Chapter 59
Yael's treatment was soon over and he was ready to be discharged from the hospital.
The hospital was extremely reluctant to part with the S-rank His Majesty, but under the pressure from the Admiral, he still obediently completed the treatment and was sent to the hospital gate by the male insect.
"Your Majesty, come back if you need it. The hospital will reimburse you unconditionally!"
"I really can't bear to part with it..."
The military suspension vehicle stopped at the entrance of the hospital. Because the modified vehicle was designed to be very high, Yael was hugged by the waist by Caesar and was about to be carried up. Hearing this, he turned around and smiled, "Goodbye."
This laugh silenced the swarm of insects in front of the hospital for a moment, and then a louder roar broke out. However, considering the stern-looking female soldier next to them, they did not dare to shout too loudly.
Xize exerted force and pushed the male insect in his arms onto the seat, then stepped neatly on the edge and sat down.
The door slammed shut, blocking out the noisy sounds outside.
This car is self-driving and appears to be more advanced and sophisticated than other general suspended vehicles. Its exterior is plain except for being painted in camouflage green, but its interior looks like a small mecha control room.
Yael sat upright in his chair, feeling a little awkward for once.
He was so excited about the long-awaited reunion that he subconsciously ignored the change in his identity. It was not until this moment that he clearly realized that the poor little female insect at home had become an admiral of the empire, holding a high position and enormous power.
"Retreat, stay alert."
A cold command came from the side, the tone was low and calm, and it seemed particularly majestic. Without looking, one could tell that the expression on that face must be cold and stern, with a wrinkle between the brows.
Normally, the female insect spoke to him in a different tone, with a slightly rising ending and a much softer voice. He thought that this was how female insects always spoke.
This feels a little... strange.
Yael stared at his hands on his knees in a daze.
But soon, the female insect's steady breathing, breath and body temperature clearly penetrated the obstruction of air and fabric.
That breath gradually filled most of the space in the car, filling every breath, and it was a familiarity and security that made him unconsciously relax.
Yael glanced to the left cautiously, but happened to meet a pair of golden eyes looking at him, and quickly turned his eyes back.
Caught peeking.
"My Lord, what's wrong?"
Xi Ze turned off the communicator and put it aside, then leaned forward slightly to look at the male insect's expression, but he could not see anything from that face.
A low and soft voice rang in my ears, making half of my body numb.
Yael resisted the urge to rub his ears and coughed softly, "It's okay."
The male insect seems a little uncomfortable. Is it because of him?
Or more precisely, because he was issuing orders in this uniform?
Some lower-ranking male insects, due to some kind of inferiority complex, will feel obvious displeasure and backstab when female insects show strong ability, desire for control or ambition.
Cize knew that the male insect in front of him would never have that kind of mentality, but he was also afraid that Yael would not like him like this. After all, he was tougher and more fierce than before, and he easily felt pressured and uncomfortable.
The previous worries... turned out to be not without reason.
Thinking of this, he got down from his seat and half-knelt, but suddenly a hand pressed his forehead.
"What are you doing?"
Yael looked at him in confusion, not knowing what the female insect had thought of in such a short time.
Even though they have been together for a long time and have even talked about many things, there are still many times when his and the female insect's brain circuits cannot communicate with each other.
But different social environments foster different ways of thinking, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Yael pressed the female insect's shoulders hard and pulled him towards himself. The distance between them was shortened instantly, and they sat close to each other in a row.
"Where are you going next? You should have a place to stay on the main planet, right?"
He skilfully brushed past the confusing topic, and with a glimpse of the rapidly receding scenery outside, he suddenly felt a little worried.
Xi Ze also put the previous episode behind him and explained in a serious tone.
"Yes, the residence where I died was not taken away by the royal family. It was just sealed off. Maybe they thought it would be turned into a tourist attraction in the future. But I didn't expect that I would be back only five years later."
Yael raised his eyebrows slightly and almost laughed out loud because of this statement.
Is it a place like Xxun or Xshe's former residence? If the female insect comes back two years later, she will have to buy a ticket to go home.
Adult tickets are 120 Star Coins, student tickets are 100 Star Coins, and baby tickets are 80 Star Coins.
But somehow, Yael understood the terrifying influence and credibility of the female insect in front of him, and spoke to him seriously face to face.
"Fortunately, the Zerg people don't believe in superstition, otherwise I might see you in shops on the streets and on the doors of residential houses."
Xi Ze looked at him blankly, obviously not getting what the male insect was saying, but still smiled.
"Then let's go home now."
*
Although Yael knew that female insects had a high status and their living place would definitely not be bad, he was still a little stunned when he arrived at the destination.
"Is that the one?"
Yael pointed to the high-tech villa in the middle of the distance and made a bold guess.
"This area is connected to the ones next to it, and the ones over there... but the one in the middle is definitely where people usually live."
The female insect held my finger and made a big circle from left to right starting from the most impressive-looking building, and also circled the endless areas around it.
Yael widened his eyes slightly, and after countless words circled around his lips, he finally swallowed them.
"It was really unfair for you to live with me in Etal's little house before."
But a touch of warmth was imprinted on the earlobe, and a low and pleasant voice rang close to the ear, like a subtle and restrained act of coquettishness.
"I won't feel wronged. It's good to be with the Lord."
Although it's not something worth mentioning, Cesar actually wanted to show Yael his former residence...it was just a very subtle feeling of joy.
"Let's go in and take a look, shall we?"
When we got closer, we realized that the building was more majestic and taller than we had imagined. There was a faint hint of a translucent protective shield surrounding it. When the suspended vehicle drove in, we could see the guards patrolling back and forth.
The car stopped in front of the middle villa. Caesar got out first, walked around to the other side, opened the door, and held out his hand to Yael, "Be careful."
"Thank you."
Yael said thank you briefly, held the female insect's hand, and was taken off the suspension vehicle.
"I have entered your iris and fingerprints into the intelligent system. Your permissions are ranked first. You can enter and exit any place at will and open every room inside... It's all up to you."
Caesar led him to the door that slid open automatically, talking as he walked.
"Actually, this property isn't the best, but the Lord has said before that he doesn't like staying in places with lots of insects. The environment here is much quieter than other places."
"Normally, there are only the Lord and I here. The patrol team responsible for security will not come near here. The professional teams responsible for other matters such as medical care and cooking live farther away. You can call them when you need them."
Just then, a round household machine slid over and took out a pair of yellow duck slippers from its belly. Yael quickly retracted his gaze and lowered his head to change his shoes.
Because one of his legs was shaky, Caesar took the opportunity to grab Yael's hand.
He smiled and said after the male insect had stomped on the cute little yellow duck that he had prepared specially for him.
"Let me show you around first."
Suddenly remembering something, Xi Ze changed direction, led the male insect forward for a distance, walked around the tall green plants, and entered the spacious hall.
Yael noticed the movement in front of the floor-to-ceiling window at first glance.
A very familiar round figure was standing there stupidly with a mop in its hand. Several CDs with small wings were flying around it, hitting its silver belly with a clattering sound.
"What are you doing? Don't disturb 015 mopping the floor!"
The little robot butler stood with his hands on his hips, and an angry expression appeared on the brand new screen.
But this was obviously of no use. The discs seemed to be teasing it, being pushed away and then stuck forward, until they were stuffed high into the stomach of the annoyed 015.
"015!"
Hearing the familiar voice, it froze for a moment, then turned its head sharply after it reacted, almost snapping the newly replaced wire, "?!!"
It threw away the mop and flew into Yael's arms like a young swallow flying into the forest. It stretched out its long mechanical arms and hugged the male insect, making a whimpering sound.
"Master, you are here too! 015 I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you so much... wuwuwuwuwuwu..."
Xi Ze made room for them to hug each other, tapped 015's new head and explained.
"015 has been given a new body. Its original program was too old, and it was a bit troublesome to completely update it while retaining its personality and memories, but it was successful in the end."
Hearing this, Yael breathed a sigh of relief and put down the little robot butler that was stuck in his arms, "I'm glad you're okay."
015 happily showed his new equipment to the male insect, "This is the latest energy storage! It can be used for at least 50 years after being charged once. No need to charge it all the time!"
"There are also infinitely extendable robotic arms and jet accelerators..."
Xiaotu·015·Baozi, who has never seen anything good since it came out of the factory, exaggeratedly concluded, "It's really, really cool!"
Yael smiled faintly and patted its head. "It's really amazing. You go sweep the floor. Caesar and I will walk around here."
015 just remembered that he was mopping the floor halfway through, and slid away again, "Okay!"
The optical disc that was originally spinning quietly slid over from the edge of the balcony and stopped at Yael's feet. "? What is this?"
"This is a small flying machine for transportation. It has a good load-bearing capacity. You can use it for daily transportation. The villa is too big and you will get tired just walking."
居然大到需要用飛行器代步……？
耶爾眸光一時震顫，看了看雌蟲平淡的表情，低咳了一聲吞下了驚嘆。
015是小土包子，他是大土包子，半斤八兩。
“踩上去就行了嗎，會不會不穩？”
他遲疑着踩上去，那圓盤似的飛行器頓時被激活，兩道藍光沿着邊緣亮起，很快又變形成了長方形，将他穩穩地托住了。
西澤牽着他的手往前走了幾步，腳下的飛行器也扇動着無形的小翅膀随之而動，無比絲滑。
“這是靠精神力驅動的，雄主可以試着用精神力連接它的翅膀，然後就能随心變化形狀和控制速度了。”
但耶爾依言照做後，那小精靈卻陡然一僵，瞬間咔嚓裂成了兩半，從低空中掉了下去——
“？！！”
西澤也驚了一下，猛地伸手将雄蟲撈進懷裏，面面相觑了一會後看向飛行器的殘骸，還有跟着掉下去的一只小黃鴨拖鞋。
耶爾神色有些愧疚，“啊，對不起啊……”
将另外一個飛行器召過來，西澤把雄蟲放到上面，彎下腰拎起那只拖鞋幫耶爾穿上了。
“沒關系，但它只需要一點點精神力就好，不然會承受不住。”
這點小插曲沒有打亂參觀計劃，卻讓耶爾放松了些，不再束手束腳，很快就掌握了駕馭飛行器的辦法。
發現倒懸時飛行器還能伸出卡扣固定住腳，耶爾哇了一聲，在寬闊的大廳三百六十度轉了一圈回來，“你快看！”
“真厲害。”
西澤幫他撥開倒過來後垂下的衣服，露出眼睛和臉來，聲音中帶着縱容而柔和的笑意。
“這半個月裏有專門的蟲将這裏更新換代了一遍，因為直接對接帝國最新科技研發所，有些東西會比較難使用，您可以詢問一下智腦。”
像是捕捉到關鍵詞，雪白的牆面亮起一個金色的光暈，像是一枚星星，随後一道聲音倏地響起——
【是的，智腦随時為您服務，耶爾冕下。】
原來還有一個高智能生物存在。
耶爾把身體倒回來，矜持地低咳一聲，“這裏差不多看完了，繼續走吧。”
大廳旁安裝有電梯，可以直接通往各個樓層，非常方便。
耶爾注意到雌蟲的手指掠過了下面的樓層，直接點亮了五樓的按鍵，“五樓有什麽嗎？”
沒等雌蟲回答，電梯已經到達目的地，門向着兩邊滑開，展露出外面的場景來。
西澤突然低咳了一聲，似乎有些不好意思，垂眸道，“……這裏是主卧。”
耶爾愣了一下，從飛行器上跳下來，試探着往裏面走了幾步。
這一層都是主卧，面積非常廣闊，內裏的裝修卻非常簡潔。
以黑白為主調，符合雌蟲一貫的冷淡利落風格，幾乎沒什麽卧室的溫馨感。
但仔細看還是能發現生活過的痕跡，比如一件挂在衣櫃上的軍裝外套，放在桌子上的玻璃杯，還有冰箱上的一個方塊冰箱貼……這些小細節像是隐藏的小彩蛋一般，等待着被另一道目光發掘。
繼續深入是主卧的中心區域，一張大而柔軟的床上放着這個房間裏唯一一抹亮色。
“怎麽把這個也拿回來了？”
耶爾神色有些驚訝，”把那熟悉的長條小狗抱枕拿了起來。
不小心沾上的血跡已經被清洗幹淨，小狗抱枕散發着陽光和香薰的氣味，格外幹淨好聞。
“因為是您送的。”
西澤輕聲道，眸光專注地看向把玩抱枕的雄蟲許久。
“這個房間怎麽樣，雄主今晚睡這裏好不好？”
他躊躇許久，還是沒有直接邀請雄蟲同睡，卻忍不住暗示了一下。
“我去住四樓的客卧也可以……不過臨近的幾間還沒來得及打掃，可能不太幹淨。”
其實已經從裏到外全部翻新打掃過了，但清掃機器不會為自己辯解，便只能無形中頂下了這口黑鍋。
雌蟲的心思昭然若揭，雖然很可能是不想在他面前動真格，但正是這樣的別扭和暗戳戳，逗起來才好玩。
“這樣嗎？”
耶爾眸光閃爍了一下，故意拉長音嗯了一聲，神色沉思。
“不過我覺得這裏的清掃機器應該很先進，一天內應該足夠收拾好一間房間了。”
“說得也是……那今晚讓家務機器打掃一下那邊吧。”
眼前的雌蟲愣了一下，神情中閃過一絲失落，但靜了半晌後，又提議道，“但是客卧離得好遠，我今晚在外面的沙發睡也行的。”
是離主卧太遠，還是離自己太遠？
耶爾眉梢微挑，承認自己被那無意識的隐忍和依賴撩到了，磨了磨牙後将那長條小狗抱枕怼到雌蟲懷裏。
“騙你的。”
他俯身親了雌蟲的鼻尖一下，“怎麽這麽好騙呢？”
得到了同睡的應允，還附贈了一個安撫的親親，西澤心滿意足地閉上眼睛，伸手按住雄蟲的側腰，縱容着雄蟲在臉上胡亂一通磨蹭。
“只給您騙。”
他斷斷續續地笑，聲音微啞，順着耶爾壓上來的力道向後倒在床上，任由雄蟲跨坐在腰腹上。
暖黃的光從耶爾身後打過來，勾勒出一個幹淨輕減的昏暗輪廓，只能看見那一雙烏黑眼眸中的亮光，帶着親昵而柔軟的笑意。
西澤情不自禁顫栗起來，感受到心髒處無聲而劇烈的轟鳴。
在閉上眼迎合親吻的間隙，他微阖着眼，近乎耳語地喃喃道，“只給您騙。”
……
在主卧磨蹭了好一會，耶爾被帶上了別墅的第六層，和一進去就到玄關的巨大卧室不同，這一層顯得專業又神秘。
電梯後是一條長長的走廊，走到盡頭可以看見一扇銀白色的大門，沒有把手也沒有門鎖，只有兩條更深的銀線勾勒出來的“眼睛”。
“這裏是書房，您可以試試用虹膜開一下門。”
西澤側身讓開位置。
耶爾便将眼睛對準那只“眼睛”正中間，那裏頓時裂開四方的孔洞，掃描完虹膜後嘀了一聲，向着兩邊緩緩打開。
“……？！”
下一秒，看清裏面場景的耶爾瞳孔地震。
這是書房？！
這根本就是國家級的藏書室吧？！
書架牆的巨大銀色顯示屏排列着密密麻麻編號，非常有規律地劃分出了區間，半透明的數據洪流閃着細微的光澤，仿若傾瀉而下的銀河。
星際時代的書和資料多是用芯片卡保存，雖然紙質書籍也有，但已經不是主流。
微型芯片大大減少了藏書的空間，再匹配上眼前堪稱遼闊的藏書室，說是将全帝國的書和資料都收納在這裏了也不誇張。
而且似乎用了延展面積的黑科技，這裏面的空間比單純一層別墅大多了，如果沒有飛行器，在裏面可能迷路一下午都走不出來。
“這邊是藏書區域，那邊有專門的辦公區域，還有……”
一方顯示屏出現在周身，經由雌蟲的手指全方位地展現着裏面的布局。
耶爾仔細看了幾遍，才終于弄懂自己現在在哪個區域門口。
“我可以靠近看看嗎？”
耶爾喉結滾動了一下，雙眼亮亮地看向西澤，幾乎壓抑不住激動的心情。
“當然可以。”
西澤彎了彎眼睛，看着雄蟲唰地駕駛飛行器靠近那面藏書牆。
“最右側Z區藏有很珍貴的孤本，您也許會感興趣的。”
“嘀嘀。”
但手腕上的光腦倏地發出聲響，他收回視線，看到通訊上的名字時眉心緊皺。
“居然真的有這本！之前怎麽找都找不到……”
耶爾正滑動顯示光屏，操縱着飛行器升到半空浏覽劃分的不同區域，聽到雌蟲叫了自己一聲才回過神。
他轉過頭，看着雌蟲向自己小跑過來，便操縱着飛行器降落到地面上，“怎麽了？”
西澤的神色有些為難，似乎不知道該怎麽說，“雄主，那個……”
耶爾瞥見他亮起的光腦，一時了然，“有事要忙？”
“是。”
西澤低聲道，“事發突然，真的很抱歉，今天本該好好陪您的。”
“沒關系，你去吧，等會我自己到處看看，有什麽不懂的問智腦就好了。”
這個位置工作繁忙是一定的，耶爾非常理解，之前自己不過是學校學生，進入研究所等機構後依然要996、007，卷到差點再次猝死。
身為帝國上将，西澤恐怕比那還要忙碌百倍，不會有多少時間陪他了，像在艾塔爾星上的閑适生活不知道還有沒有機會重現。
“對了，這裏有那些地方或文件是不能碰的嗎？比如加密文件之類的。”
耶爾突然道。
西澤愣了一下，明白過來他的意思，眸底神色柔和。
“不能洩露的資料都保存在基地了，書房裏的東西雄主随便翻，都沒關系的。”
“我知道了，你去吧，一路平安。”
“好，我會早點回來的。”
耶爾揮了揮手，目送他快步走出門外。
……
一輛軍用懸浮車停在門口。
西澤開門上車，駕駛座上的白朗一邊啓動能源一邊彙報情況。
"Today is the deadline. If you don't go to see His Majesty, those bugs in the parliament will find an excuse to impeach you."
"Got it. I'll schedule it until 7pm and try to finish it early."
Xize woke up the computer and started processing the mails in batches. At the same time, he listened to Bai Lang's reports and issued new orders from time to time.
The suspended vehicle drove into the base unimpeded.
*
After the female insect left, Yael stayed in the study for a while, and couldn't help but visit all the places he had not visited before.
The villa is very big, but not too big. After all, it is for living, not a living room for playing golf.
Although he needed a flying vehicle for transportation, he had a low-key and luxurious large bedroom, a study room with a collection of books comparable to that of a library, several mecha simulation rooms and training rooms, a huge planetary observatory... and even an entire insect garden with no end in sight.
It should be ok...right?
Yael tried hard to convince himself, but his expression was solemn for a moment, and he couldn't help but cover his face and groan.
"Help - why do I feel like I'm living off of someone else?"
I also remembered the female insect in the press conference, dressed neatly in a military uniform, with a handsome and cold face under the brim of her hat, which shocked all kinds of prying mouths and minds at a single glance.
This is just the surface of what the female insects show. In such a short period of time, they seize power to the utmost, without giving any insects time to react.
This extremely simple yet iron-clad result is enough to reveal the unfathomable cunning of the leopard and make even those who know the truth shudder.
Yael understood it, but he didn't feel much fear. He even missed a beat because of this side of the female insect that was rarely revealed.
Knowing that he was probably getting deeper and deeper into trouble, he didn't struggle much, and just let his dirty heart hit his chest again and again, a trace of heat spreading to his red ears.
"This soft rice seems to have a bit of fragrance."
Finally, Yael came full circle.
On the way, I was a little tempted by the huge observatory, but after looking at the time, I went back to the study.
Although there were reasons for this, he still felt a little guilty for having pigeonholed Adelaide for so long. He felt that this science geek would explode... It was a bit scary.
…
Admiral's Office.
The surveillance in the villa is connected to the optical computer, and the camera keeps switching to follow the male insect.
On the screen, Yael made the aircraft a little bigger, put a soft pillow on it, sat on it with his legs crossed, and wandered around the villa with the toy-like little aircraft.
Whether it was the way he looked up at the interior of the villa, or the way his expression changed when he saw something he liked or something strange, it was all so adorable that Xi Ze could hardly take his eyes away.
Maybe it was because of the numbness from sitting cross-legged for too long, Yael bent one leg and stepped on the edge, while the other calf hung down and dangled, with his cheek supported and his eyes staring blankly.
Just like a cat in its nest, it stretches out its tail and swings it leisurely and nonchalantly, but it makes the keeper who has no choice but to stay outside it itchy and he can't wait to go back and fill his belly.
Xi Ze couldn't help but smile silently, clicked on the record button to save the video, and continued to look through the documents on the table without closing the computer.
The camera will automatically capture Yael's presence, and the shots from different angles will show different things, recording all the male insect's various expressions.
The afterglow was filled with the cute movements of the male insects, making these tedious and boring tasks seem much more pleasing to the eye.
But thinking of the group of people in the parliament and the military who were eyeing him covetously, his eyes gradually turned cold.
An S-rank male insect is like a piece of tender, bleeding meat, which will surely attract countless greedy wolves and leopards that are salivating over it, as well as endless filthy mosquitoes and flies.
It doesn't matter...
Cize poked Yael's profile on the screen with his fingertips. The male insect puffed up one cheek as if it sensed something, frowned slightly in distress, and watched the calculations in the optical computer intently.
He would protect Yael, even if it cost him his life.
The author has something to say:
Cat, come back to the nest! (Inspecting the territory...)
Poverty limits the author's imagination