fortunately, the admiral has escaped and has begun to prepare for a counterattack. Once the truth is revealed, that beast will be skinned and crushed into dust by the angry people!
Caesar didn't give him much time to get angry, and went straight to the point, "Report everything that happened this week."
After completing the information during this period, Xi Ze has already grasped the specific situation of the current empire. On the surface, it seems harmonious, but in his eyes, it is still full of loopholes and is even more corrupt and decadent than five years ago.
But if you want to break through in one fell swoop without any effort and achieve an overwhelming victory, you still need to plan carefully.
"We have secretly contacted the admiral of the Second Legion... Most of the scattered troops have been assembled... Some of the pawns that the royal family has planted on various marginal stars have been removed..."
Bai Lang straightened his back and stood in a standard military posture. Although there was only a dilapidated wooden house in front of him, he seemed to be standing in the United Front Work Department just like he was five years ago, reporting the latest war situation to his superiors.
He had already finished his report, but he paused and remembered something else.
"The driver you asked us to investigate earlier did have a problem and has been cleared."
After listening to the progress report, Xize frowned and thought for a while, then gave some instructions in a concise manner.
"That's about it. Report the results to me every three days."
"yes!"
Although the admiral did not appear before him, Bai Lang still saluted with a standard military salute and answered loudly.
Just like the answer from previous years, Xi Ze's expression softened for a moment, "Thank you for your hard work."
Bai Lang's eyes became hot and he almost cried out loud.
Five years of persistence have paid off at this moment, and that is enough.
He gritted his teeth, his voice already hoarse, "It's not hard! It's my duty and honor to share the Admiral's worries!"
Soon, the communication was lost.
After restoring the optical computer to its original state, Xi Ze removed the mental barrier, and the quiet night flowed in again.
He sat on the sofa in a daze for a while, and suddenly reached out and touched the necklace around his neck.
His fingertips caught the edge of the necklace and reached into the extremely narrow gap, but soon the skin on his neck was rubbed by the sharp edge of the necklace and began to bleed.
Xize pulled his hand out, pinched his slightly tired brows, lifted the quilt and lay down.
*
"Wow..."
The cold water flowed through his fingers. Yael caught a handful and splashed it on his face. He shuddered from the cold and the remaining sleepiness instantly disappeared.
Suddenly, he frowned, pushed back his bangs to reveal his forehead, and moved closer to the mirror to take a closer look.
Recently, he always felt an itchy sensation on the corner of his forehead, as if something was trying to crawl out from inside, emitting a cold and strong foreign sensation, which made him feel a little trembling and disgusted.
I'm not really going to turn into a bug, am I?
Yael was stunned for a moment.
The images of the female soldiers who had grown tentacles due to injuries that I had seen in the hospital corridor suddenly emerged in my mind.
And Cecil... He sometimes forgot that they were not the same species, not a single race. After all, they all looked the same.
But every time the female insect takes off her top, revealing the gorgeous insect patterns on her lower abdomen and back, and the soft wing sheaths on her back that house her wings, that strong sense of strangeness reappears.
Tiny fears lurk in the ends of his nerves, like the sting of a scorpion, which would prick him from time to time, as if reminding him to stay alert at all times.
Don't show any flaws, don't arouse suspicion, don't let [them] discover... your true identity under the hood.
He stared at the mirror in front of him in a trance, his figure seemed motionless.
After a while, he suddenly stretched out his hand, and with his wet fingertips he drew a long line on his neck in the mirror.
Click.
…
Yael never thought he would see such a scene.
When he came out to the living room, 015 was arranging the flowers on the dining table. He heard a slight sound from the kitchen and turned his head as if he sensed something.
The female insect was tall and straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. She was frying a sizzling steak with a spatula. Her tall figure made the already small kitchen look even smaller.
But what stunned him were the two thin pink strings tied tightly around the female insect's waist, with bows tied at the ends, which stood out against the black vest.
What is that?
The tempting aroma of meat wafts out, and the crackling sound of oil splashing is enough to imagine its deliciousness.
Caesar scooped it neatly onto the plate, added the pre-cut side dishes, and then turned around.
There was a hint of a deep smile in his voice, "Good morning, Lord Xiong."
Yael slowly widened his eyes.
Caesar was wearing a pink apron.
The apron was old-fashioned and a little wrinkled. It was made of very cheap pink fabric with a cartoon piggy bank sewn on it and a circle of childish lace around it.
Maybe it was given as a gift during a supermarket promotion. I just threw it into a corner after I bought it. I have never worn it. I don’t know where the female insect found it.
But that's not the point.
The apron was very small, and the female insect's full and elastic pectoral muscles held the fabric fully. The thin strap around the neck was stretched to the limit, and it felt like it would break in the next second.
也不知道他為什麽那麽堅持，即使如此逼仄也要将那條圍裙完整系好，勁瘦的腰被系帶掐緊，更顯得臀部分外挺翹圓潤。
真的會幻視一些以做飯為名，實際上是把圍裙和廚房用作其他用途的……情趣玩法。
“你、”耶爾神色更加茫然，磕磕絆絆地道，“沒必要，呃、這樣……”
他遲疑地住了嘴。
西澤臉上浮現出一絲迷茫，觀察了他的神情一會，有些忐忑地低聲詢問，“雄主，怎麽了？”
“圍裙。”
耶爾捏了一下眉心，終于找回自己的舌頭，“怎麽突然穿圍裙？”
西澤有些恍然，低頭又看了看身上的圍裙，仍然不解，“圍裙怎麽了？”
“就……感覺很不合身的樣子。”
“這個沒關系。”
西澤不甚在意地道，随後眉眼間染上了些許笑意，“我新學了一道菜，您要試試看嗎？”
耶爾慢半拍地把注意力從圍裙上移開，就聽見了這句話呀，神情頓了頓。
很……奇怪的感覺。
雖然陰差陽錯導致不得不同居，在一起吃飯、看電視、聊天，互道早安晚安，甚至還做過一些過于親昵的事，耶爾也從沒有把他看做是自己的同類。
但那條圍裙實在是有些熟悉了，熟悉到……讓耶爾産生了一些久遠而模糊的幻覺。
好像有那麽幾次，也是冬天的早上，他揣着手坐在小板凳上，迷迷瞪瞪地等着外婆做好早飯，然後送他去兩公裏外的中心小學。
破舊廚房裏的矮小身影忙忙碌碌，接着一點微弱的暖光，能看清她身上的粉色圍裙，上面印着一只褪了色的卡通豬。
小耶爾越看越困，幾乎又要睡着了，但猛地被稀飯勺敲了腦袋，瞬間睜圓了眼，“！！”
“快吃！吃完去上學。”
拿到模糊的身影背着光，将一碗白粥放在他面前，可能是因為太過困倦，小耶爾再怎麽睜大眼睛，也沒辦法看清外婆的樣貌。
那是他為數不多珍藏着的記憶。
耶爾的視線漫無目的地從粉色圍裙移向雌蟲，和記憶中的昏黃不同，眼前的景象更加清晰而明亮，卻是如出一轍的溫暖。
好像一大團棉花糖塞進胸腔，在他心口蓬松着發甜。
那條深深的鴻溝似乎消失不見，好像這不過是再平常不過的一個清晨，晨起，吃早飯，然後和親近的朋友随意閑聊幾句。
這感覺太好，如在夢中。
還是個舍不得醒來的美夢。
西澤眼看着雄蟲的神色一點點軟化，最終抿唇笑起來，“我很期待。”
但等他将第二盤早餐煎出來後，凝視他許久的耶爾突然起身，柔和的眼角微微眯起，染上了些許侵略性。
“但是你的圍裙太緊了，會不會勒得不舒服？”
“也……還好？”
西澤對上雄蟲的眼神，抿了抿唇，掩飾般伸手扯了扯鎖骨上的系帶，卻因為那帶子太過緊繃，扯動時飽滿的地方也跟着顫了顫。
蝴蝶結，歪了。
耶爾看着被扯到側腰的粉色蝴蝶結，眸光微沉，喉結滾了滾。
他本想出聲提醒，但不知怎麽的已經逼至雌蟲身前，向着那條圍裙伸出手。
“……雄主？”
西澤聲音微啞，神色有些不自然，卻沒有推開摸上腰側的手。
在雌蟲無聲的縱容下，那根手指勾着纖細的繩帶，慢慢将蝴蝶結拉回腰後，尾指擦過敏感的腰窩，激起一陣細微的戰栗。
蝴蝶結已經弄正，那只手卻又倏地往上，扯開了圍裙側邊的小活結，像是掀開了壓着很多棉花的盒子，裏面的內容物蓬松又軟乎乎地滿溢出來，惹得眼熱。
耶爾的呼吸很輕，聲音更輕，“太緊了，是吧？”
“……”
西澤看着雄蟲漂亮的眼，驀地感到口幹舌燥，胸前那一片浸染了細汗的布料變得更加潮濕。
他沒有答話，只是胸口起伏的弧度更明顯了些。
耶爾突然低下頭，湊近嗅了嗅雌蟲的氣息，“你好香。”
他又聞到那股獨特的苦澀氣息了。
從雌蟲身上散發而出，像是從海面蒸騰而起的綿密水汽，絲絲縷縷地彙聚成積雨雲，等待着濕透後滿溢的沉墜時刻。
按照常理來說，在雄蟲面前主動釋放信息素是在求偶，雙方都心知肚明的無聲引誘。
但信息素是不受控制自己跑出來的，眼前的雄蟲也只是輕輕嗅聞，除了解開繩結外什麽都沒做，十分有禮貌且克制。
西澤被他逼得後退，後腰抵住堅硬冰涼的臺面，喉結滾動半晌，啞聲道，“雄主，早餐要涼了……”
耶爾的手指還扯着那條系帶，眼前飽滿的胸肌被勒出一道深深的痕跡。
但這邊收緊了另一邊會更不夠，那細繩将雌蟲的鎖骨勒出了一條紅痕。
他看着那道紅痕半晌，松開了手。
“滴滴，檢測到信息素異常溢出，是否需要注射抑制劑？”
015的聲音突然響起，插進這一片黏糊的空氣中。
經過這麽一番折騰，那條圍裙亂七八糟地挂在雌蟲身上，已經不能看了，西澤的耳根和脖子都還是紅的，聞言轉開了臉沉默喘息。
耶爾堪堪回神，一手按住探出頭來的015，将它的腦袋轉過去。
少兒不宜。
等西澤低頭默默整理好衣服，耶爾低咳一聲，“下次給你買條大的。”
雌蟲低低嗯了一聲，那條圍裙也沒解下來，轉身去看鍋裏的早餐，“雄主先出去吧，很快就弄好了。”
耶爾倚在門框上看他動作利落地颠勺，食物的香味很快就逸散出來，在清晨的空氣中蔓延。
“你現在還是不能控制信息素嗎？”
他突然開口問，“那正常的發情期呢？”
“信息素偶爾會不受控制，可能是之前遺留下來的後遺症，還需要療養一段時間。”
西澤将軟嫩的煎蛋翻了一個面，沒有回頭，“等信息素恢複正常，發情期也會正常的。”
耶爾卻蹙起眉。
“休伊斯說你的自愈功能被破壞了，但雌蟲的自愈能力不是基因裏帶出來的嗎？聽說等級越高自愈能力越強來着。”
“……”
西澤凝視着鍋裏表皮微焦的荷包蛋，出神了一會，才慢慢道。
“是啊，那時候被抓去做了蟲體手術，專門破壞了這部分功能。”
但是也不能完全破壞，沒有自愈能力的雌蟲很容易死，折磨起來會沒有那麽盡興。
所以他們給他留了一些餘地，不久前他的自愈能力才開始逐步恢複。
身後沒什麽聲了，西澤後知後覺，正要回頭去看，就聽到耶爾輕聲道。
“到時候你回去主星，記得去頂尖的醫院徹底檢查一遍，這裏的醫療很滞後，檢查不出什麽也很正常，不要覺得都是小問題，積少成多身體會受不了。”
西澤回頭，看了他幾眼，在煎蛋變得焦糊前轉過頭，鏟起來放在盤子裏。
“好。”
“不說這個了。”耶爾垂眸，岔開話題，“可以吃了嗎，我好餓。”
……
西澤終于脫了那條圍裙挂在一邊，将全部早餐端出來。
耶爾看到他解開後鎖骨有兩道紅痕，還是對稱的，伸手去碰的時候感覺有點發熱，但幸好沒破皮。
他有些無奈，“幹嘛非要穿，不知道勒着會很痛嗎？”
西澤低頭乖乖讓他摸，順手将雄蟲的袖子挽了一挽，以免待會吃東西麻煩，“不穿會弄髒衣服的。”
耶爾眉梢微揚，但還沒等說什麽，那只雌蟲的視線微妙偏移一瞬，有些不好意思似的，語氣有些猶豫。
“而且我覺得……您應該會喜歡我穿這條圍裙的樣子。”
游離的視線随後一定，西澤垂眸，看進雄蟲的眼眸深處，有些忐忑地輕聲道，“雄主喜歡嗎？”
耶爾的心髒漏跳了一拍。
他眼睫微眨，在雌蟲掩飾地低咳一聲，想要翻過這個話題時堪堪回神。
“很可愛，我很喜歡。”
耶爾無聲地笑了笑，一手撐着下颌，擡眼專注地看着雌蟲。
“就算不穿圍裙也一樣可愛，我希望……你能一直像現在這樣可愛。”
他動了動唇，聲音低到自己都聽不清，“這就是我将你撿回來的原因。”
“什麽？”
西澤沒聽清他後面那句話，愣了一下後再次詢問道。
耶爾抿唇笑了笑，搖了搖頭沒有回答他，“沒什麽，吃早餐吧。”
一開始将他吸引住的，就是雌蟲璀璨的金眸。
明明承載着滿溢的痛楚、難堪、恥辱、憤怒，卻始終淩厲清醒，還有其中蓬勃而生的、像是雜草一樣難纏的生命力。
他們都一樣，在這個操蛋的世界中像狗一樣活着。
只不過他是流浪的喪家之犬，西澤是被痛打的病狼，他在絕望中日漸枯萎，西澤卻能浴血拼命生長。
人總是被自己沒有的東西所吸引，他亦不能免俗。
而每多相處一刻，西澤都能給他更多的驚喜，讓他知道生命的表現形式絕不只是頑強與堅韌，還有更适應這個社會與生活的可愛柔軟。
就像高大的軍雌穿上那條粉嫩的圍裙，在他眼裏并不顯得違和怪異，而是……
"cute."
Yael murmured for the third time, cutting the fried egg on the plate with a knife and fork, cutting out a Q-version bow shape, crooked, but he inexplicably liked it.
He pushed the other scraps aside and put the bow on Cesar's plate. "Eat this."
015 leaned over to look at the strange geometric egg. After scanning it for a while, he still had no idea what shape it was and was very confused.
"What is this? It looks like that..."
Xi Ze covered its mouth in time.
The author has something to say:
Yes, the author really likes the nude apron + carrots/cucumbers/eggplants/cherry tomatoes and other kitchen pretzels, and feels very suitable for male mothers, but unfortunately... (sigh) (leaves with hands behind)