Chapter 1: “You dirtied my hand.” [Wien, 50%…
Before his eyes, a strong light pierced his eyelids, causing a stinging pain. His body felt like it was floating in mid-air, supported by something soft.
[System updating, please wait, currently recording host information—] [Henry Evans, He Yue]
[Hello Host, welcome to the insect world. Your mission is to raise the submission value of the conquest targets to 100%. Background information is being updated for you, please check.] He Yue opened his eyes.
This name… what’s it for?
He had transmigrated. The commotion at the “Castle” had caused him to accidentally touch a space-time barrier and collide head-on with a drifting system.
This was a new world.
“Still waiting for your male insect? He won’t wake up. You can only be a masterless female insect, a low-class female insect for public amusement.” “Tsk tsk, a poor masterless insect.”
…
So noisy…
He Yue frowned in displeasure.
He opened his eyes to a dazzling bright light. The voices were coming from outside, somewhat muffled.
[Host, this is a nurturing egg. You can get out by tearing the outer membrane.] The temperature inside the egg was warm and suitable, perfect for nurturing life. However, the bright light was uncomfortable, and there was transparent nutrient fluid sticking to He Yue’s body.
(Why am I still wearing clothes? Do male insects here come with clothes at birth?)
He Yue was wearing a white sleeveless vest and long pants, mostly soaked in nutrient fluid. His waist-length hair was also stickily plastered to his back, truly uncomfortable.
[No, after hatching, male insects enter a long dormant period and are very fragile. They need to stay inside the nurturing egg to survive. But not every male insect can wake up, it depends on luck.] [The original host… has already died because of this.]
He Yue reached out and tore open the egg-like membrane, finally seeing the light. He poked his head out, cautiously surveying his surroundings.
There was a row of unhatched nurturing eggs neatly arranged to one side.
[They won’t wake up.] The system’s voice sounded.
He Yue was the only male insect among these nurturing eggs who could survive.
Standing closest to him was a robust man, his head slightly bowed, a lightsaber tightly gripped in his hand. Mocking words entered his ears, but no matter how unpleasant they were, he just kept a tight face and remained silent.
While no one had noticed He Yue, the system began to explain this world to him.
[In this world, male and female insects are born together. The accompanying female insect hatches first to protect their accompanying male insect until they awaken.] [The meaning of a female insect’s birth is to protect the male insect. The male insect is the sole reason for the female insect’s existence and survival. This is a genetic imprint engraved into every female insect’s body.] [However, very few male insects can actually awaken. The entire insect race has a severely imbalanced ratio, with male insects being rare and precious, and female insects everywhere.] [Therefore, the highly sought-after male insects can receive more favor and privileges, while female insects without accompanying male insects usually become the lowest class.] The person at the front spoke, attracting He Yue and the system’s attention: “He won’t wake up, a half-human, half-insect hybrid…” A flash of red passed before his eyes.
He Yue tilted his head and raised his hand to block it.
The hot blood didn’t have a chance to land on his face, only leaving a few splattered drops on his palm.
Blood was still dripping from the blade of the lightsaber, the head of the female insect who had spoken rolled on the ground, and the voice abruptly stopped. The man in front looked down, then lifted his foot and kicked the head far away.
Blood from the severed neck splattered on the ground.
“You, you, you…”
The other female insects were so frightened they couldn’t speak, stammering a few words before falling completely silent.
The tip of the sword lifted, pointing at their throats.
“He is my insect master, whether he sleeps or wakes, regardless of his genes, he is my insect master. Say another word against my insect master, and my sword will show no mercy.” He had heard countless insults directed at him, and he didn’t care about a single one. But insults directed at his insect master were absolutely unacceptable.
“You… you masterless lowly insect! Just you wait! When your insect master dies because he can’t hatch, you’ll be the lowest of the low!” Conspicuously, they hadn’t noticed He Yue’s situation behind them.
He Yue leaned back against the wall, watching the drama unfold with amusement.
One of the female insects, enraged by the threat, grabbed their lightsaber and slashed at him. They used all their strength, determined to kill him.
In the insect world, the death of a female insect was as insignificant as the death of an ant. No one cared about fights between female insects, whether it was a one-sided crushing or mutual destruction.
Amidst the flashing lightsabers, he thrust his lightsaber into the female insect’s chest and then pulled it out forcefully.
Strong muscles and excellent combat skills were not just for show; he could easily slay these small fries before him.
Blood landed on his face, forming a thin, long streak. He turned his head and gave a defiant smile. Bloodshot eyes coupled with the blood on his face, his fierce smile couldn’t hide his killing intent and anger.
Even if it was just for a single sentence that slandered his insect master.
“Continue? All of you, together.”
His voice was deep and powerful, like his tall frame.
The remaining female insects screamed and ran, not even bothering to pick up their lightsabers, fleeing the breeding ground in a panic.
He didn’t follow, silently watching the troublemaking female insects flee in disarray.
He was long accustomed to this kind of situation, having defeated countless female insects who challenged him, but there were always female insects who came to show off their superiority, flaunting the fact that they had their own accompanying male insects.
However, even if they died by his sword, their accompanying male insects never came looking for trouble. Only the accompanying female insects regarded their male insects as gods; as for the male insects themselves, they didn’t care.
The genetic imprint was engraved in the female insects’ genes, not the male insects’.
How ridiculous, a group of overconfident, pitiful insects.
He sheathed his sword, wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, and carefully adjusted his collar and hair.
This was something he did every time he came to see his insect master, even though the insect master hadn’t woken up in the past. He had to be in the best possible condition and appearance to meet his insect master.
Every single time.
He turned around and saw that his insect master had already torn open the nurturing membrane, tilting his head and smiling faintly as he observed the entire drama.
His bloodshot eyes from the killing became even redder, and the tip of his nose felt strangely sore.
“Insect master…”
He lunged forward, kneeling beside He Yue, his body trembling uncontrollably.
What an unpleasant title…
Having just arrived in the insect world, He Yue still hadn’t adapted to the identity and worldview of the insects, and he found this title quite distasteful.
They were in a symbiotic relationship, a subordinate relationship, and even a subservient relationship. Every accompanying female insect here would call their accompanying male insect “insect master,” without exception.
Except for He Yue, who had transmigrated.
“That sounds awful. Change the way you address me. Call me Master.”
“Mas, Master…”
His voice hitched before he could speak. This title was strange, far more impactful than “insect master.” When he blurted it out, it felt like an electric current was running through his entire body.
“Insect master” was the most common term used by female insects in insect society to address male insects, but “Master” was not.
“Don’t want to say it? Why are you stammering?”
The tall, burly man kneeling in front of him had his hands on his knees, carefully curled up into a ball, his whole body tense. If it weren’t for the lingering smell of blood in the air and the two cooling female insect corpses not far away, who would have thought that he had just killed someone with a swift stroke of his sword?
He was clean and decisive when wielding his sword, but now he seemed awkward.
“No, no…” He lowered his head, not daring to meet He Yue’s gaze, “It’s just, it feels very different. I’ve seen male insects keep small pets like kittens and puppies before, and they would call themselves Master.” That was indeed the case.
He Yue chuckled: “Aren’t you my little pet?”
The man in front of him trembled, a pink blush quickly creeping up his cheeks.
“It’s Insect Mas… no, that’s wrong, it’s Master’s…”
The tall, burly man lowered his head and spoke words that didn’t match his appearance at all, embarrassed by his own words, stammering in response.
His voice trailed off, so quiet that even He Yue, who was very close, could only hear a faint: “…little pet.”
A line of white text appeared above his head, “Wien Brown, Wien, 50%.” It was a system prompt, flashing a few times above Wien’s head.
Such a high starting point?
The symbiotic genes determined fate, instantly raising Wien’s value to an unimaginable height.
He Yue read the system prompt: “Wien?”
“Yes, yes.”
Being called by his name by He Yue, he visibly trembled even more. His cheeks flushed an unnatural red, and a fine layer of sweat formed on his forehead.
“You performed well just now.”
Wien looked up joyfully, his eyes sparkling. A single word of praise made him overjoyed, and he couldn’t hide his smile.
“It’s what I should do.”
He Yue raised his hand, showing him a small bloodstain on his palm. The bloodstain had already dried somewhat, turning a dark red.
“However, you dirtied my hand.”
The sudden change in atmosphere caused Wien, who had just been pushed to the clouds, to fall hard back to the ground. The smile on his face froze, not even having time to fade before the icy tone scared him into silence. He lowered his head and apologized: “I’m sorry…” “I’ll give you a chance to make up for it.”
He Yue raised an eyebrow, extending his palm closer to him.
“Lick it off.”
Wien froze for a moment, then cupped He Yue’s hand in his own, carefully licking off the bloodstain with his wet tongue.
His wet, rough tongue swept across He Yue’s palm, curling the metallic-tasting bloodstain inwards, devout and meticulous.
His loyal dog attribute was completely exposed, and He Yue could almost see Wien’s tail wagging high behind him, even swaying back and forth, attracting attention.
It was a little amusing.
Wien’s breathing grew heavier, his eyes slightly closed, and the part of his cheek that He Yue’s fingers could touch heated up again. His mind was completely muddled, a chaotic mess, with no other thoughts than to carry out the command.
A stain appeared on his clothes, dark in some places, light in others.
He Yue’s eyes glanced over.
“What are you excited about?” His voice brought Wien’s drifting mind back.
Wien looked up at He Yue blankly, his words muffled because his mouth was covered. He anxiously tried to explain, the blurry syllables hurriedly forming a sentence: “I, I’m very happy… very happy…” He clearly didn’t understand He Yue’s teasing.
He muttered to himself, his words losing logic: “Very happy… I’ve waited for so long, for decades, or even longer. Your survival is the meaning of my existence. This genetic imprint has been engraved in my bones since I was born.” His gaze was devout, carefully tracing the contours of his male master’s face, from his eyes to his nose, then to his lips, imprinted in his genes along with the symbiotic imprint.
He had waited far too long for this moment.
Stains appeared on his clothes, dark in some areas, light in others.
