A male zerg’s awakening is a critical matter. Yet Chu Xiu was only an F-rank, so the Male Zerg Protection Association didn’t take it too seriously. They casually sent a medical team, carrying an isolation pod to the villa.
Carey stood in the garden. He couldn’t stay indoors; the concentration of Chu Xiu’s pheromones made it impossible to breathe. Only in the flowing air did he feel a little better.
When he saw the medical team’s equipment, Carey’s expression changed immediately.
The medical team had no idea how serious the situation was. They had brought an old, decades-old isolation pod, sufficient for a typical F-rank Zerg, but utterly inadequate for Chu Xiu.
“Damn it.” Carey cursed. A male zerg’s second awakening is extremely important and extremely dangerous. Their mental sea would remain turbulent, even risking collapse or death. The sooner treatment begins, the lower the risk, but with this isolation pod, there was no way to transfer the male zerg to a hospital.
The captain of the medical team’s face changed the moment they landed. The male zerg had locked himself inside with doors and windows tightly shut. They were standing in the open-air garden, where normally there shouldn’t be any reaction, yet even so, the faint scent of orange blossoms and alcohol drifted over.
“Damn it.” The captain pinched his nose hard. “Did the Male Zerg Protection Association mess up the files? How the hell is this supposed to be an F?”
The bitterness of the orange blossom grew stronger, and the air carried a faintly restless energy. This meant the male zerg’s mood was becoming increasingly agitated. During a second awakening, a male zerg’s mental sea undergoes drastic changes; the higher the rank, the more painful it is, like a human child growing too fast, with aching bones and muscles. The zerg inside the house was clearly in a state of rapidly expanding mental sea, an extremely dangerous situation.
Although they didn’t know the exact rank of the male zerg inside, the pheromones alone made it clear: this was a high-rank male. The medical team could not afford to delay treatment. The captain pulled out his isolation pod and quickly called headquarters. “Yes, our isolation pod won’t do. Deploy the latest one immediately!”
After giving the orders, he tapped his phone and paced around the garden, spitting in frustration. “Those damn bureaucrats at the Male Zerg Protection Association, they must have mixed up the rank! If something goes wrong because of the isolation pod, who’s taking responsibility, huh? Who?”
Carey stared without blinking at the tightly closed door, his hands clutching his sleeves.
Although they hadn’t spent much time together, he truly thought of Chu Xiu as his own child.
About twenty minutes later, the second medical team finally arrived. Wearing masks, they kicked open the villa’s door and found Chu Xiu in the bathroom.
His body was soaked, hair dripping down his forehead. He had slowly filled the bathtub with cold water and submerged himself, yet even so, his body temperature was alarmingly high.
The medical staff called his name, but he remained deeply unconscious in the tub, showing no response.
He seemed to be half-conscious.
The medics struggled to lift him from the tub and placed him inside the isolation pod. They sealed the door, carried him out of the villa, and boarded the hovercraft.
Carey stood below the craft, worry etched all over his face. He looked at the captain, brow tightly furrowed. “How is it?”
The captain cleared his throat and said softly, “The current situation isn’t good. His Excellency is running a high fever.”
Carey was completely panicked.
The captain patted Carey’s shoulder, trying to reassure him, “It’s okay. A high fever means His Excellency’s awakening level is very high. Many male zerg can’t even reach this stage.”
But Carey didn’t want Chu Xiu to have a high awakening level. He just wanted this young one to be safe and healthy.
He boarded the hovercraft with the team, sitting beside the isolation pod, silently closing his eyes and repeatedly drawing symbols of blessing over his chest. “Heaven above, please keep him safe.”
Such a kind and gentle male zerg… Please, make sure he is unharmed.
They reached the hospital as fast as possible and wheeled him into the special ward for awakened zerg.
Chu Xiu was placed into the treatment pod. The pod was completely transparent, filled with expensive pale blue medicine. The beautiful male zerg slept inside, his hair floating like aquatic plants, resembling a mermaid in a frozen deep-sea coffin.
He was sleeping so quietly that, if not for the occasional bubble from the respiration system, he could have been mistaken for dead.
Chu Xiu’s consciousness was hazy, his whole body burning with fever, barely aware of time or place. Carey stayed by his side day and night, checking his condition every few hours and he was the first to notice the change.
The male zerg’s body was growing.
His hair lengthened, new black strands replacing the chestnut ones. His facial features sharpened. The boyish innocence vanished overnight. His brow ridges rose, the bridge of his nose became pronounced, and his jawline hardened into sharp angles, like cliff edges or the abrupt strokes of calligraphy.
If Chu Xiu had once been a handsome, gentle, harmless boy, now his appearance had become fiercely commanding, handsome to the point of awe-inspiring, almost impossible to look away from.
The male zerg’s body had changed as well. He had grown taller, and his previously well-fitting clothes now felt tight. His top and pants were too short, his upper half revealed a sharply defined abdomen, his lower half showed slender ankles. When the medical staff came to change Chu Xiu’s dressings, several of them couldn’t help but blush secretly.
The staff took blood samples for analysis, and on the third day, the results reached Carey: This male zerg’s second awakening conservatively ranked at A, with the possibility of reaching S.
It had taken a full three days because the analysis had to pass through multiple checks. Initially, the staff tested the pheromones dissolved in his medicine, then took two more blood samples from Chu Xiu, three tests in total, before they dared to issue the report.
The Empire hadn’t produced an S-ranked Zerg in countless eras. Even an A-rank was one of the very few in the home planet, leaving no room for mistakes.
Finally, Chu Xiu’s ward became surrounded by a strange group of medical staff.
These medics had firearms clipped to their white coats and carried military communication devices capable of functioning under electromagnetic interference. They patrolled the hallways, making the small ward completely sealed off.
On the afternoon of the third day, Chu Xiu briefly regained consciousness.
The second awakening had come so suddenly that many things hadn’t been arranged. His thoughts turned to the wedding preparations. He propped himself against the glass of the treatment pod, weakly sitting up, and asked, “Male Zerg Protection Association?”
The association’s staff were quickly brought to the pod.
Inside was a male zerg conservatively ranked at A. Without any S-rank present, he was one of the Association’s most important clients. The staff leaned in: “Do you have instructions?”
Chu Xiu said, “Pre-marital guidance.”
He was concerned about Yi Xi’s pre-marital guidance.
According to the original plan, he would have gone to pick Yi Xi up that day and also confessed about Cointreau. But plans couldn’t keep up with the changes, now it was clearly impossible.
He also feared the Chu family might take Yi Xi hostage. If Carey were sent instead, he would be outmatched by the Chu family. This was why leaving it to the Male Zerg Protection Association felt safer.
He forced himself to stay conscious and managed to speak out the address of the newly rented villa. The Male Zerg Protection Association staff nodded repeatedly: “Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
Chu Xiu then closed his eyes and lay back in the treatment pod.
………………
An hour before the Association arrived, Yi Xi received the notice.
He had only packed a small suitcase and then quietly waited at home.
Old noble families on the Capital Star had a complete set of wedding customs, each family slightly different. Yi Xi wasn’t sure of the Chu family’s rules or whether he could bring personal items, so he didn’t pack much.
Compared to Yi Xi’s calmness, Secretary Lin was like an ant on a hot pan. He paced back and forth in the living room, occasionally letting out long sighs: “Sigh—”
Yi Xi looked up at him: “Sit down. You’re making me anxious just by pacing.”
“You’re not nervous?” Secretary Lin asked. “How can you be calmer than me?”
Yi Xi replied, “It’s already decided. Being nervous won’t help.”
Reluctantly, Secretary Lin sat down.
At 8:00, with the roar of the engines, the Male Zerg Protection Association arrived at Yi Xi’s home right on schedule.
Secretary Lin’s face was all smiles as he stood to open the door. Yi Xi remained on the sofa, gently wiping his hands with a tissue.
They were already slick with cold sweat.
How could he not be nervous?
The Association staff nodded to Yi Xi from a distance. After a brief exchange of greetings, they gestured politely: “Sir, it’s almost time. Shall we go?”
Yi Xi looked at the small suitcase by the sofa and asked, “Sir, may I bring my luggage?”
Chu Xiu hadn’t specified these details, but judging from the way he had climbed out of the treatment pod while delirious from fever just to give instructions about the wedding, it was clear he liked this female zerg very much. The staff nodded: “Of course, please do.”
Yi Xi let out a small sigh of relief.
Being allowed to bring personal items meant the family’s rules weren’t too strict.
He said goodbye to Secretary Lin. The young secretary’s emotions were raw, his eyes misted over, and he held Yi Xi’s hand tightly, as if they were about to be torn apart forever. Yi Xi smiled, hiding his complicated feelings behind his gold-rimmed glasses, leaving only a calm expression: “Work well. Live well.”
With that, he lifted his suitcase and boarded the Male Zerg Protection Association’s aircraft.
Yi Xi’s home was in the villa district north of Stellar Group, while the Chu family resided in the south of the Capital Star. That meant they would pass by Stellar. About five minutes later, as the navigation indicated they were near the commercial area, the grand buildings of Stellar gradually came into view. Yi Xi lingered his gaze on the silver-glinting structure and thought, I wonder when I’ll see it again.
Then he watched as the buildings drew closer and closer, until the aircraft screeched and stopped two kilometers from Stellar.
Yi Xi: “?”
The staff opened the aircraft: “We’ve arrived, Sir. You may disembark.”
Yi Xi: “…?”
He stepped down with his suitcase. What met his eyes was not the solemn old mansion of the Chu family, but a three-story villa with a garden. In the center, a small angel held a flower vase, slowly pouring water into the pond.
He turned, and Stellar’s main building loomed clearly in the distance. Yi Xi even thought that if someone stood at the top of Stellar, they could see this little house.
He frowned: “Sir, are you sure this is the place?”
This area was the busiest commercial district on the home planet, inhabited mostly by the nouveau riche. Old noble families avoided it, finding it too commercial.
This didn’t look like a place where the Chu family heir would live.
The staff checked the list: “Yes, Sir. No mistake. This is it.”
They handed Yi Xi the keys: “We wish you a happy marriage, Sir.”
Yi Xi slightly curved his lips. He wasn’t sure if he should take that blessing as genuine or as a subtle taunt. He turned the key and pushed the door open.
The villa was completely empty.
The Chu family’s young master, his attendants…there was no one. The whole villa was deserted, without even a trace of anyone having lived there.
Yi Xi’s tension eased slightly.
He looked around the living room. The villa’s interior was comfortable, with perfectly balanced colors and soft furnishings, not overdesigned to seem haughty, nor rigid and lifeless. The furniture was mostly wood-toned, warm in color, accented with dark green plants.
From the color choices alone, it seemed the homeowner was not excessively cruel.
Yet the numerous scandals and misdeeds of Chu family males online prevented Yi Xi from fully relaxing. After hesitating briefly, he headed to the basement.
Zerg families often kept their punishment rooms here.
Sure enough, a solid iron door blocked the basement. It wasn’t sealed shut. Yi Xi grasped the handle, turned it slightly, and took in the room.
No torture racks, no instruments, inside were just unused furniture. By its setup, it was nothing more than a storage room.
At that moment, the sound of rolling wheels came from behind him. The Empire’s newest household robot appeared. At its top was a display screen showing a cute face: ⟦ o(〃 ‘▽ ‘〃)o Sir, hello, welcome home~⟧
The screen flickered: ⟦ I am Si Si , your smart home assistant. I have already tidied your bedroom. Would you like to rest now?⟧
Yi Xi was slightly surprised.
The dialogue style of these robots could be customized, for example, serious gentleman, careful and gentle. The one in this household was clearly set to cute.
Si Si’s design was adorable as well, painted in a caramel coffee color. Though it was a robot, it looked soft and cuddly, making it hard for Yi Xi to maintain any wariness. He unconsciously relaxed: “Alright, Si Si. Could you please show me where my bedroom is?”
⟦ Please follow me. ⟧ Si Si turned and led Yi Xi to the second floor, stopping in front of the master bedroom.
Yi Xi held his suitcase, hesitating slightly about whether he should go inside.
The master bedroom was usually reserved for the head of the household, off-limits to others. But Si Si gently nudged Yi Xi’s calf with his head from behind, urging: ⟦Hurry, please go in. ⟧
Yi Xi pulled open the door and half-squatted: “Are there any other bedrooms? I really shouldn’t be staying here.”
Si Si tilted his head. Human logic was still too complicated for him. He thought for a moment: ⟦ Sir, this is what the head of the household instructed. He has prepared a bed for you, right here. ⟧
Yi Xi had no choice but to go in.
Fortunately, the villa was empty, if anyone returned, he could step aside at any time.
The master bedroom was spacious. A long-pile carpet covered the floor, and a walnut-colored bed stood in the center. The bedding looked freshly changed, cinnamon-colored silk, brand new. Yi Xi tentatively pressed on the mattress, it was very soft.
He put down his luggage and asked, “Si Si, do you know when my instructor will arrive?”
The constant tension of the past days had left Yi Xi extremely fatigued. If the instructor wouldn’t arrive for a while, he might be able to rest a little.
Si Si tilted his head again. This insect was asking another question that an AI couldn’t comprehend.
He activated his neural network, analyzed all the instructions Chu Xiu had input into his command set, and finally arrived at a conclusion, displaying it:
⟦ o(〃’ ▽ ‘〃)o Sir, you don’t need an instructor.⟧
⟦ According to Master’s judgment, there is nothing you need to learn or change. The head of the household is already very satisfied. ⟧
⟦ He likes you very, very, very much. ⟧