Chapter 199: As Expected of Ulysses: Zerg Novels Entering Tianjia Counts as Cultural Invasion Too, Right?

[Lord Carl is going to the Ninth Legion as a military doctor?!]

[I feel like An-shen has a particular soft spot for the Ninth Legion. Lord Xi'an and Claire are both there, and now Lord Carl is going too.]

[Back when there was only Lord Xi'an, those Tianjia were already watching him like hawks every day. If Lord Carl goes too, won't the Tianjia be dreaming about coming over to snatch our males even in their sleep?]

[That may be true, but if the Tianjia Emperor still sends troops to attack the Ninth Military Region under circumstances like these, I'll look down on him.]

[Lord Joshua raised Carl very well. Sure, he has some harmless little Male Zerg temper, but when it comes to genuinely important matters, he's always rational, clear-headed, and firm in his convictions. Whether it was back then, when he wasn't sweet-talked by the Tianjia Emperor into going to the Tianjia Empire and saw through the true nature of his promises, or his choice now.]

[Compared with Male Zergs like Lord Xi'an or Lord Hill, who are so outstanding they're practically perfect, a Male Zerg like Carl feels much closer to our actual lives.]

[Male Zergs are supposed to be proud and willful. That's what a Male Zerg's temperament should be like. Being too mild and even-tempered would actually seem strange.]

[Before the Federation era, if a Male Zerg had a soft and gentle personality, people would suspect he'd been abused, and the Male Zerg Association would come knocking to investigate.]

[Then they're screwed. With Lord Hill's personality, wouldn't General Cyril's entire household get investigated from top to bottom? Everyone hauled away for questioning. Oh, right, and Iso too. None of them are getting away.]

[They probably couldn't haul the General away, but the Male Zerg Association showing up three times a day would be guaranteed. Nobody in that house would get any peace.]

The Zerg readers had taken quite well to Carl's personality.

No matter the era, a Male Zerg like Carl, who was merely a little spoiled and willful, somewhat impulsive, and had no real bad habits, could absolutely be called a "good Male Zerg."

Among standard Male Zergs, he was unquestionably one of the better, more outstanding ones.

Someone like Lord Xi'an was the sort you only encountered if you hit the jackpot. Normally, you would never meet one.

As for Hill and Axel, they were the kind of Male Zergs who only existed in dreams. And yet one of them really did exist in reality. No wonder so many Zergs were jealous of Iso.

[If Lord Carl really goes to the Ninth Military Region, I feel like the number of Female Zergs applying to enlist in the Ninth Legion during the first half of next year is going to explode.]

[Obviously. Lord Xi'an and Lord Carl, two high-ranking Male Zergs—one a military Male Zerg and the other a military doctor. Just dreaming about it is bliss.]

[No matter what, I'm going. I swear I'll defend Lord Carl to the death! Even if it's only Lord Carl from a novel. There's no reason for a Male Zerg to stand in front of Female Zergs. If the Tianjia Emperor wants to hurt Lord Carl, he'll have to step over my body first!]

[Wait, what? Since when did our Emperor become the villain? I distinctly remember that we Tianjia are protagonists in this book too!]

[Exactly. His Majesty had so many opportunities and never abducted Carl. How could he possibly hurt him?]

[Hmph. Remains to be seen.]

[Him becoming a military doctor hasn't even been decided yet. I don't think Lord Joshua could possibly agree.]

[True. From a male father's perspective, there's no way he could agree. If Carl genuinely wanted to become a military doctor, even if he only wanted to experience it for a while, he could agree to that. But once Carl said, "If he goes to war with the Zergs, I'll be on the front line," there's no way they can let him go.]

[Sigh, complicated feelings as a male father... Is he trying to force Ares's hand, or his own? Or is he tormenting his male father and female father? He's carving flesh right out of his male father's heart.]

[He's still young. Too impulsive. They need to keep a close eye on this hatchling and stop him from running around. Hurry up and lock him at home.]

[But male fathers and female fathers can never win against their hatchlings. With Carl's personality, even if they lock him up, he'll find a way to escape.]

[Young Zergs are just like that. Their blood gets hot and straight to the head they go.]

[Can you even call yourself young if you're not impulsive? If you don't act impulsively now, what are you going to do, wait until you're old and put on a hot-blooded elderly action show?]

[Come to think of it, General Cyril and the others are pretty hot-blooded themselves.]

[General Cyril isn't old, is he? (Old Zerg aboard a starship looks at the light screen) At the General's rank, he might still be in his prime at 500. Watch yourself saying things like that, or the General's followers might show up at your door and challenge you to a duel.]

[Open up, Third Legion, we're here to check your water and electricity meters.]

[Next time remember to say: Open up, Third Legion, we're here to hand out benefits.]

[You're vicious. That might actually trick them into opening the door. The kind where they'd know perfectly well it's a trap and still have to open it for a look.]

Meanwhile, in the Tianjia Empire.

Ever since An-shen's books had been officially unbanned, the Tianjia had gained their own StarNet space for discussions. They no longer had to crowd together with those Zergs whose views were completely incompatible with theirs, and could freely post plenty of things they could never say on the Zerg StarNet.

[Carl doesn't seem opposed to incubating eggs. I really want to see that proud Male Zerg incubating eggs for His Majesty. That sight would definitely be incredible.]

[He's not opposed to it, but he's planning to run off with the eggs!]

[Have faith that His Majesty will find a way to deal with that. How could eggs born to the Tianjia be taken away by the Zergs? We want the eggs, and we want the Male Zerg too!]

[Seriously, His Majesty in the book indulges that Male Zerg far too much. He should just capture him, first beep€€€€ him and then beep€€€€ him. Male Zergs only make a fuss temporarily. Give it enough time and naturally he'll start treating his Female Lord as his whole world.] (This comment has been deleted)

[? What's going on? Was that deleted by mistake? You've got to be kidding me. I'm on the Tianjia StarNet, and I'm not even allowed to beep€€€€ a Male Zerg? Not only am I going to say beep€€€€, I'm also going to &*#￥%...] (This comment has been deleted. User muted for ten years)

[Staring in stunned silence.]

[Did some Zerg infiltrate the Tianjia StarNet or something?]

[Don't even mention it. Ever since the novel was unbanned, comments mentioning the Male Zerg Carl get deleted really easily. Discussion about him is being controlled almost as strictly as discussion about members of the Imperial Family.]

When the Zerg StarNet deleted comments, at least it gave a proper official reason.

The Tianjia had an imperial system. His Majesty and the Imperial Family took precedence over everything. If they wanted something deleted, it was deleted. If they wanted an account banned, it was banned. If they wanted to invite someone in for tea, that person was invited in for tea. There was no reasoning with them whatsoever.

[It's the same if you mention Eugene, that Male Zerg who disappeared before and was later found.]

[I have a theory, but I don't know whether I should say it...]

[Me too...]

[Surely it can't be? But the timing really does line up.]

[Just shut up. I feel like discussing this on the Zerg StarNet might actually be safer.]

[The tables have completely turned!]

...

Zerg Federation, Capital Star.

Ulysses had already read the contents of the new chapter and finally understood what his God had meant by what he'd told him before.

At the time, he'd asked his God whether the Tianjia Emperor was pregnant, and his God had answered: not yet.

Not "now."

But he would be later.

He looked at the Tianjia Emperor in the book using a contract to keep the Male Zerg by his side, making an empty promise about the future so the Male Zerg would accompany him through a week-long mating period, then confidently declaring when they parted that he could become pregnant with twin eggs.

After reading his God's novels for so long, Ulysses had come to understand his writing style.

It seemed that this time, he really had gotten pregnant.

Ulysses calmly looked away.

Whether the Tianjia Emperor was carrying eggs wasn't particularly important.

He wasn't so insecure that he would worry about the threat posed by an unborn hatchling.

The Tianjia Emperor himself wasn't even his match, much less a hatchling.

A hatchling took far too long to mature. By the time it grew up, many years would already have passed.

Even if, years from now, father and child came at him together, they still wouldn't pose a threat to Ulysses.

This was his era.

An era would only leave behind one name that shone brightest of all. Everything else would be suppressed until its light dimmed into obscurity.

As long as he lived, no matter how many exceptional talents emerged among the Tianjia, they were destined to live beneath his shadow.

Still, twin eggs...

That really was enough to make a Zerg envious.

Ulysses calculated the time. It was time for the male to rest.

He sent over a picture of a knotted cherry stem and asked whether he could receive a personal inspection from him.

An Ruo, upon receiving the picture: "..."

What was this? He didn't dare look.

Then he secretly took another peek...

The picture only showed the lower half of Ulysses' face. A knotted cherry stem was held between his lips, while the cherry itself was inside his mouth and couldn't be seen.

Ulysses had even more explicit photos saved on his terminal, ones where he displayed the cherry fully on his tongue, but he was afraid those would be too forward and frighten the male, so he hadn't dared send them.

A perfectly respectable-looking picture of Ulysses holding a cherry stem between his lips was already enough to make An Ruo's face burn bright red. He had no idea how to respond.

For a moment, he couldn't decide whether he should be more shocked by "So it really can be done" or "Ulysses actually went and did something like this."

His technique was way too advanced.

The future in which Ulysses kissed him to death had actually arrived before him this quickly.

Could he survive tonight?

An Ruo tossed and turned for a long while before typing a reply.

[An]: Very impressive (thumbs-up)! You've already reached the pinnacle! No inspection needed, you're already insanely good (thumbs-up thumbs-up thumbs-up).

Ulysses smiled helplessly when he saw the message.

His plush toy could sense the male repeatedly rolling around on the bed.

When dealing with a male who had hidden himself away inside his safe house like this, asking him through StarNet and a light screen made him feel secure, but it also gave him the opportunity to evade and refuse. Asking him face-to-face and kissing him would be far more effective.

Visiting without a suitable reason would be far too presumptuous. Ulysses thought for a moment, then changed the subject.

[Ulysses]: The Tianjia Empire has approached us. They want to conduct some exchanges and cooperation.

An Ruo stared at the words on the light screen in surprise.

He hadn't expected the Tianjia to make such a decision, nor did he understand why Ulysses was telling him about something that sounded so... official.

[Ulysses]: Part of it concerns you. They hope to officially introduce your novels into their Empire and would like to obtain your authorization. What do you think?

Huhhh?

An Ruo sat up in bed and swept his loose long hair behind his head.

There had always been plenty of Tianjia readers secretly following his novels. Even he'd heard about those Tianjia "fake Zergs."

But secretly following his novels and formally importing them were two completely different things.

[An]: Do you think I should authorize it?

An Ruo asked in return.

[An]: Would it cause any trouble for you?

Ulysses had originally intended to reply, "Just follow your own wishes." But when he saw the next sentence, he realized that his God was considering his attitude and circumstances.

Considering things for his sake.

Ulysses stared at that sentence for a long time.

Perhaps he had underestimated his place in his God's heart.

He wasn't insignificant, nor was the favor he'd received merely a fleeting indulgence.

His God would also put himself in Ulysses' position and consider all kinds of things for his sake.

Even when the one standing on the opposite side was his "protagonist."

A faint smile appeared on Ulysses' lips as he raised a hand to reply.

[Ulysses]: You don't need to worry about me. Just follow your own wishes. I'm fine with whatever you choose.

[Ulysses]: Whatever your decision may be, the Federal Government and I will strive to secure the greatest possible benefit for the Federation and the Zerg race.

All An Ruo could say was: as expected of Ulysses.

[An]: Then I agree!

An Ruo sent the reply and quickly received Ulysses' response.

[Ulysses]: All right. I'll arrange everything according to your wishes.

[Ulysses]: Zerg novels entering Tianjia counts as a kind of cultural invasion too, right?

An Ruo: "..."

Once again, he could only marvel: as expected of Ulysses.

Meanwhile, Ulysses passed the order down.

Aside from importing the novels, the Tianjia also intended to pursue exchanges and cooperation with them in the field of Psychic Soothing.

Tianjia males were all diligent "good males" who conscientiously performed soothing.

When it came to Psychic Soothing, the Tianjia Empire possessed its own unique experience and advantages.

But they also wanted the Zergs' "group Psychic Soothing," as well as the special method frequently mentioned in An-shen's books: performing soothing through the psychic mindscape.

The latter method, to be precise, originated from The Psychic Soothing Even Hatchlings Can Learn, written by former Male Zerg Archon Joshua.

Joshua had discovered the method, and An's novels had subsequently brought it into widespread prominence.

The Tianjia had also heard that the Zerg race's exceptionally powerful and mysterious Psychic Soothing specialist used this very method.

Ulysses knew exactly what the Tianjia were plotting.

They wanted to conduct exchanges in this field, but what they really wanted was the Psychic Soothing method.

Joshua's son Eugene—the Male Zerg "Carl," a living, breathing, walking teaching example—was another of their targets.

Two birds with one stone.

What a nice calculation.

And the matter also involved that Lord of his...

Group Psychic Soothing—there weren't even many Zergs in the entire race capable of it. Just how exactly did the Tianjia expect to conduct this "exchange"?

Their appetite was rather too large.

As for importing the novels, since his Lord had given his approval, Ulysses could authorize it directly.

But the Psychic Soothing exchange...

The two sides still had plenty of bargaining ahead of them.