World Four
When the fifth message was sent to Wilson's terminal, the female insect took a deep breath.
The terminal in his hand was thrown to him by Fed. He didn't know the sound effect of this thing was so loud, not to mention that Fed had sent five messages in a row.
"Why didn't I know you had a terminal before?" Arisa, who was reading a book, looked away and saw the pirate logo on the terminal.
"...Because I don't want you to know about this." Wilson hesitated for a second before giving his answer. "I don't want you to think that I'm in cahoots with the pirates."
"No wonder." Arisa nodded.
Fed, who had been staring at the screen, listened to their conversation, took a deep breath, and repeatedly told himself that he must stay calm now. He still needed Wilson's strength at this stage.
"What did he ask you to do?" Arisa's voice sounded calm.
"He..." Wilson glanced at the terminal again. "He didn't explain why, but just asked me to go to his room right now."
"—Go ahead." Arisa covered her face with the book and pointed at the mechanical lock around her neck. "I can't leave anyway, so I'll wait here for you to come back."
"I'll be back soon... or maybe not." Wilson turned around and knelt on one knee beside Arisa, his hand resting naturally on his knee. He stared intently at the male insect's profile and asked softly, "Is there anything you want?"
"Are you satisfied with the Starry Sky Flower you got last time?" Wilson subconsciously reached for his terminal as he spoke, as if wanting to keep it. "Do you have any other favorites..."
Fed on the other side of the screen closed his eyes.
He wanted to turn off the sound of the screen and stop listening to their long-winded conversation, but he was also afraid that the two guys would say something important when he turned off the screen. In the end, he could only force himself to listen to the two Zerg's originally calm conversation, which gradually turned into a one-sided venting of the male Zerg.
—Why the hell did he have to hear this?!
He didn't want to know what life was like for these two damn Zergs in the military academy!
Fed couldn't stand it any longer and sent the sixth message.
Then he saw the female insect on the other side of the screen crush the terminal directly.
Fortunately, the damn female insect finally walked towards his room.
What was not so gratifying was that the damn female insect was walking towards his room with a dark face.
Looking at the increasingly gloomy face of the high-level female insect on the screen, Fed fell into doubt: This guy... I hope he won't take out the anger he suffered from the male insects on him later?
Although they were both high-ranking, Fed didn't want to anger Wilson. He had heard his subordinates talk about Wilson destroying those planets.
"...When the time comes, we'll slow down the spacecraft's movement through space, allowing the Empire and the Federation to catch up." Fidd said, observing Wilson's expression. "Once they think they have a chance of catching us, they'll fall into despair and ultimately lose all their say in front of those low-level female insects. Do you understand me?"
Wilson tapped his arm intermittently and didn't answer - he was thinking about Arisa's smile.
"That guy has been a space pirate for a long time, so he must have a strong desire for control." Arisa said this in Wilson's mind, "So he must have placed listening devices, or surveillance equipment, in every Zerg room."
"Then—" the young Wilson raised his hand, "how do we know where it is?"
"There's no need to determine where his monitoring equipment is located," Arisa propped up her chin, "I said this just to disgust him."
"He must be..." Arisa smiled and looked at Wilson who was sitting upright in front of her. "I really don't understand why a female insect with strong fighting power would choose to kowtow to a male insect. And why would she be so strong when facing me?"
From the way Fed acted as if he was afraid of what he might do the moment he entered the door, it was clear that this guy had indeed installed a monitoring system in their house.
Fortunately, his lord had seen through this guy in advance.
Seeing that Wilson still didn't respond to him, Fide couldn't help but ask with emphasis: "Do you understand?"
"You wouldn't be so stupid as to think that after you've offended them, you can win the mercy of the Federation and the Empire by pushing us out, right?" Wilson suddenly spoke, but his tone was full of hostility.
It took Fed a while to realize from the other party's completely different reactions in front of the male insect and himself that this guy seemed to think that he would sell them back to the Federation and the Empire.
- If he didn't have to rely on the pirates' help, why would this guy say something that seemed threatening but was actually doubtful?
Thinking of this, the smile on Fed's face finally became a little more genuine than before. He didn't care about the gunpowder in the other party's words. He slowly walked up to Wilson and put his arm around his shoulder. "How could that be? We have to continue our cooperation."
"You have to trust us now," Fide said softly, "Wilson."
Yes, why should he be upset about Wilson's attitude? This guy has now offended the Federation and the Empire, and can only use the power of their pirates.
Seeing that the female insect's expression was twisted with endurance but she didn't try to break free from him, Feide decided to forgive her previous rude remarks.
——After all, this high-level female insect has no choice but to trust them and follow the script he set.
…
...I feel a little uncomfortable.
Arisa stared at the tightly closed door, her transparent mental power extending outward like a thread, but stopped in time before touching the door.
He remembered that there were no high-level or mid-level male insects among the pirates, only low-level ones, but there was no guarantee that the pirates were not deliberately deceiving them.
Wilson had already gone to complete the plan they had agreed upon, and Arisa didn't intend to let herself fall behind.
Maybe it was because he had been with Wilson for so long, but he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable being in this room.
He lowered his head and looked at the bone wing in his hand.
After the male and female insects mate, they will exchange their belongings, and after the exchange, the male insect can inject his own spiritual power into them. In this way, they have a mysterious connection with the female insect, and can also synchronously read and stabilize each other's mental state.
For the warlike Zerg, this behavior is no different from the courtship in the book written by Gayel.
But the items they exchanged were usually worn clothes or necklaces. Things like the bony wings of female insects were generally not within their consideration because they were too bloody.
Of course, Arisa hadn't combined with Wilson. Even though the Zerg had their own laws regarding sex, Arisa had no intention of engaging in such activities on a pirate ship. But he did soothe Wilson's spirit after they had spoken.
This soothing, non-combination approach would allow the female insects to fight better, and would also prevent them from noticing any new changes in him. Given the current situation, this was the best approach.
Although Arisa still cannot accept the fact that the female insect kidnapped her without saying hello, she has to admit that if it were not for this opportunity, she would not have discovered those things under the insect laws that she might not have discovered even if she died.
Even if a male insect entered military school and fought on the battlefield, he would never see the same things as a female insect. And no matter how many merits a female insect earned or how powerful its fighting ability was, it could not change the fact that its spiritual sea needed the soothing of a male insect.
It’s hard to tell who got the upper hand or who got nothing out of it.
Arisa suddenly raised his head with a stern expression, and he quickly withdrew his mental power before the door opened.
——The door was opened.
As a low-level male insect, Gayel didn't realize anything. He looked at Arisa sitting on the ground, then waved directly to the female insect standing next to him: "Are you satisfied now?"
"Hmm..." The female insect was still smiling at him, "Then I'll trouble you here, Your Highness the Honorable Male Insect."
Arisa grabbed the bone wings in his hand tightly and sat on the ground without moving. He just looked at Gayel who suddenly appeared outside the door: "What are you doing here, Gayel?" Could it be that Fed discovered their plan so quickly?
"You think I really want to come over?" Gayel walked into the room and watched the door close behind him. "It's just that Fide has gone crazy and insisted that I stay with you until Wilson comes back."
"Oh." Arisa was still very cautious - Fed's actions were really too strange. What on earth did this guy want to do?
"Don't be so nervous." Gayel glanced at him. "Why are you just sitting on the ground like this?"
"I don't know, I'm just bored," Arisa replied. "I don't feel like reading, and I don't feel like sleeping."
Will Gayel report his conversation with Feder when he returns, or is he currently monitoring the room with a listening device?
"Then let's talk." Gayel sat down on the ground. "Did you know that Wilson is out again?"
"I don't know." Arisa replied.
"Are you suffering from... Stockholm syndrome?" Gayel said, suddenly moving closer to Arisa, then snorted when Arisa instinctively moved away. "Are you thinking about Wilson now?"
"What is... Stockholm syndrome?" Arisa didn't admit the latter question, nor did she deny it, but she didn't intend to let the conversation develop the way Gayel wanted. "Is this another new word you coined?"
"I didn't create this word," Gayel's attention was indeed distracted. "This word means..."
"Say..." Gayel frowned, trying to recall. "The general idea is that for one reason or another, he felt sorry for the kidnapper, became obsessed with him, and in turn helped him."
Arisa swapped the "kidnappers" that Gayel mentioned with the space pirates. "What does it take to be called this Stockholm syndrome?"
"Let me think..." Gayel raised his index finger, "I feel like he threatens your survival."
Arisa took out the bone wing that belonged to Wilson and asked, "Do you think this counts?"
When Gayel saw this thing, he immediately thought of Wilson's bleeding bone wings and Arisa's indifferent expression at the time. He immediately looked away: "Take this thing away!"
Arisa chuckled and took the severed wing away from Gayel. "You are so timid, which is really not like a Zerg, Gayel." He commented.
"I later asked the other Zerg on the starship," Gayel retorted, "No female Zerg could endure such pain!"
Arisa raised her eyebrows but said nothing: It seems that during the time when he and Wilson were thinking of a solution, Gayel also got closer to the pirates on the starship. I wonder if he can take advantage of it.
"And..." Gayel's eyes suddenly rolled. "There's another aspect of Stockholm syndrome. I remember it saying... the kidnapped person has only one channel for obtaining information. Apart from the kidnappers, he has no other way to obtain information."
"Are you aware of the chaos that's gripping the Federation and the Empire right now?" Arisa added, looking at Gayel's wide eyes. "The low-level females have started rioting. The reason for the riot is that a mid-level female was abducted in public. But we all know there's more to it than that. It's likely the pirates are behind this. Why do you think they kept you on this starship?"
The answer is already obvious.
Gayel looked at Arisa without saying a word, and the expression on his face changed from being relaxed at the beginning to struggling.
"I thought you'd be happier," Arisa walked over to the bookshelf, took down the books, and placed them in front of them. "Don't you always talk about fairness?"
Gayel didn't say anything, but reached out and took out a book, then casually opened one of the pages - he glanced at Arisa, as if he was about to ask a question.
"What else?" Arisa interrupted the question.
Gayel almost subconsciously said: "...What?"
"The syndrome you mentioned, does it only have the two characteristics you just mentioned?" Arisa asked him.
"The kidnapped person must believe..." Gayel didn't think too much this time. He directly said the answer, "There is no possibility of escape."
"I don't have the syndrome you mentioned." Arisa looked at Gayaru, "...it does fit your condition, Gayaru."
Gayel's face turned green. He snorted, closed the book, and threw it to the ground - he also threw the book with the nutrient solution bag and the words "Do you know that your family will soon face liquidation by the Federation" to the ground.
"I really hate you," Gayel's eyes were red, and he didn't know if it was because he was angry or what, "Arisa."
"Don't be so angry." Arisa picked up the book and put it together with the other books, saying meaningfully, "I thought you would be happy, Gayaru."
"Why would I be happy?" Gayel frowned and looked towards the door. No female insect came to open the door, so he couldn't go out yet.
He had always believed he was truly useful to the pirates; after all, their welcome didn't seem fake. Wilson always scoffed at his proposal to "make him his queen," and Arisa, once aboard the starship, always gave him a look that annoyed him.
It seemed as if the two of them were not afraid of pirates at all. He could understand Wilson, but why could Arisa be so completely fearless of pirates?
"You..." Gayel looked at Arisa, his face flushed at the question, "How did you get into the military academy in the first place?"
Arisa was a little surprised. After thinking for a moment, he finally gave an answer: "Because I soothed the spiritual seas of enough female insects at that time, and was able to count the weaknesses and habits of those alien races in the universe."
"Is it difficult to soothe the female insect's spiritual sea?" Gayel suddenly asked.
"That depends on how you look at it." Arisa spread her hands. "Have you ever tried to soothe a female insect's spiritual sea?"
"I have absolutely...no idea what to do." Gayel looked at his hands. "I was simply thrown into the military academy by them. I have absolutely no interest in learning those things."
This was really annoying to hear. Arisa frowned and said, "Do you know how hard I worked to get in?"
As a Zerg race whose primary means of survival was combat, the military academy served as a screening ground for sustainable combat power. To get in, he endured the cold stares of the male Zerg around him, each of whom told him that his actions were sheer folly.
But now Gayel says that he has "no interest in those things at all"?
"...W-what!" Gayaru was startled by Arisa's sudden change in expression and shrank back. "Who said I have to be interested in those things?!"
"Not much." Arisa quickly regained her composure. "To soothe a female insect's spiritual sea requires him to have enough trust in you, and the female insects that needed soothing during that period were basically those who had just come off the battlefield."
"You don't have enough time to build trust with him." Arisa continued, "You have to be careful, because if you're not careful, you might be trapped in his mind forever."
"Will he die?" Gayel asked in a low voice.
"He'll be dead without a trace left." Arisa rolled her eyes, and after noticing that Gayel was shaking even more violently, she added helplessly, "But you can call for a stop."
"Will someone... the Zerg rescue you from the other side's spiritual sea?" Gayel asked immediately.
"What are you thinking?" Arisa looked at him. "You can only call a halt at the beginning to show that you're giving up the challenge. Once you enter the other person's spiritual sea, either you die in his spiritual sea, and then he dies in the mental riot, or you successfully soothe him, and everyone is happy."
Gayel didn't say anything else. He initially thought that soothing the spiritual sea was a simple matter, but was it really so difficult?
"However, soothing the pirate's spiritual sea should be easier than..." After a pause, Gayel whispered again, "Shouldn't it be easier than the military academy assessment?"
As a fellow student at the academy, and a Zerg who had observed Gayel up close, how could Arisa not see what Gayel meant by asking this? He clearly still held out hope for the Pirates, and believed clinging to them was the right decision.
...How could he let Gayel get what he wanted?
"Are you an idiot?" Arisa looked at Gayaru. "Those female insects coming down from the battlefield at least know you're a student at the military academy. They'll at least try to suppress the urge to lock you in their mind sea forever. Do you think the pirates would do the same?"
"The Zerg are warlike by nature, but they don't necessarily have the desire to fight their own kind." Arisa paused. "Even the Federation and the Empire, when on the battlefield, will simply kill or rip each other in half. They won't resort to brutal killing like other alien races do to the Zerg."
"So, how serious do you think a pirate would have to be to be on the wanted list of both the Federation and the Empire?" Arisa asked. "And do you think... they would really treat you as kindly as the Federation and the Empire treat the male insects?"
The door opened with a bang.
The female insect who had just smiled and sent Jiayel here stood at the door, rubbing her hands vigorously, with cold sweat on her head: "Your Highness Jiayel, the time has come."
"Oh...oh!" Gayaer stood up, but because his legs were weak, he couldn't stand up. He turned his head to look at Arisa, then turned his head to look at the female insect - in a trance, Gayaer actually felt that Arisa, who never liked to look at him directly, was much less threatening than the female insect at the door who always praised him in a flattering tone.
"Is Wilson back so soon?" He suddenly asked as if he had thought of something.
The female insect was stunned for a moment and answered the question subconsciously: "Not yet." They had just gone out on a small spaceship, how could they come back so soon.
"Didn't Fide tell me to wait here until Wilson comes back?" Gayel said as he hugged Arisa's arm. "Let's talk about it then."
The female insect froze for a moment, unsure whether to ask the boss for permission or just take Gayel out regardless of his wishes. In that moment of hesitation, the door closed again.
"--Let go," Arisa said to Gayel, pointing at her arm, "Do you want Wilson to remove your arm right away when he comes back?"
Gayaru suddenly loosened his grip and decisively stood at arm's length from Arisa.
"I don't want to get involved with you two anymore...or with the Zerg affairs anymore," Gayel rubbed his arms vigorously. "I understand now. My feelings for Wilson are definitely not love. And don't tell him that I just hugged your arm!"
He finally understood that he was the only one among these Zergs who had a mind that was so clear that it was stupid.
Looking at Kayel like this, Arisa just found it funny: "Didn't you say you loved him before?" It seemed that Kayel had said at that time that their view of love was distorted.
"I'm just kidding. I've been single there for years and I don't even know what love is." Gayel said as he bent down and hugged his legs. "I shouldn't think this place is my paradise just because it's gay-friendly. I just want to go home now."
"Which home?" Arisa still couldn't understand the meaning of some of the words in Gayel's words, but that didn't stop him from understanding the 'home' Gayel was talking about. "The Zerg's home or yours?"
“…I don’t know either.” Gayel said in a low voice.
Arisa actually laughed out loud now.
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