Chapter 46 Can it be cured without pheromones? "Talos, then..."
"Talos, that bug seems to be really healed."
Doris walked over looking rather dazed; he had no idea that this strange black-haired insect actually had the ability to cure the insect that had caused the mental domain to riot.
He was upset all night yesterday about his role in aiding and abetting evil.
Could this strange insect also possess the same miraculous potion found on the dark web? Otherwise, given how severe the insect's condition appeared, its recovery to this extent in just one day would likely require the legendary S-grade pheromones.
What made him even more bewildered was that this strange insect, which had been threatening and intimidating them from the very beginning, was actually willing to use such a precious potion on a seemingly useless and poor insect. Did this mean that this strange insect was actually quite soft-hearted? It was completely different from the terrifying image it had previously projected.
Doris suddenly recalled yesterday's events. In fact, they didn't know what had happened in the house yesterday; they were just guarding the boy they had knocked unconscious until the black-haired monster came out of the dilapidated little house, reeking of blood, and beckoned them to leave. He saw the white coat splattered with blood.
They only had time to drag the boy into the house and close the door. In the brief glance, all they could see was the bloodstains on the bed and the insects fixed to the iron bed like mummies.
He had thought the insect had been brutally dismembered, but he never expected it to be so lively and energetic today; it was like a miracle.
However, given how he looked after yesterday's treatment, no one would dare say he was cured; it would be more like he was killed.
He felt genuinely bitter for a long time, feeling sorry for the boy's family who had run into this jinx.
Doris looked emotional.
Looking back at his thoughts yesterday, he was too naive. This kid's family didn't just run into a jinx; they were incredibly lucky. In the Chaos Starfield, insect families like this are not uncommon. Only this kid's family was fortunate enough to be saved. They are truly lucky.
...
Originally, this matter was neither a big deal nor a small matter, far from being widely circulated. Unfortunately, it reached the ears of the local tyrant, Harper.
The gang, who frequented the market year-round, quickly helped their leader catch the two insects.
The middle-aged female insect held Sariel tightly, protecting her even when pushed down.
"Father, are you alright?"
Sariel looked anxious, but the middle-aged female insect shook her head, covered his mouth, and looked up at the female insect at the head of the table.
"Harper the Worm, what brings you here?"
The slightly plump female insect, seated at the head of the table, had a kind and gentle face. She was twirling a string of beads in her hand, the tinkling sound echoing in the room, her voice neither hurried nor slow.
"I just invited you over as guests. I heard something amazing happened to you yesterday. Would you mind telling me about it?"
The middle-aged female insect swallowed hard, trying to remain calm. He had already thought about this problem after his joy yesterday. "A common man is innocent, but he is guilty of possessing a treasure." His severe pheromone outburst was suddenly cured, which would definitely make people suspect that he had pheromone drugs. He just didn't expect Harper's insect to arrive so quickly.
He had no intention of hiding it, not only because he himself wasn't entirely clear about the facts, but also because he couldn't hide it from them on his own. Moreover, if the two little female insects wanted to live in this galaxy in the future, they absolutely could not afford to offend Harper.
All he could do was try to make the story of the worms that saved them vague; it was sad and he felt powerless.
He recounted in detail how the strange insect found Sariel yesterday and how it brought him into the house to treat him.
"...But we don't have any pheromone potions, and we don't know where that gentleman went."
Harper listened quietly from beginning to end, and only spoke slowly and deliberately after he was sure the middle-aged female insect had finished her story, "Oh? You mean that the insect didn't use pheromone potions to save you?"
The middle-aged female insect shook her head. "I...don't know. I was out of control at the time, and Sariel was also taken away and knocked unconscious. It's impossible for us to know about the treatment process."
Sariel added, “We really don’t know that the gentleman asked me to carry the female father home, but not long after I put the female father down, I was carried out by their insects.”
Sariel instinctively concealed the fact that the gentleman had used a scalpel; the gentleman had arguably changed his family's fate, and he truly didn't want to cause him any trouble.
The kind-looking female insect sitting at the head of the table neither said she believed nor disbelieved; her voice remained completely calm. “You don’t mind if I draw some blood, do you? Your blood will tell me whether you’ve used pheromone drugs.”
"..."
The middle-aged female insect, clinging to the salvia, had no right to resist and could only extend her arm for them to draw blood.
In fact, the middle-aged female insect had a vague premonition that his treatment this time was probably not through pheromone drugs.
The middle-aged female insect had the good fortune to drink a pheromone potion once. When she woke up the next day, she did feel much better, but it was nothing like what she felt now. Her mental domain was as calm as the sea, with only minor ripples like the wind brushing across the surface, unable to stir up any big waves.
His body had never felt so relaxed. He was certain that it couldn't possibly be just the effect of pheromones, and Sariel had told him the process, so he trusted his child wouldn't lie.
While waiting for the results, Harper strung on his beads and asked unhurriedly, "What leads do you have on the insect's whereabouts?"
The middle-aged female insect looked troubled but still shook her head. "At the time, there were two other insects following that gentleman. I have no memory of losing control. Sariel was also knocked unconscious and collapsed at the door. When we woke up, they were long gone. If you don't believe me, you can ask the neighbors around us. We really don't know where that gentleman is."
Harper nodded, but it was unclear whether he was satisfied with the answer.
Just then, a female insect walked in through the side door and whispered to Harper, "Boss, based on the descriptions from the neighbors, we've already been able to draw those two henchmen insects."
He showed Harper the two pieces of paper in his hand.
"Pure White?" Before Crimson rose to prominence, Pure White's reputation was at its zenith, so he naturally knew about it. But these two insects, one a captain and the other a second mate, were actually willing to be insect followers.
The subordinate, his face beaming with excitement, speculated, "Recently, there have indeed been some rumors about Pure White. Scarlet has completely cut off their pheromone supply, yet they haven't reacted at all. Moreover, Pure White's second mate was on the verge of death due to pheromone outage, but he's still lively and energetic, showing no signs of rebellion. I'm afraid this is their secret."
Meanwhile, the insect that went down to test the blood returned, holding a report in his hand, his face clearly showing disbelief. "Boss, I checked, there really is no trace of pheromones."
But how is that possible? They had seen the middle-aged female insect on the verge of death, how could she recover to this extent without using pheromone drugs?
Harper remained silent, his eyes deep and thoughtful, but the sound of his beads picking up the beads quickened slightly.
If all of this were true, he couldn't imagine how much change it would bring to the world. If female insects were no longer controlled by male insects, would they really be free?
Harper pondered for a long time, first waving his hand to have the insects escort Sariel and his son out, then saying to his subordinates, "Spread this news?"
"Disperse?"
The subordinates clearly couldn't understand their boss's thoughts. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they could control such a strange insect, wouldn't dominating the entire Chaotic Starfield be just around the corner?
Harper, however, seemed to see through his thoughts and said calmly, "Heh, regardless of whether such a shocking thing is true or false, we are just small locals living in this market. We can't control such a worm, nor is it possible for us to control it."
If any insect leaks the news, we'll be silenced, and that insect will eventually be captured by the others anyway. Rather than that, it's better to betray the other factions and let them fight it out. Whoever wins, we'll all get a share.
The subordinate suddenly realized, his admiration for Harper evident in his eyes, "Boss, you're so smart."
The local tyrants' networks were extensive, and within less than half a star's time, most of the forces in the Chaotic Starfield knew about it. However, their thoughts were very unified: "This is impossible."
"Heh, has Harper been holed up in the market for too long? Has his brain gone haywire? He actually believes such a ridiculous thing?"
"Boss, they also included a lot of materials."
"Just leave it there. How could such a thing really happen? A cure for pheromone imbalance without pheromones? If it were that simple, would all the scientists over the past few centuries have been a bunch of idiots?"
Similar conversations have occurred in many places, but because there was only one instance of this particular incident, it ultimately did not cause much of a stir.
...
This time, Talos and Doris were obviously much more cautious on their trip. Regardless of whether they used that magical pheromone potion, other insects would likely think the same thing. In the eyes of many insects, Morpheus had probably been seen as a fat sheep carrying a pheromone potion.
Despite their best efforts to persuade it, they finally convinced the strange insect to move from the large market to this smaller market, which was a bit further away.
But the insect walking in front of them had no such worries at all, as could be seen from his light steps.
Murphy was still somewhat worried. He had learned a lesson from not being very familiar with potions, and he hadn't bought everything he needed yesterday, so he had to go out again today.
Such a troublesome thing, I really don't know where the main insect gets so much interest in brewing it every day. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want to easily give up his body, he would have released the main insect to brew it himself. But he can't. His time is only one month, and he can't afford to lose even a minute.
Just as Murphy was feeling melancholy, an insect suddenly rammed into him from the side. Murphy reacted quickly and dodged to the side, but Doris, who was standing behind him, was not so lucky and was knocked back by the insect.
His steps were unsteady, and his face looked strange, a dull red with a hint of purple. His eyes were lifeless, and even slightly rolled back. He didn't react much after hitting the insect, and just continued walking forward.
Doris wasn't exactly known for his good temper, and seeing that the insect didn't react at all after bumping into him, he immediately got angry. "What's wrong with you? Aren't you going to apologize for bumping into an insect?"
The insect took a while to stop, as if even hearing clearly was a difficult task.
"Feel sorry……"
His pronunciation was unclear, and he spoke with heavy breathing, almost uttering each word one by one. His voice sounded confused, but it was still sincere, which calmed Doris's anger down considerably.
Never mind, he won't make things difficult for the patient.
Doris said, "You're lucky you ran into me. I won't hold it against you this time."
"Thank you so much..."
After the strange insect finished speaking slowly, it continued to sway and stagger away into the distance.
"What a strange bug," Doris muttered, watching the bug's retreating figure.
Murphy slowly withdrew his gaze from the insect, shook his head to himself, and looked somewhat intrigued.
Wow, the insect core is so active that it can't be ignored. It can even move and talk. This insect is quite interesting.
The shopkeeper held the material and examined it carefully. "Are you looking for a pot made of this material? If you're in a hurry, I suggest you go directly to the pot-making enthusiast's place. The size isn't common, so it'll be faster to order directly from him. He'll make it for you on the spot."
Doris interjected, "Boss, why are you introducing business to other insects?"
The boss smiled, but deep in his eyes, one could still see the sorrow. "I watched him grow up since he was a child. I'll help him if I can. His female father died when he was young because his mental domain went out of control. He was lucky and had a B-level rank, so he barely made it into the legion. I thought he had finally gotten over his hardships, but I didn't expect to see him again this year, and he was tormented by the pheromone storm to that extent."
What the boss didn't say was that even in that state, the child never gave up and seemed to be really trying to live, which reminded him of his own child, so he wanted to help no matter what.
...
Where is Walsh?
Rupert scratched his head. "I don't know either. It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen him. I thought he was always on missions, wasn't he?"
He stared at Attia's eyes with considerable curiosity. Strange, why were the Legion Commander's eyes red today? Was he having an allergic reaction?
Attiyah was silent for a moment before saying, "I did not assign him any missions."
"That's impossible, where could he go if he's not on a mission?"
Rupert suddenly had a bad feeling.
Walsh was a very gentle female insect, only a little older than them, but she always took care of them like a middle-aged adult insect. The reason why he and Palmer were able to sneak out so many times was all thanks to Walsh's help.
Attiyah looked at Rupert. "When was the last time you saw him?"
Rupert tried to recall, "It must have been the day Bennett's verdict was announced. We all drank together and were having a great time. I haven't seen him much since then."
The silver-haired female insect's crimson pupils darkened.
Something happened.
In his past life, Walsh was the only insect who survived to bury all of them. He always thought that at least Walsh wouldn't be in trouble, but that was wishful thinking on his part.
The days of war had made him careless, and he hadn't even noticed when Walsh had disappeared.
Is his address listed in the legion's register?
"Let me see, yes, it's on a small planet in the third ring of the Federation. Did he go home to visit?" Rupert guessed with a glimmer of hope.
Palmer, who had been listening quietly, replied, "I'm afraid not. His address isn't real either. He lives in Chaotic Star Sea."
Without a second thought, Rupert asked, "Can the Chaotic Star Sea also join our legion?"
Palmer remained silent for a moment, then apologized, "No, it was I who let him in without permission. Please punish me, Commander."
"..." Rupert hated his own loose tongue. Why did he have to say that? Wasn't it obvious that this was something that couldn't be said outright?
Attiyah said in a deep voice, "We'll talk about this later. Do you know his real address?"
"I know, in the Chaotic Star Sea, the coordinates are..."
...
Möller led Talos and the others along the route, which led them to a remote location. They wandered through alley after alley, where the sunlight became increasingly dim and the ground, which had been relatively clean, became increasingly cluttered. Clearly, the further they went in, the poorer the place became.
Finally, they stopped in front of a small house that looked the cleanest. The house was built by themselves using new materials, and the doors and windows were carefully maintained. It was clear that the main insect was a very diligent insect.
Doris, the lowest-ranking of the three, stepped forward and knocked on the door. As the slightly heavy footsteps approached, the door opened quickly.
"...It's you?"
It turned out to be the female insect that had bumped into him earlier. He seemed to be in better condition now, with a gentle expression. When he saw them coming, he mistakenly thought that he had injured them earlier, and said apologetically, "Hello, I'm so sorry for bumping into you earlier. Are you hurt?"
This female insect has light gray, medium-length hair, which is tied back with a simple hair tie, leaving a few strands of hair that cannot be tied up to fall in front of her forehead. After she calms down from her riotous state, it can be seen that she is a rare female insect with a very delicate appearance.
Doris felt her constitution was being looked down upon, and as if to show off, she spoke with considerable force, "I'm not that fragile. We need to customize a pot, using this material. Can it be made?"
"Ah, okay, it's good that everything's alright." The pretty female insect looked a little surprised, but quickly recovered and took the materials. "This material is excellent. How big of a pot do you need?"
“Uh…” Doris was stumped and tried to gesture with his hands, but he couldn’t quite figure out how big it was.
Seeing that Mephiel had no intention of repeating himself in front of the female insect, Talos stepped in to explain himself.
After understanding the requirements, the pretty female insect nodded and said gently, "Please wait an hour, and I will be able to finish making the product soon."
It only takes an hour?
Doris's eyes widened, and she exchanged a glance with Talos. In the past, no matter what they ordered, they would not receive the goods for at least three days.
The worst part is that they even do this when ordering a training stake.
A short while later.
"Okay, is this alright?"
The pretty female insect carried out a pot that was bigger than itself, and seemed quite at ease with it.
Talos turned to ask Morpheus for his opinion, only to find that the black-haired worm had somehow wandered off somewhere.
No, who exactly wants to order something custom-made?
Talos looked at the item and saw that its size was no different from what Murphy had described, so he thought he might as well move it back first. "Okay."
The pretty female insect smiled and said, "That's good. I'm glad I could help you. I'm really sorry for bumping into you earlier."
"..." Doris scratched his head. The bug kept apologizing, making him feel a little embarrassed. "We're fine. How much is this pot?"
The pretty female insect said, "It's alright, the pot isn't worth much. Consider it compensation for my rudeness earlier."
Doris paused for a moment, "How can that be?"
The pretty female insect smiled and said, "Of course, if you feel embarrassed, you can come and patronize my business in the future."
Without showing his personal terminal, Doris couldn't pay and could only follow Talos, bewildered, clutching the pot.
"Talos, he's so gentle. I wish you were that gentle too."
Doris didn't know how to describe the feeling; this female insect felt like a father figure to him.
Talos gripped the gun handle, his smile turning cold. "I'm not gentle?"
"..."
"Gentle, gentle, you're the gentlest." Doris thought to himself, this is tyranny, this is power, although he verbally yielded, his heart would not.
They were arguing and carrying the large pot when, before they had gone far, several loud noises came from the house behind them. Doris quickly exchanged a glance with Talos and ran back with the pot in his arms.
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Author's Note: Thank you AAA for the gift! *kiss* [heart eyes][starry eyes][cheers]
Thank you to "Clear Sky" and "Soaring Clouds" for the nutrient solution! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Keep it up!]
Thank you everyone for your support. It's so wonderful to see our familiar baby again! [sparkling eyes]
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