The Regent of the Zerg [Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“No, I just saw you coming out of that other booth.”

The recruitment fair was organized by department, with each post assigned its own tent. The queues were finally no longer a chaotic mess. Learning from the incident with the three Males, the guards on the floor had been increased significantly.

Everyone knew the Big Boss was watching from the shadows, so they were all on their best behavior, following the ushers’ instructions to the letter. Even the opportunists had thinned out.

Except for the one in front of him. The recruitment officer for the pharmaceutical department glared at him:

“Where exactly are you going? Do you even know what ‘single-minded’ means?”

Mu Ling handed over his resume without a change in expression:

“There is no rule saying I can’t. This is my resume. I specialize in biomedicine and pharmaceutical research…” Before he could elaborate, the man at the recruitment desk lost his patience: “What kind of agents are you skilled at producing?”

This question momentarily left Mu Ling at a loss for where to begin. He had a stomach full of theories that lacked practice; after all, the Royal Academy was not a place where one could blatantly engage in research on rare pharmaceuticals.

As he thought in silence, the other man couldn’t help but sneer:

“Don’t tell me you’re ‘specialized’ in doing absolutely nothing?”

“A Level 3 mental stabilizer, supplemented by specific melodic wave frequencies, can achieve the effects of a Level 2 or even higher-level stabilizer.”

Mu Ling weighed his options and decided to show a bit of his hand. It wasn’t just any melody; it had to harmonize with a Male’s mental wave frequency, and a conclusion could only be drawn after experimentation.

The officer had never heard such a theory. He stared at Mu Ling as if he were telling a fairy tale: “We are the pharmaceutical department. Do you even understand pharmacology?”

Mu Ling sighed: “Who is the head of your department?”

“You’re not qualified to see him, brat. Job hunting is like dating—how do you expect a happy ending if you’re fickle? Next!” The guy started shooing him away.

“Do you really believe that mental stabilizers can be synthesized through drugs alone?”

Mu Ling didn’t leave; instead, his brow furrowed deeply. His mood was no better than the officer’s. It’s easy to deal with the King of Hell but hard to deal with his little devils. If there were any other channel, would he bother speaking with this straw-stuffed fool?

The man slammed the table: “Our time is precious, we don’t have—”

Someone tapped him on the back, and his voice cut off abruptly. He turned his head as a newcomer whispered in his ear. His expression turned strange, glancing at Mu Ling from time to time. His lips moved as if he wanted to argue: “But this kid…”

The newcomer’s gaze sharpened, and he urged in a low voice: “Hurry.”

The man stood up reluctantly, muttering under his breath: “This guy went to the administrative department first… clearly just looking for a cushy job to fill out forms and pass the time…”

He walked up to Mu Ling: “Our boss wants to see you.”

“As it should have been…” Mu Ling glanced at the man with an arrogant air:

“Administrative staff are not idlers. The efficiency, depth, and breadth of your work depend entirely on them. Is your current lack of achievement not precisely because you look down on management personnel?”

The man’s eyes widened: “You little mother—”

“As the face of the department and one of the channels for collective external communication, your attitude makes one seriously doubt the sincerity of your search for talent.”

The man let out a cold laugh, suppressed his anger, and glanced toward the inside of the tent. He said viciously: “Where do you think you are? Regardless of race or past, you’ve seen it—there are oceans of guys waiting to steal your rice bowl. Do you think you carry enough weight?”

“A crowd doesn’t necessarily mean talent. Whether I’m enough, you’ll find out later…” Mu Ling bypassed him, then suddenly stopped and turned back: “And if you don’t know a person’s background, you’d better keep a good attitude. If you’re this arrogant before you’ve even taken a hundred steps of a thousand-mile journey, what do you expect to achieve later?”

The man gasped, looked at the messenger, and asked loudly:

“Can I hit this guy?!”

The messenger shook his head cold-bloodedly and said to Mu Ling:

“This way.”

Mu Ling had anticipated that the person meeting him wouldn’t be Tang Luosi, but he still felt a slight sense of disappointment once it was confirmed.

The messenger led him to a reception room on the first floor of the building. A Female Zerg was sitting inside waiting for him. If his senses were correct, it was at least an A-rank Female.

“Mr. Mu Lin, I presume? Please sit,” the A-rank Female said.

“We noticed that except for Mental Stabilizer and Guard Corps, you applied for every single position we posted. Care to explain why?”

To be honest, with so many applicants, he hadn’t thought he would stand out so much, but apparently, that wasn’t the case: “Isn’t it obvious? I can do all of them.”

“Whether human or Zerg, every mouth can eat, drink, and speak, but that doesn’t mean every mouth is fit for the duty of calming the masses, persuading allies, or repelling enemies on the battlefield. Do you understand my meaning?”

“Since you’ve invited me here, you should already understand mine. Why ask a redundant question? ‘Knowing’ naturally implies ‘being able to do.'”

The A-rank Female’s eyes burned bright: “You say you can handle all of them?”

Mu Ling glanced at the half-open door in the meeting room and sighed softly: “You don’t plan on being bandits for the rest of your lives, do you?”

The A-rank’s eyes flicked backward for a split second before snapping back. He pursed his lips and remained silent.

“However, controlling Female ferality has already exhausted nearly all your mental effort…” This was the picture Mu Ling had pieced together from fragmented information. “Of course it’s difficult—defending against enemies while having to prevent riots in your own ranks. But even after ten years, only low-quality stabilizers flood the market. I suspect you’ve already invested heavily in the pharmaceutical department, yet that straw-stuffed fool at the door keeps talking about pharmacology when the problem of Female ferality is absolutely not one that simple drugs can solve.”

“You have a way?” The A-rank Female didn’t notice the hint of urgency in his tone. Mu Ling looked up and pondered: “I have one…it still needs verification.”

“You!”

Coming here to show off without even being sure?!

A light cough came from the inner room. The Female suppressed his emotions and continued: “You are a human…”

Mu Ling chuckled: “Genuine and undeniable.”

“Yet you want to solve a Zerg problem. We don’t trust you.”

“The issue right now isn’t whether you’re willing to trust me, it’s that you have no other choice.”

“How so?” the Female sneered.

Because your leader, Tang Luosi, has reached age thirty. If expectations hold, his ferality crisis is more severe than other Females, so severe that you’re turning to anyone in desperation, even a human.

For some reason, Mu Ling didn’t voice this speculation. Instead, he shifted: “The end of winter is a prime time for expansion. Once spring arrives, you will inevitably move your troops toward the tropics. Resource scarcity in the frigid zone makes it unsuitable for living, especially for humans. The Empire has you under a dual blockade, and supplies obtained through smuggling are limited. Long-term development can only rely on humans. But the weak bodies of ordinary people simply cannot travel back and forth to the frigid zone long-term…Your recruitment started three years ago, occurring more than twice a year, and the gaps are only growing. This proves your plan is massive, you might even have signed agreements with certain human confederations, but there has been no substantial action. The reason is what I just stated.”

“Then what do you think we should do?” the Female asked.

Mu Ling signaled him to remain calm:

“By Imperial standards, Planet Tianmu is a desolate star with no mining value. But what the Zerg disdain isn’t necessarily useless to humans; it’s just that the mining costs are exorbitant. Yet this bitter cold is nothing to the Zerg. Cooperation is your best option.”

Cooperating with humans, that was indeed their plan, but hearing Mu Ling speak of it made them hesitant.

“You must understand it’s hard for us to wholeheartedly believe a human can consider things from a Zerg’s perspective.”

“Sincerity isn’t necessary. Just weigh the interests.”

The Female was at a loss for words. Mu Ling continued:

“But to avoid humans ‘slaughtering the donkey once the grinding is done,’ remember not to transfer all industries at once. I suggest building Zerg outposts along the way. Human nature is cunning, you cannot rely on them entirely, lest you end up doing the work for someone else’s gain. As for the Zerg, you should vigorously learn and apply human technologies to promote integration. When it comes to survival, weak creatures have their own special insights.” Mu Ling smiled. “As long as the mental stabilizer issue is resolved, everything will fall into place. The reason I said I need verification is because I lack test subjects and I’m not clear on your current progress.”

The Female was still hesitating. Mu Ling raised an eyebrow:

“It’s not as if I’m asking you to hand the entire Bandit Gang territory over to me. I’ll allow you to test me for a period. What else is there to hesitate about?”

Mental pharmaceuticals were the sword hanging over the Zerg’s head; how could they not be cautious? The Female shot him a glare: “These grand, empty words of yours lack detail. Do you expect us to agree just by listening?”

Mu Ling found it strange:

“I’ve only been here for two days. The information you put out in the past was a mix of truth and lies. Without knowing the situation, I’m naturally cautious. If I spoke with perfect inside knowledge, then you should be wary…Besides, you clearly have a leader. I’m just someone offering counsel. Why guard against me as if I’m plotting to usurp the throne?”

The Female was choked into silence. He wanted to emphasize his lack of trust, but Mu Ling had explicitly stated it didn’t matter and that mistrust was normal. This punch landing in cotton left him with nowhere to go.

Just as they were at a stalemate, a soft chuckle came from the inner room. The door opened, and Tang Luosi walked out, extending a hand to Mu Ling: “Mu Lin, isn’t it?”

Mu Ling didn’t expect him to just come out like that; he thought he would play the “hidden boss” for the whole scene. Seeing the hand he had secretly envisioned last night extended before him, he froze for a second before taking it: “Yes…Mr. Tang Luosi.”

“Have you seen me before?”

“Your face…is very famous.” A lie. He had clearly spent half the night studying it online.

Mu Ling sized up the leader of the Bandit Gangs. He felt a kind of open, uninhibited sexiness from this Female Zerg. His honey-gold skin reminded one of the sun, radiating endless light and heat; Mu Ling even wanted to touch him to see if the sensation was scorching.

However, those eyes were different from the initial impression of flamboyance—they appeared gentle and approachable. When he smiled, it was as if a golden-red light sank into the frozen earth of winter, making all things grow, magnificent and warm.

Tang Luosi touched his own face, nodded, and looked at Mu Ling with a smile:

“He’s called Luke. Don’t mind him too much; he tends to get over-tense sometimes.”

Luke grunted dissatisfiedly: “Leader, one must maintain a basic level of suspicion toward humans.”

Mu Ling realized: “Because of the lack of stabilizers? I understand.”

Tang Luosi burst out laughing:

“No, that’s just his nature.” He paused. “I heard everything inside. You said using specific acoustic frequencies to assist low-level drugs could yield better results… Let’s try it. I think it’s quite interesting.”

“He hasn’t even said what those ‘specific frequencies’ are. He’s being secretive; this kid has no sincerity,” Luke was still muttering.

Mu Ling suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at him. Practice brings true knowledge—you brainless Female Zerg who just wants to eat the pie someone drew for you.

“Don’t be in a hurry. Results won’t come in a day or two,” Tang Luosi comforted his companion.

“But you—”

Tang Luosi raised his index finger to silence him, then turned back to Mu Ling:

“Go to the pharmaceutical department first. As you said, it’s the most urgent.”

Mu Ling nodded: “But when the lab work cannot help me, I will need cross-departmental cooperation.”

“That kind of privilege must be earned with your performance. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, young master.”

“What about my basic needs?”

“Everything will be handled within this building. How about a guard squad for when you go out?”

“Acceptable… One last question. You invited me in just because of one sentence I said?”

Mu Ling felt something was off. Aside from last night’s encounter and submitting multiple resumes, he hadn’t done anything extra.

Tang Luosi looked at him and curled his lips: “Your eyes are very beautiful.”

“…You are also very handsome.” Mu Ling didn’t know why his face felt hot when he said that. Fortunately, it shouldn’t show on his disguised face.

Luke, standing nearby, was confused by their suddenly irrelevant conversation. He said bluntly: “What kind of login device did you think you used for your online submission?”

“That was a public port.” Mu Ling didn’t want to return it to Tang Luosi just yet.

Luke snorted: “The Leader used it before. The information department personalized it; the IP was already recorded.”

Mu Ling looked at Tang Luosi, who coughed:

“It was an accident, I forgot… But I didn’t expect that at such a young age, you would have…such great ambitions. Is this your first time away from home?”

That’s why you’d do something only a ‘newbie’ just entering society would do.

Mu Ling pondered: “Not exactly.”

“Then didn’t you know that doing that would result in a rejection nine times out of ten?” Tang Luosi was caught between laughter and tears.

Mu Ling, who truly hadn’t known, said solemnly:

“Since I intend to help you build an empire, I naturally cannot be confined to a corner doing trivial chores all day. The sooner you saw me, the less time we’d waste.”

“…And if I hadn’t seen you?”

“Then you wouldn’t be worthy of me.”

Luke’s face went dark upon hearing this: This brat thinks he’s something else.

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