Chapter 31: It wasn't the arrival of the A-level president that livened up the atmosphere...
The arrival of His Excellency the President enlivened the atmosphere considerably, with each of the male insects putting in their best effort to make a good impression on him.
"Green, what number are you?" The male insect next to him leaned over to look.
"88, what about you?" the red-haired male insect, Green, replied casually.
“I’m number 12. There seem to be only 88 insects in our batch waiting to be tested. You were chosen as the last one, which means you’ll definitely get what you want today. Maybe you’ll even catch the President’s attention.”
"Then I'll take your kind words." The red-haired male insect, Green, finally felt a little better. If he had been angered by Murphy any longer, he suspected that he would have been driven to his death by anger one day.
...
While resting with his eyes closed, Murphy gleaned information from the whispers around him. Hmm... it seems the president is here again. Is the president of this country so free? He can come over for a small quiz.
Murphy always felt that something was strange about him. The way he looked at him was odd, and he had a strange feeling of being used as a substitute.
hiss……
The personal terminal beeped, indicating that there was a message.
Murphy barely managed to lift his eyes for a glance. It was a random test number handed out on-site, and his number was neither high nor low—44.
This number… He raised an eyebrow. Was this some kind of underhanded operation? They weren't even going to bother with any pretense? And they were even using puns and suggestive language.
The initial tests went very smoothly. It was basically a process of entering the instrument, reporting the level, registering, and moving on to the next one.
Apart from one person who received a few congratulatory messages for upgrading from B to A, there were basically no major differences. The highest-ranking person was one who upgraded two levels in a row, from D to B.
Soon it was Murphy's turn.
"Number 44."
As the order was announced, a few muffled laughs suddenly broke out in the relatively quiet arena. Even the numbers seemed to be hinting at impending doom, and it was fortunate that Murphy remained so calm.
Murphy yawned lazily, his steps calm and composed.
However, he didn't miss Bennett's meaningful smile as he walked over.
It seems that the necessary steps have been taken.
Sure enough, as soon as he approached the testing equipment, the person in charge of the male insect protection association, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly called out to Murphy with a polite smile.
"Your Excellency, no jewelry is allowed in the testing equipment. Please store your jewelry here."
The insect in charge gestured with its eyes to the beast core pendant on Morpheus's clothes.
The beast core pendant was quite small, with several perforated beast cores woven together with a light purple cord. It looked very pretty under the light, but because it wasn't valuable, no insects would pay much attention to it.
Murphy raised an eyebrow, picked up the small pendant with his finger, and casually placed it on the tray prepared by the insect handler.
The person in charge of the insects smiled even wider. "Thank you for your cooperation."
Murphy also smiled.
Suddenly, just before going inside, he seemed to remember something, paused, turned around, and flashed a big smile in front of everyone, then snapped his fingers.
"A little surprise, I almost forgot."
The male insects, who were sitting intently, preparing to see his test results, were all momentarily stunned. What was Murphy doing? What little surprise? Was his lie about to be exposed and he was about to beg for mercy?
They looked around, but no videos of people begging for mercy suddenly appeared.
Just then, an unusual sound came from above, and all the insects looked up at the same time.
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, a ventilation duct above Bennett's head opened, and a flock of pigeons scurried out. Several of them landed squarely on Bennett's head, held onto his hair for a moment, and then flew away with the other pigeons that had circled the venue twice.
Soon after, Bennett felt a warm sensation on the top of his head, accompanied by a slight odor.
Bennett understood what it was in an instant, and his gentle, fake smile froze.
The insects in the testing hall were initially taken aback by the arrival of the pigeon. Before they could react, the dramatic scene unfolded, leaving all the insects with a feeling of wanting to laugh but not daring to.
No, no, His Majesty the President is still here; we must remain serious.
But Murphy didn't have so many concerns.
“It’s only fair to reciprocate,” Murphy said with a gentlemanly bow and a wink and smile. “A little magic trick, it seems to have worked quite well.”
"But this look suits you quite well."
After saying that, Murphy laughed heartily and walked into the testing equipment without any restraint.
Suddenly, several bursts of suppressed laughter filled the venue.
"..." Bennett's hands clenched into fists, his not-so-sharp nails gripping so hard they almost broke his skin.
"Excuse me, teacher, I'll go take care of it."
Bennett maintained a stiff and strained tone, his face grim as he quickly left the room, a stark contrast to his usual composed demeanor.
As soon as Bennett left the venue, his face completely fell. Even in front of the servants who were helping him tidy up, his expression was terribly gloomy.
Murphy!
From birth until now, he had never suffered such humiliation, his image ruined in front of everyone, and he was openly ridiculed. From now on, when people think of him, their first thought will be this incident: How despicable! How despicable Murphy! He will remember this day.
Okay, I'll let you be smug for a little while longer, and see if you can still laugh later.
Inside the testing hall, Nehemiah saw the black-haired male insect below laughing wildly, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes. He didn't even notice when Bennett spoke to him.
The central hospital's testing equipment can detect up to S-level cases, although the Federation currently only has President Nehmeya as a case.
However, when the results were announced, it was no exaggeration to say that the whole country was in an uproar.
At that time, the Federation and the Empire had just separated. The Empire's only male insect prince, who is now His Majesty the Emperor, was tested and found to have an S-level genetic grade. However, the Federation had no successor, which made the Federation, which had just become independent for freedom, very frustrated. Many insects even had the idea of returning to the Empire.
The appearance of Nehemiah, an S-class male insect, was explosive news at this time, and it can be said that his appearance saved the Federation at that time.
The importance of S-class male insects to a country is beyond doubt, not only because of their legendary magical powers that can soothe higher-ranking female insects, but also because they have been the symbol of the nation in the hearts of insect people since ancient times.
In short, it can be weak, but it cannot be absent.
The testing equipment at the Central Hospital is very simple. Unlike portable testing equipment with rings of lights, it only has a display screen. When the results are available, it shows the grade of the male insect and broadcasts the results to the entire audience.
When Bennett returned, the instruments were loudly announcing Murphy's grade—
"Your Excellency Murphy, your rank is F."
"What a joke!" The scene immediately erupted. Whether they were angry or not, whether they were listening carefully or not, everyone's attention was drawn to this result.
There's no other reason than this is because it's the first F grade test conducted on the field today.
"I knew it, I knew it, he's a liar!"
"I demand that the Central Court severely punish Murphy and force him to reveal the source of this disguised drug. Otherwise, if even insects can become A-level, won't things get chaotic in the future?"
"Murphy has no respect for his superiors and shows no basic courtesy to His Excellency the President. He should be punished for multiple offenses and be permanently banned from entering the Central Star."
The male insects in the testing area started chatting excitedly, all looking delighted. They hadn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days, and going to see Murphy had even caused them to develop breast hyperplasia from the stress. Now they could finally breathe a sigh of relief and feel much better.
Just then, the instrument that should have stopped broadcasting started beeping again—
"Congratulations! After many years, the Federation has once again witnessed a historic moment. Let us cheer for this newly born F...F...Cheers...S-class male insect!"
...
...
Silence, silence, and more silence.
Dead silence, dead silence, and still dead silence.
This rather untimely congratulations plunged the entire venue into an eerie silence. The male insects who had heard the instrument announce F-level could no longer laugh, because now everyone present, everyone with ears, could tell that something was wrong with the announcement.
Bennett's smile faltered, replaced by a look of astonishment. A chill ran through him, cold sweat beaded on his forehead and body, and his heart pounded faster and faster in his chest.
This, this is impossible.
The detection system for all the other male insects just coldly announced their level, without exception, but the long string of congratulatory words following it was something that ordinary level insects could not possess.
It's even less likely that an F-class item could possess.
Those seated higher up, the representatives from various agencies, had even more interesting expressions on their faces. They knew more than the male insects below, having witnessed such broadcasts firsthand.
But the last person to receive this treatment was President Nehemiah.
All the insects understood what this meant: for the first time in a century, their Twilight Federation had gained a new S-class male insect.
But the testing machine clearly reported F level just now, which means that the machine mistakenly reported S level as F level. This is a major mistake. Is this a malfunction or an accident?
After a moment of silence, rustling noises began to rise from the scene.
Gradually, all the insects turned their gaze to President Nehmeya, wanting to see what the only remaining S-class male insect thought about this matter.
President Nehemiah raised his hand to signal them to be quiet, and then he walked down the steps to the testing equipment.
Just then, the door of the testing instrument opened, and the black-haired male insect, who had been standing inside with his eyes closed, opened his eyes at that moment. Nehemiah could clearly see the brilliant golden patterns around his pupils.
Murphy blinked.
Wow, it's so lively! I haven't seen anything this lively in a long time.
"Oh, is everyone welcoming me?"
"Then, Surprise!"
Murphy chuckled softly and snapped his fingers. The male insects present were startled and immediately looked up at their heads. Fortunately, no pigeons flew out, and there was nothing warm on their heads.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, their bottoms suddenly gave way, and all the insects fell flat on their backs. Countless insects cursed, screamed in pain, and cried for help, turning the entire testing hall into a scene of utter chaos.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Murphy laughed heartily, held his hand as if it were a top hat held to his chest, and bowed slightly, as if taking a bow.
But after the curtain fell, Murphy noticed a strange white-haired old worm standing in front of him, staring at him intently, especially at his eyes, a gaze that made him very uncomfortable.
Murphy tilted his head, his tone both innocent and wicked.
"Old man, who are you staring at? Didn't someone tell me that this is very impolite?"
The few male insects that survived the fall and heard Mophiel's words were about to curse him on the spot, but when they thought about Mophiel's current level, they didn't know what to say. The only one who was qualified to curse him was standing in front of him and had no intention of cursing him. So they turned red with embarrassment and could only keep their mouths shut.
Nehemiah looked at Mephiel, and the more he looked at him, the more alarmed he became. No one knew the turmoil raging in his heart.
How is it possible that their personalities are so similar?
Aside from that one and only truth, there couldn't be any other coincidence in the world. But they clearly only had two children, and he had even seen those two children before. Neither of them had black hair. What on earth was going on?
But Nehemiah quickly calmed down. He thought of another point: Mophiel was now a Federation Insect, the Federation's only S-class male insect of the next generation, and he was destined to belong to the Federation.
Nehemiah thought to himself, calming his emotions and making sure his face showed no sign of anything amiss. He spoke gently, “It’s nothing, child. I was just thinking about a friend from a long time ago.”
"Why don't you rest for a bit? There might be a small problem with this testing instrument. Let me try."
The person in charge standing to the side had already been sweating profusely. From the moment the testing equipment broadcasted the congratulatory message to President Nehmeya walking up to him, things had spiraled out of control. He wanted to follow, but Nehmeya raised his hand to stop him.
The president looked at him with a detached gaze, as if he knew everything. "Hopefully, no insects will touch this instrument during this period."
After saying that, Nehemiah stepped into the testing equipment.
The insect in charge couldn't suppress its terrified eyes and frequent swallowing; finally, the results were announced.
"Your gene grade is F."
The loud announcement echoed throughout the testing hall, like a slap in the face to some insects out of nowhere.
These insects are both the responsible insects and the masterminds behind him.
President Nehemiah emerged, his face showing no surprise, but he gave the male insect protection association leader a cold look and said, "I will ask the prosecutor's office to thoroughly investigate this matter."
It's over, it's all over.
The insect in charge revealed a smile that looked like a cry, and collapsed to the ground. He had not only offended His Excellency the President, but also His Excellency the only future S-class male insect.
Nehemiah walked up to Meufel.
"Hello, I am Nehemiah."
Murphy had been looking at him strangely, and upon hearing this, he smiled with his eyes crinkling, "Sorry, the only thing I want to collect right now is the little butterfly, but could you call an ambulance for me?"
After he finished speaking, the gold in Morpheus's eyes began to fade rapidly, and the insect instantly lost consciousness.
But he found himself a good spot: a soft chair with the backrest folded down, where he could simply lie down and sleep.
President Nehemiah was startled and immediately checked his breathing and pulse, finding them to be relatively stable, before he breathed a sigh of relief.
This is a hospital, so there's no need to call an ambulance. He opened his personal terminal and sent a message, and the hospital director immediately said that the medical staff were on their way.
...
"Legion Commander, Pico has returned a location."
"Yes, send some troops over for the handover, and keep some troops in the rear to observe the situation."
After careful consideration, Hausman, the commander of the Twilight Legion, chose a more conservative approach.
He sent two teams to make contact and observe, while he led the remaining main force to observe from a distance. This way, if things went wrong, they could retreat immediately and find another way.
Time passed slowly, and no unusual information came from the front. The handover observed from afar also seemed normal, so Hausmann breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a series of explosions rang out from their flanks and rear. Startled by this sudden turn of events, the small starships instinctively left the formation and regrouped towards the main ship.
Hausman stood up abruptly, only to see that the previously calm star map was now covered with countless red dots, which came from all directions and surrounded them.
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Author's Note: Thank you AAA for the gift! Love you so much! [starry eyes][starry eyes][cheers]
Thank you to "Lin Jue" baby, "Qing Kong Wan Li" baby, "Lou Wai Ting Feng" baby, "basbore" baby, and "Jing Yi" baby for the nutrient solution! Thank you all for your support! Love you all! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Go for it!]
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