After the Zerg General Was Accidentally Marked - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Deal

He had been marked. Marked by the beautiful, crippled little male who had bought him and brought him home.

Why?! How is this possible?!

Sears took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.

Under normal circumstances, a male with genetic defects would have a low psychic level, C-rank at best, and should never be capable of marking him. If there wasn’t something wrong with the little male, then it must be… himself.

Sears’ heart sank. Beyond standard methods, a male could also forcibly mark a female regardless of psychic compatibility—at the cost of permanent damage to the female’s psychic sea. And he just happened to have a damaged psychic sea. In other words, he might have inadvertently become a state where any male could mark him. Then… he just happened to run into this specific male. So, was it an unfortunate coincidence?

Or, was the male the one with the problem? His silver hair wasn’t because of albinism; it was natural. He belonged to that family. Everything he did was to mark and control him. But that didn’t make sense either—if he were truly a male from that family, wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill him?

But whether it was a coincidence or a conspiracy, one thing Sears was certain of: he could not let this male use the mark to control him.

Sears limped out of the bedroom and saw a wheelchair parked at the door. In the living room nearby, Little Silly was cleaning the carpet with a vacuum. Hearing his movement, the butler waved happily: “Good evening, female slave!”

Sears asked via the translator: “Has the male not returned yet?”

“Master will be back a bit later. He went to attend a support activity!”

What activity? Sears didn’t pursue the details. Since the male wasn’t home, if he wanted to leave… he would first have to deal with the remaining shackles on his body. “Little Silly, can you open my collar and handcuffs?”

“Little Silly cannot! The female slave’s collar requires permission from the Female Slave Exchange, and the handcuffs require permission from the Master.”

A bit troublesome. Sears sat in the wheelchair and headed to the courtyard to take a look, planning his escape route. Suddenly, his lap felt heavy—the butler had placed a dozen bags of nutrient solution of various flavors into his arms. “Little Silly can give you this!”

It was difficult for Sears to harbor resentment toward a light-brain with the personality of a hatchling. He thanked it via the translator, then clamped a bag of blue nutrient solution in his teeth and maneuvered the hover-wheelchair outdoors.

The capital had six satellites, five of which were artificial space stations. On a clear day, one could even see the protrusions of the massive laser cannons surrounding the stations. Tonight’s view was excellent; on one side of the sky hung a full moon, and on the other, two space stations. Sears gave them a brief glance before focusing on the courtyard. He steered the wheelchair to the perimeter wall and stood up with effort.

The red brick wall wasn’t particularly high, not even as tall as he was, and he could climb over with a bit of strength. That wasn’t the problem; the issue was that this was a male residential zone, patrolled by robots and equipped with numerous cameras. The female slave collar was too conspicuous and would be easily spotted.

Sears stood on his tiptoes and peered outside. If he could enter the adjacent 14th District, where female Zergs congregated, he might be able to find a way to hide…

“What are you doing?”

The sudden appearance of a voice cut off Sears’ thoughts. He turned around—it was indeed the little male.

“Just… looking at the scenery.” The female Zerg felt a bit guilty, and more so, on guard. He hadn’t heard the little male’s footsteps. Was he too focused, or… was it the influence of the mark?

“Go back inside, let’s talk.”

Sears noticed that the little male seemed to be in a very bad mood tonight, his brow furrowed, appearing burdened with worries. He sat obediently in the wheelchair, letting the male push him back into the room.

In the living room, the two sat facing each other: the male in the sofa, the female in the wheelchair.

“I need your help,” the male spoke first.

“Can I refuse?” the translator chirped.

“I’m afraid not.”

“So this is a threat.”

“Don’t be so hostile. Your psychic sea was saved after the marking. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Why does it have to be me?”

“I haven’t been in the capital long; I need a female I can trust. And after marking, I can distinguish whether the information you give me is true or false. For instance, just now, you were definitely not looking at the scenery. In a sense, I can believe you.”

It was not without precedent that one could judge if a female was lying through a mark. Sears found it extremely thorny. “And, I am your female slave. If I don’t listen, you can just execute me using the collar.” So much for that “we are the same kind” talk from last night; it was all bull.

The male looked helpless. “I won’t do that. But the marking did indeed give me some leverage.”

“I refuse.” He knew whatever this male wanted to do must be dangerous. Besides, he hated being threatened.

“Don’t refuse so quickly. You are a military Zerg, and your eyes are blue—a unique ‘Akaites Blue.’ You must have been stationed in the Akaites star sector…”

The Akaites sector was rich in blue spices, a precious fuel. Consequently, the sector was plagued by constant warfare. General Sears had been stationed there for a long time. Because the air on the planets was filled with spice molecules, long-term exposure turned one’s irises a pure blue. This blue was known as “Akaites Blue.”

“My past has nothing to do with you!” Sears understood a little now. His eyes, being bought—this was a long-planned scheme by this little male, absolutely not a coincidence.

“…I think you must know First Legion Commander General Sears!” The interrupted male grew angry and raised his voice.

General Sears froze. He didn’t just know him; he was General Sears. For a moment, he even suspected the little male had recognized him, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Believe me, this was outside the plan. Initially, I marked you just to help you. But events have changed suddenly, and I hope…”

“What do you want to do?” Sears asked through the translator.

“I need you to help me find General Sears. I think something has happened to him.”

Something had indeed happened to him. This little male was unexpectedly sharp. “Why do you think that?”

“Seven days ago, the authorities announced General Sears was attacked and fell into a coma after being severely injured, but they never provided any visual evidence. It wasn’t until today, when I attended the support event, that the official channel released a video of General Sears lying in a ward.” As he spoke, the little male tapped his light-screen to play a video. In the video, a robust, black-haired military Zerg lay quietly in a hospital bed, connected to various medical instruments. It wasn’t just unrelated to General Sears; it was identical. Even Sears himself felt that the Zerg in the video looked more like “General Sears” than he did now.

“Something wrong with the video?”

The little male paused and zoomed in on a specific part: the female’s wrist. “Look here. There’s nothing here.”

“But the real General has a scar on the inside of his wrist.”

Sears subconsciously glanced at his own wrist, finding the spot covered by the handcuffs. He moved it uncomfortably. How does he know about the scar on my wrist?

“So, whoever this Zerg is, it is not the real General Sears. Combining this with the official attitude, I suspect General Sears might be imprisoned, or worse, he has been…”

“Even if General Sears is dead, what does that have to do with you?” He didn’t like the little male’s tone, as if they were intimately familiar.

“He is not dead! Watch your… your translator’s language!” The little male was suddenly enraged, standing up and pointing an accusing finger at him.

“He won’t die. General Sears is the most tenacious Zerg I have ever seen.”

Sears couldn’t be bothered to refute him, but this was a good opportunity. Whether it was to investigate who had targeted him or to seize the chance to leave, he asked: “What do you want me to do?”

“There is a tavern in the 14th District called the Pamu Tavern, restricted to military Zergs. The General was last seen going there. I want you to go in and investigate for me.”

This little male even knew about Pamu. “But I’m a female slave; I can’t get in.”

“But I’m a male Zerg. If I appear in the 14th District, I’ll be mobbed.”

“How about this: I can go to the back door of the tavern and help you ask the guests coming in and out.”

“So, you’re willing to help me?” For the first time tonight, the little male’s brow unfurled.

“What do I get in return if I work for you?”

“After the mission is accomplished, I will upgrade your status to ‘Female Attendant’ and remove the mark. How about that?”

“What if we never find the General?” After all, he himself was right here.

The little male pondered for a moment. “Six months. Six months at most. You help me find the General. When the time is up, even if we can’t find him, I will honor my promise.”

“Deal.”

The tension in the air dissipated with the deal. The little male’s shoulders relaxed as he leaned back into the sofa. The light-brain butler stepped forward, offering a large platter of nutrient solutions of various colors. “Please eat!”

Sears and the male reached out simultaneously, both grabbing the blue bag. The two locked eyes, and the male let go first. “You eat. Patients first.”

Sears didn’t decline. He needed to recover his strength and heal his wounds as soon as possible. Plentiful nutrients and sleep were essential.

As Sears sucked the nutrient solution through his muzzle, the male chose an orange, orange-flavored bag. “You like the blue sea-salt flavor too? Is the taste of military Zergs all about the same?”

Sears ignored him.

The little male continued: “Since you’ve decided to stay for a while, tell me your name.”

Sears realized the little male had never called him by name. “Wasn’t it written down when you bought me?”

The male shook his head. “It was just a string of code. It looked like a serial number for the collar.”

Why didn’t you ask before? Sears raised an eyebrow but didn’t type it into the translator. The little male seemed to read his mind, explaining: “I never intended to keep a female slave. Since I wasn’t keeping you, a name wasn’t useful. But now it’s different. Now, we are allies.”

Sears thought for a moment and chose the name of a fallen comrade: “Solas.”

“…Alright, So-las.” The male pronounced the name slowly, his voice laced with teasing. Sears immediately realized the male knew he was lying. He knew Solas wasn’t his real name.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Since the little male didn’t point it out, Sears shamelessly pretended not to notice and asked instead: “What’s your name?” Having learned so much about the male, Sears was becoming increasingly curious about this little male’s identity.

“My name is Everett.”

Seeing the female look stunned, Everett thought he hadn’t heard clearly and repeated:

“Everett Langston.”

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