Chapter 57 Part 1

The atmosphere grew quiet, even the breathing sounds subdued. The heavy mood pressed into the entire room as Ludwig injected the last stabilizer into his arm and tossed it onto the table.

The glass tube clinked with a crisp, cold impact sound that echoed in the silent space.

This noise acted like some eerie signal. The insects in the medical team checked even more cautiously, as if afraid that one wrong move would shatter the male insect right before their eyes.

Shen Yu exhaled, his expression unreadable. “You scared them.”

The surging tide of desire in his body was finally forcibly suppressed. Ludwig paused as he curled his fingers down into his black sleeve, then clenched them. He lifted his gaze and asked, “Did I scare you?”

The medical team finished checking quickly. Shen Yu looked away, seemingly amused by the female insect’s question. A faint hint of laughter appeared in his eyes. “Ah, perhaps?”

The male insect’s voice rose like a wisp of wine mist in winter—cold and intoxicating.

Ludwig’s gaze fixed on his eyes. It was as if a snail’s soft foot crawled over the blood vessels on his heart, its mouthparts devouring his flesh. He only wanted to pin this male insect beneath him ruthlessly and kiss the corner of his eyes.

Red Blood’s medical team soon finished examining Shen Yu’s body. The male insect’s body was extremely healthy—in fact, overly so. All his physical indices exceeded the average for male insects.

The lead physician stroked his chin. Male insects were generally frail; even without illness, most lingered in a sub-healthy state. It was rare to see such a healthy one, and he felt quite intrigued.

But more than that, what gnawingly piqued his curiosity was that the Boss was actually staying with a male insect?

Though he had heard rumors before, seeing it with his own eyes still made him think—

It was fucking terrifying.

He needed to go back and grill Phibet properly.

Shen Yu grew tired and yawned, his face expressionless as he looked at the female insects and sub-female insects in the room. He parted his lips. “How much longer do you all plan to stay here?”

Ludwig stood up from the chair and positioned himself in front of Shen Yu.

The sub-female insects in the medical team exchanged glances, very tactfully waiting outside the door to give the two some private space before parting.

The tall female insect cast a shadow that blocked the light.

Ludwig narrowed his long, chilling eyes. His voice dropped. “I need to handle some matters.”

About Mineral Star. About Andre. About you.

“No need to tell me that.”

Shen Yu lifted his eyelids. That earlier trace of amusement seemed like an illusion, replaced by cold indifference that kept others at a distance. “Our relationship doesn’t seem close enough for reports like that.”

Ludwig’s face darkened, anger surging to his heart in an instant. The question “Then what exactly is our relationship?” nearly slipped out.

But he knew no good words would come from that male insect’s mouth.

He took a deep breath, dark and treacherous heavy clouds pressing in the depths of his eyes, surging with undisguised possessiveness that nearly devoured the man.

Ludwig’s chest heaved. He closed his eyes, repeatedly telling himself not to rush.

Since he had decided to bide his time, he couldn’t scare Shen Yu off. Only after several such internal struggles did he suppress the intense urge to tie the male insect in front of him directly onto the spaceship, chain him to the bed day after day, fuck him exclusively, make him look only at him.

The flexible, pale chest muscles. The lean, powerful waist and abdomen. The distinctly jointed fingers. The long, straight legs. The feet with bulging veins—

A male insect’s body was so healthy; it should handle all sorts of difficult positions.

Too erotic.

Ludwig closed his eyes.

He couldn’t think about it.

Thinking only made it harder to hold back.

Ludwig’s throat bobbed, his face darkening to the extreme. He turned and left with heavy steps, slamming the door lightly behind him in a show of cold ruthlessness.

The lead doctor saw him emerge and noticed his expression. He hesitated several times before speaking.

Away from the male insect who had messed up his mind, Ludwig’s rationality slowly returned. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at the physician, his voice indifferent. “Something?”

Seeing the Boss’s expression soften slightly, the sub-female insect curiously asked, “Boss, why did you stir up chaos at Earl’s Manor? We have two warships trapped at Imperial Capital Fortress. Were you drawing fire to cover the brothers’ retreat?”

“Oh.” Ludwig narrowed his sharp, elongated eyes, thinking of Fred’s face. A flash of malice crossed them. “Just couldn’t hold back.”

The physician: “…”

Their conversation faded into the distance. Shen Yu turned off the light and ran his fingers over the terminal, as if tracing bones.

He soon fell into deep sleep. The long-suppressed blue mental tentacles emerged from the skin at his temple, emitting a serene glow. The dreamlike tentacles swayed, and the male insect’s entire body began to emit blue light—

Endless deep blue light, like frost and snow, floated in the dark room.

Shen Yu uncomfortably sprawled on the bed, his back to the ceiling. Something churned at his shoulder blades.

When he woke, the sun was setting. The little building was empty.

Dim yellow sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bed curtains, casting golden beams inside. Shen Yu opened his eyes and reached for the sunlight, grasping only shadow. His sluggish mind gradually cleared.

Shen Yu slowly got up and opened the terminal.

Fred’s message popped up on the screen. Two hours had passed since their appointed time.

Shen Yu dressed, washed up, then casually grabbed a black hair tie to bind his silver hair. On the first floor of the little building, the dining table held steaming food kept warm by a constant-temperature device.

Shen Yu glanced at it and left through the door, passing through lush, pointed onion trees.

The tall female insect with light hair and gray eyes wore a rare full military uniform, giving him a stern air. A trace of turbid malice pressed between his brows. Excessive insectification from overload combat inevitably caused mental landscape chaos, with dark clouds gathering in his spirit sea. It had clearly worn down this lieutenant general Your Excellency sorely.

Fred stood in front of a small, fully blacked-out spaceship. Seeing Shen Yu, he pursed his sword-like lips. Just like their first meeting, he removed his military cap and held it to his heart, nodding in salute to Shen Yu.

Shen Yu’s gaze swept over his shoulder.

Limb regeneration was a piece of cake for high-grade female insects.

Shen Yu approached but said nothing about it.

Instead, Fred recalled the male insect’s earlier words and misunderstood the meaning of his lingering gaze, explaining, “Just finished a meeting. Afraid you’d wait too long, so I didn’t have time to change.”

Shen Yu shook his head and praised instead, “No, with war imminent, Lieutenant General, this uniform suits you best.”

Fred couldn’t discern his true intent, but the words struck at his heart, instantly easing much of his hesitation and concerns.

The female insect pursed his lips and held the cabin door, waiting for the male insect to board before following.

The spaceship’s autopilot activated, and the blacked-out vessel slowly rose into the air.

Fred turned his head, his gaze passing through the window to scan the little building hidden among the lush greenery below.

A male insect like Sadro would never lack suitors among female insects.

Fred lowered his light gray prosthetic eye and licked his dry lips before cutting straight to the core. “Your Excellency, I wish to apply as your suitor. Would you tell me your real name?”

A faint arc lifted at Shen Yu’s lips, like light mockery. “Lieutenant General, you already know, don’t you?”

Fred’s heart tightened, then sank heavily.

Just as he thought this was rejection, he heard the male insect’s voice again. “Why not skip that step? I happen to need a female consort, and you—”

Shen Yu paused and turned to look at him.

“—need a high-grade male insect to soothe your spirit sea and prepare for the war.”

Fred froze, not expecting the male insect before him to so bluntly name the transactional nature of their relationship.

From the start, Fred had approached the male insect precisely because he needed a high-grade one to soothe his spirit sea. Any high-grade male insect would do, but not Demian—he didn’t want to ruin his relationship with Demian.

So Fred had tentatively agreed to the matchmaking date with Shen Yu. After meeting, his unexpected attraction to this male insect had caught him off guard.

Under the lure of multiple factors, Fred began pursuing the male insect.

To outsiders, he seemed deeply invested, even trading many resources with Andre for an entry ticket. But that wasn’t the case.

Never mind that such hard-to-obtain power for the male insect was easily attainable for a high-grade female insect. Just consider the massive returns Fred anticipated.

Once his spirit sea was repaired, Fred’s stats would return to peak. If they won this war, the empire would gain rich resource rewards. These merits would elevate him to major general, or even admiral, allowing better service to the empire.

Male insects were indeed the empire’s treasures, the catalysts driving its prosperity, an indispensable part of its machinery.

“But I have one condition.”

The silver-haired male insect sat in the pitch-black spaceship. He turned his head, silver lashes like feathers framing eyes that fixed on him. Lit by the light, they shimmered with ripples.

“Lieutenant General, you must offer this body of yours as the price.”

Fred snapped back to awareness. Hesitation appeared on his stern face. “What do you plan to do, Your Excellency?”

Shen Yu’s lips curved in a faint, indifferent arc, as if proposing a harmless little joke. “Some small experiments.”

Fred’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed. Male insects of the Sadro Family dabbled in every field. He had heard of Sidorey’s exploits and knew this male insect before him followed in his male parent’s footsteps. He had just graduated from the Bisexual Biology Department at Imperial University, even straining relations with his main family over it and moving out after adulthood.

Hearing this now, Fred felt no surprise.

His spirit sea condition was dire. The beautiful, empathetic silver-haired male insect, the power he craved, and his past solemn vow to the empire combined in the female insect’s mind into a massive temptation, luring him in.

And all he had to pay was a body that could be remade anytime.