After the Zerg General Was Accidentally Marked - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Jealousy

Even though Everett’s motives were impure, extremely impure their goals were ultimately aligned. Furthermore, the marking was already a done deal, and Sears had no intention of going back on the trade they had established.

Though, he couldn’t shake a certain inexplicable sense of frustration.

After visiting the “Major General Sears Merchandise Room” in the little male’s house last night, the female had needed a long time to recover. That R-18 deluxe “nest” had even appeared in his dreams, snarling and opening a bloody maw toward him.

He recalled the evaluation he had mentally given this future Insect Emperor last night: keen observation, clear speech, and extremely strong execution. Looking back now, the evaluation was accurate, but the application was all wrong. If only he could take the attention he lavished on Sears and put it toward building the New Insect Race, how wonderful that would be.

Sears let out a sigh of regret. Such a fine little male how did he end up so warped?

Before bed last night, Everett had asked with a serious face: “If I unlock the handcuffs, will you hurt me?” Upon receiving a negative answer, he had very decisively granted Sears the authority to unlock them. Now, the only things restricting his body were the collar and the wing-sheath locking device.

The first thing Sears did after removing the handcuffs was to directly gouge out the scar on his wrist. He also sternly refused the little male’s request to help change his bandages. He was truly afraid that one day, while Everett was wrapping him up, the boy would suddenly point at his leg and say: I recognize this leg!

Thus, early this morning, Sears rolled his wheelchair into the living room to change his own dressings. A military female’s body always possessed startling recovery powers; combined with the fact that his mental sea hadn’t continued to deteriorate, some of the minor scattered wounds had already healed. Only the injuries to his face and his broken leg were serious enough to still require care.

The medicine chest was kept in the living room, and Sears didn’t bother returning to his own room, choosing instead to handle it right there. Unwrapping bandages, cleaning, applying medication, attaching fixation plates, and winding compression bandages without the handcuffs, Sears handled his wounds with a fluid efficiency that suggested he did this often.

However, the painkillers hadn’t arrived yet. No matter how resilient a military female was, he couldn’t help but let out a groan or two from the pain of the changing process. By the time he was nearly finished, the parts of his face not covered by the bite-inhibitor were drenched in a layer of cold sweat.

As he was securing a bandage, the light-screen in the living room suddenly flickered to life. Accompanied by a soft strain of music, a female in military uniform on the screen slowly turned around; a familiar, handsome face was gradually illuminated by a soft glow from the shadows. Then, a line of text appeared in the center of the screen: (Major General Sears 4K HD Military Uniform Pure Enjoyment Edition)  by Sears Fan Group.

Sears froze for a moment, then watched as the screen began playing various clips of himself in uniform. There were clips of him giving speeches, undergoing training, and even a few records from the battlefield.

There were several shots that Sears himself had no memory of. When and where were these even filmed?

Moreover, despite knowing he shouldn’t think this way, looking at his normal, fit, and high-spirited self in the video while he sat there bandaging a broken leg made Sears feel a bit miserable. Comparison is the thief of joy. Just a few days ago, he was grateful and relieved simply for not being sent to the scrapyard. Now, he wanted more again. Insects are never satisfied.

“Good morning.” After Sears finished treating his wounds, Everett happened to come downstairs in his pajamas and offered a greeting.

“Ah, Major General Sears!” This exclamation made Sears snap his head around, his heart leaping into his throat, thinking the other had somehow recognized him. As it turned out, the little male was merely captivated by the montage on the light-screen; he didn’t even spare Sears a glance, instead burying himself into the sofa to admire the video.

The few-minute-long edit soon ended. Just as Sears let out a sigh of relief, he saw the little male unhesitatingly click loop playback.

“…Can we not play the video?” After several loops, Sears finally couldn’t take it anymore and asked via the translator. He didn’t have narcissistic tendencies; he really wasn’t used to seeing his own face enlarged and repeated on the screen.

“Why?”

Everett suddenly thought of something. He paused the video and leaned over the sofa to look back at the female eating nutritional supplements at the dining table. “Are you jealous?”

“…You’re overthinking it.”

“It’s normal to be jealous. Major General Sears is indeed a leader in all aspects, whether it’s mental strength or military skill. When he piloted the Eos and single-handedly blocked the Xenomorph army’s attack, saving the entire Teia star system, he was simply incredibly cool!” The little male’s voice was full of adoration. “And such an excellent military female is so gentle toward his subordinates and civilians. No wonder everyone likes him…”

“It’s not like that.” Sears couldn’t help but interrupt his fantasy. “You have no idea what war means, nor what a battlefield looks like. Major General Sears didn’t just kill many enemies; he also made many wrong decisions that got many of his own people killed.”

“Not every insect likes him. Those who hate him are definitely no fewer than those who love him.”

“If Major General Sears were to die a miserable death one day, it would be exactly what he deserves.”

Everett remained silent through the first few sentences, but at the last one, he couldn’t help but frown. “Don’t think that just because you’re a military female, you know everything. You have no right to judge Major General Sears.”

“Besides, the fact that you’re willing to help me means you’re part of the group of females that likes Major General Sears, doesn’t it?”

Like him? Sears was stunned. Then, giving up the argument with the male, he asked, “What time are we going to the Pamu Tavern tonight?”

“Tonight?” Everett blinked. “There’s no need to be in such a rush, right? The injuries on your leg and face aren’t healed yet.”

The little male didn’t know the gravity of the situation, but Sears knew it very well. The reason the authorities didn’t dare disclose his true status was out of fear. Because Sears had effectively held power in his own hands all these years. Because he had a group of subordinates capable of defecting or even revolting the moment they learned something had happened to him.

That was why the move against him was an assassination rather than an overt attack. Furthermore, in the entire military, there wasn’t a single other female who could skillfully pilot the Eos. Crippling him was equivalent to breaking the Empire’s strongest blade. It was precisely because of these advantages that the former Major General had been so confident, certain that no one would dare lay a finger on him. And the consequence of underestimating his enemies was landing in his current state—an empty-handed, crippled female slave.

Sears glanced at the soft, slumped little male on the sofa. Well, he wasn’t completely empty-handed; he had an ally and master who would one day become the Insect Emperor.

But the current situation was very disadvantageous for him. If he were one of those who had ambushed him, he would surely take advantage of the surface calm to quickly purge Sears’ subordinates and even seize the influence of the First Legion. Time was life; he had to contact trustworthy subordinates as soon as possible to inform them of the situation. The sooner, the better.

Additionally, he was very curious as to which insects, exactly, had pushed him toward a dead end step by step on that night.

And near the Pamu Tavern, there might be the insects he was looking for, or the answers he desired.

“If the Major General is already under house arrest, every minute of delay is another minute of danger.”

That much was true. Everett sized up the female. “Are your injuries okay?”

“We’re going to gather information, not to fight. Give me a crutch or a stick, plus an injection of painkillers. I can make it through.”

Everett tapped the wearable light-brain on his wrist to check his schedule for the day. “I have some family business to handle today. At seven tonight, I’ll go with you.”

“You’re going too? But you’re a male.” Just as he had said before, if a male appeared in District 14, he would certainly be swarmed. Or worse.

“That’s why I’ll disguise myself as a sub-female. Regardless, you can’t go to District 14 alone.”

Sears understood immediately. “You don’t trust me.”

The male shrugged. “Trust needs to be built through action. If there are gains from this mission, I might try to trust you a bit more, So-las.”

Using the fake name against him again. Sears thought that if he told him his real name right now, the male’s expression would be very interesting. At that thought, he couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I thought of something happy.”

Trust indeed needed to be built through action. But the problem was that District 14 was too unfriendly toward males.

In the entire Capital Planet, there were nearly one million males, about one hundred million sub-females, and, according to incomplete statistics, roughly one billion females. Because female slaves were treated as goods, they weren’t even included in the count. On this planet, males who made up less than one percent of the population occupied seventy percent of the habitable land. One could only imagine the living conditions of the remaining massive numbers of females and sub-females.

District 14 of the Capital Planet was a typical administrative district where females congregated. Unlike the orderly nature of the first thirteen male-dominated districts, District 14 was a synonym for chaos. A few places, like the residential area where the Major General’s residence was located, were relatively peaceful.

But most areas, including the “Salla Nest” adjacent to the Pamu Tavern, were lawless zones. This place was filled with homeless females. Many built tiny “insect nests” out of wood, cement, and plastic sheeting right where they stood. These tiny nests were stacked one on top of the other, gradually forming massive pyramid-like hive structures, resembling some strange atavistic nesting behavior.

In District 14, almost every place with the word “Nest” in its name featured such complex, chaotic settlements. High-statured females would crawl into these nests to sleep at night and swarm out during the day, searching for any way to fill their stomachs. In a place like this, there was naturally no law to speak of.

Even a privileged, pampered little male from the top of society would be swarmed and devoured by hungry females if he accidentally wandered into the nest zones of District 14. Yes, those females would certainly be held accountable afterward either executed or sent to the scrapyard but for insects hovering on the line between life and death, that was a problem for later.

To escape such a savage and chaotic environment, one had to be exceptionally talented and incredibly lucky to pass the selection for the military academy and carve a path to civilization on the battlefield.

Therefore, males never went to District 14. A male had once commented in front of Sears: “That place is full of stinking trash.” Even sub-females weren’t absolutely safe in District 14. And this little male named Everett, whether out of ignorance or fearlessness or perhaps both actually insisted on going. Is this the courage of a future Insect Emperor?

“You can come with me to District 14. But it’s very chaotic; if anything happens to you, I’m not responsible,” Sears compromised, though it sounded more like a threat.

“If anything happens to me, you’re my female slave, you won’t be able to escape either.”

“Can’t escape!” The little “Idiot” who had arrived late chimed in supportively.

“So, you’d better think hard about how to protect me.”

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