The Zerg Monarch’s Path to Godhood - Chapter 2

Ignoring the male in yellow who scrambled away in a panic, Wen Qi turned and returned to his room.

It was predictable that the male in yellow was right—the “identity” the system had arranged for him was actually quite good. Although there were bugs bullying him, many things in his room looked valuable to his human eyes. The decor was excellent, and there were no signs that his belongings had been tampered with.

Brother: Wen Ze.

He was the bug the system called “trustworthy.”

Thinking of this, Wen Qi couldn’t help but feel a spark of interest. For the first time across two worlds, he had a brother. Even though he knew the relationship was fabricated, the feeling was novel, to say the least.

Wen Qi thought that if he had time, he could go meet this so-called brother. Since the system said Wen Ze would help him, he could be considered an asset. He just didn’t know how much information the current Wen Ze possessed.

Wen Qi casually picked up a round, golden ornament nearby and toyed with it, contemplating his current situation. His rank was currently B-grade. His only advantage was his mental power, but even so, he stood zero chance against an SSS-grade Tasker.

Therefore, he had to find the protagonist first. The system mentioned the Tasker held a high position of power. Setting aside whether he could win in a fight, even with his status as a male, it would not be easy to move against a Tasker. He needed a long-term plan.

Find the protagonist first.

As the name flashed through his mind, a sense of anticipation involuntarily rose in Wen Qi’s heart. He opened his terminal. A Zerg terminal was similar to an advanced mobile phone—a small ring on the wrist capable of projecting displays and connecting to a male’s mental power. Wen Qi was currently using the mental connection.

This connection allowed mental power to replace fingers. Whatever he wanted to see, he could simply scan with his mind. Using mental power for the first time felt refreshing to Wen Qi as he allowed his consciousness to enter the Star Net through the terminal.

After spending two minutes on the Star Net, he figured out the terminal’s functions. With a mental flick, he dove into the forums. Males and females had their own respective forums. Controlling the terminal with his mental power, he entered the Male Forum directly.

With anticipation in his heart, Wen Qi typed the name of his story’s protagonist into the search bar: Gu Nan.

He clicked search. Results appeared quickly, but a barrage of foul language from various males flooded the screen before Wen Qi’s eyes.

“If that Prospective Domain Lord had just become Boss Lin’s female attendant, he wouldn’t have ended up like this. What was he acting so noble for?”

“What a waste of a top-tier female. Truly a pity. He actually refused to submit to us.”

“Everything in our race exists to serve the males. He was too much of an outlier. Though, for a bug like that, I really want to know what he tastes like in bed, haha.”

“It is a shame he is going to be picked up cheap by those low-grade males this time.”

“But it is not like there is no chance. Have you not seen the Female Forum? Some bugs are already thinking of ways to rescue their Prospective Domain Lord.”

“Laughable. His Majesty personally decreed exile. That guy is a slave now. A slave who dared to injure a male—they still want to rescue such a despicable bug?”

“They are just wasting their breath. Did you not see that Wantian Domain has already abandoned him? Those females are dreaming. A female who harms a male does not deserve to live in this world.”

“That male deserved it too. A B-grade daring to force himself on that guy? It would be weird if he was not attacked. Also, is your tone not a bit too biased? Stop acting all high and mighty and giving males a bad name. You are the only ones jumping around here. Have you seen any high-grade males coming out to speak? The reputation of males is ruined by bugs like you.”

“Hey, let me ask, did that male succeed or not?”

Seeing these comments, the anticipation in Wen Qi’s eyes instantly turned cold. Even though he knew the male species would disgust him, he had not expected it to reach this level. Fortunately, those frantic comments did not come from the top-tier males. Otherwise, he would really doubt what kind of species he had written into existence.

Wen Qi closed his eyes slightly, calming his emotions. When he reopened them, his gaze had returned to a state of tranquility. He scanned the forum with his mental power again.

Amidst the sea of filth, he easily captured a keyword: Female Forum. After manipulating the terminal for a moment to learn the navigation, he opened it directly. The discourse on the Female Forum was much better than that of the males. Seeing these comments, a strange look flickered in Wen Qi’s eyes.

“I wonder who schemed against him. The female most qualified to inherit the position of Domain Lord of Wantian Domain has actually fallen to the point of being auctioned. He is the first high-ranking female to reach such a state.”

“Word is he has been completely crippled. His mental sea is on the verge of collapse, and his grade—the only thing he had left—has plummeted to C-grade.”

“With an electric shock collar on, no matter how high his grade was, he will be controlled by others for the rest of his life.”

“What a pity. That male was indeed at fault, but he should not have laid a hand on him. If he had not fought back, he would not be up for auction.”

“Just a traitor, what is there to pity? If you ask me, he should die for harming a male.”

“Our Prospective Domain Lord could never betray the Empire! What nonsense are you talking?”

“So you are saying His Majesty the Emperor wrongly accused that traitor? Hilarious. His Majesty already spared his life, and you are still trying to whitewash him.”

“You should thank the Great Insect Emperor. Otherwise, that traitor would have been dead long ago.”

“If he did not betray the Empire, why was he sent to the Blue Sequence planet closest to the Beast Race? If he did not betray the Empire, why would the Emperor allow him to be auctioned there? You should know the Blue Sequence has many dealings with the Beast Race. He just happened to defeat a Beast army recently. Now that he has been sent there, you can imagine the outcome. He will either be tortured to death by males or females, or fall into the hands of the Beast Race. Either way, he is not coming back in one piece.”

“He is certain to die!”

The earlier comments were tolerable, but as he read further, Wen Qi’s face darkened once more. He had not expected things to have reached this stage. He chewed on the two terms he had just seen—Blue Sequence and Beast Race—his eyes filled with coldness.

According to the known timeline, this should be Gu Nan’s growth phase. Gu Nan’s main focus should be on training the army in Wantian Domain. Perhaps at this time, he would be preparing for a large-scale battle, but certainly not having already completed one. According to the original timeline, Gu Nan would not face the Beast army until next year, and only then would he become the Prospective Domain Lord. Now, everything had been moved forward.

“What exactly is he trying to do?” Wen Qi’s eyes were shadowed, anger almost overflowing from his being. His brows furrowed tightly. “Is he trying to destroy the plot of this world just to live out his retirement? Is he here to retire, or to destroy this world?”

Destroying the plot to this extent… he would believe it if someone said the Tasker wanted to steal the protagonist’s identity. Looking at the text on the terminal, Wen Qi paused for a moment before turning it off.

Knowing the protagonist’s location was enough for now. At least, according to the system, the protagonist still held a significant amount of luck. If he died now, it would cause irreversible problems for the world. This was why supporting characters in novels usually had to suppress the protagonist and steal all their luck before they could finally kill them.

There are thousands of “darlings” in a book world, but there is only one protagonist. That protagonist is the true darling of the Heavenly Dao. Since the world was still functioning, it meant the protagonist was currently fine.

The most important things now were the Tasker’s identity, how to get to the protagonist’s side to rescue him, and how to expel the Tasker. First, he had to identify the Tasker. It was easier to prepare when the enemy was in the light while he remained in the dark.

“According to the system, the Tasker holds a high position of power.” Wen Qi tapped the table, his brow furrowed. “This is going to be quite a bit of trouble.”

High position of power—either a female with military merits or one of the few males at the top of the pyramid. SSS-grade—it was likely a female. In the world he designed, there were no males of that grade. Even the highest-ranked Male Emperor was only SS-grade.

Wen Qi did not intend to search for information on the Tasker right now. In an information age, the terminal was not secure. “I can only go there. Once I am there, I should be able to find all the information I want. I will see how far things have progressed first, then go find the protagonist.”

To find the protagonist, he had to leave this planet. To leave this planet, he had to…

Wen Qi looked down at his hands, a strange expression crossing his features as he muttered, “A free, immersive, useless trash seeking death script? Sigh.”

After muttering, the aura on his body began to weaken: B-grade, C-grade, D-grade. Finally, his rank stopped at F-grade.

Wen Qi remembered the setting in the book. F-grade bugs were considered the trash of trash among the Zerg. Such useless beings had no right to live on the Main Star. Now he just had to wait for someone to come to his door. He believed those two males from earlier had already spread the word. He just needed to wait.

As Wen Qi expected, the news of his recovery was spread by the two males who left. About fifteen minutes later, over a dozen bugs appeared in his courtyard one after another.

“Mr. Wen Qi, how are you feeling?”

The crowd expressed their concern. They looked at Wen Qi with expectation in their eyes. Two females even squeezed to Wen Qi’s side, worriedly wanting to check his body, but Wen Qi nimbly dodged them.

Wen Qi looked at the bug leading the crowd. Among them was a refined young male. He was not as frail as the two males Wen Qi had just met. There was a hint of authority in his features, and the surrounding bugs seemed to respect him deeply. Clearly, this male’s status was quite high.

At a glance, Wen Qi was certain: this was his nominal brother, Wen Ze.

Wen Qi had not expected him to arrive so soon after the news broke. It was just as well as it saved him the trouble of searching for him. Wen Qi looked at Wen Ze, and Wen Ze looked back at Wen Qi.

The mental powers of males can sense each other. Wen Qi did not intentionally hide his unstable rank, which immediately caught Wen Ze’s attention. Wen Ze stared at Wen Qi with his pitch-black eyes. After five or six seconds, he frowned and asked, “What happened to your grade?”

Wen Qi lowered his eyes, looking dejected. “I do not know why, but my grade dropped. I have become an F-grade.”

When he spoke, there was a hint of sincerity in his tone. The acting was not particularly sophisticated, but his lowered voice and expression fooled many. The group following Wen Ze were all females. Upon hearing this, their expressions shifted from surprise to shock. After the shock passed, several females looked at Wen Qi with a faint trace of disdain in their eyes.

The two females who had been crowding Wen Qi earlier instinctively took two steps back, hiding in the crowd. Wen Qi kept his eyes downcast, ignoring their expressions. Wen Ze’s expression was solemn as he stared at Wen Qi, while the group of females stared at the silent Wen Ze.

Seeing that Wen Ze had not spoken for a long time, the females took his silence as tacit agreement. They exchanged glances and finally stopped hiding their feelings, showing blatant disdain toward Wen Qi. They had never seen such a useless male.

Wen Qi, who had just looked up to confirm Wen Ze’s reaction, found his answer on the faces of these females. It was only natural. Who would like a piece of trash? He wondered what these bugs would look like when they witnessed the trash making a comeback later.

While Wen Qi’s thoughts strayed, an incredibly gentle force swept through his entire body. Wen Qi looked at Wen Ze and relaxed, allowing Wen Ze to inspect him. After checking, Wen Ze stared at Wen Qi, frowning with a shocked expression.

“I can barely sense your mental power.” Wen Ze shot Wen Qi a meaningful look, his tone calm. “Even an F-grade should have mental power. You should not be completely devoid of it. Perhaps my senses are wrong, but your grade is very strange. Perhaps we need the Male Protection Association to perform an inspection.”

Wen Qi knew this was a hint from Wen Ze—he had suppressed himself too much. Wen Qi silently released a sliver of his suppression. Wen Ze gave Wen Qi a deep look and walked a circle around him as a formality. Every bug’s gaze was fixed on him. He did not explain anything to the crowd. Instead, his slender fingers opened his terminal and made a call. About ten minutes later, members of the Male Protection Association arrived.

They brought various pieces of precision equipment. But clearly, in the face of Wen Qi who could manipulate his own grade, these instruments were useless.

The leader of the association team was a middle-aged female. At this moment, the female frowned, glanced at Wen Qi, then turned to Wen Ze with an apologetic tone. “Mr. Wen Ze, I am very sorry. We are powerless regarding your brother’s situation. According to our inspection, his grade has fallen to F-grade.”

As these words fell, the faces of everyone around changed. Wen Qi stood in the corner, acting as an inconspicuous background character. One moment he watched his own inspection process, the next he watched Wen Ze.

Wen Ze, his nominal brother from the same father, was also the current head of the Wen family. Unlike Wen Qi, who was always exceptionally beautiful, Wen Ze was the cool, handsome, and durable type. Currently, Wen Ze’s brow was tightly knit, his gaze sliding up and down Wen Qi’s body as if he were struggling with a difficult decision.

Wen Qi noticed his gaze and looked back. Their eyes met and then parted. Wen Qi pretended to be in low spirits and asked, “Brother, I… what is going to happen to me? Can I still stay here?”

He was not sure how much “trustworthy” meant for this family head, so Wen Qi tested the waters. As expected, Wen Ze did not disappoint him.

Wen Ze looked away, his frown relaxing, and his tone returned to a cold indifference. “Go out for a walk, my brother. I will think of a way. If you can be cured, I hope to cure you.”

Wen Ze had pitch-black pupils that carried a sense of pressure. Having headed the Wen family for three years, those eyes always gave bugs the feeling they could not look him in the face. Now, he spoke flatly, his emotions regaining their calm. “Perhaps you should also pray that your grade has not truly plummeted.”

His gaze shifted away from Wen Qi, and he said coldly, “Our race does not support trash. Your temperament is irritable and easily brings disaster to the Wen family. Without strength, following the family’s arrangement to leave is your best choice.”

Wen Qi slowly lowered his head, seemingly dejected. In the Zerg world, rank was everything. It was normal for such a world to have no room for a useless being. Wen Ze had just reminded him of the “bug persona” the system had created for him. Although that was not his original personality, the way he had spoken just now was indeed a bit out of character.

“I understand, Brother. I will recover.” Wen Qi suddenly looked up defiantly. He clenched his fists and stared at Wen Ze, his eyes filled with deep displeasure, as if his earlier weakness had just been an illusion. “I am trash now, but I will not be in the future. You should not underestimate me, and I will not leave the Main Star. Only a bug like you would think I will always be trash. Sooner or later, I will surpass you and show you that you are the trash.”

The refined male’s face did not change at all because of Wen Qi’s words. His black eyes calmly looked back at Wen Qi. “If your grade does not recover within seven days, then I will send you away from the Main Star. This is the price for contradicting me today.”

Wen Qi, who was just talking big, had a face that changed colors repeatedly. Finally, he flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly. “As if I am afraid of you!”

The surrounding bugs listened to this exchange, their expressions shifting as well. Finally, they looked at Wen Qi as if looking at a clown. If this male still had his rank, such talk could be called youthful arrogance, but now that he had no rank, saying such things was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

But males have never been good at reading the room, have they? The group of females who had just taken an interest in Wen Qi completely dropped any such thoughts. Wen Ze did not say anything more. He gave Wen Qi a deep look, turned around, and walked straight toward the gate. The group of bugs followed Wen Ze out one by one.

With his “intellect recovered,” Wen Qi gained his freedom. He touched his face, familiarized himself with his room, and then walked out of the Wen family estate. The streets were bustling with bugs coming and going. In this world, males were superior and females were inferior, but in reality, females were the majority.

Due to their clever minds, powerful mental strength, pheromones that could attract females, and bodies that were easily killed, the small number of males were not only not kept as pets but instead held extremely high social status. Among the males, there were also many like Wen Ze who had the ability to make females follow them.

However, powerful males were only a small portion. Nearly 90 percent of the Zerg males were the weak, pretty boy types. Only the very top tier of males were the Zerg’s strongest secret weapons.

In his setting, the Main Star had a place called the Black Market. There, he could get all the information he wanted. The entrance to the Black Market was on a quiet street. At the end of the street was a lonely little shop. Wen Qi walked over. An old-looking female bug wearing a straw raincoat was dozing off in the shop. Wen Qi stopped three steps away from the female and said, “I want to enter the Black Market.”

The female did not even lift his head, saying slowly in an aged tone, “One hundred star coins.”

Wen Qi naturally handed over the one hundred star coins he had just exchanged for paper currency on the way. The female took the coins, still not looking up, and casually pointed to a small wooden door nearby. Wen Qi walked over, took a black cloak that could block mental power scans, put it on, grabbed a mask, and pushed the door open.

The noise flooded in. It was as if the two sides of the door were different worlds. The world behind the door was different from the outside. Not many bugs were visible at first. Wen Qi wandered the streets, his gaze sweeping over the empty shops along the road, moving forward. After walking for about ten minutes, the bugs gradually became more numerous.

Four large buildings appeared before him: The Arena, The Auction House, The Game World, and The Free Trade Zone.

Wen Qi did not stop and walked into the Free Trade Zone. The Free Trade Zone was a melting pot, with all kinds of bugs inside. Most of them, like Wen Qi, covered their faces so they could not be recognized.

“These things cost a million star coins?”

A low voice rang out, coming from a relatively secluded stall in the busiest area. Wen Qi instinctively looked over. He saw a bug with a straight posture standing in front of the stall. He had blue hair and looked very steady, but his voice did not match his appearance. Instead, it had a peculiar vitality.

An active personality, perhaps a military female.

Reaching this conclusion, Wen Qi glanced at the stall dismissively and was about to look away when his gaze suddenly froze. After seeing clearly what was on the stall, the expression on his face became quite strange.

“Is this the protagonist’s luck?” Encountering such good fortune for the first time, Wen Qi couldn’t help but mutter.

On that stall sat a green stone. The green stone was not conspicuous, like a dusty pearl. Its exterior was gray and not very attractive, but it had a power that made it impossible for Wen Qi to look away. As the author, Wen Qi knew most of the protagonist’s opportunities in this world, because he was the one who created and gave them to the protagonist. Whether it was mecha-making materials extinct for a thousand years or treasures found everywhere, they all existed for the protagonist under his pen.

This world was the growth environment he had shaped for the protagonist. And what lay on the stall in the Free Trade Zone was a stone that the protagonist would later use to repair a mecha: Cuiming Stone.

He had not expected to have such luck. Wen Qi instinctively quickened his pace. The blue-haired female was still haggling. He did not look like a rich fellow. Seeing that the price would not come down, he scanned the stall, pointed at several items, and said incredulously, “I am telling you, these few things for a million star coins? You are being too much of a scammer.”

The stall owner saw the female’s gesture, frowned, and said in an annoyed voice, “I have many good things here. For example, this black stone is a top-tier material for making mechas. This one alone is worth about 800,000 star coins. Adding the others, charging you a million is already a loss.”

“I do not have that much on me.”

Hearing this, the blue-haired female quickly changed targets, pointing his finger at the Cuiming Stone. “Then I want…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Wen Qi stepped forward quickly, interrupting him, “Boss, I want this green stone.”

Wen Qi’s voice was low. Since he deliberately controlled it, it gave the impression of someone in their thirties. Hearing Wen Qi speak, both the speaking female and the stall owner were stunned for a moment. Taking advantage of this moment, Wen Qi picked up the Cuiming Stone.

He weighed the Cuiming Stone a couple of times. He glanced at the female’s expression. Although he could not see anything through the mask, seeing the female’s defensive gaze told him that the other party also knew what this was. However, it would not be too hard to handle. Wen Qi’s voice was filled with delight. “This stone is not bad. It happens to be something I can take back to make a pendant for my female lord. Boss, name your price.”

As the words fell, the two bugs who had just snapped out of it were stunned again.

“A male.”

The voice of the female who had been haggling with the stall owner became hesitant. Wen Qi glanced at him but ignored him, asking directly, “How many star coins?”

Seeing that Wen Qi was a male, the stall owner immediately became friendly and very enthusiastic. “Ten thousand.”

Wen Qi knew that ten thousand star coins was actually a very low price for this stone. If it were auctioned, it probably would not go for less than two million. But as something the protagonist would obtain, it was naturally picked up as a bargain. Back then, the protagonist had gotten it for fifty thousand. But since this was not that time, the price was reasonable. Wen Qi did not hesitate. “Deal.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Wen Qi held his hand with the terminal out to the stall owner, and the owner moved to transfer the money without another word. Seeing Wen Qi’s move, the blue-haired female became anxious. He blocked the stall owner while saying to Wen Qi, “I can do it too. I will take it for ten thousand. No, eleven thousand! I will take it for eleven thousand.”

Hearing this, the stall owner’s movements indeed faltered. Wen Qi also knew he had indeed intercepted the item the other party was interested in, but since the other party had not reached an agreement with the owner, it was not exactly stealing. At most, it was a bit unethical. He did not have much of a psychological burden about it.

His verbal transaction with the owner had been completed, and he did not plan to spend much time on this matter. He released a tiny bit of mental power to show his displeasure.

“Boss, we already agreed, did we not?”

The status of a male carried immense privilege in the Zerg race. Almost the instant the mental power appeared, the stall owner nimbly transferred ten thousand star coins from Wen Qi’s terminal.

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