Chapter 130: Male Zerg Star Pirate × Female Zerg Undercover Agent (14): You Can Interrogate Me, Do Anything You Want to Me

[Wait? He's pregnant? Already? How long has it even been?]

[I wonder if His Lordship left enough pheromones behind. Pregnant female Zergs suffer terribly without enough pheromones.]

[It's already been a month. His Lordship really isn't coming back...]

[He actually came back?!]

[They knew each other this early? His Lordship even treated Avis before?]

[A pregnant female Zerg living alone and a male Zerg doctor? Physical examinations? Huh?]

[Keep dreaming!]

[His Lordship is cooking himself?]

[Marriage? Husband material? What???]

[Avis! Tell me! You're still asleep and dreaming, aren't you?! (Furious)]

The female Zerg readers went from one shock to another from beginning to end.

At first, seeing Avis carrying the egg alone in that empty house without a male Zerg, carefully rationing the remaining pheromones, they all felt sorry for him.

Then Doctor Ul made his entrance.

The male Zerg had really come back.

The moment they met, he hugged him and gave him a checkup.

Forget whether the lonely pregnant Avis in the story could endure it—even the readers couldn't.

A female Zerg abandoned by his male Zerg was reunited with the one he'd longed for after a whole month apart.

A pregnant female Zerg living alone and worrying over pheromones received a thorough examination and abundant pheromone nourishment from a male Zerg doctor.

The whole plot felt like a dream.

Avis woke from sleep to find no one beside him, and the readers thought cold reality was about to come crashing down.

Instead, the male Zerg was in the kitchen making breakfast!

Then he said he wanted to marry Avis!

He even called himself husband material!

Were those really things a male Zerg could do or say?

Compared to believing that, they'd rather believe Avis had already gone insane after the male Zerg left and fabricated the entire fantasy for himself.

[Avis! The most important thing right now is seeing a doctor! Not the one standing in front of you—a psychiatrist! And not this one either!]

[The truth is obviously that after waiting endlessly for the male Zerg to return, Avis opened one of the pheromone containers he'd left behind and fell into a dream woven from those pheromones. He thinks his body was nourished and cared for, but it's all fake!]

Every female Zerg reader transformed into a detective, trying to uncover clues proving everything was fake and that Avis had already lost his mind.

Each one acted like a master interpreter of An-shen's writing.

The male Zerg readers: "..."

Have at least a basic understanding of your own reading comprehension, would you?

If female Zergs could really read meanings that deep into the text, that would be the truly unbelievable part.

The female Zergs didn't believe it.

The Heavenly Garuda believed it even less.

[How could a male who already left ever come back?]

[What? Yours don't come back?]

[Can you stop asking such painful questions?]

[Male Zergs are hopelessly bad with directions. Once they leave the house, they can't find their way home anymore. That's why the Female Lord has to accompany them whenever they go out, and they need tracking devices, emergency alarms, and all kinds of equipment.]

The Heavenly Garuda tried to explain.

The Zergs replied:

[Lord Ul left for a month, crossed several star systems, and still came back to find his female Zerg. The record speaks for itself.]

[Stop making excuses for yourselves, Heavenly Garuda. If you can't keep your males around, you just can't keep them around. (Eye roll)]

The moment the Heavenly Garuda showed up, the female Zerg readers completely forgot about whether Avis was hallucinating.

Their Lord Ul had truly come back for Avis!

Lord Ul was real!

The Heavenly Garuda refused to acknowledge it.

Even if Ul had returned, it had nothing to do with the Zergs.

[That's only because he grew up among wolves and was influenced by wolf culture. Wolves are monogamous—they only have one mate. As the Alpha Wolf, he's also responsible for reproduction. Avis just happens to be pregnant, so naturally he came back for him and the hatchling.]

[If he'd grown up like a normal male Zerg, he'd already be out having the time of his life, marrying a whole crowd of female Zergs and taking turns whipping them. (Heavenly Garuda eye roll)]

The female Zergs actually agreed with that.

They also believed Lord Ul cared so deeply about Avis because he'd been influenced by wolf culture, enough to cross the sea of stars for him.

As for male Zergs marrying many female Zergs...

They accepted that without issue as well.

Especially if it was a high-ranking male Zerg.

They practically wished His Lordship would marry as many female Zergs as possible so they'd have a chance too.

And as for the whip...

That wasn't really a problem.

It wasn't a knife, after all.

[I'd gladly let Lord Ul whip me. (Shy)]

[When His Lordship's whip comes down, the first thing you'll smell is his fragrance. (Pink hearts)]

[You Heavenly Garuda wouldn't understand the refined whipping techniques of a male Zerg.]

[...]

The Heavenly Garuda gave up arguing with this group of hopeless masochistic female Zergs.

They were even worse than Avis.

At least Avis had once considered locking the male Zerg up so he'd never be able to leave again.

Though he'd never acted on it...

The male Zerg simply coaxed him a little, examined him, and his resolve melted away again.

Ulysses ignored the entire discussion, his face remaining expressionless as he continued reading.

Only when he reached the male Zerg's words did he let out a cold snort.

"Husband material."

What a fine claim.

...

["Come on, think about it. I can cook, I can build all kinds of machinery, I can make mechs too, I can repair starships, I have a medical license, I can be your live-in family doctor, I'm good at Psychic Soothing, taking care of pregnant female Zergs, raising hatchlings..."

Ul enthusiastically promoted himself to Avis, conveniently dragging their unborn child into the sales pitch.

"And besides, we already have an egg on the way! Sure, other male Zergs' pheromones would work too, but when it comes to pheromones, your biological father is obviously the best choice."

"My Lord, you're talking nonsense."

Avis interrupted him.

"You're a star pirate. You don't have Federal citizenship. We can't get married. What, are you planning to forge an identity just so you can marry me?"

Avis simply couldn't believe the male Zerg would marry him.

The male Zerg had told him too many lies before.

He no longer knew which words were true and which were false.

Perhaps the male Zerg had merely heard he was pregnant, gotten interested, and come to toy with him again under the guise of being a doctor.

Just like before, when he'd disguised himself as a kidnapped male Zerg simply to play with him.

He'd toyed with him from beginning to end.

"I already have Federal citizenship."

Seeing that Avis didn't believe him, Ul opened his terminal and showed him his personal profile.

Name:

Ul.

Male Zerg.

A-rank.

Occupation:

Doctor.

The photo was a recent one. His silver-gray medium-length hair had been carefully styled, fluffy around the crown, his amber eyes bright and noble. His faint smile made him look both handsome and approachable.

Exactly the sort of male Zerg capable of making any female Zerg's heart race.

Avis scanned him with his own terminal and sent a friend request.

It actually went through.

Then he checked the detailed information.

The identification was genuine.

It had even been issued yesterday morning.

Which meant...

The moment Ul received his new identity, he'd come looking for him.

"You... joined the Federation?"

Avis asked in disbelief.

"Of course. That's the only way we can get married. Your Federation only recognizes Federal citizens."

Ul actually possessed several legitimate identities across different interstellar organizations.

None of them, however, would allow him to marry Avis.

The Zerg Federation wouldn't recognize such a marriage.

As an active-duty military female Zerg, Avis could only marry a male Zerg who held Federal citizenship.

If Ul truly wanted to be with him, he had no choice but to abandon all those identities and become part of the Federation.

A high-ranking male Zerg willing to join the Zerg Federation was an enormous benefit to the Federation.

Ul could have used that as leverage to negotiate for countless advantages.

But all he wanted...

Was to marry Avis.

And not through coercion.

He wanted Avis to agree willingly.

"I've got nothing left now. I handed the pirate crew over to those idiot wolves, I don't even have a starship anymore, I don't have any Zerg credits either... I'm completely broke..."

He actually did have money.

That didn't stop him from pretending to be poor.

He knew male Zergs in Zerg society were supported by their female Zergs after marriage.

Female Zergs loved bringing all their possessions into the marriage, marrying a penniless male Zerg, then happily letting him spend their money.

From the moment he officially appeared before Avis again, Ul had been carefully observing and learning how to behave like a proper Zerg male.

Even now, he still wasn't sure whether he'd succeeded.

He probably had.

Successful enough that Avis had once fled with him.

Avis loved the helpless little male Zerg persona he'd created.

Sometimes Ul wanted to tear the mask away and reveal his true nature.

To pin Avis's hands down in return.

To force him into submission like a wolf until even kneeling became impossible.

To bite the back of his neck while thrusting into him without mercy, driving him until even his voice shattered.

But that would frighten Avis terribly.

Avis liked that pitiful little male Zerg who awakened his instincts to protect.

Ul raised a hand and wiped away tears that didn't exist before burying his face into Avis's chest with exaggerated sobs.

"I only have this family doctor job left now! If you don't want me anymore, I won't be able to survive!"

Avis: "..."

He knew the male Zerg was acting.

A great deal of it was performance.

Yet...

He simply couldn't reject him.

Whatever else was false, the male Zerg had truly given up his freedom and joined the Federation.

And it was equally true that he now had no one to rely on within the Federation.

Those two facts alone were enough to make Avis ache with guilt.

He had never imagined the male Zerg would go this far.

"Was it... for me?"

Even asking the question, Avis lacked confidence.

"It was for us."

Ul took Avis's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"For our future."

"And of course..."

He looked gently toward Avis's abdomen.

"...for our little one."

"...Alright."

"We'll get married."

Avis answered firmly.

Ul looked at him in surprise.

"You're agreeing that easily?"

He'd expected it to take much more effort.

After all, he'd been a star pirate.

Even though he'd turned over a new leaf, someone as upright as Avis should have found it difficult to accept a former pirate as his mate.

"I can't let you run away again."

Avis spoke with a serious expression.

"So..."

"You want to capture me using yourself?"

Ul raised both hands before him, wrists pressed together as though willingly waiting to be handcuffed.

Feeling awkward, Avis looked away.

"...Mm."

He admitted it softly.

He had his own selfish desires.

His heart wanted to stay with this male Zerg.

Even if it meant losing everything.

...

A military female Zerg had to submit a marriage application to Military Headquarters before getting married.

The military never deliberately made things difficult.

Everyone knew just how hard marriage was for female Zergs.

Still, Avis worried about Ul's identity.

The male Zerg had only just joined the Federation.

His previous history wouldn't withstand close investigation.

Yet...

The approval came back astonishingly quickly.

The military congratulated him.

They even sent wedding gifts and approved his marriage leave at the same time.

Reading the official response, Avis looked toward the nearby male Zerg in confusion.

Ul was building a crib.

More accurately...

A crib for their egg.

"When the time comes, we can put it beside our bed. The egg can sleep inside, so it won't get crushed, and you'll be able to watch over it whenever you want."

Ul assembled it as he spoke.

When the wolves had adopted him...

He'd still been an egg.

Those fluffy, oversized idiots had taken turns incubating him every day.

They were so warm...

And so heavy.

He'd nearly been cooked alive.

Fortunately, Zerg eggs were remarkably durable.

Watching the male Zerg personally build a bed for their unborn child...

Avis found it impossible to imagine how he could ever end up losing everything after marriage.

After cleaning up his tools, Ul stood and noticed Avis sitting quietly on the bed, lost in thought.

He walked over, touched Avis's forehead and cheeks to confirm his temperature was normal, then asked,

"What's wrong? Did Military Headquarters refuse to let us marry?"

"No."

"They agreed."

"They agreed very readily."

Avis returned to his senses.

"That's more like it."

"Otherwise I'd have gone over there and made trouble."

Ul pinched his cheek, trying to cheer him up.

Allowing the male Zerg to toy with his face, Avis asked,

"Was this... one of your conditions for joining the Federation?"

"Did you negotiate with the military?"

Ul was surprised by how perceptive he was.

"More or less."

"The military practically arranged a political marriage and handed you over to me. They're definitely not good people."

"So hurry over here and let King Ul comfort you properly."

Half joking, Ul spread his arms wide.

To his surprise...

Avis actually stepped forward and embraced him.

"My Lord..."

"Hm?"

Ul rubbed the back of his neck before teasing,

"You can start calling me Male Lord now."

"...Male Lord."

Avis obediently changed the form of address, softly repeating the title.

"Mhm."

"My Female Lord."

Ul answered with a smile, stroking his hair.

Yet beneath his lowered gaze...

There was thoughtfulness.

He had sensed the unease hidden deep inside Avis.

Emotional instability and anxiety were common during pregnancy.

He had deceived Avis.

And he'd left for an entire month just after Avis became pregnant.

Of course Avis couldn't trust him completely.

What should he do?

Ul found himself troubled.

...

That night...

Ul rubbed his hands together eagerly and said brightly,

"Avis."

"Let's play a little game."

Avis paused briefly before answering,

"...Alright."

There was no need to guess what kind of games male Zergs usually enjoyed.

When Ul produced a pair of handcuffs, Avis wasn't surprised.

Military female Zergs were tough.

That was one of their strengths.

The only concern was the egg.

He needed to protect their unborn child.

Hopefully nothing would exceed what the egg could safely endure.

A trace of worry flickered through Avis's lowered eyes.

Then...

Click.

The handcuffs locked shut.

Around Ul's own wrists.

Avis stared blankly at the restrained hands.

Ul smiled at him.

"Let's play a game of capturing a star pirate."

"The evil star pirate has been captured by an upright military female Zerg officer."

"Now..."

"You may begin interrogating me."

"You can do anything you want to me."

...