SGT CH38: Big Brother Aix

◎The Prince threw himself into his arms, sobbing softly, “Big Brother Aix…”◎

Mousse, embraced by the female Zerg, opened his eyes in astonishment, his face a mixture of surprise and bewilderment.

No, it shouldn’t be like this.

X should have taken the things on the table and left without looking back.

He had been trapped in this loop for a long time.

From the beginning, when his whole body ached, he was weak and powerless, unable to open his eyes or make a sound, only able to sense Aix’s departure, to later being able to break free from the restraints, to get up and shout, the final result would never change.

No matter how he cried and begged, X would not turn back.

He was abandoned again and again.

But what was happening now?

In this cycle, X’s weapon had slipped from his hand and fallen to the ground, and then… he had turned back and hugged him.

Mousse couldn’t understand.

He was currently undergoing his second awakening. His bones were growing, his spirit was ascending, and his body and brain were in excruciating pain.

And X’s embrace was very warm.

Mousse wanted to tell X sharply that he didn’t need his pity.

He wanted to tell X to get lost, to tell him that even without him, he could live just fine.

But he seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to pretend.

All his emotions were displayed on his face, and he couldn’t say any words that went against his heart.

It was as if the truest little Zerg in his heart had been completely released.

“Don’t go…”

Mousse clutched the front of X’s clothes, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t leave me…”

“I won’t go. I’m not going anywhere.”

Aix held the little male cub tightly, unable to hide his own choked sobs, and promised repeatedly.

“My Sisi, how could I bear to leave you, how could I ever leave you…”

Liar. You clearly left me, many times.

Mousse thought in his heart, and also said it out loud, unable to control himself.

Aix didn’t understand what “left many times” meant, but he couldn’t possibly correct the little male cub’s words from his memory.

The little male cub now only existed in his memory.

To be able to see the little male cub again in this way, to hear him speak, he was already very happy.

As for the logic of his words, it wasn’t important.

Even if the little male cub suddenly broke character and started reciting military regulations in a rigid manner, Aix would still listen very seriously.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have left you, one Zerg, alone.”

When I wasn’t there, my Sisi must have been so scared.

Aix promised in a low voice, “I will never leave you again.”

But the opportunity to make amends was long gone.

Aix was filled with grief, hugging the little male cub tightly, wanting to merge him into his bones and blood.

Mousse surprisingly didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Logically, with the way X was continuously tightening his embrace, he should have been suffocated by a chest hug long ago.

Mousse was puzzled for a moment, then his brain automatically ignored these inconsistencies.

He just raised a hand to feebly push against X’s chest, saying weakly:

“My body hurts so much. Don’t hug so tight.”

“Okay, okay, it’s my fault. I hurt Sisi.”

Aix quickly relaxed his arms.

Even though he was reluctant a thousand times over, the little male cub had spoken, and he instinctively obeyed.

He could never bear to make his little male cub uncomfortable.

Even if this was just a memory.

Seeing the little male cub frown in pain, Aix’s heart ached along with him.

“Where does it hurt, Sisi? Let me rub it for you.”

“My legs, my knees, and my arms…” Mousse said with a pained face, feeling miserable.

The second awakening would transform his body from a cub’s to a youth’s. His bones were stretching, and his whole body ached.

In the previous endlessly repeating cycles, the most painful place was his heart.

Now that X was staying by his side, holding him, his heart didn’t seem to hurt as much.

Aix let the little male cub lean against his chest and massaged his limbs for him.

Even though this couldn’t truly alleviate the pain of the little male cub from back then, he still wanted to do it.

After massaging for a while, the little male cub stopped complaining about the pain, but his face was pale, his lips were chapped, and he still looked very weak.

Aix laid the little male cub flat on the bed, patted the hand that was clutching his clothes, and coaxed softly:

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not leaving. I’ll go get you a glass of water and some food. You need to replenish your strength.”

Mousse reluctantly let go of his hand.

His gaze still followed X closely, watching him go to the table to pour water.

As he watched, Mousse vaguely felt that something was wrong.

X’s body… seemed to be different somewhere.

His gaze lingered for a moment on X’s cool and handsome face, which was just on the cusp of adulthood, between youth and young adulthood.

Then his gaze moved down.

The cold white skin from living in the Dark Star Field, long deprived of sunlight; the firm but not overly full chest muscles; and…

A flat abdomen.

—Why is it flat? Where’s the cub?

—X just reached adulthood, where would he get a cub?

Two completely different thoughts appeared in Mousse’s mind, making him a little confused.

When X found him, he was already close to adulthood.

In the second year they lived together, X entered his physiological awakening and officially became an adult.

A female Zerg’s physiological awakening often required finding a private and safe space to spend it alone.

During his physiological awakening, X had given him the safe house and had carved out a new cave for himself nearby. He had blocked the cave entrance with a huge boulder, instructed him not to get close, and then went through his physiological awakening alone inside the cave.

When X gave him the instructions, Mousse had agreed readily.

As soon as X entered the cave, Mousse couldn’t help but run to the entrance to stand guard.

He stood guard for three days and three nights.

During that time, the sound of many hard objects scraping against the stone walls often came from within the cave.

It made Mousse’s heart pound with anxiety.

At times he worried that X would be injured during his awakening, at others he worried X would turn into a monster, or be eaten by one.

Three days later, X’s awakening ended, and he came out of the cave.

He picked up Mousse, who was so tired he was nodding off like a little chick pecking at rice, with one arm.

The post-awakening X was tall with long legs, having become even taller and more robust. His facial features were more defined, cooler and more handsome.

His pheromones had changed from a clear ice spring to the feeling of high-mountain snow and ice—lofty, cool, and mysterious.

At that time, Mousse didn’t understand anything about pheromone attraction. He only felt that the scent on X was very comfortable and pleasant.

He wanted to cuddle.

“Sisi, come, drink some water.”

X’s voice came.

Along with it came the comfortable pheromones.

Cool and clear, they surrounded him, seeming to lessen the pain in his body.

Mousse propped himself up and drank from the bowl X handed him in small sips.

His gaze still unconsciously fell on X’s flat stomach.

His memories and reason were telling him that Aix was a female Zerg who had only been an adult for a year or two, was not married, and had no cubs.

But for some reason, a voice spoke out in his confusion.

—Why is it flat? Where’s the cub? Where’s the Zerg egg I worked so hard to irrigate?

In his current state, Mousse couldn’t hide his thoughts. Feeling puzzled, he couldn’t help but ask:

“Do you have a cub?”

Aix’s hand trembled, almost spilling the water.

How would Sisi know about this?

Aix was puzzled for a moment, but then quickly came to terms with it.

Of course, the little male cub from back then wouldn’t know he had a cub.

But this place now was just a derivative of his memory, much like a dream.

The little male cub in front of him who could talk to him was actually just a projection of his own consciousness.

In theory, whatever Aix himself knew, the little male cub would know.

Aix steadied the water in his hand, but still felt awkward and at a loss.

How was he supposed to explain the matter of the cub to the little male cub?

He glanced at the little male cub both awkwardly and cautiously. Seeing that he didn’t seem to want to drink anymore, he placed the water aside.

X sat on the edge of the bed and raised his hand, wanting to touch his own stomach.

Then he realized that this body of his was in the state it was in fourteen years ago, and there was no pregnant belly at all.

He put his hand down again, at a loss, and fidgeted with the pants on his lap.

Remembering that the little male cub hadn’t eaten yet, he stuffed a bag of nutrient solution and a few fruits that the little male cub liked into his hand.

Throughout the whole process, he only dared to glance carefully at the little male cub’s eyes before immediately looking away.

Mousse watched as X sat there restlessly, fidgeting constantly.

He felt even more puzzled.

What’s wrong with X?

Why does he look both embarrassed and anxious, cautious, yet also seeking my approval?

If Mousse had all his memories, he would know that Aix’s behavior at this moment was exactly that of a female father with a second child, struggling with how to introduce the new cub to his firstborn.

Back then, after Mousse returned from the Dark Star Field and had recuperated a little, Marshal Shi’an had brought the Second Prince before him, acting in the very same way.

The Second Prince had been conceived by the Marshal before Mousse was attacked. Mousse had long known of his existence and had even participated in naming him.

The young Mousse had deliberately chosen the name of his favorite fruit milk juice, but he didn’t think the Zerg Emperor and the Marshal would actually use that name for the Second Prince.

When he returned, he heard his female father introduce him both cautiously and preciously: “This is your younger brother, Muli’an.”

At that moment, Mousse had been completely embarrassed.

Aix’s behavior now was exactly the same as Marshal Shi’an’s back then.

How to introduce a new member of the family to the firstborn was a worry that every female Zerg with a second child had.

“I do… have a cub… it’s still a Zerg egg, not born yet…”

Aix was so nervous his fingers were tangled together, not daring to meet the little male cub’s gaze.

He had never realized that having a cub was such a difficult thing to talk about.

But this was his Sisi, his most cherished little male cub. He had to consider the little male cub’s ability to accept it.

The little male cub’s opinion was very important to him.

“There really is a Zerg egg.”

Mousse was amazed in his heart and couldn’t help but say it out loud.

His gaze fell on X’s abdomen. He looked from left to right but couldn’t see anything, so he just assumed it was still early in the pregnancy.

He didn’t dislike the fact that X had a Zerg egg.

He even felt some unknown anticipation and fondness for the Zerg egg X was talking about.

It was just that thinking of the countless cycles where X had abandoned him, Mousse’s mood sank again.

“Is that why you abandoned me?”

The thought rose in his heart, and Mousse couldn’t help but say it out loud.

“Huh?”

Aix was stunned for a moment. Seeing the sad expression on the little male cub’s face, he quickly said:

“No, no, it has nothing to do with the Zerg egg. I… I never abandoned you, Sisi. I never gave up looking for you.”

Aix pulled the little male cub into his arms, stroking his hair to soothe him.

Aix wasn’t sure if it was the sad-looking little male cub in front of him who needed his embrace and comfort, or if it was he who needed to hold his little male cub and vent the emotions that had been suppressed for so many years.

“I’m sorry, Sisi. I shouldn’t have left you… I thought if I brought you back a mental source crystal, you would feel better and could get through your awakening period smoothly…”

Aix was filled with regret.

If he had known that this departure would separate them for more than a decade, and cause his little male cub to wither and die in a place he couldn’t see, Aix would never have left.

He wanted to stay by the little male cub’s side.

Whatever happened, they would face it together.

“What did you say… a mental source crystal?”

Mousse’s mind went blank.

The awakening pain that had been tormenting him seemed to disappear.

Many memory scenes surfaced in his mind.

The pain of being abandoned by Aix, the failure of his physiological awakening, being brought back to the Empire by his female father, sealing himself in an underground room, living like a walking corpse for several years, trying to recover and return to normal, stepping back into the sunlight, and… meeting Aix again.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell who he was.

Was he the little male cub Sisi, or the Imperial Prince Mousse?

Was he the little male cub adopted by Aix, or was he Aix’s Male Master?

“Yes, a mental source crystal. I prepared many, many mental source crystals for you…”

Aix hugged his little male cub, his eyes moist.

The mental source crystals he had collected year after year, tirelessly, represented his obsession and regret for the little male cub.

It was just that his little male cub would never be able to use them.

“No, you’re lying to me.”

Mousse didn’t want to believe it.

“In a place like the Dark Star Field, even the most common mental source crystal is priceless and has no market. Your assets weren’t nearly enough to buy a mental source crystal. You went to buy a ticket for the Ark.”

“Yes,” Aix did not deny it. “I bought a ticket for the Ark.”

The Ark ticket was also very expensive.

Aix was raising a little male cub, so naturally, he couldn’t let the little male cub live too frugally. Most of the money he earned as a hunter was spent on the little male cub.

The remaining savings were only enough to buy one ticket.

“Sisi, I bought a ticket for you.”

As for the source crystal, he had no intention of buying it with money.

There was no place in the Dark Star Field to buy enough A-class mental source crystals for a male cub’s awakening.

He planned to hunt it himself.

A mental source crystal was not an ore, but the energy core in the mind of a powerful mental-type beast.

Underneath the Dark Star Field, there just so happened to be a nesting ground favored by such mental-type beasts.

It was an abandoned underground mine.

Aix had stumbled into it once when he was young and had almost had his mental domain destroyed by the lead beast.

That was at least an A-class mental-type beast.

In order for the little male cub to suffer less during his awakening, Aix entered that abandoned mine again.

Relying on his powerful will, he endured the mental attacks of the beast leader. At the cost of crippling half of his mental domain, he got close to it, cut off its head, and brought back the source crystal.

But when he rushed to the vicinity of their residence, he only saw a scene of devastation.

Deep craters from cannon fire, and raging flames.

The entire forest was destroyed along with it.

The half of his mental domain that Aix had left was also on the verge of collapse.

Perhaps he had already died that day.

What survived was just an empty shell supported by the obsession of finding the little male cub.

“I originally thought I would make it in time…”

Just recalling the tragic scene he saw that day made Aix’s vision go black, and he nearly vomited blood.

“I bought you a ticket, brought you back the source crystal… I thought I could watch Sisi complete his second awakening and then send you onto the ship…”

He hadn’t expected the Zerg Imperial army to arrive so quickly.

For the war to start so quickly.

For that level of cannon fire to land right on their safe house.

Fortunately, his little male cub had not died in the cannon fire.

It was just that he was too useless and had failed to find his little male cub.

He had let his little male cub, in the pain of mental decline, wither and die alone in that underground room with no Zerg to accompany him.

“Sisi, I’m sorry, Sisi…”

A drop of scalding liquid fell on Mousse’s neck. Mousse let out a short scream as if he had been burned.

The surrounding furniture suddenly dissipated, and the walls of the house also disappeared.

In the vast white space, only the embracing female and male Zerg remained.

Mousse struggled out of Aix’s arms and retreated in fear.

“Sisi, don’t be afraid…”

Aix reached out to embrace him but caught only empty air.

The little male cub had completely disappeared from before him.

And he was pushed out of this mental space.

…

Aix opened his panicked and empty eyes and saw the pure white medical bed.

He… had woken up.

And he would never see his little male cub again.

He was still in a half-kneeling position, his head resting on the bed, his forehead pressed against the Prince’s hand.

The mental monitoring instrument was still running, emitting a rhythmic beeping sound.

Suddenly, the beeping sound became rapid.

The hand that Aix’s forehead was pressed against also began to struggle.

Aix suddenly looked up to check on the Prince’s condition.

He saw the Prince’s face covered in tears, sobbing silently.

“Your Highness?!”

Aix was greatly alarmed. He got up to press the call bell but was suddenly embraced by the Prince.

The Prince threw himself into his arms, his tears soaking the shirt on his chest, and sobbed softly.

“Aix, Big Brother Aix…”

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