Chapter 59 Part 1

“Is this a threat?”

Shen Yu lay flat on his back on the bed. That elaborate formal attire had already been removed, but Ludwig seemed to have some kind of fetish and left him with a shirt loosely draped over his elbows.

Half of the shirt’s buttons were undone, splayed open to either side, baring supple and elastic chest muscles. His skin was cool and smooth, the muscle contours sleek without being overly exaggerated. The narrow waist and abdominal muscles faintly visible, stretching into the hem of the shirt.

Shen Yu’s fingers gripped the handle and yanked it forward. The black chain trembled in the air before snapping taut.

Ludwig’s body lurched forward. He braced his arms on either side of Shen Yu to avoid crushing him directly.

Hearing Shen Yu’s words, Ludwig’s dangerous red eyes narrowed. He exhaled heavily, gritted his teeth, and seized Shen Yu’s other hand, guiding it toward his own neck as if offering it up for slaughter.

Ludwig lowered his eyelids.

“Handing your vital point to another person—have you ever seen this kind of threat anywhere else? Sadro, are you truly pretending not to know? Or are you really as others say, an ice-cold puppet without even a heartbeat?”

Scorching body heat spread from his fingertips. They also touched the metal collar, the clash of cold and hot mirroring the complexity of Shen Yu’s current emotions.

Ludwig didn’t play by the rules at all, which caught Shen Yu off guard. That heart sealed in ice since childhood by his family, his male parent, and all sorts of past events seemed to have been crudely cracked open.

Hearing Ludwig’s complaint, Shen Yu suddenly parted his lips. “Then listen to this.”

Ludwig asked him, “Listen to what?”

Shen Yu swatted his hand away and pointed to his own chest. “Listen to my heartbeat. Confirm if it exists.”

Ludwig knelt on either side of his body, bending at the waist. His honey-colored arms slid from the male insect’s waist to the deep dimples there, then climbed up Shen Yu’s sleek muscled back.

Beneath the shirt, scorching palms pressed against his trembling shoulder blades. The palms clenched, textures rubbing.

Shen Yu’s body tensed. His entire icy form was tossed into roaring flames. Others might have been scorched by such blazing heat, but he only felt comfortably warmed. How long had it been since his body, remodeled by his male parent, had experienced this sensation?

It seemed only such scorching temperature and touch could dispel the deep chill in his heart.

He actually felt a bit…

Greedy for this warmth.

His long, curled lashes cast shadows at the corners of his eyes. Shen Yu felt a warm current wandering through his body—not the deep abyss driven by love or desire, but something more wondrous, drawing him into intimate closeness with the female insect before him.

Love?

No.

Just mutual benefit.

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes, silently observing Ludwig’s movements.

Ludwig leaned down and buried his head. His nose twitched as he deeply inhaled. A faint ocean scent lingered at his nostrils, carrying a touch of light floral fragrance.

Ludwig pressed his face to Shen Yu’s chest, truly listening to his heartbeat.

That heartbeat thumped steadily, strong and vigorous.

Like gushing spring water or spring raindrops. It made Ludwig’s scalp tingle. An unprecedented surge of powerful emotion struck him, his own heart pounding in response.

Shen Yu frowned slightly. Ludwig’s arms cradled his shoulder blades. The two embraced in a desperately entwined pose, sharing body heat as if one entity.

If not for the shirt between them, they would have been completely naked against each other.

Ludwig buried his fluffy head in his chest to listen to the heartbeat, listening for a long time. Coarse red hair tips fell, prickling him with itchiness, yet also an indescribable softness and numbness in the pores.

Shen Yu’s waist and back tensed. The hand gripping the handle couldn’t help but clutch the bedsheet.

Slender fingers with distinct knuckles scrunched the sheet into ripple-like wrinkles.

Shen Yu involuntarily reached out with his other hand and smacked Ludwig’s head hard, like slapping a watermelon, trying to snap him out of it.

His tone was poor.

“Have you confirmed it yet?”

Ludwig didn’t get angry at the smack. He nodded, his head rubbing along. “Confirmed. It’s indeed a puppet-made one, without a heart.”

Shen Yu: “…”

“So what? Why make me listen to your heartbeat? Hit me with a stick and then offer a sweet date—you haven’t gotten tired of this routine?”

Ludwig sneered coldly. He lifted his head, inching upward bit by bit. His scorching lips brushed his neck, moving to kiss his ear.

Blazing breaths surged and tangled.

Ludwig lifted his gaze to stare intently at him, asking gravely, “So why get engaged to Fred? If he can, why can’t I?”

Shen Yu grabbed his messy red hair and tilted his head back. Beneath thick curled lashes, his eyes were cold—even glossed with moisture, it was like water on stone slabs, chill and devoid of warmth. Yet the corner of his mouth curved lazily. “Even if it means carving open your heart?”

Ludwig stared at the smile on his lips, feeling like ants were crawling over his heart. He wanted nothing more than to kiss that corner of his mouth, to rub against him intimately.

“If it truly makes you happy.”

Ludwig’s eyes rolled, his entire body screaming to possess and claim.

He leaned in, his palm kneading his shoulder blade heavily. The hand withdrew from under the shirt. Nose tip to nose tip, breaths entangled.

The female insect’s red eyes churned with surging dark crimson. He rubbed away the fine sweat beads on Shen Yu’s nose tip, his voice low and husky:

“If this is what makes you happy, then even carving open my heart is fine.”

The shirt draped on him had become utterly disheveled from the movements, half-covering half-exposing his body. Slick with sweat, the muscles without a layer of fat gleamed powerfully under the light, full of luster. His cool-toned upper body rose and fell with breaths—more erotic than if naked.

The silver-haired beauty in half-undone clothes reached out, hooked the black collar glowing red on the female insect’s neck, and yanked hard.

Their distance closed once more.

That abrupt red light flashed wildly, unreservedly signaling its danger to all.

Shen Yu asked him, “What does this collar do?”

Ludwig hadn’t expected Shen Yu to suddenly ask this, but he had no mood to answer. The lips he’d long coveted were within reach. His throat bobbed as he stared, nearly lunging to bite.

But at the moment Ludwig leaned in, Shen Yu released the collar. His body leaned back, abruptly widening the gap between them.

He had been just a breath away from kissing those constantly parting lips.

Ludwig’s expression darkened. He sat up slightly and hooked the collar with his finger. “You mean this?”

Shen Yu nodded and snorted coldly. “What else?”

Ludwig irritably raked his hair. His exhaled heat was scorching as he stared darkly at Shen Yu. “I might not hold back. Even though it’s not heat period and my reason remains, who knows what I’ll do when desire takes over.”

Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. He sneered at the lie. “You never had a heat period before? And you don’t know what you’d do?”

“Sadro, are you jealous?” Seeing Shen Yu’s brows furrow and harsh words about to spill, Ludwig immediately chose to manually cover his mouth.

He knew the male insect’s words were harsh but not truly meant that way. Still, they stung—piercing Ludwig’s lungs with pain. Every time Shen Yu stabbed at his heart, it reignited his barely quelled anger, leaving neither of them better off.

Hot breaths puffed against his palm. Seeing Shen Yu’s poor expression, Ludwig hurriedly said, “Fine, you’re not jealous. I am. I’m jealous.”

Ludwig’s other hand seized Shen Yu’s hand on the handle, guiding his fingers to touch the pitch-black metal handle.

“SSS-rank Female Zergs are hard to induce into heat. Before meeting you, I’d never truly entered a heat period.”

Shen Yu’s raised leg paused mid-kick.

“Last time was indeed the first.” Ludwig lowered his eyelids and guided Shen Yu’s fingers to the first switch on the handle.

“This is the injection switch. The collar’s inner ring holds eighteen compressed high-potency stabilizers. I tried it last time—eighteen doses effectively stabilized my heat, so it should be enough.”

Shen Yu: 【What other surprises does Zhen not know about?】

Ludwig continued guiding his fingers to the second switch, his voice hoarse. “This is the second switch. Its mechanism is like the mental shackles on the market—it can disrupt my spirit sea and trigger self-attack.”

“Market mental shackles don’t work on me, so I enhanced its effects. You can fully control me with it. Even—you could—”

Ludwig’s gaze sharpened. He exhaled heavily from his chest.

“Use it to kill me.”

The air suddenly stilled.

Shen Yu’s captured slender fingers trembled. Ludwig gripped them, his eyes dark. “Of course, Sadro, I’ve never been some upright female insect. The moment you try to kill me, I’ll instantly bite through your neck.”

Shen Yu looked at him and asked, “Would you bear to?”

Oxygen became a luxury. After Shen Yu’s question, all sounds fell silent. Soundless dark tides surged, entwining like a clash.

After a long while, Ludwig gritted his teeth and cursed.

“Fuck.”

“Whether I can bear it or not.” Ludwig grinned, looking at him. “I only know that right now, at this moment, I want you.”

Shen Yu looked at him, suddenly curious. Every textbook in the entire Zerg race said—

Procreation above all, reproduction paramount. Heat period was heaven’s gift to them.

As a Zerg, even a noble, he had naturally received such education. Female and male insects were mere products of desire. Without external aids, could desire truly halt for something called love?

So Shen Yu asked, “What if you can’t control yourself?”

The female insect leaned in, voice deliberately lowered. “Maybe I’ll fuck you till you can’t even stand.”

“…”

Shen Yu: 【Bro, aren’t you a bit too confident in yourself?】

Shen Yu said, “Oh, then let’s not.”

Ludwig’s expression froze, his smile nearly cracking. “How did it suddenly become not doing it—”