Chapter 4: “This is Colonel’s epaulette, isn’t it?” [Ko…
“Master, I request to accompany you.”
Wien, who had been standing silently at the side, bowed his head and spoke respectfully. He was filled with reverence for He Yue and, at the same time, harbored hostility towards Koeyle.
Koeyle’s casual words had frightened Wien and the system, fearing he might do something reckless.
The male insect pheromones that could control female insects had no effect on him, and he possessed absolute physical strength and combat skills. Anyone would think he had the ability to imprison or kill He Yue.
(He won’t.)
He Yue’s absolute confidence in this exceeded the system’s imagination.
His sharp gaze could pierce through the deceptive exterior, discern the prey’s true intentions, and then confidently exploit their weaknesses.
The system couldn’t understand, nor could it figure it out.
“This is the colonel’s secret. What does the colonel think?” He Yue asked.
Koeyle looked up and met Wien’s hostility, but he smiled easily: “He is your accompanying female insect, of course, he can come along.” The basement of the villa was a different world, a dark and damp corridor lit only by a few occasionally flickering incandescent lamps. It looked like no one had been here for a very long time, and the rusty iron door made an unpleasant noise with a slight push.
The further in they went, the more pronounced the biting cold became.
At the end, they were faced with a huge, specially made block of ice containing a man with his eyes closed. There were still traces of nutrient fluid on his body, indicating that he had been encased in ice shortly after hatching.
His skin was very thin, so thin that the solidified, dark blood vessels could be seen. This male insect wasn’t fully developed, more like a premature baby forced to hatch.
The ice refracted the dim white light, casting reflections on the walls.
“Male Insect, as you can see, I can do anything for this goal. The unbearable backlash of the imprint, enduring the pain of physical recovery alone without soothing pheromones after being injured on the battlefield…” Koeyle knelt down, his voice steady and strong: “This is my determination. I can do anything for you.”
“Determination?” He Yue glanced at the male insect corpse encased in ice, lifted Koeyle’s chin with his index finger, and looked down at him. “Is this all?”
Koeyle raised his chin, his neck almost sore. He needed a bargaining chip, especially one that could hold a certain position in He Yue’s heart.
He glanced at Wien, who was standing in the darkness in the corner of the room, and said, “Before the new recruit recruitment meeting the day after tomorrow, I can ensure your accompanying female insect passes the recruitment test and applies for the rank of major general with a doctoral degree…”
“You still don’t understand, Colonel Koeyle,” He Yue gripped his chin, his tone calm. “I’m talking about what you can do for me.”
He emphasized the words “for me.”
Regardless of how Koeyle emphasized his determination and “great achievements,” or what benefits he could bring to He Yue’s accompanying female insect, he hadn’t focused his thoughts on He Yue.
His thinking was in the wrong direction.
Even with his chin lifted by He Yue, Koeyle still lowered his eyes, avoiding the scrutinizing gaze.
“Colonel, do you still not understand? I don’t see any value in you that pleases me.”
Koeyle’s value should be what he could bring to He Yue, but he was at a loss.
His eyes flickered, his complete firmness and confidence crumbling, a moment of bewilderment flashing through them. His momentum weakened considerably, and his voice lacked confidence: “Please, Male Insect, guide me.”
He Yue’s finger traced his lips: “Open your mouth.”
The man in front of him, supporting himself with his hands on the ground and his chin raised high, obediently opened his mouth, allowing his tongue to be pulled out and placed on his teeth.
“Mouth. Behave better, and I might consider your request.”
Koeyle froze for a second before understanding what was being asked of him. His face flushed red, his eyes darted around, and he reached out to pull at his clothes in confusion.
The colonel, who only knew how to fight and kill on the battlefield, had never groveled before, let alone pleased someone in this way. His understanding of this was limited to some indecent videos.
He Yue naturally saw his awkwardness and helplessness, finally showing some interest.
Koeyle reached out to pull at his clothes, but the moment his fingers touched the fabric, he abruptly recoiled.
A loud slap echoed throughout the room.
Koeyle’s head was turned by the slap, the burning pain on his cheek making him dizzy. A ringing filled his ears, and a momentary surge of anger and humiliation mixed with pain spread throughout his body, strangely stimulating his nerves.
“Male Insect, I…”
“I said, mouth.”
Koeyle kept his balance with his hands on the ground, enduring the pain on his cheek and biting his clothes.
His mind was muddled from the slap, but he still remembered He Yue’s instructions, obediently placing his tongue on his lower teeth. He was cautious to the point of clumsiness, only daring to lift his head and lightly touch with the tip of his tongue.
The burning pain on his cheek didn’t lessen but intensified. Compared to the pain, the shame was more overwhelming.
He Yue frowned slightly.
The man kneeling before him was excessively gentle, his cautious manner as if he were handling a rare treasure.
“Is this the extent of your determination?”
He gripped Koeyle’s chin and abruptly pulled it towards himself.
“Cough… ugh…” All of Koeyle’s whimpers were trapped in his throat, his senses stimulating his tear ducts, tears welling up in his eyes, blurring his vision.
“Hiss…”
He Yue let out a soft moan, a momentary pleasure arising from the sensation. It had been a long time since he had encountered such a fresh newcomer. Even with some novelty, the technique was incredibly clumsy.
His fingers touched Koeyle’s tense jaw, which was strained out of shape, and he could feel the protruding parts.
Pressing down hard, He Yue could even feel the force in his fingers.
“Relax… Colonel, at this level, who do you think you can satisfy?”
Koeyle whimpered and nodded, swallowing hard despite the pain in his throat and the feeling that his jaw was about to be dislocated by He Yue.
I should, do better…
In his chaotic consciousness, this fragmented thought was all that remained. The reason for this conclusion, and the purpose it aimed to achieve, were thrown to the back of his mind.
During the pause, He Yue simply grabbed his hair and pressed down without mercy.
He couldn’t even cry out in pain, only feeling his nose hit He Yue’s front, the momentary suffocation and the impact on his throat causing tears and snot to flow.
“Like this, have you learned?”
Koeyle nodded in a daze, obediently pushing forward. His movements were clumsy, but such a rough intrusion into his own throat only caused him more suffering.
He ignored the pain in his throat and only tried harder.
He Yue lowered his head and watched him with interest, finally able to enjoy the process of pushing to the limit each time. He casually stroked the epaulette, a strange sense of satisfaction rising in his heart.
The epaulette gleamed silver under the incandescent light, and after being exposed to the cold of the basement for so long, it felt exceptionally cold to the touch.
“This is Colonel’s epaulette, isn’t it?”
The man beneath him trembled, noticeably more than before. He couldn’t speak, only whimpering and nodding. The sounds were all trapped in his throat, turning into indistinct syllables.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, sliding further inwards.
This is Colonel’s epaulette.
The man prostrating himself before He Yue and carefully serving him was dressed in a neat military uniform, wearing the Empire’s medal of honor and the colonel’s epaulettes. He had climbed to the highest position by stepping on the blood and corpses of countless people, until he willingly offered his dignity and knelt down.
“Colonel, do you know what it means to engrave and remove a mental imprint?”
He Yue’s voice was filled with excitement, his rising intonation reflecting the pleasure of being served wholeheartedly. He found amusement in teasing, especially since the colonel beneath him was clearly indignant because of his humiliation.
“As a female insect, hasn’t anyone told you how male insects break through the imprint point and inject pheromones to write the imprint?”
Of course, Koeyle knew. This was the first lesson in basic female insect knowledge.
“You’re begging me, Colonel.”
He Yue released his grip on his hair and instead lightly patted the swollen side of his face. The side where he had been slapped was visibly redder and more swollen, with traces of blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Then show some sincerity in your begging, Colonel.”
Koeyle’s few remaining memories of accidentally watching videos unexpectedly became his lifeline at this moment. Despite his surprising clumsiness, he tried his best to imitate them. He Yue’s words crushed his last shred of pride, seemingly hitting him harder than the slap earlier.
Right, he should have realized from the beginning that there was only one way to remove the imprint, and he was here to beg.
“Try harder, Colonel.”
As Koeyle’s shoulders shook, the tassels on his epaulettes swayed back and forth.
The fine tassels reflected a dazzling light, and the exquisite epaulettes were engraved with honor and glory. Countless admiring gazes had once focused on this epaulette, and now, it fell into He Yue’s eyes in a different way.
That contemptuous and condescending gaze.
When Koeyle looked up, he saw that expression in his blurred vision.
The cold epaulette transmitted a burning heat through the thick uniform to his body. Besides his cheeks, his shoulders also became exceptionally hot. The stark contrast became the starting point of his fall, slowly dragging him down bit by bit.
The stark contrast transformed into an almost eerie excitement that surged through his nerves.
Koeyle shuddered, his numb knees shifting slightly in an attempt to conceal the secret hidden beneath his military uniform.
But this, of course, couldn’t escape He Yue’s notice.
“To actually get excited by this, is your sensory system malfunctioning?”
The low murmur carried a pleasant lilt, completely exposing the secret Koeyle was trying to hide.
“Or is it that our dear Colonel is a righteous-looking military man who is actually thinking about…”
[Koeyle, 5%]
He Yue, who had been in control of the situation, was startled by the system’s sudden prompt, his eyebrows raising slightly as his thoughts paused.
He looked at the system number that flashed above Koeyle’s head and chuckled softly.
It seemed what he had said was, indeed, spot on.
