The Omega Becomes The Zerg Queen - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Repair

After Damian and Selal requested leave, the King’s daily life was taken over by Zephyros and Lucius.

Today, Lucius was on duty, which also happened to be the day Su Lili was scheduled for mental power training.

Last time, Lucius had already taught her how to perform mental power soothing on high-level Zerg. Although Lucius’s reaction afterward had been very strange, she had essentially mastered the method. Therefore, she proactively suggested taking it a step further today.

She wanted to learn Mental Power Repair.

Mental Power Soothing is primarily used to calm high-level Zerg whose mental power is chronically agitated but who still retain their sanity.

However, once agitation reaches a certain threshold, the out-of-control mental power begins to indiscriminately attack its own mental sea and everything surrounding it. This internal assault cannot be defended against. Once a riot occurs, most Zerg die of exhaustion. Only a few lucky ones survive.

Even for survivors, a Zerg with a damaged mental sea constantly teeters between madness and sanity. A riot could trigger again at any moment, leaving them virtually incapacitated.

This is when the Queen is needed for Mental Power Repair. She uses the Royal mental power to guide the Zerg in mending their shattered mental sea.

In reality, if a Queen performs regular soothing, no Zerg should ever reach the point of needing repair. Consequently, aside from the first Queen, almost no Queen had ever used this skill. The records in the Holy Book were sparse and vague; everything had to be explored by Su Lili and Lucius themselves.

“Let’s call Ferran in and try it,” Su Lili turned to Lucius, nodding slightly. “He has already brewed honey for me once, yet I haven’t repaired his mental sea for him.”

“We’ll try it today.”

It was rare for Lucius to serve by the King’s side today, yet they could not be alone. His emerald eyes dimmed, and the corners of his mouth dipped slightly.

“I will call him immediately.”

…

Inside the bedchamber.

Ferran was operating his terminal, typing away furiously. Yesterday’s video of the King visiting the arena with Zephyros had gone viral. Zephyros was now seen by all as the King’s most favored bug. Even the Moth-type bug that the King had “drawn” in the livestream and later watched in a match had appeared at the bottom of the “Most Favored” rankings.

In comparison, the rumors spread by the Third Legion—claiming Ferran was the most favored—seemed increasingly hollow. Because they had been so arrogant before, many Zerg had begun mockingly commenting on Ferran’s “Bug-blog” since last night.

“Most favored? More like ‘Bug Not Found’~” “Blind confidence is just a mask for insecurity.” “The less you have it, the more you show it off.”

Ferran was naturally fuming. These Zerg didn’t know the truth at all; they were all lying. How could the King like an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud like Zephyros? The one who had been most intimate with the King so far was clearly him!

He had spent almost the entire night arguing with netizens. Unfortunately, one person’s strength is limited; even with the Third Legion, they were no match for the gossip-hungry masses of the galaxy. After all, the video of the King and Zephyros was concrete evidence, while the “intimate moments” Ferran spoke of were just his words.

“Maybe it’s all just his delusions. He’s just the King’s ‘Dream Man’,” some bugs thought secretly. “If you’re so big-mouthed, show us the proof!”

Proof? He had proof!

Today, he wore a black shirt with a very low collar, prominently displaying the restraint collar on his neck and the Honey Chamber between his collarbones. Since the last time he brewed honey for the King, the honey chamber hadn’t fully recovered. The tip of the tender pink chamber was still slightly swollen, and dark red marks from intense suction lingered around it. It looked a bit messy, but incredibly erotic.

Ferran hesitated about whether to post it. For the Bee-type, the honey chamber is a very private part, not easily shown to others, let alone posted on the internet.

But he had something else.

That day, the King had given him her small leather vest. The leather vest still carried the King’s fragrance; it was exquisitely crafted, with the Royal Crest embroidered on the left chest. Anyone could see it was the King’s personal garment.

Did anyone else have that?

These unsophisticated Zerg only got excited over a plain video. Zephyros was at most the King’s “automatic mount.” He probably hadn’t even held the King’s hand. How could he be the most favored?

Yet, he was reluctant. Why should these bugs get to see the King’s personal clothes? He should be the only one to enjoy them. He typed and deleted, deleted and typed, but the “proof” remained unposted. It was the epitome of “wearing fine silk in the dead of night”—nobody could see his glory.

Suddenly, a message popped up on his terminal. Lucius: The King summons you. Come to the Sanctuary Auditorium.

“I knew it.” Ferran lifted his chin. “The King still loves me most.”

He screenshotted the message from Lucius and uploaded it to his personal blog. Caption: Going to see the King~

…

Gentle sunlight filtered through the dome of the auditorium onto Su Lili’s waterfall of black hair, creating a warm yellow halo. The golden specks danced in the girl’s dark eyes as she looked over.

Ferran strode to the King’s side and knelt on one knee. His sharp eyes immediately caught the mottled red marks stretching from the King’s wrist into her sleeve. As he rose, his gaze locked with Lucius’s across the space.

“Was it you?”

Lucius met his gaze calmly, neither confirming nor denying.

Failing to get an answer, Ferran indignantly retracted his gaze and looked at the King. “Why has Your Majesty summoned me?”

“I want to repair your mental sea today.” Su Lili gave him a small smile. “Are you prepared?”

Ferran froze on the spot. Although the King had promised to help repair his mental sea before, he hadn’t held much hope. In Zerg history, records of repaired mental seas only existed from the previous era. To modern Zerg, a damaged mental sea was almost irreversible. Previous Kings valued their mental power more than their subjects and wouldn’t use it lightly.

Furthermore, the new King had a frail constitution and needed his honey to nourish her. In his heart, the King’s promise was just a sweet word to make him happy, not something that needed to be fulfilled. Now, she had actually called him here for that very purpose.

Ferran’s eyes reddened. His heart suddenly felt too soft to beat. His voice cracked: “Mhm.”

He closed his eyes, his shoulders trembling slightly. As the former Commander of the Third Legion, the man known as the “Shadow of the Zerg,” he had been imprisoned in the Black Prison for years. His former glory was gone, and his body was so weak that his past self could have crushed him with one hand. He thought he had accepted his fate.

But now, the girl had given him hope again. Ferran opened his eyes, the crimson pupils shimmering as he looked at Su Lili with near-obsessive intensity.

“No matter what… thank you, Your Majesty.”

System: Ferran | Favorability: — | Loyalty: ★★★★☆

Su Lili’s heart skipped a beat. It rose! Ferran’s loyalty finally rose! It turned out he cared about this repair more than anything. A smile touched her eyes, and her gaze toward Ferran softened.

“Come here.”

Ferran sat down beside her. She pressed her hand against his forehead, closed her eyes, and her consciousness slowly sank into the mental sea.

“There isn’t much data on mental sea repair, so we are in an experimental stage. I will start by soothing you… then go further.”

Just like last time, the points of light in the mental sea were like stars. Upon entry, the emerald point of light from before immediately circled around her. The cracks on its surface had smoothed out; it looked much better than before. It crowded around her mental power tentacles, nuzzling them affectionately, clearly wanting more “touching.”

Su Lili petted it a few times and watched with satisfaction as it spun happily in place. But she didn’t forget her main task. Her translucent tentacles searched and finally found the point of light belonging to Ferran in a corner.

The surface of the crimson light had almost no intact shell left; only a core remained, flickering with a weak red glow. It shrank by her feet, not daring to come forward. This behavior was completely different from his usual arrogant manner.

Su Lili focused for a moment, and after confirming the light was Ferran, her mental power tentacles reached out.

Lucius watched them with lowered eyes. He had been through this. No one knew better than him what it felt like to be enveloped by the King’s mental power. Just the King’s casual touch earlier had shaken his soul. Now, she was repairing Ferran’s mental sea. That was a connection much larger and deeper than ordinary soothing.

Even knowing that soothing wasn’t a treatment exclusive to him, a fierce jealousy burned in his clear emerald eyes. This bug is probably about to feel like he’s in heaven.

As he expected.

The thick, sweet fragrance followed the mental power, bossily burrowing into the core of the crimson light. Without the buffer of a shell, the sensation of a direct strike to the depths of his soul instantly paralyzed all of Ferran’s senses.

“Your Majesty…”

His eyes were rimmed with red, and he whimpered in his throat, calling out incessantly. “Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”

Su Lili didn’t respond. The girl’s eyes were tightly shut, her brow furrowed in a solemn expression, and the hand pressed against his forehead trembled slightly.

Things were developing differently than Su Lili had imagined. Before she began, her system panel showed that her C-grade Mental Power was at 90%. She had planned to use some today to test the repair without exhausting it all.

But the moment her tentacles linked to the crimson light, a powerful suction erupted from within the core. Perhaps it had been weak for too long; perhaps it wanted to recover too badly. Regardless, the broken light clung tightly to her tentacles, gluttonously devouring her mental power.

The remaining mental power on the system panel began to plummet.

C-grade Mental Power Remaining: 90%… 80%… 60%…

“Stop, stop now!” she commanded in her mind.

The Zerg Queen has absolute control over other Zerg, especially through commands issued directly in the mental sea. Even a bug with a shattered mental sea is subject to the King’s dominance. Within the mental sea, the crimson light slowly released the King’s tentacles.

At the same time, the mental power remaining on the system panel stopped just at 50%.