SGT CH229

Mu Si and X fooled around in the cavern for quite a long stretch of time.

Every time he opened his eyes, X had already prepared food for him.

After eating and drinking his fill, he would lounge for a spell, have X rub his belly, and before long, the two would end up rolling together again.

Without time or celestial cycles inside the cave, Mu Si had no idea how long had actually passed.

Only on a certain day, lying in X’s embrace during the afterglow of post-nut clarity, did he belatedly realize that this sort of life was simply far too decadent.

He seemed to have truly become a primitive male kept in a cave, knowing nothing but mating and breeding.

“No, we can’t go on like this.”

Mu Si sat up, saying:

“I want to go outside.”

It is here, X thought to himself.

That day had finally arrived.

He had been waiting for the day the male grew weary.

It had arrived a little earlier than anticipated, but made no practical difference.

The male was destined to leave; he had made mental preparations long ago.

X sat up, retrieved the male’s garments, and dressed him.

Even straining his utmost to exercise restraint, the hands dressing the male could not conceal their trembling.

The entire cavern was steeped in the sweet fragrance of blossoms and fruit; his abdomen was thoroughly filled with the male’s pheromones.

If he were an Insect Queen—a female with complete reproductive capability—he would have long conceived the male’s eggs.

Yet he was not.

No matter how much pheromone fluid was poured into a soldier bug, it was merely wasted.

Mu Si noticed X’s strange mood, but assumed X was merely caught in the lingering haze of the pheromone tide and hadn’t fully recovered.

Nor was he the sort of male who needed a female’s care for everything.

So he took the garments from X’s hands, relying on psychic scanning to dress neatly in the dark.

He also helped clean X’s body and put his clothes on.

“You can rest a bit longer,” he said to X with concern.

Pressing his lips together, X shook his head, insisting on rising.

And so, they emerged from the cave.

Outside, the sunlight was radiant, the trees lush and green.

Shading his eyes with a raised hand, Mu Si looked up through the gaps in the leaves at the sun hanging high in the sky.

It was noon.

In the depths of the pitch-black cavern, one truly lost all perception of time outside.

Living far too decadently.

Glancing around, the forest looked virtually identical in every direction.

Mu Si didn’t really know where to go or what to do.

Still, stepping out for a walk was always good.

He couldn’t turn into a primitive male whose brain was filled solely with mating.

Mu Si strode outward.

X followed quietly behind.

Everything in the forest was thoroughly novel in Mu Si’s eyes—whether the towering, mysterious flora or the strange, unfamiliar beasts.

When he had first woken up in the forest earlier, he had only cared about following X, failing to notice these things. Now, he had plenty of time and energy to explore.

“Can this be eaten?”

Plucking a tender, large leaf, Mu Si asked X curiously.

“Yes.”

A Zerg’s digestive capability was formidable; they could eat and digest even ore.

Naturally, a male’s stomach wasn’t quite as durable as a soldier bug’s, but it was hardly fragile either.

The vast majority of flora and fauna were edible to males. Even things with toxins deadly to other organisms wouldn’t affect a male’s constitution as long as he didn’t gorge on them all at once.

Hearing this, Mu Si took a curious bite.

The leaf was crisp, tender, and thick, tasting more like fruit—rich in juice, with a clean, sweet flavor.

Mu Si’s eyes lit up: “Delicious!”

Watching the male’s adorable expression, X habitually made a mental note of his culinary preferences.

Only then did he recall that the male was about to leave, and these notes would never be of use again…

That unfamiliar, twisting ache flared in his chest once more.

A hundred times more agonizing than the most severe injury he had ever weathered.

Catching his expression, Mu Si thought that X was always somewhat quiet, but today he seemed exceptionally brooding.

Snapping off a piece of the leaf, he held it to X’s lips.

“Want to try some? It’s crisp and sweet.”

Soldier bugs were strictly carnivorous, holding zero interest in plants.

Yet X lowered his head, eating the tender leaf straight from the male’s hand.

As if a gust of wind rustled the leaves, X snapped his head around, shielding the male behind him, glaring warily up toward the canopy above.

Upon a branch of a massive tree stood a red soldier bug.

“A male and a newborn Insect Queen?”

The red soldier bug scrutinized them.

A pairing of a tall female and a male with no other swarm around—anyone would assume they were a newly emerged Insect Queen and a male preparing to found a kingdom.

Yet he quickly noticed something amiss.

The aura and combat-caste traits on X were far too pronounced.

“No, a soldier bug…”

The red-haired soldier bug’s brows knit sharply.

The combination of a soldier bug and a male was far too bizarre.

Such a situation held only one possibility: the soldier bug had grown greedy and kidnapped the male.

A soldier bug who did such a thing would inevitably be hunted down relentlessly by the colony that had lost their male—to the bitter death.

The red soldier bug could not fathom such behavior.

Paying such a gruesome price for the sake of a single male—was it worth it?

Yet when his gaze bypassed the soldier bug to land upon the breathtaking face of the heterochromatic-eyed male, he seemed to understand.

A male this exquisite could make even a combat weapon sprout emotions and carnal desire befitting a female.

X caught the red soldier bug’s increasingly heated gaze, which provoked an insulted, furious fighting intent in his chest.

Using his body to completely shield the male from view, his chilly gaze locked with the red soldier bug’s.

In that clash of gazes, both soldier bugs made their decision.

“Wait a moment; I will return after dealing with this nuisance,” X instructed in a low voice, his silhouette vanishing from the spot in an instant.

Mu Si looked up to search, only seeing X seize the red soldier bug by the shoulder and hurl him violently away.

Landing on a branch, X cast a downward glance at the male, and in the next blink, vanished once more, pursuing the trajectory where the red soldier bug had been flung.

No longer suppressing his presence, formidable aura and killing intent erupted simultaneously, vast and mighty like the starlit expanse, peerless and overwhelming.

Mu Si looked on in shock.

He’s going to kill him??!

In Mu Si’s subconscious, the Zerg was a singular whole.

Though he knew relations between different colonies in ancient times were far from harmonious, starting a lethal brawl over a mere exchange of glances was simply too intense!

X didn’t want things to get too bloody before the male, so he had deliberately dragged the battlefield far away.

His combat prowess ranked at the absolute apex among soldier bugs; finishing off this soldier bug required virtually no effort.

The only part requiring a bit more time was thoroughly cleansing the scent of blood from his frame.

In his plans, this battle would conclude swiftly without making the male wait long.

Yet just as he was about to end the soldier bug pinned beneath his feet, hearing footsteps behind him, his body froze rigid in an instant.

Having sprinted all the way here, Mu Si stopped, catching his breath to steady his breathing. Glancing at the mangled clump of flesh and blood beneath X’s foot, he asked somewhat uncertainly:

“Is he still alive?”

“Mm…”

X retracted his foot, grinding the sole against the clean grass to wipe away bloodstains, his eyes shifting stiffly as though one could hear the gears of his overloaded brain grinding, desperately thinking of ways to destroy the corpse and eliminate evidence—yet evidently unable to pull off such a feat right under the male’s nose.

A soldier bug’s vitality was tenacious; even though he looked dismantled with his skull cracked open, he was still breathing.

Given enough time, he could complete self-repair.

Mu Si exhaled a breath of relief.

He wasn’t some saintly bug; had X truly killed him, he would only have thought of digging a hole to bury the corpse, destroying the evidence, and protecting X.

Since the bug was alive, however, there was room for salvage.

“I’ll erase his memories of me; he won’t remember anything about today. There’s no need to kill him,” Mu Si said hastily.

At the end of the day, they were kin; there was no need for X to shoulder the crime of slaying his own kind.

“Alright…”

Naturally, X would not refuse.

Far more than anything else, he worried about the male’s perception of him.

Slaughter among soldier bugs was standard practice.

Yet such bloody scenes shouldn’t be displayed before a male’s eyes.

That would terrify a fragile male.

Mu Si skillfully executed the memory erasure—though he didn’t know why he was so practiced at it.

After cleaning up the scene to ensure no traces would lead back to X, he led X away.

X followed closely in his wake, walking so stiffly his arms and legs moved in unison, his heart churning with nervous apprehension.

“…”

“…”

Both bugs spoke almost at the same time.

X clamped his mouth shut immediately, watching the male nervously, waiting for him to speak.

“You go first,” Mu Si said, knowing what X wanted to say.

“Don’t be afraid of me… I am not usually like this… I wouldn’t make so much blood,” X murmured with his head bowed.

Skirmishes between soldier bugs of different clans were common; fighting upon meeting was routine.

X had no colony, nor did he need to compete for resources for a clan.

When roaming, he deliberately avoided other clans’ territories.

If he happened upon scouting soldier bugs or worker bugs, he maintained an evasive posture.

Only when provoked beyond endurance by stubbornly pursuing soldier bugs would he strike back, ending the fight cleanly without leaving a mess of gore.

The reason he had been so brutal and bloody just now was because a male was involved.

Having the male he treasured and guarded coveted by an outsider made it impossible to rein in the sudden surge of violence in his chest.

“Oh.”

Mu Si hadn’t minded that in the least.

The visual had been a bit nauseating, but not enough to leave psychological trauma regarding X.

For a bug who could even come to terms with X gouging out his heart, as long as X didn’t gouge out his own heart, everything was fine.

“That doesn’t matter. Do you know where that red-haired bug’s colony is? Are there formidable experts in that clan? Or do their allied clans have powerful females?” Mu Si asked.

X’s heart plunged into an icy abyss, yet it was within expectations.

“His colony… is to the southwest, a medium-to-large clan with nearly ten thousand members. Their Insect Queen is in her prime, with dozens of males at her side…”

Fairly speaking, that was indeed a wonderful haven for a male.

With numerous members, they had ample military strength to protect the male and the colony, providing abundant resources and a luxurious life.

The Queen was not old, capable of laying eggs.

Having slightly more males at her side wasn’t a problem.

The male’s innate excellence was plain to see; once he entered the royal nest, he would instantly win the Queen’s doting favor.

Hearing this, Mu Si clicked his tongue in wonder.

A single female monopolizing dozens of males was something bugs in the interstellar era wouldn’t dare dream of.

Even in the Tianjia Empire where the gender dynamic was inverted, no female could possess so many males—not even the Tianjia Emperor.

Yet this was completely different from what he had asked.

“I was asking if their clan has high-ranking, combat-capable bugs—soldier bugs.”

Once ranks reached a certain tier, the gap between grades was an unbridgeable chasm; piling on numbers was meaningless.

An SS-grade female like X could not be described merely as one against a hundred or one against ten thousand.

To wear him down with wave tactics would require mobilizing the forces of an entire modern military district.

Mu Si only wanted to know whether that red-haired soldier bug’s clan had powerhouses on the same tier as X. If so, it might pose a bit of trouble.

Hearing his words, X replied with certainty:

“None.”

A formidable soldier bug—if measured by his own benchmark, there were none.

After speaking, X worried whether his answer was improper. Would it sound overly arrogant, disparaging that clan’s capabilities, leaving the male displeased?

Yet the male exhaled a sigh of relief, smiling: “Good, then.”

Watching the male’s relaxed smile, X froze, and when he processed it, a deduction surfaced in his mind that left him in disbelief:

“You like soldier bugs?!”

Not liking an Insect Queen with specialized pheromones, but liking a soldier bug with formidable combat prowess?

Mu Si gave him an odd look, not understanding why he had such a massive reaction.

“Yeah.”

X was a soldier bug.

Because it was X, he liked it.

X’s chest heaved, scarcely able to believe his ears.

Stepping forward abruptly, he clasped the male’s hand, blurting out urgently:

“Look at me! I am the strongest! If—if you have doubts, I can go kill all the other soldier bugs to prove my strength!”

Mu Si: “???”

Wait, why did the topic suddenly veer into such a bloody direction?

“Of course I know you’re the most amazing! No need to prove it!”

Mu Si hurriedly held him back, terrified he might sprint off to commit mass slaughter.

Under the gaze of the male’s gorgeous eyes, X’s feverish brain gradually cooled, yet he couldn’t resist holding onto the male, rambling on:

“I can protect you. I can protect you all by myself! I can provide the finest food and living environment; I can do everything, except… lay eggs…”

Toward the end, his voice shrank, looking at the male with trepidation.

Mu Si planted a kiss on his lips.

“This is wonderful. We can live as just the two of us, with no cubs to disturb us. We belong solely to each other; you can give me one hundred percent of your love, and I will do the same for you.”

Listening to the male’s words, X nodded with absolute conviction.

He began to believe that a life of just the two of them was truly the most wonderful thing in existence.

…

[IF Line: What if X became an Insect Queen?]

Living such a tranquil, peaceful, and affectionate life for two years.

X suddenly discovered his body had grown heavier.

It was nothing major and wouldn’t impair combat.

Only, since having a male, X paid far closer attention to his physique; finding his waistline broadening brought him no small amount of anxiety.

To slim down quickly, X scoured the forest picking fights to burn off energy.

Massive beasts suffered in droves, and even passing soldier bugs caught a beating.

Over the past two years, neighboring colonies had long learned of a terrifyingly mighty soldier bug residing here—exceedingly ferocious, with combat prowess of the highest order. Stepping within his territorial boundaries meant being targeted: losing one’s life at worst, or losing one’s memory at best.

Supposedly, it was because this soldier bug had kidnapped a gorgeous male and kept him hidden in a cave; thus, his territorial instincts were hyper-aggressive, viewing any approaching bug—especially soldier bugs—as mortal enemies.

Initially, some bugs didn’t believe it and went to investigate.

After directly confronting that monster-like soldier bug, no bug dared approach again.

Recently, the soldier bugs getting beaten were all unlucky souls passing along the outer perimeter or flying overhead.

And so, neighboring colonies believed that monster of a soldier bug was expanding his territory.

The Queens of various clans flared in rage, and then… that was it.

They couldn’t win in a fight, so what could they do? Pull back their borders for now.

On the other hand, X went around picking fights to vent energy, only to find… he hadn’t slimmed down at all.

He could only pray the male wouldn’t notice his belly in the cave adorned with fluorite.

Clearly impossible; even if he couldn’t see, with their frequency of intimacy, a single touch gave it away.

Turning his back to the male, X lay face-down on the pelt blanket in sheer existential defeat.

Mu Si initially thought he was sick.

It was hard to imagine X, built like an apex cosmic beast, ever falling ill.

Yet feeling it over and over, something felt off.

This sensation… was rather familiar.

Mu Si extended his psychic senses for a scan, confirming the deduction in his heart.

“You’re pregnant with eggs!”

Even saying it aloud, Mu Si found it incredible, yet the clearly visible eggs within his mental scan could not be faked.

More than one egg!

Having waited for his sentence in despair, X rolled over in shock:

“I am a soldier bug.”

Soldier bugs had no reproductive capacity; how could there be eggs?

Mu Si looked at him, his gaze settling on his neck, hesitating:

“I did feel you’ve become much sweeter lately.”

That sweetness wasn’t olfactory or gustatory.

It was a deeper sensory perception—a stronger allure and craving.

“…You’ve become much wetter too.”

Mu Si’s voice softened, glancing covertly below X’s waist.

“You enter the mood much faster as well, don’t you?”

X’s expression froze, and immediately, his body felt hot, a flush of sticky, feverish warmth washing over him.

Like living proof.

Mu Si caught the shift in his scent instantly.

“Look, I haven’t even touched you, and you want it.”

X had no way to refute it; the bodily abnormalities made him want to flee in panic, yet drove him to straddle the male, urging him to fill him up.

“But… I am clearly a soldier bug.”

X was completely disoriented.

Mu Si didn’t find it strange; the Zerg was fundamentally a species of supreme adaptability.

In history, after the final Insect Queen perished, the remaining soldier bugs and worker bugs evolved reproductive capabilities.

Living with X without a clan or a Queen, perhaps the genes within his body sensed the necessity of propagation to prevent extinction. Thus, a specific dormant gene had activated, granting him reproductive ability.

Just as Mu Si was thinking of how to explain genes and biology in terms X could understand,

He heard X gasp in sudden realization: “I understand now!”

“Oh?” Mu Si looked at him in surprise.

He didn’t need genetics explained?

X’s eyes looked upon Mu Si with profound indulgence and gratitude, stating with absolute certainty:

“Because of you. Your male pheromones watered me, and you fucked me into an Insect Queen.”

Mu Si: “…”

Ah, isn’t that phrasing a bit too crude?!

“I—I’m not that incredible, am I?”

Mu Si didn’t know what to say, caught between tears and laughter.

Yet X firmly believed this was the correct answer.

Throwing himself over Mu Si, shielding his back with his arms, he kissed him with uncontrollable excitement. Two years of intimacy gave him the courage to seek the male’s closeness proactively, yet apprehension still lingered.

Mu Si liked soldier bugs, yet now he possessed the reproductive capability unique to an Insect Queen.

“If I have become an Insect Queen, will you still like me?”

X asked gingerly.

“Of course. The one I like is X, not a title or a caste. However…”

Mu Si narrowed his eyes dangerously, resting his hand against X’s neck, his fingertips grazing his Adam’s apple, lightly clasping his nape.

“If you dare presume upon having an Insect Queen’s reproductive ability to build a grand harem and seek out other males, I’ll show you what’s what.”

A male threatening a formidable soldier bug sounded laughable.

In a physical brawl, he definitely couldn’t beat X, but having marked X so many times, X’s mental realm was as familiar to him as home, entirely stripped of defense.

If he wanted to do something, X couldn’t stop him in the slightest.

A male’s true might had never resided in physical flesh.

X obediently offered his neck into his hands, submissive to the point of eagerness.

“I am yours.”

“Such a thing will never happen. If it ever does, I will snap his neck beforehand.”

A soldier bug with a snapped neck wouldn’t die immediately; high-ranking ones could even regenerate under formidable self-repair capabilities.

X hastily added: “And crush his head, and detonate his insect core!”

Black lines ran down Mu Si’s forehead, pressing a hand to his brow in exasperation.

A perfectly lovely conversation had turned unspeakably gory once again.

One truly couldn’t expect conversational finesse from a soldier bug.

Pushing X down onto the pelt blanket, Mu Si sealed his mouth with a kiss.

“Answer me with your body.”

Fewer terrifying words about dismemberment and gore.

The passion of his body was infinitely more exquisite than that clumsy mouth, far more capable of stirring a bug’s heart.

__

Author’s Note:

Years later, Mu Si facing N cubs and descendants with X…