Chapter 213: An Ruo’s Pheromones: It Looked Like Ulysses Had Finally Received Pheromones for Once

Punishment?

Let every Zerg in the prison know?

An Ruo froze when he heard that.

The defeated look in Ulysses's eyes, as though he were resigned to accepting punishment, made An Ruo's heart ache so badly that he didn't know what to do.

All he wanted was to hold him properly and comfort him, without caring about anything else.

When had he ever wanted to punish him?

What right did he have to punish him? How could he bear to? How could he possibly punish him?

An Ruo sighed inwardly, bent down, and embraced Ulysses, stroking his back to help him relax.

Buying a raincoat online really wasn't appropriate.

He might not care about his own reputation, but the Marshal's reputation still mattered.

An Ruo was caught in a dilemma.

But right now, Ulysses was still the most important thing.

Nothing mattered more than him.

Ulysses was staring intently at him, lips slightly pursed, looking as though he was terribly afraid An Ruo would leave.

Of course An Ruo wasn't going anywhere. He tried releasing some pheromones.

He released them with his mind, but wasn't sure whether he'd succeeded. He sniffed the air but couldn't detect any particular scent.

The Female Zerg beneath him, however, reacted extremely strongly. His face flushed almost instantly, his breathing grew rapid, and his hand clamped around An Ruo's arm. His body trembled uncontrollably as a subtle fragrance filled the entire room.

An Ruo caught Ulysses's scent.

It was everywhere, surrounding him.

Now he could be certain that he'd successfully released his pheromones.

It smelled wonderful.

An Ruo kissed Ulysses and received a suppressed whimper and muffled groan in response.

Male Zerg pheromones were tremendously stimulating to Female Zergs. Ulysses had never experienced anything like this before, and it was completely different from the pheromone attraction he had imagined. He was SSS-rank; theoretically, no pheromones should have been capable of exerting such an overwhelming attraction on him.

Yet now there were.

Everything had happened too suddenly. He had to clench his teeth just to barely suppress his body's uncontrollable reactions.

But the male was kissing him now.

He couldn't refuse him, to the point that even keeping his breathing steady became difficult. All the kissing skills he had practiced using cherry stems were utterly useless at this moment.

In comparison, An Ruo, who wasn't nearly as affected by the pheromones, remained relatively clear-headed and capable of controlling himself.

He soothed Ulysses's emotions, slipping a hand beneath the blanket to comfort him, gradually helping him relax.

The Female Zerg's body was terribly tense, but with such a large amount of pheromones surging through the room, nothing was particularly difficult.

An Ruo's fingertips became stained with pheromones, and eventually his entire body was covered in Ulysses's scent.

Ulysses had no idea how any of it happened. His brain, completely overwhelmed by pheromones, couldn't focus enough to think, nor did he have the energy to consider any of it.

He entrusted everything to An Ruo while instinctively clinging to and entangling himself around the male above him, refusing to accept another separation.

Platinum-blond hair spilled over his body, sometimes tangling together with his own. Moonlight enveloped him, occupied him, marked him.

An Ruo could hear Ulysses's voice. Most of what escaped him was merely breathy sounds. Only occasionally would he softly call An Ruo's name or address him somehow—sometimes "God," sometimes "Director," and sometimes simply "An."

But most of the time, he remained silent and restrained, unwilling to make too much noise, suppressing even his muffled groans.

An Ruo could understand "Director" and "An," but where exactly had "God" come from?

Ulysses seemed to have always been fond of this god-and-believer role-play.

An Ruo kissed him, wanting to hear more sounds from him.

The Female Zerg's powerful body trembled violently, his abdominal muscles contracting almost to the point of spasms.

An Ruo stopped himself in time and hurriedly pulled away.

But even though he half-covered it with his hand, his pheromones still ended up on Ulysses's body.

The pheromones landed across his sharply defined abdominal muscles, with some staining his pectorals as well, rising and falling with every breath.

It was beautiful.

An Ruo's breathing caught. His guilty conscience immediately overwhelmed everything else, and he hurriedly wiped him clean.

The overwhelming pleasure left Ulysses dazed for quite some time before his awareness finally returned.

His eyes gradually cleared, although he remained somewhat disoriented, his reactions half a beat slower than usual.

He instinctively raised a hand to wipe away the pheromones staining his jaw. Only then did he realize something and lift his eyes toward the male currently cleaning him.

When he saw the pheromones on his body, his expression went blank and stiff for an instant.

His mind went completely empty.

There had been no marking.

Everything had felt too good and been too chaotic. With no experience whatsoever, he hadn't realized until this very moment that the male hadn't given it to him.

He hadn't marked him.

They were still missing one step.

The final step.

Ulysses pursed his lips slightly, suppressing the words already at the tip of his tongue, yet desperately wanting to ask them anyway.

An Ruo finished cleaning everything up. Seeing Ulysses silently staring at him, he gently tucked the blanket around him, leaned closer, and asked nervously, "Didn't you like it?"

"No..." Ulysses answered hoarsely. Exhausted, he leaned closer until his neck intertwined with the male's.

Feeling the unbearable emptiness in his abdomen, he closed his eyes briefly before asking softly,

"There was no marking. Why didn't you mark me?"

That question made An Ruo's scalp go numb.

Did he mean the physical marking that required using pheromones to mark the gestational sac?

That could make an egg!

He absolutely couldn't do that!

An Ruo considered himself human.

But he wasn't certain whether this body, which could perform Psychic Soothing and possessed pheromones, could still actually be considered human.

It was just like his rank, which he had never been able to determine.

Maybe he really could get Ulysses pregnant.

He didn't dare gamble on that possibility.

Even after sensing that Ulysses's gestational sac had already opened, he still had to resist that deadly attraction that seemed to invite him straight in and restrain himself enough to withdraw.

"I don't plan on having hatchlings," An Ruo said.

"Having a hatchling requires a very good environment and atmosphere. I think... my circumstances aren't suitable for having hatchlings."

An Ruo explained softly.

Ulysses remained silent for a long while before responding sullenly. He didn't say anything more, merely tightened his arms around An Ruo.

In that incomparably realistic dream, the Director had said something similar.

He simply hadn't expected that even after becoming Marshal, it still wouldn't be enough.

They both believed that hatchlings required a good family environment and atmosphere to be born and raised, but there were still differences between them.

Their experiences were different, so what they valued was different too.

An Ruo believed that a hatchling's male parent couldn't be a prisoner, couldn't be living in prison. That would ruin the hatchling's entire life.

Ulysses cared more about the feelings between them. He believed that as long as the Female Zerg and Male Zerg truly loved and respected each other, they could have a hatchling together.

As for everything else Male Zergs cared about when marrying—power, assets, and other material conditions—he already possessed all of it.

And yet... apparently, it still wasn't enough.

Ulysses frowned and tightened his embrace around the male above him.

The male's feelings for him hadn't yet reached the point where he was willing to have a hatchling with him. Ulysses knew that perfectly well and was willing to continue slowly working toward it.

It was simply that the emptiness after being opened up had ultimately thrown his emotions into disarray and made him impatient.

An Ruo suddenly remembered his Psychic Soothing work. One glance at the time nearly scared him to death, and he hurriedly climbed off Ulysses and rushed to wash up.

Ulysses's arms became empty. Watching the male's hurried retreating figure, he also got out of bed after throwing on some clothes.

He began fulfilling the duties of a Female Lord in advance—or perhaps simply the duties of any Female Zerg who had ever served a male—helping the newly awakened male wash, comb his hair, and change his clothes.

"No, no, there's no need. I can do it myself."

An Ruo was accustomed to taking care of himself and wasn't used to this kind of treatment. He couldn't comfortably let another Zerg serve him either. Besides, he was busy and desperately short on time.

After Ulysses got his clothes, shoes, and socks onto him in ten seconds, An Ruo surrendered.

He couldn't even finish refusing before Ulysses had already dressed him.

As expected of a military Female Zerg.

An Ruo cupped Ulysses's face and kissed him.

When they separated, even An Ruo himself froze.

Ulysses froze too.

The male very rarely kissed him on his own initiative, especially anywhere outside the bed.

Their eyes met.

An Ruo blankly raised a hand and pointed toward the door. "I'll... go to work first?"

"Mm." Ulysses nodded steadily.

In reality, his mind had gone completely blank.

An Ruo quickly left the room.

The moment he looked up, his eyes met Iso's as he waited outside.

Hm?

Iso?

Shouldn't it have been General Enzo?

An Ruo was surprised.

Iso was also staring at him in astonishment.

As though sensing something, the look he gave An Ruo became uncertain and startled.

The door that had just closed opened again.

Ulysses appeared in the doorway wearing his sleeping robe, its collar hanging very low. His cold, stern gaze fell directly on Iso.

Iso hurriedly lowered his head, suppressing his astonishment as he greeted him, "Marshal."

Ulysses withdrew his gaze and said to An Ruo, "Please wait for me for a moment. I'll escort you there."

An Ruo: "Huh?"

It was only... a few dozen meters away?

Did he really need an escort for that?

As they spoke, Ulysses had already returned inside, and very soon he emerged fully dressed.

An Ruo once again sighed inwardly over "military Female Zerg speed" and let Ulysses escort him to the entrance of the large treatment room.

He didn't let Ulysses follow him inside. That would have attracted far too much attention.

He had never liked outsiders associating Ulysses with this identity of his. It could easily affect Ulysses's reputation.

There was nothing he could do about the military Female Zergs in the prison, but when it came to other Zergs, it was better to avoid it whenever possible.

But why was Major General Iso here?

The egg General Enzo had been incubating was about to hatch, so had Iso come to cover his shift?

Still puzzled, An Ruo entered the treatment room.

Iso requested permission from the Marshal and, after receiving it, followed him inside.

......

By the time An Ruo finished the Psychic Soothing sessions, Ulysses had already left. The room had also been tidied, and the bed was clean and neat.

An Ruo didn't know whether Ulysses had done it or one of the robot Zergs.

Surely the Marshal wouldn't do something like that?

But remembering how Ulysses had dressed him that morning, An Ruo wasn't so certain anymore.

Next time, he really needed to get up earlier and clean everything himself.

An Ruo felt that it wasn't particularly good to trouble the Marshal with something like this, nor was it appropriate to have a robot Zerg do it.

He should just handle it himself.

There was also the issue of contraception.

Condoms were out of the question. Ulysses was extremely resistant to them.

Then what about medication?

Did the Zerg race have something like that?

And how was he supposed to buy contraceptives without the military Female Zergs in the prison finding out?

Discreet packaging?

That wouldn't get past the prison's scanning and inspection systems, would it?

An Ruo's head hurt.

He even wanted to open a document and type:

【An Ruo possesses Zerg contraceptives—the Male Zerg version.】

After An Ruo finished typing, he suddenly sensed something and opened the spatial button containing all the gifts the military Female Zergs had given him—

Whoa.

There were so many different things inside the spatial button that he could always discover something new.

An Ruo couldn't even tell whether this bottle had already been inside or had only appeared after he wrote that sentence.

A military Female Zerg who would give the prison's Psychic Soother this kind of medicine... was certainly very considerate.

Apart from the medicine in the spatial button, An Ruo discovered something else unexpected on his terminal.

—A video of Ulysses hatching in the dream.

An Ruo was stunned.

Male Zergs with powerful psychic abilities could use their Psychic Power to generate videos.

An Ruo didn't know whether this had come back with him from the dream or whether his Psychic Power had spontaneously generated it according to his thoughts.

The latter seemed somewhat easier to understand.

The fake egg was still sitting on the bedside table, still wearing the little knitted outfit that had been crocheted for it.

An Ruo stroked the imitation egg and ultimately abandoned the idea of returning it to Selerus.

Selerus had asked him to hatch the egg.

He had already hatched it.

In that case, there shouldn't be an egg anymore.

An Ruo went down to the basement level to see Selerus.

The moment he entered the room, Selerus smelled the scent on him.

It wasn't merely Ulysses's pheromones. There was also an extremely distinctive Male Zerg pheromone, difficult to describe but wonderfully pleasant.

It made a Zerg think of sunlight, pages of a book, forests and wind, along with something soft and fluffy.

It looked like Ulysses had finally received pheromones for once.

Selerus quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been afraid his hatchling would develop problems from suppressing himself for too long.

An Ruo performed Selerus's routine Psychic Domain examination. After confirming that his mental state had stabilized and that he no longer depended so heavily on comfort objects, he told him,

"I've already hatched the egg. You don't have an egg anymore."

Selerus: "???"

There might be something wrong with his brain, but when he was lucid, he could still tell whether there was actually life inside an egg and whether it could hatch into a hatchling.

He had only continued incubating it because it genuinely carried Ulysses's scent.

His mind might not work quite right, but he wasn't actually stupid.

An Ruo sent him the video as proof.

"Here, this is the recording of the hatchling breaking out of his shell."

"If you're going to ask me where the hatchling went... all I can say is that he's already grown up and turned into big Ulysses."

An Ruo's logic was internally consistent.

Perfectly reasonable.

Selerus stared blankly at the video, watching the eggshell on the light screen slowly crack apart, watching the hatchling emerge with a piece of shell perched atop his head and open his large, bright eyes.

He couldn't come back to his senses at all.

Without realizing it, he leaned his face closer to the light screen and reached out, wanting to touch the hatchling, to stroke his hair, only for his fingers to pass straight through the screen.

By the time he came back to himself, the Male Zerg had already left.

The recording on the light screen continued playing on an endless loop.

At this moment, Selerus was genuinely confused.

Ulysses, his hatchling...

Was this footage of him hatching at the welfare home all those years ago?

But in the reflection on the incubator, and in the figure reflected in the hatchling's eyes, he could clearly see the Male Zerg doctor.

The male had been beside Ulysses when he hatched.

Judging by the appearance in the reflection, he looked no different from how he did now.

The male looked so young, yet he was actually even older than Ulysses.

But that was normal for Zergs. Once they reached adulthood, their appearance remained unchanged for a very long time. Only when they approached the end of their lifespan would they gradually begin to age.

It was very difficult to determine a Zerg's exact age from appearance alone.

Selerus looked at the hatchling's shining eyes in the video.

He thought he finally understood why Ulysses was so utterly determined to have this particular Male Zerg.

When Ulysses had been at his loneliest and most helpless, this Male Zerg had appeared beside him and accompanied him through the most difficult period of his life.

That was why Ulysses had chosen him.

Selerus's expression became complicated. He felt somewhat melancholy, yet he was also happy for him.

The Male Zerg really was very good.

Even Selerus couldn't find anything wrong with him.

If he absolutely had to name one flaw, it was that he had some unusual preferences in bed and was always refusing to give his Female Zerg pheromones.