《Insectoids: The Job of the Males》


 CH 1

    People with High Risk of Transmigrations


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    There is a cup noodle on the drawing pad with the man¡¯s slender hand keeping the cover shut. His slanted eyes, hidden through his slightly overlong bangs, are staring straight at his computer screen.


    His other hand is holding a phone. The whitened flesh suggests he is holding it with some force.


    ¡°The script¡¯s changed again?¡± The man says, hoarse and powerless, but still putting an emphasis on the penultimate word.


    He retracts his hand to ruffle his hair; the cover of the cup noodles pop open, revealing the soggy, white noodle cake within.


    Cheng Zhaoci really wants to throw his phone right onto the ground, but he can do no such thing. He¡¯s passed the test, and signed a contract. He yanks his head back, staring at the ceiling like a fish who has had much grander dreams before dying of suffocation.


    He is a comic artist, drawing for manhuas, a job where you might not even have the opportunity to spend the money you earned. Cheng Zhaoci works with an intermediary, who provides the plot to the comics ¨C the scripts ¨C and he has to draw the whole thing.


    It was off to a great start in the beginning. Both sides were happy with the negotiated price. All until the company had Cheng Zhaoci start sketches of the shots before they have the plot completely settled, and now upended basically days of work on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s end.


    Cheng Zhaoci only has two more days until the company¡¯s set deadline. He hasn¡¯t had a single shut-eye in three days to get his work done. The coffee mugs on his table has formed an entire row. He feels like he¡¯s just a pile of dead flesh still being commanded to move by a consciousness. He desperately needs rest.


    That manager is still blabbering on about dreams and ambitions at the other end of the phone. Cheng Zhaoci wants to yell, that he¡¯s had enough! He is going to sleep and no one can stop him! But the moment he stands up, his vision goes dark. It feels like the blood of his whole body is rushing towards his heart. It is squeezing. Threatening to explode. He can hear his heartbeat so clearly, as if it was right next to his ears.


    Cheng Zhaoci would not know what happens next.


    When he wakes up, he doesn¡¯t even have time to remark on how his job sure has a high rate of death by stroke, before a man¡¯s form has his full attention captivated.


    It looks quite Western to him, with the chiselled features, tall nose, thin lips. The man is biting his lips a little. Honestly, so handsome, that with a new set of clothes, Cheng Zhaoci believes you can drag him off to any studio to get a photoshoot.


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t too bad a looker himself, but his sleep deprivation had him look almost zombified and gloomy, with a constant depressive aura about him. It¡¯s like a debuff, that while he¡¯s good-looking, he honestly doesn¡¯t look like a good person.


    Completely unlike this Mr Handsome here. Upright, beaming, with a great bod.


    Why he would know of the handsome man¡¯s great body is probably because his head is right next to the prominent chest muscles of him.


    It¡­ it¡¯s honestly a little embarrassing.


    Cheng Zhaoci knows he isn¡¯t fully straight, so he¡¯s worried he won¡¯t be able to rein his desires in for long. He tries to push away ¨C well, his hand is on there, and he is in complete shock, too.


    Whose little lotus-like white arm is this?!


    Frozen stiff, a while later, his mind grows cold.


    He knew it. A parentless guy who grew up in an orphanage is bound to get transmigrated, isn¡¯t he?!


    Being a comic artist, he isn¡¯t unfamiliar with the concept at all. Having come to terms with it, he now only laments that, if he knew he was going to transmigrate, he could have lambasted that mentally challenged manager of his before he died.


    Fuck all those crazy redrawing requests! And also, what the hell is with their blinding artistic vision?!


    ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The handsome man speaks, with such a magnetic, resonant voice. It draws Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s attention immediately.


    He doesn¡¯t understand what he¡¯s saying, but Mr Handsome sure has a great voice. He thinks about it, until he finally lands on a conclusion ¨C oh wait, is this guy his father?!


    The handsome man watches Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s little face make all sorts of interesting expressions, and is confused, until that face finally looks rather sad and dejected.


    Tilting his head to think, he comes up with something.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci watches as the big handsome guy lifts up his shirt, revealing the tightly packed muscles inch by inch. This is, in turn, confusing Cheng Zhaoci.


    What? Is it really hot or something? Or is he¡­ showing off to his son? Uh, but look at his tiny hand, which can but hold one finger of him in it, is it really a good idea to show off a body to such a young baby?


    Then, the man, with Cheng Zhaoci in his lap, slowly brings him closer to his chest muscles. Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes are flickering and trembling.


    Oi, oi oi oi! What is this? Breastfeeding?! Jesus, no, no no no thanks! No matter how good-looking that chest is, there isn¡¯t that inside, you know!


    Cheng Zhaoci tries to struggle, failing miserably with his tiny arms and tiny legs.


    A baby being a baby, when distressed, Cheng Zhaoci feels like crying ¨C thus his mouth opens, only for something to make its way inside his mouth. His gasp turns into a suck¡­ of the object.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°Holy shit shit shit!¡±


    He¡¯s drinking! Drinking!!!


    Never mind what he¡¯s drinking! But why is there liquid inside?! Why?! He knows men do have mammary glands, and if you do suck hard enough, something might emerge.


    Don¡¯t ask why he knows that; what comic artist would he be if he had never secretly indulged in drawing unsavoury stuff?


    But clearly, no matter how capable the men back in his world were, none could ever produce as much milk as this big tall handsome guy.


    Cheng Zhaoci did fantasise something like a handsome ball of sunshine of a man biting his clothes to keep it in place, while getting rocked this way and that way, going full blush because of him.


    But he never once imagined, a man who looks quite like a bossy CEO, biting his clothes to keep it in place¡­ to breastfeed him. Even patting on his back gently as he does so.


    What a homely scene it is.


    Cheng Zhaoci fears he might just have another stroke and die once more. This time from shock.


    No! He must not! Cheng Zhaoci wants to move his neck away, but the man seems to have noticed this, and puts his other hand against the back of his head.


    ¡°Baby, don¡¯t move,¡± the man says, somewhat tiredly, with his brows furrowed.


    His baby finally emerged from the egg today, but, his xiongzhu has been killed three days ago.


    A shemale slave ripped his head right off. He heard that it was his xiongzhu having almost toyed with him to the brink of death, and the shemale slave resisted by instinct while unconscious. The strength of a typical shemale is not something a typically powerless male can withstand.


    Males being murdered is quite the heinous felony. All shemales in the male¡¯s harem have been collectively punished ¨C including him, who lost his job in the army, and was exiled to one of the country¡¯s landfill planets.


    He just never expected for there to be a male in his egg.


    His xiongzhu had many shemales, and he was one of the shemale concubines without much presence. His xiongzhu¡®s cijun was also pregnant at the same time that he was, so the family¡¯s attention was on the cijun; besides, he was also dispatched to the front lines not long after the egg was born.


    Males on a landfill planet would be rare. Well, unheard of is probably more correct.


    What if any shemale goes after his young baby and tries to force it? Those guys would definitely not be above pulling off something disgusting like that.


    Well, if he reported the sex of his baby to the authorities, the punishment for them would be waived, but then the insectoids of the cijun family would never let them off the hook. He might not even be able to live through the week.


    His family¡¯s cijun has already gone insane. Even while lucid, he cannot accept any other shemale other than himself birthing a male for their xiongzhu. He knew two shemale concubines who¡¯d successfully birthed males for the xiongzhu, but neither males made it to their first birthday.


    Sure, both instances were perfectly executed accidents; however, he¡¯s seen how the demis in charge of caring for the little males called the cijun ¡®master,¡¯ and his barely concealed excitement when the little males were pronounced dead.


    Now that he¡¯s insane, it will just be even worse.


    He can only deal with whatever threats as they come, the man thinks, while having a gentle smile looking at the baby in his lap.


    Cheng Zhaoci is currently brainstorming the type of insane world he might have transmigrated into. Omegaverse? No, unlikely. Omegas can have breastmilk, he thinks, but omegas are generally depicted as sleek and thin. His dad certainly doesn¡¯t fall in that range.


    Sentinels? Well, not that guides can¡¯t be as tall and handsome as his dad is, but¡­ breastmilk? Probably not.


    His thoughts are already digressing, but he still can¡¯t come up with a conclusion.


    Wait a minute¡­ a father¡­ a bottom with a muscular body, tall, slender, handsome¡­


    Suddenly, he manages to dig up a rather obscure subgenre from his mind. Insectoid setting¡­


    Hell! You must be kidding, that setting with an even more deformed society than an omegaverse¡­


    Cheng Zhaoci looks at his dad¡¯s handsome face again, and prays quietly. Whatever this world may be, please¡­ Maybe his dad is just one of those really un-omega-like omegas good at fighting among the omegas? Or simply a guide with a really strange twist.


    He thinks with a serious expression on his face, until he burps, full.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°!¡±


    The man, chuckling slightly, asks, ¡°feeling full now, my baby?¡±

 CH 2

    A Weak Shemale


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Zhousuo is a mid-sized landfill planet significant only for its distance away from the Capital planet.


    It is mostly wanted criminals at large and shemales who are no longer capable of fighting due to disabilities of various causes here. This has always been a planet for sending criminals to exile. There were very few inhabitants originally, since the delicate and patrician males can never accept such squalid living conditions. They say even the landfills on the Capital planet have a nicer smell than the air on Zhousuo.


    Without males, there is obviously no way for the shemales here to procreate. This means that the entire population here came from outside. The only ¡®natives¡¯ would be any unfortunate souls still in the eggs of shemales exiled here.


    ¡°Eh, say, what do males actually look like?¡± A shemale, fifteen, or sixteen in appearance, has a big sack across his shoulders. There isn¡¯t a patch of skin on him that can be described as clean. He is making all sorts of expressive faces at his companion.


    The companion in question is clearly disinterested, not even paying him the courtesy of a glance.


    The first shemale seems used to his companion¡¯s countenance, as he continues to blabber incessantly, about anything and everything. When he spots something out the corner of his eye, he stops for a second and elbows his companion slightly, saying, ¡°hey, look! Isn¡¯t that Cheng Zhaoci?¡±


    His companion is finally responding to him, by looking where he is.


    Cheng Zhaoci is looking around at a crossroads, probably for someone. He certainly has a short and thin frame. They¡¯re about the same age, but the two shemales are both almost 1.8m in height, while Cheng Zhaoci is still just barely over 1.7m himself.


    Cheng Zhaoci is a pretty well-known insectoid in this area. They know he was from the Capital planet, but his shemale dad told them that was when he was still but an egg. When he was born, he was so ill that even though he recovered, he was no stronger than a demi.


    Most insectoids were treating it as a joke or exaggeration, since surely, no shemale can be that weak, and it¡¯s common knowledge that shemale kids can fight and brawl without nary a scratch.


    Though one day, Cheng Zhaoci managed to dislocate his arm, while simply helping his dad move some second-hand equipment on the streets. It was quite eye-opening, like seeing pigs jumping into water to commit suicide. It certainly enriched the topics for idle chatter for quite a while.


    Another thing about Cheng Zhaoci, is that he is so disastrously ugly ¨C not exactly the appearance, but the insectoid marks on Cheng Zhaoci.


    All shemales have insectoid marks, but Cheng Zhaoci has excessively dense and downright trypophobic-triggering markings, especially on his face. It¡¯s like somebody sewed an embroidery right on his face. No one can even make out his features through the myriad of colour on his face.


    A childhood friend of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s used to lament, oh, what if no males ever want Cheng Zhaoci? That was before the young, little insectoids learned that no handsome males exist on a landfill planet. Never mind Cheng Zhaoci, but none of them could expect to marry. That friend became quite depressed for a while knowing he¡¯ll be single for life.


    Cheng Zhaoci can also see the two shemales now. The talkative one is happily running along to him. He¡¯s the dumb one who worried for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s marriage prospects in the past. His name is Xiao Ji. He likes to say that he came out of his egg the same day as Cheng Zhaoci.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks he has no idea what he¡¯s talking about, since Xiao Ji was picked up and adopted by an old shemale who was blind in one eye. That shemale parent died when Xiao Ji was around five, having his head smashed in by a younger, stronger shemale when they were fighting over resources. Xiao Ji¡¯s own memories are of course, completely unreliable at that point.


    ¡°Waiting for your dad?¡± Xiao Ji is holding that big sack in place as he runs over.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies, as he looks Xiao Ji over.


    Then Xiao Ji puffs up his chest and says, ¡°you jelly?¡±


    Xiao Ji certainly had the body to boast. He¡¯s also quite tall. While he would look cold if he was expressionless, but that dumb smile just downgrades him back to a large, dumb dog status. He certainly looks like he has more brawn than brain, but the happy-go-lucky Xiao Ji is also quite relaxing to be around.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci has any interest in him, though, because since Xiao Ji recovered from the sad fact that there are no males on landfill planets, he has never taken much care of his looks. Always looking dusty and sweaty like he¡¯s some escaping refugee, like right now.


    ¡°We met uncle Cheng Jin earlier, he said he¡¯ll be a bit late today,¡± the cool guy next to Xiao Ji is also here. The next moment, he rolls his eyes at the sweaty, uncouth Xiao Ji, completely ruining his tall and imposing aura.


    Cheng Jing, or Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shemale dad, is the big handsome guy who was holding Cheng Zhaoci in his lap when he transmigrated.


    It¡¯s been sixteen years since Cheng Zhaoci ended up here, and his prayers go unanswered, as this world turns out to be that kind of godforsaken insectoid world. In insectoid worlds, the most capable fighters are the shemales, who have a reputation as flesh machines of war in the galaxy. They¡¯re all tall and muscular and powerful, with the most powerful ones said to be able to fight metallic mechas all by themselves. Next up would be the demi-shemales, who can¡¯t compare to the shemales in pure fighting prowess, and so are mostly in charge of office and clerical duties here.


    Then there are the males, the sex Cheng Zhaoci belongs to. Absolutely trash at fighting, with timid, weak forms, comprising of less than 10% of the insectoid population.


    This society in particular calls itself ¡®monogamous,¡¯ due to the fact that one male can only ever have one cijun, but there are no limits on how many shemale concubines and slaves one can own.


    Any shemales married to a male will have everything they own transferred to their xiongzhu, while the males don¡¯t have to do anything but be a happy child-creating stud. The more shemales they marry, the richer they become.


    Oh, and yeah, even though one shemale can single-handedly wipe the floor with a dozen males, but causing any males to come into harm is illegal. If a male had their arm broken or their leg snapped or something, the shemales that caused that injury to happen would be summarily executed.


    Not that all these unequal treatments at all deter shemale pursuit of males, as apparently this has been the norm for millennia.


    Well, those overprotection mechanism for males are effective on those developed planets, of course, but it¡¯s a whole other story on landfill planets. People here give zero fucks about the law, obviously.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shemale dad once told him that an adventurous young male once secretly made his way to a landfill planet to explore, then when his male identity was busted, a whole group of sexually deprived shemales pushed him to the ground and¡­ well.


    Whether it was something his dad made up to scare him, Cheng Zhaoci has seen for himself how these shemales around him, whether they were still teenagers or already on the last legs of their lives, would have these strange expressions when they talk about males. The fanaticism is deterrent enough for him.


    He must never expose himself. But being stuck on Zhousuo, Cheng Zhaoci can only do his best to leave home as little as possible.


    He does not know how long he can still hide his male status for. Their bodies will enter its mature phase at around 18 years of age. He will release pheromones, which might just spell the doom of him.


    It¡¯s going to take lots of dosh to live somewhere with pheromone-proof housing. Cheng Zhaoci himself is about as physically fit as he was in his last life, and he knows his dad is never going to let him mingle with unknown shemales anyway. On this planet, he¡¯s practically disabled, only surviving by mooching off his dad, at the ripe old age of sixteen.


    It¡¯s shameful.


    That is when the cool guy of a shemale interrupts his thoughts, ¡°xiao-Ci, I¡¯ve managed to modify the thing you gave me.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci almost looks beaming, ¡°it¡¯s done? Already?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing too complicated,¡± the cool guy clears his throat, ¡°since uncle Cheng is busy, come with me to get it.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Cheng Zhaoci has a big smile.


    Xiao Ji has a rather complicated expression, as he moves his hand over to cover Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, ¡°oh my dear Ci, please stop smiling. It¡¯s creepy.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s messy insectoid marks got mushed together as he smiled, any trypophobe would have their souls knocked out into an out-of-body experience if they ever saw that.


    Xiao Ji and the cool guy, whose name is He Huaijian, are shemales whose parents all passed early. Cheng Jin helped protect and care for them then. So, when Cheng Jin¡¯s son Cheng Zhaoci, who looked malnutritious and had ugly insectoid markings, was bullied by other young insectoids¡ª¡ªWell, not that they¡¯ve actually succeeded, because Cheng Zhaoci was always surprisingly crafty for his age, in their eyes, at least¡ª¡ªor were hurling insults at him, Xiao Ji would go fight them. He Huaijian isn¡¯t much of a brawler, but he¡¯s quite fiendish in his own right, finding ways to take revenge behind everyone¡¯s backs.


    Xiao Ji had also declared himself the older brother to Cheng Zhaoci around that time, too.


    To be honest, Cheng Zhaoci is quite infamous for his weakness and is largely despised for living off his family. Everyone else has to start finding their own food and job at their age, so the insectoids who just superficially know about Cheng Zhaoci like to diss him for only being able to be a punching bag if he ever got into a fight with even children.


    In any case, as Cheng Zhaoci removes Xiao Ji¡¯s paw from his view ¨C normally, he would pretend to pull his sleeves up to beat him for insinuating his ugliness, with Xiao Ji quite cooperatively holding his head begging for mercy ¨C he already his mind full thinking about the device he asked He Huaijian to modify for him.


    It¡¯s something that the insectoids don¡¯t have, as far as he¡¯s aware ¨C something similar to a drawing pad in his past world. This world doesn¡¯t have a tool you specifically connect to a device to help you draw, and there is nothing with similar function even on the patchy internet. But He Huaijian has managed to recreate something similar to CSP for him after he told him what features he wanted to have. Of course, Cheng Zhaoci made the brushes himself.


    He¡¯s decided to pick up his old craft ¨C drawing comics. He¡¯s studied the market these years. While there is a culture and entertainment culture on the insectoid internet, and there is paid work with contracts and everything there, with novels and comics to boot¡­ but, having read them, Cheng Zhaoci really wants to say, as expected of the insectoids who only have two things in mind ¨C fighting and procreating. All the stuff is utterly hardcore. Blood churning battles, with such detailed and genuine analysis showing through the content that Cheng Zhaoci suspects this was some professional¡¯s side gig. There are very few simple love stories, and they are, honestly, disappointing to read. Meanwhile, stuff that in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s circles in the past life would have been banned to no end ¨C those depicting certain activities in juicy details, is instead given prominent seating and popular.


    Well, ¡®juicy¡¯ as in literally just squirting juice everywhere, because there isn¡¯t enticing foreplay or any sort of eroticism build-up. It honestly reads more like a guide to different positions or a biological report.


    The many comments reaffirm this ¨C they are going ¡®holy shit¡¯ because they¡¯ve never imagined such a position being possible. They do not get aroused, so to speak. It¡¯s similar to having seen some exciting martial arts demonstration, perhaps.


    Well¡­ Maybe he¡¯s generalising too much, because Cheng Zhaoci knows that Xiao Ji would blush reading these ¡®reports¡¯ and even getting so excited as to have neighbours telling him to keep it down.


    Speaking of, he hasn¡¯t told Xiao Ji he¡¯s going to draw comics. Xiao Ji only knows He Huaijian is helping Cheng Zhaoci make some kind of tool.


    He also doesn¡¯t seem to mind Cheng Zhaoci sticking close to He Huaijian and ignoring his ¡®older brother.¡¯ He¡¯s senselessly starting to spout nonsense while holding that big sack again, telling them about the difficulties he had fighting for all the stuff now in his sack, and how they¡¯ll probably work very well when fixed.


    The ¡®stuff,¡¯ as in, rubbish from the developed, urban planets, that are dumped onto Zhousuo. Many of those aren¡¯t actually broken, but possibly just outdated or have some easily fixed defects. For the insectoids on Zhousuo, these are good, free stuff.


    Cheng Zhaoci looks at the blabbering Xiao Ji and thinks he also has to work hard now. If he ever makes enough to be able to leave, he¡¯ll also have to bring Mr Brainless and Mr Unhappy with him.


    Those living their lives out on the landfill planets may still be pushing their weights around and fighting well when still young, but they¡¯ll go downhill fast when older, with no one hiring them for work and unable to win against others in the fight for scraps. Their most likely end is just like Xiao Ji¡¯s short-lived shemale dad, being beaten to death alongside all the trash.

 CH 3

    A Past User ID


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The two insectoids followed He Huaijian to his home ¨C a little dwelling about 30 square metres across in total, with bed, living necessities like cookware, and a little wooden shelf he assembled himself there.


    He Huaijian first puts the parts he found onto the shelves, before pulling out a rather thin display monitor from a whole pile of stuff, saying, ¡°this one. Try to connect it to your .¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci couldn¡¯t wait to try, and while Xiao Ji looked on completely bewildered, he connects the monitor¡¯s signal to the holodeck on his wrist. With a ¡®ding¡¯ sound, it is connected, and the monitor lights up ¨C oh goodness, the UI sure is reminiscent but also unfamiliar. He almost tears up.


    Ah, this was the thing that also made him die of a stroke, but honestly, he did miss it.


    After coming to this world, Cheng Zhaoci has been drawing exclusively on paper ¨C yes, even an interplanetary civilisation still uses paper, which is easy and cheap to make. Well, environmental concerns and availability mean no capital insectoid would use them. It¡¯s mainly the landfill planet inhabitants using them.


    His shemale dad has kept and organised all the things Cheng Zhaoci drew. He could still remember when he first picked drawing back up, how shocked his dad looked. The kind that a dad would have discovering their son is a genius. Cheng Jin sat there the whole night, as he recalled, possibly both proud of his son being a genius, and guilt at only being able to provide a living for this genius son on a landfill planet.


    The reaction was certainly a shocker for Cheng Zhaoci, who had to comfort his dad with hugs for a really long time ¨C although on retrospection, it might just have deepened his guilt. If he pictures the average male insectoid in such a world¡¯s setting, they probably live in obscene luxury and never need to go anywhere crowded or do anything labour-intensive. They just needed to enjoy life instead of being his dad¡¯s son ¨C who must pretend to be a shemale and hang out with shemales; handsome but have to make ugly insectoid marks on the face. Cheng Zhaoci himself didn¡¯t know how to properly counsel and change his dad¡¯s thoughts either.


    In the insectoid society, a male responsible enough to make money for the family is probably something equivalent to a ten-year-old on Earth knowing to take odd jobs to feed his family. The insectoids and humans will all call these inhumane.


    His thoughts are digressing a lot. Cheng Zhaoci quickly puts his eyes back on the holodeck, thinking about trying this drawing tablet right here; He Huaijian just handed him the specially designed pen for this.


    Cheng Zhaoci has kept his basic practices going, and so he is able to adapt rather quickly.


    Xiao Ji has his jaw on the floor watching Cheng Zhaoci come up with a rough silhouette with a few strokes, and then a sketch, then trying the brush for painting without clearing up the lines.


    Then, through the hologram, out pops a male insectoid with long hair, facing towards the viewer, like he¡¯s looking at someone, with a gentle, friendly smile.


    This society has never seen a Japanese anime artstyle, so Cheng Zhaoci decided to go for a more realistic approach in celluloid fashion. Slightly nervous, he asks his two companions, ¡°how does it feel?¡±


    Xiao Ji is yelling with astonishment, ¡°Ci-zai, since when have you learned something like that?! Can I have this? I need this as a poster!¡± He¡¯s never seen such a gentle male¡­ uh, he¡¯s never seen males ever!


    Compared to Xiao Ji¡¯s overreaction, He Huaijian is much calmer in response, ¡°very visually impactful. It¡¯s a colouring we¡¯ve never seen before.¡±


    Entertainment media in insectoid society does include comics ¨C or more accurately, serial drawings. One in a style that Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past self would have called ¡®traditional flipped drawings,¡¯ and the other one that is ultra-realistic, making one question whether what they¡¯re seeing isn¡¯t actually a photograph.


    The latter type is usually bought up by the richer upper echelon of insectoid society, as a symbol of wealth placed at home. Outside of its monetary value and associated prestige, though, do any of these insectoids appreciate it as art? Not necessarily, since it¡¯s probably better to just get a printed photograph.


    Though after the praise He Huaijian points to the male insectoid¡¯s chest area, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen males have prominent chest muscles online, though. This is probably wrong, and I¡¯ve never seen this style of clothing. It¡¯s beautiful, but I don¡¯t think males would wear these. They¡¯re very conservative in fashion.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is confused for a moment before understanding what¡¯s happening ¨C oh hell, this world doesn¡¯t have the treasure that is beautiful ladies ¨C the males are the thin and meek cuties! And there are also no skirts or other clothing that reveals the shoulders and upper arms.


    Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t just explain that this is a creature from another world, entirely different from insectoid in culture, though. So he can only wipe the breasts away, to make her resemble a ¡®male insectoid¡¯ more.


    Poor you, Cheng Zhaoci apologises to his very first tablet-drawn character in his mind.


    ¡°So what¡¯s drawing this for?¡± Xiao Ji has finally calmed down enough to be communicable again.


    ¡°I¡¯m drawing comics,¡± Cheng Zhaoci turns off the tablet and wires 200 dollars to He Huaijian.


    He accepts without delay, since he does make money off of this, but he promises Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°if anything is wrong or buggy, come tell me. I¡¯ll fix it for free, and if I have time, I¡¯ll try to optimise it some more.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, bro,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is appreciative, and says, ¡°when I¡¯m able to make good money, I¡¯ll treat you to cupcakes.¡±


    A dusty, dirty hand grabs onto Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cheek, pulling ¨C the paw¡¯s owner, Xiao Ji, appears displeased, ¡°so he¡¯s your bro, but what about me?¡± The tone feels like he¡¯s going to start beating people up if Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t give him a good explanation.


    Cheng Zhaoci knows he wouldn¡¯t ever beat him, though, but says, ¡°I¡¯ll treat you both,¡± but without the ¡®bro.¡¯


    Xiao Ji is just teasing him, since he¡¯s used to it after all these years anyway.


    He¡¯s pretty happy seeing Cheng Zhaoci happy, too. Not that he thinks drawing is going to make good money, and it doesn¡¯t feel like a ¡®job,¡¯ since you¡¯re just putting stuff you can¡¯t feel or touch online, but he¡¯s still happy for his bro.


    While Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face is certainly not for the faint of heart, but he really does have pretty eyes. They¡¯re really soft to look at.


    ¡°Cupcakes? You say? Good at dreaming, aren¡¯t we?¡± Xiao Ji pats Cheng Zhaoci on the back, happy about the sentiment.


    Cupcakes are absolutely luxurious, at least on Zhousuo, it is. It¡¯s a thing with just fluffiness and an exorbitant price tag. No insectoid would buy it in their right mind. Oh, except Cheng Jin, who buys it for Cheng Zhaoci.


    Cheng Zhaoci is too excited to care, and is running home with his drawing tablet after saying goodbye with the two.


    Cheng Jin is probably also home by now.


    As expected, there¡¯s a tall and slender shemale insectoid standing at the intersection where Cheng Zhaoci was waiting for him. He still has that exact same photoshoot-ready face, unchanged from 16 years ago.


    Insectoids have an average lifespan of 190. After maturing, their appearance and capabilities stay level until they are about 170, when they start to show signs of aging.


    Cheng Jin is only in his sixties, so actually, he¡¯s a widowed shemale still in his prime, with top-tier looks and is, apparently, an A in physical abilities. If it weren¡¯t for that mess with his xiongzhu that collectively punished all his harem, Cheng Zhaoci suspects he could even be a Wing Commander in the army.


    Even in the human world, his shemale dad would definitely be handsome. A handsome widow with a child is still handsome and definitely won¡¯t be without romantic pursuers, but there are too few males in this world. There has never been a single case of a shemale or demi widow being able to remarry, since they culturally ¡®marry for life,¡¯ even if their xiongzhu dies, they still belong to him in death. It¡¯s hopelessly stupid.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Cheng Zhaoci calls out, and Cheng Jin, seeing him, immediately smiles, with the cold and unfriendly aura around him immediately dissipating. He embraces Cheng Zhaoci with one firm hand, while showing him the cupcake he is holding in the other, ¡°a-Ci, want some?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is biting his lips. When he was young and Cheng Jin brought him cupcake, he didn¡¯t know how outrageously expensive these were on Zhousuo, and had a great time gorging on them. It wasn¡¯t until he was older and heard from He Huaijian that, to afford his cupcakes, Cheng Jin would be hauling almost double the wares other shemales did, that he didn¡¯t want to eat them anymore. Yet, when he tried to refuse, Cheng Jin seemed even more upset, upset at himself for making his dearest little child suffer with him. These low quality confectionary that the capital planet males would scoff at is something his own male son can never taste again because he¡¯s incompetent.


    So Cheng Zhaoci compromised. Once a week, and no more. Cheng Jin conceded, unwilling though he was, but sometimes he will still buy them in addition to the usual weekly supply.


    Like right now. They just had some three days ago, but he¡¯s bought another cupcake. He ruffles his dear son¡¯s hair, telling him, ¡°it¡¯s fine. Your daddy made a lot of money today. We can afford it.¡±


    Normally, Cheng Zhaoci would give him the cold look ¨C not throwing a tantrum, but to show his dissatisfaction with this kind of wasteful spending. If not, Cheng Jin might go back to buying it frequently.


    Not today, though, because he still has to talk about a career of drawing comics with Cheng Jin. Worried that his showing displeasure at the cake will make Cheng Jin nervous and prone to overthinking, he takes the cake, and goes back home with Cheng Jin.


    They have a bigger house than He Huaijin; it¡¯s a 2Br 90 square metres across, with even a living room and a restroom. Of course, interior decoration doesn¡¯t exist, the walls are all black with filth, and it leaks a little in the rain, but it¡¯s a far better abode than many others on Zhousuo.


    Cheng Zhaoci, sitting on the chair with his cupcake in hand, waits until Cheng Jin is finished packing away for the day, and asks, ¡°dad, what do you think of my drawings?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re great,¡± Cheng Jin answers without hesitation, ¡°they¡¯re really amazing.¡±


    ¡°I want more insectoids to see them. Can I show them off?¡± Cheng Zhaoci tries to make his slanted eyes more circular, so it has the watery puppy eyes effect.


    He can¡¯t put it like ¡®he¡¯s going to do his part for the family,¡¯ because Cheng Jin is going to be devastated. He can instead put it as something he ¡®wants,¡¯ because the narcissistic males wanting others to admire his brilliant work are quite a whole other thing entirely.


    Obviously, they can reach the most audience online; the best content promotions are offered to those who contract with such sites, so of course he¡¯s also going to contract.


    They¡¯re all just things he ¡®wants.¡¯


    Just as he wished, Cheng Jin didn¡¯t think about this too deeply. Though he does knit his brows and asks, ¡°there are always bad insectoids that troll others online. If they make dumb comments at your paintings, a-Ci¡­¡±


    Normally, males are quite self-assured and dignified. He knows his male son doesn¡¯t seem to care much for the male dignity, and is happy to be playing with other shemales, but Cheng Jin is still worried about how well he can take those.


    ¡®Dumb comments¡¯ is quite the mild way to put it ¨C honestly, in what world can people ever act civilly online? Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t actually 16. He had a job. He used to draw comics. Is there a single online artist who has never been trolled or got spammed? It¡¯s just part of life.


    He¡¯s well past the age of angering himself over those people, but he can¡¯t tell Cheng Jin that. Instead, he dismissively harrumphs, saying, ¡°why should I make myself angry over bumpkins with no eye for real art?¡±


    Cheng Jin is silent. A short while later, when Cheng Zhaoci observed him nervously, he finally nods to give his approval.


    ¡°Thanks, dad!¡± Cheng Zhaoci exclaims, jumping off his chair, and hugging Cheng Jin around the neck tightly. Cheng Jin¡¯s worry over the affair immediately fades away as he pushes Cheng Zhaoci away very gently, ¡°a-Ci, you¡¯re going to be an adult in two years! Even if I¡¯m your dad, this is still a big no-no.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡®mhm¡¯s in response. Cheng Jin has been saying that since two years ago, with just the number of years changed. He¡¯s still going to do this when he¡¯s excited.


    Honestly, he doesn¡¯t really have a solid grasp of being a male. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s been pretending to be a shemale since young, and had only read about the ¡®male privileges¡¯ discussions online. Besides, to him, all the bodies are just human males! With just shemales generally taller and more muscular.


    Of course, Cheng Zhaoci will definitely not do something like this to any other insectoid than his own dad.


    Cheng Jin seems happy Cheng Zhaoci is happy. The thick rose-tinted glasses a shemale dad has for his son allows him to always ignore the myriad of patternless markings on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, to remember him as he is without those ugly marks.


    They keep chatting for a fair while, with mainly Cheng Zhaoci asking and Cheng Jin answering, talking about trivial stuff at work.


    Cheng Jin works as a haulier whenever he¡¯s needed. Having been ranked grade A in physical abilities, he¡¯s in quite high demand. It¡¯s monotonous but safe work, because he still has his young at home. Anything dangerous, and he might end up dead at any moment. Cheng Jin do not dare imagine what would happen to Cheng Zhaoci, who has to live it out alone on this landfill planet.


    Well, not that hauling is without its risks.


    Cheng Zhaoci has only had this one family ¨C this one single shemale dad his two entire lives, so Cheng Zhaoci thinks he has to treasure him, and is often worried Cheng Jin hurt himself somewhere but wouldn¡¯t tell him.


    Though they cannot have good long family talks either, as Cheng Jin needs an early night to be able to wake up early tomorrow for work.


    When Cheng Jin is asleep, Cheng Zhaoci turns his holodeck on.


    Everyone is registered on the internet with their real names, but they can create an anonymous alt for publishing original content. Their names will remain unknown, with only where they posted from visible.


    He registers an account for himself, reusing the old nickname he had in his past life.


    User ID: BombInMyPants


    Location: Zhousuo, System K-865

 CH 4

    Zombie-Rearing Diaries


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Comics require far more preparation work compared to novels. From a synopsis to a rough timeline, character archetypes, and add to that the decisions to be made about style and storyboarding, it is practically impossible to have daily updates like novels.


    He can take some time to prepare some more plot-heavy serial comics, but before that, maybe just some smaller ones with interesting ideas. Maybe the kind of cute and moe short comics, to test the waters. Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know if the insectoid culture would be receptive to such concepts, but he¡¯s going to try everything first.


    He didn¡¯t need serious planning for the cute, short story he¡¯s planning, so he starts without delay.


    Many comic artists like to create what is an ¡®author surrogate,¡¯ and affectionately refers to them as their ¡®children.¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci is similar, having hundreds of ¡®children¡¯ despite his young age. He thinks and picks from his mind ¨C a little zombie with pale skin.


    He set the zombie to be the ¡®Zombie King¡¯ after a zombie outbreak devastated humanity. He had no past, and didn¡¯t know how to speak other than make baby vocalisations like ¡®ee¡¯ and ¡®aa.¡¯


    When the Zombie King emerged from a massive pile of debris one day, he came face-to-face with the superpowered human warrior with the strongest ability, but even he fails to kill the little Zombie King. Even chopping him into pieces does not stop the little Zombie King from patching himself up.


    After trying all sorts of methods and failing to kill the Zombie King, he turns to leave, only to find the little Zombie King following him.


    The little zombie isn¡¯t the brightest tool in the shed. In fact, he can¡¯t even understand the killing malice the human ability user is exuding. He thought it was a game.


    After that follows a slice of life between the strongest human ability user and the little Zombie King. From disgust and repulsion, the ability user gradually grew to care for the Zombie King, worried the little zombie whose daily schedule consisted of fashioning toys out of rubble would be discovered by other ability users and bullied.


    It¡¯s open-ended what a reader sees in the relationship, from friendship to family to even love. There is no clear-cut depiction of the relationship itself. It¡¯s simply a heartwarming, feel-good story.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci will have to change the settings pretty drastically. Insectoids obviously will not understand what zombies are, or humans for that matter. Zombies are easy to deal with, as he just needs to draw an outbreak and depict what they do in the first chapter. He¡¯s not going to clearly depict the biological sex of the little zombie, but he knows for sure the shemales will slot the appearance of this small, ¡®frail¡¯ little zombie neatly into a male, thanks to insectoid biology.


    If those typical males could still be so beloved despite each being worse than the last, this kind of obedient, cute and well-behaved ¡®male¡¯ would probably be adored. Who doesn¡¯t want a perfect and cute boyfriend, no? Not only that, but this one has eyes for no other but that strongest ability user, too.


    Oh, right, no ¡®ability user,¡¯ since shemales have enough fighting power to equal an ¡®ability user¡¯ anyway. They can even fight huge mechas with just their flesh and teeth.


    So the strongest shemale of the insectoid military base? Tall, handsome, muscular, with an iconic scar down near his eye to look wilder. Let¡¯s make him expressionless, the taciturn type.


    Cheng Zhaoci basically stayed up all night just making a rough sketch of the two protagonists. When he hears Cheng Jin waking up, he finally realises how long he¡¯s been drawing for. He quickly puts his stuff away and falls right back onto the bed.


    As expected, the door to his room gets pushed open quietly soon enough. Cheng Jin tiptoes his way in, and gently ruffles his dear son¡¯s fluffy hair, and then quietly retreats back out.


    Cheng Zhaoci, who was pretending to sleep, sighs in relief. After hearing Cheng Jin has left for work for the day, he flips his blanket right over to get up¡­ Though he immediately falls back down on the mattress.


    Oh fuck! He¡¯s never stayed up all night in this body at all. He can feel his heart jumping dramatically all over the place. Blood is rushing for his head ¨C He remembers the feeling. It reminds him of his death, but it was much stronger a reaction back then.


    And he has to keep in mind his body is even worse at handling such abuses. He mustn¡¯t repeat his mistake twice before he even sees a dime for his work.


    So Cheng Zhaoci, after overworking excitedly for a whole night, quietly pulls his blanket back up to get some shut-eye. He¡¯ll do the actual storyboarding later.


    And as fate will have it, sleeping in during the day never ends with a good sleep. Cheng Zhaoci gets woken up by noise outside not too long after he fell back asleep.


    A bunch of young shemales are making a ruckus outside to mock Cheng Zhaoci for being useless. Typical teenage behaviour of insectoids who have nothing better to do on a landfill planet. Their parents couldn¡¯t care less about whatever they do outside, as long as they¡¯re home in time for meals.


    Probably the sons of nosy shemales who enjoy shit-talking and these little brats are angry at such a ¡®trash¡¯ ¡®shemale¡¯ still mooching off his shemale dad at his ¡®old age,¡¯ so they¡¯re here to ¡®exact justice.¡¯


    And their exacting justice sure has been quite amazing consistent. They¡¯ve been at it for two years.


    Cheng Zhaoci, being woken up so rudely, rubs his temple in discomfort. Little insectoids always scream in that most annoying of pitches, reminding Cheng Zhaoci of that neighbour upstairs whose apartment unit was always undergoing some kind of renovation.


    So the annoyed Cheng Zhaoci walks over to the window and opens it, cussing, ¡°what the hell are you on about now?!¡±


    Normally he¡¯d ignore them ¨C because, different to kids on Earth, these absolutely do not fear a beating. In fact, even if you could win and beat them up, the most likely outcome is for them to try to take revenge on you somehow.


    And by revenge, it means nothing as innocent as smashing your window with a rock. So generally, Cheng Zhaoci has ignored and left them ago. The anger of being woken up from sleep has fried his rational side, though; although the insectoids in this world are complete realists, so they have no idea what ¡®hell¡¯ is, but that wouldn¡¯t stop them from understanding that it¡¯s something to scold them with based on the tone.


    Not that they seem to be paying attention to that, though, because the dirty little insectoids who look like they just trawled through mud, are staring at him, jaws dropped.


    Noticing that, Cheng Zhaoci realises something ¨C oh gods, he hasn¡¯t had his dose of the ugly poison today. His normal, clean white face must be there.


    He immediately closes the window shut and takes a small, dirty mirror out from his bedside ¨C oh great, it did fail after all. The face looks like just his past life. Black hair, black eyes, tall nose. He looks pretty gloomy, like some typical necromancer a Western fantasy comic might have.


    At least he can be sure no one will believe the little brats¡¯ story; he¡¯s just 16, and hasn¡¯t matured yet, so there is no male pheromone on him. After concluding to his satisfaction that he¡¯s safe, he sighs in relief.


    Though the shock from realising he didn¡¯t get his daily poison in has him wide awake. He should just start drawing now.


    Meanwhile, outside, the little brats are all looking at each other.


    The biggest kid of the bunch look shellshocked, ¡°was I dreaming?¡±


    The kids all shake their heads, to prove what he saw wasn¡¯t his hallucination.


    A deafening silence later, a young demi says doubtfully, ¡°it was really pretty, like¡­ like¡­¡± like the males his dad told him about.


    He couldn¡¯t finish speaking, though, because the big kid in the beginning has his hand on his mouth. He warns them, ¡°do not tell anyone about this.¡±


    ¡°We cannot tell anyone; no one else knows he is a male here,¡± he explains, ¡°if all the shemales knew he was a male, what would we do?¡±


    The kids look confused and shocked, though, ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°If we don¡¯t say, he won¡¯t be busted. If he¡¯s not busted, no one else will court him. Then we will have our chance!¡± The little shemale, 10, at most, is saying with a dumb smile, ¡°I can be the cijun, and you can be the concubines.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t he friends with Xiao Ji and He Huaijian?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re old. Males don¡¯t like old shemales.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci, who doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s already had his future ¡®arranged¡¯ for him, is doing his storyboard right now.


    He wants to do a 4-koma for this, but not in the very beginning, as he needs an expository beginning. He¡¯ll have full-page comics for the first chapters instead.


    First, to decide how the scenes are arranged. This step is quick, because it¡¯s simply deciding the arrangement of the cells to draw and approximately what each scene contains. Cheng Zhaoci is drawing stickmen as placeholders.


    Well, ¡®quick,¡¯ but it still takes him a full day just to get twenty pages in. It mostly deals with a newly discovered virus, the subsequent pandemic on a certain insectoid planet, where insectoids that died became ¡®zombies.¡¯ So to stop the spread of the virus, the Insectoid Federation placed the entire planet on quarantine ¨C basically, abandoning the planet to its fate.


    The insectoids who were lucky to survive established bases to fight against zombies.


    An emphasis is placed on the horror of the zombies, and the survivors discovering unusual patterns in zombie movement, concluding that a ¡®leader¡¯ has emerged, dubbed the Zombie King. The strongest shemale in the base decided to venture out to look for the damned Zombie King. In the final four panels, the protagonist has his particle ray pistol aimed right at the pile of debris the Zombie King has buried himself into. His arms are sweating. Under the immense tension, a hand emerges.


    Then the Zombie King crawls back out, with only a silhouette depicted. The difference in what the protagonist thought the Zombie King looks like and how he actually looks like is conveyed through the shocked expression of the protagonist standing, facing him. Then the last panel is a big close-up of the dumb-dumb Zombie King.


    The pale Zombie King sits on the ground, with his lower face buried in the shadows cast on him by the sun through the ruins nearby. His red pupils look like the most valuable of jewels in the reflection of the light. The important point is that he¡¯s clean ¨C in a deep contrast to the messy rubble he emerged from.


    It takes Cheng Zhaoci four days to finish his first draft.


    The next two days, he meticulously draws a cover for the comic and put the title on it. The cover is drawn to even greater detail than the contents inside ¨C he has to draw them to illustration standards.


    When everything is ready, Cheng Zhaoci finally logs back onto his account with the very questionable user ID and posts it. Then he closes the website immediately.


    He did have experience posting comics, sure, and it¡¯s even his job, but this is a different world. He¡¯s entirely new to this. He wasn¡¯t nervous drawing, or even while posting, but as soon as it was up for the world to see, he becomes immensely anxious.


    Tomorrow, he thinks. He will check how the numbers are doing tomorrow after waking up.


    So thinking, he decides to go wait for his shemale dad who should be coming off work soon.


    What he doesn¡¯t know, is that, on the website for drawing on the insectoid network, his ¡®Zombie-Rearing Diaries¡¯ is being blasted into prominence at a frankly terrifying pace.

 CH 5

    Departure from Realism


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Standing out from the norm is not necessarily a good thing. Limited by the current trends and what the public would accept, the style of drawing should never be too far ahead. That was actually what set back American-style comics in the very beginning. The realistic depiction in comics gave it an unfortunate reputation in the beginning.


    Though that is not a problem in the insectoid society, because their own serial comics tend to use an exaggerated artform. It means Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cleaner approach to the scenes and use of fewer colours overall would be seen as refreshing instead. While the way he lays out the storyboard may take some getting used to, everything else should be acceptable.


    ¡°A new artist?¡± On the Capital planet, Meng Yuele, who just finished his training, is leaning back on his chair and stretching, before becoming a pile of boneless insectoid absorbed in his chair, only lifting his hand to check the latest releases in the drawing sharing site. He likes surfing the site and reading comics, which are a good source of stress relief and can also kill some time.


    Though he straightens his back as soon as he spots something on the new releases. He¡¯s interested in that ID he¡¯s never seen before on the new recommendations ranking.


    It¡¯s quite the striking user ID, too, something suggesting more towards a shemale rather than the gentler and more soft-spoken demis.


    The cover was what grabbed Meng Yuele¡¯s attention, featuring an insectoid standing behind a foggy piece of glass, having wiped some of the fog away with his hand, only showing half his face. His red eyes are visible but obscured by the watery fog.


    Only a vague silhouette can be seen through the glass, and it¡¯s oddly alluring. It¡¯s a style of art he¡¯s never seen before, unlike the two main styles of either exaggerating certain body parts or complete realism. The colouring scheme is also rather refreshing. If he has to describe it in one adjective, it¡¯s ¡®elegant.¡¯


    Meng Yuele didn¡¯t pay much attention to the title, and simply clicks into it for the unique art style. He¡¯s completely hooked a few panels in. Zombies? What? Oh. Cool!


    The zombies fighting insectoids is so cool! He¡¯s never seen battle scenes drawn in such impactful perspectives before. A car bursting in, crossing over two different panels, almost like it is going to smash right out into reality from the pages.


    Meng Yuele, a soldier insectoid, is certainly in love. Shemales are known as ¡®war machines¡¯ among other interstellar species for a reason. They are warmongering and expansionist. These types of fighting scenes can rile his fighting spirit right up.


    The insectoid base have finally isolated where the Zombie King is? They¡¯re sending the strongest shemale over? Meng Yuele is sitting upright now, all ready for the great showdown between the strongest shemale and the Zombie King.


    Although when the strongest shemale character comes out, Meng Yuele¡¯s face contorts just somewhat. Why¡­ does this ¡®strongest shemale¡¯ look so much like one of his fellow soldiers?


    But never mind. With eyes glued to his holodeck, he can see the strongest shemale discovering where the Zombie King is born. The Zombie King is here! First, the hand, then, that silhouette¡­


    He sure looks thin, almost un-shemale-like. Maybe the Zombie King is from a dried corpse? Though the excited Meng Yuele¡¯s passion gets doused right on the final panel.


    The pretty, almost mouthwatering male right there sends him into shock, then he goes ¡®holy shit¡¯ as he closes the comic, puts his hand to his chest, with his face growing red already, ¡°what was that?! What in the?!¡± A male! A male, right? Why would a male have those clean eyes! Holy! What?!


    With shaky hands, he opens the comic once more, to look closely at the young, little male insectoid.


    This won¡¯t do! This cannot be! This male has torn and ragged clothes! It¡¯s outrageous! The barbaric comic artist, how could he ever make males appear like that!


    Then he looks at the artist ¨C Zhousuo, K-865? Isn¡¯t that one of those landfill planets? Oh, understandable, then. The author has likely never seen a male, and is just fantasising.


    While despising the artist in his mind, he clicks on the ¡®bookmark¡¯ button.


    A ¡®ding¡¯ rings up almost as soon as he has finished doing so, spooking him the way someone patting his shoulder when he¡¯s doing something naughty would be. He¡¯s only able to finally sigh once he realises it¡¯s an insectoid sending him a message.


    Hm, but why should he be feeling guilty, anyway? He didn¡¯t draw this.


    He checks the message on the holodeck, noting that it¡¯s actually the shemale he thought was the strongest shemale-lookalike sending him the message.


    [WeiZhuo: Tomorrow, we will be going to planet Zhousuo at system K-865. Jin Yue has been confirmed to be there]


    Zhousuo? Is this for real? The coincidence makes Meng Yuele surprised, but then, recalling how expressionless his boring friend usually looked, shares him the comic immediately.


    If he knows there is no way Wei Zhuo would know someone from a landfill planet, he¡¯d have thought the comic artist was basing that ¡®strongest shemale¡¯ off of him.


    Wei Zhuo, who issued an order and received a link to a comic in the reply, is staring at his holodeck with his brows furrowed deep like canyons. He stands at 1.87m tall, which is average among shemales. His appearance would be above average among the shemales, but besides being intimidating, there is also a scar going right down his right eye. He¡¯s also heterochromic; amber in his left eye and black in his right, which is actually blinded. That and the scar makes him ineligible in the eyes of practically all male insectoids.


    Not helping at all is his ¡®prideful¡¯ demeanour. With how narcissistic males generally are, still putting up a cool and indifferent air around them is definitely to arouse their ire. If it were some romantic play, then maybe some males would still be interested, but Wei Zhuo is tough as nails from the appearance to the core. Such a shemale who bows to no male insectoid is unwanted entirely.


    And also, because Wei Zhuo is generally keen to avoid males as much as possible ¨C because that scar on his right eye isn¡¯t from some intense war, but it was a slash from his very own father, the male insectoid, as the punishment for severing himself of his family ties.


    So Wei Zhuo is one of the few capable rising stars in the military who isn¡¯t too bad in appearance but still single.


    Not that Wei Zhuo minds, because his own life plans is to stay single his whole life, or to die an honourable death on the battlefield.


    [MengYueLe: did you see it yet? did you? isn¡¯t it like you?]


    Like? Like what? Knitting his brows, he suspects the jumpy guy is talking about the comic he¡¯s sent him before. Looking at the work piled up around him¡­ He can check that out after it¡¯s done.


    So it¡¯s already past sundown when Wei Zhuo¡¯s reply comes to Meng Yuele, which consisted of a single [Good artstyle, unrealistic premises. Instead of wasting your time reading these, go prepare for the operation tomorrow. 0600 hours, sharp]


    ¡°Fuck! Wei Zhuo, you¡¯re heartless!¡± Yells Meng Yuele in his mind. Is ¡®unrealistic premise¡¯ the only comment he has on that cute, cute little male?!


    The very first thing Cheng Zhaoci does after waking up is checking the comments on his holodeck ¨C and is fully shocked awake by the amount of bookmarks and comments. He thinks he probably struck gold with what insectoids are interested in reading about.


    He skims through all the comments. The population of a multi-solar system nation really shines through here. Just a single night and there are enough comments to make Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hand sore flipping through it. He does pick a few prominent comments and replies, though.


    Comics take more work than novels, and so is their revenue stream, like right now. Another chapter and enough total fans, he could even meet the requirements for a contract already.


    Contracted comic artists would have a base salary ¨C either by panel for a style like webtoon, and by page for more traditional style comics. They¡¯re about the same in value. After that base salary, additional revenue would depend on the style of the contract.


    For example, right now, among his many private messages include some editors who¡¯ve sent him invitation to contracts ¨C of B grade.


    Cheng Zhaoci has looked up information beforehand, and this site features contracts going from C, B, A, S to SS in grade. Most newbies get C grade contracts, so being offered a B grade contract right off the bat is definitely an affirmation of his trade, of course. But Cheng Zhaoci thinks if he negotiates a contract after a few more chapters, he might even be able to land an A grade contract.


    Never mind S or SS, though, since he¡¯s a simple newcomer to the scene under the guise of an anonymous alt. The uncertainty and unreliability are too great.


    ¡°Ci-zai!¡± Xiao Ji¡¯s voice is as loud as always, as he rushes in, all hurried, like, ¡°eh, and what¡¯s up with those brats these days? Where did they even manage to find these fruits they put at your door?¡±


    He sits right on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s bed with an apple in hand, and takes a bite ¨C then his face crumples up, ¡°it¡¯s sour!¡±


    ¡°Are you not going to work today?¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his holodeck away.


    ¡°There¡¯s been a murder. A shemale worker died in the store today,¡± Xiao Ji says without even the slightest change in tone, since death and murder really is the norm on such landfill planets; although he¡¯d also rather not talk about that with Cheng Zhaoci, and changes the topic, ¡°so what¡¯s up with the brats? Whenever He Huaijian and I saw them hanging around, they¡¯d look at us with heads and chests high. What gives?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they think you guys are old and they¡¯re young,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gives a random reason, which actually hits right on what the kids are thinking; however, he is still quite concerned with what Xiao Ji told him, ¡°so what happened to that murdered worker?¡±


    ¡°Killed, with the head snapped right off the neck. Probably by someone with a grudge against him.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You should stay home for a few days,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is worried the murderer doesn¡¯t have a grudge, but is simply insane. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time either, since one can imagine how great the general mental health would be on such a chaotic and unruly planet.


    Xiao Ji nods, ¡°so by the way, Ci-zai, is that comic of yours done? Can I see?¡±


    ¡°Go search my ID online.¡±


    ¡°And that being?¡±


    ¡°BombInMyPants, all the first letters capitalised, no spaces.¡±


    ¡°Pwahht?!¡± Xiao Ji exclaims, spitting the apple in his mouth almost right onto Cheng Zhaoci, who fortunately dodged jsut in time.


    Xiao Ji, pointing his hand at Cheng Zhaoci, is going to express his shock when suddenly, the little shemale brats hanging around outside bursts in, ¡°Xiao Ji! You shameless shemale! Did you try to lay your hands on Cheng Zhaoci?!¡±


    ¡°Hah?!¡± Xiao Ji is shocked, looking at his good bro¡¯s face once more. Yup, still looks as terrifying as ever. Lay his hands on him? Are they serious?

 CH 6

    Ugly Thing


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Xiao Ji is honestly quite amused by the fuming little shemale. God knows what he¡¯s thinking, but they¡¯ve all been a rightful pile of grey in the past, and you can just barely make out their insectoid forms. Now, instead, they all look clean and tried to dress neat and proper. They¡¯ve also combed their sparse strands of hair to their back.


    No one is dumb enough to buy hair gel on a landfill planet, which is something even less useful than cupcakes. Nor does he think the brats¡¯ dads would¡¯ve given them any. So Xiao Ji suspects they actually used oil ¨C by secretly pinching some from their kitchen.


    It makes him all the more curious about what they¡¯re on about. They were all quite self-righteous about Cheng Zhaoci, weren¡¯t they? Suddenly, they all u-turned overnight.


    Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, has a scary face on, ¡°get out!¡±


    He knows the brats have probably figured out his identity, but he doesn¡¯t want it exposed in front of Xiao Ji ¨C not that he¡¯s untrustworthy, but just so it¡¯s less trouble for all involved.


    Besides, the little brat did break and enter into his home, and even his room. While Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t that concerned about his privacy, and normally, he¡¯s more lenient towards kids, but that would be talking about kids in his past world ¨C and not this ¡®kid¡¯ who, besides being a bit shorter than he is, can easily overpower and pummel him into the dirt.


    It¡¯s far too dangerous a prospect and Cheng Zhaoci must refuse.


    The little brat is widening his eyes in disbelief, before running away, sobbing, saddened. The silhouette¡­ um, you know, like powerlessness when a girlfriend realises her boyfriend is cheating on her.


    Pitiful enough to send shivers down Xiao Ji¡¯s spine, ¡°eek! What¡¯s with the brat?! I get goosebumps just watching that,¡± he says, rubbing his arms.


    After seeing the little insectoids have left them alone, Xiao Ji turns on his holodeck to type Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s IP in.


    This world has an Internet quite different from that of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past world. On holodecks, there are no applications like the mobile phones. Instead, all the functions can be found and done online, from GPS navigation to watching funny videos. It¡¯s all on the Internet, and all an insectoid has to do is to either find the site they want to browse, using either their voice or typing.


    It¡¯s that simple and barebones because the insectoids have a serious lack of entertainment media. Cheng Zhaoci once watched dramas the insectoid culture has produced, and can say that their characters are bland and monotonous, with clear good and evil sides. Even though they have a bandwidth that has made the concept of ¡®loading¡¯ obsolete, they do not even have short-form video digests.


    Besides dramas are only shows featuring edited cuts of war footage. Then there are also the videos with compilations of males, edited in a far inferior manner to the excellent mix of handsome guys and pretty girls Cheng Zhaoci is used to in his past life. They can more accurately be described as ¡®the daily vlogs of males,¡¯ not that it seems to turn any of those shemales off, still screaming their lungs out about how they definitely can in the comments.


    Cheng Zhaoci is mystified. How do the shemales actually manage to hold both ¡®manly¡¯ and ¡®motherly¡¯ qualities on them perfectly? Like his own shemale dad, for example. Cold, aloof, uncaring to anyone outside his circle, with an aura that¡¯s like he can rip metal sheets apart, but to anyone in his care, he¡¯s the perfect exemplar of the word ¡®doting.¡¯


    Though his own good childhood friends don¡¯t seem to suffer the same dissociative identity¡­ Uh, or not. Xiao Ji is also a patient of that.


    While the males¡­ Apparently, some males grow bored enough to enter the celebrity circle ¨C then, amazing. They go unhappy if the sun is too hot, if it¡¯s drizzling, or if the air isn¡¯t ¡®up to standard,¡¯ and require body doubles to act their parts.


    These behaviour would result in an Internet call-to-action and have the celebrity vilified, but here, the insectoids seem happy with the arrangement. It¡¯s like they can¡¯t demand more now that the males are already sacrificing themselves letting themselves be seen.


    Cheng Zhaoci really wants to sigh. They¡¯re both males, but they can they be so different from him? Cheng Zhaoci really can¡¯t settle down and not do a single thing like other males. Though it might really be a he-problem, since he makes a living drawing what companies want, while drawing what he likes as ¡®downtime.¡¯


    Not drawing? Nope. Oppressed though he was by the work culture, he does find drawing happy.


    He turns his holodeck and drawing tablet on to start work on the second chapter, leaving Xiao Ji to his own devices, since he¡¯s quite positively absorbed in his holodeck adventures right now.


    Although what follows next is a heaven-rending scream that almost threatened to shatter Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s ears right where they were.


    Cheng Zhaoci looks at the source of the noise¡ª¡ªXiao Ji, with his hand on his mouth, his face beet red, and his heart thumping. He¡¯s probably on the last panel of his comic, the panel with the closeup of the Zombie King.


    The reaction suggests he must have been quite successful in depicting the Zombie King.


    ¡®Successful¡¯ is too light a praise, it appears. It seems to have had a devastating effect on Xiao Ji¡¯s language ability, completely hitting his strike zone, ¡°thi-thi-this, you-you, you don¡¯t feel shy when you draw?!¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says. He looks quite indifferent, but he¡¯s definitely happy, happy that his friend likes what he poured effort into. Though he thinks it¡¯s crass to show, unbefitting of an experienced comic artist with published work.


    After Xiao Ji has come back to, he begins his barrage of questions. How did he get the idea? Why is the little Zombie King a male? Will he be killed by the strongest shemale? He can¡¯t possibly imagine, etc. etc.


    Cheng Zhaoci answers some of them, telling him that ¡®zombies¡¯ isn¡¯t his original concept, but he doesn¡¯t know who came up with it either. Xiao Ji seems more and more excited talking about this.


    ¡°Can I see the drafts when you¡¯re finished with them?¡± Xiao Ji asks as a final question.


    ¡°Well, not that you can¡¯t,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is quite familiar with the look Xiao Ji is having. He had a classmate in his past life that visited quite often after finding out he¡¯s the artist of a comic that ¨C he was a big fan of. He wanted to know the plot before anyone else. Ha, fans.


    Xiao Ji is even poking his head forward to watch Cheng Zhaoci draw, but before he can see anything, the kids are making a ruckus outside again.


    ¡°Are they serious?¡± Xiao Ji appears furious. He¡¯s probably thinking about giving them a good lashing until they promise to stop messing around.


    But this time, they aren¡¯t here to cause trouble to Cheng Zhaoci ¨C they say, that the little shemale brat that came to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s room hasn¡¯t returned yet, and they¡¯ve become nervous waiting, and so wanted to come see if he¡¯s still in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s house.


    The youngest of the bunch is so scared he¡¯s tearing up already, ¡°he, he said he¡¯ll be back right after, putting something at the door. We waited and waited, but he still isn¡¯t back.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci furrows his brows. He and Xiao Ji share a look at each other, before he asks the kids if it¡¯s possible he might just have wandered off elsewhere to play.


    They all shake their heads, although they also seem slightly hesitant. They can¡¯t say for sure that¡¯s not what happened either.


    Recalling how the little shemale ran outside, Cheng Zhaoci sighs and says, ¡°let¡¯s go search for him, then,¡± normally, Cheng Zhaoci wouldn¡¯t have done a thing, but he remembers that a shemale just died a grisly death where Xiao Ji worked. It makes him concerned.


    It probably wouldn¡¯t take too much time either.


    In an abandoned, old little shed about a kilometre away from Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s home, a shemale with golden hair and golden irises is watching the light leak through the roof, smirking. Then he lights a cigarette and starts smoking, ¡°say, how long do you think you can live for?¡±


    Behind him are a bunch of tied up shemales, many of them old, frail, sick or crippled. The shemale with golden hair only takes one glance before looking away. They sure look dirty, what an eyesore.


    Though there¡¯s one single outlier among them. He¡¯s clean, with his few hair washed and then oiled until they reflected light. He¡¯s little but trying to dress big, what a joke.


    As a shemale about to break through to grade S, he can easily smell the vegetable oil on that brat¡¯s head. It¡¯s actually kind of disgusting. He suspects the kid to have a screw loose in his head, but that wouldn¡¯t matter to his plan.


    He only made a few puffs before throwing the cigarette down. With two-thirds still left, it gets stomped on, hard by a leather shoe, and ground. It¡¯s to project a fearsome aura.


    And it works, with many of the tied up, weak insectoids shaking by reflex.


    ¡°If you could work well and make the military guys wary enough to let me go, you might get to live if I¡¯m glad, though I¡¯m normally unhappy. But what if, right?¡± The shemale then runs his finger through his hair, which is straight and really long, extending to his waste. He actually looks quite handsome, too, but his general demeanour just screams ¡®pervert.¡¯


    The shemales appear to be trembling even greater, when the shemale continues, ¡°and if it doesn¡¯t, then the heartless military will probably kill all of you along with me. If death awaits you either way, I suggest cooperating for the best chance of survival.¡±


    ¡°Oh, and by the way, don¡¯t even think about running away. A sooner death awaits,¡± says the shemale, now laughing, rather hysterically.


    What in the?! Cheng Zhaoci, who split up with everyone to find the little brat, is shocked watching this play out. Holy, he¡¯s never seen anything like this before in his two lifetimes. He can also see the little insectoid in there.


    He quietly retreats. He has to get to Xiao Ji or He Huaijian, or at least, get to his dad to talk about it.


    He knows exactly how good at fighting he is. If he rushed in to rescue, the next second he can get his head blown to smithereens by a well-placed fist.


    Cheng Zhaoci would still prefer his head above his neck.


    But when he¡¯s sneaking away, the shemale suddenly says, ¡°the little insectoid listening outside, have you heard enough?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci feels a chill rushing through him. He¡¯s about to run, but the shemale is clearly even quicker, appearing in front of Cheng Zhaoci in the blink of an eye.


    Cheng Zhaoci is shocked, but so is the shemale with the golden hair.


    Anyone who comes face-to-face with a face with marks dense enough to trigger trypophobics would be quite stunned for the first time. This works even on someone powerful like that shemale, who¡¯s so disgusted he just yells out, ¡°holy fuck! What the hell is this?!¡±


    It is even enough to cause him to trip and fall flat onto the ground. Cheng Zhaoci seizes the opportunity to run, but two steps later, he stops moving.


    The ashamed shemale has his hand wrapped around Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s neck, with a wrathful smile, ¡°that¡¯s a pretty unique look you¡¯re sporting, huh¡ª¡ªyou ugly thing.¡±

 CH 7

    Pretend Shemale


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci was recaptured without further incident. He couldn¡¯t win in a fight or even run faster than his assailant anyway.


    Fortunately, despite disgusting the shemale with golden hair to no end, he didn¡¯t kill him either ¨C not for some silliness like ¡®compassion,¡¯ but noting the comparatively well-dressed status of Cheng Zhaoci, and his appalling physical abilities that must imply he is being cared for by other shemales, with financial leeway considering the clothes.


    The financial leeway must have come from hard manual labour as well, considering the job market of a landfill planet not needing any brain over brawn. So that shemale must be quite fit. He must also value this distinctly ugly thing named ¡®Cheng Zhaoci,¡¯ too.


    Not that the shemale assailant fears that shemale behind Cheng Zhaoci, but because he is on the run from the military, it is best not to solicit too large a response.


    He can¡¯t really help but be surprised at how many odd things happen when you go far enough out. If he met a shemale like this little ugly thing, the very first thought would be to stick a bullet through his face ¨C which might actually prove to improve his looks ¨¤ la cosmetic surgery. There is no way he would take care of one, not even if he was his own son.


    He thinks while taking the holodeck off Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s arm. He chuckles while asking, ¡°so how old are you now, little thing?¡± The tone is cordial, enough to convince someone he might be a gentlemanly shemale if discounting the person he is asking, Cheng Zhaoci, currently being tied up into what resembles a squirming worm.


    Cheng Zhaoci watches the shemale take some odd device out of his pocket, resembling a ring, puts it on his right index finger and push it on his holodeck, which then turns on and unlocks, somehow.


    A technically savvy kidnapper, too. Cheng Zhaoci gulps, and answers, ¡°and what, you¡¯d let me go if I were a minor?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± the shemale answers as he flips through the holodeck to check if it is bugged for tracking, ¡°protecting minors is the duty of law-abiding citizens. Do I look like a law-abiding citizen to you after tying you up?¡±


    ¡°Then is there even a point in me telling you my age, anyway?¡± Cheng Zhaoci squirms himself up and leans back on the dirty wall. He glances over at the comically dressed young shemale nearby, and sighs.


    He¡¯s shaking from fear. Well, Cheng Zhaoci is scared equally. He¡¯s just an artist, and obviously he¡¯s never been through something like this. Well, given he¡¯s had two lives so far with a combined age over forty, he knows not to show his fear in front of children.


    He tries quietly whispering to calm him down, ¡°it¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    The shemale with golden hair has absurdly sharp ears, apparently, and amused, taunts him, ¡°well, well, trying to play camaraderie with him? Hm? Oh, what¡¯s this?¡±


    He clicks into Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s alt ID, finding the name BombInMyPants rather amusing, while casting a rather mocking gaze over at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lower half.


    Cheng Zhaoci shrinks a little, embarrassed. He first came up with the ID during his chuuni stage his past life, and never changed it for convenience. He didn¡¯t think too much about registering it here in this other world. Being bad at names, he can¡¯t be blamed for wanting to stick to what he knows, right? And who could have guessed his holodeck would be browsed like that?


    Although it is, and he is embarrassed, the way an author might be if someone was reading their R18+ novel right in front of them out loud. He¡¯d rather bury his head in a hole.


    He¡¯s also pissed at the mocking, derisive smile. What? What?! He¡¯s got a weak body, sure, but as a male, he is exceptionally well-endowed! Even more so than his past life!


    Not that he can say that out loud. All he can do is retort in his mind.


    The shemale has clicked into the comic now. He seems surprised as he browses from page to page. Cheng Zhaoci clearly sees him spooked, almost shuddering reflexively at the last page.


    A while later, he shuts down the holodeck and throws it aside, ¡°ha, you¡¯re good at drawing, I¡¯ll give you that, but that male you drew? Who told you they¡¯re like that? You¡¯ve probably never seen one on a landfill planet, have you?¡±


    The shemale doesn¡¯t appear none too pleased. Who knows what he¡¯s reminiscing about.


    Welp, he probably won¡¯t believe him, but a male on a landfill planet is right in front of you, Cheng Zhaoci says, in his mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what they are. A little weakling like you, if you end up with a male¡­¡± The shemale walks over, pats Cheng Zhaoci on the face, and continues, ¡°you won¡¯t make it past a single day, do you get it?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re scum, protected by law, and by shemales. They¡¯re even more disgusting than I am, but the biggest difference between me and them, is that they¡¯re ¡®rare,¡¯ but I can be found anywhere. They¡¯re given prerogatives, and I have not,¡± his syllables are growing more distinct by the word, ¡°they can kill whoever they want, but a shemale that wounds them by accident would be chased, prosecuted, and lose their lives.¡±


    The shemale with golden hair has such a wretched expression that Cheng Zhaoci shrinks again. Great, he¡¯s male-phobic¡­ Looks like his final trump card¡ª¡ªTo save his own life by revealing his male status, might just land him in hell even faster.


    He is lamenting inside. The chances that this day is his last seem pretty high at this point.


    Watching Cheng Zhaoci go from shock to ¡®revelation,¡¯ like he¡¯s accepted his coming death, has amused the shemale once more. He would praise the wealth of facial expressions on display, with the distinctly ugly style of the insectoid markings twisting and turning almost like some second-rate art piece, if he was in more comfortable circumstances. The little ugly thing must have been scarred by the males he just described.


    So the shemale takes the holodeck he just threw away and puts it back on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s wrist, ¡°say, you¡¯re pretty interesting, aren¡¯t you? I don¡¯t kill interesting insectoids. If you manage to survive the military¡¯s firepower, you¡¯re free to go. Well, just don¡¯t try to run away before that¡­¡±


    Then he widens his eyes for a moment. He looks up and down Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s weak, thin frame once more, and realises, from the topic they were just discussing¡­


    Oh goodie! He¡¯s thin enough, that if he removes the eyesore that is his insectoid markings, it¡¯s possible for him to pass as a male! He¡¯s definitely a minor, too, so no one will be the wiser as he hasn¡¯t pheromones yet. The ugly thing could perfectly play off being a male!


    A male hostage? Far more valuable than shemales. No military guys would risk their head attempting anything.


    Finding his plan absolutely workable, he pats Cheng Zhaoci on the shoulder, and tells him with this sinister tone, ¡°remember, you are now a male I¡¯ve captured.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci widens his eyes, wondering first, shit, has he been busted? But then, seeing a syringe the shemale produced from god-knows-where, he realises, he misunderstood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this thing will just remove the insectoid markings from your face temporarily.¡±


    He actually kept these for himself, because shemales had unique patterns of markings that could be identified by machines if they¡¯re exposed, which means they can also be exploited to confuse matters.


    ¡°No! You can¡¯t!¡± The little shaky shemale insectoid nearby suddenly says, but then shrinks his neck back down after the shemale kidnapper glares at him. The little shemale knows Cheng Zhaoci is a male, and probably made those marks on his face by some means. Whatever is in the syringe can conceal insectoid markings, but Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s markings aren¡¯t natural, either!


    Not that the kidnapper cares. He grabs Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s wrist, and injects him.


    Cheng Zhaoci is also worried, but then he realises he doesn¡¯t feel anything different where he has markings. The toxins for faking insectoid markings hurt a little on his face after injection every day, so he can¡¯t even know if the shemale¡¯s injection worked.


    Though seeing the little shemale nearby widen his eyes and blushing, he understands it worked perfectly.


    Maybe what the kidnapper used is high quality?


    Never mind the little shemale brat, but even all the other shemale are looking at Cheng Zhaoci now.


    Cheng Zhaoci did look handsome, you see, especially when contrasted with the mess of markings he had on his face earlier.


    ¡°Was your skin always this white?¡± After coming back to his senses from the slightly gloomy and handsome face, the kidnapper asks. He only saw the face for its markings before.


    He¡¯s still staring at Cheng Zhaoci, with his expression going more and more serious, ¡°seriously, don¡¯t you look a bit too much like a male?¡±


    ¡°Really? How do I actually look?¡± At immense stress past a certain point, Cheng Zhaoci would enter an oddly rational state with his brain churning way quicker than usual. He looks confused, just as everyone else is.


    Seeing that he doesn¡¯t seem to know how he looks right now, the kidnapper¡¯s suspicions seem to have faded.


    It¡¯s already exceedingly unlikely to get onto a random landfill planet and then land a male that has pretended to be a shemale. He can¡¯t imagine males would pretend to be a shemale just to live on a landfill planet either. No way.


    The males, the highfalutin, pretentious males will also never come up with a user ID as vulgar as ¡®BombInMyPants.¡¯


    The personality doesn¡¯t match, either. The little ugly thing is an interesting insectoid, and draws interesting comics. Shame that he seems to grossly misunderstand males.


    After analysing everything he¡¯s seen, he¡¯s certain the ugly thing is a shemale. If he really was a male, he¡¯d be at a loss for what to do, too. So he pats Cheng Zhaoci on the shoulder, relieved, ¡°don¡¯t be. You¡¯re still really ugly, maybe the runt of the litter among males, I¡¯d say.¡±


    Then he adds credibility by pointing to the rows of tied up shemales, ¡°you see? They¡¯re all shocked by how you look. They¡¯ve probably never seen anything as ugly in their lives.¡±


    If he hasn¡¯t seen his own appearance, the manner this blond guy is putting it could seriously convince Cheng Zhaoci with how confident he is.

 CH 8

    Life Mimics Fiction


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Jin Yue has always been good at evading capture. I suspect he already knows we¡¯re here,¡± Meng Yuele says, looking at the portrait photograph of Jin Yue he has on his holodeck.


    Long, golden hair, in a suit of military garments, presumably designed by himself, and tragically unfashionable. Buttons left unbuttoned. Making an arrogant smile at the camera, and just needing a middle finger to complete the whole look.


    The way the unruly, unscrupulous guy looks in the photograph is getting on Meng Yuele¡¯s nerves, ¡°can they not use another photo? It always looks like he¡¯s despising me.¡±


    Wei Zhuo, standing beside Meng Yuele, ignores him, as he analyses their surroundings.


    Crowded streets, lack of sanitation robots who would clean the streets regularly like on the Capital planet, and none of the shemales seem to be conscious of how important it is to keep their surroundings clean. The air smells of rotten food.


    Most shemales look ashen grey. What ¡®hotels¡¯ operate here probably don¡¯t need identification provided either as long as payments are kept, since most people here are either criminals at large or exiled, so none of them will give up their identity voluntarily, just in case the Federation or their enemies come knocking.


    A paradise for crime. It¡¯ll be a pain to capture their target.


    They¡¯ve managed to chase him into Zhousuo, but it¡¯s one whole planet. God knows where Jin Yue could have ended up. They found his landing site, but Jin Yue isn¡¯t dumb enough to think he¡¯s safe still around where he landed.


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t have time for some thorough sweeping operation, ¡°contact the Zhousuo local broadcasting corporation and get me those tied up crewmen of Jin Yue. Tell him he has two days to turn himself in, or we¡¯ll kill one every day after.¡±


    Pirates arrested are stripped of all rights in the insectoid society. Their biggest utility, apparently, is to be used in situations like this. Well, they are completely psychotic outlaws, for that matter.


    So most of the time, the simplest and most brutal methods will suffice instead of wasting time. That¡¯s how they meet their end; and vice versa, if any of them end up in the hands of the interstellar pirate fleets.


    Wei Zhuo knows Jin Yue, and while he does everything from destruction of property to daylight robbery, and he¡¯s temperamental to the point of insanity, he still has principles; if he has taken a crewman in, then it¡¯s his responsibility and he¡¯ll do whatever it takes to protect them.


    The insectoids working at the TV station work quickly, probably because they don¡¯t want any trouble either. Half an hour after Wei Zhuo made that order, Jin Yue¡¯s holodeck is playing a video where his crewmen are tied up together, kneeling, without even a cursory bar over their eyes, probably ordered by Wei Zhuo to make him watch his crewmen suffer.


    ¡°Bastards!¡± Jin Yue ruffles his hair, upset, ¡°Wei Zhuo has become more and more brutal.¡±


    His rage is making the hostages fearful. Jin Yue, with a scary face, looks over at the one standing out the most, ¡°little ugly thing, here.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci, basically a tied dumpling right now, can only hop over clumsily.


    Jin Yue pulls him over, and then pulls out a dated dagger from his leather boots, and puts it right at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s neck.


    The oddly-dressed little shemale nearby yelps, but keeps his mouth shut tight when Jin Yue looks at him threateningly.


    Cheng Zhaoci is all stiff and pale; Jin Yue is happy with his expression, and quickly snaps a photograph, sending it to Wei Zhuo directly.


    His position will be immediately compromised, Jin Yue knows that.


    But he has a ¡®male hostage¡¯ up his sleeve. The shemales in the top brass won¡¯t dare to do a thing. If this resulted in the ¡®male¡¯ injured, never mind just getting a dishonourable discharge, they might even lose their lives


    When the two of them ¨C with Meng Yuele standing next to Wei Zhuo ¨C see the photograph, Meng Yuele yells out, ¡°fuck me! Has Jin Yue finally lost it?! How dare he actually kidnap a male?!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s done enough things that would have him executed a hundred times over. He might as well do another,¡± since there isn¡¯t a more severe punishment than capital punishment in the universe.


    At the same time, Wei Zhuo observes the male carefully, and asks, ¡°is he really a male in the Federation?¡±


    There are enough insectoids around that, while males are extremely outnumbered, there are still quite a few, but this one that Jin Yue has kidnapped is far too good-looking not to have a whole platoon of shemales fawning over him.


    It¡¯s illegal to have private photographs of males without consent, but in the military, the bunch of virile shemale soldiers have done everything they can to sneak in posters, photographs, even shaky cam videos. Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t even know how many he¡¯s confiscated; and he¡¯s seen enough to know this male is part of the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me in terms of looks, for sure, but he has also never seen this male before.


    This is abnormal.


    But Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t suspecting that Jin Yue has captured a demi and trying to pass him off as male, either, because shemales are quite different from males. Maybe Wei Zhuo would be hesitant if he saw Cheng Zhaoci with all the insectoid marks over his face, but being able to see the face clearly, Wei Zhuo is certain.


    There are subtle biological differences between males and shemales. Shemales have a more prominent bone structure, especially in the forehead and brows. Their jaws are also more flat, even the demis that can¡¯t fight if their lives depended on it.


    And no matter how emaciated or malnutritious a shemale or demi gets, their genetics dictate that they can never become as thin and small in frame, while also looking a little distant and unfriendly like this male in the photograph.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t expect the male-phobic Jin Yue to know those differences. In fact, few insectoids are able to reliably identify males from demis or shemales this way, but Wei Zhuo is a rare grade S shemale who has prospects of even becoming the Marshal in time.


    Oh, right, but if anything happened to this male, never mind promoting, he¡¯ll have trouble just staying alive.


    Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t blaming the male one bit, though. In fact, such a looker of a male insectoid but entirely unknown might imply he¡¯s actually living on this landfill planet while concealing his identity for reasons unknown. But as targets of protection of top priority, such a male insectoid ending up on a landfill planet is definitely a severe dereliction of duty on the part of MIPA ¨C the Male Insectoid Protection Association.


    Living on a landfill planet, though? Wei Zhuo recalls the scenes he just saw walking around the landfill planet, and knits his brows. He can¡¯t imagine a male living in such an environment. In fact, he suspects the male insectoid might even be a minor.


    Anything that ends up involving a male insectoid must be taken to the higher-ups now. They cannot make any drastic moves anymore.


    Jin Yue has his reply from Wei Zhuo, basically saying ¡®don¡¯t do anything rash. If Jin Yue ensures the male¡¯s safety, then Wei Zhuo will also guarantee his crewmen¡¯s safety.¡¯


    He is happy enough with the result that he ruffles Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hair like mad, before taking a step outside to check what the military¡¯s response would be.


    He¡¯s worried that, since his position is exposed, Wei Zhuo might be trying to keep him placated but is actually setting up a perimetre around him. He knows the little ugly thing isn¡¯t a real male, and there¡¯s a possibility that bastard Wei Zhuo could have seen through it. It¡¯s crucial to verify that Wei Zhuo really is deceived before he can start negotiating.


    A ¡®male¡¯ for his whole crew, plus a new craft to escape, would be a bargain.


    As for whether the pissed military top brass will do anything to the little ugly thing¡­ Well, if he could, he would take the little ugly thing away with him, but it¡¯ll depend on the risks involved.


    When Jin Yue has left the dilapidated house for real, the little oily shemale has actually managed to untie himself ¨C Jin Yue was probably too hasty in escaping to have any proper rope to tie them with. If he¡¯s using the normal ropes scattered around a landfill planet, with how often these little buggers get tied up for their antics, freeing themselves is probably already an innate response.


    After he¡¯s untied himself, he ignores all the shemales around and quickly comes to untie Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s rope for him.


    Cheng Zhaoci is worried that his kidnapper has left something behind to stop them from escaping, but the little insectoid that has since bolted for the door¡­ Oh, he¡¯s fine. He actually just escaped without problems.


    Did that guy named Jin Yue really not worry that these hostages on the landfill planet would escape?


    Hmm, maybe not. He must have seen and known males to have a phobia of them. It means he was probably pretty well off in the past ¨C in stark contrast to people who live their lives on the landfill planets, who are basically the very bottom of the bottom rung of society. He might not have been on a landfill planet his entire life before piracy, even.


    He can also see a few other shemales escaping their bounds after the little shemale has helped him untie.


    ¡°We have to split up,¡± one of them quietly says.


    Spreading out is, of course, far better than escaping together and getting recaptured together. Though even if they spread out, it¡¯s probably more likely the kidnapper would go after Cheng Zhaoci.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci minds, because he knows he can¡¯t even keep up with the others with his trash physical capabilities. He quickly rubs dirt over his face from the ground; it¡¯s far less effective than fake and trypophobia-triggering insectoid markings, but he hasn¡¯t the toxins nearby. It¡¯ll have to do instead of running around with a clean white face.


    He¡¯s taken off opposite of his home ¨C worried that his dad might be coming home. If the shemale kidnapper faces off against his dad, he¡¯s not sure if his dad can prevail.


    He is running so quickly like never before, but the physical limitations of the male body really are too cumbersome. He¡¯s in even worse shape than his past life, and is gasping after a short distance already. He must not stop, though. He doesn¡¯t know if the kidnapper has already returned to that little shed. That guy could probably reach him in no time. He has to, he has to think of¡­


    ¡°Oh fuck!¡± He yells, eyes widened, having twisted his ankles, and falls right into the pile of rubble nearby.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Not far away from where Jin Yue has his hostages, Wei Zhuo, who is getting into position to spy on the shed, is spooked.


    He is a much better soldier than Jin Yue, so he is confident Jin Yue won¡¯t see him, and he was sure no one was around. The moment he settles down, though, he hears a crash not far away.


    With his particle ray pistol pointed at the source of the sound, he declares, with a cold and steady tone, ¡°come out, or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± His muscles tense up; he will count to five, and shoot if nothing happens.


    Before he can even say ¡®one,¡¯ the insectoid is yelling, ¡°no! W-, wait! I¡¯m innocent!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci has his hands in the air immediately; his whole body aches, and he thinks there are parts of himself he can¡¯t really feel properly right now, but the will to survive has him drag his body out with all he has, ¡°don¡¯t shoot!¡±


    Then Cheng Zhaoci is shocked. That shemale opposite him is dressed in a fitting navy blue military suit. His heterochromic eyes are fixed dead on him. The pure black, right eye even has a scar on it¡­ He almost looks like, yes, his protagonist in the comic! The strongest shemale of the insectoids! It¡¯s almost like life imitating fiction.


    Wei Zhuo has also frozen up, watching the male in front of him with a blank expression.


    A lot is going through his mind right now, but after clearing out everything irrelevant, there is just one simple sentence left¡ª¡ª¡¯So it turns out it really is possible to find a male insectoid emerging from a pile of rubble.¡¯

 CH 9

    A Poor Life


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Pointing any firearm at males is illegal. Wei Zhuo immediately puts his pistol away, ¡°apologies.¡±


    Oh bugger. He¡¯s in big trouble. He can see this dirty male is who Jin Yue just kidnapped.


    He thought Jin Yue was always extremely cautious. Why would he have let him¡­ No, wait. That¡¯s not the problem. He just pointed at this male¡¯s head with a gun.


    Even if he is living on a landfill planet, he¡¯s still a male. He would also know about the rights and protections males enjoy. Or rather, he¡¯d imagine young males trapped on landfill planet by circumstances would especially envy the males who grow up with all the world¡¯s desires on developed planets.


    What awaits Wei Zhuo would not be good. Discharge would be lucky, exile would not. Wei Zhuo¡¯s expression darkens, but even so, he can never do something as dishonourable as killing this male here on the landfill planet and falsely accusing Jin Yue of doing it for his own future.


    Males are too important for insectoid society, especially one who has never enjoyed its protection and grew up on a landfill planet. He feels much more pitiable than those who have always grew up in luxury.


    Cheng Zhaoci, seeing Wei Zhuo stand down, is able to sigh in relief. His adrenaline fading, the pain from the fall hits right back at him. He hisses.


    The hiss almost sends Wei Zhuo into panic. Oh, goodie. He¡¯s wounded. Even if he isn¡¯t directly responsible for the minor male insectoid¡¯s injuries, but the fact that he threatened the male after he was injured¡­ He should probably be looking up what luggage are allowed to be carried in exile.


    Seeing the military guy in front of him look more and more displeased, Cheng Zhaoci quickly says, ¡°it, it¡¯s fine. Uh, please¡­¡± He trails off seeing the shemale insectoid widen his eyes, looking at him blankly.


    Aw, man, he really is handsome, even more so than his own dad. One eye is amber, the other is black; it seems out of focus now that he thinks about it, and there¡¯s also a scar from his brow all the way to below his black eye. Because the shemale is handsome with chiselled features, the scar didn¡¯t ruin his look, but in fact adds a tinge of unruliness to him.


    His stare is, well, if Cheng Zhaoci has to describe it, he looks like a wolf finding his mate to actually be a husky in disguise. He¡¯s the one personifying the phrase ¡®beggars belief.¡¯


    Wei Zhuo really is in shock. How ever well-behaved a male is, he would never expect to hear ¡®it¡¯s fine¡¯ after a gun was pointed at their head by a shemale. And what did the little male say?! ¡®Please¡¯?! Such respectful language directed at an unfamiliar shemale is¡­ like, the annual most unbelievable story of the insectoids.


    Wei Zhuo remains frozen for a moment, then Wei Zhuo becomes enraged. Jin Yue! That bastard! He¡¯s done something to this young male insectoid! His brain has become weird! Even if Jin Yue was caught and executed now would be letting him off too lightly!


    ¡°Do not worry, for we have the best treatment pods on our vessel. We will be able to heal you,¡± ¡®your brain,¡¯ actually, but Wei Zhuo, to save the little male¡¯s face, did not speak of the last part of that.


    Cheng Zhaoci is all stunned. He has scratches, sure, but ¡®treatment pods¡¯?! Not even hospitals on this landfill planet would have those! But Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s own dad has told him, that they¡¯re expensive equipment reserved for military use at high ranks only.


    So he shakes his head, ¡°no no no, it¡¯s fine! I just had a bad fall and scratched myself, here on the arm. It¡¯s fine! Really! I don¡¯t need the pod¡­¡±


    Was he really not bonked on the head? Wei Zhuo, suspicious, circles Cheng Zhaoci to observe, and notes that he really appears to be lucid. Then he starts questioning life once more.


    Is this male really behaving normally? This is utterly beyond the wildest dream of any insectoid ever. What kind of sad, unfortunate days must this little male have spent on Zhousuo to end up like this?


    Regardless of their mental state, aren¡¯t males the ones who throw a tantrum about having to lie down in treatment pods for having a one millimetre, tiny scratch that¡¯s already healed?


    Wei Zhuo can certainly treat such highfalutin males with a normal business attitude and a cold face. This young male insectoid, though, who has humbled himself so far below standard, makes Wei Zhuo simply loathe himself for being unable to show a harmless, gentle smile; he knows he looks increasingly cold when nervous, too, with a poker face.


    The little male is still covered in dirt, standing all awkwardly and thin in front of him.


    Cheng Zhaoci is wondering whether he said anything wrong since the shemale soldier appears really, really displeased.


    He¡¯s probably here to arrest that guy with golden hair, true. He has never seen this decorated style of military garments before, and the kidnapper admitted the military was after him. He knows he is simply his hostage, especially now that he hasn¡¯t his marks, so he is back to his original appearance¡­


    No, wait! Could this shemale have realised the Federation did not have such a male on roster, and realises they¡¯ve been deceived? Can the military check stuff like that?


    ¡°Mister, if I may,¡± Wei Zhuo says, as he takes off his coat to put it on Cheng Zhaoci. Before he realises, Cheng Zhaoci is already being princess-carried by him, ¡°you¡¯re a valuable male insectoid. I am responsible for your safety.¡±


    Zhousuo isn¡¯t that cold right now, and Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s clothes are simply dirty but not ragged. He did this solely to avoid Cheng Zhaoci having to touch him physically, since Cheng Zhaoci is male, and males generally do not like being handled by more imposing-looking shemales.


    Dislike handling? Of course not. Cheng Zhaoci, seeing Wei Zhuo¡¯s face and how similar it looks like his comic protagonist, almost feels like it¡¯s his character coming to life to rescue him.


    Cheng Zhaoci is the type of artist to really dedicate himself on his characters and love them as his own; naturally, the characters on the protagonists¡¯ sides would be drawn to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s liking. In other words, this shemale soldier is 100% in his strike zone.


    But Cheng Zhaoci quickly snaps out of his trance, and says, ¡°wait! Let me down, I¡¯m not a male! The kidnapper injected me with something that hid my insectoid marks away!¡±


    He mustn¡¯t expose his male identity! It¡¯s life or death!


    ¡°You mean that, after you have injections that created a fake layer of insectoid marks, he has injected in you what hid those marks?¡± Wei Zhuo seems very concerned, ¡°I will immediately arrange for a diagnosis. We do not know if the two injections may cause any ill effects together.¡±


    ¡°Wait! I said, I¡¯m not a male!¡±


    ¡°You do not need to hide your identity. No one will dare to lay their hands on males. The Federation will protect you.¡±

 CH 10

    When the Time Comes


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°What? Ci-zai has been kidnapped by some blond guy?!¡± Xiao Ji has a really terrible expression as he tells the little shemale brat, who is still panting, ¡°tell me everything in detail.¡±


    The little shemale, resting between breaths, tells him everything that happened after he was caught. Xiao Ji is looking downright wrathful at this point, ¡°that bastard! I¡¯ll get uncle Cheng and He Huaijian,¡± Xiao Ji, still a couple of years from maturing, knows that rushing forth as he is will be no different from offering himself up for capture by that pirate, but not uncle Cheng. He knows he used to be part of the army proper. Plus He Huaijian¡¯s brain, they¡¯ll definitely be able to rescue Ci-zai.


    Meanwhile, the Cheng Zhaoci in question is sitting aboard a military vessel, with a cup of who-knows-what in his hand, and being observed by the two army insectoids in front of him.


    ¡°The reason you¡¯re living on the landfill planet is because your late father has been killed by his shemale slave?¡± Meng Yuele¡¯s sympathy for this cute and good little male is about to visually overflow, ¡°and you are worried that your lives will be in danger if the fact that you¡¯re male got out?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci nods, because trying to assert that he isn¡¯t a male would be useless. In this short amount of time, even that old case of his erstwhile father being murdered was dug up and presented. It has to be said that, he might know males are important in insectoid society, but he didn¡¯t know how important they truly are.


    ¡°We will conduct a thorough investigation on this matter. At the same time, we wish for you to depart Zhousuo with us. When you mature in two years, Zhousuo cannot offer adequate care and facilities for you,¡± Wei Zhuo is speaking this time, ¡°naturally, your dad, the guardian, will be accompanying you as you return to the Capital planet. We will handle the necessary procedures for Mr Cheng Jin¡¯s reinstatement in the army.¡±


    ¡°You also need not fear reprisal from anyone. If you don¡¯t mind, I will be your personal escort,¡± Wei Zhuo makes a heartfelt promise ¨C not that he¡¯s perverse enough to have illicit thoughts towards Cheng Zhaoci, a male not yet of age, but he was the one who picked the little male up from the debris pile, and he really is too well-behaved and obedient, unlike any male, and it can¡¯t help but make him sympathise with his condition.


    Wei Zhuo has severed the ties between himself and his family, and it¡¯s true that he is only a Flying Officer right now, but he does still have his background ¨C because his granddad is the Marshal of the Federation right now. His grandfather has passed early, leaving only one son, Wei Zhuo¡¯s shemale dad, who was playfully tortured until death by his father, meaning his granddad only has Wei Zhuo as his immediate family now. Unless Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s enemy is related to the Chief or former Chief of the armed forces, they will not be able to do anything against Wei Zhuo.


    And from what they¡¯ve gathered thus far, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s late father¡¯s cijun didn¡¯t have that kind of energy behind him.


    With the most candid words, Wei Zhuo explains to Cheng Zhaoci the protection he can offer and his family background. Not just Cheng Zhaoci, but Meng Yuele is also looking at Wei Zhuo now.


    He knows Wei Zhuo is speaking the truth, of course, but he is just lamenting his own ordinary background. He also wants to care for the little male, but clearly, he won¡¯t be able to offer anything as comprehensive.


    Cheng Zhaoci believes what Wei Zhuo says, not just for his rugged, reliable appearance, but also because Wei Zhuo is looking at him with these¡­ doting eyes. It¡¯s like an adult seeing poor, emaciated children with old and worn clothing. Even though he¡¯s already sixteen.


    Well, those eyes are shared by the other military insectoid too. They don¡¯t make him uncomfortable, probably because both are righteous at heart, and so a minor male insectoid is completely beyond sexualisation in their eyes ¨C the way two horny guys might look at a little girl if she is only at waist height and dressed in revealing overalls, perhaps? The analogy is whack, but the meaning stands.


    ¡°Can I take two shemales with me?¡± Asks Cheng Zhaoci.


    Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele share a glance for a moment. Wei Zhuo asks, ¡°shemales, you say? Are they your shemale concubines?¡± Although it¡¯s slightly surprising such a well-behaved male already has two shemale concubines, it would not be out of place on the Capital planet at all. In fact, how he is willing to take shemale concubines he took in on a landfill planet when he is offered to leave is already commendable compared to the typical male.


    Shemale concubines? Just imagining Xiao ¡®the tough guy¡¯ Ji acting at all feminine or making orchid fingers at him with a ¡®sexy wink¡¯ and then raising his pitch while calling him ¡®xiongzhu¡®¡­ Oh Jesus, the goosebumps won¡¯t stop!


    He has such a vivid image because that was what he did when trying to teach Cheng Zhaoci how to be have high shemale power! No way! He won¡¯t have it! Cheng Zhaoci is completely against it. He doesn¡¯t know how He Huaijian might look, but he can¡¯t imagine a male being interested in the perpetually cold and aloof He Huaijian.


    ¡°No, of course not. Not shemale concubines, but¡­ like older brothers,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is waving his hands about in dramatic fashion to refuse, almost spilling the drink he is holding, ¡°I pretend to be a shemale, but I don¡¯t have the strength or fighting skill like a normal shemale. My dad needs to work and can¡¯t stay by my side at all times. It¡¯s been the two of them who took care of me when my dad is away.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not criminals exiled to Zhousuo. And they protected me all these years. Is it possible for me to take them with me, uh, please?¡± Watching the two military guys¡¯ faces twitch in more and more uncomfortable ways, his tone is trailing off, ¡°I¡¯m really scared something might happen to them on Zhousuo one day. This is really not a good place to be¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course you can,¡± Wei Zhuo puts his hand on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head to reassure him with a sincere tone, ¡°you¡¯re a very good male,¡± and will probably make an excellent xiongzhu.


    Jin Yue has returned. Jin Yue has become confused. No, wait, where are all the hostages he¡¯s got here? How did all those weak and crippled insectoids run away? That quickly? How did they even free thems-oh fuck! Damn! He just tied them with the ropes that were the closest thing he had on hand on this forsaken landfill planet. It¡¯s probably not too difficult to break them if needed.


    Even the little ugly thing ran away? Jin Yue looks quite pissed, but he takes a deep breath. That little ugly thing is terribly unfit. He will be able to catch him easily.


    He can lose everyone but not the little ugly thing. He¡¯s the only valuable stake he has to rescue his crew.


    He just has to recapture him, he thinks. Before he can move out, though, he suddenly freezes up and ducks to the right in the next second.


    The ground where he was standing is cracking like cobwebs. A shemale with black hair and black eyes is standing right there, glancing at him coldly, ¡°where is xiao-Ci?¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Jin Yue cusses. This shemale doesn¡¯t look to be any slower or weaker than he is. If it weren¡¯t for his casual clothing and how he clearly stated he¡¯s here to find someone, Jin Yue would¡¯ve assumed the military guys realised he lost his hostages and were here for him.


    Though, ¡®xiao-Ci¡¯? Jin Yue thinks it through, and since the little ugly thing had better clothes than everyone else, he tenses up while asking tentatively, ¡°you¡¯re talking about the real ugly thing?¡±


    Though as soon as he said it, the shemale immediately descends upon him angrily, with a fist headed right for his temple, that threatens to crack open his skull then and there. Jin Yue wasn¡¯t expecting such a temperamental response, and almost failed to dodge.


    Cheng Jin is fuming as well. Who¡¯s he calling ¡®real ugly¡¯ here? His temper has never been great, and so if the bastard blond was a second slower in his reflexes, his life would¡¯ve been forfeit already.


    Jin Yue cusses, and quickly pulls out his particle ray pistol to aim at Cheng Jin, ¡°you fucking¡­¡±


    Bang!


    There is a bang, but not from the pistol in Jin Yue¡¯s hands. In fact, if his instinct didn¡¯t have him immediately duck, it wouldn¡¯t just simply be his flowing golden hair that¡¯s been singed.


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, who are staying hidden close by for a surprise backup, are also stunned. He Huaijian has a cannon in his lap. Homemade, antique, doesn¡¯t work half the time, but better than nothing.


    When the two teenage shemales carefully set up the cannon, a light just blasted right by them, through walls and, if the blond kidnapper didn¡¯t lower his head as quick as turtles do, his head would¡¯ve been gone. They can all see his hair looking like it was chewed up by a dog.


    Cheng Jin, turning where the ray came from, appear shook after seeing Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Cheng Zhaoci, having been brought along by Wei Zhuo, runs to embrace Cheng Jin.


    Meng Yuele is quite amazed. He insisted Cheng Zhaoci should stay on the vessel, since the sensitive males would probably find the battle scenes too traumatising, but he¡¯s surely making him question his common sense a lot.


    Then as Meng Yuele realises a certain blond looks like he might be sneaking away, he quickly rushes over to tie him up.


    The two shemales seeing Cheng Zhaoci in Cheng Jin¡¯s lap are both in shock ¨C Xiao Ji¡¯s eyes are widened so much one might fear his eyes falling out of their sockets. He Huaijian doesn¡¯t have as exaggerated a response, but he¡¯s simply dropped his cannon on his foot.


    Cheng Jin and Cheng Zhaoci embrace for a while before turning to Wei Zhuo; Cheng Jin appears surprised, going, ¡°Zhou Wei?¡±


    ¡°He was my dad,¡± replies Wei Zhuo, extending his hand to Cheng Jin, ¡°I¡¯m Wei Zhuo. Greetings, Flying Officer.¡±


    Cheng Jin remembers that, his comrade, Zhou Wei, was his same rank when the unfortunate incident took him to the maker. He knew Zhou Wei had a shemale boy, but he must be no older than 25 at this point; this shemale is clearly a Flying Officer, though.


    Seemingly knowing Cheng Jin would be confused, Wei Zhuo explains, ¡°I¡¯ve been through some rather brutal battles and lived through to tell the tale,¡± then he waits for a moment before adding, ¡°and, after we finish dealing with Jin Yue, I would like to discuss in the detail the matter concerning the male insectoid Cheng Zhaoci.¡±


    Cheng Jin grips his fists tight. He was busted after all this time.


    ¡°What was that about Cheng Zhaoci?!¡± Xiao Ji yells out, as he emerges from his hiding place, ¡°wh-, what did you just say?! What was him?!¡±


    No way! He knows his own good brother! That personality of Cheng Zhaoci? A male? Is he actually confused because he saw how Cheng Zhaoci is looking without those marks? Really? Reeeally?


    Xiao Ji gives Cheng Zhaoci a glance, but then quickly looks away.


    Kuhum. Uh¡­ No, really?

 CH 11

    A Draconically Yelling Male


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    What might Xiao Ji do if his childhood friend turned out to be a male, and a super handsome one at that?


    The past Xiao Ji would have gone for it, seizing the advantage of being friends.


    But, what if, it really happened?


    Xiao Ji is extremely nervous right now, both because Cheng Zhaoci has such a seductive appearance, it¡¯s like learning, one day, that the little underdeveloped little shemale that always followed behind him like a doggy ¨C well, a fiercely barking one, considering Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s personality, but his little fists can¡¯t so much as make him hurt at all ¨C but kuhum, like that little thin shorty that was your lackey and friend, suddenly turned into a handsome and attractive male.


    Much more intense than the shock is the feeling of disbelief.


    The phrase ¡®male insectoid¡¯ really is too far away from Xiao Ji, far away enough that, when Xiao Ji understood that he really was just another piece of insignificant trash at the bottom of the pile in insectoid society, he didn¡¯t even dare fantasise ever seeing a real male in the flesh.


    Xiao Ji was picked up off the street, and named by that old shemale in quite the lazy fashion ¨C picked up from the ¡®trash,¡¯ ¡®ji,¡¯ plus the shemale¡¯s surname, xiao, and the name sounds exactly like the word ¡®pessimistic.¡¯ It¡¯s really difficult to call that a good name.


    But Xiao Ji has always been pretty optimistic and happy-go-lucky, never thinking twice what he¡¯s doing. He always felt he was pretty lucky, to have two good, reliable brothers on somewhere like a landfill planet ¨C well, Cheng ¡®the Shorty¡¯ Zhaoci is pretty much useless in everything, but anyway ¨C they all grew up together, and Xiao Ji feels that he would be able to protect his good, useless friend forever. Forever, until he, like his adopted dad who had a date of expiry lasting 5 years, became old and is no longer able to win in the fight for resources, and die at the hands of younger shemales among piles of trash and rubble.


    It¡¯s the final resting place for most shemales and demis on Zhousuo. Not dying to anything else before that is already considered having lived a full life and dying by old age.


    Xiao Ji really thought of Cheng Zhaoci as his good younger brother. That¡¯s why he is having trouble accepting that little shorty who needed him to protect him is now a male.


    A male, a rare treasure of the Federation. A noble and prideful male who can have countless shemale concubines and slaves.


    No way. Cheng Zhaoci is completely different in personality from males.


    ¡°Is there some kind of misunderstanding?¡± He Huaijian is the one who asked. He¡¯s always been pretty smart. Perhaps he has the common arrogance inherent to all smart people, so it always appeared as though he looked down on people with a punchable, ¡®I¡¯m unhappy¡¯ face. It hasn¡¯t improved much for sure as he grew up; but coincidentally, it means he looks pretty calm right now.


    Well, if you ignore the fact that the cannon he dropped has landed squarely on his foot, but he doesn¡¯t seem to react at all.


    ¡°There can be no mistake that Mr Cheng Zhaoci is a male,¡± both of the teenage shemale are quiet at the answer.


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are sharing a glance. They don¡¯t know why, either, but normally, they aren¡¯t as friendly together as they are with Cheng Zhaoci individually, but neither would look Cheng Zhaoci in the eye right now.


    It¡¯s almost like the label ¡®male¡¯ has suddenly dragged Cheng Zhaoci right outside of their little world, their little circle. They don¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°Jianhuai-ge, Xiao Ji,¡± Cheng Zhaoci suddenly speaks up, ¡°what? You wanna shun me just ¡¯cause I¡¯m male?¡± His tone is casual, completely ignorant of the two insectoids¡¯ complicated feelings. It¡¯s like another day of casual chat for the three.


    It makes them relieved, and Xiao Ji is finally able to find his words again. He ruffles his hair, which almost seems to glow an alcoholic red under the floodlights the military has set up. It¡¯s pretty, ¡°uh, you¡¯re¡­ so you¡¯re a male? You could¡¯ve told us, you know.¡±


    ¡°What? Ugly thing, you really are a male?¡± The hog-tied Jin Yue chimes in, trying to squiggle his way forward, but Meng Yuele has him completely suppressed, immobile. Jin Yue is staring at Cheng Zhaoci and gritting his teeth, asking, ¡°it can¡¯t be! Impossible! Your user ID is BombInYourPants! Your user ID is¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Cheng Zhaoci shuts him down with a firm yell. His own dad is still here! His dad! Why the hell is the blond suddenly revealing his embarrassing ID without so much as a hint?! What the hell, you insectoids all love to reveal the dark history of others or what?!


    The yell was certainly powerful and ear-ringing. At least Jin Yue finds his mind in disarray. He is even shuddering a little looking at Cheng Zhaoci now, ¡°you, you yelled at me?! What the fuck?!¡± The attitude! You saying that¡¯s a male? A male?! A male that was cussing?! Where is the highfalutin pretentiousness?! You¡¯re saying that¡¯s a male?!?!


    Showered under the astonished gazes of Wei Zhuo, Meng Yuele, He Huaijian and his own good shemale dad, Cheng Zhaoci is gripping his fist really tightly. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he could rush forth and dish out exactly 0 damage to the damned kidnapper, he would surely give him a good pounding!


    Xiao Ji, who already knew Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s ID beforehand, appears relaxed, even. Yes, even though Ci-zai looks like the personification of beauty right now, but he¡¯s still him.


    In fact, while He Huaijian and Cheng Jin really are both reeling from the impact of the vulgar user ID, Meng Yuele and Wei Zhuo are also shocked to discover that, hells, it¡¯s the comic artist! What in the blazes is this coincidence? They¡¯ve met the artist in person? And the artist is a male?!


    At the same time, compared to the two shemale minors and Cheng Jin, who cared for Cheng Zhaoci as he grew up, the other three insectoids present are still in more shock over Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s personality.


    Environment shapes personality, so the erstwhile conclusion is, this male probably went off the rails at some point¡­ in a way shemales will probably like. Who knows how many would be interested in him at the Capital.


    After the shock, Wei Zhuo has calmed down, and is analysing just how much coincidence was here between him and the little male. The comic protagonist lookalike, a meeting almost copied verbatim from the comic, and their dads fought together in the army.


    Wei Zhuo looks back at Cheng Zhaoci with a gentle gaze. He really is adorable. Not demanding or pompous like other males, and treats shemales with respect and dignity. He and the two shemales share the rarest relationship of friendship. It¡¯s almost unimaginable that such a male exists.


    Cheng Zhaoci feels like Wei Zhuo is showering him with a gaze in similarly doting fashion to his dad, making him confused.


    Then Wei Zhuo finally makes the decision to move away from this little rundown shack, since Jin Yue still needs to be locked up, and they need to ask Cheng Jin about Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s life on Zhousuo so far in detail. As for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s late father¡¯s cijun, while the accusations of having murdered two male infants is grave, but after all these years, any possible evidence is likely already gone.


    And there is no proof that the shemale is going to take hostile action towards Cheng Zhaoci, so there is nothing they can do.


    Cheng Zhaoci thus ends up back home, sitting in a row with Xiao Ji and He Huaijian.


    Xiao Ji¡¯s head is lowered so much he looks like he would rather sink beneath the dirt. He hasn¡¯t muttered so much as a sound, completely unlike his normal self. He Huaijian is looking at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s direction, but his eyes are out of focus.


    Cheng Zhaoci clears his throat; both insectoids shake.


    Suddenly, Xiao Ji cries out in pain and rags on his hair, ¡°argh! Was I a dumbass or what?!¡± He can¡¯t help but keep recalling what he¡¯s done to Cheng Zhaoci in the past ever since he tried to accept his male identity.


    From pinching his face, to patting him on the head, to ruffling his hair, to pulling his ears. Basically, perfect examples of sexual harassment. Oh right! He also watched indecent comics with Cheng Zhaoci! He freezes up entirely recalling that.


    It was a cloudy, windy night. Cheng Zhaoci said it was for ¡®study,¡¯ and clicked it open. The comic, oh damn, Xiao Ji still remembers the rush it made him feel and how he was yelling incoherently while his heart thumped everywhere; and all that time, Cheng Zhaoci was studying insectoid biology with a serious face. There wasn¡¯t a tinge of romance in the air at all.


    But! He read that kind of stuff with a male! That kind! Just trying to recall the whole thing is making him socially dead.


    After the yelling subsides, Cheng Zhaoci speaks once more, ¡°I applied to that officer named Wei Zhuo to take you along with me.¡±


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are both looking at him now. Cheng Zhaoci continues, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t ask about what you thought beforehand.¡±


    ¡°On what grounds?¡± Asks He Huaijian. He doesn¡¯t mind leaving. Of course he doesn¡¯t. No sane insectoid would choose to stay at a landfill planet over literally anywhere else, but he also doesn¡¯t want the relationship between him and Cheng Zhaoci to become some weird ¡®xiongzhu and his concubine¡¯ or ¡®xiongzhu and his slave.¡¯


    He knows males are higher on the hierarchy than shemales, and knows many shemales live only to find a xiongzhu for themselves, but he can¡¯t adapt to some change like that. It¡¯s probably because, Cheng Zhaoci, his relationship with him, their relationship with him is too close. If something so drastic happened, He Huaijian would feel like he has lost the short, undernourished, hard-on-the-eyes but with a happy smile ¡®shemale¡¯ younger brother he had.


    ¡°Older brothers. As my older brothers,¡± says Cheng Zhaoci, chuckling, ¡°because both your dads have passed and who knows where your fathers are, so I think all three of us will end up in the same household registration. The family head will be my dad.¡±


    Three brothers in a family, with three different surnames. That¡¯s a first, surely.


    Xiao Ji, who has become entirely quiet since Cheng Zhaoci started to talk, suddenly glowers and shoots up, giving Cheng Zhaoci a big bear hug. All the tight muscles are squeezing the air out of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lungs.


    ¡°Ci-zai, you just said it! I¡¯m your older brother!¡± Xiao Ji is exclaiming in joy. He seems really touched, even slapping hard on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s back. The sound is quite terrifyingly loud.


    At least, Cheng Zhaoci swears his organs are about to shoot out of his mouth from the monstrous strength.


    ¡°Wait! Get your hands off him! He¡¯s a male! He¡¯s too weak for this!¡± He Huaijian is yelling, too worried the jumpy Xiao Ji would suffocate Cheng Zhaoci to death if he isn¡¯t stopped in time.


    Xiao Ji comes back to his senses and lets Cheng Zhaoci go immediately. Then he blushes ¨C not because he was thinking of something else, but he was feeling the shy after-the-fact, ¡°ehe, I don¡¯t really know how to feel anymore,¡± but hey, he¡¯s also got a male childhood friend now, cool!

 CH 12

    Runaway!


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Jin Yue was escorted onto another military vessel, since he¡¯s a pirate, now freshly and additionally accused of kidnapping males. The Federation will never allow him on the same vessel as Cheng Zhaoci, even with Wei Zhuo personally escorting and protecting him.


    Normally, the flight from Zhousuo to the Capital is quick, by utilising the many Warp Points in the galaxy, which can connect to the closest Warp Point to the destination directly. There is, however, a minimum physical and mental grade required to utilise them, unless the vessel itself is outfitted with special protections. Naturally, being a ¡®might makes right¡¯ species, only male-exclusive vessels have such protections.


    Meaning, the current fleet transporting Cheng Zhaoci cannot use it.


    So, without warping, they have to travel via slower means. It would take a week to reach the Capital this way. As for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s protection in the meantime, since he¡¯s a minor in addition to being a male, it is determined that Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele would not be adequate security detail. So this small command vessel is surrounded on all sides by large capital ships.


    ¡°They¡¯re all coming up with excuses to get onboard our ship, those bastards. Everyone knows what they¡¯re thinking,¡± Meng Yuele appears pretty pissed, ¡°Cheng Zhaoci is still underage! Those thirsty shemales aren¡¯t worried they¡¯d scare him to death?¡±


    Wei Zhuo then turns to Meng Yuele, ¡°you¡¯re not any better.¡±


    After the matter with Jin Yue is concluded, Meng Yuele has been just staring at the young male. He wouldn¡¯t say a word, but just stare at him with this glitter in his eyes. The two teenage shemales that followed the male almost got into a fight with the dum-dum Meng Yuele.


    When even the dad of the male has had enough, Meng Yuele finally confessed that he¡¯s a fan of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comic.


    Though that seemed to remind Cheng Zhaoci that he had updates to make, and so took his tablet with him back to his room to draw the next chapter.


    Cheng Zhaoci feels like he might no longer need to make the kind of money that can afford a pheromone-proof place, but he still has his future plans. He can accept spending it with another shemale, but not a bunch of shemales, or any kind of lifestyle where he¡¯s the breeding stallion like other males.


    Is there meaning in a life of only abject luxury while being pampered by the shemales? Well, yes! So he wouldn¡¯t need to work hard or think about all the difficulties in life, and he just has to be happy.


    But it will get old really fast, it¡¯s not living anymore. Not like a human ¨C or rather, an insectoid. Cheng Zhaoci likes taking breaks, for sure. In fact, when he once got a good fat cheque for his finished series, he even made plans to take a rest for a month.


    He was not even going to touch his tablet originally, but he couldn¡¯t hold himself back.


    Some things are work, but not just a career. Cheng Zhaoci really liked drawing ¨C he was that kid that every class had, the one really good at drawing.


    Of course, he was no genius, and with no talent in normal academic pursuits, and not being so talented as to have his drawings recognised as ¡®art,¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci could only take commissions for a livelihood. He may have things he want to express, but he was just an average person, possibly with slight quirks compared to the normal people.


    Because there are people who like what he draws. Some people enjoy his short stories. It¡¯s a truly blessed, addictive thing to be liked.


    So Cheng Zhaoci kept drawing.


    Comics are what gives value to him, Cheng Zhaoci thinks.


    Males are born nobles. They don¡¯t have to do or worry about anything.


    But that is utterly boring. If he really let go of everything, he¡¯ll feel lost. He won¡¯t have to do anything; he would not know what else he could do,


    But loathe himself for being a lazy, salted fish.


    Cheng Zhaoci still does not know whether he will have his own cijun or not, but if he does, he cannot accept simply waiting to be fed and clothed by his own spouse. It¡¯s a degrading way to live.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying, that little male is drawing comics to earn his living?¡± Meng Yuele¡¯s eyes widen greatly as he gasps.


    What in the world is going on?! Is it the end of the world? Why are males having to join the workforce? Is this male trying to threaten the job security of what belongs to shemales?


    ¡°I believe so,¡± Wei Zhuo nods, ¡°I believe he¡¯s trying to lessen his dad¡¯s b- what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Spamming tips,¡± Meng Yuele¡¯s fingers are tapping incessantly on his holodeck.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. His dad is going to be reinstated soon. I doubt he¡¯ll have to worry about money in the future,¡± Wei Zhuo says as he checks the systems running the military vessel. It¡¯s a habit of his, even though the AI controlled vessel doesn¡¯t really need oversight, but he feels safer having all the information on hand.


    ¡°I know! I know he won¡¯t have to worry about money soon,¡± that¡¯s the point! Although it¡¯s really inhumane to have a male working, but he really wants to know what happens in the comic afterwards! What if the male got complacent and dropped the series?!


    The little zombie king still hasn¡¯t made it to a second chapter yet! How could he stop updating!


    Even if the artist is a male, a minor male, a really pretty minor male, nothing will stop him getting his updates!


    On the vessel carrying Jin Yue, he is sitting on the ground with his flowy hair all cut, now only sporting a short buzzcut.


    The temporary cell doesn¡¯t even have a bed. The ceiling is at best 2 metres tall exactly, and a latrine was provided right next to him. If he really can¡¯t hold it in and have to go to the bathroom, it¡¯ll be in full view of whoever¡¯s outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m just 32 this year, and shemales with grade A in physical aptitude aren¡¯t that rare. Do you know how I managed to become the leader of the Golden Lions?¡± Jin Yue asks with a smile. No one answers, but he knows those guys can hear him. There is definitely surveillance in this cell, ¡°oi, my crew are also on this ship, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Jin Yue puts his hand in his mouth and pulls out something that looks no different to a tooth, ¡°you¡¯ve done your search thoroughly, I¡¯ll give you that, even digging out that little toy I planted under my skin. Too bad this isn¡¯t one of those hi-tech gizmos, so those detectors didn¡¯t work.¡±


    He throws that fake tooth out; the cell isn¡¯t barred by some metal, but by densely packed grids of laser. Jin Yue isn¡¯t even bound, mainly because, if he really felt like killing himself and rushed out, he¡¯ll end up in several orderly blocks of meat cut up by the light.


    As soon as he throws the tooth away, Jin Yue immediately ducks behind his latrine and crouches down, covering his head.


    When the tooth collides with the rays, there is an explosion; an alarm sounds on the vessel.


    ¡°Fuck this damned lunatic!¡± The shemale in charge of supervising him couldn¡¯t stop the rapid progression of events, ¡°and he¡¯s not fucking bothered he¡¯d blow his own head to bits with that thing?¡±


    Nope, Jin Yue actually isn¡¯t, because he¡¯s done enough things to receive the death penalty a hundred times over. Hey, the Federation sure manufactures good toilets. At least, without it, Jin Yue suspects he¡¯d end up with most of his body missing right now.


    The rays of light are still flickering, trying to breathe their last, but soon go out.


    Jin Yue quickly rushes outside, ignoring the almost debilitating wounds he has on his back and the ringing in his ears, he is rushing for the surveillance room. This ship is packed to the brim with shemale soldiers, and he has almost no hope of making it out, so he shouts, ¡°if I died, how long do you think the little male could live for?¡±


    A threat implying he¡¯s done something to Cheng Zhaoci, which is obviously bullshit since he didn¡¯t even know Cheng Zhaoci was a real male and couldn¡¯t think of something like that then. Jin Yue knows the Federation all too well, however. They won¡¯t take the risk.


    Of course they won¡¯t. The little ugly thing really has an unforgettable appearance. There is almost an unspoken rule governing insectoid genetics. The more attractive an insectoid looks, the higher their physical and mental aptitude would turn out to be in rank. That little ugly thing is at least an A- without having to look to the testing.


    Are there even 10,000 males in the whole Federation with grade A males?


    The Federation will not take the risk.


    As soon as he said that, a group of shemales have barged in through the closest door, but they are just standing there, staring because of what Jin Yue just said.


    Jin Yue is relieved, ¡°good, stay right there.¡±


    That monster Wei Zhuo is probably protecting the little ugly thing as a personal bodyguard. He suspects most of the military force they sent after him is now protecting the little ugly thing as a priority, even. Although his plan of using him to threaten the Federation didn¡¯t go off to a great start, but it¡¯s certainly working now, in terms of results.


    Cheng Zhaoci is still working on the draft storyboarding for the little zombie king. He expects to finish the first draft in this way in a day. The second chapter will feature the first time the strongest shemale will attempt to kill the little zombie, but he would manage to recover every single time, extremely rapidly, too, not even long enough to burn him to ash.


    The strongest shemale concedes defeat. The strongest shemale decides to train some more before coming back. Then the strongest shemale feels a tug on his clothes. It¡¯s the little widdle zombie king.


    ¡°Are you leaving?¡± He would ask. The most terrifying antagonist of the apocalypse has just been born in this world. He doesn¡¯t remember his past or know his future. His first memory is this strongest shemale who wanted to kill him. He thought how he was killing him was just an interesting game, and this insectoid is here to play with him.


    ¡°Can you take me with you?¡± He would ask.


    The strongest shemale pats the hand away and turns to walk. The little zombie king would just stand there, watching. Finally, the strongest shemale would stop, turn around, and say, ¡°come.¡± He would justify it, saying that it¡¯s better to keep the monster close to him than letting him roam freely outside. He can also practise killing him at any time.


    At the final scene where the insectoid and the ¡®zombie¡¯ insectoid departs, Cheng Zhaoci has drawn a little piece of detail in one of the panels. The strongest shemale would pat the dust away from the little zombie king¡¯s shoulder. It¡¯s a sign that the shemale isn¡¯t as cold and merciless towards him as he thinks.


    After the draft, Cheng Zhaoci gives it a simple proofreading, then prepares to start working on the typesetting and dialogue boxes. Though that is when a piece of message comes through from an unknown account.


    [See you in the future, you ugly thing~] And an image of an arrogant selfie. The close up of the face shows the blue and purple bruises clearly. Scratches and wounds, and clothes all ragged, revealing hints of the insectoid marks around the neck and collarbone.


    That blond hair has become a mess, but even so, he has to say it at least looks better than the little shemale brat¡¯s attempt at a pompadour back on Zhousuo. The insectoid is laughing pridefully and arrogantly, and the sense of ¡®I¡¯ll never bow down to anyone¡¯ is almost oozing off the photograph.


    Jin Yue has escaped! That¡¯s the first reaction Cheng Zhaoci has. Then he suddenly notices, oh, Jin Yue, he actually has vertical pupils, like a beast of some kind.

 CH 13

    You Dog


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    It¡¯s really a given Wei Zhuo must have been informed that Jin Yue has escaped before Cheng Zhaoci knew. No matter how arrogant Jin Yue is, someone as cautious as he is would never have had the time to take a selfie and send a message to Cheng Zhaoci before he¡¯s absolutely sure he¡¯s safe.


    Wei Zhuo could not have pursued him, though, since distances in space are really too vast. Even if they left the little male where he was and beelined for the closest Warp Point, Jin Yue and his gang could have already warped into any desolate corner of the galaxy already.


    When Cheng Zhaoci relays to Wei Zhuo that he received the message from Jin Yue, Wei Zhuo helped set Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s holodeck up to block any incoming transmission from strangers. Unless Cheng Zhaoci added the sender beforehand, no other message can get in.


    It¡¯s important to keep dangerous elements like Jin Yue away from the young male insectoid!


    ¡°Jin Yue hails from a rather large family. He had two male younger brothers. It is said that in the Academy, one of his younger brothers wanted Jin Yue¡¯s friend for himself, but that friend is already smitten with someone else. Jin Yue had an argument with his younger brother, who is said to have told this to their father,¡± Wei Zhuo pauses here before continuing, ¡°Jin Yue was tortured beyond anyone¡¯s worst imagination before he escaped from it all. The people who knew him all assumed he died to the elements or succumbed to his injuries. All until he came back, leading his group of space buccaneers ¨C pirates ¨C the Golden Lions.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci remembers how odd Jin Yue looked as soon as the topic of males was brought up, like being a cat whose tail was stepped on, and asks, ¡°did he kill his father and his younger brothers?¡±


    ¡°Almost. His father called the police on time, and wasn¡¯t somewhere distant. The military sortied quickly enough to prevent him from dying in his hands. Though he was still crippled; not that you can see that with the wonders of prosthetic technology.¡±


    Wei Zhuo puts the holodeck back on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s wrist, ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised he sent a message to you. Since then, that guy has become famously male-phobic. He¡¯d even avoid male passenger crafts when waylaying and robbing others.¡±


    Then Wei Zhuo stops, watching Cheng Zhaoci for a moment, and says, ¡°maybe he doesn¡¯t feel the ¡®masculinity¡¯ from you, so his phobia isn¡¯t triggered. Even so, I must caution you against maintaining contact with him. He¡¯s a pirate, after all.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci nods, and thanks Wei Zhuo before leaving for his quarters; Wei Zhuo stops him, though.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back at the Capital planet in a few days. Um, you should prepare yourself.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, ok,¡± Cheng Zhaoci feels that Wei Zhuo is a pretty good insectoid. He¡¯s meticulous and patient. That said, what ¡®preparation¡¯ should he make going to the Capital planet? He¡¯s got food, drinks, clothes, and everything else he needs. The rest his dad said they can buy when they arrive; Cheng Jin¡¯s reinstatement into the military has been approved, and with that, part of his confiscated wealth has been returned.


    Though Cheng Jin is now away from Cheng Zhaoci, because he was ordered away. Apparently, he needs to undergo psychological evaluation and other bureaucratic procedures first.


    He left a message for his son, telling him not to worry. It¡¯s all formalities.


    So Cheng Zhaoci could only pass by the time by finishing his second chapter. It¡¯s quite shorter and simpler compared to the first chapter, since he¡¯s already done the cover and character design.


    Just one day before arriving at the Capital planet, his second chapter is up. He then notices that he seems to have received revenue, and clicks to check, then falls silent¡­ Cash out time. It sure is nice for there to be billions of insectoids around. How much money has he made? Over ten thousand dollars, he suspects.


    About four months salary hauling around stuff on the landfill planet.


    Then he sees he has more contract offers from editors on the site. Oh, an A grade contract already? It¡¯s pretty unheard of to give such a contract to a newcomer, since it means the revenue divided for the comic would be in 3:7. The editor 3, Cheng Zhaoci 7.


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t want the focus to be on this short comic, though. It¡¯s lighthearted and funny to draw, but he also has things he wants to express. The comic is testing the acceptance of such style of comics in insectoid society, and whether he can accept adapting to a more insectoid-friendly storyboarding. Both seem to be alright so far.


    Cheng Zhaoci has replied to the editor this time, to arrange for a face-to-face meeting for signing a contract. Since Cheng Zhaoci is still registered as being on Zhousuo, the editor has offered to come see Cheng Zhaoci if he has difficulties making it to the Capital.


    Since he¡¯s going to the Capital anyway, Cheng Zhaoci replies he¡¯ll meet them there.


    ¡°Eh?¡± In the offices of the comic site, a demi is quite surprised, ¡°I thought he really was from Zhousuo.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± A colleague of his replies, ¡°you¡¯re talking about BombIn?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he said he¡¯ll meet with me at the Capital in a few days,¡± the demi has glass frames on. It¡¯s for fashion only, since nearsightedness has been all but eradicated by technology now. It¡¯s a pretty good fashion statement, though.


    ¡°Ah, must be another one of those adventuring shemale types,¡± the colleague laughs, ¡°well, much better this way, too. You¡¯ll have a much easier time chasing them to get their work done on time.¡±


    ¡°I like the comics, honestly, but the fetishisation of males is a bit much,¡± another colleague turns his head over to chime in.


    ¡°It is, but it¡¯s heartwarming to read.¡±


    ¡°Agreed, hehe. He¡¯s got the second chapter out just now, I think.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci went for a walk after finishing the conversation with his editor-to-be. Then he watches the big lump of muscles named Meng Yuele running for him while yelling, ¡°aaaaargh!¡±


    ¡°Jesus!¡± Cheng Zhaoci is clearly taken aback, and starts running in the same direction, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?!¡±


    ¡°Uwuwu! Why was the little zombie king chopped up?! How could the strongest shemale be so cruel?!¡± Meng Yuele, a tall, fully grown ¡®man,¡¯ is raining tears everywhere, ¡°uwuwuwu! Oh, my dear male insectoid, don¡¯t you have any pity?! I need an explanation.¡±


    Hearing it¡¯s to do with his comic, Cheng Zhaoci slams on the brakes immediately, and then puts his hand to the wall, panting, ¡°I¡¯ve never said he¡¯s male in the comic. And. He¡¯s a zombie. Zombies. Cannot reproduce.¡±


    ¡°I know. I get all that,¡± Meng Yuele is right in front of Cheng Zhaoci now, completely unfazed by that short run, apparently, but he looks like he¡¯d shrink into nothing the next second, with his head hanging low. Seemingly picking up something from Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cold, unflinching eyes, and understanding the chapter is final, the 1.8 something metres, big shemale¡¯s eyes go red, ¡°sob.¡±


    That big, loud fake cry just makes Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s goosebumps flare all over.


    Finally, Meng Yuele leaves with his head bobbing low like a zombie, and so he doesn¡¯t notice Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lips slowly turning into a smile. Ha. That¡¯s what he was looking for. There is a reason he¡¯s addressed affectionately as ¡®you dog¡¯ by his readers in the past life. His story needs arcs and development, regardless of readers¡¯ feelings. Rather, he¡¯s happy seeing his readers get depressed as is his story design.

 CH 14

    Protection


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian had their blood drawn to grade them before boarding the vessel headed for the Capital.


    The results are in the night before they arrive. Xiao Ji, pulling He Huaijian along, banged Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s door until he opened.


    The three of them only saw each other once or twice a day even though they have been really close childhood friends who grew up together due to Cheng Zhaoci suddenly turning into a male. It¡¯s probably to do with awkwardness even in spite of ¡®the talk¡¯ they had. Cheng Zhaoci became a male! A male, you know?!


    But that has entirely slipped Xiao Ji¡¯s mind already. The door has opened, and Cheng Zhaoci is out, rubbing his eyes, only to be met with a yell, ¡°Ci-zai! Do you know what grade lao-He and I are?!¡±


    ¡°Huh? What grade?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks. He¡¯s still a bit sleepy, having ended up working overnight drawing comics a few days ago. His biggest bad habit is forgetting the time when he¡¯s really into drawing, even telling himself that if he did something else when the inspiration came he¡¯s going to lose it.


    No wonder he died of a stroke in his past life, even though the bigger reason was his dumbass boss.


    Xiao Ji can hear the ¡®couldn¡¯t care less¡¯ in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tone immediately; they all grew up together, and pardon the crass language, but when Cheng Zhaoci raises his hips, he can already tell what kind of fart will come out. He puts his hands on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shoulders, shaking, until finally, Cheng Zhaoci is awake.


    Cheng Zhaoci finds that he does not enjoy a cold brainshake at all. Wait, wasn¡¯t he, a male, a national treasure or something? Is this how you treat a national treasure? The national treasure¡¯s brain is going to mush!


    ¡°I¡¯m awake! I am! Xiao Ji, talk, and calm down!¡±


    ¡°Getting cocky, are we? You¡¯re supposed to call me older brother,¡± Xiao Ji makes a big sulk.


    He Huaijian has had enough of the dum-dum taking the topic to Narnia, and interjects, ¡°we¡¯re both grade A, and Xiao Ji is even an A+. Flying Officer Wei said that we can attend military school as transfer students and then skip the cadet stage when we graduate and get assigned.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah yeah! Ci-zai, you know Officer Wei said that lao-He had talent in mechanics and stuff, so he¡¯s like, the weapons guy. He can get him a teacher!¡± Xiao Ji looks so excited he wants to slam down on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shoulder again, until he remembers his good friend is a weak-ass male and turns his hand to slap on his own forehead instead. It makes a clean ¡®snap.¡¯


    His forehead is red.


    But at least Cheng Zhaoci has been snapped from his stupor entirely, ¡°A?! A+?!¡± Well jeez, what are the odds? Grade As are already rare enough as the very pinnacle of shemale physical capability, if discounting grade S¡¯s that are basically just bugs in the Matrix.


    Xiao Ji the dum-dum is even A+? No wonder he always wins even against a group of shemales when fighting them on landfill planets for resources.


    So they have a military career ahead, huh. Cheng Zhaoci finds himself relieved for his two good friends. He knew it. He always knew his own Mr Brain and Mr Brawn are the top of their own games.


    Xiao Ji has a smug look on his face seeing how amazed Cheng Zhaoci is, ¡°isn¡¯t it cool? Isn¡¯t it amazing? Don¡¯t you feel honoured to be brothers with me?¡±


    ¡°We can protect you now,¡± He Huaijian gently ruffles Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hair, starkly contrasting with how jumpy Xiao Ji is being, ¡°we can protect you even in the Capital. We are strong.¡±


    None of them know what the Capital really is like. At best, they¡¯ve seen photographs of it on their local Internet. Even if Cheng Zhaoci is a male with male privilege, he would still feel lost and unfamiliar there.


    This really is touching, to be honest. There can¡¯t be anyone out there who isn¡¯t warmed by such a promise.


    ¡°Sleep early. We¡¯ll be there the next morning,¡± He Huaijian feels like smiling, but he stops himself. Having a poker face the whole time, he really isn¡¯t good at smiling. He¡¯s tried it once against a mirror¡­ let¡¯s leave tragedy in the past.


    He Huaijian starts dragging Xiao Ji away, but Cheng Zhaoci calls out, ¡°when we¡¯re all settled down, I¡¯ll treat y¡¯all to cupcakes.¡±


    The two shemales are both looking at Cheng Zhaoci, who says, ¡°I promised you on Zhousuo. I¡¯ll treat you guys when I start making money.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re a male¡­¡± Xiao Ji furrows his brows. Even as out of touch as he is, he knows it¡¯s weird a male is treating a shemale. Who would actually let males pay?¡±


    ¡°A male? So what? I only want a simple answer, are you going or not?¡± Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t try to fan emotions with ¡®we¡¯re all family¡¯ and such. It doesn¡¯t suit the three of them.


    ¡°Of course!¡± He Huaijian is the one to answer firmly, breaking into an uncontrollable smile. It really doesn¡¯t suit him, but Cheng Zhaoci can feel his happiness.


    Xiao Ji looks like he could cry already. He¡¯s blabbering and waving his arms around to try to give Cheng Zhaoci another bear hug, but He Huaijian stops him in time.


    They chat some more before finally parting.


    ¡°Cheng Zhaoci really is such a good male insectoid,¡± remarks Wei Zhuo, for the umpteenth time.


    Meng Yuele can¡¯t agree more, having spotted the conversation at the male insectoid¡¯s door alongside his superior, ¡°it really is. This must be what all those shemales like to call, uh, what was it, ¡®dreamy¡¯? Yes, that¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°If only all males are like him¡­¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s tone trails off.


    He knows it¡¯s impossible. Ever since his own father tortured his dad to death to feel ¡®superiority,¡¯ since Jin Yue¡¯s father left Jin Yue at his own male younger brother¡¯s mercy and was crippled. He knows that that is what males are like, deep down.


    There are times when Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t know for what reason he climbs the ranks. Even one with a powerful background like his own dad, the Chief of the armed forces, his death only resulted in an investigation and a ¡®Not Guilty¡¯ verdict, with the only defence being ¡®it was an accident no one could have foresaw.¡¯


    Why do they even fight in the army? To give those depraved, lustful and wasted males even better lives? Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t understand, but he will never betray the Federation like Jin Yue did. He just doesn¡¯t even know what he is fighting for anymore, or who can give him answers.


    But after picking up the little male from the landfill planet¡¯s rubble pile, he thinks he understands a little better, now. The young male¡¯s future cijun will definitely live such a happy life, different from all the other cijuns.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice,¡± Wei Zhuo suddenly says before turning to leave.


    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s nice?¡± Meng Yuele is filled with questions, not knowing what this ¡®nice¡¯ is referring to.


    The male really does resemble his own comics. He is oddly endearing and even soothing. Just watching him makes one feel like, it is worth living and fighting for. Do you see him? Can you see this odd but also lovable male? Even if he is only one, but he is there.


    They tried to corner a mad dog on the landfill planet, but ended up with a treasure haul instead.


    Wei Zhuo is walking back when he remembers he didn¡¯t even follow the young male¡¯s comic. He opens his holodeck, and follows Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s anonymous ID.


    He then leaves a comment on the latest chapter [The comic is great, keep it up! (¨B¨Œ¨B)]


    Wei Zhuo is actually expressionless when making the emoji facial expression, but Meng Yuele has told him that typing in this manner makes his words look less harsh and lifeless. He¡¯s never put it into practice in the past, as he felt it unnecessary.


    However, he is talking with the young male insectoid¡­ being gentle is a must.


    The comment is buried under the many other comments, and Cheng Zhaoci has no chance of seeing it.


    Not that he even has the time to read comments.


    He really wasn¡¯t expecting at all, that this was what Wei Zhuo meant by ¡®get prepared.¡¯


    Not materially, but mentally.


    When the military vessels have landed, Cheng Zhaoci and the two shemales tagging along all want to take in the sights of the Capital planet. All until the door opens to reveal a uniform file of shemale soldiers with universally passionate gazes.


    Cheng Zhaoci, whose foot is already dangling out, quietly but smoothly retreats. He gulps, then mutters, ¡°is this Resident Evil?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wei Zhuo, standing next to him and overhearing the phrase, asks.


    ¡°Nothing. Never mind,¡± Cheng Zhaoci shuts his eyes before opening again, then walks forth without hesitation. There are obstacles man must face, ¡°I¡¯m going now!¡±


    There is a resolution of one sacrificing his own life for his motherland in his tone.


    ¡°Wait for us!¡± Xiao Ji and He Huaijian quickly follow behind.


    The shemale soldiers¡¯ eyes all light up as they suddenly burst forth like a horde.


    ¡°Mister, why are you coming down here? Do you feel unwell?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always said Officer Wei is too dull to keep a male¡¯s attention.¡±


    ¡°Mister, is there anything I can do for you?¡±


    Well, to be honest, all shemales Cheng Zhaoci has become acquainted with so far, from his own dad to Wei Zhuo, had a sort of ¡®doting father¡¯ on them. The little brats on the landfill planet might have both irritated him and tried to endear themselves to him, but it felt almost like childish pranks. It¡¯s the first time Cheng Zhaoci has ever faced so many shemales alone.


    Before he would suffocate to death, though, he gets carried off the ground by the waist and is quickly moved to the side.


    By the waist, the same manner Cheng Zhaoci used to grab and carry his cat around.


    ¡°Uh, I should clarify that I was telling you to be prepared to be gawped at, not for you to, you know, rush in as a male,¡± Wei Zhuo pauses, before saying, ¡°I must apologise, as I was too shocked by what you did to stop you in time.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci slowly but surely buries his face in his hands. This is so utterly¡­ humiliating! To the core!


    Why did he even think to barge in? He could just follow behind Wei Zhuo and the soldiers won¡¯t dare pouncing on them!


    Oh wait, didn¡¯t he have two tagalongs? ¡°Where are Xiao Ji and He Huaijian?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re also surrounded, probably because those surrounding them wish to learn of your contacts through your older brothers,¡± Wei Zhuo says, pointing over to the two other focal points of insectoid gathering.


    Cheng Zhaoci quickly calls out, ¡°Xiao Ji! He-¡±


    ¡°Ci-zai! Ci-zai where are you, I¡¯m coming!¡± Xiao Ji, hearing Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s call, immediately starts his brainless blabber, ¡°don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll protect you! I¡¯ll be right with you soon!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci watches as the crowd has pushed him further away from him.


    ¡°Wait for me! I¡¯ll be there in no time!¡±


    And a bit further.


    Xiao Ji, always the directionless idiot, can be heard smiling and declaring, ¡°I think I¡¯m real close to you, now!¡±


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­Ha.¡±

 CH 15

    Absurd Plot Devices


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Fortunately, being well trained soldiers, Wei Zhuo¡¯s orders send them scuttling back to stand in their ordered rows. Their eyes are still inevitably locked on Cheng Zhaoci, however.


    The two young teenage shemales, all dazed from the onrushing waves of soldiers earlier, are shakily reapproaching Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Meng Yuele, have the names of those who moved without orders taken¡­ Never mind. Not a single one stood still where they should. All of you, 10 laps around Training Base A92, right now. Two extra hours of training every day for one month. Hand in a reflective critical essay at the end of that period,¡± Wei Zhuo declares clearly and succinctly, coldly and mercilessly.


    Then he adds, ¡°all submitted essays will be checked against plagiarism and repeated wordings. At over 50 repeated characters, it will be rejected and you will have to write another one.¡±


    ¡°Yessir,¡± Meng Yuele acts pretty professionally when it comes to business, it seems. Though he and Wei Zhuo are childhood friends, but the perversely talented grade S shemale Wei Zhuo shot through the ranks much faster than he is. Wei Zhuo is Meng Yuele¡¯s direct superior, so while they can be a bit more casual with each other in private, in public, they¡¯d act their posts much more strictly.


    Cheng Zhaoci can clearly see that, as soon as the shemale soldiers heard they have to write a reflection, their faces all go sour, almost like Wei Zhuo is taking their lives.


    Though the Wei Zhuo in question doesn¡¯t seem to notice their sad puppy eyes at all, and informs Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°your dad may be about two days before he¡¯s back. Before then, you¡¯ll temporarily reside in a property I own. I do not live there regularly, so that it would not be uncomfortable for you,¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s tone always becomes gentler in tone when talking to Cheng Zhaoci, although perhaps not many can appreciate the difference, ¡°I can take you on a tour around the Capital if you need to.¡±


    Wei Zhuo really is a kind and astute shemale. He¡¯s helped him out a lot, too, Cheng Zhaoci thinks. He already learned that his dad¡¯s reinstatement would be arranged to Wei Zhuo¡¯s granddad ¨C the Chief of the military forces, and that he was also the one who found teachers for Xiao Ji and He Huaijian.


    As far as strangers go, Wei Zhuo¡¯s almost one-sided kindness towards Cheng Zhaoci might be easily misconstrued ¨C imagine that, in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past life, a handsome and rich man continues treating a pretty woman he just met with undue kindness. One would definitely assume ulterior motives on the man¡¯s part.


    Actually, if Wei Zhuo really has that sort of ulterior motive, Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t sure if he can even stand fast against it. He might have dozens of years of living under his belt, but who could really refuse a face that really is completely within his strike zone? In fact, the first time he saw Wei Zhuo, he was almost smitten right then and there.


    Almost, because Wei Zhuo is showering him with motherly affection. Such a simple but honourable treatment, like watching the future of your nation growing up. He can¡¯t even imagine someone as righteous as Wei Zhuo would try to pluck Cheng ¡®the future of insectoid-kind¡¯ Zhaoci up for himself.


    Not to mention the sordid business of having a relationship with a minor. If Wei Zhuo really had that sort of thing in mind, he¡¯d probably lose his life as soon as he lost restraint.


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t even sure if he should be thankful Wei Zhuo is such a respectful gentleman, or lament how he seriously shows no sign of being interested in him at all.


    The three teenage insectoids board Wei Zhuo¡¯s hovercar, with him in the driver¡¯s seat.


    Hovers in the Capital can drive themselves, apparently, as the technology has been developed and refined over the years to be even safer than manual driving. Wei Zhuo, though, is uncomfortable with leaving such controls in other¡¯s hands.


    Wei Zhuo knows he isn¡¯t as saintly as Cheng Zhaoci is making him out to be. He hasn¡¯t had vasectomies, so obviously he would feel something towards males as a healthy, adult shemale.


    But Wei Zhuo knows himself all too well. An unlikeable, rough shemale blind in one eye like him is extremely undesirable.


    Especially if it comes to Cheng Zhaoci. He pictures the kind male insectoid to be partnered up with a pretty and gentle shemale, who is unlike him in every way. He has thought about this since he figured out Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s true personality, and quickly cleaned up any untoward thoughts towards him.


    On the rear view mirror, he can see all three of the insectoids plastering their faces on the window, staring outside.


    Zhousuo is too strikingly different from the Capital. There are tons of fresh curiosities for them on the planet.


    ¡°If you¡¯d like, after we settle down at your new home, I can take you on a tour tonight,¡± Wei Zhuo turns his eyes back on the road, ¡°there are even more things to see and do at night.¡±


    ¡°Eh? I thought you¡¯d be busy, Officer,¡± especially with Jin Yue having escaped from his confinement. He already guessed that the military went to Zhousuo to capture Jin Yue. So essentially, he¡¯s just failed his mission, meaning it¡¯s unlikely he¡¯d have time.


    ¡°Ensuring the happiness of males is top priority,¡± the Federation would agree that a leader of some space buccaneer group is far less important than a young male recently discovered to have been left and raised on a landfill planet.


    Cheng Zhaoci has been exposed for quite a while now, but the relevant authorities have only contacted Cheng Jin just so they wouldn¡¯t stress out the male they just recovered and cause any psychological distress. Not that Wei Zhuo agrees with the assessment, seeing the young male as far more energetic and happy than most males he¡¯s ever seen. He doubt he has any psychological issues.


    The top brass would never believe it without seeing it firsthand, anyhow. Wei Zhuo would rather spend his time window shopping with the good male insectoid, too, than supervising the uncouth shemales¡¯ monotonous training.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be imposing on you then, Officer,¡± Cheng Zhaoci sounds excited, and he is. An actual futuristic world that only existed in his sci-fi imaginations! What could this mean? It means far more material for his artistic pursuits!


    The male really is well-mannered. Despite his usual poker face, Wei Zhuo finds it pleasing to spend time this way.


    They reach the residence with the three insectoids in tow. The house is a two-story country home built in a more retro style. There are many rooms, and for the three minors who haven¡¯t started emitting pheromones yet, it¡¯s the perfect temporary residence for them.


    The teenagers pack up and settle down with lightning speed, before gorging down a meal and quickly follow Wei Zhuo with sparkling eyes.


    Xiao Ji seems really attached to Wei Zhuo. He talks with him a lot, especially after he learned Wei Zhuo is a grade S shemale, despite the more business-like tone Wei Zhuo treats him with.


    ¡°I feel like Flight Officer Wei is like a lone wolf. It¡¯s really like me,¡± Xiao Ji whispers to Cheng Zhaoci, shocking him to no end.


    Cheng Zhaoci is staring at Xiao Ji with eyes widened, ¡°you, you sure are¡­¡±


    ¡°Utterly failing to read between lines. As usual,¡± He Huaijian finishes the sentence, as Cheng Zhaoci nods along.


    Wei Zhuo can hear their conversation, and though he tried to speak up several times, he gives up regardless.


    It¡¯s dusk when the insectoids have emerged from their dinner. Though technology has progressed, it didn¡¯t hamper physical store locations at all. Or rather, they¡¯ve actually increased ¨C from busybodies, basically.


    While delivery services can ensure same-day delivery within the same planet already, and theoretically, it should have lessened the need for shopping outside at all, but a countertrend of ¡®pursuit of realism¡¯ sprung up against the ¡®increasing distance in socialising.¡¯ So these developed planets and territories had these ¡®back to reality movements¡¯ or whatever, which only intensified the more technologically advanced the area was. As if those that point out the increasing social isolation and starting such activism movements were somehow more ¡®noble¡¯ than those that do not, somehow.


    Wei Zhuo really doubt there is anything more ¡®noble¡¯ about taking a few more steps to get on public transport, really.


    Well, while he can¡¯t understand it, the young male seems pretty excited to be out and about.


    Cheng Zhaoci is positively enthused, like a country bumpkin in the big city for the first time ever. Everything is new and fresh to him.


    They had a change of clothes before coming back out from the temporary house. It¡¯s simple enough, like the black T-shirt Cheng Zhaoci has, but thanks to his above average appearance, and more importantly, good-looking male status, he is actually immensely attractive. Though there is the aforementioned slightly ¡®emo¡® aura about him, so those that don¡¯t know him would feel him slightly distant and hard to approach. So the shemales and demis around have not started swarming around him at all.


    The shemale soldiers were brave and forthcoming because they knew he was found on the landfill planet and has seen how amicable in personality he is. He treats shemales with courtesy! So they were able to completely ignore that ¡®unfriendliness debuff¡¯ surrounding Cheng Zhaoci, like having rose-tinted glasses.


    Wei Zhuo is also relieved to see the shemales and demis acting reserved, and takes the three teenage male and shemales with him to the shopping mall.


    He finds it boring, to be honest, but the three seem quite happy, so it¡¯s fine.


    Wei Zhuo has also readied himself in case anyone did come forth to try to chat Cheng Zhaoci up. He would scare and, if necessary, intimidate them away; however, his plans definitely weren¡¯t accounting for the fact that the one who emerged actually being a male.


    Wei Zhuo, with Cheng Zhaoci and the two shemales in tow, are having some noodles in the shopping mall.


    While slurping his noddle, Cheng Zhaoci hears someone ask.


    ¡°How¡¯s the noodles?¡± The voice is pretty easy on the ears.


    Cheng Zhaoci looks up to see a pretty missus with chestnut-coloured hair by his side. He blanks out for a moment, not having seen another girl for sixteen years, until he remembers, oh wait! There are no girls! Sh-He must be a male!


    The male doesn¡¯t seem happy that Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t responding, but looking at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, he hasn¡¯t snapped, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around before; you are a male, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci, seeing his smile, is just nodding blankly while thinking, jeez, save for the completely flat chest area, he¡¯s basically a female human!


    Then the male extends his hand and wipes the spring onion Cheng Zhaoci has got stuck near his lips, and he tells Cheng Zhaoci, with what he thinks is the most alluring tone, ¡°look at you, little clumsy cat.¡±


    Clink. Clink. Clank. All three other shemales seated have dropped their chopsticks on the table. They¡¯re all watching with their jaws on the floor.


    Even Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hands are shaking, too. He feels extremely conflicted right now, the way a nice straight guy might feel if someone gay wanted their ass.

 CH 16

    A New Story


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Males generally act unabashedly and freely, without constraints. Their attitudes are only marginally improved when talking with other males.


    And they usually spend time with other males, too, finding the passionate pursuits of nearby shemales and demis an annoyance.


    Zhou Luoluo here is a classic example of a male insectoid sick of shemale and demi attention. His appearance is especially popular amongst the shemales, and he has received all sorts of gifts at school.


    But, at 15, he¡¯s still in some sort of ¡®chuuni¡® phase. He despises the popularity and the noise.


    Ah, if only they would leave him alone! All the attention and passionate gazes! He wants to be part of the common people with a common lifestyle!


    However, he also doesn¡¯t enjoy the company of males in general, as he thinks their highfalutin attitude is simply revolting.


    Today, he is just visiting his regular coffee shop to continue his habit of staring at the sky at a 45-degree angle in loneliness, ignoring all the loving gazes showered from shemales and demis around him. He will be the solitary, independent white flower in this turbulent world. He enjoys the solitude.


    Though when he walked past a noodle shop, he saw Cheng Zhaoci.


    Oh, goodness!


    Cheng Zhaoci is handsome, but that¡¯s beside the point. The point is, his whole unwelcoming aura that makes him feel distant and unapproachable! It¡¯s something Zhou Luoluo likes to a fault!


    A quality that Zhou Luoluo really desires but cannot attain. So he¡¯s marching forth! Marching forth, trying to be friendly to him as per his father¡¯s instructions for socialising.


    The ¡°look at you, little clumsy cat¡± is so forced and cringeworthy that Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s toes are curling up in second-hand embarrassment.


    And it appears the very feminine-looking male is about to clamp on his chin with his hand. Cheng Zhaoci has had enough, and grabs his hand, ¡°what? Tell me what you want like a normal person.¡±


    His tone is nowhere near gentle, and is more of a warning. Males, enjoying the protection of the law and society in general, are generally treated with extreme courtesy, but Cheng Zhaoci himself is a male, so as long as it doesn¡¯t devolve into physical fighting, male-male arguments are usually ignored.


    Ah! How brusque! Usually males employ roundabout sarcasms and tones of mockery even if they really are angry. Males like Cheng Zhaoci are certainly rare. His personality is so amazing! Zhou Luoluo is very pleased indeed.


    Cheng Zhaoci just watches, as the male, grabbed at the wrist, is staring at him blankly, until he starts blushing. So he quickly throws the wrist away, and in his panic, looks behind at He Huaijian for help; though neither He Huaijian nor Xiao Ji has ever seen actual, typical males of the Federation at all. They don¡¯t know what to do either. So finally, Wei Zhuo has to come to the rescue, ¡°excuse me, mister. Am I correct in assuming that you are Flying Officer Qian¡¯s male son?¡±


    After having confiscated a billion videos and images of males, Wei Zhuo is able to identify most of the popular and good-looking males by name and identity. This male here is popular for his appearance, but he is not exactly personable, he¡¯s heard.


    Zhuo Luoluo has finally taken notice of the three shemales about Cheng Zhaoci, and appears stunned as soon as he sees Wei Zhuo¡¯s rather intimidating appearance. Then he yells sharply, ¡°why would you marry such a disgusting concubine?!¡± Well, on second glance, the shemale actually seems fine in appearance. Though that scar on the eye really is too striking. Does he not care about his appearance at all as a shemale?


    Calling someone ¡®disgusting¡¯ to their face is extremely rude. Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face sours, ¡°have your parents never taught you how to speak properly?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Luoluo looks confused, ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean exactly what I said,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gets up, ¡°Officer Wei, let¡¯s leave,¡± he isn¡¯t going to get into an argument with the male insectoid here, knowing the most likely outcome is that they each think the other one is clinically insane. They grew up differently and have entirely different morals. Neither could ever convince the other if they really got into heated argument.


    Cheng Zhaoci is keenly aware of how out-of-place his general attitude is in the insectoid society. That, however, is no reason for him to accede to what he believes is fundamentally wrong.


    ¡°Mhm, alright,¡± Wei Zhuo stands up, followed by the two teenage shemales. Xiao Ji and He Huaijian both look quite unhappy.


    They¡¯ve only ever known one male insectoid ¨C Cheng Zhaoci. They have only a vague, general idea of what males are like, and because of Cheng Zhaoci, they assumed males are just less polite versions of Cheng Zhaoci.


    Xiao Ji still had a dream of finding a handsome and cool xiongzhu, but he finds his dream falling apart at the seams.


    The male insectoid¡¯s tone conveys quite clearly that he does not treat shemales on equal footing. Well, they do know that males and shemales are unequal in insectoid society, but they never ¡®knew¡¯ knew this difference first-hand.


    Wei Zhuo is actually the calmest one right now. He grew up on the Capital, and many males have expressed their repulsion at him since he was scarred. If he cared at all, he¡¯d have gone for a simple surgery to remove it a long time ago. He just did not want to.


    The pain and humiliation when the wound was inflicted is something he does not want to erase.


    That aside, the male insectoid Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s response is a pleasant surprise, once more. The male from before simply disliked him, unrelated to Cheng Zhaoci himself. In fact, from his tone, he seems to like Cheng Zhaoci, too, but because of his unkind language, Cheng Zhaoci became angry.


    Would growing up on a landfill planet really cause such a drastic change in personality? Making a male like Cheng Zhaoci? Wei Zhuo does not know. Males like Cheng Zhaoci may be unique, since no insectoid in their right mind would leave their own male son on a landfill planet.


    ¡°Hey! Hey! I said wait!¡± Zhuo Luoluo doesn¡¯t understand what Cheng Zhaoci is angry at, and just left him behind. He¡¯s also male, ok?! He¡¯s here to make friends! Why is he leaving?


    ¡°Mister, whatever you wanted to talk to me for, I doubt anything fruitful would come of our conversation,¡± Cheng Zhaoci returns a business smile, the kind that is only surface deep.


    The interruption has completely decimated the teenage insectoids¡¯ curiosity of the Capital for the day. Wei Zhuo tries to cheer Cheng Zhaoci up, ¡°it¡¯s really nothing. The male is simply speaking his mind honestly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s wrong. He¡¯s just blind,¡± Cheng Zhaoci disses, ¡°a scar is such a handsome trophy. He has no sense of aesthetics.¡±


    ¡°And is he¡­ like, one of the better ones among the males?¡± Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but want to ask.


    ¡°He is. Most males have¡­ a propensity for specific interests. They enjoy feeling empowered,¡± but without much actual strength, they can only ever do so by lashing out at shemales ¨C the ¡®war machines.¡¯ What a great body they have. Durable, regenerates quickly, obedient and easily abused. They find pleasure in what is borderline torture.


    Wei Zhuo does not say those out loud, but Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t actually a na?ve 16-year-old who grew up sheltered in insectoid society. He already knows what ¡®specific interests¡¯ Wei Zhuo is referring to.


    Hells.


    He feels his stomach churn. Just imagining one of his good childhood friend marrying such a male with ¡®propensity for specific interests¡¯ and leaving the dum-dum Xiao Ji all wounded and scarred, Cheng Zhaoci will find it immensely difficult to hold himself back from wanting to solve the problem with a brick and a hard place.


    He really knows already that the insectoid society is twisted. These subgenres, insectoids, omegaverse, sentinel/guide, they all only gained real popularity when appropriated for writing fetishised obscenities. But, knowing is one thing, experiencing is a whole other thing.


    With no other males he knows on the landfill planet, the problem never struck him. The Capital, though, is the ground zero for real insectoid society.


    Cheng Zhaoci had the great fortune of transmigrating as a male, as the group enjoying the benefits of this highly unfair, unbalanced society.


    He suddenly has a spark of inspiration. A story.


    He might not be able to transform insectoid society at large. He¡¯s just one male insectoid, and he is all too aware he lacks the charisma and resolve needed to push for revolution.


    But even if he can¡¯t force everyone, as long as there can be another insectoid ¨C another male, even ¨C that realises the scope of the injustice. He simply needs to sow a single seed!


    Thus motivated, Cheng Zhaoci quickly leaves the three others behind after returning to the house. He has to get the main storyline sorted now, the major plot points.


    He still has another ongoing comic, so considering the difficulty of maintaining two ongoing projects, he needs to keep the story short. Maybe something with six or seven chapters.


    And of course, he can¡¯t just have the characters go ¡®equal rights¡¯ or ¡®fair treatment.¡¯ Not a single insectoid will be interested in reading.


    He¡¯ll make the protagonist a male. One of those typical, prideful males. His dad will be dead, the reason ¨C whether from war or from his own father ¨C will be left open.


    The male insectoid will be going on a trip when the warp engine malfunctions and transports him onto a landfill planet instead, and the ship breaks entirely.


    Cheng Zhaoci is all too familiar with the landfill planets, so the background detail can be finished quickly.


    The male insectoid has to conceal his identity on the landfill planet, and so comedy ensues from his outlandish ideas. He¡¯ll draw it with as light a tone as possible.


    Before he put those plans in actions, a mute but strong shemale, here to salvage the crashed craft, discovers his male identity. He helps him keep it a secret, though, and, being honest to a fault, he simply pities the male.


    So the main plot here revolves around a daily life between the mute shemale and the male. The mute shemale can¡¯t talk and is too frank, so he will get undercut a lot. Oftentimes, the male, disguised as a demi, will do the negotiating and pushing with those insectoids that are here to trade with the shemale. The tone will continue to be uplifting and light.


    One day, the male, hailing from a highly developed planet, and proud and noble because of that, will promise the good mute shemale, that he will offer him rescue too when they leave this junkyard for good. He will tell the shemale about all the great food he can eat, and all the great males he can introduce him to. What an honour for an insectoid on the landfill planet, who can never even hope to have a xiongzhu in their entire miserable lives!


    The mute shemale will look thrilled.


    The rescue has finally arrived. The male insectoid makes good on his promise, and brings the mute shemale to the developed planet with him. He shows him all around these fun places, wowing the shemale and giving him the tour of a lifetime.


    Then he will introduce the mute shemale to his male friends.


    A male friend will graciously accept him. Though he already has a cijun, but you know, he¡¯s from the landfill planet. It¡¯s such an honour he is accepted as a shemale concubine, you know?


    The male insectoid will be glad for his good, mute shemale insectoid friend, because now his only possible dream of having a xiongzhu is fulfilled. He will be happy his entire life.


    Then one day, he¡¯ll see the mute shemale standing at his front door. He looks wounded. The male insectoid will still be a bit far away from the entrance, but he will see the shemale open his mouth. But, he¡¯s mute. He can¡¯t say anything.


    Before the male insectoid can check on him, the mute shemale runs away.


    The male wouldn¡¯t think much of it. Shemales often fight, don¡¯t they? He¡¯ll be fine.


    It will be a while ¨C perhaps a month ¨C later, that the male finds a new restaurant he wants to take the mute shemale to. Ah, what great joy it is that developed planets have such refined cuisine compared to the ¡®food¡¯ they have on landfill planets. He must invite his saviour to try it with him.


    However, he will not take the mute shemale friend with him. Because the mute shemale has died, only the following day that he went to look for him. He died naked, disgraced, with wounds all over his body.

 CH 17

    Gap Moe


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The male insectoid, our comic protagonist, will be angry. He will question the male who once was his friend, but the friend will look confused and innocent, saying, it¡¯s just a shemale, what¡¯s he throwing a tantrum for?


    For how our protagonist, in time, has come to view the mute but caring shemale as a father figure, as family. With his position in high society, he thought he could give all the world¡¯s luxuries to the mute shemale; however, he ended up forfeiting his life. The mute shemale didn¡¯t die on the chaotic and lawless landfill planet, but died on the ¡®civilised,¡¯ ¡®developed¡¯ planet.


    It is just a black comedy.


    The male insectoid will sue his friend. His friend will walk off scot-free, because the victim was a shemale, but the defendant is a precious male.


    In the end, the distraught male insectoid will have abandoned all his vain pretensions. He will cry, with his head buried in his knees, on the side of the road.


    There will be a parallel frame here, depicting the male insectoid as he just crash landed on the landfill planet, and helplessly crying and curling up on the side of the road. Only, a mute shemale insectoid came over, and handed him a tissue.


    The male insectoid as he was on the landfill planet will look up ¨C then another parallel frame from the exact same angle, with torn clothes replaced with fresh, clean ones, with background buildings turning from rickety, simple shacks to a vibrant cityscape.


    The male will see the hustling crowd passing by. There will not be another mute but kind shemale to hand him a tissue this time.


    Here, Cheng Zhaoci pauses, and entertains the idea of making the last frame pure black with white words in the middle, ¡°Was I wrong?¡± And then he thought about it, and scratches that idea. It¡¯ll be a bit too on-the-nose. It¡¯s unnecessary.


    So he settles on the final frame being a close-up of the male insectoid protagonist. His face is all messed up from the tears, but he is looking forward with widened eyes. Behind him are skyscrapers of a prosperous city, but his eyes reflect the smiling, mute shemale, and behind the shemale, silhouette of the messy landfill planet environment.


    A clash between prosperity and dilapidation, between cruel apathy and genuine kindness. It¡¯s much more impactful than just being labelled ¡®wrong,¡¯ and serves better to provoke thought.


    The story is, by definition, a tragedy, even though a good two-thirds of the first part of the story depicted a lighthearted comedy. All the better to contrast the sadness later on, which is far better than simply agonising the reader from the beginning to the end. Who could have thought this wasn¡¯t a simple ¡®and they lived happily ever after¡¯ story just reading the beginning?


    Cheng Zhaoci reads his plot in order once more, and has a good idea of what many of the frames should look. Though thinking about these things in detail for too long risks emotional immersion. In other words, he is tearing up.


    So seizing this emotional state and mindset, he starts designing the mute shemale.


    First, he must be handsome! The kind that most males would agree to be their ideal shemale mate. He can¡¯t speak, but he¡¯s handsome, tall, strong, and caring for others. He needs to have a gentle smile, with little canines poking out. He will need to slot the face and the gentle goodness as much as possible in the comic for maximum effect. He will be a shemale somehow clean as a white flower despite living on the landfill planet.


    Although by Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s own experience, a shemale like this won¡¯t barely even survive a day on a landfill planet, but that¡¯s beside the point. Cheng Zhaoci just needs to create something like a saintly goddess that is all the guys¡¯ dreams in his past life. Someone clean, untouched, beautiful, strong and tragic.


    His goal is to make the readers think ¡°oh, he¡¯s so good-looking,¡± ¡°oh, poor him, but he¡¯s also resilient¡± ¡°oh, if only I could help take care of him.¡±


    It helps immerse them into the role of the male, and makes them also want to take this poor shemale and show him what true prosperity looks like.


    This is actually a condescending type of sympathy. Seeing the mute shemale amazed and dazzled by all the prosperity on developed planets also makes the male insectoid, and the readers by proxy, feel good in a pitifully vain manner.


    And only an unrealistically idealistic depiction of a shemale would make the readers feel depressed and hurt when destroyed.


    Do you see the mute who did not know wealth and luxury, who was clean and untouched, who died without even a shred of clothes or dignity, marred by indecent wounds and exposed?


    He could not ask for help, because he was mute. Mute like all the shemales who died at male hands in reality here. They had no rescue, no voice. Dead, only to see their murderers walk off without nary a pat on the shoulder.


    After the character is done, Cheng Zhaoci is still going through lots of plot and images he wants to depict. He successfully depresses himself and is crying for real.


    ¡°Oh damn! This is embarrassing,¡± Cheng Zhaoci wipes the tears away and tries to think of something else to change his mood.


    Though there is a knock on his door.


    Cheng Zhaoci opens the door to find Wei Zhuo outside, holding a glass filled with a milky white juice called ¡®Whitefruit Juice.¡¯ It serves a role similar to milk in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past life, with insectoids taking a sip before sleep to sleep better. As the name implies, it comes from a fruit. Pretty expensive too, he¡¯s heard.


    ¡°I hope I¡¯m not intruding, but here¡¯s a glass of¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Zhuo gets shocked by Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes all reddened. The little male was crying. Why? Does he miss his dad? Of course. No matter how mature he looks, he¡¯s still a minor.


    He really ought to call those higher ups out for being so stuck-up and keeping Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s dad occupied for so long. It¡¯s not like he had anything to do with Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s father¡¯s demise. He was just collectively punished.


    Cheng Zhaoci was going to say he got dust in his eyes, but this room is so clean that excuse would just sound pathetic. There isn¡¯t even wind to blow it into his eye. He just admits it, ¡°I was touched by my own story.¡±


    There was a moment when he also felt like saying he was too amazed by how handsome he was looking at the mirror, which would have just been outlandishly dumb.


    ¡°The story about the ¡®zombie¡¯?¡± Asks Wei Zhuo. He¡¯s seen the story, and he has to admit it was drawn well. He thinks getting touched to the point of tears would be an overstatement, but males are generally more emotional than them.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a new story, that I don¡¯t feel like spoiling yet,¡± Cheng Zhaoci takes the juice and says, ¡°you¡¯ll know when it¡¯s out.¡±


    Wei Zhuo is very supportive, ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± then he leaves the room and closes the door behind him.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci remembers that Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t even live here. This means that he just came over all this way to give him a glass of ¡®milk.¡¯ Wow, the shemale soldier really is a gentle person.


    The very ¡®gentle¡¯ shemale soldier, Wei Zhuo, is arriving at the military base, where rows upon rows of shemale soldiers are sprawled on the ground, drenched in their own sweat.


    ¡°The Flying Officer has warned you not to talk to the young male insectoid unprovoked so he would not be scared. What did you do after?¡± Meng Yuele has his hands behind him, coldly and mercilessly reprimanding them, ¡°and you still dare to call yourselves soldiers of the Federation?¡±


    No response comes. They¡¯re probably all too drained.


    ¡°Meng Yuele, come here for a moment,¡± Wei Zhuo is at the entrance to the training yard, with a rather sombre look.


    Meng Yuele understands there must be some gravity to the situation. He leaves with only a ¡°no slacking off.¡±


    At Wei Zhuo¡¯s personal office, he tells Meng Yuele, ¡°I¡¯ve been assigned to a solo mission. That¡¯s all I can say. So I need you to keep taking care of and protecting the young male. If something serious comes up, get my granddad.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were ordered to drop everything to focus on Mr Cheng Zhaoci?¡±


    ¡°An emergency assignment,¡± Wei Zhuo replies.


    Meng Yuele has a bad feeling about this, ¡°dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Lethal,¡± Wei Zhuo says, without much emotion in his tone, ¡°but if I come back, I might become the youngest Squadron Leader in insectoid history.¡±


    Skipping Flight Lieutenant entirely to become part of the higher management positions.


    And also an indirect proof at how dangerous the operation truly is. There is nothing Meng Yuele can do but comply, ¡°say no more, but make sure you come back to us.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Wei Zhuo nods, ¡°oh, and remember to get a glass of Whitefruit Juice for the young male every night. He¡¯s still growing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Got it. You definitely won¡¯t come back to him looking worse for wear,¡± Meng Yuele pats Wei Zhuo¡¯s shoulders, ¡°you can beat me up if he is.¡±


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t have much time for parting with others left, and quickly departs.


    Cheng Zhaoci only learned of his departure the next day. He doesn¡¯t know where Wei Zhuo has gone, but he is told the Federation needed Wei Zhuo to help with an experiment, so he may not be here for a while.


    This is also the day Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are transferred to a new school to begin their education proper. As a male, he can be arranged for homeschooling, since it¡¯s quite possible he won¡¯t be able to fit in and is isolated by other males, given their typical arrogance and nosiness.


    Meng Yuele offers to take Cheng Zhaoci to play outside, but Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t seem much interested. He is much more keen on drawing at home. He¡¯ll get the cover done today.


    On the cover, he depicts the mute shemale and the male protagonist playing hide-and-seek. The male insectoid is It, while the shemale is crouching at a corner. One of them is blindfolded, the other has covered up his mouth with his hand.


    One of them cannot see the cruelty behind the beautiful fa?ade of this world. One of them cannot speak or cry out for help.


    Of course, that is only if you read too much into the cover. Otherwise, it¡¯s just a male and shemale insectoid playing a fun game. Cheng Zhaoci also has the name of the ocmic down. He¡¯ll call it ¡®In a Tiny Flicker.¡¯


    Its meaning is completely open to interpretation by the readers.


    While drawing the cover, though, Meng Yuele has dragged him away to eat. And then again at night, when he also gets a complimentary glass of Whitefruit Juice.


    Not long after that, he receives a message from Wei Zhuo.


    [WeiZhuo: Has Meng Yuele delivered you a glass of juice?]


    Isn¡¯t he in the middle of assisting with experiments? And he still found the time to send him a message. Cheng Zhaoci is touched by the gentle and caring shemale soldier once more, while telling him Meng Yuele did, and he¡¯s finished drinking already.


    Then a reply comes.


    [WeiZhuo: Good, sweet dreams, then (*^¦Ø^*)]


    Cheng Zhaoci then completely blanks out. What is this?! Emoticon?! It doesn¡¯t fit the Flying Officer at all, oi!


    But damn! Trying to picture that wild and manly face of Officer Wei and this extremely moe emoticon¡­ Oh, the gap between seriousness and lightheartedness! How cute. How cute it is that a serious and ¡®unfun¡¯ shemale soldier is using emoticon¡­


    Cheng Zhaoci is covering his face because it is burning red. He thinks it¡¯s time to update the character sheet of the strongest shemale in his little zombie comic, in the direction of Flying Officer Wei. Yes.

 CH 18

    Social Death


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci has basically shut himself in to draw his comic. He needs to hammer out the details of the plot here, and also keep up the updates for the little zombie.


    He finds it comfortable to have a tighter schedule like this, because his two childhood friends are in the military academy now, and can¡¯t hang out with him anymore because they only have two days of rest away from the school every month.


    Being alone and having nothing to do would invite loneliness.


    Fortunately for Cheng Zhaoci, the third day he is working on his comic, Cheng Jin is back.


    He almost couldn¡¯t recognise his own dad. Clothes really make or break a person, they say. Deep azure officer uniform with his tall and proud form almost transforms his aura entirely.


    Insectoids live long and maintain top-notch form for a long time, until their sunset years. Cheng Jin appears the same generation as Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele too, for that matter. The military garments and the generally unapproachable atmosphere makes him feel like an unsheathed weapon.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Cheng Zhaoci rushes for his dad like a cannonball into his lap. Among all the males of the Capital planet, Cheng Zhaoci is probably the one with the least shame, for lack of a better word. Not that any of his closest friends and family would mind.


    ¡°Is everything done?¡± Asks Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Almost,¡± Cheng Jin lifts his son up with one arm, ¡°I might be assigned to a mission later to have the reinstatement finalised, so I might have to leave for a while then.¡±


    So he¡¯ll be alone again, laments Cheng Zhaoci. Then he keeps those emotions deep under wraps, as he doesn¡¯t want to affect his dad¡¯s mood. Besides, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s jobless and waiting to be fed anymore. They all have work now.


    After a bit of snuggly family time, Cheng Jin quickly picks Cheng Zhaoci up and takes him out of the house. He wants to treat Cheng Zhaoci to good food that can¡¯t be found on landfill planets. Cheng Zhaoci obliges, even though Meng Yuele has already bought him almost everything even slightly famous on the Capital.


    It¡¯s fun to just spend some time with his dad. Family time, you see.


    Cheng Jin takes Cheng Zhaoci to a patisserie, the kind that just screams ¡®we¡¯re high class¡¯ from the d¨¦cor alone. Great, Cheng Zhaoci shakes his head in his mind. Getting him cupcakes has already become some kind of obsession to his dad now. He¡¯s always stuffing him with sweets, even back on the landfill planet, as if he owed him a better life or something, as a male who couldn¡¯t even have a taste of a more refined dessert.


    Well, Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t object to making his dad feel better¡­ assuming they don¡¯t end up running into a certain insectoid on the way.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Zhou Luoluo, window shopping with some ¡®friends,¡¯ almost immediately locks onto Cheng Zhaoci. He couldn¡¯t forget this male, and after going home to think about it, he concludes, to his amazement, that the male insectoid might have been angry because he said his shemale concubine was ¡®disgusting¡¯!


    Not that Zhou Luoluo thinks he did anything wrong, but the whole scene has just been niggling at the back of his mind because Cheng Zhaoci looked offended at him. You know, if you let him do a retake, he¡¯ll definitely be able to shoot back words until Cheng Zhaoci drops his jaw with speechlessness! Yes! He just didn¡¯t react in time that day!


    ¡°Oh hell,¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his hand on his forehead. If his dad wasn¡¯t by his side, he¡¯d have gone ¡®fuck¡¯ already. Isn¡¯t the Capital planet, like planet-sized? How is he running into familiar faces like this is just some small roadside village?


    It¡¯s too late to cover his face, too, as Zhou Luoluo has already rushed over like an angry stick of firecracker. He has his eyes widened in anger, though it doesn¡¯t make him intimidating at all.


    Cheng Jin seems confused by the whole affair so far. He can clearly see this young male not exactly coming in on friendly terms with his male son. Did they have some sort of misunderstand? Even though his son has only been here for a few days? And he knows his son. He isn¡¯t one to pick fights with people. He asks, ¡°Zhaoci, is he an acquaintance?¡±


    ¡°Hah! It¡¯s just been a few days, and you¡¯ve got yourself another shemale concubine!¡± Zhou Luoluo, with arms akimbo, declares loudly.


    Cheng Zhaoci almost chokes on his food.


    Not far behind Zhou Luoluo are a few curious males looking this way nosily. Zhou Luoluo almost looks like a male who is out to catch his cijun cheating on him, with equally vibrant facial expressions.


    Fortunately, few shemales would visit such patisseries, and the male seating area is separated far from the shemale seating area, and there are very few other males present, so not many people can see what¡¯s going on.


    ¡°I thought you were quite the lovestruck insectoid that you threw a tantrum against me last time. Then what? What¡¯s this?¡± Zhou Luoluo says, as he examines Cheng Jin up and down, ¡°another shemale soldier? A Pilot Officer too. You sure are stuffing yourself full of them. Ha, hypocrite!¡±


    Cheng Jin raises his brow in interest as he looks at his son for an answer.


    ¡°No no no, Flying Officer Wei took Xiao Ji and He Huaijian with me to hang out last time. I¡¯ve never went out with other shemales,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is worried his dad would misunderstand that he¡¯s been corrupted no sooner than he had arrived at the vibrant Capital planet.


    ¡°Yo, frightened already? I see, this shemale doesn¡¯t know you have so many shemale concubines, does he? You might as well be with me instead. I¡¯m much more decent and haven¡¯t married a billion shemales yet,¡± Zhou Luoluo is smirking at Cheng Zhaoci. Actually, looking at Cheng Jin earlier, it¡¯s not too bad. Cheng Jin seems to have a slightly similar aura to Cheng Zhaoci. Most importantly, he isn¡¯t all ogling him uncontrollably when he can see him clearly. Zhou Luoluo is quite satisfied with that, ¡°so I say¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my dad,¡± Cheng Zhaoci cuts Zhou Luoluo¡¯s blabbering off while his head throbs in pain.


    Zhou Luoluo has stopped. His eyes widened to no end, with his words stuck at his throat. Then a mysterious ¡®burp¡¯ sound emerges from it.


    Zhou Luoluo¡¯s neck, like some kind of machinery that¡¯s long overdue for oiling, turns with a ¡®kak, kak, kak¡¯ sound towards Cheng Jin. Finally, he is able to produce a coherent, ¡°greetings, uncle.¡±


    ¡°Also, I¡¯m still a minor. Those three ¡®concubines¡¯ you¡¯re talking about, two are my brothers, the kind that¡¯s registered under the same household. The other one is a family friend,¡± Cheng Zhaoci speaks clearly and slowly.


    Zhou Luoluo looks like he had his colour drained from his face entirely.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t understand why Zhou Luoluo is reacting this way. He remembers in his past life, there was a guy who had lunch with different woman each day, and all of them are gorgeous beauties. He thought he was some kind of scum who¡¯s dating multiple woman at once, but it turned out it was his mother and sisters. They¡¯re just all beautiful.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Cheng Jin is smiling, though Cheng Zhaoci would rate it ¡®highly disingenuous,¡¯ ¡°you are certainly an energetic male,¡± damning with fine praise, are we?


    The males chattering nearby seem a little restless. They¡¯re not too sure what they just said because they¡¯re too far away, but Zhou Luoluo clearly appeared to be trying to win the shemale over in the beginning with that yell.


    One of the braver ones in the group shouts, ¡°hey, that shemale over there! Just go with Luoluo instead! He¡¯s definitely much better than that one in front of you!¡±


    Oh for the love of! Zhou Luoluo gives his ¡®friend¡¯ a glare and turns around, excusing himself, ¡°uh, uncle, please enjoy your meal. I still have something to do.¡±


    ¡°Well, why the hurry?¡± Cheng Zhaoci seems oddly motivated for some reason, ¡°come take a seat. My treat.¡±

 CH 19

    Heartless


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Zhou Luoluo¡¯s greatest regret ¨C coming along, or walking out the door at all today. Why did he agree to go window shopping with those male ¡®friends¡¯ of his?


    They legged it as soon as they realised something¡¯s off; not because of the shemale Cheng Jin, but the slightly dangerous looking male Cheng Zhaoci.


    They¡¯re probably assuming that Zhou Luoluo is male and will therefore survive any encounter with the other male, no matter how angry he is.


    Zhou Luoluo, like an unloved and abused little sapling, is sitting by himself next to Cheng Zhaoci, putting chunks of food in his mouth, without so much as being able to taste the food at all.


    ¡°So Mr Zhou, did you have grievances against a-Ci?¡± Cheng Jin is talking gently given the conversation target is a male, and his own son doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s been duped or anything.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Zhou Luoluo quietly replies. This shouldn¡¯t be. He¡¯s a male! Why is he speaking so meekly to a lowly shemale?! He needs to get up and¡­ and he sees Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s rather deep smile looking at him. He gives up once more.


    Cheng Zhaoci certainly is intrigued. He thought the male was another one of those typical unreasonable ones, but it looks a bit more like he¡¯s just suffering from an overblown ego, ¡°what¡¯s with the face? Am I bullying you?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo wants to nod, but he does not. He shakes his head slightly, only feeling even more like crying after that.


    Then he opens his holodeck. He wants to pretend someone is calling for him and so he needs to leave; he can set his holodeck to public. Generally holodecks are always open to public view all around, but special accessory can be added to obfuscate the data for everyone besides the owner. Well, he needs the exact opposite right now, because ¡®someone is calling for him.¡¯


    ¡°Eh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci sounds surprised, ¡°you¡¯ve set the little zombie kind as your background?¡± And it¡¯s the close-up of him he drew for a really long time at the end of the first chapter.


    Zhou Luoluo quickly looks up and asks, ¡°you know this?!¡± He thought someone like Cheng Zhaoci wouldn¡¯t bother with comics. It¡¯s more like, he should be sipping a glass of wine in some luxurious and unlit room. Yes, that¡¯s how he imagines he should live.


    ¡°The artist has only uploaded two chapters right now, but I¡¯m sure that strongest shemale definitely likes the little zombie king,¡± Zhou Luoluo starts excitedly blabbering about his discoveries, ¡°I¡¯m sure you never noticed that when he agreed to let the little zombie king follow him, he pats him on the shoulder. It is actually a deviation from the strongest shemale¡¯s normal personality. I think it¡¯s definitely because he¡¯s conflicted that the little zombie king is entirely innocent, save for the crime of existing.¡±


    Conflicted, is the perfect adjective to describe Cheng Jin. He looks at the young male, then at his good Ci-zai, and decides to say nothing. He¡¯ll merely watch over them.


    Clearly Zhou Luoluo is really passionate, his eyes are practically glowing.


    ¡°Woah, good on you for seeing that,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is pleasantly surprised. So he¡¯s not just a reader, but even a reader who¡¯s seen through the flags he¡¯s planted.


    Cheng Zhaoci leans forward and asks, ¡°let me ask you, how many of you males have been reading the comic?¡±


    ¡°¡®You males¡¯? You¡¯re not a male?¡± Zhou Luoluo looks confused.


    ¡°I mean your circle of friends.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo goes ¡®ho,¡¯ looking at Cheng Zhaoci like he is the village bumpkin, ¡°the artistic style, the colouring, they¡¯re so distinct and unique. Don¡¯t you know how greatly this background, with the little zombie king, has infiltrated the other circles?¡± He puts his wrist forward so Cheng Zhaoci can see clearly. Males always like things that look nice, especially if it¡¯s eye-catchingly beautiful.


    Cheng Zhaoci really has no idea about the drawing creeping its way into other circles, and shakes his head.


    ¡°You don¡¯t?! Do you not surf the web at all?¡± Zhou Luoluo is in disbelief, ¡°all my male friends know! And many shemales are following the updates, too! Everyone knows the author is probably a shemale who¡¯s fantasising males, but his drawings are too brilliant! I¡¯m sure there will be more sweet interactions to follow.¡±


    It¡¯s become that popular? Cheng Zhaoci has no idea. It¡¯s true he hasn¡¯t checked his account for a while, since he just moved and then dedicated himself to drawing. He hasn¡¯t checked his account since confirming to meet with the editor back on the military spaceship, but¡­


    ¡°Fantasising males?¡± Cheng Zhaoci has latched onto the keyword, ¡°how so?¡±


    ¡°With that weird user ID? No way he¡¯s a male. No male would ever use such a crass name,¡± Zhou Luoluo explains, ¡°and there are no males like the little zombie king in real life. It¡¯s a beautiful fantasy, but I¡¯ll be honest, I really like him that way.¡±


    ¡°So one last question. Remember the shemale you described as ¡®disgusting¡¯ the last time we met? Isn¡¯t he really similar in appearance to the strongest shemale of the comic?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Luoluo is the one surprised this time, ¡°what do you mean?¡± He was too preoccupied with that scar on the eye the last time he saw that shemale, and didn¡¯t think too deeply about who the shemale looked like.


    Cheng Zhaoci knows what he¡¯s thinking just from the way he looks, and sighs. Then he gets his own holodeck, and logs on to his account, ¡°come closer. I¡¯ll show you something,¡± then he lets Zhou Luoluo see the hologram fully.


    Zhou Luoluo watches, slightly disinterested. User ID? Why? It¡¯s just Bomb¡­ BombIn, BombInMyPants?!


    ¡°EEEEAAAAAAH!¡± A male scream threatens to rupture eardrums.


    The really girly face plus the whistle makes Cheng Zhaoci seriously question Zhou Luoluo¡¯s gender once more. Is he really a male and not just a transmigrated girl?


    But never mind that, because Cheng Zhaoci is satisfied with the rather lowbrow humour here. It¡¯s cheap, and it¡¯s basically boasting, but Cheng Zhaoci enjoys it.


    Who wouldn¡¯t like to show up all of a sudden in front of their own reader, especially when that reader is praising them, and then calmly reveal their true identity and enjoy their gazes of shock and disbelief? No one can refuse the temptation, at least, not someone as down-to-earth as Cheng Zhaoci.


    When the screaming chicken that is Zhou Luoluo has finally calmed down, his eyes are visibly different looking at Cheng Zhaoci. He has turned from a scared kitten to having the eponymous ¡®pie chart eyes¡¯ of 20% shyness, 30% passion and 70% disbelief. The complexities and nuances of the eyes make even Cheng Zhaoci uneasy.


    ¡°Can I have your contacts?¡± Zhou Luoluo asks meekly, ¡°I really like the little zombie king. I think the ID is really great. It¡¯s not crass at all. It is the fault of those who cannot appreciate the senses.¡±


    Says the one who just said the ID cannot possibly belong to a male. Look how quickly he gives in to temptation.


    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll need a favour. I hope you can keep secrets well,¡± Cheng Zhaoci just had the bright idea of having an actual, genuine male insectoid help read the short comic. He wants to know the possible reaction. He has done the storyboarding and has a rough sketch of the entire story done after a few days¡¯ hard, continuous labour. The plot is complete, though the drawing quality is rough.


    He can just show him the comic by letting him see his holodeck in private, so he wouldn¡¯t be too worried about leaks, but it¡¯s better to have them promise to keep it a secret first.


    ¡°I can, I¡¯ll do whatever you need me to,¡± Zhou Luoluo is clearly too young to have experienced the harshness of adult society, and agrees without a second thought. After a much more pleasant meal with Cheng Zhaoci and Cheng Jin, he follows after Cheng Zhaoci without even so much as a message to his family.


    When he¡¯s over at where Cheng Zhaoci is living, he asks about if he¡¯s living alone. He thinks it¡¯s amazing to live alone.


    Normally, male insectoids would live under their fathers before they marry their first shemale. Since insectoids are polygamous, children are quite numerous, and often, they live in big family units.


    Cheng Jin hasn¡¯t said a word, but seeing the two males go up to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s room and close the door, he can¡¯t shake off the ominous feeling that his Ci-zai might be trying to get back at him.


    When Zhou Luoluo learns that his task is to review the story of a new short comic, he¡¯s excited enough his eyes are positively glowing! Even if it¡¯s just a rough storyboard sketch, it¡¯s still amazing, ¡°can I really see it? Really really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I need feedback,¡± Cheng Zhaoci opens the file for his new comic. Just the cover and Zhou Luoluo is already taken in.


    A male and a shemale, in a game of hide-and-seek? The palette is warm, and the lighting has coloured the two insectoids gently and warmly. Zhou Luoluo is very interested now, ¡°is this a love story?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci just tells him to continue.


    An excited Zhou Luoluo is a blabbering Zhou Luoluo,


    ¡°Are landfill planets really this messy? Hahaha! The protagonist is rubbing dust on his face to pretend to be a demi!¡±


    ¡°Oh man! It¡¯s the shemale! The shemale lead! Wow¡­ He¡¯s super good-looking!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha! What kind of dumb thinking led to that trick?! They seriously need their brains checked.¡±


    ¡°Though really, if I¡¯m really crash landed on a landfill planet, I¡¯d probably do worse than the male protagonist.¡±


    ¡°Oh man it¡¯s here! The rescue is here! And honestly, I get the male¡¯s still a minor, but it¡¯s really a shame they aren¡¯t together.¡±


    ¡°The shemale really is great. If only there are amazing shemales like him in real life.¡±


    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s introducing him to a friend? This is silly! He should keep going after him until he wins his heart over!¡±


    As Zhou Luoluo continues, though, an odd feeling starts to niggle at the back of his mind. Finally, when the male goes to invite the shemale to a new restaurant, and finds out the shemale has died, Zhou Luoluo is visibly shaken! He continues flipping through the rest of the comic rapidly.


    But then his pace slows down more and more, just as his mood sinks lower and lower, until finally, on the very day the male is due to appear in court with his ¡®friend,¡¯ and Zhou Luoluo sees the panel showing the male recalling the shemale, contrasting the simpleminded but innocent past him with the poor, mangled, dead shemale on the bed, the emotions burst, and Zhou Luoluo bursts out crying.


    ¡°Wh- why?! You can¡¯t, you can¡¯t just kill him! I, that bastard, he¡¯s a real bastard! Why could he do that to the little mute shemale, wah!¡± Zhou Luoluo continues flipping through the comic while crying, only for the crying to grow louder and louder.


    Noting this reaction, Cheng Zhaoci is sure the comic is effective.

 CH 20

    An Unpopular Friend


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    After Zhou Luoluo has finished reading the entire story, he¡¯s devolved to a sopping mess, ¡°why can you, how can it be, sob. The cute shemale has died, he died¡­¡± And a bubble emerges from his nose. Cheng Zhaoci can only hand him a tissue in response.


    Zhou Luoluo receives it with trembling hands. Then he says with teary eyes, ¡°this is how the mute shemale gave the protagonist a tissue,¡± the helplessly crying form could definitely win him an Oscar for best crying scene ever.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, his veins twitching, feeling second-hand embarrassment from how emotional Zhou Luoluo has become. Evidently, though, Zhou Luoluo is not done yet, ¡°the bastard who killed the mute shemale! I¡¯ll have him disgraced and exiled!¡± The way he¡¯s gritting his teeth when saying that is quite reminiscent of how ¡®bossy CEO¡¯ archetypes would act on soap operas back in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s old world.


    Well, it¡¯s the mad ravings of a 16-year-old. Rather than taking it seriously, it feels more like his eighth-grade syndrome needs urgent treatment.


    Cheng Zhaoci pats Zhou Luoluo on the shoulder, ¡°it¡¯s fake. The male does not exist. How will you disgrace and exile someone who doesn¡¯t exist?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s in the comic, the male should have been punished by the law!¡± Zhou Luoluo is yelling like a stubborn brat who wouldn¡¯t budge until his parents bought him the toy he wanted.


    Cheng Zhaoci goes quiet, then, when Zhou Luoluo¡¯s wails finally begin to subside, asks suddenly, ¡°do you know me well?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Zhou Luoluo is too confused by the sudden change in topic that he forgets he¡¯s still crying.


    ¡°Do you know the male insectoids of the Capital planet well?¡± Cheng Zhaoci changes his question.


    ¡°Many of them, I do,¡± Zhou Luoluo thinks and answers, ¡°I¡¯d be familiar with the name even if I haven¡¯t seen them.¡±


    Males are rare and generally keep to themselves. There are also frequent social gatherings, so he can confidently claim that he¡¯d know at least 7 out of 10 males around his age. Finally, Zhou Luoluo has realised what Cheng Zhaoci is asking about.


    When he first met Cheng Zhaoci, he assumed he came from some other planet. Now he¡¯s followed him home, though, that means Cheng Zhaoci lives here?


    Oh, or this could possibly be a vacation home?


    It still doesn¡¯t make sense, though, because no young male insectoid would follow their shemale dad to some other planet instead of being with their male father before marriage. He also has two shemale older brothers with him, hasn¡¯t he?


    Zhou Luoluo has confused himself now, and so he asks, ¡°so you¡¯re not from the Capital planet?¡±


    ¡°I grew up on Zhousuo,¡± Cheng Zhaoci reveals the answer, since he doesn¡¯t view it as a shameful secret to be kept hidden away.


    Now that he¡¯s on the Capital planet, in person, he isn¡¯t planning to continue hiding everything for fear of reprisal from that insane cijun of his cheap father.


    Zhou Luoluo finds ¡®Zhousuo¡® a largely unfamiliar name. Like, he¡¯s heard of it somewhere, for sure, but he doesn¡¯t know what it is.


    Cheng Zhaoci reveals the answer, ¡°it¡¯s one of the furthest landfill planets from the Capital planet.¡±


    Oh, that reminds Zhou Luoluo. In the very beginning, the comic of the little zombie was posted by an author from Zhousuo.


    He remembers seeing comments that insult the artist as a shemale who¡¯s never so much as seen any male in his life on a landfill planet, and is fantasising about them instead of doing more honest work.


    Wait, so the artist is from a landfill planet, but is a male on a landfill planet?! Zhou Luoluo is in shock. Why would any male insectoid be on a landfill planet?!


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯ll be brief; circumstances have forced me to hide my male identity. I was an egg when my shemale dad was exiled from the Capital planet,¡± Cheng Zhaoci shrugs, ¡°my dad was exiled because my father was killed by one of his shemale slaves.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Zhou Luoluo is stunned, that a shemale slave has attacked and killed his xiongzhu, ¡°was the slave executed?¡±


    ¡°He was,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says in quite the monotonous tone. Zhou Luoluo appears to find the incident an affront to his values, so he asks, ¡°if, in my comic, I made the mute shemale resist and struggle, and kill that male insectoid who demeaned and tortured him to death, what would you think?¡±


    ¡°Justice is served!¡± Zhou Luoluo says by reflex, and is, once again, bewildered at the change in topic, ¡°wait, what are you trying to say?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci smiles and says, ¡°I¡¯m trying to say, that if the mute shemale did resist, then, like the shemale slave of my late father, only capital punishment awaited him.¡±


    Ignoring Zhou Luoluo, who suddenly goes all stiff, Cheng Zhaoci continues, ¡°in fact, not only would the mute shemale be receiving the death penalty, he would also be reviled for being a shemale concubine who killed his xiongzhu.¡±


    ¡°But, but it¡¯s different. The mute shemale is not like the shemale slave,¡± because he¡¯s pure and kind.


    ¡°Different? You don¡¯t even know that shemale slave. How do you know he isn¡¯t someone caring and gentle like the mute shemale?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks with an exceedingly calm tone that is more soothing than pressing, but Zhou Luoluo is at a loss for words, ¡°think about it this way. If you didn¡¯t know who the mute shemale was, would you not think the same only hearing that he killed his xiongzhu? That he deserved to die just like that shemale slave?¡±


    ¡°Oh, and, by the way, I doubt you would be able to find out the reason why that shemale slave killed his xiongzhu on official records,¡± Cheng Zhaoci continues, ¡°perhaps there are very few insectoids left, like my dad, who knew ¨C it was because the shemale slave is on the brink of death being tortured by my so-called ¡®father,¡¯ and it was an involuntary struggle. Do you feel like it¡¯s even more similar now?¡±


    Colour has largely drained from Zhou Luoluo¡¯s face now. He only finds it in him to speak up after a long time, ¡°do, do you, do you loathe all the male insectoids?¡± He thinks he has an idea why he would release such a comic.


    He didn¡¯t know at all why Cheng Zhaoci, a male insectoid, would have such values and views, but the explanation has shed light on his thoughts.


    What are shemales? It¡¯s a problem Zhou Luoluo has never thought about deeply. They¡¯re like things that are there, something you¡¯re expected to get after becoming an adult. The general education in insectoid society means that he is unable to think from the perspective of the shemales. In short, they are completely apathetic to their plight.


    However, if they do start to think about it, start to observe it, they would finally realise, shemales are also insectoids just like them.


    They have their own lives, they have moments of joy, of sorrow, of anger, of happiness. They have a much more difficult time making it by, but they do their very best. They are also the natural born warriors ¨C protectors, the pride of their society.


    These living, independent, noble existences, then end up dead in some unknown ditch somewhere, because of some unnecessary ¡®entertainment¡¯ of the males, like the mute shemale. Wounded. Defiled. Exposed.


    ¡°Not really,¡± not just because Cheng Zhaoci himself is a male, but also because he knows not all male insectoids are like them. If every male insectoid is a sadistic psycho, it will certainly take divine intervention just to keep the Federation and insectoid society from collapsing.


    The more prevalent but silent majority are largely ¡®unfaithful,¡¯ giving their love to whomever strikes their fancy, and toxic ¡®masculinity¡¯ is still rampant, but they still do have lines they would not cross. They would also never harm their own shemales ¨C their family.


    However, because of the great gender and subsequent power imbalance, the initiative lies on males. Whether it is good or bad, only the males can decide.


    Cheng Zhaoci is no saint, and normally, he wouldn¡¯t try to intervene in these things no one can change alone in futility. It¡¯s unwanted, unneeded, and disliked. Why not try to make a few more easy bucks instead of meddling in societal change?


    And that¡¯s what he did all the time before coming to the Capital planet, but after he did, he finds there is a pressing, impending sense of doom. Not for himself, but for his good shemale dad, and for his good friends, the brainy and the brawny.


    It¡¯s almost like a bad joke. Cheng Zhaoci has gained family, but also gained family worries. He himself might be more worried than the family members in question that they might be mistreated or discriminated against on the Capital planet.


    He¡¯s worried sick the dum-dum Xiao Ji might go blind and fall head-over-heels for a trash male insectoid, and not even Cheng Zhaoci could save him in the end.


    Zhou Luoluo has become much quieter since he stopped asking. When the sun starts to set, before Zhou Luoluo has to go home, he tells Cheng Zhaoci, with a very serious tone, ¡°I want to be friends with you! And it¡¯s not because of the comics!¡±


    ¡°You are a very good insectoid. I like insectoids like you!¡± Zhou Luoluo¡¯s tone is so solemn like it¡¯s some kind of wedding vow.


    When Meng Yuele was walking upstairs, ¡®I like insectoids like you¡¯ was all he could hear. So shocked was he that he almost dropped the juice in his hands. He, and Cheng Jin, who was walking up with him, shared a glance, as Meng Yuele blinked rapidly to ask what¡¯s going on.


    Cheng Jin doesn¡¯t know. He just watches as the teenage male insectoid walks out from his son¡¯s room with reddened eyes. He¡¯s cried, it seems. Meanwhile, he¡¯s also looking at Cheng Zhaoci all determined and touched, like he¡¯s all ready to break away with society, and marry Cheng Zhaoci, to start an unprecedented male-male relationship for the only possible time in history.


    Cheng Jin suddenly realises something. Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are both pretty handsome when it comes to shemales. Why does his good son not seem interested in them? Could he really be¡­


    If Cheng Zhaoci knows what Cheng Jin is thinking about, he would probably make a forced smile. He did transmigrate, with his past memories; he still remembers the times when Xiao Ji was but a short stubby brat and peeing everywhere, and when He Huaijian was making silly smiles with snot still hanging from his nose. There is no way there will be anything romantic between them, ever.


    But Cheng Zhaoci does not know, nor does Cheng Jin know. He can only look at Cheng Zhaoci, all worried.


    When it comes time to leave, Zhou Luoluo gives Cheng Zhaoci a big hug, too, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you to see the editor tomorrow! We must have the upper hand in the negotiations!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know why suddenly he and Zhou Luoluo is a ¡®we,¡¯ but having a male insectoid as a friend on the Capital planet is probably going to be a good thing. He doesn¡¯t say anything more.


    Meng Yuele watches the two males part with each other ¡®intimately (?),¡¯ and thinks, something has gone terribly wrong.


    After he leaves, all dazed, he immediately reports it to Wei Zhuo.


    Wei Zhuo, in his dangerous, secret mission, only has a few moments a day he can check his holodeck. When he settles down for the night to write a message for Cheng Zhaoci, he receives this almost creepy message from Meng Yuele.


    Wei Zhuo, still thinking about what to write ¡°???¡±


    The young male insectoid is in love with another male insectoid? They had a private rendezvous right in front of him and his shemale dad? Wait! A private rendezvous in front of his dad? Meng Yuele, the bastard, did he learn to speak using his arse instead of his brain?

 CH 21

    Who?


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Zhou Luoluo is already waiting outside the door the next morning, when Cheng Zhaoci hasn¡¯t even had breakfast. Quick questioning reveals that the excited Zhou Luoluo hasn¡¯t eaten either, rushing over as soon as he¡¯s awake.


    Great, time to cook for two. Even ignoring Zhou Luoluo¡¯s male status, he¡¯s still a minor, and even a year younger than Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Did you tell your editor you¡¯re a male when meeting with the editor today?¡± Zhou Luoluo asks while chewing bread, making his voice muffled, ¡°where are you going to meet?¡±


    ¡°Male? Is that necessary?¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies, ¡°and he said a store called ¡®Capital Meat Specialists.''¡± The name sure is quite down-to-Earth, in the sense that it really feels Terran.


    Though Zhou Luoluo seems less appreciative of the name overall, ¡°that¡¯s no place for male insectoids to dine!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Why not, you ask?!¡± Zhou Luoluo explains, sounding defeated, ¡°since your editor doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re male, he¡¯ll have booked somewhere with delicious food; delicious food means it¡¯s full of customers ¨C full of shemales and demis. Do you know how much trouble we males are in for if we go there?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci tries to imagine it by referencing the extremely passionate shemale soldiers when he first came to the Capital planet, ¡°yeah, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Then tell your editor to change the location now!¡± Zhou Luoluo yells.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is still nonchalantly continuing his lunch, ¡°just wait and see.¡±


    Wait and see? What? Zhou Luoluo doesn¡¯t understand, but he will soon enough.


    After Cheng Zhaoci has finished his breakfast, he gets a change of clothes ¨C a black shirt and long black jeans. Slightly messy black hair brushed to the side to show the forehead cleanly. Without a smile, his slanted eyes are cold and sharp. It¡¯s completely different from the ¡®noble gentleman¡¯ look that¡¯s the vogue on the Capital planet right now.


    Put simply, handsome and even sexy, sexy enough that he could just go to a brothel and sit there, but he also has a pretty damned imposing aura that would reject most advances.


    A cold and slightly gloomy look, that would remind one of a vampire, if this world had something like vampires.


    ¡°Holy moly! What in the world is this?!¡± Zhou Luoluo is blabbering out loud, ¡°oh my goodness, oh my very goodness, wow!¡± He feels dangerous, merciless, and so damned cool!


    Cheng Zhaoci then continues the charade by walking up to Zhou Luoluo with a cold face, and grab the stunned Zhou Luoluo¡¯s chin with his fingers, while pretentiously saying, ¡°the only ones receiving flirts are the good little males like you. I¡¯ll have my peace,¡± he was received so passionately by the shemale soldiers only because they had his more lively nature figured out.


    ¡°AAAAAH! I can!¡± Zhou Luoluo once again erupts in his unique high-pitched scream, ¡°fuck! You¡¯re so fucking handsome! Come gimme a kiss!¡± He flails his arms open wildly and pretends to kiss; a clear joke on both parties involved.


    ¡®Clank.¡¯


    That is the sound of a glass falling to water. The wildly screaming Zhou Luoluo and the pretentious Cheng Zhaoci both turn to find Meng Yuele just having entered the room, his hands shaking unsteadily, and looking at them in disbelief, ¡°I, I¡¯ll remember to knock next time.¡±


    Then he turns around to run, as if he¡¯s being chased by some terrible monster.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s misunderstanding,¡± says Zhou Luoluo.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Luoluo quickly separate while clearing their throats and looking away from each other.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Zhou Luoluo gets up like nothing has happened, ¡°it¡¯s almost time, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Cheng Zhaoci goes back to pretending to be unapproachable.


    Li Jiu is ready to leave in the editor¡¯s office of the website in question.


    ¡°Going to sign another contract, are we?¡± His colleague stretches; he¡¯s also a demi, but with his hair dyed a rather fabulous green, ¡°where will you meet?¡±


    ¡°Capital Meat Specialists,¡± Li Jiu adjusts his fake glasses, ¡°I heard it¡¯s popular with shemales.¡±


    The green-haired demi seem excited all of a sudden, ¡°Capital Meat Specialists?! Let me tag along too! They make damned good food!¡±


    Another of their colleague chimes in, ¡°really? Going to scare his contractee off?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably fine. Shemales are pretty nice, what, you thought he¡¯s another demi?¡±


    Shemales do the fighting while demis have more artistic pursuits. So often, if there¡¯s a problem, shemales would fight, but demis are the ones coming up with schemes worthy of a whole TV drama.


    The green-haired demi slaps the desk unhappily, ¡°what are you trying to say? Demi-phobic, are you? Huh?¡±


    Demis are generally viewed as more pleasing to the males, as their more comparatively petite forms are much more likeable to them compared to the best fighters that are the shemales.


    ¡°I really want to see BombIn too!¡± The demi starts throwing a tantrum, ¡°really really really! I want to know why the third chapter of the little zombie isn¡¯t out yet! It¡¯s been a week, a whole week! Why?!¡±


    ¡°And also, I must know whether he¡¯s a creepy type or uncaring type!¡± The demi is dragging Li Jiu¡¯s pants now, ¡°let me go with you! Let me!¡±


    Li Jiu fails to rescue his leg, and, watching the demi¡¯s fake crying, just says, ¡°fine, you can tag along.¡±


    The demi instantly sits upright again, but Li Jiu continues, ¡°but you can¡¯t say anything. Especially if BombIn doesn¡¯t look attractive. Don¡¯t show a disappointed face either.¡±


    ¡°I promise! I do!¡± He¡¯d probably have sworn to god if the insectoid society had a ¡®god.¡¯


    Li Jiu arrived much earlier than the scheduled meeting, since he¡¯s worried the artist won¡¯t be able to find his booked seat, especially with how big the Specialists¡¯ restaurant is. They¡¯ve ordered stuff after sitting down.


    ¡°Cai Lu, make sure to keep your mouth shut,¡± Li Jiu is warning the demi again.


    Li Jiu knows Cai Lu doesn¡¯t actually mean to offend anyone when he speaks, having been his colleague for a long time. In fact, he¡¯s pretty simpleminded and straightforward, but which only exacerbates the cruelty of the words he speaks. Oftentimes, he¡¯d make an honest and asinine comment and bring the whole mood down.


    He¡¯s a good friend who¡¯d be the first to help you out in a bind, but his words also draw a lot of ire. God knows how many of the company¡¯s employees would rather he had layers of tape covering that shitty mouth. Honestly, if he isn¡¯t good at heart and generally helpful, he might have been beaten to death a long time ago.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine! Even if BombIn looks like his face just got trampled on by a mecha, I¡¯d be able to find somewhere to praise,¡± Cai Lu makes a grand promise, ¡°I¡¯ll talk about how great his drawing techniques are and how he can mix colours really well!¡±


    Both Li Jiu and Cai Lu¡¯s promise are largely a result from guesses at BombIn¡¯s appearance, which is based off of a rather plausible sounding analysis online.


    It says that since BombIn¡¯s protagonist is a shemale with a jarring scar, and the male lead is a male insectoid ¨C well, at least he appears male ¨C who follows the protagonist¡¯s every word to the letter, it¡¯s quite clear it is a dream fantasy for the artist. So one can imagine the artist is someone who isn¡¯t handsome, and has not dated a male ¨C or perhaps never so much as seen one ¨C and that¡¯s why the comic is this way.


    Well, although the tone makes it sound like the analyser is despising BombIn¡¯s ¡®unsavoury¡¯ mind, but he also freely admitted to being a fan. Apparently the art and story is too nice, and the little zombie king is too cute to ignore.


    ¡°You know there are also those who say he¡¯s a shemale soldier. Remember the exciting fighting scenes of the first chapt-aw!¡± Cai Lu quickly shuts his mouth as he watches two males enter the restaurant.


    One has long hair with white clothes, big and lively eyes. The other is, well, tall and imposing, looking quite distant and unapproachable.


    Both seem to be looking around for something.


    ¡°You only have your editor¡¯s photo? You didn¡¯t send him yours?¡± Zhou Luoluo asks. Cheng Zhaoci is apologetic, ¡°uh, I forgot. He didn¡¯t ask me so I forgot to send.¡±


    They¡¯re talking in a whisper so the shemales can¡¯t hear them clearly. Although a rather eerie silence has taken over the chatter soon enough.


    ¡°Oh man! I really want to go chat them up! Li Jiu, see you for the day, I¡¯m going to hang out with males!¡± Cai Lu doesn¡¯t dare turn to face the males he wants to date, though, and is just moving his eye around rapidly.


    ¡°Say it out loud if you¡¯re really that brave, dummy,¡± Li Jiu sounds pessimistic, ¡°and also, just forget it. That male in black looks very difficult to handle. You don¡¯t want to land yourself in trouble.¡±


    ¡°But he¡¯s so, so, so handsome!¡± Trying to scream with a whisper has just made it sound like wheezing instead, ¡°why would males come here? Two at the same time?¡± Wouldn¡¯t males usually go to male-exclusive restaurants?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but stop looking. You¡¯re going to get sued for harassment,¡± Li Jiu has his head lowered and locked dead on the electronic menu on the desk so no one can see him.


    Zhou Luoluo has looked around, but can¡¯t see the insectoid on the photograph anywhere, and whispers, ¡°is he even here? Where is he? I can¡¯t see him! This restaurant is too big, oh crap, they¡¯re making me have goosebumps the way they¡¯re looking. Help!¡±


    ¡°Wait, let me see,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gets his holodeck to ask if the editor is here yet and which talbe they¡¯re at.


    Li Jiu, who¡¯s trying to bury himself under the desk, sees the message, and says, ¡°BombIn says he¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Cai Lu looks over at the entrance to see a shemale entering. Slightly overweight, and frozen in place, not able to avert his eyes from the two males in front of him. He¡¯s not exactly ugly, but he doesn¡¯t look too muscular. The appearance is generally fine, but he isn¡¯t too much different from how Cai Lu imagined BombIn might look.


    Cai Lu and Li Jiu share a glance, and Li Jiu nods, ¡°he¡¯s at the door. I think that¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡°Here! BombIn! Here!¡± Cai Lu gets up to wave, and yells loudly like he¡¯s trying to keep his spying on the males earlier a secret.


    ¡°There!¡± Zhou Luoluo immediately sees the waving Cai Lu with his eye-catching green hair, ¡°no wonder I didn¡¯t see them! Look, it¡¯s the one I thought was sleeping just now!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci also sees them; the one wearing fake glasses is the editor who¡¯s sent him his 3D portrait. He pulls up his business smile and walks over, ¡°hello! Sorry we didn¡¯t see you earlier.¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡± Cai Lu has frozen in place. Li Jiu¡¯s eyes are bulging.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci sits down opposite them, and Cai Lu gasps while whispering, ¡°we called out to BombIn, why are the males coming here?¡±


    Li Jiu also shakes his head slightly in disbelief. He does not know. He does not understand. He does not comprehend.


    ¡°I¡¯m BombInMyPants,¡± Cheng Zhaoci extends his hand towards Li Jiu. It¡¯s quite embarrassing to say that ID out loud, really, ¡°um, you must be editor Li, right?¡±

 CH 22

    Back Sprain


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cai Lu really regrets not dressing up before leaving his house today. How was he to know that trying to skimp on work and go meet an artist would land him squarely with two males! Males! Living, breathing males!


    Trying to act calm, Cai Lu tries taking a sip from his cup, only to have his tongue cooked through by the boiling tea. He yells, although halfway through, he remembers he is in the company of two males, and covers his mouth with his hands.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks with furrowed brows.


    Cai Lu makes a big thumbs up, ¡°I¡¯m fine! Everything is fine! Good! Excellent! My body is always great, so please don¡¯t worry about me, mister!¡± The tone is tragically forceful; he looks like he¡¯d rather disappear into the void after finishing speaking.


    What in the world was he saying?! Please, thunder, come and cleanse him off this Capital planet, oh bollocks!


    Zhou Luoluo fails to hold it in and breaks out a chuckle. Cai Lu looks like he¡¯s dying.


    ¡°Apologies,¡± Li Jiu tries to salvage the awkward mood. He¡¯s also clearly uncomfortable, but he doesn¡¯t let it show much, ¡°you were different from our imagination. It is really surprising, so¡­¡± He can only feel trouble brewing noting all the jealous gazes from the shemales and demis directed their way.


    He thought Cheng Zhaoci was going to be a shemale. Shemales are great, many are easy to talk to, and it¡¯s a joy to work with them. Demis might bring with them assortments of trouble, and most arguments that required the site to intervene are the result of demi arguments. Shemales are much better.


    So are there ones even more difficult to work with and troublesome? Yes. Males. Males don¡¯t usually contract, though. Just letting everyone know they¡¯re male brings enough attention and traffic. Males don¡¯t even need the money, and just enjoy the spotlight.


    Of course, there have been males who contracted, and their editors all have to treat them with extreme, utmost courtesy. Any tiniest of issues would result in a tantrum, and a tantrum means the blindly loyal shemales and demis would follow along. Then it gets out of control.


    Editors who end up supervising males often hand in resignation letters early.


    Although the male has appeared to be amicable so far, but Li Jiu knows you must never judge an insectoid by their appearance, especially males.


    And he chose a location popular with shemales, with no special section to accommodate males. They¡¯d very likely become annoyed soon enough from all the stares.


    Well, annoying as it is, Cheng Zhaoci feels so unapproachable that no one is trying to come flirt. Zhou Luoluo appeared quite uncomfortable, although only until the food catches his attention. Then he happily indulges his stomach, ¡°wow! This is amazing! It¡¯s a bit spicy though¡­¡±


    ¡°Here, water,¡± Cai Lu swears he¡¯s never acted so feminine, ever.


    Zhou Luoluo, watching the glass of water, and then glancing at Cheng Zhaoci, shifts his shoulders a little, and says, ¡°uh, th-thanks,¡± it¡¯s a very first for him to ever thank a demi, but Zhou Luoluo has decided to try and be a male who treats shemales maturely. Then our ¡®gentle, mature¡¯ male experiences first hand exactly what getting scalded to heaven means.


    Seeing the ¡®mature¡¯ male about to turn into a soprano singer to express his anger at the demi with green hair, Cheng Zhaoci quickly grabs the dumbo by the throat, ¡°just put it down if it¡¯s too hot.¡±


    The soprano fails to sing, ¡°oh, ok.¡±


    Cai Lu is apologising like mad, as Zhou Luoluo, deflated as he is, just says ¡®it¡¯s fine.¡¯ Li Jiu is rubbing his temple now, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the trouble,¡± he¡¯s this close to resigning and running away right this instance. He should really have left Cai Lu back at the office.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright,¡± Cheng Zhaoci slowly releases Zhou Luoluo from his grasp, ¡°let¡¯s talk about the contract, but before that, let¡¯s order some more food.¡±


    ¡°I hope you like it,¡± Li Jiu glances over at Zhou Luoluo, who¡¯s clearly upset and is now just quietly munching on meat. He¡¯s making his ire known by poking the meat into weird shapes with his chopsticks.


    Cheng Zhaoci sighs, defeated, and asks, ¡°so when are you going to let it go?¡±


    ¡°30 minutes,¡± Zhou Luoluo actually gave a concrete answer, rendering the anger rather immature and childish.


    Cheng Zhaoci gives Li Jiu an awkward smile to change the topic, ¡°I¡¯d like to know that if I¡¯m not of age yet, do I need my father and dad¡¯s signatures?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not of age? You¡¯re not 18 yet?¡± Li Jiu is actually surprised. He had BombInMyPants pegged for a veteran artist because the style was quite developed and didn¡¯t feel forced at all. He can¡¯t imagine the artist not even being 18 yet.


    ¡°Yes. I read the contract draft you¡¯ve sent me, and I¡¯m happy with the promotion and division of profits. The contract is already to my satisfaction, but there was one section,¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains, ¡°it says parental consent is required if I¡¯m not 18 yet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, theoretically,¡± Li Jiu nods, ¡°to comply with the Minor Protection Bill. Signatures will do.¡±


    He¡¯s also quite surprised the male insectoid isn¡¯t unhappy with the contract¡¯s terms, since grade A isn¡¯t exactly A-grade material, so to speak.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a father, though,¡± Cheng Zhaoci nonchalantly drops a bomb, making both editors look at him with shellshocked eyes.


    Shemales might not have fathers because they refuse to recognise them, yes, but males not having one?!


    Cheng Zhaoci forgoes an explanation by simply stating, ¡°he passed away when I was still an egg.¡±


    Oh damn! The young male who¡¯s lost his father when he was but an egg! Li Jiu¡¯s reluctance at working with a male has completely disappeared now.


    ¡°Uh, of course. I see. I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ll make a note of that. I believe we only need your dad¡¯s signature in this extraordinary circumstance,¡± Li Jiu is looking at the young male who¡¯s lost his father with the familiar motherly love.


    Even Zhou Luoluo can feel that Li Jiu has become talkative and is speaking much more softly. If he knew he grew up on a landfill planet, perhaps he¡¯ll feel so saddened he¡¯d cry.


    The mood is gradually improving as they settle on the contract. Cheng Zhaoci mentions that he doesn¡¯t want his male identity to be known. He¡¯ll get lots of fans, but they won¡¯t be there for his comic.


    Li Jiu¡¯s image of Cheng Zhaoci is basically saint like now. If he wasn¡¯t a minor, Li Jiu might be ordering a shot or two right about now to share.


    Finally, the two teenage males, Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Luoluo have to return home early, and leaves the editors behind.


    ¡°I forgot to ask him how far his updates are along!¡± Cai Lu suddenly slaps his forehead on the way back to the office, ¡°oh and, he¡¯s really not like a male. The personality is far too friendly,¡± no normal male would talk happily with demis like them.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s nice enough. I¡¯d never have thought I¡¯d be able to sit down and have a nice talk with a male,¡± Li Jiu chuckles, ¡°I bet a lot of shemales would be head-over-heels for someone like him.


    ¡°And not you?¡± Cai Lu pokes Li Jiu with his elbow, ¡°you¡¯re not married yet. Are you not interested?¡±


    Li Jiu gives him a cold look, ¡°he¡¯s just 16, he¡¯s still a kid. Just forget whatever inappropriate fantasies you have in your head.¡±


    ¡°So what if I have fantasies? So what?¡± Jin Yue is crossing his legs while sitting like a boss on his driver¡¯s seat, ¡°besides, why would I ever be interested in males? He just appeared in my dreams once or twice.¡±


    ¡°Just drop it,¡± a shemale dressed in black suit-and-tie interrupts his charade, ¡°I don¡¯t want to know why a pervert would have wet dreams about a 16-year-old male.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Jin Yue retorts.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t give less of a shit if you did or did not! I¡¯m asking! If you¡¯re related to the assassination of our boss, the leader of the Black Panther!¡± The well-dressed shemale clearly looks like he¡¯s struggling to contain his urge to beat someone up.


    ¡°Why the fuck would we want to do that? It¡¯s the Federation, clear as day,¡± Jin Yue is picking his ear with his pinky finger, ¡°who else but that insane bastard Wei Zhuo could have the power to storm your headquarters and execute your boss outright?¡±


    Then he mumbles after that, ¡°tch, I wonder where the little ugly thing¡¯s gone to.¡±


    The shemale in suit and tie takes a deep breath to keep calm. He can¡¯t. He cannot fight. It¡¯ll be a disaster to pick a fight on the Golden Lion¡¯s home turf.


    Jin Yue is sinking in his chair, scoffing at the shemale¡¯s ¡®anger¡¯ that his boss was murdered, ¡°drop the act, Sun Wushe, you dog was eventually gonna turn on your boss in a year or two even if the Federation didn¡¯t act this time.¡±


    ¡°Who are you fooling with those crocodile tears?¡± Jin Yue then puts his booted legs off the table to lean forward, ¡°don¡¯t tell me, your undercover days in the Federation have turned you into a ¡®righteous,¡¯ ¡®honourable¡¯ and ¡®upstanding¡¯ shemale citizen.¡±


    ¡°Ah, nothing so dramatic,¡± Sun Wushe is smiling now, completely different from his serious self just now, ¡°now we do have protocol to follow that our boss is unexpectedly dead.¡±


    ¡°Just fuck off! You bastard. You didn¡¯t know your buddy-buddy Wei Zhuo was going on a mission? Who do you think you¡¯re trying to fool?¡± Jin Yue turns his head away, ¡°I bet even that dumbo Meng Yuele knew. Ha, you¡¯re his own flesh and blood, and an outsider has you beat.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Sun Wushe turns to leave, ¡°we¡¯re only half-brothers, and I¡¯ve even changed my surname. I dare not try to sully the Flying Officer¡¯s good name claiming fraternity with him.¡±


    There is a long scar going from his hand up to his arm. The proof that he left his family.


    Jin Yue raises his brow and turns his head back to watch him leave, ¡°but at least you weren¡¯t blinded, now isn¡¯t that good fortune?¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Sun Wushe chuckles, ¡°nor have I become a pathetic dog for the Federation.¡±


    It¡¯s a whole month later that Cheng Zhaoci has finally completed the seven chapters of his little side story, while also getting the third chapter of the little zombie king out in the meantime. If you ask if he had any significant changes, then yes. He¡¯s completely messed his biological clock up now. The moment Cheng Jin went back to the army, he¡¯s been staying up all night without restraint.


    When he finally steps out of his house into the warm sunlight, he could almost cry, ¡°ah! I¡¯m alive! I made it out alive!¡± He¡¯s locked himself in like a hermit for a month inside. Now that his comic is complete and seeing the world tonight, it¡¯s time for Cheng Zhaoci to come out and relax!


    Cheng Zhaoci stretches himself, and hears a pop from his waist. Good, it¡¯s the starting whistle for exercising!


    Seeing nobody else around, he starts doing warmups ¨C Radio callisthenics, set two, Dancing Youth, begin!


    Honestly, he can¡¯t remember the poses. He counts 1, 2¡­ 7, 8 on his own, and just does whatever feels like it¡¯s stretching and relaxing. Shouting the numbers out is creating the correct atmosphere for exercise.


    Cheng Zhaoci is exercising at the little garden behind the house, with fences that, while designed to emulate natural wooden design, are apparently extremely durable in defence. Anyone trying to invade would be burned to ashes.


    Meanwhile, being normal wooden fences in appearance, anyone can see what he¡¯s doing just standing outside.


    And unfortunately for Cheng Zhaoci, while he¡¯s spinning his waist around, his eye meets right with those of a spectator from the outside. The shock means he¡¯s overshot his turning, and his waist makes a cackling sound.


    Cheng Zhaoci, watching the spectating shemale, slowly crumples to the ground, with his hand on his waist.


    Oh fuck! It¡¯s sprained.


    It seems the shemale has finally caught on to what¡¯s happening. He is sniggering at the sight.

 CH 23

    Heartwarming?


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    That shemale laughing with his teeth on full display crouches down and watches Cheng Zhaoci massage his waist, ¡°hello, mister.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure this is a good time for greetings,¡± Cheng Zhaoci plants a business smile on him. He almost felt like he just crippled himself having made an overshoot.


    He was sure there was nobody around. Now where did he¡­ Cheng Zhaoci looks at the person and his military attire. Black hair, tall nose. A rather warm kind of laugh. If only he wasn¡¯t the object of his amusement, then he¡¯d certainly feel warmer, too.


    ¡°Condolences,¡± the shemale says. Cheng Zhaoci feels like he¡¯d add an ¡®but it¡¯s really funny¡¯ to the end.


    Cheng Zhaoci and the shemale just ends up having this staring contest, until the shemale asks, ¡°you¡¯re Officer Wei¡¯s xiongzhu?¡±


    ¡°Huh? ¡®Course not!¡± Cheng Zhaoci tries to stand up quickly, until another ¡®crack¡¯ and he falls back down over. This time, even the shemale soldier is gasping. Possibly questioning the young male¡¯s ability to use his waist.


    Cheng Zhaoci is explaining between hisses, ¡°I just live here temporarily,¡± though he doesn¡¯t know how long this temporary might be.


    ¡°I see. I was curious why there might be a male insectoid here,¡± the shemale mumbles, ¡°let¡¯s try this again. Hello, I¡¯m Sun Wushe, a half-brother of Flying Officer Wei Zhuo. Nice to meet you.¡±


    There is nothing ¡®nice¡¯ about this at all. Cheng Zhaoci barely suppresses his urge to retort while taking deep breaths. He thinks he can¡¯t get up by himself now, and so asks, ¡°could you come help me up?¡±


    The crouching shemale looks at the defensive perimetre on the fence and shakes his head in earnest, ¡°I doubt it.¡±


    The quiet Cheng Zhaoci then uses his holodeck to contact Meng Yuele, telling him with utter embarrassment that he fell over and has difficulty getting back up, asking if he¡¯s free to come help.


    Meng Yuele came really quickly; apparently, it¡¯s his day off.


    When Meng Yuele is here, Cheng Zhaoci sees Sun Wushe, who was watching and chatting him up the whole time suddenly stand up and give Meng Yuele a bro hug, ¡°yo, I thought this male was Wei-ge¡®s xiongzhu. I was shocked.¡±


    Is it more ¡®shock¡¯ or ¡®pleasure seeing other¡¯s misery¡¯? Cheng Zhaoci makes a rather ugly face at him. Finally, Meng Yuele has helped pry Cheng Zhaoci from his beloved grass lawn to check his waist, and assure him that he just needs some rest. Then he rolls his eyes at Sun Wushe, ¡°were you serious?! You were staring at the young male the whole time?! If Mr Cheng Zhaoci here wasn¡¯t as amiable in personality, he might have already sued your bollocks off at this point!¡±


    Amiable in personality, huh. Sun Wushe watches Cheng Zhaoci closely. He¡¯s clearly not happy, but he hasn¡¯t thrown a tantrum. The amiable part gets a tick. So Sun Wushe can¡¯t help but smile, in that warm but oddly sarcastic way, ¡°I¡¯m just curious seeing such a well-behaved male insectoid.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you kept gawping at me, crouching on your side of the fence?¡± Cheng Zhaoci finally retorts. He face-planted embarrassingly on the ground, only to get this curious onlooker treatment from some guy across the fence like he¡¯s a rare animal in a zoo. It¡¯s like if he never stops him, he could just stare and speak until the star explodes. Seriously, some respect and dignity would be nice.


    ¡°I was waiting for you to tell me to shut up or go away eventuality, although that didn¡¯t happen, you see,¡± Sun Wushe says, all matter-of-factly, like he doesn¡¯t think what he¡¯s doing is weird at all, ¡°you¡¯re quite extraordinary,¡± he says, leaving a final comment.


    Cheng Zhaoci takes another deep breath to calm down, then asks, ¡°you said you¡¯re Officer Wei¡¯s brother?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be a Squadron Leader when he¡¯s back in a few days,¡± Sun Wushe replies, ¡°a half-brother. I left the family with him, but I abandoned my original surname as well and adopted my dad¡¯s; we grew up together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not like him at all,¡± from appearance to demeanour and everything else.


    Sun Wushe only smiles as a response.


    ¡°Mister Cheng, you can just ignore the bastard. The more attention you give the whoreson, the more excited he gets,¡± Meng Yuele gives Sun Wushe a body slam to knock him further away from Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°he¡¯s normal enough when he slaps some gentle and nice clothes on him, but whenever he sees a male, it¡¯s like someone¡¯s socked him on the head.¡±


    Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t seem at all offended Meng Yuele is describing him this way; in fact, the latter is still continuing, ¡°seriously, if he even lost what precious brain cells that made him act appropriately when it mattered, he¡¯d probably be able to get that badge removed in no time.¡±


    Sun Wushe really is a timebomb waiting to happen here, so Meng Yuele quickly drags him away.


    ¡°Have a good rest, Mr Cheng,¡± Meng Yuele waves Cheng Zhaoci goodbye with a smile, then quickly goes all serious outside the door, ¡°are you serious, man?! Harassing a minor male insectoid?!¡±


    ¡°You call that harassment? I just looked at him and talked. Not like I went and bit him or anything, ¡°Sun Wushe furrows his brows as he removes the paw Meng Yuele is pawing him with, ¡°what, you look pretty protective of the little guy. You like him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, he¡¯s not of age, didn¡¯t you hear?¡± Meng Yuele raises his brow at Sun Wushe, then he points at his holodeck and lowers his tone to a whisper like he¡¯s doing something illicit, ¡°the little male needs to stay in tip-top shape. And mentally, too. I can¡¯t have him sad, ¡®cuz I¡¯m still waiting for my updates.¡±


    ¡°Updates?¡± Sun Wushe looks over as Meng Yuele presents his holodeck screen like it¡¯s some kind of treasure.


    Huh? BombInMyPants? The comic artist?!


    Wouldn¡¯t that make him the little male that bastard Jin Yue has got on his mind lately? Sun Wushe tried digging into it, but Jin Yue didn¡¯t even know the real name of the little male, and just kept calling him ¡®ugly thing.¡¯ Sun Wushe smiles a little. Ah, the world sure is smaller than you think.


    ¡°What kind of reaction is that?¡± As Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t seem at all surprised or shocked, Meng Yuele is unhappy.


    Sun Wushe gives him his classic business smile, ¡°I am shocked. I¡¯ve actually been following his work,¡± since he might be Jin Yue¡¯s unrequited love and thus could possibly be a leverage he can use. He didn¡¯t watch a single panel of comic, though, since he doesn¡¯t have that kind of free time, ¡°I read the comic, but I didn¡¯t imagine the artist was a male.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?! And he really is so great in personality, too,¡± the big and burly Meng Yuele almost looks like he¡¯s shy right now, ¡°he actually started drawing and publishing to earn a living for his family, can you believe it?¡±


    ¡°Earn a living?¡± That is certainly completely unexpected. Meng Yuele seems satisfied with Sun Wushe¡¯s reaction at last, ¡°come closer, let me tell you all about it¡­¡±


    The two shemales leave with hands on shoulders; Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, goes back to lazy mode alone.


    He¡¯s busy as a bee when he is, but when he finishes and lazes about, he feels like he loses meaning in life. Cheng Zhaoci closes his eyes and lies flat on the sofa. Then he opens his eyes again, and stares at the snowy white ceiling. He¡¯s bored.


    Zhou Luoluo came visiting quite often a few weeks past, but school season is open again now, so he¡¯s stuck there.


    Maybe he¡¯s experiencing the emptiness of pensioner life early? Not knowing where one belongs or what one should be doing. Ah, why would this advanced insectoid society not even have developed something as menially passable as Tetris?!


    But finally, a ¡®ding¡¯ from his holodeck saves him from his quandary. Cheng Zhaoci flies up from the sofa to see, and oh, it¡¯s a message from Wei Zhuo.


    [WeiZhuo: I¡¯m back on the Capital planet. I have two days¡¯ holiday, and I have promised to show you around. Is there any place you want to go?]


    Nice timing! Cheng Zhaoci is so touched he could cry. He quickly replies yes, wherever, whatever, just don¡¯t leave him to wallow in solitude!


    Though apparently, insectoid society is really severely lacking in entertainment. The ¡®wherever, whatever¡¯ has just made Wei Zhuo confused. For him, the only place he finds interesting, is probably the mecha fighting simulation stores.


    As mechas demand quite inhuman levels of physical capabilities, and male insectoids being generally disinterested in them, there are no mecha suitable for male insectoids to drive.


    So Wei Zhuo asks, already trying to think of another choice, if Cheng Zhaoci is interested in mechas.


    Is Cheng Zhaoci interested? You bet he is!


    Mechas! Stuff you see only in sci-fi movies and anime! Is there any boy who have never wanted to play with plastic mechas? It¡¯s a dream come true! A completely unrealistic fantasy come true! He can¡¯t let this opportunity slip by!


    When Wei Zhou goes to pick up Cheng Zhaoci, he ends up finding an excited and glowing Cheng Zhaoci.


    As a transmigrator, Cheng Zhaoci is imagining that perhaps this is the start of his grand universal conquest! It¡¯s already clich¨¦, you see. The thin and small looking guy in a mecha ends up becoming the slaughterhouse. A match for 100 men, showcasing all sorts of exotic techniques! Igniting passions the whole Federation over1


    He¡¯ll become cool and peerless, and see the world as a lonely, unmatched warrior.


    Cheng Zhaoci normally isn¡¯t as out of touch with reality, but he really can¡¯t stop himself here. What if! What if he¡¯s actually a diamond in the rough!


    As truth will have it, there are no ¡®what-ifs¡¯ in this world. When God gives you talent in drawing, he¡¯s also going to bolt many of the other doors down.


    A player whose average performance in battle royale games is to become lootboxes for other players shouldn¡¯t expect to be able to fight valiantly in the interstellar civilisation, true.


    Since Cheng Zhaoci couldn¡¯t figure his way around a virtual mecha¡¯s control room at all, Wei Zhuo picked a two-pilot cockpit to teach him. Wei Zhuo was kind of surprised at first at how quickly Cheng Zhaoci is able to learn the basic controls.


    When Wei Zhuo was thinking if Cheng Zhaoci could actually be a peerless male insectoid never-before-seen and possibly never-to-be-seen-again in history, they¡¯ve entered an actual game for a 2-on-2. Before Cheng Zhaoci has even reacted, though, the other side has already headshot and disabled him.


    Wei Zhuo, who is already halfway finished sniping the other side, turns to Cheng Zhaoci in shock.


    ¡°It¡¯s your first time. It¡¯ll just take some getting used to,¡± Wei Zhuo tries to cheer him up, before engaging in a 1-on-2 with the other side. Wei Zhuo wins.


    The next time, Cheng Zhaoci continues to get killed basically the moment he enters the round.


    ¡°As soon as the match begins, you must immediately take note of where the enemy is likely to attack from,¡± Wei Zhuo offers practical advice, before winning once more on a 1-on-2.


    The fifth time, Cheng Zhaoci is no longer dying as soon as the round begins; he trips himself as he evades the attack, and the enemy just plunges a laser sabre into him as a follow-up.


    ¡°It¡¯s already great that you¡¯ve lived two more seconds than the first time,¡± Wei Zhuo is still cheering him up, before winning on a 1-on-2, yet again.


    Attempt #30. A direct assault on his chassis leaves him disabled for the count.


    ¡°¡­ Eh,¡± Wei Zhuo just vocalises a syllable this time. He thinks he must study the art of linguistics some more. He shouldn¡¯t have run out of words to soothe the young male insectoid so quickly.


    It¡¯s a sigh that¡¯s the direct hit on Cheng Zhaoci personally. He wants to fuck this waste of time already, but, but just, he can¡¯t accept this!


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t make it look too difficult. It¡¯s just a bit more micromanagement. He thinks he should be able to improve in time, as long as he gets more practice! Just another round for practice!


    While he¡¯s absorbed in the game, his comic that is set to release at 8 this night, with all 7 chapters released at once, is published.


    Sun Wushe, who is resting on his office chair, hears seven consecutive dings, and opens his eyes.


    Looking at his holodeck, it¡¯s the comic artist he¡¯s been following. New chapters published. Since he only follows a few accounts on the entire internet, with only one being in this entertainment section of the internet, he¡¯s never had to mute the notification settings.


    Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t have any fake friendly face on right now, since no one is nearby; it¡¯s tiring.


    When he is going back to rest, though, he suddenly recalls the male insectoid in the garden, yelling some numbers and flailing his limbs ridiculously. It¡¯s so energetic, unlike any of the quiet, pretentious males; that said, it might just be his side when no one is looking.


    Sun Wushe still ends up opening the comic to read. He doesn¡¯t have urgent work right now, and he wants to rest a little.


    Unlike the males, Sun Wushe isn¡¯t much of a fan of this colourful, vibrant and unprecedented art style. It¡¯s too far detached from reality. A beautification of the cruelties of the world. Something you¡¯d expect a young, immature male insectoid who has never experienced pain and suffering to produce.


    Reading the cover, he furrows his brows a little. Hide-and-seek, is it? Heartwarming, for sure. So heartwarming it is sickeningly unrealistic.

 CH 24

    A Source of Stress


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The next morning, Cheng Zhaoci wakes up all refreshed.


    All excited, he sends a message to both Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, recounting how he went to play the virtual mecha fighting simulation, and killed the other side 8 times! Shemales!


    Xiao Ji immediately replies, ¡°holy fuck! amazing! good job my boy!¡±


    He Huaijian takes a while to reply, ¡°Good job.¡±


    So cold that Xiao Ji, who is in the same room as him, is unhappy, ¡°what¡¯s with that lame reply? Did Ci-zai wrong you? Who are you making a long face at?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to speak to Zhaoci for a while,¡± He Huaijian says, then turns towards Xiao Ji, who realises the issue, ¡°were you crying? Why are your eyes all red?¡±


    He Huaijian tries to pull a smile, ¡°did you know Zhaoci released a new comic?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Check it out later,¡± He Huaijian hmphs, ¡°you can call me out afterwards.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is still so excited and is flailing on his bed. Watching the ceiling, he thinks there¡¯s something important he should remember.


    But anyway, it can¡¯t be that important if it was forgotten! Time to keep working on the little zombie king, but first, he needs to recharge his inspiration.


    Office Building 3, Restricted Area A1, Capital Planet.


    A shemale, his badge betraying his Air Vice-marshal status, pushes open the door to Wei Zhuo¡¯s office with a joyous step, ¡°xiao-Wei, your promotion ceremony is tomorrow, how are you¡­ holding up?!¡±


    Wei Zhuo, who is sitting upright by his desk, quietly looks up to meet the Vice-marshal in the eye. He salutes, ¡°sir, all is well, sir!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you not get any sleep last night?¡± Though it¡¯d still be surprising a grade S shemale like Wei Zhuo would get such heavy eyebags just from staying up one night.


    ¡°I slept,¡± Wei Zhuo answers unenergetically, ¡°but I had nightmares.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to tell me about it?¡± The vice-marshal, already in his 130s, and also having two shemale sons, is generally more amiable than the younger shemale officers.


    ¡°Yesterday, I brought a young male to the stores for simulated mecha fights. He was happy,¡± Wei Zhuo explains frankly.


    ¡°Ah, but isn¡¯t that nice? A male who¡¯s interested in mechas, huh?¡± The vice-marshal takes a seat on the sofa nearby, before suddenly tilting his head. Wait! Wei Zhuo, this unromantic guy took a male out to have fun?


    ¡°I played over 200 rounds with him. He kept dying as soon as the game started, but he was resilient and brave. He would not give up, and finally, in the end, he successfully killed his opponents a few times in the last rounds,¡± Wei Zhuo sighs and continues, ¡°I did not have the heart to tell him, that the kills he managed, was only after the system has shunted us both from insectoid-on-insectoid games to insectoid-on-AI games. He was just fighting the AI the entire time.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± The hollow, soulless, glassy eyes of Wei Zhuo tells the vice-marshal this isn¡¯t the end of it.


    ¡°When the young male finally won, he felt he became amazing. He kept telling me to play another round, so I, kept fighting and killing the mecha on the lowest AI difficulty setting, the one where the way the mecha moves is preprogrammed and rigid. The male did not realise this. He thought he has seen through how the ¡®shemales¡¯ typically fight. It went on and on and on. It was like I was just a machine repeatedly chopping vegetables.¡±


    Wei Zhuo skips over the fact that, even on this lowest setting, Cheng Zhaoci still lost more games than he won, and still felt he was a match for the ¡®shemales.¡¯


    Continuing to recall, almost in a trance, Wei Zhuo says, ¡°we did not return late, as the male appreciated the fact I still had to work today, but as soon as I closed my eyes to sleep yesterday, I could hear the male¡¯s voice repeating ¡®again!¡¯ the whole night.¡±


    A grade S shemale who has fallen from grace to ¡®train¡¯ against the beginners¡¯ 2-on-2 mecha fights with AI. Ah, the woe! The tragedy!


    The Vice-marshal really doesn¡¯t know how he could help, so he can only pat Wei Zhuo on the shoulder in solidarity.


    There is a knock on the door, and the Vice-marshal lets the person in. It¡¯s Meng Yuele, whose soul seems to have left him, somehow, wobbling in to say, ¡°Wei-ge, a Classification C document needs your signature,¡± he sounds like his throat was chock-full of sandpaper.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± Even the Vice-marshal¡¯s tone is getting heightened, as Meng Yuele looked even worse than Wei Zhuo did. His eyes are all bloodshot, even swelling a little. His face looked so red like he spent too much time under the star¡¯s light.


    Meng Yuele freezes, then puffs his chest up to salute the Vice-marshal, before collapsing entirely with his straightened form crumbling.


    ¡°Uwaaaaah! Aaaah! It is unconscionable! Inhumane! How could he ever draw something like that?!¡± Meng Yuele goes full ¡®helpless infant,¡¯ shaking and trembling.


    The Vice-marshal is confused; Wei Zhuo is spooked awake entirely.


    ¡°I, I uwaaaa!¡± Meng Yuele¡¯s lips are trembling so hard he can¡¯t even speak properly.


    Cheng Zhaoci only showed his comic to a male insectoid, because Cheng Zhaoci had the completely wrong impression from their appearance that males are more emotional. He has vastly underestimated how much impact his little tragic story could have on the insectoid society with very few venues for entertainment.


    He thought males are more emotional, but in fact, males are much less sympathetic than shemales in general. They are shorter and weaker in physical form, but their hearts are not at all fragile or sensitive.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± the Vice-marshal is hugging Meng Yuele and patting him on the back, ¡°you¡¯re a grown adult insectoid now, you¡¯re not a crybaby anymore, right?¡±


    ¡°I, I didn¡¯t want, either, I cried the whole night! Why?! Why did it have to end like this?! I couldn¡¯t sleep, but it was only 7 chapters! It was complete! There is no more uwuwu!¡± Meng Yuele is inconsolable, ¡°why?! How could he draw something like that?!¡±


    ¡°You mean, Mr Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comic?¡± Wei Zhuo picks up on the cue, and Meng Yuele nods, ¡°yes! It was new! Yesterday! Uwah!¡±


    The Vice-marshal seems bewildered, ¡°what? Another male insectoid? Comic?¡±


    ¡°I, I¡¯ll send you after work,¡± Meng Yuele hasn¡¯t forgotten about his job as a shemale soldier. No comic during work. He is just under the effects of the plot last night. A bit¡­ probably.


    Meng Yuele wipes his tears away as he puts down the document to leave.


    Then he runs into Sun Wushe at the door.


    Sun Wushe is the one to speak up first, though, ¡°you read the comic yesterday?¡±


    Meng Yuele nods. Sun Wushe probably read the comic as well, and understood why he¡¯s bawling like a baby; Sun Wushe looks rather calm and collected, though. Maybe he is too emotional, or Sun Wushe is just really good at not letting his emotions show.


    ¡°Going to get Wei-ge? Vice-marshal Liu is inside right now,¡± Meng Yuele reminds him, and Sun Wushe lifts his brow a little, ¡°I¡¯ll come back later, then,¡± the Vice-marshal doesn¡¯t like him, so it just means trouble going in now.


    Sun Wushe is walking back to his seat, and the image of Meng Yuele¡¯s beet-red face is still vivid in his mind. It reminds him of how he felt when he finished reading the comic yesterday.


    He actually followed the emotional journey of the protagonist entirely. After finally hitting the ending that is unequivocally a tragedy, he just stared at the last panel. He stared for a very long time.


    He could scarcely believe such a comic exists. Such a comic created by a male insectoid.


    A young, little male insectoid that sprained his waist flailing around in a garden.


    A despair exclusive to shemales, shemales like his dad. He could not call out for help, almost like he¡¯s mute. And it was a male insectoid that relayed and publicised this pain.


    The comic is certainly good. Not just the story, but the pacing and detailing are also well done. There are enough themes in the comic deserving further discussion.


    But Sun Wushe can¡¯t take his mind off the little, teenage male insectoid, who drew this story. Perhaps, just as Meng Yuele said, he is actually a kind and responsible male insectoid.


    The unprecedented story kept coming back to him, even until now. He would not cry and wail like Meng Yuele. Meng Yuele is a dumbass with a screw loose, but he¡¯s not. He knows what he is doing, and what he has to do. He does not belong here.


    Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, finally remembered his comic when his editor called him about how it exploded in popularity. Right, he forgot to check reader feedback! It completely slipped his mind after he set it up to publish automatically.


    When he gets onto his alt, there are a billion private messages; there are even a few messages from close acquaintances on his personal account, too, but on BombInMyPants¡¯ account, he can¡¯t help but worry that the system might crash if not for the amazing technological advancement this world has achieved.


    There are lots of people lashing out at him in private messages. They berate him for drawing such a story ¨C only to add a ¡®sob¡¯ at the end of the message.


    Among the comments, one stands out among the rest, ¡°this is a pirate speaking. putting a bounty on the artist¡¯s address. I plan to pay a friendly visit to him¡¯


    Aren¡¯t we getting a bit too hardcore here?!


    There are even extremely rich and generous insectoids, having showered him with virtual gifts to ask for the ending to be changed. Apparently, this is just a down payment, too. They¡¯ll add more when he changes. Cheng Zhaoci quietly refunds the gifts back to the user. He won¡¯t change the ending.


    Though what is unexpected is that the amount of gifts he¡¯s got only a day after publishing the short story is more than the sum he¡¯s got for all three chapters of the little zombie king combined! Just one day, you know!


    So Cheng Zhaoci sends a message to Xiao Ji and He Huaijian that he¡¯ll visit in a few days! With lots of tasty food!


    Though a while later, Xiao Ji finally replies, ¡°Don¡¯t come here so soon. I don¡¯t think I want to see your face these few days.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°???¡±


    He does not understand why he seems unpopular all of a sudden.


    But thankfully, Wei Zhuo is still Wei Zhuo.


    After dusk, Wei Zhuo sent him a message.


    [WeiZhuo: The comic is great (¨B¨Œ¨B)]


    The usual emoticon makes Cheng Zhaoci chuckle in response. He asks what he¡¯s doing.


    [WeiZhuo: My coworkers and I are out drinking troubles away]


    Coworkers? So shemale soldiers? And drinking? Are they having a hard time at work/


    [ChengZhaoci: Sounds like you all had a tough time. Is the military career stressful?]


    Stressful? Wei Zhuo, in the bar, looks around him.


    ¡°Why would the artist do this to me?! Why would there be a story like this?! Oh man, fuck, I feel so sad, I¡¯m so sad!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been sad since yesterday! I should never have followed the artist! But now, I, I can¡¯t bring myself to unfollow either.¡±


    ¡°Why? Why? I don¡¯t think I can ever be happy again.¡±


    ¡°My eyes, ow, my eyes hurt, but I still can¡¯t stop crying! Boohoo.¡±


    Finally, Wei Zhuo¡¯s gaze falls to Sun Wushe, who is just quietly drinking away next to him. Whenever an insectoid talks about the most depressing parts of the story, his brows would visibly furrow.


    [WeiZhuo: Yes, everyone is quite stressful]

 CH 25.1

    False Feeling


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    While the insectoids outside are crying and bawling for the comic¡¯s plot, Cheng Zhaoci is having peaceful days to himself. Though generally, peaceful days do not last long.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see you outside very often,¡± Sun Wushe says with a smile, ¡°you like staying home?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is staring at Sun Wushe coldly from the garden where he is sunbathing, as unpleasant memories make the rounds again, ¡°why are we always seeing each other here?¡± Ah, the embarrassing memories of making up radio calisthenics on the spot and being spotted and then stared at for half a day!


    Sun Wushe points to the right, ¡°possibly because my house is next door.¡±


    ¡°And you go home by the backdoor?¡±


    ¡°As a personal interest,¡± Sun Wushe, seeing Cheng Zhaoci all ready to retreat inside, quickly says, ¡°do you want to take a stroll outside?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks around warily; his senses tell him this guy is quite the mischievous sort. As evidenced last time when he stood beyond the fence, crouching while observing his sprained form splayed on the ground with interest.


    And also, he feels quite different from the typical shemale of the insectoid society. Sun Wushe seems to hold nothing but possibly a little contempt for males in general. His eyes last time weren¡¯t exactly warm despite his smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be alarmed. It just looks like you¡¯re bored at home,¡± Sun Wushe walks a bit closer, ¡°you haven¡¯t been to many places on the Capital planet, have you?¡± So he¡¯s basically investigated Cheng Zhaoci on his own.


    Compared to last time, the tone is creepily gentle enough that Cheng Zhaoci feels like he¡¯s going to have goosebumps listening to him continue, ¡°I remember males all like watching movies and stuff.¡±


    ¡°Oh, anything but that,¡± the movies? Like those earliest superman comics of the twentieth century of his past world? With everything formulaic black-vs-white? No thanks. Cheng Zhaoci is going to refuse Sun Wushe¡¯s invitation, but he asks something instead, examining Sun Wushe up and down.


    ¡°You¡¯re on holiday?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I just got discharged from a mission and handed in a report yesterday. I get three days¡¯ rest.¡±


    Oh. So it¡¯s not a general holiday. Officer Wei is probably busy at work, then. Cheng Zhaoci does have somewhere he wants to go ¨C since he finally succeeded in ¡®git gud¡¯ at the virtual mecha fighting simulations, he can still feel his trigger finger getting itchy.


    Sun Wushe would probably do. He¡¯s a half brother of Wei Zhuo, and also a shemale soldier. Unless he¡¯s gone insane, there¡¯s no way he¡¯d do anything against him, a male.


    ¡°Do you like the virtual mecha fighting games?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks in consideration of the fact that perhaps not everyone would enjoy it, especially someone for whom operating mecha is already a job and general training regimen.


    ¡°You like those?¡± He wasn¡¯t expecting that. Sun Wushe feels like the little male really is like a treasure trove. The more he gets to know him, the more interesting discoveries he¡¯s digging up, ¡°you sure have particular interests.¡±


    Sun Wushe agrees to take him to play, so Cheng Zhaoci just happily tags along in a shirt and simple cargo shorts. Normally, Cheng Zhaoci will try to dress himself up to block advances with a rather sombre and unapproachable look, but with a shemale by him, there won¡¯t be any blind advances, usually.


    Sun Wushe does not understand why Cheng Zhaoci looks so happy, or why a male insectoid like Cheng Zhaoci would decide to go without playing dress up for half an hour. Does his image not matter to him?


    Then the questions dispel soon enough after a few rounds of fighting in the virtual mecha bars. Not that Sun Wushe has found his answer, but his questions have been replaced with ire at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s playstyle that can only be charitably described as ¡®brainless¡¯ and frequent subsequent deaths.


    Shemales are often quite competitive, so you can imagine how much they hate teammates that drag them back. Especially when Sun Wushe isn¡¯t as adept at fighting as Wei Zhuo, and cannot necessarily win in a 1-on-2.


    Sun Wushe also doesn¡¯t have the temperament of a saint like Wei Zhuo does. After a final death, he drags Cheng Zhaoci out from his pilot¡¯s seat.


    And our ignorant Cheng Zhaoci looks clearly confused, ¡°why does it feel like the opponents today have become much stronger than before? They¡¯re also not fighting to pattern either. Maybe we should come up with counterstrategies?¡±


    Sun Wushe¡¯s veins are bulging, ¡°before? Tell me exactly what happened ¡®before.''¡±


    ¡°Officer Wei took me here the day before yesterday¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains how Wei Zhuo patiently accompanied him for dozens upon dozens of games until finally, he successfully discovered how the shemales would generally fight, and killed them a few glorious times.


    After listening, Sun Wushe mercilessly reveals the fact that Cheng Zhaoci must have been playing against AI in the latter half, turning Cheng Zhaoci from a youthful and excited teenage male into a dried, parched up, shrivelled up carrot.


    Cheng Zhaoci completely wasn¡¯t expecting that the kills he achieved were AI. And even beginner AI, at that. And he was killed more often than successfully killed the beginner AI mechas. Oh wait! Then Wei Zhuo must also know! So he didn¡¯t say a word yesterday just so he won¡¯t spoil his mood?


    Cheng Zhaoci shrinks a few sizes in ego.


    ¡°Do you still want to play?¡± Sun Wushe is rubbing his temple as he asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just take me some place else,¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tone does not hide his enervated state at all, ¡°anything would do.¡±


    Seeing how much damage he seems to have inflicted on Cheng Zhaoci that he¡¯s lost all motivation, Sun Wushe suddenly asks, ¡°do you think I have a worse personality than Wei-ge?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is still wallowing in the sadness of realising he is a bad teammate, and answers absent-mindedly.


    ¡°You¡¯re happier hanging out with him, though,¡± Sun Wushe says, ¡°he wouldn¡¯t expose how you¡¯re a shit player, and wouldn¡¯t spoil your mood,¡± and it¡¯s always been like that. While he and Wei Zhuo had the same father, they grew up with distinctly opposite personalities. Wei Zhuo is capable and strong, but he follows the ¡®conventions¡¯ and ¡®rules¡¯ without nary a word. He acts like he¡¯s equally a law-abiding citizen, but deep down, he wishes to tear it all down. They really are not alike. Not alike at all.


    ¡°Hu-I mean, insectoids are different from each other, and so are the way different insectoids interact with each other. There is no such thing as a ¡®better¡¯ or ¡®worse¡¯ personality. It¡¯s all a process of negotiation and concession,¡± Cheng Zhaoci narrows his eyes at Sun Wushe, ¡°for example, if you do not say a word about how bad I am at playing, our compatibility might be just that little bit higher.¡±


    Sun Wushe blanks out for a second, before erupting in boisterous laughter. He¡¯s laughing so hard, he has to hold his stomach as he collapses onto the ground, a laughing mess. Ah, so interesting, so very interesting! A male insectoid said this?! A selfish, greedy male insectoid?!


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head is decorated by question marks just watching Sun Wushe¡¯s sudden inexplicable outburst.


    Until finally, Sun Wushe recovers a little bit, and looks up, telling him, ¡°but it was the truth,¡± and Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face sours immediately.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t for our difference in physical grade, you¡¯d be lying on the ground for a long time,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, gritting his teeth.


    Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t laugh some more at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s powerless expense, though, but instead, stands back up and changes the topic, ¡°want to go to an amusement park?¡±


    ¡°Amusement park?¡± The insectoid society has built such things?


    ¡°They¡¯re places for little shemales and demis. I¡¯m sure Wei Zhuo hasn¡¯t taken you there, though, since he probably doesn¡¯t even know there are ¡®amusement parks¡¯ on the Capital planet,¡± nor did Sun Wushe. His dad died far too early. After he came of age, he went there alone once or twice, but it felt boring.


    The young male insectoid would probably like it, though.

 CH 25.2

    Sun Wushe observes the young male closely. He has dark hair and eyes, and only his skin is white. He has thin and long eyelashes. How pretty¡­ He¡¯ll probably have a high rating at the aptitude test, too.


    Where did such a mutated male come from?


    Sun Wushe heard from Jin Yue that he met him on a landfill planet called Zhousuo. Sun Wushe has never been on landfill planets, because there is nothing of value there, from the planet itself to the insectoids living on it, in his eyes.


    He himself has not heard of any males living there. Cheng Zhaoci is the only one he¡¯s seen.


    Would males grow up to be like him there? Sun Wushe is doubtful. Lacking material affluence, males, who are always pompous and bossy, will simply compensate by seeking a sense of superiority mentally; affording them the same luxury as other males later in life only exacerbates their personality defects.


    Sun Wushe isn¡¯t speaking from delusion, either. Most males who have relocated from less well-off areas are often documented with this shift in behaviour.


    This amusement park built for ¡®insectoid kids¡¯ feature none of the familiar amusement park rides Cheng Zhaoci thought he was going to see. No ferris wheels, rollercoasters, merry-go-rounds, not even haunted houses.


    Instead, Cheng Zhaoci watches a group of shemale kids, perhaps 6 to 7 years of age at most, take a seat on something akin to a drop tower. After they are secured, it spins while rising.


    Or rather, ¡®zooming¡¯ upwards. It went in a zip. Cheng Zhaoci seriously believes he will puke if he tried that.


    And given the speed, he¡¯ll probably be able to create a helical 3D art made of puke following the machine spinning before gravity did its work. It¡¯s literally out of this world.


    The shemale children¡¯s screams make Cheng Zhaoci take a step back, knowing his own limits, ¡°let¡¯s just go to a movie instead. Movies are nice.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t like this?¡± Sun Wushe seems surprised, ¡°since you liked virtual mecha fights, I thought this would be your thing.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just a meek and helpless male,¡± Cheng Zhaoci shuts his eyes. He¡¯d also wish he could toughen up and just breeze through all the facilities here without a flinch, and then leave behind a ¡®was that it¡¯ face of dismissive boredom in the eyes of countless surprised shemales.


    But before these gargantuan facilities, even trying to say he¡¯s not scared would be an undertaking. Cheng Zhaoci can feel his legs growing weak, too. Never mind all this. Enough.


    Even terrifying rollercoasters feel that much more enjoyable in front of these things. Even ¡®extreme sports¡¯ can¡¯t describe being here, but more like, ¡®assisted suicide.¡¯


    Sun Wushe still seems to be confused, just staring at him, so Cheng Zhaoci quietly mutters, ¡°I would rather not end up on breaking news,¡± ¡®Male Insectoid Passes Out In Children¡¯s Amusement Park¡¯ will be quite embarrassing indeed.


    Cheng Zhaoci would even rather go back home to draw, but he¡¯s agreed to hang out. He doesn¡¯t want Sun Wushe to think it was his problem for suggesting the amusement park or overthink anything.


    They picked a romance movie, a rarity among insectoid society. Cheng Zhaoci tried watching one before, but he felt bored after the opening already.


    The cinemas here in this society already features full immersion and a complete sensory experience. They can even feel the warmth of the sun and smell the flower in the air, or even the fragrance coming off the food the protagonists are eating.


    Although Cheng Zhaoci finds himself confused midway through, that the protagonist is still fighting in some war in this romance movie.


    These cinemas also allow customers to choose single viewing theatres if they want to, so insectoids don¡¯t have to share the space with each other. Of course, he picked a two-insectoid room for the two of them.


    ¡°Why is the protagonist still fighting in the war?¡± Cheng Zhaoci decides to ask the question, ¡°I thought this was a romance movie. Why is the protagonist still fighting and climbing the ranks past the halfway point? Where is the other lead?¡±


    Sun Wushe is failing to understand Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s confusion once more, ¡°didn¡¯t you see him already?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Where?¡± Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, but can¡¯t recall.¡±


    ¡°About the 30-minute mark, the male smiling holding the ice cream,¡± Cheng Zhaoci furrows his brows, ¡°have you never seen romance movies?¡±


    Oh hells! Cheng Zhaoci remembers him! Not because that male actor did anything weird, but because the camera gave him a close-up for a whole 6 seconds while nothing else happened. Cheng Zhaoci thought it was some new actor trying to get exposure or something with bribes.


    He was the lead?! Cheng Zhaoci is astonished, ¡°wait, how do they even fall in love, then?!¡±


    Sun Wushe appears bewildered by the question once more, ¡°Love? Isn¡¯t that what happens when the two of them are together?¡±


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    Wait, so does he mean¡­


    ¡°You mean, after marrying, they spend time together, and then fall in love?¡±


    Sun Wushe asks, ¡°isn¡¯t love what happens after they marry and have an egg?¡±


    Wait what?!


    There¡¯s definitely something wrong with the order of things here!


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t they first date and then marry, and any eggs would be the culmination of that love?¡±


    A culmination of love? What an odd thing to say. Sun Wushe would disagree. Insectoids marry because of biological need, and have eggs to proliferate as a species. He thinks it¡¯s simply delusional to have to apply a filter of ¡®love¡¯ to these actions.


    Both of them have realised a clash of values right now, but they do not argue, and finish the movie first.


    Boring movies make insectoids sleepy, but this is not one of them, because it is shattering Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s worldview with alarming frequency. What kind of romance movie has the protagonist working hard just to become a shemale concubine of that male he¡¯s never met?! And in the end, he is pregnant with an egg.


    Finally, in conclusion, this shemale will now live happily ever after. The end.


    What in the fucking fuck?!


    Cheng Zhaoci is in full-on criticism mode on the way back, ¡°I should¡¯ve picked an action movie,¡± although the action movies in insectoid society are basically just war reenactment that watches more like documentaries than anything, and the details of war are slightly gory and hardcore, but it¡¯s at least something that gets blood boiling and minds excited!


    ¡°You didn¡¯t like the movie?¡± Sun Wushe asks.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. While I cannot say for the shemale whether he is happy or not, but¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci continues after a bit of thought, ¡°but that was not love.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I might just be too much of an idealist,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is not one to make light of others¡¯ actions and beliefs, even though he believes the movie is a massive pile of dog turd.


    ¡°The love, in my mind, is that¡­ If you¡¯re in love, you would look at him, and realise that nothing else could ever be more important than him. You feel like your heart beats only for them. Even if he only has a mundane appearance, you can pick him out in a crowd as if he carries a glow all by himself. You cannot take your eyes off of him.


    You feel an urge. An urge to share your short, insignificant life with him, with this other insectoid. At the very end of your lives, you wish that your name and theirs would be entwined on the same gravestone forever, to prove to all passers-by, that you lived, you lived a life inseparable from him,¡± Cheng Zhaoci continues with a clear, crisp voice, ¡°and it is not simply because he is a male insectoid.¡±


    Sun Wushe is walking beside Cheng Zhaoci, watching him.


    There is one moment when Sun Wushe has an urge to ask, ¡°just like me?¡± But he stops himself at the last second. He knows it is impossible.


    Cheng Zhaoci is correct. It is hopelessly idealistic.


    And Sun Wushe is sure he does not love this young male. These are all chain chemical reactions triggered by curiosity. As soon as he can adapt, all will be well.

 CH 26.1

    Poking the Hornet''s Nest


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    As the whistle to assemble fades, the students in uniforms quickly stand at attention. A shemale student sees something, and asks, bemused, ¡°are my eyes tricking me, or is Xiao Ji actually smiling?¡±


    Xiao Ji has quite the infamy about him; he and He Huaijian both, in the school. They¡¯re the literal manifestation of ¡®arrogant¡¯ and ¡®aloof¡¯ respectively, one studying Applied Command Theory, the other at Mecha Design.


    They were already generating quite some buzz being transfer students out of nowhere that, apparently, knew nothing ¨C at least, even less than freshly enrolled students. In just a week, however, they¡¯ve managed to squeeze themselves into the upper spots of the rankings. Their speed of learning and talent are actually terrifying.


    In the beginning, there were those that picked on them for being new, but the weirdo Xiao Ji didn¡¯t get intimidated at all. He¡¯d fight all of them even if they came at him at once; he¡¯s scraped and bruised, while his opponents end up in the hospital. Since it was judged that Xiao Ji was acting in self-defence, so he, who fought the most brutally, was the only one to walk off without a penalty.


    He Huaijian also met trouble, they¡¯ve heard, but they all ended up quietly retaliated tenfold or even hundredfold.


    Put simply, they¡¯re too much for them to handle.


    Xiao Ji is quite audacious in his class, too. At training the afternoon after he fought the insectoids, he warned the entire class that whoever still wanted to come at him, feel free to do so. He¡¯ll beat them up until they submitted.


    Honestly, that flashy wine red hair under the sun, and the cocky smile and eyes, and especially that merciless brutality he brought from the days of fighting for resources back on the landfill planet, was enough to completely intimidate the fresh-faced, doe-eyed military academy students.


    No one ever tried to pick on Xiao Ji anymore, and naturally, no one wanted anything to do with him either. Xiao Ji has been isolated completely. Not that he minds, apparently, simply eating and sleeping with He Huaijian.


    He Huaijian is also isolated by his class, he¡¯s heard.


    Because they were transfer students, though, so they were allowed to live in the same dorm despite being from different principles. They probably don¡¯t even feel like they¡¯re being isolated.


    If you ask Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, ¡®isolated¡¯? Is it any worse to deal with than going hungry day in, day out and fighting within an inch of their lives on the landfill planet? Of course not.


    In summary, Xiao Ji, to his classmates, is now a violent and cocky shemale who has nothing but disdain for them.


    But for some reason, he is actually smiling smugly today, and clearly not because of them, but because of something happy happening.


    All smiles from the moment outside training began to its conclusion.


    ¡°What¡¯s he so happy about?¡±


    A young shemale with a buzzcut wonders, ¡°did he find a xiongzhu?¡±


    ¡°You kidding me? What kind of male would like that?¡± The tallest shemale of the bunch goes ¡®tch,¡¯ ¡°unless the male is blind, right?¡±


    He pokes the shemale next to him with his elbow; the two look at each other, and the tall one goes ¡°fuck, what the hell happened to you?!¡±


    ¡°Just leave me be, I read a comic yesterday,¡± the shemale is still sobbing with reddened eyes, ¡°it¡¯s really amazing. I¡¯ll share it later.¡±


    ¡°Sissy,¡± the only shemale present who has dyed his hair ¨C to red, by the way ¨C rolls his eyes and says, ¡°I know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    Everyone in the classroom looks at him.


    ¡°My bro was sitting close to them in the canteen early morning. Their younger brother is coming to treat them to cake,¡± the shemale then spits and says, ¡°childish.¡±


    ¡°Wait what? That¡¯s it? A younger brother?¡± The tall shemale¡¯s mouth is twitching in disbelief, ¡°speaking of, aren¡¯t Xiao Ji and He Huaijian brothers? What¡¯s with the different surnames?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, maybe they don¡¯t even have parents and formed a family by themselves, haha.¡±


    Outside the school entrance, a flustered Cheng Zhaoci looks at Wei Zhuo, then at Meng Yuele next to him, then at Sun Wushe at the end. Meekly, he raises his objection once more, ¡°is this seriously necessary?¡±


    Wei Zhuo, who took a day off to come, nods solemnly, ¡°this is a military academy for shemales. Though the students are disciplined, but just in case.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting outside,¡± Wei Zhuo points to the listening device in the shape of an earring on his ear, ¡°if we judge that there is immediate danger, we¡¯ll rush in to save you.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t even know what to say anymore. So he decides to point to Meng Yuele and Sun Wushe, ¡°do you need all of them just to save me? Wouldn¡¯t Fly- I mean Squadron Leader Wei be enough?¡± Wei Zhuo is grade S too, isn¡¯t he? So basically, super good at fighting. He can even come and go from enemy bases as he pleases.


    Why three? Three shemale soldiers? Three shemale military officers?! It¡¯s like they¡¯re forming a whole scenery by themselves just standing there.


    ¡°Because I¡¯m worried,¡± Meng Yuele says without the slightest hesitation, ¡°although you are a brutal and merciless male insectoid who cruelly kills off his characters, but I still want to see the rest of the series. I must ensure your safety before then.¡±


    Sun Wushe gives Meng Yuele a glance then says, ¡°ditto.¡±


    Ditto?! Ditto his arse! Why do they seem to see him entering the academy like a mouse venturing into a group of cats? Although it isn¡¯t exactly inaccurate a comparison, but the students of the academy aren¡¯t criminals! They¡¯re well trained reservists who can even be called to war if the situation arises!


    ¡°I, I see,¡± they all took the day off just to ensure his safety. It is still a gesture done in good faith, so he can¡¯t exactly tell them off or complain. Cheng Zhaoci can only turn around and, as the three shemale military officers watch him slink off to the security booth to register.

 CH 26.2

    On both sides of the academy entrance are flowerbeds, which are currently concealing many shemales within.


    The tallest shemale is nervously watching the gate while saying, ¡°we only have trouble with Xiao Ji, you know. Don¡¯t we want to keep family members out of it?¡±


    Then he gets a slap on his forehead.


    ¡°Dumbass! We¡¯re not going to beat his younger brother up. We just need to use him to stop his older brother retaliating, then we can get our revenge.¡±


    The tall one is holding his slapped forehead while still complaining hesitantly, ¡°but I feel like we¡¯re playing dirty.¡±


    ¡°How the heck are you going to beat him without playing dirty?! And you tell me you¡¯re majoring in military command?¡± The shemale with the buzzcut sounds utterly disappointed, ¡°this is just simply using tactics to our advantage! Got it?¡±


    But before they could argue some more, another student from the armour design classes warns them, ¡°attention! Keep quiet, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are coming!¡±


    ¡°Just to confirm, but you three will capture and suppress Xiao Ji¡¯s brother quickly! And drag him back before we rush in, got it?¡±


    A reply comes in the form of affirmative gestures from the many shemales present.


    Meanwhile, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are at the door. The academy¡¯s gates employ technology to block the view outside, in order to be completely isolated. Xiao Ji is waiting nervously and straightens his back subconsciously, which gets him a slap on a back from He Huaijian.


    ¡°Don¡¯t act ridiculous,¡± He Huaijian says, ¡°xiao-Ci would laugh at you.¡±


    Xiao Ji scrambles his hands about his back while blabbering, ¡°can you not fucking call me out before you¡¯ve put those stupid pretend stuff away?¡±


    He Huaijian is not only standing straight, but has also placed a pair of pretentious glasses on his nose ¨C the function of which is to enhance vision when studying small mecha parts. Many of the shemales of the mecha design courses enjoy wearing it at all times, thinking it fashionable, except for He Huaijian.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot to take those off. I¡¯ll just keep it,¡± He Huaijian replies casually, making Xiao Ji¡¯s mouth twitch.


    They look at each other; they can see the scorn in each other¡¯s eyes.


    But they hear Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s voice soon enough, ¡°Huaijian-ge! Xiao Ji!¡±


    Only the voice can be heard for now, so while the two shemales are still waiting there in the open, the shemales hiding in the flowerbeds are also looking in the direction.


    The three shemales in charge of securing Cheng Zhaoci rush out immediately upon the voice to capture the younger brother.


    And run face-to-face with Cheng Zhaoci.


    Meanwhile, in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s senses, it¡¯s like three shemales in school uniforms suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of him without warning, almost making him drop his cake in response.


    Not terror at their looks, but more like, turning around and realising there¡¯s an insectoid standing directly behind you at a hair¡¯s breadth. That kind of terror.


    While Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s heart almost stopped for a second, the three shemales are just standing there with jaws agape and eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.


    M-m-m-male!


    They, they were almost, almost touching!


    But before the three shemales can start swooning, Xiao Ji grabs them with one hand each and throws them away to the side. Oh, right, the third one he kicked right in the butt.


    ¡°What are you faggots trying to pull?!¡± If normally, Xiao Ji could be described as fearsome after beating someone up, now he looks like the reaper himself, threatening to kill. Xiao Ji and He Huaijian have Cheng Zhaoci completely under their protection behind them.


    Cheng Zhaoci is still completely blanked out. Finally, when he remembers someone is listening on him and ready to commit rescue at the first sign of trouble, he quickly says, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Right now¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci looks at the shemales who still appear completely stunned even after being thrown and kicked, and the Xiao Ji who resembles a cat with fur exploding, says, sounding confused, ¡°I suspect it¡¯s a misunderstanding with some students,¡± while he¡¯s the third party that was dragged in, although they seem especially shocked at the gender of this third party.


    It¡¯s not even over yet. Another shemale stumbles out of the flowerbed, and collapses onto the ground with a ¡®splat.¡¯ His legs must be tired from all the kneeling.


    Cheng Zhaoci can see that Xiao Ji is so angry he¡¯s literally shaking, almost like he has some depth of field filter applied to his person and tries to calm him down, ¡°it¡¯s fine. Just four shemales acting silly. Calm down, calm down,¡± since if he really couldn¡¯t hold back and beat them up, he doesn¡¯t know how the academy will deal with this. If, because Xiao Ji beat them up first and was penalised, that will be a permanent stain on his records.


    Although as Cheng Zhaoci spoke, another two shemales falls out of the flowerbed.


    He Huaijian hasn¡¯t uttered a word, so Cheng Zhaoci thought he was still remaining his cool and aloof self, only to see him retrieve something that looks just like a grenade from his past life, and yelling at the flowerbed, ¡°on a count to three, or I¡¯ll throw. One¡­¡±


    And then a whole cohort of teenage shemales flies out like bees from a poked hive.


    Cheng Zhaoci does not know where to begin. How did the flowerbed fit so many shemales inside? Why is He Huaijian keeping a grenade-like thingy in his pocket? Is he not worried he¡¯d stumble and ¡®boom¡¯?!

 CH 27.1

    An Opportunity; A Scheme


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    A tense mood that is nonetheless marred by embarrassment.


    All has been taken into account, except for the fact that Xiao Ji and He Huaijian¡¯s younger brother turned out to be a male.


    But normally, isn¡¯t having a male younger brother, and even a male younger brother on good terms something to boast about? Why do these two look completely oblivious?!


    Both Xiao Ji and He Huaijian who grew up on the landfill planet and have not the common sense regarding males, look like they¡¯re about to explode. Cheng Zhaoci can see that Huaijian¡¯s hand with the grenade-like thing is bursting to the seams with veins. He¡¯s probably this close to actually pulling the pin and throwing it.


    Of course, expression-wise, our young comrade He has always had his poker face, like everything is always under his control.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci decides to poke his head out from behind Xiao Ji, towards the shemales standing or fallen over opposite, ¡°um, can we go now?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh! Ohoh! Of course! Yessir!¡± The frontmost shemale who has dyed hair is ruffling through it while showing a dumb smile at Cheng Zhaoci. Then he finally turns around to yell from the bottom of his chest, ¡°quit standing around like you¡¯re auditioning to be the next electric pole! Now scarper!¡±


    The whole cohort of shemales quickly part into two sides.


    Sometimes, Cheng Zhaoci thinks, the identity of a male really is useful.


    Since Cheng Zhaoci is a male insectoid, though, it¡¯s clearly inappropriate to bring him to Xiao Ji¡¯s dorm. And Xiao Ji, being the brash and brazen lad that he is, drags Cheng Zhaoci along to his classroom and kicks all his classmates outside unreasonably. Cheng Zhaoci has to quickly put a stop to it.


    Xiao Ji is going to be a fellow student for years with these classmates. It¡¯s unconscionable to get on the entire class¡¯ bad side this early. Being a lone wolf means isolation at best, or even being picked on at worst. He fears that regardless of Xiao Ji¡¯s fighting prowess, he can¡¯t win against every shemale and demi at once.


    Though even if Cheng Zhaoci stopped Xiao Ji¡¯s silliness, none of the young teenage insectoids are streaming in. They¡¯re simply all crowded at the doorway, poking their heads in to peek.


    Peek as they will, but if Cheng Zhaoci so much as turns his head their way, they¡¯d even shyly retreat their heads back down their necks.


    Completely opposite to how confident and bold the three shemales that rushed at him in the beginning.


    Cheng Zhaoci visited his brothers during the longer break after the morning lessons, so there are many insectoids hanging out about ¨C which only worsens the crowd gathering at the doorway by the minute.


    And Cheng Zhaoci gives up doing anything about it. He pretends he doesn¡¯t see anything.


    He¡¯s here to fulfil his promise to treat Xiao Ji and He Huaijian to cupcakes. Yes. The promise they made back on the landfill planet. Neither Xiao Ji nor He Huaijian have ever tried cupcakes, but unexpectedly for Cheng Zhaoci, when Xiao Ji takes his first bite of the cupcake, his brows furrow visibly.


    He looks like he is fighting his gag reflexes just to swallow.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice,¡± praises He Huaijian at the side, making Xiao Ji look at him oddly, doubting the authenticity to his claims.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± Cheng Zhaoci grabs the cupcake from Xiao Ji¡¯s hands. It¡¯s clear he cannot stand it. It¡¯ll be torture to make him continue eating.


    It¡¯s quite depressing for Xiao Ji to fail to engage in camaraderie with his good brother because of him, as he explains, ¡°it feels really weird, like eating mud,¡± mud with excess sugar added in. The taste was abhorrent.


    Although Xiao Ji also really wants to curse his lack of eloquent words. It¡¯s their Ci-zai¡®s first salary that he¡¯s squandering here. He sounds really ungrateful. Especially when Ci-zai is a treasured male, ¡°just let me have it, Ci-zai. I heard these are expensive.¡±


    Just looking at how colourful and overdecorated it is speaks volumes as to its cost.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± replies Cheng Zhaoci, dodging Xiao Ji¡¯s hand as he throws the cupcake squarely into his own mouth, ¡°I¡¯ll have it, don¡¯t force yourself.¡±


    What one may think is good may be something completely unacceptable to others. Honey to me, cyanide to him. Yes, that is good material. He can probably hammer out some more plot for the little zombie king.


    The strongest shemales tries to make him adapt to hu- insectoid food, and make him more insectoid in actions, but the food is quite disgusting to the little zombie king.


    Though while Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s imagination is running wild, he gets dragged down back to reality by a whole chorus of gasps.


    Gasps coming from the shemales and demis at the door.


    ¡°That mister! He ate what Xiao Ji has taken a bite of!¡± A shemale is quietly expressing his shock to his companion.


    ¡°Is he really a male?! I can¡¯t believe it, oh heavens!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous of that shemale. Why could he get such a good fianc¨¦?¡± A demi who¡¯s just here to see the fuss is lamenting, but he gets bonked on the back of his head immediately.


    ¡°Fianc¨¦ my arse! That male is that shemale¡¯s younger brother!¡±


    ¡°Wait, does that mean I have a chance?¡±


    ¡°I think I can!¡±


    Meanwhile, Xiao Ji is all blushing while also covering his mouth, ¡°you, you, you¡­¡± He feels like he¡¯s been utterly shameful. It¡¯s embarrassing.


    He was picky with food, and Ci-zai had to eat his leftovers. He, he feels so immature.


    ¡°My bad. I didn¡¯t know you wouldn¡¯t like this. I¡¯ll treat you to roast meat when you¡¯re on holiday,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says without reservations or hesitation.


    It¡¯s not like Xiao Ji hasn¡¯t stuffed him full of food he¡¯s taken a bite out of on the landfill planet anyway, and vice versa. His reaction time would be too comically long if he finally felt embarrassment after all this time. He adds, ¡°my editor took me to one that was amazing.¡±


    ¡°Th-, then go,¡± the cat has got Xiao Ji¡¯s tongue, it seems, with how nervous he is. He probably doesn¡¯t even know what he¡¯s saying at this point.

 CH 27.2

    Though very soon, Xiao Ji finds his shame and confusion gone and cooled, as Cheng Zhaoci suddenly mentions, ¡°oh right, did you read my latest comic yet?¡±


    Then his He Huaijian-ge and Xiao Ji both turn towards him, as He Huaijian¡¯s gaze loses what little temperature it had.


    His good and cute a-Ci suddenly looks rather evil and conniving.


    Although Cheng Zhaoci hasn¡¯t noticed, telling them, ¡°I¡¯m going to do a love story next.¡±


    He¡¯s been thinking about the story since he finished watching the movie with Sun Wushe, but he¡¯ll need some time to recharge first. He¡¯s still just off the heels of his month-long marathon. He would much rather not die another premature death.


    ¡°What kind of male do you two think is popular?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, knowing it¡¯s futile to try to get an answer from anyone else, who¡¯d most likely reply ¡®any male is great.¡¯


    His two childhood friends, though, probably have a more neutral opinion as they grew up in an environment absent of males.


    ¡°Ones like you,¡± Xiao Ji says without hesitation. Honestly, even if Cheng Zhaoci still had his fake insectoid marks on his face, he thinks he¡¯ll be popular regardless, ¡°your personality is really different, even fresh compared to other males.¡±


    He said it earnestly, but Cheng Zhaoci only laughs, ¡°hahaha! Yeah, right!¡±


    Yes, obviously they love him so much they just give him grandparents¡¯ doting eyes treatment. He¡¯s still a minor, you know, ones who cannot be recipient to that kind of love yet, and¡­


    ¡°Seriously? ¡®You¡¯re so different, so interesting, ho, male, you have my attention now¡¯?¡± Cheng Zhaoci even shudders a little, ¡°oh, spare me! That¡¯s way too stale.¡±


    It just reminds him of ¡®bossy CEOs¡¯ and those greasy ¡®devilish¡¯ smiles on TV. Oh, please. No, thanks.


    Sun Wushe, who is listening in ¡°¡­¡±


    Meng Yuele shakes him a little, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? You look like you just swallowed a fly.¡±


    ¡°Is that stale?¡± Sun Wushe asks with not much of a shift in tone.


    Meng Yuele takes a moment to realise what he¡¯s asking about; meanwhile, Wei Zhuo seems to have entirely missed the conversation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never heard it before, at least,¡± Meng Yuele answers honestly, but as Sun Wushe¡¯s mood improves, Meng Yuele adds, ¡°but if Mr Cheng thinks it¡¯s stale, then it probably is.¡±


    Since the male has so many interesting thoughts, right?


    Sun Wushe¡­ is just speechless. He sure wants to give Cheng Zhaoci a good shakedown. Why was that stale?! No one has ever heard that before!


    ¡°My advice is for you to lay down the brush for a bit,¡± He Huaijian coldly interrupts Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°do you know how influential your comic has been? I bet upwards of 70% of students in this academy have seen it, and the percentage is still growing.¡±


    The word ¡®comic¡¯ is said especially quietly, too, so none of the shemales outside can hear.


    ¡°If we leave out the fact that you¡¯re a male, I suspect you¡¯ll get thrown in a river in a sack,¡± He Huaijian says, not exaggerating his tone at all, ¡°I had heard students that were even planning to dig up your true identity just so they can stuff you in a bag and give you a beating.¡±


    Although the plan went nowhere because He Huaijian reported them to get them punished.


    ¡°Some of them seem actually obsessed with the story, so really, take a break,¡± He Huaijian pats Cheng Zhaoci on the shoulder. He is really worried Cheng Zhaoci might produce another ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ and seriously compromise his own safety.


    ¡®Love story,¡¯ he said, but he didn¡¯t specify if it was sweet romance or a tragic one.


    Cheng Zhaoci is clearly dumbfounded. Not because so many insectoids are trying to look for him to beat him up, but more at the amount of readers he apparently has.


    This is the first time he has come to realise something significant.


    Having worked in the industry himself, a story like that in his previous world would have attracted some fans, but not a lot. There are so many people on Earth with stories to tell and the means to tell it. Enough that a Cheng Zhaoci story is like a drop of water into the ocean.


    But this sector is largely unexploited in the insectoid world. What might a blank canvas achieve?


    Before everyone has come to put their own strokes down, a legend might be born from a single vision!


    There is no other similar work to serve the niche!


    He was simply drawing to supplement the family income. Ah¡­


    Luck? He might be a sort of pioneer for something in the insectoid society¡¯s inevitable development, if he could be so bold and shameless. Maybe.


    He Huaijian, seeing Cheng Zhaoci straighten up more and more, and his eyes seem to sparkle with brightness, knows that he wasn¡¯t deterred by what he said.


    ¡°What say you?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci tells He Huaijian in his mind, that he thinks he has risen to prominence. He excitedly gives He Huaijian a pat on the shoulder back, a ¡°thanks!¡± for the ¡®data¡¯ he¡¯s provided, and leaves happily as Xiao Ji and He Huaijian¡¯s afternoon lessons are about to begin.


    He Huaijian ¡°?¡±


    The shemales at the door split apart to give Cheng Zhaoci a path. When he passes by, he cheerily tells them, ¡°thank you for taking care of my older brother at school.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you, you¡¯re welcome,¡± one stunned shemale replies, as the shemales and demis watch Cheng Zhaoci take off.


    That night, Xiao Ji has finally lost it after refusing his classmates¡¯ invitation to train together for the fifteenth time. Slamming the dorm door shut, he yells, ¡°what the fuck?! Huh?! What in the fucking fuck are they doing all suddenly buddy-buddy with me? Do I look like I¡¯m some real friendly insectoid? And what the fuck were they thinking with those creepy shameless smiles!¡± Xiao Ji ruffles his hair in frustration.


    He Huaijian, who has turned off his friend request notifications a while back, sighs and says, ¡°they were thinking about your younger brother. They don¡¯t want to buddy-buddy up with you, they want to call you brother.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Fuck.¡±

 CH 28.1

    You Can Do It!


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian need to go to school, but then where does that leave the minor male insectoid Cheng Zhaoci? Well, he does need to study, but he does not need to go to school. Apparently, home-schooling is a thing here.


    Cheng Zhaoci, who has lived dozens of years in total by now, almost completely forgot he¡¯s still technically a minor here. His teacher is here, and he can¡¯t ditch classes either, because most importantly, Cheng Jin hired him.


    At the same time, he is still mulling over his new story. Honestly, he doesn¡¯t really know how to write a love story. While he can just stuff it full of the clich¨¦s, but he doesn¡¯t want to do that.


    The problem is that Cheng Zhaoci lacks experience of falling in love. When he was still a human, a commission he had for drawing a shounen manga had comments like ¡®the male and female leads are more teammates in an RPG than romantic partners.¡¯


    Love is his Achille¡¯s Heel, as he does not know how to design a convincing love story. He has never fallen in love ¨C he did not have the mind at school, and did not have the time when he has to work.


    Though soon enough, Cheng Zhaoci does not need to mull over it anymore, because the teacher is at the door.


    He is a demi over a hundred years old. Married, but hasn¡¯t any offspring, due to some sickness that plagued him when he was young that made him infertile, Cheng Zhaoci has heard. Though fortunately, his xiongzhu did not abandon him, but more just ignored and let him be.


    And having lived for a century brings with him a relaxing aura. Though the addition of all the electronic files for learning he¡¯s brought simply reminds Cheng Zhaoci of his past homeroom teacher.


    His tendency to pop up nowhere like a ghost through the window at the back of the classroom silently has allowed him to, at his peak, catch Cheng Zhaoci drawing in class dozens of times.


    But he is definitely a good teacher. He¡¯d invite Cheng Zhaoci to have dinner with him at his house, knowing he was an orphan, and would persuade him to study hard every time.


    He¡¯s of the older generation that believes these fancy comic things will lead him nowhere in life, and that young ones should study hard and enrol in top universities to be able to succeed.


    Of course, Cheng Zhaoci knows he means well, and after growing up, he¡¯d still pay visits to the old and retired homeroom teacher.


    He will never forget, though, how the teacher¡¯s head would suddenly appear at the back window without any sign, and because he was already balding, his head would reflect the sunlight cast from the corridors. It was such a memorable scene ¨C a teacher outside the window, and the student who was drawing at that very moment, would lock eyes, and Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s heart would always skip a beat.


    He feels like his old homeroom teacher¡¯s smile has been perfectly replicated on the face of this demi in front of him, despite the vastly different and superior appearance. Simply put, Cheng Zhaoci has a natural, prey-like fear of people working in education.


    It¡¯s possibly a common tragedy for all the ¡®bad apples.¡¯


    ¡°You may call me Mr Liang,¡± the demi nods towards Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Same, same,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies without much energy.


    Outside some office building, a Zhou Luoluo whose appearance is so utterly bombastic that if Cheng Zhaoci could see him, would aptly describe as a ¡®Christmas tree,¡¯ is only hearing Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s voice through his call, ¡°what?! Home-schooling?! Oh, right, you¡¯re about my age, too!¡± Zhou Luoluo quite often forgets Cheng Zhaoci is actually only 16. He really is too independent, and acts far more mature than his age.


    ¡°What? Go find you? Are you trying to use me as an excuse to ditch classes?¡± Zhou Luoluo raises his brows dramatically. Interesting, now Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s acting childish for his age, ¡°are the lessons too difficult?¡±


    The lessons are hellish! Cheng Zhaoci was all mentally geared to accept a bunch of formulae he does not understand the slightest, or be bored to death with minutiae of insectoid history, but it turns out, male insectoids¡¯ first lesson ever is ¡®Xiongzhu Fundamentals¡¯!


    Cheng Zhaoci listened to the words in a daze, and honestly, it was sleep-inducing. Even worse than listening to history. He thinks he can record the lesson and play it every night to help achieve good sleep.


    His dad will never have to worry about him staying up the whole night again!


    ¡°Just come!¡± Cheng Zhaoci has never so desperately wanted for Zhou Luoluo¡¯s company as he is now. It¡¯s not easy to get off days, but if he has an invitation from another male insectoid then that is completely ok.


    Zhou Luoluo is pretty happy Cheng Zhaoci is looking for his help as a friend, but he glances at the office building entrance behind him, and then says, ¡°I might be a bit late, though. Do you maybe want to tell your teacher you¡¯re going to, uh, get inspiration looking at scenery for a while first?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is quite surprised that Zhou Luoluo is running this way blabbering excitedly like before.


    Zhou Luoluo carefully lowers his tone of voice, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve got my eyes on a shemale lately,¡± although he is cold and aloof and 25 years older than him, and he did not even bat an eye at him the first time they met. It was those qualities that has won over the possibly masochistic Zhou Luoluo who enjoys someone who doesn¡¯t look like they care about him.


    Oh, that¡¯s rare. Cheng Zhaoci congratulates him, ¡°it¡¯s pretty nice to have someone you like. Good luck with him, I¡¯ll think of something myself,¡± Cheng Zhaoci hangs up and continues sitting in the toilet, blanking out. Ah, his plan to have administrative leave has failed. This is sad.


    And it doesn¡¯t feel like he would be allowed to leave to ¡®find inspiration from grand sceneries¡¯ either.


    Should he just tell his dad he doesn¡¯t want to study? Would that make him feel like his son is a lazy and unmotivated male insectoid? Hm, but wait, if to be a ¡®motivated¡¯ male means to marry a lot of concubines, it might be a better idea to nip that idea in the bud.


    Though in the end, Cheng Zhaoci abandons his thoughts of giving up studying.


    Instead, he decides to face his fears directly, and tells Mr Liang he doesn¡¯t like the lesson.

 CH 28.2

    Cheng Zhaoci has succeeded! Mr Liang pauses for a moment, but then smiles and says, ¡°you really are quite the independent little male. I¡¯ve learned about you from your dad, and also read your comics.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°?¡±


    ¡°So I had a backup plan. If it turns out you didn¡¯t like the courses for males, we can learn the female pedagogy instead,¡± smiling gently, the teacher asks, ¡°I heard you like mechas? Would you like to learn more about them?¡±


    Before Cheng Zhaoci can say anything else, Mr Liang says, ¡°three days a week, six hours each day. The rest of the time, you are free to continue your own work.¡±


    It¡¯s a month later when Wei Zhuo finally sees Cheng Zhaoci once more ¨C four chapter updates this month for the little zombie king, that is depicting an ¡®improving¡¯ relationship between the leads, but it is more that the little zombie king is forcibly being converted by the strongest shemale, but he hasn¡¯t realised his mistake.


    Finally, in this latest chapter, the little zombie king was forced to eat insectoid food, until finally, he throws up and shoots it back out. Finally, the strongest shemale realises that the little zombie king is now different from an insectoid.


    The continuous depressing feeling when reading the comic is almost like slicing meat with a dulled blade. Meng Yuele isn¡¯t crying anymore, but whenever he is reading, his brows lock firmly. He looks like he really wants to rush in to beat that strongest shemale up.


    There are already lots of comments berating the cruelty of the author.


    Some even suspect the author of having bad days recently, so these few chapters are here to share the unhappiness; too bad it¡¯s far too late to even try to drop the comic. They can only stay frustrated.


    Wei Zhuo, meanwhile, has finally come to visit at the end of the month after a long period of busy work to check on the young male. He wasn¡¯t expecting to be received by such an excited Cheng Zhaoci, though, whose eyes are practically glowing.


    Was Cheng Zhaoci interested in mechas? Of course! Did he manage to learn anything? Of course not! Anyone can enjoy playing video games, but being put on an ergonomic chair to play like a paid pro gamer wouldn¡¯t work for the majority of them. It rings especially true for Cheng Zhaoci, who realises the extent that he really sucks at mecha during the month¡¯s studies.


    So an avid fan of the subject meeting a pro ¡®player¡¯ of said subject would be unable to hide his admiration and adoration indeed.


    And, he can¡¯t help but wish that Wei Zhuo could take him training some more. Then maybe he can finally be elevated beyond ¡®noob¡® status, and become a slightly more competent noob, you know.


    When Wei Zhuo is drinking some juice with Cheng Zhaoci on the second-floor balcony, he still has no idea what¡¯s going on ¨C until finally, Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°Squadron Leader, you got promoted really quickly. So you must be really good with mechas?¡±


    A Squadron Leader at only 25 years of age! It¡¯s insane. Not just in the insectoid society, but even in the human world he¡¯d be uncharacteristically young.


    ¡°I know my way around one,¡± Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t know Cheng Zhaoci has designs on him, and continues, ¡°though it¡¯s not just skills with a mecha that is needed for promotion. Like Sun Wushe, he is still a cadet; usually promotions beyond cadet happen after thirty.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t your adjutant Meng also promoted above cadet already? I thought you¡¯re similar in age,¡± Cheng Zhaoci feels like there must be a story behind this!


    As expected, Wei Zhuo smiles a little.


    ¡°If you risk your life for it; we were still really young, and he and I have never been in the academy. We started off as the lowest rung, and slowly made our way up in a year, when war has erupted between the insectoids and the finned ones. Our team was ambushed and casualties were really high. Meng Yuele and I, hot-blooded as we were, just drove our mechas in a beeline for their main vessel,¡± Wei Zhuo recalls, ¡°we were going to bring as many of them down with us, but we didn¡¯t die, and I managed to lop off the head of the supreme commander of the finned ones. Apparently, he was their fourth prince, too. I was lucky.¡±


    Wei Zhuo can¡¯t help but recall what he was thinking then. He actually thought he was going to die.


    But he didn¡¯t want to. He was still questioning himself. Why should he die? For what is he fighting, protecting with all his life?


    A life of continued extravagance and luxury for insectoids like his so-called ¡®father¡¯?


    Is there even a meaning in this sacrifice? No one can tell him.


    Though he lived, the question lingered. He obeyed society¡¯s rules still, to the letter, but he cannot find it in him to have a personal investment. Wei Zhuo once thought he was simply a weapon wielded by the Federation, the kind that is sentient.


    ¡°Squadron Leader?¡± Cheng Zhaoci shakes his hand in front of Wei Zhuo, who is looking back at him now.


    The turning point came when he saw the young male emerge from the rubble pile, he thinks. He really was special, like a shining ray of light that pierced through darkness, to grant a soul to the pile of lifeless, robotic meat known as ¡®Wei Zhuo.¡¯


    Suddenly, he realises that it is because of insectoids like Cheng Zhaoci that there is now meaning in what he has done.


    He is protecting the insectoids as a whole, protecting young males like him¡­


    Speaking of males, as a healthy, adult shemale, he obviously has more carnal desires.


    But Wei Zhuo does not dare to imagine himself the cijun or even shemale concubine of the young male. He does not want him to have to shoulder the burden of his desires. He wants to protect him, not for reputation or other such rewards. He will just watch over him quietly, so that the young male can always live to his heart¡¯s desires, that he can continue shining brightly, and so spread some of the warmth of that light onto him.


    Wei Zhuo thinks he understands the shemales that would do whatever it takes to make the males happy. Wei Zhuo, looking at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, thinks he can never say ¡®no¡¯ to him.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci, blushing a little from the stares, can¡¯t help but think about how powerful that handsome appearance of the Squadron Leader Wei Zhuo is. He shuts his eyes firmly then reopens them, and continues, ¡°can you play a few rounds of virtual mecha fights with me?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Wei Zhuo refuses by reflex, speaking before his brain could even react. All the emotions he¡¯s been feeling have been eliminated, his brain is now once again filled with the ceaseless death knell of ¡°let¡¯s play another round.¡±

 CH 29.1

    Argh, This Dirty, Dirty World!


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    When Cheng Zhaoci sees Zhou Luoluo with tears falling out like the spring rain, he¡¯s completely flabbergasted and asks, ¡°what happened?¡±


    And the comparison really is apt because there is a light shower as Zhou Luoluo came tearing and running. Add to that the quite feminine appearance of Zhou Luoluo, you might be forgiven for mistaking this to be a female lead running scene straight out of some soap opera.


    ¡°Uwah! He looks down on me!¡± Zhou Luoluo gives Cheng Zhaoci a bear hug, ¡°he said he doesn¡¯t like males,¡± Zhou Luoluo says with a hoarse voice.


    Cheng Zhaoci remembers that Zhou Luoluo has his sights set on a shemale recently. Looks like he was soundly rejected, ¡°so? How are you feeling?¡± Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but appreciate the timing that is offering him material, just when he needs inspiration.


    ¡°My chest aches. It is stuffy. I feel like¡­¡± Zhou Luoluo pauses here, then looks up and gives the unsympathetic Cheng Zhaoci a doubtful look, ¡°are you trying to write me into your story?¡±


    ¡°No! Of course not!¡± Cheng Zhaoci denies but cannot put his eyes on Zhou Luoluo on good conscience. It does seem in poor taste to try to make an insectoid who was just rejected into story material.


    At the same time, Mr Liang pokes his head out the door, ¡°is it a friend? Quickly come in. The rain isn¡¯t letting up soon.¡±


    Before Zhou Luoluo can accuse Cheng Zhaoci of getting yet another shemale, Cheng Zhaoci immediately introduces him, ¡°this is my teacher, Mr Liang. My dad hired him to home-school me.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo appears to have lost interest in Mr Liang immediately. The two teenage males get urged along by Mr Liang to get a change of clothes; Zhou Luoluo was already drenched running along, and has made Cheng Zhaoci equally wet when giving him the hug.


    Though the difference in their body size becomes apparent as Zhou Luoluo is now wearing clothes a few sizes too big for him. Not that he seems to mind, plopping himself down on the sofa while complaining, ¡°that shemale doesn¡¯t even find me attractive! Who can he possibly like?!¡±


    Mr Liang, who¡¯s been smiling gently at the youthful story, adds, ¡°I will remind you that he will be executed summarily if he dared to actually reciprocate physically.¡±


    ¡°But just dating is fine! I have lots of friends who have betrothed concubines already!¡± Zhou Luoluo retorts, ¡°just as long as we don¡¯t actually do it!¡±


    Though what is unspoken is that those ¡®betrothed¡¯ have likely already done it many times in private. Zhou Luoluo, na?ve as he is, has probably never imagined such, speculates Mr Liang, who decides not to reveal the rather damning reality.


    Zhou Luoluo continues his tirade, ¡°it¡¯s definitely a lie he doesn¡¯t like males at all!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci begs to differ, though. Homosexuality has always been a thing in the animal kingdom. Maybe that shemale already has a beloved other shemale or demi, right?


    ¡°I won¡¯t give up!¡± Zhou Luoluo tightens his fist, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely win his heart over, and then cast him away when he finally falls for me, and tell him I don¡¯t like shemales. The shame he has brought me today, I¡¯ll definitely, definitely¡­¡±


    ¡°Repay a hundredfold?¡± Cheng Zhaoci finishes his sentence for him.


    ¡°Yes! That! Exactly! A hundredfold!¡±


    Seeing Zhou Luoluo¡¯s energised, gleaming form reminds Cheng Zhaoci of¡­ the good ol¡¯ Gary Stus. Minus the face. He really does look like a girl.


    Though energised as he may be, Zhou Luoluo is still clearly impacted by the experience, merely repeatedly asserting that he¡¯s going to take revenge, so Cheng Zhaoci and Mr Liang accompanied and cheered Zhou Luoluo up for an afternoon. Cheng Zhaoci is quite happy though, in contrast, as he has managed to avoid today¡¯s lessons.


    Compared to the lessons, even a Zhou Luoluo who is talking about things over and over again is far more interesting.


    Zhou Luoluo has finally gone home when it is also time for Mr Liang to depart. With his time to himself again, Cheng Zhaoci goes back to his room to mull on his next story some more.


    He¡¯s been trying to hammer out a plot for sweet love, but whatever he tried, it just felt like cardboard cutouts, from the early days of love drama soap operas.


    Love is so hard. How do protagonists even fall in love, anyway?


    He looks over all the abandoned plotlines he¡¯s come up with all this time, and just finds his head aching more and more.


    What would it be like if he fell in love¡­ himself? Keeping his eyes shut, he starts fantasising.


    He¡¯ll definitely be something like the strongest shemale in the little zombie king story; however, recalling his character settings just reminds Cheng Zhaoci of someone else, whose face has already replaced the strongest shemale¡¯s in his fantasy.


    Wei Zhuo?! No, of course not Wei Zhuo. Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t even imagine Wei Zhuo falling in love.


    Haha. Squadron Leader Wei falling in love? Having sex? Oh man. Wei Zhuo really is far too righteous and just and also ascetically chaste like some monk.


    Though that said, if someone does make him fall in love, it¡¯ll probably be the most deliciously alluring scene ever.


    If, during the happy times together, he¡¯d act more coquettishly¡­ he¡¯ll be lying there, his impeccable military suit crumpled, his chiselled body barely visible through the wet and slightly see-through undergarments, his face a flushed pink, unable to maintain a serious poker face anymore. When a strong a powerful individual has been forced out of his shell, to reveal his softness inside¡­


    ¡°Oh fucking hell!¡± Cheng Zhaoci quickly shoots up from his chair, almost stumbling in the process, and starts smacking himself on the forehead hard to try to flush these colourful and wildly inappropriate materials away.


    What was he thinking sexualising the one who saved his life and has help him out so much! Pervert! And also, unethical and amoral!


    He knew it! He knew it! When Wei Zhuo keeps showing up with that handsome face of his, there was going to be a problem eventually! A big problem!


    But smacking the head isn¡¯t helping remove the image at all. In fact, it¡¯s getting clearer and crisper and in glorious HD now.


    Oh goodness. Cheng Zhaoci has successfully embarrassed himself by his own thoughts.


    He¡¯s clearly in no state to think about plotlines either. He quickly washes up then lies down for a sleep, hoping he¡¯ll have forgotten everything after a good night¡¯s rest.


    The next day, Cheng Zhaoci removes himself from his bed rather quickly, while staring at his bedsheets. He knows he has been dreaming the entire night.


    ¡°Oh. Shit.¡± He really is certifiably a pervert now.

 CH 29.2

    In front of an office building is the disastrously dressed Zhou Luoluo, who appears to be subconsciously raising his hand to part his hair some more, as he looks longingly at the shemale exiting the building.


    ¡°Ah, Lu Nianqian, you¡¯re off work,¡± Zhou Luoluo approaches with his best ¡®appropriate¡¯ smile, and ends up ignored by the shemale named Lu Nianqian entirely.


    Zhou Luoluo¡¯s expression very clearly darkens for a moment before following suit, ¡°Lu Nianqian Lu Nianqian! At least give me a reaction!¡±


    Lu Nianqian stops and, pestered, rubs his temples, ¡°mister, can you stop following me? I¡¯m forty and you¡¯re fifteen. Do you think that¡¯s appropriate?¡±


    ¡°Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t it be?!¡± Zhou Luoluo is still in hot pursuit, so Lu Nianqian hurries his way to a vehicle waiting not far ahead of him, completely leaving Zhou Luoluo on his own behind.


    In the car, another shemale, dressed in a suit of the season¡¯s most fabulous red, is laughing at Lu Nianqian¡¯s expense, ¡°yo da-ge, why the merciless treatment? Finally a male has his eyes on you.¡±


    ¡°Just shut up. How¡¯s dad?¡± Lu Nianqian swats away the shemale in a suit, whose hands are pawing at him, ¡°Lu Su! Settle down!¡±


    The shemale named Lu Su rolls his eyes at the question, ¡°what else could he be but continuing to be oversensitive and still dreaming the day he ¡®cleaned up¡¯ all of father¡¯s past concubines and children¡­ Say, if it wasn¡¯t for granddad, he¡¯d be exiled equally, too. Why wouldn¡¯t he just simmer down?¡± Lu Su tilts his head, puzzled, ¡°father has been dead for sixteen, I mean seventeen years. Oh, and if I¡¯m my remembering wrong, a shemale concubine left with an egg, too; if the egg lived, he must be sixteen now,¡± Lu Su is now sprawled at the back of the vehicle, while postulating, ¡°hey, he might be that male trying to court you!¡±


    Lu Nianqian¡¯s veins are popping, ¡°first, that exiled egg wasn¡¯t a male. Dad went to investigate as soon as they reached the landfill planet. It¡¯s a shemale. Second, Zhou Luoluo has family background; his father is also alive and well.¡±


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± Lu Su shrugs and shuts up, which is just well enough as Lu Nianqian could also do with some shut-eye. Not that he could shut it for long, because Lu Su is suddenly going ¡®wowie.¡¯


    ¡°Lu! Su!¡±


    Ignoring Lu Nianqian¡¯s outrage, Lu Su points his holodeck at Lu Nianqian, ¡°I was going through your little lovebird¡¯s page. Look at this,¡± he points to a social media post from back in May, that in summary, talks about how he read a very depressing comic at his friend¡¯s today. He won¡¯t spoil a thing, but he¡¯ll be grabbing popcorn the day it¡¯s released to watch everyone else bullied to the point of tears.


    ¡°It was just over a month after that ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ was released. Do you think¡­¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± Lu Nianqian shuts that possibility immediately, ¡°males would only ever call other males ¡®friend.¡¯ You¡¯re suggesting a male wrote ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯? Have you finally lost it or have I?¡±


    Lu Nianqian didn¡¯t search for the comic himself, but back then, many of his coworkers, from the shemales to the demis, were all having swollen eyes, and apparently all having read the comic.


    So Lu Nianqian read it to see what was making his employees unproductive, but found himself so absorbed, unable to snap back to reality for even quite some time after he has finished it. When near the climax, he wasn¡¯t proud to admit that even he almost cried reading it.


    He then decided to read the rest of the comics the comic artist has posted, and then showered him with gifts. He believes he can see a wounded shemale or demi behind the name of the anonymous account, leaning towards demi, for how expressive and effective the emotional moments were.


    ¡°¡­ Oh, right,¡± Lu Su scratches his head, ending the matter.


    What they do not know, is that the Zhou Luoluo they abandoned behind him, is currently complaining in tears to the comic artist in question, ¡°uwah! I don¡¯t think I can go on much longer. How can he do this to me?! I think I¡¯m losing my hope in love.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you can be more sure of yourself. It sounds like you never had a chance in the first place. How can you lose hope when there was never any in the first place?¡± Cheng Zhaoci listens unsympathetically as Zhou Luoluo erupts in cries.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci is looking up at the bedsheets he just hung up on his balcony. On the one hand, he now finally has some idea about how to work the plot of that little love story, on the other, he doesn¡¯t find himself cheered up in the slightest.


    Because he is no longer clean. He¡¯s dirty. His mind is dirty.


    Even though he hasn¡¯t had as vivid a fantasy anymore after that one, damnable, night, but he cannot deny that that fantasy was conjured up in his mind at one point.

 CH 30.1

    So-Called ''Like''


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    By the time the weather is finally warming during early September, Cheng Zhaoci is, at last, progressing ever so slightly with his love story.


    He prepared this for far longer than ¡®In a Tiny Flicker,¡¯ since Cheng Zhaoci is bad at expressing love, and his thoughts keep turning to overused tropes.


    Whenever his thoughts stuck he just wanted a simpler, more convenient way to resolve the issue, like giving the protagonist a terminal illness to show their deep affection for each other.


    Ah! The pain of losing the loved protagonist for the second lead will multiply the love by two! Then the illness somehow gets treated and everyone is happily ever after.


    Honestly, if Cheng Zhaoci is aware of any illness whose treatment still eludes the insectoid society and its advanced technologies, and coming with an uncurable illness that still has to somehow be treated is in any way logical, he might have written it after all.


    A comic artist fears nothing when he wants for plot.


    This time, Cheng Zhaoci is still giving protagonist status to a male, while the other lead isn¡¯t a shemale, but a demi instead, in order to serve the story better ¨C as insectoids less physically capable, they generally work the more mentally gruelling jobs.


    He is planning for a deus ex machina with war destroying the fa?ade of normalcy in life. A demi would make it easier to write how the leads got separated in the war.


    A shemale could have just jumped off some 12-storey building with the male in his tow and then quickly scarper out of danger. And you¡¯re saying they have to get separated?


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci also knows a demi who is married. Mr Liang!


    ¡°How I fell in love my with xiongzhu?¡± Mr Liang is holding his warm cup of tea while examining the excitable young male in front of him. Below the eyes are slightly darkened skin caused by staying up too late.


    Mr Liang tries to recall, but ends up smiling and quietly saying, ¡°I don¡¯t really think I have an answer?¡±


    The young male is clearly disappointed at the answer, so Mr Liang ruffles Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hair gently, ¡°you really have a lot of your own thoughts. You¡¯re a most special male insectoid,¡± the teacher says with a soothing voice.


    ¡°All that you see and aspire to are beautiful. Your teacher is quite intrigued and hopeful as well, wishing to also see this world you describe with his own eyes,¡± perhaps these things come with old age; being over 100 years old in spite of the youthful appearance, Mr Liang¡¯s speech is always gentle and bordering on doting, ¡°it is a shame this world is nowhere near as perfect as you would wish it to be.¡±


    Mr Liang pulls his hand back and takes a sip of his tea, ¡°there is no love. It is simply because my xiongzhu is a male.¡±


    ¡°It is difficult enough to find a xiongzhu, and mine is quite honourable as well. He did not divorce me simply because I turned out to be infertile,¡± Mr Liang sighs and apologises, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m probably not the demi you are looking for,¡± the tone makes it sound more like he is talking to himself, or to a child.


    Mr Liang is fortunate, because he would have had to endure much more hardship if his xiongzhu simply abandoned him. There is heavy discrimination and even classism against demis abandoned by males, as they do not have the physical capabilities to back them up like shemales do.


    There is also the matter of demis being more generally emotionally complex, you see. Far more than shemales. Factionalism is rampant among demi circles, and so is being singled out and distanced by them.


    ¡°It is wrong for you to apologise,¡± Cheng Zhaoci sits back down at his seat, ¡°no one insectoid has the right to cast judgement on whether another insectoid¡¯s life was ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®bad.¡¯ What is important is that you live happily for yourself,¡± although it is, undeniably, a hurdle in his path to creating a new story.


    Mr Liang, whose hands are already going through the teaching materials, pauses almost imperceptibly. There are many others calling him ¡®lucky¡¯ for sure, not being abandoned by his xiongzhu even though he is infertile. There are also those who chastise him, saying he is a ¡®waste of air and space¡¯ just by living ¨C why should he, a demi-shemale, deserve to even live without even having offsprings of his own?


    Living happily for oneself is a phrase he has never heard before. And that said, ¡°xiao-Ci, your comics are all carrying messages beneath the surface, are they not?¡± If he really believed that no one insectoid can judge whether others are living a good or bad life, then why is he trying to push for change using them?


    ¡°They are, because I am also selfish. I¡¯m not a saint, and I have family members I treasure very much. They also treat me very well, so I want to do something for them.¡± If he never did meet his dad, Xiao Ji, He Huaijian, or Wei Zhuo, then while he will be sympathetic to the shemales¡¯ and demis¡¯ plight, he would not have lifted a finger for them.


    All is simply because he has family ties to them, and he did not in his past life. While he was completely ¡®free¡¯ and responsible and beholden to no one in the past life, and bound by countless relationships and obligations in this life, he finds it a much more appealing experience even if he has to worry a lot more than his past life.


    Because he can feel that he is loved, and needed by others.


    Let¡¯s put it this way, how ever ugly the metaphor is ¨C if one day, Cheng Zhaoci just up and died, he will definitely be discovered promptly and will be sent to the hospital to be revived at all costs. There will definitely be those who will shed genuine tears for him, to bawl and to cry like a baby.


    Unlike his past life, when his death will probably only be discovered through being reported as a nasty smell by his neighbours. His residential block¡¯s management would have had to visit to realise his death, and call the police.


    His last ¡®moment of glory¡¯ would probably have been an insignificant segment in the local news, to warn youngsters to value their bodies more, and not overwork themselves to the point of having a stroke. Then his final, social value would have been expended.

 CH 30.2

    Cheng Zhaoci can still remember an old adage that people die three times in total. First, the biological death, then, at the funeral, social death. The last time, is when no one in the world can remember you anymore. Cheng Zhaoci is quite amazing in that he achieved all three deaths at once.


    Died in one fell swoop without pomp or ceremony, without bringing a single tear or burden to the uncaring society.


    His entire life, all twenty-six years he walked earnestly and honestly would be remembered by no one. All his passions, his dreams, his drawings he did regardless of the hour of the day in order to make ends meet. All his ambition and likes and hates and everything would simply boil down to a half-arsed lesson about the dangers of staying up too late.


    Because he has had a mediocre past, that Cheng Zhaoci values his present company that much more.


    And wants to do something for their sake. Everything they have ever done for him had kept Cheng Zhaoci away from having time to mull over how sad his past life had been. He is far too busy thinking about repaying them for their doting kindness.


    Oh, and also too busy thinking about how love is born. It sure is asking for trouble for him to write a love story without ever having fallen in love.


    Should his love arise naturally, or should it be love at first sight? Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t a fan of the latter, for one simple reason ¨C how would love at first sight occur for those whose appearance do not instantly swoon hearts?


    Appearance may leave a great first impression, and Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t deny he¡¯ll be much more inclined to dealing with someone who looks good, but mere appearances do not stand up to the scrutiny of a long, shared life. One gets used to someone¡¯s stunning looks eventually, you see.


    But how does love naturally come about? Maybe he should make them childhood friends?


    Seeing Cheng Zhaoci all absorbed in his own thoughts makes Mr Liang clear his throat, ¡°xiao-Ci, it¡¯s time for your lesson.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Right!¡± Cheng Zhaoci snaps back to reality and sits up straight by reflex. Right, he has to finish suffering the lesson before he can even start drawing.


    In the evening, after Mr Liang has left, Cheng Zhaoci grabs a stool with him to sit at the back garden for some evening breeze and give ¡®love¡¯ a good, hard pondering. Then he ends up locking eyes with a passing shemale.


    ¡°¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°Mr Sun Wushe, is this place where you respawn?¡± Why is he always running into him at the back garden?


    ¡°I¡¯m going home after work,¡± Sun Wushe points to his home next door.


    Oh, right, the weirdo Sun Wushe likes going through his backdoor. Cheng Zhaoci then sighs and sits down on his stool.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± For some reason, Sun Wushe isn¡¯t going back inside to eat his dinner anymore. He stops and crouches by the fence, ¡°why the long face? Did someone bully you?¡± Although he would struggle to come up with anyone who could bully Cheng Zhaoci who is, let¡¯s not forget, a male insectoid.


    ¡°Not really,¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks at Sun Wushe. He seems to be making more than a passing comment and is in no hurry to leave. So he confesses, ¡°I¡¯m struggling to think about love, you see. I have no experience with it, and so I do not know how one falls into love or becomes the one another falls for. Naturally, I mean,¡± he has all the other plot details worked out already, and is simply stuck at ground zero ¨C how they fall in love at the first place.


    It¡¯s really a great pain!


    Not that Sun Wushe will be any help, since he has even less idea about how love really works, evident from the way he commented and reacted to the movie the last time.


    ¡°Perhaps, it doesn¡¯t just come about naturally,¡± Sun Wushe suddenly speaks.


    Cheng Zhaoci pauses, doubtful, but Sun Wushe answers earnestly, ¡°perhaps in the beginning, there is some quality about the other insectoid that holds your attention. You find the insectoid intriguing, but there is no love at all at this point.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just as you mentioned that time. ¡®This insectoid is so special and interesting,''¡± Sun Wushe recalls what he said at the military academy for the teenagers, and adds, ¡°you said it was stale that time, but I disagree.¡±


    ¡°As you continue to pay more attention to that insectoid, then comes a critical moment, when something they say or do, completely dazzles you,¡± like what Cheng Zhaoci told him after the movie that day.


    Cheng Zhaoci pointed out that ¡®love¡¯ means that there is nothing else more important around the other insectoid. Their hearts beat for each other. It¡¯s an impulse, a rush to fill the void in your fleeting, insignificant life with another one.


    To live together for the rest of their lives, huh. Sun Wushe was looking at Cheng Zhaoci with his heart beating so rapidly back then, but he said nothing.


    ¡°After you¡¯re dazzled, you find the insectoid¡¯s image occupying your thoughts more and more often, and unable to suppress it.¡±


    ¡°Even if you hate how you¡¯re always thinking about the other insectoid and try to remove them from your thoughts, you fail, and before you know it, the image has already lodged itself far too firmly in your mind.¡±


    Sun Wushe concludes, ¡°so finally, as you said, you realise you have an urge to make him fill the void in your fleeting life; I think there is also an added aspect, though. That you might also cower and be unwilling to make a first step.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s jaw is on the floor. He is speechless. He has his material now ¨C amazingly detailed and rich material, in fact, from Sun Wushe¡¯s vivid description. Sun Wushe was avid enough that Cheng Zhaoci had to ask, ¡°did you actually fall for someone?¡±


    How else could his thoughts have evolved so much in so short a period of time?


    Though he isn¡¯t attributing that change to himself, because one must be mad to assume a casual acquaintance you¡¯ve met for several times would have fallen head over heels for you. He, Cheng Zhaoci, is not a shameless narcissist.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than a simple analytical hypothesis for you,¡± Sun Wushe also doesn¡¯t betray a hint of Cheng Zhaoci hitting anything on the nail, ¡°since you seem to be oh-so-woefully wrapping your head in pain. Consider it a mere sympathetic gesture from me.¡±


    He stands back up, and heads back for his own house. As soon as he has turned around, his expression has cooled down entirely.


    There is a message in his holodeck. It¡¯s from Jin Yue. He has suggested a pact.


    A timely reminder for Sun Wushe, that he does not belong in this Federation, after all.

 CH 31.1

    Prototype


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Thanks to Sun Wushe¡¯s inspiration, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comic writing has become much easier.


    After two days¡¯ hard work staying home and thinking hard, he has finally got the plot details done.


    It¡¯s still a short comic. He¡¯ll release it in three batches, with nine chapters in total.


    After this short story, Cheng Zhaoci thinks he¡¯s ready to actually start working on a long serial project. The little zombie king doesn¡¯t count because it¡¯s more like a 4-koma that doesn¡¯t take up too much effort. Everything went cutesy and moe after the battle scenes of the first chapter.


    It was, after all, his way to test the insectoid market¡¯s reception to his style of drawing that he chose a slice of life-type comic that didn¡¯t need too much preparation.


    And, given that it isn¡¯t too demanding on his brain cells, maybe he can keep up both comics? Both? Cheng Zhaoci puts his hand near his liver. Ah, he can feel its pain.


    Still, he¡¯s doing everything from the plot to storyboarding to rough sketches and background plus colouring all the way to post fx. He should probably get an assistant, not that it would be easy in insectoid society.


    He¡¯s setting up the protagonist for his new short comic as a male insectoid who is more withdrawn from society.


    It¡¯s actually through Zhou Luoluo that Cheng Zhaoci came to know such a silent minority in insectoid society.


    They¡¯re introverted in personality and enjoy keeping thoughts to themselves, so they are less inclined to conversation and interaction in general; it means they¡¯re unable to deal with the onslaught of passion from all the shemales and demis outside, and often, they have their contacts or such flooded by them. They had no choice but to isolate themselves in their own shells.


    They do not leave their homes if they can help it, and only keep the company of a very small circle of other select males.


    While they are a largely marginalised and unknown minority, but according to Zhou Luoluo, if they do marry at all, they only have one cijun, because more would be too anxious for them to deal with. And, since they¡¯re soft-spoken and just really soft in general, the families they form are often free of arguments and disputes.


    So being a minority without a voice, and being generally frugal, given they only have one cijun as the breadmaker, is what makes these veteran hikikomoris so obscure in the eyes of society.


    It¡¯s only because one of Zhou Luoluo¡¯s close relatives ¨C his nephew, to be precise ¨C belongs to this group that he knows about them.


    Meanwhile, he¡¯ll make the male lead, the demi, much more active in personality, as a foil to the male. He¡¯s sociable, always all smiles, living life to the fullest and happiest.


    As males do not need to work, the protagonist, who will still be a bachelor, will be cared for by his family. He will be like how a frog whose whole life was spent in a well would not have a sense of the largeness of the world. The demi will be a reporter who travels places a lot and so knows a bit about basically everything.


    One day, he will have to retrieve stuff he bought online; there will be too much, and, not wanting to trouble his step-uncles, he will go alone. So he will end up dropping all the stuff he¡¯s carrying on the ground, the things scattering all over the place.


    It takes place somewhere not frequented by passers-by, so the male will be helpless and lost, not knowing what to do but almost tearing up.


    But then the demi will pass by, and seeing the young male so flustered, he will quickly pick up and put the stuff in the bag he¡¯s carrying for now, while soothing the male who¡¯s unable to mutter a single sound, that he¡¯ll keep it secret and what not.


    The young male will follow him the whole way, and finally, at the male¡¯s home, the demi hands the whole bag over, telling him to simply return the bag to him when they meet again.

 CH 31.2

    The demi will behave naturally and without the slightest bit of awkwardness, but that only makes the male troubled and anxious.


    He will have imposed on a stranger, and has to continue getting in touch with that stranger. It is so uncomfortable and troublesome to him, that before he can finally return the bag to the demi, he¡¯ll feel like he has something he must do.


    Unfortunately for the male, the demi, being a reporter, will often be travelling between many planets. It will be two months before the male will finally be able to arrange a meeting with the homecoming demi. When returning the bag, he¡¯ll notice the scars on the demi, and ask, what happened.


    The demi will tell the male about his work as a war reporter on the frontlines; the male, having no idea about what a battle frontline looks like, will be confused. The demi will start explaining.


    That is when the male will realise that this friendly demi really knows a lot, from iconic buildings on each planet to local cuisine, and even customs and traditions still dying hard on less developed planets.


    A whole wide world the little male will never have seen up to that point.


    As for examples of those buildings and customs¡­ Cheng Zhaoci plans to ask Mr Liang, who he understands is well travelled in the past.


    The demi will have unwittingly become a bridge for the male to access and appreciate the beauties of the world itself, so naturally, the male will also find himself occasionally thinking about the demi.


    He will not be concerned at first, merely having conversations over social media with the demi and occasionally meeting in person. One day, though, the demi will send him a video ¨C a video of a more pristine section of an undeveloped planet, where blue luminescent butterflies that only glow at night will have taken to the skies.


    The video will show how, during the night time, with a brilliant universe as the backdrop and the planet¡¯s natural moon slightly larger than other specks in the sky, the demi has taken a seat at the front of a small rowboat. The water is lit by both the blue butterflies and the stars up on the sky. Everything will look like they¡¯re merging together, like the heavens leaking through and splattering glow and blobbiness everywhere on the ocean. It will be so breathtaking the male will forget to blink.


    The demi wants to show the shy young male this amazing scene. After spinning the camera in a circle around him, he will point it back at him, with his camera in one hand and a torch in the other ¨C so that the demi doesn¡¯t ruin the scene with any modern lighting equipment, as the artificial lights are too strong and will ruin the mood.


    ¡°What do you think?!¡± The demi will ask loudly.


    The male, having seen the video through a realistic holodeck projection, will reply, meekly, ¡°really, really pretty.¡±


    The demi will smile happily.


    Although the demi will not know, that the male will not have been referring to the stars in the sky, or the dancing butterflies, or the fluttering lights reflected on the ocean.


    But the demi himself.


    The flames, dancing on his face, is softening all the edges, giving it a warm orange glow.


    Between the sea and the skies, between all the brilliant and cool colours, is the only warmth dotting the landscape.


    It is such a minute flicker among the vast oceans, but it will have landed straight into the male¡¯s heart.


    After penning that section, Cheng Zhaoci stops to ponder, ¡°what am I even drawing now?¡± Honestly, it just came so naturally, and the more he drew, the more it got to his head. So a return to reality after drawing such sugary sweetness¡­ Argh! He, Cheng ¡®Male¡¯ Zhaoci, has been a single virgin for two lives now! How very well that is.


    Though of course it¡¯s just a short self-loathing session. He wouldn¡¯t ruin his lengthy preparation for anything.


    After that, the young male will have a dream one night, that he and the demi would both be on the boat, with their fingers crossed, gently enjoying the ocean breeze, surrounded by the blue, glowing butterflies all around. The young male would look at the demi peacefully, just looking, until finally, he wakes up from his dream.


    The demi will have lodged himself firmly in the young male¡¯s heart, unable to be dispelled. The male will have tried, and failed, to resist, and will come to accept this reality; he will also start avoiding the demi, because of worries that he might get busted, revealed, and even if he knows there are none in this world who would refuse a male;


    He will still be afraid, afraid of the tiny, tiny possibility.


    Finally, one day, the demi will find and question him, stopping him when the male is again out to get his shopping. The demi will ask if he did anything wrong, that the male started avoiding him.


    The male will fervently deny it, but will fail to produce any excuses. Still fumbling with his words as always, the male stutters, and the demi, disappointed, sighs and moves out of the way to leave. This spooks the male into action, and, with probably the most courage he will ever have mustered, will yell, ¡°I like you!¡±


    After yelling, the male will finally break, and collapse to the ground crying. Oh no! Oh dear! It¡¯s over! The little flame of love is getting doused!


    Helplessness will also infect the demi, who can only keep apologising to an unreceptive male, who is just sobbing and sobbing like sand has been dumped by the bucketload into his eyes.


    With nothing else he can do to defuse the situation, the demi will finally confess, that he also really, really likes the male.


    Why would he have been doing all that to make the male happy otherwise?


    Trying to give the young male a hug, though, results only in the demi getting his hand patted away. The young male will run home crying after that.


    While the demi will end up questioning if he has doomed their entire relationship by that action, the male, whose crying will have finally started causing pain in his head, will suddenly cock his head, and will wonder, if he hadn¡¯t just heard the demi say he liked him.


    So finally, the young male will quietly retrieve his holodeck to make a call to the demi. The demi will pick it up almost instantly.


    ¡°Did you just say you also really, really like me?¡± The flustered and flushed male will ask.


    ¡°Huh?! Oh, I did! Yes,¡± The confused and wide-eyed demi will answer.

 CH 31.3

    Cheng Zhaoci is going to end the three chapters of his first volume of the new comic here.


    He gives it another read, and smooths out the details.


    After putting his storyboarding work away, he calls Zhou Luoluo to ask if he happens to know any competent comic artists.


    As previously said, the insectoid society features two prominent schools of artistic style, a minimalist and a realist one. If the artists are worth any salt, though, it should not be too much trouble to have them adapt ¨C especially as Cheng Zhaoci has completed the sketches himself, and only needs detailing for the lines and colouring.


    He also knows that males would generally have much more free time, which is why there would be male comic artists in the first place, although their personality might be quite varied.


    Zhou Luoluo replied quite quickly, asking what Cheng Zhaoci needs them for. An explanation later, Zhou Luoluo sends him three pictures ¨C featuring different but well done artistic styles ranging from photorealistic to cartoonish.


    [ChengZhaoci: All three from the same artist?]


    [ZhouLuoluo: Not really, the two cartoonish ones are my nephew, the realistic one is mine]


    Eh?! Eh?! Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes widen greatly reading the reply.


    Meanwhile, Zhou Luoluo is still spitting out rapidfire messages.


    [ZhouLuoluo: Can¡¯t I? Can¡¯t I?! I want to draw too! Please, my friend, give me a chance!]


    [ZhouLuoluo: I¡¯m super cheap to hire! Honest!]


    Well, Cheng Zhaoci is simply more surprised that Zhou Luoluo is actually quite experienced with drawing. That said¡­ Isn¡¯t Zhou Luoluo all busy trying to court some shemale? What about him?


    Zhou Luoluo does not respond for a really long time. Perhaps he¡¯s busy, or realised he hasn¡¯t the time. But Zhou Luoluo finally sends a message through before Cheng Zhaoc can close his holodeck.


    [ZhouLuoluo: It¡¯s fine! I can help while still trying to win him over!] Since that shemale, Lu Nianqian, doesn¡¯t look like he would budge no matter how much time he devoted to him anyway.


    So it¡¯s probably fine to take some of that time away to help. Maybe, just maybe, Lu Nianqian might realise he misses his company when he¡¯s no longer showing up so frequently?


    Since Zhou Luoluo has promised, how he goes about it is his business now. So Cheng Zhaoci tells him quite simply what he can expect as commission working under him.


    He plans to pay them on a per panel basis, with detailing paying a bit more than colouring, which would be much simpler as only ensuring the colours are all there and aren¡¯t bleeding over. It¡¯s almost mechanical in process.


    He also tells them their names will be listed alongside his pen name on the cover of the comic.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci knows Zhou Luoluo well enough now that he probably just wants the thrill of working for a comic he likes and not for the money.


    Not like they¡¯d ever have to worry about money as males, especially as Zhou Luoluo seems to hail from some rather prominent family, too.


    Of course, Cheng Zhaoci believes it is still good practice to lay down terms clearly when it involves payment and salary. He will also be able to supervise them better.


    [ChengZhaoci: When you have time, come over with your nephew. We can talk more about it and I can also give you test panels to try. Would you be free any time soon?]


    [ZhouLuoluo: Yes, of course! Tomorrow afternoon, I¡¯ll be there with my nephew!]


    The nephew turns out to be only two months younger than Zhou Luoluo.


    And, looking at him, Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but admire the power of genetics. They¡¯re basically the same in vibe.


    If it was his past life, these two nephews out hanging about would definitely be mistaken for sisters doing shopping.


    ¡°He¡¯s Zhou Xiaobao. The super shy nephew I told you about,¡± Zhou Luoluo introduces his nephew, then points towards Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°here, the comic artist you really like. His real name is Cheng Zhaoci.¡±


    ¡°He-Hello!¡± Zhou Xiaobao extends his hands, trembling with excitement which is also evident from his flushed face. Then finally, he seems to realise he is being a tad too friendly and is going to pull his hands back, but Cheng Zhaoci grabs and shakes them, ¡°hello, can I call you Xiaobao?¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao gasps and says, ¡°uh, ye¡­ yes! Of course!¡±


    ¡°Then come this way. My drawing room is over here,¡± Cheng Zhaoci nods at Zhou Xiaobao and turns to lead the way.


    Zhou Luoluo follows, but Zhou Xiaobao tugs him on the clothes. Zhou Luoluo turns to find a flushed tomato on top of Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s neck, ¡°he¡¯s so nice.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Can you look a little less like you¡¯ve fallen for him?¡± Zhou Luoluo is speechless, and pats him on the back, ¡°don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s really easygoing.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao nods, but is still following behind Zhou Luoluo meekly.


    As Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know Zhou Xiaobao well, chatting will fall flat. Just giving Zhou Luoluo attention is worse. So he cuts to the chase without delay, ¡°I¡¯m going to give you panels of the little zombie king¡¯s comic to try detailing and colouring, with reference to how I handle the width of the stroke and the lines in general on this part I did. When you¡¯re colouring, make sure you separate the layers for the hair, skin, clothes, eyes and background.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Zhou Luoluo takes his own drawing tablet out ¨C one he commissioned by taking inspiration from Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s own. He also ordered one for his nephew.


    Since the tablet wasn¡¯t technically intensive and, especially since Zhou Luoluo had a working one as a reference, the tablets were done and shipped in a mere few hours.


    They were testing the features of the tablets late last night, and had the brushes designed mimicking Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s.


    Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t assign them too much work; only the big close-up on the little zombie king on the final panel of the first chapter, which also has some background details and the strongest shemale in reflection.


    The two work decently fast. Cheng Zhaoci thinks they did acceptably, but as Zhou Xiaobao usually drew in a more cartoonish style anyway, he has cleaned up the lines better than Zhou Luoluo did.


    ¡°Hmm, I see. Luoluo, you are in charge of processing and finishing the touches on the zombie king¡¯s lines from now on, so that you can get used to it quickly,¡± given the little zombie king is more 4-koma than anything, it¡¯s perfect practice material without having too stringent a requirement on quality.


    Then he tells Zhou Xiaobao, ¡°the comic I¡¯m planning to release soon will be yours, Xiaobao, and also other new comics I may release in the future.¡±


    With the lines and colours dealt with, his work will become easier. He only needs to get the storyboard up to detailed sketches, and then finish up with the shading and post effects.


    The time saved will be time to draw the content for the new comic. He¡¯s finally no longer entertaining the grim reaper with a stroke now.


    ¡°Got it,¡± the brothers Zhou are happy with that.


    ¡°Oh and, like I said, I¡¯ll put you guys on the cover as credit. Do you want to use your real names or a pen name?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao are looking at each other, then Zhou Luoluo speaks up first, ¡°me! I want ¡®Lonely Eagle¡¯! To get my qualities across!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci believes it a gross misrepresentation of Zhou Luoluo¡¯s actual qualities. He looks at Zhou Xiaobao next, who wants to call himself, ¡°uh, Ma-, Machoinsectoid.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I see.¡± Cheng Zhaoci then finally sends them his latest inspired tale, ¡°this is the plot for my coming comic. I¡¯m still working on the protagonists¡¯ traits, but we¡¯ll be doing this and the little zombie king at the same time later.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao is reading, taking everything to heart, as his personality means he would feel a strong connection to the protagonist in the story. So by the end of the first arc, he is already another blushing tomato.


    Zhou Luoluo, meanwhile, is starting to giggle like a schoolgirl at the part that the male protagonist finally realised the demi was confessing to him through all the crying. He seems embarrassed for a second, trying to cover his mouth, but lets go of the idea seeing how Zhou Xiaobao has responded.


    ¡°I, I want to meet a demi,¡± Zhou Xiaobao gulps, and adds, ¡°a reporter, hopefully,¡± he thinks he isn¡¯t scared so much anymore! He can do it! He can copy and paste love!


    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think there are any demis out there who could talk without stuttering knowing you are male,¡± Zhou Luoluo pats his dumb nephew on the head, ¡°you still lack experience, young insectoid, unlike your older brother me.¡±


    ¡°You certainly need experience, you do,¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hand is itching, so he pats Zhou Luoluo on the head next, ¡°remind me, how¡¯s it going between your beloved shemale and you again?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zhou Luoluo quietly retrieves his hand from atop Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s head, and starts sulking.

 CH 32.1

    Fate


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The three males are working together quite nicely, probably as their personalities are quite compatible with each other.


    Zhou Luoluo is his usual talkative self, like he has a wind-up flapper for a mouth that never stops. Four-fifths of what he ends up spouting can be safely parsed and ignored. Zhou Xiaobao generally keeps to himself, but when his dear nephew is going on about some bullshit, he¡¯d make this ¡®I see¡¯ look but is actually blanking out the whole time.


    Cheng Zhaoci just casually dismisses all the noise, but occasionally would speak up to knock Zhou Luoluo¡¯s fantasies down a peg.


    For example, Zhou Luoluo is currently going on about how they could get a hundred or two panels done in a week, which merely makes Cheng Zhaoci want to shake his brain back in place. Is he trying to get them to sell their souls to Satan to finish that much?!


    Meanwhile, for the shemale Lu Nianqian, he seems generally unaffected when the male has, inevitably, visited him less now. At least, much less affected compared to his wingman Lu Su.


    ¡°Ge! Look at you! Look at you! You let slip such a great opportunity! Oh, woe be unto the poor, young male whose heart you just trampled and shattered underfoot,¡± Lu Su makes an emphatic display of putting his hand on his chest, ¡°oh, what a cold and cruel shemale you are!¡±


    Lu Nianqian entertains the idea of giving the bastard a good pummelling, but decides words will do the trick, ¡°what? Is the parliament finally dissolved for good? Why are you here right now?¡±


    Lu Su sprawls himself on the sofa; contrasting starkly with his classy deep azure blazer and a lapel of a scale pinned to his upper chest ¨C attesting to the fact that he is a member of parliament.


    ¡°It¡¯s a recess! A holiday, my dear brother! You think I¡¯m like one of them shemale soldiers who are on high alert 24/7? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anything going on either.¡±


    ¡°Then fuck off and go walk yourself, or go visit dad for all I care,¡± Lu Nianqian retorts coldly, ¡°you¡¯re 37. Start acting like it.¡±


    Lu Su is clearly used to being dissed by Lu Nianqian, merely standing up and making this dramatic sigh in front of him. Lu Nianqian is no longer responding to his teases, so, bored, he takes his leave.


    Not to visit their dad, at least, who is all too obsessed and possessed to care about a little shemale kid like him. Dad always wanted to birth a male son, but too bad, up to their father¡¯s death, dad has only ever had them, the two shemales.


    And his older brother being as heartless as he is, Lu Su feels like a poor bok choy that cannot believe in love in the world anymore. He casts his gaze upwards at the sky, and forcefully sniffles.


    ¡°This one. My editor booked a seat here. It¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Hm? A male¡¯s voice? Lu Su quickly sheds his fictitious sadness to observe. Oh, a tall and amazingly handsome male is dragging two shemales with him for some¡­ roasted meat restaurant?


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian¡¯s monthly holiday is finally here, so Cheng Zhaoci has dragged them away to treat them to barbeque, as he has promised.


    Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao were also going to come, but when Zhou Xiaobao saw Xiao Ji¡¯s rather ¡®bad boy¡¯ appearance, he quietly whispered to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°your older brother is really cool.¡±


    It shocked Cheng Zhaoci into having Zhou Luoluo restrain Zhou Xiaobao and then quickly imparts onto them the many files of comic he has saved up, to get Zhou Xiaobao painting. He¡¯s going to nope right out of letting Xiao Ji get in touch with males! They¡¯re both minors! No early romances for brats!


    Zhou Xiaobao ¨C the quiet, meek and always soft-spoken little insectoid sure does astonish whenever he does speak. Though Cheng Zhaoci is quite certain that Zhou Xiaobao is more simply jealously admiring Xiao Ji¡¯s physical body.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there too many shemales around?¡± He Huaijian is walking in front of Cheng Zhaoci with a reflexively defensive posture; all these shemales are looking at Cheng Zhaoci with a gaze that is getting on He Huaijian¡¯s nerves. It feels like a billion predators have their eyes set on their precious younger brother.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They won¡¯t come over as long as you¡¯re here. Males always get this treatment when they¡¯re outside. You just have to get used to it,¡± Cheng Zhaoci defuses the situation, while dragging the two alert shemales inside.


    Lu Su observed the whole charade, and rubs his chin. If he remembers correctly, this restaurant wouldn¡¯t have male seating areas. Why would a male be going inside?


    As for the two young shemales, Lu Su is certain they¡¯re not in that kind of relationship. The body language and actions suggest more that they¡¯re close brothers. Although their distinctly unlike appearances are suggesting otherwise.


    Recalling their appearance brings Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s appearance into focus. Specifically, the eyes, that reminds him a lot of his older brother. Actually, now that he imagined it, if he was actually walking alongside his older brother, they might look more like brothers than the two young shemales.


    Lu Su, bored out of his mind and having nothing better to do, decides to follow into the store. He spots where he and his brothers have taken a seat immediately, and walks by completely nonchalantly.


    If he needed to, he can always put up a front that makes him distant and unapproachable. Plus the parliament¡¯s lapel and his suit, he doesn¡¯t even arouse the two shemales¡¯ alert when he takes a seat nearby the young male.


    It seems they have judged that this member of parliament who doesn¡¯t seem particularly concerned with the male must already be married with a xiongzhu, which takes him off everyone¡¯s radar.


    Though Lu Su definitely wasn¡¯t expecting that his curiosity would have landed him jackpot! As he walked past their table once more to get to the bathroom, he was in full view of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s holodeck, which is currently displaying the sketches Cheng Zhaoci has done for his comic towards Xiao Ji.


    They didn¡¯t keep the holodeck from public sight since no one was daring to approach. Lu Su¡¯s sharp eyes noted the name quite immediately ¨C ¡®BombInMyPants¡¯?!


    Oh dear, a simple meal and he runs right into the comic¡¯s artist! What kind of fortuitous luck, he must say!


    Ah, a godsend!

 CH 32.2

    Lu Su stops abruptly on his way ¡®to the bathroom,¡¯ right beside Cheng Zhaoci, facing him with a smile.


    He might be quite the bellend in personality, but he can also act dignified when he needs to, ¡°apologies, but I just happened to spot your page. Can I ask if you¡¯re a comic artist?¡±


    Not mentioning the ID itself is a saving grace for Cheng Zhaoci, that he isn¡¯t exposed here.


    When the three insectoids look at him, he extends his hand, ¡°hello, I¡¯m your fan. I¡¯ve followed every one of your creations.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci wasn¡¯t expecting to be spotted like that, but it¡¯s also his own fault for being careless. Also, Cheng Zhaoci knows the lapel he is wearing.


    It¡¯s part of Wei Zhuo¡¯s explanations for him, as one of the children his dead father¡¯s cijun had ended up in parliament. His name is Lu Su, he thinks, but he didn¡¯t get to see a photograph. There are none online.


    Apparently, it¡¯s to do with how the Federation strictly regulates photographs of officials.


    The military is allowed to have their photos published and scrutinised, but not government officials. All photographs uploaded are scanned in the briefest of durations and deleted if it depicted any officials. It¡¯s definitely an odd system. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re putting government officials undercover and must eliminate all traces of them online.


    Not even Wei Zhuo knows why this system is in place; apparently his granddad, the Chief of the armed forces, knows something about it, but he hasn¡¯t told him either.


    The public are only aware of the politician¡¯s name and what they did or did not do, but they have no idea how they looked.


    As an extreme example, if someone was taking a photo of Cheng Zhaoci right now and happened to capture the member of parliament inside, their photo will fail to upload at all.


    Cheng Zhaoci, seeing how Lu Su doesn¡¯t seem to be leaving, asks tentatively, ¡°would you like to eat with us?¡±


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t impose too terribly,¡± he says, while planting himself squarely across from Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I am quite surprised that you are a male,¡± not that it¡¯s evident from his business smile.


    Cheng Zhaoci also replies earnestly, ¡°I¡¯m not seeing that reaction,¡± at least, it¡¯s far more subtle compared to Meng Yuele whose eyes were widened so much you fear they¡¯d fall outside.


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s because there are too many surprising things to take into account in our daily lives,¡± Lu Su says while sniffing very subtly as he breathes. There isn¡¯t a tinge of male pheromone, ¡°you may understand the reason I¡¯m still sitting calmly once you come of age.¡±


    ¡®Calmly¡¯ is quite the opposite statement if one could see beneath the smile Lu Su has, as his hands are buried in his blazers while his fingers are running nonstop to send a message to Lu Nianqian.


    [LuSu: !!! guess who i met!]


    The message is terribly like the opening act to an unfunny comedy show. Suspecting Lu Su to be up to no good, Lu Nianqian quietly turns off his message notifications for a while.


    Leaving Lu Su to blabber alone.


    Lu Su, while typing, is also multitasking by chatting up Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fate to run into a comic artist I like at an ordinary lunch. I¡¯m Lu Su, how about you?¡±


    Lu, Lu what?! Cheng Zhaoci blanks out, as all three insectoids stare right at Lu Su, making his finger freeze in his blazer, thinking they might have realised he is typing all along.


    ¡°Which Lu? Which Su?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks.


    Lu Su, while confused, still retrieves a calling card from his blazer to hand it over.


    Ah, great. Cheng Zhaoci is certain now. The world sure is small, to run right into a member of parliament at a meal, and the member in question being that damned cijun¡®s son!


    Like, Capital planet. Planet! Planet! While Cheng Zhaoci is inside the most prosperous city, but there are so many other insectoids around! Why would he even run into him at all?! Is this actually the Capital village?!


    ¡°Tiezhu,¡± Cheng Zhaoci, glancing at Xiao Ji, says firmly, ¡°Xiao Tiezhu. I¡¯m Xiao Tiezhu,¡± Cheng Zhaoci ends up spouting this extremely easy to remember and also utterly depraved name in the eleventh hour.


    ¡°?¡± Lu Su looks like he has lots of question marks floating above his head. What family would name their beloved male kid Tiezhu? An iron rod?! Though, being the politician that he is, Lu Su is able to say with a completely straight face, ¡°certainly, that¡¯s a great name.¡±


    Uh, wait what? Cheng Zhaoci is impressed by how well Lu Su is able to lie without flinching. Although Wei Zhuo described Lu Su the member of parliament as quite ¡®unorthodox¡¯ and ¡®lively,¡¯ his demeanour so far has only come off as proper.


    ¡°In fact, I suppose our appearance is a little alike, too. I might look more like your older brother than your actual brothers here,¡± the very unaware Lu Su is still trying to keep the mood up, ¡°I have an older brother who looks even more like you, actually. Your eyes almost look like copies of each other¡¯s pair. That must also be fate.¡±


    ¡®Fate,¡¯ or more accurately, ¡®genetics.¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci makes a very unconvincing smile while saying, ¡°apologies, but I just remembered I have to receive a friend soon. I¡¯ll be excusing myself,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gets up while glancing over at He Huaijian and gesturing subtly. Before Lu Su can even make pretentious polite remarks, they practically dash outside.


    Lu Su looks at the meal left right in front of him, all bewildered, ¡°wait, they¡¯re not going to take a single bite?¡±

 CH 33.1

    Insectoids on Parallel Trajectories


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°You said you ran into BombInMyPants?¡± Lu Nianqian is finally casting his gaze on his own brother from the documents in his hands.


    Lu Su nods firmly.


    ¡°And he¡¯s male?¡± Lu Nianqian closes the document and holds his chin in his hands.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lu Su is nodding his head like a clucking chicken.


    ¡°Do you know his name?¡± Lu Nianqian is very much intrigued. A male drew all that? It¡¯s almost inconceivable.


    ¡°Xiao Tiezhu; he said his name is Xiao Tiezhu,¡± after Lu Su said that, he suddenly widens his eyes to dodge to the side; where he was sitting now sits a small sculpture, which, moments ago, was on Lu Nianqian¡¯s desk.


    The thrower in question has stood up. If it wasn¡¯t for the heavy and wide office desk blocking the way, Lu Su suspects Lu Nianqian will rush forward to give him a beating. It makes no sense, though. Lu Su doesn¡¯t know how he managed to draw the ire of his secretly violent older brother.


    He shrinks a little bit more, knowing just exactly how much pain Lu Nianqian delivers when he is out to beat someone up.


    ¡°If you make another tasteless joke like that, I¡¯ll have you defenestrated,¡± Lu Nianqian does not understand at all, how he and the little brat grew up together but ended up so different. Specifically, how did he grow to be so stupid.¡±


    ¡°What tasteless fucking joke are you even talking about?! I wasn¡¯t even telling a joke!¡± Lu Su thinks he¡¯s being accused of a crime he didn¡¯t commit here.


    ¡°Who in the world would name their male insectoid ¡®Tiezhu¡¯? Did you actually become a member of parliament on being elected or being bought the position by your fucking uncles?!¡± Lu Nianqian really wants to drill into Lu Su¡¯s head to check out what exquisite sort of shit is there instead of a brain, ¡°at least come up with something more believable before you¡¯re going to tell a lie!¡±


    ¡°But he really is named Tiezhu! I¡¯ll show you a photo,¡± Lu Su shows Lu Nianqian the secret candid photos he took. He made sure the photos would be clear because he was planning to show Lu Nianqian how much the young male looked like him.


    Lu Nianqian was dismissive all until he actually laid eyes on the photo.


    Lu Su disses, ¡°tch, you aren¡¯t going to say I doctored the photos to fool you, right? Look at his nose, and the eyes.¡±


    ¡°So this is BombInMyPants?¡± Lu Nianqian furrows his brows, ¡°he looks really like¡­¡±


    ¡°Like you, I know,¡± Lu Su tries to finish the sentence for him.


    ¡°Like me bollocks! Don¡¯t you think he looks way more like father?¡± Lu Nianqian was 24 when his father passed, so he clearly remembers him.


    In fact, the whole demeanour is similar. Cold, somewhat gloomy and distant. He almost looks like a copy of their late father. Though in the photo, the male is smiling at a shemale sitting next to him. It¡¯s quite a stark contrast to him.


    Lu Nianqian¡¯s face is becoming quite serious. Lu Su, meanwhile, is just stunned silly, ¡°but, but he said he was Xiao Tiezhu, and he¡¯s still a minor. He doesn¡¯t look over 18 at all, but even the youngest of the brothers is over 20. This male couldn¡¯t possibly¡­¡±


    But there is another possibility. That egg that was still unborn back then. A concubine was exiled alongside the egg on a landfill planet, though it became clear the insectoid born was a shemale very soon after his birth. When did he become male?


    ¡°Did you tell him your name before asking for his?¡±


    ¡°I did? It¡¯s basic courtesy¡­ Oh shit! He knew who I am?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. Uncle definitely gave him a good disguise. For you-know-what,¡± Lu Nianqian suddenly feels a little tired, shutting his eyes and sinking into the office chair.


    It¡¯s almost without question that this ¡®Xiao Tiezhu¡¯ is a son of their late father. Aside from appearance, the actions the male took before and after as recounted by Lu Su is also pointing right at that unmistakable conclusion.


    The male must have been panicking having run into Lu Su like that, so by reflex, he wanted to get out of dodge.


    An understandable reaction because of Lu Nianqian and Lu Su¡¯s dad, the insane shemale.


    Lu Nianqian sighs, and then tells his younger brother, ¡°tell nobody about this. You never met him. Got it?¡±


    Lu Su does not answer. Lu Nianqian, observing how Lu Su seems to be pondering, slams on his desk, spooking Lu Su, ¡°throw whatever ideas you have out right now! Who are you trying to get killed? If our dad knew father still had a male left, you know exactly how ugly it will turn out!¡±


    Argh. So troublesome. It¡¯s seriously tiring. As shemales, their dad basically didn¡¯t care about them at all. He was almost the one who raised and cared for Lu Su.


    Compared to Lu Nianqian, who faced both an apathetic and uncaring dad and also had to care for and protect his own younger brother, Lu Su is quite a bit more innocent. There are times when Lu Nianqian just wants to pack this dumbo and the mad insectoid at home and throw them far, far away, but there is no way he can do that.


    They¡¯re his closest relatives. His dad, insane and unreasonable though he is, is still his dad. His younger brother, jumpy and clueless though he is, is still his younger brother. All baggage one cannot throw away.


    So Lu Nianqian can only tell his younger brother, ¡°nothing happened today. We didn¡¯t know anything about anyone. This is the best for everyone involved! You are still the member of parliament and he is still some common comic artist. Now, go delete all the photos you have.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Delete them!¡± Lu Nianqian says mercilessly, ¡°unless you want me to take your holodeck by force and delete them for you!¡±


    ¡°Fine! Fine! I¡¯ll delete them. Why do you have to be such a pain in the arse about it?¡± Lu Su, under the killing gaze of Lu Nianqian, deletes all the candid photos he took, ¡°done.¡±


    ¡°Let me check,¡± Lu Nianqian extends his hand with a stern expression, ¡°if even one remains, you can go bury yourself in a hospital bed for a while.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! Are you on angry pills or something?! Hah?!¡± Lu Su is unable to put up much resistance against the violent Lu Nianqian, though. So he just obediently and meekly hands in his holodeck.


    The meek and unassertive member of parliament then asks, ¡°can I really not go meet him?¡±


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll be happy to see you? A child of the criminal who was the cause for his 16 years¡¯ imprisonment on a landfill planet? And what are you even going to do after you meet?¡± Lu Nianqian throws the holodeck back  to Lu Su, ¡°all done, now leave me alone.¡±


    After a grumbling and mumbling Lu Su has left, Lu Nianqian sits alone for quite a while. Not looking at his documents, or even thinking about much. It was all so sudden, so sudden he didn¡¯t know how to react.


    When finally, he is ready to face the day again, the first thing he does is open the page of the comic artist he is following. After leaving him a billion presents, enough to obstruct the entire screen, he leaves a comment using his alt.


    [8452769452: Keep up the good work. It¡¯s brilliant. The artist is great]


    He¡¯ll leave it at that. Watching the cover art for ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ one last time, he closes the page.


    They will remain a comic artist and his reader. There are boundaries that, when crossed, only bodes ill, like the relationship between them and this young male insectoid they do not even know the name of.


    Lu Nianqian, though, still remembers the uncle¡¯s name. The shemale concubine was Cheng Jin. He can¡¯t help but wonder if the male adopted the surname Lu after his biological father, or Cheng, being his dad. There were only those few photographs.


    He is a half-brother, but, all he could ever bring him is trouble.


    It¡¯s best to leave it at this.


    Lu Nianqian exhales, then opens up his work documents again.

 CH 33.2

    8-10 minutes 24.09.2022


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°I feel like we can fly!¡± Zhou Luoluo declares, as he shoves his work in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, ¡°I¡¯ve become better, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci examines it and nods, ¡°that you did. Keep up the good work,¡± though his tone definitely can¡¯t be described as jubilant.


    Even Zhou Xiaobao, who is focusing on his own detailing work nearby, looks over. Zhou Luoluo furrows his brow as he looks Cheng Zhaoci up and down, ¡°what¡¯s wrong with you? You look like you lost your wallet to a pickpocket or something.¡±


    ¡°Completely off. I just met an insectoid unexpectedly,¡± and unfortunately. He wants nothing to do with them, but now that he thinks about it, his reaction when they left the last time was far too unnatural. They¡¯ve probably figured it out already, ¡°so I feel like my halcyon days might be running out.¡±


    He is really anxious what the other side will do, and asks, ¡°does anyone work in fortune-telling here?¡±


    Fortune-telling? The Zhou brothers are looking at each other nonplussed. Zhou Luoluo asks, ¡°do you mean someone who says how lucky you are?¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± he should¡¯ve known there¡¯s no such thing in the ultra-realist insectoid society!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, think about it this way!¡± Zhou Luoluo pats loudly on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shoulder, ¡°you¡¯re a male! Who would ever dare lay their hands on you?¡±


    An insane insectoid, for example? Though Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t ask Zhou Luoluo that follow-up. He probably won¡¯t have a constructive answer either.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if that person kills you, he will be executed summarily. You won¡¯t be missing out,¡± Zhou Xiaobao tries cheering Cheng Zhaoci up.


    A poker-faced Cheng Zhaoci looks at Zhou Xiaobao and says, ¡°ah, what great advice. You have my thanks.¡±


    ¡°You-you¡¯re welcome,¡± Zhou Xiaobao, who¡¯s very rarely the recipient of gratitude, is blushing again, ¡°glad I could help.¡±


    The hell are you blushing for?! Cheng Zhaoci is speechless. To be honest, he also knows it¡¯s useless to think about it all. He doesn¡¯t know Lu Su or what he would think. In fact, the more he talked about it with insectoids that can¡¯t help him, the more he¡¯s scaring himself with his own imagination.


    As for insectoids that can help him, that would probably be Squadron Leader Wei.


    He tells Wei Zhuo that he ran into Lu Su; Wei Zhuo responds with such promptness it begs the question of whether he is slacking off at work.


    Obviously, Wei Zhuo is still working hard, but he has set certain key phrases, like the names of the family members of that insane cijun, that would ring up even when he has notifications turned off for work.


    He did bring the male to the Capital planet, and promised to protect him, after all. That¡¯s why he cannot afford to end up not knowing about anything befalling or endangering the young male while he¡¯s at work.


    Wei Zhuo tells Cheng Zhaoci to stay home for a few days and not even step outside the door if possible. He will investigate what the Lu brothers are doing.


    Lu Su and Lu Nianqian are very close to each other, and Lu Su, being a member of parliament, is unlikely to even indirectly do anything to a male.


    In the end, the task of monitoring Lu Nianqian falls to Sun Wushe, who actually volunteered himself, because, in his own words, ¡®protecting the valued cultural assets of insectoid society is a common responsibility.¡¯ He almost sounds like his mind has been infected by Meng Yuele.


    Though it turns out Lu Nianqian is just working and then having overtime normally. Not a single sign that he¡¯s planning to do anything.


    ¡°Lu Nianqian, and also the family behind that widowed cijun to an extent, seem to hold mixed feelings towards the shemale,¡± Sun Wushe reports on his findings while scowling a little, ¡°with the exception of the cijun¡®s younger male brother, for whom he was the perfect older brother, which was what motivated the reluctant family to protect him in the first place.¡±


    ¡°At the same time, the brothers Lu Nianqian and Lu Su are not so fortunate. The cijun appears to blame the two shemales for his ¡®misfortune¡¯ in life. They were victims of domestic abuse before they distanced themselves from the family when they grew older,¡± Sun Wushe pauses, and adds, ¡°the abuse was mainly hurled at a protective Lu Nianqian.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is also present to listen to the findings, but before he can even comment, Meng Yuele is already blabbering, ¡°why is he even still caring for that dad of his? I thought he¡¯s already the largest shareholder of that big company of his?¡±


    ¡°It is his only shemale dad? The one who birthed and raised him? I cannot speculate as I cannot sympathise,¡± Sun Wushe is sneering the entire sentence, ¡°nor can I even understand. Isn¡¯t that right, Wei-ge?¡±


    ¡°Regardless of the inexplicable reasons, he does not seem to be making a move against the Mr Cheng Zhaoci. I believe there is enough information to make that conclusion, but we cannot afford to be careless,¡± Wei Zhuo turns to Cheng Zhaoci, telling him, ¡°there was a recent incident when their dad attempted to attack a demi, who was another child of your late father.¡±


    ¡°He went unpunished because of his clinical insanity and the lack of actual physical harm,¡± Wei Zhuo always turns rather dour when he talks in this serious tone, ¡°I believe it is important that you are accompanied by at least one adult shemale when leaving the house from now on. A shemale soldier would be best, like us, or your dad. It will ensure your safety.¡±


    ¡°If none of us are free, I will also dispatch a soldier to your side.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll also avoid going outside unless absolutely necessary,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is also cooperative when it comes to his own safety. And also, he doesn¡¯t have that much of a desire to walk around in the first place.


    If the two brothers are planning on leaving him alone, they probably wouldn¡¯t meet again anyway¡­


    Anyway¡­


    Cheng Zhaoci wasn¡¯t expecting for his efforts to avoid confrontation with them and with Wei Zhuo and the others all working towards that goal to be foiled by one unaware traitor in his midst.


    Zhou Luoluo has excitedly declared that he is going to officially propose.


    And not just simply propose, but also dragging Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Xiaobao along.


    Zhou Luoluo has these extremely romantic wreaths prepared. Yes, wreaths. Flowers in a circle sort of affair.


    But not simply circles, of course, but the characters ¡®I,¡¯ ¡®love¡¯ and ¡®you.¡¯ A wreath for each of them.


    Obviously, Zhou Luoluo himself can¡¯t carry and arrange them all, so the two males he dragged along are his flower-holding wingmen. Zhou Luoluo busily bumbles around arranging them in place, ¡°alright, xiao-Ci you get the ¡®I¡¯ and ¡®l,¡¯ ¡®o¡¯ on your limbs. Xiaobao can just hold up the ¡®o¡¯ and ¡®u.¡¯ The ¡®v,¡¯ ¡®e,¡¯ and ¡®y¡¯ are mine.¡±


    ¡°Got it, got it, jeez,¡± Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t really exactly want to touch these ugly wreaths, but it¡¯s also not something that should drive a wedge between their good relationship; lovestruck males are braindead, after all.


    Hmm, now that he thought about it, if Zhou Luoluo manages to offend the eyes of the target of his affections enough, maybe the shemale will be able to overcome the gender barrier and dump a bucket of water on Zhou Luoluo to make him understand that ¡®no¡¯ means ¡®no.¡¯


    Zhou Xiaobao, meanwhile, has been quiet ¨C or rather, stiff frozen ¨C the entire while.


    ¡°Say, after we¡¯re there, should we be yelling in chorus? I¡¯ll call out the name, while the three of us all yell ¡®I love you¡¯?¡± Zhou Luoluo says all coquettishly.


    Cheng Zhaoci gives him a death glare, ¡°if you make me the headline of tonight¡¯s news, you¡¯ll end up on tomorrow¡¯s as a victim of homicide.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao finally utters the first word after departing for the destination, ¡°agreed,¡± his legs have been cramping the moment he learned he¡¯ll have to join his nephew in confessing at the entrance to the other shemale right at the entrance of his company. It is still cramping right now.


    And to also shout the confession¡­ He¡¯d prefer to leave this mortal realm altogether, or, failing that, have the one who proposed all this depart the mortal realm instead. In fact, Zhou Xiaobao finds that he might actually have the courage in him to pull that through.

 CH 33.3

    All three males with their dumb wreaths in tow are on a difficult pilgrimage of confession. Cheng Zhaoci imagines they would have been gawped at if they didn¡¯t take a private taxi.


    Not gawped at for being males, but completely eclipsed by the curiosity about what mysteries go on in some insectoids¡¯ minds.


    Even Sun Wushe, here to serve as his bodyguard, is keeping a rather alarming distance from them.


    Though they do have to disembark at some point. After lining up, they are, as expected, being surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. When Cheng Zhaoci is about to die of shame and Zhou Xiaobao is literally about to die of embarrassment, the normally haughty Zhou Luoluo, who despises shemales and demis and is damned uncomfortable being ogled by them yells out from the top of his lung, ¡°Lu Nianqian! I love you!¡±


    Lu, Lu what?! Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t even think about how embarrassing this has all become as he stares at Zhou Luoluo in disbelief.


    And in fact, regardless of everything, Zhou Luoluo is still an amazing insectoid. Look, he¡¯s already told his dad to be his shemale concubine once in that patisserie, and now he¡¯s going after his half-brother?!


    Oh, but actually, maybe it¡¯s a different ¡®lu¡¯ and ¡®nian¡¯ and ¡®qian,¡¯ so¡­


    But there are no maybes. He ends up eye-to-eye with Lu Nianqian who just got off work. Both of them freeze.


    Their eyes though make Zhou Luoluo elbow Cheng Zhaoci to ask, ¡°oi oi, he¡¯s not into you, is he?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies. This is bad, ridiculous, and wrong, because the situation cannot be blamed on Zhou Luoluo the slightest as he has been kept unaware of the rather messy relationships beneath, but he still wants to beat Zhou Luoluo up.


    And also, why in the world are you going after him?! You¡¯re 25 years younger than him! You¡¯re the perfect age to be his son! You¡¯re not even a godsdamned adult and you¡¯re trying to court a shemale in his 40s! Are you insane?!


    He thinks Zhou Luoluo sorely needs an intervention and a class in self-awareness. This shemale is clearly out of his league!


    Lu Nianqian has also composed himself by now, walking forth to Zhou Luoluo and says, as the latter looks on expectantly, ¡°if I see you like this again the next time I am off work, I should have to inform your dad, Flying Officer Qian, that his male son is trying to court a 40-year-old shemale.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo shrinks, and his heart dies. He thinks he no longer believes in love, and runs away bawling.


    Cheng Zhaoci is going to go after him and also run away, but Lu Nianqian has called out to him.


    And as he doesn¡¯t know his name, he ends up blurting, ¡°Xiao Tiezhu.¡±


    It takes two calls to stop Cheng Zhaoci as he fails to react the first time, the name being an impromptu ruse. He only remembers that it is the fake name he supplied Lu Su the second time.


    He stops and slowly turns around, ¡°hey. So, can I help you?¡±


    Sun Wushe has quickly moved in between Lu Nianqian and Cheng Zhaoci.


    Lu Nianqian¡¯s mouth is moving, but he fails to make any sound at all. After a while, Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°I¡¯ll be going, then?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh,¡± Lu Nianqian nods, ¡°apologies. Excuse me.¡±


    They both know the other knows who they are by now, but they are keeping everything under wraps.


    Lu Nianqian also knows he had blood rush to his head earlier.


    A rush that happened because he was caught completely by surprise. He wanted to know the name of his half-brother, and how he came back from a landfill planet.


    But it¡¯s not his place to ask. It¡¯s better not to know, so that they are not entangled further.


    Sun Wushe has raised his brows at Lu Nianqian in the meantime, smirking, as if despising how indecisive Lu Nianqian is currently being.


    Afterwards, he follows Cheng Zhaoci back into the private taxi.


    Zhou Luoluo¡¯s dreams have been dashed entirely, because the love of his life has threatened to tell on him. Zhou Luoluo is not brash enough to dare getting his dad involved. He declares his unrequited feelings lost in the past, and returns to being a bachelor.


    ¡°Are you implying there was a moment that you graduated bachelorhood?¡± Cheng Zhaoci sounds confused, ¡°your feelings have to have been reciprocated before you can break up, no?¡±


    Sun Wushe erupts in chuckles in the front seat, as Zhou Luoluo¡¯s cries turn louder.


    Zhou Xiaobao is trying in vain to console his nephew, ¡°it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. He was never going to fall for you anyway.¡±


    An effective consoling. Zhou Luoluo is also having hiccoughs now.


    Finally, Zhou Luoluo lets himself fall onto Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lap, hiccoughing and bawling. Cheng Zhaoci, annoyed, tries consoling him genuinely, telling him he¡¯s amazing. The shemale is just blind.


    Zhou Luoluo, with eyes resembling big chestnuts now, raises his head with lips still trembling, ¡°can, can you introduce me to that, you know, your older brother who is very cold? The one that always looks unhappy¡­¡±


    He hasn¡¯t finished when Cheng Zhaoci already has his palm up in the air, ¡°oh? And why should I do that?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Goosebumps erupt all over Zhou Luoluo as he quietly leaves Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lap.


    ¡°Depending on what you tell me¡­ You see this palm?¡± Cheng Zhaoci says with a poker face, ¡°it may land squarely on your cheek.


    Zhou Luoluo is no longer sobbing or heartbroken¡­ Well, he¡¯s probably still heartbroken, but anyway. This is quite simply a case of, for example, in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s old life on Earth, the attractiveness that a mature, successful lady has towards, say, an immature and horny highschool student. The brat can try all he can, but the big sis isn¡¯t interested in anything romantic.


    Cheng Zhaoci sighs and starts ignoring Zhou Luoluo. Instead, he checks the comments on his comics using his holodeck. Then he gets shocked by two massive dumps of money.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°???¡±


    He gasps at this alt whose ID is just a string of numbers, who has wired him approximately a million in gifts. It¡¯s one of those legendary rich bois. It must be.


    There must be ulterior motives behind such ridiculousness. He cannot believe some rich insectoid is just feeling altruistic and would not make any demands or commissions of him.


    Cheng Zhaoci refunds the gifts to the ID. He already has enough income by now, gifts are unnecessary.


    Meanwhile, somewhere else, Lu Nianqian is slightly dejected. The comic artist, his half-brother, probably realised it¡¯s him, so he would not accept it.


    Though the honest reason is that Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but remember how a pirate commented he was putting a big bounty on him and wanted his address. He¡¯s afraid the reader behind the money might be rather chilling to the core.

 CH 34.1

    To Suffer Living


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The day Cheng Zhaoci had his love comic submitted to his editor happens to be his seventeenth birthday. He completely forgot about it, being so busy, until Cheng Jin took a day off to come celebrate it with him the day prior.


    Cheng Jin is currently technically enlisted, but the circumstances surrounding his original dishonourable discharge, and the fact that he falsely concealed his son¡¯s gender, are, while understandable in the face of possible danger facing said insectoid, still obstacles in his full reinstatement.


    So he¡¯s been on rather gruelling missions so far, the most recent one being the scouting of new frontiers in the galaxy.


    It was rather troublesome to get the holiday approved, but ultimately, the fact that he had basically an orphaned, minor male insectoid at home won out.


    It is also worth noting that Cheng Jin¡¯s frozen assets, where possible, have been returned, including houses. Cheng Jin is worried the crazed cijun might notice if they moved there, though, and Wei Zhuo also pointed out that their current arrangement is safer for Cheng Zhaoci. Wei Zhuo is grade S, with a powerful granddad behind him, so Cheng Jin has placed his trust in him.


    For birthdays, the insectoid society does not celebrate by eating cakes. Or any dessert, for that matter. The society doesn¡¯t seem to place as much value on birthdays in general, it seems.


    Cheng Jin still brought cupcakes, though, a habit that dies hard from his days taking care of Cheng Zhaoci on the landfill planet.


    They haven¡¯t seen each other for a while, and so Cheng Zhaoci notices that his dad has lost some weight. He does look much more imposing and tough than before, probably discouraging anyone from talking to him whenever he makes a serious face.


    The ¡®anyone¡¯ is specifically referring to the Zhou brothers here. Zhou Xiaobao is already bad at dealing with strangers, and seeing a scary-looking dad of a friend for the first time is quite the challenge to him. When he saw Cheng Jin returning home while doing his drawing work, he looks like he had his soul sucked out of him, and only meekly, almost inaudibly said, ¡°hello sir.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo is¡­ different, as in, he¡¯s literally tried to flirt with Cheng Jin, though only for a few moments and in the heat of the moment, but he really can¡¯t ever live down the embarrassment. He feels really awkward whenever Cheng Jin is here.


    At least, the awkwardness isn¡¯t mutual. No adult, married shemale will hold any serious grudge against the impulses of a teenage male. In fact, Cheng Jin doesn¡¯t even remember what happened.


    In any case, it¡¯s Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s birthday. It¡¯s a shame Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele are busy being dispatched on missions, while Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are busy studying at school. Sun Wushe and Mr Liang probably don¡¯t even know his birthday, nor are they close enough right now to be invited.


    Cheng Zhaoci still feels really warm inside, though. He¡¯s never had much of a birthday celebration in his past life. That Cheng Jin can take a day off to celebrate it with him even when he is busy in the army now is really heartwarming.


    And he also has two friends around celebrating it with him, now if only they can stop trembling like jello.


    Cheng Jin bought enough cupcakes for the three young males to share. On the dinner table, Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao are still behaving rather awkwardly. Zhou Xiaobao thinks he should say something, lest Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s dad think him rude and impolite and doesn¡¯t want him to draw comics with Cheng Zhaoci anymore.


    He must overcome his shyness. Yes. He must. If only for the comic.


    So he produces a topic from his most recent thoughts, ¡°tang-ge, you don¡¯t have to mull over your lost love anymore. Uncle Cheng looks like he¡¯s exactly your ty-phuuu?!¡±


    His good cousin Zhou Luoluo has his mouth covered at this point. Zhou Xiaobao is confused, because Zhou Luoluo has said insectoids like uncle Cheng are his type, hasn¡¯t he? Tall and handsome and doesn¡¯t swoon at the sight of males.


    Is it not a good compliment to both the male and shemale to say that the shemale is ideal for the male?


    Clearly, Zhou Xiaobao has failed to grasp that, while it can be a compliment for perfectly innocent and unmarried males and shemales, but if the shemale is married¡­ Actually, it¡¯s even worse in this case. The shemale is a friend¡¯s dad! It means something else¡­ It¡¯s not just inappropriate, but even feels mildly like suggesting for Zhou Luoluo to become Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s stepfather.


    Zhou Luoluo cannot imagine such a day, but he knows for sure Cheng Zhaoci will not tolerate having a stepfather for even one second.


    Cheng Jin, though, is simply laughing at the children¡¯s jokes. Though his imagination makes him look back at Cheng Zhaoci anew.


    His son. He raised him, for seventeen years, from an egg to this upstanding young insectoid.


    Xiao-Ci will also grow up and find a good cijun for himself. Cheng Jin knows his own son too well, and is quite certain he won¡¯t be interested in concubines or slaves.


    He¡¯ll probably also pick a cijun that enjoys his company just as he would enjoy his, instead of picking one that would make his life a smooth sailing or whatnot.


    Cheng Jin will give his blessings to his son no matter his choice, though.


    While he suspected Cheng Zhaoci might decide to go after Wei Zhuo, both being quite excellent for each other, but he has since learned that Wei Zhuo tends to avoid males because of what has happened to his fellow soldier, the insectoid¡¯s dad. Still, he thinks Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t seem to treat Cheng Zhaoci the same as the other males.


    Since he¡¯s quite gentle treating Cheng Zhaoci, in stark contrast to his fiendish self on the training grounds in the army, where he already has an infamous reputation.


    Cheng Jin has no idea what exactly is going on between the two insectoids, though, especially since he¡¯s had to have been away from them for quite a while.


    It has to be said it¡¯ll be reassuring if Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo can end up together, since Wei Zhuo has both the strength and resources to protect Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Dad? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cheng Zhaoci realises his dad has been staring at him for a quite a while after giving the Zhou brothers some more cupcakes.


    ¡°Nothing. It just feels like, time really flies,¡± flies so quickly sometimes that it¡¯s hard to adapt.


    Actually, if it wasn¡¯t for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s sake, Cheng Jin would not have picked a gruelling, low-paying but relatively safe job on the landfill planet.


    If so, he¡¯ll probably have either stooped to piracy or died by now.


    This all changed because he had a son. It is without exaggeration if he says that Cheng Zhaoci had become the new pivot in life for him. He was the raison d¡¯¨ºtre to keep on living for him.


    ¡°It sure does, yeah,¡± not too long ago they were still worrying about their next meal on a landfill planet. It feels like it¡¯s been no time at all, but now he¡¯s even made friends with males on the Capital planet, ¡°and everything will keep getting better.¡±


    Cheng Jin smiles, ¡°mmhm, let¡¯s hope it does,¡± he caresses the smooth hair his son has. Meanwhile, Zhou Luoluo is looking quite enviously at them.


    ¡°Can I ruffle your hair too?¡± Zhou Luoluo asks. Cheng Zhaoci gives him a cold, emotionless stare, ¡°wanna try?¡±


    Then Zhou Luoluo actually ignores Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s warning to put his hand on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head. Yes! It¡¯s soft!


    What follows is Zhou Luoluo¡¯s face being buried on the table as Cheng Zhaoci messes his hair up royally.


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian have also called, even though they couldn¡¯t come.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a big present for your coming of age birthday, xiao-Ci,¡± He Huaijian makes a solemn promise. He then tries to tell Cheng Zhaoci about the efforts he¡¯s been making at studying, but Xiao Ji has taken over the call already. Then, being Xiao Ji, he blabbers a whole lot of nothing.


    Of course, there is meaning in listening to the useless banter. Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t realise he¡¯d been missing the restless liveliness of Xiao Ji¡¯s blabbering until hearing it now.


    Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao are watching the brotherly affections play out in front of them.


    Warmth is infectious, and so Zhou Luoluo sends a message to his shemale older brother. He misses seeing him a little.


    The reply comes soon enough.


    [Out of money again? Or did dad scold you again?]


    ¡­ A now completely jaded Zhou Luoluo shuts his holodeck down. Ah, some times are not meant for him. He¡¯ll continue indulging in being a lone and cool male.

 CH 34.2

    ¡°You¡¯re saying, ¡®Iron rod,¡¯ as a name?¡± A blond male has his eyes widened, listening to the question from Lu Su.


    ¡°Yes! Xiao Tiezhu. Is it possible it¡¯s a name for you males?¡± Lu Su is asking discreetly on the way to work. The one he is asking is a male insectoid, but surprisingly, also dressed in the same blazer and with a lapel on his chest.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? Did I hear you guys going on about iron rods?¡± Another male insectoid, also a member of parliament, comes over, ¡°lao-Qian, are you for real flirting with your coworkers right now?¡±


    Around them are actually many more male members of parliament with a scant few shemales. One could be forgiven for misunderstanding that the gender imbalance is a high male-to-shemale ratio just looking at this scene.


    ¡°The hell would I flirt with him for,¡± the blond MP shrugs, then quickly makes a funny face and tells the fellow MP that just walked over, ¡°hey hear me out, there¡¯s a male named ¡®Xiao Tiezhu.''¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?! Hahaha,¡± the two males are cackling, which only attracts even more males.


    ¡°Wahey woohoo! Xiao Tiezhu! ¡®Iron Rod¡¯ Xiao!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha hot damn!¡±


    Lu Su is watching these inexplicably laughing males who are in danger of laughing their whole face sore, ¡°you bastards are always ruining my fantasies of the kind and gentle male,¡± and if it weren¡¯t for the protection afforded these MPs, he should love to show his older brother how these buggers normally behave.


    ¡°A kind and gentle male named Xiao Tiezhu?¡± The blond male insectoid known as ¡®lao-Qian¡¯ retorts, ¡°I know what¡¯s got into you. That comic artist named BombInMyPants, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I met him, he might be my¡­ Uh, regardless, he said his name was Xiao Tiezhu. Do you think that is his real name?¡±


    ¡°Impossible,¡± lao-Qian sighs, ¡°I also know about him. He does have some relationship with your family.¡±


    One of the male colleagues gathered nods and adds, ¡°we¡¯ve been keeping an eye on him since his return.¡±


    ¡°You know how tense the situation between males, shemales and demis are,¡± and there are more and more shemales as epitomised by Jin Yue who no longer tolerate male excesses. The Federation appears prosperous on the surface, but underneath, unseen waves are threatening to tear it apart. The endless unequal oppression is eventually going to boil over and explode in everyone¡¯s face.


    If they don¡¯t resolve the underlying problem, there will yet be a second and a third Jin Yue.


    ¡°The President has been trying to push for what change he can, but the issues run too deep historically. Any change could threaten to crumble our society before the general populace even revolts. The catch is that not just the males, but a sizable portion of the populace that are their diehard supporters, would oppose any threat to their privileges,¡± the male MP doesn¡¯t seem to at all mind the fact that he is also one of the ¡®males.¡¯


    ¡°Cultural and artistic creations are the perfect ¡®soft¡¯ attack we needed. It can help push a lot of minor reforms through without raising eyebrows. Not too many, anyway,¡± lao-Qian shakes his head, ¡°youthful energy really is quite amazing. The ones in charge are viewing that young male insectoid favourably, I hear.¡±


    Another of his colleagues comments, ¡°the fact that he¡¯s a male is a godsend. It will serve to deter from pushing all males away from shemales and vice versa. We do need the society to continue progressing harmoniously, after all.¡±


    Lu Su¡¯s mouth is twitching seeing the male MPs all look so happy, ¡°so he¡¯s gonna get invited to your exclusive club after he comes of age? Turning into another one of you freaks?¡±


    ¡°Depends on what the male¡¯s wishes are; though, just between you and me, I bet the President would go get the young male personally when he has to do his aptitude test,¡± since the President appears quite impatient as well.


    No one knows what the President looks like, actually. In fact, the general populace considers the President as entirely powerless and a puppet of the upper brass of the military. Only those in the know in the government know that this is not the case.


    The military is only in charge of the various armies. Bureaucrats are the ones still in control over everyday affairs. While the Grand Marshal, at 150+ years of age, and may he continue to serve the nation faithfully, is actually, kuhum, the cijun of the President, also at 150+ years of age.


    The fact is that insectoid society is not dictated by the shemales, and certainly not the demis either.


    Males, with their natural tendency to want to rule and control, mean they make the perfect politicians ¨C well, counting only those in the topmost percentile in performance and aptitude, which is this group.


    They may not be as physically fit as shemales or even demis, but their schemes and machinations would not pale even in comparison to the most high-achieving demi.


    After their aptitude test, grade A males would be advised, after consideration of personal will, family background and criminal records, to study in a males-only secret academy to be nurtured as the elite of the elite of the insectoid society.


    One of the reasons that the identity of the MPs are protected is that, with membership of more than 80% of the total MPs being male, it is feared that this appearance of a tyranny by minority will exacerbate the rift between males and shemales and demis, with males appearing to have control of and also defending male interests.


    Though they are also trying to fix those underlying issues. Issues coming from laws, which were built on good intentions, until it became abused and its good faith tarnished. It has been centuries since the very first version of the Male Protection Laws came into force.


    Since then, it has been abused to no end, becoming an unchecked shield that protects all males, how ever depraved they are.


    It¡¯s like a deep, longstanding swamp. Difficult to deal with.


    There is another reason for the protection of politicians, but that is a story for another time, which the males do not tell Lu Su either.


    Lu Su, meanwhile, thinks it isn¡¯t much of a secret, but the males would not tell him at all, saying, ¡°what good is it for you to know?¡±


    It really is quite rare for a shemale like Lu Su to end up in this bureaucratic position. In insectoid politics, males overwhelmingly outnumber demis, who in turn outnumber shemales.


    While they are quite more amiable to work with, these males still have their general pride.


    Actually, it¡¯s quite rare for them to unanimously praise another insectoid like that.


    Lu Su is actually quite happy hearing the praises by proxy, but he also can¡¯t help but feel excluded. Impetuous though he is, it is clear that these bastards are all refusing to tell him what ¡®Xiao Tiezhu¡¯s real name is.


    Goodness him. Because of these current issues facing insectoids, he doesn¡¯t even have an opportunity to learn someone¡¯s real name?


    He¡¯s the definition of righteousness and kindness! What, does he look like he would spill the beans? Huh? No way. At least, Lu Su does not think so, not at all!


    Though he also knows, by experience, that trying to prod his coworkers some more will just confuse him even further into the garden path. He really is no match for these smartass males. He¡¯s just a simple shemale, the kind that completely believes everything at face value.


    In fact, Lu Su can¡¯t help but ask himself once more ¨C how ever did he pass the parliamentary screening to become a member in the first place?

 CH 34.3

    Zhou Xiaobao and Zhou Luoluo are sleeping over at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tonight. Knowing that Cheng Zhaoci is also a male and only his dad is at home means the Zhou family were happy to let them spend time together.


    The three of them are currently huddled together, checking their work. Seeing the luminescent blue butterflies dotting the beautifully depicted, boundless ocean and starry skies, Zhou Luoluo is tearing up, ¡°I want to fall in love too.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Zhou Xiaobao concurs, adding, ¡°with a reporter, if possible.¡±


    Though the idealised fantasies in the comic only serves to highlight the mundanities of everyday life, that¡¯s for sure.


    Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but sigh as well; the Zhou brothers are still teenagers who have been single for a dozen few years. Counting his past life, Cheng Zhaoci has never known the happiness of a significant other for over 40 years.


    All three bachelor males are sighing, lamenting the insectoid condition in reality.


    Though that is when Cheng Zhaoci gets a notification on his holodeck. It¡¯s from Wei Zhuo.


    He heard from his dad that Wei Zhuo is currently on a mission over at some other star system. It¡¯s surprising he could even make a call.


    He accepts, and Wei Zhuo¡¯s hologram projection pops up.


    ¡°Happy birthday,¡± Wei Zhuo makes clear his purpose of calling with the first sentence, ¡°apologies for calling so late at night. Did you have a happy celebration today?¡±


    The shemale is still in his operation uniform, but there does not appear to be much dirt or dust on him. Cheng Zhaoci thinks he is probably on some non-space-buccaneer-related business, or he wouldn¡¯t even have been able to call.


    ¡°I did, and your mission is much more important. This doesn¡¯t really compare,¡± Cheng Zhaoci scratches his head slightly awkwardly; his two male friends are looking at him, and then at the hologram projection, and then back at him, with rather complicated expressions.


    ¡°Are you already satisfied with this?¡± Zhou Luoluo decides to strike, ¡°this isn¡¯t romantic at all!¡± He blabbers loudly, transmitting the sound clearly through the call as Cheng Zhaoci did not set the call to private.


    Wei Zhuo seems to be surprised, as the hologram projection would only depict the person in the call, ¡°there are other males present?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just ignore them,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gives Zhou Luoluo a firm pat on the head; he shrinks a little in response, but then erupts in laughter.


    Hey! Finally a shemale that is not related to Cheng Zhaoci. Zhou Luoluo thinks it¡¯s the perfect time for his petty revenge against Cheng Zhaoci for teasing his failed confession earlier! See who¡¯s the one who can¡¯t have good things in life now! ¡°How could this be a happy birthday without the blue butterflies dancing through the skies?!¡±


    Zhou Luoluo then immediately retreats from Cheng Zhaoci by rolling away to avoid getting a fist of judgment shoved up his jaw, but unfortunately for him, he stubs his toe on the bed, and causes him to erupt in his signature high-pitched scream.


    Wei Zhuo can hear the scream, but Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t seem fazed in the slightest. In fact, he¡¯s actually laughing. The male who screamed is probably fine, then, so he asks, ¡°would you like to see blue butterflies?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci freezes in his laugh, as Wei Zhuo says, ¡°hold on.¡±


    Then he hears ruffling, probably Wei Zhuo climbing a tree, but all Cheng Zhaoci can see is that Wei Zhuo¡¯s projection is clearly showing his arm muscles tensing in turn. It¡¯s not very obviously bulging, given Wei Zhuo¡¯s average size among shemales, but his muscles must be tightly packed and can explode in adrenaline. In fact, his appearance could quite possibly land him a job as a magazine cover model for his slender and imposing figure.


    It¡¯s rather subtle normally, but when he¡¯s working hard, the strength shines through.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks he can just admire the muscles tensing and relaxing for hours. Though, as befitting a shemale of grade S physique, he¡¯s already on the tree now. He also turned on the camera as he climbed the tree, with the view suggesting he¡¯s carrying the holodeck with his mouth while he climbed. Understandable, as they are not permitted to carry personal effects on their wrists in missions.


    The view point lowers, and shows that the tree is quite tall and really thick. After Wei Zhuo has balanced himself, he says, ¡°I¡¯ll switch on panoramic view now. Mr Cheng, please maximise your viewing area.¡±


    The three males are all shocked; the Zhou brothers are looking at Cheng Zhaoci, who is pretending to be calm while maximising the viewing area, and Zhou Luoluo might actually have bought that Cheng Zhaoci is calm if he didn¡¯t fail to press the maximise button three times.


    It¡¯s also a quiet starry night, but underneath is not the oceans, but a sea of canopies. The light makes them just barely visible.


    ¡°He can¡¯t possibly be planning on fashioning a torch and show you the butterflies with a gentle smile, right?¡± Zhou Luoluo cannot imagine that happening. Having known Wei Zhuo better now since first chastising his appearance all those months ago and causing an argument with Cheng Zhaoci, for which he apologised already, true, he is also still keenly aware that Wei Zhuo looks far too intimidating to achieve a romantic effect.


    It¡¯ll just be weird if he tries to pull off the ¡®showing you the beautiful world with glowing eyes¡¯ like the demi did in the comic. And also, ¡°does this forest even having those glowing butterflies? I can¡¯t see any?¡±


    So the Zhou brothers have shuffled closer together to Cheng Zhaoci. There are now three pairs of eyes staring at the maximised projection.


    Meanwhile, Wei Zhuo raises his gun; as the three insectoids look on in shock, he fires three clean shots into the forest below.


    Spooked luminescent blue butterflies rush forth from the canopies almost immediately. It is definitely a visual feast to see a billion butterflies rushing up through the dark canopies. And honestly, it really is pretty.


    These blue butterflies in reality do not have good hearing, but are very sensitive to changes in the flow of air. Wei Zhuo has managed to metaphorically poke the hornet¡¯s nest, like some massive twat, honestly.


    Basically screaming ¡°my dear boy at home wants to see you guys. Stop sleeping and fly!¡±


    In the comic, the kind and worldly demi-shemale reporter wanted to show the shy male the beauty of the universe.


    In reality, a grade S shemale soldier climbed up a tree and fired his gun at canopies to get butterflies to fly, all for the sake of someone¡¯s tease;


    In the comic, the demi tells the male all the interesting tales he¡¯s uncovered and experienced on the planet, under the gentle blue light of the dancing butterflies;


    In reality, Wei Zhuo is¡­ probably never going to be able to pull something as romantic off. He simply asks Cheng Zhaoci, after the butterflies have all emerged flying in panic, ¡°happy birthday, did this make you feel any happier?¡±


    Even though the demi was so lovable and kind in the comic, but why in the world is Cheng Zhaoci finding this shemale soldier who climbed a tree and fired shots nonchalantly so much more fucking attractive?! Oh sweet Jesus!


    Wei Zhuo is still continuously doling out critical hits completely unaware, ¡°I wish that you would never want for anything or become sad for anything. You¡¯re very important. You¡¯re the reason I can keep going,¡± but he does not elaborate anymore than that.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci cares about what he means by that anymore, because it feels like he¡¯s simply dropped a megaton-sized bomb in his chest, exploding over and over again! He¡¯s, he¡¯s not gonna be able to take it anymore!


    Though there are insectoids far more astonished still present ¨C the Zhou brothers. Weren¡¯t they all bachelor buddies but mere moments ago?! Where did this sudden distance between them come from?!

 CH 35.1

    Meeting Insanity


    AD


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The critical damage being what it is, Zhou Luoluo thinks he¡¯s losing hope in life and is quite possibly going to go off the deep end. Still, the comic is released when it is.


    Cheng Zhaoci himself is not as worried as he is before or in his past life about the praises or complaints laid upon his work. He¡¯s become numbed now; however, the Zhou brothers are still actual teenagers who would be nervous.


    They¡¯ve kept their eyes peeled on the comic¡¯s front page since it was released, worried that the comic would flounder after other insectoids realise the detailing and background colouring work has been delegated.


    Clearly, they¡¯ve completely worried themselves over nothing.


    The insectoids are, obviously, far more concerned with the plot after noticing that Cheng Zhaoci has released something new.


    After watching and mesmerising over the last few panels of the comic, they slowly trudge along to the comment section to ask for more updates. Oh, and some are also pointing out that it¡¯s all so unrealistic, and there are no shy introverted males like that. The self-insert fiction is getting a little too strong with this one, etc.


    Zhou Luoluo¡¯s response is using his own account to argue with the one who said that. The argument lasts for quite a while, until finally, that other insectoid clicked into Zhou Luoluo¡¯s profile to see that ¨C Zhou Luoluo is a male. He disappears without nary a word.


    Zhou Luoluo seems proud of his ¡®win,¡¯ ¡°tch, no such males exist in real life? He thinks he understands males better than me?¡±


    He is going to gloat at Cheng Zhaoci and wants him to agree, but then sees that Cheng Zhaoci is holding his chin, all blanking out looking at the strongest shemale in the little zombie comic. Clearly, he¡¯s thinking about something else from the image.


    Zhou Luoluo ¡°???¡± Damn it, he forgot that this guy is still completely awestruck!


    ¡°Cheng Zhaoci!¡± Zhou Xiaobao is perhaps making full use of his vocal cords for the first time, being loud enough to completely spook Cheng Zhaoci awake.


    He finally looks away to pay attention to the two other sulking males present, ¡°huh?! What?! What is it?¡±


    ¡°Want to celebrate our very first successful collaboration tomorrow?¡± Zhou Xiaobao asks, not being as pouty as his cousin, for he hasn¡¯t had a shemale or demi strike his fancy, yet.


    ¡°Yeah, sure thing!¡± Cheng Zhaoci happily obliges, ¡°so to get up early tomorrow, let¡¯s go to sleep right now.¡±


    Early night makes for a healthy lifestyle, so his dad wouldn¡¯t have to worry about his health all that time. Maybe he¡¯ll even see Squadron Leader Wei in his dreams! Yes! Sleep!


    Cheng Zhaoci excited giddiness brushing his teeth confuses the Zhou brothers a little. They cannot understand how one can be so excited about sleep. Is he planning to have a sleep date or something?


    In the morning, somewhere in the capital city on the Capital planet, a blond shemale with long, flowy hair blinks and ruffles it, ¡°tch, this disguise is itchy.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Remember, a shot a day. Do you even realise how much risk you¡¯re putting me in just smuggling mister most-wanted-in-the-galaxy onto the Capital?¡± Sun Wushe really feels like giving this dogged blondy that calls himself Jin Yue a good hard kick on his new shiny golden head.


    ¡°Yessir! You can expect no trouble from me,¡± Jin Yue pats himself on the chest, ¡°I¡¯ve never been a burden, now have I?¡±


    ¡°So what are you even doing on the Capital planet?¡± Sun Wushe still cannot understand it at all. The Capital planet is the most dangerous place Jin Yue can go to right now. He¡¯d get caught in no time if exposed, and if he does end up incarcerated here? Nope, no trick he pulls will get him out, ever.


    But for some reason, Jin Yue isn¡¯t avoiding this place at all. He¡¯s actually actively trying to get here.


    Jin Yue smoothes out his chequered shirt, which might actually be one of the most bland clothes he¡¯s ever worn, ¡°I can only guarantee it won¡¯t cause you to get into any trouble. You need not know the rest.¡±


    Actually, Jin Yue is here for the latest weapons tech he heard about, that hasn¡¯t been disseminated off the Capital planet yet. He¡¯s going to try and get his hands on a weapon or two and see if the men in his command might be able to replicate it.


    ¡°Acting all secret spy really doesn¡¯t suit you,¡± Sun Wushe smirks, before a message comes through on his holodeck, ringing with a notification. Sun Wushe takes a moment to realise, because, barring one exception, he has all notifications turned off.


    Meanwhile, Jin Yue is not letting him live it down, ¡°ah, our professional honcho Sun, still in the mood to get messages right now? What, you finally found a little true love on the Capital planet?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off,¡± Sun Wushe executes the kick he¡¯s been building up the whole time, but Jin Yue dodges it with inhuman reflexes. At the same time, Sun Wushe has already read the message, and raises his brow, ¡°and I actually mean that. Go play by yourself. I¡¯ve work to do.¡±


    ¡°Yessir,¡± Jin Yue tugs on his new golden hair some more ¨C hair that he got planted on his skin, as his original got burnt to smithereens by that bastard Wei Zhuo on that landfill planet, Zhousuo.


    The weapons tech isn¡¯t going anywhere, so he¡¯s going to bumble around for a bit first¡­ At least, he needs to find food.

 CH 35.2

    ¡°Dad is still sleeping as he was just discharged from a mission, so sorry for troubling you, Mr Sun,¡± Cheng Zhaoci scratches his head. He still remembers that Wei Zhuo told him he has to bring a shemale soldier with him when he goes outside, ¡°order anything you want when we¡¯re eating. My treat.¡±


    Sun Wushe obliges, ¡°sure, thanks.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo picked this restaurant as a second choice; he wanted to eat at that roast meat place again, really enjoying it, but Cheng Zhaoci is slightly averse to visiting, having run into Lu Su. This restaurant, meanwhile, has private rooms. Oh, and also, it¡¯s frequented by shemales more often.


    Apparently, most restaurants catering to males offer sweet and sour dishes. Ones catering to shemales and demis are much more down on oily, salty or spicy dishes. Quite the buffet for the tongue. Unfortunately, though, alcohol is forbidden for minor males and shemales alike.


    They left in the evening to have dinner.


    While walking to the restaurant, Sun Wushe had a call come on, which was probably serious, seeing how stern Sun Wushe looked after picking it up. He gives Cheng Zhaoci a look, before going to a more distant corner to continue the call.


    So the three males are enjoying the evening breeze just some steps away from the restaurant. While Zhou Xiaobao is still apprehensive, the other two have already adapted and become able to ignore the overly prying gazes coming from the shemales and demis around.


    ¡°Little ugly thing?¡± A voice slightly familiar to Cheng Zhaoci says; a chill runs down his spine.


    He knows only one person who would ever call him a little ugly thing¡­ He doesn¡¯t even turn around, but immediately makes a call to his dad.


    He has also started running.


    The phone is picked up in almost no time, and Cheng Zhaoci immediately yells, ¡°dad! It¡¯s Jin Yue!¡± While also immediately sharing his location with him.


    Jin Yue was here for Sun Wushe, who gave his real-time location to him temporarily just in case Jin Yue does run into some big trouble.


    Jin Yue wasn¡¯t expecting the fortuitous run in, though.


    Not that he could get to Cheng Zhaoci, because in front of him, is a male. Jin Yue generally avoids males as much as he can, but seeing this male holding up a stick he picked up off the ground, he chuckles dismissively, ¡°are you trying to fight a shemale, little male?¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao gulps, before forcing himself to calm down. He knows this Jin Yue, as Cheng Zhaoci has talked about him having kidnapped him once. Zhou Xiaobao has his eyes shut and then open dramatically, yelling, ¡°aaaaargh!¡±


    The male is actually trying to hit him with the stick, but his form is all off. Jin Yue smiles fiendishly¡­ which nobody could see, because there¡¯s something blocking his view.


    As Jin Yue¡¯s attention was fixed on his cousin, Zhou Luoluo grabbed the nearby metal trashcan and put it upside-down right over Jin Yue¡¯s head. Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s stick has also landed, with a loud bang. Then the two males start running and screaming after Cheng Zhaoci.


    Cheng Zhaoci also yells out, ¡°nice job!¡±


    ¡°You, you¡¯re welcome,¡± a pale and frightened Zhou Xiaobao is still holding onto his stick for dear life as he runs; Zhou Luoluo settles everything by yelling, ¡°it¡¯s Jin Yue! That guy is Jin Yue! A space pirate! Help!¡±


    There are quite a few shemales and demis around, being the entrance to a popular restaurant. When Jin Yue has finally freed himself from the mess that is the trashcan and the trash, he realises he¡¯s been surrounded, ¡°¡­ fuck.¡± So the little ugly thing only ever hangs out with equally unhinged males?


    Jin Yue isn¡¯t worried about the enforcement robots coming to apprehend him, since it was just one male¡¯s blabbering, and no one is going to try to get a DNA sequencing done purely because of that; his appearance has changed quite a lot in subtle ways which the simple visual scans of the robots would determine to be a whole other person.


    Jin Yue then tries jumping over the crowd to give chase, but Sun Wushe stops him, veins bulging on his forehead, ¡°what the fuck are you doing?!¡±


    The three males ran and kept taking random turns, until finally coming to a stop when they¡¯re sure Jin Yue isn¡¯t following them.


    ¡°That was so scary, so scary,¡± Zhou Xiaobao says, still catching his breath, ¡°I thought I was going to be killed.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine now,¡± Zhou Luoluo takes a quick look around, ¡°eh? Where are we, actually? There are so few insectoids around this deserted alleyway, maybe no one will know even if we should die here, haha.¡±


    ¡°Lu Qian! Is that you, Lu Qian?!¡±


    Someone is screaming in disbelief.


    The three males look over in that direction, only to see Lu Nianqian, Lu Su, and an unknown shemale standing there. The six insectoids are looking at each other, but then the unknown shemale is all trembling looking at Cheng Zhaoci, going, ¡°you¡¯re back! Lu Qian!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    Would somebody just kill him right now?! Maybe he should just do Zhou Luoluo in to get him to shut his ominous trap! Even if they live to see another day, who knows what that cursed mouth of his would bring the next time?


    While the Zhou brothers do not know that shemale, but Cheng Zhaoci has seen a photo of him! He¡¯s that fucking source of all his woes, forcing him to stay on the landfill planet for all those years! That one and only, that insane cijun¡ª¡ªYe Wei.


    ¡°Dad, you saw wrong. He is not father,¡± Lu Nianqian is dragging Ye Wei back, ¡°father passed when he was over 100! This male is clearly a minor.¡±


    ¡°He is! I know Lu Nian! He is! Look! He¡¯s definitely Lu Qian!¡± Ye Wei is exerting an almost inhuman amount of force right now, ¡°let me go! I must go to Lu Qian! Let go!¡±


    ¡°Run away!¡± Lu Su yells out to Cheng Zhaoci, who would have run away with the Zhou brothers regardless; however, that is when a most unopportune thing happens.


    Cheng Jin is here, having followed Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shared location, ¡°xiao-Ci! Are you ok?!¡±


    Still fine, for now, but probably not for long.


    As Cheng Jin is now face-to-face with Ye Wei. They stare at each other, stunned.

 CH 35.3

    Ye Wei looks at Cheng Jin, then at Cheng Zhaoci, then he suddenly gets it, yelling, ¡°it¡¯s you?! He¡¯s your son! You!¡±


    With a wrathful outburst, he manages to escape Lu Nianqian¡¯s restraint and rushes for Cheng Zhaoci.


    His arms are poised and raised, right at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s neck. If it does connect, one second is all it would take for a shemale to snap Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s neck. He¡¯s already insane, so it¡¯ll be fine. Even if he cannot live, he will not suffer seeing this male alive!


    But before he manages to do anything, Cheng Jin already has his wrist locked. Then he punches Ye Wei squarely in the nose with his other fist.


    Ye Wei has never served in the military, and he¡¯s also much older than Cheng Jin. There is no way he can win against a shemale solder with grade A physique.


    The heavy ¡®thump¡¯ scares the Zhou brothers into hiding behind Cheng Zhaoci, as Zhou Luoluo asks, ¡°what¡¯s going on?! What¡¯s happening!?¡±


    Well, Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t sure how to explain the mess here either, but Cheng Jin has clearly gone berserk from what Ye Wei has done; he is pummelling blow after blow into Ye Wei on the ground.


    ¡°He cannot live! He must not live!¡± Ye Wei is still blabbering, ¡°I must kill him! No one can birth males for Lu Qian! No one!¡±


    A response comes in the form of a good hard kick in the stomach, courtesy of Cheng Jin, ¡°the one who should be killed is you! You fuck!¡±


    Honestly, the force makes Cheng Zhaoci gasp a little; all the more bewildering that they are supposed to bear offspring somehow in this state. Completely unlike the ladies of his past life, shemales fight not by dragging hair and scratching arms, but by good hard brawling with intent to kill.


    The most surprising thing right now, though, is perhaps that the Lu brothers are merely watching on the side, coldly.


    Ye Wei is throwing up bile, but is still hysterically yelling, ¡°I¡¯m his cijun! I¡¯m the cijun! Only I can birth males for him! Only me!¡±


    ¡°You ci-fucking-jun!¡± Cheng Jin lands another fist on the insane insectoid¡¯s face, swearing for the second time ever in front of Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°only you cunt still cares about that 17-year-dead insectoid!¡±


    Cheng Jin was largely coerced into becoming a concubine for Lu Qian. He has obeyed what is expected of him as such, for sure, but romance¡­ There was no romance between them.


    ¡°He¡¯s mine! Mine! If you would all just die! If you would¡­¡± Ye Wei is still going strong. But every sentence is interrupted by a fist from Cheng Jin.


    Finally, Lu Nianqian speaks up, ¡°uncle Cheng. Enough. He¡¯ll really die if you keep going. I¡¯ll make sure to keep him home from now on. He won¡¯t be able to do anything against xiao-Ci.¡± Although ¡®ci¡¯ is the only character in the name of Cheng Zhaoci that he knows, hearing Cheng Jin call out earlier.


    Cheng Jin looks at him, then lets Ye Wei go; Ye Wei is now throwing a tantrum, though, refusing to get up, ¡°you lied to me! You lied! You gave birth to a male! Behind my back! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The words are as menacing as ever, but tears are also rolling free. Who knows if he¡¯s crying for his lost obsession, or merely for Cheng Jin beating him up; his face is a mess, but, ¡°Lu Qian is mine!¡±


    ¡°Yours. All yours,¡± Cheng Jin sniggers, ¡°who else but you even remember the guy?¡±


    Lu Nianqian, meanwhile, has stepped forth to pull his dad back up, but Ye Wei gives him a slap as soon as he crouches down, ¡°why are you a shemale! Why! It¡¯s all your fault! You and that deadbeat brother of yours! That I became like this! It¡¯s all your fault!¡±


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± Zhou Luoluo reflexively yells out, seeing Lu Nianqian get slapped out of nowhere, but his questions go unanswered.


    Lu Nianqian just watches Ye Wei throw his usual tantrum, as his heart sinks to a deep, dark place.


    It¡¯s always his fault. Always blaming his own misfortunes on him, on Lu Nianqian. It¡¯s as if Lu Nianqian is to blame just for existing. Sure, he may have reached heights many other insectoids can only dream of achieving, and he avoided the fate of being exiled to a landfill planet for his father¡¯s death thanks to him, but he thinks, he is living even worse than those that have been exiled.


    He has questioned himself on multiple occasions, why he doesn¡¯t just end all this misery and reunite his dad with that ¡®beloved¡¯ father of his. He always had the motive, but he never put it into action. He didn¡¯t dare harming Ye Wei. He still had a younger brother to care for when he was younger, and when he grew up, he thought, why waste and squander his own entire life for this dad¡¯s sake?


    This dad, who is living for nothing, who has turned into a monster.


    Why does he still care about him? Is it because he is his dad? It must be, because there is not a single other possible reason. He is his dad, his dad that mistreats him and his family.


    Pitiful and tragic describes himself perfectly. He has not the resolve to end it all, nor the heart to forgive it all. Indecisive, soft, hopeless.


    Ye Wei is just bawling like a child now, occasionally yelling about killing the other concubines and slaves Lu Qian had, all of them.


    ¡°Bro¡­¡± Lu Su pats his older brother on the back, who remains motionless, crouching on the ground. So Lu Su also crouches down alongside him, ¡°it¡¯s ok. We¡¯ve been through this all these years. We¡¯re both used to it.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci can clearly see Lu Nianqian¡¯s eyes well up, but not a single tear spills.


    Why? What does he feel right now? Angry? Maligned? Helpless? Perhaps, all three?


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Cheng Jin gives a firm shoulder to Cheng Zhaoci, taking him away. The two other males follow.


    When almost out of the alleyway, Cheng Jin can¡¯t help but glance back.


    Ye Wei is still throwing his tantrum on the ground. Lu Nianqian is still crouching, doing nothing. Lu Su is still patting Lu Nianqian on the back, while probably trying to console his brother.


    Lu Nianqian raises his head then, and their eyes meet. Lu Nianqian forces a little smile, and parts his lips.


    ¡®Go.¡¯


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to be with him,¡± Zhou Luoluo suddenly stops, saying, ¡°you guys go. I¡¯ll wait for him here.¡±


    ¡°¡­ If anything happens, just call us,¡± Cheng Zhaoci does not discourage Zhou Luoluo at all this time.


    Cheng Zhaoci did not expect this to be his very first, and very last time to see Ye Wei.


    Like, if he was drawing this as a comic, an insane insectoid like Ye Wei would be the big antagonist, coming back to haunt the protagonists forever, until the final ending, when he is finally dealt with for good, for a happily-ever-after.


    And in that last episode, they will have an insane outburst of the most preposterous proportions, giving the protagonists one last big hurdle and challenge.


    But it was quite some time later that Cheng Zhaoci learned that Ye Wei passed away nary a few months after that day. It has been too long, far too long. He didn¡¯t have the stamina to throw more insane tantrums anymore. That one final episode that evening seems to have burnt away everything that was holding him together.


    He perhaps understood, that it was always futile. He was insane, and nobody saw him as anything but an insane joke. He understood, and then, he died.

 CH 36.1

    White-Haired Male


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Their celebration cut short anticlimactically, Zhou Luoluo returns home quite late, accompanied by Sun Wushe.


    Sun Wushe also never expected Cheng Zhaoci and friends to be so unlucky, running into Jin Yue and then that insane cijun with speed and accuracy. Though, in all honesty, the blame is mostly on him, having to take a call in the middle of his duties. So after Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Xiaobao were escorted home by Cheng Jin, he took over the task of seeing Zhou Luoluo¡¯s safety.


    Zhou Luoluo is sleeping over at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tonight, and the Zhou family is aware, of course, or they would probably have called the police a long time ago.


    Zhou Luoluo still seems quite down after coming back, ¡°I sat with him there for quite a while, and he didn¡¯t chase me away, but I couldn¡¯t say anything to him. I didn¡¯t know what I could say to him. Then it got colder and so he told me to come home.¡±


    Then he asks, all dejected, ¡°he is your actual brother, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Half,¡± Cheng Zhaoci caresses Zhou Luoluo on the head gently, ¡°think of it this way, now. He isn¡¯t chasing you away anymore. Maybe he is coming to accept you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Zhou Luoluo squeezes himself entirely in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lap; Cheng Zhaoci gently pats him on the back.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci, tomorrow¡­¡± Cheng Jin comes in, about to tell Cheng Zhaoci that he might be off to another mission tomorrow, but all his words disappear down his throat, ¡°sorry, I¡¯ll excuse myself,¡± then he leaves.


    The sombre mood is gone. Instead, a somewhat familiar sense of misunderstanding has taken over.


    Cheng Jin is standing at the door, deep in thought. Although that young male named Zhou Luoluo has expressed passionate interest in Lu Nianqian, but why is it that the mood between Zhou Luoluo and Cheng Zhaoci whenever they¡¯re together so odd?


    Cheng Jin doesn¡¯t understand, and cannot help but start doubting if Zhou Luoluo really likes Lu Nianqian. And what about his own, good son? He can¡¯t secretly have fallen for that Zhou Luoluo, right?


    But he also remembers his son threateningly menacing Zhou Luoluo earlier. It doesn¡¯t look that way.


    Ah, he must be old. This must be what they call ¡®generational gap.¡¯


    Cheng Zhaoci cannot know what his dad is thinking, but if he did, he would be able to offer a firm retort. He¡¯s also someone with a special someone in mind now.


    Not that he even knows where the target of his affections is off to do missions, but anyway.


    A week has passed before Wei Zhuo is finally back. This time, his mission wasn¡¯t as perilous, as it was simply guarding some shemale field scientists to gather minerals at the frontier for research purposes.


    Wei Zhuo has already heard about Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s run-in with that insane cijun. While the problem is already resolved, but Wei Zhuo still came as early as he could. With a Meng Yuele who invited himself in tow.


    Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but be slightly nervous knowing Wei Zhuo is coming this time, taking the time to dress himself up; he has probably overdone it, though, as Zhou Luoluo has described him as ¡®colourful like a male bird in heat.¡¯


    So Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shiny jacket with glittery particles got torn away by Zhou Luoluo, who really cannot understand how Cheng Zhaoci decided to forgo his normally deep colour scheme that reflected class and elegance to partake in flashy, blinding colours instead.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci no longer looked handsome, but it has completely neutralised Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s rather gloomy appearance, and ends up making him look like a kid.


    When Wei Zhuo arrives, before Cheng Zhaoci has even said a word, the most excited Meng Yuele is already rushing forward with arms outstretched, ¡°oh, my dearest Mr Cheng! I love you!¡± Cheng Zhaoci winces at the high-pitch tone.


    Fortunately, Meng Yuele isn¡¯t talking about a romantic kind of love, ¡°I read your new comic! I love it! You¡¯re finally doing some good for this world uwuwuwu!¡±


    Unfortunately, Meng Yuele fails to capture Cheng Zhaoci with his hug. Instead, Cheng Zhaoci has successfully dodged with a side step to the right, and then immediately rushes for Wei Zhuo, ¡°Squadron Leader!¡±


    Meng Yuele failed to give his new favourite male comic artist a hug, and so turns his head around with a question mark on his head, ¡°uh, mister?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hands are all over Wei Zhuo¡¯s waist. Ah! The divine feeling! Wei Zhuo is actually surprisingly slender, but the waist is also really firm, especially after Cheng Zhaoci has touched it.


    Wei Zhuo is all frozen stiff. This is wrong. It should be Meng Yuele and the little male chatting and teasing each other while he listens, happy even though he can¡¯t really fit in the conversation.


    What is the male hugging him for?!


    Wei Zhuo has never had such close contact with any males. Cheng Zhaoci still has his hands wrapped around¡­ Uh, he¡¯s feeling around? It can¡¯t be. Why would he want to touch his waist? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s soft and fluffy.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally back,¡± Cheng Zhaoci ends up slightly disgusted by the stickiness of his own voice. Oof, the pretentiousness!


    Thankfully Zhou Luoluo is off to meet Lu Nianqian, and has also dragged an unwilling Zhou Xiaobao along. At least it¡¯s less embarrassing without them around.


    Meng Yuele, meanwhile, is all spooked that Mr Cheng Zhaoci is the one speaking in that icky tone. Weird, and also, somewhat fascinating. He observes closely, only to see Cheng Zhaoci looking at Wei Zhuo rather fixedly.


    Was it always like this? He doesn¡¯t think so.


    Wei Zhuo, though, has decided that Cheng Zhaoci must be trying to act cute to him¡­ Why, though? Maybe he wants a partner to play the virtual mecha fights with him? Has it hurt the male¡¯s heart that he refused him again and again?


    So he asks, ¡°do you want me to join the virtual mecha fights with you?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci channels his best early romance novel female protagonist archetype, by lowering his head coquettishly and saying, ¡°anything is good with you around.¡±


    Both Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele are gasping.


    But wait! Yes, last time, before they ran into the cijun, Cheng Zhaoci also ran into Jin Yue. Did he suffer some trauma seeing Jin Yue?


    Jin Yue, Jin Yue, Jin Yue! All Jin Yue! The one who kidnapped the male was also Jin Yue! Wei Zhuo decides to put even more blame onto the damned blond space buccaneer.

 CH 36.2

    That said¡­


    ¡°Can you let go of my waist now?¡± Wei Zhuo can feel Cheng Zhaoci pawing about it. He does not know why he is doing that, but he finds it difficult to walk; his whole body is stiff.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like this?¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks up at him.


    ¡°No, of course not,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is always right whatever he does, but he doesn¡¯t know what he should do when Cheng Zhaoci is so close to him.


    Males are completely different from the tough and hard shemale soldiers. Their bodies are soft, and they¡¯re smaller than the soldiers quite a bit, so much so that Wei Zhuo does not dare to touch, afraid he¡¯ll shatter him like Faberg¨¦ eggs.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t look at all like he¡¯s planning to let him go anytime soon. Uh¡­ well, it¡¯s odd, but also slightly pleasant.


    ¡°So Squadron Leader Wei, are there any male insectoids who strike your fancy?¡± Cheng Zhaoci suddenly asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Wei Zhuo replies. He doesn¡¯t approach males much, not just because of his appearance, but also because he is not gentle enough to the males¡¯ liking.


    Cheng Zhaoci sees that as a chance for him, ¡°then how about me?¡±


    Wei Zhuo goes quiet for a second, then, looking at Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°what do you mean, Mr Cheng?¡±


    ¡°Wei Zhuo, do you like me?¡± Cheng Zhaoci strikes directly. He¡¯s really worried he could be making all these flirtatious advances all day only to find Wei Zhuo still treating him like a kid; he believes he¡¯s getting closer to him, Wei Zhuo thinks he¡¯s trying to act cutesy.


    Meng Yuele is already a stone statue by this point. Looking at Wei Zhuo, then at Cheng Zhaoci, he has wisely kept his mouth shut for once.


    Does he like him? Of course he does, but Wei Zhuo suspects Cheng Zhaoci is referring to a different kind of ¡®like¡¯ from the ¡®like¡¯ one has for children.


    Wei Zhuo does not dare to think that way, because he thinks he does not deserve it. He does not. Cheng Zhaoci should have a better, a perfect shemale, as a cijun, or as any of his concubines. And not him.


    Not someone like him¡­


    Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t sure how to describe himself. Sure, he¡¯s grade S in physical aptitude, and he¡¯s probably destined for greatness in the future, but he does not dare to imagine himself being by Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s side. He is afraid to make a step.


    He thinks it is already a blessing he can watch over Cheng Zhaoci quietly. Cheng Zhaoci will have his own cijun in the future. Yes, a cijun that is¡­ At least grade S like him, to be able to protect Cheng Zhaoci from harm, and will, of course, treasure Cheng Zhaoci.


    Can any shemale or demi really fit that criteria, though?


    Or maybe, just someone the young male likes¡­ But if so, then why not himself?


    This is not good, he thinks. A line is being blurred, by the male himself, persuading him to cross over.


    ¡­ Ah, he might not be able to hold himself back.


    ¡°I do like you,¡± Wei Zhuo says, not specifying what kind of ¡®like¡¯ it is, but Cheng Zhaoci can see Wei Zhuo blushing, and feel his muscles tingling. He thinks he might succeed. Yes, he has a good chance of succeeding.


    Wei Zhuo is clearly flustered, though, flustered enough to oblige Cheng Zhaoci to play virtual mecha fights with him. His fighting is also far more fierce than usual; even playing insectoid opponents Cheng Zhaoci was carried through to victory several times.


    One afternoon, Zhou Luoluo is back, with Zhou Xiaobao in tow. Zhou Luoluo is declaring loudly as soon as he¡¯s inside, ¡°oh Cheng-ge! My dear Cheng-ge! I believe it¡¯s gonna work out!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci slowly turns his head over to say, ¡°oh? Speak.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s invited me to lunch earlier! Not eating outside, but he cooked it! Himself! It was super tasty!!!¡± Zhou Luoluo is roaring like an excited puppy, ¡°what about you? What about you?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci smiles and says, ¡°doing pretty well; I think I have a good fighting chance.¡±


    ¡°Ni~ce!¡± Zhou Luoluo extends his hand to give Cheng Zhaoci a high five. A clap, and the two of them smile sweetly.


    Zhou Xiaobao looks at his cousin, then back at Cheng Zhaoci, and sniffles. Ah, so he¡¯s alone, now¡­


    Zhou Luoluo then asks, ¡°do you still need me to go with you a few days later?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is scheduled to meet with his editor in a few days regarding that love story he¡¯s publishing. It¡¯s to discuss the best time to release the two remaining volumes. They could have done it online, but Cheng Zhaoci also wanted to check out the website¡¯s editing department in person.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine myself, but you can also come if you want to, since you¡¯re also working on the comic¡¯s production.¡±


    So the Zhou brothers end up coming with him¡­ Cheng Zhaoci is speechless. They just wanted to come sightsee themselves, they could¡¯ve said that rather than wanting to accompany him.


    Though before they reach the company, there is an interlude.


    They¡¯ve picked a male up off the streets.


    A male insectoid with rare white hair.


    And ¡®pick up¡¯ really is the right word, for that male wobbled in front of them, before collapsing onto the ground. If he didn¡¯t know ¡®scamming¡¯ isn¡¯t really a thing in insectoid society, Cheng Zhaoci would¡¯ve suspected him of trying to scam them out of hospital bills.


    Then that male lifts up his head weakly, and said, ¡°I want food,¡± before collapsing back down.


    So Cheng Zhaoci can only send a message to editor Li that he¡¯ll be a bit late.


    Cai Lu was all set on showing his fellow coworkers BombIn and recreate the completely astonishment he experienced, before Li Jiu says BombInMyPants won¡¯t be here until the afternoon.


    ¡°Eh?! Why? Didn¡¯t he say he was already on his way?¡±


    ¡°He ran into some kind of trouble, I think. I¡¯ll ask,¡± Li Jiu is also curious why they¡¯re rescheduling barely any time before they¡¯re set to meet, as he does not think Cheng Zhaoci is one to go back on his own word.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s reply simply stuns Li Jiu entirely.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± Cai Lu leans over, ¡°come on, tell me.¡±


    ¡°He said, he met a male insectoid who fainted from hunger on the way¡­¡± Li Jiu doesn¡¯t even know the words he¡¯s saying anymore. Like, since when have males become so commonplace to be picked up randomly? Or maybe, males have an easier time running into other males who need help?¡±

 CH 36.3

    In a certain noodle restaurant, the male insectoid with white hair is slurping noodles while sobbing, ¡°I sneaked outside a long time ago without having my household escorts, but then I lost my way following the GPS.¡±


    The three males sitting opposite him have their heads on their respective palms, and goes ¡®oh.¡¯


    ¡°Cool hair,¡± Zhou Luoluo says.


    ¡°Thanks. I had it dyed,¡± the male replies, ruffling his hair.


    ¡°What were you going to do? Why did you not bring your escorts?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is more curious about this. And also, really?! He didn¡¯t have a single dollar in his holodeck? Or did he just not know how to order food in this Capital?


    The male looks around to confirm that there are not shemales around; Cheng Zhaoci picked this noodle restaurant for having a male-only area. Then the white-haired male says, making sure he¡¯s not heard by anyone passing, ¡°do you know about BombInMyPants¡¯ latest comic?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao immediately lock their gazes onto Cheng Zhaoci, who himself has eyes widened. What has this got to do with him?


    ¡°I want to get to the broadcasting building, and see if they have any single warzone reporters,¡± the male says, all serious-like, ¡°I believe I can copy and paste love.¡±


    Now the one being stared at becomes Zhou Xiaobao, for ¡®copy and paste love¡¯ is also a concept Zhou Xiaobao himself has already talked about.


    A speechless Cheng Zhaoci finally decides to speak up, ¡°is this how you males all are?¡± All¡­ quirky? Why do males he hang out with seem to be quite distinct from more typical males he¡¯s heard about?


    Is his body like a magnet that only attracts strange males?


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Us researchers¡­¡±


    ¡°Researcher?¡± The three males ask simultaneously, looking at the white-haired male, who gulps, and says, ¡°uh, I, I mean¡­ Us, males.¡±


    ¡°¡®Researchers¡¯ and ¡®males¡¯ are quite different in pronunciation,¡± Cheng Zhaoci reminds him.


    ¡°Who cares!¡± The white-haired male spouts, ¡°some things are beyond you minor males right now.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao, though, meekly points at the bowl of noodles on the table, ¡°you¡¯re having minor males treat you to a meal right now.¡±


    The white-haired male drops his jaw, and then sulkily picks it back up, ¡°I will pay you back. I¡¯m just not used to talking to shemales, but only shemales and demis open restaurants.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, and you said you¡¯re going to make advances at reporters?¡± Zhou Luoluo sarcastically mocks the male quite openly.


    The male lowers his head in embarrassment, ¡°but, still, maybe, you know?¡±


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Cheng Zhaoci suddenly asks. Insectoid physiology means that before rapidly deteriorating at old age, their appearance do not change at all from the peak of their youth.


    As expected, the male answers, ¡°72.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re even older than my dad!¡± Zhou Luoluo is in disbelief, though Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t seem too surprised, ¡°if he¡¯s a researcher, there¡¯s no way he¡¯s 20-something.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Zhou Luoluo nods.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a researcher,¡± the white-haired male meekly retorts.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t married a shemale at over 70?¡±


    ¡°I was supposed to,¡± the male mumbles, but then he was inducted into the Research Facility, and has since become one of the very rare cases of an old eligible bachelor male.


    If not, he wouldn¡¯t have had the idea to try replicating a romance story with a reporter after reading the comic.


    ¡°So what kind of research do you do?¡±


    ¡°Stabilisation of Inter-transitory Wormholes and Protonokinetic Weaponry¡­ Uh, wait!¡± The male suddenly realises what he just said, and adds, ¡°that¡¯s my dad¡¯s research. I saw it once.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right,¡± the three minor teenage males answer disingenuously.


    Zhou Luoluo then asks, ¡°so where did you learn to research? Which school did you go to? I never learned anything related to these.¡±


    ¡°Not just you, my older brothers¡¯ curriculum doesn¡¯t cover anything remotely as advanced either,¡± Cheng Zhaoci adds, recalling what He Huaijian told him about the mecha and weapon design courses he¡¯s enrolled in.


    Meanwhile, the white-haired male looks like he¡¯s on the verge of tears, shaking his head and going, ¡°no no, not me, I¡¯m not. Of course not.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Cheng Zhaoci, by the way. And you are?¡± Cheng Zhaoci introduces himself to the male, whose eyes suddenly widen and he goes, ¡°Cheng, Cheng Zhaoci?! Aren¡¯t you that Bomb, uh, the comic artist?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?!¡±


    ¡°We all know, since¡­¡± the male cuts himself short as the three minor teenage males look at him with passionate gazes, ¡°I, I¡¯ve investigated, so we know,¡± but he does not elaborate on who ¡®we¡¯ are.


    Cheng Zhaoci says nothing of the hole-ridden explanation he¡¯s conjured out of thin air, and instead says, ¡°want to add each other since you¡¯re a fan?¡± And reveal all the secrets your gullible self knows?


    He is quite deeply intrigued indeed by what is clearly a whole area of this insectoid civilisation that he has never known about. This white-haired researcher is his key into this area.


    ¡°Ah, sure! I¡¯m Bai Jun! Nice to meet you!¡±


    Bai Jun happily exchanges contact details with Cheng Zhaoci before watching them leave, and sighs in relief. Almost. He almost got busted there. Phew.

 CH 37.1

    ¡°So what happened this time?¡± The Vice-marshal, with his warm water bottle in hand, is surprised to see Wei Zhuo with heavy eye bags once again, ¡°you played virtual mecha fights with the male again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not because of that,¡± Wei Zhuo is just wondering if Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t have a good eye for insectoids.


    Why did he, like, make it look like he¡¯s interested in him? In him, who¡¯s blind in one eye, scarred, and unfriendly-looking shemale?


    Maybe Mr Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t mean it that way. It could be him just being a normal minor teenage male getting cuddly with a familiar figure. But cuddly shouldn¡¯t involve feeling him up¡­ He¡¯s not his dad, after all.


    Or maybe it could simply be that his concept of male-shemale relationship is warped due to having grown up on a landfill planet and doesn¡¯t think much of feeling someone up¡­ Which is unlikely, as Cheng Jin would certainly have taught him what is and is not appropriate, hailing from the Capital planet himself.


    So does he really mean that he¡¯s interested in him? What should he do then?


    Does he like him? He, who has not a single quality to like? Could it be temporary misplaced trust because he offered shelter to the helpless young male?


    That feels more likely.


    With those thoughts in mind, Wei Zhuo failed to fall asleep the entire night. He knows he¡¯s not suited to Cheng Zhaoci, but he¡¯s also questioning if he really is as undesirable as he thinks he is.


    Since he does have grade S in physical aptitude.


    Though that pales in comparison to his unlikeable personality, his scary appearance, and his lack of romance.


    He didn¡¯t understand why the males¡¯ talked about seeing blue butterflies on the night of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s birthday, until he saw his published comic the next day. The comic was different from before. It¡¯s a short, romance story. The demi inside was really gentle and romantic.


    Especially when compared to what he did. Wei Zhuo felt quite disheartened.


    He doesn¡¯t understand the subtleties in surprise. He doesn¡¯t know how to create a suitably, appropriately romantic situation.


    He has really failed at being a shemale.


    He should have resolved to never enjoying a male¡¯s affection, and resolved never to approach another male. Then why does he seem to care about Cheng Zhaoci and what he thinks of him so much?


    When he couldn¡¯t sleep last night, he lied down on his balcony, watching the stars go by.


    Zhousuo is far, far away. The planet where he picked up the stray male is far too dim in the starry skies to be seen.


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s looking for in the skies anymore. Maybe he just didn¡¯t feel like going back to bed, that¡¯s why he¡¯s trying to search for Zhousuo which is completely beyond the capabilities of the most sharp pair of naked eyes here, while counting the hastened heartbeat that he has.


    ¡°I see. By the way, what is that young male like in personality?¡± The Vice-marshal takes a sip of his bottle, while narrowing his eyes at Wei Zhuo.


    ¡°His personality is great,¡± Wei Zhuo answers without even pausing for thought, ¡°he is quite independent, always knowing what he wants to do. He also treats everyone around him with respect and dignity, regardless of them being a shemale, a demi or a male.¡±


    The Vice-marshal observes that Wei Zhuo is unconsciously smiling, looking quite proud when praising that male. He understands now.


    ¡°So, if one day, that young male has found a potential cijun¡­¡±


    His hypothetical isn¡¯t even finished when Wei Zhuo¡¯s faint smile immediately fades and turns into a sour poker face. Yep, there¡¯s the grade S ¡®Squadron Demon¡¯ the soldiers are most familiar with.


    How much more obvious could it get?! The Vice-marshal is dissing in his mind, but tries to continue his hypothetical regardless, ¡°if he has found this cijun, good-looking, with equal physical aptitude as you, would you say that they¡¯re suited to one another?¡±


    Suited? Wei Zhuo furrows his brows, and explains, ¡°I need to know if he has a good personality to be a good match for the male.¡±


    The Vice-marshal then heaves a weary sigh, and pats Wei Zhuo on the shoulder, ¡°you know, I think¡­ Hmm, never mind. Try thinking about it this way ¨C Do you think you can accept such a shemale by that male¡¯s side?¡±


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci and the Zhou brothers are headed for the editor¡¯s department in that website¡¯s company¡¯s office.


    They¡¯ve left that white-haired male who is likely some researcher behind after paying his bills. Given Zhou Luoluo¡¯s earlier reaction, though, it does not appear it is common knowledge that there are males employed in some sort of R&D among them.


    There still lies the possibility that that white-haired male was lying, but he really didn¡¯t look like he could pull off such a scheme. Someone who wanted to try his luck at romance by going to the local broadcasting company headquarters, and then getting lost in the Capital city, and then starving to the point of collapsing on the road? And also, completely blowing whatever ¡®cover¡¯ he had and revealing that he knew Cheng Zhaoci?


    He looks like he just hasn¡¯t talked to anyone in a really long time and has been a shut-in for far too long.


    Though why did he have to conceal the fact that he¡¯s a male researcher? It isn¡¯t something embarrassing, is it?


    And also, the white-haired male mentioned that this is not something underage males should know. Would they know more when they come of age?


    Cheng Zhaoci knows that, the one notable thing to happen when they turn 18, besides having pheromones, is the aptitude test.


    Males have to undergo aptitude test when they come of age. If males really are expected to become leeches on society regardless, they wouldn¡¯t have needed to have their aptitudes tested, do they?

 CH 37.2

    Cheng Zhaoci leaves the questions on the back burner as he enters the editing department; most of the department being demis, the three males receive quite the passionate welcome by way of being stared at.


    They are, obviously, not brave or brash enough to walk close. These are males, and the department is all too aware of the scariness of the males.


    All the editors having a male in their charge are toeing the edge of life and death. Any tiniest of mishap could cost them their job or even their head, if they ended up on the bad side of a vengeful male.


    It¡¯s really tough work.


    ¡°Whose males are them? Why are they visiting the department in person?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear the Head talk about visiting males at all, and the three of them¡­ At least, that nervous one looking all around is a minor, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you guys think that anxious-looking male feels really like that one in BombIn¡¯s new comic? Holy, I thought they only existed as figments of imagination!¡±


    A few demis are whispering to each other.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re only figments of imagination. Don¡¯t try to pull that comic off, or I¡¯ll be visiting you in jail.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao slowly shifts his way next to Cheng Zhaoci, whispering, ¡°I feel like they¡¯re talking about me.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Really? Maybe they think you¡¯re cute,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies without much thought, or thinking that it might be related to his comic. Males are always gawped at anywhere anyway, ¡°but remember, you¡¯re still too young to fall in love.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Oh. Ok,¡± Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s face turns red as soon as he hears that those demis may think he¡¯s ¡®cute,¡¯ ¡°what does it mean to be too young to fall in love?¡± ¡®No teenage romance before 18¡¯ is not a thing in insectoid society, but of course, having sexual intercourse with a minor before 18 is still a felony.


    ¡°It means you should not date someone before you¡¯re an adult,¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains, ¡°you have an even more gullible personality than your cousin there.¡±


    Although it is a vast majority of shemales and demis who lavish males with all their wants without batting an eye, there would always be a very small number of them that might decide to take advantage of males like Zhou Xiaobao and bully them.


    There are males working as researchers in the cutting edge of technology! It should surprise no one that there are bad apples among the shemales as well.


    ¡°Oh! Ok!¡± Zhou Xiaobao answers, committing the advice to heart.


    Then Zhou Xiaobao follows along as Cheng Zhaoci meets with his editor, and enters a rather lengthy discussion over the schedule of his short love comic¡¯s release. After that, Cheng Zhaoci also talks about creating a new, longtime serial comic. The editor is wholly attentive, as they hammer out some details of the cooperation to follow.


    It has certainly won Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s admiration. So that¡®s how a professional comic artist conducts himself! How someone with a job conducts himself! Really, it is very true that he should first secure a career before giving romance a second glance!


    Cheng Zhaoci was really handsome! And confident! Zhou Xiaobao is convinced he should also make enough money to support himself!


    He is too young to fall in love. Yes. It will only stand in the way of his career!


    Though, as soon as they leave the office building behind, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s reliable, confident front immediately gives way to lovestruck awe as he tells the Zhou brothers, ¡°that¡¯s all for today. Have your family chauffeur drive you home; I need to pick up Squadron Leader Wei from work.¡±


    Too young¡­ to fall in love?


    Zhou Xiaobao looks over at his cousin, hoping he would find a common ally to reprimand Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s behaviour. Unfortunately for him, Zhou Luoluo gives his hair a ruffle and says, ¡°I¡¯ll call the chauffeur for you. Your cousin I is headed over to Lu Nianqian¡¯s. Make sure you don¡¯t tell your uncle.¡±


    Too young¡­ to fall in love???


    They came here as three, but he, Zhou Xiaobao, left as one.


    On the backseat of the car, Zhou Xiaobao feels like crying. Is he truly ¡®too young to fall in love,¡¯ as Cheng Zhaoci put it, then?


    Is it something that only applies to him?


    Recently, Cheng Zhaoci has been allowed outside without a 24/7 shemale bodyguard. Lu Nianqian secured a restraining order for his dad, whom he has kept under house arrest ever since that day.


    Cheng Zhaoci is free to go anywhere, so he decides to saunter over to the entrance to the military complex in which Wei Zhuo is stationed, and wait for him there.


    The two shemale soldiers on guard glance over at Cheng Zhaoci, before glancing away like nothing¡¯s wrong.


    Cheng Zhaoci came here exactly on time, with one single goal ¨C to act on his feelings, his feelings to Wei Zhuo.


    The feelings that only threaten to deepen more and more as time goes on.


    Though he has never tried to go after someone, but he¡¯s been dreaming about Wei Zhuo for too many days in a row! He would definitely regret it if he never acted on it. Sure, he¡¯s a minor, and they can have nothing more than platonic, but, but he can at least watch! It¡¯s all legal!


    And really, he thinks he has a good fighting chance. His appearance is above average, and he has a job, which is currently paying quite well. In fact, even if Wei Zhuo somehow decided to retire from the military one day, Cheng Zhaoci is making enough money to feed both of them.


    He thinks Wei Zhuo really is an amazing shemale. Handsome, tall, and most importantly, reliable and caring in personality. He can be gentle, and at times, he can be domineering. He¡¯s also grade S in physical aptitude.


    Two pretty good insectoids make a good couple. That¡¯s why he confessed, because, maybe, you know? Even if Wei Zhuo turns out more reserved than he thought, he can still keep trying to sway his feelings.


    The mess of thoughts continue to fly about Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mind as the shemale soldiers slowly file out of the entrance. Wei Zhuo is among the first ones to leave.


    Almost as soon as he has stepped outside the entrance, Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes lock right onto Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s.


    He¡¯s waiting for him?!


    Wei Zhuo widens his eyes.


    Wei Zhuo is a shemale whose dad passed away early and has left his family for good. So he really hasn¡¯t been loved much. He knows it himself, too.


    That¡¯s exactly why, when he sees Cheng Zhaoci waiting for him at the entrance, he only has one answer for the Vice-marshal.


    If that ¡®perfect cijun¡® for Cheng Zhaoci is really standing in front of him right now, Wei Zhuo will give him a bullet right between his eyes without hesitation.


    It is like blood is rushing to his head, a sudden urge.


    What ¡®perfect cijun¡®? Perfect enough to be the cijun for Mr Cheng Zhaoci? He was the one who rescued the little male from the rubble heap on the landfill planet! Where was that ¡®perfect cijun¡® then?!

 CH 38.1

    His Ambivalence, Their Sadness


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    For all his conflicting thoughts, the Squadron Leader is still the stoic Squadron Leader, walking briskly and expressionlessly for Cheng Zhaoci; keen observers here would notice that his steps are wider and slightly more frequent than before.


    ¡°You should not have come alone as a male. There are too many shemales around,¡± and now Wei Zhuo wants to sew his own mouth shut. Look at the kind male waiting for you to get off work. You¡¯re so touched that you¡¯ve decided to say something so stiff and damning to the male.


    ¡°They¡¯re all soldiers, disciplined. I didn¡¯t wait for long, either,¡± Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t seem to take offence at all, however. Instead, he sees it as protectiveness at work. If Wei Zhuo didn¡¯t care for his wellbeing, he would not have said a thing at all.


    The soldiers also getting off work can¡¯t help but glance their eyes this way. Even married ones.


    Mostly for the spectacle of Squadron Leader Wei standing together with a male. Is this some extraordinary day? Maybe the insectoids have finally conquered the galaxy?


    Many are noting the redness on Wei Zhuo¡¯s face. Is he at his limits? About to storm off?


    Wei Zhuo and Cheng Zhaoci stand opposite each other for quite a while; when Wei Zhuo saw Cheng Zhaoci at the entrance, quite possibly waiting for him, some kind of invincible rush surged forth from within him. He felt that such a good male shouldn¡¯t be squandered by other shemales. No other shemale is good enough.


    Though when he stands in front of Cheng Zhaoci now, all the bravado, like the air in a balloon punctured by a needle, deflates to nothing.


    Suddenly, he finds he has not the courage to speak. He does not speak, nor does Cheng Zhaoci. The two insectoids just stand there, staring.


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t being silent on purpose, though. He¡¯s just lost himself staring at Wei Zhuo¡¯s face, wholly taken in by how handsome Wei Zhuo is, imagining how popular he¡¯d be if he were in his past life.


    And that face of his that wouldn¡¯t lose to any game character model. Then Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s thoughts trend downwards alongside his gaze. If Wei Zhuo is a shemale, doesn¡¯t that mean he could be impregnated? Would he, would he lactate milk?!


    Then his gaze slides downwards to his waist, and his straight, slender legs. Pr-pregnant? And, and he¡¯d¡­


    ¡°Mr Cheng?! What¡¯s wrong? Are you not feeling well?¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s sudden voice reins Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mind back in.


    Cheng Zhaoci is all red right now, red like a tomato. Normally, he¡¯s quite pale, so this makes him look quite like a cooked prawn. It¡¯s like he¡¯s sick¡­ Well, if his thoughts could be seen, they would certainly be ¡®sick¡¯ in some sense of the word¡­


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m better than I¡¯ve ever been,¡± Cheng Zhaoci declares loudly as he quickly takes a step back; Wei Zhuo¡¯s extended hand is now floating in the air, frozen. They stare, and the mood turns even more awkward.


    Finally, Cheng Zhaoci clears his throat, asking, ¡°uh, well, Squadron Leader, do you mind hanging out with me?¡±


    ¡°Are you in the mood to play virtual mecha fights?¡± Apparently, that¡¯s all that¡¯s on Wei Zhuo¡¯s ¡®hanging out¡¯ list.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mean that. I just mean having a walk,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, ¡°it¡¯s a bit embarrassing to say, but I want to know you better.¡±


    Know him better? What is there to know about? Wei Zhuo does not know. He thinks his life boring, entirely devoid of colour. That said, Wei Zhuo is not one to refuse Cheng Zhaoci¡­ Except for high volume virtual mecha fights, that is.


    Cheng Zhaoci still has three days of lessons per week, and a career drawing comics besides his lessons. It¡¯s really squeezing what time he can to help secure a happy future for himself.


    Unfortunately, in insectoid society, there aren¡¯t such things as ¡®dating spots,¡¯ and the movies are a no-no. All he can settle for are artificial lakes, so Cheng Zhaoci takes Wei Zhuo to one such lake for a stroll by the lakeside right off of work.


    The lake is quite large, and Cheng Zhaoci is walking very slowly. Wei Zhuo has to take time to adapt.


    It¡¯s quite odd. If it were Meng Yuele, or any other insectoid under his command moving at this snail¡¯s pace, he¡¯d give them a good hard kick in the buttocks without question. Walking so slowly just irritates him.


    But he finds that he feels no such thing behind the male. Not just that, but he even finds that the tired old artificial lake beautiful and calming, especially the part with his reflection right behind the male.


    ¡°Where did you get the scar on the eye?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks. The medical technology of the insectoid society is advanced enough that these scars won¡¯t even need medical pods; a grade S shemale must have also seen far graver wounds.


    Hmm, speaking of which, there¡¯s a similar slash scar on Sun Wushe¡¯s wrist as well, wasn¡¯t there?


    Wei Zhuo reflexively touches his right eye with his hand on the remark. He cannot see from his right eye, and there is an uneven wound across his eyelid, ¡°my father did it. He was angry I was going to split from the family.¡±


    ¡°My dad died when I was very young, because of my father. He is one of those with less appropriate interests,¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s hand is now curled up into a fist by his side, ¡°I saw once, how my father cuffed a concubine with a custom-order cuff which can electrocute them. The electricity at such a current that it is painful but not enough to make us faint.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve gathered, the concubine angered my father somehow. He was stripped naked and cuffed, and forced to his knees in front of everyone at the mansion, and ordered to crawl a lap around the premises,¡± Wei Zhuo then bitterly smiles, ¡°it was demeaning, but that shemale being punished was still convinced it was his own fault.¡±


    ¡°Apparently, my dad thought the same,¡± Wei Zhuo says, slumping a little. Not even his granddad could convince his dad otherwise, not to mention his young self.


    ¡°But, why slice your face with a knife just for splitting from the family?¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mood has soured deeply. He thought there was a story behind the scar, some unforgettable past, but definitely not something unrelated to battles.


    A grade S shemale soldier with a scar he does not want erased. It had to have been from some great battle, or to remember the sacrifice of an important comrade, as a memento, hadn¡¯t it?


    It turns out his father sliced it on him. What a farce. Cheng Zhaoci is rightly furious, but there is nothing he can do, either.


    Nothing he can do against the scar that signified not glory from the battlefield, but shame from leaving his family.


    Cheng Zhaoci deeply resents the fact he cannot go into the past, give Wei Zhuo¡¯s father what for, and then proudly take Wei Zhuo away with him.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t much of a story,¡± Wei Zhuo lowers his head, ¡°I know it¡¯s dull.¡±


    ¡°Your father was not a good father at all. He mistreated you and the family,¡± Cheng Zhaoci moves closer to Wei Zhuo, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s dull. I just feel so sorry for you.¡±


    Wei Zhuo really is the classic ¡®pretty, strong, tragic¡¯ archetype, but Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s a good thing. It¡¯s still got the word ¡®tragic¡¯ in it.


    ¡°I¡¯m different from him,¡± Cheng Zhaoci declares, ¡°I will treat the insectoid I like with care and love.¡±


    ¡°I believe it. You are different,¡± Wei Zhuo smiles. If it wasn¡¯t for that difference, he would not possibly have held him up as his clutch in his mind.


    ¡°I also think I would make a very good father for our children,¡± Cheng Zhaoci continues blurting out.


    ¡°I also believe you will be a good¡­ huh?!¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes widen as Cheng Zhaoci freezes stiff where he stands.

 CH 38.2

    To be honest, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s outrageous declaration wasn¡¯t actually meant as a flirt, but he was just too immersed in the unhealthy materials he¡¯s thought of earlier, about how Wei Zhuo, as a shemale, will produce eggs and lac-¡­ kuhum, he tried distracting himself, but that clearly hasn¡¯t worked.


    He was also much saddened listening to Wei Zhuo¡¯s story, so he thought if it was him, he would never treat his shemale that way. He substituted Wei Zhuo¡¯s father and dad with himself and Wei Zhuo.


    Not that explanations are worth any damn after what was said. They haven¡¯t even formally confessed to each other, and uncertainties still lie in wait in their possible future together. Of course, Cheng Zhaoci thinks the uncertainties aren¡¯t that great, but like¡­


    The two of them still haven¡¯t become something beyond friends and that both are well aware.


    It¡¯s the same thing as asking the boy or girl you like ¡°which kindergarten should we pick for our children¡± while you¡¯re still only close friends at best! When you¡¯re not even dating yet!


    In his past world, Cheng Zhaoci could expect a heavy scolding from both parents.


    Of course, Wei Zhuo would never scold Cheng Zhaoci, but how calm he can ever be as a shemale when the topic of raising insectoid kids comes up?


    ¡°Uh, Sq-Squadron Leader Wei?¡± Cheng Zhaoci tries to ascertain if Wei Zhuo has been offended, ¡°about the topic of children¡­¡±


    Wei Zhuo, whose mind is about as congealed as a pile of glue, immediately says, ¡°yessir! Chil-Children! How, how many are you thinking of?¡± He doesn¡¯t even know what he¡¯s saying anymore.


    The topic dies, alone and unwanted.


    Embarrassment washes over them both.


    And almost simultaneously, both Wei Zhuo and Cheng Zhaoci fall to crouching.


    Wei Zhuo has his hands covering his face and mouth. He can feel how hot his cheeks have become. Gah, what was he saying! What ever was he saying?! Was he actually saying those words to a minor, underage, male insectoid?!


    He thinks he might need to jump into the artificial lake to calm down. With a stone tied to his ankle. Argh! The embarrassment! This feels even worse than taking Cheng Zhaoci to the virtual mecha fight simulation centres. Even worse than fifty Meng Yuele drolling his off-tune and offbeat singing into his ears! Oh shit, his image, his whole positive reliable image must have been destroyed entirely!


    As for Cheng Zhaoci¡­ Well, being the rather unscrupulous insectoid that he is, he simply found Wei Zhuo¡¯s flustered, panicking form too cute. He had to crouch down to muffle his ¡®hehehe¡¯ chuckling, keeping it mostly in his mind.


    And that¡¯s how their suddenly eventful stroll ended, with the heavy topic of Wei Zhuo¡¯s past brushed away gently.


    That night.


    ¡°What in the holy fuck! Oh shit shit shit! Did the Squadron Leader eat an entire Protonokinetic Gun earlier?!¡± A shemale soldier is trying to massage his own chest while yelping in pain, ¡°I thought he wasn¡¯t coming back to training tonight! What¡¯s he doing off work?! Is it really that interesting to beat us senseless?¡±


    A grade S shemale is practically a mecha in flesh. Why did he even think to come fight them?


    ¡°Who else?¡± Wei Zhuo, seeing everyone sprawling on the ground in defeat, goes ¡®tch¡¯ impatiently.


    His feelings are all over the place. He¡¯s both excited and worried, and feeling a little shy on top of that. In any case, it means he has a lot of pent-up feelings to divulge.


    That is when a shemale, watching his holodeck and taking sip of his tea, saunters into the training room?


    Meng Yuele looks up and notices Wei Zhuo, ¡°eh? You¡¯re still here? That¡¯s odd. What¡¯s up?¡±


    One shemale soldier on the ground quickly says, ¡°Pilot Officer Meng! R-¡­¡± Before the word ¡®run¡¯ can leave his lips, though, Wei Zhuo¡¯s voice has already overlapped his.


    ¡°Come. Train a bit with me,¡± Wei Zhuo waves his hand at him.


    Meng Yuele, who fails to connect the whole room of defeated, squirming shemale soldiers with Wei Zhuo¡¯s training, assumes it¡¯s the typical training exercise and obliges happily. His smile remains beaming until the very moment Wei Zhuo starts his beatdown of him.

 CH 39.1

    Without Intersection


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°What happened to you?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci is staring at Meng Yuele with big, wide eyes.


    Meng Yuele came to deliver him stuff, but his face is full of blue and black bruises; the swelling appears quite painful.


    ¡°I had training last night with Wei Zhuo. These are from his punches,¡± Meng Yuele covers his face sadly. In all honesty, these light wounds could be treated very easily, but Meng Yuele has chosen not to.


    It¡¯s like their long friendship meant nothing as Wei Zhuo pummelled into him just because he¡¯s moody. Meng Yuele was heartbroken, inconsolable even after Wei Zhuo treated him to a sumptuous buffet afterwards.


    He slept through the night without getting any treatment or using the portable medical first aid machine at all, and immediately set out for Cheng Zhaoci in the morning to ¡®deliver sweets.¡¯ He got lots of funny looks on the way because of the tragic state of his face.


    All of this, just so Meng Yuele could show Cheng Zhaoci how cruel that bastard Wei Zhuo was, ¡°he beat us all up, twenty-odd thirty of us shemale soldiers, until all of us could only lie motionless on the ground, unable to even struggle.¡±


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s the true strength of a grade S shemale soldier?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci listened and responded, in a way that quite clearly deviated from Meng Yuele¡¯s imagination.


    Then Meng Yuele continues to watch quietly as Cheng Zhaoci continues expressing his boundless admiration for the inhuman strength of a grade S shemale soldier, before finally, he seems to realise something and coughs, ¡°kuhum, uh, were you beaten?¡±


    ¡°Beaten hard! Look!¡± Meng Yuele keeps pointing to the bruises on his face, as he leans closer to Cheng Zhaoci.


    Cheng Zhaoci backs off a little, and says, ¡°oh! That is¡­ very ungentlemanly indeed of Wei Zhuo!¡±


    The fact that Cheng Zhaoci is just meekly commenting and not at all passionate like when he was talking about how powerful a grade S shemale is earlier makes Meng Yuele even more downcast.


    Cheng Zhaoci suddenly makes this really angry face and says, ¡°he is too cruel! He should not have punched you like this!¡± The emotion is on point, and Meng Yuele might have bought it if there wasn¡¯t the disingenuous remark from earlier.


    Ha. What a joke.


    ¡°So, uh, let me get you the portable first aid first,¡± Cheng Zhaoci changes the topic.


    Meng Yuele is soothed. The young male really is gentle, completely different from that bastard Wei Zhuo.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°by the way, do you know what the Squadron Leader likes?¡± It¡¯s really kind of embarrassing. Wei Zhuo already knows what he likes to eat, likes to use, and everything, but Cheng Zhaoci barely knows anything about Wei Zhuo.


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t seem to really have any preference for anything. He¡¯d eat everything he bought, and doesn¡¯t seem to care.


    Meng Yuele ¡°¡­¡± What else can he say? He really shouldn¡¯t have come here at all!


    ¡°I said, it was an accident!¡± Jin Yue is quite impatient, ¡°tch, if it wasn¡¯t for that male yelling big time, there wouldn¡¯t have been any chaos. And also, everything was fine in the end!¡±


    ¡°¡®In the end,¡¯ just as you said! Are you even the slightest bit aware you¡¯re a kidnapper to Cheng Zhaoci?! And you still dared to go say ¡®hi¡¯ to him?!¡± Sun Wushe looks like he¡¯s this close to giving Jin Yue a good hard brain juice shakedown to make him less stupid.


    Jin Yue, though, latches onto another point, angrily complaining, ¡°shit, and I¡¯ve also got a question for you. If you knew where the little ugly thing was, and already knew him, why the fuck didn¡¯t you tell me a thing?!¡±


    All the pirates of the seven star sectors know he¡¯s looking for the little ugly thing who¡¯s the artist of some comic. Jin Yue knows for sure Sun Wushe would know the little ugly thing is his ¡®BombInMyPants¡¯ after following him around.


    He knows how scheming Sun Wushe is; maybe he¡¯s got some scheme he¡¯s planning right now.


    ¡°So what if I told you? What next? Help you kidnap him away from the Capital planet?¡± Sun Wushe furrows his brows, ¡°can you at least try to use that big bubble of air in your head for once?!¡±


    ¡°What did you just call my brain, you bloody git?!¡± Jin Yue slams his palm on the desk. Is Sun Wushe seriously suggesting he ended up the leader of the Golden Lion by being a clueless ditz?!


    It¡¯s really fortunate Sun Wushe booked a room for this meeting in a bar with Jin Yue, or he would have attracted so much unwanted attention on him by this tantrum of his.


    And Jin Yue really does seem to severe lack in intelligence capacity, as he says, ¡°it might not be the easiest thing to take him away from the Capital planet, but it¡¯s not un-fucking-doable. What, you think I¡¯m scared of Wei Zhuo?¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡± Sun Wushe might be suppressing the deep rage that¡¯s boiling inside of him, but he isn¡¯t letting it show on his calm demeanour, ¡°what next? Make him your xiongzhu?¡±


    What will he do after taking the little ugly thing with him?


    Jin Yue hasn¡¯t given it any thought, actually.


    Males can¡¯t lift if their lives depended on it, and for all he knows, the little ugly thing can draw. What else? Make him a hostage to warn the Federation¡¯s army not to make any moves when they¡¯re fighting?


    A hostage¡­ might actually work. What he¡¯s planning to do probably isn¡¯t good for the males in insectoid society, but for some reason, he just doesn¡¯t feel like lumping the little ugly thing in with the rest of the males.


    That said¡­ ¡°what we do with him we can think about after the fact. The point is to take him away first. You don¡¯t have to worry your tits off, Sun Wushe, I¡¯ll take him away myself, and no one¡¯s gonna suspect a thing about you.¡±


    ¡°You guaranteed you weren¡¯t scared of that damned Wei Zhuo, didn¡¯t you? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re gonna try and bloody stop me for this,¡± Jin Yue really is not a good conversation partner. If it wasn¡¯t for his strength in fighting, his own men would probably have mutinied and executed him for that blabbering trap of his.

 CH 39.2

    Sun Wushe is quite restrained in general, or, at least, he¡¯s far better at composing himself than the typical shemale. He doesn¡¯t start a yelling contest with Jin Yue for his bullshitting, but reasons with him, ¡°take him away? Make Cheng Zhaoci follow you? When the Federation bombards the Golden Lion with jagged metal, cower with you on a rickety ship?¡±


    ¡°Weapons don¡¯t know how to hold back. If the male were to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, one particle beam later, you wouldn¡¯t even have ashes to take home.


    He could live to his natural death in peace and quiet on the Capital planet, and keep doing what he wants. Make him tag along with you? Don¡¯t tell me you plan to train him to fight. Pirates are a diverse bunch, how would you even keep him safe?¡±


    The space buccaneers are generally outlaws and exiles. Jin Yue might be the honourable exception, with his men atypically obedient to him, but that¡¯s only when they¡¯re dealing with Jin Yue.


    A male! A male insectoid outside of the Federation¡¯s protection! What good would ever come of such a male in the hands of those bastards?!


    Jin Yue seems unhappy with that assessment, ¡°what? Spent too long licking the boots of the Federation army? You¡¯re theirs now?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that there are some shemales that can discipline and conduct themselves, but they don¡¯t even make up a majority,¡± Sun Wushe has shed his usual sly smile, giving Jin Yue a cold glare, ¡°if you threaten to endanger Mr Cheng Zhaoci, I promise you, you won¡¯t be leaving the Capital planet.¡±


    It¡¯s quite the unthinking threat he¡¯s making.


    After the assassination of the late leader of Black Panther, the operations of the buccaneer gang has been left to Sun Wushe and another high-ranking subordinate of that leader. The next leader is likely to emerge from one of them.


    Sun Wushe has a decent chance of winning, not least because Sun Wushe and Jin Yue¡¯s Golden Lion are on good terms. It¡¯s quite the backing for a potential new honcho.


    It is nothing but political suicide to become openly hostile with the leader of the Golden Lion right now, especially with everything Sun Wushe has done to curry favours in the past. He might even have to face retaliation because of this outburst.


    Jin Yue, though, completely calms down hearing Sun Wushe¡¯s open threat. He knits his brows, looking Sun Wushe up and down.


    Sun Wushe loves wearing black out of uniform. He has his hands crossed on his legs, sitting in the shadows where the light at the top cannot illuminate his appearance.


    When he sheds his friendly front, he¡¯s no different from a viper. Merciless and decisive. He should not have stopped him with such direct words at such a timing; whatever ridiculousness Jin Yue was spouting, Sun Wushe could simply continue to ensure he does not get caught up.


    ¡°You. You¡¯re interested in that little ugly thing, aren¡¯t you? You want him as your xiongzhu?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Sun Wushe denies, ¡°what an infeasible suggestion.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look at all like you don¡¯t want him,¡± Jin Yue narrows his eyes doubtfully. He hasn¡¯t actually interacted with the little ugly thing all that much. In fact, they might not have even spent 24 hours in total together. While he knew Cheng Zhaoci before Sun Wushe came to know him, but he probably doesn¡¯t know the little ugly thing as well as Sun Wushe does.


    Sun Wushe looks almost like Jin Yue has just threatened to kill his entire family and their dog or something. Really? And you say you¡¯re not interested in the little ugly that way, hmm?


    ¡°No. I know myself all too well,¡± Sun Wushe leans back on the sofa now that this topic has come up; it¡¯s slightly more comfortable and familiar for him. The light still doesn¡¯t illuminate him much, of course.


    The same way he cannot just stand in the open daylight, to confess his true feelings to a certain male.


    Sun Wushe watches the hanging light on the ceiling as he says, ¡°I¡¯m different from him. Too different. It wouldn¡¯t do for us to become any closer.¡±


    ¡°I do like him, though,¡± and even wonder sometimes, if he really was just another normal shemale soldier you could find anywhere, maybe he¡¯d have a chance.


    But of course, it is impossible. As proven when Meng Yuele shared the gossip with him that Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo might have a little something something going on.


    Sun Wushe knows himself too well, as he said. He does not begrudge Cheng Zhaoci at all, that he ended up falling for that stuck-up Wei Zhuo.


    Begrudge him for what? He doesn¡¯t even know what he thinks of him, because he wouldn¡¯t tell him. It¡¯s also outrageous to demand to be loved in turn when you fall in love with someone.


    He also knows he isn¡¯t as disciplined and responsible as that damned Wei Zhuo is. He¡¯s an undercover ¨C a turncoat, basically. Would there be a single insectoid who can accept a shemale whose real identity is an undercover space buccaneer?


    Not to mention Sun Wushe does not plan to abandon his scheme in the name of love.


    He still has his goal, that he will not give up just because he is in love with a male. What about all those years he spent planning all this?!


    That¡¯s why they do not suit one another. From a psychological to a rational perspective, they are not meant for one another.


    Giving up pursuing the male from the beginning is the easiest way out for him. Even though, sometimes, he finds himself taken by insomnia, and his mind drifting off to insane make-believe land to imagine how they might look like if they were together.


    ¡°Wow, this is some hard shit,¡± Jin Yue is shaking his head as Sun Wushe divulges, ¡°fine. I¡¯ll be¡­ trying not to, kuhum, kidnap him.¡±


    What if he ends up also feeling this deadly attraction if he kidnaps the little ugly thing? Jin Yue has never fallen in love with any insectoid, but looking at how Sun Wushe has been affected, it¡¯s definitely for the worse.


    See? Sun Wushe¡¯s practically been fucked in the head. He actually threatened to break off the friendly relations with Golden Lion for the little ugly thing. Inconceivable. Is this what falling in love does to someone? Yeah, he¡¯s having no part of it.


    Though knowing the little ugly thing is on the Capital planet right now, means Jin Yue won¡¯t just settle down and never go seek him out again.


    Jin Yue really is quite the unpredictable madman who cares not for rules and warnings. He would not have sent that selfie to Cheng Zhaoci right after escaping capture if he wasn¡¯t.


    He won¡¯t kidnap him, sure, but he can look for him, no? And then clamp his mouth shut immediately, so that he doesn¡¯t start yelling bullshit.


    ¡°What¡¯s with this chilly feeling on my back?¡± Cheng Zhaoci shudders for no reason. He glances out the window, hmph, it¡¯s a sunny, balmy day. Then perhaps someone is thinking about him?


    ¡°Xiao-Ci, don¡¯t get distracted while reading,¡± Mr Liang is smiling next to him.


    The young male really is a good student, save for his tendency to get distracted easily, especially when studying and reading those text documents online. He can even stare at the adverts for half a day.


    ¡°Mr Liang, I have a question,¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks up at his teacher, ¡°it is legal for us insectoids to date and everything before 18, as long as we don¡¯t actually do the thing, is it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve someone you like?¡± Mr Liang is intrigued. He was not expecting Cheng Zhaoci to find the one he loves for a long time, since he has quite a lot of unique thoughts that might clash with other insectoids. That said¡­


    ¡°What good news, then. Your Awakening procedure after you come of age would not be as painful.¡±


    ¡°Awakening?¡±


    ¡°It refers to the start of the release of your pheromones when you come of age. The higher your aptitude, the harder it is to overcome,¡± Mr Liang gives Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tablet a glance. As expected, not a page flipped through since he started reading, ¡°it is not always a good thing to have a high aptitude for males, who are generally less physically fit.¡±


    ¡°The mortality rate for a grade A Awakening stands at around 3%.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci appears wholly stunned, ¡°m-mortality rate?! I could die?!¡± He didn¡¯t know at all. He only knows he would start releasing pheromones, and they might bring him trouble.


    ¡°Yes. My apologies, but your dad might not have been aware either,¡± having left the Capital planet with egg in stomach that early on, and not having prepared for the possibility that he was bearing a male at all.


    This also isn¡¯t taught among the general male insectoid lessons, because there are too few grade A males. Among the very small male population, only around 2% of them would end up reaching grade A in aptitude.


    However, Mr Liang thinks it is likely Cheng Zhaoci would be grade A, and in fact, so too might his two male friends be.

 CH 39.3

    There is a common tell for judging a male¡¯s aptitude¡ª¡ªThrough appearance. It¡¯s not foolproof, but it¡¯s reliable.


    The better the appearance, the higher the aptitude is. Of course, ¡®good-looking¡¯ itself is subjective, but having a ¡®good appearance¡¯ for aptitude purposes simply means to have facial features with the ratio and proportions that make up a golden appearance, so to speak. Put simply, things like their mouths are not slanted and their eyes are not a strange distance apart, that sort of thing.


    ¡°If you have a shemale by your side when you Awaken, he will be able to guide you along, and make it less painful to endure,¡± Mr Liang watches Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cheeks slowly flush with red. Ah, it seems the male has already figured out what guiding him along meant even without explanation.


    Truly, sometimes Mr Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s wisdom and talent puts all others to shame.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci would certainly disagree with the notion of him being ¡®talented.¡¯ It¡¯s simply a result of him having read a distressingly large quantity of that kind of novel in his past life. Never mind those novels-that-must-not-be-named, but even more typical wuxia or xianxia novels would involve a guy and a girl ¡®dual-cultivating¡¯ by undressing and then, you know.


    A male being guided by a shemale? He thinks he knows exactly where it is going.


    ¡°Grade A? Possibly, but also possibly even higher,¡± in some undisclosed facility, a bunch of researchers in white laboratory coats are discussing a certain insectoid that is often their topic du jour these days.


    ¡°He might break through to grade S,¡± a male with goggles still on quickly swallows his mouthful of meal, and continues, ¡°but grade S mortality is no joke.¡±


    The mortality rate for grade A Awakenings stands at 3%, but grade S Awakenings are at 80%. The pain is more than what most males can take.


    ¡°Hey, Bai Jun, what do you think?¡± A male with long hair pokes Bai Jun with his elbow.


    ¡°My father has been paying attention to Cheng Zhaoci a lot recently,¡± Bai Jun thinks, and replies, ¡°he¡¯s very clever; he almost got me to spill our secrets.¡±


    ¡°His comics are all my cijun and concubines would read these days. Oh, and my kids too,¡± a male sighs, looking up at the ceiling at 45 degrees, ¡°when they cry together they look like they¡¯re trying to flood the house while glaring at the holodeck like it killed their parents. That¡¯s not even as bad as now, when they¡¯re all making these creepy smiles at the holodeck now. It gives me the goosebumps.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, not just your cijun and concubines, even Bai Jun tried to find a reporter at the broadcast building. Speaking of, did you succeed?¡± The male with long hair elbow pokes Bai Jun again.


    He didn¡¯t, and almost starved to death on the way, but Bai Jun isn¡¯t going to talk about that, ¡°I didn¡¯t find one, but I at least ran into Cheng Zhaoci himself.¡±


    ¡°Bai Jun, honestly, research is all you¡¯ve been doing from young ¡¯til old. Is the President not worried you won¡¯t be able to find a cijun?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not the only insectoid in my family this generation,¡± Bai Jun lowers his head, poking the egg in his bowl of meal, ¡°though my dad and uncles are all telling me to find someone.¡±


    ¡®Uncle¡¯ is what they¡¯d call the other shemale and demi spouses of their fathers. Bai Jun¡¯s father, the President, has more than a few concubines in addition to his cijun, but they are mostly on good terms.


    Or they wouldn¡¯t be worrying about his marriage together, and Bai Jun says, ¡°it¡¯s getting really troublesome to shrug off, and I read the comic, so¡­¡±


    Another researcher pats his stomach in solidarity. Them researchers are always busy in the lab. It¡¯s not easy to find true love.


    ¡°But honestly, if Cheng Zhaoci really turns out to be grade S, the Director will probably do whatever it takes to get him here, won¡¯t he?¡±


    Shemales evolved with an emphasis on physical strength and dexterity, while males evolved with an emphasis on thought capacity. After the Awakening, their memory and rational abilities will be massively changed.


    Practically every male seated here would be considered geniuses back on Earth, having pristine, photographic memory.


    There may still be shemales among the politicians, but the highest research institute of the land is truly male-exclusive. There is not a single shemale or demi to be seen.


    They are even the ones in charge of their own security; the Institute is always the safest place of the entire Capital planet.


    If war breaks out and spreads through even the Capital planet, the protective shield of the First Research Institute can cover and lockdown the entire building.


    Not even the most advanced particle weaponry can leave a dent. Even if the entire Capital planet was cracked, the protected ball that is the First Research Institute will still be able to keep the males breathing, eating and drinking while drifting through the vastness of the universe for some twenty-odd years.


    As the President calls it, they¡¯re the ¡®toughest little buggers¡¯ of the entire insectoid race.


    And the toughest little buggers of genius intellect actually take it as a praise.


    Of course, this only speaks volumes of how powerful a grade S male would be when Awakened grade A males are already this capable. Then again, that is assuming the grade S male doesn¡¯t die during the Awakening process, which is all the more likely if he hasn¡¯t a shemale or demi guiding him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t we already have a grade S shemale? They¡¯d make a great couple.¡±


    The male with long hair disagrees, ¡°unlikely. That shemale¡¯s father is another typical male with added sadism on the side. The shemale has successfully split himself from his family, but he still carries the scar from the splitting on his face.¡±


    ¡°Ah, great, another male-phobic shemale ruined by those good-for-nothing males,¡± another of their colleagues, chewing a healthy handful of greens, chimes in, ¡°they¡¯re always there to ruin every bloody thing they get their hands on. The Male Protection Laws? The Criminal Immunity Laws, more like.¡±


    ¡°What else can you do? We are but a few to many,¡± it is really uncommon for a male to be as high-achieving as they are. They are an almost invisible minority within a minority.


    Most of the males have not capability nor drive. Their only purpose in life is to eat and sleep and die. A few of them have unspeakable fetishes, even.


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s going to be seriously dangerous for that male? That won¡¯t do. We can¡¯t be short such a capable member,¡± this young male has already sentenced Cheng Zhaoci to working with them in the Institute, it seems.


    ¡°He likes drawing comics, though; are you sure he¡¯d be interested in doing research?¡± Bai Jun asks.


    ¡°Drawing is already too draining on my brain cells,¡± Cheng Zhaoci mumbles, reading the Mecha Operating Manual on his holodeck, ¡°do males have nothing but weird trivia to learn?¡±


    ¡®How to Become a Great Xiongzhu,¡¯ fine, but that got changed to Basic Mecha Fighting Principles. Why would a male be learning mecha fighting? There aren¡¯t even mechas suitable for male use in this world.


    He can go play in the virtual fights, sure, but that¡¯s playing a game.


    ¡°Would you like to study mathematics, then?¡± Mr Liang is quite lenient and easygoing, seemingly happy with whatever Cheng Zhaoci wants to learn, ¡°starting from the basics. Or if you¡¯re more interested in Mecha Manufacturing or Holodeck Fundamentals. These are all useful skills to master.¡±


    ¡°Never mind. Mecha fighting is good enough for me,¡± maths?! Yeah, no thanks. In his past life, his marks in mathematics have always hovered just above passing. The most mathematics he¡¯s ever had to do after graduating was calculating the most cost-saving way to utilise his Double Eleven holiday coupons.


    Though when Cheng Zhaoci was all determined to subject himself to more torturous studies, he spots a familiar insectoid outside his window.


    Sun Wushe? He¡¯s off duty? Why is he already home?


    Normally, the shemale soldiers are rotated off duty later than Mr Liang going home. Maybe he had a sick day?


    Mr Liang sighs, seeing Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s attention drift away, ¡°xiao-Ci, I would have to tell your dad if you keep this up.¡±


    ¡°Wah! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Cheng Zhaoci quickly turns his head back to his holodeck. He doesn¡¯t know half a word of what¡¯s going on, but his attitude has to be there!


    Sun Wushe is looking at the window as Cheng Zhaoci turns his attention back to his materials. He watches quietly for a while before going home.

 CH 40.1

    Contrivances and Misfortunes


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    It has become a habit for Cheng Zhaoci to pick up Wei Zhuo from work every day, barring special occasions, like today, as the Zhou brothers are here to remind him about the preparations for the next part of his comic series.


    Cheng Zhaoci needed some time to adjust, even, being completely engrossed in love earlier. He had to face the fact that he still needed to draw comics to make a living.


    Ah, beauty is the bane of the mightiest warriors. In the onslaught of love, all his passions and dreams practically went to the dogs.


    But, as a responsible male with a mature mindset, he knows he must balance his career and private pursuits. He has to be able to shoulder responsibility.


    ¡°Have you worked out the details for the three chapters of your comic¡¯s next arc yet?¡± Zhou Luoluo sees Cheng Zhaoci looking all seriously determined, asks, ¡°how much have you done?¡±


    ¡°Not a single stroke,¡± Cheng Zhaoci declares quite confidently. When the Zhou brothers look at him in shock, he calms them with a soothing gesture, explaining, ¡°everything is on schedule. I¡¯ll start drawing tonight. I¡¯ve got the entire plotline down pat since the beginning.¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao then sarcastically asks, ¡°oh, too young to fall in love?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s advice ends up boomeranging back to him.


    Unfortunately, an insectoid who¡¯s lived for over 40 years in his past life and current life is hopelessly shameless, saying, ¡°oh, of course there¡¯s no such thing as being too young! I¡¯m 17, if I don¡¯t fall in love now, I¡¯ll be an adult before I know it!¡±


    ¡°Wait, so Squadron Leader Wei is already going out with you?!¡± Zhou Luoluo is shocked. He himself is still meandering the garden path with Lu Nianqian, who continues to cite his young age as an issue.


    Betroth? Wei Zhuo did not. Cheng Zhaoci recalls their recent days spent together, and they¡¯ve sure talked a lot, but they haven¡¯t officially talked about if they¡¯re together yet.


    Actually, if it wasn¡¯t for Zhou Luoluo¡¯s question, Cheng Zhaoci might not have thought about it.


    It¡¯s just been natural for them to spend time together now, especially as Wei Zhuo has become less nervous about it over time.


    Nowadays, the two of them can just sit down side by side without feeling embarrassed. Instead, a sense of serenity would wash over them. Thinking about it, Cheng Zhaoci thinks it¡¯s like they¡¯ve already entered the halcyon stability stage post-marriage.


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t, but I feel like it¡¯s already a de facto thing,¡± of course, Cheng Zhaoci thinks it is still necessary for them to find an occasion to affirm their status, but it will need preparation and feel ceremonious. He needs to choose a special day, and if possible, with some surprise.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s smile is making Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao salty.


    Zhou Luoluo can¡¯t help but say, ¡°at least finish your draft first!¡±


    ¡°But, this arc has depressing bits. I just fell in love, obviously, I need some time to get into the mood for the content,¡± Cheng Zhaoci shrugs.


    ¡°Depressing bits?!¡± Zhou Luoluo asks, his voice breaking in the process, ¡°what, what are you going to do?! Oh, Heavens, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to kill off the demi!¡±


    That last comic Cheng Zhaoci published almost gave Zhou Luoluo PTSD. It was only alleviated when everyone else around him started experiencing the same trauma.


    Again?! Zhou Luoluo thinks it is bad for his wellbeing, ¡°you, would it kill you to just draw something happy for once?! It¡¯s, it¡¯s like you keep¡­¡± Zhou Luoluo is trying to find a good term to describe it, but fails.


    ¡°Keep publishing knives?¡± Cheng Zhaoci finishes the sentence.


    ¡°Yes! Knives! That keep cutting at our hearts!¡± Zhou Luoluo grits his teeth, ¡°and you¡¯ve even¡­¡±


    ¡°Wrapped the knives in cotton candy. Sweet when you ingest, and then slash your mouths full of blood?¡± Cheng Zhaoci finishes the sentence again.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Zhou Luoluo appears irate, ¡°you, you¡¯ve even thought of the adjectives for this in advance?! You¡¯re doing this on purpose, aren¡¯t you?! Is this a fetish or what?!¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao is also glaring at Cheng Zhaoci, rolling his hands on his kneecaps into fists, to indicate his disapproval.


    Cheng Zhaoci shrugs and says, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was going to kill off the demi. We¡¯re in the creative writing business, after all. There needs to be a central conflict one way or another.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to separate them in life and death, or give them terminal illnesses, or have traffic accidents, or get kidnapped by space buccaneers, or realise they¡¯re actually biologically close relatives,¡± and terminal illnesses, with current insectoid technology? They¡¯d probably be dead before they could even be diagnosed.


    Never mind traffic accidents. All these pre-programmed automatic floating vehicles are in the sky. What, have the protagonist fly and ¡®crash¡¯ into one of them? It¡¯s so unrealistic.


    Biologically brothers? Some kind of ¡®Insekutoido no Sora¡®? Unfortunately for any such aspiring writers, by insectoid law, incestuous relations would result in the non-male side executed.


    As for kidnappings¡­ Cheng Zhaoci has thought about it, but it is far too unrealistic to occur. The risk involved with kidnapping a male outweighs any potential payment they could get, while the demi is simply a reporter who is neither rich nor powerful. Obviously, no pirate would do something like that.


    Cheng Zhaoci listed those examples to reassure Zhou Luoluo, although Zhou Luoluo is clutching his chest, going, ¡°you¡¯ve even thought of all these treatments?!¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± he didn¡¯t think of them. They¡¯re all old clich¨¦s of his past life. It makes them the fruit of all the writers and readers on Earth.


    Though, unexpectedly, Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s eyes seem to be glowing from inspiration.


    ¡°I just thought of an idea,¡± Zhou Xiaobao, winking, looks at Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I want to draw my own story later.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci raises his brow. He would support the Zhou brothers wanting to develop their own works, of course, but he¡¯s also curious what Zhou Xiaobao could have thought after listening to the bunch of disjointed overused tropes.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make a meek demi the protagonist,¡± Zhou Xiaobao thinks, and explains, ¡°he¡¯s very kind, and simpleminded. He is very poor, and like, his father has died, and his dad couldn¡¯t care less about him.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± What the fuck is this extremely familiar opening?! Cheng Zhaoci is now sitting up straight as he listens.


    ¡°Then, when the demi is working his shift at a bar frequented by males¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would a demi be allowed to work in a bar full of males?¡± Zhou Luoluo interrupts, ¡°actually, would they even be allowed inside in the first place?¡±


    ¡°He, he could use some disguise; potions! So he works inside, because the pay is good. One day, he was bullied by customers into drinking a lot. Then he runs into a drunk male, and they end up doing it,¡± Zhou Xiaobao continues.


    Zhou Luoluo looks like he has a lot to say about that, but Cheng Zhaoci quickly covers his mouth shut. Zhou Luoluo is widening his eyes at Cheng Zhaoci ¨C there are not even male servants in male-only bars! There are only robot waiters!


    Cheng Zhaoci gestures for Zhou Xiaobao to keep going, while keeping Zhou Luoluo quiet.


    ¡°After that fateful night, the demi hurriedly runs away¡­¡±


    In the next half hour, Cheng Zhaoci listens as the epic, strangely familiar saga involving an accidental pregnancy, terminal illness, traffic accident, pirate kidnapping, a scheming shemale rival, misunderstandings, and finally, the dumpster fire that is the male trying to win back the demi¡¯s heart is laid out.


    Ah, yes, of course. Misdiagnosis for the terminal illness; ¡®traffic accident¡¯ that happened when the protagonist slipped and fell off a tall building, and being knocked away during his descent by a passing vehicle, while pregnant. And of course, the protagonist¡¯s egg isn¡¯t the least bit worse for wear inside.


    Tch tch tch, Cheng Zhaoci is amazed. Zhou Xiaobao really is a treasure that keeps on giving.


    Who could have imagined that quiet and shy Zhou Xiaobao was hiding such talent with contrived plot devices beneath his socially anxious exterior.


    Yes, Cheng Zhaoci has decided he must support Zhou Xiaobao fully. True, the tropes are fully overused in his eyes, but that¡¯s not the case in insectoid society! In his past life, this trope died hard, and was outlandishly popular at one point. Whatever the reason, it was successful.


    Tropes are overused when too many people write about them all the same. Yet, look at it another way ¨C many people write it all the same because many people are receptive to it.


    The plot holes are big enough to ram a whole train full, but it¡¯ll likely be popular regardless.

 CH 40.2

    Regardless, Cheng Zhaoci still provides Zhou Xiaobao his own analysis of ¡®dog blood¡® plot points.


    If his drawing quality is good, he¡¯ll be able to enjoy a wave of popularity for a while. After the wave, though, his comic might also serve as a lesson in logical thinking, with all the bugs and plot holes meticulously analysed before finally receiving comments like ¡®I have no idea why I would have ever liked it.¡¯


    Honestly, not the most positive message an author can receive.


    Zhou Xiaobao does not seem to mind, though, ¡°I don¡¯t mind those, but¡­ when I¡¯m designing my characters, Cheng-ge, can you have a look at them?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Cheng Zhaoci ruffles Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s head, ¡°you can do it!¡±


    Zhou Luoluo seems utterly confused, can? Can what? He doesn¡¯t have the slightest idea which part about that story works.


    Seemingly noticing his confusion, Cheng Zhaoci explains with a smile, ¡°that comic will mostly target young demis and shemales. Males won¡¯t be interested.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo still cannot understand, but he does trust Cheng Zhaoci. Maybe, perhaps, possibly, Cheng Zhaoci is correct?


    Though shemales and demis? They really like those? He thinks he won¡¯t be able to shake off the idea that they¡¯re masochistic if they do respond positively.


    After that, Cheng Zhaoci sees the Zhou brothers off. He still needs to get his storyboarding done.


    While he¡¯s figuring out the details of his story, Zhou Xiaobao sends him a message. He¡¯s got the summary down.


    [He, a normal, typical demi, working part-time at a bar for a living, ends up meeting Him.


    He, the most desirable bachelor of all the shemales and demis of the world. He¡¯s cold, he¡¯s lonesome, but a drunken accident, brought Him and Him together¡­]


    Woah, the feel is there, the feel is overwhelming! All the ¡®he¡¯s have Cheng Zhaoci dizzy, and also, slightly nostalgic.


    Ah, the taste of days gone.


    Cheng Zhaoci quickly cheers Zhou Xiaobao on. He¡¯s going to be the future godfather of ¡®dog blood,¡¯ after all, being someone who could hammer out a story of contrivance upon contrivance from simple disconnected phrases he uttered just earlier.


    Zhou Xiaobao says he doesn¡¯t plan to start immediately, though. Instead, he¡¯s going to learn more about the other parts of creating a comic, by continuing to be an assistant to Cheng Zhaoci.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci sent a message to Wei Zhuo; he won¡¯t be able to make it to the military base today.


    He thought the story would come about easily, but after Zhou Xiaobao sent him that summary, dog blood is all that fills his brain.


    After a nostalgic session recalling all those plot holes he¡¯s read in the past, he found his spark of inspiration gone. Yes, he has been taken by writer¡¯s block.


    Ah, what a tragedy.


    Of course, tragedy begets tragedy.


    If he simply has writer¡¯s block¡­ Looking at the time, Cheng Zhaoci would still be able to make it picking up Wei Zhuo off work.


    Unfortunately for him, he runs into an unwanted insectoid along the way.


    ¡°Yo, little ugly thing. Fancy meeting you here,¡± Jin Yue greets him with a smile. There¡¯s no coincidence about this at all; Jin Yue has been waiting here for a while.


    When Cheng Zhaoci is going to pull the same trick again ¨C turn around running and screaming, something familiar happens.


    Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t even see how Jin Yue moved, but there¡¯s a hand on the back of his neck. Jin Yue is right behind him, ¡°what¡¯chu running for?¡± Jin Yue looks Cheng Zhaoci up and down, ¡°Mr Cheng Zhaoci, is it?¡± With an emphasis on ¡®Mr.¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci has goosebumps all over.


    Damn it! He was too shaken seeing his late father¡¯s cijun that day! He completely forgot to tell Wei Zhuo about Jin Yue!


    The hand on his neck has Cheng Zhaoci conclude that, as a grade A shemale, Jin Yue could possibly silence him forever before he could even mutter a syllable for help. He chooses strategic compliance for now.


    Jin Yue has always given off an insane aura. It looks like there¡¯s nothing he would not do.


    Jin Yue seems to find Cheng Zhaoci forcing himself to stay calm but still having trembling palms intriguing, ¡°you¡¯re really afraid of me.¡±


    ¡°Duh, would you be scared if I have a gun to your head?¡± Then Cheng Zhaoci immediately regrets his slightly snarky tone, and says, ¡°even if you¡¯re angry, don¡¯t kill me here. It¡¯s for your own good. Killing males is a bad idea on the Capital planet.¡±


    Jin Yue, with his faked, slightly less aggressive appearance, actually does not look that insane, when he says, ¡°you¡¯re really interesting, you know.¡±


    ¡°You honour me; you¡¯re far more interesting,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies humbly. It¡¯s the truth, though. He does find what Jin Yue does¡­ odd, at best. In other words, not uninteresting.


    Jin Yue¡¯s mood improves. The male hasn¡¯t changed much after coming from the landfill planet. He hasn¡¯t become arrogant and ignorant after coming to the Capital planet.


    Well, one only needs to look at his comics to draw the same conclusion. Then he asks, ¡°say, what if I took you away to my group of pirates as a clown?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Then the Squadron Leader would probably want to fashion your head into a football,¡± Cheng Zhaoci points behind Jin Yue, ¡°look, he¡¯s right there.¡±


    Jin Yue turns around by reflex; Wei Zhuo is not there, but a certain male in his grasp fiercely struggled for a moment. He failed to run away, though.


    Some insectoids nearby seem alerted, though. Cheng Zhaoci also has rather eye-catching appearance, so they are looking at Jin Yue suspiciously, possibly wondering if he¡¯s mistreating a male.


    ¡°What¡¯chu looking at? Haven¡¯t seen a dad discipline his children in the past?! If your family¡¯s male falls in love with another male, you¡¯d be no better!¡± Jin Yue actually pulls off a rather convincing performance.


    At least, convincing enough for the insectoids nearby.


    Because of insectoid biology not showing signs of aging until well over 160 years old, there are quite a number of dad and male son pair that resemble brothers instead.


    And in fact, if it¡¯s something like a demi and his shemale son, that dad might even look younger than his own son.


    Cheng ¡®Homosexual¡¯ Zhaoci has failed to escape, and so completely peaces out, ¡°what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°This is not a good place to talk. Let¡¯s sit down somewhere?¡± Jin Yue looks up and down Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°you look like your legs are about to give out.¡±

 CH 41.1

    Strangeness


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Are you really that afraid of me?¡± Jin Yue watches Cheng Zhaoci from the opposite seat across some food.


    ¡°It¡¯s illegal to try to traffic males,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies, until he remembers what Wei Zhuo told him once ¨C that Jin Yue has done enough crime to get the death penalty hundreds of times over, so he switches his topic, ¡°I¡¯m picking the Squadron Leader up from work. He¡¯ll try to find me when he can¡¯t see me.¡±


    Jin Yue checks the time on his holodeck, ¡°it won¡¯t be for a while.¡±


    Then he leans forward as Cheng Zhaoci leans back.


    Cheng Zhaoci feels like he¡¯s in a precarious situation. He knows he¡¯s Jin Yue already, so would he even be able to make it home alive? Jin Yue is no fool, so he must know he will call the police, or at least, tell Wei Zhuo, whenever he has the opportunity.


    ¡°I always wonder what thoughts fill that little head of yours,¡± Jin Yue says.


    ¡®It¡¯s your head that¡¯s full of unimaginable horror, duh!¡¯ is what Cheng Zhaoci would like to retort. What kind of space pirate would try to traffic a male right on the Capital planet?!


    Cheng Zhaoci just feels really frustrated. From the landfill planet all the way to this Capital planet, this guy has been like a ghost. Cheng Zhaoci is scared and anxious, for sure, but he¡¯s also kind of pissed.


    ¡°Will there be extra chapters for ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯?¡± Jin Yue suddenly asks.


    Cheng Zhaoci takes a short while to realise what Jin Yue is referring to ¨C his last short comic, ¡®In a Tiny Flicker.¡¯


    ¡°No. The ending is final.¡±


    Jin Yue widens his eyes in disbelief. He seems quite shaken, enough that Cheng Zhaoci can see his eyes almost turning into vertical pupils.


    His eyes are blue right now; a rather bog-standard blond with blue eyes, but Cheng Zhaoci still remembers his original golden vertical pupils.


    ¡°How could you do that?!¡± Jin Yue starts chastising Cheng Zhaoci, not that Cheng Zhaoci can understand how the bastard could be criticising him when he¡¯s already been kidnapped by him. Twice.


    Jin Yue, though, is clearly no stranger to unreasonable demands, ¡°I won¡¯t accept it!¡±


    ¡°Who cares if you don¡¯t?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci suddenly toughens up, ¡°the ending is exactly as depicted, that is non-negotiable!¡± He¡¯s had enough of the ¡®wisdom¡¯ of the commissioners in his past life.


    ¡°Fuck this. I knew it. You must be that damned pirate trying to put a bounty on my head in the comments!¡± Getting kidnapped is demoralising enough, getting kidnapped while getting to a date is worse. Never mind even getting kidnapped, away from a date, and threatened along the way, but being told ¡®your comic¡¯s ending is shit¡¯ on top of it all?!


    Where the hell does this motherfucker get off?!


    Now it¡¯s Jin Yue¡¯s turn to start sinking into his chair. Jin Yue is shrinking a little into his clothes, blinking in bewilderment, watching Cheng Zhaoci explode.


    He¡¯s clearly spooked ¨C as seen when his eyes go entirely back to ¡®normal.¡¯


    This only emboldens Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°put a bounty on my head, did you?¡±


    ¡°No, not me,¡± Jin Yue really didn¡¯t try that. He just showered Cheng Zhaoci with lots of gifts to try to get him to change the ending, only to get them refunded to him.


    ¡°Trying to kidnap me on the Capital planet? Where would you even take me to?¡± Cheng Zhaoci slams his hands on the desk and stands up. He¡¯s far smaller in frame than Jin Yue, but right now, he¡¯s towering over him.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to kidnap,¡± he thought about it, but gave up on it in the end. He¡¯s just here to tease and scare Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I didn¡¯t think¡­¡±


    ¡°Want to kill me, do you?¡± Cheng Zhaoci shows a less than friendly smile.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Jin Yue seems stunned, and Cheng Zhaoci raises his voice, ¡°speak up!!!¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± Jin Yue is completely flabbergasted now, powerless to stop¡­ whatever this is.


    ¡°Little ugly thing, you say? You¡¯re the fucking ugly thing here!¡± Cheng Zhaoci walks around the table, and as Jin Yue stares in disbelief, gives him a big hard slap on the back of his head. The golden, fuzzy head gets knocked to the side.


    Cheng Zhaoci snickers dismissively, before walking away.


    It takes Jin Yue more than enough time to finally get his wits back about him, ¡°he slapped me?!¡±


    The first thing Cheng Zhaoci did after leaving via the exit is call Wei Zhuo. As soon as it was picked up, ¡°he-help! Jin Yue is here!!!¡±


    His initial outburst was completely natural, but not everything after that. He simply took advantage of how Jin Yue was cowering unexpected, and took the chance to escape.


    Cheng Zhaoci shares his location with Wei Zhuo, right as Jin Yue runs outside the restaurant for him.


    After locking eyes, Cheng Zhaoci warns him, ¡°I suggest you leave me alone now. Run.¡±


    Jin Yue glares at him with a rather gloomy expression for a bit, before saying, ¡°I won¡¯t involve you in my plans.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is the one confused this time, ¡°what plan?¡±


    ¡°Nothing to do with you,¡± Jin Yue throws his drink over to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°it¡¯s simply a personal promise.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci grabs the drink without issues, but doesn¡¯t take a sip. He couldn¡¯t know if Jin Yue slipped anything inside while it was out of sight.


    Jin Yue escaped in no time, far quicker than Wei Zhuo could hurry here.


    He¡¯s already bought what he came here for. Now that the military has been alerted, it¡¯ll be too late to escape if he doesn¡¯t haul ass out of the planet.


    When Wei Zhuo arrives, he nervously checks every inch of skin on Cheng Zhaoci for any wounds. After finding nothing, he drags him to a medical pod, and only sighs in relief when he sees the report reaffirming him that he didn¡¯t get any foreign substance injected into him.


    Cheng Zhaoci relays the conversation between him and Jin Yue to Wei Zhuo in its entirety, and asks, ¡°do you know about that ¡®plan¡¯ of his?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the details, but we¡¯ve observed the big space buccaneer organisations starting to get cooperative with each other,¡± Wei Zhuo helps straighten out Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s clothes, ¡°the frontlines out have also been put on alert. There has been an increase in piracy incidents near the border regions.¡±


    And the fact that Jin Yue somehow sneaked onto the heavily fortified and monitored Capital planet can only mean that not all the military¡¯s insectoids are clean.


    The piracy issue has grown into a big problem over the centuries, but their dispersed and mobile nature has meant that the military could never stamp them out entirely. The fact that all the major players are cooperating this time spells danger looming on the horizon, but also, an opportunity.


    An opportunity to arrest the pirates wholesale, but of course, the possibility that other hostile powers in the galaxy would take advantage of the occupied insectoid army must be taken into consideration.


    ¡°Jin Yue might act silly, but his talents on battlefield command and strategy are the real deal,¡± Wei Zhuo sighs, ¡°he was the top student of his year back in the military academy.¡±

 CH 41.2

    ¡°He was in the Academy?¡± Cheng Zhaoci really wasn¡¯t expecting that, mainly because he doesn¡¯t look at all disciplined, like one might expect someone hailing from such a background.


    ¡°Yes. He was already on the list to become a shemale soldier before he took revenge on his father and male brother. The rest is history,¡± Wei Zhuo is walking back with Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I¡¯ve heard he wasn¡¯t like this in personality a long time ago, too. Apparently, he was severely wounded in the head during a chase, and after that, he was almost like a different person.¡±


    Jin Yue is seven years older than Wei Zhuo, but they were once an ace student and a young grade S shemale, and so they already knew each other.


    Jin Yue used to be a goody-two-shoes who didn¡¯t really smile. He had a poker face, but he was also a good insectoid. He would answer everyone¡¯s questions when they needed help.


    And with his slightly uncommon golden hair and pure gold vertical pupil combination, there were a few males openly interested in him.


    This continued after he has taken revenge. He became quite more withdrawn and ireful. He still didn¡¯t talk much or smile, and became quite gloomy.


    And then, once, when he escaped from certain death during some big explosion, he was gravely injured but not dead. No one thought he would make it out alive, and one of his men in Golden Lion tried to usurp his position. In the end of that power struggle, the subordinate died, and Jin Yue won back his throne.


    He also turned into this weirdo after that. Bombastic, always guffawing, but the smile belies quite the nasty beast inside. His original calculating nature was nowhere to be found, and he seemed to have no regard for his own safety at all anymore.


    Recall that he hid an active bomb in his mouth to escape prison the last time. Would there be any sane insectoid who would try to hide that in their mouth?


    ¡°He¡¯s very dangerous,¡± Wei Zhuo says, ¡°I apologise for failing to ensure your safety.¡±


    ¡°No, of course not. You¡¯re not to blame. I met him in the past, but I forgot to tell you,¡± then Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, ¡°do you think he would begrudge me for slapping him on the back of the head?¡±


    ¡°¡­ You slapped him?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was desperate to leave, and he looked stunned, so I slapped him on the head when I left,¡± and it was pretty effective, apparently. He only chased out after him after some time.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably fine,¡± if Jin Yue was pissed about that at all, he would have done something regardless of the possibility of the military sortieing for him.


    Wei Zhuo is still looking closely at Cheng Zhaoci.


    He felt an intense fear during the call from Cheng Zhaoci, even overpowering his anger at Jin Yue.


    The fear and anxiety is still lingering right now. Something in his blood is threatening to boil over. If that mad Jin Yue actually did something to Cheng Zhaoci¡­


    Wei Zhuo might decide to go after Golden Lion immediately, by himself, ignoring all that bullshit like ¡®orders¡¯ or ¡®duty.¡¯ He¡¯ll tear that insane Jin Yue apart, limb by limb, and throw him out into space as space junk.


    He can probably expect to then die to the onslaught and chaos of the pirates there, never to return.


    Though if Cheng Zhaoci really were no more¡­ He thinks death is a sweeter release than spending centuries in a monochrome, colourless life.


    He¡¯s already spent twenty-odd years in a trance, and finally, he dug up this big treasure on the landfill planet. His life finally had colour. Every day was interesting. He could fall asleep hopeful for a better day.


    Then, what if, one day, that baby was destroyed?


    He would rather no one live anymore. It¡¯s not like he would ever find meaning in life again.


    As a mature and experienced shemale soldier, Wei Zhuo, of course, knows exactly what his thoughts are suggesting. Before he knew it ¨C or, rather, he knew it was happening as it happened. He could clearly feel Cheng Zhaoci occupying more and more of his thoughts, filling every nook and cranny.


    Wei Zhuo does not know what exactly Cheng Zhaoci is to him, but he knows he is very important, important enough to overrule the principles Wei Zhuo has set and holds dear in his heart.


    ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t make any more trouble. It was quite the satisfying slap,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is smiling happily. If he could, he would rather pummel Jin Yue into the dirt, but too bad about his physical strength.


    ¡°Though, honestly, without the Squadron Leader, I am nothing. Jin Yue looks like he¡¯s pretty wary of you,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, turning his head around, and realises that Wei Zhuo is blanking out looking at him, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It, it¡¯s nothing,¡± he just can¡¯t help but feel like the young male¡¯s smile is so pretty. It is enough to chase away the worries he still had in his mind.


    And an idea strikes him, the shemale soldier who wouldn¡¯t know romance if it was presented to him in a bouquet, ¡°can, can I take a photograph with you?¡± He wants to save it to his holodeck. Make it a wallpaper.


    ¡°Sure, of course,¡± Cheng Zhaoci happily obliges, then remembers suddenly, that he actually hasn¡¯t properly taken a group photo with Wei Zhuo.


    They didn¡¯t take time finding a good, photogenic spot. They just stood side by side, and took one by looking at the camera of the holodeck.


    As for the result¡­ Wei Zhuo took it, so it didn¡¯t look that nice.


    Cheng Zhaoci is smiling fiendishly like some antagonist¡­ probably thanks to his features. Wei Zhuo¡¯s completely lack of technique probably helped.


    Wei Zhuo himself is smiling, but it is¡­ akin to a child being dragged on a trip by the parents, who asked them to smile for a photo op. That kind of fake, unconvincing smile.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks the very occasional smile Wei Zhuo shows is beaming, sharp and brilliant. This time, he¡¯s clearly just nervous while taking the photo. He is trying to deliberately smile, but he had no such experience.


    Wei Zhuo seems to like the photo, though. Cheng Zhaoci watches as Wei Zhuo discreetly sets the photo as the background of his holodeck, then asks, ¡°want to take another one?¡±


    There really wasn¡¯t any serenity or romance in that photo. In short, it was basically a ¡®pervert kidnaps innocent passerby, taking a photo to threaten the passerby¡¯s family, and also asking the passerby to smile during the photo.¡¯


    Obviously, Cheng Zhaoci is the ¡®pervert,¡¯ Wei Zhuo is the passerby; not that that was too likely either, given their physical sizes.


    ¡°I¡¯m thankful, so I would not impose on you anymore,¡± Wei Zhuo thinks he is being very understanding. It is already an honour Mr Cheng Zhaoci would take a photo with him. He can¡¯t possibly ask for more. Clearly, he has failed to realise that the photograph was taken quite poorly.


    ¡°Ah, ok,¡± Cheng Zhaoci can see that Wei Zhuo is zooming the background image in some more. Oh, he¡¯s zooming it on his face. O¡­k. It¡¯s¡­ oddly embarrassing, but he also feels a little happy.


    It has helped take his mind off yet another incident of running into Jin Yue for sure.


    ¡°So have you eaten yet, Mr Cheng?¡± Wei Zhuo suddenly asks as he puts the holodeck back on his wrist carefully.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Jin Yue ordered a whole table of food, but Cheng Zhaoci was clearly not in the mood to gorge on feasts unaffected in the middle of a kidnapping.


    ¡°What would you like?¡± Wei Zhuo asks, ¡°I¡¯ll cook for you.¡±


    ¡°You can cook?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci is astonished, but then he thinks about it, and concludes that it¡¯s probably the job of the shemales to cook given the state of the males in this world.


    Wei Zhuo seems quite nervous, worried Cheng Zhaoci might not agree to come. It is slightly inappropriate to invite an unwed male to his home, in fact.


    Though he¡¯s also too worried to take him to another restaurant. Of course, it¡¯s paranoia if he is worried that there might be a few more pirates hanging around in restaurants on the Capital planet, but for some reason, Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t like the idea of Cheng Zhaoci eating outside food very much right now.


    He also has the odd feeling that Cheng Zhaoci would keep running into strange insectoids for better or worse outside.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci is only all too happy to be able to visit Wei Zhuo¡¯s regular home, of course. It¡¯s called ¡®seizing the opportunity.¡¯

 CH 41.3

    So Cheng Zhaoci happily follows behind Wei Zhuo, arriving at his current residence.


    It turns out he lives in a mansion not too different from the one he prepared for Cheng Zhaoci, and Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t romantically inclined enough to have decorated anything commemorative inside, until now.


    ¡°I plan to hang a photo of you and I on that wall, there,¡± Wei Zhuo points to the wall directly opposite the door, completely in view if the door was left open.


    ¡°No! Wait! You can¡¯t possibly do that!¡± Cheng Zhaoci refuses sternly. Embarrassing! Embarrassing enough that Cheng Zhaoci might not ever want to visit again if such a photo were hung.


    Wei Zhuo is saddened immediately, but he also knows that he and the young male¡¯s relationship isn¡¯t settled yet. It is rather inappropriate for him to print a photo of him.


    As for the possibility of the male not wanting such a photo because it made him look ugly¡­ Of course not. The young male is handsome no matter how he framed him.


    Wei Zhuo has Cheng Zhaoci take a seat on the sofa as he heads to the kitchen to cook.


    Not long after Cheng Zhaoci has taken a seat at the sofa, Zhou Luoluo is messaging him.


    [ZhouLuoluo: How¡¯s the story coming along?]


    [ChengZhaoci: Jin Yue caught me again. I only escaped a few moments ago, and I¡¯m at the Squadron Leader¡¯s place right now]


    [ZhouLuoluo: ?!?! Did the bastard get caught?]


    Then Zhou Luoluo lists off some hundred thousand pieces of advice for him, not mentioning the story anymore.


    ¡®Tis a day off, then.


    So Cheng Zhaoci lies sprawled on the sofa, while watching the d¨¦cor around and thinking.


    This house is too big. It must be lonely to live ¨C there should be another occupant, for example, him.


    Cheng Zhaoci can cook, too. As he was single his entire past life, he might not cook like a professional, but it¡¯s at least varied and passable.


    He can make money too, and do house chores. Where else could you find such a good male? Please, give him a call. Besides his ineptitude at games, he¡¯s good at everything else.


    Then a very nice smell chases away his idle digressing thoughts.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s tummy then makes a great big rumble. Ah, he¡¯s hungry, too hungry!


    He flies off the couch and sniffs, saying, ¡°it smells so nice!¡± How? What is the Squadron Leader actually making?


    When Wei Zhuo has put the food onto the table, Cheng Zhaoci realises he was wrong.


    Help Wei Zhuo with cooking? Haha, he sure was quite shameless there. By his tongue, if Wei Zhuo ever needed to, he could simply open a restaurant to make lots of money.


    As the old saying goes, ¡®to win his heart, first win over his stomach.¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci was going to nonchalantly ask what Wei Zhuo likes and then show off his cooking. Now great, his efforts are in vain, and Wei Zhuo has his stomach surrendered already.


    Wei Zhuo watches Cheng Zhaoci go through the food voraciously with a serious look on his face, and cannot determine if he likes or not likes the food.


    Finally, when Cheng Zhaoci is completely stuffed, he can¡¯t help but praise, ¡°you¡¯re really cheating, you know. You can fight, and you can cook, and you look too handsome. How unfair it is to all the other insectoids.¡±


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s mouth turns into a big smile. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a stranger to praise, being a grade S shemale soldier, but he¡¯s never been praised in such a way that makes him happy from the inside out.


    Cheng Zhaoci also looks really content having been satiated. Peaceful. He can feel his heart beating in response to his happy looks.


    Especially when Cheng Zhaoci is looking at him.


    There is some strange feeling spreading from his chest outwards. Wei Zhuo tenses up a little, before Cheng Zhaoci gives him a big smile.


    Wei Zhuo feels like his heart has come to a stop. It¡¯s like he has some pause function, and the smile feels like it¡¯s lasting indefinitely in his mind.


    ¡°Should there always be starry skies, the ocean, and luminescent blue butterflies for romantically liking someone?¡± Wei Zhuo suddenly asks.


    He doesn¡¯t have much of an idea how one should properly ¡®like,¡¯ and instinctively feels that Cheng Zhaoci knows these far better than he does, like in the comic that Meng Yuele just keeps yelling happy ¡®aaaah¡¯s to.


    It is pretty, and timed well, that it feels like romance should just naturally follow.


    Yes, that is what ¡®romance¡¯ is.


    Cheng Zhaoci assumes Wei Zhuo is talking about the comic, and explains, ¡°it¡¯s not set in stone. There are other things like the evening sun, the first ray of sunlight, or bathed in the brilliant river of stars of the universe,¡± all of those scenes are aesthetically pleasing and associated with love. Generally, these scenes are the ones that loving couples want as a backdrop for their love and romance.


    Is it possible, then, that without the starry skies, the universe, the ocean, or the butterflies, or the sunrise and sunset, without anything romantic¡­


    Just simply, finishing a meal, watching an insectoid, and suddenly feel like ¡®I can just spend an entire life with him like this¡¯-kind of romance?


    Is that also ¡®love¡¯?


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t need to ask, because his mind is asking him, if this isn¡¯t love either, what else could it even be?


    And he finds the thought nagging at him more and more as he thinks more deeply about it.


    ¡°Can I still come for the meals here in the future, Squadron Leader?¡± Cheng Zhaoci really loves Wei Zhuo¡¯s cooking to death. More generally, he loves everything about Wei Zhuo, ¡°you can invite me over when you¡¯re free. You can just ignore me when you¡¯re busy. I¡¯m very low maintenance.¡±


    ¡°Of course. You can tell me about what you want to eat in advance,¡± Wei Zhuo thinks, and wonders if the male likes his meals because the meal he normally has isn¡¯t actually to his liking, asking, ¡°would you like me to cook you breakfast every morning?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t possibly! You have work, you know!¡± Cheng Zhaoci himself has let love severely drag his comics on, but that doesn¡¯t deter him from dissuading Wei Zhuo at all, ¡°you need to rest properly everyday. Your body is more important.¡±


    His body is important? Wei Zhuo can feel his heart beating even faster, ¡°al-, alright.¡±


    That night, Wei Zhuo calls his granddad, ¡°I think I might have fallen for a male.¡±


    The Grand Marshal, who thought his grandson would be single his entire life, dedicating himself to the defence of the insectoids ¡°¡­¡±


    He would think it¡¯s a joke, but the prospects of his grandson knowing how to tell a deadpan joke is about as likely as him falling in love with a male in the first place.


    ¡°I want to become his cijun.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Oho.¡±

 CH 42.1

    The Young Cliffhanger Expert


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The boundless cosmos abound outside, but it¡¯s just static imagery if you look at it often enough.


    Jin Yue then looks back at his holodeck, putting his head on his arm, and pokes the screen, ¡°if Sun Wushe needs me, tell him I¡¯m busy on a mission.¡±


    ¡°Which mission?¡± A tall and imposing shemale scratches his head, asking, ¡°er, wait, why would Sun Wushe ask for you?¡±


    ¡°¡­ He¡¯s probably about to get found out. Because of me,¡± for once, Jin Yue feels a slight guilt. Very slight, ¡°and what are you standing around asking questions for?! Don¡¯t you have work to do?¡±


    The shemale is not getting a move on, however, ¡°boss, are we really doing this?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking?¡± Jin Yue crosses his leg, then waves to dismiss his subordinate.


    Normally, yes, but not this time. The shemale is still hanging around, though, so Jin Yue turns his attention away from his holodeck to ask, ¡°what¡¯s happening, then? Talk to me.¡±


    ¡°The Blackiron¡¯s got a ship with two males aboard. Normally, they should send them back, but boss, you said earlier¡­¡± The shemale doesn¡¯t continue.


    Jin Yue only asks after a moment of silence, ¡°are they of age?¡±


    ¡°Thirty-forty or so, still young,¡± young enough for the insectoids with long lives. Blackiron is a mid-sized group of space pirates, one of those that responded when Jin Yue mentioned cooperating.


    The shemale¡¯s hands are grabbing his own trousers, crumpling it nervously, ¡°boss, are we already going to start now?¡±


    ¡°Tell them they don¡¯t have to let them go. Keep them alive. That¡¯s all,¡± Jin Yue turns back around once more, but the shemale does not move.


    Silence ensues, until the shemale gulps, and says, ¡°b-but¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?!¡± Jin Yue suddenly rises, his golden, vertical pupils reflecting the light of the cabin menacingly, ¡°who are you trying to sympathise with?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡­¡± The shemale takes a step back.


    Jin Yue quickly gives him a firm kick, ¡°who are you trying to sympathise with?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pitying those bastards?! Then who would come to pity us?! Answer me!¡± Jin Yue grabs the shemale by the collar, pulling him to his face, ¡°tell me, why did you end up a pirate?! Who else but those bastards are to blame when you can¡¯t even live a normal, boring life outside the shadows?! Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Bu-but a male in a group of shemales, unprotected¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? And you think they¡¯re innocent?¡± Jin Yue raises his brow, ¡°let me ask instead ¨C what happened to your legs? Your father didn¡¯t beat and slice and stab them, until they snapped, until they pulverised?¡±


    The shemale does not answer. Jin Yue then pats his face, telling him, ¡°at least pity your own body some more, ok?¡±


    ¡°And don¡¯t come bother me with every little boring thing in the universe,¡± Jin Yue stretches while saying that. There is not a single sign of the angry, disappointed insectoid from just now here.


    ¡°What if, he is someone who treats his cijun and shemale concubines well?¡±


    Jin Yue does not answer, for long enough that the subordinate thought Jin Yue isn¡¯t going to answer at all, until suddenly, Jin Yue says, ¡°I used to be kind of like that dumbass Wei Zhuo. Look at me now.¡±


    ¡°They never felt the slightest remorse no matter what kind of shemale you were. Why should we not do the same?¡±


    The shemale is looking at the floor. Finally, he turns around to leave, ¡°boss, I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    After the shemale has finally left him alone, Jin Yue pokes around on his holodeck. He pulls up a photo, and projects it outside.


    The shemale in the projection looks exactly like Jin Yue, but his short, blonde hair is neatly brushed to the back of his head. He stands tall and straight, dressed in academy uniform. It rather resembles the military uniforms, too. He is looking at the camera with a poker face. In short, he looks like a stern and taciturn figure.


    Jin Yue knits his brows at the figure, ¡°what a retard,¡± then he deletes the photo.


    After that, he exhales, and lets himself sprawl spineless on his seat. Bored, he scratches his head a little, mumbling, ¡°he slapped me?¡±


    That slap certainly knocked the sense out of Jin Yue. Sure, he once planned to kidnap Cheng Zhaoci, but he¡¯s still a space buccaneer. Their leader, even! Fuck this. The more he thinks, the more he starts questioning Sun Wushe¡¯s weird preference in males.


    Cheng Zhaoci is being thoroughly investigated by the hands-on Zhou brothers.


    ¡°Are you really alright everywhere? We mustn¡¯t be careless. What if he injected you with something when you weren¡¯t looking?¡± Zhou Luoluo looks very concerned indeed, ¡°this is serious business.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci finds himself dizzying from all the moving around, ¡°wait a minute. What kind of situation do I have to be in to not sense I¡¯m being injected with something at all?¡±


    When Zhou Xiaobao tries to pull his clothes off, Cheng Zhaoci quickly says, ¡°the Squadron Leader has already taken me to the medical pod for a complete check-up. Stop.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Zhou Xiaobao quietly lets the clothes go.


    ¡°We¡¯re worried, you know. The news just broke that there were two males from the Song family who were aboard that ship the pirates hijacked. They¡¯re not letting the males go home, I heard,¡± Zhou Luoluo is speaking quietly even though there¡¯s no one else around, ¡°the pirates have become bold recently.¡±


    The pirates are scary, and Jin Yue is the leader of one of the biggest groups of pirates. That¡¯s even more scary.


    ¡°Yes. My family cancelled their plans for a vacation,¡± Zhou Xiaobao adds, ¡°but you don¡¯t have to worry. Your dad is a grade A shemale soldier, and the one you like is a grade S shemale soldier. The pirates won¡¯t go after you if they have any sense.¡±


    The males aren¡¯t being released? Is this an unofficial declaration of war with the Federation? Though the idle thought passes quickly. He¡¯s neither a government official or an army officer. It¡¯s not like he could possibly be any help blindly guessing what the pirates have planned in store.


    In any case, he¡¯d still need to get the plot for the second arc of the story out, so that they all have stuff to draw.


    The communications technology of the insectoids is extremely advanced, but the Zhou brothers prefer drawing next to each other rather than over a projection. The inspiration flows better, according to them.


    As Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t have material for them to work with yet, he¡¯s let the brothers hang out on one side, with Xiaobao writing up a rough draft of his story, while Zhou Luoluo sits next to them, with brows furrowed, and mouth unstoppable.


    ¡°This feels weird to me. Alcohol would actually lower our sexual drive. So it means the male is definitely only being driven by lasviciousness here.¡±


    ¡°Is that male an idiot? He¡¯s fallen for the ¡®taste¡¯ of the protagonist? What does that even mean?¡±


    ¡°Woah! Seriously?! Why not just abort such an unwanted and unconsented pregnancy? Why even go through the pain of labour at all?¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao is giving Zhou Luoluo the cold shoulder, ¡°brother, you¡¯re annoying me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just being too sensitive,¡± Zhou Luoluo disagrees, ¡°and there are too many plot holes in your script!¡±


    ¡°Shut up. Yes, you,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gives Zhou Luoluo a threatening glare. The incessant blabbering is draining his inspiration!


    He¡¯s like one of those guys in his past life who ends up reading a classic retro style dog-blood romance novel ¨C full of ¡®why¡¯s, and not just full of whys, but he has to ask them out loud too! And all he¡¯s doing is just interfering with their work!


    boilpoil''s notes:


    The middle of the raws had some words missing, so I''ve done my best to link the parts together.

 CH 42.2

    As for the second arc, Cheng Zhaoci is going to contrast it with the first arc, where the male has fallen for the demi, by having the male and demi actually having to live together in reality, which is very different from an idealised, dreamy romance. It will focus on the process of coming back down to earth from a romantic dream.


    The young male doesn¡¯t actually have any skills ¨C the demi has to take up the mantle of keeping everyday necessities in order. The male¡¯s family offers financial support, but that¡¯s it, while the demi also wants to ensure the young male doesn¡¯t have a worse quality of life than when he was staying with his family.


    Cheng Zhaoci actually got in contact with his editor to get a figure for the average salary of such freelance reporters. Knowing they generally get by and nothing more, he has the next parts of the plot set well.


    The male sees how hard the demi is working himself, and feels a little shameful. He feels like a burden to the demi; he likes the demi, so he wants to see him smile more.


    After another day of the demi falling asleep in exhaustion as soon as he gets home, the male has decided, he needs to help the demi as well. He needs to find a job.


    It is, however, unheard of for a male to work. There are no jobs that would hire males. Fortunately, the insectoid society also has gigs that allows working from home. They might strictly require IDs, but the male can simply borrow the demi¡¯s.


    Though this would lead to a clash of values ¨C the demi does not wish for the male to work.


    Other males can enjoy life surrounded by shemales and demis all around, without having to work a day of their life. He will not stand to watch his beloved young male having to work a living.


    By this point, Cheng Zhaoci is reminded of his dad. He kept acting like he has done Cheng Zhaoci a great disservice on the landfill planet, finding sorrow in the fact that other males have what his own son does not.


    Being able to reference a real-life example has made his writing easier.


    There will be other minor conflicts in the waiting because of their difference in values and understandings. Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t think that throwing tantrums or arguing are signs of a failing relationship. The two insectoids grew up differently and had different education. An amount of negotiation and concession must follow.


    And discomfort will certainly be a given during this process, because they will have to accommodate each other to a certain degree.


    Of course, this gentle nudge back down to reality is still sweet in general ¨C the young male is soft in personality, while the demi will never be angry at the young male.


    Overall, the story has gained a bit of realism what it lost in idealised romance. A bit, because it is already very uncommon to meet such a shut-in male who only marries one single shemale or demi in the actual insectoid society.


    Cheng Zhaoci is trying to create a believable interaction here, the kind that arises naturally as days pass, and small couples¡¯ spat come and go, but they¡¯re still lovey-dovey all the same.


    For example, the demi might puff up his cheeks and sulk knowing the male wants to get a job, but the male will come over, snuggling, explaining himself softly, and the demi will acquiesce and compromise in the end.


    Like some of those actual couples in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past life, whose everyday lives aren¡¯t remarkable or exciting, but it can put a smile on the face of everyone around.


    When they finally settle on the perfect way of life for them, and have become a cohesive family unit, the demi will make good on his promise to take the young male to see the world.


    That is when the twist comes. War strikes without a warning.


    They will be caught dead centre during a holiday, assaulted by insectoidal species.


    The army will mobilise in the chaos, and will immediately move to evacuate all known males here, including our protagonist.


    When the male is being forced into the military vessel, he will still be yelling for the demi¡¯s name.


    There are too many insectoids trapped on the planet, however, his beloved demi buried among them, too obscured to be seen.


    The male will try desperately to get the door to open back up, but he will be stopped. They will tell him, ¡°everything is going to be alright. You can marry another concubine in the future; what else could be more important than staying alive?¡±


    The male will cry and retort. He only likes him. He only has eyes for him.


    He will not be understood by anyone around him. They will agree with the insectoid who stopped him. There is nothing more important than staying alive.


    It will be the first time ever, that the scaredy, socially anxious male yells out at strangers. No one can ever be like the demi to him. He will be with him.


    Unfortunately, males, being all-too-treasured in insectoid society, will never be let back down onto an active battlefield. They will never let him kill himself.


    The male will be hustled back home. His family will be happy, because they know he is pretty handsome, with the only misfortune being his meek personality and falling head over heels for that demi who even ends up making the male having to work for his own living.


    They cannot accept such a cijun who lets his xiongzhu work. He does not deserve the male.


    So they are also among those who will persuade the male to look for another one. A better one.


    The male will assert, again and again, that he likes the demi. No one can replace the demi for him.


    His family and friends will simply tell him sure, but time will heal all wounds. He will forget, meet a better shemale or demi, and then know that this all isn¡¯t much to worry about.


    The male will come to understand that no one else understands him. No one knows why he wants the demi as his cijun, because they think it is atrocious for the male to still have to earn money. He should just get some more concubines.


    They will shower him with pity from on high, assuming all sorts of tragic mishap having befallen him in his days.


    Tragic? No. The male knows. His days are such bliss and happiness when spent with his favourite, beloved demi, the demi that is his cijun.


    He has been happy with him. Why does not one understand?


    In the past, he ends up even more withdrawn than the past.


    He does not move out to return to his family. Continuing to live in the little house he and the demi had, he used the skills he has learned to make a living. He has grown up, matured.


    For a while, he will follow every piece of news about the war, reading everything over and over, the list of victims, especially. Every time an entry reads ¡®Unidentifiable Remains¡¯ or simply, he will be unnerved, frightened, afraid that it turns out to be his cijun.


    He will also be waiting for the day the demi sends him a message, even though he knows, his cijun¡®s holodeck has broken during the initial chaos.


    That¡¯s the second arc done.


    Cheng ¡®the Merciless¡¯ Zhaoci writes down ¡®Arc 2 Fin.¡¯ on the very end of this chapter.


    ¡°I suggest you go into hiding for a while after publishing the comic,¡± Zhou Luoluo appears to have been standing behind him for a while, as he makes the advice in earnest, ¡°if you don¡¯t want some of those who know you¡¯re BombInMyPants to try and shower you with¡­ a warm welcome,¡± and in fact, if Zhou Luoluo wasn¡¯t already pre-assured that this story has a happy ending, he would be giving him such a warm welcome right now.


    ¡°¡­ Yeah, sure.¡±

 CH 43.1

    An Insectoid about to Have a Family


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    As he no longer needs to dwell on the characters¡¯ settings or a cover art for the second arc, and with Zhou Xiaobao helping him, Cheng Zhaoci should have done his part quite quickly. Unfortunately, trying to balance love and work has had its adverse effects.


    Mostly towards Zhou Xiaobao. While Zhou Luoluo, who¡¯s detailing the little zombie king, is vaguely happily as well, given that, technically, only Zhou Xiaobao is truly single among the three of them ¨C having not an insectoid he¡¯s fallen for, or an insectoid who¡¯s fallen for him as he seldom leaves his home.


    When Cheng Zhaoci has gone missing once more, Zhou Xiaobao has had enough¡­ Since he hasn¡¯t really learned how to throw tantrums, he just has his arms crossed and sulks.


    ¡°Why the long face? They¡¯re on a honeymoon, you know,¡± Zhou Luoluo replies, having learned the term ¡®honeymoon¡¯ from Cheng Zhaoci. Clearly, he doesn¡¯t know the true meaning of a ¡®honeymoon,¡¯ what with Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo not actually being married, what with Cheng Zhaoci still being a minor¡­


    Regardless, Cheng Zhaoci has ditched work this afternoon. He¡¯s at Wei Zhuo¡¯s place right now, having been registered and allowed to enter Wei Zhuo¡¯s mansion at any time.


    He still remembers how Wei Zhuo was blushing a little and slightly nervous but also expectant when he offered Cheng Zhaoci the authorisation. It is almost as if he wasn¡¯t simply giving Cheng Zhaoci the right to visit at any time, but giving him the position of the co-owner of the house.


    Cheng Zhaoci figured that part out when he learned soon after that Wei Zhuo is a very independent and territorial individual, as not even his good friend Meng Yuele was ever given this treatment.


    Which makes Cheng Zhaoci unique in having this right ¨C so rounding up, he¡¯s a co-owner already, a kind-of spouse.


    It¡¯s exhilarating for Cheng Zhaoci.


    Although it¡¯s almost nine in the evening now. Cheng Zhaoci has been waiting for Wei Zhuo to come back. It seems something is holding him up.


    It¡¯s not surprising, given he is a high-ranking officer in the military, especially with the increased piracy recently. Wei Zhuo has had to work overtime more often lately.


    Cheng Zhaoci visited with groceries with that in mind.


    It should go without saying, that in romance, one would wish to show off their competent side to appeal. Cheng Zhaoci may not be as good at cooking as Wei Zhuo is, but that¡¯s a high bar anyway. His cooking would not be too shabby compared to the cooking of the average insectoid out on the street, for sure.


    So Cheng Zhaoci had the idea of cooking a meal for Wei Zhuo before he gets off work today. Wei Zhuo will come home to a surprise ¨C the light¡¯s are on, and wow, a meal! And a male waiting for him! Homeliness!


    Where else but here could one find a more loving male? He should just marry right there and then!


    This was about the extent of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s fantasising when he was at the door to Wei Zhuo¡¯s mansion with groceries in hand that evening. A surprise for him, though, is seeing a shemale soldier sitting there on the sofa in the living room.


    ¡­ Didn¡¯t even Meng Yuele fail to obtain the right to visit at any time?


    The soldier seems as surprised as he is, looking over Cheng Zhaoci with widened eyes, and then at the bag Cheng Zhaoci is carrying.


    On the coffee table in front of the sofa, the shemale even has a cup of tea, which he probably brewed himself. He¡¯s sure getting comfortable.


    But then he notices that the soldier already has signs of wrinkles on his face. He would look middle-aged for a human, so in insectoid terms, he is already on the last leg of his life ¨C with about 30 years remaining at most.


    Though his countenance does not betray his age at all. If Wei Zhuo feels like an unsheathed sword, then this soldier feels like a sharp sword that has been sheathed once more, but still imposing nonetheless.


    Put more simply, he¡¯s quite intimidating to behold.


    ¡°Greetings, uh, mister?¡± Cheng Zhaoci and the shemale soldier had a short staring contest, but asked when it seemed like the staring would go on forever.


    It wasn¡¯t Lu Yao¡¯s intention to intimidate or glare at the male. He is simply too shocked to react.


    When his grandson called him to tell him about how he fell in love with a male, he failed to react at the time. He should be alarmed, knowing what happened to his own son and what that damned bastard of a son-in-law he had did to him, and how this contributed to his grandson¡¯s male-phobic tendencies.


    Lu Yao has tried to persuade him that not all males are like that, but it was next to useless.


    Wei Zhuo would listen, and then keep an unhealthily large distance away regardless. Add to that the scar he has, and it¡¯s no wonder not a single male is interested in him.


    That¡¯s why Lu Yao thought his grandson would end up single his entire life, perhaps sacrificing his life for the Federation on the battlefield in great honour in the end.


    Lu Yao himself was a decisive and straightforward shemale soldier when he was younger, but as he got older, he became more melancholic, especially when he only has his grandson left. He can¡¯t help but worry about him a lot.


    That¡¯s why the phone call that informed him of his newfound romance astonished him.


    And he also can¡¯t help but be worried a male has pulled a fast one over his grandson. He¡¯s already lost his shemale boy once, to a bastard protected by the aegis of the damned Protection Law and wasn¡¯t held accountable to anything.


    He cannot possibly stand by if his own grandson would succumb to the same sorrowful path his own son took. After some consideration, he decided to come over to ask in person.


    He hasn¡¯t arrived for long before a male just barged in unannounced. This male can already visit at any time?!


    And he hasn¡¯t even mentally prepared to meet his grandson¡¯s new target of affection yet!


    After Cheng Zhaoci has asked, Lu Yao finally realises the awkwardness of the situation, and answers, ¡°Lu Yao. I¡¯m Wei Zhuo¡¯s granddad.¡±


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s granddad? Isn¡¯t he¡­ oh shit! The Grand Marshal!


    The entire insectoid military has only four Grand Marshals, which are under the command of the Chief Commander. Cheng Zhaoci has only ever been a simple citizen in both his lives, and is at a loss at how to deal with bigshots, whether they¡¯re human or insectoid.


    ¡°Uh, um, hello! I mean, greetings, sir!¡± Cheng Zhaoci is woefully unprepared for such a meeting.


    It¡¯s like seeing the Speaker of the House all of a sudden, and he is somehow the grandparent of the one you love. It creates enormous stress for him just being there.


    Cheng Zhaoci awkwardly moves his arms a little, and remembers the groceries he has on hand, and asks, ¡°so uh, have you eaten yet, granddad?¡±


    Then he immediately shuts the hell up. He isn¡¯t even married to Wei Zhuo! He can¡¯t really call Lu Yao granddad, can he?!


    Actually, it feels like he¡¯s overstepping at best or brewing evil schemes at worse with that term of address. He can see the Marshal¡¯s brows furrowing! And he¡¯s stroking his chin with his hand!


    And Lu Yao¡­ He was surprised by being called ¡®granddad¡¯ all of a sudden.


    But Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s clearly flustered form is slightly¡­ cute.


    It is just his poker face and Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mind playing tricks on him that he thought the Grand Marshal has become dissatisfied with him.

 CH 43.2

    ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± Lu Yao asks.


    ¡°Cheng Zhaoci!¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies without delay.


    Oh? Lu Yao remembers the name, or rather, he¡¯s been mentioned quite often since his grandson rescued him from a landfill planet.


    He¡¯s heard of him from his comic, from politicians, and even those single-minded researchers.


    Well, in spite of that, he hasn¡¯t tried to learn more about him. His age also means he believes himself well past loving stuff like comics. All he knows, is that his grandson rescued him, and because of outstanding circumstances, the male needs to be personally protected.


    Knowing his grandson isn¡¯t interested in males in general, Lu Yao didn¡¯t pay much attention to this, and just let Wei Zhuo do what he believed was best.


    It turns out, he got himself a xiongzhu from a landfill planet, huh?


    Lu Yao is definitely intrigued now. He also remembers that he felt it was unfortunate his grandson wasn¡¯t interested in males when he overheard discussions about how this male might have grade S aptitude.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten yet,¡± Lu Yao replies, having decided to come only this afternoon.


    ¡°Would you like to eat together?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is now trying his best to calm down and face Lu Yao more naturally. He isn¡¯t doing a very good job of that, though.


    ¡°And you¡¯re cooking¡­?¡± Lu Yao asks in disbelief. ¡®A male who cooks¡¯ is like an oxymoron. Is life so backwards and downtrodden on landfill planets that even young male children have to cook their own meals now?


    ¡°I can cook a little, but I¡¯m not as good as the Squadron Leader,¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains, believing the Marshal to have tried his own grandson¡¯s cooking. He would rather not give false hope to him and end up failing his expectations.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing your cooking here?¡±


    ¡°I, I thought that the Squadron Leader would be off work soon, so I wanted to welcome him home to a hearty meal,¡± and then to try and deepen their relationship a little¡­ Cheng Zhaoci leaves off that last part, to save themselves the awkwardness.


    Lu Yao doesn¡¯t look surprised much, and just simply puts his hands behind him, and walk slowly behind Cheng Zhaoci as he enters the kitchen to cook.


    Finally, Wei Zhuo is home after ten. He sees the house is lit up.


    Is the good little male visiting so late at night? Or perhaps, is granddad here?


    When he enters, he can smell the goodness on the table ¨C several dishes of home-cooked meals. Wei Zhuo widens his eyes a little, and, seemingly realising something, quickly heads for the kitchen.


    Is Cheng Zhaoci here? Did he cook these?


    Wei Zhuo can feel his heart beating more and more quickly, threatening to jump out his chest, even, until it almost comes to an abrupt stop when he sees what¡¯s going on inside the kitchen.


    Cheng Zhaoci is cooking with stiff hands and straightened back, while Lu Yao is observing from the side with his hands behind him, like some instructor inspecting his disciple¡¯s work.


    ¡°Mi-mister Cheng Zhaoci? Granddad?!¡± Why are these two here together?!


    They finally notice he¡¯s home, and Cheng Zhaoci greets him happily, ¡°Mr Wei! You¡¯re home!¡±


    Lu Yao, though, walks over with a rather grim look, ¡°come with me.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci then locks eyes with Wei Zhuo, who tells him he¡¯ll just be a minute, and follows after Lu Yao.


    Cheng Zhaoci is quite nervous. What will they talk about? Military affairs? Or¡­ himself? This sudden first meeting with the in-laws really has him on edge.


    If he knew he was going to meet the general today, he would definitely have dressed himself up better and planned everything ahead. He might still be nervous seeing the Marshal, but at least, he won¡¯t be panicking as much!


    ¡°You must get together with this male!¡± Is the first thing Lu Yao tells Wei Zhuo when they¡¯re in his bedroom and the door has been shut.


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Never let him go! Listen to ¡®pa. ¡®Pa knows what¡¯s best for you,¡± Lu Yao is glaring at Wei Zhuo now, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen another male like him! Never let him fall into someone else¡¯s hands, you hear me?¡±


    Wei Zhuo is still silent. Lu Yao can¡¯t take it anymore, and gives his grandson a big slap on the bumcheeks, ¡°you¡¯re grade S! You¡¯ve got the bod! You need to seize your advantages! And grasp the male¡¯s heart firmly in your hands!¡±


    Wei Zhuo is all shaken, explaining, ¡°granddad, the male and I, we aren¡¯t, we haven¡¯t confirmed our relationship yet.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s already cooking for you at your home! What do you mean you haven¡¯t confirmed?!¡± Lu Yao isn¡¯t buying any of it, ¡°you¡¯re just too embarrassed to admit, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Wei Zhuo is beet red now, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you usually straight as an arrow? What¡¯s all this dancing around the issue for?¡± Lu Yao is clearly despising his grandson now, ¡°I was never as much a chicken when I was going after your grandfather!¡±


    ¡°Just wait and see,¡± Lu Yao doesn¡¯t say what Wei Zhuo should be waiting and watching out for, which is the fact that he¡¯s going to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s account to read his comic. He must learn more about this male at once!


    So Wei Zhuo quietly slinks back to the kitchen to help Cheng Zhaoci. It¡¯s, it¡¯s just too inappropriate to have a male cook for him.


    When the meal is up, and they are all seated around the dinner table, Cheng Zhaoci can see that Lu Yao is smiling at him. Very, very creepily, enough to give him the heebie-jeebies.


    Lu Yao, though, is just feeling better and better about the male the more he learns about him, ¡°xiao-Ci, you sure are a jack of all trades, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you flatter me; I¡¯m nowhere near as capable,¡± he¡¯s just a noob who can die in a matter of seconds in a virtual mecha fight.


    Wei Zhuo has started eating in the meantime, and under the influence of his thick rose-tinted¡­ tongue, he finds the meal the best he has ever had in his entire life, ¡°yes, the male is very capable whatever he does. He is always bringing new surprises.¡±


    R-really?


    ¡°Right? He draws very well, and he is very handsome. He can also cook. I really haven¡¯t seen a male as amazing as he is,¡± the Grand Marshal says.


    Wei Zhuo keeps going, ¡°and to top it all off, Mr Cheng Zhaoci is even interested in mecha and virtual mecha fighting. He plays quite often.¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that a respectable feat?¡± The Grand Marshal comments, ¡°I have never seen a male who is interested in mechas!¡±


    Wei Zhuo then smiles, ¡°the male is also very gentle and mature. He takes good care of everyone around him. He is independent and spirited.¡±


    ¡°It is definitely rare to see a male working a living, especially when xiao-Ci is not even an adult yet!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡­ does not know what to do anymore. He feels like his cheeks are hot enough to be an impromptu skillet.

 CH 43.3

    Perhaps it is quite relaxing to be in the company of his granddad, Wei Zhuo can¡¯t stop his idle praises. Lu Yao is only all too happy to oblige. Cheng Zhaoci is drowning in embarrassment from the ceaseless attacks all around him.


    In fact, Wei Zhuo has already pulled up the photograph he took of himself and Cheng Zhaoci. Lu Yao¡¯s eyes mysteriously sparkles, giving high praise to the photography.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡­ has given up, and is focusing on finishing his meal instead.


    Wei Zhuo, though, has finally noticed Cheng Zhaoci being oddly quiet. He simply puts it down to his granddad being too imposing in general, ¡°Mr Cheng, are you not feeling very comfortable?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s alright,¡± Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t as uncomfortable sitting by Lu Yao now than he was before, alone. He is just simply feeling awkward because of the passion.


    Lu Yao watches Cheng Zhaoci and his grandson just looking at each other and going back to silence. Argh! What in the world is his grandson doing?!


    Why is he still tiptoe-tiptoeing around?! He¡¯s a shemale!


    ¡°Xiao-Ci, have you seen our Wei Zhuo¡¯s training videos?¡± Lu Yao interrupts the stare with a sudden question, as Cheng Zhaoci turns to look at him with a surprised face.


    ¡°Let me pull it up,¡± Lu Yao gets his holodeck up and playing a video, as Wei Zhuo watches in disbelief, ¡°I took this a year ago. You know me, I¡¯m old and I do miss my grandson much. I watch these when I can¡¯t see him in person.¡±


    Almost like any regular elderly folk who can¡¯t help but share how excellent his grandson is.


    He told the truth, but not all the truth, as in, why he¡¯s pulling the video up.


    It can be seen that Wei Zhuo is far less gentle in attitude than when he is in front of Cheng Zhaoci. He is wearing only a white tank top. Drenched in sweat. The kind you can just about see the definition underneath.


    Wei Zhuo really has a great body, a hot body. Unfortunately, it is quite often buried under layers of fabric in front of Cheng Zhaoci. He hasn¡¯t ever had the chance to see exactly how amazing Wei Zhuo¡¯s physique really is!


    With no absurdly bulging muscles, his whole proportion is pleasing to the eye. The muscles are toned to just the right degree. His chest muscles¡­ kuhum. They feel like they would be so nice to squeeze!


    When he moves around, his muscles ebb and flow with him. Alongside his perfectly stoic face, he looks like one of those perfect soldier robots a movie might depict in his past life.


    But this perfect soldier robot feels something for him. He would also blush! Cheng Zhaoci¡­ oh no. He knows he might start bleeding from the nose if he keeps watching.


    Too bad Wei Zhuo has already confiscated Lu Yao¡¯s holodeck, and shut down the video.


    Lu Yao looks like he wants to say something, but Wei Zhuo gives him a death glare. Lu Yao says nothing.


    ¡°I apologise for showing you such obscenity,¡± Wei Zhuo anxiously apologises, only to notice Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s gaze inadvertently swimming about his chest area. The gaze quickly glances away, but when Wei Zhuo thought he was just seeing things ¨C Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s gaze comes swimming right back.


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci swears he isn¡¯t so lewd¡­ Well, a bit, maybe. But, who could blame him?! Yes, Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest isn¡¯t even comparable in size to the girls in his past life, but it looks so firm, and it feels like it¡¯d be so amazing!


    These fabulous chest muscles belongs to the insectoid near him. Cheng Zhaoci really can¡¯t help but glance, trying to determine if it can be seen under the clothes.


    Wei Zhuo is getting nervous again. Actually, he is nervous whenever Cheng Zhaoci is eyeing him up and down. It¡¯s too bad his nervousness won¡¯t be subsiding quite quickly this time.


    At twelve that night, Wei Zhuo is questioning his life¡¯s choices on the floorboards.


    Oh, he has blankets and a bedsheet under him alright. The reason he is sleeping on the floor, though, is because Cheng Zhaoci has taken over his bed.


    Lu Yao persuaded Cheng Zhaoci to sleep over, with one single irrefutable reason ¨C it¡¯s too late for a male to wander around outside. Cheng Zhaoci ran into pirates before, didn¡¯t he? They haven¡¯t been able to identify the traitor in the military yet, so it¡¯s safest to be here.


    And because Wei Zhuo has clearly never considered having more than one insectoid sleeping over, ever, he only has two sets of bedsheet and blankets. He usually keeps one as his spare when the other set is in the wash. Fortunately, it is balmy enough inside that Lu Yao has let his grandson sleep on the floor of his own bedroom with a blanket, while he sleeps on the mattress directly.


    ¡­ If only there was a sofa to be found in the myriad of rooms around the two bedrooms, which have all been stuffed to the brim with what are mostly parts and components.


    Lu Yao, meanwhile, also warned him to keep himself in check. The male is not yet of age. He must not do anything to him.


    Wei Zhuo agreed without thinking, before suddenly hitting upon the idea that he could have simply slept on the floor in his granddad¡®s room! Though his granddad has already left to sleep in his bedroom.


    Feeling awkward, Wei Zhuo is going to take the blanket and bedsheet with him to the living room, but Cheng Zhaoci tells him he doesn¡¯t mind.


    Wei Zhuo thus sleeps in the same room as Cheng Zhaoci¡­ until he soon remembers, that there is one big sofa in the living room, isn¡¯t there?


    But they¡¯ve all settled down and turned off the lights. It doesn¡¯t seem polite to move now.


    Cheng Zhaoci fell asleep quickly enough, having been tense most of the afternoon in front of Lu Yao, and also having accumulated exhaustion from working nonstop on his comic these few days.


    He felt nervous sharing a room with his beloved insectoid, but didn¡¯t know what to say¡­ And then, as he mulled over a conversation topic, he fell asleep.


    Wei Zhuo glances over towards his bed on the ground. It¡¯s too tall for him to see Cheng Zhaoci.


    Then, a hand comes over, and falls over the edge of the bed. It¡¯s Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s, who seems to be quite restless in his sleep.


    The hand is slim and pretty. It feels slightly smaller than his own.


    Wei Zhuo continues to watch the hand, which reminds him of what his granddad said. He¡¯s never seen a male like Cheng Zhaoci.


    It makes sense he hasn¡¯t. There is only one such special male in this world. He¡¯s the treasure he plucked from the landfill planet, just like how, in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s earliest, still running comic, the strongest shemale picked up a little zombie king from the rubble.


    Wei Zhuo, though, thinks that Cheng Zhaoci is much better than that little zombie king, who isn¡¯t as lively, or could tug at his heartstrings like Cheng Zhaoci does.


    Tug at his heartstrings, fill his mind and chest entirely with himself.

 CH 43.4

    `Wei Zhuo then carefully and slowly extends his hand, until it gradually came into contact with Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hanging hand.


    When the fingers touch, Wei Zhuo feels electrified, like he was hit by lightning.


    Then there¡¯s a bit of movement on the bed, and Wei Zhuo freezes.


    A clearly drowsy Cheng Zhaoci opens his eyes a little, glances at Wei Zhuo, and immediately falls back asleep. When Wei Zhuo is sighing in relief, Cheng Zhaoci mumbles, ¡°¡­ handsome¡­¡±


    Wei Zhuo shakes a little, and bites his lips, while covering up his face.


    Oh no. This wouldn¡¯t do. It surely wouldn¡¯t. He¡¯s always blushing all the time now, really, like, unbecoming of a grade S shemale.


    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± Zhou Luoluo concludes, observing the energetic Cheng Zhaoci who seems to have fallen back in love with work.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± Zhou Xiaobao concurs, ¡°very wrong.¡±


    He was all ¡®I don¡¯t want to work I want love¡¯ a few days ago. They can¡¯t understand how he suddenly wised up overnight.


    ¡°You¡¯re the ones being weird,¡± Cheng Zhaoci retorts, before telling them, ¡°I need to earn more money. I¡¯m going to be a male with a family soon. I must do my part for it. I need to earn a living for Squadron Leader Wei.¡±


    Though taking into account the speed at which the Squadron Leader is promoted, he¡¯d probably end up the Marshal or something eventually. He doesn¡¯t need someone to earn a living for him.


    Zhou Luoluo then asks, curious, ¡°so what happened to you two?¡±


    ¡°I saw the future in-laws,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies earnestly, or rather, he¡¯s in the mood to brag.


    He¡¯s feeling quite good, what with his current audience consisting of an insectoid with zero experience in romance, and an insectoid still in the exploratory, ambiguous stages of a relationship.


    Somehow, he¡¯s got the sense of superiority of a male who¡¯s established a family over those who haven¡¯t, even though he¡¯s not even of age yet, ¡°the Grand Marshal has taken a liking to me, so I think it¡¯s a good time to prepare.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re still underage.¡±


    ¡°One should always prepare in advance,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is wholly content as he starts drawing, ¡°now let¡¯s get back to work. I¡¯ve sent you both the panels for the day. Gossiping is bad for productivity, especially when you kids won¡¯t even know half of what I¡¯m talking about.¡±


    What sort of unique brand of bastard are they even dealing with here?! The Zhou brothers wish they¡¯re blind just so they don¡¯t have to see Cheng Zhaoci gloating. Zhou Luoluo looks all ready to start a futile battle of saliva when Zhou Xiaobao stops him, ¡°don¡¯t. The more you engage, the more haughty he gets.¡±


    As Zhou Xiaobao knows all too well the prowess in battle a Cheng Zhaoci with highly disproportionate ego possesses.


    Really, Cheng Zhaoci is an amazing insectoid, with the sole exception of when he gets in over his head. Before the ball of hot air that replaced his head dissipates by itself, Cheng Zhaoci will just be this stubbornly thick and oily balloon if you try to deflate him with a harsh needle of reality.


    Well, the good thing about a Cheng Zhaoci with this debuff on him is that he is highly motivated, already finishing the detailed draft of the second chapter of the second arc by the second day.


    In fact, since he¡¯s still the one doing everything until the detailing, he can just skip the rough storyboard sketches and draw detailed scenes in the first place. It saves time.


    After sending it off to Zhou Xiaobao, he starts working on the next chapter for the little zombie king. Slowly, though, he starts blanking out a little, watching the face of his ¡®strongest shemale¡¯ character, ¡°did you guys know?¡±


    The sombre tone makes both of the other insectoids present look at him in surprise.


    ¡°I was still on Zhousuo when I started working on the little zombie,¡± Cheng Zhaoci pokes the strongest shemale in the face with his finger.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past,¡± Zhou Xiaobao has never been to a landfill planet, and only has a vague idea of what they¡¯re like from photographs online and stories from family members. Of course, it¡¯s nowhere one should be, let alone live on. He really thinks it¡¯s extraordinary Cheng Zhaoci grew up relatively safely there, ¡°it must have been terrible for you.¡±


    ¡°The character I designed, was almost a spitting image of the Squadron Leader. We met exactly how the characters met in the comic,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is looking up at the wall now, at a 45-degree angle, ¡°I suppose, this must be fate.¡±


    ¡°Would you shut up for one second?!¡± Zhou Luoluo has had enough, and goes from sitting to falling on his back, lying on the floor, ¡°you weren¡¯t like this! You¡¯ve changed!¡± Cheng Zhaoci was always the mature and reliable one back then. Now, he only has an all too depressing realisation of how time changes insectoids. Especially when it¡¯s for the worse, like Cheng Zhaoci becoming prone to childishly bragging to everyone around him.


    ¡°A male with a family to support would definitely change, you know. I¡¯m no longer the past me.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo ¡°¡­¡±


    What else can he even say?


    He should just keep his peace.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci suddenly recalls that he has forgotten to tell his dad about his newfound love! He¡¯s seen his future in-laws now, so he has to inform his dad and prepare as well.


    Cheng Zhaoci sends Cheng Jin a message ¨C because Cheng Jin might be busy on a sensitive mission for which timing is crucial, and have left his holodeck behind. It¡¯d be troublesome for him to have to call him back after noticing the missed call. Cheng Zhaoci would rather his dad learned of this news more directly.


    ¡­ Actually, he should probably send Xiao Ji and He Huaijian the news as well.


    Oh, right. He can also change his forum signature on his comic artist alt.


    [Username: BombInMyPants.


    ¡­


    Signature: Happiness is when you have an insectoid you like, and you realise you have the opportunity to be together until you¡¯re old and hale]


    Many readers have noticed his signature change. Some are teasingly asking if he¡¯s found a loving xiongzhu for himself, that he had such a dramatic shift to happy romance in his latest comic ¨C well, they would probably stop saying that when the second arc is published.


    Meanwhile, some are also wondering if he is the xiongzhu¡®s cijun or a concubine.


    Cheng Zhaoci not having disclosed his male identity means many are assuming him to be a demi. Yes, a demi, despite his highly evocative username. Mainly because it is an even stronger stereotype that shemales don¡¯t have an ounce of what it takes to pull off romance among insectoid society, so the choice was ruled out entirely.


    In fact, there is even a small group of males that are expressing pity finding out the demi BombIn that they have taken a liking to is now taken. They¡¯ve never seen a photograph of him or managed to get information on him, but they do lament that another male has got to him before them nonetheless.


    Among them, there are even ones that proclaim that as long as virginity remains intact, BombIn and his supposed mate aren¡¯t truly ¡®together¡¯ yet, and ask BombIn to look their way, as they promise the position of a loved concubine to him.


    Of course, the only replies those comments from that minority of males attract would be shemales and demis telling them not to be said¡­ as they sell themselves to try and get laid with these males instead.


    Somehow, in the end, the comments section for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s alt page has turned into some kind of massive mixer event.


    Cheng Zhaoci, at least, is visibly confounded. As he doesn¡¯t check his private messages often anymore, he wasn¡¯t aware at all he had a bunch of ¡®hubby fans¡¯ gathered. Not that he wanted any of them.


    Hey, they¡¯re all males here. Take the pants off and maybe he might even be more male than some of them!


    Who are you trying to court with here?


    When Cheng Jin sees Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s message, a relaxing relief comes over him after the initial surprise. Thank goodness, his male son is still interested in shemales.


    Then it would seem that he only sees the male known as Zhou Luoluo as a friend.


    Xiao Ji is much more direct, giving Cheng Zhaoci a call and excitedly asking for juicy details. And also, bragging that he and He Huaijian both called as soon as they saw the message, but his call got through first.


    Although, after Cheng Zhaoci gets close to the hour mark as he continues recounting to Xiao Ji every single interaction between him and Wei Zhuo, with just their eyes casually locking receiving upwards of 400 words in description, and that not even being the least of it, Xiao Ji has been responding less and less, until finally, he made his excuses and, for once, cut the call short instead of being the one getting told to shut up.


    And He Huaijian, who was also supposedly going to call Cheng Zhaoci, never did.


    Meng Yuele also noticed immediately, taking his holodeck to Wei Zhuo and asking him, ¡°yo yo yo! Bro, this is you, right?!¡±


    He sees BombInMyPants¡¯ homepage on the holodeck, and as his eyes scroll past the signature, he freezes up entirely. Uh, but, like, they haven¡¯t actually confirmed that they¡¯re in a relationship yet, right? So how did this¡­ just, happen?


    No, no no no. This is far too casual. It is blasphemously disrespectful to Mr Cheng Zhaoci. He must make amends with a grandiose proposal immediately. Right, that means presents. He has seen how ceremonious it gets when other shemales and demis are trying to win a male¡¯s affection.


    It may be true that Mr Cheng Zhaoci is a lot more forward with his feelings than most, but he must not neglect to do his part as well.


    ¡°Woah! That face of yours, it¡¯s blushing? Fuck me, you¡¯re actually embarrassed! Hahaha! Now I¡¯ve sure seen it all,¡± Meng Yuele then collapses into a fit of laughter, before recovering to ask, ¡°so what¡¯s really going on? Are you two hitting it off or not?¡±


    Wei Zhuo does not answer.


    Meng Yuele is going to paw at Wei Zhuo for an explanation¡­ until he sees Wei Zhuo¡¯s cold gaze directed at him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve finished everything for the day? All the space pirates have been captured? Why was your holodeck on a comic artist¡¯s homepage at work?¡± Wei Zhuo raises his brow, ¡°I want a ten-thousand word reflection,¡± a timely reminder that while Wei Zhuo is a good friend of Meng Yuele¡¯s, he¡¯s also his superior.


    The happy Meng Yuele once again turns into a sad Meng Yuele.

 CH 44.1

    Two Worlds


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Everything is proceeding to plan, including his career. After resolving to become more responsible, his comic has been progressing at a healthy pace.


    So before the end of the year, he finishes the second chapter of his comic. Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are also enjoying their end-of-year festivities, and will be home for a month. Perhaps lacking the common sense of gender boundaries, Xiao Ji is always coming to hang out with the three males.


    He is naturally curious about what they¡¯re drawing, but Cheng Zhaoci has refused adamantly to let him see.


    He Huaijian, meanwhile, is busy with¡­ something or another. He wouldn¡¯t say anything even when Cheng Zhaoci asks, only telling him ¡°you¡¯ll know when it¡¯s done.¡±


    Speaking of the duo, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are now seriously contending for the position of top of their year.


    ¡°Ci-zai, you would never have guessed that after you came to our school that one time a bunch o¡¯ bastards wanted to buddy-buddy up with me. I gave them all the cold shoulder,¡± Xiao Ji is quite furious talking about them, getting defensive over his Ci-zai, ¡°we¡¯re gonna be eighteen after New Year¡¯s. Are you going to marry the Squadron Leader then?¡±


    Insectoids can legally marry without parental consent at 18.


    Mar-Marriage?! He, he¡¯s just started dating¡­ It seems quite sudden to marry in less than a year, but, if it¡¯s Wei Zhuo¡­ He doesn¡¯t find himself opposed to the idea.


    ¡°Honestly, you two suit each other. The Squadron Leader is grade S, you know! He¡¯s a super fighting machine!¡± Xiao Ji, like your typical shemale, loves to brawl and respects the strong, ¡°and you¡¯ve been amazing too! Everyone is talking about the comics you drew! Most of the students are your fans.¡±


    ¡°And so are you, ace student,¡± Cheng Zhaoci pats Xiao Ji on the shoulder, ¡°you¡¯ve changed a lot since the days on Zhousuo.¡±


    On Zhousuo, Xiao Ji has never been clean, thanks to him scavenging and fighting for resources day in, day out with a big sack on his back.


    Now he¡¯s properly dressed in a military academy attire, and his unruly red hair has also been neatly combed.


    Xiao Ji disagrees, ¡°I feel the same though. It just feels more hopeful when we¡¯re off that barren rock.¡±


    ¡°The only way is still up,¡± Cheng Zhaoci chuckles, ¡°we¡¯ll all lead better and better lives.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re packing up? Going on a trip?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be staying over at the Squadron Leader¡¯s house for a few days,¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s smile fades, ¡°as a refugee, I suppose.¡±


    Xiao Ji is deeply concerned, ¡°is there going to be trouble?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, but we¡¯re suspecting it¡¯ll be soon,¡± Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t say a word of the storm to come to the confused Xiao Ji.


    The next day, after a final shared meal between the five of them, the three males left in groups.


    Not long afterwards, the second arc of the romance comic is out.


    Cheng Zhaoci has already turned off all notification on his holodeck, and is now ¡®squatting¡¯ at Wei Zhuo¡¯s.


    Wei Zhuo is off work today, so Cheng Zhaoci is happily indulging himself in Wei Zhuo¡¯s cooking.


    While Cheng Zhaoci is gorging himself on the feast, Wei Zhuo sighs, reading Meng Yuele¡¯s bombardment of sadness on his holodeck, and asks, ¡°do you have a preference for tragic stories?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a tragedy this time. It¡¯s a sweet story, and they¡¯ll be together in the end. That¡¯s all I¡¯m willing to say at this point,¡± Cheng Zhaoci strains his neck to watch Meng Yuele¡¯s poignant and incoherent tirade on the holodeck, ¡°I¡¯m not heartless, you know, but spoilers would ruin the profound climax later.¡±


    If they already know everything will turn out alright in the end, this second arc would have been far less effectively impactful. The value of adversity will be lessened, like Zhou Luoluo¡¯s reaction. Knowing they¡¯ll be together means that when they do finally meet each other again, there will be emotional satisfaction, but there won¡¯t be a good sense of payoff.


    ¡°It¡¯s like life. If one day, some insectoid revealed everything about your entire life ahead. When your glory days will be, when you¡¯ll fall in love, when you¡¯ll die, and you¡¯re unable to escape this foretold pattern until the day you die, that practically makes life meaningless,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, helping himself to some more meat in his bowl, ¡°that¡¯s why I¡¯m not explaining a thing even if they get on their knees and beg.¡±


    Or want to pull a bag over his head and beat him up, since no one can find where he is right now, hehehehe.


    Wei Zhuo, though, gives a rather unexpected response, ¡°if an insectoid told me a very long time ago, that I would eventually come to meet you, I suppose I would have led a more hopeful and happy life for the past twenty-odd years, instead of the dull and uneventful slog that it ended up being.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci pauses his eating, looking at Wei Zhuo.


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes are serious. He means what he said. He thinks that was what his life was.


    It almost sounds like everything he has done in the past 20 years was a piss in the wind compared to meeting Cheng Zhaoci.


    It is such a sad sentiment to make. Wei Zhuo is an accomplished shemale with grade S physical aptitude and countless battles and missions under his belt. He is a decorated veteran. ¡®Slog¡¯ is the one word that should not have been used to describe his life thus far.


    But Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes¡­ He isn¡¯t lying. In fact, he looks slightly anxious, but his eyes have the sparkle of hope.


    For the first time, Cheng Zhaoci realises that it might not actually be Wei Zhuo¡¯s true nature to play by the rules and follow the law and established order to the letter, or he wouldn¡¯t have described his high-achieving life as a ¡®slog.¡¯ There is actually a stubbornness in him, a deviation, that he has kept suppressed very well all this time. He locked himself up in the chains of society, trapping, suffocating his true self in a cage.

 CH 44.2

    Cheng Zhaoci is looking at Wei Zhuo quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯ve once thought that, whichever shemale or demi ended up striking your fancy, I¡¯ll be on the sidelines to watch over you, to protect you,¡± Wei Zhuo says, his slightly trembling tone betraying a hint of nervousness, ¡°until, I realised, I could not. I¡¯m not actually that selfless. Not even if your cijun were to be some perfect, ideal shemale.¡±


    Here, for the first time as well, Cheng Zhaoci is bravely extending his hand to paw at the grade S shemale¡¯s head, ruffling the hair.


    Really, Wei Zhuo looks so utterly helpless right now. Helpless and pitiful.


    Cheng Zhaoci thus discovers that while grade S shemales are said to have strength rivalling a full metal mecha, their hair is actually quite soft, ¡°don¡¯t overthink it. It is impossible to fall in love without selfishness. If you could accept some ridiculous ¡®perfect shemale¡¯ to be my cijun, then what you¡¯re feeling cannot have been love.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a good insectoid. Definitely, 100% great,¡± Cheng Zhaoci declares.


    Wei Zhuo was not treated with much kindness by the harsh realities of insectoid society. Cheng Zhaoci actually thinks Jin Yue is the most normal insectoid he¡¯s seen so far ¨C not in terms of his mental state, of course, but in terms of his feelings and actions taken after he was unreasonably hurt.


    If all the world has given an insectoid is pain and suffering, then don¡¯t be surprised when pain and suffering is all he knows to do.


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know why Wei Zhuo still plays by the rules. He thought it was his sense of duty to the insectoids at first, but now that Wei Zhuo has effectively confessed to having nothing but apathy for the rules¡­ well, maybe he is still very slightly dutiful, but nothing more, perhaps because his granddad is still there for him, or he has strong moral guidance, but regardless, it is a miracle Wei Zhuo did not become misanthropic or vengeful towards society, especially when all the factors are there to conspire making him into one.


    Cheng Zhaoci gets up and walks next to Wei Zhuo to give him a big hug ¨C an even closer, intimate form of interaction between them than that time he hugged Wei Zhuo when he was home, ¡°I like you, because you are a brilliant, dazzling beacon of an insectoid.¡±


    What else can he even say about Wei Zhuo? He rescued him from the landfill planet. He helped Xiao Ji and He Huaijian into the military academy, and found teachers for them. He kept everything organised and, most importantly, the house he¡¯s living in is Wei Zhuo¡¯s!


    If it were any other insectoid, who¡¯s given this much, and has developed romantic feelings, they can simply morally entrap the target of their affections. Not Wei Zhuo, who is even resolved to being that guardian angel bullshit, thinking it¡¯s ¡®selfish¡¯ if he couldn¡¯t accept Cheng Zhaoci finding a cijun in another shemale or demi.


    He doesn¡¯t really feel much responsibility towards the insectoid society, but even so, he defended it nonetheless, even risking his life on occasions.


    That little stubborn spirit of freedom he keeps trapped inside has never hurt anyone. In fact, he has saved countless lives, and perhaps even the insectoids at large.


    That¡¯s why, that little nervous probing from Wei Zhuo, makes Cheng Zhaoci empathise in pain.


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t rubbing himself on the beloved chest muscles or pecs, because Wei Zhuo is still sitting. His head is perfectly situated for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s embrace.


    Wei Zhuo, meanwhile, seems so shocked he even forgot to breathe. Finally, the lack of oxygen gets through to his brain, and he starts inhaling and calling out, ¡°mi-mister!¡±


    Oh no! He doesn¡¯t know how to breathe anymore! He¡¯s so close!


    ¡°Shh, let me hug you,¡± Cheng Zhaoci pulls the hug tighter. Sigh, their most legendary grade S shemale, isn¡¯t nearly as invulnerable and cold-hearted as they say.


    Wei Zhuo has kept his eyes shut as he tentatively puts his hands over Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s waist as well. His hands, capable of the most minute and precise operations on a mecha, is actually shaking a little. When no objection comes from Cheng Zhaoci, he tightens his hug as well.


    While the lovebirds are hugging each other silly, Meng Yuele, Sun Wushe, and some coworkers of theirs are drinking again. They seem even crestfallen than last time.


    Not too long ago, they were all too happy to discover that they could enjoy some sweet romance for once. Today, though, is the day the ¡®sweet romance¡¯ bared its fangs and tore them apart limb from limb.


    That damned author!


    Well, all the damning and cussing are coming from the coworkers who don¡¯t know any better. Meng Yuele could never say something about the young, lovable male no matter how angry he gets.


    Though when he sees a colleague of his proclaim that he would find the author and give him a good beating if he knew who he is, Meng Yuele can¡¯t help but agree. If Cheng Zhaoci were a shemale or even a demi, he might have done exactly that. Too bad he¡¯s a male.


    Obviously, the punch would be devastating for both parties involved. And if Wei Zhuo even so much as catches wind of his intentions, he would not hesitate to forgo friends and relatives for justice ¨C he being the ¡®friend and relative¡¯ in this case.


    The same dilemma befalls He Huaijian and Xiao Ji. He Huaijian, who¡¯s been working on his secret project, is out of his room for once, standing in silence across from Xiao Ji. Xiao Ji, meanwhile, has buried his face in his hands, ¡°I finally know why he is taking refuge in Squadron Leader Wei¡¯s house.¡±


    Their little heartless brother must have figured out this would happen. He¡¯s avoiding all of them.


    Their school forum has already blown up in discussion, or rather, in condemnation over the madness of the crazy author.


    And that¡¯s not the worst of it.


    Zhou Luoluo is hanging out in the city today, only to notice the CBD shopping plaza¡¯s biggest screen space was rented out by some presumably extremely rich male, who is making three simple lines of text roll through on a loop.


    [BombInMyPants, give me back my demi reporter!]


    [Are you not satisfied with one ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯?]


    [Cease your reprehensible storytelling at once!]


    Zhou Luoluo has no words to describe the shock he is feeling anymore. He quickly puts his holodeck to work recording it, and sends it straight to Cheng Zhaoci who he suspects is savouring some alone time with Wei Zhuo right now.

 CH 45.1

    War


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Woah,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is enjoying the video Zhou Luoluo sent him. Dark blue background with bright yellow characters. It¡¯s like what a disgruntled employee trying to fight for their rightful wages against a greedy boss might print out in their cause.


    When he wrote such ¡®sizzling¡¯ plot developments in his past life, the worst backlash he¡¯s seen has only been readers protesting in the comments, threatening to stop following them. Renting out the biggest screen in the middle of the busiest commercial CBD wasn¡¯t what he was expecting at all. Honestly, he¡¯s flattered.


    This prompts Cheng Zhaoci to go dive on the Internet, and he discovers many such similar occurrences all over short-form video sites, all of them reading like newspaper columns ¨C as eye-catching as possible. Getting called ¡®dog¡¯ isn¡¯t even the worst of it, as there are actually quite a number of angry readers that have devolved to heartfelt ad hominems, even dragging his late father into this.


    Perhaps it is always the case that anonymity breeds brash and unthinking conduct, like these insectoids. Though instead of ¡®mothers¡¯ taking the brunt of the fire like in his past life, male fathers seem to have far more backlash than the shemale and demi dads. This says quite a bit about the unspoken weight each family member in a male-led family carries in insectoid society, actually.


    Not that Cheng Zhaoci has a father anymore, nor does he care for his reputation. Most importantly, there are definitely more angry keyboard warriors in the world than he can bother to count. He can waste his energy in futile arguments all day, only for them to both conclude the other person is a dumbass.


    So Cheng Zhaoci merely, quietly hits the ¡®report¡¯ button. You see, he is currently browsing the Internet with his main account, the one verified as male in the ¡®gender¡¯ tab. How convenient for reporting others, no?


    And they probably wouldn¡¯t stay angry for long. His plot isn¡¯t going anywhere but Sweetville.


    Conflict is essential to a good story. It might not make it a straightforward children¡¯s fantasy, but it makes for better storytelling, and it¡¯s not a complete tragedy to boot.


    Wei Zhuo, of course, only has his one day off. Every other day afterwards, he wakes up earlier than Cheng Zhaoci to prepare breakfast before leaving for work. And also lunch. The magical technology insectoids have means that food can be kept warm and even fresh for two days and up. Stale and cold food are no longer a concern for them.


    So whenever our lazy and circadian arrhythmic Cheng Zhaoci finally drags himself off the bed, he would only find an empty mansion and hearty meals. One day, he finally asks himself the question ¨C is he becoming too decadent?


    And Wei Zhuo has not let Cheng Zhaoci cook for himself either, having discovered that Cheng Zhaoci would always eat something like half a bowl more when he does the cooking instead. Now he wouldn¡¯t stop cooking.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s daily routine now involves waking up, and eating.


    It makes Cheng Zhaoci feel ashamed. This wouldn¡¯t do! He would become a useless person! What if he ends up an insectoid who can draw some comics and that¡¯s it?!


    Cheng Zhaoci resolves to improve his shut-in situation. He calls up Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, still in the middle of their holidays, and because Mr Liang has also let him off the hook for the holidays, he happily forces Xiao Ji along to play virtual mecha fights with him.


    He Huaijian is still working on his secret project and is busy, apparently.


    Xiao Ji hasn¡¯t actually got over the bump that is Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s latest comic yet, and normally, he would not have indulged Cheng Zhaoci, who tore his heart out with a fiendish smile and smashed it to pieces. And also wouldn¡¯t tell him what happens next in the plot.


    However, he is also feeling some pressure for him to act.


    Mainly in the form of the two biological older brothers of Cheng Zhaoci that popped out of nowhere. Cheng Zhaoci has both assured and shown him with action that he does not mean to associate with them, but Xiao Ji still can¡¯t help but feel slightly inferior.


    It is because he has learned that those shemales are rich and influential respectively. He and He Huaijian, meanwhile, are still yet-to-graduate future shemale soldiers. It¡¯s quite alarming.


    What if Ci-zai ends up hanging out with his two ¡®older brothers¡¯ when he¡¯s outside?


    So a conflicted Xiao Ji accompanies Cheng Zhaoci to play. Unfortunately for him, he turns downright depressed after actually playing virtual mecha fights with his good younger brother.


    First Military District, Conference Room


    ¡°Have the pirates gone mad these days?¡± A middle-aged Vice-marshal coldly asks with a long face, ¡°what¡¯s the current figure for kidnapped males?¡±


    ¡°Four. We¡¯ve made contact with the space buccaneers, but they refuse to let them go. With how long the four misters have stayed in pirate hands, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± His adjutant doesn¡¯t continue, but everyone knows what he¡¯s talking about.


    Males cannot fight. They¡¯re even worse than demis, not to mention they¡¯re in the face of hostile shemales. A male in pirate company might not necessarily be dead, but it might be even worse. Could they have ended up as breeding machines? Pets?


    ¡°What about their locations? Do we have the intel yet?¡± Wei Zhuo still appears calm; at least, calmer than his associates present.


    ¡°We have located them already, but we¡¯re also worried that this situation seems to have become the norm rather than the exception.¡±


    ¡°Jin Yue did this,¡± the Vice-marshal interrupts, ¡°he¡¯s merged the pirates to try and form some sort of new governmental body. A body with no protection clause for males.¡±


    ¡°The coming storm will be nasty, huh.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci, with a glassy-eyed Xiao Ji in tow, receives a message from Wei Zhuo as they leave the mecha fighting centre behind, ¡°the frontline?¡±


    He¡¯s had peaceful days for long enough to have almost forgotten that Wei Zhuo, being a shemale soldier, is always on call to fight, as is his duty.


    ¡°What? Frontline?¡± Xiao Ji comes back to life, checking out Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s holodeck, ¡°a war is coming?¡±


    Battles are quite common to the insectoids, which are rather belligerent and warmongering in nature. Oh, it¡¯s more of a pirate suppression than a war, which is also common enough, when considering Wei Zhuo actually met Cheng Zhaoci while tracking down Jin Yue on Zhousuo.


    A war is nothing that can be trivially resolved in a day or two, though, so they won¡¯t be able to see each other for a while. And it¡¯s apparently pretty urgent, because they¡¯re ordered to get ready for sortieing tonight. They won¡¯t even be able to say goodbye.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci,¡± someone suddenly calls out.


    Cheng Zhaoci and Xiao Ji both turn to the sound, to see that it is Lu Nianqian.


    Xiao Ji immediately goes on alert, standing between Cheng Zhaoci and him.


    ¡°I have something to say,¡± Lu Nianqian then glances at Xiao Ji, ¡°and if the boy is worried as well, feel free to come listen.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Xiao Ji furrows his brows a little, ¡°you can¡¯t talk about it here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. It would be troublesome for prying ears to hear,¡± Lu Nianqian answers rather nonchalantly, treating Xiao Ji really as a simple underage teenage shemale.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then,¡± Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t too concerned about Lu Nianqian now. It was obvious when they ran into that cijun accidentally last time that Lu Nianqian does not share his dad¡¯s insanity.

 CH 45.2

    Lu Nianqian takes the two teenage insectoids to a restaurant catering to males. Shemales and demis can only enter if they¡¯re here with a male. Lu Nianqian chose this place thinking it would suit Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s palette best¡­ And who cares about Xiao Ji.


    After taking a seat, Lu Nianqian cuts straight to the chase with a serious face, ¡°you must keep an eye on the shemales and demis around you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Cheng Zhaoci also sits up straight, seeing Lu Nianqian¡¯s concern.


    ¡°I was contacted by Golden Lion recently. Actually, they have contacted many shemales and demis whose circumstances mean they¡¯re likely to hold animosity or hostility to males,¡± Lu Nianqian then shows Cheng Zhaoci the message he received.


    After skimming it, Cheng Zhaoci feels tense. Something is going to happen.


    ¡°The most troublesome thing is that it is already rumoured Jin Yue is looking for a comic artist. That¡¯s you. I don¡¯t know how far this rumour has spread, but I suspect a lot of insectoids will be trying to dig up information on you for his sake,¡± and there¡¯s no telling what they would do finding out about Cheng Zhaoci, especially considering the pirates¡¯ recent treatment of males.


    It has become dangerous for Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I can offer some protection,¡± Lu Nianqian puts his holodeck back on, and continues, ¡°there are still some means I can¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but no thanks,¡± Cheng Zhaoci refuses, ¡°I¡¯m grateful to you for telling me this, but I would not ask you to guarantee my security.¡±


    He knows he is probably being overly cautious, but he also can¡¯t trust Lu Nianqian entirely yet.


    That is when Cheng Zhaoci receives another direct message on his holodeck. It¡¯s the white-haired male he met and helped before and added as a friend.


    Why is he¡­ making a video call?


    Cheng Zhaoci glances over, and Lu Nianqian nods. Cheng Zhaoci answers the call.


    In the projection, the male, in his white gown and stereotypical mad scientist hair, with two big eye bags, looks very exhausted indeed, but he says, ¡°I can¡¯t explain, but the Capital planet is becoming perilous. Do you want to come to our Institute building, Cheng Zhaoci?¡±


    ¡­ Institute? Cheng Zhaoci glances over at Lu Nianqian again, and sees that he¡¯s confused. Xiao Ji¡­ has question marks floating off of his head.


    Bai Jun is still continuing, ¡°or you can come to my place instead of the Institute. It¡¯s also 100% safe.¡±


    ¡°You know we¡¯ve only seen each other once before, don¡¯t you?¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks speechless, ¡°will you move in with someone who you¡¯ve only seen once and known less?¡±


    ¡°Wait, so you don¡¯t believe me? Uh, gimme a sec,¡± Bai Jun starts poking around his holodeck, until he pulls up a photograph, ¡°I¡¯m not a bad guy, see?¡±


    In this photograph, Bai Jun is standing together with an older shemale soldier, who looks about the same age as Lu Yao. Cheng Zhaoci thinks he¡¯s definitely seen him somewhere, but Xiao Ji is already going ¡®fuck.¡¯


    ¡°The, the Chairman of Chief Command?!¡± Xiao Ji yells out in disbelief, ¡°it¡¯s the Chairman?!¡±


    The Chairman of Chief Command? The highest ranking officer of the entire army? The one who¡¯s rumoured to have the President and Executive branch under his control?


    Bai Jun then drops the final bomb, ¡°he¡¯s my dad. You can believe me now, right?¡±


    Wait, the Chairman¡¯s married? Xiao Ji knits his brows.


    ¡°He, he really is my dad!¡± Bai Jun seems distressed, ¡°wher-where are you right now? It¡¯s very dangerous outside. There will definitely be insectoids who will target you for the pirates!¡±


    The exact same warning as Lu Nianqian. Before Cheng Zhaoci can answer, another call interrupts them. Unlike the primitive smartphones of his past life, theoretically infinite simultaneous calls can be handled together. This time, it¡¯s Lu Yao, Wei Zhuo¡¯s granddad.


    He skips all pleasantries as well, saying, ¡°xiao-Ci, there have been alarming developments of late. It¡¯s not safe; come, we¡¯ll talk details when¡­¡±


    ¡°G-G-Gr-Gr-Grand Marshal Lu?!¡± Xiao Ji¡¯s voice is trembling. Sure, he knows the Grand Marshal is Wei Zhuo¡¯s granddad, but he¡¯s never seen him in person. He¡¯s an actual living war hero! His deeds and strategies are printed right on his textbook!


    ¡°Eh? Xiao-Bai?¡± The insectoids on different calls can see each other¡¯s projection. Oh, looks like they already know each other, ¡°you¡¯re in a call with xiao-Ci right now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, uncle Lu,¡± Bai Jun shrinks a little, embarrassed, ¡°it-it¡¯s become unsafe. So I wanted to tell xiao-Ci to come over.¡±


    ¡°Ah, same here. Xiao-Ci does happen to be my grandson¡¯s xiongzhu-to be, so it¡¯d be quite ugly if something were to happen. Haha. Thanks for the concern, but I can take charge of xiao-Ci¡¯s safety. I suppose you¡¯re quite busy as well,¡± Lu Yao is making one of those rather unconvincing, ¡®friendly¡¯ smiles. He doesn¡¯t much like talking to the researchers of the Institute either.


    Put most simply, they¡¯re crazy. Not in a misanthropic way, but they¡¯re generally quite detached from the reality of normal insectoids. It¡¯s very tiring to talk to him, especially for the more straightforward shemale soldiers. It¡¯s torturing brain cells just to talk to these males of the Institute.


    Bai Jun has always been quite shy, and is nervous now that there are too many shemales around. He dryly says, ¡°then excuse me for interrupting,¡± and finishes the call immediately.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci, you¡¯re outside? Granddad can come pick you up,¡± Lu Yao¡¯s smile is quite genuine when facing Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°are you out playing with friends?¡± He says, able to see Xiao Ji right behind Cheng Zhaoci, as Cheng Zhaoci has video call on instead of projection call. He can¡¯t see Lu Nianqian sitting across behind him, though.


    ¡°I was playing virtual mecha fights with my older brother,¡± Cheng Zhaoci can guess what Lu Yao is thinking, possibly wary Xiao Ji is someone trying to steal his love, given his looks.


    ¡°Oh, your older brother? I see. Do you also want to come?¡± Lu Yao asks him, with a much friendlier tone now.


    Xiao Ji, dum-dum as always, misses Lu Yao¡¯s shift in tone entirely. He happily replies, ¡°I can?! Hurray!¡± Wow! He can go to the Grand Marshal¡¯s home! He would give anything to have the opportunity, you know! That¡¯s the war hero in a textbook! A living war hero!


    Cheng Zhaoci, who hasn¡¯t taken the shemale course at all, only knows Lu Yao is a bigshot in the military. A normal shemale, though, worships Lu Yao enough that they would happily make him the wallpaper for their holodeck or something like that.


    Lu Nianqian, meanwhile, closes his eyes for a moment before saying, ¡°since the Grand Marshal is here, I doubt there is anything to worry about. I¡¯ll be leaving, then,¡± he gets up to pay the bill.


    ¡°Thank you very much for today!¡± Cheng Zhaoci calls out to him. Lu Nianqian was the first to tell him about this. Though it is true he can¡¯t trust him entirely or accept his offer of protection, but he did go out of his way to do all this.


    Lu Nianqian pauses, then turns around with a smile, ¡°no problem. And you can also come to me any time if you need any help,¡± then he pays and leaves through the door.


    Lu Yao couldn¡¯t see Lu Nianqian, but he heard him loud and clear, and asks, ¡°who was that?¡±


    ¡°My late father¡¯s eldest son. Biologically my half-brother.¡±

 CH 45.3

    Lu Yao¡¯s men came quickly enough, and picked up not just Cheng Zhaoci and Xiao Ji, but also took a detour for He Huaijian.


    They arrive at Lu Yao¡¯s own mansion soon enough. It¡¯s not a big mansion, kind of like Wei Zhuo¡¯s own, probably because Lu Yao now lives alone. There¡¯s another visitor at his place, however.


    Bai Jun, who Cheng Zhaoci just had a call with.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m still worried, so, uh, I came to see,¡± Bai Jun nervously walks over to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°are you-you really are going to be uncle Lu¡¯s grandson-in-law?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers matter-of-factly, then asks, ¡°so you¡¯re pretty good at weapons tech research?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Bai Jun answers by reflex, confident in his expertise. Everyone is looking at him, though.


    Cheng Zhaoci continues asking, ¡°but why would males work on weapons tech? It¡¯s not like males are smart enough,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says deliberately.


    Bai Jun, who just now realised his slip of the tongue, is incensed once more, ¡°what do you mean not smart enough?! Shemales are the ones who don¡¯t have the intellectual capacity! Us Institute researchers all have perfect memory! The First Research Institute invented the mechas, you know?!¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Cheng Zhaoci, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian all respond with unanimous amazement.


    Lu Yao¡­ has nothing to say. That¡¯s why he often can¡¯t tell if these males from the Institute are geniuses or dumbasses.


    Bai Jun realises his slip of the tongue¡­ again. Now he¡¯s decided to block his mouth physically with his hand, ¡°you¡¯re trying to get me talking again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not?¡± Cheng Zhaoci says with this innocent look on his face.


    ¡°No, he did not,¡± Lu Yao quickly leads the teenage insectoids away, ¡°you were the one spilling stuff yourself. Don¡¯t blame it on xiao-Ci.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Bai Jun¡¯s face is all red. He looks like he would rather not talk to Cheng Zhaoci for a while.


    Though that¡¯s when He Huaijian interjects to ask, ¡°can I ask you for advice?¡±


    Bai Jun has practically admitted to being a First Research Institute researcher. He¡¯s overheard his classmates, that it¡¯s exceedingly difficult to enter. At least, the passing rate of students taking their enrolment examination has always been zero. Some of them speculate that those doing the research are robots and AI.


    Otherwise, how come not a single one of them is accepted? Their academy is one of the top performers in the Federation.


    Unless AIs have taken over.


    It turns out it¡¯s not AIs, though, but males. He Huaijian suspects he¡¯s stumbled upon serendipitous circumstances, and certainly would like to ask questions as well, on his current project.


    He just doesn¡¯t know if Bai Jun would answer or not.


    Unexpectedly, Bai Jun isn¡¯t opposed to answering him.


    Cheng Zhaoci thought that this Institute thing is largely kept under wraps outside, and imagined it as some sort of secret male society that shemales cannot learn about.


    ¡°Huh? All males? That¡¯s because not a single shemale or demi has passed the examination!¡± Bai Jun looks like he¡¯s given up the veil entirely after Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°if a shemale or demi passes, then they¡¯d be in,¡± like Parliament. Mostly males, but some shemales can be found here and there as well.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know why no one knows about this after meeting my father.¡±


    ¡°Your father? Oh, right, your dad is the Chairman of Chief Command. You mean, he¡¯s already married?¡±


    Bai Jun ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Xiao-Bai, really, just shut up,¡± Lu Yao comes to save the day, ¡°xiao-Ci, don¡¯t ask. You¡¯ll know what you need to when you¡¯re eighteen.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Cheng Zhaoci has already figured out that eighteen is a major milestone for males ¨C depending on their aptitude results.


    ¡°They can come all they want,¡± Jin Yue is perusing the strategic starmap with legs crossed in his cockpit, and suddenly, he turns to ask, ¡°is that asshole Wei Zhuo on the frontline?¡±


    ¡°He is,¡± a subordinate answers.


    ¡°Ah, then be flexible. Don¡¯t get too caught up with fighting,¡± Jin Yue replies while reading his holodeck. There are many replies to his many messages, ¡°we¡¯ll have to grow our base first. You might not find someone insane like me around every nook and cranny, but there¡¯s still a lot of us in the insectoids.¡±


    Reading the replies paints a smile on Jin Yue¡¯s face.


    ¡°There haven¡¯t been as many males on voyage recently,¡± his subordinate suddenly says.


    ¡°Taking precautions?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. They seem to have banded together online to protest¡­ um, kuhum, protest against that comic artist you are following, for his latest chapter.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve rented out quite some large advertisement space on several prosperous planets. It seems many of them are busy typing out their anger at home,¡± the subordinate looks quite confounded as well, ¡°they¡¯re giving the artist thumbs downs, but they aren¡¯t shy with their gifts at all.¡±


    Actually, there are also quite a lot of pirates among them who enjoy the comic artist¡¯s work. Regardless of their usual ¡®career,¡¯ they do need some cultural entertainment now and then.


    In fact, when that latest chapter was released, a few of the crazier pirates wanted to go to the Capital planet to kidnap the artist and keep him in some sort of room arrest, forced to keep drawing new comics. Though they were caught and sent into ¡®room arrest¡¯ themselves by the boss for two days. They gave up on the idea completely.


    Jin Yue seems surprised for a moment, before waving his hand dismissively, ¡°never mind that, then. Get the four males onto the flagship, and warn those male-coddling babies of the Federation, that if they want to play tough, then they might find these four beloved males sans some arms or legs.¡±


    ¡°Yessir.¡±


    ¡°This photo¡­¡± Meng Yuele is knitting his brows, feeling rather astounded seeing the background of Wei Zhuo¡¯s holodeck, ¡°you know, it looks really like you got kidnapped by Mr Cheng Zhaoci. How did you even manage to take a photo that makes the good male look like a bad guy?¡±


    ¡°You need your eyes checked out,¡± Wei Zhuo shuts him down with a simple remark as he checks his messages with Cheng Zhaoci. He is relieved to see Cheng Zhaoci has been relocated to his granddad¡¯s.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been training a lot recently, say,¡± Meng Yuele can see how tired Wei Zhuo looks. The lack of sleep is getting to him, ¡°do you really need to spend every night in the training facility? Is there even a single insectoid who can actually put up a struggle against you in a one-on-one?¡±


    Even the insane Jin Yue knows to scarper like a rat seeing Wei Zhuo. Who is Wei Zhuo even going to fight raising his fighting strength further? Divide like a cell and fight one another? He doesn¡¯t seem the type to be interested in ¡®pushing the limits of shemales¡¯ or some such bollocks.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep,¡± Wei Zhuo covers his eyes with his hands.


    While they slept in separate rooms besides the night his granddad arrived, he knew Cheng Zhaoci was in the bedroom right next to his own. Wei Zhuo could sleep particularly well knowing that.


    A high-quality sleep meant high-quality mental state for the next day. When Cheng Zhaoci is yet to wake up, he would also sneakily open the door to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s room slightly, and feel serene just seeing Cheng Zhaoci sleeping soundly on the bed.


    Cheng Zhaoci himself seems somewhat apologetic that Wei Zhuo is always waking up before him and making him meals, but Wei Zhuo would beg to differ. He enjoys seeing the male live without having to worry about the mundanities of life beside him.


    Now that he can¡¯t see Cheng Zhaoci by his side anymore¡­ Insomnia has struck him.


    He can¡¯t see the little male anywhere. He¡¯s not happy.


    In the past, he thought war was good. It was a way for him to vent his frustrations with this world. Now, he feels like it¡¯s a waste of his time. His time he would rather spend with the male.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just get all these battles over with,¡± Wei Zhuo mumbles, not knowing this typical guerilla skirmish with space buccaneers that would usually die down in weeks and, at most, months, is going to stretch into years.

 CH 45.4

    ¡°Do you have empty air instead of a brain?!¡± Bai Jun yells, ¡°how in the world is this design going to work?! Tell me, why exactly did you think this would be remotely feasible?!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci can hear the voice even through the door left ajar, and is astonished, ¡°I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s that scary when he¡¯s angry!¡±


    ¡°Get used to it. That¡¯s how the Institute rolls,¡± Lu Yao says, already jaded, ¡°they¡¯re timid and shy, except when in their field. Then they go berserk.¡±


    ¡°I heard once that a demi accidentally erased the data a researcher had at home. Apparently, the male researcher then actually rushed to fight the demi to death¡­ and knocked themselves out bonking into the demi¡¯s shoulder, with a bleeding nose,¡± Lu Yao recounts as he peels a mandarin, ¡°xiao-Ci, make sure you don¡¯t end up like them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will,¡± Cheng Zhaoci thinks he can sympathise with that male researcher, if he imagines the drafts he¡¯s drawn getting ruined by accident. In any case, ¡°I don¡¯t have the drive or talent for doing research.¡±


    It just feels boring, and Cheng Zhaoci has no interest either. To each their own, and he likes his comics.


    That¡¯s when he receives a message from the Zhou brothers ¨C it turns out, the brothers didn¡¯t see him at Wei Zhuo¡¯s, and so went to where Cheng Zhaoci was living before, only to find both Xiao Ji and He Huaijian missing from the house as well.


    There was a moment they both thought Cheng Zhaoci was actually found by the ¡®avid¡¯ readers and was done in¡­ Well, not lethally, which would be too dramatic, like, it¡¯s just a comic¡­


    Anyway, Cheng Zhaoci quickly reassures them he¡¯s fine with a message, then he thinks and turns to Lu Yao, ¡°Grand Marshal, sir.¡±


    ¡°¡®Granddad¡¯ is fine,¡± Lu Yao replies.


    ¡°Oh, then, granddad, can my friends come over? They¡¯re also male, and draw comics with me,¡± Cheng Zhaoci feels slightly awkward still when calling Lu Yao granddad in public.


    ¡°Yeah, why not,¡± Lu Yao doesn¡¯t care unless they¡¯re shemales or demis.


    Cheng Zhaoci then tells the Zhou brothers the route to the mansion, and says he¡¯s at the Grand Marshal¡¯s, so they don¡¯t have to worry.


    ¡°Where did he say he was again?¡± Zhou Luoluo is rubbing his eyes.


    ¡°The Grand Marshal¡¯s,¡± Zhou Xiaobao replies frankly.


    ¡°He¡¯s already nudged himself into the family?!¡± Zhou Luoluo is in shock, his tone shaking, ¡°like, that is someone else¡¯s grandparent!¡±


    ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m brave enough to visit a Grand Marshal,¡± Zhou Luoluo tugs at Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s sleeves to gather courage from his cousin.


    Clearly, though, he forgets that Zhou Xiaobao is even more deeply socially anxious than he is, ¡°you-you¡¯re not brave enough to go either? Then, let¡¯s just go home.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t!¡± Zhou Luoluo pulls Zhou Xiaobao back, ¡°do you not want to draw your comic anymore? Your questions you have to ask? Do you still want your comic to continue?¡±


    Zhou Xiaobao ¡°¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t even remember how he arrived at Lu Yao¡¯s mansion with Zhou Luoluo. He only knows that, upon seeing the legendary Grand Marshal, all he could feel is an urge to run away.


    Lu Yao can see how his presence is overwhelming the two teenagers, and very generously tells them he still has to work, and leaves the space to the three young ones.


    It takes a bit of time after Lu Yao departs for Zhou Xiaobao to recover. Then he shows Cheng Zhaoci his holodeck, ¡°can you give my characters a look?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci takes one look¡­ just one, and almost has an out-of-body experience seeing the outrageously large eyes. Well, this sure feels like a retro romance manga. Thick eyelashes, eyes large enough for half a face, filled to the brim with bling.


    Zhou Xiaobao really is a genius. He¡¯s already got all the secrets down pat without nary a guiding hand from him. This sort of ¡®big eye moe¡® bling-bling art style will appeal to lots of young girls young shemales and demis.


    Oh God, and that chin that looks like it''d bore straight through the screen! And super duper long legs!


    ¡°So what¡¯s your comic going to be called?¡± Cheng Zhaoci rests his head on his upraised arm. To be honest, he¡¯s never been receptive to this kind of art style, but clearly, it¡¯s a personal thing.


    Zhou Xiaobao has the foundations of drawing characters down pat, and the character¡¯s physical proportions don¡¯t look off, at least.


    Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but recall how, in his past life, a certain mangy dog of a ¡®Party A¡¯ gave him this highly distorted, almost E.T.-looking picture that is just filled to the brim with bling. That Party A wanted Cheng Zhaoci, Party B, to draw something like that. Eugh¡­ Cheng Zhaoci can feel his stomach just churning at the recollection.


    ¡°¡®The Devilish Male Has Taken Me Forcefully,¡¯ what do you think?¡± Zhou Xiaobao asks with this very serious look on his face.


    Beside him is Zhou Luoluo, gasping; the butterflies in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s stomach are dancing forevermore.


    ¡°¡®Aesthetique Tragici,''¡± Zhou Xiaobao adds, ¡°I¡¯ve finished the storyline while you were hiding. I think I can finish the first chapter in a week.¡±


    ¡°You can do it!¡± Cheng Zhaoci nods in support.


    ¡°Can what?! I¡¯ll never check out something with this kind of story!¡± Zhou Luoluo can¡¯t take it anymore, ¡°Cheng-ge, don¡¯t you think he really needs an editor?!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to impose standards for a saga on a feel-good story. It¡¯s full of plot holes, but it¡¯s also an exhilarating read,¡± and also, it¡¯d probably take the heat off of his own work for now¡­ Which is something he keeps to himself. He pats Zhou Xiaobao on the shoulder, reassuring him, ¡°I¡¯m sure this comic will be a big hit. Good luck!¡±


    Zhou Luoluo ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, by the way, why did you move here?¡± Zhou Xiaobao seems to suddenly recall, ¡°is Wei Zhuo on a mission?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°There have already been four cases of kidnapping. The pirates are getting too cocky; the Federation cannot keep turning a blind eye,¡± Zhou Luoluo adds, ¡°Wei Zhuo must not be on the Capital planet anymore if you¡¯re at the Grand Marshal¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°True, but then, I wonder how long the war will last,¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, dejected. His ¡®honeymoon¡¯ just began, and they¡¯ve already been separated. Woe is him.


    ¡°You can go visit him,¡± Zhou Luoluo says, ¡°males are not allowed near the frontline, except when they have authorisation from a Grand Marshal or above. You¡¯re living with one right now.¡±


    ¡°He might be back in a few days though, does he really need to?¡± Asks Zhou Xiaobao, ¡°why not just make video calls instead?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Cheng Zhaoci replies, but he isn¡¯t discounting the idea of visiting either.


    ¡°Oh, right! And I must also make the demi¡¯s shemale kid exceptionally smart in the plot. He¡¯ll be grade S when his aptitude is tested, and look exactly the same as the male lead! Then the male will immediately figure out it¡¯s his own son!¡± Zhou Xiaobao suddenly drags the topic back onto his comic.


    Generally¡­ It¡¯s almost impossible for a shemale and a male to look remotely alike, but Cheng Zhaoci is too familiar with the development, and says, ¡°sure, why not?¡±


    ¡®It just can¡¯t,¡¯ replies Zhou Luoluo in his mind.

 CH 46.1

    His Thoughts


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci may be confident in Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comic, but he can¡¯t take it anymore. Ah, his head hurts.


    The trope doesn¡¯t exist in insectoid culture, but he¡¯s seen it overused so much in his past life. Rationally, and emotionally, he¡¯s on Zhou Luoluo¡¯s side.


    He¡¯s too old for this kind of bollocks.


    So after checking the characters and giving him reassurance for his plot, Cheng Zhaoci tells the little genius Zhou Xiaobao to get to work.


    ¡°Done?¡± Lu Yao, who¡¯s been off to a side room peeks out, ¡°you guys done talking?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Granddad, you¡¯ve been listening in the whole time?¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, speechless.


    ¡°Ehe, ¡®course not. I just find it interesting to listen to young¡¯uns speak,¡± Lu Yao then forms a little circle on his hand with his thumb and index finger, ¡°I only heard this much.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡± So you were listening in.


    Lu Yao then sighs and sits next to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I must be getting in on the years. Are males getting more lively these years?¡±


    ¡°Xiao-Zhuo has a good eye for males, unlike his dad,¡± Lu Yao can¡¯t help but caress Cheng Zhaoci on the head, ¡°he¡¯s lucky to have met you.¡±


    ¡°The bastard that made his dad pass away is still living large in this world. You would never know how frightened I was to hear Wei Zhuo say he fell in love with a male,¡± Lu Yao¡¯s eyes are narrowed. Clearly, he does not view that ¡®father¡¯ of Wei Zhuo¡¯s positively at all.


    Cheng Zhaoci can also see it, so he asks, ¡°would you not come to dislike males?¡±


    Lu Yao seems surprised for a moment, then bursts into laughter, ¡°what? Of course not. My poor son fell for a piece of scum, but my xiongzhu was very different.¡±


    ¡°I actually fell for him for one simple reason. He was handsome. And male. So I went after him,¡± Lu Yao then leans closer, and whispers, ¡°he was an Institute researcher. You know, like Bai Jun.¡±


    ¡°I was fortunate to marry him, but he was quite the loner, and never got any concubines. I actually wished that he did, since it was kind of tiring to talk to him. Our careers were in different fields, and so it was maddening to talk to him every time. But then, what else could I do?¡± Lu Yao chuckles, ¡°he¡¯s my honeyboo. I couldn¡¯t get angry at his handsome face when he kept his mouth shut, you know.¡±


    Lu Yao¡¯s smile is very affectionate when talking about his ¡®honeyboo,¡¯ his wrinkles deepening because of it, ¡°it¡¯s a shame. If he was still alive, that scumbag-in-law would have never got away with what he did.¡±


    ¡°You might not have learned, but there has always been this undercurrent of male-phobic shemales and demis. My honeyboo died to such a pirate,¡± Lu Yao lets himself sink into the sofa, ¡°I know the pirate has suffered at the hands of other males, but what did that have to do with my honeyboo?¡±


    To be fair, Lu Yao has aged, and also appears stoic and imposing. Somehow, he is able to say his ¡®honeyboo¡¯ with quite the loving and longing indeed.


    ¡°When I finally got to their spacecraft base with my men and found my xiongzhu¡­,¡± Lu Yao falls silent, for such a long time that Cheng Zhaoci thought it too painful to recount, but Lu Yao continues, ¡°do you know what an insectoid swine is? His limbs were removed. He was also put into a jar. He was blinded and made deaf.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci tenses up immensely.


    ¡°It¡¯s as horrible as you think. It was too late when I rescued him; we may have impressive medical technology, able to save someone as long as they aren¡¯t actually dead. We also have almost lifelike prosthetics¡­ We saved his physical body, but when I relaxed a little at a rescue well done, he killed himself.¡±


    Lu Yao looks quite distraught. He has never truly overcome the death, ¡°my honeyboo. I would give anything to make him happy. I miss him. He¡¯s, he¡¯s a little annoying to talk to, but everything is rosy with him. I do not know exactly what he experienced when the pirates got him. I didn¡¯t want to know. I didn¡¯t know if I can handle the truth. I still had a son I had to care for.¡±


    ¡°Granddad,¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his hand on Lu Yao¡¯s hand. It¡¯s trembling. Cheng Zhaoci does not know what to say. ¡®It¡¯s all in the past¡¯? Lu Yao is already on the last leg of his journey. Not just his xiongzhu, but his loving shemale son is also dead. Wei Zhuo is all he has left.


    Lu Yao pats Cheng Zhaoci on the back of his hand, and reins in himself, saying, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just wanted to say, it was really lucky xiao-Zhuo could meet you.¡±


    ¡°It is true that there are many males rotten to the core, but that does not give us cause to generalise. How did we insectoids achieve our technological marvels? On what grounds were we able to confidently establish ourselves in the wider universe? Certainly not with the tough carapace us shemales evolved,¡± Lu Yao gets stands up, but he suddenly turns around to caution Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°but listen to granddad, you should never go there even if you have the chance. They¡¯re all weird.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, uh, right!¡± Cheng Zhaoci agrees, knowing full well he doesn¡¯t have the mind to do science-y stuff regardless.


    Though that is when Bai Jun¡¯s loud yell roars through the mansion once again, ¡°are you seriously telling me you¡¯re installing it there?! You might as well install it right between your buttocks for all the good in the world it¡¯d do!!!¡±


    Taking a peek, he notices that the normally silently confident He Huaijian isn¡¯t even uttering any retort. It must be true that researchers are all bipolar to some degree.


    Cheng Zhaoci is going to tease He Huaijian, but suddenly, he remembers something, and yells, ¡°oh wait!¡±


    ¡°Huaijian! Did you bring my drawing tablet with you?¡± He didn¡¯t take it when he dragged Xiao Ji along to play virtual mecha fights. Then everything was a hurried blur when they then went to pick up He Huaijian.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± He Huaijian replies, as expected, ¡°you didn¡¯t take it with you?¡±


    He totally forgot! Cheng Zhaoci scratches his head. He still needs to update his comic. God knows how long he has to stay here to ensure security. He can¡¯t just drop the updates, can he?


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you need to pick up something?¡± Lu Yao has heard what¡¯s going on, ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Xiao Ji!¡± He couldn¡¯t possibly trouble the Grand Marshal just to retrieve a drawing tablet.


    ¡°Call me ¡®older brother¡¯! What¡¯s up?¡± Xiao Ji went to check out some virtual fighting equipment on the second floor; he is back down in a flash.


    ¡°Come with me. I need to go get my drawing tablet!¡± Most of the time, Cheng Zhaoci would impose on Xiao Ji instead of others. They grew up together, and have even done stuff like share a single bit of food among the three of them. Xiao Ji is also, for lack of a better word, simple-minded. He doesn¡¯t mind or overthink stuff. Lu Yao is the Grand Marshal, and shouldn¡¯t be put to use helping to retrieve something like a drawing tablet.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Xiao Ji takes the VR helmet-thing off his head.

 CH 46.2

    When Cheng Zhaoci and Xiao Ji are almost there, they notice an insectoid standing in front of the mansion.


    It¡¯s Sun Wushe, dressed not in his usual military attire, but in a black trenchcoat. He greets Cheng Zhaoci with a smile, ¡°Mr Cheng!¡±


    Xiao Ji knows that he¡¯s Wei Zhuo¡¯s half-brother, and greets him as well.


    ¡°Mr Sun? You weren¡¯t called to the frontline?¡± Cheng Zhaoci sees Sun Wushe also has a small suitcase by his side, ¡°you¡¯re going off somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m leaving soon this evening, or I wouldn¡¯t make it. I saw you and your brothers weren¡¯t home, and thought we wouldn¡¯t see each other before I leave. Turns out, I¡¯m lucky today,¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s smile feels a little infectious this time.


    For some reason, it looks much more genuine than his usual, printed business smile he has when speaking to Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Did you move out?¡± Asks Sun Wushe.


    ¡°Ah, not really, but it¡¯s become a bit unsafe so I¡¯m temporarily staying somewhere safer. I forgot my drawing tablet, though,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, scratching his head, ¡°so where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Somewhere pretty far. We might never be able to see each other again,¡± Sun Wushe has only been looking at Cheng Zhaoci this whole time, ¡°do you mind having a walk with me? Just the two of us?¡±


    Xiao Ji furrows his brows, ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a grade A, enlisted shemale soldier. I have the ability to protect him; I also promise not to take the male anywhere dangerous. You may take a rest at home for a short while while I talk with the male a little. It won¡¯t be long,¡± Sun Wushe then repeats, ¡°it won¡¯t be very long at all.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Cheng Zhaoci nods. He is wondering where Sun Wushe is going¡­ From what he said, he imagines he might be on a mission ¨C perhaps undercover. If so, this might actually be the last time they can see each other. He doesn¡¯t mind having a small talk.


    Sun Wushe¡¯s smile deepens, ¡°I¡¯d like to see a movie with you. I¡¯ll see you home safely afterwards.¡±


    ¡°A romance movie,¡± Sun Wushe adds.


    Xiao Ji then whispers to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°I suspect he has a thing for you.¡±


    So does Cheng Zhaoci, for that matter, seeing Sun Wushe¡¯s smile. It doesn¡¯t look like seeing a movie will help matters any. It was probably bad timing to come home right now. If he decided to come tomorrow, Sun Wushe would¡¯ve left, and none of this would be happening.


    ¡°You know I don¡¯t like romance movies,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says.


    ¡°Neither do I,¡± Sun Wushe concurs, ¡°they¡¯re boring, but since I expect to be fraught with difficulty in the future, I¡¯d like to relax a little.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci opens his mouth, wanting to ask if Sun Wushe actually has a thing for him, but the question feels hopelessly narcissistic no matter how he goes about it. Mainly, the two of them are casual acquaintances at best. Cheng Zhaoci does not think this is enough for love to strike.


    ¡°Uh, do you have someone you like?¡± Cheng Zhaoci decides to ask in a roundabout away. If he replies positively, he might indirectly ask if it¡¯s him¡­ And depending on the answer, turn back on his agreement to head out with him alone.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sun Wushe looks surprised, ¡°not really, why? Do you¡­ I don¡¯t plan on settling down any time soon.¡±


    ¡°Oh, nothing special!¡± Cheng Zhaoci shakes his head, ¡°I was just curious, because you were inviting me to a movie out of the blue.¡±


    ¡°Is it that weird? Wei-ge and Meng Yuele are both off the planet. You¡¯re the next insectoid I¡¯m most familiar with,¡± he says with a simple, nonchalant tone, ¡°if you don¡¯t want to¡­ but I might not ever be able to come back,¡± actually, he knows he can never come back. Whatever happens, he won¡¯t be able to set foot on the Capital planet anymore.


    Cheng Zhaoci is looking him up and down. He buys that Sun Wushe might not be able to come back, but seeing a movie alone doesn¡¯t logically follow. He knows no one else on the entire Capital planet?


    So finally, Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°do you mind taking my older brother along? It¡¯s kind of rude to leave him alone at home.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s smile turns a bit more standard, a bit less genuine.


    ¡°I want to properly say ¡®goodbye¡¯ to you, and really, you¡¯re the only person I could say that to,¡± Sun Wushe explains on the way to his vehicle, and opens the door for him, ¡°I do ask you to forgive the suddenness.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci and Xiao Ji look at each other as they board the backseat. Xiao Ji is quick to lean close to Cheng Zhaoci, whispering, ¡°Ci-zai, don¡¯t look for a concubine before you¡¯re even married! You¡¯re too young. I won¡¯t let you!¡±


    ¡°Do I look like a philanderer to you?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci whispers back, glaring. Xiao Ji, though, actually retorts, ¡°how could I figure out what your true feelings are? I might have been with you the whole time on the landfill planet, but I still never figured out you¡¯re male!¡±


    Then Cheng Zhaoci kicks Xiao Ji¡¯s thigh, but Xiao Ji doesn¡¯t seem fazed at all. Instead, he asks, ¡°anyway, is that romance movie thing not good? What¡¯s it like? Is it similar to your comic?¡±


    Xiao Ji has never watched one, just like how he has never fallen in love yet.


    ¡°Ho. You¡¯ll know when you¡¯ve watched one,¡± Cheng Zhaoci coldly retorts with a cold smile.


    Well, it¡¯s quite evident when the movie is playing in the private room they rented; actually, private rooms come in single rooms and double rooms, since normally males would not be on a date with more than one shemale or demi. They actually spooked the demi staff member when Sun Wushe booked a room for the three of them. He seemed quite taken with Cheng Zhaoci, seeing the two tall and clearly toned shemales with him. The staff even winked flirtatiously at Cheng Zhaoci just before they left the reception.


    Xiao Ji asked on the way to the room, ¡°what was with his eyelids twitching? And he was looking at you too. Did he realise you are BombIn and want to beat you up?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡± He feels the ticket in his hand is oddly heavy with guilt.


    Not ten minutes after the movie has started playing, Xiao Ji has entirely lost interest in this romance movie. His head tilts over and he falls dead asleep.


    Cheng Zhaoci then watches Xiao Ji starting to snore with this deadpan look on his face. He feels like beating someone up.


    ¡°The way you depict love is more convincing than the movies do,¡± Sun Wushe suddenly speaks up.


    Cheng Zhaoci turns his attention back to the movie with this ascended, uncaring look on his face. The movie is really terrible.


    ¡°Perhaps because I¡¯m about to become the head of a family.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re about to?¡± Sun Wushe tilts his head.


    ¡°Yes, with Squadron Leader Wei,¡± Cheng Zhaoci sounds almost boastful, ¡°I was thinking about what to call our children not a few days ago.¡±


    Well, he wasn¡¯t. When he was with Wei Zhuo, that was all he could think about¡­ and the big chest muscles. He¡¯s saying this just in case Sun Wushe did have feelings for him.


    ¡°That your son will have you as his father is truly fortunate for him,¡± Sun Wushe says without bitterness or resentment, ¡°I¡¯ve often thought these days, ¡®if only my father was a male like you,''¡± and he actually means what he said.


    ¡°I came to think like that after learning more about you.¡±


    ¡°?¡± What? So he actually completely misunderstood? Sun Wushe didn¡¯t want him as xiongzhu, but him as his¡­ parent?

 CH 47.1

    See You Never


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Sun Wushe has no idea Cheng Zhaoci is misunderstanding him as looking for a father figure, is still talking, ¡°if only all males in this world were like you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Besides, I¡¯m not that good,¡± Cheng Zhaoci knows himself all too well, being just another average guy on Earth¡­ who is slightly more remarkable for being a responsible adult. There are simply too many rotten males, while the higher-quality ones are not publically known for¡­ reasons, which only exacerbates the image problem.


    ¡°I also used to think males are generally crap,¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains what he thought while he was on the landfill planet, and could only learn about males online, ¡°there are actually many males who are reliable as well.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t say whether he buys it, though. He changes the topic, ¡°I believe there is one thing you said that isn¡¯t correct.¡±


    Hm? Cheng Zhaoci looks at Sun Wushe, while the movie characters¡¯ bland, shallow dialogue and Xiao Ji¡¯s loud snoring plays out in the background.


    The romance movie is in the part featuring the typical fighting scene, which lights Sun Wushe¡¯s face up over and over, until his face falls back into the shadows when the firing dies down.


    ¡°You told me once, that insectoids are each distinct, and so are their interactions. There is no such thing as a ¡®better¡¯ or ¡®worse¡¯ insectoid,¡± Sun Wushe recounts what Cheng Zhaoci himself might have forgotten he once said, ¡°you told me that, and I was really happy to hear it. Later, though, I found that it cannot be true.¡±


    ¡°There are always some insectoids that are not suitable to be friends or acquaintances,¡± Sun Wushe smiles, ¡°and there are also some meetings that happen under wrong circumstances. Wrong place, wrong time. The interaction is desired, but it is painfully clear that both insectoids¡¯ paths can never intersect ever again.¡±


    ¡°They will each live their own, never to interact with the other one again,¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s smile fades, as he turns to watch the screen.


    Once again, the protagonist shemale is fighting to have a chance to marry a male.


    ¡°The reason they cannot interact is not because they cannot physically be together, but because one of them is already a bad egg,¡± Sun Wushe closes his eyes entirely, ¡°do you get what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? No. What do you mean by ¡®bad egg¡¯?¡±


    He can pick up the fact that Sun Wushe is describing himself. It might also be true they can never interact again. The ¡®bad egg¡¯ part, though, makes no sense.


    He¡¯s always found Sun Wushe bound by an awkwardness, that surfaces in various forms. Sometimes, he acts especially mature and reliable, but sometimes, wholly childish and silly. He is Wei Zhuo¡¯s half brother who also left his family behind, but oddly enough, his relationship with Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t as close as Meng Yuele¡¯s is.


    None of that relates to being a ¡®bad egg,¡¯ though.


    ¡°What do you think of Jin Yue?¡± Sun Wushe asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know enough to say,¡± Cheng Zhaoci tells the exact truth, ¡°I am in no position to cast judgement on another insectoid, nor can I simply summarise an insectoid with an adjective or two. I know that he had a tragic past, but in the Federation¡¯s eyes, he is a dangerous subversive, because he cannot ask innocent, unrelated insectoids to pay the price for what he has suffered.¡±


    Jin Yue is pitiful, and he can also understand his motives. Understanding the motives is not the same as excusing his deeds, because there are now also the unrelated insectoids that are now his victims. Their only fault being unlucky enough to run into the pirate named ¡®Jin Yue.¡¯ Then they lost their lives.


    Did any of them deserve to end up that way?


    ¡°You see, Jin Yue is definitely a ¡®bad egg¡¯ in your eyes, then,¡± Sun Wushe then draws direct equivalency between himself and Jin Yue, ¡°and so am I.¡±


    ¡°There are things you know are wrong, reprehensible, abhorrent. You know that very well, and also understand the consequences of them,¡± Sun Wushe stands up, ¡°you know you must not, but you still does it. What does that make you?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, it is a sort of pendulum. The higher it is raised, the harder it falls. There must be a way to vent the frustration, to take revenge, to overthrow. It¡¯s insanity, just like Jin Yue, just like¡­¡± like me. Jin Yue is completely insane; Sun Wushe is consciously insane. Their only difference being that one no longer cares about anything in the world, and thus does whatever he likes without considering consequences. The other will subject his actions to reason, and is capable of mimicking normal thought.


    But when Jin Yue asked for Sun Wushe¡¯s support, he agreed, without much deliberation.


    Sun Wushe rationally knows his pain and suffering wasn¡¯t at the hands of the majority of males in this world, but that did not matter. He was pained and suffered. Was he supposed to just generously, pretentiously forgive the society, forgive the world? It makes no sense. Why should he be keeping all the frustration and sadness bottled up inside?


    So he decided to take revenge, to bite and tear without a care in the world. Why pretend everything is fine when it¡¯s clearly not?


    Cheng Zhaoci looks quite confounded, and thus, Sun Wushe says with a smile, ¡°I thank you for accompanying me¡­ It¡¯s time I left.¡±


    He felt like asking Cheng Zhaoci for a hug, but he also knows Cheng Zhaoci would never agree, nor did he need it. This is it. It¡¯s a fact these two insectoids were not meant to be.


    How cruel fate is to make him meet Cheng Zhaoci on the Capital planet. He knows he has feelings for the male.


    But he cannot give up on his plan either. He and Cheng Zhaoci do not belong. They are parallel lines, never to intersect.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Romance movies in our society is truly terrible.¡±


    It really is true what Cheng Zhaoci told him the last time they went to see a movie. When one is in love with another insectoid, everything else becomes irrelevant¡­ But not Sun Wushe. He knows he is too narrow-minded. He cannot forget his own grudge.


    He had an urge, to share his short, fleeting life with another insectoid. Sun Wushe had such an urge. Yet he loathed to discover later on, that he had no capability to offer said insectoid a stable, happy life.


    Insectoid movies are truly bland and static, especially when Sun Wushe has felt the associated emotions firsthand.


    Emotions he now deems useless and to be discarded, ¡°I¡¯m going. You and your older brother can keep watching, or I wouldn¡¯t make it in time.¡±


    Then Sun Wushe turns to leave, without so much as giving Cheng Zhaoci another glance or another word.

 CH 47.2

    Outside the private room, Sun Wushe heads to the reception staff at the entrance, ¡°hello. Can I have the physical copy of the movie ticket that xiongzhu and I had?¡±


    ¡°For commemoration?¡± The staff seems used to these kinds of requests, ¡°sure, this way.¡±


    Meanwhile, in the room, Cheng Zhaoci decides to type out his earlier exchange with Sun Wushe in full and send it to Wei Zhuo¡­ Just in case it¡¯s found out and misunderstood later.


    Then, Cheng Zhaoci pushes Xiao Ji awake from his deep sleep.


    ¡°Huh?! What¡¯s wrong?! What¡¯s going on? Did the shemale die? Is it another tragic development? What¡¯s happening?¡± Xiao Ji sits up, rubbing his eyes, ¡°or the male is gone?¡±


    ¡°Sun Wushe is gone!¡± Cheng Zhaoci really has no words for his dumb and insensitive childhood friend, ¡°were you seriously asleep ten minutes into the movie?¡±


    Xiao Ji looks at where Sun Wushe was sitting to see he¡¯s really nowhere to be found, and mumbles, ¡°you can¡¯t blame me. The shemale was just fighting the whole time, and the fight scenes were boring,¡± Xiao Ji says, yawning, ¡°so where¡¯s him? Toilet?¡±


    ¡°Left! Left somewhere!¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, ¡°I feel like he¡¯s acting weird.¡±


    ¡°Like he likes you?¡± Xiao Ji sighs, looking at Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°you¡¯re a male, a handsome male. I¡¯ve always said you should be carefully dressed and not give insectoids ideas outside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his hands on both sides of Xiao Ji¡¯s head and gives it a good hard shaking, making Xiao Ji completely awake, ¡°I¡¯m suspecting he plans to join Jin Yue! What should we do?¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s confession was unmistakably strange. Why would a shemale soldier ever compare themselves with Jin Yue that way?


    And the fact he seems to be ready to leave the Capital planet for good, is tingling Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s senses.


    ¡°What the fuck?! Did you report him yet?¡± Xiao Ji immediately shoots up, ¡°call the Squadron Leader! See if it connects. If it doesn¡¯t, we go find the Grand Marshal immediately.¡±


    When on their mission, shemale soldiers might be ordered to keep their holodecks away, so if Wei Zhuo is unavailable, Cheng Zhaoci wouldn¡¯t be able to get through.


    Fortunately, Wei Zhuo seems to be free right now. The call goes through without a hitch.


    Cheng Zhaoci repeats the conversation he typed and his suspicions. Wei Zhuo listens intently, and by the time it¡¯s finished, his brows are in full lock, ¡°alright. I get it. I¡¯ll call his superiors right now,¡± then he cuts the call short.


    Cheng Zhaoci then immediately returns home with Xiao Ji to retrieve his tablet. When they¡¯re almost back at the Grand Marshal¡¯s mansion, Wei Zhuo is calling again, with a serious tone, ¡°Mr Cheng Zhaoci, did Sun Wushe do anything to you when you were together?¡±


    ¡°No. We didn¡¯t even touch,¡± Cheng Zhaoci suspected Sun Wushe had a thing for him, and dragged Xiao Ji along. They didn¡¯t have physical contact at all, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? Did he really decide to follow Jin Yue?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s even worse. We¡¯ve been investigating possible spies in the military for a while now, and it¡¯s now been proven beyond a doubt Sun Wushe is one such spy. He¡¯s actually the second-in-command of the Black Panther,¡± then Wei Zhuo asks when Sun Wushe left, precisely.


    After hearing about the exact moment Sun Wushe left the movie theatre, Wei Zhuo coldly explains, ¡°he must have known exactly how far the investigation has been along. And he¡¯s bold. He left not a single moment sooner.¡±


    ¡°But, wasn¡¯t he your younger brother?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci wasn¡¯t expecting Sun Wushe to be undercover all along.


    Him? A spy? Seriously?! He might have an impish personality, but he didn¡¯t feel dangerous like a space pirate. In fact, Sun Wushe helped stop Jin Yue when he ran into him on the Capital planet once. He also knows Sun Wushe is on generally good terms with both Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele, having grown up together. How could he possibly have been a spy all along?


    ¡°He¡¯s my half-brother, that¡¯s why, while all shemale soldiers had their holidays temporarily suspended, he was able to get his day off approved,¡± Wei Zhuo is clearly having a hard time processing this, too, ¡°when you¡¯re back to my granddad¡¯s, please let him give you a full bodily scan to ensure your safety.¡±


    ¡°I did grow up with him, but we were actually on bad terms as teenagers. He only¡­ starting acting mature when he¡¯s grown older,¡± and now it looks like that was a complete ruse. He¡¯s grown older, and learned how to hide his true self.


    ¡°Black Panther¡¯s second-in-command remained shrouded in mystery for the five, six years he¡¯s been in charge. I didn¡¯t know at all, this guy was right under my nose all along,¡± Wei Zhuo is even smiling. His smile is frigid.


    ¡°Make sure you do your body check thoroughly. I have to get back to work, let¡¯s talk later,¡± as Sun Wushe¡¯s half-brother, Wei Zhuo is also currently on suspicion, especially because Sun Wushe had his day off and departure from the Capital planet approved in his name.


    Cheng Zhaoci turns his head to the side, to look blankly at Xiao Ji, who shudders and says, ¡°holy shit, so Ci-zai, you were neighbours with a high-ranking space pirate all along?!¡±


    It sends shivers down spines just to think about it, and Sun Wushe¡­ based on his parting speech to Cheng Zhaoci, he is clearly male-phobic as well, and not to any mild degree. How could he have fallen asleep during the movies, leaving Cheng Zhaoci basically alone with him?!


    Xiao Ji seems positively frightened now, ¡°did he really not touch you at all?¡±


    ¡°No. He just said a few words,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is still too much in shock.


    Xiao Ji, though, seems to have drawn the wrong conclusion, ¡°now I¡¯m actually certain he really likes you,¡± why else would Sun Wushe have done nothing to Cheng Zhaoci, and even basically exposed his double identity with that off-putting speech?


    Cheng Zhaoci is actually in agreement, but says nothing.


    If what Sun Wushe said is his true feelings, he is probably not going to be in contact with him anymore. Cheng Zhaoci checks his contacts on his holodeck¡­ Yup. He¡¯s been blocked by Sun Wushe already, ¡°I, I think it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Though Lu Yao clearly doesn¡¯t agree, dragging him off to a whole cohort of physicians and body checks. Lu Yao also seems deeply disappointed learning of Sun Wushe¡¯s true identity, sighing, ¡°I¡¯ve met the kid a few times. I thought he left his youthful hubris in the past.¡±


    That¡¯s all he would say on the matter.


    He didn¡¯t seem too surprised, however, that Sun Wushe still ended up on such a path, having had this worry when Sun Wushe was but a teenager. Then he quickly changes the topic, possibly for Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s sake, to help him take his mind off of it.

 CH 47.3

    During the idle chatter, Cheng Zhaoci asks Lu Yao about the authorisation to visit the frontline. The Grand Marshal then laughs at him.


    ¡°Authorisation? First, you have to be xiao-Zhuo¡¯s officially registered xiongzhu, and you need to undergo a physical aptitude test. Safety is paramount if a male was ever to be allowed on the frontline,¡± Lu Yao then caresses Cheng Zhaoci on his fuzzy head, ¡°Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t the commander of the operation, so he¡¯s not stuck there. Even if the war lasts for a long time, he could still teleport home every once in a while.¡±


    Apparently, ¡®teleportation gates¡¯ is this recently developed new technology that is set up as a secure link between the frontline and the Capital. It¡¯s an expensive, point-to-point technology suitable for travel by individual insectoids and no larger, skipping the long space flight entirely.


    In the past, it was impossible to be let leave the battlefield in the middle of the war unless dishonourably discharged.


    This technology is actually still fresh off the grill, developed by Bai Jun¡¯s team not long ago.


    It¡¯s quite the innovation despite its flaws, with tactical applications like sending generals instantaneously if needed.


    The fact that he and Wei Zhuo can still meet makes Cheng Zhaoci ecstatic!


    He doesn¡¯t know about war developments or is a soldier, nor can he help Wei Zhuo fight, but he can still make money, save for their future, give his future shemale a lovely life ahead.


    While he¡¯s still working on the last chapters of his comic that would make up the last arc, Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s first chapter is out.


    Cheng Zhaoci clicks out of curiosity, and he fails to make it through the first page.


    Oh holy baJesus! He really, really has trouble digesting this kind of style and plot.


    He then decides to tour the comments. It¡¯s not very lively, as it¡¯s the first chapter of a new comic series, but it¡¯s more than enough for a new comic artist. Several comments seem enthusiastic about the ¡®riveting¡¯ plot developments. Cheng Zhaoci knows from these comments that the plot has stopped just past the point when the protagonist demi and a certain fiendishly handsome and bossy male had their drunken one-night stand.


    Well¡ª¡ªThat sure is quick.


    Aside from those comments, some are also questioning what in the world this illogical PoS in front of them is. Cheng Zhaoci then gives their profiles a look, to see that most of those who find it riveting are young shemales and demis, while the ¡°???¡± and disapproving comments that question the artist¡¯s intellectual capacity are generally from males.


    Shemales and demis would never argue with males head-on¡­ so they¡¯re also indirectly dissing those who find the comic buggy and incoherent in their own comments.


    Huh, it¡¯s definitely a young audience, this comic, completely fearless in their Internet anonymity. Cheng Zhaoci thinks he is witnessing the rise of a great and infamous comic artist right here¡­ Wait, actually, why is this second most upvoted comment from Zhou Luoluo? Right underneath the most upvoted comment from a demi yelling about how great this plot is and how handsome the male is?


    Ah, well. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.


    After that, Cheng Zhaoci makes his attempt #2 at getting through the comic¡­ He successfully makes it to the end, but all his mind remembers is a sleuth of monstrously large, blinging eyes and nothing else.


    Then the comments¡­ Oh, they¡¯re drawing unwanted comparisons with Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s own comic now.


    ¡®This comic is so much better than that Bomb guy,¡¯ etc. Saying how the plot is more interesting, the style is better, prettier, whatever.


    Cheng Zhaoci ignores them. Style preference is subjective. So is whether a story is interesting or not.


    Cheng Zhaoci then scrolls down this comment thread. Ah, a flame war ¨C between the OP and a group of his supporters replying. Truly, one vs all, huh.


    The readers sure are an interesting bunch.


    As someone who¡¯s already become jaded to Internet phenomena in his past life, Cheng Zhaoci has only apathy.


    Actually, if readers who prefer this style of comic are praising his work, either the reader¡¯s senses have had a massive shift, or his own style has a problem.


    Cheng Zhaoci then stops reading the comment section that is visibly turning more and more pugnacious, and goes to check his own comic¡¯s comments¡­ only to see pages upon pages of yellow words on blue backgrounds or red backgrounds that are heavily critical of him. Oh, and there are also ones telling him to upload more often.


    He completely forgot. Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s readers might be turning on each other and fighting, but his own readers are completely united ¨C in their frustrated hatred of the damned comic artist they all follow. He doesn¡¯t even know whether he¡¯d prefer Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comment section over his own anymore.


    With his third chapter still in the works, he is yet to make himself deserving of warmth and cuddles from his readers.

 CH 48.1

    A Script, A Cooperation


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci will have to ask the Zhou brothers beforehand for time to help detailing work with his third chapter.


    Well, Zhou Luoluo is pretty much free. Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiaobao also says he¡¯s free whenever. According to his cousin, he wasn¡¯t feeling on top of his game from his comic¡¯s comments.


    There are always things one thinks they would be able to handle well until it turns out not. Case in point, Zhou Xiaobao, who was said to have just sat sulking with a body pillow after reading a few unfriendly comments in a row.


    Cheng Zhaoci decides against cheering him up on this, as it is only going to become the new normal. Zhou Xiaobao will have to learn to just deal with it and ignore them entirely.


    He is actually adapting surprisingly well, too, as Zhou Luoluo also reports that Zhou Xiaobao decided to take a few days off before returning all the more ready with renewed plot holes and contrivances. It should be noted that Zhou Luoluo appeared distraught when telling this part of the recollection.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡± He knew it. Nice one, Zhou Xiaobao!


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci is already drawing up plans for what to follow after this short romance comic is done. He¡¯ll begin his actual long-term serialised work. He already has a story planned out in his past world ¨C he simply died before seeing it to fruition. So it¡¯s time to finish off the short comic.


    During this, though, he has an audience while working on his comic ¨C Lu Yao, the Grand Marshal whose daily activities suggest the post actually has no responsibility nor tasks to do.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually have much work. I¡¯m actually in a de facto retirement. Unless the insectoid is being threatened to its core, I don¡¯t expect to get called up at all,¡± explains Lu Yao as he holds a cup of warm drink while watching him draw.


    He thinks Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s drawing is very skilled, but then, being someone who might pass away at any time, he isn¡¯t so easily moved to bawling like young ones, or is going to beg for updates or anything.


    In fact, he even has constructive opinions, ¡°if the purpose of this separation is to show how the male¡¯s feelings for the demi run more deeply than everyone thought, that no other insectoid can understand, you can arrange for the male to become more mature before they meet up again.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes, telling is far weaker and shallower compared to showing with the characters¡¯ actions ¨C consistent actions over time, that is.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci looks at Lu Yao.


    ¡°Like he could be rather meek when he first starts to work remotely, making him a pushover, reflecting his upbringing as a typical, somewhat spoiled male. He had to become more assertive and capable over time.¡±


    ¡°Forcing himself to become more independent and assertive after losing everything he relied on?¡± Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, and finds it quite plausible, that said, ¡°such a change would have to have happened over years. If the demi was actually fine during all this, where could he be? He could have called even if he were healing in a hospital.¡±


    Here, having a Grand Marshal by one¡¯s side proves its benefits, ¡°just wait a little bit. I remember some wars where aliens carried strains and possible infectious agents we had no immunity for, and thus quarantine and sector lockdowns were imposed. I have some examples of those. Communications in and out would also be heavily restricted, both for intelligence and avoiding general panic.¡±


    Lu Yao had his examples ready soon enough. They feature some of the classic wars the insectoids once fought with other species. There are also details inside of the quarantine measures imposed, if any.


    It sure is nice to have an expert who¡¯s also experienced in such things by his side. He didn¡¯t even need to go look up information or make up excuses.


    Lu Yao then watches Cheng Zhaoci continue to refine his script for the third arc, and finally, form a complete, coherent story, with the two insectoids finally back together after all the hurdles they overcome. He can¡¯t help but comment, ¡°this really is nice.¡±


    It¡¯s a shame real life is no escapism like in comics, with happiness to follow easily enough after tragedies, like the tragedies were trials that guaranteed happiness when overcome.


    In the comic, the male started living alone in the third arc, staying in the small house he and the demi owned. He has never known house chores or even a callous, but he slowly came to be able to keep the house in good condition.


    He also started to become less of an ¡®ideal¡¯ insectoid.


    At first, to avoid trouble, the male never revealed his male identity. His soft personality meant he didn¡¯t know how to say no to work piled onto him. There are often times he had to do ¡®favours¡¯ he¡¯s not compensated for, even if it meant overtime for him. It was painful.


    Eventually, he learned to refuse what was unwarranted. He learned that not everyone was a friend, and in fact, started only valuing relationships on what he could gain and lose.


    He is no longer hopelessly na?ve, or, at least, he was forcibly sharpened into a rose with thorns. All so he could maintain a living.


    Even so, the male never forgot his demi, not even after there has been no news for a long, long time.


    No matter how much he matured, how bad he changed into, how fluently he could negotiate and talk with other insectoids now, the demi was the only one he opened up to, and who opened up to him warmly, accepting him for all he was, when he was loneliest.


    He could never forget him.


    This is the first chapter of this last arc, detailing the changes the male undergoes. They are certainly not growth others would appreciate seeing on a male, and if the demi was still here, he would probably still be the nice, meek male that didn¡¯t know how to refuse, and would never calculate the worth of relationships and others.


    During this time, the male¡¯s family will also finally come to realise, through how drastically the male has changed in their eyes, that this wasn¡¯t at all the simple relationship they thought this was.


    They would try to reverse the male¡¯s course and make him go back to them, but only be met with abject refusal.


    In the final part, the male will be eating alone on the dinner table. He is no longer the simple, lonely male who knew nothing. There is a clear change in his countenance.


    Opposite of the male is a bowl. The demi¡¯s bowl.


    The final panel of the chapter is the close-up of the bowl¡­


    Which leads in to the start of the second chapter, which is a close-up of a similar bowl held in the demi¡¯s hands.

 CH 48.2

    The second chapter of the arc depicts what happened to the demi. He is trapped inside a temporary shelter camp the insectoid army has set up, with communications heavily restricted.


    The first half of the chapter would show the war through the eyes of the demi, as he reminisces his days with his xiongzhu in between.


    As the war stretches into the second year, he wonders how his xiongzhu is doing, and can¡¯t help but wonder¡­ if he is still his xiongzhu.


    His xiongzhu could legally file for unilateral divorce, given that he¡¯s become ¡®missing¡¯ on an active battlefield for two years. If the young male thought he¡¯d died and had a divorce go through, he might already have a new cijun by the time he¡¯s home.


    Even so, he still wants to go home. To see for himself.


    Finally, one day, a shemale soldier he befriended excitedly tells him that the war is coming to an end.


    The war is going to end, and finally, the civilian quarantine can be lifted, and they can return.


    Unable to wait a second longer, the demi is among the first to leave alongside the army when the lockdowns are lifted.


    A few days later, the male brought dinner home. He hasn¡¯t left their home much since he and demi left on the trip all those months ago. He knows it isn¡¯t healthy, his only contact with the wider insectoid society only being the time when he buys meals outside.


    ¡°The quarantine has been lifted. Ashes and belongings of the deceased will be here soon. They¡¯ll probably be hard to recognise, but you can try identifying from the scraps remaining,¡± a male informs and reminds him of such. This male is his older brother.


    Well, in all honesty, the older brother also would rather see the demi alive. It will, at least, improve his younger brother¡¯s mental state. However, rumours say the casualties of those trapped when the war suddenly began were astronomical. Who could dare guarantee that the demi would be among the lucky ones?


    The male ignores his older brother. When he¡¯s home, he locks his older brother out entirely. He is not going to go. Even if the demi isn¡¯t back, he might not be dead. He is elsewhere. He knows the demi always loved to travel places.


    What if he really went to that damned centre or whatever to check the bodies and saw his demi¡¯s ashes? What should he do, when there is not even a sliver of hope left?


    The male puts the meal, spreading it evenly in two.


    He starts eating. Bite after bite. Yet, oddly enough, his hands are quicker than his mouth, stuffing, stuffing, stuffing his heart full of fear. He feels like his food is stuck at the throat. It hurts. Tears roll out of the males¡¯ eyes, as his chopsticks continue to tremblingly gather food to his mouth.


    The food continues disappearing, the tears continue rolling, the hand continues moving.


    Eventually, some critical threshold is broken. He finally puts his chopsticks down. There are scraps of food still around his mouth on his face, mixed with all the tears. He looks terrible.


    Finally, with a choking sound, he is audibly crying.


    That is when there is a noise at the door. Someone is opening the door. The male just looks on ahead, blankly, with food still mechanically chewing in his mouth. He ends up face-to-face with the entirely unannounced, heaving demi.


    Here, Cheng Zhaoci adds a flashback to the moment when the two of them first met. The male was quite flustered with his deliveries scattered on the ground. He was not good at asking for help, or doing any social interaction. He simply bit his lips, wanting to disappear from embarrassment.


    Now, the male has grown. He¡¯s matured. He¡¯s become more capable than the vast majority of males. Yet, at heart, he is still flustered. Drenched in tears, drowning in scraps of food. It feels like he never did ever look good in front of the demi. Only, in front of the demi.


    Having grown into a proper, perhaps dull and materialistic, adult, the male simply stares at the demi. The demi stares back. Neither speaks, while the male quickly chews and gulps down what food remains. He has so many questions.


    How has the demi been? Was he hurt? Why didn¡¯t he call? Did the military not let him? Why is he all drenched in sweat? Did he run all this way?


    But all the words run into and jam each other at the tip of his tongue. In the end, he only manages a, ¡°welcome home?¡±


    The demi smiles, but his smile looks worse than if he would simply cry, ¡°uh, yeah. I¡¯m back.¡±


    That¡¯s the end of the comic. Everything else would be left to the readers¡¯ imagination.


    Lu Yao read the ending, staying on the last page for quite a while, before muttering, ¡°ah, it sure is nice,¡± which makes it the second time he¡¯s given it similar praise. Then, with a distant look in his eyes, he leaves, trudging along, carrying his beloved warm bottle of drink in his hands.


    Finally, Cheng Zhaoci sends the draft of the comic over to the Zhou brothers, telling them this is the plot to follow. The last arc still contains three chapters. They can read about it first.


    Feedback comes in the form of the letter ¡®a¡¯ repeated ad nauseum that they send to him in a message.


    Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s passions seem reignited in particular. He feels like going to the broadcast towers again, to try his luck with demis.


    ¡°You know, the fact that you were exposed isn¡¯t entirely my fault,¡± Jin Yue shrugs at Sun Wushe¡¯s rather ugly expression, ¡°you were going to be exposed eventually, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been this early if you were more sensible and didn¡¯t go check out Mr Cheng Zhaoci repeatedly!¡± Sun Wushe is once again entertaining the idea of giving Jin Yue an open-skull surgery just to check out what¡¯s going on inside that head of his.


    Jin Yue knows he¡¯s at fault, and shrinks a little, saying, ¡°you know I¡¯m fucked in the head! I¡¯ve got the papers from the doc right here! You knew that.¡±


    ¡°Then go get unfucked! Or is even advanced insectoid technology not a match for your royally fucked ass?¡± Sun Wushe slams the desk, irate, ¡°all my fucking years spent undercover to be undone by your shitty big-brain moment! Whose side are you cunts even fucking on?!¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve known your cover wouldn¡¯t have stayed on long after agreeing to cooperate,¡± Jin Yue ruffles the golden wig he¡¯s got on his head, ¡°so did you see the little ugly thing when you leave?¡±


    ¡°So what if I did or not?¡± Sun Wushe sits back down, ¡°the moment we made our decision, there is no turning back. He should stay out of all this.¡±


    ¡°Oh? And that older half-brother of yours?¡± Jin Yue asks in a tease.

 CH 48.3

    ¡°I would not shy away from fighting him,¡± Wei Zhuo says, and trying to convince Meng Yuele who¡¯s still mumbling in denial, ¡°the moment he threw his lot in with Jin Yue, he has become a space buccaneer through and through.¡±


    ¡°But we grew up with him! We grew up together, after all these years. And I¡¯ve never realised!¡± Meng Yuele appears devastated, ¡°why a pirate of all things?!¡±


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t say anything as he watches the stars outside the military vessel he¡¯s in.


    What else could he say? He cares not to judge whether someone¡¯s choices are right or wrong. In fact, he couldn¡¯t even say he was that surprised Sun Wushe betrayed them a long time ago. It¡¯s normal for someone to burst when emotionally abused to the seams. What¡¯s unusual in this case is how quietly Sun Wushe blew up ¨C quietly enough that Wei Zhuo did not even suspect a thing.


    ¡°There are more kidnapped males,¡± Meng Yuele then reports, still depressed, ¡°there is even a centenarian among them. His cijun and concubines all went after the pirates and died in the process.¡±


    ¡°Where are they from? Didn¡¯t they know all civilian flights have become restricted?¡± Wei Zhuo furrows his brows.


    ¡°They¡¯re from the Capital planet, but that xiongzhu and several of his concubines were off on a distant planet when the order came down. They still had young children on the Capital planet, so they were worried and decided to risk it,¡± Meng Yuele¡¯s tone is souring to the point of tears, ¡°we¡¯ve only been able to rescue a shemale in his 20s.¡±


    ¡°Which male is it?¡±


    ¡°From the Zhao family.¡±


    ¡°Zhao¡­?¡± Wei Zhuo suddenly widens his eyes, and asks Meng Yuele, ¡°over a hundred years old, from the Zhao family?! You mean Zhao Wen?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Meng Yuele is shocked, ¡°I thought you were under disciplinary probation and couldn¡¯t look up info? As expected of a grade S shemale!¡±


    ¡°Look up, my arse!¡± Wei Zhuo grits his teeth, feeling like swearing, ¡°he¡¯s the xiongzhu of Mr Liang, the teacher home-schooling Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s lessons!¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m getting more time off?¡± Cheng Zhaoci tilts his head, still in the middle of his phone call with Mr Liang, ¡°Mr Liang, are you alright? You don¡¯t sound too well.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine,¡± Mr Liang says, but his tone is tired and uneasy, ¡°I apologise for inconveniencing your studies for personal reasons. If you¡¯re so inclined, I can recommend other teachers in my place. I might become busy for a short while. Goodbye,¡± then the phone call was cut short.


    Cheng Zhaoci can feel that something is off. He tries to call again, but Lu Yao stops him, ¡°it¡¯s useless. His xiongzhu was taken away by the pirates. Most of his family is dead. He would not tell you about it even if you asked.¡±


    ¡°Teacher¡¯s xiongzhu was kidnapped?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lu Yao sighs, ¡°there¡¯s no use panicking for him. It is his xiongzhu, and it is entirely up to him if he could overcome this. You won¡¯t be able to help with his healing.¡±


    ¡°And, he might not want to be in someone¡¯s company for a while,¡± Lu Yao really understands all too well how that feels.


    ¡°Leave your teacher to granddad here. I¡¯ll send someone to look after him,¡± Lu Yao then ruffles Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hair, ¡°the insectoid situation is a problem rooted deep in history. It¡¯s a tenacious problem, but it¡¯s not beyond saving.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci looks at him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know what you need to when you come of age. They will tell you what you need to know,¡± Lu Yao takes a sip of his tea, ¡°now, you just need to keep working on your comics with your friends. Cultural entertainment is quite an important industry, I¡¯ve found.¡±


    After Lu Yao has left, Cheng Zhaoci sits there dryly for a long time, before checking out his own comic¡¯s comment section.


    The majority of his readers are shemales, which is a given, but there is also a not insignificant number of males, mostly young ones.


    Cheng Zhaoci scrolls along, ignoring all the pleas for more frequent updates. Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t really know what he¡¯s looking for either, but after a while, he gets to one particular comment.


    [UpdatesWhen?: I actually have a cijun and concubine, but don¡¯t really talk to them when not necessary. After reading the comic, I was in the mood for a chat (mainly over how asinine the comic artist is), and had a long long chat with them. (p.s. my cijun is a soldier and the concubine is an office clerk) and I realise they¡¯re actually so cute! my cijun goes shy whatever I do! have you seen a soldier fumbling awkwardly? the contrast is killing me hahaha! my concubine is super talkative, and somehow he¡¯d forget what he was talking about after a few sentences or two! anyway! they¡¯re so cute!]


    The replies come from males, shemales and demis alike. The shemales and demis are mostly interested in flirting, while some males are also discussing the contrasts their own family shemale soldiers display. Meanwhile, some minor males are also admiring insectoids who already have their cijuns.


    Honestly, the general mood is amicable. It is especially remarkable in this highly distorted and borderline segregated insectoid society. Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but feel fuzzy inside.


    That is when he receives a private message. It¡¯s highlighted because it is from a male-verified account.


    [IWan: Hello, I¡¯m personally a big fan of ¡®In a Tiny Flicker,¡¯ would you be willing to allow me to turn it into a movie?]


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s work, as per his contract, belongs solely to him. The website itself does not have distribution rights.


    Cheng Zhaoci feels like ignoring it, knowing the few insectoid movies he¡¯s seen. Besides, males can¡¯t act if their lives depended on it, and ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ is entirely based on the perspective of the male protagonist.


    Though that is when the other person sends him three clips as examples.


    All are depicting a sort of climax, with the males inside being, quite frankly, exceptionally expressive with their emotions.


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t a film critic, he only knows that this acting is on a ¡®holy shit it¡¯s amazing¡¯ level. He has no idea that there are actually capable males in the film industry.


    The other person explains soon enough, though, dispelling the myth.


    [IWan: I generated these models of males based on my understanding of the male protagonist as depicted in your comic. What do you think of them?]


    Oh, models? Like, it¡¯s actually a photorealistic, animated movie?

 CH 49.1

    Repetition


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks this male fan of his is pretty interesting. He¡¯s never revealed his gender, so the readers are generally assuming he¡¯s a demi or shemale. Yet, the male is actually using honourifics when sending him messages.


    It¡¯s quite unheard of to hear such courtesy afforded by males to members of other sexes.


    Cheng Zhaoci watches the three clips once more.


    Technology really is quite marvellous here. At least, Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t find any unnatural artifacts, whether in the movements of the characters or the expressions, or even the way the fabric moves and flutters, and even the background.


    [IWan: I¡¯m still working on the landfill planet setting. I actually wanted to go take a look around a real one, but the pirates have been really active lately, so it¡¯s probably better I don¡¯t]


    [BombInMyPants: You don¡¯t need to! It¡¯s way too dangerous. This is already amazing! Do you have other published work I could check out?] Cheng Zhaoci is quite interested in the offer now, seeing how lifelike this great programmer is able to make his characters.


    [IWan: I do, check these out]


    He sends a few more clips after that.


    Cheng Zhaoci watches them carefully. He knows nothing about how insectoids go about modelling polygons or making 3D animation, but if this male is able to do this much alone? Then it can at least be said that the insectoids have a much easier time doing such work than in his past life.


    What¡¯s unexpected, though, is that this time, there are only shemales in these clips. All sorts of them, with different hair styles, but there is one common aspect throughout ¨C they all look unruly and defiant. Their eyes can send shivers down insectoids¡¯ spines.


    [BombInMyPants: Do you have a preference in shemales like them?]


    [IWan: I do. wild and combative shemales are the treasure of insectoids. you might not understand, but they are very much my type of insectoid!]


    He does. Of course he does. Cheng Zhaoci knows that feeling all too well. Ah, is this the feeling of having someone share your obscure interests?


    [BombInMyPants: If you don¡¯t mind, can I ask how old you are?]


    [IWan: 21. I¡¯m an adult male. grade B]


    The male then also reveals that his name is Evan, and he is unmarried, for he hasn¡¯t met the shemale of his dreams yet ¨C apparently, the little mute shemale in ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ was one such possibility for him, even in spite of his usual preference in appearance. About as soon as he discovered his newfound love, however, Cheng Zhaoci had the shemale die.


    Evan doesn¡¯t live on the Capital planet, but there was a time when he seriously contemplated confronting BombInMyPants on the Capital planet directly, until he realised he didn¡¯t know who BombIn was in real life either, and gave up.


    Around the time Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s new comic was getting published was when Evan moved on from his sadness, and even tried to recreate the plot in the story through his technical expertise.


    He¡¯s gone through many revisions already, according to him. He was unhappy with the performance and emotions and all the expressive stuff. When he¡¯s finally got the characters looking how he wanted, he came to BombIn with it in tow.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks it¡¯s quite plausible, but he first needs to consult with experts if he doesn¡¯t want to get tangled up in legal minutiae.


    He tells Evan he¡¯s very interested in working with him, but he needs to ask for expert opinion first regarding the cooperation. He¡¯ll reply in a few days.


    Evan sounds happy Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t reject him outright.


    Afterwards, Cheng Zhaoci contacts his editor. He could have asked Lu Yao for help, given his necessarily large amount of contacts in his line of work as a Grand Marshal, but he¡¯s also become busier lately, which Cheng Zhaoci can see, in spite of his claims to the contrary.


    A Grand Marshal in name is still a Grand Marshal, after all.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s editor is clearly competent in his work as well, telling Cheng Zhaoci to hand the contact detail over to him. They will get the contract sorted and everything before showing Cheng Zhaoci the final draft for approval.


    So Cheng Zhaoci happily hands that bit of work over to work on the details for his next comic.


    It¡¯s not like he can do anything about the Jin Yue-Sun Wushe issue, or the underlying social dichotomy running through everything.


    Even if the undercover Sun Wushe seemed to have some personal interest in him, it wasn¡¯t enough, evidently, to deter him from what he has set out to do.


    Never mind the mentally ill Jin Yue.


    They are actually engaged in warfare in the frontline, while Cheng Zhaoci is, meaning no offence, an underage country bumpkin of a male.


    Even if he had the ability to influence opinions with the power of his penstroke, or even trigger some sort of cultural renaissance, but with an ongoing war, it¡¯s not like he could create some grandiose, tearjerking epic that¡¯s just gonna recreate the Christmas truce between both sides, and achieve world peace or some insane bollocks.


    It would turn this into a whole feel-good fantasy story. Something quite beyond the creative potential of the rather materialistic and pragmatic insectoids.


    What Cheng Zhaoci can do, therefore, is not prancing about outside. If he did, and end up caught by space pirates, he¡¯d only end up as a bargaining chip against Wei Zhuo.


    If that happened, Cheng Zhaoci thinks he¡¯d rather die of shame.


    Time to stay home. The turtling ones always win in the end, if only because everyone else has died to infighting.


    Cheng Zhaoci has even refrained from face-to-face meetings with the Zhou brothers now. They¡¯ve moved all the work online in spite of their earlier reluctance.


    Later, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are already going back to school. Cheng Zhaoci¡­ is bored.


    He does miss Wei Zhuo for that matter, but because of the ongoing fighting, he can only call him about once every week, and never for long.


    Sometimes, it feels like Cheng Zhaoci has only said a thing or two before the latest developments are prying Wei Zhuo away from the holodeck.


    So for the sake of having something to do, Cheng Zhaoci is practically drawing every single moment he isn¡¯t eating, sleeping or video-calling. It meant the third arc of his comic came out much more quickly than his second arc did.


    After that, he immediately prances onto his next project, leaving his readers to their own devices.


    That midnight, with his comic having been fully released and completed for more than half a day, Cheng Zhaoci finally checks the comments before sleep.


    Now the comment section is just filled with the cry emoji. It¡¯s a comment barrage all the same, but at least, it isn¡¯t visually torturous like those unsettling comments urging him to update more often with the solid blue background and yellow characters.


    Many of the insectoids are also giving the male and demi protagonists hugs.


    They also want to love or be loved like them!


    There are even insectoids who mention that they¡¯ve once been in a similar relationship, but they did not end happily like the comic did.


    Scrolling down, comments asking for the sweet everyday lives of the protagonists thereafter to be depicted are rising through the ranks. Cheng Zhaoci replies to the most liked ones, telling them this comic is officially over here, and there will be no extras.

 CH 49.2

    Now Cheng Zhaoci has to start working on his next, proper length serial comic, ¡®Theoretical Time Turnaround.¡¯


    He has been workshopping the comic in his past life already, with the protagonist and the first three stories worked out. Clearly, though, he¡¯d have to change them. Thankfully, this is going to be an episodic comic, which meant that each story inside will be independent and freely modifiable.


    The comic¡¯s protagonist, meanwhile, will not be the protagonist of each story within. Instead, he serves as the bridge that takes the readers from each story to the next.


    He is going to be a young adult¡­ So basically, he¡¯s got to draw him somewhere between a male and demi.


    He also looks very creepy. Pure black hair and eyes, that do not have highlights at all. He looks more dead than alive.


    Also, this protagonist is someone that just¡­ is. No one, not even himself, knows where he came from, or where he should go. He has always been there.


    He believes he is something born of desire.


    He has no past, has never experienced tragedy or love. He is simply a being that walks the world.


    And he has one single ability. He can offer insectoids the chance to redo things.


    That¡¯s the ¡®Time Turnaround¡¯ part of the title.


    When they have the chance to relive their lives, would they do better? Do worse?


    The protagonist offers them this opportunity, and then observes without intervening anymore.


    Cheng Zhaoci finishes adapting the setting and first story for the insectoid culture quickly.


    To be honest, while transmigration ruled the roost in his past life, the protagonist being transported back in time was also quite popular in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s time on Earth, with some of them depicting protagonists who failed miserably in life before, but achieved great success when given the opportunity to redo things. Cheng Zhaoci wanted to ask a question with this comic. If the protagonist was someone who didn¡¯t have what it took to succeed, could they really change themselves so dramatically when ¡®reborn,¡¯ and become masters of their own fate?


    He does not deny outright the possibility, but it requires such a great amount of willpower¡­ Willpower that meant the protagonists likely wouldn¡¯t have led a failure of a life in the first place.


    Imagine if Cheng Zhaoci was transported back to his time as a human child. Would he have been able to pull himself up by the bootstraps and get into Tsinghua or Peking University? Cheng Zhaoci thinks that is utter bollocks.


    While it is true that working as an adult is more tiring than going to school, but he¡¯s already used to waking up at ten, for example. Going back to the past, without a mobile phone or even computers, as they haven¡¯t become household objects yet? And he no longer had his supportive fans and friends on the Internet to talk to? Get him to wake up early every day for school, and repeatedly jam knowledge into his brain?


    He might last a few months if pushed, but not any longer.


    He is not under enough desperation or hopelessness to be able to stand strong against the suffering.


    This will also apply to the protagonist of his first story. But of course, it¡¯ll be boring for both him and the readers to beat the same drum over and over again, so the stories to follow would feature different types of characters. It is Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s aim to draw a compilation of ¡®rebirth¡¯ stories. He¡¯s planning to set three chapters for each story, give or take depending on the reception.


    He had his comic planned up to this when he was offered some contract work by a company. Since drawing comics, especially more serious and disconnected one like the one he¡¯s planning to, is a pretty big risk with potentially no payoff, he decided to sign and focus on the company¡¯s work.


    The next thing he knew, he died of a stroke from overwork.


    Well¡­ He did meet his dad, and Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, and the love of his life thanks to that, but that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s going to thank that shitty boss.


    There is nothing more valuable than one¡¯s body and health, no matter the money on offer.


    Now, it¡¯s time for Cheng Zhaoci to start reworking the details of the stories themselves to fit the insectoid background.


    When he¡¯s got the first story sorted, his editor sends him a message and a drafted contract.


    Cheng Zhaoci signs it after checking carefully. As Evan is a freelance individual, the clauses are much simpler and easy to follow.


    After that is done, the editor sends him another message.


    [Editor Lee: the comic department of the company is going to host a meet-and-greet with the readers, do you want to go?]


    A meet-and-greet? While he probably didn¡¯t need to hide his male identity in case it affected his viewers¡¯ perception of his comic¡¯s quality anymore, recalling the brave, sex-defying universal hatred everyone had towards his comic on the second arc of his love comic, which meant that even the shemales and demis would probably be able to yell obscenities at him online even if he revealed he was a male¡­ He can¡¯t go, unless he plans to get the Grand Marshal to set aside his entire personal security detail with him.


    Nope nope nope, he¡¯d rather not look like the mafia trying to collect debts at a meet-and-greet.


    Cheng Zhaoci thus declines the invitation. That said, the editor¡¯s invitation is a reminder that his comic is popular enough that he can¡¯t shrug off face-to-face interaction with his fans forever. Instead of a shocking reveal of his male identity then, he should probably mentally prepare them.


    Thus he gives his profile an update ¨C ¡®It¡¯s time I told you the truth. I¡¯m actually not a demi, but a male.¡¯


    He still keeps his profile picture the same, though, remembering that he isn¡¯t exactly in a safe position to let his appearance be known, just in case.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci watches as the first new comment on his profile comes.


    [IsFlickerHappyEndToday: hahaha, I was all sad and serious watching the latest battle news, and suddenly, I snorted!]


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    Then comments continue to go ¡®haha,¡¯ with some wondering if the comic artist saw how sombre the mood has become online, and is telling them a joke.


    What? A male named ¡®BombInMyPants¡¯? And a male that didn¡¯t do anything when they were far less than kind asking for updates online? And who is very clearly a damned dog of an insectoid?


    You¡¯re saying, that this loveable dorky shithead of an insectoid is a male?


    There is even a reader claiming he fell off the bed from laughing, and Cheng Zhaoci should pay his medical bills.


    Cheng Zhaoci would rather throw the person off his bed again. Pulling a long face, he can¡¯t believe that the commenters do not believe in his male identity.


    There is even a male-verified comment that says if BombIn were male, he¡¯d immediately go do a number 2 while doing a handstand. Cheng Zhaoci decides to take a screen capture. Who knows, it might prove useful one day, no?


    The comments continue to ¡®hahaha.¡¯ The air is jubilant.


    A frustrated Cheng Zhaoci decides to pay the comment section no more heed from now on.

 CH 49.3

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like a male?¡± Wei Zhuo wonders, as Cheng Zhaoci recounts his experience during their chat that night.


    Wei Zhuo is going to concur that Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t look that much like a male¡­ until he thought this might wound Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s weakened dignity even more, seeing how baleful Cheng Zhaoci is looking. Wei Zhuo lies, ¡°you look like one, I think.¡±


    Unfortunately, lying definitely isn¡¯t a strong suit of Wei Zhuo¡¯s; the shifty look Wei Zhuo has is all the tell he needs, ¡°so what part of I don¡¯t look like a male?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere,¡± Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s already been seen right through, and is still trying to keep the ruse up, ¡°you definitely feel like a male wherever you look at it.¡±


    Wei Zhuo is actually speaking the truth for that last sentence, because Wei Zhuo has this uncanny ability for discerning someone¡¯s sex, as demonstrated when Cheng Zhaoci had that horribly disfiguring pile of markings on his face back on the landfill planet. Of course, that level of perception is only seen among grade S shemales, like Wei Zhuo.


    Though if you ask him, Wei Zhuo may be able to definitively tell the sex from the difference in the bone structure and body make-up, but simply going on personality, he really doesn¡¯t think Cheng Zhaoci is a male.


    In fact, if one looks at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comic in the beginning, like the little zombie king, one gets the impression that the comic artist is a shemale or demi without a xiongzhu, who is fantasising a male like the zombie king.


    There is no way a male would fantasise about a male, no.


    Unfortunately, these thoughts are practically written on the face of Wei Zhuo¡¯s face. Cheng Zhaoci knows, and Wei Zhuo has sure strained himself to be mindful of his fragile ego.


    He changes the topic, talking about Wei Zhuo¡¯s daily life in the frontline, whether he¡¯s eating well, sleeping well, getting hurt, stuff like that.


    He¡¯s quite thorough in questioning as well, not wanting the insectoid he loves to come to any harm where he doesn¡¯t know.


    Wei Zhuo also answers patiently, or, perhaps even quite passionately. At least, it is very obvious to the shemale soldiers around him.


    Who in the world would go into such detail about their meal? Like, everyone is eating the same thing at the frontline. And obviously, people get hurt in the frontline battles! Insectoid medical technology is advanced enough to save someone as long as they¡¯re not actually dead! And what if he was hurt? It¡¯s not like who he¡¯s talking to can come treat him from the central star systems, anyway.


    Wei Zhuo would have shared their opinion in the past, but he has finally understood now, seeing the male¡¯s concern for him. Understood love and concern for someone one cares about.


    Actually, his granddad Lu Yao also cares about him a great deal, but he also knows how capable he is as a grade S shemale. His strength and resilience mean he wouldn¡¯t ask about him to this degree even if worried about him.


    Not to mention reminders to get some proper sleep and stay warm.


    Almost like he¡¯s some kind of teenage shemale leaving home for the first time ever.


    Wei Zhuo really hasn¡¯t experienced anything like it, which is why his love for the male seems to have increased day after day. He thought all he could think about was the male already, but it turns out, his mind always has more space to fill.


    ¡°You can come back in the middle of the war, right?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, and worried that Wei Zhuo might misunderstand him as asking him to shirk his duties in a war, adds, ¡°I heard from granddad, that because you¡¯re not the top commander in this battle, during periods of relative silence, you can take a few days off.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wei Zhuo answers with a smile, ¡°I can. Does Mr Cheng wish for me to be back?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers by reflex, ¡°but you should also rest well if you¡¯re tired. Don¡¯t get off the battlefield one day and immediately trek all the way back the next.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be. I¡¯m a grade S shemale,¡± Wei Zhuo then declares solemnly to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s holographic projection, ¡°I will never tire if I know you will be waiting for be there.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face flusters. Seriously, Wei Zhuo can really suddenly flirt with his words out of left lane.


    ¡°I miss you. When you, uh, hugged me. To cheer me up. I want to hug you again,¡± here, Wei Zhuo rubs his nose a little, embarrassed. He really does miss the embrace.


    Males are very different from shemales. They¡¯re slender and soft, the perfect size for snuggles. Not bear hugs, either, so that they don¡¯t suffocate or hurt them.


    But he¡¯s happy just to give the male a light hug!


    Happiness that would last for a whole day!


    ¡°Me too,¡± Cheng Zhaoci sighs. Last time, he was all too preoccupied trying to soothe Wei Zhuo, and didn¡¯t have the mind to feel his beloved chest muscles¡­ Ah, what a waste!


    Then suddenly, Cheng Zhaoci looks at Wei Zhuo inquisitively, asking, ¡°would it be harassment if a male touches another shemale on the chest when they are still dating?¡±


    He asks without any tone of innuendo, because if it is actually something without connotations in insectoid society, he¡¯ll be sure to poke and feel it all he wants!


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± he replies extremely meekly, uncharacteristically for this silently confident grade S shemale.


    His hands, placed casually on his kneecaps just now, rather awkwardly curls up a little after the question, ¡°if you feel like it, you can touch them as much as you want. If you want to.¡±


    Honestly, Wei Zhuo¡¯s rather imposing looks, with that intimidating scar, like some hardened battle veteran, nervously and weakly agreeing to let his beloved male touch his¡­ parts.


    Ah, the stark contrast! Bringing with it a stark impact.


    Cheng Zhaoci only realises after asking that he shouldn¡¯t have asked Wei Zhuo himself, but other adult shemales, like his own dad.


    Although, Wei Zhuo¡¯s reaction, oh, oh damn no! He¡¯s going to get a nosebleed! And, and like, he doesn¡¯t know what to say either! Wei Zhuo looks like he¡¯s on the verge of panicking!


    Though soon enough, Wei Zhuo, and by extension Cheng Zhaoci, are helped out of this predicament.


    Someone is telling Wei Zhuo to head to a meeting. Cheng Zhaoci immediately says, ¡°oh, it, it looks like you have something to do! I, I¡¯ll see you later.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, yes,¡± Wei Zhuo nods, all dazed.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s heart is still pumping like mad after the call was cut, when someone speaks up behind him.


    ¡°Oh my, you young males nowadays sure are curious,¡± Lu Yao, with his signature warm bottle in his hand, has been standing at the doorway for who-knows-how-long.

 CH 49.4

    What do you do when you were talking dirty to your love, and the parent heard it?


    Well, if it was Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past world, and he was flirting with a girl, then he asked if it was sexual harassment to touch her on the breasts¡­ Then the girl¡¯s father turns out to be standing behind you the whole time, it¡¯s quite likely he would have a heavy object in his hand that he can use to bludgeon you to death.


    In the insectoid society, they might not be throwing objects, but regardless, Cheng Zhaoci is embarrassed.


    That is when the curious Lu Yao asks, ¡°why do you want to touch the chest? Are you trying to find out if there will be enough milk for the newborn insectoids in the future?¡±


    Holy moly, please stop!


    Cheng Zhaoci is all red, trying to explain himself, ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Our Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t have a bulging chest, but it¡¯s not flat either,¡± Lu Yao actually seems rather intrigued how embarrassed Cheng Zhaoci looks, and asks on purpose, ¡°what do you think, mister?¡±


    ¡°The shape is just right,¡± his mouth answers, before his mind could stop it.


    Lu Yao looks like he wasn¡¯t expecting such an answer either, and after a brief pause starts to uproariously laugh.


    Cheng Zhaoci is dead. Yes, completely dead. Please, just let him die, and not wake him from his eternal slumber!


    Why the fixation on chest, anyway?


    Wei Zhuo finds himself wondering the very same. Does it feel good? He tries to touch himself on the chest¡­ And feels nothing in particular.


    Meng Yuele, who was the one telling Wei Zhuo a meeting is about to start, is confused, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? Are you not feeling well?¡±


    ¡°Not that. I¡¯m just trying to find out whether my chest feels nice to the touch,¡± Wei Zhuo answers, completely matter-of-factly.


    Chest muscles and worship aren¡¯t a thing at all in insectoid society ¨C mostly because the insectoids don¡¯t have girls with big breasts and hips. While he was shy, Wei Zhuo was feeling shy that Cheng Zhaoci wanted to touch him in general, but not about the chest in particular.


    Meng Yuele is only more confused when Wei Zhuo explains, ¡°the chest? He wants to touch it?¡± He tilts his head, ¡°wait, let me try.¡±


    He puts his hand on Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest muscles, right on top of the nipples. Wei Zhuo does the same.


    The two completely ¡®straight¡® shemales are rather unsettlingly staring at each other and touching. Ten seconds later, Meng Yuele asks, ¡°do you feel anything?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Wei Zhuo replies, ¡°and stop pinching. If you keep this up, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to hold back on punching you back.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel a thing either,¡± Meng Yuele quickly retracts his restless paw, ¡°but why does Mr Cheng Zhaoci want to feel the chest? That¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not weird,¡± retorts Wei Zhuo. He does not understand, but Cheng Zhaoci must have his own reasons for liking it, making it not weird.


    ¡°¡­ Then why do you want to feel the chest muscles?¡±


    ¡°Please, stop asking. Please,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is on the verge of tears. He¡¯s already feeling a little down and insecure from all the comments that treat his ¡®I¡¯m a male¡¯ declaration as a joke, and now, he feels like he¡¯s getting kink-shamed ¨C by his own future granddad-in-law.


    Lu Yao simply sighs, seeing Cheng Zhaoci covering up his ears, looking like he doesn¡¯t want to face reality for a while, ¡°why are you even dodging the question? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s weird or anything.¡±


    It isn¡¯t, but it¡¯s embarrassing!!!


    ¡°Granddad, please, go back to your work! The insectoids need you! And I also need to draw my comics!¡± Pleads an exasperated Cheng Zhaoci.


    Lu Yao shrugs. He just happened to overhear, and wasn¡¯t expecting the male to be so easily flustered. With his warm bottle in his hand, he sighs once more, and turns to leave.


    Cheng Zhaoci sinks back into his chair, while his mind inadvertently replays the entire exchange that just happened. He can¡¯t help but start slamming his fist on the table a few times.


    Argh! He can¡¯t forget! This, this is all wrong!


    Like, it¡¯s not weird to be into chests, right? Actually, he isn¡¯t even a chest-kinda guy! It¡¯s Wei Zhuo! Wei Zhuo really has such a sleek and satisfying shape! It¡¯s illegally alluring! That¡¯s why his thoughts keep drifting to it!


    Could it be, that he is the only one into big chest muscles in the entirety of the male population?


    As it turns out¡­ Surprisingly, no.


    [IWan: I¡¯ve completed the character model for the mute shemale, please see if it is to your liking]


    After Evan did the male protagonist¡¯s model and then signed the contract, Cheng Zhaoci already told him he can use the model as-is, so he went working on the other lead. Now he¡¯s done a model with the texture and post-processing applied.


    At a glance, the mute shemale gives off the same vibe as in his comic. Of course, there are differences in the facial appearance, given that Cheng Zhaoci drew in a simplified and exaggerated comic style that is unrealistic.


    Though what catches his eye is that the shemale, despite being of a smaller build compared to a real-life shemale soldier, has an aesthetically chiselled chest with visually pleasing muscles. Why would he know? Because the model¡¯s clothes are pleasantly accentuating the lines and curves ¨C enough that, while nominally innocent enough, it¡¯s actually¡­ erotic when stared at.


    [BombInMyPants: Do you mind if I ask about the chest area of the mute shemale?]


    [IWan: It¡¯s a personal preference. I like shemales this way¡­ are you unhappy with that? I don¡¯t think it has any effect on the story]


    Clearly, he doesn¡¯t seem very willing to change it.


    [BombInMyPants: Of course I¡¯m happy! Please! The form is sublime!]


    [IWan: !?!]


    An accurate description of the two insectoids¡¯ state of mind right now, is two individuals who are all resigned to have to enjoy their particular fetishes alone, but suddenly, find out the other individual exists, and now, they can¡¯t stop talking about it!


    [IWan: I know! I know! no one else in my family knows why I like that! But flat is boring! I can¡¯t feel a thing!]


    Cheng Zhaoci is in deep agreement. Evan continues to talk about his ideal shemale form, and Cheng Zhaoci has nothing but complete agreement in reply. It¡¯s about an hour into the one-sided discussion that Evan notes one interesting fact.


    [IWan: it¡¯s a miracle a non-male like you also appreciates the goodness of the chest area]


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡± Fuck off!


    [IWan: no wait! you, you weren¡¯t kidding today with that status update? you¡¯re actually a male?!]


    What else? Didn¡¯t he realise as soon as Cheng Zhaoci agreed with him?


    Cheng Zhaoci is irate! His hands are shaking!


    [BombInMyPants: 100%, certified male, what about me doesn¡¯t feel male?!]


    That is sent at the exact same time as the following.


    [IWan: wait! but your first comic was fantasising males! you¡¯re a male who likes other males?!]

 CH 49.5

    Cheng Zhaoci¡­ is defeated. He¡¯s too tired to continue. This damned world has no place left for him.


    Though soon enough, he is cheered up unexpectedly.


    Zhou Luoluo is calling. Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comic has commenters that are accusing Zhou Xiaobao of being some underage shemale that is fantasising about males while never having seen one in real life, that he ended up writing such a creepy plot.


    So Cheng Zhaoci decided to check it out ¨C it¡¯s true. The comment also has lots of replies underneath. Suffice it to say, none are exactly courteous.


    Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comic, if nothing else, is extremely effective at attracting young, diehard fans with horrendous fighting power.


    The kind that screams at the top of their lungs, that this comic is the best and better than every single other comic. BombIn¡¯s comic? With its higher views and stuff? Nope, no idea what that is.


    This leads to the odd situation that, while Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Xiaobao are now good friends, their respective fans are locked in perpetual conflict. It¡¯s amusing to Cheng Zhaoci.


    A tour of the comment section has made Cheng Zhaoci feel better. Feeling better has led to inspiration to keep working on comics!


    ¡®Theoretical Time Turnaround¡¯ is a go!


    This time, his comic¡¯s cover is deeply unsettling.


    Pure black background that gradually reddens at the bottom, which also slowly reveals the silhouette of the protagonist¡¯s black hair. Bangs conceal his half-shut eyes, with the pupils looking downwards at something out of shot.


    The face, meanwhile, is pure white with simple grey shading for shadows.


    There isn¡¯t a smidgeon of the warmth to be found in the earlier comic covers. Instead, it is a simple, effective shock. The title is handwritten in contrasting white colours, with sharp strokes that are uncomfortable to look at.


    This time, Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t starting on his comic proper in the very beginning. Instead, he is drawing a teaser.


    Panel one. In a black background with bright red characters, ¡®Do you want the chance to redo everything?¡¯


    Panel two. Close-up of an insectoid with untrimmed, unkempt stubbles. Eys widened, bloodshot. In his pupil¡¯s reflection is the creepy smile from the protagonist.


    Panel three. Black again. The red characters read, ¡®I can return you to the past.¡¯


    Panel four. A demi, looking right at the reader ¨C presumably looking at the protagonist ¨C with a shocked face, ¡°who in the world are you?!¡±


    More red characters, ¡®Do you wish¡­¡¯


    A few panels follow, depicting many insectoids of different sex and age, but with the same kind of shock.


    ¡®¡­ to go back in time?¡¯


    That¡¯s the last panel of the teaser.


    Cheng Zhaoci then publishes both the cover and the teaser as soon as he¡¯s done.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s readers have been quite happy about the artist¡¯s high productivity these months, but that doesn¡¯t help at all with the sense of eeriness they¡¯re feeling seeing this completely different style of cover.


    What¡¯s this?! It looks so horrible!


    The insectoids might have easily assumed it was ghost or paranormal in nature if they weren¡¯t completely materialistic and physical in belief. They feel chills down their spines, but they can¡¯t put a finger on it.


    ¡®Time Turnaround,¡¯ and combined with the teaser, means going back in time, to do their lives anew.


    A rather fresh concept indeed. Theoretical? So it¡¯s simply a hypothetical? If life can restart? The author is ready to get another sad story out? Is the protagonist going to lose everything and think about what if he can do it all over?


    The insectoids who think they¡¯ve got it all figured out clicks it open to find only a teaser chapter.


    After that¡­


    Shit it¡¯s so freaking horrifying! But wait, why does it feel like the plot has already climaxed? Which is the protagonist¡¯s face? There are so many of them! Is it the one depicted on the cover, with lifeless eyes and a weird, plastic smile?


    What kind of protagonist is that?! Aren¡¯t all protagonists supposed to be handsome?


    But they¡¯re so curious! Why do they really want to read what¡¯s going to happen?! They don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going on!


    Discussions are sparked. From discussion on the style, to the protagonist, to the title¡¯s namesake, the whole ¡®turning around time¡¯ thing.


    And also, what would people do if they could redo their lives?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± reflexively mutters Jin Yue, after reading the teaser. He doesn¡¯t need a chance to redo things. He knows, he, and his past self, are practically two different insectoids.


    Even if he could do it again¡­ What has already rooted itself in his mind will not just disappear.


    ¡°Quit reading comics! The Federation is at our doorstep!¡± Sun Wushe looks like he really wants to bonk Jin Yue on the head.


    ¡°But we also have lots of insectoids under our command,¡± Jin Yue closes his holodeck, ¡°more are joining us by the minute.¡±


    ¡°We also have more than twenty males, don¡¯t we?¡± Jin Yue stretches, ¡°how is management doing?¡±


    A shemale with a thorny vine tattoo on his face looks at Jin Yue and answers, ¡°per the rules, forced labour and forced to accept intercourse from any insectoid under our command. One died yesterday, though.¡±


    ¡°I think it was someone over a hundred. When he learned his cijun and concubines are all dead, he provoked a comrade and was beaten to death.¡±


    Jin Yue¡¯s forehead twitches, ¡°beaten to death?! Who did that?!¡±


    ¡°Wang Zhong. He barely escaped with his life after his father almost killed him. He is extremely hostile to males,¡± the tattooed shemale reports, ¡°we¡¯ve already given him his punishment. Three days¡¯ solitary confinement. Pay deduction.¡±


    ¡°Did I not announce to everyone, no fatalities?¡± Jin Yue has a scary face on.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. That male wanted to die. Who could¡¯ve stopped him?¡± The shemale doesn¡¯t seem fazed, ¡°he lit the fuse, and Wang Zhong blew up on him, as he wanted. It was too much to beat him to death like that, so we got him confined and docked his pay. If the punishments go too far, what would our men think?¡±


    Jin Yue is silent for a while, before glancing over at Sun Wushe, who says nothing and looks away. He then waves his hand and says, ¡°no next time.¡±


    So the incident has blown over.


    ¡°Those concubines and the cijun must be mad; brainwashed. Not even threatening their lives would they stop trying to save a male. What a waste.¡±


    ¡°The male also got his death wish already,¡± someone interrupts, ¡°enough about that. We have to talk about the Federation.¡±


    Everyone has almost subconsciously buried the matter afterwards. Regardless of their personal feelings, the deed is done. There are things that must be sacrificed, now that they¡¯ve walked this far.


    ¡°The Federation will never be able to wipe us out entirely. The ones at the top have no idea how many insectoids like us there are. They are drowning in their ignorant sins!¡±


    ¡°And isn¡¯t this just another repeat of history?¡± Lu Yao sighs, reading the report in his hand, ¡°how many years has it been since the last failed uprising?¡± He can¡¯t remember. He never did do well back in school, especially in History. He¡¯s too old to remember.


    His holodeck is ringing. The caller reads ¡®Bai Jiawen.¡¯ Lu Yao¡¯s eyes widen a little, and he accepts the call, in his private company, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? You needed something, Mr President, sir?¡±


    Some mumblings later, Lu Yao rolls his eyes and answers, ¡°I thought you¡¯d know even better than I do exactly when xiao-Ci is going to enter adulthood. Those mad scientists of the Institute also have their eyes on him like hungry wolves too, for that matter.¡±


    Those scary bipolar males of the Institute are insane! Lu Yao will never allow his xiao-Ci in touch with those lunatics!


    ¡°Huh? Oh, don¡¯t be silly, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve lost a single hair over Jin Yue. What? Overthrow the male ruling authority? If it were that simple to do, you think the status quo would have stagnated and dragged its disease-riddled carcass this far along history?¡± Lu Yao sarcastically asks.


    There is yelling, and Lu Yao shudders a little, and starts cooing the other person, ¡°okay, okay! Got it! I understand! Just don¡¯t worry. We still don¡¯t know if xiao-Ci really is grade S, you know? It¡¯s all guesswork and predictions, got it? Oh, do calm down. Think about how you were all smiles when I told you about my grandson and xiao-Ci are hitting it off.¡±


    ¡°Granddad?¡± Cheng Zhaoci pokes his head in, ¡°is everything alright?¡± Cheng Zhaoci wasn¡¯t eavesdropping, but the shouts were getting louder and louder and he could hear it clearly from the living room. It didn¡¯t sound too angry, but still.


    ¡°Oh, xiao-Ci? It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just talking to the President.¡±


    Oh! The Presi¡­ Wait! Wasn¡¯t he, like, a total puppet of the Chairman of Chief Command? Why would he be in a call¡­ Oh no, is granddad getting dragged into political turmoil?!

 CH 50.1

    An Odd Resonance


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Your new comic was really creepy! What kind of comic is that?¡± It is already early March when Zhou Luoluo is once again visiting in person, schools are still shut, though.


    Cheng Zhaoci hasn¡¯t even restarted studying, in fact.


    Mr Liang has become depressed. Lu Yao has said that he is in terrible condition. His xiongzhu is still missing, and he is a demi without the physical aptitude to drive mechas to save him. With most of the adult shemales and demis of the family confirmed dead, there are still teenagers and his xiongzhu¡®s still-unconscious second son still in the family.


    Lu Yao brought Cheng Zhaoci along to visit Mr Liang once, and Cheng Zhaoci saw how badly Mr Liang was doing. He could barely manage a smile seeing Cheng Zhaoci visit.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Everything¡¯s fine. He¡¯ll be back when the pirates are defeated,¡± Mr Liang said. Perhaps it was to reassure Cheng Zhaoci; perhaps, it was to reassure himself.


    Cheng Zhaoci simply sat with him. No words can soothe a lost soul thus traumatised. Lu Yao advised Mr Liang that he could apply for special aid from the government, and the amount is no joke ¨C Lu Yao explained that the law was passed just days ago, and the details would probably make it onto the news in a few days.


    In any case, Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t feel quite like his usual cheery self when he left with Lu Yao.


    Sure, he is far away from war. In fact, he¡¯s living the good life here. Yet the tension in the atmosphere, and all the bottled-up feelings in the air, still make themselves known often.


    Lu Yao could see how down Cheng Zhaoci was, so he put his hand on his shoulder, and told him, with his wrinkled, but still firm and imposing face, ¡°there¡¯s no denying this is all terrible. It¡¯s like a deep swamp with all the ugly things hidden in the mud. Even so, there will always be insectoids who work themselves to death trying to drain it. You might call it madness, but it¡¯s true that just seeing them at their work, brings us hope.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know who Lu Yao is referring to, exactly, but he thinks he would know in time.


    ¡°Cheng Zhaoci!¡± Zhou Luoluo is shaking his hands in front of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? You look distracted.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci reins his thoughts in. Zhou Luoluo, and Zhou Xiaobao, sitting behind him, are looking at him, confused. Zhou Luoluo asks, biting his lips, ¡°that¡¯s weird. You don¡¯t usually fall this silent when I¡¯m talking to you.¡±


    ¡°I was asking you about the genre of your new comic,¡± Zhou Luoluo repeats himself, seeing how confused Cheng Zhaoci also looks, and realises he didn¡¯t hear a single word from him, ¡°but what were you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, really,¡± Cheng Zhaoci pats Zhou Luoluo¡¯s pawing hand away, ¡°it¡¯s episodic, themed around redoing things. Well? Want to try detailing it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhou Luoluo is visiting in person for exactly that, ¡°that art style was awesome!¡± Although really, Zhou Luoluo has yet to show that there is an art style he doesn¡¯t approve of, perhaps except Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s early comic style.


    ¡°Me, me too!¡± Zhou Xiaobao immediately adds, raising his hand too, ¡°I really like it!¡±


    It might be a common ailment of creators that they love to try out different styles. Perhaps a creator enjoys sweet everyday slice of life comics in private, but can¡¯t help drawing everything to tragic conclusions when they are drawing. Or, in this case, an artist focusing on something akin to shoujo comics still can¡¯t stop himself drooling over jagged, mysterious noir-type style when he sees it.


    Ah, the plight that befalls the creative!


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll start as soon as I get the first story¡¯s plot sorted out, then I¡¯ll send you the draft. We¡¯ll split the earnings the same as before.¡±


    ¡°By the way, haven¡¯t you noticed something¡¯s been different recently?¡± Zhou Luoluo suddenly says, so Cheng Zhaoci asks, ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s readers are no longer dragging your comic into his comment sections,¡± replies Zhou Luoluo.


    ¡­ Um, right. He doesn¡¯t read Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comic for fun. He has PTSD when it comes to contrived dog-blood plots.


    That said, does Zhou Luoluo actually read the comic while dissing it the whole time, every single chapter? Why would he know?


    Unaware of his crumbling image in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mind, Zhou Luoluo explains, ¡°you know Xiaobao publishes his comic under his alias, you know, that MachoInsectoid name. Some keen-eyed detective realised he¡¯s the one detailing your comics.¡±


    It¡¯s like some wave of enlightenment suddenly washed over the extremely pugnacious comment section. Everyone was calm and civilised, and even the younger keyboard warrior fans aren¡¯t yelling about being the best comic anymore and angering others. Well, it still happens, but nowhere as distressingly frequent.


    Zhou Xiaobao might not speak much outside of his comfort zone, but the more arguments there are, the more frustration he builds up, the worse the contrivances and craziness emerge in the plot. Now the protagonist demi¡¯s child is already born ¨C a grade S shemale the moment he¡¯s born.


    In insectoid society, while the shemales¡¯ and demis¡¯ aptitude test could be conducted earlier and more simply compared to males, given their differences, but it normally takes place after ten years¡¯ old! What in the world do you mean ¡®a born grade S¡¯? And also, his personality is already ¡®cold¡¯ and ¡®ruthless.¡¯ As a baby.


    This actually reminds Cheng Zhaoci of He Huaijian a little. He was still a dumb optimistic kid, but he also didn¡¯t smile that much when he was young. It made him look stiff and weird whenever he genuinely or deliberately tried to smile as he grew up.


    That only discouraged him smiling any further.


    But he digresses. Really, don¡¯t judge a Zhou Xiaobao by his cover. A simple socially awkward male he may appear on the outside, but the more the comments stabbed his heart, about how his story is full of plot holes and senselessness, the worse Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s retaliation comes in the form of even more contrivances.


    What an insectoid!

 CH 50.2

    In other news, Zhou Xiaobao has also forced himself to learn ways to vent and relax when the comments get to him. Case in point¡­


    ¡°If you aren¡¯t feeling too motivated, do you want to eat out? My treat; I got my first paycheck.¡±


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s still dangerous for me to go outside,¡± Cheng Zhaoci leans back in his chair, ¡°right, how¡¯s it like outside? Is the mood still tense? Chaotic?¡±


    ¡°The Capital planet is pretty quiet, but I¡¯ve heard the other planets are pretty hectic right now. There are rebelling and escaping shemales, some who have also kidnapped males on their way out,¡± the reply comes from Zhou Luoluo, who lowers his tone on the next part, ¡°did you know? They say Jin Yue¡¯s father and male brothers, and Squadron Leader Wei¡¯s father were all among those kidnapped.¡±


    Clearly, taken as tickets to for a smooth entry to Jin Yue¡¯s gang, for Jin Yue¡¯s male father and brothers, and Sun Wushe¡¯s father would be great choices.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the pirates plan to execute them,¡± Zhou Luoluo says, without much sympathy for them, ¡°they are scum who don¡¯t deserve pity anyway, but it¡¯s still scary how they¡¯re just grabbing what males they can. I¡¯ve had to take bodyguards with me even though I¡¯m on the Capital planet.¡±


    What should have simply stayed an operation to root out space buccaneers has latched itself onto the biggest socially awkward elephant in the room.


    ¡°There was even that¡­ did you see the news yesterday?¡± Zhou Luoluo says, enjoying his cliffhangers. Employing a question where a story could have simply fit.


    Cheng Zhaoci shakes his head, and Zhou Luoluo takes a deep breath to explain, ¡°yesterday, on one of the more prosperous planets near the Capital, there was one rebelling shemale who kidnapped a minor male. When he confiscated the male¡¯s holodeck, he realised the male is your fan.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°?¡±


    That shemale was the same. So he put that male into the escape pod, and shot him back at the planet,¡± Zhou Luoluo has finally found the piece of news, and shows it Cheng Zhaoci.


    The male is interviewed ¨C under heavy blurring and mosaic artefacts, the original hologram undecipherable even with the best technology.


    Though it¡¯s clearly he¡¯s as confused as anyone else, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was scared when I was taken; I was crying, and I said, I didn¡¯t want to die until I saw what the new comic was about.¡±


    ¡°Then he glared at me and checked my hologram. He asked me if I liked them, and I said yes. So the shemale said ¡®that damned artist,¡¯ and I was like, yeah. Then he ruffled me on the head, and shot me back,¡± he almost sounds touched, ¡°I was lucky.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci read the entire news article while reenacting the whole old_man_watching_phone_on_subway.jpg meme. What? They¡¯re bonding over his ¡®damned dog of a comic artist¡¯ status?


    ¡°This is probably the most joyful comment section on the entire news website. Everyone is talking about how bad that damned comic artist is that the kidnapper and kidnappee resonated with each other,¡± Zhou Luoluo then asks Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Think? What can I even think? Like, it¡¯s a good thing,¡± because, he might be the dog in their mouth, ending up on some bizarre Oniony news article, but his cultural productions ¨C well, he did think cultural products can impact society, but he never imagined it on such a scale to the entertainment-deprived insectoids ¨C has been able to act as a kind of lubricant between clashing values, no matter how small the effect might have been. He¡¯s happy, happy that he has enough fans that even those who haven¡¯t read his comic will have heard of the ¡®damned comic artist¡¯ who is both loved and hated by his readers.


    He can be their doggy, sure. He doesn¡¯t mind. Not like they can ever touch him or anything.


    That said, ¡°y¡¯all don¡¯t seem that concerned about all this?¡± Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Oh, because it¡¯s not the first time. My dad told me that there¡¯s been a few of these uprisings these centuries. They were all quelled in the end,¡± Zhou Luoluo then adds, confused, ¡°the details are really scarce when it came to how they were ¡®quelled,¡¯ though. I don¡¯t know anyone who knows anything about it.¡±

 CH 51.1

    Serialisation Start


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The three teenage insectoids present don¡¯t know how the rebellions were ¡®quelled,¡¯ nor do they feel like being conspiracy theorists.


    There is nothing they can do when it comes to the deeply buried secrets of the insectoid state. All they can do, is take good care of themselves.


    After the Zhou brothers have gone home, Cheng Zhaoci gets to work on the first story of his first long-term comic.


    Having another chance at life is actually more complex than it sounds. What one would do with the opportunity can vary wildly, and not everyone would be interested in fighting back against all the bullies and achieve the success they never did.


    Different insectoids have different desires and thoughts, and even possible motivations. That will help the stories feel fresh from the same premise.


    Cheng Zhaoci has lots of ideas in mind. Filial, romantic, or even simple friendship. Perhaps jealousy or even hatred.


    Though if Cheng Zhaoci was offered such a chance¡­ Even if he was on a precipice, and died such an ignominious death, he¡¯d still pass the chance on.


    Why would he even want to relive his worst days ever? Whether he could even exact change is completely unknowable. He¡¯d rather his death be final. Period.


    That said, for his first story, he¡¯ll give it the traditional, most immortalised story ¨C an insectoid who believes he can change things if he could redo things. This will serve as a good introduction to the whole concept of turning back time.


    The protagonist of the story will be a shemale on a landfill planet. In stark contrast to the mute shemale, he¡¯s over 160. His life is coming to an end. He won¡¯t find any mercy on the ruthless landfill planets.


    He won¡¯t be able to fight for resources, or find a job at all.


    Stubbles will be all over his chin. He will be really dirty, living in a rundown shack.


    The first panel will show an aerial view of the landfill planet being battered by the rain. Then the shemale, wearing thin, torn clothes, will be shaking in his shack.


    He will be dying. Without even a shoe on his emaciated legs, he will be sleeping among puddles. By his leg will be a gecko that the shemale doesn¡¯t even feel like chasing away anymore. Like all old and ailing shemales, he will be waiting for his life to pass away. When the rain clears up, it will take his life with it.


    Perhaps he will be thrown into the trash by the time his body is stinking.


    His wrinkled hands will be clutching the ground. He hates it. He doesn¡¯t want to die ¨C not like this. Yet, nature is a cruel and heartless mistress.


    ¡°Do you need a chance to start again?¡±


    Someone will be speaking to this almost dead shemale. He can hear the voice so clearly, as if it is speaking directly to his mind.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    All he can hear besides the voice is the rain. There will be no footsteps. He won¡¯t find a sign of anyone walking.


    Yet the voice will continue, ¡°do you need a chance to start again?¡±


    ¡°What the holy smokes are you?!¡± The shemale will assume he¡¯s hallucinating at the brink of death, and yell. The gecko by his leg will sneak away, spooked.


    ¡°If you were your young self again, would your life turn out better?¡±


    The shemale will quite audibly inhale at the suggestion. Oddly, he will be able to move a bit more agilely, powerfully. It might be that mysterious voice; it might also be terminal lucidity.


    ¡°Do you wish¡­¡± the voice will pause, as there are finally the clops from footsteps. A tall figure will suddenly be right there in the shack, stopping before the shemale, facing him.


    The shemale won¡¯t be able to tell if he¡¯s a male or demi, but he will be creeped out seeing the black, lightless eyes.


    The strange insectoid will smile, and ask, as the shemale¡¯s bloodshot eyes suddenly widen.


    ¡°Do you wish, to go back in time?¡±


    The stubbled chin is shaking a little. His mouth will move, but shut, but open again, ¡°if, if I can do it all over. If¡­¡±


    The strange insectoid will kneel. He will ask, staring right into the shemale¡¯s eyes, ¡°do you want to try again?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The shemale¡¯s fist will tighten. Without hesitation, gritting his teeth, he will declare, ¡°I do!¡±


    ¡°If so,¡± the insectoid will put his hand on the head of the shemale, ¡°then let time turn around.¡±


    One long black panel follows.


    Then, the shemale will suddenly open his eyes wide.


    Hustle and bustle will surround him. He stands up, still young and handsome, dressed in military academy uniform.


    Cheng Zhaoci draws the young shemale as rather handsome, so that the readers might assume that he is a pitiful shemale who only ended up on the landfill planet because of some mishap or misstep.


    For example¡­ angering some male by accident.


    Cheng Zhaoci plans to actually base this character on two people he knows. The first one is the son of that old homeroom teacher in his past life. An actual piece of human garbage. At least, in his eyes.


    Handsome, and an ace at basketball. He was popular with the teenage girls. Also, he was good at creative writing when he was younger. Even had his writing published on the local newspaper. Everywhere he went he was lavished with praises. It must have got to his head.


    By his junior secondary days, he was smoking and illegally racing on streets and engaging in brawls. His teachers reprimanded him to no effect a few times, but he was still one of those handsome and dreamy school jocks like those depicted in novels and comics.


    Finally, it all came to a head when he was actually arrested for assault, all for some bullshit ¡®honour¡¯ with his ¡®bros.¡¯ He was expelled and had to change schools. He himself didn¡¯t seem to think it was a big deal, as it was for his bros. Yet Cheng Zhaoci knew. He watched how his old homeroom teacher had to keep treating other school leaders to meals, sucking up to them, getting whatever contacts he could. His face muscles were cramping from all the fake smiles he had to keep up.


    The son then became alcoholic too. At 27, he basically deceived an 18-year-old country girl into marrying him with his looks. After the marriage, though, despising the girl for being illiterate and the in-laws for being uneducated ¡®country swine,¡¯ he abused her regularly to vent whenever he was unhappy. An upstanding looking man he appeared to be, but he would drag a poor girl by the hair, beating her to within an inch of her life.


    His uncle tried setting him up with a job, but he ruined it almost immediately. He was having none of their ¡®rules and regulations.¡¯ He said he was a ¡®free man.¡¯


    Finally, when the wife was pregnant with a daughter, her motherly instincts drove her to divorce him. His life had nowhere go but up ¨C but down it went anyway. He would curse the Heavens all day. He complained about how unfair society was to ¡®talented¡¯ people like him. Oh, woe really is he. He is so unfortunate.


    When Cheng Zhaoci visited his teacher after a long day of work once, he ran into the guy at the door to the house ¨C he passed out drunk right on the curb. Cheng Zhaoci had to help to lift him inside. Dead drunk people are dead heavy.


    After dumping him in his room, his homeroom teacher bawled. Bawled, hugging Cheng Zhaoci.


    He couldn¡¯t abandon him either. It is his very own son!

 CH 51.2

    The other inspiration for the shemale is about the same. He¡¯s a shemale Cheng Zhaoci knows on the landfill planet. Old, and often found boasting about how amazing he used to be, that aptitude he had, etc., in between using whatever he scavenged to exchange for money and buy alcohol. He¡¯s often messy in appearance, and his usual line of dialogue is, ¡®the military is damned corrupt!¡¯


    Cheng Zhaoci has heard from his dad that that guy did use to be a grade A shemale soldier.


    However, he did something dirty to his fellow soldier one time during a battle ¨C it got out of hand and an entire platoon perished. He realised his mistake and was afraid of getting court-martialed, so he escaped to the landfill planet.


    And there were even times when he boasted of successfully ¡®laying his hands on¡¯ underage males without being found out. Well, given the moral decrepitude of the insectoids making a living on the landfill planets, and the fact that it was a drunken boast, no one knows if it¡¯s true or not.


    Cheng Zhaoci knew all this because of his final downfall. If what he knew was correct, the old shemale set Xiao Ji up, so Xiao Ji, 15, alongside his pal He Huaijian, descended on him and gave him a good pounding. His leg was fractured. Later, he died at the hands of other insectoids fighting for resources.


    Do either of those people know that they were in the wrong? Perhaps. They just never want to admit it. They are the ones who would buy that things could change if they had another chance.


    Of course, actions are more powerful than words because words are easy. Can they really turn their lazy, obstinate selves around and be better if just given the chance all of a sudden?


    Cheng Zhaoci is sceptical. Though he will not be insinuating the attitude in the first chapter. The arc has three chapters, the first details going back to the past and the vow to change everything. A promise that he won¡¯t become his despondent future self.


    The first part of the second chapter will depict everything going his way ¨C a hardworking shemale protagonist, who is doing his best to socialise and move up the ranks as well.


    All until one insectoid comes into view.


    Flashbacks would be included here to let the readers know that this slightly timid shemale ended up becoming the Grand Marshal after the protagonist¡¯s passing in the future.


    He is a stark contrast to our protagonist, whose past will be revealed here. In the military academy, he bullied the timid future Grand Marshal. Because of his family background, the timid shemale never retaliated against him.


    The reason for this was that the protagonist is grade B, but the timid shemale is grade A. He was jealous. There were times when his bullying almost turned lethal.


    It only worsened when they were in the military. The protagonist¡¯s schemes almost cost the entire frontline. That shemale was gravely injured, but he was also caught red-handed.


    He was always boasting about how he might not be A in aptitude, but his appearance and capabilities were not the slightest bit inferior. After the cockup, though, he just legged it for the landfill planets.


    Now, seeing the shemale Grand Marshal-to-be, our protagonist will try to suck up to him. The drastic shift in attitude will not have missed the timid shemale, however. He will already have been bullied enough times that he won¡¯t accept this sudden goodwill.


    The timid shemale will still try to avoid the shemale, who will be patient initially, but finally, when once, bringing lunch to eat with him, but it ending up tossed to the ground during a tussle when the shemale refuses, our protagonist shemale will stop and drop his head.


    He won¡¯t be able to take it anymore. He tightens his fist, and punches.


    His internal monologue will reveal that he believes he won¡¯t do any worse than him now that he¡¯s ¡®reborn.¡¯ His friendliness is an honour and favour to make it up to him. Is it even his fault if the timid shemale is responding negatively every single time?


    The scuffle will be the first domino to fall. Then the panels will depict how the different choices made ending up leading almost to the entire same conclusion to the shemale¡¯s future. In fact, he will end up having to escape to the landfill planet even quicker, only this time, he¡¯s caught by the army, his escape unsuccessful.


    On the day of his execution, he will, once again, see that strange, unnerving insectoid. The one who offered him the chance to redo when he was dying in his last life. It will look like he is the only one who can see him. Everyone else will still be doing their jobs without a glance.


    The shemale¡¯s eyes will widen.


    Then, a completely black panel.


    Finally, a panel with only single speech bubble inside.


    ¡°Your life will turn out better, will it?¡±


    The end.


    As for feedback, Zhou Luoluo says he¡¯s got goosebumps all over after finishing. In the beginning, he thought it was yet another tragic story between a shemale and a male. When the shemale¡¯s past was revealed, Zhou Luoluo thought he didn¡¯t really like the character much, but was still reading to see if the protagonist really did change for the better. He thought he did.


    And at the end, Zhou Luoluo was spooked.


    [ZhouLuoluo: I¡¯m just suddenly not feeling like going back in time. I feel like I can¡¯t change a thing]


    [BombInMyPants: it¡¯s not necessarily the case; this is my view. no one has ever gone back in time, so no one knows. don¡¯t get too attached to the plot, think instead about what thoughts crossed your mind as you read]


    Cheng Zhaoci has only been transmigrated¡­ Actually, more technically, reincarnated, perhaps, the kind with memory intact. He didn¡¯t end up as someone else who has already lived a dozen or so years. There was no ¡®original owner¡¯ to pretend to be.


    In his dad¡¯s and friends¡¯ eyes, Cheng Zhaoci has always been himself.


    He¡­ does have his own thoughts about the phenomena, but he hasn¡¯t gone back in time himself, or know anyone else who did, and he can¡¯t base it on himself. That¡¯s why, it¡¯s just an opinion.


    Zhou Luoluo has more to say.


    [ZhouLuoluo: I can¡¯t say I dislike it, but I thought it would be more ¡®tragedy of the shemales¡¯ or such]


    [BombInMyPants: ¡­ if I draw something like that in the current social environment, I might get put on a stake]


    Cultural entertainment should be free, but trying times call for restraint. Those comics that might carry deeper, controversial meanings will have to be put on hold. He¡¯s not going to inflame anyone.


    It¡¯s unfortunate that Cheng Zhaoci might not mean it, but lots of insectoids reading his comics will all have different interpretations. If some insectoid took advantage and steered the discussion wrongly, then boom.


    He¡¯s no politician, nor has he studied political science. He is not confident he can even predict the direction his works will be taken, not to mention guiding the lost lamb that is the masses. It¡¯s most likely he will just be adding chaos to the mix.


    Even if Cheng Zhaoci himself came out to say he did not mean something, those who spread their nefarious falsehoods have done so, and those who would listen have listened. In fact, whether more insectoids buy what Cheng Zhaoci says or what the others say is completely left to fate.


    Then what? Prolong the long-ass war? When will he and Wei Zhuo ever be together then?! They¡¯re a couple! They barely confirmed their feelings with each other and one is already on the battlefield. Oh! Woe is he.

 CH 52.1

    The other inspiration for the shemale is about the same. He¡¯s a shemale Cheng Zhaoci knows on the landfill planet. Old, and often found boasting about how amazing he used to be, that aptitude he had, etc., in between using whatever he scavenged to exchange for money and buy alcohol. He¡¯s often messy in appearance, and his usual line of dialogue is, ¡®the military is damned corrupt!¡¯


    Cheng Zhaoci has heard from his dad that that guy did use to be a grade A shemale soldier.


    However, he did something dirty to his fellow soldier one time during a battle ¨C it got out of hand and an entire platoon perished. He realised his mistake and was afraid of getting court-martialed, so he escaped to the landfill planet.


    And there were even times when he boasted of successfully ¡®laying his hands on¡¯ underage males without being found out. Well, given the moral decrepitude of the insectoids making a living on the landfill planets, and the fact that it was a drunken boast, no one knows if it¡¯s true or not.


    Cheng Zhaoci knew all this because of his final downfall. If what he knew was correct, the old shemale set Xiao Ji up, so Xiao Ji, 15, alongside his pal He Huaijian, descended on him and gave him a good pounding. His leg was fractured. Later, he died at the hands of other insectoids fighting for resources.


    Do either of those people know that they were in the wrong? Perhaps. They just never want to admit it. They are the ones who would buy that things could change if they had another chance.


    Of course, actions are more powerful than words because words are easy. Can they really turn their lazy, obstinate selves around and be better if just given the chance all of a sudden?


    Cheng Zhaoci is sceptical. Though he will not be insinuating the attitude in the first chapter. The arc has three chapters, the first details going back to the past and the vow to change everything. A promise that he won¡¯t become his despondent future self.


    The first part of the second chapter will depict everything going his way ¨C a hardworking shemale protagonist, who is doing his best to socialise and move up the ranks as well.


    All until one insectoid comes into view.


    Flashbacks would be included here to let the readers know that this slightly timid shemale ended up becoming the Grand Marshal after the protagonist¡¯s passing in the future.


    He is a stark contrast to our protagonist, whose past will be revealed here. In the military academy, he bullied the timid future Grand Marshal. Because of his family background, the timid shemale never retaliated against him.


    The reason for this was that the protagonist is grade B, but the timid shemale is grade A. He was jealous. There were times when his bullying almost turned lethal.


    It only worsened when they were in the military. The protagonist¡¯s schemes almost cost the entire frontline. That shemale was gravely injured, but he was also caught red-handed.


    He was always boasting about how he might not be A in aptitude, but his appearance and capabilities were not the slightest bit inferior. After the cockup, though, he just legged it for the landfill planets.


    Now, seeing the shemale Grand Marshal-to-be, our protagonist will try to suck up to him. The drastic shift in attitude will not have missed the timid shemale, however. He will already have been bullied enough times that he won¡¯t accept this sudden goodwill.


    The timid shemale will still try to avoid the shemale, who will be patient initially, but finally, when once, bringing lunch to eat with him, but it ending up tossed to the ground during a tussle when the shemale refuses, our protagonist shemale will stop and drop his head.


    He won¡¯t be able to take it anymore. He tightens his fist, and punches.


    His internal monologue will reveal that he believes he won¡¯t do any worse than him now that he¡¯s ¡®reborn.¡¯ His friendliness is an honour and favour to make it up to him. Is it even his fault if the timid shemale is responding negatively every single time?


    The scuffle will be the first domino to fall. Then the panels will depict how the different choices made ending up leading almost to the entire same conclusion to the shemale¡¯s future. In fact, he will end up having to escape to the landfill planet even quicker, only this time, he¡¯s caught by the army, his escape unsuccessful.


    On the day of his execution, he will, once again, see that strange, unnerving insectoid. The one who offered him the chance to redo when he was dying in his last life. It will look like he is the only one who can see him. Everyone else will still be doing their jobs without a glance.


    The shemale¡¯s eyes will widen.


    Then, a completely black panel.


    Finally, a panel with only single speech bubble inside.


    ¡°Your life will turn out better, will it?¡±


    The end.


    As for feedback, Zhou Luoluo says he¡¯s got goosebumps all over after finishing. In the beginning, he thought it was yet another tragic story between a shemale and a male. When the shemale¡¯s past was revealed, Zhou Luoluo thought he didn¡¯t really like the character much, but was still reading to see if the protagonist really did change for the better. He thought he did.


    And at the end, Zhou Luoluo was spooked.


    [ZhouLuoluo: I¡¯m just suddenly not feeling like going back in time. I feel like I can¡¯t change a thing]


    [BombInMyPants: it¡¯s not necessarily the case; this is my view. no one has ever gone back in time, so no one knows. don¡¯t get too attached to the plot, think instead about what thoughts crossed your mind as you read]


    Cheng Zhaoci has only been transmigrated¡­ Actually, more technically, reincarnated, perhaps, the kind with memory intact. He didn¡¯t end up as someone else who has already lived a dozen or so years. There was no ¡®original owner¡¯ to pretend to be.


    In his dad¡¯s and friends¡¯ eyes, Cheng Zhaoci has always been himself.


    He¡­ does have his own thoughts about the phenomena, but he hasn¡¯t gone back in time himself, or know anyone else who did, and he can¡¯t base it on himself. That¡¯s why, it¡¯s just an opinion.


    Zhou Luoluo has more to say.


    [ZhouLuoluo: I can¡¯t say I dislike it, but I thought it would be more ¡®tragedy of the shemales¡¯ or such]


    [BombInMyPants: ¡­ if I draw something like that in the current social environment, I might get put on a stake]


    Cultural entertainment should be free, but trying times call for restraint. Those comics that might carry deeper, controversial meanings will have to be put on hold. He¡¯s not going to inflame anyone.


    It¡¯s unfortunate that Cheng Zhaoci might not mean it, but lots of insectoids reading his comics will all have different interpretations. If some insectoid took advantage and steered the discussion wrongly, then boom.


    He¡¯s no politician, nor has he studied political science. He is not confident he can even predict the direction his works will be taken, not to mention guiding the lost lamb that is the masses. It¡¯s most likely he will just be adding chaos to the mix.


    Even if Cheng Zhaoci himself came out to say he did not mean something, those who spread their nefarious falsehoods have done so, and those who would listen have listened. In fact, whether more insectoids buy what Cheng Zhaoci says or what the others say is completely left to fate.


    Then what? Prolong the long-ass war? When will he and Wei Zhuo ever be together then?! They¡¯re a couple! They barely confirmed their feelings with each other and one is already on the battlefield. Oh! Woe is he.

 CH 52.2

    Cheng Zhaoci can feel Wei Zhuo¡¯s hug tightening and tightening¡­ and tightening. Meanwhile, his eyes are glowing at nowhere in particular.


    ¡°Wei, Wei Zhuo!¡± He¡¯s out of air! His xiongzhu might end up passing away early if this keeps up!


    Lu Yao has had enough. He pats Wei Zhuo on the shoulder quickly, ¡°can you not blank out here? Xiao-Ci is not strong enough to withstand your CQC technique at full force.¡±


    Wei Zhuo has his soul dragged back down from cloud nine, and quickly lets Cheng Zhaoci go, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough, I¡¯m fine,¡± Cheng Zhaoci rubs his stiff and sore shoulders. Wow. Grade S shemales really are something. He looks like he¡¯s just casually hugging but it was strong enough to kill, ¡°I was hugging out of the blue. Let¡¯s go in first.¡±


    Lu Yao, meanwhile, rolls his eyes at his grandson, ¡°tough now, are we?¡± He says that, but his tone is clearly happy.


    He¡¯s never seen Wei Zhuo all dumbfounded in the past. Not a sign of the cold and distant form to be found, but it¡¯s not a bad thing.


    Wei Zhuo follows after Cheng Zhaoci. His mouth opens and closes a few times, until he manages to produce a barely audible ¡°xiao-Ci.¡±


    He¡¯s always called Cheng Zhaoci ¡®mister,¡¯ but having heard everyone else close to Cheng Zhaoci go xiao-Ci and Ci-zai all the time has made him interested as well.


    Cheng Zhaoci stops and turns around with a big smile, ¡°yeah, Wei-ge?¡±


    It¡¯s actually slightly odd for him to give him the ¡®older brother¡¯ suffix, but xiao-Wei? Zhuozhuo? A-Zhuo? None of that feels congruent with the aura of the imposing shemale soldier.


    Wei Zhuo, though, begs to differ. What¡¯s weird about Wei-ge? It¡¯s like divine music to his ears!


    When the two insectoids start locking eyes madly in the name of love halfway to the mansion proper, Lu Yao¡¯s expression fades. For some reason, he¡¯s pretty content spending time with xiao-Ci, and he supposes he gets along just fine with his grandson. The two of them together, though, are strangely disagreeable to him.


    They should move back out as soon as the war is over. He¡¯s too old for this shit.


    This is a sentiment shared by the Zhou brothers, who aren¡¯t at the Grand Marshal¡¯s, but were informed, when requesting new drafts to detail after finishing their current batch, that Mr Comic Artist is going on a date. So no work today. Also, as compensation, they get a few red packets with pocket change. The ¡®laziness¡¯ tax, as a counterpart to cat tax.


    ¡°I really understand why ¡®too young to fall in love¡¯ is a thing,¡± says Zhou Xiaobao.


    See? Without romance in the mix, Cheng Zhaoci is a busy little bee. With it¡­ Ha.


    The war has been ongoing for about half a year already.


    Obviously, the space buccaneers have far more casualties than the army, but those pirates are sneaky.


    They don¡¯t operate on any fixed bases, and spend most of their time on the mobile spaceships. Employing guerilla tactics, attacking any which place as they please. It¡¯s a big pain in the arse to deal with.


    Add in the fact that they are getting constant replenishment in ranks from disgruntled shemales and demis, and that they have male hostages. The war has entered a stalemate.


    ¡°So why can¡¯t we use these teleportation beacons?¡± Jin Yue grumbles.


    If they could use these, they¡¯d zip right next to the core worlds of the Federation.


    The army¡¯s protection of these is surprisingly lax. Jin Yue and the others tried to seize one, only to realise they couldn¡¯t enter. Not just that, but it sent some kind of alarm and the nearest army immediately rushed for them.


    ¡°The technology basically appeared out of thin air. None of our technicians and researchers have any idea how to crack it. It¡¯s the same for those newest weapons the Federation is using,¡± Sun Wushe skims the report on his hands, ¡°say, when you were on your shopping spree on the Capital planet, didn¡¯t you hear anything about where they came from?¡±


    ¡°Their distribution is already illegal. And you¡¯re asking me? You, the highest ranked undercover pirate in the army, didn¡¯t know where they came from either?¡±


    ¡°Officially, the army bought them from weapons manufacturers majority owned by the government. I suspect the First Research Institute is involved in the development, but authorisation for entering requires a much higher rank,¡± Sun Wushe narrows his eyes, ¡°I can¡¯t even begin to picture the monster that designed these and the beacons.¡±


    Bai ¡®the Monster¡¯ Jun, or Researcher Bai, is currently sitting on the sofa of the Grand Marshal¡¯s, trembling.


    ¡°I, I, my, my father had me deliver food,¡± Bai Jun retrieves snacks he carries around with him, though clearly, his recipient is disinterested.


    Not ¡®I don¡¯t want it¡¯-disinterested, but ¡®I¡¯m too busy looking at Wei Zhuo affectionately¡¯-disinterested. He probably doesn¡¯t even know what Bai Jun has taken out, but simply goes, ¡°thanks,¡± and then continue his lovestruck staring streak. Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes never left Cheng Zhaoci the entire time.


    They¡¯re treasuring every second of those three days.


    Bai Jun looks towards Lu Yao, who sighs, ¡°fresh lovebirds. Typical.¡±


    Then Lu Yao starts looking up and down Bai Jun. Lu Yao is close acquaintances with both the President and the Chairman of Chief Command; he¡¯s basically an older relative to Bai Jun.


    Although it¡¯s pretty annoying to see his grandson and xiao-Ci getting all mushy-mushy, but think of it this way. The President¡¯s own male son is over 70, but he¡¯s still single. This makes him feel a little better.


    ¡°Have any insectoid you like yet?¡± Lu Yao suddenly asks.


    Bai Jun¡¯s breathing suddenly hastens. He knows this conversation opener well. Too well.


    As expected, Lu Yao immediately goes, ¡°70 is no longer young. It¡¯s time you get a shemale or demi in your life. You might not be old enough to understand, but when you come to that age, you¡¯d understand how loneliness kills us inside.¡±


    Oh? So it turns out insectoids pressure the young to marry just the same as his past world?


    The conversation has actually managed to draw the attention of both Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo.


    ¡°Xiao-Bai, you should also try something outside of your comfort zone,¡± says Lu Yao, with this solemn tone.


    Bai Jun then glances over at Cheng Zhaoci, who gets it immediately.


    The great researcher did once try to leave his comfort zone for love, for his own cijun, only to lose his way in the middle of the city, on the Capital planet, with GPS in his hands, even. He even starved to the point of fainting.


    Bai Jun is definitely trying to get Cheng Zhaoci not to say a thing about it. It¡¯s utterly embarrassing is what it is.


    Well, researchers sure are dedicating almost their entire schedule to research. It¡¯s quite detrimental to romance-seeking. Cheng Zhaoci does adore them for leading the path of technology forward for the insectoids! Bai Jun is cool! He thinks, as he leans into Wei Zhuo.


    Ah, Wei Zhuo¡¯s muscles sure are firm and cushy. He really is a simple, lame insectoid all dazzled by the fluttery romance. He¡¯s lame, but he feels so relaxed and happy.

 CH 53.1

    Forced Resilience


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Wei Zhuo only has three days¡¯ holiday ¨C or more like, two and a half days. He¡¯s expected to be back in action by afternoon on the third day.


    So for all the time they had together, they spent it all glued to one another. Not too sticky, but simply holding hands, flirting, not even kissing.


    Cheng Zhaoci is trying not to spook Wei Zhuo, who doesn¡¯t seem too used to such dispalys of affection. Wei Zhuo¡­ actually likes those, but Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t kissing him actively, and he doesn¡¯t have the courage to initiate kisses either.


    It¡¯s quite painful to keep urges suppressed, but it can¡¯t be helped.


    This lasts until the day he finally leaves. Before Wei Zhuo gets onto his transport, Cheng Zhaoci drags Wei Zhuo on the collar to plant him a kiss on the forehead ¨C with Wei Zhuo compliantly lowering his head.


    ¡°After my birthday a few months later, Wei-ge, do you want to be my cijun?¡± He can¡¯t wait any longer to ask. Separation after a short time spent together only worsens the longing.


    Cheng Zhaoci needed to cling to something. He wants to tie Wei Zhuo to his side, even if it is only in name for now.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Wei Zhuo promises without delay, ¡°I¡¯ll take the day off and come back when xiao-Ci comes of age,¡± he¡¯s not blushing this time. In fact, he is smiling gently, looking confident and reliable.


    But when he¡¯s finally on the transport, the ¡®gentle¡¯ and ¡®reliable¡¯ shemale smashes his fist into the walls of the vessel. Even the management AI is popping out.


    [What now?! What the fuck?! Are you sick? Go see a doctor then!]


    Commercial-grade AIs have no emotional capacity. Not for lack of technological means, but it has been judged too unnecessary a burden to do so.


    This military AI, though, appears to have been manufactured by a temperamental insectoid. Unfriendly, and cusses often. The shemale soldiers won¡¯t call for the AI unless they absolutely have to.


    Wei Zhuo is breathing heavily, and his muscles are all tense. It took all he had just to keep his composure in front of Cheng Zhaoci, but! But! He¡¯s completely electrified! He can¡¯t hold it in anymore!


    When Wei Zhuo is raising his fist up again, the AI yells.


    [Sure! Smash your fist in! When the vessel crashes, I look forward to your dumb arse paying for reimbursements!]


    ¡­ Really, what kind of miserable misanthrope made this malignant AI?


    ¡°The AI on ships? My baby wrote it up himself,¡± Lu Yao replies to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s question, ¡°he made it speak softly in the beginning, but none of the hardened shemale soldiers would listen to a soft tone. So he changed it up.¡±


    And he understands his baby tuned the AI¡¯s tone to match him.


    ¡°We don¡¯t alloy research into AI sentience. They are tools, and it¡¯d get infinitely complex if it had its own mind,¡± Lu Yao watches as Cheng Zhaoci marks down lots of notes with this serious look on his face, ¡°why are you interested in this, by the way?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s writing material,¡± explains Cheng Zhaoci. One of the stories of his travelling to the past series was to feature a cat and its elderly owner. It was to follow one of the stories; the ginger cat has spotted the protagonist that lets people travel back in time in the penultimate chapter of that, and so, after that story, it goes to the protagonist, wishing to travel back in time.


    It thinks it has lost its ¡®pet,¡¯ ¨C more technically, the ginger¡¯s pet is actually its owner. She¡¯s an old granny who had Alzheimer¡¯s and kept forgetting stuff. One winter afternoon, she will leave her home, only to never come back.


    The cat will go outside to search for her, but cannot find her. Instead, it will run into the protagonist.


    It will get transported back to the time when it was picked up off the street by the granny¡¯s family. Her husband will still be there as well. The ginger cat will still be that spoilt, fat cat that eats, sleeps, and sunbaths when it¡¯s tired.


    It¡¯s a cat, and will be able to do nothing against fate. The granny¡¯s partner will pass away the same as before. The granny will get Alzheimer¡¯s the same as before. However, on that fateful day, when the granny goes missing, the cat will follow her.


    It will meow for her attention behind her, but she would not stop. Finally, she loses her footing on slippery, icy roads, and tumbles into the freezing river next to her. That was the end of her life the last time. This time, the severely hydrophobic fat ginger cat will also jump after her, bravely, doing its best to drag the granny back.


    Of course, it will be futile.


    Bystanders will call the police, and there will also be people jumping to help both the granny and the cat. However, she is too old. She would not make it. The fat cat is shivering, meowing, but all will be for naught.


    The cat, once again, goes to the protagonist. It wants to travel to the past again.


    The protagonist obliges.


    The very last panel of this story, depicts the cat meowing at the elderly couple once more.


    It is unable to change anything. It won¡¯t be able to stop the grandpa dying of old age, or Alzheimer¡¯s affecting the granny. Yet, it will ask for a redo no matter how many times the same things happen. Why? Maybe, it simply did not want the warmth of its ¡®pet¡¯ to fade.


    Cheng Zhaoci was hoping to depict themes of solitude in old age, and ask questions about people¡¯s bonds with others.


    Now, though, the story has to be adapted to the insectoids. There are two questions. One, insectoids have no ¡®granny¡¯s. This one¡¯s simple; he just needs to change the gender. Two, Alzheimer¡¯s isn¡¯t a thing in insectoids. They don¡¯t even have this kind of illness, and even if there were, medical technology can probably treat it. Three, pets are an extremely niche hobby in insectoid society. Normally, no one ever raises anything other than their own young. This is quite the issue.


    He doesn¡¯t know enough to force something like ¡®Alzheimer¡¯s but for insectoids¡¯ to work. As for pets¡­ He¡¯s got his eyes on the futuristic AIs this technologically advanced civilisation employs.

 CH 53.2

    ¡°So Xiao-Ci, your first story is already done?¡± Asks Lu Yao.


    ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci still has the storyboard to complete. It¡¯s going to be a proper, long-term serial comic, so he has a separate cover art planned for each story. It¡¯s quite the workload.


    Besides, his second story¡¯s plot is also waiting for him. With six chapters in total for those two, and with this being planned as a full-length comic, he¡¯s planning to release it on a weekly schedule. Six weeks is enough for him to solve the issues underlying this story.


    Cheng Zhaoci was planning to scrap the story entirely anyway if it couldn¡¯t fit with an insectoid background.


    He just doesn¡¯t want to let go of the original story without a struggle.


    Lu Yao, though, has locked him back into the prison known as work with a single sentence. He, without a complete draft and complete storyboard panelling, is in no place to talk any further.


    Two days later, the Zhou brothers receive the first chapter¡¯s full draft. Cheng Zhaoci sent it along as it was completed. They also got the sketches in the meantime.


    Though while working hard, Cheng Zhaoci suddenly received news.


    Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu has died.


    Lu Yao told him with this hasty, solemn tone and stiff expression. After that, he immediately got dressed and left.


    Apparently, there have been so much negative press about the pirates online, that one of the angry pirates in question uploaded a video. Before moderation could scrub the video offline, many insectoids have already been inadvertently exposed.


    Including of course, Mr Liang, who has been desperately waiting for news.


    Zhou Luoluo called Cheng Zhaoci. He just had to call someone, to talk about what he saw.


    In the video, Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu was surrounded by a whole group of pirates. Naked. He had degrading acts done to him on the floor. Zhou Luoluo refrains from describing the specifics of the degrading acts, being a minor male who has never seen anything like it.


    Cheng Zhaoci could imagine, though. His face pales somewhat as he presses for more details.


    When Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu learned of the deaths of his cijun and concubines during the surrounding shemales¡¯ mocks and slurs on him, he snapped. He cried while the pirates all laughed at his prone form. There were pirates still kicking him while he¡¯s down.


    After the cry came the snap. He bombarded one of the pirates with extremely foul language, until that pirate descended on Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu to beat him up.


    ¡°Blood was everywhere¡­ his head was not the right shape,¡± Zhou Luoluo¡¯s tone is frightful without a doubt. He sounds like he¡¯s holding back tears, ¡°I had no idea the video would become that. The male¡­ he still struggled and twitched when his head caved in. Then he didn¡¯t move anymore. Cheng Zhaoci, what should we do? It¡¯s Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu, what should we do?¡±


    What should they do? What even could¡­? Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s back is already frigid cold just listening to Zhou Luoluo¡¯s description. He has never felt the war so close to him as it has become now.


    Mr Liang¡­ Oh wait! Mr Liang!


    Cheng Zhaoci jumps up. Lu Yao is already gone. There is no one who can accompany him. He is panicking inside, and not thinking about his own safety anymore. What if Mr Liang does something he can never regret again? He grabs the nearest guard with him, and sets off.


    He¡¯s not there.


    At Mr Liang¡¯s residence, no one is answering the door.


    Cheng Zhaoci calls Mr Liang¡¯s phone again and again. It would not go through.


    ¡°Mr Liang! Mr Liang!!!¡± Cheng Zhaoci starts yelling at the door. Nothing.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci? Why did you come over? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mr Liang¡¯s voice suddenly comes from behind. Cheng Zhaoci looks behind him immediately. Mr Liang has some groceries. He¡¯s huffing a little, ¡°did you stand out here long? Come inside.¡±


    Mr Liang looks no different, if one ignores how ghostly pale he looks.


    Cheng Zhaoci follows Mr Liang into the residence. After actually seeing him, all words escape him. It feels like everything he could possibly say wouldn¡¯t help matters any.


    ¡°I saw it,¡± Mr Liang says, unusually calm, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about, xiao-Ci.¡±


    ¡°I would not give up on life. If I died as well, who would take care of the children?¡± Mr Liang gives Cheng Zhaoci a can of drink, ¡°I really want to see my xiongzhu again, but I can¡¯t possibly leave his children to orphanages.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing else I can do. We have to move on,¡± Mr Liang¡¯s smile has not any semblance of joy, ¡°life has to go on, for the better.¡±

 CH 54.1

    Lubrication


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Mr Liang is calm. Or possibly, just still from weariness. Cheng Zhaoci does not know what to even say to help cheer him up.


    His xiongzhu is dead. He is going to face a hell of a life from here on out. What can Cheng Zhaoci even say? ¡®Let it go¡¯? Is he even remotely qualified to have him let this tragedy go?


    He ends up just mumbling after a while, ¡°Mr Liang. You can come to me if you need help. I¡¯ll help as much as I can.¡±


    ¡°Mmm,¡± Mr Liang does not refuse it. Even though it is practically a teenager offering him help, and his student, no less, but he¡­ he doesn¡¯t really care about stuff like ¡®dignity¡¯ anymore. It wouldn¡¯t feed his or his fresh new charges¡¯ stomachs, ¡°I should apologise. I might not be able to continue teaching you for now. I will be busy handling my late xiongzhu¡®s businesses for a few months.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not in a hurry. I can work on my comics too,¡± Cheng Zhaoci makes a dry smile, but it¡¯s so forced even Cheng Zhaoci felt off.


    He leaves Mr Liang¡¯s residence, almost in a daze. Something heavy weighs on his chest. So heavy, it¡¯s like his heart is struggling to make every single beat.


    ¡®Why should he deserve this?¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci wonders, recalling the story Lu Yao told him, that he didn¡¯t have the courage to learn what exactly his xiongzhu went through after being captured. He was afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself together.


    Mr Liang was directly exposed to the video documenting the torture, suffering and eventual death of his xiongzhu. He can¡¯t even begin to fathom how he feels right now.


    Cheng Zhaoci knows. He knows those space pirates have also been wounded in the past. But then, so what?!


    How does that justify doing untoward things to a prone, innocent male?! How does that justify them murdering the male¡¯s cijun and concubine in cold blood, and beating him to a gruesome death?!


    What were they even thinking, filming and uploading that video?! Why the fuck were they even filming the depravity Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu suffered?!


    What, only those pirates¡¯ injustice were injustice, and their pain is more genuine than the lives of other insectoids?!


    Why did this happen? Did Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu deserve it? Did his cijun and concubines deserve it?


    Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t a saint. If the inferno of war didn¡¯t immolate insectoids close to him, he might be able to rationally analyse this as ¡®the unfortunate product of the extreme misogyny in insectoid society.¡¯ He will condemn the pirates but also stress that he can understand why the pirates became that way.


    Since it¡¯s really difficult to grasp the cruelty the victims suffered when it remains some impersonal news.


    However, this bystander mentality collapses as soon as it becomes a personal issue.


    Hidden beneath the all the grandstanding from atop the moral high ground, lies broken individuals, countless broken individuals.


    Back at the Grand Marshal¡¯s, Cheng Zhaoci finds Lu Yao already home, sitting on the sofa with a serious look on his face. He tries to pull a smile seeing Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°xiao-Ci, did you see your teacher? How¡¯s he doing?¡±


    ¡°Not good. But he isn¡¯t going to do anything regretful,¡± Cheng Zhaoci sits opposite Lu Yao. He does not mention the fact that, while Mr Liang might not look like he¡¯s going to give up on life, he gives off the feeling he¡¯s more tired living than dead.


    Lu Yao doesn¡¯t seem surprised. Then he tries to change the topic, noticing how down Cheng Zhaoci also appeared, ¡°well, more materials for your stories?¡± He knows Cheng Zhaoci has been looking for materials to complete or entirely change a story he already has in mind. This is a tragedy with lots of emotional elements. It would make for a good story that raises awareness.


    ¡°No,¡± Cheng Zhaoci shakes his head, ¡°I am in no place to turn other¡¯s tragedy into a story; this is also not something to cast into the limelight for unrelated insectoids to point to and comment.¡±


    ¡°¡®Pa, I just feel really stuffy inside. I, I don¡¯t know how to describe it¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hands are restlessly gesturing, but he still can¡¯t put it into words.


    Sorrow. Dread. A worry something equally terrible might happen to them.


    ¡°I know,¡± Lu Yao gets up, to put his hand on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head, caressing it, ¡°¡®pa understands.¡±


    No one understands it better than him. He has never been able to move on, not even after all these years, not even when he himself could die of old age at any time. When he sleeps, he still often dreams of the times he spent with his xiongzhu; he still often relives the nightmarish scene, when he found his xiongzhu among the space pirates.¡±


    When Cheng Zhaoci has calmed a little more, he goes back to his room. He doesn¡¯t fall sleep though; he can¡¯t fall asleep.


    Online, there is an uproar. Federation citizens and anonymous accounts are endlessly arguing.


    The video was pure, unadulterated horror. Federation citizens are lambasting the pirates, to an almost extremist degree. There are insectoids who have adopted the position that whatever injustice those pirates suffered were their own fault; the only problem with the males that have tortured them? That they didn¡¯t just torture them to death outright.


    Others are being armchair sociologists. This reprisal is an inevitability, they say, of the ridiculous amount of privileges and prerogatives afforded to males.


    While those staying anonymous are on the other end of the extreme spectrum ¨C they claim that if males¡¯ only contribution to society is their sperm and procreation, then they should only be treated with the dignity of a breeding stallion. Being few in numbers and outnumbered is not a reason to give them protection.


    If you look closely, you will find that the insectoids are all arguing from all sorts of perspectives, believing themselves justified. What you will not find, is discussion on the tortured, mangled male himself.


    Who was he? What was his name? How was he like? ¨C He was a male, so he was kidnapped. He was a male, so he died.


    Did he live or die because of his name, and because of his deeds? Or did he live or die, only because of his gender, of the word ¡®male¡¯?


    The answer is ¡®male.¡¯ And nothing else.


    Cheng Zhaoci basically lied on his bed awake the whole night, until he eventually fell asleep some time in the wee hours the next day.


    He was not alone. The Zhou brothers were similar. Especially Zhou Luoluo, who saw the video himself. He hasn¡¯t said many words since. He didn¡¯t even go pursue Lu Nianqian, like he usually does.


    Cheng Zhaoci finally leaves his bed on the afternoon of the second day. He has adjusted his mood enough to continue working on his comic.


    Life has to go on. And he is not only going to live, but be alive.

 CH 54.2

    Perhaps thus inspired, or perhaps as a haven for him to avoid confronting the emotional vortex, Cheng Zhaoci has dedicated himself to the work he has on hand.


    One week later, the first chapter of his comic is finally released. This time, the comments pour in with an unprecedented speed. Cheng Zhaoci knows it has nothing to do with his comic ¨C since some of them have practically started commenting as soon as he published his chapter.


    Mainly, this cultural entertainment seems to have served as a haven for insectoids as well, to avoid confronting reality.


    In fact, one comment says, that with everything that¡¯s been going on, he actually feels a little touched the damned comic artist is still releasing his comics.


    They might damn that comic artist wherever he goes, but it¡¯s clear they¡¯ve become emotionally attached.


    Of course, there are also lots of less decent comments made on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s alt, but it¡¯s already much less than occurring elsewhere. The commenters have intentionally stuck to discussing the plot or jokingly chastise the comic artist¡¯s usual frustrating plot points.


    That¡¯s when Evan sends Cheng Zhaoci a message. His micro movie is done.


    Cheng Zhaoci was quite surprised at the efficiency. Insectoids sure have developed advanced technologies. In his past world¡­


    He can still faintly remember a friend on the Internet who works as a character modeller for a game company. It was the norm for him to pack clothes and stuff to sleep at the company. It¡¯s rarer for him to be able to spend time at home.


    Even his selfies consisted of eye bags not even beautification filters can save.


    And his lifelong wish is to push the concept artists of the company off the building. A man with a story to tell, that¡¯s him.


    He asks, and Ivan tells him that these models are easy to make. It¡¯s a bit like games where he can ¡®stretch¡¯ a character¡¯s entire appearance out of thin air in his past life. Apparently texturing and rendering are stuff taking less than a second here. Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but think that this must be a world those modellers and programmers would die to visit.


    However, with the current climate, Evan doesn¡¯t dare release his project. Just like Cheng Zhaoci, he¡¯s also worried it will be misconstrued.


    [IWan: I¡¯m honestly at a loss, and I don¡¯t even feel safe leaving my house anymore, and I can¡¯t even contact theatres to release the movie even when it¡¯s already done] Before that video was released by the pirates, he was thinking that the comic should have been an early enough work that he can release it in spite of the ongoing conflict. His plans all lay in ruins now.


    [BombInMyPants: same here, I have an assistant traumatised even]


    It¡¯s now a few days past, but Zhou Luoluo is still locking himself up at home. Too afraid to even step outside, he is only maintaining contact with Cheng Zhaoci and others through his holodeck.


    In fact, Zhou Xiaobao has told him privately it¡¯s bad enough that even Lu Nianqian has expressed concern for Zhou Luoluo in response.


    Zhou Luoluo was cheered up, of course, but he still doesn¡¯t dare leave his house much. He is also still a far cry from his usual talkative self.


    [IWan: how long do you think the war will keep going?]


    How long? Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t know either.


    Though Evan can¡¯t wait that much longer for the end.


    [IWan: that micro movie is now just sitting on my desktop, I can¡¯t just let it gather dust there if the war lasts for years]


    [BombInMyPants: but you can¡¯t mean to release it while the emotions are riding the highest?]


    Especially when that plot concerns a shemale victim. If they dare to release it while the memory of the atrocities those shemale pirates did is still fresh, they¡¯ll likely be accused of sympathising with space buccaneers; it is also certainly the case that many of the pirates have been mistreated by bad males in the past.


    Of course, it isn¡¯t a majority. The majority of insectoids joining piracy are perhaps neglected, but not abused by their fathers. Or they might simply be orphans or such who would never have the opportunity to meet a male in their entire lives. The rumours that piracy could lead to them enslaving one of those haughty males is enough to convince them to join.


    [IWan: so can I have the right to turn that love comic into a movie too? With the demi reporter]


    Of course, Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t mind. He¡¯s already given the completed ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ a watch, and it was quite well done. He gives his editor a message and tells him to get Evan another contract.


    Evan happily returns to his work of making character models.


    Cheng Zhaoci goes back to drawing after the communications are done.


    He creates and finishes a super simple, one-page comic in lieu of his usual work. It¡¯s drawn in chibi style, and has no colour or detailing. He only gave it a simple, one-dimensional shadow.


    He knows it is the best course of action not to say a word or mention anything about shemales and males, but he couldn¡¯t let himself do nothing.


    He wants to speak up, but he also cannot let others take advantage or misrepresent him. So he decided to draw something whose message is more obscure than usual.


    The comic¡¯s title is really simple.


    ¡®Who should I be?¡¯


    The protagonist is drawn as a simple blob with a blob for a head, his gender indeterminate.


    A disembodied speech bubble reads, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The blob looks right at the panel ¨C like he is looking outside the panel.


    Gesturing with his chibi hand, he replies, ¡°I¡¯m a shemale.¡±


    After which, countless speech bubbles pierce their arrows through the little chibi insectoid.


    ¡®Rude¡¯


    ¡®Brute¡¯


    ¡®Tone-deaf¡¯


    ¡®Braindead battle maniac¡¯


    The next panel, the disembodied speech reads, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The chibi insectoid answers male.


    Now the text changes to read,


    ¡®Arrogant¡¯


    ¡®Useless¡¯


    ¡®Frail¡¯


    ¡®Impregnation Tool¡¯


    The next panel¡¯s chibi insectoid says he¡¯s a demi-shemale.


    ¡®Weak¡¯


    And, finally, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    With a lot of arrowed speech bubbles restlessly twitching on frame towards the chibi insectoid.


    He opens his mouth.


    Then, the final panel. Pure black, with one single phrase filling the space.


    ¡°Who should I be?¡±


    Which should he be? It seems, whatever he answers, he¡¯ll also become attached to the pile of labels involutarily.


    There is not a single reference to males¡¯ prerogatives or the inhumanity exhibited by those space buccaneers. If one wants, they can simply see it as a short story that was simply created when the comic artist had a burst of inspiration. It was created in less than a day, too.


    Cheng Zhaoci can never change what the pirates are thinking. He¡¯s nowhere near capable enough to do that. He just wants some insectoids ¨C or at least, his own readers ¨C to understand that, not all males are psychotic sadists, and not all shemales are suppressed mass murderers waiting for a chance to let loose. They have to see past the current conflict.


    They should think for themselves, based on what they see with their own eyes.


    Are males all useless blobs of flesh wasting food and time? That doesn¡¯t even remotely apply to researchers of the First Research Institute that Bai Jun talked about, and to, for example, Lu Yao¡¯s late xiongzhu.


    While shemales¡­ also have scumbags among them. This is normal in any society. Yet, these shemales are also the ones protecting and defending the Federation. Every year, the overwhelming majority of casualties in wars are shemales. They are also the ones keeping the entire society running smoothly.

 CH 54.3

    The short comic has drawn enthusiastic responses from the readers.


    Enthusiastic, but also civil. The insectoids are all discussing the troubles and problems being males, shemales and demis.


    The three groups are clearly gelling better during the discussion.


    Of course, there are arguments, but it is quite unlike the bellicose discussions elsewhere on the Internet, they are backing their own claims with their own examples and understandings. It feels more like a process of negotiation or a debate than a fight.


    As the peaceful negotiations go on, some are also wondering about the comic artist again ¨C is he a demi or a shemale?


    There are even males who say, if they¡¯re still not married yet, they wouldn¡¯t even mind trying it out with the comic artist. They¡¯re swooned.


    The frivolous talk aside, Cheng Zhaoci completely failed to anticipate that his chibi-style, short and hurriedly produced comic without much artistic merit would mysteriously explode in popularity, even outside the comic circles.


    Much faster than any of his other comics, too, like it¡¯s on rocket skates.


    He first came to appreciate this development through Lu Yao. He is here to ask for signatures from Cheng Zhaoci, saying that several old comrades of his have also read the comic and have become fans.


    Cheng Zhaoci analysed the meteoric success, and concludes that it¡¯s the simple plot, simple drawing style that made it easy to read along, and the fact that it hit the nail on what makes all males, shemales and demis embittered respectively, right on the head.


    Quite as quickly as it exploded in popularity, it is also contributing to a marked decrease in acts of gender violence. Outside of some insectoids that are beyond saving in the first place, anyone who has read the comic has mellowed out, becoming better lubricated when it comes to the class of the other genders.


    ¡°Are those males insane?¡± Wei Zhuo is reading the comments of the males lining up to confess beneath that short comic.


    This is almost a phenomenon exclusive to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comments at this point. They are confessing now, but if Cheng Zhaoci released something saddening next, they¡¯d betray him without a word and go buy out another advertisement space to chastise Cheng Zhaoci.


    A clever reader has even termed this social phenomenon on males the ¡®BombIn Effect.¡¯


    Well, to be honest, it¡¯s a meme. The males are also not being serious in their proposal. Remember, BombIn¡¯s signature has changed to reflect his taken status a while back already. Only a true scumbag of a male would ever try to steal someone else¡¯s shemale or demi.


    Wei Zhuo might know it¡¯s a meme, and that Cheng Zhaoci is also male, so nothing can happen between him and those males, but he¡¯s still upset Cheng Zhaoci is being mass-proposed to.


    ¡°Well, think of it this way. Mr Cheng Zhaoci is practically a winner in life like this. Getting proposed to be so many males would make the wet dreams of so many shemales, don¡¯t you think?¡± Meng Yuele pats Wei Zhuo on the shoulder.


    Meng Yuele is doing his best to crack jokes, as he¡¯s also been feeling pretty down recently, unlike his usual talkative self. More males have been kidnapped, which only worsens his mood. He¡¯s scraping by reading the comics in between going out to fight.


    It¡¯s pitiful, yet it is also a burden shared by his many colleagues.


    This isn¡¯t even taking into account the fact that Cheng Zhaoci has not released as much as before. He used to release stuff arcs at the time to satisfy his readers, but in his latest comic, he¡¯s released only one chapter so far, depicting the protagonist¡¯s journey back in time.


    So Meng Yuele has to keep telling himself, he can¡¯t give up hope or falter now, and definitely can¡¯t afford to die on the battlefield yet. He still hasn¡¯t read the comic in full!


    Yes. That is his motivation.


    Childish, but effective.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried that the mister is too excellent,¡± Wei Zhuo sighs. Being so exceptional a male, would he really stick to only having him by his side? Probably not.


    Not that he is questioning the purity of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s feelings, but there are so many insectoids in this world. There must be some that are more handsome than him, more caring than him, and such. If they decided to go after him¡­ One he can handle, but if a whole group charges at once? There¡¯s nothing he could do.


    Besides, sure, all of those males could be meming along, but he can¡¯t guarantee that for every single one of them. What if? What if, one or two of them, are the type that would be fine even knowing Cheng Zhaoci is a male¡­


    Wei Zhuo is losing all hope in the future.


    ¡°Be more confident! You¡¯re a great shemale too,¡± Meng Yuele pats Wei Zhuo on the shoulder some more, ¡°if we won this next fight, it¡¯d probably be enough to push you into Group Captain! You¡¯re our only living grade S shemale! Start acting like it!¡±


    The speed at which Wei Zhuo¡¯s military career is progressing is definitely terrifying. Scarcely anyone has ever heard of such an expedient career path. They can¡¯t even be jealous, because all of Wei Zhuo¡¯s merits are fought with flesh and blood through mortal peril one after another.


    Although his capabilities fail to help reinforce his confidence any when his lover ¨C his very popular lover ¨C is being confessed to by so many. Lack of confidence breeds doubt; though in Wei Zhuo¡¯s case, doubt and frustration simply making even more merciless a fighting machine.


    Now he¡¯s already on the top list of insectoids the pirates do not want to run into.


    This morning, when Wei Zhuo went on a mission with him, they ran into a group of patrolling pirates. They were both in mechas, but the other side had mechas moving so stiffly Meng Yuele felt like he could see right through them to the faces of resignment inside.


    A stroll into a natural predator ¨C the hopeless feeling of knowing there is no escape, and everything is over. When they made the final assault, the pirates even seemed determined to make one last stand.


    Though the struggle was for naught ¨C they were all caught alive and packed into a neat group for Wei Zhuo to take back to base. Oh, yeah, Wei Zhuo missed that guy¡¯s head by nary an inch. The group of caught pirates is still shaking inside the prison, waiting for the gavel of justice to fall.


    ¡°Oh, right, the pirates that were filmed doing¡­ that to Mr Zhao. They¡¯ve been positively identified,¡± Meng Yuele reports. The face of the poor old male was right in plain sight in that video, while all the known techniques for obfuscation were applied to the pirates within.


    Insectoid identification technology is far better than what any group of space buccaneer could muster, though. The AI was given access to the entire database the insectoid directories had. The pirates were thus identified through bodily features and other such irrefutable signs.


    It took slightly long because the authorisation and such needed to be approved.


    Apparently, the results came back when Wei Zhuo was taking the tied bunch of pirates to jail.


    ¡°Has the Marshal said anything yet?¡±


    ¡°The pirates in question can be summarily executed if identified,¡± replies Meng Yuele, while also sending the photos of the pirates in question to Wei Zhuo, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Jin Yue wouldn¡¯t be letting these fuckers out any time soon, though.¡±


    Jin Yue is extremely protective of his ilk, to an almost psychotic degree. What ever his insectoids-in-command did, even if it were utterly perverted and unforgivable, he¡¯d protect them without question, even if they were deeds even the insane Jin Yue wouldn¡¯t touch with a twelve-foot barge pole.


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t care if Jin Yue would or would not let them out on missions. He knows Jin Yue; back when he was still an ace student of the Academy, Jin Yue was fiercely protective of his friends. It simply worsened when he¡¯s gone off the deep end.


    For example, back when he first met Cheng Zhaoci on the landfill planet, Wei Zhuo had Jin Yue¡¯s underlings captured. He only held off on doing anything because Jin Yue would not risk harm befalling them; by that time, Jin Yue had already had countless shemale and demi lives in his hands, leaving males alone only because of his phobia.


    ¡°None of them would escape justice,¡± Wei Zhuo narrows his eyes, ¡°Jin Yue might hide those bastards away, but we¡¯ll find them, and we¡¯ll cap each of them between the eyes.¡±

 CH 55.1

    Withdrawal


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Almost half a month has come to pass when Zhou Luoluo is recovered enough to come pester Cheng Zhaoci again.


    During this time, his latest comic¡¯s first arc is published in its entirety. The readers go from imagining the great successes and exploits going back in time would bring, to feeling the strangeness over the whole affair as they learn the true nature of the protagonist insectoid, and then, after the last chapter¡­


    Yup, the damned comic artist has done it again. Single-handedly giving them hope with one hand and a hammer with the other to smash the fantasy of going back in time into pieces.


    Well, damn the comic artist all they want, but after the third chapter is published, there is a clear increase in the number of readers. Ah, these insectoids sure aren¡¯t honest with their feelings.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve earned yourself another round of complaints?¡± Zhou Luoluo reads the comments, ¡°they don¡¯t look much like complaints to me anyhow.¡±


    Yes, as these insectoids are mostly ones who are already used to BombIn¡¯s shittiness. They might have been genuinely pissed off in the beginning, but now they¡¯ve mostly resorted to memes and inside jokes.


    Cheng Zhaoci is finishing up the second story in his comic. He glances over at Zhou Luoluo¡¯s screen, and yup, he¡¯s getting damned all over the place. Yeah, yeah, they can say what they want. He knows everyone has been really stressed lately, and the severity and intensity of meming certainly reflects that. In fact, yesterday, one new fan was voicing his concern over the harshness of the words employed. Then his damned readers educated the new fan on their meming and invited him along.


    Today, Cheng Zhaoci woke up to his latest fan also condemning him with damnation. Ha, what a damned fan.


    Sometimes, the relationship between a creator and a reader is simply mutual hatred.


    ¡°Xiao-bao¡¯s comment section has the insectoids busy probing plot holes and the ones who really like the story arguing with each other,¡± the story has progressed to the point where the protagonist has taken his kid to return in style. The bossy CEO of a male saw the kid, and was 100% certain he must be his son. The dumpster fire of winning back his beloved is now underway.


    Zhou Luoluo has already moved past the dissing stage. There are too many thick black plot holes to point out. Many others in the comments are still going strong. They continue to look for illogical bugs in the comments every single day. It¡¯s a rather unique ecosystem in Zhou Luoluo¡¯s comic.


    ¡°So they¡¯re reading the comic in detail to look for the plot holes?¡± Cheng Zhaoci points out the obvious, ¡°they are still insisting on reading every panel of every chapter even though they don¡¯t like the story¡¯s many odd threads of logic. And these aren¡¯t supposed to be fans who love the comic to death?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo ¡°¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t want to answer, because it also eerily describes him. He knows it¡¯s completely ridiculous, but, like, he just wants to see how absurd it can get.


    Zhou Xiaobao didn¡¯t come along with his cousin, because he¡¯s busy drawing more chapters at home. Due to the war, cultural entertainment is booming in popularity. Apparently, male schools have all been shut down indefinitely in response to the increase in male kidnappings.


    The measure has also been extended to regular schools for demis and shemales recently. The military academy is the only exception.


    From Xiao Ji¡¯s messages, training has been ramped up, especially for the graduate classes. They might be pulled to the frontline as soon as they graduate.


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian don¡¯t have to worry about that; though He Huaijian is still busy with his secret project. All Xiao Ji knows is that whenever he is calling Bai Jun for help, he gets yelled to the point of wishing to cancel his subscription to life.


    He Huaijian is still a self-learned student who is barely 18. Bai Jun is a proper researcher, and a genius who has come up with that teleportation magic. The difference between them is astronomical. Bai Jun¡¯s opinion on He Huaijian¡¯s efforts is probably akin to an undergraduate watching kindergarteners doing maths.


    Extremely lacking in rigour and methodology.


    Xiao Ji even said that he was expecting the male and shemale to end up developing some chemistry between them. Though the only chemistry is apparently Bai Jun exploding in response to whatever questions He Huaijian posits. He got the impression that every single insectoid but Bai Jun are thinking with their butts and not brains.


    There is a close-to-zero chance the generally dignified and proud He Huaijian could fall for Bai Jun.


    He concluded that Bai Jun was single to this point in time for a reason.


    Meanwhile, Zhou Luoluo is talking about the second reason Zhou Xiaobao couldn¡¯t come ¨C his family wouldn¡¯t let him. Zhou Xiaobao could usually get what he wants when he makes the rare request to his parents, but there have been too many kidnappings. Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s father and dad, and his uncles, have coerced him to stay.


    ¡°Like, if Xiaobao even utter a syllable of wanting to go outside, my uncle goes all teary-eyed. And he¡¯d actually cry, and ask him over and over ¡®What would poor father do if he lost his son? Father would rather go be with you¡¯ and stuff like that,¡± Zhou Luoluo makes a rather vivid impression.


    ¡°Wait, so what about your parents?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, curious, ¡°they¡¯re not worried you¡¯d get kidnapped?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo visibly shrinks and depresses a little, ¡°they are, so they were talking about getting me bodyguards. When they learned I was coming to the Grand Marshal¡¯s mansion, they just let be me. They said they could do with some peace and quiet for once.¡±


    He is slightly sad and definitely depressed his parents are irritated by his talking too much.


    Though, he can¡¯t say he really likes venturing outside either. He just enjoys spending time with Cheng Zhaoci ¨C it feels safer around him for some reason, even though he also knows Cheng Zhaoci, a male, would probably be kidnapped along with him if the unthinkable really were to happen.

 CH 55.2

    While contemplating how best to offer sympathetic platitudes to poor, unliked Zhou Luoluo, there is a knock on the door. Lu Yao says, ¡°xiao-Ci, your dad is here.¡±


    His dad is back?! His missions are done?


    Cheng Zhaoci jumps off the bed; his hand that was going to give Zhou Luoluo pats gets dragged along the ride, and gives Zhou Luoluo¡¯s cheek a firm, loud slap.


    Both of the insectoids yelp out. Zhou Luoluo stares in disbelief, ¡°you, you, did¡­.¡± did he really need to be this hasty?


    ¡°I¡¯ll apologise later,¡± Cheng Zhaoci hurriedly rushes off while rubbing his hand. Cheng Jin hadn¡¯t kept in contact for a while already, probably because of his mission.


    Downstairs, he runs into Cheng Jin sitting on the sofa, discussing something with Lu Yao. He sees Cheng Zhaoci running for him, and gets up with a smile, ¡°xiao-Ci.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is running to give his dad a hug, but Lu Yao yanks him by the collars back.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci, cool it. Your dad¡¯s still recovering from his wounds,¡± sighs Lu Yao. Really, he has never seen any male son who would happily embrace and huggy-huggy with his dad past the age of 3.


    ¡°Wounds?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci stops right in his tracks. Yes, he knows shemale soldiers cannot avoid injuries forever, but, he also knows insectoid medical technology is scarily advanced. There are first-aid medical kits, and even full-body medical pods. If there are wounds that can¡¯t be treated by those, they are at least on the level of losing a limb or two, or having organs literally blasted out of the body.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just came back in a hurry,¡± Cheng Jin gestures Cheng Zhaoci towards him, ¡°come here, xiao-Ci.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci looks up and down Cheng Jin. Outwardly, he doesn¡¯t see anything that has changed beside a slimmer figure and paler skin, ¡°did something happen?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo has also come out to the living room, and greets Cheng Jin.


    Cheng Jin nods, and gestures for everyone to sit on the sofa.


    ¡°An ambush from other space empires,¡± answers Lu Yao, as he lets himself sink into the sofa, ¡°they don¡¯t dare to invade directly, as we outclass them militarily, technologically, economically, and in any other quantifiable fields. So they instead pull these little schemes whenever we¡¯re embroiled in internal chaos. It¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    ¡°Are the wounds severe?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is looking at Cheng Jin the entire time. He can¡¯t even move his hands to examine, in case it would hurt to touch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my arms and legs are still there,¡± Cheng Jin ruffles his good son¡¯s head, ¡°dad just hurried back because he missed you. I haven¡¯t finished my treatment yet, are you scared?¡±


    He wouldn¡¯t talk about where he¡¯s hurt. He probably doesn¡¯t want Cheng Zhaoci to know.


    So Cheng Zhaoci wonders why he wouldn¡¯t say it if the wounds aren¡¯t terrible. He believes in his dad, and that all his limbs are still there, but what about other places?


    But if his dad doesn¡¯t want to say, then he wouldn¡¯t push either. As long as he¡¯s back.


    Cheng Jin hurried back because of his concern over Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s safety. A lot has happened while he was off the grid, and his son knows both Jin Yue and Sun Wushe. He could never know if they might decide to target Cheng Zhaoci or not.


    Even though he¡¯s probably as safe as he can be in the Grand Marshal¡¯s mansion, he still has to see him in the flesh with his own two eyes first.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about Mr Liang. I¡¯m going to visit later,¡± Cheng Jin didn¡¯t see that video, of course, but just hearing about its contents is more than enough to know how abhorrent it is.


    He can certainly do more to help than Cheng Zhaoci could.


    ¡°So, uh, dad, when will you have to go back to the army?¡± Cheng Zhaoci grabs Cheng Jin¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Probably not for a while. They¡¯re demanding I take some time off,¡± with the reason that he¡¯s a single dad, and his underage male son would become orphaned if something were to happen and hamper his mental development. Cheng Jin finds the reasoning almost absurd.


    His son is already well on his way to an adult. And most importantly, while it¡¯s rare, there are still other insectoids who have male kids in the army. They¡¯re still fighting, but are telling him to go take a break. It makes no sense.


    Though if Lu Yao is asked, he would not find it strange. He sighs while taking a sip from his warm bottle. Cheng Zhaoci is suspected of being a grade S male. That¡¯s why, after Cheng Jin suffered rather heavy injuries, the President himself made the direct order to discharge Cheng Jin for now, and let him be a good parent at home. It¡¯s just in case something did happen to him, causing his suspected grade S male son to mentally break.


    Mentally break, and then an indiscriminate revenge against society¡­ The insectoid society is ill-prepared for another assault from a grade S male.


    Zhou Luoluo watches Cheng Zhaoci and Cheng Jin¡¯s happy family time together, and can¡¯t help but contrast and compare with his own relationship with his dad and father. They let him leave home even during these trying times, because he¡¯s too annoying to keep quarantined at home. He suddenly feels so cold, and decides to give his pitiful, talkative self a hug.


    ¡°Uh, Zhou Xiaobao, right?¡± Lu Yao¡¯s grandparent instinct is kicking in, seeing Zhou Luoluo all downcast, standing by himself. Here¡¯s another teenage male that needs caring.


    ¡°My name is Zhou Luoluo,¡± poor, poor Zhou Luoluo. Yes, he¡¯s similar in vibe to Zhou Xiaobao, but his features are quite different!


    So the Grand Marshal still couldn¡¯t tell him apart even after he¡¯s been here so often? Oh, woe is Zhou Luoluo.


    This continues until Cheng Jin is finally going to Mr Liang¡¯s, and Zhou Luoluo leaves with him, only to run into Lu Nianqian waiting for him outside.


    His mood makes a u-turn. See? He¡¯s also an insectoid loved!

 CH 56.1

    Some Pitiable Grade S


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    What¡¯s He Huaijian actually working on? Perhaps one will have to ask him. Oh, and also Bai Jun, who¡¯s apparently involved now. When they¡¯re free, they¡¯re usually found in their workshop, working on something.


    Xiao Ji does not understand or care about what project that is. It¡¯s like the days back on the landfill planet; He Huaijian always loved to work on his weird stuff alone there.


    It¡¯s business as usual, this is.


    What no one could have expected, is that He Huaijian is actually working on a mecha. Not just any mecha, but a male-adapted mecha. Yes, made exclusively for male use. Highly optimised to reduce physical strength requirements, and to use advanced, energy-efficient weaponry. With Bai Jun, the genius inventor, helping him along, the product ends up actually terrifyingly good.


    There are no mechas for male use on the market, mostly because no males are interested. Unlike the usual insectoid-setting novels Cheng Zhaoci has read, there are no performance ratings for the mechas. Instead, there is just a general physical aptitude requirement of the equivalent of grade C for shemales.


    Beyond that is up to the pilot¡¯s capabilities. The fighting power of the mecha scales to the money dumped into its creation.


    With Bai Jun having had a say in its weaponry, the mecha He Huaijian created would certainly be among the top performers.


    One week before Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s 18th birthday, He Huaijian took him to see the mecha. Cheng Zhaoci is wholly astonished by the surprise.


    Not by the cool sleek form of the mecha, mind you, but by its bright pink colour scheme and the giant ¡®Cheng¡¯ character painted on the mecha¡¯ chest.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks bleach is about to start pouring out of his eyes.


    ¡°I started working on this a long time ago. I missed your last birthday, and you¡¯ll be an adult next week. That¡¯s when I had the idea to design a mecha for you,¡± then He Huaijian pauses, before saying, ¡°you told me you were doing really well in the virtual mecha fights.¡±


    So Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but feel a little guilty right now looking at He Huaijian. It was his first time playing, and he didn¡¯t know he was playing the AI. On easy mode. He thought he was so clever for figuring out the usual strategies the shemales employ.


    Wei Zhuo didn¡¯t tell him the truth either, for the sake of his feelings. Cheng Zhaoci really thought he was poised to become a mecha pilot. He shared it on the phone with Xiao Ji and He Huaijian the next day.


    ¡°I believed in you, and started working. Xiao Ji took you to play later, and he told me you were unbelievably dense. I felt almost betrayed, but I¡¯ve worked too far on this to give up,¡± He Huaijian sighs, ¡°so just do with it what you want.¡±


    Although he doesn¡¯t know either what a male could do with a mecha. Especially a male as exceptional at piloting mechas as Cheng Zhaoci.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci, a rookie who is now certified as a rookie, is ecstatic. He¡¯s a man! Uh, he means, he¡¯s a male! He sure would get excited over the prospect of owning his very own giant robot!


    In his past life, he grew up forever doomed to watch Gundam without being able to afford any figurines. Now, getting to own a real, weaponised, and top-of-the-line mecha? Even if it can only gather dust at home is a dream come true for Cheng Zhaoci.


    That said¡­ ¡°Huaijian-ge, can you paint this black instead?¡±


    He¡¯s having trouble accepting the vibrant colour scheme.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think it really suits you?¡± He Huaijian doesn¡¯t seem to think his aesthetics are wanting. In fact, he would have added a heart in bright red right under the ¡®Cheng¡¯ character if it didn¡¯t feel like it¡¯d cheapen the whole mecha.


    That¡¯s cute, you know.


    Of course, this is simply a problem of He Huaijian having rose-tinted glasses thick enough to beat someone to death with. Strangers see Cheng Zhaoci more as distant and possibly aloof with his slightly gloomy aura and unfriendly appearance, rather than ¡®cute.¡¯


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± suits him how? The way a paranoid antagonist rides a pink merry-go-round in an amusement park?


    ¡°Alright then,¡± He Huaijian doesn¡¯t seem too obsessed with the appearance of the mecha, thankfully, and a paint job can be done in a day. He simply finds it a shame the mecha didn¡¯t end up as pink.


    That¡¯s how Cheng Zhaoci ends up having a mecha to call his own, which makes the Zhou brothers quite properly jelly indeed. The mecha is stored at the underground storage of the Grand Marshal¡¯s mansion for the time being.


    Zhou Luoluo is walking all around and taking photographs when he comes over, sending them over to Zhou Xiaobao.


    With the black painting in place, its coolness factor has gone over the roof. Zhou Luoluo isn¡¯t interested in mechas, but that doesn¡¯t preclude him from getting excited.


    It¡¯s like, if back on Earth, a girl might not be interested in weapons and such, but if she learned a good sis of hers suddenly got a tank to her name, that she could actually drive, she would also find it amazing and cool.


    It¡¯s not whether the object in question is to their liking anymore. No, it is cool because it completely blows expectations out of the water!


    ¡°Can you pilot it?¡± Asks the excited Zhou Luoluo.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how,¡± replies Cheng Zhaoci in all honesty. He¡¯s piloted ones virtually, but not any real ones. With how dangerous it is outside, if he sauntered out the door and trips himself over onto the ground, he might just get taken away right then and there by some malicious insectoid.


    When Zhou Luoluo gets visibly discouraged, Cheng Zhaoci sighs, saying, ¡°if you don¡¯t value your life much, I could try to walk a few steps with you inside.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s better to keep this here as a trophy,¡± Zhou Luoluo refuses, but then adds, ¡°and it¡¯s not going to be useless either. Maybe your ¡®time turnaround¡¯ comic can feature some mecha action in space? This is free material right here.¡±


    He says so, because the contention that arose from Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s third story in that comic is still fresh in his mind. It¡¯s a story told from the perspective of an AI robot.


    The AI is an elder care system, which accompanied its old, ailing shemale owner in his final days. Not all shemales are lucky enough to find a xiongzhu; the AI¡¯s owner is one of them.


    He died peacefully, with only his AI care robot by his side. While the story is drawn with a bright style and warm colours, the slice-of-life depicted definitely carries a poignant undertone.


    The poignancy was successfully conveyed to the readers, who are deeply affected. There is still an ongoing debate about whether this AI has become sentient. One side asserts that it must be sentient, and feels longing for the owner, because why else would it keep pleading with the comic¡¯s protagonist to let it go back in time?


    The other side asserts it is not sentient. It is simply executing its programming perfectly ¨C with accompanying its owner as the topmost priority.


    The highest rated comment of the whole thread asserts a third possibility. The AI does not satisfy the definition for both sentience and non-sentience. If it were sentient, it would not have acted entirely the same in its care of the owner after going back in time. It is not non-sentient, i.e. entirely without an emotion known as ¡®impulse,¡¯ either. Its programming would have rejected ¡®going back in time¡¯ to serve its owner once more on the basis that this is not a feasible option if it did not have an insectoidal impulse. All in all, the fact that the protagonist has approached him to make the offer, means the AI robot has such a desire and is likely to accept the offer. An AI that has its own goals and pursuits ¨C is it really still a simple tool?

 CH 56.2

    For a time, [Greetings. Smart Eldercare AI Model 8564, at your service] was the meme du jour quoted by everyone online. It is what the AI robot in the story said when it was first turned on by its owner, and also what it first said when it was transported back in time.


    Once again, rich fans bought out advertising space to show this single sentence on loop, for a whole day. There is even news that a few insectoids tried to emotionally connect with their AI, but they¡¯ve been quite roundly discouraged by the AI¡¯s cold, metallic, unemotional responses.


    ¡°Why would I use the mecha for writing material?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is looking at Zhou Luoluo like he just suggested something outrageous, ¡°I already know so many shemale soldiers. Why don¡¯t I just go see Wei-ge¡®s and ask him about it?¡±


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s mecha is definitely a high-performance one; he didn¡¯t even buy it, because the Federation custom-built one that¡¯s suited to him.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t like the way to speak,¡± replies a disgusted Zhou Luoluo, ¡°especially when it involves Wing Commander Wei,¡± because it feels like a big boast, and it just sours the conversation.


    ¡°He¡¯s a Group Captain now,¡± rectifies Chneg Zhaoci, ¡°and, believe me, it¡¯s not good to be jealous.¡±


    Jealous what?! Zhou Luoluo almost rolls his eyes at him. Jealous that he has a gentle dad? Who doesn¡¯t find his talkativeness annoying? ¡­ Well, yes.


    What else?! His older brother making him a mecha? His older brothers all being on really good terms with him? That he¡¯s in love, and both of them love each other oh¨Cso¨Cmuch?


    What, jealous of these? Surely not.


    ¡°You look awful. Are you not feeling well?¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his hand on Zhou Luoluo¡¯s forehead, seeing how contorted his face is, ¡°do you need the medical pod?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo swipes the hand away, grits his teeth and says, ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡±


    When males come of age, they get their aptitude tested. It happens on the birthday, sharp, so Cheng Zhaoci already skipped an update online, telling his readers he¡¯ll be off this week for business.


    On his birthday, his dad and Wei Zhuo both took some days off to come with him. Xiao Ji and He Huaijian also took a family day. The very important Grand Marshal just strolled right into the room nonchalantly with the rest of them.


    If they weren¡¯t all packed into one vehicle the entire way, he suspects the entire group would draw lots of curious gazes from passers-by.


    The testing facility is smack in the middle of the main city on the Capital planet. It spans twenty floors of an entire building, and is heavily fortified.


    The vehicle only drops them off inside, without offering any opportunity for outside opportunists to get in contact.


    The lobby area is serviced by an older male who already has wrinkles and white bangs.


    This only adds to an imposing aura, in steep contrast to his male identity. He looks like a, let¡¯s say, last boss in a game.


    The aura is further reinforced by the two rows of soldiers in front of him. He¡¯s heavily guarded.


    Lu Yao is smiling at the male though, ¡°yo? I see the President is getting impatient, is he?¡±


    ¡°The President?!¡± The others all yell out simultaneously, except Cheng Jin and Wei Zhuo, but they look equally shocked nonetheless.


    The President ¨C who is rumoured to be a mere puppet of the Chairman of Chief Command?!


    ¡°I¡¯m no puppet, you see,¡± Bai Jiawen says. He can¡¯t read minds, but every single time he introduces himself, everyone has the same questions. He knows exactly what they¡¯re going to ask, ¡°the Chairman is my cijun. We work alongside each other.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not even the half of it. Two of the four Grand Marshals are his concubines,¡± adds Lu Yao. The dangerous-looking Bai Jiawen makes an awkward cough, before turning his attention to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°you must be Mr Cheng Zhaoci. This way, please.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is still entirely in shock, and Lu Yao has to give him a push to shake him back to reality¡­ What the fucking hell?! Isn¡¯t he just getting an aptitude test? Why is the President here?! And, is he not here for Lu Yao, but for him?!


    Is he getting arrested for smearing the image of males? Is he in danger of being disappeared right here and now?!


    And if he¡¯s the xiongzhu of the Chairman of Chief Command, that must make him the father of Bai Jun. Is it too late for him to send a message to Bai Jun to come save his hide?


    The conspiracy theories come and go in an instant. Lu Yao doesn¡¯t seem nervous at all, so, well, it looks like, maybe¡­ He¡¯s not destined to die yet?


    Bai Jiawen leads the group on to the site for testing.


    ¡°You see, because Mr Cheng Zhaoci has an acute mind and such an appearance, we suspect him of being a rare grade S male,¡± says Bai Jiawen, as he pushes buttons on a half-transparent hologram UI.


    In front of them is a large white plaza, in the middle of this empty plaza, accompanied by a beep, is a blue ring slowly rising out of the ground. It is a test chamber, a cylindrical capsule about 2.5m high. A transparent door slides open automatically.


    Cheng Zhaoci knows his ¡®acute mind¡¯ is simply his having the memories of his past life! He can¡¯t possibly be some unheard-of grade S male! And compared to Bai Jun, and even He Huaijian, they¡¯re the geniuses to his dulled mind. He can¡¯t possibly be a grade S male!


    ¡°Grade S males are too important to our society, that¡¯s why I came in person. There are things I must explain to Mr Cheng Zhaoci directly,¡± adds Bai Jiawen, seemingly already certain Cheng Zhaoci is grade S.


    The rest of the insectoids are also looking at Cheng Zhaoci now.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    What in the world? Grade S? Who? Him? Grade what? Surely, you jest. No way. His academic performance was abysmal enough his teachers must have wanted to crack his head open to see if he has a bowl of water instead of a brain.


    If he¡¯s grade S, then could Bai Jun be an SSR? Extra, Ultra Rare.


    Surely not grade S¡­


    ¡°Um, if I might, is there possibly a misunderstanding about this grade S thing?¡±


    Bai Jiawen does not explain anymore, but says, ¡°the testing will reveal whether it¡¯s a misunderstanding or not.¡±


    True, the testing will reveal everything. Cheng Zhaoci asked Xiao Ji how it felt before he came here, and he said it was a simulated fighting arena. He felt like all his strength has been amplified to the maximum, and he was beating goons up left and right. It was amazingly fun. Most importantly, it was painless.


    Cheng Zhaoci could hazard in his mind that males would undergo a different test to shemales and demis. Of course, given the value of males in the society, he expects males¡¯ test to be a much simpler, painless test.

 CH 56.3

    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s guess is wrong.


    It was still going well when he entered the chamber. When Bai Jiawen starts the testing up, though, his vision has changed. He sees an empty room, he thinks. There are many insectoids inside, staying still.


    A sharp pain started then, threatening to pierce through his brain. Right now, he feels like there are countless things stuck in his skull. He feels terrible. He grabs his head, shaking, sweating, but he can¡¯t scream for some reason.


    Holy hell! Is the male aptitude test supposed to be as overwhelming as this?!


    He feels like there is still stuff pouring into his brain, stretching, tearing. Perhaps soon, his brain will burst from all the stuff inside, and become a pile of mush.


    Although this is actually Cheng Zhaoci misunderstanding the male aptitude test. The others won¡¯t feel any pain, if at all, in general.


    Outside the capsule, there is an indicator rapidly rising on the half-transparent hologram UI. It¡¯s reached A starting from E in almost no time.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci!¡± Wei Zhuo can see that Cheng Zhaoci is definitely suffering inside. He¡¯s distressed, but Bai Jiawen stops him, ¡°calm down. You¡¯re also grade S. You should know how tough your test was. There won¡¯t be any danger.¡±


    There won¡¯t, but it doesn¡¯t alleviate his worries. Everyone who came here with Cheng Zhaoci is looking closely at him. He¡¯s deathly pale.


    As for Cheng Zhaoci, he is currently in this very strange situation. His brain is close to bursting in pain, but he can also suddenly feel the countless memories flowing back in, including everything in his past life. In fact, he even remembers the fact that in primary school, he was bored during a maths test and drew a pig¡¯s head on the bottom right of the test paper. He remembers how it looked like precisely.


    He remembers all that the teacher taught in the lessons where he heard but did not listen to the teacher at all because he was busy drawing in secret. Every detail, like what every single one of his classmates was doing when he glanced around, or a few bugs that flew past the window; he remembers that, he once went down the Wikipedia rabbit hole to stumble upon the information on those bugs in another time. He promptly forgot about the article after skimming it.


    Now, Cheng Zhaoci is able to identify those flying bugs by name.


    It¡¯s also different from hyperthymesia, because he isn¡¯t being confused by past dates and now. His memories are also actually crispy clear. It¡¯s like his brain has turned into some metallic processor, and he is able to organise everything cleanly no matter how messed up they are. He can recall everything on demand, with the rest being stored away, and never accessed inadvertently or subconsciously.


    There is a sudden moment then, when all the pain fades away. It¡¯s like all the bursting energy has found an exit, and is now rushing through his entire body.


    Stunned, he blinks. His mind has been expanded. Yes, that¡¯s exactly what it feels like. Everything around him, from the building to the insectoid, is all perfectly encapsulated structurally in his mind. Yes, structurally. It feels like he can see through their outward appearance and identify any minute details about it. It¡¯s akin to seeing something for what it is through only minute details.


    He is also remembering that he really wanted to touch Wei Zhuo¡¯s man-breasts. Fuck! He forgot! Why would he forget about something so important?!


    ¡­ Shit. He¡¯s a bit pissed.


    The indicator has climbed to S without stopping outside the capsule. Everyone has lost their ability to speak, and is simply watching, including both Lu Yao and Bai Jiawen who believed themselves mentally prepared.


    The capsule opens to an exhausted Cheng Zhaoci leaning on the wall to come outside. The feeling of his mind being pushed to its limits has also ceased as the test ended. He believes that when he starts releasing pheromones ¨C the definitive sign of adulthood ¨C he will probably maintain that state of mind forever.


    Not that he¡¯s actually too happy about it, because he now also vividly remembers exactly how everyone gave him puzzled or dismissive looks when he was yelling eighth-grade stuff during his teenage period. The memories are fading more and more as he walks, but the sense of shame lingers.

 CH 56.4

    Being a grade S shemale, Wei Zhuo is the quickest to rush forward and support Cheng Zhaoci. To be honest, while the latter isn¡¯t weakened to the point of collapsing, but he isn¡¯t going to deny help coming from Wei Zhuo of every insectoid here.


    He seizes the opportunity to indulge himself in Wei Zhuo¡¯s lap, ¡°did I do well in the test?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a grade S male, the most dangerous insectoids of our entire species,¡± Bai Jiawen looks at Cheng Zhaoci with a serious look on his face.


    What? Cheng Zhaoci is confused, and points to Wei Zhuo by his side, ¡°are you sure you¡¯re talking about me and not Wei-ge?¡± How is a male going to be the most dangerous when shemales are around? Wei Zhuo can stand his own against a typical mecha! His strength is monstrous!


    Bai Jiawen clicks the UI panel away with a dour look on his face, ¡°would you mind coming this way? There is something I must tell you alone.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci turns to Wei Zhuo, whose brows are deeply locked.


    ¡°Now that we know xiao-Cheng is a grade S male, there are things he must know,¡± Lu Yao can¡¯t be described as happy at all either. It seems Cheng Zhaoci being grade S is not a cause for celebration at all.


    Cheng Zhaoci gulps and turns to look at the group of insectoids who followed him here with a heavy heart. Then he follows after the President.


    Bai Jiawen takes him to a room on the side. After the door is shut, he speaks up, ¡°at the very end¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What were you thinking at the very end of the test?¡± Bai Jiawen asks with an especially stern tone.


    When Cheng Zhaoci appears unwilling to talk, Bai Jiawen¡¯s heart sinks. The male has spent most of his life on the landfill planet. It seems those days are not yet completely behind him, ¡°this is important! Please tell me everything you were thinking about in detail.¡±


    He has been using honorifics to address Cheng Zhaoci this whole time, making Cheng Zhaoci uncomfortable. Well, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s something he must not tell anyone else. Sexual desire is one of the fundamental drives of insectoids.


    ¡°I was thinking, um, I did not, like, I forgot, to touch, Wei-ge, kuhum, Group Captain Wei on his chest. I was regretting that. A little,¡± not just a little. Now that he thinks about it, the regret felt quite amplified and profound upon his mind.


    Bai Jiawen ¡°¡­¡±


    All the soothing speech he has strenuously prepared has jammed his throat up, wasted.


    As Cheng Zhaoci ruffles his hair, embarrassed, Bai Jiawen can only tell him, ¡°I see. That¡¯s good news.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Is it?¡± Good news how?


    ¡°It¡¯s healthy. Much more so than past grade S males,¡± Bai Jiawen heaves a weary sigh, and pats Cheng Zhaoci on the shoulder, ¡°I should be glad if you would keep it that way.¡±


    Keep¡­ his desire for chest muscles? Cheng Zhaoci is speechless, ¡°I¡¯m the healthiest? What do they think about, then?¡±


    Bai Jiawen sighs, ¡°things like complete annihilation of shemales and demis, for example.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci shudders, his eyes widening in disbelief, ¡°come again?!¡±


    ¡°Statistically, a grade S male emerges about once every few centuries. You can see how rare they are, because very few of them ever overcome their awakening. Our best estimate for awaken mortality rate of grade S males is 80%.¡±


    ¡°How much? Did you say 80?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci suddenly loses a bit of hope in the future. The mortality rate is so high, and it¡¯s probably even higher than his rate of dying if Wei Zhuo took him to the battlefield, being protected by him.


    ¡°Yes. Their brains physically explode if the pressure fails to relieve. You do not have to worry, however. The grade S shemale you are dating can help you relieve it, so you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Bai Jiawen then explains, ¡°of all the documented grade S males, save for the two that have become a brilliant politician and a brilliant researcher respectively, every single one of them has put their intellect towards buckling our very civilisation.¡±


    ¡°The first grade S male in recorded history was one who drastically altered the very fabric of insectoid society,¡± Bai Jiawen shuts his eyes, looking tired, ¡°he turned insectoid over from an absolute matriarchy to an absolute patriarchy, and went even further to demote all shemales and demis to slave status.¡±


    ¡°How did he pull that off?¡± Cheng Zhaoci wonders. He has never read about this in any history textbook or even heard about it from anywhere.


    ¡°He invented firearms when everyone was still fighting with crude forged weaponry. Both would look equally primitive compared to current weapons technology, but it was enough of a difference to turn the tide for insectoids in that era. Shemales could not defend against bullets with their own flesh no matter how resilient they were physiaclly.¡±


    ¡°Shemales awaken physically whereas males awaken mentally. As the single strongest male back then, he came up with mechanised weaponry and organised the oppressed males to rise up in revolt against the shemales. Over the course of a few dozen years, they¡¯ve even come up with the prototype for mechanised cavalry.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci gets it now. It¡¯s like if a weakling was driving a tank against a martial artist ¨C the martial artist won¡¯t be able to do a thing against the tank while the tank can just roll merrily onwards and shoot. There is a magnitude difference in their fighting power, and it¡¯s impossible to fight!


    He has never come to appreciate the productivity the advent of science brings as much as he has right now. Now that he thinks about it, in his past life, nomadic cultures completely lost their edge around the age of the industrial revolution, bringing mechanised production and weaponry to the forefront.


    ¡°Fate was cruel to the male as well. It is rumoured he had words etched onto his face, and contemporary medicine being what it was, he was irrevocably scarred for life,¡± explains Bai Jiawen, ¡°that¡¯s about all we know of the first great upheaval of insectoid civilisation, and the beginning of our journey to conquering the galaxy.¡±


    ¡°The cutting edge of insectoid technology has generally been led by grade A males; the emergence of any grade S male awakening is instead accompanied by great winds of change ¨C or possibly disruption,¡± Bai Jiawen looks at Cheng Zhaoci as he continues, ¡°during their aptitude test and actual awakening, the biggest influence on their personality is from their greatest regret in life they remember. So, uh, we haven¡¯t had records of any males with a similar, kuhum, circumstance to you.¡±


    Bai Jiawen put it mildly, but Cheng Zhaoci understands.


    They¡¯ve never had to deal with one whose biggest regret is not having felt someone¡¯s chest up.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face has lost colour. He, the freshly confirmed grade S male, might be bringing down the whole imposing imagery of his predecessors, huh.


    Sorry, not sorry. That¡¯s how he is as an insectoid.

 CH 57.1

    What Happened That Moment


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°The current climate of the insectoid society can be said to have been the brainchild of grade S males,¡± Bai Jiawen continues explaining, ¡°have you wondered why we¡¯ve been so calm with the revolt of Jin Yue and the others? Look at your granddad-in-law, the Grand Marshal who¡¯s taking walks and drinking warm tea. It¡¯s the same for the other higher ups. No one believes they¡¯d be able to do anything.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, and asks his question, ¡°you have extremely destructive weaponry?¡±


    ¡°We do,¡± replies Bai Jun, ¡°if they do make it onto any of the more prosperous planets, total wipeout is all that awaits them,¡± and he thinks about it, but cannot elaborate further. Instead, he says, ¡°it¡¯s in a similar vein to the males fighting shemales with firearms back then.¡±


    Even without a contemporary grade S male guiding them, the First Research Institute has produced enough terrors around.


    Cheng Zhaoci understands. Like a human who can control, for example, tanks and mechanised infantry in his past life, but his side has hydrogen bombs. A puffy cloud later, everything is gone.


    ¡°You males sure are terrifying,¡± says Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Us males, as you can see. Males are in the topmost political positions, like me, the head of state of the insectoids. Most non-military position are filled by males; at least, on developed planets.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci finally understands why photographs of politicians are banned from distribution. Though he wonders, ¡°why this need for subterfuge? The insectoid society at large has no idea males are making life much more convenient for them, or that most of the legislature are males. You know they think you¡¯re even a puppet of the Chairman.¡±


    Bai Jiamen sighs again. Then he clicks on a hidden button to open up a concealed mini-fridge, retrieving snacks and drinks inside, handing it to the stupefied Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°this looks like it¡¯s going to get long.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci takes the snack; perhaps he really looks too shocked, so Bai Jiawen adds, ¡°it¡¯s a personal preference. Also, my cijun enjoys these.¡±


    Looks like direct evidence disproving relationship problems between the President and the Chairman of Chief Command. The puppet rumour is simply that, rumours.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t hiding these achievements away from the shemales, but from the males,¡± Bai Jiawen also looks saddened, ¡°even of all males whose aptitude tested grade A, at best a third would be offered positions in fields of research or the parliament. The rest are let continue their lifestyles for reasons like family background or mental deviancy.¡±


    ¡°We think the root of this concealment was actually a joke policy implemented by a President some terms past; another grade S male,¡± explains Bai Jiawen, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him myself, but my father has described him as a ¡®monster.''¡±


    ¡°His lifelong goal is nothing more than to suppress shemales and demis. They say that when he was still underage, his shemale older brother¡­ did something outrageous to him. He discreetly influenced the legislature and laws passed until it became this mindless, overzealous protection of males. The situation worsened to its current state then.¡±


    ¡°He just enjoyed the thought of the powerful shemales actually being commanded and led by the majority males of the Institute and in politics, unable to struggle, because the entire society, and the whole judiciary, is completely on males¡¯ side. He also didn¡¯t want any shemale or demi to have the potential to threaten male politicians, considering we cannot employ the most powerful weaponry on the Capital planet and how good at physical fights the shemales are.¡±


    Bai Jiawen takes a sip before continuing, ¡°rectification continued up to my taking the office. Over time, most of the males in leadership positions were screened and some dissuaded from furthering their careers. Simply put, it was a slow, agonising bloodbath.¡±


    ¡°We were able to push for ever more stringent measures on the selection grade A males; those not chosen are typically male-supremacist or unhealthily sadistic.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci has this wide-eyed look the whole time. When it¡¯s clear Bai Jiawen is finished, he asks a question, ¡°so then, um, that President from before, is he entirely merciless in personality, or¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a trait of grade S males. With their brains and senses evolved beyond our capabilities of measurement, it seems they also lose a sense of their insectoidality in a sense. Only the deepest, generally most well-guarded memory of their mind continues to influence them. This is often their biggest regret by nature.¡±


    Bai Jiawen then gives Cheng Zhaoci this relieved look, ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t be like that,¡± since that regret of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s is just so¡­ unconventional. And most importantly, it would no longer be a regret with the simplest of efforts from both parties involved.


    ¡°¡­ Uh, thanks?¡± Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t cheered up too much, though, because he is once again questioning this grade S thing. It feels like, other males become this ¨¹bermensch version of themselves when they turn grade S, able to change the world¡­


    While becoming the butt of a joke on him.

 CH 57.2

    ¡°We need grade S males,¡± says Bai Jiawen, ¡°not for the technological progress they bring, but for the symbolic sway they hold over other males. If you¡¯re here, it is entirely feasible for us to publicise our history, including the strength and deeds of grade S males. With you at our backs, any restless male would have to think twice before pulling anything.¡±


    So basically, a mascot. The more they demonise the monstrosity of grade S males, the more they would actually deter them in turn.


    Grade S males basically perceive the entire world differently ¨C this is what Cheng Zhaoci understood during the testing. He could basically deconstruct everything he could see with his mind. It¡¯s not even a superpower, because it is simply the result of a terrifying level of perceptiveness and memory processing.


    With the mind processing an obscene amount of data in record amount of time, everything could be digitised and rationalised. The keyword here is ¡®rational,¡¯ and this is likely what Bai Jiawen described, the whole transformation of males into these exceptionally calm and emotionless selves.


    Unfortunately, being a simple, open-minded comic artist, Cheng Zhaoci had no tragedy to exploit. He¡¯s an orphan ¨C but, if one has always been without parents, even before he could remember, he doesn¡¯t exactly feel bereft of anything. Never mind this life, when there are so many insectoids who care about him as family.


    As a literate, well-educated and easily satisfied male of the new generation, his most lingering regret is in his lack of bodily pleasure!


    He certainly felt that extreme rationality during the test, but it¡¯s different to a brainwash, so his actual personality and biases would still be there.


    ¡°As soon as the Awakening occurs for you, we will be sending you to school. Are you interested in scientific inquiries? We do need something of substance to build up an image of you,¡± if they don¡¯t want to be accused of making stuff up, at least.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to need some time to think about it. It¡¯s all just so sudden,¡± says Cheng Zhaoci, scratching his head. He saw the President all of a sudden, and turned out to  be grade S, and he learned of some taboo history of the insectoids. He needs a bit of time to mull over.


    ¡°Understood. By the way, I recommend you spend time together with your future cijun from now on. As you¡¯re already 18, your Awakening may occur at any time,¡± Bai Jiawen knows Cheng Zhaoci will need time to adjust, ¡°he¡¯ll have to be there to help alleviate the pressure.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t the frontline a bit more tense these days?¡± Cheng Zhaoci knows Wei Zhuo only took this single day off today. He arrived before noon, and he¡¯ll probably have to be leaving before evening comes.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can accompany him,¡± Bai Jiawen says, ¡°I¡¯ve already left your safety in the hands of the Chairman and the Institute. You will be as safe as can be,¡± even if the Capital planet were to explode, those tough little buggers of the First Research Institute would still be absolutely fine.


    It is actually best if Wei Zhuo could be taken off the frontline to focus his attention on helping smooth Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s awakening, but Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t exactly playing an easily replaceable role in the current battlefield. More specifically, he¡¯s the second-in-command. If he is taken off the frontline, Jin Yue will definitely be seizing the opportunity to strike back. They¡¯re also no sitting ducks.


    ¡°The, the frontline?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but raise his voice. He grew up during relatively peaceful times, never mind even seeing a frontline first-hand, ¡°wouldn¡¯t my pheromones be bursting everywhere when I awaken? There are a lot of shemale soldiers there.¡±


    ¡°You will be alone in the spaceship. The filtration system will be the Institute¡¯s finest creation. Believe me, it¡¯s safer for you to be in their hands than being on the Capital planet itself,¡± especially because those nerdy shut-ins are the ones more scared of getting wounded than anyone else.


    Cheng Zhaoci is still clearly quite confounded when leaving the side room. He tries to make a smile when seeing his dad, Wei Zhuo and everyone else¡¯s worried gazes, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s expression turns gloomy as he walks forward to check up on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s body, but Cheng Zhaoci suddenly pulls himself into an embrace. Putting his head right up against Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest, he looks up and says, ¡°I have a favour to ask; I know it¡¯s sudden.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Zhuo asks, looking at Bai Jiawen who is closing the door to the room. With Cheng Zhaoci in his tow, he backs off a little, wary.


    Bai Jiawen, meanwhile, is giving Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest area some funny looks; Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head is rubbing right there.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving this afternoon already. Do you have time to go collect the marriage certificate with me first?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is too vividly aware of what the alleviation during his Awakening entails, so at least, before then, he needs to get their relationship officially stamped. He can¡¯t ever subject Wei Zhuo to a child outside marriage! That¡¯s utterly irresponsible!


    Insectoids can marry freely at 18, but because Cheng Zhaoci has to get aptitude-tested today, no one, not even Cheng Zhaoci, had this planned at all.


    Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are looking at each other; even Lu Yao looks awfully surprised.


    ¡°Oh. Sure,¡± Wei Zhuo agrees.


    So a dumbstruck Wei Zhuo got dragged along for the ride as Cheng Zhaoci quickly waves the equally dumbstruck Cheng Jin and co. goodbye.


    They arrive at the Civil Union Department. Wei Zhuo has been registered as Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cijun. Both their identification documents have been updated accordingly.


    After leaving the Department, Wei Zhuo¡¯s mind has finally returned to working order.


    Wait! Wait just one single second! What in the world happened just now?!

 CH 58.1

    A Tool


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    What should one prepare when trying to propose to a xiongzhu?


    At the very least, the complete list of financial assets to prove that he could support his xiongzhu, and then, the proper proposal, before going to register with the agreement of the male himself.


    That¡¯s how the shemale proposal normally works.


    So what steps have he taken? Wei Zhuo goes into shock once more seeing the ¡®Married¡¯ status on his ID.


    Has he gone mad? Or has the world itself? Why, how, wh-what in the world? He¡¯s married?


    He doesn¡¯t normally react this slowly. It¡¯s just that, all of these have been so dreamlike he doesn¡¯t understand anymore. Even he, an unromantic, boring shemale, knows there must be a time period when they¡¯re consolidating their relationship, with some time set aside to see if they suit each other in every day life. Then he should plan a proposal as meticulously as possible.


    Then, finally, when Cheng Zhaoci agrees, they¡¯ll choose a special, commemorable day to get married.


    ¡°Should it¡­ have been so simple?¡± Wei Zhuo mumbles, ¡°is this really¡­?¡±


    No one else gets married like this. He might be single, but he¡¯s seen enough of his fellow soldiers get married. He knows the whole rigmarole because they often pestered him about it when they thought Wei Zhuo would never get married, using themselves as good examples.


    Wei Zhuo didn¡¯t entertain the idea at all. It¡¯s even more troublesome trying to court a male than fighting a war. However, he stopped thinking like that once he met Cheng Zhaoci. If it were Cheng Zhaoci, he doesn¡¯t mind giving him the world. Trouble? No. These are trials to love.


    Then it turns out, there are no trials. It¡¯s already done.


    ¡°Eh? Oh, I didn¡¯t expect to have to pay the $50 to get the marriage certified. It¡¯s quite the unreasonable expense, don¡¯t you think? Has no one ever said anything about it?¡± Cheng Zhaoci can see how flustered Wei Zhuo looks, and teases him, ¡°don¡¯t you think so, my cijun?¡±


    Hearing the address ¡®cijun¡® makes Wei Zhuo stumble and the grade S shemale almost fell flat on his face. It must be seen to be believed.


    ¡°I, I, I¡­¡± Wei Zhuo is now covering his mouth with his hands, ¡°sorry, I¡¯m still not used to this.¡±


    ¡°Used to what, my cijun?¡± Cheng Zhaoci then shamelessly gives Wei Zhuo a big hug. His waist is slender but also powerful. It feels so great to the touch, ¡°do tell me, so I can help you.¡±


    ¡°Plea-kuhum, please drop it,¡± Wei Zhuo is trembling greatly. Maybe he¡¯s spooked, maybe he¡¯s too happy.


    Having brought Wei Zhuo along means Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t bring any guards; an enemy that would give Wei Zhuo trouble would need a whole platoon of guards anyway, so he might as well not.


    This means that all a passing shemale can see is the two insectoids getting lovey-dovey; the male is quite handsome and mysterious.


    He saw them leave the Department, so they¡¯re probably newlyweds. The male feels young, and his reaction suggests this might be his very first concubine, or even his cijun.


    The shemale, quite taken with Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s appearance, clears his throat and straightens his clothes. He starts walking forward, interested in being a concubine, or at least a very pleasant night together.


    Yet, not two steps in and the shemale soldier hugging the male is glaring at him.


    Wei Zhuo hears footsteps headed right for them, and sees a shemale with eyes glued to Cheng Zhaoci. Almost immediately, all the coquettishness and blush fades from his face. His gaze is so cold that the shemale feels like if he dares to take another step, this shemale soldier wouldn¡¯t mind playing football with him, with his head as the ball.


    When his interaction isn¡¯t with Cheng Zhaoci, Wei Zhuo¡¯s aura remains utterly intimidating.


    At least, the shemale takes a few steps backwards, then makes an awkward smile as he walks away, acting like nothing has happened.


    As soon as that happens, Wei Zhuo¡¯s coldness fades in no time, ¡°uh, xia¨Cxiao-Ci, what are you doing?¡± The identity change is so sudden and drastic; he finds it too awkward to say xiongzhu for now.


    Cheng Zhaoci is rubbing his head all over Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest area, and looks up to answer, ¡°I just feel like I¡¯m going to miss you so much when you return later in the afternoon.¡±


    The presidential decree for his private spaceship still needs time to be implemented. The current ETA is a few days, and Wei Zhuo can¡¯t wait here with him; he has to return to his post by night. It¡¯s just for a few days, but Cheng Zhaoci still can¡¯t stand separating from his love right after marriage.


    It really is a disadvantage for his love being a shemale soldier.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, I¡¯ll be waiting,¡± Wei Zhuo smiles at Cheng Zhaoci, giving him a big hug, ¡°it won¡¯t be long.¡±


    BombInMyPants has married.


    Which isn¡¯t all that surprising, because BombIn has already announced he was seeing someone some time ago. Of course, insectoids would still pay close attention to his relationship¡¯s developments.


    In the afternoon, some time before 2pm, he posted a photograph with two hands with fingers crossed. Both are appealingly slender, but one is larger and the other is slimmer and more white.


    The fans immediately conclude the smaller hand must be BombIn¡¯s xiongzhu¡®s. They are already taken in with only the hand. Oh, how beautiful it is!


    There are even insectoids asking BombIn if his xiongzhu is accepting concubines. Yes! It¡¯s just a hand, but some of those who fetishises hands think they¡¯d be happy even if the appearance of BombIn¡¯s xiongzhu isn¡¯t quite up to par!


    Some males are also taking note of Wei Zhuo¡¯s hands while commenting that BombIn has a powerful hand. They can see the rather prominent veins, and believe BombIn might actually be a shemale instead of a demi. Oh, a shame! If only BombIn was marrying them instead.


    And typical male confidence shows, with most of them saying they think they have better-looking hands than that male in the photo! BombIn, why not take a look? Give them a few extra updates and they¡¯d be happy to show some clandestine hand pics!


    Is there not an excitement in moral degeneracy? More updates and they¡¯d be happy to provide the titillating feeling!


    Somehow, these normally haughty males have managed to make themselves come across no better than the rumoured mythical roadside prostitutes in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past life, except they don¡¯t ask for money, and ask for updates to comics instead.


    Great. Cheng Zhaoci feels like his hair is turning green just reading all those males¡¯ bullshit. Do these dumbass males even know they¡¯re not flirting with their beloved BombIn, but BombIn¡¯s wife?! Too bad no one believes Cheng Zhaoci is male even if he¡¯s made it absolutely clear.


    In fact, when the males¡¯ flirting get more and more out of control, Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t hold back anymore from retorting their outrageous claims!


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s close friends and family have come to see him.

 CH 58.2

    ¡°You just got married?!¡± Zhou Luoluo saw the status update and came rushing immediately for the juicy gossip, only to find a sofa full of insectoids equally as stunned as he is.


    Wei Zhuo, the insectoid in question, failed to react in time. Neither did the others. This means that, when they¡¯ve recovered their breaths, Cheng Zhaoci has already registered his marriage with Wei Zhuo.


    ¡°Did we invent a time machine before I knew it?¡± Xiao Ji is slapping his own cheeks, questioning if his sense of time is off. He does feel pain, so he¡¯s not dreaming.


    The only logical conclusion is that a time machine has been invented. He was transported through time, which would explain why his Ci-zai is already getting married.


    He Huaijian has his poker face as usual, but if one looks closely, his gaze is without focus, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t ask me.¡±


    Cheng Jin is watching Cheng Zhaoci as he continues to send messages back and forth with Wei Zhuo, who is currently already on the vessel headed for the frontline. After Cheng Zhaoci updated his marriage status and replied to some comments, he¡¯s been messaging Wei Zhuo. Not just that, but he has had this exceedingly creepy smile on him ever since.


    He is sprawled there on the sofa, his slightly cold, gloomy appearance gives way to strangeness as he is not just smiling, but making ¡®hehehehe¡¯ noises all the way.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Cheng Jin is now seriously doubting his own methodology for raising a child. How did his good male son turn out like this?


    Who would drag a shemale off to get certified when no one has prepared anything? No one, no one, he says!


    Lu Yao is the only one who notices Zhou Luoluo standing all confused at the door as he sips his tea. He greets him, ¡°yo, Zhou Xiaobao, welcome!¡±


    ¡°My name is Zhou Luoluo,¡± corrects Zhou Luoluo, as he makes a beeline for Cheng Zhaoci, crashing him further into the sofa.


    ¡°What happened?! What just happened?! How did you get married? Aren¡¯t you a minor?!¡± Zhou Luoluo was so forceful he almost flips the sofa over with Cheng Zhaoci and himself still on it. After stabilising himself, Cheng Zhaoci is giving Zhou Luoluo a disapproving look.


    He pries Zhou Luoluo off himself, chastising him, ¡°calm down. Did you really have to be such a drama queen about it?¡± Well, chastise all he wants, but Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mouth is clearly trying to pull a smile again.


    ¡°And I¡¯m an adult now. I went to the aptitude test today for my birthday, as you already know,¡± Cheng Zhaoci dramatically sighs, ¡°you don¡¯t have to be so surprised. Insectoids would always grow up eventually, like me, who suddenly has a family.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Too sudden,¡± Xiao Ji chimes in.


    Cheng Zhaoci takes a deep breath, and says, ¡°I had to grow up eventually, as an adult, and have my own cijun. It¡¯s only earlier than expected.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s not unexpected, you know. Wei-ge and I have been together for so long. Our personalities fit, and we like each other, and our aptitudes match. Wei-ge is going to be my cijun eventually. I just made it early,¡± Cheng Zhaoci then concludes, ¡°it¡¯s all as it should be.¡±


    Well, this is all still weird.


    Unfortunately for everyone else, Cheng Zhaoci deals the killing blow, ¡°maybe you¡¯re simply not used to seeing an insectoid with as smooth a romantic journey as I did. It¡¯s not my fault; I just met my predestined love at the right time.¡±


    ¡°I still have work to do, so I¡¯ll be excusing myself,¡± Lu Yao takes his warm bottle with him, looking mildly narky.


    He is of course happy that his grandson has found a good partner for a xiongzhu, but he can¡¯t help disliking the two immediately as the happiness fades.


    Honestly, Cheng Zhaoci is kind of a pain to deal with; Wei Zhuo is only all too happy to spoil him even when he gets into the mood.


    ¡°I have research work at school, so I¡¯ll be going,¡± He Huaijian has also had enough of Cheng Zhaoci for the day. Xiao Ji also stands up, but he has the whole day off, so he wouldn¡¯t have anything to do at school. He says, ¡°I¡¯m gonna go bea-I mean train with my classmates.¡±


    Now, only Cheng Jin and Zhou Luoluo remains to accompany Cheng Zhaoci. Zhou Luoluo is probably still in a confused stupor, while Cheng Jin¡­


    He¡¯s probably here, because of his love as Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s dad. Dads are really something else.


    ¡°Dad, do you still remember the day when I met Wei-ge? It was a perfect recreation of my first comic, and Wei-ge also looks really liked my character too,¡± Cheng Zhaoci starts recounting the same-old tale he¡¯s been telling since the dawn of time, ¡°you remember Jin Yue. He kidnapped me that day¡­¡±


    ¡°I have to check in on Mr Liang. You two have fun,¡± Cheng Jin is still showing a warm smile to Cheng Zhaoci, but his hurried steps betray his true feelings.


    Now, finally, only Zhou Luoluo remains. He mumbles, ¡°my goodness, you¡¯ve mastered the art of chasing people away.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is looking at Zhou Luoluo with a poker face, but Zhou Luoluo¡¯s attention falls elsewhere, ¡°did I just hear you say that you and the Group Captain have matching aptitudes? I mean, Group Captain Wei is grade-S¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, and so am I,¡± Cheng Zhaoci calmly drops a bomb, and Zhou Luoluo¡¯s eyes widen in astonishment, as in, literally wide enough his eyeballs might actually pop out, ¡°grade S?! Is, is that the reason you became a successful comic artist?¡±


    ¡­ Of course not. Grade S males have their brains augmented during awakenings, to a degree that they could push or halt the entire technological progress of a species, and would dedicate their minds to leaving century-spanning impact on the world. That¡¯s what grade S males are.


    So Cheng Zhaoci¡­ he¡¯s probably the most underwhelming grade S ever. He¡¯s not even remotely interested in ¡®taking his frustrations out on society.¡¯ He just wants to draw comics, and spend some quality time with his cijun and such.


    Which, honestly, is evident when his grade S-ness was briefly triggered during the aptitude test, and his mind was just filled with earthly desires and regrets?


    Well, earthly as it was, at least he¡¯s certain he won¡¯t be causing societal distress and upheaval, so that¡¯s nice.


    At least, nice enough for a simple insectoid like Cheng Zhaoci. The President mentioned schooling and giving him some projects to his name, but Cheng Zhaoci is quite sure he wouldn¡¯t end up dedicating himself to weapons manufacturing. Not for some bloated, majestic reason like world peace, which doesn¡¯t even seem remotely achieveable with technological advancement,


    But simple disinterest. That is reason enough for Cheng Zhaoci.


    In fact, if he really could put his mind to it, he¡¯d rather go work on games. Like, full dive and stuff! Being a noob with noodly fingers, all he could dream about is playing really impressively immersive games. Too bad here, in this highly advanced, interplanetary empire, there isn¡¯t so much a Tetris, never mind any actual video game except the virtual mecha fights.


    Well, from a different perspective, the loss of gaming has increased Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comic drawing output. It¡¯s not a bad thing, but Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t cheered up any.

 CH 58.3

    When the plot is out, Zhou Luoluo is impressed enough he goes, ¡°tch tch, seriously, how does your mind work? How do you even think of all this? Grade S males sure are amazing.¡±


    Eh, it¡¯s not really a grade S male thing. It¡¯s simply a result of a highly developed cultural sector in his past life. He knows a lot of this even just from hearsay and passing glances.


    He hasn¡¯t explanations that would make sense, though, and simply says, ¡°there will be more insectoids who have more astonishing thoughts and innovations than me in the future.¡±


    Culture is something that needs time to cultivate. Cheng Zhaoci simply used his own common sense to open a portal; the effect has not been insignificant, and surely, imitation would bring even more insectoids into the fold.


    With enough insectoids, and with the occasional spark of genius hitting some of them, there will be better and better authors and artists. It would be a grand day when there are hundreds of competitors for readers.


    The fact that an industry has allowed someone like Cheng Zhaoci to essentially monopolise it is a sign that the industry is still far too underdeveloped and monocultural.


    Well, seeing oneself humbly is important, but so is bettering oneself. Cheng Zhaoci is also not too keen on being surpassed by another insectoid.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, bro, you might not see me for quite a while. I won¡¯t be on the Capital planet,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, remembering the President¡¯s decree of having a single spaceship to himself and sending him to the frontline with Wei Zhuo.


    To be honest, it might be great. A private spaceship that¡¯s all automated, and only allowing himself and Wei Zhuo onboard. Can there be a better place to spend quality alone time together?


    They could even do anything and everything inside. This is¡­ ah, this is¡­ truly decadent.


    So thinks Cheng Zhaoci, but his mouth is turning into a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re smiling really eerily, you know!¡± Zhou Luoluo is rubbing the goosebumps on his arms, ¡°you¡¯re scheming something again, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Luoluo,¡± Cheng Zhaoci immediately resets his appearance.


    The tone makes Zhou Luoluo straighten his back by reflex, and he asks, ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°Are you socially active?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks without so much as blinking.


    Zhou Luoluo, a year his junior, replies, ¡°¡­ I¡¯m still a minor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to become active soon,¡± the serious Cheng Zhaoci collapses back into the highly punchable smiling Cheng Zhaoci in almost no time, ¡°what do you think I¡¯m so happy about?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Argh! I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡± An angry Zhou Luoluo rises up to plant fists of justice in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face; Cheng Zhaoci dodges all around, and doesn¡¯t retaliate. He just continues to smile. This enraged Zhou Luoluo, who fails to punish him severely.


    ¡°You got married!!!¡± Meng Yuele yells out as soon as he meets Wei Zhuo once more, loudly enough that almost all the shemale soldiers stopped in place, turning to look at Wei Zhuo with mystified, shocked gazes.


    Meng Yuele saw it from Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s status update. He is utterly confused ¨C didn¡¯t Wei Zhuo just go test an aptitude with Mr Cheng Zhaoci? How did he suddenly get married?!


    Cheng Zhaoci is only just 18! Wei Zhuo, did Wei Zhuo seriously lay his hands on¡­ on a kid?!


    The shemales all around are shocked, but in a different, yet no less severe, manner.


    What in the¡­? Married? That Group Captain Wei, thoroughly allergic to males?! Married?!


    There is even one clever-cog searching with his holodeck immediately, ¡®shemale-shemale marriage legalisation,¡¯ only to find nothing. This can only mean, the Group Captain got himself a xiongzhu?!


    Holy shit?! What happened? How much did they miss? No, wait, why would the Group Captain even- He isn¡¯t even interested in males! Yet he has a xiongzhu now, and they do not. Oh, for shame!


    ¡°I¡¯ve been through a lot today,¡± a soldier says to his companion, ¡°my favourite comic artist got married; I only saw the hand, but that male¡¯s hand is really pretty. Before I knew what-the-fuck, the Group Captain is now married.¡±


    ¡°Is today some special festival?¡± His companion wonders.


    ¡°Haha, maybe our Group Captain is BombInMyPants!¡± A soldier next to them chuckles quite openly, as he glances over Wei Zhuo¡¯s hand¡­ Then his laugh, and the smile, fades.


    Are his eyes playing tricks on him? Why does he feel like this hand looks so much like that hand in BombInMyPants¡¯ photo?!


    He is not alone, because many insectoids nearby heard, and they¡¯ve noticed.


    Could it be¡­ Could their Group Captain Wei really be that damned comic artist BombInMyPants?! Like, the hand looks almost identical! And he also just got married today!


    Has their cold and ruthless vice-commander always had such a melodramatic side to him? No, wait, it doesn¡¯t make sense! Wei Zhuo has been fighting and commanding on the frontline, but BombIn¡¯s updates continued regularly. They can¡¯t imagine him drawing enough to update a comic weekly while fighting actively in an ongoing war!


    Even if he¡¯s grade S¡­ Even grade S shemales need to eat and sleep, right?!


    Thus, many conclude it is a simple coincidence, and sigh in relief. They cannot bring their conscious minds to fathom the possibility of their vice-commander being BombInMyPants. This is, like, a close second only to if BombIn were revealed to be male.


    Thank goodness¡­


    ¡°Meng Yuele, did you eat an amplifier?¡± Wei Zhuo grits his teeth, feeling the gazes all around him, ¡°you¡¯re the only one with a mouth around, are you?¡± He got reeled right back to reality from his fantasies and sunshines by that loud yelp.


    Meng Yuele cover his mouth reflexively, while still mumbling, ¡°but I¡¯m just speaking the truth.¡±


    ¡°Yes you are. We got married. Legally,¡± replies Wei Zhuo. There are too many other insectoids around to say anything on the matter of the grade S male, ¡°what, you have something to say about xiao-Ci and I together?¡±


    Well, yes, as a matter of fact, with Mr Cheng Zhaoci having just come of age, but facing Wei Zhuo alone, he doesn¡¯t dare say that he has something to say.


    ¡°Forever keep your peace then,¡± says Wei Zhuo, who¡¯s never really been kind to Meng Yuele. Or rather, he¡¯s never really been kind to any other insectoids, ¡°or I can also go train with you and let you vent off steam.¡±


    Meng Yuele shrinks entirely, the memories of being beaten up floating in the back of his mind; it makes a buzzing sound.


    What has happened to this world? Where one can simply go after barely adult males? Getting threatened when he points that out? He needs someone to uphold justice!

 CH 58.4

    ¡°Married?!¡± The Marshal is also here for some reason.


    ¡­ Wei Zhuo does not understand why everyone is here to see him being married. What, the war is over? Everything¡¯s done? They¡¯re all looking at him like he¡¯s a living thousand-year event. They¡¯ve all got ¡®what the fuck¡¯ written on their faces.


    Yup. The Marshal immediately goes, ¡°even xiao-Zhuo has a xiongzhu now. Quick, too. Nice.¡±


    Wei Zhuo is starting to suspect he might have been behaving far too coldly in the past, making all of them think he¡¯s entirely dispassionate and without desires as a grown shemale.


    Then he gets a whole load of advice from the Marshal as a ¡®veteran.¡¯ The Marshal is middle-aged now, so whenever he starts his lecture mode, he¡¯d go on forever. Frankly, he¡¯s annoying.


    Wei Zhuo also can¡¯t just brush off the kindness either, and thus stands there, listening intently the whole way through.


    Meanwhile, Meng ¡®the Hammer of Justice¡¯ Yuele is sending messages to Cheng Zhaoci to ask about it. Did Wei Zhuo coerce him?


    Cheng Zhaoci does not reply even after it was read for a long time. When Meng Yuele is suspecting psychological trauma and inability to talk to other evil shemale soldiers for now, a reply comes.


    And come it sure did. A whole thousand words. All filled to the brim with love for Wei Zhuo, and vivid description of exactly how great the two of them get along. It¡¯s extraordinarily verbose and grand. It¡¯s only around the end where Cheng Zhaoci expresses his disbelief at Meng Yuele for the grave accusations against his good friend, who is so noble and gentlemanly.


    After reading it all, Meng Yuele has picked up the fact that¡­ it must have been Wei Zhuo who was coerced into the marriage. That¡¯s odd, as he sees it, right now, the boastful Wei Zhuo looks all ¡®yeah, I did, so what?¡¯


    Hmm, so he got pushed into the Department by Mr Cheng Zhaoci and had a blitz wedding. It¡¯s probably over for the poor grade S shemale. It seems he¡¯s utterly unable to put up sufficient resistance to his xiongzhu anymore.


    Meng Yuele tries to smile coldly and smugly, but tears start streaming down his eyes. He always thought, Wei Zhuo would be single for life. Now even he has a partner, but he¡¯s still single. He doesn¡¯t even have a date yet. What¡¯s he doing sniggering behind Wei Zhuo¡¯s back? He doesn¡¯t even have a male who would coax him into a marriage.


    Ah, he¡¯s jealous. You know, he¡¯s also just as familiar with Cheng Zhaoci, but he didn¡¯t go for it; well, he went after him as a comic artist, before he even knew who he was. Cheng Zhaoci, at the point of their meeting, was the damned comic artist instead of a male to him.


    Oh man, is there a male who would come look at him? That¡¯s right, this is the frontline command centre. There are only shemales.


    The unmanly tears wouldn¡¯t stop flowing.


    ¡°Xiao-Ci will be here in a few days,¡± Wei Zhuo, finally free from the Marshal¡¯s blabbering, whispers into Meng Yuele¡¯s ears.


    Meng Yuele goes back to serious mode, ¡°what?! Mr Cheng Zhaoci got authorisation from the Grand Marshal? Are you kidding me?!¡± A male on the frontline? Is he trying to kill himself? Not to mention all the shemale soldiers here right as he¡¯s about to awaken.


    ¡°It¡¯s not an authorisation, but a decree for an unmanned spaceship. Heavily guarded.¡±


    Meng Yuele is shocked, ¡°what? Why?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you the exact reason,¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s voice goes even quieter, ¡°I¡¯m simply telling you, that because of this, I won¡¯t be staying in our dorm afterwards. You can have it all to yourself.¡±


    Then Wei Zhuo leaves Meng Yuele to recover where he stands. Meng Yuele finally erupts into expletives. So Wei Zhuo was actually boasting to him, wasn¡¯t he?! He didn¡¯t use to be like that!


    Four days later, the private vessel is ready. It is nigh impregnable. Also, typical vessels would require suitable physical aptitude levels of the insectoids on board to undergo warp travel, but not this much smaller, private military spaceship. It is guaranteed to be a smooth ride.


    There are enough supplies on board that Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t need to pack much.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci was still sent off by a rather large congregation of insectoids, even including the mythical Chairman of Chief Command, whom most present have only heard of but not seen.


    He¡¯s actually quite handsome too, in spite of the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. He stands tall and straight, and his movements do not conceal the strength that the body under the military garments holds.

 CH 58.5

    ¡°Ah, to be young again,¡± the Chairman of Chief Command says, watching Cheng Zhaoci wave goodbye to his dad joyfully.


    ¡°Damn right,¡± Lu Yao concurs, ¡°xiao-Zhuo is fortunate. I¡¯ve never seen a male like xiao-Ci.¡±


    ¡°Neither have I. I¡¯ve seen what he creates. He is a creative; if he was born when we were much younger, we¡¯d be beating each other senseless to have him,¡± comments the Chairman, who then feels a gaze upon him; it¡¯s the President, sulking behind him.


    The Chairman then wraps his arm around Bai Jiawen¡¯s own, ¡°but baby, you¡¯re always the best one for me. It was just a metaphor.¡±


    ¡°Eww,¡± Lu Yao is disgusted, ¡°I¡¯m too old for this shit. Can you not do it in front of me?¡±


    ¡°What, I thought you called yours ¡®baby¡¯ all the time?¡± The Chairman is clearly unhappy with Lu Yao¡¯s double standard.


    ¡°Mine are emotional, affectionate; yours are simply indulgent,¡± Lu Yao is an exemplar of the phrase ¡®shameless in old age,¡¯ ¡°we¡¯re different.¡±


    ¡°I had them pack the mecha with you,¡± Bai Jun tells Cheng Zhaoci with a grim tone, ¡°if you really are in danger, get on board. The weapons are leaps above what our best current weapons are.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Huh? Oh,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is only a shut-in who can¡¯t start a mecha if his life depended on it. He simply suspects Bai Jun doesn¡¯t want his proud and unique male-adjusted mecha to be a 1:1 model decoration at home, so he wants to somehow see him put it to use.


    ¡°Make sure you come back,¡± wails a tearful Xiao Ji; the tone and the extremely poor choice of words almost convinces Cheng Zhaoci he¡¯s heading off to sacrifice his life.


    Cheng Zhaoci bonks Xiao Ji on his fuzzy head, ¡°stop crying. You¡¯re really scaring me,¡± it¡¯s not like he¡¯s not coming back.


    ¡°You¡¯re going off somewhere far away by yourself for the first time,¡± He Huaijian explains, ¡°we can¡¯t help ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Make sure to act tough outside,¡± Cheng Jin advices; when Cheng Zhaoci packs his exuberant personality away, his appearance is deterrent enough.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    After the partings, Cheng Zhaoci finally boards the military spaceship.


    It¡¯s entirely autonomous; the AI drives better than any insectoid. There are also domestic robots on board to deal with meals and laundry.


    Being capable of passing through warp gates without discomfort, the ship wouldn¡¯t take more than a few hours to reach its destination. Cheng Zhaoci can simply draw comics the entire way.


    After making up his mind, he retreats to his room when he stops frozen, ¡°is this a water bed?¡± And also, round, rose red, basically as suggestive as can be.


    The AI on board speaks up, [Yes, mister, and the water bed also features massage and vibration capabilities with multiple settings]


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is in shock. Really, this thing doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s designed for any normal type of ¡®sleeping.¡¯ Wait, did the First Research Institute come up with this?! He thought they were doing actual, scientifically significant research and development in there!


    He can¡¯t help but gasp a little. Then he carefully nudges his way over onto the bed. As he sits down, a drawer pops out from beneath the bed. The contents¡­ Holy Jesus Christ! Excitement?! What in the actual fuck are all of these things?! He can¡¯t remember ever seeing anything resembling these growing up in the insectoid society!


    Bai Jun is standing some ways back on the tarmac, watching the spaceship depart into the vastness of the universe. He says, ¡°I hope everything I prepared for him will be useful.¡±


    ¡°Everything? You mean the mecha on board?¡± The Chairman speaks rather frankly, ¡°males don¡¯t usually like mechas and weapons¡­¡±


    ¡°Not the mecha, but the water bed and some other situational equipment. I studied and made them all, one-by-one. They¡¯re all handcrafted and extremely safe to use,¡± Bai Jun proudly explains, ¡°father, you said I should make it as comfortable as I could, right? So I¡¯ve made sure it¡¯s packed with lots of stuff that will help them smoothly ease into the experience comfortably.¡±


    Everyone is looking at Bai Jun now; Bai Jiawen gives his utterly inappropriate male son a bonk on the head, ¡°if you were half as smart about these things in your everyday life as you are about their time together, you would never have stayed single until the ripe age of 70-something and growing.¡±


    boilpoil''s notes:


    Do not be concerned if you notice much of this section of the part of the chapter being a repeat of the previous one; I moved those over because this part ended up too short.

 CH 59.1

    Automation


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    The vessel arrives quickly enough at the frontline, where the Marshal has been informed earlier, and is now waiting for it.


    He thought he was dreaming when he received his briefing ¨C grade S male? Soon to awaken? He¡¯s Wei Zhuo¡¯s xiongzhu? Like, he knows every word being spoken, but somehow the meaning is lost on him.


    He¡¯s not sure if he should be amazed a grade S male is here, or shocked the President gave him a direct briefing; he always thought the President was only an office in name.


    They¡¯ve set up the battlefield command centre on a small, barren planet that has an atmosphere but has barely developed any life. It¡¯s just rocks and sand everywhere.


    It¡¯s not comfortably habitable, but enough to serve as a temporary base.


    He was also ordered not to let the male inside be in contact with any other insectoid outside of Wei Zhuo, because he could awaken at any moment, and it would be dangerous for the others. The Marshal had a call with Cheng Zhaoci to confirm that everything was going smoothly, and then instructed him to have the spaceship land in their hangar area.


    In general, during wartime they would all eat and drink on the spaceship itself; the ¡®base¡¯ it actually just the vessel itself, parked somewhere deemed safe enough during preliminary scans.


    So Cheng Zhaoci wouldn¡¯t be inconvenienced being unable to disembark. The Marshal also advises him not to; while shemale soldiers are generally disciplined, the younger ones might have never seen males their entire life. It¡¯s not without danger.


    And this is also an active war zone with pirates who would target males as well. It¡¯d be a catastrophe if anything were to happen to the unprotected male when the pirates come knocking.


    After his spaceship has landed, Cheng Zhaoci never once exited his spaceship; the fact that this came out of nowhere and is allowed to land in the most protected central area of the makeshift base has garnered attention.


    The shemale soldiers are understandably bored when not currently sent out to fight and there are no new comic updates to read.


    Well, not exactly ¡®bored,¡¯ but tense to the point of snapping. They desperately need something to distract them now that they¡¯re both tense and with nothing to do to relieve the tension.


    Like rereading comics, or sneaking glances at illicit forwarded photographs of males. Now, they¡¯ve a new topic du jour.


    ¡°Who¡¯s in that spaceship, really? What are they doing here?¡± A shemale soldier is holding his food in his left hand while observing Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s spaceship, ¡°it can¡¯t be some bigshot¡¯s kid who¡¯s here to get merits and awards off of our backs? We fight, and he gets the glory?¡±


    ¡°Not likely. You know how much our Marshal hates shit like mooching. Group Captain Wei is also here; who could have an even more daunting background than him?¡± His fellow soldier is talking while still chewing. Frankly, his face is a mess, ¡°remember that bastard trying to mooch off of us the last war? The Group Captain beat the living daylights out of him. Is there anyone brave enough who would even dare mooch off of the Group Captain¡¯s success? What, the Chairman of Chief Command¡¯s own son?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know, but why wouldn¡¯t they come outside either? The Marshal also forbade us from going, or even walking nearby,¡± the first shemale soldier sounds unhappy, ¡°what kind of insectoid is in there? A male or something?!¡±


    ¡°Who cares ab¡­ what?! Holy shit! It¡¯s Group Captain Wei! Hey bro, look!¡± The eating shemale soldier is elbowing his friend, ¡°what do you think? Is he fed up with the insectoids inside?¡±


    ¡°What the fuck? Wouldn¡¯t that be a problem if he¡­ It¡¯s clearly someone from a tough background! Can he even beat him up? Wait, he¡¯s stopped¡­ Huh? Why is he straightening his clothes?¡±


    Why would he straighten his clothes before beating up an insectoid? To show respect to the one beaten up? He doesn¡¯t understand grade S shemales. At all.


    Wei Zhuo, meanwhile, has pat himself on the clothes over once, and checked everything over once more, sighing in relief when he finds not a speck of dirt. Then he straightens his posture, and clears his throat, testing if his voice is weird, before finally walking forward once more, satisfied.


    He is really nervous, and that¡¯s without knowing his subordinates suspect him of rushing to give the insectoid in there a sound beating. He¡¯s afraid he might make Cheng Zhaoci uncomfortable in any way. While he is unlikely to be wounded in battle, after every encounter he is both enveloped in a rather imposing aura and would not be allowed into any formal suit-and-tie avenue for sure.


    He¡¯s already imposing in general, but if he¡¯s just off the battlefield, he could probably scare any little insectoid to tears for three whole days.


    Even Cheng Zhaoci can attest ¨C when back on the landfill planet, and Cheng Zhaoci was climbing out of the pile of rubble, being mistaken for an enemy by Wei Zhuo and getting a gun to his face, Wei Zhuo¡¯s expression was truly terrifying.


    But the past is in the past. Cheng Zhaoci may know that side of him already, but Wei Zhuo still wants to appear gentle in front of Cheng Zhaoci as much as possible.


    The shemale soldiers all around, though, become visibly confused. They watch Wei Zhuo take a few deep breaths, and then walk towards the spaceship. Confused, they start wondering.


    ¡°Am I seeing things, or is he taking small steps?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re seeing things for sure. There is nothing that can scare someone as strong as the Group Captain.¡±


    Are there things that can scare someone as strong as Wei Zhuo? Yes. For example, when he is with Cheng Zhaoci, whatever the latter does easily sends Wei Zhuo¡¯s brain into haywire, until he finds himself unable to specify what he¡¯s doing or what¡¯s going on.

 CH 59.2

    ¡°Wei-ge!¡± Cheng Zhaoci immediately puts his comic work down when Wei Zhuo comes over, ¡°you¡¯re here? Are you free?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m checking to see if you are adjusting to life here well. Would you feel a bit lonely by yourself?¡± Wei Zhuo embraces Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°make sure you tell me if there¡¯s anything I could do to make the stay more comfortable. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    While it would be difficult to get supplies out here, but insectoids always find a way. The male shouldn¡¯t have to endure harsh conditions wherever he goes, especially when he¡¯s now his xiongzhu.


    That said, he still doesn¡¯t feel that much like he is Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s cijun either.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need much here,¡± replies Cheng Zhaoci. He can draw by himself for most of the time, and loneliness hasn¡¯t really set in yet, if it even was setting in. That said, ¡°are you going to live here with me from now on?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have to be by your side just in case your Awakening suddenly comes,¡± well, as much as insectoidally possible; he is still in an active warzone. It¡¯s entirely up in the air how much time they could spend together.


    Well, that¡¯s still better than nothing. Especially when some genius designer only designed a single bedroom on the entire vessel. Wei Zhuo can only sleep together with him.


    Of course, they¡¯re in trying conditions, and so Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t planning to do anything either. Wei Zhuo is already exhausted by fighting day in, day out. He can¡¯t possibly try to do anything inappropriate to him when he¡¯s trying to rest; he¡¯s not a fiend, you know.


    ¡°Hey bro! Did you see? He¡¯s married!¡± Jin Yue pushes his holodeck screen into Sun Wushe¡¯s face. Sun Wushe is now glaring at him expressionlessly.


    A little spooked by the glare, Jin Yue then hears Sun Wushe ask, ¡°so? You thought he was never going to after becoming an adult?¡±


    Jin Yue is surprised how calm Sun Wushe looks, ¡°and you¡¯re not upset at all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said more than once, he and I are insectoids on parallel lines,¡± then Sun Wushe stands up, knitting his brows, ¡°we¡¯re operating at a huge disadvantage here. I don¡¯t know how you still have the mind to care about these trivial things.¡±


    ¡°When did we ever have an advantange anyway?¡± Jin Yue gets his holodeck back to look at the photo, ¡°the little ugly thing does have a good looking paw, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Are you bored out of your mind? Did you know another two males have died? You know, on the one hand you¡¯re doing this, on the other you¡¯re fantasising about another male. It¡¯s pretty disgusting,¡± Sun Wushe takes a deep breath, and exhales.


    ¡°Fantasising how?¡± Jin Yue asks, furrowing his brows, ¡°stop seeing things through your tinted glasses. If I really had any fantasies about him, you think I¡¯d be sitting here, all calm and shit?¡±


    The two males¡¯ death is not brought up again, not even by Sun Wushe. What would that achieve? Condemnation of those who killed the males, chase them out for disobeying their vision? Do they even have a vision?


    They¡¯re already shit insectoids. They don¡¯t need to dress themselves up in hypocritical, kind clothing. If only they could be more bad, more mad.


    ¡°Wei Zhuo¡­ I¡¯ll deal with him. Even if all of us would die, I¡¯ll drag him with me,¡± Jin Yue is smiling pretty happily, ¡°or I can¡¯t live with myself,¡± can¡¯t accept the fact that Wei Zhuo has successfully embodied what he wanted to become. He cannot live down the fact that he¡¯s practically living the route of ¡®Wei Zhuo the Inferior.¡¯


    Sun Wushe is looking at Jin Yue; Jin Yue smirks, ¡°oh? Still loving your older brother very very much?¡±


    The response comes coldly, ¡°who loves what now? He¡¯s nobody to me, from the very beginning.¡±


    He¡¯s just wondering, if Wei Zhuo really dies on the battlefield, what would Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s reaction be like? Sad? Angry? Defeated? Or, completely apathetic?


    ¡°This bed is really big. We can sleep together, and don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do a thing,¡± Cheng Zhaoci takes Wei Zhuo to the least wholesome room on the vessel.


    Wei Zhuo says nothing when Cheng Zhaoci is making all these ironclad promises about how he would never do anything to him, like he thinks he, Wei Zhuo, would be worried that he, Cheng Zhaoci, might force himself on him. Even though, looking at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s small frame and form, Wei Zhuo thinks his definition of ¡®force oneself on somebody¡¯ needs updating.


    The bed is a water bed, but apparently, Wei Zhuo does not understand the implications, so Cheng Zhaoci is relieved, and he asks, ¡°come take a seat?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Wei Zhuo couldn¡¯t refuse most of the time when it¡¯s Cheng Zhaoci, and he also wants to accompany the male some more.


    They sit, but when they do, the lights dim; the ceiling has turned into a simulated starry sky ¨C with a pink background.


    While Cheng Zhaoci sits there, stupefied, the water bed comes to life.


    Wei Zhuo is shocked, when a drawer pops out next to his legs. Inside, there are¡­ kuhum, objects.


    He thinks he might need to reevaluate his life choices.


    The AI suddenly speaks up through the speaker, [Authorised personnel confirmed. Have a nice trip] Who knows where it got its sound packs from, but it sounds convincingly punchable.


    Wei Zhuo and Cheng Zhaoci look at each other, nonplussed.


    Where did the smart and intelligent insectoid AI go?


    Cheng Zhaoci really feels more like tearing the artificial stupidity apart!

 CH 60.1

    Approach


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Here¡¯s a question ¨C if you are hanging out with your significant other one day, while discussing your future together and other couples¡¯ topics, only to find yourselves having wandered into an adult toy shop?


    Intimacy? No, of course not. More like embarrassment. Especially when the much less well-informed Wei Zhuo takes an object out of the drawer, and pushes its button, to observe its twisting and turning.


    Wei Zhuo then looks at Cheng Zhaoci, asking him an unexpected question, ¡°is this for when people do the deed?¡± His tone would suggest he¡¯s never seen this thing before in his entire life.


    Cheng Zhaoci could already hazard a guess for where and how it¡¯s used simply from its appearance ¨C a photorealistic appearance.


    ¡°The shemales around you have never used this?¡± This is strange. Wei Zhuo is an adult shemale, surrounded by many single shemales and demis. It¡¯s almost impossible every single one of them are a paragon of virtue who abstains from using such tools and toys at all.


    He¡¯s heard shemales are pretty demanding, too.


    ¡°No. I haven¡¯t seen similar products at all,¡± Wei Zhuo answers quite confidently, ¡°I would definitely know if this is available commercially,¡± because if nothing else, Meng Yuele, who deeply craves love and romance but has remained single, will definitely have bought one for need or curiosity.


    Adult and single shemales and demis also need love and care ¨C for their biological impulses. Obviously, tools made for purpose would be more convenient than improvising or using hands.


    But if things like these aren¡¯t even commercially available yet, does this mean it¡¯s a product that those researchers have prepared themselves? Is it an official order from like the President or from their own initiative? He thought the Institute was doing serious technological research! Why in the world have they become so versed in adult toys instead?!


    ¡°Just drop it!¡± Cheng Zhaoci grabs the twisting and vibrating object from Wei Zhuo¡¯s hand, shuts it down and throws it back into the drawer, kicking it shut.


    The room¡¯s light is a very amorous deep red. Cheng Zhaoci yells at the AI, ¡°are you serious? We¡¯re not doing that here!¡±


    Wei Zhuo has never seen them, and in fact, from his innocent, confused gaze and lack of blushing, Wei Zhuo actually knows nothing other than that it¡¯s a tool.


    A tool put here that, by the nature of things, would possibly end up being used on him. Does no one else think it¡¯s weird to put these stuff under the bed?


    Though that said, Cheng Zhaoci, with both lifetimes¡¯ worth of knowledge and has even secretly drawn adult comics on the side in his past life, is much more knowledgeable on the wholesome matter. He¡¯s unable to stop himself from having inappropriate thoughts seeing these things.


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s completely innocent reaction has made Cheng Zhaoci uncomfortable in turn, shy, because it feels almost like he¡¯s corrupting the innocent.


    It¡¯s not like he prepared them, and in fact, he¡¯s the younger one, and supposed to know even less about these.


    The AI says, with that really punchable tone, [Understood, please call me when you are ready. I¡¯m always ready to serve]


    Cheng Zhaoci is still holding the bed¡¯s drawer shut, and says with this solemn tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t do any of this. The First Research Institute was completely in charge of preparing the spaceship.¡±


    He reflexively tries to distance himself from this; Wei Zhuo is confused at his distress, but reassures him, ¡°mmhm, I know, I heard about it from the President.¡±


    ¡°Are you hungry yet, xiao-Ci?¡± Wei Zhuo changes the topic, seeing how awkward Cheng Zhaoci is behaving. He doesn¡¯t exactly understand why he¡¯s embarrassed, and he also knows Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t prepare any of this. He was just confused what that drawer full of photorealistic toys was for.


    Now he¡¯s calmed down, but Cheng Zhaoci is still quite nervous in turn¡­ Hmm, he thinks it might be that the male may sound like an expert on the matter, but he also hasn¡¯t seen or touched them in real life. He¡¯s shy.


    Ah, that must be it. Cheng Zhaoci is still a simple male who has just hit 18.


    Cheng Zhaoci, the comic artist who¡¯s drawn 18+ stuff and already knows so much about all the positions, sighs, and answers, ¡°not yet. Together?¡±


    There are robot cooks on-board, but their cooking isn¡¯t quite satisfying. They use a recipe of best-fit of all the insectoids¡¯ preferences in its database, which means its cooking is acceptable to the greatest number of insectoids, but when it comes to Cheng Zhaoci, who himself has a particular fondness for some food and less for others, it becomes bland and uninteresting.


    ¡°I¡¯ll cook for you,¡± Wei Zhuo says, knowing Cheng Zhaoci is probably not happy about streamlined food, ¡°the Marshal gave me half a day off. I don¡¯t have to report back this afternoon.¡±


    Ah, is this the sound of Heaven on earth?


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s food is tasty! Delicious! Delectable! This is the exact, irrefutable truth.


    Cheng Zhaoci really enjoys Wei Zhuo¡¯s cooking, but he¡¯s been really busy lately. He doesn¡¯t know if and when he might be called away, if he even has time to come, so he hasn¡¯t made the request at all in general.


    But if Wei Zhuo is offering? Hell yes he¡¯s going to accept.


    Then the two of them have a happy dinner together in a sweet and loving atmosphere. Every time Cheng Zhaoci has the pleasure of enjoying Wei Zhuo¡¯s cooking, he¡¯d wonder, if this is all real. Wei Zhuo really can go into the battlefield unscathed then return to the kitchen to cook. What an amazing shemale! Handsome, strong, and good at cooking.


    It really is a blessing that he ended up exchanging the rest of whatever life he¡¯d have had in the past for this current life.

 CH 60.2

    Cheng Zhaoci is now living in the frontline command centre.


    Very few insectoids know who is inside this spaceship; after the initial round of curious discussions, the insectoids have moved on from the topic.


    The war is also ramping up in intensity. Wei Zhuo has to push himself to spend any time with Cheng Zhaoci at all.


    Cheng Zhaoci can also see how the war is going, so stops Wei Zhuo from making meals for him in person. He is already busy; it is important he can have a good rest.


    As for the Awakening, he doesn¡¯t really feel anything yet. Unlike how the comics with this element like to depict it in his past life, he can¡¯t feel any sign of it to come.


    He has basically just changed the workplace for drawing comics. He¡¯s still updating weekly, while responding to messages every so often.


    Though being unable to leave the vessel at all has also become taxing. He is a shut-in, but he also can¡¯t handle being isolated from the outside world entirely. Even in his past life, when he did not have family or good friends, and in theory, could survive off of delivery for months, still left his house every day to throw away trash.


    In this life, he has become slightly more restless when shutting himself in. Of course, compared to the more socially active majority of males, he¡¯s still quite reclusive, but he knows he¡¯s not as able to handle living alone as his past life.


    Thankfully, taxing as it is, it has not been too mentally difficult, even after a whole month has passed, quite possibly thanks to Wei Zhuo. Whenever he¡¯s back, exhausted, he still takes the time to ask him how he¡¯s been, if there¡¯s anything he needs.


    The exhaustion is obvious, but Wei Zhuo still takes Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s need over all else. Honestly, it feels really good to be loved, to be on the top of the list of things in another¡¯s mind.


    He can feel how he is needed, how important he is to him. So this, it turns out, is the power of love.


    A shame, then, that he has no one else to share this joy with; he has written extensive recounts on his experience and happiness, sending it out to his family and friends, but he receives not a single reply.


    He knows some of them are definitely not busy, so Cheng Zhaoci is suspecting they are simply refusing to reply.


    And he would be correct.


    They refuse to reply; not just that, but when seeing Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s message, they would read the first few lines to find it is a flattering description of Wei Zhuo, they would skip the rest, not even humouring it a full perusal.


    ¡°I thought grade S males are recorded to have their awakenings about a week after they reach adulthood. It¡¯s almost been a month, why isn¡¯t there any news yet?¡± The President is worriedly sighing on his chair, ¡°is it delayed because he did not have nutritional plentitude? Because he lived on a landfill planet for the first 17 years of his life?¡±


    It seems reasonable to assume landfill planets would not have any food that can satisfy the requirements of a growing male body.


    And a delayed awakening is dangerous for males as well. The later they awaken, the more pent-up strength and danger there would be when they finally do.


    The awakening is like a valve being opened to let the pressure out; the later this happens, the more terrifying the ¡®gas explosion¡¯ becomes.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do here either. He won¡¯t Awaken sooner just from your musings. Wait patiently,¡± the Chairman of Chief Command props himself up from his official duties. Then, seeing Bai Jiawen pawing his way for the mini-fridge on his desk, he yells, ¡°stop! Your body can¡¯t handle those food right now!¡±


    His xiongzhu not just loves junk food, but also wants to keep up appearances. This makes him tell everyone else that this is for the Chairman, making them misunderstand that the Chairman is a gap moe who enjoys sweets while having a tough guy appearance.


    The President quietly retracts his hand, ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking. Safe, safe.¡±


    Whether it was simple idle motion or a deliberate attempt is something only the President knows. As the one who has lived a century with him, the Chairman simply knows not to trust him on these.


    ¡°So when are you planning to reveal to the public the true composition of the political class and top scientific teams?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, be patient. I still need to find the right time of approach,¡± the President rubs the area between his eyebrows, annoyed, ¡°at least until after Mr Cheng Zhaoci Awakens.¡±


    ¡°There is still a clear rift between the males and shemales. This is not the right time for reveals; it will only bring us trouble.¡±


    They need an approach that will allow them to get in touch with the emotions of the public.


    The President wonders, ¡°say, should we talk to Mr Cheng Zhaoci and try to convince him to let us reveal his true identity as the comic artist at the right time?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci was the artist behind ¡®In a Tiny Flicker,¡¯ a comic centrally themed around the shemale condition, as told from a male protagonist. It is also one of the most ¡®solid¡¯ piece of evidence that Cheng Zhaoci is a shemale in his fans¡¯ eyes.

 CH 61.1

    Oh, Shit


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci already has enough fans among the insectoids to count of a comic artist of phenomenal importance.


    At least, that¡¯s what the President thinks. So he gets into contact with him, asking if he doesn¡¯t mind revealing his male identity after his Awakening.


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t mind, as it¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. He can also show those males up that the insectoid they¡¯ve been shamelessly flirting with every day is actually also a male like them. Also, grade S, to boot.


    For shame! For shame, indeed!


    The President has also told him about the dangers of a delayed awakening. Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t do anything about it, though, his Awakening being outside his control and everything.


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t think he¡¯s particularly dull or dense, but the President also said that records show he would feel more anxious or stressed when he¡¯s about to Awaken, and then turn temperamental and irritable. Cheng Zhaoci is quite content now, though. He¡¯s got his good hubby for a nuclear family¡­ Uh, he hasn¡¯t any children yet, but you know.


    Better than what he had in his past life.


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t actually got a plan for finishing off Wei Zhuo once and for all?¡± Sun Wushe is watching Jin Yue lying on his back in the command room, staring off blankly into space daydreaming.


    Jin Yue doesn¡¯t appear to have heard, not even twitching at all. Sun Wushe shakes his hand in front of his eyes, ¡°oi, talk to me, what¡¯s your plan?¡±


    He hasn¡¯t said a single word about it after saying he¡¯s going to kill Wei Zhuo for good last time, like he¡¯s forgotten.


    ¡°Huh? Plan? What plan?¡± The madman Jin Yue is finally reacting.


    Then he takes some time recalling what Sun Wushe was saying, ¡°I¡¯m clearly still thinking about it! What, you think it¡¯s easy to kill him?¡± He scratches his blond hair into a mess.


    ¡°But there¡¯s a problem I just thought of. Would the little ugly thing want to kill us if Wei Zhuo died?¡± Not that Jin Yue is afraid of the retaliation, given his physical aptitude. Unless the male can pilot a mecha to kill him somehow.


    Still, just imagining the little ugly thing glare at him hatefully is making him uncomfortable, ¡°say, should we first try to sabotage their relationship? Only do something after their relationship falls apart?¡±


    ¡°Did you seriously only think of that now? Where did your brain go?¡± Sun Wushe expresses disappointment in Jin Yue¡¯s mind. He¡¯s a good commander, but everything else puts his mental illness on full display.


    Seeing Jin Yue now seriously wondering how to go about destroying a relationship, Sun Wushe mercilessly puts a stop to it, ¡°how? Find Cheng Zhaoci, and badmouth Wei Zhuo to him? You think he¡¯d even trust you, the space buccaneer who kidnapped him on a landfill planet?¡±


    ¡°You know you don¡¯t have the brains for it ever since you knocked yourself on the head. Even if you haven¡¯t, why do you even think you could succeed?¡± They¡¯re only shemales, not even demis, for that matter.


    Jin Yue looks even more irritated, his hair ruffled to the point of forming knots. Sun Wushe sighs, ¡°I thought you¡¯ve already got everything planned out when you said you were going to kill Wei Zhuo off.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Jin Yue did not. In fact, the fact that Wei Zhuo is Jin Yue¡¯s cijun hasn¡¯t even registered in him, until he was resting later that day, that the little ugly thing is married, and he was always close to Wei Zhuo, which makes it likely his cijun is Wei Zhuo.


    That¡¯s why the matter turned into a mess.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re going to give up on Wei Zhuo because of that,¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s face sours. If Jin Yue dares to even say ¡®yes,¡¯ Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯ll hesitate planting a fist into the blond fuzzy head, even if Jin Yue would win 10/10 in the end.


    ¡°Why¡¯d I give up?¡± Jin Yue wonders, ¡°he ought to die; don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t feel like going through with it?¡±


    Sun Wushe does not understand how it¡¯s now him who isn¡¯t going through with it. It¡¯s really tiring to talk to Jin Yue, who is actually mentally incapacitated in some areas. His logic is incomprehensible to normal, sane insectoids.


    ¡°He must die, but the little ugly thing, he could just get another one. Not like there¡¯s a shortage of shemales nowadays,¡± Jin Yue doesn¡¯t believe a male would ever have much geniune affection for other shemales, not even after learning that a male committed what was practically an assisted suicide by angered pirates, after he learned his cijun and concubines are dead in their hands.


    Is that geniune love? No. Jin Yue disagrees. It¡¯s not just one or two of his cijun and concubines who are dead; the male has lost his entire income stream following the death of everyone financially supporting him. That is why he killed himself.


    It¡¯s delusional to fantasise males feeling any affection for shemales.


    The little ugly thing and Wei Zhuo? Of course! Wei Zhuo is a grade S shemale with a Grand Marshal behind him, he¡¯s perfect marriage material. Who wouldn¡¯t love him?


    Cheng Zhaoci might be sad for a while, and then move on and restart, he thinks.


    And in fact, it¡¯s not just Jin Yue, but Sun Wushe also thinks the same.


    ¡°It¡¯s really troublesome to deal with Wei Zhuo. He¡¯s just a battle maniac, he can fight on equal ground with a dozen of us,¡± Jin Yue complains, ¡°but if he dies, and the Federation fails to keep his death under wraps, it¡¯d cause great impact to the entire society.¡±


    The war has pushed the grade S shemale soldier Wei Zhuo to the forefront of popularity, becoming known to even males who generally eschew news about wars. They now know that there is such a grade S shemale among them insectoids.


    Most importantly, Wei Zhuo¡¯s appearance is memorable. He¡¯s basically that strongest shemale of BombIn¡¯s first comic of the little zombie king, after a little plastic surgery!


    Even that scar is almost in the exact same place.


    It won¡¯t be difficult to expose this to the Federation¡¯s public; a few alts with the complete video of the moment they kill Wei Zhuo, or even a few livestreams, put them on a rotation, overwhelm the trash Mainframe of the Internet so it couldn¡¯t shut them down.


    Now, the problem is, how are they supposed to actually kill Wei Zhuo?

 CH 61.2

    ¡°A trap. With Mr Cheng Zhaoci as the bait,¡± Sun Wushe says, and feeling Jin Yue¡¯s gaze on him, clarifies, ¡°not the actual insectoid off the Capital planet, mind.¡±


    Jin Yue then goes back to staring into the distance, ¡°oh. Keep going.¡±


    ¡°Grade S shemales are not invincible like the insectoids usually make them out to be ¨C at least, not mentally. He hails from basically the same background as I did ¨C leaving the family, and a pretty mediocre life for 20 years before meeting Mr Cheng Zhaoci. I¡¯m certain about this,¡± not that he wanted to know, but being Wei Zhuo¡¯s half-brother of the same father, he still knew a lot about his brother he despised.


    ¡°He¡¯s never actually as emotionless as he makes it look like, though this has become less of a discrepancy since he met Mr Cheng Zhaoci. At the same time, it shows Mr Cheng Zhaoci is his one Achille¡¯s heel,¡± Sun Wushe pauses, asking, ¡°do you get what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    ¡°You sure are one heck of a bastard,¡± Jin Yue chuckles. He¡¯s here asking if he had a plan, when he actually has his own. He doesn¡¯t believe Sun Wushe just thought of this on the spot; the guy is as secretive and pretentious as he¡¯s always been.


    He knows those subordinates in the pirate groups are afraid of him, but would be quite relaxed in the presence of Sun Wushe, but Jin Yue thinks, he¡¯s wrathful and cruel both on the surface and deep down, but Sun Wushe keeps everything to himself. He¡¯d say Sun Wushe is more terrifying than he is.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never said I wasn¡¯t a bastard,¡± he just does a good job keeping up appearances.


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t managed to isolate Jin Yue¡¯s headquarters yet?¡± Asks Cheng Zhaoci.


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Why would they even kill the hostages they have when they¡¯re about to be caught by you?¡± Cheng Zhaoci furrows his brows, ¡°what¡¯s their end game here? They might at least end up in prison with their lives if they did not kill males.¡±


    ¡°Th-That¡¯s why, they normally die on the battlefield,¡± answers Wei Zhuo, his sentences broken up for some reason.


    In fact, Wei Zhuo is only supporting himself with one arm on the bed, with his other hand covering half of his face. His body is mostly tilted to the front, arching, ¡°the ones who-who did it are the more radical ones. Th-the other trash that were, having some fun at the pirates, d-do nothing.¡±


    ¡°Oh! So what was all that infighting between pirates you talked about before, Wei-ge?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is pawing at the place of his dreams, feeling the touch as much as he wants to. Ah, it¡¯s hard. Probably because Wei Zhuo is too nervous and has tensed up.


    And this is all Wei Zhuo¡¯s very own fault.


    He just got off the battlefield and so took a shower on the spaceship. After changing into pyjamas, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s gaze has been sweeping him up and down. Remembering how Cheng Zhaoci once talked about wanting to touch his chest, he asked Cheng Zhaoci if he wanted to.


    Completely naturally and openly.


    Especially after he tested it out with Meng Yuele after Cheng Zhaoci confessed his interest in it that one time, and he and his childhood friend failed to see what the whole deal was. It¡¯s just like touching any other part of the body.


    Would Cheng Zhaoci refuse Wei Zhuo¡¯s own invitation? Not likely. He¡¯s not a chicken. So he happily gets to feeling him up.


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    Wei Zhuo ¡°!!!¡±


    No wait! Waaait! This makes no sense! It didn¡¯t feel like this to touch the chest! It shouldn¡¯t have! What, why? Why is Cheng Zhaoci touching it so lightly? Is it really light? He doesn¡¯t know, but where he¡¯s touched is all electrified and trembling! This is weird!


    He is regretting offering to let Cheng Zhaoci touch him now, but he can¡¯t go back on his words either. He can only watch Cheng Zhaoci continue; only Cheng Zhaoci is also asking him about the frontline like usual. Wei Zhuo is at his wit¡¯s end! He can¡¯t multitask! And he can¡¯t refuse Mr Cheng Zhaoci!


    ¡°Yes, there was infighting.¡±


    There was a young male who just came of age not long ago, about a few months older than Cheng Zhaoci. He¡¯s one of those shut-in, socially anxious males, that are very rare among males.


    He was kidnapped, put into quite considerable danger, and without anyone to rely on, he ended up adopting a coping mechanism ¨C Stockholm Syndrome ¨C becoming reliant on the shemale who kidnapped him in the first place.


    ¡°He wa-was sixty. Young, but definitely not, as young a-as the male. He could pass for his dad.¡±


    The male ends up starting to call his kidnapper ¡®gege.¡¯ Socially anxious and fearful, after unspeakable acts were done to him on pirate terms, he doesn¡¯t chastise or yell like the other males. He appeared to be obedient to the other pirates, but he was actually crying behind their backs when everything was over.


    According to testimony from prisoners of war, the male would seek out his kidnapper every time. He wouldn¡¯t say anything, but just follow after him. He looked safer and more relaxed like that.


    Later, a few shemales went overboard and pushed the male to the brink of death. The male was revived successfully, but he killed himself almost as soon as he had the opportunity.


    That was when his kidnapper suddenly snapped, and fought every single insectoid in sight like a cornered beast. He was finally put down after already killing several insectoids.


    Though he did turn against the pirates, he was the most to blame for all this. He was the one who dragged the young male who should have led a reclusive but healthy life there in the first place.


    They have also learned from the pirates that the rate of suicide of kidnapped males is alarmingly high.


    The Federation¡¯s forces have made a few successful rescue operations, but all of the males thus far have become unstable. The worst one is now a regular of medical pods, suffering from a severe tendency to self-harm. His parents and uncles are all keeping a close eye on him, in case he tried to kill himself again when they weren¡¯t looking.


    Preliminary psychological evaluation has also revealed a moderate-to-severe fear or hatred of shemales among them as well.


    It¡¯s almost certainly a vicious cycle.

 CH 61.3

    ¡°That must be why we need the current President, who is a reformist with the power and the plan,¡± the pirates are also trying to enact change, but the change is simply from one extreme end of the spectrum to the other end, like what the first recorded grade S male did.


    ¡°Yes, perhaps,¡± Wei Zhuo is looking at Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°ca-can you stop now?¡± He can still see the male pushing on his chest! And, and also! That place! It has grown hard!


    ¡°Eh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci finally realises his hand has been subconsciously feeling all around Wei Zhuo¡¯s body while he was all distracted thinking. Maybe Wei Zhuo is really shy, or maybe he¡¯s overdone it a little. The skin under his hand is already red.


    ¡°¡­ Wowie!¡± It¡¯s really, really beautiful from his angle. He quickly lets go, feeling his own rather unsavoury reaction brewing. If this keeps going any longer, he fears he might not be able to hold himself back from completing the circle of life.


    At least, not right now! Wei Zhuo still has to wake up early tomorrow. He must be an understanding xiongzhu.


    While he has let go, Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t budging. He is just looking longingly at Cheng Zhaoci while breathing heavily.


    Wei Zhuo thinks he¡¯s too ashamed to ever face other insectoids, because he actually can¡¯t stand up. He, the grade S shemale, the fighting machine that can keep on going with a limb or two missing, is too weak in the knees to stand up! For shame!


    And for some reason, even though his xiongzhu has already let him go as he wished, but he can¡¯t help feeling slightly disappointed inside? He was the one who told him to stop! Or has he already become someone who can¡¯t speak his own thoughts properly?


    ¡°Well, uh, then I¡¯m going to get a shower,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, rising from the bed.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, right,¡± Wei Zhuo is basically speaking in a whisper.


    Suddenly, the lights dim once more, and the bed shifts a little. The drawer pops out again.


    The artificial stupidity explains [Arousal detected from both insectoids present. Have a pleasant night]


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­ I¡¯m gonna decommission you as soon as I¡¯m back home. Just you see,¡± what kind of rubbish AI is this?! All speaking the truth without a modicum of decency.


    Romance progresses subtly, subtly! You get it?! What, you think he, Cheng Zhaoci, does not have carnal desires?! Of course he does! But can he? He can¡¯t! Wei Zhuo still has work to do! And his Awakening still isn¡¯t here for some fucking reason! He can¡¯t even tie Wei Zhuo to his side to complete the circle of life in the name of that!


    Oh, woe! Woe is he!


    Finally, when Cheng Zhaoci barges into the bathroom in a foul mood, Wei Zhuo is slowly relaxing once more. Curious, he tries touching himself where Cheng Zhaoci just did, then an electrifying charge fires off where he¡¯s touched up to the top of his head.


    Wei Zhuo widens his eyes in disbelief, ¡°what in the world is going on?! What?! He, like, didn¡¯t ever feel this weird when he was touching himself before. Does the male have the power to transform his body by the mere touch of his hands?!


    He doesn¡¯t have the answer, but in any case, this night, he and Cheng Zhaoci are no longer sleeping on separate terms, because Cheng Zhaoci has squeezed himself into Wei Zhuo¡¯s embrace. He is hugging Wei Zhuo¡¯s waist tightly, and burying his head in Wei Zhuo¡¯s body. He looks like he is having sweet dreams.


    Wei Zhuo seems uncomfortable at first, mostly from the distance. He thought he might end up with a sleepless night, but in the end, he fell asleep, dead asleep. He even had a very graphic dream.


    And after waking up, Wei Zhuo feels both ashamed and lost. How could he demonise Cheng Zhaoci so! He is such an innocent male ¨C who knows what part of his eyes have ever seen his innocent side ¨C but even the dream itself. There actually wasn¡¯t much steamy action inside. Compared to dreams that Cheng Zhaoci often has, clearly, the grade S shemale is the much more innocent one.


    A few days later, Cheng Zhaoci is still waiting for his Awakening. In the meantime, he has finally worked his buttocks off to get the final drafts of the latest chapter of his comic out.


    [ZhouLuoluo: so you¡¯re able to make babies now?] After sending that draft forward to Zhou Luoluo, this is the reply he receives.


    [ChengZhaoci: I¡¯m not even Awakened yet, what baby?] Cheng Zhaoci is getting frustrated too. It¡¯s been way too long already! What the hell is his Awakening pulling here? Stopping him from having a wholesome nightlife?!


    [ZhouLuoluo: wait really?! seriously? you¡¯ve already been gone so long! when are you ever coming back, I¡¯m so bored! I don¡¯t leave the house much these days, and my father and dad keep giving me these annoyed looks every day] Zhou Luoluo is sad. He might also be engaged in his own romantic plotline, but Lu Nianqian himself is a boss, a CEO, which means he¡¯s busy at work, and is usually working overtime, not even being able to have a proper rest on weekends.


    [ChengZhaoci: I¡¯m not in that much of a hurry] Especially if he won¡¯t be able to see Wei Zhuo in person if he¡¯s back for who-knows-how-long. Oh no!


    [ZhouLuoluo: so you don¡¯t miss me? your dearest friend?]


    [ChengZhaoci: sometimes?] He misses Zhou Luoluo¡¯s tireless effort to share all the latest gossip with him on the Capital planet.


    Zhou Luoluo knows exactly how disingenuous Cheng Zhaoci is seeing that ¡®sometimes.¡¯ Thankfully, he¡¯s already used to this. Cheng Zhaoci is a bastard who abandons all friendship for his romance. One big bad bastard.


    But at least their trio of friends still has a Zhou Xiaobao to help him feel better about himself.


    A mentally well-adjusted Zhou Luoluo thus finally clicks download on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s sent documents. Then he decides to surf the net before he gets to drawing, when suddenly, a livestream pops out.


    [The Downfall of the Grade S Shemale] Grade S shemale?! There¡¯s only one grade S shemale in the entire insectoid society, right?!


    Zhou Luoluo immediately calls Cheng Zhaoci on the phone. As soon as it connects, he asks, ¡°where¡¯s the Group Captain? On a mission?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Go to the link I just sent you, now!¡±

 CH 61.4

    Wei Zhuo should not have fallen for it, at least, not normally. He was aware the pirates would try anything to target him specifically, so he¡¯s been wary and careful in his fight against them.


    During this sortie, when the pirates sent him a video telling him they had Cheng Zhaoci in their hands, Wei Zhuo already knew they were bullshitting; if Cheng Zhaoci was successfully kidnapped from the middle of the military base, under the highly advanced protection of the spaceship that was the brainchild of the First Research Institute, then they can probably all resign in shame.


    What completely pissed Wei Zhuo off, however, were the exceedingly obscene words the pirates hurled towards ¡®Cheng Zhaoci,¡¯ as they discussed how they would deal with ¨C toy with ¨C this ¡®male¡¯ they captured right in front of him.


    It was unequivocally vile and revolting how they were talking about a living insectoid like some common object. To Wei Zhuo, Cheng Zhaoci is whom he carefully, lovingly places in the most important corner of his heart. His beloved baby was being blasphemed by these damned shemales? How dare they?!


    To his credit, Wei Zhuo was still comparatively rational at this point. Until that video sent to him, that fake, shoddy video went on in an utterly atrocious fashion, where the shemales were prying the clothes off of ¡®Cheng Zhaoci¡¯ as the ¡®male¡¯ screamed for help, that Wei Zhuo snapped.


    Not even Meng Yuele¡¯s dissuasion assuaged him. Wei Zhuo went after the pirates alone in his mecha.


    And as expected of a grade S shemale¡¯s fighting strength, that the spaceship sent to bait Wei Zhuo elsewhere almost ended up violently decommissioned on the way. It was saved a few minutes prior to disintegration by finally having reunited with Jin Yue¡¯s main spacecraft carrier.


    Meng Yuele and the others present could only watch in horror as Wei Zhuo went out on a chase when they¡¯re still on standby orders. They have no orders to give chase ¨C obeying this is a shemale soldier¡¯s most basic requirement.


    Clearly, Wei Zhuo is too riled up to care.


    ¡°Report! We, we must report to the Marshal! Those bastards, Jin Yue must be going after Wei Zhuo personally!¡± Meng Yuele is panicking, but he at least has the good sense to remember he must keep this a secret from the male ¨C from Mr Cheng Zhaoci.


    Unfortunately, what Meng Yuele doesn¡¯t know, is that the arrogant space buccaneers set up an actual livestream, even releasing that video threat in full ¨C with mosaic applied, of course, but even so, Cheng Zhaoci can still recognise himself from the mess of features on his face area and the voice.


    Ha. Really, the computer-assisted polygonal model construction is too advanced. Cheng Zhaoci knows why Wei Zhuo has headed off, but that doesn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t be angry. Actually, balefully angry.


    He knew it¡¯s a trap and he¡¯s still rushing?! For a fake ¡®Cheng Zhaoci¡¯?! The hell is he thinking when there¡¯s an actual Cheng Zhaoci still nervously waiting for him to be back?!


    Cheng Zhaoci is watching Wei Zhuo being surrounded on all sides in the livestream. It is odd. He thought he would explode with ire, but the truth is, he¡¯s calm. Cheng Zhaoci thinks his anger might have boiled over, wrapping around to being calm all over again.


    A grade S shemale can fight a full metal armoured mecha with his bare flesh, but what if he¡¯s surrounded by countless battleship-class vessels? It¡¯s probably a silly question. Like if he asked ¡®assume a person can fight head-on with a mechanised jeep, can they hold their own against an aircraft carrier?¡¯


    No contest.


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks he really must be calm to an irrational degree if he has the presence of mind to analyse that. All his anger has been suppressed in his chest, but it also isn¡¯t threatening to blow.


    He closes the livestream, expressionless, and takes a deep breath. His head hurts.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother shutting the stream down,¡± the President tells the communications director in charge of holodeck safety, ¡°I bet those brats have plans B/C/D all prepared.¡±


    ¡°Then we can also shut down all livestream capabilities temporarily,¡± his subordinate knits his brows, ¡°there are more and more insectoids getting into the stream by the second,¡± and some of them aren¡¯t even worried about the grade S shemale, but are simply onlookers who might even take pleasure in schadenfreude.


    The stream is spreading among the population like wildfire. The number of viewers is getting out of control.


    ¡°We need it to keep going for now. Get the experts to analyse which sector Jin Yue and the others are in from the background. Have everyone on the frontline ready to sortie at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±


    Bai Jiawen gets up, thinking about getting Lu Yao. He¡¯s actually about as stable as a casket of gunpowder just like Wei Zhuo, so he¡¯s worried he might also join in the chaos and go seize a mecha to beeline for the warp point, in order to save his grandson.


    ¡°This is ridiculous. He really just fell for it,¡± complains Bai Jiawen, his head throbbing.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. No shemale can ever stand and take such revolting insults to his own xiongzhu, not to mention the grade S shemale has not exactly been leading a fulfiling life up to that point. Mr Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s importance to him is unfathomable to any of us,¡± the Chairman of Chief Command comments, ¡°regardless, we need to get the situation under control right now.¡±


    Bai Jiawen knows the Chairman is right. He starts calling Lu Yao on his own holodeck to assess the situation, and tell him to keep calm.


    Yet when he does so, a call comes through first. It¡¯s Bai Jun. Bai Jiawen cuts the call short, furrowing his brows, but while flipping through his contacts for Lu Yao, Bai Jun is calling again.


    His head, ugh¡­ The second time it¡¯s cut, but the third time¡¯s the charm. Bai Jiawen is forced to accept the call, and yells in the phone, ¡°we¡¯re in an emergency right now, if you brat doesn¡¯t have an actual emergency as well, I¡¯ll beat you to a pulp myself!¡±


    The harsh tone makes Bai Jun¡¯s words stuck in his throat, and he burps, but he quickly gets back to business and explains, ¡°fa-father, it¡¯s, uh, Cheng Zhaoci just called, and asked if the mecha can filter male pheromones. I said yes; it was because I thought they might have an interest in that as a location, so I got a filter done on the mecha. Cheng Zhaoci said alright, and hung up, but it was a really weird call¡­¡±


    ¡°What did you just say? That mecha?!¡± Bai Jiawen can feel his heart threatening to give up entirely and give him a hearty stroke. The Chairman is looking at him with concern spread across his face, so he tells him, ¡°this is bad.¡±

 CH 62.1

    Suspension


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Before they could even try to ascertain Lu Yao¡¯s calmness, that grade S male they¡¯ve been waiting for has rushed forth by himself.


    Bai Jiawen takes a deep breath, just in case he might faint from suffocation due to forgetting to breathe from the anxiety, and then calls Lu Yao to tell him his grandson went to fight the pirates alone. And quite possibly, his grandson-in-law has decided to follow suit.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry that much,¡± the Chairman of Chief Command pats Bai Jiawen on the shoulder, ¡°we don¡¯t know the true limits of a grade S shemale¡¯s capability either. He isn¡¯t doomed yet.¡±


    ¡°But Cheng Zhaoci went after him!¡± Bai Jiawen can¡¯t help but yell. What kind of decision-making led to that outcome?! ¡°This makes no sense! This makes no sense at all!¡±


    ¡°This makes no fucking sense at all!¡± Blasts an irate Jin Yue, ¡°why won¡¯t he die?!¡±


    After Wei Zhuo has willingly stepped into the killzone, he kept his shields up while going straight for the kill himself ¨C finally blowing up that spaceship that led him here. Yes. It was blown up.


    He also nimbly dodged all the debris with uncanny dexterity. The inferno did not affect him the slightest. Is this even normal? Is he still in the realm of insectoids?


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t this resilient when fighting in training¡­¡± Sun Wushe is furrowing his brows as he watches Wei Zhuo dodge another kinetic particle cannonshot and is heading straight for them, ¡°he might not have been fighting with his full strength then.¡±


    Does Wei Zhuo know he and Jin Yue are right here? Or he might have figured it out from the configuration of the fleet.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Jin Yue has switched to manually piloting the carrier while ordering the other vessels to stop Wei Zhuo, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m the fucking insane one here or him!¡±


    There is definitely a gap between a grade A and grade S in physical aptitude, which is common knowledge. Though exactly how large the gap is, no one really knows. Especially when the grade S shemale hasn¡¯t been using his full strength with full aggressiveness up to that point.


    ¡°Have everyone on the carrier get out on their mechas!¡± Sun Wushe gets up, shouting, ¡°quick!¡±


    ¡°Out what? To fight head-on with the crazed Wei Zhuo?!¡± Jin Yue is pulling at his hair again; he feels like he¡¯d go bald again in a few more times.


    ¡°Distraction! Do you even know what distraction is?! If this carrier is sunk, we¡¯re toast for sure!¡± And the carrier is really big and obvious a target, ¡°get everyone to disperse for fuck¡¯s sake!¡±


    It is quite harrowing when you¡¯re hunting with all-new, advanced weaponry, only to find it¡¯s completely ineffective against the beast hunted. Because, quite likely, the position of prey and predator would be switched in a second, and you¡¯d get torn to pieces.


    Jin Yue and the rest of the fleet have kept their position highly secretive up to this point, and are generally confident in this trap as well. They know that Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t as calm and collected inside as he normally appears to be, and so they were the most on guard against reinforcements from the Federation forces.


    Unfortunately, there was a miscalculation in Wei Zhuo¡¯s true strength on the battlefield which he has never shown before. His sharp battlefield senses and offensive capability never had the chance to show themselves as he didn¡¯t exactly have an edge for others to push him over.


    Now, though, he has one. And they pushed him over to snapping point.


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s target is clear as well ¨C Jin Yue and Sun Wushe. If both of them were gone, the patchwork of allied pirate organisations would fall to chaos for sure.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going! I have to kill him!¡± Jin Yue doesn¡¯t want to run away anymore. Backing away every time Wei Zhuo is approaching? He¡¯s no coward!


    ¡°Grade S? So what?! Who does he think he is?!¡± Jin Yue grits his teeth, ¡°even grade S are mortal!¡±


    Not just the pirates who are fighting Wei Zhuo head-on, but even the President, following the action in real time, is quite perplexed, ¡°why is he going right after that one carrier?¡±


    ¡°He probably figured the leader of the buccaneers is there,¡± the Chairman is checking the fleet formation information carefully, and then nods, ¡°I also suspect Jin Yue is there. Their response to Wei Zhuo¡¯s advances also confirms that important insectoids must be inside. Even if not Jin Yue and Sun Wushe themselves, someone important is inside.¡±


    Shemales really are natural warriors, especially grade S ones.


    ¡°Patch me through! I¡¯m gonna rip his head right off when the bastard is back!!!¡± The generally amicable Marshal¡¯s face is grim like the reaper, ¡°what does he think standing orders are?! He¡¯s a Group Captain for goodness sake! Does he know what he¡¯s doing?!¡±


    ¡°This is a fucking mystery, it is! I never knew he had a reckless side to him!¡± The Marshal is complaining while smacking Meng Yuele on the back of his head, ¡°get searching! And you! You should¡¯ve stopped him! You just watched when he took off?!¡±


    Meng Yuele is dissing inside that if he could stop him, he wouldn¡¯t have been a mere grade A shemale. While observing the livestream¡¯s background to identify the stellar region the battle with Wei Zhuo is taking place in, there is a loud roar. Shocked, Meng Yuele looks outside, and with many other shemale soldier witnesses, sees a black mecha shoot out and leave from the spaceship that no insectoid has emerged from.


    At the same time, the Marshal receives an emergency order from high command ¨C ¡®Evidence suggests the male may be agitated emotionally. Do not allow the male near his onboard mecha; restrain if he attempts to pilot it.¡¯


    Though the advanced mecha is already flying in interstellar space at this point.


    ¡°¡­ Hey. Question. How proficient is that male with mechas?¡± The Marshal¡¯s voice is trembling in places. Meng Yuele has also realised, and his expression is one of hopelessness, ¡°rubbish. He can¡¯t win against the starter AI.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is taken by a strange mood right now. His head hurts so much it could explode, but he also has an exceptional clarity to his perception of the surroundings. Lots of memories are flashing through his mind.


    He thinks he might be Awakening. While also angry. He knows he is behaving irrationally, or at least, he knows his normal self wouldn¡¯t take the huge precarious risk of just rushing off with a mecha to find an insectoid in an active battle. He knows how well he can handle a mecha already.


    But now, he is simply copying all the moves Wei Zhuo employed that he can remember seeing in the virtual mecha fights, and using them.


    A grade S male¡¯s memory performance is sublime. He is also controlling his hands and fingers much more deftly, though not to the insane degree that Wei Zhuo could.


    Nor does Cheng Zhaoci expect to achieve anything with his abysmal performance; instead, he is banking on the fact that the First Research Institute put utmost priority on the defence capabilities of this mecha. That means he is probably able to drag that damned Wei Zhuo back out without too much trouble.

 CH 62.2

    Meanwhile, Jin Yue has actually received a communication request from Wei Zhuo.


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Yells Sun Wushe, trying to stop Jin Yue, but the mental insectoid has already accepted it.


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s hologram projection is already here, staring at Jin Yue, ¡°I might be crippled by your trap, but you, are going to die,¡± the tone is rather monotonous, as if he was simply notifying him.


    ¡°Huh? Die? That¡¯s rich. All these years, you see anyone who¡¯s successfully killed me the fuck off? Even if I¡¯m going to die, you¡¯re coming with me!¡± Jin Yue is laughing, maniacally.


    ¡°Careful!¡± Sun Wushe pushes Jin Yue aside to grab the steering wheel, pushing the thrusters down as much as they would go. The next moment, a protonic beam practically singed the upper casing of the top of the vessel.


    That¡¯s when Wei Zhuo finally gives Sun Wushe a glance. The eyes are cold.


    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve found the cockpit.¡±


    ¡°You fucking tricked me!¡± Jin Yue fell down from the push, and he¡¯s scrambling back up right now.


    However, Wei Zhuo has already cut off the call.


    Sun Wushe takes a deep breath, then yells at Jin Yue, ¡°I told you not to pick it up!¡±


    ¡°Go,¡± Jin Yue¡¯s face suddenly switches from boiling anger to cold apathy.


    Sun Wushe is quite surprised, ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°I said, go. In the mecha. The two of us,¡± Jin Yue is patting his own clothes down, ¡°start the self-destruct sequence.¡±


    ¡°There are still insectoids on here!¡±


    ¡°Barely any of them truly important. They will be worthy martyrs in the death of Wei Zhuo,¡± Jin Yue is already turning around to leave, ¡°get a move on! And order the rest of the fleet to retreat!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Got it,¡± Sun Wushe has no time to hesitate. He can only run after Jin Yue.


    ¡°Trying to flee?¡± Wei Zhuo notices, and tries to push in further, but then comes to a stop as soon as he notices a mecha coming from behind. A sneak attack?!


    Wei Zhuo turns around, only to freeze in shock when he sees the mecha¡¯s appearance. He knows this. This is He Huaijian¡¯s birthday present for Cheng Zhaoci.


    He just stands there, nonplussed, when the mecha slaps Wei Zhuo¡¯s mecha right in the face. That¡¯s also when Wei Zhuo receives a communication request from it.


    His own boiling anger is suddenly nowhere to be found. Instead, he finds himself hesitating to accept the call. He still has to push accept, though, no matter how much he wants to hide in a hole right now.


    The mecha¡¯s pilot is Cheng Zhaoci, as expected.


    Before Cheng Zhaoci can speak, though, Wei Zhuo¡¯s senses are tingling. He notices that Jin Yue¡¯s carrier is not only defying the others¡¯ retreat, but is rushing right for him.


    Without time to think, he grabs Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mecha, and flies as quickly as possible in the opposite direction.


    The mecha explodes without even making a sound in the vacuum of space, but the impact will be enormous. Wei Zhuo is not in the clear at all, so he tries to shield Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mecha with his own by reflex, but suddenly, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mecha has produced a shield.


    The President was right. The defence mechanism made by the First Research Institute¡¯s most resilient little buggers lived up to its name. The explosion did not so much as leave a dent on either mecha.


    ¡°Let go,¡± Cheng Zhaoci orders coldly ¨C cold enough to spook Wei Zhuo.


    He carefully lets Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mecha go, only to see Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hologram take a deep breath, and start berating him, ¡°how brave. Amazing. You were facing off against an entire pirate fleet all by yourself. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯ve already become immortal.¡±


    Wei Zhuo hangs his head in shame and doesn¡¯t talk back at all. He isn¡¯t immortal; he¡¯s also scared of dying. He was just too angry, and since the fleet wasn¡¯t Jin Yue¡¯s Golden Lion alone, if he dies, they¡¯ll fall to chaos for sure¡­


    ¡°That explosion! Tell me, without my shield. What would happen?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s volume is increasing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be injured,¡± Wei Zhuo hangs his head even lower.


    ¡°Injured? Is that all?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Gravely injured,¡± Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t even dare breathe anymore, haven¡¯t never seen Cheng Zhaoci like this. The Cheng Zhaoci he knows has always been kind and gentle, while enjoying the occasional tease or two. Yet he is really amicable underneath. He has never seen him angry.


    Cheng Zhaoci feels like his head is going to explode. He puts his hand on his forehead, rubbing a little.


    ¡°Uh, are, are you not feeling well?¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s discomfort is clear enough even Wei Zhuo has noticed through the hologram. He becomes anxious.


    Cheng Zhaoci is smiling at him really coldly, ¡°I Awakened. And you? You were busy going off to fight alone. Leaving me behind,¡± honestly, it almost sounds melodramatic. Not that Cheng Zhaoci can help it right now.


    ¡°Awaken?! I¡­¡± Wei Zhuo is interrupted promptly, ¡°shut up!¡±


    Then Wei Zhuo¡¯s mecha is dragged by the neck back the way they came.


    All the way to the base.


    And all the way to that private military spaceship.


    Cheng Zhaoci sends a message to the Marshal, telling him that his Awakening is in full swing. Considering the circumstances, he won¡¯t be able to relinquish Wei Zhuo for a while.


    The grade S shemale Wei Zhuo was extremely cooperative when dragged out of his mecha, and he transitions smoothly into a kneeling posture on the ground, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My reckless and inattentive behaviour is to blame for this¡­¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci might not have Awakened so suddenly if not for his unthinking actions, though he wasn¡¯t sure how Cheng Zhaoci knew in the first place.


    Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, knows his mind is irrational right now. Especially with safety reassured, his head is both throbbing and threatening to lose consciousness entirely from his current state of hyperawareness.


    Wei Zhuo is still recounting every single misdeed he took when something falls on him; he falls backwards from the unexpected push.


    Cheng Zhaoci is pushing on him; despite the unnatural position, Wei Zhuo is still able to hold himself together without issue. He observes Cheng Zhaoci; his breathing is haggard, and then Cheng Zhaoci puts a hand on his mouth, saying, ¡°you lost your cool because of that fake ¡®Cheng Zhaoci¡¯? Then what about me? What was I to do if something happened to you?¡±


    Wei Zhuo doesn¡¯t know how to explain himself. That he thought he could hold his own without losing his life? That the buccaneer organisations are not unified and they¡¯d falter if he could kill Jin Yue? These are all just hypotheticals.


    ¡°What was I to do?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is probably being affected quite badly by his chaotic mind, and actually starts shedding tears and pouting.


    Wei Zhuo is panicking now, and when Cheng Zhaoci finally moves his hand away to allow him to speak, he says, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry! I¡­ ah!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s leg is pushing on a rather particular location on Wei Zhuo¡¯s body.

 CH 62.3

    ¡°Xi¨Cxiao-Ci?¡± Wei Zhuo has noticed the strange fixation Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes have on him; he looks like he is trying to tear a chunk of flesh right out of him.


    ¡°What was I to do?¡± Asks the crying Cheng Zhaoci, who immediately leans down to plant a fierce kiss on Wei Zhuo. He¡¯s snapped. Generally, males in the heat of Awakening don¡¯t have much rationale remaining. He¡¯s at his limits already.


    All the unnecessary baggage concealing the goods have been peeled away. Shemales have physique that are perfectly sculpted like statues, and holding immense power. The strength that lives up to the name ¡®war machine¡¯ is there.


    Though right now, the war machine is pushed dead on the ground, not daring to resist; trembling.


    [Please refrain from violence!] The damned AI is here to ruin the day.


    Cheng Zhaoci has veins bulging on his forehead. He lets go of Wei Zhuo a little, to loudly lambaste the artificial stupidity, ¡°no way you have no idea what we¡¯re actually doing right now!¡±


    The AI goes quiet for a few seconds, before dimming the lights to a deep crimson. The atmosphere turns erotic.


    His libido in full swing, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s male pheromones are blasting out all over the place; Cheng Zhaoci thinks it¡¯s probably the case that only shemales and demis can sense them, because Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t smell it at all. Meanwhile, Wei Zhuo, who is finally sitting up straight, has rather glassy eyes.


    Though he still has his wits with him, ¡°xiao-Ci, it¡¯s cold here. Let¡¯s go to the room.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t answer. Wei Zhuo tries getting up and hustling Cheng Zhaoci along to the room. Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t struggle, but the moment they¡¯re in the room, he pushes Wei Zhuo onto the water bed. Wei Zhuo¡¯s strength is sapped, it appears.


    Then Cheng Zhaoci lifts Wei Zhuo¡¯s head up by the jaw, forcing him to look up, and kisses him.


    The bed shakes and buckles, creating strange shadows in the alluring colours.


    There is a moment, when Wei Zhuo¡¯s eyes glaze over the lights of the room, and looks down onto the visual disaster area that is the bright pink bed, while Cheng Zhaoci has his hands running about Wei Zhuo¡¯s firm back msucles.


    Still clearly distraught that he angered Cheng Zhaoci to the point of tears, he goes, ¡°I¡¯m sor-ugh! Sorry, I¡­¡± which is interrupted once more by rather forceful action on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s part, stopping his words entirely.


    Males are definitely worthless in a fight, but in some other kind of fight, they¡¯ve got a real natural talent. Especially if their aptitude is grade S.


    There is another moment, when Wei Zhuo¡¯s upper body is squeezed to the wall, while Cheng Zhaoci is hugging him from behind.


    Wei Zhuo knows his mind is muddled. Wave after wave of heat is rolling him over. He has never been at the mercy of another like this, entirely without any more self-control. Bad enough that he is blabbering, ¡°xiongzhu! Please! I can¡¯t! Argh! W-wait!¡±


    Unfortunately for him, the current Cheng Zhaoci is the crazed Cheng Zhaoci. His generally mature and considerate nature has vanished off somewhere; Wei Zhuo¡¯s predicament only seems to excite him even further.


    He wants to be more forceful, act more severely towards him.


    During their cooperative movements, Cheng Zhaoci can feel the pain in his head alleviating, gradually replaced by that final feeling of release and euphoria at the final moments of the aptitude test on his birthday.


    In the end, all the stuff Bai Jun diligently prepared saw no action. His own body was all that Cheng Zhaoci needed.


    Males awaken for about three days in general, during which sustenance is still required, but the special circumstances mean they usually make do with specialised nutrient pastes.


    After the third day, Cheng Zhaoci wakes up energised and relieved. The big mess they made about the room has already been cleaned up by the robots. Then Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s mind starts recalling the recent events, and his face turns beet red. Kuhum, he sure was being rather barbaric.


    Then he realises Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t here.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Wei-ge?¡± He asks, hoping the artificial stupidity wouldn¡¯t be too stupid and fail to answer.


    [Group Captain Wei departed this morning. For defying standing orders and sortieing without permission, he has been suspended indefinitely pending investigation. Currently, he is in solitary confinement] The AI explains, and also adds in the end, [Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be placed in solitary confinement]


    ¡°Suspension pending investigation?¡±


    [Yes. His actions had widespread impact and consequences. There wasn¡¯t material loss, but it was clear there was a dereliction of duty. This is what Grand Marshal Lu Yao said]


    Cheng Zhaoci furrows his brows, ¡°but Wei-ge, he just went through, kuhum, that. Is he going to be alright?¡±


    [Please do not underestimate the physical capabilities of a grade S shemale. He may be affected when pheromones were in play, but the actual deed itself gives him about as much exhaustion as he has when he finishes a training session]


    Which means, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s imagination of him being too tired to even get off bed or sit down stays a fantasy. Honestly, he¡¯s a little bit sad.


    That said, ¡°can I go see Wei-ge?¡±


    [I¡¯m afraid no. Visits are banned during his confinement. The Grand Marshal said this as well]


    ¡°Grand Marshal Lu is here?¡±


    [He is]

 CH 63

    N/A


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Very brave, aren¡¯t we?! Answer me! Weren¡¯t you brave?!¡± Lu Yao throws a cup at Wei Zhuo, who sidesteps and dodges.


    Lu Yao yells, ¡°bravely dodging, huh?!¡±


    ¡°¡®Pa,¡± Wei Zhuo tries to dissuade Lu Yao from actually lifting a table next, ¡°it¡¯d hurt.¡±


    ¡°Oh?! You know you get hurt? Then why did you try to throw away your life like that?!¡± Lu Yao points his finger right on Wei Zhuo¡¯s nose, ¡°tell me. What am I going to do if you died? What was Mr Cheng Zhaoci to do?! Hah?!¡±


    Wei Zhuo does not dare make any response. He already got a sound beating from his granddad. Of course, he didn¡¯t retaliate, but even for him, a grade S shemale, a pummeling from the legendary warrior of the insectoids is still quite painful.


    Lu Yao chastises Wei Zhuo loudly some more, and when he finally leaves, he warns the guards posted outside again and again, that not even a male coming to plead should Wei Zhuo be released.


    The guards really are in shock, too ¨C so it turns out it actually was a male aboard that mysterious spaceship? They all watched the livestream ¨C just before it was cut off, Wei Zhuo¡¯s mecha embraced another unknown mecha and was backing away.


    But before that, that black mecha actually slapped Wei Zhuo. It was a mecha slapping a mecha, but it¡¯s unimaginable a shemale would not fight back getting a slap on the face.


    Therefore, insectoids speculated that Wei Zhuo¡¯s dad or some other close relative was inside; this got ruled out when amateur detectives revealed his dad passed away when he was young, and his granddad was still on the Capital planet. Thus, the only possible insectoid would be his xiongzhu.


    Which isn¡¯t any less believable, to be honest. A male in a mecha? Going to help his shemale in the heat of battle? Naaah. Many others are suggesting it might be a superior in the army; even grade S shemales have to obey command, and they probably would stay still and take a slap if it was from a superior.


    Everyone thought case closed, except for the shemale soldiers of the makeshift battlefield command.


    They and the Marshal himself were witnesses to an unknown, never-before-seen black mecha flying into space!


    So the Grand Marshal¡¯s warning ¨C can only be further proof of the hypothetical male.


    Wei Zhuo can¡¯t help but sigh in relief when his granddad finally leaves. Though, that isn¡¯t much consolation when he thinks about how early he had to leave. He doesn¡¯t know if Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s anger has subsided yet. His granddad also didn¡¯t tell him how long he¡¯ll stay in confinement for.


    Sitting on his bed, he opens his holodeck ¨C the Internet is blocked off entirely in the room, but he can still type documents.


    How best to show a sincere, apologetic attitude? Write a critical self-reflection.


    He lists his wrongs one by one, and apologises for each and every one of them. He must pour his genuine heart out in each word. That is a given! He has deeply ruminated and understood his mistakes!


    ¡°My dear¡­ xiongzhu,¡± reads Wei Zhuo as he types. It doesn¡¯t feel very affectionate, though, so he opens another screen which displays the selfie of him and Cheng Zhaoci ¨C the one that Meng Yuele thought depicted a kidnapping in progress perpetrated by Cheng Zhaoci.


    Wei Zhuo thinks it was a really good photograph, though. He moves his hand to enlarge and enhance Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, so that it fills up the whole screen area. Satisfied, he stops pawing at it and continues his reflection, ¡°I apologise to you as the heavy weight of guilt weighs on my being. I am most acutely aware of the pain my actions have inflicted on you, which has left me deeply ashamed and nervous¡­ Oh, this should be ¡®apprehensive¡¯ instead¡­¡±


    Every few sentences he writes, he¡¯d glance over at the photograph. A few more words, and another look.


    Cheng Zhaoci, unaware his embarrassing photograph is currently being used in aid of repentance, runs into Lu Yao, ¡°grandpa.¡±


    ¡°Xiao-Ci,¡± Lu Yao is smiling, but it doesn¡¯t exactly feel too genuine, ¡°grandpa is really happy to see you still running and jumping around. Yes.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    There¡¯s something in the atmosphere¡­


    And there is. Lu Yao¡¯s face turns aggrieved in no time, ¡°are you now clearly percipient to the dangers of a male barging into an active battlefield?¡±


    He knew it! Cheng Zhaoci shrinks a little. Lu Yao really can be terribly imposing when he needs to, ¡°it-it was¡­ Wei Zhuo¡­¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t have died! He definitely figured out what was going on already. He¡¯d be hurt, but quite likely no more than in the last few battles he¡¯s fought in. It would have served a good lesson,¡± Lu Yao is harrumphing.


    ¡°I-I was Awakening. You know. My head wasn¡¯t thinking straight,¡± Cheng Zhaoci switches to another excuse ¨C a 100% true one, at least.


    Still, it feels terribly like a child desperately trying to weasel out of a parent¡¯s ¨C Lu Yao¡¯s ¨C wrath.


    Fortunately, Lu Yao is receptive to this excuse. His tone softens, ¡°definitely don¡¯t do such dangerous deeds again, alright?¡±


    ¡°Got it, got it,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is nodding his head like a drinking-bird toy, doing his best to look cute and harmless, ¡°so granddad, Wei Zhuo¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s confined pending investigation. No visitors allowed,¡± Lu Yao is adamant in this.


    ¡°Also, the President called. ¡®When you¡¯re done, call me back.¡¯ He has something important to discuss with you,¡± he changes the topic away from Wei Zhuo entirely.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­ uh, understood.¡±


    He can¡¯t exactly stand up to granddad when he¡¯s rightfully angry like this either, in spite of his generally easygoing attitude. It¡¯s really scary!


    Meanwhile, it turns out the President is calling to discuss the topic of revealing his identity.


    Bai Jiawen is convinced this is the perfect timing, with the discussion of the mysterious black mecha that strode in to save the day still raging online, and Cheng Zhaoci being BombInMyPants himself, too.

 CH 64.1

    Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t have much to weigh in on his big reveal of being a male. He¡¯s even written about it in a status update once, but no one believed it. They thought it was an impromptu joke from BombIn ¨C to soften the tense mood a little.


    Meanwhile, the President has arranged for the insectoids in charge of that comic site to host another meet-and-greet. Before that is arranged, he tells Cheng Zhaoci to go talk a few walks outside; Lu Yao will follow from a safe distance behind him.


    They are certain those shemales on site would be unable to stop themselves from taking photographs, especially when they have not issued direct orders forbidding it. There are always ¡®brave¡¯ shemale soldiers everywhere, and they expect Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s photograph to end up online in no time.


    A male on the frontline? That can only mean he is that rumoured xiongzhu of Wei Zhuo, and the pilot of that mysterious black mecha. It will cause quite the stir.


    But after that ¡®parade,¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci will have to return to the Capital planet.


    ¡°Eh? But, what about Wei-ge?¡± Hearing the arrangement, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s heart skips a beat, ¡°I¡¯m returning alone?¡±


    ¡°With me and my personal guards. I heard a friend of yours made a movie from ¡®In a Tiny Flicker,¡¯ what gender is he?¡± Lu Yao has to repeat his question, when all Cheng Zhaoci is doing is hanging his head so low it looks like it might lop off, ¡°is your friend who made the movie a male, shemale or demi?¡±


    ¡°Male,¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers unenthusiastically, before looking at Lu Yao, ¡°grandpa, don¡¯t you think that, I came over only to survive my Awakening using Wei-ge, and slept for three whole days when Wei-ge went to get his punishment while I slapped myself on the bum and just left; isn¡¯t this like, shitty behaviour?¡±


    Lu Yao¡¯s face softens quite a lot, ¡°grandpa is right. You¡¯re a good kid,¡± he ruffles Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hair, but also shuts Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s expectant look down, ¡°you cannot! No visits. I can¡¯t have him get into the habit of getting in over his head. He needs a lesson.¡±


    Though Cheng Zhaoci is going to ask if Wei Zhuo might be pregnant from the intense 3-day session, and it being unethical to treat a pregnant insectoid thus, but Lu Yao shuts him down again preemptively, ¡°don¡¯t worry. He wasn¡¯t impregnated. We¡¯ve checked.¡±


    ¡°But it was three whole days!¡± Cheng Zhaoci is in disbelief. So many times! For three whole days! How could this be? ¡°Is it my body?¡±


    ¡°¡®Course not. Don¡¯t worry about it. Both of you are fertile, but insectoids aren¡¯t exactly fecund either. When it involves grade S¡¯s like you, the complexity of your genetics makes pregnancy ever more unlikely. We¡¯re expecting two to three offsprings your entire life, but never mind having a full roster of children,¡± Lu Yao explains before rising to leave, ¡°no more questions? Then let¡¯s go. A walk around the base, and then we leave, xiao-Ci.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci gets up, not exactly enthused. He is freshly married, and only just experienced a healthy, adult sex experience once, before being forcibly separated. The tragedy of the insectoid condition.


    At the same time, inside the confinement cell, Wei Zhuo reads through his critical reflection written for Cheng Zhaoci loudly and emotionally. After proofreading everything, he starts blanking out, staring at his selfie with Cheng Zhaoci.


    It¡¯s not really that difficult to stay in one place, when he imagines how he¡¯ll meet Cheng Zhaoci again as soon as he exits. If Cheng Zhaoci is still angry, he¡¯ll give him the reflection. If he¡¯s still angry, then he can let Cheng Zhaoci beat him up¡­  Oh wait, not this. His muscles are too hard. It would hurt his xiongzhu¡®s hands.


    ¡°Hehehe,¡± Wei Zhuo is now chuckling thinking of Cheng Zhaoci.


    This only sends goosebumps through the guards keeping an eye on Wei Zhuo outside. Is this really still the Group Captain who can fight a whole group of soldiers head-on without breaking a sweat during training? Why is the cold and merciless Group Captain smiling so eerily? This is scary. Do shemales end up like that when they have their xiongzhu?


    It¡¯s baffling for sure.


    One guard even decides he¡¯d rather stare at anywhere else than a certain insectoid going insane just watching a photograph.


    That night, Wei Zhuo is finally released. Meng Yuele is waiting for him. Wei Zhuo is actually a little surprised he¡¯s released this quickly, ¡°I thought the confinement would be longer. Where¡¯s ¡®pa?¡±


    Meng Yuele is looking at Wei Zhuo sympathetically, ¡°you¡¯re only released from solitary confinement, but still suspended pending investigation and further evaluation. Any more transgressions and you¡¯d be discharged dishonourably.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Wei Zhuo is scratching his hair, ¡°there won¡¯t be a next time. Is my granddad and¡­ kuhum, xiongzhu here? They didn¡¯t come with you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only me,¡± replies an even more sympathetic Meng Yuele, who pats Wei Zhuo on the shoulder, ¡°your granddad took your xiongzhu for a tour of the base this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s expression turns serious, ¡°did-, my granddad could never make such a mistake. If the pirates had the opportunity, they would definitely try to kidnap him, no matter how much we strengthen our defences. What if there are still undercover agents in our ranks?¡±


    Seeing Wei Zhuo already getting up to look for Cheng Zhaoci, Meng Yuele drags him back by the arm, ¡°the Grand Marshal thinks the same.¡±


    Wei Zhuo is confused. The same? Then why? Are they putting his xiongzhu in danger deliberately? Some new scheme from the upper brass? New ridiciulous schemes?


    Finally, Meng Yuele reveals the cruel truth, ¡°after the brief tour with Mr Cheng Zhaoci, he took him back to the spaceship, and they left for the Capital planet without delay.¡±


    Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    It appears Wei Zhuo has become petrified.


    Meng Yuele explains, ¡°they left as soon as the tour was concluded without even a moment of respite. There was no danger of exposure. It¡¯s fine.¡±


    Wei Zhuo was going to look for his male, but now he¡¯s stopped. Meng Yuele can only see his side profile ¨C it is certainly gloomy. If he were a weatherperson, he would describe it as ¡®a storm appears to be brewing.¡¯


    ¡°And this is my punishment?¡± Wei Zhuo asks, his teeth audibly grating.

 CH 64.2

    There is a terrible sense of foreboding at the back of Meng Yuele¡¯s mind, and he quickly comes up to say, ¡°fuck me! Calm down, keep your cool! Don¡¯t do anything rash on a whim! As long as you obey orders during the monitoring period and get a few merits, you¡¯ll get your rank back! Everything¡¯s lost if you act rashly now!¡±


    ¡°¡­ I know that,¡± Wei Zhuo says, his tone still rather sour. Meng Yuele, terrified, circles over to Wei Zhuo¡¯s front, ¡°bro, ok, listen¡­ uh¡­¡±


    His voice trails off, seeing Wei Zhuo with a stiff face and terribly unhappy. Imposing as always, but his eyes are red ¨C and wet.


    Meng Yuele falls silent. It is notable that this Wei Zhuo is actually even more impactful on him than Wei Zhuo going off to do something he¡¯ll regret later.


    ¡°Hah,¡± Wei Zhuo is now making a derisive grin, ¡°I¡¯m impressed, grandpa. He knows me so well.¡±


    If it really is that painful to bear, he should really just drop the front and the tough words like he¡¯s got everything under control. It only sounds all the more pitiful to Meng Yuele.


    Calmly, coldly, Wei Zhuo lifts his hand ¨C to rub his eyes. If he delays any longer, tears might start falling.


    He only spent so little time together with his male¡­ so little. He¡¯s gone now. They were close together for three days. Three short days, and he went in confinement and out afterwards, when his xiongzhu is gone. His xiongzhu, is gone.


    Who could possibly stay sane?


    Why can he do this? He hasn¡¯t shown his xiongzhu his reflection yet. He hasn¡¯t even said goodbye, but his granddad has taken his xiongzhu away. How could he?!


    He¡¯s so frustrated. He has never felt so wronged and ashamed ever since he Awakened as grade S. Not even when he left his family, when he was more angry than shameful.


    The feeling of being slighted is quite unbecoming of an orderly shemale soldier, especially not Wei Zhuo.


    Meng Yuele seems really terrified of the never-before-seen Wei Zhuo, though. The contrast is too great, like he¡¯s a completely different insectoid to the powerful soldier he¡¯s always known. His mouth is open, but he fails to produce any word of consolation, because Wei Zhuo is speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯m not crying,¡± he said, as calmly as he could, but the tone betrays how suppressed he is being.


    Meng Yuele is shrinking a little at this point, ¡°no, bro, I wasn¡¯t going to tell¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright. Report. Let¡¯s go,¡± Wei Zhuo cuts him off and just walks forward. As for that long, long reflection he has saved in his holodeck, he¡¯ll be reading it out loud to his xiongzhu as soon as he sees him again!


    He¡¯ll work hard, get his job back¡­ or maybe even get a promotion or two.


    The online world is in an uproar no less dramatic in scope than Wei Zhuo¡¯s mind. News of BombIn¡¯s appearance in the meet-and-greet isn¡¯t even out yet, but the news of the grade S male, and also, how he piloted a mecha into space, have already taken the Federation by storm.


    The Federation itself announced the grade S male¡¯s discovery officially, while his appearance was actually leaked from the frontline ¨C right before the male returned to the Capital planet, they say.


    The most striking aspect of the male captured in the photograph is his sheer dominating aura. The feel! It is actually rather not friendly or lovable. In fact, the cold, almost hostile expression could kill with the eyes alone!


    And the few that are actually looking into the camera? The apathy, indolence, and the slight hint of irritation! Thanks to his handsome appearance, though, rather than becoming off-putting, it makes other insectoids¡­ feel a sort of alluring tension, and also, blush and turn meek.


    It is unimaginable they¡¯re sensing the danger from a male in a mere photograph! Really, grade S¡¯s are out of this world.


    Now Cheng Zhaoci has become the most discussed male on the Internet by far, gaining a whole load of nicknames, like ¡®Mr Beauty Freeze,¡¯ ¡®Strongest Male,¡¯ ¡®His Cold, Bossy Highness the Mister¡¯¡­ which, if one has trouble telling, comes from the fans of Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comic.


    Unfortunately, photographs of males are completely off-limits to downloading. Not even screenshots. This is also to protect the privacy of the newlyweds Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo. The Federation¡¯s goal has never been to elevate Cheng Zhaoci as the ¡®boyfriend of the nation.¡¯


    Interestingly, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s rather unique formidability has been surprisingly effective at stopping him from becoming a target of affection for most.


    Still, Cheng Zhaoci is not too happy reading the praises of the insectoids yelling about how handsome he is. He is grumpy, and only grumpier seeing his own comic¡¯s fans among those happily expressing their newfound adoration for their new idol.

 CH 65.1

    ¡°The pirates¡¯ losses would have been heavy. I know how Jin Yue plans, and cautious with strategising as he is, they likely piloted the best group of spaceships they had on hand,¡± Wei Zhuo is analysing calmly.


    This is neither self-aggrandisement nor arrogance, but simply him stating an objective truth. It is known in their circles that Wei Zhuo has been able to get out unscathed after literally blowing up enemy vessels in wars fought against other species. Of course, that time, the insectoids are more advanced technologically than those other belligerents, but Jin Yue would have taken necessary precautions.


    He¡¯s sick in the head, but not insane. Especially when there¡¯s a Sun Wushe by his side.


    If Wei Zhuo was even faster in fighting, or Jin Yue didn¡¯t make the cruel snap decision to sacrifice a whole carrier of insectoids and left alone, the war might have ended then and there, on Wei Zhuo¡¯s sudden whim.


    The pirates aren¡¯t really that strong, and not at all capable of fighting the Federation forces head-on. They are keeping it up only thanks to their guerilla tactics and hiding themselves well.


    Of course, they¡¯ve now hid themselves once more.


    Space is big, big enough that there are charts and set paths for general travel through the galaxy. If Jin Yue and his subordinates were fleeing from a planet, it would still be possible to analyse his escape routes. Starting from nowhere in space, however, they could have run anywhere. The only thing certain is that the pirates would never use any of the safe, patrolled, established routes.


    ¡°And we¡¯ll find them,¡± Wei Zhuo is looking through the latest star charts the Marshal sent him, ¡°I agitated him greatly last time; he would not let himself take it sitting down.¡±


    Jin Yue has never been an insectoid who could patiently wait for the optimal moment to strike back after getting pounded into the dirt. He will only want Wei Zhuo dead with renewed vigour and impatience. That said, Sun Wushe really is a troublesome advisor. His battle senses and strategising doesn¡¯t compare to Jin Yue at all, but he is perceptive and intelligent. Also, patient.


    Wei Zhuo then goes quiet for some time before suddenly asking, ¡°have there been any more male kidnappings or casualties?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know about the wellbeing of the ones already kidnapped, but there have been no kidnappings of late,¡± answers the Marshal, who is sitting right next to him, ¡°the space buccaneers have gone quiet.¡±


    Then it¡¯s likely an order from Sun Wushe, just in case their location gets pinpointed.


    ¡°How did my xiongzhu know where I was?¡± Wei Zhuo asks another question.


    ¡°He reports having compared the surrounding stellar background to isolate the neighbourhood in an astonishingly short amount of time,¡± the Marshal really is impressed. As expected of a legendary grade S male.


    Apparently, he only read about these stars in passing on a star chart featured as part of his lessons. He didn¡¯t even intentionally try to commit them to memory, but after Awakening, all the contents are practically etched into his memory.


    Wei Zhuo thinks about it, then suggests, ¡°my mecha¡¯s cameras were running the whole time. Maybe we can try sending the video of Jin Yue escaping in the end to my xiongzhu, and also the last part of their livestream too.¡±


    After Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s Awakening, he had exceptional memories and learning ability as expected of a grade S male. He might be able to give them a breakthrough.


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll plead the case to my superiors afterwards,¡± the Marshal nods, then pats Wei Zhuo on the back, ¡°you know Grand Marshal Lu is only doing all this for your good, right?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Wei Zhuo nods, before rising to leave, ¡°sir, I still have my assignments. I¡¯ll be excusing myself.¡±


    ¡°Then go.¡±


    When Wei Zhuo leaves, he finds Meng Yuele waiting outside the door for him. He nods to him in greeting, ¡°let¡¯s go. Time to do the rounds.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Meng Yuele nods a few times, feeling like the Wei Zhuo before he fell hopelessly in love is coming back.


    Though he quickly notices the little sculpture his childhood friend has attached to his belt ¨C an unexpectedly lifelike sculpture of Cheng Zhaoci. Wei Zhuo is walking forward as he caresses the sculpture with his hand all without fazing the slightest.


    Meng Yuele ¡°¡­¡±


    Ok.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci has had some alone time to himself. A grade S he may be, but he¡¯s also just 18. If he has to step up in place of all the other higher-ups in the insectoid political machine to deal with this, the insectoid race would probably have gone extinct a long time ago.


    Two weeks later, the comic site meet-and-greet has somehow ended up becoming a full-blown artist-fest gala. And among the authors, comic artists and others invited, BombIn¡¯s name is quite literally the bomb. And not just him, the comic artist of contrivance, MachoInsectoid, and the slightly less well-known assistant of theirs, Lonely Eagle, would also be in attendance.


    Their names were placed together, and they will apparently share the same booth.


    BombInMyPants¡¯ readers are excited! Holy shit! They can finally see that damned comic artist in person! They¡¯re so touched they can go drag a whole banner on location to scold the damned comic artist for being so damned obtuse! Damn!


    Fans on the Capital planet are most excited, of course, males, shemales and demis alike. They¡¯ll finally be able to see BombIn. Males and the others on the other planets aren¡¯t as lucky, but they can still check out streams and posts from other insectoids.


    They can finally see what BombIn looks like! Some insectoids have jokingly said they¡¯ve got sacks prepared to let loose on him, once and for all!

 CH 65.2

    Meanwhile, some insectoids online have also brought up the recent Internet star, that grade S male who¡¯s taken the airwaves by storm. Not that they¡¯re suggesting anything as ludicrous as the grade S male being BombIn himself, but simply wondering and discussing if a male like that grade S male would read comics.


    Their ¡®conclusion¡¯¡­ no.


    Like, that grade S male? Who could pilot a mecha to go after his own cijun? Whose appearance in the photographs is like that?


    Apathetic, domineering, breathtaking. A perfectly strong match to that grade S shemale. They vibe really well. So they can¡¯t imagine such a cold and distant male being interested in something as mundane as comics.


    In fact, looking at what some insectoids say, they¡¯re speaking of Cheng Zhaoci like he¡¯s some kind of deity who can survive off flower petals and dew alone.


    And they don¡¯t mean to say BombIn¡¯s comics aren¡¯t good enough either. They just cannot fathom someone with the striking, imposing aura like that grade S male reading comics for entertainment online. In fact, they don¡¯t even think he has ever visited the cultural entertainment part of the Internet.


    A few insectoids have entertained the idea of the grade S male being a fan of BombIn¡¯s, but they get buried under mountains of retorts asking them to imagine that male laugh-crying like them reading the comic like babies; they can¡¯t imagine at all.


    There are lots of comments and replies poking fun at each other in general at the absurdities of it all.


    Cheng Zhaoci really does not understand this world anymore, he can only smirk dismissively at all these online kerfuffles.


    ¡°You know, you look almost just like that dumbass male in Xiaobao¡¯s comic when he goes ¡®Ho, demis,''¡± Zhou Luoluo chimes in, becoming acutely aware of what it means ¡®not to judge a book by its cover.¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s antagonistic aura and his actual personality are markedly different; the phrase fits Cheng Zhaoci to a T.


    ¡°Say, if they really did get a gigantic banner at a venue and saw the three of us, how would they react?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is making a rather offputting smile. The war between the damned comic artist and his damned readers is almost over; he, Mr Cheng, would appear to have the upper end in the end.


    Ha. And they say he wasn¡¯t like a male at all. And they treated his confession and honesty as a joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t get sortied to the frontline. I was feeling bitter, but now I feel fortunate. We would¡¯ve missed the chance to see BombIn otherwise,¡± a shemale soldier is chatting to his coworker, ¡°and say, if there really are more violent fans who want to beat him up in public, should we help stop them?¡±


    ¡°The venue knows better than we do. Their security will be tight; it¡¯s none of our worries,¡± his coworker shrugs, ¡°I¡¯ve actually taken a precious day off. Honestly, pretty much a first time ever for another shemale¡¯s sake.¡±


    ¡°So are we! It¡¯s our first time, too.¡±


    On the other side is Xiao Ji, watching his classmates setting up this massive red banner with a blank expression, and ordering, ¡°stay the hell away from me later.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, bro,¡± a student calls out; they already knew about Xiao Ji¡¯s male younger brother, and now, that younger brother suddenly became the only living grade S male of this generation.


    Overnight, Xiao Ji has acquired even more ¡®younger brothers¡¯ than he¡¯d care to count.


    ¡°Bro my fucking arse. I¡¯m not your bro!¡± Xiao Ji really hates all these insectoids acting too familiar with him, ¡°and! Stay the fuck away! End of discussion!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, just leave them there. Let¡¯s go,¡± He Huaijian removes Xiao Ji from the spot before he explodes, ¡°they¡¯ll know soon enough.¡±


    A whole bunch of current academy enlistees are inside the large stadium that is the venue for this Readers¡¯ Gala.


    Though usually eyecatching in droves, these enlistees are completely eclipsed in attention by actual active duty members, still in their military uniforms and also having come in droves.


    Of course, even they fade into obscurity on account of the number of males present.


    Males! Whole groups of males! When normally it¡¯s rare to even see a male out in public, they¡¯ve appeared here in waves!


    They¡¯re pretty lively too, and generally look to be young. They¡¯re more fashionable than shemales in most cases, and here, quite a few of them have cosplayed comic characters ¨C making themselves clearly known as fans of BombIn.


    ¡°Later, on the count of three, everyone yell ¡®BombIn, marry me,''¡± the leader of one small group of males is telling his friends, ¡°there¡¯s no way that damned BombIn won¡¯t blush; make sure to take photographs for maximum meme appeal.¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± The few males reply.


    After the scheming, they can see lots of shemales staring at them all around. They flash them smiles before getting back to rehearsing for their great prank.


    ¡°¡­ Aren¡¯t there, like too many males here?!¡± A shemale is staring wide-eyed into the whole spectacle, and then spots, out of the corner of his eyes, a whole group of males in white gowns. These are quiet, not just ignoring everyone around them entirely, but not even talking amongst themselves at all.


    There are so many varieties of males here, and there are already brave shemales and demis who¡¯ve decided to go for it. Perhaps it¡¯s thanks to their common interests, conversations aren¡¯t difficult to start.


    At least, it is much easier than usual trying to chat up a male.


    And while the Readers¡¯ Gala is about to turn into a massive mixer for lonely singles and single researchers to help prop up the birth rate of the insectoids for the next year or two, the host announces the beginning of the activities.

 CH 66.1

    Hypocritical


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    After the activities commence, many insectoids are hurrying to BombInMyPants¡¯ booth.


    Security personnel are already in place, helping the insectoids queue up.


    ¡°Hey, you know, BombIn¡¯s security here is like, real tight. His booth looks different too,¡± an insectoid comments, looking at the long queue in front of him, and the forcefield projectors that make the booth stand out much more from other booths.


    Even stranger are the guards assigned here ¨C armed with guns! And sharp eyes! Scary!


    A meet-and-greet would usually be the author or artist signing his name on the work or even drawing some cute icon for them. There might also be interactive activities coordinated by the host.


    Like, even if it¡¯s a Reader¡¯s Gala now, this seems excessive.


    ¡°Shit, maybe BombIn is actually somebody? Like, high command or something?¡± A young male is chatting with his friend.


    The friend seems unfazed, ¡°it¡¯s fine. So what? BombIn has been pretty receptive to jokes too. He wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    That¡¯s true, and the male sighs in relief. Still, that doesn¡¯t make the whole booth less intimidating.


    The insectoids are chatting as authors and artists of the other booths have settled into place. BombIn is still yet to be seen.


    ¡°Maybe he wants to make a last-minute, grand appearance?¡± An insectoid guesses, ¡°he is on a different level of famous to the other creatives. Makes sense to make it a little flashier,¡± and even more so if he actually is some bigshot somewhere.


    It¡¯s not just the insectoids at the venue that are curious, but so are the many more insectoids following livestreams and updates.


    They may already have concluded BombIn is likely a shemale from that one photograph with the hands, instead of a demi, but his face is still completely unknown.


    Many insectoids have already pooled their talents together, extrapolating BombIn¡¯s height and stuff from that photographed hand alone, but that doesn¡¯t help them guess his appearance at all. Many of them are really curious what BombInMyPants looks like ¨C what appearance the insectoid who could dream up those fantastical stories and draw in such a unique style would look like.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯ve both spent a donkey¡¯s in the dressing room?¡± Asks Cheng Zhaoci, currently being escorted to the stadium, alongside the Zhou brothers. Unusually, Zhou Luoluo has forgone his usual clean, bright and sometimes outrageous look, and instead opted for a colder, more professional black and white attire.


    According to him, as someone who is already (unilaterally) in a relationship, he needs to take care that his clothing discourages wanton advances and preserve his innocence as a virgin male.


    In stark contrast is Zhou Xiaobao, who has taken the Christmas tree approach from his cousin. He seems to think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for romance ¨C he¡¯s there to get lucky, so to speak.


    ¡°You know, if it weren¡¯t for the two of you¡­¡± Cheng Zhaoci is speechless. Still, the Zhou brothers really do look quite like girls, making him unable to truly chastise them to their faces.


    He thinks he understands what all boyfriends feel like waiting for their girlfriends to ¡®get ready.¡¯ Unfortunately for them, there is not the bond of love and romance to smooth things over in between. Waiting outside for them, especially for Zhou ¡®the Walking Festival Decoration¡¯ Xiaobao, has made Cheng Zhaoci feel justified to emancipate them from the struggle of clothing altogether, and just go commando.


    Putting the lanyard with his identification attached on, Cheng Zhaoci warns them, ¡°Xiaobao, I¡¯m warning you, no flirting with any shemales or demis present later! Do you copy?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Zhou Xiaobao knows he¡¯s not brave enough. He can draw that utter abomination of contrivances in private, but he is still the introverted, socially awkward male at heart. Even if he¡¯s put ¡®attractive¡¯ clothing on, he is only hoping to catch the eye of potential suitors who would come to know him proactively.


    As long as he doesn¡¯t need to do the heavy conversational lifting!


    Although, as it turns out, both his and Zhou Luoluo¡¯s considerations and worries ended up for naught.


    Because, as soon as they have walked in with Cheng Zhaoci, screams erupt in the venue ¨C all the insectoids have turned their attention to them. Or rather, to one single insectoid. The one that was on the news, that piloted a mecha to find his cijun, that is imposing and the one and only, grade S male.


    After that initial wave, the entire stadium becomes much quieter. The rest of the insectoids that were distracted talking with friends or otherwise have also noticed the strange mood, and are looking.


    Of course, many insectoids aren¡¯t looking at Cheng Zhaoci directly, with so many insectoids blocking the view, but there are large screens everywhere with holograms, that are currently showing the latest comic artists that just walked in.


    How does it feel like to suddenly see a famous insectoid from the news? A national treasure of a grade S male¡­


    After the suddenly silence, voices come back in the form of muffled, surprised discussions. Not the happy kind of surprised ¡®woah¡¯s similar to Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s comics where shemales and demis are swooning at the sight of the protagonist male ¨C but properly spooked or frightful ones, like they¡¯re seeing an insectoid there that should not be there. It is simply terrifying.


    There are now even confused shouting and yells. Enough to make Cheng Zhaoci feel like his ears are ringing. Furrowing his brows deeply, he takes a step back.


    The voices quiet down a lot, once more.


    Most insectoids are still looking right at Cheng Zhaoci. Some of them have started looking away, but are still occasionally glancing.


    ¡°H-help. My legs,¡± Zhou Xiaobao is already at his limits. He looks like he wants to run away already. Argh! He really shouldn¡¯t have agreed to come anywhere this crowded!


    ¡°Stay with me. Calm down. They¡¯re not looking at you,¡± Zhou Luoluo helps by grabbing his cousin¡¯s arm.


    It¡¯s true they¡¯re not looking at Zhou Xiaobao, but at Cheng Zhaoci. The insectoid in question takes a deep breath, and slowly makes his way over, passing by some of the booths. His guards, meanwhile, are still diligently performing their duties, protecting Cheng Zhaoci in the centre of their circle. The heads of many insectoids present at the venue are gradually turning and following wherever Cheng Zhaoci is moving.

 CH 66.2

    Why is the grade S male here?


    Some of their wild guesses almost seem validated the closer Cheng Zhaoci walks towards BombInMyPants¡¯ booth.


    Seriously?


    Then they watch as Cheng Zhaoci and the two males with him enter the booth, while his escorts join the security guards, standing outside.


    After that, Cheng Zhaoci speaks into the microphone on the desk, ¡°apologies for being late. Something came up in the last minute.¡±


    The venue falls dead silent. Again.


    ¡°¡­ Bro. I want to go home,¡± one of Xiao Ji¡¯s classmate, still spreading the banner wide, would much rather turn around to run away.


    This is excessively exciting. If he knew¡­ he knew, he would have dressed up some more! It¡¯s a grade S male! Actually, why is BombInMyPants¡¯ a grade S male?! What the fuck?!


    Was he not supposed to be a shemale who fantasised a bit much about males? Why-what-wh?! How did he turn into a male all of a sudden?!


    ¡°Bro! Why didn¡¯t you tell me he¡¯s that comic artist?!¡±


    ¡°Who the heck are you calling here?¡± Xiao Ji dismissively slaps the arm away, ¡°now put that dumb banner down and keep your bullshit to yourself. Got it?¡±


    Conversation is refilling the air¡­ Even more violently this time. Almost everyone is talking to each other while looking at Cheng Zhaoci.


    Meanwhile, the first insectoid lining up at Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s booth is actually a male ¨C from the Institute. Undeterred, and not the slightest bit surprised, he asks Cheng Zhaoci to draw a simple figure of the demi reporter with a completely natural tone, then has a bit of friendly banter with him before leaving.


    Then there¡¯s the young male who is the twelfth in line ¨C the one that was planning to have his friends all shout a confession to BombInMyPants as a joke. He is coming to terms with reality, and also praying¡­


    Unfortunately for him, those males have left without looking the slightest bit perturbed. They simply left looking happy that they got to meet their favourite creative.


    ¡­ Huh? Is he the odd one out? Is it normal that Cheng Zhaoci ¨C the grade S male ¨C is here, as BombInMyPants?


    The male then looks behind him, and sees that the insectoids lining up behind him seem even more distressed. He feels slightly better.


    ¡°Um, hello?¡± Cheng Zhaoci sees that the young male now in front of his booth has been zoning out for some time, occasionally glancing behind him, and tries to get his attention.


    ¡°Uh-ah! One, two, three!¡± The poor male¡¯s brain still in haywire, what he remembers most deeply is his scheme to throw BombIn off guard with his friends. He ends up going through with it.


    Being birds of a feather, his friends quickly snap back to gear and yell out in chorus, ¡°BombIn! I love you!¡±


    A powerful yell that echoes throughout the venue has quite the visible effect on the atmosphere ¨C the stadium has fallen silent once more.


    The first one to react is the recipient of the confession, Cheng Zhaoci, who smiles but says in the microphone, ¡°apologies, I¡¯m not homosexual.¡±


    The gentle tone helps mellow out his imposing aura quite a lot ¨C which only ends up making the male in front of him blush even more, to the degree that one could reasonably suspect Cheng Zhaoci has just been hitting him up with indecency.


    And ¡®indecent¡¯ is the perfect word encapsulating the ¡®gentle¡¯ Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s thoughts right now ¨C he¡¯s elated.


    See? Can you see for yourself? An actual, living male! Now no one can retort anymore that he ¡®can¡¯t possibly be a male¡¯! No one, he says!


    The more his emotions rage underneath, the gentler his smile becomes. He signs for the male and quickly draws a figure for him in one fell stroke.


    ¡°Say, he looks really disingenuous right now,¡± Zhou Luoluo whispers to his cousin next to him.


    Zhou Xiaobao then looks towards Cheng Zhaoci; he has been signing as well, also being a popular comic artist, though his own fans also can¡¯t help but keep looking towards Cheng Zhaoci.


    Of course, Zhou Xiaobao is a rare male comic artist who¡¯s actually kind of reclusive in behaviour ¨C but clearly, he is nowhere near as surprising to everyone as a certain unique grade S individual.


    Zhou ¡®the Walking Festival D¨¦cor¡¯ Xiaobao is quite unhappy, ¡°let¡¯s not go outside with him together in the future,¡± as it is seriously affecting his prospects for romance right now.


    ¡°Huh? You, who would never go outside anyway?¡± And only ever commuting to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s whenever he does go outside?


    Zhou ¡®the Socially Awkward¡¯ Xiaobao ¡°¡­¡±


    Is it so difficult to look for love these days?


    Meng Yuele is having a rare moment of respite, and is using that to the fullest¡­ watching livestream of the Gala, ¡°everyone is shocked.¡±


    Including the many soldiers posted here. None of them had any idea that BombInMyPants was actually there with them for a while on base. And it wasn¡¯t remotely the case that the Group Captain was BombIn. It¡¯s actually his xiongzhu instead.


    This is really a lot to take in. They need some time to themselves.


    Wei Zhuo, meanwhile, is maintaining his firearm while looking at the stream every so often. Though when the camera closes up on Cheng Zhaoci, Wei Zhuo feels like something is off, ¡°I think my xiongzhu is happy,¡± but his smile looks quite restrained, like he¡¯s constipated or something.

 CH 67

    Hidden Boss Character


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Wei Zhuo has certainly seen Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s genuine smile, which is quite different from this ¡®happy but I have to hold it in so I¡¯m only smiling politely by raising the corners of my lips a little¡¯ approach. Wei Zhuo is actually somewhat creeped out.


    ¡°Group Captain!¡± A soldier calls out to Wei Zhuo, and asks when he has his attention, ¡°do you think your family could use a new concubine?¡±


    Wei Zhuo quickly reassembles the parts he¡¯s maintaining, and flicks the safety off, giving aim in one fell swoop.


    That soldier, who was only joking, immediately raises his hands in defeat, ¡°uh w-w-w-wait, calm down!¡±


    Meng Yuele also stops Wei Zhuo from doing anything rash, while yelling at that dumbo, ¡°fuck off! What the fuck were you doing leering at another¡¯s xiongzhu in front of his cijun?!¡±


    ¡°You are wrong. My xiongzhu is excellent. It is normal to fall for him,¡± Wei Zhuo calmly exposits.


    ¡°Well if you¡¯re so rational, why don¡¯t you put that damned gun down first?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m simply testing the parts out,¡± Wei Zhuo looks away, and puts down his weapon, ¡°and I do not object to others being concubines for my xiongzhu.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Meng Yuele shudders, wondering how much psychological damage Wei Zhuo is currently undergoing.


    ¡°As long as they can beat me in a solo fight,¡± clarifies Wei Zhuo.


    Meng Yuele sighs in relief. Phew, that¡¯s the Wei Zhuo he knows.


    ¡°He¡¯s the grade S male? He came to retrieve Wei Zhuo that day, then?¡± Sun Wushe has already turned off the stream in front of him, and is leaning back in his chair, ¡°Mr Cheng Zhaoci came here, huh?¡±


    In the very midst of danger.


    Jin Yue¡¯s face is quite gloomy. He does not speak.


    Sun Wushe seems rather caught up on the whole thing, ¡°I thought¡­ I actually thought he might cry and mourn for a while,¡± instead, looking at what he actually did this time, if anything did happen to Wei Zhuo, he might have put his life on the line and fought them head-on.


    As one, single, solitary male.


    He really didn¡¯t know much about grade S males and their behaviour, but¡­


    ¡°The Federation has declassified some records on grade S males. Even recordings,¡± Jin Yue suddenly speaks up, ¡°just now,¡± and he has just finished watching them, just like many citizens of the Federation, he presumes.


    ¡°If the little ugly thing really was going to avenge his beloved and fight us, we might actually be screwed,¡± Jin Yue ignores Sun Wushe, who¡¯s clearly still mired in his own thoughts, and turns to leave.


    The Readers¡¯ Gala has finally ended after an entire day. Cheng Zhaoci is now rubbing his face, given his muscles are terribly tense from maintaining a smile all day, ¡°ah, it was so tiring to stand around.¡±


    ¡°Oh really? Weren¡¯t you happy?¡± The Zhou brothers are looking at him with rather equally inscrutable expressions.


    Zhou Luoluo then takes a deep breath to reset, and speaks up, ¡°I want to ask something.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Cheng Zhaoci sits up; the three of them are already sitting in their transport right now, and Zhou Luoluo has this serious expression on his face.


    ¡°In the afternoon, the government has declassified and publicised the records of the lives and achievements of several prominent grade S males. They are nowhere as simple as ¡®good at drawing comics,''¡± Zhou Luoluo takes a deep breath. His hands are still trembling ever so slightly. He cannot help himself, knowing he is sitting next to some kind of hidden boss character in a game, the kind capable of destroying worlds over. He asks, ¡°when you were signing your name and interacting with your fans, was that gentle attitude and amicable atmosphere what you felt deep down inside? Or was it actually acting?¡±


    The grade S males¡­ They¡¯re all emotionless ¨C heartless and crazed conflict creators. Zhou Luoluo is seriously concerned ¨C that Cheng Zhaoci was only pretending to be enjoying himself.


    ¡°I was only acting polite,¡± replies Cheng Zhaoci. Hey, if he was smiling to the true degree of how happy he was at the sight of confused fans, it¡¯d probably be even more dramatically discordant with his own image.

 CH 68.1

    A Popular Bachelor


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Cheng Zhaoci didn¡¯t know his admitting he was all pretending would spook the Zhou brothers so much that they¡¯d stop visiting at all for half a month.


    But thanks to his exceptional memories, he¡¯s able to recall this detail when he realises they haven¡¯t visited or contacted him much, and realise what they were talking about when they say he was ¡®gentle¡¯ and ¡®polite.¡¯


    Right. They must have been worried he¡¯s become an emotionless troublemaker.


    So he has to actually call Zhou Luoluo to explain that he didn¡¯t get what they were talking about back then, not knowing the Federation has already released juicy details on grade S males and so did not realise what he was asking about. Finally, after cooperating with a few rather insultingly offensive tests, Zhou Luoluo is relieved.


    Thank goodness he hasn¡¯t lost his capable assistants when he still has more updates to draw.


    A short time after he made up with the Zhou brothers, more things have come to pass. For one, Evan¡¯s movie, also named ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ after the comic, is released. Next, the President has helped arrange his invitation to the new school he¡¯ll be studying in, where suitable grade A (and above) males end up studying after their aptitude tests.


    Fortunately, it¡¯s not a boarding school, so Cheng Zhaoci is still able to go home every day ¨C well, to Grand Marshal Lu¡¯s mansion, at least.


    Meanwhile, ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ is a massive hit as a movie as well. After Cheng Zhaoci has been revealed to be the only living grade S male of the generation, there was an unprecedented increase to his following. As the first animated movie of his works, ¡®In a Tiny Flicker¡¯ was guaranteed to garner attention.


    Especially when insectoids now know of the many grade S males who seem destined ¨C cursed ¨C to be victims of their own fates, at the hands of shemalesm etc., and turn misanthropic and shemale-phobic.


    Cheng Zhaoci is quite different in that respect.


    The times being what it is, the movie was probably going to cause massive headaches by being influential and also exposing lots of societal issues driving the genders apart. If enemy polities took advantage of the chaos, the insectoids might end up in a civil war without intervention.


    Yet they were also aware that the way the current laws exhibit clear favouritism to males would only give rise to more and more Jin Yues, until a trigger threshold when it all blows up in their face no worse than a civil war would.


    That¡¯s why the movie was released, because there is a twist ¨C that the content¡¯s original creator is male, and the director who adapted this into a movie, is also male.


    In the Readers¡¯ Gala, Cheng Zhaoci attended with male friends ¨C one of whom is the comic artist behind an infamous yet popular contrived comic.


    Cheng Zhaoci is a grade S male that is different from known grade S males. He¡¯s not as emotionless.


    His works past and present are what he dedicated time and effort into. He poured his heart out.


    This is also what gave those comics the ability to resonate with other insectoids. His passion has, in turn, lent other insectoids the drive to keep damning him and return the favour.


    Recall the Gala, when after his happy introduction to all present that he was indeed male, he wrote a status update asking for the insectoids who were all blabbering about marrying him and buying up prime advertisement space to do so, or who were all proclaiming they¡¯d come beat him up. He was quite looking forward to meeting these brave souls, he says. It feels awkward when they¡¯re all suddenly so quiet.


    Well, the replies didn¡¯t come as quickly as usual, but one soon broke through the silence.


    [FreeXiongzhuForReporters: tch! you, awkward? shameless! if you told me you were grade S, I wouldn¡¯t have said anything about the sad plot or slow updates. great, now I don¡¯t have a grade S male xiongzhu. damned comic artist is ruining my childhood, again]


    This opened the floodgates to waves of complaints, and a renewed surge in eye-bleachingly awkward graphics asking for more frequent updates.


    So what if he¡¯s male? Look at all the endings thus far! Oh, their poor, poor babies! They are filled with the determination to beat BombIn up once more.


    Oh, and what¡¯s with a male naming his alt ¡®BombInMyPants¡¯?! He should¡¯ve gone with ¡®PinkUndies¡¯ or something! And his friends? MachoInsectoid? Lonely Eagle? Those dispel whatever aura of mystique a grade S male brings. Instead, they can clearly see his punchable, goofy face he¡¯s making underneath that cold and distant fa?ade.


    Cheng Zhaoci is quite happy seeing his viewers return to normalcy ¨C that is, angrily lashing out at him. Cheng Zhaoci is even replying to a few of them. Apparently, this has completely relieved the readers, who are now asking for updates with renewed vigour.


    Hey, his updates are regular and weekly already, ok?


    Soothing his fanbase has certainly helped when his movie¡¯s trailers and stuff were out. Of course, extremist and reactionary comments would always be there, but it was at a degree quite manageable, which helped President Bai sigh in relief for sure.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s first day of school happened to coincide with his movie¡¯s first day of showing. He went to school, of course, where he was received by a familiar stranger ¨C his second half-brother related by blood, Lu Su.


    Calling it ¡®friendly¡¯ would be a lie, but Lu Su is a professional at ¡®appearing professional¡¯ when he¡¯s in his MP garments. He had a friendly smile when he said, ¡°hello, Mr Cheng Zhaoci. There are things you need to know about beforehand.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Oh, ok,¡± Cheng Zhaoci saw guards around, and he could guess Lu Su was sent specifically on command from higher-ups.


    They sat at the back of their transport, and Lu Su did not waste time talking about their relationship at all. He explained, ¡°the President¡¯s plans are as follows. First, information on the political makeup would be publically released in steps. That would be followed by the information on the First Research Institute, which would be done at the same time as the legislature pushes for amendments to slowly revoke the clauses on male privileges.¡±


    ¡°You would not be asked to do much. We expect you might have to come take a seat for the public to see occasionally. The President also wishes to expedite your studies to the same end,¡± Lu Su pauses, then asks, ¡°I apologise, but I¡¯m curious about how the awakening affected your emotions. Was it dramatic?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat,¡± Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, and explains. Awakening did not force him to constantly relieve his memories, but he could control whether he wants to access it, and he could recall in no time. This was not inconveniencing in the slightest.


    The effect of his Awakening was much more pronounced on his analytical side. He had much better attention to detail and appreciated a macroscopic view more than he did. Emotionally, there was only the occasional time when his rationale would stop him from doing something on a whim.


    He then thinks and adds, ¡°in general, I¡¯m less brash than before, but I do not feel as emotionless or singlemindedly driven as other grade S males were documented to be.¡±


    For example, he still felt quite guilty when he saw his dad sick with worry as he returned from the frontline. The guilt and shame were not purged by his Awakening.


    Now, though, he¡¯s certainly become much better academically. He could remember knowledge he only heard but not listened to in class in his past life. He even thinks he could easily become the top one student of the entire Gaokao if he had this brain back in his past life¡­ Assuming he didn¡¯t screw up subjective evaluation on understanding passages and writing essays, etc.


    And really, achieving top marks with what is basically a cheat is quite unfair to the many students who have studied away their lives for it that year.


    Since he can now remember the questions of his year¡¯s Gaokao down to each and every single word.

 CH 68.2

    Cheng Zhaoci never really enjoyed cheats and the like as writing devices. Take, for example, a feel-good story whose protagonist ends up with a cheat after some coincidences that gives them ample rewards for practically no effort, and then use it to faceslap someone.


    Follow it up with some form of ¡®don¡¯t look down on me,¡¯ and Cheng Zhaoci thinks he¡¯d probably be so frustrated he¡¯d puke up blood¡­ and transmigrate or something. Seriously.


    What a disgusting plot device.


    Actually, no, please don¡¯t send him back to his original world with his newfound cheat. He won¡¯t be able to hold himself back from hitting himself.


    Well, he might as well just achieve greatness here in the insectoid world. It¡¯s probably not too hard with his current brain capacity, which is so vast and all-encompassing he is always remembering his most embarrassing moments in his lives both past and present when he¡¯s trying to sleep.


    In fact, he isn¡¯t even sure if he actually fell asleep every day or just fainted trying to escape from the embarrassment.


    Sadly, this wouldn¡¯t have been a problem if he had wholesome night activities every day and no time to reflect on himself. Too bad Wei Zhuo is still fighting in the distant frontline.


    Lu Su sees Cheng Zhaoci sinking into his own thoughts, and clears his throat, ¡°we¡¯re at the school, mister.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is interrupted from his second-by-second, crisp recollection of those three wholesome days he spent. He¡¯s slightly embarrassed talking to Lu Su, and tries to avert the gaze, ¡°oh, um, let¡¯s get off?¡±


    ¡°I would be staying on. A teacher will be guiding you from here on out,¡± replies Lu Su, smiling, but still, he can¡¯t help but call out to him to wait.


    Cheng Zhaoci turns around, asking, ¡°is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s something more personal, but my brother wanted me to tell you, that if you ever needed any help, you could come find us,¡± Lu Su smiles, adding, ¡°we¡¯re fans of your work too, you know.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks,¡± replies Cheng Zhaoci, in a way more leaning towards a subtle refusal.


    After Cheng Zhaoci has left the vehicle, Lu Su sighs and leans back into the chair. His professionalism is gone entirely.


    His driver, a shemale, now turns his head around to ask, ¡°yo, tryin¡¯ to hit on the grade S male, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hit on my arse! If I actually did that, I¡¯d be in jail in no time!¡± Given he¡¯s a half-brother who shared a father with Cheng Zhaoci¡­ Which will probably remain buried as a secret only known to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s closest friends and some of his fellow high-ranking MPs.


    ¡°In jail? For¡­ flirting with a male?¡± The shemale scratches his head, ¡°it¡¯s not like you are going to fight with his cijun to the death or something.¡±


    ¡°Shut up and drive!¡± Lu Su kicks the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were this into gossipping!¡±


    Elsewhere, Cheng Zhaoci is guided along by a senior pupil into the school ¨C a grade A male who also seems quite cold and distant like he is. He only answers whenever Cheng Zhaoci speaks up.


    Although Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s almost superhuman perception has him conclude this senior is probably just shy. His ears are reddening at the tips, and only getting ever-so-slightly more tinged whenever he speaks. By the end of their walk, though, his ears almost look like they don¡¯t belong on the head.


    After that, his tour through the campus was uneventful. It¡¯s not a vast, elegantly decorated landscape with multitudes of activity centres like how Zhou Luoluo describes the schools for young males, or even tight-knit and imposing like the military academy Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are enrolled in.


    It¡¯s perhaps functionalist architecture taken to its extreme. A building is a building, without even the slightest bit of personality or decoration. Well, there is something notable, that is the projected slogan hovering above the top of the building, [For the Future Development and Technological Advances of the Insectoid Race]


    ¡°Senior, did you not feel incredible about how far this school departs from the norm when you came here?¡± Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but ask, because his circumstances meant he didn¡¯t go to a male school like these students here did.


    The difference between the typical male school and this is so great that Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t think all grade A males were happy to come here.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. This place was right for me,¡± answers the senior, with chest puffed and standing straight. Cheng Zhaoci thinks he really only needs a pair of glasses to accentuate that ¡®ace student¡¯ look. It¡¯s a shame the insectoids do not suffer from nearsightedness, and ¡®glasses¡¯ would only be a useless piece of fashion.


    The senior¡¯s eyes almost look like they¡¯re glowing when looking at the projected slogan, ¡°this is where I belong; that said, there are some who find it hard to adapt to. Last year, one of the freshmen cried a few times because this was very different, and the teachers were not as lenient.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± he adds, believing Cheng Zhaoci, a grade S male, would have no trouble adapting at all. Like, he¡¯s one-in-a-million! ¡°I believe you won¡¯t cry at all.¡±


    Cheng ¡®Sufferer of Teacher-PTSD¡¯ Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Right,¡± he¡¯s feeling a little awkward. He¡¯s always been a trouble student, so it does feel strange to be treated as a good student, or even an ace. He¡¯s also a little shaken hearing the teachers aren¡¯t lenient.


    ¡°Kuhum, you¡¯re¡­ married, aren¡¯t you?¡± The senior finally asks something for once, and Cheng Zhaoci answers after the little surprise, nodding, ¡°yes, my cijun is the grade S shemale, Group Captain Wei,¡± well, he¡¯s been suspended until the investigation clears up, but anyway.


    The senior is now looking at the sky at an angle, ¡°I know. I¡¯ve seen his appearance, and I¡¯ve also read your comics,¡± which is unusual for busy students like them who haven¡¯t much time to browse the Internet. Unfortunately, Cheng Zhaoci being a grade S male meant his creative works have become study materials.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to have a cijun,¡± the senior sighs before asking, ¡°do you know any more eligible shemales or demis?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    What?! Are these really the rare males that all shemales and demis dream of being able to marry? You grade As have managed to stay single through no small part on your own incompetence, but now you¡¯re having to ask for introductions with the overflowing supply of shemales and demis to get married?!

 CH 69.1

    As Expected of Grade S


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Well, if he thinks about it, he does know Xiao Ji and He Huaijian, and the males in this school were all heavily scrutinised and vouched for. They are mentally well, so Cheng Zhaoci would not have to worry about his brothers ending up with bad insectoids.


    Though it would be quite jarring for him to just produce his two older brothers out here. He asks, ¡°when the President reveals the composition of the First Research Institute, that would probably include this school, too. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to avoid potential cijun-suitors then,¡± and he can even imagine shemales and demis camping outside the schools for a chance.


    ¡°Really?¡± The senior seems relieved, ¡°that¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡­ So he¡¯s actually worried he won¡¯t get a partner?


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have much of an obsession over this, you see, and some of the classmates already have cijun too. It was really your comic ¨C with the demi reporter, and with that one who turns back time, you know,¡± the senior was reading them to learn more about the grade S male before he Awakened, to see what he thinks and writes.


    Only to become more and more lovesick of a hypothetical cijun, ¡°I was this close to ditching school and heading to the local news station for a reporter.¡±


    This certainly reminds Cheng Zhaoci of how he picked up one starving Bai Jun on the Capital planet before. Hey, looks like these shy males aren¡¯t alone, after all.


    Speaking of, Bai Jun just sent him a message.


    [BaiJun: Can I borrow your resources?]


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°?¡±


    [BaiJun: More blind dates. I can¡¯t take it anymore. I need to recruit eligible singles] Usually, his father is extremely busy. But these days, Bai Jiawen has been more relieved than anything at favourable developments in his plans ¨C lulls in his job means he¡¯s now worrying about Bai Jun¡¯s marriage again. When his father brings it up, his dad and uncles would all enter annoying mode too.


    [BaiJun: Even my brothers are having talks with me. I can¡¯t take it anymore, stop!]


    And it¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t want to meet people either.


    Cheng Zhaoci wouldn¡¯t mind helping him announce it. Bai Jun is above average in appearance, and his family background is top-notch. So instead of refusing him, he asks Bai Jun if he has a preference in mind.


    [BaiJun: Someone like your dad? Strong, kind and caring]


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    Really? Reeeeally?! Are they all mad? He still remembers when the dumbo Zhou Xiaobao first saw his dad and told him that he was his ideal type, and it caused so much fuss.


    [BaiJun: I¡¯m clarifying, I¡¯m not after your dad! I mean someone like Cheng Jin, who¡¯s responsible and good-looking. Age-wise, I¡¯m also just in his generation. So I want one like him]


    Oh, right. Cheng Zhaoci almost forgot Bai Jun is even older than his dad if he doesn¡¯t mention it.


    Luckily, he didn¡¯t tell him about He Huaijian just yet. He¡¯s too young compared to Bai Jun ¨C barely an adult. It¡¯d almost feel creepily like grooming.


    Hmm, if he thinks about it, neither of his brothers would have been a good match, really?


    Regardless, Cheng Zhaoci agrees to help when he¡¯s free. As it¡¯s his first day at school today, he is only expected to familiarise himself with the place and his teachers. His classes don¡¯t begin until tomorrow.


    Home early, he gets Bai Jun¡¯s photos and what information isn¡¯t classified about him ¨C height, age, personality, etc. ¨C and makes a short summary.


    Now, should he send it out as a status update?


    So Cheng Zhaoci decides to do it another way. Instead of posting it online on his status updates, he takes a page out of his own readers¡¯ playbook and buys up the advertisement space in the busy CBD of the Capital planet to put Bai Jun¡¯s information up there a whole day. Then he posts a photograph of that advertisement on his status update, thanking his readers for their wisdom.


    It was quite well received, because grade A males are exceedingly rare! And Bai Jun is not bad in appearance at all; everyone is surprised to learn this excellent male hasn¡¯t a cijun.


    [IHaveNoMouth: damned author, how many more single friends do you even have?! please show us all, we can take it!]


    Bai Jun, meanwhile, opens his mouth in surprise. Holy moly! How didn¡¯t he think of that before? Advertisement space is extremely effective at getting his information out!


    And, like, while he might not be as rich as some males with cijun and concubines contributing all their wages to their personal wealth, but his pay as a researcher isn¡¯t shabby at all. With nowhere to spend it on, he has quite the savings saved up.


    Therefore, Bai Jun has decided to also take a sizeable portion out of his immense wealth to get his lifelong partner business resolved once and for all.


    Billboards? Electronics display? If it¡¯s available for rent, Bai Jun is taking it. Even ones beyond the Capital planet.

 CH 69.2

    Some time later, one Grand Marshal of the insectoid¡¯s armed forces is out on an inspection of facilities when he spots Bai Jun¡¯s face on a billboard in a city ¨C alongside his personal details and requirements for a mate. He almost chokes on the tea he¡¯s drinking.


    He quickly calls the Chairman of Chief Command, ¡°cijun, did we overdo it? Did xiao-Jun go mad?¡±


    Having taken the call on speaker mode, Bai Jiawen also heard, and furrows his brows, asking, ¡°what happened?¡±


    ¡°Oh, xiongzhu!¡± The Grand Marshal greets him then explains, ¡°xiao-Jun is announcing he¡¯s looking for a suitor.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t that a good thing? What do you mean mad; he¡¯s finally come around to marrying!¡± The President says, relieved.


    He and the Chairman are currently enjoying the day at the floating gardens on top of a skyscraper in the CBD that has a birds-eye view of the rest of the city, having decided to relax a little with his cijun. He¡¯s been in a good mood lately, after all.


    There¡¯s a breeze; Bai Jiawen looks at his cijun. He can see the wrinkles from here, indicative of their advanced age. Still, the Chairman is as imposing as ever.


    ¡°Xiongzhu, you should go easy on the snacks,¡± reminds the Chairman, ¡°you¡¯re not as young as you were.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Bai Jiawen feels warm in the chest. The mood is just right ¨C he rises up a little, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the Chairman¡¯s forehead.


    However, it is interrupted by the intrusion of a strange object in the distance.


    A massive airship is slowly sauntering into view ¨C not strange by itself on the Capital planet. However, the entire advertising space has been taken over by one giant portrait. It¡¯s Bai Jun¡¯s face. Gigantic. His pupils have even been enhanced to appear like his gaze is following the viewer wherever he is.


    ¡­ What in the name of all that is holy and sacred?!


    Now, the airship is also blocking out the sun from the Chairman. He turns around, curious, only to get blasted in the face by a humongous rendition of his own son¡¯s face.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    Did he fall asleep? Is he dreaming? What is this indescribable object blocking his view?


    The nail in the coffin is the scrolling text accompanying the portrait.


    ¡®Grade A male. Handsome and personable. Your loss if you pass him up.¡¯


    As time goes on, the airship slowly drifts out of view. The stunned Bai Jiawen and Chairman of Chief Command followed it with their gaze, utterly confounded.


    Bai Jiawen is the first to break the silence, ¡°what was xiao-Meng saying in the call again?¡± His tone is shaking.


    ¡°He said Bai Jun has gone mad,¡± answers the Chairman, ¡°I see his point now.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is impressed with Bai Jun¡¯s ability to innovate.


    Actually, insectoids learn well. The next school day, a few of the more introverted classmates of his are talking about how they must also call the advertising companies at once.


    Uh¡­ so did he accidentally start some trend he should not?


    Evidently, yes. Zhou Xiaobao would have done the same had his family not stopped him because he¡¯s still a minor.


    ¡°There are so many males asking for suitors on the Capital planet recently. The insectoids on the frontline are pretty restless,¡± Meng Yuele complains, ¡°our wartime mood has been ruined entirely. It¡¯s weird.¡±


    He also wants this to end as soon as possible so that he could go back and see if he might have a chance or too. So many amazing males, while he¡¯s stuck here fighting.


    Wei Zhuo says nothing, but does take what he says into account.


    Today, after Wei Zhuo has dealt with another spaceship¡¯s worth of insectoids and captured a tattooed, high-ranking member of the space buccaneers, his merits and seeming stability has earned him his post and right to contact Cheng Zhaoci back. It¡¯s also a reward for how perilous the mission was and how many insectoids his theoretical absence would have cost.


    Finally, the communications ban against contacting his own xiongzhu is lifted.


    Yet he also understands the need to appear less clingy. He needs a good topic ¨C and what Meng Yuele is talking about is a good topic.


    Males all asking for suitable marriage candidates all of a sudden? What an intriguing trend. Perhaps the President is pulling some manoeuvre and needed to distract the public.


    So, when he was free that night, he finally sends his first message in a while to Cheng Zhaoci, presenting him a full analysis of the emergence of this behaviour and analysis of its causes, concluding with an appreciation of the President¡¯s tactics ¨C distracting the public with a rare public display of males asking for suitors.


    This is effective because males are often seen as never lacking in potential cijun and concubines. If they wanted to, shemales and demis would fight to grovel at their feet.


    The President truly is wise. How terrifying.


    Cheng Zhaoci, who was happy to finally get back into contact with Wei Zhuo ¡°¡­¡±


    Uhh¡­ ok.


    Was it really that amazing?


    Before Wei Zhuo could continue typing his thesis, Cheng Zhaoci stops him early to tell him he might be to blame for all this. He set up Bai Jun¡¯s information on a billboard a whole day, after which the insectoid learned to do it himself.


    His grandiose tactic was noted by other equally troubled males, leading to the absurd development at present.


    Wei Zhuo does not reply for a while, which Cheng Zhaoci takes to be him processing his shock, when countless praises come bombarding.


    [WeiZhuo: As expected of a grade S male, xiongzhu. This was your plan all along?]


    Plan? Plan what? Helping Bai Jun find someone suitable, you mean?

 CH 70.1

    Predestination


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Thanks to this wave of passion for marriage, perhaps the birth rate of the insectoids will see a visible uptick.


    Really, Cheng Zhaoci suspects that he is probably doing the wrong job right now. He¡¯s not some kind of newborn genius with amazing memory, or even a comic artist who¡¯s singlehandedly pushing the standards and quality of new works, but rather, he should open a marriage consultancy firm. Money would probably just rain down on him.


    At school, meanwhile, his teacher for both basics of mechas and interstellar travel is Bai Jun. Bai Jun is the true genius here; outside of his physical abilities and questionable emotional intelligence, he¡¯s in a league of his own.


    It¡¯s actually quite the honour to be taught by him ¨C in particular, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s class is one-to-one. Actually, because of his status, he only has one-to-one classes. There is no chance for him to slack off.


    Ah¡­ perhaps he can never be happy again. When Mr Liang was teaching him, he still gave him ample time to draw his beloved comics. Nowadays, his day consists of studying, and that¡¯s it. At night, he doesn¡¯t dare overwork himself, in case he might just up and die like last time.


    That mostly leaves him only productive on the weekends, which made him announce to his fans that his weekly updates will be stretched to monthly updates. His readers are devastated, directing their complaints to the school. Let him draw what he wants! At home! Why should a male be studying all these subjects he¡¯s not good at?


    Cheng Zhaoci is inclined to agree, only, after a few days of study, he realises that his ability to process information is at least as great as his ability to memorise now. He is no longer ¡®bad at¡¯ anything ¨C except those subjective comprehension of ¡®author¡¯s intent¡¯ and whatnot in his past life. That stuff is entirely dependent on luck. The more practical-minded insectoids haven¡¯t yet invented such fiendish questions.


    Still, he can¡¯t help but fall in love with the feeling of intellectual superiority. He slipped into the sad path of a mediocre artist not just because he hated studying, but also because he was pretty bad at it. He could force the words into his memory, but it¡¯s not like he could truly understand or anything.


    Well, now he does. So what he should do is quickly use his newfound knowledge to finish whatever vision the President has, and free himself to continue drawing.


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m actually pretty thankful to you,¡± Bai Jun suddenly says this in the middle of the lesson, in the small classroom with just the two of them.


    While it¡¯s true they might as well just homeschool Cheng Zhaoci at Grand Marshal Lu¡¯s mansion if it¡¯s all the same, but the school gives them easier access to a variety of specialised machinery. The President also seems set on introducing Cheng Zhaoci to more males and winning them over.


    Well, he did. The males who know Cheng Zhaoci is behind the romantic wave sweeping the nation already treat him warmly, like he¡¯s their fairy godmother or something, if such a legend existed in the insectoids.


    Bai Jun explains, ¡°I got so many messages from shemales and demis. Shemales are actually pretty motivated when it comes to finding a partner, you know.¡±


    ¡­ And it took you seventy-plus years to realise that shemales court males really aggressively?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even need to stalk them to find out their interests just so I could talk to them. It feels nice,¡± Bai Jun is smiling, and asking Cheng Zhaoci back, ¡°can you imagine the feeling?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t even need to imagine. I¡¯m still 18, but I already have my cijun, and we have already been in bed. Why do you not think I¡¯d know?¡± Cheng Zhaoci speaks quite frankly. In fact, he, the recently adult, and whose combined age is still less than Bai Jun¡¯s years, might know even more than he does, despite his age being enough to be his granddad.


    Shemales can do far better than keep a conversation going ¨C Cheng Zhaoci was subjected to an onslaught of words when Wei Zhuo read out his ¡®critical self-reflection¡¯ in dramatic fashion last night.


    Well¡­ He was quite genuine, bless his heart, but it sounded really like a report to a superior. It still had emotional impact, but it was something weird to tell a xiongzhu, Cheng Zhaoci thinks.


    The weirdness is still cute in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes, though. Actually, he really felt like laughing when Wei Zhuo was all apologising with this ¡®end-of-the-world¡¯ look on his face, but he held it in, so that Wei Zhuo wouldn¡¯t feel even more awkward.


    Then, when Wei Zhuo was finally finished, ears flushed full with red, waiting for the Sword of Damocles, Cheng Zhaoci only had really, really wholesome thoughts in his mind looking at him like that.


    To peel his serious form and check him out fully¡­ No, wait. He shouldn¡¯t think about that. Wei Zhuo is not remotely close to coming home any time soon.


    They still had fun last night. While hugs and kisses were out of the question, there is still a lot you can do when there are holograms¡­ Like him telling the Group Captain to take off his clothes, and relieve himself.


    Well, and things naturally went downhill from there.


    Now that he thinks about it, maybe he is a little bit perverse. Did this awaken alongside his grade S mental aptitude? Or maybe he¡¯s a born pervert. Maybe both. Hey, as long as he¡¯s able to keep that side of him in check, the happiness is all the same, no?


    Bai Jun sees Cheng Zhaoci with this sated smile and red cheeks, and so quickly starts pouting himself. He clears his throat, ¡°right. Time to resume our lessons. No daydreaming.¡±


    ¡°Wait what?¡±


    ¡°Break¡¯s over. We must waste no time,¡± says the cold and merciless Bai Jun, ¡°we fight for the future of the insectoids, and we¡¯re not here to indulge in love and romance. And you call yourself a grade S male?¡±


    Oh yeah, now he¡¯s definitely channelling the homeroom teacher of his past life. He just has one question ¨C didn¡¯t he freaking start this?

 CH 70.2

    Of course, Bai Jun is a reliable teacher most of the time. He rarely indulges in down time.


    Cheng Zhaoci is learning quickly, too. Quicker than he thought he would, at least. Being able to remember everything you¡¯ve ever seen, in detail, proves to be quite the advantage indeed.


    He can¡¯t help but remember ridiculous early CN novel plots where the female lead attracted the male lead¡¯s attention by reciting pi. Well, now he can do that too. Only, instead of a handsome male lead, he¡¯s got the attention of a whole load of teachers instead.


    What an amazing student who¡¯s able to absorb everything they can teach him! Clearly, they should push his limits some more with more lessons.


    Cheng Zhaoci ¡°¡­¡±


    Fucking hell. Thanks, guys.


    Geniuses really go against all common sense ¨C is a comment Cheng Zhaoci once heard when someone was boasting. He wasn¡¯t expecting the joke to actually apply to him.


    It also completely cleared up the question of how the first recorded grade S male made mechanical weaponry when everyone else was still throwing spears around.


    It¡¯s tough not to be able to refine and optimise when your brain is basically the equivalent of a holodeck processor.


    And that ability to never forget what was once seen? You can pull off a party trick with that, finish reading a new book by flipping through it at once. It¡¯s in the realm of magical fantasy already, if it was in his past life.


    The keyword here is efficiency. He remembers an entire page of text when his eyes saw but a glimpse of it, means he¡¯s already become an expert in subjects from a total beginner in less than a year. The proof in the pudding? Bai Jun is already telling Cheng Zhaoci to pick the subject area he¡¯s most interested in to lead research projects.


    Not that there are many fields where significant advances can still be foreseen. Another grade S male has already done medical technology. He didn¡¯t finish it, but he pushed everyone close enough to the finish line that the rest of the medical researchers finished the whole field ¨C as long as your brain cells are intact with the DNA inside, and living, you could even reconstruct your entire body, to date. The cost is positively astronomical, though.


    The main focus of typical grade S males has been in the military and weaponry. Add in the support of generations of scientists in the Research Institutes, and the results are insane. As seen with most other nations of the galaxy preferring total avoidance instead of any diplomacy at all. Oh, right, the insectoids also invented instantaneous and reliable mass-warp technology.


    Bai Jun¡¯s currently project is apparently a portable version that can be installed on individual spaceships¡­ So they can just warp right over to the Capital of any species daring to intrude upon the insectoids.


    Cheng Zhaoci would rather join up and slack off, but that¡¯d be detrimental to the President¡¯s vision of the built-up snazzy image he should have as a rare grade S male.


    Actually, the insectoids have an insane product from their advancement in biotechnology and military technology ¨C the Seed System. The contingency plan that has the entire technological advancement of the insectoids saved up, as well as biological data and everything else needed by an entirely new insectoid race, triggered when there is not a single insectoid around left to receive and send signals back to it.


    The ¡®system¡¯ itself is one massive mothership that has the very best automated defence and offence capabilities the insectoids could muster, inside of which currently dormant ¡®wombs¡¯ for nurturing newborns are protected to an absurd degree.


    Normally, there is no sperm donation allowed in the insectoid society, because it is deeply uncomfortable to the males involved, and also, it is seen as a violation of the sanctity of that male¡¯s family ¨C referring to their harem members, of course.


    However, males still contribute sperm to the Seed System, because no one has the time to worry about ¡®sanctity of marriage¡¯ when the entire species is presumably nerve-stapled or even died out.


    The onboard AI management of the Seed System will activate if its signals go unanswered and it receives no more communication at all from all known insectoid planets and outposts. The wombs will activate to nurture newborn insectoids within, while immediately heading off to the most distant known habitable planet, to restart the insectoids race there.


    Oddly enough, Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but feel like this could be the premise for a movie in his past life ¨C an alien ship carrying the last kindle of their species invades Earth, and people have to fight back to get their home back.


    Though imagining the advanced weaponry and defences on board the ship, and how strong even infantile shemales, if the Seed System was to invade Earth, he honestly wouldn¡¯t give much odds to humanity.


    The insectoids are already the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me of every species in the galaxy.


    So basically all practical fields to insectoid technological advancements are explored. Cheng Zhaoci really hasn¡¯t much he could do here.


    He decides to look elsewhere for inspiration ¨C like cultural advancements and entertainment. Full-dive, immersive games? Well, the insectoids haven¡¯t developed games from those technologies, but it also would not be difficult at all to make. At least, not as impressive as inventing warp.


    Huh, actually, he thinks the insectoids don¡¯t even have anything like Tetris. So if he did make a Tetris, would it be proof enough that he¡¯s a smart and intimidating grade S male that all should learn to fear and respect? ¡­ Nah.


    Cheng Zhaoci is in despair. Can¡¯t he just set up a livestream where he recites a book as he flips it through, backwards? At least that¡¯d be easier on the ol¡¯ brain of his.


    ¡°¡­ What else is there the insectoids need besides resolving the social issues?¡± Cheng Zhaoci complains to Wei Zhuo on the bed.


    It¡¯s been a year and a half or so since he has been to the frontline. He¡¯s 19; still, to this day, he can only see Wei Zhuo through the holograms. It¡¯s good, but nowhere as good as the real deal.


    Zhou Xiaobao had his test just last week. Turns out, he just passed the threshold for a grade A male. He¡¯s now Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s junior at school.


    And last week was also when he should have started leading his project research, but because he is woefully unprepared for such a project, mostly by still having no topic to research, he¡¯s at an utter loss here.


    ¡°What about that advanced AI? That had initiative and agency, in the early chapters of your comic about going back in time,¡± Wei Zhuo suggests after thinking hard about it, ¡°that would be something impressive to show.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s because it¡¯s dangerous that no one else has decided to advance that field¡­¡± And emotions and the insectoid condition are actually topics some of the grade S males have tried figuring out, to no avail, ¡°worst, if I succeeded, I¡¯d live a far shorter life than it would. How cruel it must be for me to pass away while its infinitely long and lonely life yet stretched ahead of him?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Uhh, then an even better shield?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks about it, and suddenly, he¡¯s got an idea. The First Research Institute has focused on protection above all else. There should be room to reduce the bulky machinery. Actually, maybe he could adapt his mecha¡¯s protection, minimise it to insectoid size, but keep it as good at protecting, and also small? Complete protection against assassination or even kidnappings. Oh, and he might be able to work an air conditioner in. A comfortable, portable, all-purpose shell?


    It¡¯d also make it much harder for males to be kidnapped, or even for shemales and demis to die from abuse! Maybe he could make it so that it could even defend against exploding spaceships. Provide protection against radiation and temperature for some hours in the vacuum of space until help could come.


    Eh, the difficulty is probably high enough. It¡¯s going to contribute to society, and it¡¯ll be impressive.


    More protection¡­


    Bai Jiawen sees Cheng Zhaoci has finally handed in his research plan, and knits his brows reading it. Is it really a curse that males would always become tough little buggers, destined to work on new and improved little shells that could protect themselves more efficiently than ever?

 CH 71.1

    A Different Kindness


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Whatever the reason behind the male researchers¡¯ obsessions with more defence, what Cheng Zhaoci is making will be useful and practical. If he could make a small, personalised kind of shield with the same sturdiness that could withstand most weaponry, it will be good proof to support his grade S celebrity status.


    The President also understands Cheng Zhaoci isn¡¯t interested in science. Then there¡¯s also the fact that his comic has proven quite powerful an influence indeed, and the President was forced to reconsider the value of the cultural entertainment sector. It seems that the effect it has on insectoids, especially young ones, is becoming more pronounced by the year.


    This means it¡¯s enough when Cheng Zhaoci has some work to show for himself that solidifies his position, and he can just be a mascot under the limelight with the many previous scary grade S males behind him ¨C as a deterrent against potential grade A male dissidents who were never offered further education or positions in government.


    His approval secured, Cheng Zhaoci happily goes to work on his mini shield. Then, his inner eighth-grade self manifesting, he¡¯s gone for a whole new design for his shield¡¯s husk. He plans to make it flashy with images, and the push of the activation button casts a spherical hologram out, glowing, spinning, until it turns into the transparent shield.


    And for a logo, Cheng Zhaoci is going to use the image of a pair of pants on the hologram ¨C for ¡®BombInMyPants.¡¯


    Though would a spherical shield also inconvenience movement? That is the question Cheng Zhaoci realised some ways into the design phase. Then he thought about the sci-fi movies he saw in his past life. Some of those show shields that follow the shape of the user¡¯s body, and would let air through. The kind where the user would forget they had a shield on. That feels much better.


    As more and more idle thoughts strike him, his design grows more and more complicated. In the end, looking at the list of requirements he¡¯s come up with, he thinks he¡¯s not exactly optimistic it¡¯d be achievable.


    Isn¡¯t this too complicated? And security-wise, this would not exactly be mass-produced, just in case pirates and the like get their hands on it, and become difficult to arrest.


    It¡¯d be pretty convenient for shemale soldiers. If it becomes widely available for them, then the shemales can fight even better and be harder to wound.


    ¡­ Less prone to wounds? Cheng Zhaoci recalls Wei Zhuo¡¯s face and finds a new determination in himself to do it! Fucking hell! He¡¯d be happy to make it even more intricate!


    Better that than receiving news of his death on the battlefield. Grade S shemales are strong, but they¡¯d still die. No one knows what might happen on the battlefield, strength is not a guarantee of safety, after all.


    In fact, the enemy will be targeting Wei Zhuo even more because of his strength to try to take him down. He must know it himself, too, that he stands out too much.


    He also knows there are instances in history where grade S shemales have been surrounded and fought to death. In fact, historically, most grade S insectoids, males and shemales alike, don¡¯t live very long.


    Well, it is mostly inter-species violence, because, like a curse, grade S males and shemales often appear in pairs, at a similar age.


    And instead of being the perfect fit for one another, they¡¯re more mortal enemies. Before Cheng Zhaoci came along, they¡¯ve always been so. A grade S male doing ridiculous stuff would always be followed by a grade S shemale resisting. And their completely absurd body strength means they can kill grade S males despite their insane protections of themselves. Most often, they¡¯d end up killing each other.


    He must arm Wei Zhuo, armed to the teeth! Cheng Zhaoci believes in himself, that he can protect his cijun well.


    So Cheng Zhaoci, who was more doing this like a student being forced to do his homework is now more doped on drugs. A drug named a goal and motivation. He will make Wei Zhuo into the one being with the strongest fighting power and the strongest defence in the entire universe!


    Even if sometimes he must resort to turtling, if he can outlast every other enemy, then he can be the very best turtle, too! He¡¯d live to tell the tale.


    After getting his thoughts in order, Cheng Zhaoci gets to work on the first prototype of his gadget. At the same time, he also gets news that Zhou Luoluo might be asked to participate in a possibly dangerous mission.


    After learning the details of that mission, Cheng Zhaoci quickly whips up the first working release candidate that roughly works for him in a month and a half.


    Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t aware his xiongzhu is ready to arm him to the teeth, is readying himself for another sortie.


    Here, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s brain proved really useful when they asked him to use his grade S intelligence to work out possible escape routes of the pirates. Not long ago, they were able to positively identify a space buccaneer spaceship which is suspected to hold the entirety of kidnapped males within.


    Finally. It was the first time they caught their whiff since they escaped and hid during the last fight.


    Wei Zhuo and some other competent officers were handed the task of rescuing all the males safely. They are a team of only ten members, but they¡¯re worried bringing the full brunt of the spaceships there will push the pirates into killing the males entirely.


    They are hoping Wei Zhuo could create a miracle by resolving everything without alerting the enemy.


    With an injection to alter his appearance, Wei Zhuo and his fellow soldiers will play the part of guards escorting a male on their way elsewhere. Where would that male come from? The pirates would not ask, obviously, or even check him.


    The Federation has approved of the transfer of one male studying in the male academy who volunteered himself. Wei Zhuo is also tasked with protecting his safety.


    Speaking of, the Federation has already made public the fact that the political machine is mostly comprised of males, while the First Research Institute is even male-only. Also, the President is actually not a puppet of the Chairman of Chief Command, but instead, the President¡¯s own cijun.


    Meanwhile, in this mission, they are not sure how many of the forty-odd males kidnapped are still alive, but failure is not an option in this mission. They have to know exactly what happened to them and rescue those who are still alive, and break the news to the public, so they can grieve and recoup.


    Though Wei Zhuo is certainly surprised to see the male who is to work as their ¡®kidnapee¡¯ being someone he knows well.


    Obviously, the Federation wouldn¡¯t be insane enough to send Cheng Zhaoci out, because he¡¯s far too well-known, and it¡¯s going to cause an uproar on both ends. Even Jin Yue might go mad and pay a visit to this particular spaceship in that case.


    Still, he wasn¡¯t expecting to see Zhou Luoluo.

 CH 71.2

    ¡°Group Captain, sir,¡± greets the nervous Zhou Luoluo, who is quite relieved to see Wei Zhuo and Meng Yuele here, ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care this operation. You know, for subject credits.¡±


    As Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s junior in school, he¡¯s had his thoughts about males-only schools upended entirely. Graduation is a serious pain in the arse, and apparently, there are even insectoids who are still falling short of graduation standards at 50 years of age.


    Zhou Luoluo, freshly eighteen, is scared. Yet in this operation, it¡¯s not just Wei Zhuo and his soldiers who would get lots of merit, but Zhou Luoluo can get lots of academic merit as well. Zhou Luoluo also trusts in the strength of his friend¡¯s cijun.


    ¡°Did your cijun let you come?¡± Meng Yuele is also happier to work with males he knows. He doesn¡¯t have to watch his language and gestures all the time, or possibly even have to spend time just synchronising their language in commands and arrangements.


    The mention of his newly wed cijun makes Zhou Luoluo blush, ¡°yeah. He believes in your strength too,¡± and he specifically reminded him not to blabber as much as usual in front of Wei Zhuo and the other soldiers if he doesn¡¯t want them to resent working with him.


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s well,¡± Wei Zhuo nods, then tells him, ¡°now get ready. To minimise the chances of them having already moved on, we¡¯re setting off immediately.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo didn¡¯t need to disguise himself, meanwhile. His school helped issue fake orders for him to acquire materials for his study, and the Zhou family¡¯s male couldn¡¯t buy it anywhere, so he was going to some other planet to try.


    Taking into account the current situation, he hired Wei Zhuo and the other disguised shemale soldiers as guards.


    Wei Zhuo runs Zhou Luoluo through the plan briefly.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Zhou Luoluo says, then retrieves some small circular buttons from his pocket, ¡°these are from Cheng Zhaoci. They¡¯re working prototypes. He says they will break if directly hit by class L kinetic weaponry or higher, but small energy firearms would be A-ok. It¡¯s an additional security.¡±


    The buttons are about the size of a fingertip. Most of the buttons are red in colour, except for a green and a pink one, with the characters ¡®Zhou¡¯ and ¡®Wei¡¯ there. Clearly, these are custom-made.


    ¡°Yooooo,¡± yells Meng Yuele. Never mind the custom one for the male Zhou Luoluo, but the grade S shemale Wei Zhuo who is getting a customised one too? This must be true love.


    While suffering under the piercing gazes of every other member of the operation team, Wei Zhuo clears his throat, ¡°we have no time for idle chatter. To your stations!¡±


    Then Meng Yuele and the other soldiers all watch him turn around to check his equipment again.


    Meng Yuele whispers, ¡°he¡¯s blushing.¡±


    Another soldier nods, ¡°yes, it¡¯s red.¡±


    Yet another chimes in, ¡°hey, look, it¡¯s up to his ears.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo seals the deal, ¡°wowie.¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Yells Wei Zhuo, turning around in a snap, as his gossipping coworkers all immediately stand up straight. Then he repeats himself, ¡°to stations! No more idle chats!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Those prototypes? They¡¯re really rough around the edges. They also perform much worse than the one installed on my mecha,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is chatting to a senior, ¡°it¡¯s basically a big tough eggshell, too, not yet being able to take the form of the user¡¯s body yet. It should be enough, though.¡±


    ¡°I see. It¡¯s almost impossible to imagine being able to miniaturise all the bulky components needed to maintain a solid defence,¡± ¡®almost,¡¯ because a grade S male is really being a cheat.


    Though the senior then wonders, ¡°so what did you put in those two prototypes with the custom colours?¡±


    What did he put? It¡¯s all the same. Cheng Zhaoci answers, ¡°it¡¯s just the same as the other prototypes, but there is a small difference. The other ones all have normal, transparent shields, but those two have custom skins.¡±


    Though clearly, the senior doesn¡¯t understand what a ¡®skin¡¯ is, with the insectoids not having anything like gacha games, ¡°well, if we get some post-action reports with images, you¡¯ll know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also worried that mission might traumatise poor Zhou Luoluo,¡± Cheng Zhaoci adds, sighing, ¡°so I added a little something that could distract him.¡±


    The plan went pretty smoothly. They quickly run into the pirates, and having deliberately taking Zhou Luoluo with them, they have not aroused suspicions.


    Zhou Luoluo was also genuinely scared and nervous when he was caught, mainly because he isn¡¯t used to seeing something like this. It only makes it more convincing.


    Actually, the weakest link in the chain was Wei Zhuo, whose acting was appalling at best. Still, he got by just staring daggers into the pirate who was tying him up ¨C which earned him a big slap on the face. Meng Yuele was quite scared ¨C for the pirate, that is. Poor guy.


    What was unexpected was that Sun Wushe was on the spaceship.


    When they were taken as captives in front of Sun Wushe, Meng Yuele was sweating quite a bit. He, Wei Zhuo and Sun Wushe practically grew up as childhood friends. They are at least thankful that, from the conversation taking place between Sun Wushe and his subordinates, the insane Jin Yue isn¡¯t here. They only have to contend with the observant and familiar Sun Wushe possibly figuring them out.


    To their immense relief, Sun Wushe¡¯s attention was on Zhou Luoluo entirely, having spent much time with Cheng Zhaoci, and by extension, having seen this friend of his quite some time. He remembers this male as being quite talkative and careless, ¡°Zhou Luoluo?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s me!¡± Zhou Luoluo makes himself look too scared to look Sun Wushe in the eye, ¡°I-I-I-I never did anything! I just married. I treat my cijun very well. Can you please let me go? I would never say anything. No one will know where you are.¡±


    Before Sun Wushe can answer, a bald shemale standing on the side smirks, ¡°let you go? Who do you think you are, ordering us around?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± But he gets interrupted by the shemale slapping him right on the face ¨C harsh enough that he is bleeding a little from the mouth. His face swells in almost no time.


    Fuck! Zhou Luoluo is biding his time. He will remember him! He will have his revenge, or have his surname wiped!


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Wei Zhuo and his other soldiers make a show of struggling against the bonds, but pretending to be grade B shemales, they of course ¡®fail.¡¯


    ¡°Enough,¡± Sun Wushe orders, still looking at Zhou Luoluo, then waving his hand away, ¡°take them to the cells, then.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo, meanwhile, is struggling for real, mostly because he¡¯s not going to be any danger against the shemales holding him still.


    His struggling continues only until he ends up where the males are kept.


    He freezes. Entirely. From both fear and shock.

 CH 71.3

    [Reader Discretion advised: This part of the chapter contains disturbing descriptions of events that may cause the reader to feel physically ill or sick. Stop reading if you feel unwell at any point. Use Ctrl + F and look for the phrase ¡°When the pirate unties Zhou Luoluo to pat him down before locking him up, his hands become free.¡±, and start reading from there if you wish to skip the graphic description entirely.]


    Where should Zhou Luoluo even start describing this carnage in front of him?


    All the males have been locked and chained up ¨C at their neck, against their will. This is in spite of technology having long since moved past needing such primitive physical constraints, especially against males.


    None of them are clothed in the slightest. They turn to look at Zhou Luoluo with hollow, empty eyes, and react no further.


    ¡°Fucking hell! That one¡¯s squirming again?!¡± The pirate escorting Zhou Luoluo cusses, and Zhou Luoluo turns his gaze downwards to see the object of his contempt, and feel his bile rise towards his neck.


    The male is lying there on the ground. Countless wounds scar his body, most of them having festered. Clearly, he was not given any appropriate medical attention.


    In addition, his arms and legs have all been chopped off. His eyes have been gouged out, blinding him. Truly, the male is treated even worse than animals. He is making incoherent, hasty gasps, likely from fear sensing the pirates are here. Zhou Luoluo sees through the open mouth that his tongue is also missing.


    He can only imagine that the male is rendered thus to fulfil the more twisted desires some shemales or demis have.


    He¡¯s had to learn a lot about these in detail before he came here as his preparatory work. Cheng Zhaoci also reminded him again and again to steel himself and stay strong, to make sure he is still himself at all times.


    Cheng Zhaoci told Zhou Luoluo that all groups of individuals have their bad apples. It is only by the constraints of society depriving them of the privilege to rule over others that they remain sane on the outside.


    Zhou Luoluo heard all the words and even saw some classified pictures. Yet, when he really had to come face reality in person, exposed, he felt his understanding of the world slither away, broken down, torn apart. Thankfully, having awakened himself, he is able to hold onto the slither of rationality he has within him. He would not blindly assign blame and hate to all shemales and demis because of this abject cruelty and horror that he is witnessing.


    When the pirate unties Zhou Luoluo to pat him down before locking him up, his hands become free. Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Luoluo slaps himself on the inner thigh. His mission is over as soon as he¡¯s found out where the males are kept.


    As the coordinates are transmitted, a giant protective shield also covers up Zhou Luoluo.


    At the same time, Wei Zhuo and his companions have also received the signal to act; Sun Wushe happens to be in the vicinity, and Wei Zhuo immediately breaks free of his binding and grabs the particle gun from the pirate next to him, shooting at Sun Wushe. He yells, ¡°shields up! Meng Yuele, override the ship¡¯s authority!¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± Meng Yuele uses the knife another pirate is carrying to slice part of his skin open. He digs out a fingernail-sized chip from within.


    Something from the First Research Institute as well. Its sole function is to completely paralyse and then take over a spaceship.


    Also, its scrambling camouflage means the pirates¡¯ own detections would miss it. And just in case, Meng Yuele sliced his own skin open to put it inside, and healed himself with medical treatment with the chip embedded within.


    Each room of a spaceship always has a slot for inserting necessary data to the AI.


    The rest of the insectoids have to stop the pirates ¨C actually, Wei Zhuo himself could stop all of them, especially with the shield protecting him, but it¡¯s as a precaution as well.


    Before other pirates can storm in, Meng Yuele has inserted the chip.


    As expected of the Institute, less than three seconds after the chip was inserted, a green light comes on. The override has been successful.


    ¡°Designate: Invaders in all rooms, except this room, and room A-587. Activate: Defence mode!¡± Meng Yuele issues voice commands.


    Meanwhile, Wei Zhuo have also overpowered Sun Wushe and the other pirates, keeping them on the ground.


    Finally, they can breathe easy once more. Meng Yuele then looks back at Wei Zhuo for more orders, only to be distracted by Wei Zhuo¡¯s shield.


    Oh, they were in quite the tense situation just now, and didn¡¯t pay much attention. But why are their transparent shields just an egg-shaped thing, while Wei Zhuo¡¯s is pink with little pink hearts floating around? It looks awfully mismatched.


    ¡°Find Mr Zhou Luoluo as soon as possible. Clean up other pirates on the way,¡± says Wei Zhuo, completely unaffected, ¡°there are likely pirates still attacking him.¡±


    Just in case the males were not all kept at the same place, Meng Yuele only activated the defence mode, but did not order it to shoot the invaders.


    The rest of the pirates in the room are knocked out cold, including Sun Wushe. He¡¯s too scheming and conniving to be let awake.


    Meanwhile, outside, the other pirates have all fallen ¨C to electrocution.


    Wei Zhuo and the others calmly walk past them, while issuing a new order, ¡°good. Continue to incapacitate any of these insectoids that wakes up.¡±


    [Affirmative, sir]


    At the room where the males are jailed, Wei Zhuo first took out the pirates still trying in vain to shoot down Zhou Luoluo¡¯s shield.


    Then they look at the rest of the room, when every single shemale soldier falls silent at the sight. All who come back to their senses close their eyes and cover them in reflex, so as not to taint them further by seeing their naked forms.


    Wei Zhuo speaks up in the air, ¡°we are soldiers from the First Army. I¡¯m the commanding officer of this rescue operation, Wei Zhuo. We will be escorting everyone safely back to the Capital planet.¡±


    There is not an answer. They knew there would not be one. All they could do, is move the males to safety as soon as possible, and arrest the few important pirates on board. The rest of them¡­ will remain on-board around six hours later, when the spaceship self-destructs.


    ¡°Mr Zhou Luoluo, are you alright?¡± Meng Yuele notices Zhou Luoluo¡¯s pale and ill expression, and asks.


    ¡°Much better than I¡¯d have been,¡± Zhou Luoluo bitterly smiles, as he clicks the button to open up the shield again in plain sight. Wei Zhuo and the other soldiers didn¡¯t pay much attention to it back in that room.


    Now, it turns out¡­ it¡¯s tinted green. With lots of cutesy turtles swimming around.


    ¡°I think Cheng Zhaoci knew something like this was going to happen, so¡­¡± so he made this ridiculously laughable thing to distract his attention and deflate the pent-up feelings he¡¯d have built up somewhat.


    It¡¯s helpful, in a sense, but in a really weird way too.

 CH 72.1

    Super Useful Mascot


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    Perhaps expecting something like this would come to pass, Wei Zhuo¡¯s team had clothes on board the spaceship. Other conversation has been left to Meng Yuele. While he hasn''t a xiongzhu, neither do the rest of the team save Wei Zhuo, who is far too intimidating to be a good conversation partner for these males.


    At the spaceship, there have been insectoids on standby to treat the males ¨C including demi doctors who will stay with the males 24/7, possibly out of fear of repeating the tragedy of the males committing suicide again.


    ¡°Group Captain Wei. I want to ask about the current situation,¡± says a grumbly voice. Wei Zhuo turns around, having just handed in his situation report, to find it is Lu Nianqian, ¡°why did you come?¡±


    ¡°As the family member of the male sent on the mission. I¡¯m concerned,¡± the reply comes coldly, ¡°Zhou Luoluo was hurt during the mission?¡±


    Wei Zhuo stares at Lu Nianqian, before nodding, ¡°got it. This way.¡±


    Meng Yuele and Zhou Luoluo are standing off to the side. Meng Yuele is confused, ¡°what did Wei Zhuo get? Do you know what happened?¡±


    ¡°How should I know what he realised? I thought you were his childhood friend,¡± Zhou Luoluo then swoons over the departing Lu Nianqian, ¡°my cijun sure is aloof and cold all the time.¡±


    Meng Yuele agrees, ¡°that¡¯s true. He feels pretty unsympathetic.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I like him though,¡± adds Zhou Luoluo.


    Meng Yuele doesn¡¯t feel like speaking any more for a while.


    Meanwhile, Wei Zhuo has taken Lu Nianqian to where the pirates are kept. Here, it would be remiss not to mention an aspect of insectoid society that other species have always chastised them for. Their treatment of convicts and war criminals, especially ones they deem felonious.


    The technological progress of the insectoids was not exactly followed by increases in ethical standards or social empathy. They are well developed, but also the only of the top players of the galaxy to still enforce capital punishment.


    The holding cell building is quite small. Wei Zhuo takes Lu Nianqian inside, and spots a bald shemale crouched at a corner. He points over, ¡°that guy slapped Zhou Luoluo.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Lu Nianqian walks over, and quietly clicks the laser grid in front of the insectoid away. He walks in, and Wei Zhuo reminds him, ¡°no blinding, no dismemberment. We have use for him.¡±


    Lu Nianqian nods casually, not even looking back.


    ¡°Wei Zhuo,¡± Sun Wushe, who happens to be bound next to him, has been staring at Wei Zhuo since the two of them walked over. He only speaks up after Lu Nianqian is gone, ¡°did Mr Cheng Zhaoci make that shield?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. An incomplete prototype, it was,¡± Wei Zhuo tells the wounded Sun Wushe, the wounds that he suffered when he was interrogated. Then after staring at those wounds a few moments, he adds, ¡°already amazing that it doesn¡¯t hinder the user¡¯s movements at all.¡±


    ¡°It really is,¡± Sun Wushe is smiling. Who knows what he¡¯s smiling about.


    Then there is a long silence. Lu Nianqian is still, presumably, doing his beatings. A bored Wei Zhuo sits down on the ground, leaning his back on the wall, to level his gaze with Sun Wushe¡¯s.


    After a while, Wei Zhuo asks, ¡°when?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Sun Wushe doesn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°When did the Black Panther take you in? When did you become the second-in-command?¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s tone is cold; he was the one handling the interrogation of Sun Wushe. He didn¡¯t hold back his rage at all.


    Well, that¡¯s a lie. If he didn¡¯t hold back at all, Sun Wushe wouldn¡¯t have got away with only light wounds and bruises.


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re asking now?¡± Sun Wushe is smiling, ¡°we grew up together. Both our dads are dead. We both disowned our family. Wei Zhuo, do you think it¡¯s weird I turned out like this?¡±


    Sun Wushe shows Wei Zhuo the back of his right hand, ¡°remember this? That fucker gave it to me. Like he did your eye. Oh, I didn¡¯t tell you yet, but he ended up presented to me. Do you know how he died?¡±


    ¡°I skinned him. Then I made slices of meat off him. Medical technology sure is fascinating. He was alive for more than half a year. I¡¯m sure it hurt the entire time, as he was pretty much insane by the end,¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s smile is quite in-character ¨C sinister. Perhaps he knows he¡¯s never leave this place alive, ¡°Wei Zhuo, aren¡¯t you happy now that he¡¯s dead?¡±


    ¡°You really are much better at pretending to be normal than I am!¡± Sun Wushe never liked Wei Zhuo. Not one bit. Wei Zhuo is similar to him in circumstances, but different in everything else. He didn¡¯t seem to care one bit for his past, and looks like he would just accept whatever shit the world threw at him.


    Wei Zhuo ignores the provocations, asking, ¡°at what age did you and Black Panther get into contact?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember. Early, I think,¡± Sun Wushe also finds it boring Wei Zhuo isn¡¯t responding well to his taunts. He packs his wrathfulness away, and leans back on the wall, ¡°are you trying to convince me to do some good before I die? I don¡¯t need it. I know exactly what I did.¡±


    ¡°I did bad things. Unspeakable acts that can never be forgiven. I know that. I¡¯m already a piece of shit. I¡¯m not even insectoid. I¡¯m not normal; never been for a long time,¡± Sun Wushe points to his head, ¡°you can¡¯t expect me to do anything normal insectoids would in such a situation.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any delusions like that,¡± replies an earnest Wei Zhuo, ¡°nor did you have to tell me about it. We are simply insectoids on different sides of a conflict, and you¡¯ve been caught.¡±


    ¡°You suffer consequences for what you do, which is something all adults know,¡± Lu Nianqian chimes in, coming out after a beating that wasn¡¯t short by any means. He¡¯s elegantly wiping the blood off his fists.


    Glancing at Sun Wushe, he says, ¡°that includes you. Honestly, I¡¯m impressed by your bravery. I mean it. Not every insectoid has the strength to go through trying to overthrow something so deeply entrenched.¡±


    ¡°The only issue I have with insectoids like you is because of one thing. I have my xiongzhu,¡± Lu Nianqian thoroughly looks his hands over, and puts it down after confirming to his satisfaction no specks nor smell linger, ¡°you probably won¡¯t understand, because you need to have a male you like to understand.¡±


    ¡°If a male you like ended up in the pirates¡¯ hands only because of sheer bad luck, and became the subject of such a video ¨C that video those vile insectoids of your organisation put online, you know which one. And, imagine you watched as he was beaten to death within,¡± Lu Nianqian says with a derisive tone.


    ¡°Would you still think it¡¯s funny?¡±


    Sun Wushe is staring at Lu Nianqian. The mood tenses gradually, when suddenly, Sun Wushe says, ¡°the one I like is Cheng Zhaoci.¡±


    ¡°Fucking asshole!¡± Lu Nianqian almost rushes immediately to give the bastard a good pummelling. Sun Wushe definitely didn¡¯t mean well mentioning Cheng Zhaoci that very moment.

 CH 72.2

    In comparison, Wei Zhuo is much calmer, at least on the surface. He is even stopping Lu Nianqian, ¡°don¡¯t let him get to you.¡±


    Though it might also be thanks to Wei Zhuo having been disciplined and locked in solitary confinement last time, and being separated from Cheng Zhaoci for such a long time. Otherwise, he might have joined in the extrajudicial beating.


    ¡°The insectoids are all ruled by males! I know they¡¯re trying to change things around, but so what?! I¡¯m already a broken insectoid.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that you are,¡± Wei Zhuo coldly retorts, ¡°so what are you trying to achieve saying all this? Make us sympathise with your position? Pity you?¡±


    ¡°You still think you¡¯re all ¡®woke¡¯ and know exactly what you¡¯re doing?¡± Before Sun Wushe can interject, Wei Zhuo continues, ¡°don¡¯t deny it. You were always like this even when we were young. You think you¡¯re the only know-it-all.¡±


    ¡°You believe in yourself and know what you¡¯re doing. You always put your motivations behind a mask of reason that you keep repeating to everyone around you. You say you know you¡¯re being a piece of shit. Is that what helps you sleep away the guilt?¡±


    It is rare for Wei Zhuo to talk so much to any other insectoid than Cheng Zhaoci.


    He continues, ¡°before other insectoids can judge you for being insane, you raced to define yourself as a rational lunatic first. That somehow justifies everything you do, for being a lunatic.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m calling you out on your bullshit. You aren¡¯t even half the crazed bastard Jin Yue is,¡± Wei Zhuo analyses, ¡°do you think anything¡¯s going to change when you tell me all this? We grew up together. You know these useless ruminations do not work on me. If you just want to get it out of your system, then go right ahead.¡±


    Then Wei Zhuo drags Lu Nianqian away with him.


    Sun Wushe¡¯s fists are tightened. He yells, ¡°I don¡¯t regret anything I¡¯ve done!¡±


    ¡°Keep shouting all you want,¡± says Wei Zhuo, not even having turned his head around.


    Outside, Lu Nianqian is rubbing his wrist, ¡°so how long do you have to be here still?¡±


    ¡°Not long. They want Sun Wushe back as soon as possible, and I have to escort,¡± Wei Zhuo then nods to Lu Nianqian, ¡°you¡¯ve done what you needed now; I still have work to do, so do excuse me.¡±


    After Wei Zhuo has left, Meng Yuele squeezes in to fill the gap, going ¡®tch tch¡¯ and shaking his head at Wei Zhuo¡¯s fast retreating silhouette, ¡°what happened to him? He looks much more incensed than normal.¡±


    ¡°Probably because of Sun Wushe.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it,¡± Meng Yuele scratches his head, ¡°he¡¯s already come a long way being able to hold himself back without beating Sun Wushe to death.¡±


    Since Wei Zhuo was actually gearing up to beat Sun Wushe¡¯s head to a pulp (literally) when he first learned he was the undercover agent.


    Wei Zhuo not just had to escort Sun Wushe, but also the males back to the Capital planet for proper medical treatment as soon as possible. Also Zhou Luoluo, who is not out of the dangerous area yet, so it¡¯s safer for him to tag along with Wei Zhuo¡¯s team.


    Having learned of the power of Sun Wushe¡¯s mouth, Meng Yuele and another insectoid worked together to seal his mouth shut for the way.


    ¡°How are the males faring?¡± Wei Zhuo asks, being the captain of the team, he is directly responsible for the safety of all males under his current care.


    ¡°The one with the worst injuries is still sleeping in the medical pod. We cannot find his limbs at all; prosthetics will have to be installed for now. We have no idea how he will behave when he finally wakes up. Most of the rest are stable¡­ or more, docile. When the soldiers weren¡¯t looking yesterday, though, two of them tried to kill themselves,¡± the shemale soldier reporting is feeling a chill down his spine just recalling the scene yesterday.


    They¡¯ve always known males as delicate and sensitive, throwing a tantrum over the most trivial of bumps and scratches. Yet, the two males yesterday were trying to strangle themselves with the tube from the catheter bag. The soldier can¡¯t even begin to imagine how much it¡¯d hurt, ¡°Captain¡­ do you think they will still be able to live a normal life?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Wei Zhuo closes his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve asked xiongzhu, but he said the First Research Institute has nothing on the mental states of traumatised insectoids. The best we can do, is ask their family to be there for them. If they can move on, they will,¡± and Wei Zhuo does not explain the other case ¨C if they can¡¯t move on, nothing but death and ruin awaits.


    In the middle of the dead silence, Wei Zhuo¡¯s holodeck is ringing. It¡¯s Cheng Zhaoci.


    He gets straight to the point when the call is picked up, ¡°Wei-ge, I¡¯ve mentioned the situation to Bai Jun, so we have an idea now. Have someone ask if any of those males would like this entire period of their memory removed.¡±


    ¡°Memory removed?¡± Asks the stunned Wei Zhuo.


    ¡°Yes. We talked about it and searched the records. There are some results left behind from a grade S male who investigated the brain and memories,¡± because apparently, he was quite troubled by all the bad history he can always remember all the time. He wanted to delete them scientifically, ¡°we¡¯re going to try to replicate and improve the design of the hypothetical machine based on the documents that remained. Of course, we want to respect the males¡¯ wishes whether they would like to retain the memories. Also, it won¡¯t be overnight. We need to run it through rigorous tests to ensure safety before we try it on the males.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks this is the best method they have on hand. It¡¯s not just every insectoid that can walk away from the pain, or even let the pain motivate them to become the stepping stone for their bright future.


    Some insectoids are not able to restart, to forget like that.


    Not to mention ¡®pain¡¯ is a vast understatement for what most of these males have experienced.


    It goes without saying that memory tampering is quite morally troubling even for insectoids, which is why the surviving records of that grade S male¡¯s work has fallen into such obscurity. Yet, this may precisely be those males¡¯ salvation.


    ¡°Xiongzhu¡­¡± Wei Zhuo¡¯s voice is on the verge of shaking.


    Since they rescued those males, the mood on the spaceship has been sombre at best. Everyone can feel how hopeless and even lifeless those males have become.


    Wei Zhuo has also been tense. Juggling between a scheming and chatty Sun Wushe and lots of males who might kill themselves when no one is looking.


    He still has his poker face on, but most of the other shemale soldiers are visibly exhausted, withered like sprouts deprived of water and sunlight.


    Wei Zhuo is smiling, ¡°you really are a strong and amazing male.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci, who has mostly been getting by sleeping for an hour or two for a whole week, feels a sudden renewed motivation to work once more. He is even somehow finding it appropriate to demand Wei Zhuo to take ample rests and not overexert himself.


    Though he¡¯s also going off to sleep ¨C a properly long and deep sleep, so that he receives Wei Zhuo at his best.


    After the explanations and period of deliberation, most of the males consented to the treatment of memory removal, including, unsurprisingly, the two males who tried to commit suicide.


    What was not expected was that not all assented. Three males refused to undergo the treatment.


    ¡°There are things, that I cannot forget,¡± one male who refused the treatment explained, ¡°I will not kill myself; I am thankful the government has offered me the choice to remove what we have suffered. But I do not want to.¡±


    Exactly what it is that he does not want to forget no matter what, he would not say. No one would dare asking either.


    The spaceship has been moving for a while. The males with grave injuries on board mean they cannot rush this at all.


    It¡¯s already some days past when they finally arrive back at the Capital. Wei Zhuo and his team leads the way, while medical personnel and soldiers to arrest Sun Wushe and other high-ranking members all rushed on-board.


    Wei Zhuo, sharp-eyed as always, quickly spots Cheng Zhaoci among the crowd moving towards them.


    Cheng Zhaoci welcomes Wei Zhuo with a big smile.


    Wei Zhuo is also smiling. Everything feels like it¡¯s going to be alright, whenever he can see Cheng Zhaoci.


    Before they can embrace deeply, though, a Zhou Luoluo emerges from nowhere and plunges himself into Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s open embrace, yelling, ¡°bro! My dear! Thanks for coming! I¡¯m so damned touched you came to see me! Do you know how scary it was?! There were times when I thought I¡¯d never be coming back!¡±


    ¡°I always knew you were actually a gentle insectoid at heart,¡± Zhou Luoluo says, tears and excitement strangely congruent on his face.


    ¡°Tch,¡± Cheng Zhaoci furrows his brows, scowling.

 CH 73.1

    Cheng ¡®the Gentle¡¯ Zhaoci has pushed Zhou Luoluo away mercilessly to hug Wei Zhuo.


    It¡¯s been a whole year since his Awakening and last time they were properly spending time with each other. The poor newlyweds have been separated, Wei Zhuo being held up by lots of circumstances.


    Actually, he still is. Wei Zhuo still has affairs to attend to later.


    ¡°How long can you stay?¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s hands are clasped around Wei Zhuo¡¯s waist, and his head resting on Wei Zhuo¡¯s chest, ¡°when will you have to leave?¡±


    ¡°Soon. Jin Yue must already know Sun Wushe is done for. So I have to get back soon,¡± Wei Zhuo is pouting slightly at Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°xiongzhu. It¡¯ll be soon. The war should be over very soon.¡±


    Zhou Luoluo is still curiously looking at the couple, while Lu Nianqian walks over, pats him on the head, then leaves without the slightest hint of longing.


    Zhou Luoluo ¡°¡­¡±


    He watches his dear cijun leave him far behind, while behind him, Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo are already¡­ kissing, with Cheng Zhaoci pushing Wei Zhuo on the back of his head.


    Quite the passionate kiss, unsurprising for a couple long separated.


    The weather may be warm, but Zhou Luoluo feels cold ¨C physically and mentally. Also, it tastes sour in the air.


    Ah. He¡¯s jealous.


    ¡°Yoooo!¡± The shemale soldiers, headed by Meng Yuele, are making incoherent yells.


    Cheng Zhaoci is pushing dead on Wei Zhuo¡¯s head, while Wei Zhuo obediently allows him to drain him. Finally, after they separate, Wei Zhuo turns back to the crowd of soldiers.


    Wei Zhuo is actually quite shy ¨C is the conclusion Cheng Zhaoci has drawn after being with him. It has quite a lot of ways of manifesting, for example, fidgety and blushing when facing Cheng Zhaoci.


    While against his colleagues, it turns into an urge to beat the living daylights out of those cheering bastards.


    Meng Yuele also knows this too well, so he¡¯s the quickest one to shut his mouth.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Time to go,¡± Cheng Zhaoci rubs Wei Zhuo on the head. Wei Zhuo being taller, Cheng Zhaoci finds it inconvenient to have to extend his hand to do so. Still, the feeling beats out the inconvenience. Not because the hair is soft or anything, but mainly, the tall and muscular grade S shemale is so adorkable when being petted.


    Wei Zhuo looks back at Cheng Zhaoci.


    The gaze averted and Wei Zhuo pacified makes Meng Yuele have goosebumps, ¡°males really are scary.¡±


    ¡°That it is,¡± a fellow soldier says, ¡°I also want a scary male like him,¡± unfortunately, even though many males are looking for appropriate partners like it¡¯s the end of the world, they, who won¡¯t be back again for another long while, are destined to have their wishes unfulfiled for the time being.


    Cheng Zhaoci thought he would only be able to spend precious little time together with Wei Zhuo, given that he will be preoccupied with the testing and implementation of the memory extraction machine.


    Though Lu Yao is here, and he is here to tell Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo to go see Sun Wushe together.


    Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t really want to, as he suspects Sun Wushe of harbouring feelings for him. He¡¯s not trying to be narcissistic, but the fact that he took the time to go see him before leaving, and did not kidnap him or anything even when Xiao Ji was fast asleep, is strange.


    Actually, now that he can recall events in excruciating detail after Awakening, all those gazes Sun Wushe put on him felt suspicious.


    ¡°Can I not go?¡± Cheng Zhaoci wants to refuse with the reason that he¡¯s married, and should not be talking to a single shemale. It¡¯s odd.


    ¡°You have to,¡± Lu Yao interrupts, ¡°you¡¯re special to him, as evidenced when he took the time to see you before he left. He wouldn¡¯t say a single word on key matters no matter what we tried, but if it¡¯s you¡­¡±


    ¡°I refuse to let my xiongzhu fish information by using his appearance,¡± says a stern Wei Zhuo.


    Lu Yao chuckles dismissively, looking at Wei Zhuo, who averts his gaze elsewhere.


    Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, is holding Wei Zhuo¡¯s hand and says, ¡°grandpa, are you sure it¡¯s not too harsh to ask an insectoid who has a cijun to do this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing harsh if we¡¯re just asking you to stand and do nothing,¡± Lu Yao then knocks on Wei Zhuo¡¯s head, ¡°you don¡¯t seriously think your ¡®pa is going to let any harm come to you, no?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci really would rather turn around and leave than seeing him or even just standing in the vicinity, but he¡¯s not a child who can throw a tantrum anymore. Lu Yao is also quite imposing as the great Grand Marshal when he¡¯s serious.


    Really, when there seems to be possible romantic feelings but he clearly does not like him, he should avoid him to let it die off, shouldn¡¯t he? Otherwise, that makes him a scum! And also, Wei Zhuo won¡¯t be happy about it.


    What a mess!


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say or do anything, but just stand there,¡± Lu Yao repeats himself, ¡°xiao-Zhuo too. Just standing on the side.¡±


    Sun Wushe probably has positive feelings for Cheng Zhaoci, at least. And, it¡¯s hard to imagine him harbouring nothing but hatred for Wei Zhuo. They are both brothers who left their families when they were young, and Wei Zhuo being Wei Zhuo, he has definitely helped him out a lot. Unless Sun Wushe has a black hole instead of a heart, it can¡¯t be the case he feels nothing reciprocal.


    Cheng Zhaoci can see Sun Wushe through a thick layer of tempered glass. Embarrassed, he¡¯s sticking as close to Wei Zhuo as possible, who, meanwhile, looks as cold as always.


    Sun Wushe¡¯s reaction is much more dramatic than expected; he stares at Cheng Zhaoci blankly for so long, all the way until the interrogating officer is clearing his throat the third or fourth time.


    He has always been quite hostile in attitude for the past few days. No answers to any questions, and not even to any of the harsh interrogation methods he himself knows too well. Actually, he even goads them on.


    All this vanished when he sees Cheng Zhaoci. In fact, he¡¯s even looking away to the side, not letting Cheng Zhaoci see his face at all.


    ¡°Why is he here?¡± Sun Wushe¡¯s voice is quite parched, ¡°what use is he here?¡±


    His tone is apparently much calmer than it was a few days ago.


    ¡°We only know if he would prove useful once we actually take him here,¡± the interrogating officer asks, ¡°still not giving up where Jin Yue¡¯s hiding?¡±


    ¡°So what if you knew?¡± Sun Wushe makes a mocking smile. He knew in the very beginning the pirates won¡¯t be able to operate for long, ¡°didn¡¯t you already save all the males? What else do you want?¡±


    ¡°Where are the missing males?¡± Well, they¡¯re probably gone forever. But, just in case¡­ Just in case the pirates didn¡¯t kill as many males as the vast number of kidnapped males minus the ones rescued successfully.


    Sun Wushe glances up at Cheng Zhaoci standing outside, who is still looking at him, and he shudders and retracts his gaze immediately.


    He knows that if he doesn¡¯t definitively tell the Federation that those males are already long-dead, then they would always have to keep that in mind.


    They would think twice before engaging the main spaceships directly; like Wei Zhuo¡¯s fight that time. If they suspect there could be male prisoners on board, then the families of those potentially dead males might blame Wei Zhuo for killing their xiongzhu or male son. It¡¯d be quite a huge scandal.


    If they aren¡¯t confirmed dead, then the families of the males involved would never forgive them for taking any risks.


    That should have been the case.


    The shemale soldiers have also asked so many times already. Sun Wushe only needed to keep his silence. Yet, he says, ¡°dead. From torture, or from deliberate provocations. All dead.¡±


    That¡¯s why. Lu Yao thinks. He is also listening, with a slightly moody expression. Bringing them along was useful, even though it is also triggering some bitter memories he has.


    ¡°There have been orders to curtail senseless killings,¡± adds Sun Wushe, for naught. Everyone knows exactly how effective those orders are for the truly lawless space buccaneers.

 CH 73.2

    Outside, Lu Yao tells Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo, ¡°you can go now. Mission accomplished.¡±


    There is also a lie detector on the chair Sun Wushe is tied up in. By releasing the surveillance footage, they can justify naming the missing males dead, and could go all out against the space buccaneers.


    Wei Zhuo leads Cheng Zhaoci away; Sun Wushe glances at them. He knows, this is the last time he¡¯ll ever see him.


    As soon as they¡¯re outside, Bai Jun is there. They still have work to do, and the males desperately need the memory removed.


    Wei Zhuo is also due to return to the frontline after handing in a mid-action report.


    Before they separate, Cheng Zhaoci publically embraces Wei Zhuo and plants lots of kisses, the poor Bai Jun enduring the brunt of the public display of affection.


    ¡°After this, I should be able to get some normal rest,¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s head hurts whenever he sees the research data nowadays. Having a brain most suited to scientific pursuits doesn¡¯t automatically make him love it. He¡¯s also still releasing comics on the side ¨C though monthly ¨C but it¡¯s still taking up a lot of time.


    The readers are none-too-pleased, too. Always demanding more updates.


    ¡°Hopefully,¡± Bai Jun looks away from his holodeck and asks Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°if I remember correctly, one of the MPs for the Capital area, Lu Su, is your half-brother, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, why?¡± Cheng Zhaoci also turns serious from Bai Jun¡¯s tone.


    Bai Jun shakes his head, and shows the breaking news on his holodeck to Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°my father sent me this, telling you to read it as well. Parliament just reconvened earlier this month; the MP for the Capital area Lu Su has proposed a bill to repeal and replace the current marriage laws.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci reads the terms quickly, and shocked, yells, ¡°proof of grave injuries inflicted by the male on the shemale or demi shall entitle said shemale or demi to file for divorce proceedings unilaterally, with their prenuptial wealth returned?!¡±


    ¡°This, as a bill that may affect the male privilege, will be put to a referendum by all adult males, by law,¡± Bai Jun takes his holodeck back.


    Really? Then it¡¯d be virtually impossible to pass.


    It is, without a doubt, infringing on males¡¯ rights. The current common understanding is still that shemales and demis are males¡¯ properties. It is unlikely to be supported even by males who are well-behaved and sympathetic to their plight.


    Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but compare it to his past life. Divorce has always been part of the modern rights of humanity. If a law was proposed that only suffering critical injuries in domestic violence can a spouse file for divorce, it¡¯d have been torn to shreds by the media and public alone. Yet, in this world, somehow, it barely has any hope of even passing.


    Cheng Zhaoci points out the obvious, ¡°you know I¡¯m idealistic and also dream of change, but I also think the possibility of this bill passing is abysmal. Nil, within a margin of error.¡±


    Males who¡¯d support such a bill, like those in Parliament and the Institute, are in a very small minority to the overall adult male population.


    ¡°My father agrees. Though he thinks this will serve as an important, symbolic victory. We are announcing to the wider society, that this is the direction the insectoids will be headed in during this government,¡± even someone as generally unaware of wider societal movements understands that, ¡°it¡¯s at least one solid, first step.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci is looking at the scenery racing past them, and sighing, ¡°yes. It is certainly a first step.¡±


    Just as they expected, when the referendum was announced, the majority opinion both online and in the media have been negative. Most males are extremely upset at the government. How did this kind of thoughtless bill get past Committee, both Chambers and even President to be put to vote by them?


    Is the referendum likely to succeed?


    No. In fact, male interest groups are already organising massive events to call for a ¡®No¡¯ vote.


    Let shemales and demis divorce? What, do they want to create even more insane insectoids like Jin Yue?


    Everyone has anticipated this, and even Lu Su is quite calm at all the bile directed towards Parliament and him in particular. No one was expecting to be able to pass something this radical overnight.


    Though, unexpectedly, Ivan, the guy that always lusted after the copyright of Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s work, was going to send him messages.


    Cheng Zhaoci was just finished with an experiment when the message came through.


    [IWan: those dumbasses! they really didn¡¯t think about why the shemales and demis like Jin Yue are fighting us. we¡¯ve oppressed them too much, this entire society! if we don¡¯t change it now, this is bound to repeat soon enough!]


    Cheng Zhaoci realises that Evan is actually pretty wise despite his lower aptitude.


    Perhaps it¡¯s a trait of creatives. Creatives like expressing what they see, and generally, they¡¯re more idealistic, and have a keen eye for observation. They would also take risks even if they know there might be nothing waiting for them at the end of their idealistic venture.


    After Evan sent his tirade to Cheng Zhaoci, Cheng Zhaoci watches Evan join the vocal minority of those who oppose the general male opposition. The arguments are flying all over the place, but being more capable than the average male, Evan can quickly whip up short videos or models that are quite cleverly insulting or ironic. In short, his battle strength is unmatched.


    Cheng Zhaoci also feels like he has an itch to scratch. As far as the President¡¯s programme to deify him is concerned, he shouldn¡¯t say a word on either side that might risk tarnishing his general imposingness and support. Yet, if he imagined that he and Wei Zhuo had a little insectoid son in the future ¨C a shemale, most likely, given the birth rates ¨C who ended up married to another of these scumbag males and can¡¯t even divorce when he¡¯s beaten or even tortured, he will never be able to live with himself as a father.


    No one can ever live it down.


    That¡¯s why he decides to take a whole week off, to dedicate himself to creating a simple comic in pure black and white. Instead of thinking of a story, he¡¯s going to adapt something in real life. It¡¯d be far more impactful.


    He also wouldn¡¯t have much time to colour it in. Gray-scale would also serve well to enhance the depressing atmosphere. Colours might not fit the theme he¡¯s trying to convey.


    The story he is adapting? The life story of the first recorded grade S male.


    Without exaggeration, he¡¯s basically Jin Yue but male. Yet, thanks to his peerless intelligence that afforded him much more leverage against the ruling shemales, he was able to complete overturn the primitive society, given the strength of meat and flesh of the shemale insectoids can never out-compete the mad dash of technology that ensued.


    The male has built a society where all the shemales that ruled over and abused him were now trampled underfoot.


    He also changed the political system. Instead of the top-dog shemale that ruled as emperor, where males were simply tools for procreation and sexual relief, he built a representative system of males, forming the precursor to the Federation. Yet, in the end, the society was perhaps no better than it once was.


    There was not a single improvement. Cue Jin Yue, and especially the massive amount of shemales and demis that fled and joined his ranks.


    Honestly, the only difference between Jin Yue, his gang of pirates, and the grade S shemale, is that they haven¡¯t yet obtained enough power to turn the entire Federation on its head.


    Cheng Zhaoci makes sure to the draw the comic in a depressing manner. Not even having any comic relief or sweetness that accompanied the sombre vibe in his more depressing works. He thinks it might not be as much of a hit as the other comics. At least, not compared to his happier works.


    He doesn¡¯t even care if it turned out bad; he only has a week. Research awaits when he¡¯s finished.


    Honestly, he¡¯s impressed those Institute males can work day-in, day-out without collapsing!


    Actually, he still has the shield to work on. Mobile, following the shape of the body, airtight, but also permeable, and with air-conditioning¡­ What a mess.


    ¡­ With his current experience, he thinks he could probably make a fortune if he went back to Earth and designed new tampons for girls.

 CH 74.1

    Winds of Change


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Sun Wushe has been captured¡­¡± Jin Yue says, not half-hearted or wrathful like he usually is. He sounds duller than usual, ¡°don¡¯t try to mount a rescue. It won¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°But all the males have been taken back! And he, he fucking bust our biggest trump card in the interrogation!¡± The leader of one of the smaller space buccaneer groups angrily complains, ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill him for that!¡±


    ¡°What, run into the heart of the Federation to kill him?¡± Jin Yue looks coldly at the shemale, ¡°Anwen, was it? How long do you think you¡¯d last under the Federation¡¯s interrogation?¡±


    ¡°At least longer than that asshole Sun Wushe!¡± The pirate named Anwen slams his desk and rises, when suddenly, his head is gone. Or rather, his entire upper body has been blasted away.


    The rest of the leaders of pirate groups, who¡¯ve joined Jin Yue, are all silent, shocked at the sudden development.


    Jin Yue declares, quite loudly, ¡°Anwen, leader of the Serpent. Since Sun Wushe lost contact, you¡¯ve been busy moving your forces back out behind our backs. Now you¡¯re telling me this? I¡¯m insane, but I¡¯m not stupid.¡±


    Then, he points his gun at the rest of the leaders in the room.


    They were all frisked before entering the command HQ, forbidden from carrying firearms. Unfortunately, it seems this rule has an exception for Jin Yue. He¡¯s the top dog here, and so rules are bullshit to him.


    The leaders are all sweating profusely.


    ¡°I know some of you have also been pulling tricks like that. I don¡¯t care. But pester me like he just did, well. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m normally quite reasonable to work with,¡± Jin Yue puts his gun away, then leans onto the table with both arms, smiling, ¡°just don¡¯t over do it, capiche? I also can¡¯t help getting angry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. If any of you feel like you¡¯ve been insulted and wants revenge, feel free,¡± Jin Yue turns around, and kicks the chair he was sitting on. It flies beautifully in the air.


    Then he leaves the room.


    ¡°So some smaller space buccaneer organisations are already leaving Jin Yue?¡± Wei Zhuo asks Meng Yuele, who nods affirmatively, ¡°yes. They might have wanted the strength in numbers or whatnot, but now, clearly, they don¡¯t want to be there when Jin Yue falls.¡±


    ¡°Get me a list of all of the deserters. None of them can be allowed to escape,¡± Wei Zhuo gestures, ¡°even better. They¡¯d be easier to eliminate now that they¡¯ve gone separate ways.¡±


    By his own estimates, it should be no more than two months before this wretched conflict is over.


    ¡°Oh, and also, Mr Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s invention has been completed, I think,¡± Meng Yuele is scratching his head, ¡°I definitely read the report somewhere. He¡¯s been on the final testing phase for a while, even forgoing sleep just to finish it up. Now they¡¯re testing its safety and live performance.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡± Wei Zhuo is surprised, thinking it¡¯d take another year or so for the invention to be completed.


    ¡°Yes. And also, Mr Cheng has named his invention ¡®ABC,''¡± Meng Yuele has a hard time pronouncing the three ¡®letters,¡¯ given the phonology of the insectoid language is wholly different from any human language in Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s past life. There is nothing similar to Mandarin or English here, making pronouncing ¡®ABC¡® a challenging affair, ¡°he¡¯s also proposed a marketing slogan. ¡®Brisk and Breezy.''¡±


    Wei Zhuo, who has not a single idea what all that could possibly mean, is quiet for a while, before making this ¡®aha¡¯ look and saying, ¡°I see. As expected of the grade S male,¡± then he changes the topic abruptly back to Jin Yue.


    Meng Yuele gets it, though, when usually Wei Zhuo would be talking nonstop for hours when Cheng Zhaoci is involved. He definitely didn¡¯t understand a thing.


    Meanwhile, Cheng Zhaoci has finally finished everything he had set out to do, so now he¡¯s relaxing. Well, as much as one can relax when even he, a grade S male, got tangled up into the mess that is the bill put to referendum.


    The uproar and backlash has been more severe than expected. Even many prominent males who treat shemales and demis respectfully have come out against the bill, having quickly realised if this was the bill the government is proposing to test the public¡¯s reception, more are sure to follow.


    And that was true. Bai Jiawen has been working on a bill himself that would still protect male rights, given their huge gender imbalance, but would no longer afford them legal immunity if they commit murder.


    Of course, no one would agree to the death penalty for those males, but at least, they have to be put into jail! Indefinitely, if severe enough!


    However, Bai Jiawen is sighing when discussing his plans in private, ¡°there is still so much to do, and yet my years are getting to me.¡±


    At least, he is unlikely to see any real changes passed during his remaining tenure.


    Who knows how many years and revisions this marriage bill alone would have to go through before it is finally passed.


    ¡°When my cijun and I are both off to a happier place, I wonder who the insectoids can look to for leadership,¡± says Bai Jiawen, with such a sombre and lonely tone.


    Cheng Zhaoci, seeing his gaze on him, very quickly reacts, ¡°don¡¯t look at me. Not me. You already have a successor in mind before you grew old, haven¡¯t you? Before I was returned to the Capital planet.¡±


    What? He, Cheng Zhaoci, is all the insectoid can count on? What kind of sick messiah story is this? Also, he¡¯s way past the age for enjoying such hot-blooded shonen plotline. At best, he¡¯s a cute mascot.


    Do not put mascots in leadership positions. Even if he¡¯s become a literal genius in researching, he would be sorely mistaken if he thinks he could navigate the labyrinthine halls of Parliament with that alone.


    If he screwed up and ended up dooming the entire insectoid race somehow, he¡¯d surely disappoint his dozens of grade S male predecessors deeply.


    Bai Jiawen seems saddened, but not really disappointed. Cheng Zhaoci then knows what he speculated is true. Bai Jiawen is just testing the waters, to see if he might be able to spur Cheng Zhaoci into action.


    And Cheng Zhaoci does not. President? He couldn¡¯t even be one of the ¡®Subject Helpers¡¯ in class in his past life.


    The only ¡®post¡¯ he¡¯s ever had has been ¡®Motivational Officer,¡¯ because they thought they¡¯d make good use of his artistic talents ¨C for drawing those motivational paintings in the classroom.


    He really doesn¡¯t have the emotional intelligence required for such a demanding post. Remember what he¡¯d do if he had a shemale or demi son? Who married a bad male? He plans to deal with that hypothetical dumbass male by cleansing his entire family from this very plane of existence.


    Yes, a violent male is he.

 CH 74.2

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you can keep drawing comics now?¡± Zhou Xiaobao asks Cheng Zhaoci. With the government having revealed basically everything by now, he knows about the school Cheng Zhaoci and Zhou Luoluo are going to.


    And Zhou Xiaobao finds himself a lot more melancholic recently. The comic trio that they are, yet he¡¯s still the only one single, and not even having a romantic target to work on.


    Cheng Zhaoci, the grade S male, getting to marry his beloved cijun as soon as he enters adulthood, fine. But how did Zhou Luoluo manage to land himself with Lu Nianqian so quickly after becoming an adult, too? Even though he¡¯s as annoying as ever?


    Do shemales like that more?


    ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t much to do on the research side, so I¡¯m reorganising my time now. The Time Turnaround series still needs new chapters,¡± Cheng Zhaoci says, feeling like his life is going back to normalcy.


    Zhou Xiaobao then asks, ¡°so you were completely absorbed in the research and didn¡¯t check out BombIn¡¯s account? Or watch the news?¡±


    ¡°Not really. What¡¯s up?¡± Cheng Zhaoci wonders, ¡°something wrong with my alt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like, many groups of males have been arguing in the comments of your page for a while. But anyway, you know that the referendum has already started, right?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci nods. He knows, but he also didn¡¯t follow its updates. He knows exactly how hopeless this referendum is. It¡¯s practically political theatre.


    ¡°Less than a month remains in the voting period. Even despite the open ballot, the Ayes and Noes are in a standoff,¡± Zhou Xiaobao says with a serious tone.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. No one is expecting it to work out¡­¡± then Cheng Zhaoci blanks out, and tries to reconfirm, ¡°wait a second! What, what did you say, was in a standoff?¡±


    ¡°The Ayes and Noes,¡± Zhou Xiaobao repeats himself, ¡°the votes for and against changing the marriage laws are about 50:50.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci then wraps his head and moans, ¡°¡­ I knew it. The President couldn¡¯t hold himself back from committing fraud.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t! You, you don¡¯t think it¡¯s because of some other reason?¡± Zhou Xiaobao asks, curious.


    ¡°The Chairman went on air to threaten the males?¡± Cheng Zhaoci asks, despondent. Have they resorted to committing actual coercion?


    ¡°Fuck! No! I thought you were a grade S male! Is your brain broken or what?! It¡¯s because of you!¡± Zhou Xiaobao has had enough, and is shaking Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s shoulder around to wake him up, ¡°according to the results so far, an unexpectedly large majority of young adult males have voted ¡®Aye,¡¯ and over 80% of them are huge fans of your work! They¡¯re your fans! Get it?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci then tilts his head in bewilderment, ¡°wait, what did I do again?¡± Huh? He didn¡¯t make a single status update, and only released that short little monochrome comic of his. He checked its stats just yesterday ¨C the number of views are high compared to other comics, for sure, but it is only at the level of around his very first comic release.


    It really doesn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually kind of ridiculous. Here, watch this,¡± Zhou Xiaobao shows Cheng Zhaoci his own holodeck.


    It¡¯s a short comic. Cheng Zhaoci can see a lot of area for improvement, but it certainly has talent and heart in it. The comic is named ¡®Life.¡¯


    It didn¡¯t take that long to read, either. It¡¯s simply the recollection of a young male of the tragedy and eventual death of his dad and demi brother.


    In the end, they both died, leaving the male to fend for himself. Then, in the very last panel, ¡®This was adapted from the comic artist¡¯s personal experience.¡¯


    Honestly, the general expressiveness of the story could use some work. There are places where Cheng Zhaoci had to pause and ponder to get what¡¯s going on in the panel. As one might expect, it doesn¡¯t have much clicks. Not even as much as Zhou Xiaobao¡¯s zany plot-hole extravaganza.


    But never mind all that, as Cheng Zhaoci saw it for what it is ¨C the sprout of what is to come.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s a rift driving the younger males and older males apart now,¡± says Zhou Xiaobao, ¡°most of the younger ones think that insectoids like Jin Yue are insectoids broken by the current, oppressive system. Many of them are also feeling conflicted because they also have their dads and brothers to think about.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci thinks he gets what Zhou Xiaobao is getting at.


    It¡¯s not that he did something dramatic over time that turned the insectoids from staunchly against to staunchly supportive of reforms.


    However, through his comics over the years, he¡¯s brought them, especially the young males, the seeds for thinking and sympathising with others¡¯ plight. Young minds are also less set in stone than older minds, after all.


    If Cheng Zhaoci was never here ¨C if there wasn¡¯t the little zombie king, or In a Tiny Flicker, or the demi reporter and his introverted male, or the Time Turnaround series, or all the little one-offs he¡¯s drawn over time ¨C without any of them, there would have been far, far fewer of young males who could see the insectoid underneath the labels of ¡®dad¡¯ and ¡®shemale/demi brothers.¡¯


    The bill would have still been introduced, but all the young males who have been raised in this environment, who have never had the opportunity to question their ways, would have voted against regardless.


    But thanks to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comics and its crazy popularity, thanks to his many fans across all walks of life, the younger males have started to learn more about the shemales and demis around them.


    Actually, the fact that Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s status updates frequently turn into ridiculous matchmaking sessions in the comments, have shown that males and the other genders can actually interact normally and often hilariously.


    When you¡¯ve successfully pushed one male into a renaissance of values, one entire group of males, perhaps, and some of them turn out to be quite expressive, too, then a cultural phenomenon would swiftly follow.


    They might be more idealistic and hot-blooded than is ideal. Some of them might even be envisioning a new social utopia right now ¨C becoming completely blind to the complex factors government male-shemale-demi relationships, like their physical and mental capabilities, and the current societal reality.


    But they¡¯ll grow and ripen over time. Now, simply seeing that result manifest as a close race between the Ayes and Noes, is good enough.


    Cheng Zhaoci has definitely changed things. A lot of things.


    So Cheng Zhaoci asks, completely dumbfounded, ¡°you mean, this vote, it might actually pass?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Zhou Xiaobao nods, only to cuss out of shock again when he sees Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face, ¡°what in the world?! You, you look awful!¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s face is pretty contorted for sure ¨C excited enough to want to cry in joy, but also can¡¯t because he has an appearance to keep up.


    He, Cheng Zhaoci, the deadbeat comic artist who died of a stroke at home, and probably ended up on the local news that one time¡­ posthumously, feels like, maybe he has accomplished more than he was hoping for in this world.


    Well, it¡¯s not like he managed to conquer and unify the universe or something ridiculous like other protagonists or something, but he¡¯s still excited.


    So excited he immediately calls Wei Zhuo on his holodeck. Unexpected, Wei Zhuo is free, and it goes through in no time.


    ¡°I feel that I¡¯m really amazing!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you definitely are!¡± Wei Zhuo has no idea what¡¯s going on, but that doesn¡¯t stop him from praising his xiongzhu. He agrees Cheng Zhaoci is the best insectoid there is, no questions asked.


    He continues, ¡°you¡¯re the most amazing insectoid in this entire universe! Ever since I met you and learned about you, I¡¯ve come to realise this in the¡­¡±


    The hologram of Wei Zhuo continues to blabber on praises for Cheng Zhaoci in speaker mode, and Zhou Xiaobao watches, with dead, glassy eyes, how Cheng Zhaoci rolls around on the couch and squeezes into all sorts of funky shapes like an earthworm.

 CH 75.1

    Jin Yue


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    That night, Bai Jiawen has also called Cheng Zhaoci to talk about the vote.


    Well, more like ¡®praise to no end with impassioned genuity.¡¯ Bai Jiawen is truly happy. He thought this would have been a symbolic attempt, but now it seemed to actually have some possibility of success.


    ¡°You¡¯ve really changed a lot around here,¡± Bai Jiawen comments, ¡°I¡¯m sure the insectoid has a bright future ahead.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci fakes a humble acceptance of all the praises, because he¡¯s actually really proud too. Not that he was actively aiming to do any of this, but he still did influence the younger generation for the better.


    He feels motivated once more.


    Though the motivation is more for seeing Wei Zhuo than anything else. And unfortunately for him, he can¡¯t head to the frontline now either. Apparently, it¡¯s complete chaos there right now.


    ¡°Just over 500 remain?¡± Jin Yue asks about the number of subordinates still remaining with him, alive, and not arrested by the Federation.


    He is fiercely loyal to his own subordinates ¨C those of the Golden Lion ¨C and not to the other insectoids. Not that they have much loyalty to him in the first place either, so he isn¡¯t going to pretend to care about them.


    He also saw immediately that those pirates that decided to want out after all this will be priority targets for the Federation. He didn¡¯t warn them; in fact, he was quite excited to see it play out.


    Now, only just over 500 insectoids remain by his side, all from the Golden Lion.


    Originally, there were dozens of times more; however, some of them left when Jin Yue put his rebellion into action, and many of the rest were wounded or dead during the long war that followed.


    Now, they¡¯re all he has left.


    Honestly, it isn¡¯t even a fight anymore.


    The Federation has put up a new generation of defences, which is a shield strong enough to withstand even a direct hit from their most powerful particle lance weaponry. It¡¯s off the charts; apparently, the little ugly thing helped make it.


    As expected of a grade S male. The Federation hasn¡¯t had a casualty for quite a while now, while he, Jin Yue, is practically doomed.


    He once asked his subordinate, ¡°can we replicate that shield?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s close to impossible. We can¡¯t make it any smaller with our current techniques. Honestly, that shield is a miracle. An irreplicable miracle.¡±


    Maybe another grade S male can do it, but there is only one, you see.


    And even if there were a second one, he would never help them, an impromptu organisation formed to avenge themselves on the males. They already know what they all did.


    Jin Yue looks down at his holodeck, and reads the message on there one more time. It was sent during their first skirmishes with the proper forces of the Federation.


    A communiqu¨¦ saying to give up on their futile resistance and cooperate with their arrests, guaranteeing them to fair trials. It¡¯d save both of them a lot of trouble and pain.


    Whether they surrendered or not, though, only death awaits.


    Either by a clean execution where their bodies will be buried, or by a painful, dangerous mortal wound suffered on the battlefield.


    Jin Yue does not know how many times he¡¯s read this already. Not because he¡¯s contemplating the offer, but to remind himself of the sheer gall of the Federation to send such an insulting, disgusting piece of shit to him, ¡°I¡¯ll never bow to the Federation, to those dumbass males.¡±


    ¡°Boss,¡± one of his subordinates speaks up, ¡°our base will be found in less than a month. Please, run away.¡±


    Jin Yue turns around to look at him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made it out of Wei Zhuo¡¯s pursuit alive. If you could do it in the past, you can do it again and again.¡±


    Jin Yue starts laughing, and pats his subordinate on the shoulder, ¡°but, I don¡¯t want to run anymore.¡±


    Was he wrong?


    No, he was not. He just did what he always wanted to do. He might be insane, but he is not wrong. It is revenge, indiscriminate revenge against the entire world.


    He is not Jin ¡®the Ace student¡¯ Yue. He is the mad insectoid Jin Yue. Mad people might do anything; the only one to blame is the one that turned him mad in the first place.


    Insectoids that are already dead, by the way.


    Oddly enough, despite all this, Jin Yue still finds himself drawn to news of the little ugly thing.


    Like the law. He knows the little ugly thing has cast ¡®Aye¡¯ already, but clearly, it would fail. There are too many males beyond the little ugly thing. They would never allow this piece of legislation to harm their rights.


    ¡°Argh! This is driving me nuts!¡± Zhou Luoluo is lying in bed alongside Cheng Zhaoci. Honestly, the two males watching the holodeck together huddled up like this is oddly suggestive. Or perhaps it¡¯s just a coincidence that every time Zhou Luoluo is hanging out with Cheng Zhaoci the atmosphere turns strange.


    Especially from Cheng Jin¡¯s angle, where Zhou Luoluo¡¯s leg is already resting on Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s all naturally. Cheng Jin can only tell himself that the male already has a cijun, and his own son also has Group Captain Wei. There is nothing going on between them.


    ¡­ Nothing, right?


    Zhou Luoluo is now squeezing even more into Cheng Zhaoci, like he¡¯s trying to get embraced. Cheng Jin can¡¯t help but suspect something, and marrying a cijun is simply their ruse to the world.


    Inside the room, neither insectoid has noticed the fact that they failed to close the door, and their dad/-in-law is currently observing.


    Zhou Luoluo is complaining, holding his fragile little heart, ¡°why must we always have to have a majority vote to pass laws on males?¡±


    No one will ever know how much he has anguished watching the votes chase each other and overtaking by slight margins every single time.


    It¡¯s like torture. Watching the numbers is all that he is doing every day, ¡°can¡¯t they just let the entire population vote?¡±


    ¡°Shemales and demis outnumber males too much,¡± Cheng Zhaoci tells Zhou Luoluo, ¡°if something really bad was proposed, like ¡®males can now be slaves to shemales and demis,¡¯ and most shemales and demis voted Aye, that¡¯d be a big problem.¡±


    ¡°But this just makes me so anxious!¡± Zhou Luoluo yells, ending up with a slap on the back of his head from Cheng Zhaoci, ¡°what are you anxious for? Planning on having a sweet divorce with your cijun soon?¡±


    Zhou Luoluo rubs his poor head, and mumbles, ¡°it¡¯s not that. You know, he¡¯s pregnant.¡±

 CH 75.2

    ¡°What, what did you just say?! What who¡¯s preg-what?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s voice is cracking, ¡°preg-pregnant?¡±


    Lu Nianqian? Pregnant? Hells! He can¡¯t even imagine the scene! That always gloomy-looking and imposing half-brother of his? Who picks up Zhou Luoluo like chicks being picked up when he has to go? He¡¯s pregnant?


    ¡°Uh, yeah, he is. You know, I was in that mission earlier, and I was really in shock. I stuck to him even more than usual. A few days ago, he didn¡¯t feel very well, and went to the hospital. He was pregnant,¡± Zhou Luoluo looks really shy, ¡°I¡¯m also worried what might happen to a shemale or demi kid I have if they end up with a bad male, so I¡¯ve kept my eye on the¡­ what are you looking at?¡±


    ¡°I want to tell you to fuck off, in a more roundabout way,¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers honestly.


    ¡°Huh? But you already said it.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So can you fuck off now?¡± The happy Cheng Zhaoci is no longer happy now. He and his love has only slept together once. Now, Zhou Luoluo, one year his junior, already has a son?! ¡°Leave me. We do not suit each other¡¯s presence. I do not want to see you for a while.¡±


    Cheng Jin, now standing just outside the door, wonders if that means they¡¯ll be breaking up now.


    Zhou Luoluo isn¡¯t going to leave, of course, given his usual shameless self is already being despised all that much without affecting him now. He knows Cheng Zhaoci is also joking with him.


    ¡°So, seriously now, do you think this bill will pass?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I hope it will,¡± Cheng Zhaoci closes his eyes, ¡°if you¡¯re nervous, just let it go and party up and have some fun. Forget about all this, and set a reminder on the calendar for the day the vote ends. You can follow the results for the last decisive hours.¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡± Zhou Luoluo nods, ¡°so when does it cut off again?¡±


    ¡°The twenty-sixth.¡±


    The twenty-sixth of that month.


    The Federation forces clash with the pirates once more.


    The spaceships have the pirates¡¯ ships surrounded from afar. All officers on hand are ready and alert. Jin Yue has lots of tricks up his sleeves, and no one knows what he might suddenly pull this time around.


    Yet, they do not know that this time, Jin Yue isn¡¯t going to simply tussle with them anymore. Yes, he can probably live to fight another time or two if he kept the skirmishes quick and ran, but he realised, even an insane insectoid has his limits.


    He only had 500 of his insectoids left, being battered all over by the army proper. No one could look at this and see the former arrogant glory of Jin Yue¡¯s forces at all.


    ¡°We¡¯re about to die, lads,¡± Jin Yue says with exceptional calmness and clarity, like a news broadcaster stating a fact.


    He rises, to get to his mecha.


    When passing by a door that reflected his form back, he suddenly saw that he was doing quite badly in his appearance. He runs his fingers through the hair to the back a little, and straightens up the garments he¡¯s wearing ¨C a mishmash of a military uniform he designed himself.


    Then he makes a mock salute that he once did in the military academy, and calls the reflection ¡®what a dumbass¡¯ with a smile. Then, finally, he turns around, and tells his subordinate, ¡°if you won¡¯t leave, then let¡¯s go out together.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    Meanwhile, on the army¡¯s mothership, a soldier patches in, ¡°Marshal. Commodore. Jin Yue and his insectoids are leaving their ships in their mechas.


    ¡°To run away?¡± The Marshal furrows his brows. Jin Yue is a skilled mecha pilot. They¡¯re unlikely to land a hit with any weaponry on their spaceships.


    ¡°Wei Zhuo, lead your fellow soldiers and stop him,¡± the Marshal adds, ¡°dead or alive.¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± Wei Zhuo salutes.


    When the Federation is also dispatching their mechas, Jin Yue is flipping through his holodeck, only to remember he¡¯s already deleted that one photo he still had of himself back in the academy.


    Without the photograph to distract him, Jin Yue looks back at the mechas, led by Wei Zhuo.


    Then he turns his mecha¡¯s recording on for the first time in a very long time, and sets it to upload online as soon as he dies.


    He will not allow anyone to speak ill of him, that he was snuffed out like a bug and was probably regretting what he did in the very last second.


    Wei Zhuo is approaching him. Jin Yue speaks up for the recording, ¡°I would have been just like him.¡±


    Wei Zhuo is attacking. Jin Yue dodges and counterattacks, but the difference in the mecha piloting skills is still too great. He¡¯s barely hanging on only thanks to his exceptional reflexes.


    ¡°I was the top of my year, and already put on reserves. I would¡¯ve been another boring dumbass who follows the law blindly, protected all the insectoids, including all those useless fucking males,¡± Jin Yue laughs while speaking. He¡¯s really being pushed hard here, ¡°I¡¯m thankful I had a great father and even greater male brother.¡±


    ¡°They taught me that it was all meaningless. ¡®Jin Yue¡¯ meant nothing to anyone; it was nowhere as important as he thinks he is, because any weak male bastard could just have him killed,¡± Jin Yue is now laughing uproariously, ¡°I¡¯ll never submit myself to male rule.¡±


    His hand is already shaking on the control stick. Grade As and grade S¡¯s really had a massive difference.


    Jin Yue immediately activates the mecha¡¯s self-destruct sequence without a moment of hesitation, then pulls an impressive evasive manoeuvre with the last of his strength, to rush for the mothership of the Federation fleet.


    During all this, he is only smiling more and more maniacally. The cockpit is flushed in red warning lights, and a voice is announcing the countdown loudly.


    [10, 9, 8¡­]


    The red light only makes his smile ever more menacing.


    ¡®Ding.¡¯


    There was an unexpected notification sound. An account he¡¯s following online has made a status update.


    [¡­ 5, 4¡­]


    Jin Yue watches the semi-transparent screen pop up by itself. It¡¯s BombInMyPants.


    [BombInMyPants: it passed?! the bill actually passed?! can someone come pinch me awake if I¡¯m dreaming?]


    Bill? If it¡¯s a bill even the little ugly thing was concerned about, it could only have been the divorce bill¡­ It passed?


    Jin Yue watches the status update blankly. He thinks he¡¯s daydreaming, when he really shouldn¡¯t be.


    ¡°Hehe, hahaha,¡± Jin Yue erupts into laughter once more. It¡¯s still quite arrogant and boisterous, but oddly enough, ever-so-slightly less menacing and a bit more relieved. Maybe, just a bit.


    He doesn¡¯t know why he¡¯s reacting like this. Actually, he never really quite knows why he is acting the way he is. He¡¯s insane, and you can¡¯t ask an insane insectoid why he is insane.


    A boom follows. A flash of fire that dies out near instantaneously in the vacuum of space. It swallowed up those fiery, golden vertical pupils, and the long, golden wig in no time.


    He didn¡¯t make it to the mothership of the enemy side.


    And just before the explosion happened, he stopped the video recording in the last second. There will be no upload. Why not? Isn¡¯t it a good thing to get those shemales and males arguing some more?


    Why not? Jin Yue doesn¡¯t know why he did that. Nor does he have time to think about why he did that anymore.


    That¡¯s it. He didn¡¯t need to reason it out anyway.


    He was always simply insane, from the beginning to the end.

 CH 76.1

    Cheer Up


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    ¡°Jin Yue is dead?¡± Cheng Zhaoci is quite surprised. It feels almost unreal.


    He knows the pirates are already at their wits¡¯ end, but Jin Yue, he just died in the end?


    ¡°Yes, Jin Yue has died. The war is over,¡± Meng Yuele says on the nearby sofa, ¡°we¡¯re finally back now. I thought at time we might never have. I¡¯d have lost against that insane bastard if we were in a one-on-one.¡±


    ¡°So where¡¯s Wei Zhuo?¡± If Meng Yuele is already here, where is Wei Zhuo?


    Cheng Zhaoci already had a call last night with Wei Zhuo, who said he¡¯ll be back the next night to also take Cheng Zhaoci back to where they were living. They didn¡¯t need to stay at his granddad¡¯s for protection anymore.


    ¡°Busy receiving his medals, I guess. He was too important in the fight. Two months ago he was already made a Commodore, now he might actually rise up to the marshal-level ranks,¡± Meng Yuele says with aspiration in his eyes.


    He¡¯s not jealous, because the amount of work and merit Wei Zhuo had was insane.


    He ran ahead to Cheng Zhaoci to tell him they¡¯re safe and the mission is over. And also, of course, for the free food, ¡°Wei-ge brought Jin Yue¡¯s mecha husk back though.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci remembers how Wei Zhuo looks like he would tear Jin Yue limb-to-limb whenever he was talking about him during the war.


    Meng Yuele explains, seeing the confusion, ¡°he dug a hole nowhere and buried it, and said nothing on the way. I guarantee there¡¯s nothing between the two of them.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Of course I know that,¡± Cheng Zhaoci is just curious at the sudden thoughtful gesture. Perhaps it¡¯s as Wei Zhuo said, he knew Jin Yue from very long ago, far enough in the past that he wasn¡¯t yet the insectoid he became.


    He was probably melancholic for that simpler time.


    Wei Zhuo has always been pretty emotionally rich inside. He just has problems writing them on the face.


    Meng Yuele then sighs and laments, ¡°it¡¯s finally over, but at the cost of how many insectoids?¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci says nothing. He knows. Even Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu has perished in this pointless war, in a futile revenge that did not directly relate to him.


    To be honest, sometimes Cheng Zhaoci thinks he has become even more unfeeling than Wei Zhuo. Maybe it¡¯s because of the awakening, or maybe because he did not know the past Jin Yue.


    The news of his death was surprising, because he always felt in control and slippery. But then, in the end, he still died in battle.


    It seems unreasonable to expect the victims¡¯ families to learn about the perpetrator¡¯s tragic past, and then sympathise and rationally view the entire thing or whatnot. His life was ruined, and he ruined so many lives too.


    To those outside, death is just a number. Yet, to those families directly affected, they did lose someone important and irreplaceable in their daily lives.


    There is never a reasonable justification for taking another¡¯s life no matter the circumstances.


    ¡°Dead, huh,¡± Sun Wushe almost appears apathetic. Or, perhaps he knew it all along, ¡°that¡¯s nice. He¡¯s finally free.¡±


    Then he falls silent for a while, before asking, ¡°can I ask his exact time of death?¡±


    ¡°The twenty-sixth, at 16:36:54 in the afternoon. Barely a few seconds after my xiongzhu sent the status update,¡± Wei Zhuo has an idea what Sun Wushe wanted to ask about.


    ¡°I see. He probably read it,¡± Sun Wushe knows Jin Yue has also followed Cheng Zhaoci online.


    He¡¯s mellowed out much more now, that he can even talk to Wei Zhuo calmly across a dividing glass. Well, ¡®calmly,¡¯ because he¡¯s completely given up after Wei Zhuo kept ignoring him.


    Wei Zhuo, meanwhile, takes a deep breath. He can¡¯t help but feel pissed every time his xiongzhu is involved with all these shemales, ¡°he was also infatuated with my xiongzhu?¡±


    He knows his xiongzhu is an amazing male, but why does he seem to end up attracting so many weirdos?


    Sun Wushe¡¯s eyes widen for a moment, before he chuckles at the question, ¡°impossible. Anyone could be in love with Mr Cheng Zhaoci, but not him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s probably really intrigued, but he doesn¡¯t like him,¡± in fact, Jin Yue was even using the fact that Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo have got married to probe Sun Wushe himself, to see if he has any interesting reaction. If Jin Yue really liked Cheng Zhaoci, what he would have done is make a big mess of things the moment he learned regardless of consequences.


    He follows Cheng Zhaoci, not because he likes him, but because he¡¯s seen something different in him. Possibly, Jin Yue was harbouring a hope that he didn¡¯t even know he was still capable of having; a hope in what Cheng Zhaoci would do, what he might be able to achieve, to change, and not just in Cheng Zhaoci himself.


    He may be insane to the very core, unpredictable and chaotic, but he still had the capacity to hope for a difference.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to die tomorrow,¡± murmurs Sun Wushe; tomorrow is the day of his execution by firing squad.


    ¡°And you deserve it,¡± Wei Zhuo coldly adds, ¡°you should have known this day was coming the day you joined a space buccaneer outfit.¡±


    ¡°I always knew,¡± Sun Wushe is smiling, ¡°even when I was still very young. So even if you let me turn back time, I would still have walked this exact same path.¡±

 CH 76.2

    Wei Zhuo¡¯s expression sours even further as Sun Wushe finally confesses, ¡°I¡¯m rotten to the core, bro.¡±


    Sun Wushe has almost never called him ¡®bro.¡¯


    ¡°You do not deserve the chance to do things again. You deserve the death penalty,¡± Wei Zhuo keeps gripping at the rim of the hat and adjusting it while turning to leave. He¡¯s been dithering for too long. It¡¯s time he went home.


    He doesn¡¯t even know why he¡¯s here. Sun Wushe didn¡¯t need to be interrogated anymore. All of Jin Yue¡¯s subordinates are in custody. All Wei Zhuo did here was standing around for a while.


    When Wei Zhuo is out of sight, Sun Wushe finally adds, ¡°thanks for coming to see me.¡±


    Then he slides back sitting onto the ground, watching the snowy white walls of the jail. It¡¯s so white his eyes hurt just looking at it.


    There is less than a day left. Sun Wushe isn¡¯t going to do anything anymore.


    He looks much more peaceful, but he also knows, this is more than just resignation to the fact that he¡¯s going to die. He knows he will have done this all over again if offered the chance.


    Simply, that being sentenced to death, and knowing that it¡¯s coming, has made him feel oddly at ease.


    After all the madness trying to take revenge on a cruel world, when all is said and done, he can finally relax. There is nothing to think about anymore. He¡¯s going to die for good.


    Wei Zhuo notices Cheng Zhaoci is waiting for him outside his granddad¡¯s mansion when he arrives.


    He gets off, and is about to speak, when Cheng Zhaoci pats him on the shoulder, ¡°I know where you went; it¡¯s ok. How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°I, I went to see Sun Wushe,¡± Wei Zhuo lowers his head, ¡°xiongzhu, sometimes, I¡¯d still¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Cheng Zhaoci interrupts him and starts dragging him by the shoulder, ¡°come in and sit if you¡¯re going to speak. ¡®Pa is at a meeting, and my dad is in his old house. It¡¯s just us.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Wei Zhuo allows himself to be dragged around, his head hanging low.


    After being put onto the sofa with a drink in his hand, Wei Zhuo continues, ¡°xiongzhu, would I also turn out like him one day?¡±


    ¡°Like whom?¡± Cheng Zhaoci has already resolved to being Wei ¡®the new Vice-marshal¡¯ Zhuo¡¯s armchair psychologist when he saw how upset he was.


    ¡°Like Jin Yue; like Sun Wushe,¡± Wei Zhuo is sulking; the tall and muscular mass of insectoid just curling up on the sofa, looking almost like a baby.


    He had a past that was comparably shitty like Jin Yue¡¯s and Sun Wushe¡¯s, and he also knows for a fact, that before he met this amazing male, he was also moving through life without purpose, even with an unhealthy amount of self-loathing attached.


    ¡°You won¡¯t,¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers quite resolutely, and explains, ¡°if you, Wei-ge, actually did go off the deep end, I imagine you¡¯d kill your father, and then allow yourself to be arrested and sentenced.¡±


    There is no denying Wei Zhuo was psychologically unhealthy as a shemale soldier, and probably didn¡¯t exactly feel a ¡®call of duty¡¯ for his fellow insectoids, but the thought of avenging himself against the entire society has never once crossed his mind. Cheng Zhaoci is certain.


    Vice-marshal Wei, the grade S shemale, is quite principled. He only goes after insectoids that are directly responsible. Perhaps influenced by his granddad as well, he also has a sort of conviction when it comes to following rules.


    That¡¯s why Cheng Zhaoci believes the most likely course of events is just Wei Zhuo taking his revenge and then allowing himself to be arrested cooperatively.


    The fact that Wei Zhuo never fell to the same depths as the others in the very beginning was a sign that he would have behaved differently.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci being his xiongzhu has probably made the argument sound more like an attempt to cheer him up, so he remains unconvinced and sulky.


    ¡°Wei-ge,¡± Cheng Zhaoci gives up on logical reasoning and squeezes himself into Wei Zhuo, ¡°why are you mulling over this? Am I not being good enough?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Uh, no, of course not,¡± Wei Zhuo goes surprised, ¡°my xiongzhu is the best xiongzhu there is. I am certain of that.¡±


    ¡°Then why would you still end up like them with such a good xiongzhu?¡± Cheng Zhaoci puts his hand on his chest, and blinks hard to get tears welling up, ¡°so you don¡¯t actually think I¡¯m good enough? Not even I can help turn you around?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I won¡¯t turn into that. Definitely not now,¡± Wei Zhuo panics at such a Cheng Zhaoci, whom he has quite the trouble interacting with, because he appears to have lost his capacity for language, ¡°it¡¯s because I met you that I do not think I can become them at all¡­¡±


    Wei Zhuo is blabbering while looking like he could also cry.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not true. It¡¯s not because of me,¡± Cheng Zhaoci interrupts him, ¡°it is because our Vice-marshal Wei has always been such an amazing insectoid,¡± he says, almost like he¡¯s cooing an infant with a gentle tone to sleep.


    Then he plants a kiss on Wei Zhuo¡¯s cheeks, ¡°your xiongzhu is a nice xiongzhu, so he is telling you only the truth.¡±


    ¡°Xiongzhu,¡± Wei Zhuo finally bursts into tears, staring straight into Cheng Zhaoci and saying, ¡°thank you.¡±


    Cheng Zhaoci responds by planting a kiss on him.


    Ten minutes later¡­


    Wei Zhuo falls into thought, staring at the ceiling as it bobs up and down in his vision.


    How did it turn out like this? Oh shit, his arse hurts!

 CH 77.1

    Oddness


    Translated by boilpoil


    Edited by boilpoil


    After a good night¡¯s sleep, Cheng Zhaoci wakes up to find his sleeping partner missing once more. Thankfully, he¡¯s still here, as evidenced by the scent of freshly cooked goodness.


    Cheng Zhaoci follows right after his nose. A dreamt up buffet wouldn¡¯t fill his stomach any.


    Ah, it feels nice to have someone else in the house so one doesn¡¯t have to face the cold walls alone. He is quite impressed that Wei Zhuo can always wake up early and on time when everyone else would probably oversleep the next day.


    Maybe it has to do with grade S physical aptitude?


    And Cheng Zhaoci can¡¯t help but question himself either. Maybe, he¡¯s just too bad at his job?


    There wasn¡¯t a successful impregnation despite a three-day session. A whole night last night and he failed to secure a hug-filled morning and a morning kiss. Oh well.


    ¡°Xiongzhu? You¡¯re up?¡± Wei Zhuo notices Cheng Zhaoci sitting quietly up and blanking out staring into space, ¡°are you feeling unwell somewhere?¡±


    No, actually. Cheng Zhaoci feels refreshed. And honestly, isn¡¯t he supposed to be asking Wei Zhuo that instead?


    He¡¯s a grade S male! Grade S! With superb abilities to that end! Cheng Zhaoci almost feels offended. Should he just stuff Wei Zhuo back onto the bed and commence wholesome activities?


    Though Wei Zhuo will have to go back to his work this afternoon. An understanding xiongzhu that is Cheng Zhaoci has to let Wei Zhuo go.


    He¡¯s mostly busy with after-action reports, but a holiday is to follow ¨C a whole month of holidays that the Chairman approved himself. They told them it¡¯s to make up for a ¡®honeymoon.¡¯


    A grateful Cheng Zhaoci finally abandons his scheme to further drive Bai Jun insane.


    Really, while Cheng Zhaoci is a good insectoid, oftentimes, one can¡¯t help but feel like socking him right in the self-satisfied face.


    When he is not enjoying the benefits of marriage or the labours of love, and lamenting having only slept with his cijun once, he¡¯d get pissed, but he can¡¯t take it out on the President and the Chairman either, so his target of venting ends up being Bai Jun.


    Considering Bai Jun¡¯s appallingly inadequate social skills, it should come as no surprise that he basically follows anything Cheng Zhaoci dares to put into words. Under such circumstances, Bai Jun¡¯s good little advertisements selling himself to potential shemale and demi suitors have invaded practically every nook and cranny of everyone¡¯s lives.


    Even Bai Jun¡¯s poor father and dad. While Bai Jun has been vaguely happy with the results so far, but the Chairman himself would much rather not see his son in a long while ¨C nor any of the increasingly desperate advertisements for at least a week.


    Well, only ¡®vaguely¡¯ happy, because while the advertisements drew in unprecedented amount of interest in Bai Jun, he still couldn¡¯t hit it off with anyone. When shemales and demis come to him, he starts talking science to them. Hard.


    In order to catch up, those shemales and demis not immediately put off have worked hard to learn about and study these topics. When finally, they meet a second time, and are able to barely follow what Bai Jun is talking about, Bai Jun goes berserk picking apart their incomplete and uncertain answers.


    In the end, Bai Jun is still, pitifully, alone. Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s final advice, now that he¡¯s back in the groove with lovey-dovey times, for a crying Bai Jun, is that his best bet is probably to marry his beloved First Research Institute instead.


    So Bai Jun wails even loudlier. Cheng Zhaoci really couldn¡¯t help out much though, because he has even seen threads emerging in online forums advising all shemales and demis to avoid the male Bai Jun.


    Condensed, the advice reads, ¡®if you have not the learned mind and genius talent that could land you a job in the First Research Institute, then best steer clear of this male.¡¯


    Cheng Zhaoci actually gave the thread a sneaky like.


    ¡°Say, Ci-zai, you¡¯re not gonna get a concubine then?¡± When Wei Zhuo is busy finishing up his work in the army, Xiao Ji and He Huaijian are here to visit on their rare holiday, ¡°you gonna spend your whole life together with the Vice-marshal only?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pretty nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± Cheng Zhaoci answers with a big happy smile. Assuming nothing happens, he¡¯s expecting to draw comics most of the time, and occasionally get dragged in front of cameras as the grade S male mascot, and that¡¯s it.


    With Wei Zhuo being so good at cooking, with such a gentle (?), amicable personality (???), he can¡¯t imagine any other future for himself.


    ¡°It is,¡± Xiao Ji nods approvingly. That¡¯ll show those bastards in the Academy who are trying to win him over for Cheng Zhaoci.


    ¡°Just the two of you, though? No children?¡± He Huaijian asks a key question. Cheng Zhaoci mumbles something, then answers, ¡°we¡¯ll take good care of them if they come.¡±


    Really, the topic is quite sour for him. Argh, how did Zhou Luoluo even manage to fill Lu Nianqian¡¯s tummy with a kid when he married a year after him?


    And worse, he¡¯s taken a long leave from drawing comics for now, since he¡¯s ready to become a father, and he doesn¡¯t exactly need the money that badly. Not just his family, but Lu Nianqian is also a rich businessman himself. It¡¯s not some big megacorporation, but definitely enough to support Zhou Luoluo and then some.


    Really, he only joined to assist Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comics because he¡¯s actually interested; Cheng Zhaoci also insisted he be paid for his work.


    Though for this while ¨C perhaps a year or so ¨C he¡¯d need someone else to do his detailing work. Maybe he¡¯d just do it himself if he has the free time now.

 CH 77.2

    Well, that¡¯s all for later. Right now, Cheng Zhaoci is going to announce a hiatus on his ¡®Theoretical Time Turnaround¡¯ series for a month, during which he and his cijun will be doing something important, like doing their part for the looming population crisis of the insectoid society, for example.


    It is a fact that Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s comics have changed things. It has proven the effectiveness of literature and media on the mental wellbeing of insectoids and on establishing a stable, healthy society.


    Even so, he must be on hiatus for a week to sleep! He¡¯s gotta make up for all the times they did! Not! Sleep!


    ¡°Xiao Ji, Huaijian-ge, do you two know how much exertion is needed until even grade S shemales would feel exhausted?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Xiao Ji tilts his head, and answers, ¡°exhausted? Maybe if you pit him against an entire group of pirates? I suppose that¡¯s tiring.¡±


    He Huaijian gives Xiao Ji a dismissive look and snort. While Xiao Ji is scratching his head in confusion, He Huaijian leans close to Cheng Zhaoci and says, ¡°tell the Vice-marshal to take you to virtual mecha fights.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Cheng Zhaoci doesn¡¯t get it. He knows he¡¯s still bad at piloting mechas, which actually didn¡¯t change after he Awakened. Even though he can replicate every single move Wei Zhuo makes, his hands and muscles cannot do it quickly enough to be any use in battle.


    Wait, so since he¡¯s still the mecha noob, does He Huaijian mean to tire Wei Zhuo out by him dragging him down during play because his movements are utterly amateurish? It sure hurts to hear that.


    He Huaijian is still not finished, though, he continues whispering, ¡°buy the gaming pod for your house directly, the one that can fit both insectoids inside. Grade S shemales are good enough to keep up with piloting both mechas. So, when he¡¯s busy fighting, you can do whatever you want to him.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s busy fighting 1-on-2 by controlling 2 mechas at once, and also being¡­ harassed by you, he¡¯ll tire out in just a few rounds, I¡¯m sure,¡± then He Huaijian leans back with his usual poker face. He is still the cold and rational He Huaijian.


    No one would have the slightest inkling of what absurd suggestions he just spouted.


    Cheng Zhaoci, meanwhile, is clearly in shock. Not just because he has a whole new avenue of wholesome activities opened to him, but because it is He Huaijian who made the suggestion. He always thought He Huaijian was someone who didn¡¯t pay attention to things going on around him outside of his tech stuff.


    He Huaijian¡­ has grown up, surely.


    But the suggestion is useful, yes.


    Cheng Zhaoci nods with a serious face. Yes, he is learned now.


    ¡°What were you talking about? Hey bro?¡± Xiao Ji looks to-and-fro, but the two insectoids are merely sharing meaningful glances with each other, and ignoring him.


    Xiao Ji feels excluded, but Cheng Zhaoci pats Xiao Ji on the shoulder, ¡°after you have your own xiongzhu, you¡¯ll understand. It¡¯s still too early for you right now. Be a good insectoid and let¡¯s drop the topic,¡± Xiao Ji is still the weird insectoid who covers his eyes in shame when he sees racy magazines, you see.


    Xiao Ji begs to differ though. Aren¡¯t the two of them the same age?!


    But even He Huaijian is nodding affirmatively to Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s suggestion.


    So Xiao Ji just gives up. He knew it. Sometimes he just isn¡¯t smart enough to get what they¡¯re talking about.


    Honestly, not even having an inkling of what his good brothers are talking about makes him want to tear up a little, but he¡¯s a tough insectoid. Yes. A tough insectoid never cries.


    Putting the plan to action as soon as possible, Cheng Zhaoci has already bought an immersion pod optimised for virtual mecha fights, even using his past year of ¡®work experience¡¯ to tweak it so that the chamber would be comfortable even when he is doing¡­ stuff inside.


    Yes, he¡¯s making it very comfortable indeed.


    He must thank his grade S mental aptitude that brought him an insane academic ability, and thank the advanced scientific and technological development the insectoid race enjoys. Oh, and he must also thank Bai Jun for his helpful suggestions.


    Really, isn¡¯t it strange all these single insectoids who are also socially anxious so knowledgeable in private? Knowledge they should and maybe shouldn¡¯t really know, they know even better than him, who¡¯s lived two lives and already has a cijun.


    Cheng Zhaoci manages the changes on time, just a day before Wei Zhuo¡¯s holiday begins.


    ¡°Virtual mecha fights?¡± Wei Zhuo almost refuses outright hearing talk of this on the dinner table.


    No one can understand the psychological trauma just hearing those words brings him. That said, his xiongzhu did Awaken, so he¡¯s probably not going to die as easily. He also saw that the equipment has already been bought. He bought ones for dual play¡­ He should be better able to protect his xiongzhu then. So Wei Zhuo relents.


    That said, he felt odd when his xiongzhu insists on taking a shower before playing, and odder when he enters the pod¡¯s chamber in his bath robes. It¡¯d hinder their movement quite a lot.


    And in fact, for the first two rounds, his xiongzhu doesn¡¯t even move much. Wei Zhuo finds himself pulling most of the weight here. Then his xiongzhu even turns to ask if he¡¯s able to win by himself.


    Wei Zhuo nods. It is true that he can handle himself alone.


    Then his xiongzhu tells him to continue his stellar piloting, before throwing the robe away, and starts pawing at his body.


    Wei Zhuo gasps. This is really strange, really, really strange!

 CH 78.1

    The scheme worked out quite perfectly. Wei Zhuo was completely exhausted by the end.


    The next day, he fails to wake up early, and Cheng Zhaoci happily goes cooking.


    Wei Zhuo¡¯s face is still blushing when he wakes up, and is especially shy when he sees Cheng Zhaoci, not even attempting to look him in the eye.


    ¡°How are you feeling? Does it still ache somewhere?¡± Cheng Zhaoci tries to return the favour of what Wei Zhuo asked him one morning before; the question almost sends Wei Zhuo reeling from the impact.


    With his head hanging low, he mumbles, ¡°plea-please don¡¯t do that again in the future,¡± he, a healthy, adult shemale, really has trouble concentrating when his xiongzhu was looking like that.


    And he was still engaged in a mecha fight! Piloting two mechas at once against two opponents! He¡¯s still actually dazed from last night. If this becomes a regular thing, he might actually shrivel up physically. A grade S shemale overworked to breaking point for his xiongzhu¡®s sake almost sounds like a decadent joke.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t like it?¡± Cheng Zhaoci makes sure he gets right up to Wei Zhuo¡¯s face, and Wei Zhuo blushes even harder, ¡°it¡¯s not that I can say I didn¡¯t like it¡­¡± since he was also feeling the pleasure along the way. He¡¯d be lying if he said he didn¡¯t enjoy it. Though he can only speak in a very tiny whisper.


    After Cheng Zhaoci plants another kiss on Wei Zhuo¡¯s forehead, Wei Zhuo gives in entirely.


    Sure! Why not?! As long as his xiongzhu likes it, then he¡¯s happy to oblige! Yes!


    So thanks to Wei Zhuo¡¯s cooperativeness, the next week between the lovebirds was quite decadent for sure. Well, they didn¡¯t do it for an entire week, of course. Not even the strongest of virility medicine would have been able to rescue Cheng Zhaoci in that case.


    Still, the mood was definitely there. They stayed at home, stuck onto each other the entire time, doing everything together, and when the mood strikes, doing something happy together.


    They finally leave the residence after a week ¨C to pay a visit to Mr Liang.


    Cheng Zhaoci has kept in contact with Mr Liang, of course, but evidently, it was much more helpful for Mr Liang to be consoled by Cheng Jin and Grand Marshal Lu Yao, who are of his generation. Cheng Zhaoci mostly got the duty of helping to take care of the little insectoids Mr Liang is now caring for when visiting.


    It¡¯s almost ironic Cheng ¡®the Bad Student¡¯ Zhaoci is now the one helping the young insectoids with their homework.


    Well, considering Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s current achievements and capabilities, he¡¯s more than capable enough for the task.


    Mr Liang¡¯s mood has improved compared to when the worst news broke, that¡¯s for certain, probably thanks to everything finally being settled down now.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci hasn¡¯t seen Mr Liang smile genuinely anymore.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for all these kids of my late xiongzhu, I would not have hesitated to follow after him,¡± Mr Liang says peacefully, then strains a smile, ¡°life must go on, mustn¡¯t it?¡±


    Mr Liang is infertile. None of these kids are his own biological offspring, but he can¡¯t possibly abandon them either.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± The youngest of the little insectoids also seems to be the most sensitive one, turning his head to Mr Liang with impeccable timing. He happily waves and calls out, ¡°daddy!¡±


    He¡¯s not even at an age where he could comprehend life or death yet; he probably isn¡¯t even aware his own biological dad has perished. When the news that Mr Liang¡¯s xiongzhu and his cijun and most concubines has passed away was revealed, the young insectoids that understood what happened all broke down in tears. The younger ones, like the smallest insectoid, was clearly distressed by the mood, too. By instinct, he sought out his uncle, the gentle-looking Mr Liang. After some time, the young insectoid started calling him ¡®daddy.¡¯


    ¡°He would probably understand when he grows a little older,¡± Mr Liang sighs, ¡°it¡¯s probably a blessing he¡¯s still too young to understand right now. When he learns the truth in time, he would probably not feel as saddened as the rest of the kids.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re lucky to still have you,¡± Cheng Zhaoci adds.


    Shemales and demis don¡¯t have the obligation to take care of their xiongzhu¡®s newly orphaned offspring, after all.


    For Mr Liang, though, these kids are probably helping him to heal his losses, too. It helps that they all share resemblance to his late xiongzhu.


    Cheng Zhaoci spends an entire day accompanying Mr Liang and the kids. When they leave in the evening, Wei Zhuo, who has been mostly quiet the whole day, suddenly apologises to Mr Liang, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. Really sorry that we failed to save your xiongzhu in time.¡±


    ¡°It is not your fault. It is not the army¡¯s fault,¡± Mr Liang shakes his head, ¡°he was unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You are not to blame.¡±


    Wei Zhuo looks back as he leaves with Cheng Zhaoci; Mr Liang is still waving them goodbye. Wei Zhuo clearly feels heavy from all this.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t take responsibility for every single thing that happens,¡± Cheng Zhaoci explains, patting Wei Zhuo on the back, ¡°Mr Liang is right. You cannot be blamed for this. You also saved the lives of so many males; you weren¡¯t the one that pushed Jin Yue and his insectoids to commit the atrocity.¡±


    ¡°¡­ I know that,¡± Wei Zhuo is well aware of this, of everything Cheng Zhaoci is talking about. It was among the first things shemale soldiers like them had to learn and adopt into their mindset. Yet, he feels that he might be becoming more emotional and melancholic after being with Cheng Zhaoci. Honestly, these feelings are not too familiar to him.


    Simply living and doing his duty took all his strength already in the past. Now, though, he¡¯s relaxed a lot in life, and he can¡¯t help but start noticing and sympathising with what others are feelings.


    He is also an insectoid changed, for sure.

 CH 78.2

    Cheng Zhaoci knows Wei Zhuo still feels really down about it. In fact, so is he. Yet Mr Liang is definitely right about one thing ¨C that life must go on. And it should be lived well, too.


    Instead of heading home, the two of them take a detour to granddad¡¯s house for a meal. While Lu Yao seems vaguely dissatisfied with them, for some reason, he still welcomed them.


    After receiving a call, Cheng Jin has also made his way over. It turns out he will be out on a mission again quite soon, so this is probably the last meal they can share for a while.


    Then there are also Zhou Luoluo and Zhou Xiaobao, who barged in after hearing they¡¯re having a ¡®party¡¯ together.


    When Cheng Zhaoci finally arrives, he realises, there are still other insectoids present.


    The President? The Chairman of Chief Command? Bai Jun?!


    Well, they do fit inside the mansion. And they¡¯re all at least familiar with each other.


    On the table, too, in spite of the many friends and family members present, Cheng Zhaoci is still happily focusing his attention solely on Wei Zhuo without the slightest bit of embarrassment. He keeps putting food inside Wei Zhuo¡¯s dish, too.


    Suddenly, Wei Zhuo furrows his brows, and touches his mouth, like he¡¯s trying to cover it.


    Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s eyes glimmer, as he suddenly shoots straight up, almost spooking Zhou Luoluo into spilling the soup he¡¯s holding all over himself the next seat over.


    ¡°A-a-are you pregnant?!¡± Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s voice is definitely one of excitement.


    From his experience reading all the novels in his past life and watching all sorts of soap operas and dramas, when the lead has such a reaction during this type of reunion event, it¡¯s highly likely he¡¯s pregnant!


    Wei Zhuo tilts his head, ¡°uh, what?¡±


    The other insectoids all look at Cheng Zhaoci, then back at Wei Zhuo.


    Honestly, this is rather sceptical. The successful rate of impregnation among grade S insectoids is really low. Even if the two of them were doing it every single day for 8 hours a day, they could expect perhaps 3 or 4 offsprings from their entire lifespan. This feels really unlikely.


    Still, Cheng Zhaoci looks so certain that the other insectoids are also doubting themselves.


    Finally, the President Bai Jiawen speaks up, ¡°just in case, you should go check.¡±


    So after the meal, everyone takes Wei Zhuo over to check.


    The President, and Chairman, and a Grand Marshal and grade S male make quite the entourage. Fortunately, Bai Jiawen has the roads cleared in advance, so no one else could see.


    Finally, when the report comes, outside of an ecstatically dancing Cheng Zhaoci, the rest of the insectoids are all confused, including Wei Zhuo, Mr Pregnant himself.


    Sure, it¡¯s a good thing. He¡¯s bearing the son of his xiongzhu and himself. But how? How did Cheng Zhaoci realise he¡¯s pregnant? Because he furrowed his brow a little? And had a little bit of a lurch?


    Yes, grade S shemales rarely feel uncomfortable like he did, but how did he immediately realise it was pregnancy?


    Not just him, but the other insectoids wonder too. In the end, they all decide to chalk this mysterious ability up to his grade S male abilities.


    Grade S males are also natural gynecologists, huh.


    Though never mind all that for Cheng Zhaoci, since he is most concerned about Wei Zhuo. Seeing his serious look, Cheng Zhaoci¡¯s happiness fades as he asks, ¡°how are you feeling? Are you not feeling well? Does it hurt? Or are you feeling unprepared, if you really are¡­¡±


    He doesn¡¯t really have an obsession with having children. If this pregnancy is really too much for Wei Zhuo, then Wei Zhuo¡¯s feelings must take precedence.


    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m fine!¡± Wei Zhuo is also really happy once he throws the question of how Cheng Zhaoci realised behind him. He hugs Cheng Zhaoci, locking his legs and lifting him high, ¡°I¡¯m really happy! I¡¯m so glad, xiongzhu.¡±


    So Cheng Zhaoci finds himself hoisted high up in the air ¡°¡­¡±


    This feels like an odd scene. Shouldn¡¯t he be the one hugging Wei Zhuo? Even though he really doesn¡¯t have the strength to lift the muscles either¡­


    Well, never mind.


    Then, as per procedure, Wei Zhuo got his holiday extended for a maternity leave.


    During this time, BombInMyPants also started updates anew.


    Outside of his magnum opus the ¡®Theoretical Time Turnaround¡¯ series, he¡¯s also releasing sweet short stories on the side.


    He¡¯s drawing them with an even cuter style than he ever has. It¡¯s almost refreshing. And he¡¯s ostensibly drawing them as spin-offs of the little zombie king, but everyone who knows what¡¯s going on knows it¡¯s practically depicting Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo¡¯s daily life.


    Evidently, it¡¯s funny, sweet, completely without sadness. Oh, except in the form of feeling sad that the readers experience in that they don¡¯t have such sweet love in their own lives.


    Though Cheng Zhaoci being Cheng Zhaoci, BombIn¡¯s little spin-off comics are diabetically sweet, while Time Turnaround continues to be diabolically tragic.


    The readers alternate frequently between crying and laughing ¨C like a dog and then like a mental patient. Some of them swear they¡¯re developing dissociative identity disorder from all this.


    So, for once, the males¡¯ have failed the bid for advertising space for their romantic pursuits, as frustrated readers are there to wail about their plight at the hands of BombIn.


    Mixed with a message of congratulations, of course, that BombIn is going to be a father.


    How did the readers know? Well, it might be obvious if, say, BombIn is writing at least two status updates per day to that effect to bombard the news into the readers¡¯ eyes. They¡¯d have to be blind not to know.


    So, damned BombIn, fuck off with their blessings! It¡¯s so irritating to see him displaying public affection every living moment of daylight.