Chapter 9
The old alloy door was smashed open with a bang, and the female insect stepped in first, immediately followed by a gust of wind.
It's so naive and adorable that a male insect, who can't even kill a chicken, dares to attack a female insect.
The female insect effortlessly raised one arm to launch the attack, and before she could utter a single, contemptuous word, the entire insect froze.
An indescribable burst of fresh pheromones erupted from the point of contact between their arms, a youthful and profound vitality that was hard to find on the vast and desolate planet.
In just a moment, he felt breathless, his abdomen ached, and his limbs went weak. His innate female insect instincts made him want to submit, to kneel and beg for more, more…
It's almost here—
In the instant the female insect's mind went blank, an invisible mental attack struck, the stinging pain jolting her awake from her endless despair.
What came at him was a metal rod encased in alloy. No wonder, no wonder, it was in direct contact with his pheromones, like a bottle of high-concentration pheromones exploding on his arm.
This is definitely not an ordinary low-level male insect. Its pheromone intensity is very high, extremely high, but why isn't its pheromone spreading? This doesn't make sense!
High-grade male pheromones can be detected by female insects even from a great distance, thus attracting a group of female insects.
The female insect was utterly paralyzed with disbelief: "You're an S-class...!"
The female insect's lucidity lasted only a moment before she slumped to the ground, her eyes glazed over, her mind in a daze, desperately trying to reach out and search for the male insect not far away.
"Pheromone..."
Hill frowned, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He immediately slammed down without hesitation. He hadn't advanced to the second level yet and was only at A-level. Only with the help of pheromone diffusion and the Queen Worm's genes could he barely reach pseudo-S-level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to take down this S-level female worm in one go.
He kept hitting her until his arm went numb before he finally knocked the female insect unconscious. Even as she passed out, her blood-stained face still held a fascinated expression.
Without a second awakening, the young insect's body was still too fragile. Hill wiped the blood from his hands and couldn't help but frown.
Finally, they laboriously dragged the unconscious female insect into the room and locked the door, creating the illusion that everything was normal.
After putting on the trench coat left by the marshal, Hill quickly disappeared into the passageway, while simultaneously activating the invisible backup optical computer behind his ear to connect to the network.
After a beep, a mischievous voice rang in my ears.
Good morning, Hill. Did you have a good time with the Marshal last night?
Hill paused suspiciously, remembering the slight nod he'd made the night before, and then, as if to change the subject, quickly explained the current situation to Bright.
"The marshal isn't with you? Then why are you going out now?"
“I’m worried about the Marshal.” Hill’s dark green eyes lowered. “They were able to attack me because they’re no longer afraid of the Marshal’s return. Something must have happened to the Marshal.”
"Hill, have you noticed that your insect savvy suddenly became more active after leaving Marshal Celtic?"
"...Don't think I can't tell you're laughing at me."
“Ah, their IQ has really kicked in.” Brett opened one of the surveillance cameras. “They don’t even know who that male insect hiding behind Marshal Celtic was yesterday.”
She had already thoroughly investigated the place beforehand, and had spent the whole night doing her homework, afraid that she might do something wrong and implicate the marshal.
Hill walked close to the edge of the wall in the darkness, a suspicious blush spreading across her pale earlobes: "How did you know?"
“There’s a female insect in the guard team who’s proficient with quantum computers. Have her use your quantum computer as a fulcrum to hack the nearby surveillance,” Bright warned. “There are female insects to the right and to the left front.”
"Where are you going now? Marshal Selt hasn't been found on the surveillance footage yet."
"Find the male insect in front."
Bright spotted the male insect through the surveillance system before Hill. After a night, he still hadn't been bought and was curled up on the cold display stand. Perhaps a female insect had once bought him for a short time. The dirty stone stand was surrounded by messy liquids.
"Hiss, that's terrible." Bright, being a male insect, let out a cry of empathy.
Hill focused his mental energy and approached the dying male insect.
Tiny, transparent tentacles, invisible to the insect's eyes, quietly probed into the mechanical lock. The male insect, curled up on the stone platform, seemed to have noticed something, and its dull pupils dilated slightly.
Hill made a shushing gesture to him in the darkness.
One minute, two minutes later, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed through the passageway.
Anxiety and fear welled up in the eyes of the male insect being sold. Fortunately, just as the footsteps were about to arrive, the mechanical lock snapped.
The male insect, no longer caring about anything, struggled to its feet and, dragging its heavy chains, stumbled and panicked into the passage.
A rapid, piercing beeping sound echoed through the exhibition hall, or rather, the arena, and soon a female insect shouted, "The male insect has run away!"
A valuable item has been stolen!
"Grab him—he's running towards the ground!"
"Elevator! Guard the elevator—don't touch the insect droppings!"
Male insects are a valuable asset.
Several strong and robust female insects nimbly chased into the tunnel, and the lowest underground level began to move wildly. The female insects coming and going were completely unaware of the other male insect of a higher rank hiding in the darkness.
Hill did not undergo a second evolution, so his pheromones were very faint. Moreover, he had injected pheromone inhibitors before coming to keep his pheromone level at D level. Generally, such low-level male insects can only be smelled if they get very close.
“While I understand your sympathy for your fellow male insects, this is 200 meters underground. He can’t escape, can he?” Bright asked worriedly.
"It can draw fire." Large-scale chaos also serves as a warning.
Bright: "......."
"I'll come back and take him with me when I find the marshal." Hill pulled up his collar. The male insect was too small and had no markings on its skin, so it would be easy to spot him even in the chaos.
A large number of female insects chased after the fleeing male insects, and due to their strong will to survive, the weak male insect was never caught.
The dungeon during the day is far less bustling than at night, and a considerable number of female insects don't care about it at all, since most of those who frequent this place are outlaws and don't belong to the auction house.
"Two female insects are coming, turn left!"
Turning the corner, he still bumped into a female insect. The female insect first showed surprise and confusion, then immediately looked at his neck, but there were no insect patterns!
The female insect's eyes gleamed with greed and infatuation, but she did not immediately call out.
Male insects are precious, and not all insects are willing to be returned to the auction house.
Before the female insect could even wake from her dream of finding a handsome male insect on the road, a sharp pain suddenly shot through the depths of her brain.
The pain made him dizzy and almost unable to stand or make a sound. He could only watch helplessly as the handsome male insect passed by him, its indifferent dark green pupils sweeping over him, making his heart pound but unable to grasp it.
—Mental attack, a unique attack method of advanced male insects. This is actually an advanced male insect!
It was just a brief attack; after a while, the higher-level female insects had already recovered.
However, by mutual understanding, no female insect chose to inform the auction house or organization, and no insect could refuse to monopolize such a handsome and high-ranking male insect, which saved Hill a lot of trouble.
Hill advanced into the core area, which appeared spacious and quiet.
The prolonged expenditure of mental energy was too much for a male insect that had only advanced once. When he felt his heart was not feeling well, he decisively slipped into the room.
Excessive mental energy consumption and unstable state might lead to premature entry into the second stage of advancement. If the marshal isn't around, that won't do.
Hill regretted it as soon as she stepped inside; the smell of sage filled the air.
It was the scent of the male insect that was surrounded by several female insects yesterday, and it was also the scent that clung to the Marshal. He remembered it vividly.
A red-haired male insect lay on a sofa by a nearly opaque window, the scent of sage pungent and overpowering, his wrists handcuffed to the red fabric sofa.
The male insect heard footsteps, slowly opened its moist eyes, and was slightly surprised to see him, then smiled.
"Little male, could you come over and help me untie this?"
Hill slowly emerged from the darkness: "Of course."
Tentacles formed from spiritual energy reached out cautiously forward, then suddenly turned around the moment they reached the center of the door.
He was wrong. It wasn't that the dozen or so female insects shared the same male insect, but rather that the male insect dominated the female insects!
The male sage beetle was the leader of yesterday's group of females.
He had just turned around when a foul gust of wind swept past him. In the instant his mental tentacles attacked the intruder's mind, the insect-like arm struck his neck.
A gaunt, blood-stained skeleton—Amos.
The fact that a male insect that has just awakened once is so close to an S-class female insect that has just awakened twice makes the answer obvious.
The last thing Hill heard before falling into a coma was the sound of the male insect unlocking his handcuffs.
"A-grade male insects, at least 1 million star coins per night."
Author's Note:
The Marshal will appear in the next chapter! Hill has always been ridiculously obedient to the Marshal, but when he's not around, she's actually a kind and beautiful woman who's a bit cold [eared bunny head emoji]. She'll become a sickly beauty later [please]
I changed the cover! There are two versions, one with blue text and one with pure white text. I'm having trouble choosing, ugh! I can't post pictures without social media accounts, so please help me choose! [crying][crying][crying] I wanted to post the character card and ask for your help, but JJ (the platform) flagged me for violating the rules, sob sob. I've already put the text panel on my profile picture. [please] Is there anyone kind enough to help me decide which one I think is better? [please]
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