SGT CH217

[Congratulations on safely surviving the night. The stage “Moonlit Night Forest” has concluded. All survivors gain +50 points.]

[Stage Two: “Memory Maze.”]

[Can you find your way out amidst the misty labyrinth of memories?]

Before Mu Si and the others could react, space twisted abruptly, and the scenery before them shifted drastically.

Perceiving the spatial fluctuation, Shi’an and Hunter X moved beside Mu Si subconsciously, shielding him.

X was half a step slower, yet positioned himself tightly by their side regardless.

When the spatial turbulence settled, only the four bugs remained in the surroundings.

They had been separated from the others.

Mu Si surveyed their surroundings.

A moonlit night, a garden, pure white evening primroses, and familiar imperial palace architecture…

Tilting his head, he exchanged a glance with his cifu.

This was the garden of the Zerg Empire’s imperial palace.

Naturally, they could never fail to recognize the home where they lived year-round or had grown up in since childhood.

Having never set foot in such a place, Hunter X surveyed the area warily.

Only Major General X was completely out of it.

The Prince called his past self “X-gege“;

The Marshal called the Prince “Si Si”;

The identical pale golden hair;

One eye being emerald-green…

If Si Si were still alive, having awakened and grown up smoothly, his age should be roughly the same as the Prince’s…

Every single thread pointed toward one definitive answer.

An answer he refused to acknowledge, and could face even less.

“Over by the swing… is that a young cub?”

Hunter X spoke suddenly, hesitation lingering in his expression.

Although only a silhouette was visible, that cub gave him an intense sense of familiarity, just like… just like…

X looked over following his gaze, his face shifting violently in an instant.

“Si Si?!”

Pressing his lips together slightly, Mu Si made no sound.

Curled upon the swing chair in the garden lay a little male with pale golden hair.

He wore thin imperial sleepwear, the pure white, intricate lace cuffs resting beside his cheek.

He did not sleep peacefully; his delicate brows knit tight, squirming restlessly as though ensnared in a nightmare.

The three females, their protective parental hearts aching, practically flashed over in an instant.

Gathering around the swing chair, they watched the curled-up little male with tender devotion, thick paternal love practically overflowing.

Catching sight of this scene, Mu Si, who had felt somewhat melancholy, found his expression slightly impossible to maintain.

He suddenly couldn’t keep up the sadness.

Where had so many “cifus” come from?

“Why are you sleeping outside again?”

Shi’an spoke first, his expression brimming with worry.

“Si Si has been like this since he was young… Ever since returning from that place, his condition has been dreadful. He never sleeps soundly, often sneaking out at night to hide in the garden.”

Shi’an murmured softly, reaching out to scoop the little prince into his arms.

Yet his hands passed straight through the other’s body.

He could not touch the little cub before him.

This was merely a past memory…

The Prince’s memory.

Turning back to look at his eldest son standing quietly nearby, Shi’an felt an even deeper well of heartache and guilt surge within his chest.

“Si Si…”

“I am fine, cifu.”

Mu Si shrugged, putting on an air of complete indifference.

“It’s not cold this time of year, the moonlight is lovely, and the flowers in the garden are in full bloom. Sleeping in the garden is quite comfortable.”

Just as he said this, the little male in his dream suddenly muttered softly, letting out a stifled sob as he called out:

“X-gege…”

Mu Si: “…”

How was he supposed to keep acting? Talk about pulling the rug out from under him.

“Si Si, I’m here, I’m here…”

X was practically sobbing so hard he lost his voice.

Even though his body could not touch the little male, he still curved his arms loosely around him, striving desperately to hold him in an embrace.

Hunter X looked at him, then glanced back at the adult version of Si Si, feeling a touch of awkward helplessness.

Although he also desperately wanted to scoop the little male up into a warm embrace and cozy blankets, still… was there a need for such an extreme reaction?

Si Si’s genuine cifu was watching, after all.

That Zerg Marshal’s face was practically dark as the bottom of a pot.

Seeing him like this, Mu Si’s emotions were extraordinarily complicated as well.

These memories were things he had never wanted X to witness.

He didn’t want him to know of his past agonizing struggles and despair; it was far too unsightly.

Fearing that such extreme swings of grief and joy might harm his body in the end, Mu Si spoke stiffly:

“Enough. You are carrying an insect egg; you cannot have such severe emotional fluctuations.”

X’s stifled weeping cut off abruptly.

The Prince’s words prompted him to feel his abdomen subconsciously.

An insect egg…

He was carrying the Prince’s insect egg.

He was carrying… Si Si’s insect egg?!!

X froze in place.

More memories came surging back in a flood.

That chaotic night after his estrus had been forcefully triggered;

When he regained consciousness, the male was still buried deep inside his body;

His egg chamber had been opened, saturated from the inside out with the pheromones of a “strange male.”

And after that, his talons tearing through the male’s chest.

The look of sheer disbelief in the male’s eyes as he stared at him, and the single tear falling from the corner of his eye.

Blood drenched everything…

His entire world turned into a field of crimson.

The roughly repaired canopy of his mental realm abruptly fractured with fissures.

Shattering into pieces.

“X!!!”

Mu Si flashed forward, resting a hand upon his crown, pouring psychic power downward as if it cost nothing, helping him stabilize his collapsing mind.

“X! Snap out of it! This is only a memory! Dammit…”

Mu Si couldn’t help cursing under his breath.

These were his own past memories, which this “Memory Maze” stage was supposed to target him with.

Yet in the end, it was X who had broken down.

Plunging headlong into it.

Mu Si gritted his teeth in panic.

X had entirely lost the will to live, leaving only an overpowering urge for self-destruction.

If left unchecked, even if he managed to steady his mental realm, X would still destroy himself, his consciousness dissolving into oblivion.

What should he do…

Memories… memories…

He could only treat a dead horse as a living one and take a gamble.

Mu Si focused his mind.

“X.”

“X-gege.”

“Major General X.”

“Admiral.”

“Cijun…”

Voice after voice echoed from the distant expanse, drawing from far to near.

The final voice brushed right against his ear:

“Cifu…”

X turned his head abruptly.

Seeing the Prince dressed in casual loungewear looking at him with a beaming smile, saying:

“You truly still prefer this address after all.”

“Not right now, though; Miracle is about to arrive,” the Prince chuckled softly.

X gazed foolishly at his smile, his eyes tracing his features, wishing to etch him deeply into his memory.

But who was Miracle?

Just as X was puzzled, a little cub with golden hair and heterochromatic eyes stepped inside.

That cub’s appearance overlapped for a fleeting second with the little male in his memory, then separated abruptly.

This was a little female cub.

That pretty, polite little cub called out to the Prince:

“Xiongfu.”

So it was Si Si’s cub; no wonder he looked so much like him.

So adorable.

A surge of tender affection rose in X’s heart.

Some cubs simply made bugs love them at first sight, naturally evoking closeness from the depths of the heart.

Just as X was thinking this, the little cub turned to look at him, calling out with a smile:

“Cifu.”

X’s mind went blank for an instant. Subconsciously looking down at his flat abdomen, he covered it with a hand, panic showing in his gestures.

“What is the matter?” The Prince beside him looked at him with concern. “Are you feeling unwell? Or… pregnant again?”

The Prince joked with a smile.

“N-no, I…”

X subconsciously wanted to deny it, yet didn’t know what to say.

He had indeed carried one of Si Si’s insect eggs.

By all logic, that insect egg was still inside his belly right now.

But…

Glancing at the adorable little cub looking up at him by his leg, X felt uncertain again.

Had he already laid the insect egg?

That was the union of his and Si Si’s bloodlines.

He had actually… truly given birth…

X felt dazed once more, accompanied by thick waves of guilt and shame.

By now, the Prince had practicedly opened his terminal to perform a scan on his body.

[Unfortunately, you are not pregnant.]

Although somewhat bewildered, hearing this answer, X still breathed a sigh of relief subconsciously.

He could not carry Si Si’s insect egg again and again.

He could not commit transgression after transgression.

Yet he caught a trace of regret on the Prince’s face.

X’s heart clenched tight in an instant.

He could never bear to see Si Si disappointed.

Could never bear for him to have any unmet desire.

“Si Si… do you want a cub?” X asked in a small voice.

The Prince chuckled.

“Of course. A cub with X—how could I ever not want that?”

Turmoil churned in X’s heart.

Between him and Si Si, it shouldn’t be…

They should never have engaged in a relationship beyond their proper roles, much less bred cubs.

What was more, he had wounded Si Si like that; he should have atoned with his very life.

Yet all of that paled before a single word from Si Si: “want.”

He would always satisfy all of Si Si’s desires.

This matter should be no exception either.

He could use everything to atone, not just his life.

And not merely atonement…

“Alright, I will work hard.”

X said with absolute resolve:

“I will work hard to conceive your insect egg and lay eggs for you.”

The moment these words left his mouth, it was Mu Si who froze.

Exactly how would X “work hard” to conceive his egg?

Exerting all effort to please him, begging him to till the field?

Or proactively riding him, cultivating himself?

He actually felt a touch of anticipation.

Mu Si laughed softly.

The scene dissipated, the memory receding.

[Congratulations on clearing the “Nocturnal Maze,” points +50.]

[Points have reached 100. Choose to return?]

[Yes] [No]

Amid countless chaotic fragments, Mu Si and X looked at each other from across the distance.

Mu Si smiled at him:

“X-gege must remember what you promised. You have to work hard to lay eggs for me. First, safely birth the insect egg inside your belly; his name is Miracle, and he’s an exceptionally adorable little cub.”

Snapping back to his senses, X realized parting was right before them, boundless panic flooding his heart.

He had already lost Si Si once; he could not watch him vanish yet again.

“Si Si, I…”

X wanted to say something, but Mu Si raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

“Hush, X-gege, you don’t need to say anything; I understand it all. Rest assured, I will be waiting for you in your world. At that time, I might be a little paranoid, have a bad temper, and do rather excessive things, hating you while loving you even more… Coax me a little more, alright? As long as you coax me, I’ll be fine.”

…

Everything dissolved.

Opening his eyes again, it was no longer the familiar disciplinary chamber, but a medical infirmary filled with gleaming white surfaces and various electronic instruments.

The sub-female physician was conducting a physical examination on him.

Standing to the side, pale, looking remarkably frail, yet with an aura of hostility and worry between his brows, the Prince interrogated the physician in a furious voice:

“Why did he suddenly faint? What do you mean by ‘temporary loss of consciousness’?! I told you to lock him in the disciplinary chamber, but did you have to keep him chained like that? Couldn’t you have added a bed?! And the insect egg! He’s actually pregnant with an egg, why was no one notifying me?! Don’t you know to give him regular medical check-ups?!”

Scolded into silence by the Prince, the sub-female physician wiped cold sweat from his brow repeatedly.

Several times he tried to speak, only to be snapped at and shut down.

He could only cast an imploring glance toward X, who had already opened his eyes.

X gently tugged at the Prince’s sleeve, speaking in a raspy voice:

“Si Si… Your Highness…”

Mu Si’s body stiffened.

Only after a long while did he turn slowly to face him, his face taut, the corners of his lips pressed tight.

“I beg Your Highness to grant me a lifetime’s chance to atone…” X pleaded.

Mu Si stared at him, the light in his eyes shifting repeatedly, the corners of his lips twitching slightly, before he ultimately pressed his lips into a cold snort, adopting an arrogant, nonchalant demeanor as he said:

“It depends on your performance.”

X gazed greedily at his visage, his heart overflowing with guilt and gratitude.

“Thank you, Your Highness…”