Chapter 8

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

Yael was sitting on the sofa in a trance. When he heard the sound, he called out to 015 who was cleaning diligently, "Bring him out."

Having both legs broken is a terrible thing. Without 015's help, the female insect cannot wash or go to the toilet by herself, and may be trapped on the sofa for a long time in the future.

He frowned subconsciously, but he also understood that after being frozen in the snow for so long, it was already good enough that his limbs had not yet died and needed amputation. There was no better way except to slowly receive treatment.

“Click.”

The sound of the bathroom door opening.

A small robot butler, only half a meter tall, came out carrying a female insect that was several times larger than itself. Two long mechanical arms wrapped around its shoulders, back and thighs, giving it a very standard princess hug.

The female insect was obviously not used to being held like this, and her body was stiff, almost helpless.

Like the dwarfs holding Snow White.

Yael chuckled, then noticed the female insect's increasing embarrassment, and coughed to hide his smile.

"Put it here." He patted the newly laid quilt on the floor and stood up to make enough space.

The female insect lay flat on the clean quilt, no longer bleeding or injured, and seemed to be in much better condition.

He closed his eyes, as if waiting for something, no longer struggling or resisting violently, as if he had decided to become a piece of weathered bluestone.

But he clearly wasn't.

The female insect's breathing was a little rapid, and her tightly closed eyelids trembled slightly, looking a little uneasy.

The soft and lush lines, like cotton candy, undulate slightly, and the light coats the light honey color with a smooth film, like the sugar coating on candied haws, but definitely more chewy and resistant.

Yael felt an itching at the base of his teeth and could not help grinding his teeth. After he finished, he suddenly realized what he was thinking.

He glanced at the time and, sure enough, it was already past half past eight in the evening.

He didn't think he was a hooligan, but he had just had a strange fantasy about the body of a female insect for the first time. Considering that it was related to two kinds of food in a row, he thought he must be starving.

The female insect seemed to refuse to communicate, and he didn't want to make small talk. He thought that making sure the female insect was settled had already achieved his goal.

I bought the new clothes this afternoon and they won't arrive until tomorrow.

Yael shook out the quilt he had dug out from the bottom of the closet and covered the female insect tightly from head to toe. "Have a good rest. More sleep will help the wound heal."

A large bulge under the quilt moved, and then was suddenly pulled open. Xi Ze half-raised his body, his jaw clenched, his expression alert and confused.

He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Yael. His deep eyes were already covered with a layer of shadow, but at this moment they still looked stern and sharp, as if they could see through all hypocrisy and deception.

"What do you want?"

He spoke slowly, the injury to his throat making it difficult to speak.

Yael had been immersed in his thoughts about dinner from the beginning, and blurted out, "I want to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

“…”

The female insect's confusion was silent and huge. Yael finally came back to his senses and coughed awkwardly.

But it had already been captured by 015, and the little robot butler responded positively, "Okay, I'll do it right away!"

The female insect seemed less nervous after being interrupted. She was silent for a moment and then asked, "Who are you?"

Who is he, who sent him, and what is his purpose?

Serving the nobles, or being affiliated with the military, or... In just a few breaths, he had counted all the possible options, but he felt powerless. What would it matter even if he knew?

A series of questions came at him, and Yael was stunned for a moment, then he thought carefully, "Actually... I was just passing by."

He told the female insect about the small advertisement posted on the door, the live broadcast of the female slave exchange, and finally about how he passed by the alley, then the hospital, and finally home.

He spoke aimlessly and without focus, just simply reminiscing. As he spoke, he remembered a sentence by Hesse, which he thought was too appropriate and wonderful -

[Because all the wrong paths lead me to you.]

"Anyway, that's the fact. I'm just passing by."

Yael explained, thinking about his own motives, "Maybe I just took you home on impulse."

He didn't think Caesar would believe it; after all, he looked as alert and cautious as the wolf.

But unexpectedly, the female insect did not ask any more questions, and her fingers on the quilt tightened and relaxed.

The sharpness between his brows gradually dissipated, and turned into silence of enduring pain again.

——It was as if he had no intention of digging deep to find the real answer, but just needed a reasonable explanation so that he could accept the sudden change and the unknown situation, and then he could close his eyes and continue to live.

"…Thank you very much for your help. I will double the medical expenses when the time comes. I will do my best to meet any requests you have."

Xi Ze said in a hoarse voice, with a serious expression typical of a military woman, and a hint of embarrassment in her eyes, "Thank you very much."

"It's okay. Just take good care of yourself first and we'll talk about it when you get better."

Yael smiled and said comfortingly.

He was not surprised by Xi Ze's reaction, which is why he could not hide his humiliation during the live broadcast. If he had not retained these characteristics, he might not have had such a miserable life.

There was silence.

“…”

Yael could sense the uneasiness and hesitation hidden in Caesar.

Perhaps the female insect didn't want to stop questioning so quickly, but perhaps it was because he had no idea of ​​the situation and lied to her easily.

Or maybe there was nothing malicious or sharp in this house that could make him raise spikes, and his vigilance and resistance were endless, and he was wrapped in a quiet and peaceful air.

Anyway, it's a good start.

It takes time.

Yael warned himself again.

Then he decided to go to the kitchen to check the situation in case 015 suddenly lost power again and the bottom of the pot was burned through.

*

At nine o'clock, Yael had his late dinner.

The cooking plate of 015 may have had intermittent malfunctions during the cooking process, resulting in a large pot of scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

In fact, the tomato is a tomato, but the egg is from some alien beast. It is as big as an ostrich egg. After being fried, it has a fresh color and smells very fragrant.

Yael is always grateful for the rice and wheat grown here, and for not being eliminated by the sticky nutrient solution, otherwise his acclimatization symptoms would be much more severe.

As the fragrance wafted out, he clearly heard a "gurgling" sound. When he turned around, he found that Caesar was also looking at him, with his lips tightly pursed and silent.

The female worm must have not eaten for a long time. She had received nutritional injections in the hospital, but she has not eaten a single grain of rice in the two days since she was admitted to the hospital.

Yael separated half of the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and mixed it with the rice, making a bowl of slightly sticky but juicy rice, which he then handed to 015.

"Please go feed him."

Vision loss is as troublesome as a broken leg. The first symptom is that the child may stick chopsticks in his nostrils while eating, and he needs help feeding him or special training.

Caring for female insects is like repairing a machine that has fallen into disrepair. Plugging it in and barely turning it on is only the first step. The subsequent series of repairs and maintenance are the real trouble.

Yael sighed, holding the bowl and sitting on a sofa that was not stained by blood.

“…”

The hot food is swallowed down the esophagus, soothing the stomach that has been empty for more than ten days or even longer. The feeling of satisfaction at that moment is almost explosive.

He almost forgot how long it had been since he had eaten normal food.

Xi Ze looked suppressed yet eager, his Adam's apple moved, and his body leaned forward involuntarily, almost trying to get in front of 015.

015 was forced to speed up continuously, and sparks were almost flying on the robotic arm again.

"Slow down." Yael helplessly used chopsticks to hold the busy spoon, "Be careful not to choke."

The female insect pursed her lips and looked at him. Although her eyes were dim and unfocused, they revealed a hint of accusation.

It was as if Yael was a mean fellow who cruelly took back the ham sausage halfway through feeding it, and enjoyed watching the puppy howling in anxiety, standing up and pulling at his trouser legs.

But the female insect is not a puppy. When her food is snatched away, she can only remain silent and lower her eyes, barely suppressing the urge to swallow her saliva.

"Go charge your battery."

Xi Ze heard the clear voice saying this, and then the little robot butler in front of him rolled away, but he was still hungry and almost couldn't suppress his disappointment.

But the next second, a warm spoon stretched out from the side and touched his lower lip——

"Eat it, chew it before swallowing, otherwise your stomach will feel uncomfortable."

"……Thank you."

Yael scooped another spoonful of rice and looked at the female insect wrapped in a fluffy quilt in front of him.

The soft, slightly curly white hair hung down, and the facial features softened a little when quiet. After swallowing the food, he would look up, fresh and vivid.

Only then did he feel a sense of reality. He had really taken the female insect home, and it was not just a dream filled with regrets.

For the first time, this isolated island-like house had the sounds of creatures other than 015, breathing, with body temperature filling up the other half of the house.

It feels good.

Yael's eyebrows were curved, and the corners of his lips slightly raised revealed a hint of joy.

…

I couldn't sleep on the sofa, so I had to sleep on the floor. Fortunately, the central air conditioning system was delivering heat all the time, so I shouldn't catch a cold.

Yael put two doses of sleeping pills into the small pot of boiling milk. The pills melted along with the gurgling milk foam. He thought for a moment and added a spoonful of sugar.

There was only a small dim light on in the living room. Cize was wrapped in a quilt, but he was not asleep. He opened his eyes when Yael approached.

The glass was tapped lightly on the tea table, and the sweet aroma of milk wafted out with the hot steam. The pervasive coldness seemed to be dispelled and filled into the thick and dense milk foam.

Yael patted the female insect across the quilt.

"The collapse of your mental picture will cause severe headaches. I will give you another mental counseling session before you go to bed..."

Mental counseling.

Before he finished speaking, the body under his palm suddenly stiffened, and Xi Ze suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of Yael——

"Male ..."

He murmured, repeating in disbelief, "You are... a male insect?"

"Yeah, you..." Don't you know?

Yael was a little confused, and then he realized that he had never stated his gender, but why should he emphasize it?

But when he looked at the female insect, he realized belatedly that this was not something that could be ignored.

The repressed and deeply hidden anger and fear flowed out from under the female insect's cracked mask of indifference, entwining around her light golden eyeballs like vines.

He looked as if he had been stabbed badly; all the color had drained from his face.

Yael recognized that look and expression, which had appeared in the commercials and filled his face during the live broadcasts—

That's the look one gives to an abuser.

He felt a sudden prickling pain and suddenly remembered that the female slave collar "can only identify the identity of male insects."

He thought of Xi Ze who was marked with a special mark by him when he was unconscious and became his property from then on.

Thinking of Hughes' apologetic and contemptuous smile at the beginning, the superficial apology was directed at him, while the sarcasm and indifference were directed at the seriously injured female insect lying on the hospital bed.

Sure enough, Xi Ze's expression suddenly changed drastically, and he reached out to touch the black ring around his neck.

He got the answer quickly. His jaw tightened and he clenched his teeth as if he could no longer endure it. "...I have become your female slave?"

"I'm sorry, it was an accident," Yael whispered, "I was..."

He looked almost at a loss, feeling that the situation was about to get out of control.

It was as if there was a volcano in front of him that was about to erupt, and he was not sure if he could withstand the rushing hot magma.

"Accident?"

Caesar laughed sarcastically, his expression stern, like a strict officer treating a recruit who had made a serious mistake, almost burning with anger, "Do you know..."

He swallowed the second half.

After a long silence and heavy breathing, he retracted all the exposed emotions into his body, as if he was burning himself and silently turned into ashes.

He thought he was broken and had nothing left.

But the fact is, he still has a last bit of value left, and that's probably why the male picked him up.

It felt like there was a lump in his throat, making the restraint ring above it tighter and tighter to an unbearable degree, and Xi Ze felt the stinging pain of suffocation.

The bowl of sweet rice turned into poison, churning in his tightened stomach, and he almost vomited.

But he is still alive after all, and he... still wants to continue living.

He suddenly laughed, but it sounded like he was crying.

"Sir, do you want to fuck me?"

A peaceful night full of hope and fantasy was shattered like bubbles so quickly.

The author has something to say:

Oh no.

The general is so cool, like a snow leopard that was bitten and bloodied while fighting for the throne. He bared his teeth and growled threateningly at the tribal children who approached carefully to help him heal his wounds, but he had to lower his head and surrender because he was about to die. Later, he would lie down obediently and expose his belly, so you can rub your face at will... hehe (makes a bt laugh)