Chapter 77
"Your Majesty personally leads the way and overthrows hundreds of underground agents! The Duke's Mansion may face liquidation..."
《A wanted order has been issued for the traitor Anto Edeka!》
Blood-red news headlines popped up one after another, emitting a dim light in the dim control room. The overwhelming bad news made Anto breathless.
Damn it…!
Why did things turn out like this?!
Everything was fine two months ago. He was the proud general of the First Army, holding great power in high society. This was how it should be!
The female insect's eyeballs were covered in bright red bloodshot, and it looked as if it had not rested for a long time, or perhaps it was going crazy due to long-term fear and anxiety.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it…”
Anto was frantically searching through various news, but when he saw a piece of gossip, he suddenly stopped and his distorted expression froze.
《His Majesty Yael and Marshal Monte are so sweet and cute! ! 》
The two names in the title and the exclamatory words at the end almost made him vomit, but he still couldn't help but click on the news.
That was the day after the impeachment.
The background of the secretly taken photo in the first chapter was the base, and it was snowing heavily.
The male insect in the photo is wearing a coat with a plush hood, while the female insect is slightly bent over with a puzzled expression.
In the second photo that slides down, when the female insect gets close enough, the male insect smiles and suddenly puts on the big plush hat, covering the heads of both insects.
It looks silly enough.
But whether it is the bug taking the photo or the bug writing the news, it is obvious that they are already high, with a fresh and sweet breath and pink bubbles filling the screen.
Only Anto in front of the screen had an increasingly gloomy expression. His hands holding the computer were so tight that his knuckles turned white, and he wished he could kill the bugs on the screen one by one.
But suddenly, a smile slowly appeared on his face, and he stared straight at the figure of the male insect on the screen.
"I understand. Hahaha. It's all this male insect's fault. If it weren't for him..."
"As long as I kill this male insect, everything will be back on track. It doesn't matter if I can't kill Hillzer. I just need to destroy the thing he cares about most, and it will be enough to make him live a life worse than death."
As if he suddenly had a target, Anto stood up and connected to an encrypted communication.
The troops he has are not enough to fight against the current military, but now that things have come to this, there are some things that no longer need to be hidden. As long as he can turn the situation around, he can do anything.
...as long as we can turn the tables.
*
"Okay, stop."
Aiko spoke, signaling Yer to cut off the release of mental power, and then pressed a button at hand.
Soon, a densely packed report was generated in his hands.
He quickly moved the light screen to find the data he needed. The more he looked, the more serious his expression became. "Strange..."
Yael walked out of the large instrument. Because he was wearing special protective clothing, his movements were a little clumsy and his voice was a little buzzing.
"How is it going?"
Eco saved all the valuable data and smiled when he heard this.
"That's about it. Take off your protective suit first and go to the back to rest for a while."
Yes, after passing the assessment and joining the Imperial Research Institute again.
Yael did not become a small assistant who did chores as Maude said, but became the core backbone of the project.
The object of study.
He now very reasonably suspects that they tricked him back because there are no male insects that can observe various data and signs at such a close distance, and even cooperate with various research.
A series of studies have shown that his shell is indeed a pure insect race. Perhaps when he first came here, the various physical signs were not obvious, but after the secondary differentiation, all aspects became more mature.
"Is the data abnormal?"
Yael copied the report and moved it in front of himself to look at it.
——But he is still a human at heart, and his soul or mental power is subtly different from that of an ordinary male insect.
Eco believes that this difference is the reason for the existence of S-class males, or the root cause of the "mutation" of A-class males into S-class males.
Yael has reservations about this.
However, these are all additional projects in the research of genetic drugs. Their biggest goal is to develop drugs that can change the genes of female insects and increase the birth rate of advanced male insects.
"Your mental power seems to be fluctuating recently. It feels unstable and not as precise as before."
Eco reviewed the report again and again, and asked Yael after he noticed something.
"Have you been doing spiritual counseling these days? Do it within your ability, otherwise it will damage the foundation of your spiritual picture."
"I haven't used my mental power in the past few days, except just now."
Yael was stunned for a moment, recalling the feeling of manipulating his mental power just now.
"I don't feel my control has decreased. Is it possible that there are other reasons?"
“That’s possible.”
Aiko recalled the process just now and noticed something was wrong.
"The aura around you seems to be fluctuating, causing the instrument to load a few tenths of a second slower at first..."
He opened the new report and pointed out a peak to Yael.
"This is a bit like the special kind of fluctuation I detected when I went with the project to measure the wormhole."
wormhole.
Yael was stunned for a moment, a sense of strangeness passed through his mind, but it did not leave any trace.
*
The night gradually deepened.
There have been no urgent research projects recently, and most of the insects in the institute have gone off work on time, leaving only a few laboratories with lights on.
Eco sorted out the day's data and was about to go out when he remembered something. He turned around and looked at Yer who was still busy comparing data.
"Aren't you going back? When you're not busy, you should take time to rest, otherwise your body won't be able to hold on when you get busy."
"Okay, I understand."
The male insect did not turn its head or even change its posture as it bent over the specimen.
"My family will come to pick me up in a while. I will stay for another two hours and catch up on the progress I have missed."
Eco sighed.
Yael was like this before when he was in the research institute. Sometimes he would even stay up for days and nights if you forgot to remind him. On the surface, he looked gentle and obedient, but in fact, he was very stubborn.
Exactly the same as Teacher Maude.
"Anyway, remember to leave early. I'll come back and close the store after I'm done."
Yael hummed absentmindedly and didn't notice the sound of the door being closed softly.
Time passed by bit by bit, and the coldness of the night gradually seeped into the laboratory.
A gust of wind came from somewhere and blew open the door, which was not closed tightly, making a creaking sound.
Yael suddenly came to his senses and found that most of the agreed time had passed and he had to pack up in advance.
But maybe it was because he had been standing for so long, but half of his body felt numb and stiff. When he moved suddenly, he lost his balance and tilted to the left.
His waist accidentally hit the instrument beside him, making a dull sound.
"!"
The moment the blunt pain spread, a subtle feeling of dizziness came over him. Yael reached out to hold on to the table beside him and shook his head slowly.
Strange, what is this feeling...?
Mottled colors appeared in his shaking vision, and the world was spinning before his eyes. Before he could react, his palms were already pressed against the cold ground.
"cough……"
Yael had lost all feeling in his body. He could only try to prop up his elbows and crawl forward a few steps using his hands and feet, trying to emerge from the shadow under the table.
He seemed to lose consciousness for a moment.
Time seemed to stand still. At that moment, time and space were infinitely stretched, crossing the distant and vast universe, resonating faintly at the other end of the universe, and opening up a brand new channel.
“…”
Yael opened his eyes again and saw the door.
It was a black door that seemed to absorb all light. It was silently suspended in the void, its lines constantly twisting with the chaotic flow of the cracks in time and space, and it was standing less than ten centimeters in front of him.
Those erased memories, along with the feeling of the body, returned, leaving him stunned.
It turned out that these were the things he dreamed about that night, and even exposed his abnormality to Xi Ze, so the female insect had been acting so abnormally in the past few days...
Yael raised his eyes in a trance, and realized slowly that he seemed to be in some kind of strange space. He had also felt this wonderful feeling on the eve of his sudden death.
——As long as he opens the door in front of him, he can go back.
This thought was like a thunderbolt, instantly breaking through all the chaos, causing his pupils to shrink and waking him up from his trance almost instantly.
Can I go back?!
Yael pressed the doorknob subconsciously.
But just before gathering strength, he stopped abruptly, and then loosened his hand stiffly and little by little.
no.
You can't just leave like this.
Regardless of whether this is a trap or not, what lies behind the door may not be a chance to go home, but complete death... Regardless of whether this opportunity only comes once, he cannot just abandon everything and leave.
The shock and ecstasy that had overwhelmed his head faded away, and Caesar's face appeared in his mind, allowing reason to regain the upper hand, like a strong rope, pulling him tightly and preventing him from taking another step forward.
Yael tightened his fingers and staggered back a step.
And as if because of the decision, the door that had been waiting there disappeared like a reflection in the water, and the familiar waves also left him in an instant.
“?!”
The next second, Yael suddenly opened his eyes.
The brightly lit laboratory is still in front of me, and it seems that nothing has changed and nothing has happened.
"Hah... eh?!"
If he hadn't actually fallen to the floor, Yael would have almost thought it was just his imagination, or some kind of trance-like fantasy.
Yael's breathing was rapid, his ears were filled with the sound of his rapidly beating heart, and he forced himself to stand up from half-kneeling, trying to relieve the dizziness.
而仿佛為了證明剛才的一切真實發生過，那小半個月前的夢境內容再次湧現在腦海中。
媽媽、校長、導師……他最後應該是變成了植物人的。
耶爾終于緩過神來，意識到擺在眼前的是一個怎麽樣的機會——
雖然不知道兩邊的時間流速怎麽樣，但假如那邊沒有過去多久，那麽他的身體很可能仍然躺在病床上，只是被确診成為了植物人。
那扇門的存在已經脫離了生物的最高認知，但應該就是導致他穿越的罪魁禍首，耶爾能感覺到它并沒有就此消散，只要時機得當，門一定會再次出現！
只要滿足這兩個條件，他就還有回去和存活的希望。
這兩個簡單的因果在腦子裏轉了一圈，很快得出了一個他曾朝思暮想的結論——
他能回家了！
他能回家了！！！
回家，這兩個字幾乎刻進了骨血，幾乎只要一想到這種可能，就從靈魂中迸發出最原始的喜悅和渴望。
而現在，無比簡單的選擇擺在了面前，甚至他什麽都不用做，只需要用力推開那扇門，往前踏出一步，就能順利回去了。
但是他走了，西澤怎麽辦呢？
驀地，這個名字擠掉了那具有強大誘惑力的兩個字，牢牢占據了上風，好似強勁的蔓草一般紮根在心髒，和每一根神經血管緊緊糾纏。
平時或許還沒什麽感覺，一直到這種時候，才撕裂般一下下扯着痛，提醒着他還有無法忘懷、也無法舍棄的東西存在。
“……”
耶爾仍然半跪在地上，呼吸卻從壓抑着急促的激動，逐漸放輕到最後幾乎靜止無聲，嘴角從忍不住揚起到逐漸拉平，最終緊抿起來。
手心下的地板冰涼，幾乎要凍僵那一片的血肉，但很快就有一陣融融的暖意跳躍到那裏，一點點修補低于舒适值的體感溫度。
雌蟲總是致力于給他送一些，會讓他時刻想起他的禮物，無微不至，潛移默化地擠占了周圍的空間，等回過神來才意識到已經不可或缺。
耶爾的嘴角彎了一下，又很快抿了起來。
而且他不久前才承諾過，不會擅自離開，會好好陪着雌蟲生活在主星的。
他們才确定關系不久，換算成人類的說法，就是還處在如膠似漆的熱戀期，而且因為工作而聚少離多，都沒能呆在一起多久。
已經說好之後要一起去旅游，去摸傳說中手感很好的小羊羔，要一起去看雪山泡溫泉……甚至雌蟲還小心翼翼地說要給他生一個蛋。
只是簡單地數了一下，他和西澤之間就已經有這麽多的牽絆，還有無數等待着一一兌現的承諾和約定。
耶爾曾以為自己是流浪到這裏，沒有根系也不适應氣候的種子，時刻等待着借一陣風重回熟悉的土地。
現在那陣風來了，他卻後知後覺地發現——
原來自己早已紮根這陌生的土壤，長出了千千萬萬的根系，汲取着新的養分延續一段新的生命。
雌蟲不是那土壤，卻是生長在身旁高大而沉默的樹，他們的枝葉交疊，根須聯結，再也沒辦法在分離時不傷到對方。
“耶爾！你怎麽了，哪裏難受？！”
一道震驚的聲音将耶爾驚醒，他用力閉了閉眼，扶着一旁的儀器從地上站了起來，制止了艾科把他打包到醫療室。
“沒事，剛才不小心絆倒了。”
耶爾清了清嗓子，才發現聲音低啞到幾乎聽不清，“可能還有點困，我去洗把臉就好了。”
“真的沒事嗎？你的臉好白……”
無意讓艾科擔憂，他暫時屏蔽了剛才混亂的思緒，迅速調整好臉上的表情，快步走進實驗室旁邊的隔間。
咔噠。
門被輕輕關上，隔絕了最後一絲光亮，耶爾倚靠着門沒有再動，好半晌才想起來要打開燈。
他扶着燈深吸了一口氣，活動了動僵麻的腿，走到了洗漱臺前。
嘩啦啦——
冰涼的水流沖刷過指縫，耶爾捧起水沖了一把臉，被那冰涼刺激得頭腦空白。
鏡子裏的蟲黑發淩亂，看起來神态恍惚，雖然不至于顯得病态，卻仍然有揮之不去的陰影，無形的絲線般緊緊地纏繞着他。
他恍惚了一瞬，仿佛又見到了穿着單薄的病號服站在醫院門口，看着四通八達的道路不知往何處去的，茫然無措的小孩。
那時他重病未愈，失去了母親，身上沒有一分錢，沒有一個可以依靠的人，覺得地獄也不過如此。
可那只是人間，有苦有甜有惡意也有善意的平凡世間。
真正的地獄，是得到了又徹底失去，是甜過了才發現那苦澀的芯——
從遙遠的雲端墜落，粉身碎骨才更加徹底。
耶爾的指尖濕漉漉的，輕撫上鏡子裏自己的臉，那喜悅的痕跡已經消失無蹤，只剩下一篇空空蕩蕩的蒼白。
和西澤呆在一起這麽久，唯一學到的只有雌蟲面不改色的城府，能輕易騙過擔憂他的蟲的眼睛。
他又笑了一下，卻難看得自己都看不下去，眼淚差點又湧出了眼眶。
……可他明明已經不再那麽害怕蟲族了。
明明已經決定要留在這裏，和雌蟲一起好好活下去。
那天的夢境确實是一個美夢，是支撐他一路走下來的星星般的善意和幫助。
但抹去便抹去了，他不記得，就慢慢不會再想了，卻偏偏恢複得如此不合時宜。
現在要怎麽辦呢？
耶爾苦笑一聲，深吸了口氣放空思緒，雙手撐着洗漱臺兩側，垂着臉沉默許久，而直到鼻尖一滴水倏地落下。
啪嗒。
他突然渾身一震，擡頭和鏡中的自己對視了一眼，打開門大步走了出去。
他要見到西澤，現在，立刻，馬上。
“師弟？你去哪，好點沒有？！”
和艾科擦肩而過，耶爾匆忙之下，只顧得上說一句拜托師兄鎖門，就飛快跑了出去。
研究所的位置不算偏遠，他等不及電梯，便三步并作兩步下着樓，期間還碰到了一名多年堅持爬樓鍛煉身體的教授。
那戴着老花鏡的蟲一臉慈祥，慢悠悠地道，“冕下？怎麽不坐電梯下去，也想要鍛煉鍛煉身體嗎？”
“不是……有急事！”
耶爾的腳步放慢了些，以免不小心撞到他，含糊不清地道。
那教授了悟，顫顫巍巍地側過身，讓出一條路來，“哦哦，那您快去吧，注意安全。”
“謝謝，您慢點走樓梯！”
從研究樓出去，仍然是一大片造型相似錯落着的銀色建築，一不小心就很容易走錯路，但耶爾不假思索地七拐八拐，很快就見到了大門。
……他已經這麽熟悉這裏了嗎？
一抹淺淡的念頭劃過腦海，讓他停頓了一下腳步，但仍然沒有過分在意。
守着門的警衛見到他，瞬間呲起大牙笑容爽朗，照常問候道，“冕下？下班了？元帥的車好像還沒來……”
耶爾點了點頭，下意識脫口而出，“還沒換班？”
警衛诶了一聲，熟練地一邊開門一邊唠嗑。
“是啊！那家夥出外勤的時候斷了一條腿，請假修養去了，我只能頂上了，不過這幾天可以領雙倍工資，也不錯了！”
等那複雜的門層層開鎖，向着兩邊滑開，這每日簡單的寒暄便結束了，一如往常，甚至成為了習慣。
耶爾變得遲疑了些，不再像剛才一樣匆忙快跑，定了定神走了出去。
他剛才跑得快沒有發覺，這時停下腳步，才發現天空居然在下雪，不算大卻也絕不算小，他沒撐傘，很快頭上和肩膀上就積了一層。
那些雪被體溫融化後滲入衣服布料，冰涼到仿佛能觸及靈魂，卻也如此真實而鮮明。
而往外走十幾分鐘，就進入了熱鬧一些的市區。
時間已經深夜，巨大的投影和霓虹燈仍然耀眼，無數流光似的星軌在空中盤旋交錯，勾勒出這一座高科技城市美麗到驚嘆的輪廓。
蟲潮來來往往，談笑和呼吸間似乎交織出一張無形的網，牽連萬千，被裹挾在這生命的洪流中，似乎連寒風都不再凜冽。
像是從安靜的冷寂走進繁榮的溫情，連空氣都帶着食物的甜香。
耶爾愣了一下，按照慣常的路線穿行其中，也許是心境發生了微妙的變化，他的步伐越來越慢，一直到徹底停了下來。
他之前對蟲族的印象，有這麽溫暖漂亮嗎？
“你好？”
一道稚嫩的聲音在耳邊響起，耶爾恍然回神，低下頭才發現腳邊站着一個亞雌幼崽，手裏拿着一個氣球，看起來有些不好意思。
“我要回家啦，這個送給你！”
那顏色鮮豔的氣球飄飄忽忽的，能嗅到一點膠的氣味，被遞過來後一下子填滿了視野，那一瞬間，好像整個世界都變得明亮起來。
耶爾莫名有些心悸，回過神後半蹲下來，鄭重道謝道，“……謝謝。”
他從那只小手上接過氣球，看着那幼崽蹦蹦跳跳走遠，好像被那份快樂感染，不自覺也笑了一下。
“嘀嘀！”
A familiar suspended vehicle slowly stopped by the roadside, beeped twice, and then stayed quietly by the roadside so that it could be used at any time.
Yael withdrew his gaze, stood up on his knees, and stuffed the balloon into the suspended car.
He was interrupted again and again, but he did not forget his original goal——
Go see Cesar.
The suspended car had a smooth journey and arrived outside the training ground smoothly. The female serviceman guarding the door trotted up and immediately signaled to another female serviceman after seeing the license plate.
"Your Majesty? Please wait a moment. I will ask him to inform the Marshal."
Before Yer could come to his senses, the female military officer scurried out like a wild rabbit and disappeared in an instant. He coughed softly, got out of the car, and sent away the female military officer who was standing by nervously beside him.
The snow was falling heavier, and the lights of the training ground could be seen in the distance. Soon the door was opened, and a figure trotted out, breaking through the wind and snow.
"call……"
He exhaled a breath of mist and saw a flash of white in his field of vision, followed by a tall and straight figure. Although he was wearing a dark military uniform, it was out of tune with the cold night.
The moment the female insect appears, everything around it seems to light up, from dull to interesting, from ordinary to lovely.
The change was so significant that it was almost impossible to ignore.
Yael was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly smiled, and his tense shoulders relaxed, as if he was relieved and compromised.
——But before Xi Ze walked out of the door of the training ground, in his eyes, the world still had colors, and it also had its own uniqueness and beauty. It was no longer a dull gray.
He didn't know when he could no longer just see himself, or just look at Xi Ze, but truly see this vast world.
Colorful and wonderful, just like the world over there.
What is this place? Who is he?
It seemed that these no longer mattered, at least not important enough to make him sink into the mire again - he was no longer an NPC who was out of tune with this world, and the life around him was no longer a dream.
Maybe it's not bad to stay here.
It was the first time that he caught this thought so clearly and faced this seemingly "losing oneself" idea head-on.
This is not so-called betrayal, it's just another possibility of life.
"My Lord? Why did you come here so early..."
Yer stared at the female insect in front of him for a while, then opened his arms and hugged him tightly, wrapped in the warm and familiar breath.
"What's wrong?"
Cize paused, hugged Yael back with one hand, and with the other hand brushed off the snow on his head and shoulders, and asked softly with some confusion.
"Nothing, I just wanted to see you sooner."
He chuckled intermittently, like a sigh, like a warning, or maybe just the joy and smile that came naturally when being intimate.
——You have a new home, Yael.
Live a good life in the future and keep moving forward.