Nalandor supported You Que as they walked towards his room. As they passed the first room at the corridor corner, You Que deliberately glanced at the door: “Isn’t this room supposed to be the lounge?”
Nalandor felt a bit embarrassed. “Your Highness, this is my older brother Beowen’s room. After his passing, my father sealed it off.”
Beowen had passed away? How did he die? Wasn’t it at the hands of Sanya? No wonder Nalandor looked so awkward.
“I see.”
You Que glanced at the password lock on the door but didn’t ask any further.
Nalandor’s bedroom was just next door. He used his fingerprint to unlock the password lock and helped You Que sit down on the sofa. The door clicked shut automatically due to its spring mechanism, and the lavishly decorated bedroom was left with only the two of them.
Nalandor leaned in, half-kneeling at You Que’s feet, seemingly wanting to check his injuries, but You Que immediately pulled his legs back and spoke, changing the subject. “Is there any water here? I’m thirsty.”
Nalandor shot him a reproachful glance. “There’s both wine and tea. What would you like to drink?”
You Que replied, “Anything.”
Nalandor reluctantly stood up from the floor, opened the low-temperature wine cabinet, and took out a bottle of wine. Turning his back to You Que, he used his body to block the other’s line of sight. With a flick of his fingertip, a small blue pill silently dropped into the wine glass, instantly submerged by the liquid.
Nalandor swirled the glass, remembering his father’s instructions to make this male zerg fall hopelessly in love with him. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
What of the pureblooded Your Highness? As long as he waved his finger, wasn’t he sure to come crawling? How could Sanya’s broken body compare to his?
You Que saw that Nalandor had been pouring wine for quite some time. He got up and walked behind him, suddenly asking, “Why is it taking so long?”
Nalandor was startled by the voice. He turned around to look at You Que, only to realize that the male zerg had somehow positioned himself right behind him. They were so close that their breaths were audible. Instinctively, Nalandor stepped back and leaned against the table. “Your Highness, how did you get over here…”
After all, You Que was a pureblooded male zerg, and Nalandor couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. With the distance so short, he could even faintly smell the other’s pheromones, which stirred certain emotional reactions within him.
You Que reached out, pressing his hand against the edge of the table, and subtly swapped the positions of the two glasses of wine, so quickly that it was impossible to discern how he did it. “It’s nothing. I just saw you hadn’t returned for so long, so I came over to help.”
After speaking, he withdrew his hand and took a step back, creating a bit more space between them, distancing the atmosphere from its previously ambiguous tension.
Nalandor didn’t notice You Que’s small movement at all. Upon hearing his words, he turned around and picked up both glasses of wine, offering the one in his right hand to You Que. With a meaningful tone, he said, “Your Highness, no need to rush. Tonight is long, and there’s plenty of time for you to drink slowly.”
You Que didn’t say anything, merely clinking his glass gently with Nalandor’s, then drinking the contents of his glass in one go.
A sub-female could be teasing, but still needed to maintain some dignity. Thus, Nalandor didn’t do anything overly bold, instead waiting quietly for the effects of the drug to take hold on the male zerg.
However, as time passed little by little, You Que showed no reaction at all. Instead, a strange wave of heat suddenly surged through Nalandor’s body, and the exposed skin on his body turned a deep red, as though it had been scorched.
Nalandor’s legs went weak, and he couldn’t control himself as he collapsed onto the floor. He looked at You Que, breathing heavily, his expression filled with surprise. “How could this happen… What did you do to me?”
You Que remained sitting calmly on the sofa. With a flick of his wrist, he picked up the empty wine glass from the table, tipping it over and shaking it. “That’s a question you should be asking yourself. What did you put in the wine?”
He had originally thought that Nalandor was merely a somewhat clever sub-female. But now, it seemed that his cleverness was indeed limited. Using drugs—this was a tactic You Que had abandoned centuries ago. Yet, Nalandor still treated him like a fool. Or perhaps, did they think all male zerg were just lecherous beasts?
“You!”
Nalandor was both embarrassed and angry, but as the effects of the drug took hold, his consciousness began to blur. He collapsed to the ground, delirious, and unable to bear it, he tugged at his own clothes.
Nalandor flushed red as he crawled to You Que’s feet, urgently grabbing at the hem of his pants, begging, “Your Highness… I’m in so much pain… please, help me…”
You Que had originally thought that Nalandor had been given a sedative, but he never expected it to be an aphrodisiac. He could only lean over and strike him with a swift blow to the neck, knocking him unconscious. Nalandor, being a sub-female, wasn’t as physically strong as a female zerg, and after a muffled groan, he quickly lost all responsiveness.
You Que estimated that Nalandor would remain unconscious for a while, so he directly opened the window and stepped out onto the outer balcony, which was right next to Beowen’s room. Taking two steps back, he made a running jump, landing neatly on the opposite balcony with a soft thud, without disturbing any of the zergs.
You Que tried to push the door but found it blocked by a lock. He removed his tie clip, and using the thin, flat pin hidden inside, he inserted it into the lock and twisted it back and forth. After a moment of adjustment, the balcony door clicked open with a soft sound.
Not bad, I haven’t lost my touch.
You Que restored his tie clip and stepped into the pitch-black bedroom. Worried that turning on the lights might draw attention, he activated the wrist terminal’s lighting function, using the beam of light to survey his surroundings.
The light and shadow moved through the air, slowly sweeping over the smooth floor, the exquisite furniture, and finally resting on a photograph on the wall.
You Que stared at the black-and-white photograph, feeling a chilling presence emanating from the male zerg in the image. He stepped forward to remove the frame, and his fingertips slowly traced along the wall, eventually finding a raised area. He pressed down hard—
“Click!”
A barely audible sound followed, and the once smooth wall suddenly split open in the center, slowly parting to reveal a dark, hidden chamber. A musty, decaying odor wafted out, making one instinctively furrow their brow.
You Que placed the frame on the table and, using the terminal’s light, carefully stepped into the chamber. He passed by shelves filled with countless priceless collectibles, his footsteps echoing on the floor. Eventually, he discovered a large desk ahead.
You Que recalled what Aegis had said—that the mechanism for the second secret room was located beneath the desk. He leaned down and crawled under the table, inch by inch, searching. Uncertain of what he had pressed, he suddenly heard a faint “click,” and a small password display screen lit up beneath the desk. It displayed a line of text:
[Please enter password or fingerprint.]
You Que furrowed his brows at the sight. He removed the terminal from his wrist and shined its light on the keypad from the side, instantly revealing even the dust that had accumulated.
The hidden room was built in an inner area, and as You Que had walked in earlier, he had noticed that all the collectibles on the shelves were covered in dust, suggesting that they hadn’t been attended to in a long time. Even the display screen was no exception.
However, for some reason—perhaps because zergs had been there recently—the dust on certain numbers of the keypad, specifically 6, 3, 2, 7, and 1, seemed to be noticeably lighter.
But the password had six digits.
You Que stared at those numbers, his fingertips hesitating slightly. Normally, there were only three attempts to enter the correct password. If he was unlucky, he might trigger the alarm with just one wrong try. Furthermore, these five numbers included repeats, and he feared he might never finish trying all the combinations before it got dark.
You Que wasn’t afraid of triggering the alarm; in fact, he hoped to draw all the guests into the hidden room. However, his concern was that he might not be able to find the wings of Sanya, which had been taken, and he didn’t want to inadvertently stir up trouble.
6, 3, 2, 7, 1…
6, 3, 2, 7, 1…
You Que stared at those numbers, a vague sense of familiarity rising in him. He couldn’t recall where he had seen them before, so he opened his terminal and searched for the file on Beowen’s death from years ago. Then, he began cross-referencing the birth dates and ages of the members of their family, one by one.
The birthdates were wrong, and the ages didn’t match.
You Que’s frown deepened. If he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult to investigate the Marlon family again in the future. He switched screens, about to have Aegis find a way to gather more information. However, as he was exiting, his gaze inadvertently fell on the autopsy report at the bottom of the file. There was only a short note:
“The body is destroyed and no evidence can be obtained. According to the confession of the perpetrator, the estimated time of death was around 9 PM on January 7, 2763. For reference only, unverifiable.”
A dark glimmer flashed in You Que’s eyes as he realized the password wasn’t Beowen’s birthday, but rather his death anniversary. You Que double-checked everything carefully. Once he confirmed it was correct, he cautiously entered the numbers 276317 in order—
[Ding!]
[Password correct.]
As the words appeared on the screen, the floor tiles behind You Que suddenly trembled. Four tiles sank into the ground, revealing a long staircase leading down into the darkness, the entrance narrow enough for only one zerg to pass through.
Seeing this, You Que stood up from under the table and peered into the hole. It seemed to lead into an even smaller secret room below. He carefully descended the stairs.
The walls of the hidden room were lined with illuminated light tubes, but the light had a faint green hue, making the atmosphere feel eerie. A sharp, pungent odor lingered in the air, reminiscent of a preservative.
You Que covered his nose and mouth with a handkerchief, a sense of ominous foreboding creeping over him. He descended the steps, only to find several display racks filled with numerous glass jars of various sizes. Under the dim light, the jars emitted a faint, sickly green glow.
At first, You Que thought they were vases, but as he got closer, he realized the jars contained “things”—some held floating masses resembling hair, others housed rare, newly born exotic creatures covered in golden scales, and there were various other bizarre, distorted objects.
You Que’s pupils contracted at the sight. He never expected the jars to contain such things. A chill seemed to spread rapidly down his back, and even the pungent, preservative-like smell in the air now reminded him of the stench of decay.
Beowen was a complete pervert, his obsession with “collecting” had reached an unhealthy level. At first, his collection consisted only of ordinary antique paintings and rare gemstones, but over time, it began to gradually “expand.”
He became dissatisfied with that.
He started to seek out more forbidden, rarer objects for his collection…
For example, a Garuz cub covered in golden scales, or a female zerg with silky, satin-like golden hair, or the hand of the most skilled artisan, or even a pair of the most beautiful wings in the world…
You Que glanced around, horrified by the sight. He quickly searched through the collection, looking for the wings that belonged to Sanya, but found nothing. Finally, at the far end of the shelf, he discovered a few heavy silver boxes.
You Que casually pulled one of the boxes out, only to find it was locked with a password. He considered entering the same password he had used earlier, but then thought it unlikely that the same password would work twice, leaving him momentarily uncertain.
What could be inside this box?
What does the password mean?
You Que squatted on the ground, deep in thought, completely unaware of the dark figure that had appeared behind him. The figure was clearly highly skilled, moving with such silence that not a single footstep was audible. When it reached You Que’s back, it stopped slowly, quietly watching him in the darkness.
“…”
You Que glanced at the shadow that had appeared on the ground, sensing something was wrong. With a sharp awareness, he silently tightened his grip on the miniature energy gun hidden in his coat pocket, his finger resting on the trigger. As the shadow grew larger and closer, without warning, he spun around, drawing the gun and pressing it against the figure’s waist. His voice was cold and sharp:
“Stop!”
The figure froze at the sound of You Que’s voice, indeed halting its steps. It could have evaded just now, but for some reason, it didn’t move. Instead, it lightly flicked the barrel of the gun with a finger in the darkness, a tone of curious amusement in its voice:
“Is this what you call burning bridges after crossing them?”
Hearing that familiar voice, You Que’s expression changed. He saw the zerg he had the gun aimed at slowly bend down, raising a hand to remove the hat that had been used to conceal its identity. A beautiful face appeared in the eerie green light, both seductive and ghostly, revealing none other than Sanya.
“You got this gun from my hand,” Sanya said.
You Que’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you get here?!”
Wasn’t he supposed to have told Sanya to stay at home?
When Sanya removed his hat, his silvery-gray hair cascaded down, but unlike usual, it wasn’t the long, waist-length hair; instead, it had been trimmed into a neat, short style. Without responding, he lowered his head to inspect the box, noticing a letter engraved in the upper-right corner. He slowly turned the dial on the password lock and asked in return, “If I hadn’t come, how would you have cracked these codes?”
You Que was about to ask if he knew the password, but before he could speak, he heard a soft click. The box in Sanya’s hands opened in response, releasing a burst of cold mist. Inside, a pair of wings appeared, completely silver in color, as if forged from ice and snow, unimaginably beautiful.
There was a brief silence in the air…
Sanya gently turned the box, facing You Que. “These boxes contain the wings Beowen had cut off. He liked to mark them. The password is the date on which those female zerg wings were severed. The engraving on the upper-right corner of the box says ‘Roy’… If I’m not mistaken, the wings from this particular female zerg were cut off on May 6, 2760.”
This was the first time You Que had seen the wings of a southern female zerg, but in this setting, he had no interest in appreciating their beauty. Instead, he found them even more terrifying than dismembered bodies. Frowning, he asked, “How do you know?”
Sanya shrugged slightly. “When I captured Beowen, I interrogated him. That’s when I found out that I wasn’t the only female zerg whose wings were cut off. The others were either B-rank or C-rank, and after their wings were severed, they bled to death. They were recorded as missing zergs.”
You Que was silent for a moment. “Why didn’t you say this earlier?”
Sanya raised an eyebrow indifferently. “My dear lord, you never told me that you were coming to the banquet to look for wings.”
You Que couldn’t help but feel that this female zerg was truly disobedient. His teeth clenched a little tighter. “Your face is too recognizable. What if Marlon finds out…”
“Shh.”
Sanya pressed his finger to his lips, interrupting him, his tone laden with meaning. “It’s not that I wanted to come today. Marlon specifically ‘invited’ me.”
You Que froze for a moment.
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