Chapter 111: Interview: StarNet Viewers Were Blown Away by the Bombshell An-shen Accidentally Dropped

As the movie premiered, Zergs on StarNet could also watch a preview version simultaneously.

They simply couldn't experience the immersive mode.

Lord Xi'an in the trailer was unbelievably handsome.

He perfectly embodied everyone's image of a military Male Zerg.

In fact, he was even more handsome and more powerful than anyone had imagined.

Enough to make Zergs' legs go weak.

And yet this same beautiful and powerful Lord Xi'an could also stand in the kitchen wearing pajamas, grilling meat for Claire.

The contrast was irresistible.

That incredibly domestic scene felt as though it had brought a Male Zerg right into everyone's home.

It made hearts race.

Claire reached an entirely new level of handsomeness as well.

When reading the novel, many readers had complained that Claire's rank wasn't high enough.

Just a Colonel.

Within the novel, it hardly seemed impressive at all—

Worth mentioning was that Claire had already been promoted to Major General.

His promotion ceremony had been held on the second day of the Legion Gala.

But once they actually watched the movie...

His military rank no longer mattered.

The moment Claire's face appeared on screen...

The entire barrage of comments fell silent.

The Zerg were simply that practical.

The higher the rank...

The more outstanding the appearance.

The greater the advantage when seeking a mate.

Even among Female Zergs, that principle held true.

When beauty was directly tied to rank...

Every doubt instantly became meaningless.

Even though, in order to emphasize Claire's dangerously unstable psychic condition during the early part of the story, his appearance had deliberately been made haggard and exhausted...

The instant those slightly disheveled strands of hair were brushed aside...

Revealing the face of a Super A-rank...

The barrage instantly went silent.

It was the face of a commander every Female Zerg respected and admired.

Watching him suffer under the torment of his collapsing Psychic Domain only inspired sympathy...

And reminded them of their own fate...

And the shared fate of every military female.

The Male Zergs, meanwhile, had much simpler thoughts.

So handsome.

Beautiful, powerful, tragic.

I want to save him.

Seeing an ordinarily powerful, unshakable military female accidentally reveal such vulnerability...

Touched a certain hidden softness in many Male Zergs.

Naturally...

It also awakened the desire to protect him.

With that trailer paving the way...

By the time Xi'an and Claire finally ended up together...

Both Male Zergs and Female Zergs genuinely felt happy for them.

Although mixed into that happiness were traces of envy...

Jealousy...

And complicated feelings of imbalance.

Regardless...

They had become a couple no one would ever forget.

...

After the movie ended...

There was a brief interview session.

This was what An Ruo feared most.

He tried every possible way to hide at the very back.

Desperately searching for an opportunity to quietly slip away.

Unfortunately...

He was simply too conspicuous.

Sneaking out unnoticed among so many high-ranking Female and Male Zergs was practically impossible.

The only realistic chance would be if the Marshal used a spatial passage to take him away without going through the exit.

But after the embarrassment of watching the movie together...

An Ruo simply couldn't bring himself to ask.

By Zerg movie standards, this film was actually extremely restrained.

After all, the original novel had been restrained as well.

The two lead actors were both active-duty military officers.

Neither intended to make an enormous personal sacrifice in front of the camera.

Still...

Aside from the final step...

Everything else was included.

Unfortunately...

The Zerg definition of "restrained" was completely different from An Ruo's.

The impact of holographic imagery was simply overwhelming.

He was the sort of person who looked away whenever two people kissed on television.

Yet he had just spent so long watching that kind of movie together with Ulysses...

Some people appeared to still be alive...

But in reality, their souls had already left quite some time ago.

An Ruo wasn't the only one feeling troubled.

The reporter responsible for the interviews had the same problem.

Logically...

The Marshal should have been interviewed first.

But the Marshal clearly had no intention of saying anything.

Besides...

Interviewing the Marshal about a movie somehow felt inappropriate.

Next came General Enzo...

General Enzo merely showed his face, gave the camera a slight nod...

Then devoted all his attention to incubating the egg.

After that came the two leads—

Major General Claire and Captain Xi'an.

They shared many amusing stories from filming.

They also talked about the completely new experience of watching the finished movie.

Finally...

Both of them especially thanked An-shen for writing such a magnificent work.

An Ruo, who had suddenly been mentioned: "..."

Thank you.

If he had been watching this through a television...

He probably would have been deeply moved as well.

But now...

Thousands of gazes were focused on him like spotlights.

All he could do...

Was smile.

Nod.

Applaud.

Once again...

He was grateful he was wearing a mask.

Just those few seconds on camera sent StarNet viewers into another frenzy.

Screenshots were taken nonstop.

[Not even the mask can hide that breathtaking beauty!]

[Just standing there is enough to tell he's an incomparably beautiful Male Zerg!]

[An-shen's smile is so beautiful. So elegant and composed. There's even a faint sense of distance, like someone standing apart from the world. I could admire that temperament forever!]

[Your Zerg reading comprehension skills really are something.]

The camera then shifted toward Major General Iso and Lord Hill.

This was the first time netizens had truly seen Lord Hill.

The old photos that had surfaced previously didn't count.

Hill's beauty...

Combined with his unique artistic aura...

Made everyone desperately want to see him and Major General Iso star in another movie together.

Finally...

It was An-shen's turn.

An Ruo stared fixedly at the reporter.

His attention was completely focused.

His mind, however...

Was almost blank.

Facing such an extraordinarily captivating Male Zerg, the reporter had countless questions he wanted to ask.

But remembering the instructions from above...

He could only ask,

"May I ask whether you're satisfied with this movie?"

"I'm very satisfied."

Looking toward Xi'an and Claire not far away, An Ruo said,

"It's an outstanding film.

"It's even better than the very best I had imagined."

The reporter secretly glanced toward the expressionless Marshal before courageously continuing.

"StarNet viewers are all very curious about how you created such a... science-fiction story.

"Is there anything you'd like to share with us?"

An Ruo's gaze swept over Xi'an and Claire...

Hill and Iso...

Enzo...

Axel's egg...

Then he answered,

"The story found me."

Where had Isidore gone?

An Ruo felt slightly puzzled.

"Oh?

"Do you mean it was a commissioned work?"

the reporter asked in surprise.

"I only accept commissions from inspiration."

An Ruo smiled faintly.

It sounded rather profound.

The reporter couldn't quite understand what he meant.

Feeling someone's gaze pressing against his back, the reporter hurried to ask his final question.

"One last question.

"It's also what StarNet viewers are most eager to know..."

He paused briefly.

Under that terrifying gaze behind him...

He immediately changed what he had originally intended to ask.

"What are you planning to write next?

"Could you give us a tiny spoiler?"

"I haven't decided yet.

"I still have quite a few ideas to organize."

After thinking for a moment, An Ruo said,

"It might be a story about military females and star pirates.

"Or perhaps about a divorced Male Zerg and Female Zerg couple.

"Or...

"Maybe Heavenly Garuda females!"

"...Huh?!"

The moment the words "Heavenly Garuda females" came out...

The entire venue was stunned.

Even the barrage on StarNet froze for a full second.

An Ruo smiled.

"I haven't decided yet.

"Before I actually start writing...

"Anything is possible."

"R-right..."

The reporter wiped away cold sweat.

He hadn't died from the pressure of that person's gaze...

He had nearly been scared to death by this answer instead.

"Thank you very much for answering our questions, An-shen.

"No matter what you write...

"We're all looking forward to your next work!

"Thank you so much!"

The interview finally ended.

Returning to his seat...

An Ruo secretly let out a sigh of relief.

That had terrified him.

Fortunately...

It was finally over.

His brain still felt overheated.

He honestly had no idea what he had just said.

Sometimes...

When he became too nervous...

He simply lost all rational thought.

With adrenaline pumping through his body...

He ended up saying whatever came into his head.

Meanwhile...

StarNet viewers exploded into heated discussion over the bombshell An-shen had just dropped.

[What was that reporter doing?!

Why didn't he ask the most important question?!

He should've asked about An-shen's relationship with the Marshal first!]

[And whether An-shen has decided who he'll choose as his Female Lord!

Or how many Female Attendants he'll marry!]

[Forget those for now.

Let's talk about the Heavenly Garuda females first.

That was just An-shen joking with us... right?]

[Definitely.

An-shen was just trying to lighten the mood.]

[Hahaha, An-shen's so funny.]

[What's this military female and star pirate story?]

[A story about brave military females wiping out star pirates!]

[What about the Male Zerg?

That's the important part!]

[Then...

After eliminating the star pirates, he goes back home to get married?]

[That sounds like he's about to die.]

[And what's this divorced couple story?

Surely it can't mean what I'm thinking...]

[Huh?

What?]

[The most famous divorced couple...

Isn't it... that person...

...and that person?]