Chapter 104: The Whole StarNet Shook: Moonlight Flowed as Ulysses Lowered His Head and Placed a Kiss

So soft.

Even through the crisp military dress uniform, the softness was unmistakable.

For a moment, An Ruo almost thought he had already sunk into his pillow and wanted nothing more than to sleep there.

Then the sensation of his feet touching solid ground pulled his consciousness back.

He lifted his head from Ulysses' warm, broad chest and turned around to see his prison room.

The tension that had gripped his nerves all day finally melted away.

A hot shower.

A comfortable set of pajamas.

Then burying himself beneath a soft blanket.

Just imagining it was enough to make someone sigh in bliss.

Just like being in Ulysses' arms.

An Ruo froze.

He immediately deleted that comparison from his mind.

Turning back toward Ulysses, his gaze drifted downward past the other's broad chest before landing on the arm still wrapped around his waist.

The instant their eyes reached it, Ulysses withdrew his hand.

He folded both hands behind his back, stepped back half a pace as though nothing had happened, and asked softly,

"Would you like me to have dinner prepared for you?"

It had actually already been prepared in advance.

He simply wasn't sure whether the male wished to eat.

He looked so sleepy that he seemed unwilling to even think.

Psychically soothing so many female Zergs in a single day had ultimately been too great a burden.

He should have stopped it sooner.

An Ruo's exhausted brain worked for a moment before he answered a beat later,

"No. I'll eat tomorrow morning."

He wasn't hungry.

A Zerg body could go a long time without food.

Although he was used to eating three meals a day, it wasn't actually necessary.

Right now, all he wanted was to lie down.

"Thank you for bringing me back. If there's nothing else, I'm going to wash up and rest."

It was a polite way of asking his guest to leave.

Ulysses answered simply,

"Very well."

Yet he remained standing exactly where he was, showing no intention of departing.

An Ruo blinked in confusion before awkwardly adding,

"Make yourself... comfortable?"

"Mm."

Ulysses acknowledged him.

He still didn't move.

An Ruo looked at him.

Then toward the bathroom.

Then back again.

He slowly turned in place, completely at a loss.

He simply couldn't bring himself to tell someone outright to leave.

In the end, he decided to shower first.

When he pushed open the bathroom door, he glanced back one last time, hoping the Marshal had already left.

Instead...

The Marshal was still there.

Meeting An Ruo's gaze, he gave a slight nod before walking over to the desk, taking a seat, and no longer looking toward him.

An Ruo had no idea what was going on.

He assumed the Marshal probably had work to deal with and merely needed to borrow the room temporarily, so he left him alone.

An Ruo entered the bathroom and closed the door.

If it had been anyone else sitting in his room, he would've been so uncomfortable that he couldn't have done anything.

But Ulysses...

To his own surprise, An Ruo realized he wasn't particularly bothered.

Probably because Ulysses was such an important character in the novel he had written.

In his heart, he wasn't much different from the "protagonist."

Especially now that Ulysses no longer intended to kill him and had promised never to hurt him.

Having his own "protagonist" inside his room really wasn't something to worry about.

As long as, by the time he came back out, Ulysses hadn't torn apart the room...

Or carried away his bed again.

Ulysses sat at the desk, raising his eyes toward the holographic posters covering the wall while the steady sound of running water echoed from the bathroom.

The bathroom's soundproofing wasn't poor.

But to the senses of an SSS-rank female Zerg, it might as well have been happening beside his ear.

Just as expected.

There wasn't a single image of himself on the wall.

Instead, there was another hologram of Enzo holding a Male Zerg egg.

On the desk rested a pristine white Male Zerg egg toy, completely different from the elaborately patterned female Zerg eggs.

Faced with everything he had already expected to see, Ulysses' emotions hardly stirred.

Perhaps the sound of the flowing water was simply too clear.

It soothed the restlessness in his heart with perfect precision.

It had been quite a while...

Ulysses turned his head toward the bathroom.

The male's condition truly wasn't very good.

That was why he had remained behind to watch over him.

He genuinely worried that the other might fall asleep while bathing.

If that happened...

He would have no choice but to enter the bathroom and carry him out.

Fortunately...

The situation he feared never occurred.

Somewhat regrettably.

The male emerged from the bathroom wearing pure white pajamas.

Tiny droplets of moisture still clung to the ends of his hair as he rubbed them dry with a towel.

When he looked up and saw Ulysses, surprise flashed across his face.

"You're still here?"

"Yes. I had some work to take care of. My apologies for disturbing you."

Ulysses calmly put away his holographic screen, stood up, and apologized as though that had truly been the reason.

"Oh, it's nothing. If you need somewhere to work, you can use my study. It's right next door."

An Ruo pointed toward the room on the left.

The rooms beside his prison cell had been connected together.

The room on the left had become his study.

Ulysses had originally been preparing to leave.

Hearing that invitation genuinely surprised him.

A moment later, warmth filled his gaze.

"Thank you very much. Then I'll trouble you for one more night."

An Ruo was so sleepy that he didn't even wonder why someone with spatial abilities would insist on working here instead of simply going elsewhere.

He casually gave a few simple instructions before heading toward his bed.

The moment his head touched the pillow, his eyelids refused to stay open.

He struggled for only a few seconds before finally surrendering to sleep.

Ulysses walked over and crouched beside the bed.

Carefully, he dried the ends of the exhausted god's hair.

The Psychic Soothing involving thousands of Zergs...

Had changed the destinies of countless lives.

The god lowered His eyes.

The merciful god watched over this race.

Ulysses thought...

Even if one day he died walking his chosen path...

Neither the Zerg race nor the Federation would become worse because of it.

Moonlight flowed through his fingers.

Watching this radiance that had never once belonged to him...

Ulysses lowered his head...

And placed a kiss upon it.

...

The livestream and the mass Psychic Soothing plunged StarNet into complete upheaval.

Ulysses was unable to remain for long.

That very night, he returned to take command of the situation.

#LordAnnor#

#OneIsoOnePsychicSoothing#

#MassPsychicSoothing#

#LegionFestival#

#CapitalStar#

#DirectorDestinedToBeSingle#

One trending topic after another flooded StarNet.

Ever since the director had seemingly decided to spend the rest of his life filming mechas instead of giving His Lordship any more screen time, the livestream audience had split into two groups.

One stayed behind in the livestream cursing the director nonstop.

The other flooded StarNet, venting their outrage everywhere.

Countless high-definition screenshots and videos spread across the network.

Combined with descriptions that sounded even more unbelievable than science fiction, they quickly informed everyone who hadn't watched Capital Star's livestream.

The entire internet exploded.

《High-Definition Photos of Lord Annor's Peerless Beauty—So This Is What Military Females Get to Enjoy?》

《The Most Valuable Iso Ever! One Iso Per Psychic Soothing! Can You Believe It?!》

《His Lordship Is Powerful and Generous》

《How Many Zergs Did His Lordship Soothe Altogether? Hundreds? Thousands? Can Any Zerg Really Do This?》

[I used to laugh at those military females for being blind, thinking they were exaggerating that Male Zerg's looks. Turns out the blind one was me.]

[The transformation from B-rank to A-rank is actually this dramatic.]

[Do any of you seriously believe His Lordship is only A-rank? I certainly don't.]

[At least Super A!]

[Why not be even bolder? Starting at S-rank!]

[I've never heard of anyone soothing this many female Zergs at once. No matter what rank a Male Zerg is, Psychic Soothing is always one-on-one. This isn't even a question of rank anymore.]

[Military females are famous for having the hardest Psychic Domains to open. Usually it requires physical contact, and you practically have to pleasure them into opening up before you can enter. Yet in front of His Lordship, they were completely defenseless.]

[Looking at His Lordship's face, I'd have a hard time staying on guard too.]

[As someone who actually received His Lordship's Psychic Soothing, let me explain. His Lordship's psychic power is simply too overwhelming. The psychic barriers of high-ranking female Zergs are like thin mist before him. He passes straight through them as if they weren't even there. Any vigilance or caution simply ceases to exist in front of His Lordship.]

[There's actually someone lucky enough to have received Psychic Soothing? Quick interview! Was it a perfect score? What did it feel like?]

[Perfect score. Every single one was perfect. There wasn't a single exception. As for how it felt... all I can say is I've never experienced anything so comfortable. It wasn't just mental pleasure. It felt like returning to the very beginning of all existence, where every burden disappeared, as though... the world itself loved you.]

[Damn it! I can't even imagine how incredible that must feel! I'm so anxious I'm pacing in circles.]

[Now I'm pacing in circles too.]

[The most unbelievable part is that His Lordship only charged one Star Coin... More accurately, one Iso—a token!]

[His Lordship could have obtained absolutely everything with this ability, yet in the end he only wanted a single token. I genuinely can't understand it.]

[If His Lordship is being coerced, blink twice.]

[Judging from the military's reaction, this entire Psychic Soothing event completely caught them by surprise as well. They had to mobilize troops on short notice to maintain order, the storefront was cleared out at the last minute, and things escalated so much that even the Marshal had to appear. If the Marshal hadn't arrived, it probably would've turned into a full-scale riot... One thing is certain—this definitely wasn't arranged by the military.]

[His Lordship is powerful, wealthy, and so generous that it makes every Zerg feel guilty...]

[We've all become Iso. The sky has fallen.]

[His Lordship single-handedly turned every Zerg into "Iso."]

Even if they were willing to offer all of their possessions...

His Lordship refused to accept them.

So everyone could only become "Iso."

A day when the Zerg race's "Iso" content exceeded safe limits.

The female Zergs discussed the Male Zerg's beauty, overwhelming psychic power, and even Iso Coins.

The Male Zergs, however, focused on something entirely different.

[I watched the whole video on my knees. Only another Male Zerg can truly understand just how incredible someone capable of this really is...]

[Can any Zerg actually do something like this? Just handling the dozen or so military females in my house leaves me exhausted. That's with them taking turns in bed, and each one still needs two or three rounds of Psychic Soothing before they're completely finished.]

[...? You're pretty incredible yourself.]

[It was Mass Psychic Soothing. There's already a thread about it pinned on the front page. Go read it.]

The moment the words "Mass Psychic Soothing" appeared...

Every Zerg's attention was instantly drawn toward them.

Anyone even slightly familiar with history recognized the term.

It had once represented both the glory of an entire era...

And its end.

Yet seeing it appear in the modern age still created the strange feeling that two different eras had suddenly collided.

...

《The Long-Lost "Mass Psychic Soothing" Has Reappeared》

I'm sure everyone has already watched the Legion Festival livestream, so I'll skip the introduction.

That's right.

This was "Mass Psychic Soothing."

Mass Psychic Soothing, or more accurately, "Mass Control," originated during the earliest days of the Zerg race's interstellar civilization.

Back then, it was still the era of the Zerg Queen.

As their homeworld's resources became exhausted, the ancient Zerg race seized an opportunity to leave their original planet and begin wandering through space.

They constantly conquered and plundered.

They strengthened themselves.

Their population continued expanding.

As the swarm grew larger and larger, the outer colonies drifted farther and farther away from the central brood nest.

The Zerg Queen's consciousness could no longer be transmitted clearly to those distant populations.

Nor did she possess enough mental capacity to directly manage every single Zerg herself.

To improve efficiency, the Queen required intermediaries capable of receiving and transmitting her will.

That was when Male Zergs stepped onto the stage of history.

For a time, they fought alongside the military Zergs on the battlefield.

Male Zergs received the Queen's commands.

They analyzed them in detail, formulated battle plans, and then transmitted those orders to the military Zergs under their command.

Male Zergs served as leaders.

They also bore responsibility for providing Psychic Soothing to every subordinate under them.

Back then...

Every Male Zerg was responsible for the Psychic Soothing of an entire swarm.

Today, that sounds almost unbelievable.

Were all Male Zergs S-rank back then?

Of course not.

Even throughout history, S-rank Male Zergs were extraordinarily rare.

Historical records indicate that most Male Zergs of that era were merely A-rank or B-rank.

Their average rank was certainly much higher than today's Male Zergs.

But not so high that it surpassed common understanding.

Logically speaking...

Modern high-ranking Male Zergs should possess exactly the same abilities.

Yet reality tells a different story.

Today's Male Zergs usually handle only a dozen or so female Zergs at most.

Most Psychic Soothing is conducted strictly one-on-one.

Mass Psychic Soothing has been completely lost.

Part of that is naturally because Male Zerg numbers have increased, and they no longer shoulder such heavy responsibilities.

But over so many years...

Not even a single example of one-to-many Psychic Soothing has appeared.

That inevitably leads one to suspect that the overall capabilities of Male Zergs have declined.

No need to merely suspect it.

They absolutely have.

Male Zergs have lived far too comfortably over these millions of years.

Without pressure...

Without the need to struggle for survival...

Of course they've degenerated.

Just like our wings have withered through disuse.

Annor is a pleasantly surprising exception.

Perhaps the harsh environment of the Military Region Prison truly can stimulate hidden potential.

No one knows what kind of inhuman suffering this poor Male Zerg endured during his time in prison.

Or perhaps...

A 999-year sentence alone is enough to drive anyone into despair.

In any case...

He transformed.

He awakened the ability of Mass Psychic Soothing.

Which is why I've always maintained that increasing the amount of pressure placed upon Male Zergs is absolutely necessary.

Not to this poor fellow's extreme, of course.

Let's start small.

Raise the Male Zerg university entrance examinations until they're roughly as difficult as female Zerg elementary school entrance exams. (Laugh)

...

After reading the post, every Male Zerg responded the same way:

???

[You're a demon!]

[Who wrote something this outrageous? Let me see... F-former... former Chief Executive Lord?!]

The former Male Zerg Chief Executive.

The ruthless visionary who had encouraged Male Zergs to pursue the stars...

And had even created the concept of "Military Male Zergs."

Terrifying!

He wanted Male Zergs fighting on battlefields!

He wanted to throw Male Zergs into prison—no, wait...

He wanted Male Zergs taking elementary entrance exams!

No, that wasn't it either...

He wanted to put pressure on Male Zergs!!!

Resist him!!!