SZAR Chapter 89

Gang strategists were not usually so kind. When they carefully protected their experimental subject, it was often because the subject still had value to use. This strategist did not seem difficult to talk to, and Erwen wanted to know more details.

Qu Xia said, “Of course there is, but not now.”

He ran upstairs with quick steps and threw down a worn, tattered quilt from above, barely covering Erwen.

“You need to sleep. Tomorrow will take a lot of physical effort.”

Erwen’s brows drew slightly together.

The toughness of military female Zergs was well known. Yet this strategist knew he was a military female Zerg and still used the phrase a lot of physical effort. That meant what awaited tomorrow would not be simple.

But at least he had said tomorrow, which meant there would still be a day after tomorrow. It proved the strategist truly intended to keep him as a long-term experimental subject.

“Yes,” Erwen replied in a respectful tone. The Imperial Admiral had not spoken like this for more than ten years, but now that he was under someone else’s control, he had always been able to bend and adapt when necessary.

He closed his eyes and began resting, making use of every second.

The next day, Erwen slept until he woke up naturally.

An Imperial Admiral had a precise biological clock. It should be around six in the morning. The house was quiet, and the living room was empty and silent. There were no sounds of movement, meaning the strategist had not woken up yet.

Erwen closed his eyes again and forced himself to take another short sleep.

He did not know what he would face today. He had to keep his strength fully restored.

Then he woke up naturally again.

“……”

No matter what, he could not fall asleep anymore. Erwen listened carefully and confirmed that the strategist was still upstairs. Supporting himself on the sofa, he stood up and slowly felt his way along the wall.

The first floor had a very standard layout: two living rooms, one kitchen, and one bathroom. Behind the dining area was a half-closed iron door, which was likely the laboratory.

Erwen gave up the idea of exploring the laboratory on the first day. Places that stored valuable experimental equipment always had alarms. The strategist had been fairly tolerant so far, and Erwen did not want to invite trouble for himself.

As for the structure of the laboratory, once the strategist began experimenting on him, he would learn it sooner or later.

After finishing his exploration of the first floor, Erwen came to a conclusion: the strategist was someone with messy living habits. He did not seem to like tidying things up. Piles of paper books could be seen everywhere, in the interstellar era, people who were still willing to read paper books were already very rare.

Erwen carefully stepped around the books. After hesitating for a moment at the staircase, he slowly felt his way up to the second floor.

Since he could not see, if he wanted to escape, he needed to understand more details about the layout of the house.

The second floor had a similar layout to the first. There were two rooms. One seemed to be a storage room; it had no door and was filled with indistinguishable metal objects. The master bedroom was across from the storage room. Erwen paused for a moment at the doorway and heard the strategist’s long, steady breathing.

Female Zergs had sharp senses. With his sight gone, Erwen’s hearing had become even more sensitive. He could even hear the strategist rubbing against the blankets and rolling around in bed.

He was really still asleep, and his sleeping posture was quite bad.

Erwen: “……”

Erwen, who had rushed to rest every second the night before, suddenly felt like a complete fool.

He returned to the living room, curled up his body, and pretended that nothing had happened. Only when the sun was already high in the sky did a sudden knock sound at the door. The metal door creaked under the strain, and only then did the strategist walk down from the second floor with sleepy eyes.

Qu Xia adjusted the voice modulator at his neck. The original owner’s voice had been too youthful; as a gang strategist, it carried no authority. A youthful face could be hidden behind hair, but a youthful voice could only be disguised with a voice changer.

At the door stood a muscular man with a long scar across his right eye. He scratched his head and said, “Strategist, my mental sea had problems again last night. I came to ask you to take a look.”

“Oh, Brook.” Qu Xia stepped aside. “Come in.”

Brook was a B-rank female Zerg, one of the gang’s minor leaders.

The reason Qu Xia had managed to become the gang’s strategist within just half a year was because of his self-taught and technically illegal medical practice. The female Zergs in the gang all had various problems with their mental seas, and there were no reliable treatment institutions on this barren planet. By reading pirated medical textbooks and relying on the experience from his previous life, Qu Xia had explored an unconventional method that could calm and stabilize the mind. Although it could not completely solve the problem, it could at least provide some relief.

Brook had a violent temper and the most severe mental sea problems in the gang. Every few days he would come looking for Qu Xia.

Erwen lowered his gaze, quietly kneeling on the ground without saying a word.

As Brook passed by him, he clicked his tongue. “Strategist, so you like this kind of old, pretty boy.”

Brook had the typical appearance of an ordinary military female insect, rough, strong, and powerful enough to punch a bull to death. Compared to him, Erwen’s muscles weren’t exaggerated; his lines were more refined. He was the type who looked slim in clothes but muscular without them, yet the strength hidden within him was not to be underestimated.

The admiral’s brow twitched.

Every year, the First Army recruited countless military female insects like Brook. During the initial training when they established authority, Erwen could knock down a dozen of them on the arena platform, stacking them up like corpses. After drilling them until they cried for their fathers and mothers, no one had ever dared to call the admiral a pretty boy.

Qu Xia replied calmly, “He looks a bit more pleasing to the eye than you.”

He was looking for a live-in housekeeper, someone who would cook and clean, not a bodyguard. Someone like Brook was too intimidating. Qu Xia felt like he might get punched to death in one hit.

Besides, cooking required wearing an apron.

Qu Xia glanced at the kneeling Erwen, looking at his well-shaped chest muscles. Imagining that scene, it felt pleasing to the eye. Then he glanced at Brook’s huge, thick frame, the bulging veins ready to burst, and felt it was extremely unpleasant to look at.

Brook snorted.

Qu Xia pulled open the basement door. “Hurry and come in.”

The strategist and the gang member entered the basement. Erwen leaned slightly to one side, choosing a kneeling posture that required less effort, and focused on listening to the movements inside.

Qu Xia put a helmet on Brook and activated the electric device. The mild current wouldn’t cause pain for a female insect; at certain frequencies, it even had a calming effect. Brook felt a tingling numbness explode up from his tailbone and let out two comfortable hums.

Erwen: “…”

The sound this female insect made was too strange, half pain, half pleasure. Erwen had heard plenty of purely painful cries before, but he had never heard such a moan from a female insect. Goosebumps rose along his back, and he didn’t know whether he should keep listening.

Qu Xia kicked the electrotherapy chair. “Shut up. Control yourself.”

He slightly increased the current. Amid Brook’s pained voice, he pulled out a needle and gently pricked his finger.

The secrets of the zerg race’s mental sea had remained unsolved for tens of thousands of years. No matter how clever Qu Xia was, he couldn’t possibly solve it all at once. The reason his treatments were so immediately effective was largely thanks to his identity as a male zerg.

Pheromones existed within bodily fluids. As long as Qu Xia wished, he could mix a certain concentration of pheromones into his blood.

A male insect’s pheromones were like medicine for the mental sea. Slowly introduced through instruments, they could ease the discomfort of female insects. Yet Qu Xia had to conceal his identity as a male insect, and the electric shocks served as his cover.

Moderate electric shocks could both calm female insects and leave them in a dazed state, preventing Brook from noticing the scent of pheromones in the air.

He introduced a tiny amount of pheromones, just enough to keep Brook clear-headed for a while, then wrapped his finger with a bandage. Only after the wound had sealed and the blood was no longer exposed did he stop the electrotherapy.

Qu Xia kicked the stool. “Alright, get down.”

Brook stared up at the ceiling for quite a while before finally regaining his senses.

He checked the state of his mental sea and said happily, “Thank you, Strategist! I feel much better!”

Their conversation passed clearly through the iron door to the outside.

Erwen slowly furrowed his brows.

On this barren planet, could someone really develop a mental-sea treatment device without relying on the Empire’s laboratories? Just that strategist?

He suddenly felt the urge to try the experiment himself.

At that very moment, Qu Xia slowly opened the basement door.

Brook came out looking as if he were floating, his steps unsteady as though he were drunk. He said goodbye to Qu Xia with a silly grin. “Hehe, Strategist, hehe… I’ll come back next time for treatment.”

Qu Xia slammed the door shut. “If you’re fine, then get lost already.”

Although he had taken the initiative to treat these gang members, each of them acted as if they were addicted, as though he were some kind of massage therapist at a pleasure house. Qu Xia truly couldn’t stand it anymore.

None of them noticed that at the instant the air circulated, Erwen suddenly frowned. His entire body tensed uncontrollably, his pupils almost shrinking into a straight line. He gasped twice and reached out to grip the sofa tightly, barely managing to keep himself from collapsing.

Damn it! How could there be a male zerg’s pheromones here?!

The higher the rank of a female zerg, the more sensitive they were to pheromones. Qu Xia had only bled a tiny bit and even covered the wound with a bandage. Brook noticed nothing at all, but Erwen stood at the very peak of the Empire’s female zergs. Having gone so long without being soothed, he sensed something wrong almost instantly.

Erwen uncontrollably raised a hand to cover the back of his neck. His fingers tightened with force, almost digging into his flesh.

…He was losing control a little.

The Empire’s admiral had been widowed for many years and had gone a long time without comfort. His mental sea was already on the verge of collapse, just the slightest provocation was like dry firewood meeting flames.

And for merely a trace of pheromones to drive him to this point, the strategist’s rank was absolutely not low!

In a daze, he thought: No wonder he couldn’t open the canned food. No wonder he could soothe the mental seas of female zergs. No wonder a seemingly weak female zerg like him could rise to become the gang’s strategist.

This was clearly a male zerg!

Qu Xia turned his head and noticed Erwen’s abnormal state. He moved closer and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Erwen kept his eyes tightly shut, cold sweat dripping down his face. “Open the window.”

Qu Xia paused in confusion, when Erwen suddenly barked, “Open the window!”

Unconsciously, he had used the tone he once used to command his subordinates.

Qu Xia walked over to the window and pushed it open as instructed, grumbling, “Fine, I’ll open it, but why are you shouting? I already spared you from having your hands and feet chopped off, and this is the attitude you give me?”

He had just bought himself a housekeeper, and before the guy had even done any work, he had already yelled at his employer. What kind of situation was this?

The icy wind of the barren planet rushed in, dispersing the scent of the male zerg’s pheromones. Erwen’s taut nerves finally relaxed. He let out a long breath and said, “Sorry.”

He straightened his upper body. “If you feel offended, please punish me.”

It was only natural for a male insect to punish a female insect, even for an admiral. Although Erwen did not like male insects, their preciousness was undeniable. A high-rank male insect like the strategist, once the rescue team arrived, Erwen would definitely take him back to the capital star.

For such a high-rank male insect to be stranded on this barren planet, the military’s border defense forces would all be held accountable. Rather than waiting until the male insect later remembered today’s offense and caused the entire army to be punished, it was better to confess first and let him vent his anger.

Qu Xia snorted.

He kicked aside the books blocking his path. “Go cook. I’m hungry.”

He had already woken up late, and treating Brook had delayed things even more. Now he was so hungry his stomach felt stuck to his spine. Normally, Qu Xia would just make do with canned food, but with Erwen here, he really didn’t want to eat boiled cabbage again.

He had heard that the female insects of the capital star were all five-star chefs, the more prestigious the family, the better their cooking. This female insect moved with elegant composure and carried an air of nobility all over his body. He should be quite skilled, right?

Erwen paused briefly before replying, “Yes.”

He stood and walked to the edge of the kitchen, his fingertips touching the switch of the electric stove. “Please guide me to the seasonings and ingredients.”

Only then did Qu Xia remember that Erwen couldn’t see.

This female insect’s movements were so smooth, as if he had already explored the entire house. There was none of the hesitation typical of a blind person, to the point that Qu Xia had almost forgotten he was blind.

“Uh…” Asking a blind person to cook was really too unethical. What if he got burned? Qu Xia awkwardly rubbed his nose. “Forget it. Put the knife down. Let’s just keep eating canned food.”

“No need.” Erwen’s cooking skill was rated S. He was the most outstanding female insect cultivated by a prestigious family, the finest of his generation. Whether commanding troops in battle or pleasing a male insect, he had always been the best. When it came to cooking, he was so proficient that he could handle a kitchen knife even with his eyes closed. Unfortunately, none of those skills had earned him any pity from his former male lord; the hardships a female insect should endure had not spared him at all.

For Erwen, cooking for a young male insect like this was an extremely simple task.

He set the pan on the stove and heated the oil, his movements clean and elegant. The posture with which he sliced the meat resembled a warrior swinging a long blade, smooth and flowing, pleasing to the eye. Standing nearby, Qu Xia almost felt as if he could see the knife edge drawing out a cold gleam like flowing water.

Female insects from prestigious families remained restrained and elegant even when wielding a kitchen knife.

Qu Xia let out a small “Wow.”

Were all female zergs from the capital star this amazing? Just look at that skilled cooking, that graceful posture, he had really struck gold!

The ingredients on the barren planet couldn’t compare with those on the capital star. Erwen simply stir-fried some meat and threw together a bowl of soup, then carried them to the table. Afterward, he gave a slight bow and, in the tone he habitually used when attending to male insects, said, “My cooking is mediocre and the dishes are simple. I hope you will forgive the shortcomings.”

Qu Xia had no time to respond, his chopsticks were practically sparking.

It had been so long, so incredibly long, since he’d eaten a proper meal! And this female zerg’s cooking was actually this good!

Qu Xia bit on his chopsticks, tears welling in his eyes.

He finished the food like a whirlwind, only to realize Erwen was still standing to the side, not having picked up his chopsticks at all, like a butler waiting in attendance. Qu Xia felt a little guilty and pushed the plate forward.

“You should eat too.”

Female zergs from the capital star were rarely allowed to dine at the same table as a male zerg. But Erwen truly needed the energy. Before the auction he hadn’t eaten for quite some time, and after arriving here he had only eaten half a can of food. After weighing the situation, he sat down.

“Thank you.”

Qu Xia watched from the side.

It was obvious that Erwen came from a noble background, every movement was graceful and proper. Even though he was clearly very hungry, his eating pace remained unhurried, strictly observing etiquette. He carried restraint to the extreme, as if even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, he wouldn’t blink.

“Hey.” Qu Xia suddenly spoke. “Even though I’m very satisfied, the punishment this afternoon will still happen.”

He was referring to the punishment he had casually mentioned yesterday.

Although ordering a blind person around was morally questionable, aside from Erwen, Qu Xia had no other laborer he could command, and he truly needed some things.

Erwen replied, “That is only proper.”

There was no rule saying that doing one thing well could erase an already decided punishment.

Seeing how calm and composed he looked, Qu Xia couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you want to know what kind of punishment it is?”

Erwen answered evenly, “If you are willing to tell me.”

As long as the punishment wasn’t immediately fatal, the Admiral felt no fear. Over the years, he had wandered too many times along the edge of life and death. And the male zerg clearly didn’t want to push him to the point of instant ruin, whether it was electric shocks, whipping, or attacks targeting the mental sea, Erwen didn’t feel he couldn’t endure it.

“All right, I’ll tell you.” He heard the male zerg say.

Qu Xia propped up his head. “This afternoon, I want you to come with me to collect trash.”