After returning home from the bar, You Que drank two large bottles of water before his throat finally felt a bit better. After taking a shower, he lay down on his bed to sleep as usual, but for some reason, the image of that thief being forcibly dragged away by the bar’s bouncers kept resurfacing in his mind.
You Que didn’t know what happened to the thief. He only knew that everyone makes mistakes, just as horses can trip. Perhaps one day, he too might make a mistake and get caught, and his ending wouldn’t be any better than the thief’s.
The kind of life where the end is in plain sight filled him with a sense of fear, like a train running on tracks, knowing full well that the path ahead leads to a dead end, yet no matter what, he couldn’t change his fate.
Should he stop?
But he had no money, and without money, death was inevitable.
Work?
But even his identity was fake, and he didn’t dare let the surrounding zergs discover that he was actually a human.
You Que thought a lot, but nothing seemed to make sense. In the darkness, he cleared his throat, the sweet taste of syrup still lingering in his throat, a stark contrast to the bitter, endless night. He unconsciously furrowed his brow.
The Kulture Bar closed right after midnight. Tonight, there had been especially many customers, and once they left, the place was left in disarray, as though locusts had passed through. The cleaners were busy tidying up, and the vast bar was filled with the sound of the cleaning machine sweeping the floor and the occasional clink of pool balls colliding.
“Bang—!”
Another sharp sound echoed, followed by the click of a ball sinking into the pocket.
Sanya held the cue stick, playing pool with Fei Wen and the others. He switched positions by the table, bent over to line up a shot, ready to clear the table. But suddenly, Kevin emerged from the back warehouse and whispered in his ear, “Boss, that thief’s confessed.”
Following Kevin’s direction, Sanya saw two large, muscular bouncers dragging a female zerg out of the warehouse. He had been beaten so badly his face was swollen and bruised, and he no longer had the strength to speak. As they dragged him across the ground, he resembled a dead dog.
Kevin tossed a packet of white pills onto the table. “He didn’t just steal. He’s also been secretly selling hallucinogens to those male zergs for about six months now.”
These hallucinogens were specifically targeted at female zergs. Once ingested, they caused a dizzying effect, and the next day, the victim would wake up with no memory of what happened the night before. Needless to say, it was nothing good.
Hearing this, Sanya leaned against the pool table. Due to the angle, half of his face was cast in shadow, but it was easy to hear the coldness in his voice. “He’s been selling this stuff in your bar for half a year, and you never noticed?”
At that moment, it was clear the game would no longer continue. Fei Wen and the others gathered around the edge of the table, the faint overhead light spilling down on them, some of it landing on their bodies. But instead of illuminating them, the flickering shadows made their faces appear even more menacing.
“This place is full of all sorts of zergs, with at least dozens of thieves. The local police don’t care; they can’t catch them all.”
From the thief’s perspective, it was as if he saw a group of demons from hell sitting around a dining table, discussing how to divide up their prey. And he was nothing more than the pitiful ant on their plate, his body trembling more violently with each passing moment.
Sanya’s long fingers gripped the cue stick, gently tapping the floor twice. Each tap seemed to strike directly at the thief’s heart, as if he were contemplating how to deal with him.
In the end, it was Fei Wen who broke the silence. “Sanya, how should we handle him?”
But Sanya withdrew his gaze, turned, and resumed aiming at the balls on the table, not sparing a single glance toward the thief. “Do you really need to ask me about this?”
Fei Wen could only give a subtle glance to the two bouncers. “Break his hands and throw him out.”
If it had just been a simple theft, the thief would have only received a beating and been thrown out. But his involvement in selling hallucinogens was a direct violation of the line that should never be crossed. Whether used on male or female zergs, such a thing was utterly despicable.
The female zerg was quickly dragged away, his screams gradually fading into the distance, while the surrounding staff acted as if they hadn’t heard a thing, all absorbed in their own tasks.
Fei Wen noticed that Sanya had been holed up in the bar every day, never leaving, spending his time either playing pool or more pool. Suddenly, something seemed to cross his mind, and he pulled a dining voucher from his shirt pocket, handing it to Sanya. “Hey, when the bar closed earlier, Director Hayden from the matchmaking agency came by and gave this to you. Looks like they’re trying to set you up on a blind date. You should go take a look when you have the time.”
Sanya was good-looking, and standing by the bar for so long, he naturally drew attention. Director Hayden, in charge of marriage arrangements in this area, likely had matchmaking in mind.
Most of the male zergs were picky—if a female zerg wasn’t attractive, they wouldn’t consider him; if he didn’t have money, they wouldn’t bother. Sometimes, even if a marriage proposal had already been made, there were still cases where it fell apart at the last moment.
Director Hayden had been troubled lately, his matchmaking attempts failing repeatedly. When he unexpectedly noticed such an attractive female zerg at the Kulture Bar, of course, he wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by.
Sanya rejected him outright. “I’m not going. I’m not interested in blind dates.”
Fei Wen clicked his tongue. “You know how strict the empire is about the birth rate, right? Sooner or later, you’ll have to go on a blind date. You can’t avoid it. If you don’t go, Director Hayden will come knocking on your door to push you.”
Sanya countered, “Why don’t you go?”
Fei Wen smirked. “Who says I haven’t? I’ve been on seven or eight dates already. I’ve got another one tomorrow morning.”
Sanya: “…”
Sanya had never been interested in blind dates, but since he had already planned to spend the rest of his life in this small town, getting married through an arranged blind date seemed to be an inevitable step.
However, it was clear that the zerg Director Hayden had chosen for Sanya wasn’t simply picky; otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken half a year to find a suitable match for a female zerg.
The second month in Saint Lieux was typically the rainy season, but that morning, the weather was unusually clear. Sanya sat in a booth at the Kino Restaurant, his gaze lowered, still wearing the simple, faded clothes. He met the male zerg’s blatant scrutiny across the table, his hand resting beneath it, idly flicking a thin blade between his fingers, the motion dizzying and betraying a hint of impatience.
The male zerg sitting across from him clearly admired Sanya’s beautiful face, his gaze almost lecherous, staring at him as he leaned slightly forward, looking like a ravenous creature consumed by desire. “My name is Jerry,” he said, “my blood purity is 34%.”
Such a low blood purity was something that couldn’t even get past the threshold in the Imperial Capital, but in Saint Lieux, it had become a kind of bragging right.
Sanya didn’t spare him a single glance from start to finish. “Nice to meet you, Your Excellency.”
Jerry noticed the nearly shabby clothes Sanya was wearing and frowned unconsciously. “How much savings do you have? Do you own property in Saint Lieux?”
Sanya smiled faintly. “Sorry, I don’t have any savings, nor do I own property. Right now, I work at the Kulture Bar, and they provide me with food and lodging.”
Male zergs typically rely on female zergs for support after marriage, and Sanya’s situation was clearly beyond being described as poor. Upon hearing this, Jerry nearly turned to leave right away. He hadn’t expected Director Hayden to introduce him to such a poor female zerg. But as he looked at Sanya’s beautiful face, he grudgingly held his temper and asked, “What’s your salary?”
Sanya deliberately quoted a very low number. “Two thousand five hundred star coins a month.”
Jerry couldn’t help but exclaim, “I spend three thousand star coins just to buy a shirt!”
Sanya lazily lifted his eyelids to look at him, his gaze carrying an emotion that was hard to decipher. He was like a splendid rose—fragrant but with thorns—or like crystal-clear ice, cold and biting to the touch.
Unattainable, and impossible to possess by force.
“Your Excellency, it seems I don’t meet your expectations.”
There was a hint of feigned regret in his voice.
However, the male zerg didn’t catch on, thinking that Sanya was genuinely disappointed. “Although your conditions aren’t good enough to be my monarch, you could still be my consort.”
Sanya raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “Is that so?”
Jerry raised his hand to adjust his tie, frowning in a way that seemed forced. “But after marriage, you’ll need to find a higher-paying job. Your monthly salary should be at least eight thousand star coins, or I won’t be able to cover my expenses. Once I marry a female zerg, you’ll be responsible for raising the offspring. I dislike female zergs competing and causing jealousy, so you’d better not have any conflicts with him. The houses in Saint Lieux are still relatively cheap; try to buy one within five years, under my name…”
Click—
The sound of something snapping cut him off abruptly.
A faint, crisp sound suddenly came from under the table, like the sound of a blade snapping.
Hearing it, Jerry stopped his incessant chatter and instinctively asked, “What was that sound?”
Sanya lowered his gaze, discarding the broken blade he had been holding, wrapping his fingertips in two tissues. He pushed the chair back and stood up, feeling that if he stayed any longer and continued talking to this fool, he might end up in prison again. “Sorry, I need to use the restroom.”
With that, he turned and left. His silver-gray high ponytail fell quietly to his waist, and his slim, slender figure easily stirred the male zergs’ desire to conquer.
Jerry couldn’t help but swallow as he watched Sanya. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention and quietly got up to follow.
The restaurant was quiet in the morning, with only one server dozing at the cash register, and the restroom was even emptier. Sanya was washing the bloodstains from between his fingers at the sink when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Turning around, he saw that Jerry had followed him in.
Sanya quickly guessed what the male zerg had in mind. Leaning against the sink, he lowered his gaze and licked the blood from his fingertips, his voice betraying no emotion as he asked, “Your Excellency, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t this the female’s restroom?”
Jerry didn’t sense the underlying danger in Sanya’s tone. He casually locked the door and said dismissively, “What’s there to be afraid of? There’s no one else around now. If you don’t want to in the restroom, we can always go to the hotel next door…”
As he spoke, Jerry couldn’t help but reach toward Sanya’s face, his desire burning like ants gnawing at him. He could hardly wait to steal a kiss. However, the next moment, a surge of force struck the back of his neck. His vision spun, and with a loud bang, he was slammed into the mirror above the sink.
“Crack—!“
The mirror cracked with a sharp sound, the crack quickly spreading into a dense web-like pattern, with bloodstains that stood out starkly against the glass.
Sanya couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed Jerry by the throat, slamming his head into the mirror with a resounding bang. He was curious whether this male zerg’s head was filled with mush. With a cold sneer, he spat out two words: “Stupid fool!”
Jerry was dazed from the impact, feeling hot, sticky blood trickling down his forehead. He tried to open his mouth to scream for help, but no sound came out. Struggling to open his eyes, his vision was clouded, everything coated in a red haze.
Sanya pressed the male zerg’s head into the sink, letting the water from the faucet wash over him relentlessly. He gazed at the shattered mirror, slowly wiping the blood from his face with a tissue, his smile faint and mocking.
“You’re nothing but a useless parasite relying on female zergs to support you. You’re even worse than the maggots that grow in decaying corpses. Perhaps you should look for another female zerg to be your mistress. I fear I’m not fortunate enough to bear such a burden.”
Jerry struggled in vain, choking on water several times before finally losing consciousness.
Sanya, unfazed, tossed him onto the floor with a dull thud, showing no fear or hesitation in dealing with the male zerg. He sent a message to Fei Wen via his terminal, instructing them to handle the “trash” on the ground, then opened the door and stepped out.
By coincidence, You Que was also at the same restaurant for an arranged meeting, though he was sitting in a private booth and didn’t notice Sanya’s presence.
This meeting was even shorter than the previous three. When the waiter came over to take the order, You Que accidentally removed his mask, and the female zerg across from him, upon seeing his face, was so startled that he bolted out of the room, as if something terrifying were chasing him.
You Que had visited the restaurant so often that the staff recognized him. Seeing the situation, the waiter cautiously asked, “Your Excellency, would you like to continue ordering?”
You Que, pleased to save some money, smiled and replied, “No need. Please cancel the reservation for the private booth. Thank you.”
He put his mask back on and headed to the cashier to pay for the table fee and tea. As his eyes casually scanned the area, he suddenly noticed a recruitment notice on the corner of a table and asked, “Are you hiring servers?”
The cashier glanced at the corner of the table and replied, “Yes, Your Excellency. One of our employees went home to visit family, and we’re a bit short-staffed.”
Unexpectedly, You Que asked, “Are you hiring male zergs?”
“Uh…” The cashier seemed visibly awkward, quickly glancing at the mask on You Que’s face before quickly looking away again. He politely declined, “Apologies, Your Excellency but we only hire female zergs.”
Even if they were hiring male zergs, they would prefer one with a decent appearance. Given You Que’s current look, he clearly wasn’t suited for the service industry; he would scare away the customers.
You Que also felt that his question was a bit foolish and dismissed the fleeting thought. “Thank you, let’s settle the bill.”
He was in a hurry to take his ID photo in the afternoon, with no time to linger. After paying, he quickly headed toward the door, only to unexpectedly bump into a female zerg at the corner.
“Bang—”
You Que took two steps back, subconsciously saying, “Sorry, I didn’t see…”
Before he could finish his sentence, when he clearly saw the female zerg in front of him, he unconsciously fell silent. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. “It’s you?”
Sanya hadn’t expected to run into You Que here, and his expression clearly froze for a moment. He quickly regained his composure and subtly hid his bleeding right hand behind his back, blocking the restroom door. “What a coincidence, I didn’t expect to run into you here, Your Excellency.”
Sanya recalled the drink he had mixed that day and couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.
You Que clearly remembered the syrup from that drink. His gaze fell on Sanya, and he suddenly noticed a few bloodstains around his collar. He paused and asked, “Did you come here to eat?”
Sanya replied, “Yes.”
You Que furrowed his brows, “Are you sure?”
Sanya, confused by the question, asked, “Why do you ask?”
You Que didn’t answer. He simply raised his left hand. His fingers were longer and more powerful than most, with each inch of bone and flesh seemingly sculpted by divine hands. The dim hallway light bathed the hand, casting a warm, jade-like hue over its distinct, articulated joints, making it breathtakingly beautiful.
So beautiful…
Sanya couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh in his heart, but still didn’t understand what You Que meant: “What are you trying to say?”
You Que countered, “Can’t you see?”
His long fingers subtly shifted in the light, causing the cuff of his suit to slip halfway down. The simple movement inexplicably conveyed a hint of restrained sensuality, and between his fingers, there was a noticeable streak of bright red blood.
Sanya’s heart sank at the sight, and he instinctively clenched his right hand.
You Que seemed to have noticed something: “You’re injured?”
Sanya: “…”
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