Chapter 116: Male Zerg Star Pirate × Female Zerg Undercover Agent (1): Going Undercover in a Star Pirate Crew and Accidentally Becoming the Vice Captain

Was this what Hill had seen?

Male Zergs with exceptional inspiration could capture unexpected creative ideas from the fabric of space-time.

Only at this moment did An Ruo truly understand that sentence.

So that was why Hill had told him,

"Thank you for bringing Isi to our side."

In the possibility Hill had witnessed...

Was Isi there as well?

A young and outstanding female Zerg Major.

A painter who chased the stars.

They met during a rescue operation.

They had long known each other's names.

One had been the campus heartthrob of the neighboring academy during their student years.

The other had been the unforgettable name on the Guide Candidate List, renowned throughout every military academy tournament...

Yet only now did they truly meet.

This was their first encounter.

From this moment onward, their fates became intertwined.

Through the psychic power lingering within the painting, An Ruo saw many things.

The information had crossed time and space, resonating with his own inspiration.

He had already decided what his next novel would be.

An Ruo hung Hill's painting on the wall.

He placed it beside the family photograph of the three of them.

It looked as though two different timelines had met each other.

...

The Legion Grand Ceremony had already ended, but its aftereffects continued sweeping across StarNet.

The Male Zerg Rankings had been completely reshuffled.

Lord Annor and An-shen simultaneously occupied the top two positions, constantly alternating between first and second place.

After Lord Annor officially revealed his appearance following his advancement, his breathtaking beauty, together with his group psychic soothing, instantly took the entire Zerg race by storm and gained him an enormous number of admirers.

Although An-shen had not truly revealed his face, he had also appeared before the public for the first time, confirming that he was indeed a male Zerg.

His noble, distant temperament possessed a beauty all its own. The true face hidden beneath the half-mask left countless Zergs with endless room for imagination, and together with the immense popularity accumulated from his three novels...

Once his readers mobilized, they directly voted him into first place.

Originally, those who had voted An-shen onto the rankings had only done so for fun.

At that time, no one even knew An-shen's gender. For all they knew, he might have been a rough-looking military female Zerg.

Yet they still voted him onto the Male Zerg Rankings.

Most participants had simply joined the excitement without taking it seriously, and there weren't many of them.

Now that his identity as a male Zerg had been confirmed, his readers throughout the entire Zerg race—and even among the Garuda—finally unleashed their full strength.

Third place belonged to Lord Xi'an, whose film was currently a huge hit.

Fourth place went to the remarkably low-profile Lord Hill.

Fifth place was Philor, who had somehow sleepily stumbled onto the rankings.

—The Male Lord of the Zerg race's model family. I want to marry him!

Photos of the entire family strolling together on the night of the Legion Grand Ceremony had been captured.

The atmosphere was incredibly warm.

Rumor also had it that Lord Philor had mastered group psychic soothing as well!

Compared to this, there were far fewer changes on the Female Zerg Rankings.

Those rankings were almost entirely determined by strength and influence.

The Marshal stood firmly at number one without the slightest dispute.

General Cyril followed immediately behind.

After that came the Generals of the major military regions...

Mixed in among them were Speaker Cassian, Major General Uriel, and several rising stars such as Major General Iso and Major General Claire.

Recently, the most discussed topics on StarNet had been the various Lords' marriages and romances, the Marshal's love life, and when exactly An-shen would begin a new novel.

After learning that the Marshal had a special relationship with An-shen, some particularly bold Zergs went directly to the Marshal's official account and left comments.

[@Marshal, could you help urge An-shen to start a new novel? (Shy)]

[I know the Marshal and An-shen are busy sleeping together, but couldn't he post a new novel whenever you're not sleeping? Like when you're inspecting another military region.]

[I want to read all three stories. I'm not picky. An-shen can start whichever one he likes. I'd even read one about Garuda females.]

[Huh? You're sacrificing that much?]

[Your tolerance is incredible. You'll eat anything.]

[I want Garuda females! Garuda! Wave the banners for An-shen!]

[These fake Zergs never disappear. (Eye roll)]

[The alien species have even invaded the Marshal's account. @Moderator]

[I'll read anything An-shen writes. Even if it's Garuda, I'll sample every flavor—salty, sour, spicy, fried, stir-fried, cold, steamed, even sashimi...]

[Now that's someone who can really eat.]

[Garuda: ???]

[Of course, normal food would still be better. Not everyone wants to chew on Garuda.]

[Even a divorce story would be fine, as long as I could end up with an adorable hatchling like Isidore.]

[A military story about female Zergs wiping out star pirates would work too!]

[No thanks. Military stories are so boring. Blood everywhere, limbs flying... (Male Zerg disgusted face)]

[It's not that much. (Military female Zerg looking guilty)]

[...That's enough, all of you!]

[The Zerg race already has plenty of military novels. I believe An-shen could write something different, but I don't believe military female Zergs.]

Just from reading romance novels written by female Zergs, male Zergs already knew how those female Zergs imagined themselves on the battlefield.

Not a single bit of it seemed believable.

When faced with novels like that, male Zergs would flee overnight carrying their aircraft.

No matter how much certain male Zergs enjoyed abusive fantasies, they were completely outmatched by military female Zergs who had actually been to war.

The level of bloody violence wasn't even in the same league.

Male Zergs simply wanted something enjoyable.

They had no desire to witness dismemberment scenes.

[It's here!]

[An-shen has released a new novel!!!]

[Charge!!!]

[Let me see what it's about.]

...

【I infiltrated a star pirate crew and accidentally became the vice captain. To win me over, the captain sent an A-rank male Zerg to my room.

When is the military going to make its move?

I've already spent the entire night making excuses to stall. If I don't go back soon, they'll become suspicious!】

[I'm here! Congratulations to An-shen on the new novel~ (Watered x10 Nutrient Solution)]

[Great! It's not about Garuda females!]

[It's a story about military female Zergs eliminating star pirates. That's my favorite. Delicious military merits. (Rubbing hands) (Drooling)]

[It even comes with a male Zerg?! An A-rank male Zerg?! Holy—!]

[Where did these star pirates get the courage?! They actually kidnapped an A-rank Lord!]

[Destroy them!]

[Sentence them! Give every one of them the heaviest punishment!]

[The male Lord is waiting in your room, and you're still not going back? What are you stalling for?]

[If he goes back, he'll have to sleep with the male Lord. This is obviously the star pirates' test. If he doesn't sleep with him, they'll become suspicious. If he does... he's finished.]

[You're using this to test a military female Zerg?! Despicable star pirates!]

[Please test me with this instead. (Drooling) I'm willing to accept the challenge.]

[Stay strong, Undercover Bro! Hold the line!]

[Protecting the male Lord comes first.]

Originally, male Zergs had no interest in reading military novels about female Zergs hunting star pirates, fearing they would be too bloody.

Now that a male Zerg had appeared, they decided to give it another chance.

Unlike previous releases that had required lengthy review, the first chapter was approved almost immediately.

[? Ever since everyone learned about An-shen and the Marshal, your review speed has improved by more than just a little.]

[Exactly. Before this, you treated our An-shen like a prisoner under interrogation. (Eye roll)]

The reviewers working behind the scenes would like to say the following six points: ...

...

【This was Avis's third year undercover in the Shadow Wolf Star Pirate Crew.

Thanks to his outstanding combat ability and exceptional piloting skills, his reputation within the pirate crew had steadily grown, and his position had risen year after year.

He had now become the Vice Captain.

The time had finally come to close the net.

Yet for some unknown reason, the message he had sent back to Military Headquarters several days earlier still hadn't received any response...

The pirate crew docked at an interstellar transfer station.

This should have been the perfect opportunity to strike.

What concerned Avis even more was that earlier that day, the pirate captain had mysteriously told him that a surprise had been prepared in his room and that he should return early that night.

Avis felt uneasy.

Had his undercover identity been exposed?

If that were true, what awaited him should have been gunfire and artillery—not some unknown "surprise."

All fear comes from the unknown.

After making up his mind, Avis returned to investigate.

He walked all the way back toward his quarters.

Every pirate who saw him greeted him.

"Vice Captain Avis, eaten yet?"

A color-changing tentacle monster passed by him, greeting him in a rainbow of colors.

"Vice Captain."

That was a Zerg who cared deeply about rank.

"Vice Captain."

That was a Garuda.

"Elvi."

That was a tree spirit who wasn't very good at speaking the common language.

"Awooo~"

That was a little wolf cub.

...

The pirates came from every imaginable race.

Intelligent species from across the universe had gathered here, coexisting in this strangely harmonious place.

Twenty years ago, the Shadow Wolf Star Pirate Crew had merely been a medium-sized pirate group founded by wolf beastfolk.

In just twenty years, its extraordinary inclusiveness had attracted countless outside races, transforming it into one of the three greatest star pirate crews in the universe.

Its influence had grown so immense that nations across the galaxy had issued bounties for the crew's core members.

Even the Zerg military had set its sights on them.

Avis stopped outside his quarters.

As a high-ranking Zerg, his heightened senses allowed him to detect a living presence behind the hatch.

An ambush?

After a brief hesitation, his absolute confidence in his own strength led him to open the door and step inside.

The instant he saw what was waiting in his room, his expression changed dramatically.

The composure and confidence he had always prided himself on vanished without a trace.

It was a male Zerg!

A beautiful silver-haired male Zerg sat upon his bed.

He wore nothing more than soft, thin white clothing.

As he looked up, his slender neck was revealed.

His amber eyes were filled with frightened uncertainty, like a white swan that had fallen into misfortune.

Avis, who hadn't seen a male Zerg in three years, felt his pupils contract sharply.

But there was absolutely no way he could mistake him.

This was a young male Zerg.

A high-ranking male Zerg.

The protective instinct engraved into every female Zerg's bones made him instinctively step forward, wanting to spread his wings around the male Zerg and comfort the frightened Lord.

Reason stopped him.

He abruptly turned around and left.

When he stepped out of the room, an urgency and panic unlike anything he had ever shown before appeared on his face.

How could there be a male Zerg here?

How had a high-ranking male Zerg fallen into the hands of a star pirate crew?

His pace quickened, his expression dark.

He was determined to demand an explanation from the captain.

In his haste, Avis completely forgot he could simply contact him through his terminal.

Instead, he hurried directly to the captain's quarters and barged inside without a second thought.

The pirate captain was an enormously tall wolf beastman with silver-gray fur covering his entire body.

At that moment, he was bare-chested, grooming his fur.

Seeing Avis burst in, he turned around in confusion.

"Why is there a male Zerg aboard this ship?! What have you done?!"

Avis demanded.

Only after speaking did he realize how emotional he sounded.

Meeting the captain's puzzled gaze, he gritted his teeth and added,

"The Zerg Federation treasures male Zergs above everything else. You actually dared to kidnap one—and a high-ranking male Zerg at that! Are you tired of living? Hurry and send that Lord... that male Zerg back! Otherwise, you won't even know how you die!"

"Oh... you're talking about that."

The captain waved his hand dismissively.

"Relax. The Zerg Federation will never find out. They don't have our ship's coordinates. In an interstellar sea this vast and the depths of space this endless, do you really think they can pinpoint our exact location?"

Avis wanted to say something.

In the end, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

The captain earnestly advised him,

"I know your Zerg race goes into heat just like us beastfolk. Once you reach the right age or time, you've got to mate. That's why I specially arranged this for you."

Avis opened his mouth to reply.

He didn't need this kind of arrangement.

Sensing his refusal, the captain's face became serious.

"I value you, so I'm giving you first choice. There are still plenty of Zergs on this ship... and Garuda too. Think carefully. If you don't want this male Zerg, then I'll send him to—"

"I'll take him!"

Avis said through gritted teeth.

He couldn't allow that Lord to be handed over to other star pirates.

Not to Zergs.

And certainly not to Garuda.

"That's more like it."

The captain immediately slapped him on the shoulder like an old brother.

"Now hurry back and get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, I expect to hear the good news that the two of you have mated."

Avis nearly ground his teeth to dust.

This wasn't merely an attempt to win him over.

It was also a test.

If he failed to follow the captain's instructions and sleep with the male Zerg, the captain would undoubtedly become suspicious of him.

What was he supposed to do?

...】