After Becoming a Zerg Larva - Chapter 4

Li Xi walked down the long hospital corridor, his pockets stuffed to the brim.

He had an adorable appearance. At the moment, his messy bangs were pulled back by a beast-ear headband, and his clear black-and-white eyes darted around curiously. Coupled with a pure white Kachi-beast onesie and a pair of gently swaying faux beast ears on his head, he looked the part of a perfect cub.

Kachi-beasts were pure white creatures with obsidian-like eyes that emitted a faint glow in the dead of night; they were known for being gentle and obedient. They were beloved by male Zerg cubs, though it was rare to find a female cub who liked such delicate pets.

The adult female Zerg around, however, didn’t care about such details. They desperately wanted to kiss and hug the solitary Li Xi. But considering how he had kept a stoic face the whole way and rejected every Zerg that approached, they gave up on that idea. Since they couldn’t touch him, they settled for stuffing snacks into his pockets.

Only by offering food could they avoid being rejected and get a chance to step a little closer to this small cub. He was a well-behaved little foodie.

Li Xi patted his bulging pockets. The desire to eat continued to swell within him, but remembering his Female Father’s warning about eating something bad, he did his best to suppress the urge.

Zerg medical technology was highly advanced; minor illnesses like fevers or colds could be cured in a few hours. However, since Li Xi’s body had always been frail, his Female Father insisted he stay in the hospital for an extra day.

In Li Xi’s eyes, this “frailty” made him feel like an ordinary human without superpowers. Generally, Zerg bodies were powerful; even male cubs were significantly stronger than human children.

Li Xi walked and stopped intermittently, looking aimless, like a curious cub exploring an unknown world. Upon reaching the end of the corridor and still not finding the familiar figure he was looking for, he hesitated for two seconds before decisively turning back.

As he passed the stairwell, Li Xi caught sight of his target through a crack in a door that wasn’t fully closed. A sudden ripple in his emotions caused the faux beast ears, which had been lying limp against his hair, to snap upright and twitch uncontrollably.

Even Li Xi didn’t realize it.

Creak—

Yun jumped at the sound and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, intending to bolt. But as soon as he looked up, he saw a young cub staring at him innocently. Yun’s tense nerves instantly relaxed. He had been terrified that his moment of weakness had been discovered by another Zerg. He let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest, muttering, “You scared me to death.”

Zerg eyesight was excellent. Li Xi saw tiny teardrops hanging from the other boy’s eyelashes and noticed his eyes were red and downcast.

…He had been crying?

“Do you need something?” Yun asked politely, his voice raspy from weeping.

He didn’t seem to recognize Li Xi. Yesterday, Li Xi had been wearing a large hood that hid everything and was covered in filth.

Li Xi moved, walking over slowly. Seeing this, Yun moved aside to let him pass, only to find the cub stopping right in front of him, casting a small shadow. “?”

“You… cry?”

The words were spoken slowly and stiffly, like a cub just learning to speak. This definitely shouldn’t be the case for a five-year-old.

Li Xi seemed to realize something and pursed his lips. The gently swaying ears on his head drooped quietly, making him look exceptionally helpless. Zerg cubs were precocious and had incredible learning abilities; they could usually communicate fluently with their parents within two months of hatching. This situation was extremely rare.

It wasn’t entirely Li Xi’s fault. He had lived alone for five years, and the “Little Ball” didn’t wake up often. He rarely had the chance to speak, so he wasn’t used to it.

Upon hearing the word “cry,” Yun didn’t have time to worry about the other’s strange speech. He instantly turned into a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He glared at Li Xi and reflexively retorted, “Who’s crying?! Where did you see me crying?!”

Li Xi didn’t expect such a strong reaction and was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding.

But you clearly were crying…

Seeing the cub still puffing out his cheeks and glaring at him with dissatisfaction, Yun stood up and added fiercely, word by word: “I. Did. Not. Cry!”

Li Xi nodded blankly, unable to grasp a child’s logic. He felt lost for a moment, then remembered something and began rummaging through his pockets. Since every pocket was stuffed with snacks, the search was a bit difficult.

He searched so intently that he unintentionally ignored the blonde child who wanted to argue with him to the bitter end. Yun, finding the lack of response strange, pressed himself warily against the wall. He was confused; lately, he kept running into strange Zerg, and they were all cubs. He asked cautiously, “What are you doing?”

He wouldn’t be trying to call someone to tattle just because I was a bit mean, right?

At the thought, Yun curled his lip, the disdain in his eyes almost becoming tangible. This female cub was simply too fragile.

Meanwhile, Li Xi didn’t care about the outside world. He meticulously sorted through his pockets, picking out small snacks and some paper-like items one by one. There were too many odds and ends, and as a cub, his hands were too small to hold them all, so he had to place them on a nearby step.

He remembered putting it in a pocket… where did it go?

After this commotion, the moisture on Yun’s eyelashes faded, and he temporarily forgot the sadness and grievance that had been weighing on him all night. He blinked and stared at the deep blue hair, drifting into a daze of memory. The cub from yesterday had the same hair color, the same silence, and the same height. The only difference was that the cub before him was very clean, while the other looked like he had just escaped from a trash heap.

He thought for a moment and asked tentatively, “Did you go to the Mormons Academy yesterday?”

Li Xi remained silent, head down as he continued his task. A moment later, he reached out with his palm open. A deep green crystal with a full, soft luster lay in his small hand. He had seen similar stones in a shop window yesterday, followed by many zeros.

Li Xi felt it must be very expensive.

Yun glanced at it dismissively. He continued to obsess over his previous thought, his tone becoming more certain: “We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Li Xi finally stopped being silent and nodded, answering the question. Seeing the boy hesitating to take it, Li Xi took a step forward and stuffed the green crystal into the boy’s shirt pocket without allowing for a refusal. He said a single, mysterious word: “Exchange.”

“Huh? Exchange for what?”

Yun took the crystal to a patch of light to examine it closely. Under the sunlight, the surface was covered in a faint green fluorescence; it was very beautiful. The sharp edges of the crystal had been worn smooth, suggesting the owner often fiddled with it in their hand.

As Yun looked at it, the two figures in his mind merged perfectly. He turned and asked, “You are the cub from yesterday?”

Li Xi nodded again.

Yun shook the shimmering crystal and remembered the word “exchange.” He asked, “For me?”

Li Xi: “…Mm.”

“Exchange…” Yun repeated, and then a lightbulb went off. “Exchange for yesterday’s ice cream!”

“Wait!”

Yun suddenly reacted, staring at Li Xi as if he were a member of an endangered species that had suddenly appeared. His good upbringing since childhood made him try his best not to hurt the other’s young feelings, so he chose his words carefully: “You can talk? You’re not…” A little mute?

Li Xi: “?”

“Ahem—” Yun stopped himself. “Never mind.”

He looked over the other’s exquisitely made onesie; the stitching was so fine it was clearly handmade. In a world of high Zerg technology, time-consuming manual labor had long been replaced by intelligent machinery. Handmade clothes on the market were incredibly expensive, some worth a fortune.

He asked, “You’re not an unwanted cub?”

Li Xi blinked in confusion: “…?”

Yun’s gaze fell back on the fair, chubby cheeks: “You aren’t being bullied at home either?”

Clean, wearing expensive clothes. How did this look anything like that dirty cub from yesterday?!

Li Xi: “…?”

He was even being raised meticulously. Yun thought of something: “You wouldn’t happen to be a male cub, would you?”

Before Li Xi could open his mouth, he heard a muttered negation: “No, you don’t have any mental power. You must be a female cub.”

“I…” Li Xi wanted to explain, but before he could finish, an indignant voice interrupted him.

“You lied to me! I’m so sad.” Yun covered his face and squatted on the ground, his voice muffled by his fingers. “No, wait, you didn’t say anything. It was all my own wild imagination!”

He was so stupid!

Li Xi tried to speak: “Then…”

“Last night, I was worried about whether you had a place to stay, if you had dinner, if you were cold…”

Li Xi tried again: “You…”

“Is my heart made of glass? The first time I enthusiastically help someone, I get completely fooled.” Yun was becoming addicted to his monologue, sinking into his world of being “deceived” and completely ignoring Li Xi’s attempts to explain. It was as if Li Xi had swindled him out of everything.

“…”

Li Xi’s speech was already not fluent; his lips moved several times, but he simply couldn’t find a gap to interject. He stopped trying to talk, his gaze drawn elsewhere.

There was a faint dark purple bruise on the fair skin, looking particularly striking. The boy was still muttering.

Li Xi stepped forward and touched it lightly. As soon as he made contact, the sulking boy reacted as if a sensitive spot had been hit. He jumped up (“Zeng!”), reflexively covering the back of his neck. His face couldn’t hide his panic, and he even stammered: “You… you don’t know that you can’t… can’t just pull at another Zerg’s clothes?”

He then used the phrase cubs feared most as a symbolic threat: “It’s impolite! Male Zerg won’t like you!”

“Don’t touch my clothes…”

Li Xi’s calm gaze seemed to pierce through everything, seeing the truth hidden beneath the cover-up. Under the thin fabric were crisscrossing whip marks. However, the one who inflicted them was very skilled; the wounds were all hidden under the clothing, leaving no trace. Yesterday, they had been very close, and the boy had no whip marks, so these weren’t scars from yesterday’s fight.

During the night, he had been abused…

Yun felt uncomfortable under that gaze. Although it was common for male Zerg to punish cubs, he didn’t want this innocent cub to know. He pretended to be busy, straightening his clothes which weren’t even messy. He dodged the gaze, not daring to look up, and asked with a lack of confidence: “What… what did you see?”

For once, Li Xi was sensitive to the emotions involved. He shook his head and, to appear more sincere, spoke: “Nothing.”

“Oh…” Yun’s heart rate stabilized a bit. He swallowed and anxiously rubbed the crystal with his fingertips, trying to change the subject. “I didn’t expect to see you at the hospital. Are you sick?”

Li Xi lowered his gaze, staring at the reflective white tiles. They faintly showed a cub in a onesie, the ears on his head twitching slightly, his aura peaceful.

Li Xi’s image as “a bit slow” hadn’t changed at all in Yun’s mind; in fact, it deepened. Because this blue-haired cub was dazing out again.

He couldn’t help but ask again: “Are you sick?”

Li Xi lifted his head slightly, but didn’t meet the bright purple eyes. He just slowly shook his head.

Yun gave a soft “Oh,” his mind occupied with his own thoughts, so he didn’t press further. They fell into a silence. The quiet air made Yun scratch his hair irritably. “Hurry back to your Female Father.” He moved toward the door. “I’m leaving.”

His own Female Father was still in a ward; he had to get back quickly.

The door closed slowly with a long, drawn-out creak.

Li Xi stood there for a moment before the door creaked open again just a crack. A hand gripped the doorframe, revealing another purple bruise on the wrist. A blonde head popped in and asked with a grin: “My name is Yun. What’s yours?”

“Li…” Li Xi said the first syllable, caught himself, and changed it: “Li… He.”

His name was Li He.

“Li He?” Yun was confused.

“Mm.”

“I was asking for your name, not your family name. Hey, where are you taking me?” Before Yun could ask his question, he was grabbed by the wrist and pulled out by Li Xi. The fingers skillfully avoided the bruises while making it impossible for him to break free.

Li Xi said nothing. He led the boy to a medical Zerg and pointed at the bruises on the wrist.

The medical Zerg was stunned for a moment, then observed closely and reached a conclusion. Female cubs often had injuries; these clearly looked like they were made by a male’s whip. They would heal in a few days. Very few Zerg came to the hospital for such things. Not knowing what this cub with the beast ears meant, the medic asked: “What’s wrong?”

Li Xi raised his hand and pointed at the medicine cabinet behind the medic. The meaning was self-evident.

Yun was shocked: “Didn’t you say you saw nothing?!”

Li Xi wanted to explain, but the explanation was too long and beyond his current ability.

“You lied to me again!” Yun looked heartbroken.

“Do you want to apply medicine?” Seeing they were having a disagreement, the medical Zerg stepped in to smooth things over.

Li Xi nodded.

“Alright, alright, don’t fight. Come in and sit for a while.” The medical Zerg left the window and opened the door. “I’ll get you some medicine.”

Yun didn’t really want to go in. He stood at the door, refusing to budge. “These injuries will be better tomorrow. I don’t want to use medicine.”

The medicine left a pungent smell on the body that made it hard to sleep at night. You couldn’t even wash it off.

Li Xi didn’t listen.

Yun gripped the doorframe, his whole-body radiating resistance. He said firmly: “I’m not doing it.”

Li Xi turned his head, looking at the stubborn child without a word, his gaze falling on the hands tightly gripping the frame. A moment later, Li Xi’s eyes darkened as he looked up and met the purple eyes.

Yun dazed out for a second and unconsciously let go.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting obediently on the hospital bed!

He had seen a pool of pitch-black water, like walking across a frozen snowfield. His body had frozen stiff, moving beyond his control. He seemed to hear the sound of falling snow and then how did he let go and sit on the bed, letting the other person apply the medicine?!

After Li Xi finished the bruises on the wrist, he stared at Yun’s clothes and pointed at them.

“Not taking it off.” Yun understood the meaning, clutched his collar, and shook his head firmly.

Compromising once was one thing; he had to stand firm the second time. He must have just not slept well!

Not taking it off…

Li Xi couldn’t do anything about it. He had already used his mental power to beguile the boy once. This wasn’t his own body, after all; the compatibility was poor, so he couldn’t release mental power frequently. He was already a bit tired.

At this moment, the mental energy in the mental sea was restless. The “Little Ball” was being swept up in the air like a thin leaf battered by a gale. It was quite a pathetic sight. Li Xi acted as if he didn’t see it; taking the opportunity to train it was for the best.

Just as he was pondering how to get the child to undress, he heard Yun say, “Fine, if you want to put it on, then do it.”

His hands already smelled of that awful medicine; his body wouldn’t make it any worse. He simply gave up the struggle. Mostly, it was because this cub kept staring at him, and for some reason, he had compromised again.

Definitely not next time! Yun swore in his heart.

Once the clothes were off, the situation was worse than Li Xi had imagined. Whip marks of varying depths snaked ugly across his whole body. Like venomous serpents winding their way across, they left deep furrows. Large patches of bruised blood covered the fair skin. It was horrifying.

And the owner of the body acted as if he felt no pain, even poking at the swollen parts with his finger. They would sink in and then puff back up. He poked again… he was having quite a lot of fun.

Li Xi: “…”

Li Xi slapped away the little poking claw.

Yun was confused: “Hmm?”

“Hiss!” The medical Zerg nearby gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. “This is too cruel. Wait a moment, I’ll go get a salve with better healing properties.” With that, he buried his head in the medicine cabinet to search.

There weren’t just whip marks, there were also faint golden patterns. Starting from the heart, they spread outward, occupying the left half of his body. The patterns were complex and gorgeous, the golden light seemingly alive, flowing quietly beneath the skin.

Li Xi dazed out for a moment, sensing a lush and powerful life force pulsing. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but his long-stagnant soul seemed to stir along with it.

Seeing this, Yun smiled ambiguously. He let out a long, soft whistle and said softly:

“Little baby, do I look good?”

After saying this, he didn’t forget to wink his right eye at Li Xi—a highly flirtatious gesture.

He thought to himself: Since this cub is always lying to me, it shouldn’t be too much to tease him a little, right?

Li Xi instantly snapped out of his daze at the sudden teasing: “…”

Did I hear that right?

What did this kid… just call him?!