Chapter 86 Another Challenge? Insect Patterns and Disguise! Before Meeting New Friends...
Inside the cramped escape ship, Pei Qing stared at the person who had suddenly appeared beside her as if she had seen a ghost.
The man appeared without a sound, and Pei Qing was certain that just a second before, she was the only person in the driver's seat.
Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, Pei Qian tentatively called out, "Xiao Jiu?"
"Hmm." The man pursed his lips, his pale cheeks slightly flushed. He took the piloting device, activated his mental power, and unleashed his special ability. Instantly, the escape ship vanished completely.
The physical sense.
"This is...?!" Pei Qing remembered. This was Xiao Jiu's ability. After not seeing him for many days, it seemed that his mental strength had become much stronger. At least he hadn't noticed anyone around her when she was on high alert.
"Why are you here? Yudu, or...?" Pei Qing did not let her guard down; under the current circumstances, she could not completely trust anyone.
Her mental connection with Xiao Jiu was relatively weak, possibly due to... the number of times they had sex, she guessed. In short, the concentration of mental energy she had received, or rather, the concentration of energy she had absorbed, was insufficient, so she was still unable to sense the man's emotions.
"..." Xiao Jiu shook his head, pretending to be focused on driving, but in reality he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, and was caught by Pei Qing several times.
The moment Nolan saw Pei Qing escape in the lifeboat, the alarm bells in his head went off. He stared intently at the little red dot. "Chase after her!"
"Yes, General!"
However, just as the warship was about to reach the outer ring of the Ninth Star Sector, it suddenly lost track of the escape ship. All signal detectors were running at full capacity but could not find a trace.
"How could this be..." Nolan frowned, his mind in turmoil. He had a vague premonition that after this incident, his relationship with Pei Qing would be difficult to repair.
"Continue scanning, along the outer ring!"
"But General—" We're about to enter the border area...
"continue!"
The adjutant was startled by his tone and swallowed the rest of his sentence, turning the scanner back on.
Nolan gripped the control panel with both hands, his shoulders taut, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Suddenly, a hand gently rested on his shoulder. "Nolan, don't be too hasty,"
"Marshal!" A chorus of salutes rang out from behind.
Feng Lin nodded in acknowledgment, his silver-gray hair gleaming with a cold, hard sheen. A group of soldiers stood respectfully in formation beside him, their postures upright.
Nolan snapped out of his daze, realizing his rashness, and quickly apologized, "Marshal! It's all my fault. It was my recklessness that led to this..."
Feng Lin waved his hand, stopping him from continuing, his voice calm, "The stronger the source's energy, the stronger the signal; it can't escape very far. Besides, even if the source is missing, aren't her followers still here?"
“They’re all the same.” Feng Lin said, glancing at Nolan indifferently.
Nolan lowered her head, a chill creeping down her spine, cold sweat slowly seeping out. The marshal was giving her a warning, and she was very unhappy about it.
"Yes, Marshal. Nolan understands." The man bowed and waited for Woman A to leave.
Feng Lin pressed the device on her wrist, and instantly, crimson armor covered her entire body. She opened the hatch and appeared above the warship, her eyes lightly closed, her spiritual power extending infinitely.
"...a mutant with spatial concealment capabilities...possessing abilities at least at Grade A..."
“Interesting…” Feng Lin slightly curled his lips, opened his eyes, and stared straight at the light spot that was about to disappear in the distance.
Just as they were about to enter the stratosphere of the main planet in the Ninth Star Sector, Pei Qing suddenly seemed to sense something and glanced into the distance. In the blurry halo, she thought she saw a lithe figure standing quietly atop the warship.
Hundreds of kilometers apart, two pairs of similar yet different eyes collided, sparking tiny, silent yet undeniable fireworks.
"She saw me," Xiao Jiu suddenly said out of the blue.
"Who?" Pei Qing instinctively recalled the figure she had just seen.
Xiao Jiu shook her head. "I don't know. She's very strong. I was detected by her mental power."
"Ah, uh wait—!" Pei Qing wanted to ask something more, but the next second, the escape ship accelerated again and rushed towards the ground like a falling meteor!
"!"
"Plop—" The escape ship hatch popped open, and Pei Qing fell out covered in dust.
Turning around, I saw that the escape ship had already soared into the sky again.
Just as the escape hull was leaving the outer ring of the main planet in the Ninth Sector, a magnetic-launched missile struck the tiny vessel with pinpoint accuracy. The missile's glancing-off technique was superb, bringing the escape hull down without landing within the Ninth Sector, thus sparing it from any military conflict.
Brilliant, truly brilliant.
Pei Qian silently evaluated the situation in her mind, when she accidentally cut herself on the round piece in her palm. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the same piece that Xiao Jiu had shoved into her hand when she kicked her off the stage.
Feng Qi seemed to have told her about this thing before. It was some kind of high-tech disguise product that could temporarily change a person's appearance and physical characteristics, and could even fool military equipment.
It seems the situation is quite serious; they've even brought out such rare and valuable items.
Feng Qi and his group were willing to risk everything to get her out, which shows how valuable they were, making them highly sought after by both sides. For Pei Qing, Feng Qi was undoubtedly the best choice at this point, but unfortunately, her mother's side was simply too powerful. In the end, Feng Qi would likely find it difficult to hold out.
Pei Qian was certain that the sophisticatedly launched magnetic missile was a warning to her, which also proved that the other side had the capability to capture her. She couldn't understand why they would let her go for no reason. Was there some other hidden reason behind this?
An invisible cloud hung heavily over Pei Qian's heart, a heavy worry lingering. No matter what, she dared not gamble; preserving herself was the most important thing.
Ugh, energy acquisition is a big problem too. Without Feng Qi, where can she find a reliable supplier? The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. Pei Qing simply stopped thinking about it. If all else failed, she would just use the most primitive method to replenish her energy. It was tiring, but she would treat it as a job.
It's just going back to the very beginning~ Hey, why did I start singing without even realizing it?
Pei Qing entertained herself for a while, then used the disguise technology according to the instructions. Ever since she learned that her mental strength was extremely special and easily tracked, she dared not use her abilities rashly anymore.
It's good to be cautious, it's wise to be cautious...
After everything was ready, Pei Qing finally stood up from the garbage heap. Yes, that's right, Xiao Jiu had accurately thrown her into a huge garbage heap.
Calling it a garbage dump is an exaggeration; it's actually a waste processing plant. Not far from the plant, lights twinkle, giving it a rather bustling appearance.
Pei Qian decided to gather some information. She didn't know much about the Ninth Star Sector, only that it was the border area between the Zerg and humans, and that at least eight out of ten people were Zerg hybrids, while the remaining two were either traders or consignees from other star sectors.
Her entire understanding of the Zerg came from preschool educational videos she watched at a welfare center when she was a child. The Zerg revered female superiority and male inferiority, with a strict hierarchy and an extreme emphasis on male chastity. Males were required to wear suppressors when going out or in the presence of females, even at home.
Female insectoids are generally more than three times the size of males, and their mental strength and physical power are far superior. Due to genetic issues, male insectoids are prone to mental disorder after reaching adulthood, losing control of their insectoid transformation, becoming completely irrational, and turning into true beasts. Male insectoids with a mental disorder value of 40 or higher can be killed on the spot by law enforcement without incurring any responsibility.
As the saying goes, there's always a cure within three steps. The solution to mental disorder is quite simple: request a connection ritual with the female insect to conduct mental energy channeling, which can significantly improve the situation. If the female insect is powerful enough, she can even completely eliminate the disorder, but so far no male insect has received such a blessing.
After reaching adulthood, male insects will enter a mating season, which occurs once a month. If this mating season is not resolved, it will accelerate the progression of mental disorder. The ratio of female to male insects is generally stable at 1:1.5, and most male insects will never receive a female's favor in their lifetime.
Therefore, you basically have to go to the 'auxiliary tool shop' to solve the problem yourself or hire a female insect at a high price. If you are lucky, you might find a few low-level female insects who are short of money to agree to the deal. It's all a one-time deal.
Female insects do not have a mating season; their reproductive desire depends on the compatibility with male insects, and they decide whether to give their offspring to the male. If a female insect decides to give her offspring to a particular male, she will place the nascent offspring into the male's abdominal cavity through a specific structure, where the male will provide them with nutrients.
During embryonic development, the offspring continuously absorb nutrients from the male insect. The higher the insect's rank, the less likely it is to produce offspring, and the more nutrients the offspring require. If the male insect does not provide sufficient nutrition, the offspring will forcibly break through the male's abdominal cavity to emerge.
In the Zerg, all are named after their mother's surname, and the family extends and develops from the mother's family. They practice a polyandrous system with one female and multiple males. Higher Zerg are known only to their mothers and not their fathers.
In addition to their insectoid features (which the insectoids take pride in displaying, and the ability to stably control their insectoid range is also a sign of strength), the insectoid patterns are also very important in distinguishing the insectoids from humans. The more vivid and complex the insectoid patterns, and the larger the range, the higher the level and the stronger the insectoids are.
The Zerg are an absolute warrior race, where the law of the jungle prevails, and their hierarchy and strength are almost entirely determined by innate talent and bloodline. In other words, the probability of a lower-ranking Zerg rising to become a higher-ranking Zerg is extremely small. Hierarchy is ingrained in their genes, and bullying the weak is the norm. Weakness is the original sin, not to mention any protection of Zerg rights—such a thing simply doesn't exist.
Regions with a high prevalence of Zerg hybrids are the hardest hit by this system, where residents generally lean towards Zerg ideology and lifestyle. Forging a powerful Zerg hybrid identity might be a good option, at least preventing her from being in a passive position.
An unknown and powerful female Zerg hybrid, no one should dare to provoke her easily.
The insectoid features were alright; Pei Qing didn't plan on creating anything too bulky. After all, she positioned herself as a low-key advanced insectoid, so she only used high technology to cover her eyes completely black, with occasional subtle silver glints moving around.
As for the insect pattern, it's a bit tricky. High-tech disguise products work by imitating the user's thoughts. In other words, it can't disguise things the user doesn't know about. Even if it tries to disguise something, it might give itself away because it's not realistic enough, which would be terrible.
We need to think of a solution.
Just to be on the safe side, Pei Qian revealed a little bit of 'insect pattern' on the side of her neck, cough cough, it was a reference to certain patterns that existed deep in her memory...
She refused to believe it. There were countless Zerg markings; surely she could recognize every single one. How could she not fool them?!
After a disguise, the newly minted 'Queen of Insects' Pei Qian strode forward with her unrestrained and bold steps into an unknown land with an uncertain future.
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