Chapter 41

Night had fallen, with stars dotting the distant horizon and the moon hanging high overhead. The endless blackness was perfect for getting up to all sorts of things.

Jing Chi was dressed in a sleek tracksuit. He checked himself in the mirror, gave his hair a quick tousle, and nodded in satisfaction at his appearance.

His gaze slowly shifted to Pei Rui standing behind him. The female insect wore a simple shirt and black pants—obviously Jing Chi’s clothes.

After all, aside from that eye-catching military uniform, Pei Rui had nothing else to wear. The outfit was a bit worn, but on him, it took on an air of aloof nobility, utterly untouchable.

The simple clothes hugged his lean, elongated frame and tall, refined posture, radiating the raw power unique to a military female.

His silver-white hair fell loosely to his waist. His features were exquisitely sculpted, his skin a cold, pale white.

A detached aura clung to him, and those stunning crimson eyes gleamed with an unmistakable sharpness. His looks were alluring enough to captivate, yet they carried a chilling remoteness that kept everyone at arm’s length. The contrast suited Pei Rui to perfection.

Even though Jing Chi had built up a tolerance to beauty over the past few days, Pei Rui’s appearance still managed to stun him from time to time.

“Ready?”

Pei Rui, blissfully unaware of his own allure, lifted his gaze and caught Jing Chi’s stare just before it could pull away.

He arched a brow.

He had seen looks like that from plenty of male insects before—sticky and laced with desire, enough to turn his stomach.

But Jing Chi’s gaze was clean and straightforward, nothing more than pure admiration for his looks.

Female insects generally didn’t pay much attention to each other’s appearances. For military females, strength was what mattered. Looks were useless in battle—in fact, a flashy face could even become a liability.

Pei Rui had often thought it would have been better if he looked more ordinary. It would have drawn less attention and caused fewer headaches.

But he had noticed that Jing Chi seemed particularly fond of his face. Pei Rui found it a little funny that he, a female insect, was such a face-con.

Jing Chi had no idea what Pei Rui was thinking. If he had, he might have protested that he wasn’t obsessed with looks—he just had an eye for beauty. Of course, the beauty in question was specifically Palace Beauty.

Jing Chi tugged lightly at the hem of Pei Rui’s shirt before letting go. With a bright grin, he pointed toward the door. “Let’s head out.”

He was quite curious about this underground fighting arena, after all.

The arena only opened one day a week, running around the clock from the early hours of Sunday morning until midnight.

During that time, female insects poured in continuously. There were almost no male insects around—after all, it would be like a lamb wandering into a wolf’s den.

In addition to the fighters on the arena stage, there were plenty of spectators. For the female insects living here, it was a rare form of entertainment.

You could also place bets, and if luck was on your side, make a tidy profit. It was a win-win.

Of course, entry required a ticket, but it wasn’t expensive—just 2000 Star Coins for a pass that allowed unlimited entries.

For Jing Chi, though, two tickets came to 4000 Star Coins—a not-insignificant sum.

Jing Chi winced as he pulled out the money. It was cash the original host had scrimped and saved for ages, and this wiped out half his savings in one go.

For the old Pei Rui, 4000 Star Coins would have been pocket change, not worth a second blink. But now, he had to rely entirely on Jing Chi.

Seeing Jing Chi’s pained expression made him feel a twinge of guilt and embarrassment. He silently vowed to repay Jing Chi tenfold, a hundredfold someday.

After paying up and completing the registration, they received their entry passes: deep purple badges engraved with a lifelike black spider.

Once inside the underground fighting arena, they had to pin the badges to their chests. It made it easy to spot any ticketless freeloaders trying to sneak in.

The badges also signified status. Even on Desolate Star, there were always hierarchies.

Purple was the lowest tier, followed by red, with gold at the top.

With their badges pinned on, Jing Chi and Pei Rui followed the signs on the ground deeper in.

They descended a long staircase. At first, everything was dimly lit, with only faint lights flickering along the walls. They passed the occasional female insect heading in, all sporting purple badges.

It wasn’t too crowded at this hour—most who wanted in had already gone ahead to claim good spots.

Jing Chi and the others arrived here just shy of nine in the evening. At ten o’clock, the main event would kick off: the Arena Boxing Match.

After descending the stairs and rounding a corner, they reached a large black door. Two female insects dressed in black uniforms stood guard there. Spotting Jing Chi and his companion, they promptly pulled the door open for the pair.

A flood of multicolored lights spilled out, blindingly bright, pulsing to the beat of thumping, high-energy music.

Stepping inside revealed the full layout of the place.

“This looks just like a bar,” Jing Chi muttered to Pei Rui.

A faint smile crossed Pei Rui’s eyes as he took in the setup. It was pretty much exactly as Jing Chi had described.

A long bar counter ran alongside the entrance, lined with female insects—some deep in conversation, others brazenly flirting. It felt a little out of place in what was supposed to be a boxing venue.

His remark immediately drew the attention of a female insect nearby. He gave them both an appraising look, his eyes lighting up as he sauntered over.

“First time here?” He sported a mop of tousled golden hair, wide eyes, delicate features, and an infectious enthusiasm.

Jing Chi glanced first at the purple badge pinned to his chest—matching theirs. Detecting no hostility, he shared a quick look with Pei Rui and nodded with a smile.

His enthusiasm ratcheted up. Next to the standoffish Pei Rui, the friendly-looking Jing Chi was clearly the easier mark. He stepped closer, reaching out to grab Jing Chi’s arm in a chummy fashion.

But the next instant, Pei Rui smoothly intercepted, blocking him without a trace of effort.

Meeting Pei Rui’s icy stare, the golden-haired female insect chuckled awkwardly and yanked his hand back. Instead, he launched into a self-introduction.

“I’m Lair, a regular here. Spot on with what you said earlier—before the match starts, this spot’s basically a bar. Chat, drink, do whatever you want.”

Only insects with real clout could get in here. Broke ones didn’t have the luxury of time-wasting in a place like this.

Chatting away, he suddenly jabbed a finger toward a dim corner with a sly, knowing grin. Sure enough, a couple of female insects were tangled up in some decidedly unspeakable activity.

Jing Chi shot a glance that way and clocked that it was two female insects.

Male insects were rare treasures, after all. When it came to scratching that everyday itch, the go-to was female-on-female.

Before Jing Chi could tear his eyes away, Pei Rui stepped in front of him, blocking the view. The man was frowning, clearly repulsed by the display.

Fine if he was grossed out—but why shield me?

Pei Rui glanced up at Jing Chi’s baffled expression, mistaking it for interest. He shot him a dirty look of disdain but held his ground.

Truth be told, Jing Chi hadn’t been all that keen to stare. Pei Rui’s reaction just struck him as weird.

Had this insect already caught feelings? Possessiveness dialed up to eleven?

Tempting as the idea was, Jing Chi knew his own limits and shoved it aside.

He shifted his focus back to the golden-haired female insect, motioning for him to keep going.

Catching their disinterest, the insect scratched his head and pressed on.

“Ahem. Once the match kicks off, everyone flocks to the arena smack in the middle of the venue—right over there.”

He pointed, and sure enough, insects were starting to cluster in that direction.

With the rundown wrapped up, the golden-haired female insect’s cheeks colored faintly. Fixing his gaze on Jing Chi’s face, he mustered a shy yet audacious question: “Looking for a bedmate?”

Male insects were a pipe dream. Female insects as eye-catching as Jing Chi didn’t come around often. No way was he passing up the shot.

With males so thin on the ground, a handsome female insect turned plenty of heads too.

Three black lines popped up on Jing Chi’s forehead, his face a mask of utter bewilderment.

He’d figured the overly friendly approach spelled trouble, but this? Not even close.

Pei Rui froze for a beat at the words. Then it clicked, and with Jing Chi not shooting it down right away, his face soured. His hand clenched tight at his side.

“I don’t need one.”

“He doesn’t need one.” They spoke as one.

Jing Chi shot Pei Rui a startled look.

Pei Rui had figured speaking up for him was no big deal, but that stare made it feel wrong somehow.

The female insect eyed them thoughtfully, then smacked his forehead with a eureka grin.

“Whoops, my bad—I should’ve seen you two are together. Figures; no way a pair of lookers like you are single. Sigh.”

Jing Chi opened his mouth but then glanced at Pei Rui. Seeing that the man had reverted to his usual expressionless and indifferent look, he didn’t bother refuting it. He simply smiled, tacitly agreeing.

Lair looked heartbroken for a moment, but he quickly pulled himself together and said cheerfully, “No worries—we can still be friends. Having such eye candy around is pretty great anyway.”

Jing Chi neither agreed nor refused. Remembering the real reason they’d come here, he swiftly changed the subject and asked, “If we want to sign up for the Arena Boxing Match, where do we register?”

Surprise flickered across Lair’s face. He hadn’t expected Jing Chi and the others to be interested in that. He didn’t pry—after all, he knew better than to poke into other insects’ business—and simply replied, “Too many insects around right now; it’d be hard to explain. Let me just take you there.”

Jing Chi nodded. Noticing how eager the female insect was to help, he said, “Appreciate it.”

Lair immediately flashed a cheeky grin, his eyes fixed on Jing Chi’s face. “No trouble at all. Being around you guys makes me happy.”

The female insect led the way ahead, with Jing Chi and Pei Rui following close behind.

“Right here.” Lair pointed to a room up front, which was indeed marked with the words “Registration Office.”

Jing Chi and Pei Rui committed the spot to memory.

Boom—

A thunderous roar of cheers suddenly erupted from nearby.

“That’s the Arena Boxing Match starting up,” Lair said, excitement lighting up his features. He turned to Jing Chi. “Let me take you over there.”

But as the female insect turned, he bumped right into another one.

“Sorry—” Lair looked up at the female insect in front of him, and his face instantly drained of color.

Because he knew exactly who the insect trailing behind him was.

“Y-Young Master Edmond.” Lair bowed deeply at the waist.

Sure enough, as the female insect stepped aside, the insect behind him came into view.

Jing Chi’s eyes sharpened. It was a male insect, shielded by several burly female insects.

The male insect stood around five foot seven, with a medium build. His features were plain enough on their own, but a vicious scowl draped his whole presence in gloom.

Young Master Edmond shot Lair a disdainful glance. But when he spotted Jing Chi and Pei Rui standing behind him, a spark of admiration flashed in his eyes.

His gaze landed first on Pei Rui’s face—that stunning, aggressively beautiful visage clearly captivated him more.

Lust and filth oozed from the male insect’s eyes in a gaze so repulsively familiar that Pei Rui itched to claw them out.