Chapter 52: The atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous
Nan Qi was in a state of turmoil. He never expected that he would see something he thought he would never see again.
"What do you like?" Bai's attention was all on Nan Qi. He would sense any unusual movement of Nan Qi.
Since he met Nan Qi, he had never seen Nan Qi like this. His breathing became disordered in an instant. Although Nan Qi adjusted himself, he could still sense Nan Qi's excitement.
Nan Qi took a deep breath and said, "Nothing, it just looks familiar. I found one like it when I was a kid, but I lost it later."
"Which one?" Bai looked in the direction Nan Qi was looking. "If you like it, we can buy it."
"That's it." Nan Qi walked to a stall, picked up an alien-shaped badge and looked at it. "The pattern on it is very unique. I haven't seen it anywhere else."
It was a prototype badge, but with irregular flame shapes around it, golden in color and fiery red around it.
On the back is a square-shaped code number, which was called a QR code in his time. In the center of the front is a layered, lifelike, rich and gorgeous flower.
The creatures of this era may not be familiar with it, but Nan Qi would not make a mistake. It was a gorgeous peony, one of the symbols unique to his original country.
It is also the emblem of their Peony Team, the glory of their team, and the root that Nan Qi thought he would never find again.
Nan Qi had searched for traces of his own era countless times, including asking Bai, but there were no traces of that era.
He thought that the history of that era had disappeared in the vast river of time, but he never expected that a trip to the black market would allow him to find evidence of his own era and even his own existence.
That badge represents none other than him, because the alien code is 01, and his code name in the Peony Squad is 01.
The thing that he thought he would never find suddenly appeared before his eyes. Nan Qi felt extremely uneasy, but he was already satisfied.
Because this badge is not the one he always wears. His badge shattered long before he died together with the Lord of the Alien Creatures, but this one is intact and the material is slightly different. It must be a peripheral made by later generations to commemorate him.
The existence of peripheral products proves that their sacrifices were not in vain. The people they tried so hard to protect survived and seemed to be doing well. They even had peripheral products.
He exhaled, put down the badge, and continued walking forward with Bai: "Let's go see something else."
"Not buying it anymore?" Bai turned around to look at the badge. He always felt that Nan Qi liked this badge very much, but Nan Qi looked like he really didn't want to buy it. He was confused.
Nan Qi looked back at him, his smile full of openness and satisfaction: "Let's not buy it, let's go look at something else, this thing is too ordinary."
Being ordinary is good; being ordinary and peaceful is happiness.
Pulling Bai forward, Nan Qi felt his whole body relax, and the invisible stone blocking his heart disappeared in an instant.
Bai felt Nan Qi's happiness and ran forward with him. The two insects stopped only when they were completely away from the stall.
"Well, since we need to hide our identities and can't use names here, let's pick code names." Nan Qi tilted his head and thought for a while, "How about you call me Bei and I'll call you Hei?"
Bai: "...Okay, as long as you are happy."
South-North, White-Black, Nanqi’s naming method is as simple as ever.
"By the way, you haven't told me what's going on with the marshal." After choosing a name and putting his worries aside, Nan Qi's curiosity emerged again.
Bai's eyes darkened as he whispered, "Because the Marshal's lord is the current Insect Emperor's older brother, Keppel Walker. It's said that in order for the Insect Emperor to ascend to the throne, this brother blocked several assassinations for the Insect Emperor. His body was extremely weak, and he was greatly respected by the Insect Emperor."
"Prince Keppel is a high-ranking S-rank male insect, and his health was already weak. After being ambushed, his health deteriorated even further. He spends more time sleeping than awake. Doctors predicted he wouldn't live past 200, but now he only has a few decades left."
"We Zerg have a hard time having children. Prince Keppel has never had any children. Ten years ago, after marrying the Marshal, the Zerg Emperor assumed that Prince Keppel's health and having children were more important, and therefore asked the Marshal to balance his family and the military."
"Gradually, the Marshal's power was dispersed by them, and finally the Marshal was placed under 'house arrest' in the Prince's Palace. Unless there was something important, we were not allowed to disturb him."
"So cruel! How long has it been since you last saw the Marshal?" Nan Qi asked.
"It's been a year." Bai sighed. "The last time I saw the Marshal was a year ago. The Marshal seemed to be doing well, but how could a hero be well when he was under house arrest?"
"Then why did the Marshal marry Prince Keppel?" Nan Qi asked, "If you female soldiers don't want to, can't you use your military achievements to delay marriage? With the Marshal's military achievements, he can stay single for his entire life, right? Could it be that he's like us, with a compatibility of over 90?"
Bai shook his head: "No, the Marshal was plotted against and had to marry Prince Keppel."
"Insect Emperor?"
"Yes, it's him. At the palace banquet ten years ago, they put a drug that caused mental violence in the marshal's wine." There was hatred in his eyes.
"Is that so?" Nan Qi touched his chin. "What is the reputation of Prince Keppel? Or rather, what kind of a bug is he?"
Bai was stunned: "Why do you ask?"
Nan Qi said, "I'm just a little curious. To be able to become the Grand Marshal of the Empire and be respected by you so much, this bug must be no ordinary person."
"According to you, after ten years of marriage, not only was power divided but he was also placed under house arrest without even a struggle. This is too unreasonable."
Imperial Marshal Aiyou Percy, now 150 years old, is in the prime of his life for the Zerg. In his thirty years as Marshal, he has fought battles across the land, decisively defeating the Star Beasts and laying a solid foundation for the Empire's stability.
How could such a brave and resourceful hero who stood at the top of the female insects surrender without any struggle?
"We speculate that the Marshal didn't take any action because he was completely marked by Prince Keppel and was influenced by him."
"Mark? What does that mean?"
Bai choked, but after seeing Nan Qi's clear eyes, an idea suddenly came to Bai's mind - Nan Qi must be aware that male insects can completely mark female insects.
"You, you don't know that, do you?"
"Know what?" Nan Qi tilted his head, "Bai, why are your ears red?"
Bai hesitated, "That's right, that's right. The mark means that the marked female insect can no longer be soothed by the mental power of other male insects. She becomes the property of the male insect that marked her and is affected by the mental power of the male insect that marked her."
"Then how do you mark it?" Nan Qi continued to ask. Bai had no choice but to tell him the truth, which was like a health education for Nan Qi.
After hearing this, Nan Qi's ears turned red, but in an instant his face covered by the mask turned pale.
Bai said that the combination of mental marking is that the male insect rushes into the female insect's reproductive cavity at the last moment, and wraps his mental power around the female insect's mental power, releasing it for enough time to complete the marking.
After being thoroughly marked, the female insect's mental power will be branded with the male insect's imprint, and the female markings on its body will also change.
If you want to completely remove this mark, apart from the most painful process of washing the mark, you have to kill the male insect that marked you to completely remove it.
However, removing the mark requires the consent of the male master. Killing the male master will be discovered by the Male Insect Protection Association and brought to trial.
Did he completely mark Bai that night?
That night he almost completely lost his mind, his mental power was entangled, and he really couldn't remember anything about the reproductive cavity.
He looked at Bai in surprise and suspicion, and saw that Bai's eyes were in a panic. He didn't even notice that he was looking at him. His heart sank immediately.
Then a dense pain rose in his heart again.
Even though she knew the consequences of completely marking him, she still didn't do anything to him, and concealed the matter, keeping him, a ticking time bomb, by her side to take care of and protect him...
How could Bai be so soft-hearted?
Nan Qi's heart softened and he couldn't help but hold Bai's hand: "Don't worry, I won't use this mark to control you. If there is a chance in the future and you want to wash off the mark, I can help you, but -"
Nan Qi's eyes were filled with heartache: "Even if the mark can be washed away, you still have to endure the pain."
"It's okay." Bai felt warm in his heart. "I believe you. Let's not talk about this anymore. Didn't you ask me about Prince Keppel's reputation? He has no reputation at all."
"Prince Keppel was in poor health when he was young and lived a secluded life. Apart from occasionally attending palace banquets, he never appeared in the public eye. We know very little about him."
"Then didn't you ask the marshal what kind of person this Prince Keppel is?" Nan Qi asked, "Did the marshal say anything about Prince Keppel?"
"The marshal would only say that he's doing well and that we don't need to worry." Pain shone in his eyes. "He might be afraid that we might do something irreversible."
Nan Qi patted Bai's arm gently: "Don't worry, there is always a way. Marshal Gong Yan will come this time."
Bai's eyes lit up: "Yes, the Insect Emperor wants to win you over, so he will definitely make the palace banquet more lively. Prince Keppel is also among the invited guests. If he comes, the Marshal can come as well."
Nan Qi smiled: "That's good. From what I hear in your words, you are full of admiration for the Marshal. I guess he has a master-disciple relationship with you, right?"
Bai nodded: "I am indeed the teacher's disciple."
"That's easy." Nan Qi said servilely, "You are his disciple, and I am your master. It is only natural that he will come to me. We will then act accordingly."
"Yeah." Bai responded softly, looking at Nan Qi with stars in his eyes.
The atmosphere was a little ambiguous for a moment, and Nan Qi blushed under his mask: "Well, let's continue shopping. I think there seems to be something fun over there."
"Well, let's go." Bai took Nan Qi's hand and walked in the direction Nan Qi pointed.
Nan Qi's heart was pounding, as if a little deer was jumping around in it, making him feel at a loss.
Just when the two insects were feeling uneasy, a long drum sound spread throughout the streets and alleys of the black market.
Nan Qi was startled, but he managed to get over the feeling and pulled Bai Yi behind him to protect him: "What happened?"
Bai's eyes were filled with smiles, and he placed his hand on Nan Qi's shoulder: "Don't worry, this drum sound is the notification sound that the gambling arena has been activated. Anyone who wants to watch or place a bet can rush to the gambling arena when they hear the drum sound."
"Then let's go and watch the fun." Nan Qi liked this kind of fun the most, so he pulled Bai to go and watch.
Bai Ye let him pull him along, and asked Nan Qi if he wanted to participate in the gambling fight. Whoever won the most lives would get a gift from the lord of the black market.
"Gifts? If there are hundreds of gambling matches a day, the black market lord will go bankrupt."
Bai couldn't help laughing: "No, sometimes the gift is just a star coin. What the gift is depends on the mood of the black market master."
"That's quite interesting. Let's go and see what the Black Market Lord's gift is this time."
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