Chapter 30: A Male Zerg Sending Money to a Female Zerg?: Male Zergs Spending Money on Female Zergs, Unheard Of

#InstructorFinished#

The novel's completion was a joyous occasion.

But readers who suddenly had nothing left to read and couldn't find anything to replace it certainly didn't think so.

Their hearts felt strangely empty, as though they had lost something important that had accompanied them day and night.

From the review section to StarNet, the wailing sounded like bugs on the verge of starving to death.

Readers searched everywhere for scraps to feed on.

Screenshots, plot discussions, derivative works—nothing was spared.

《What Exactly Is a “Navel Orange”?》

《Lord Xi'an: I'll Only Marry You》

《Speculations About Little Strawberry's Appearance》

《Claire Is the Perfect Match for Lord Xi'an!》

《Colonel Claire, the Lowest Rank Configuration Among Popular Novels》

...

As for what a navel orange was, opinions varied.

Most straightforward Female Zergs believed it was a fruit, and they were very curious about what kind of fruit Male Zergs liked so much and where they could buy it to bring home for their Male Lords.

In the end, it was Aira who posted an analysis thread.

【Aira-C】

What Exactly Is a “Navel Orange”?

The possibility that it is food can basically be ruled out.

No Female Zerg would feed anything besides himself to his Male Zerg in that kind of situation.

Think about it.

The bug you love, covered in pheromones, is right beside you, allowing you to possess him with your actions.

And Claire suddenly pulls a fruit out of his space button to feed the Male Zerg???

Does that sound reasonable?

Obviously not.

Combined with Claire's earlier action of “wrapping his arms around the Male Zerg's neck and rolling over to pin him beneath himself,” we can infer that “navel orange” is actually a position.

Its basic form involves the Male Zerg underneath and the Female Zerg on top.

The specific variation could further be analyzed based on orientation and movements. It might involve squatting, facing backward, crossed riding, or prone positions, among others.

Since the novel didn't specify, we cannot determine the exact variation.

But one thing is certain.

“The navel orange that Male Zergs like to eat” refers to a position, not food.

Those Female Zergs planning to buy fruit for their Male Lords should consider another method.

...

An Ruo, seeing the post: “...”

Another day of underestimating just how open-minded the Zerg race was.

The comments underneath were even more excited, not finding anything inappropriate about discussing such topics publicly.

[As expected of Lord Aira! He instantly understood the hidden meaning!]

[Thank goodness I saw Lord Aira's analysis. I almost gave my Male Lord the wrong thing.]

[That Claire really hides his skills well! Cold on the outside, looking completely frigid, but actually a master in this area. No wonder he managed to hook Lord Xi'an!]

[The deeper we dig, the more we discover that Claire has many qualities worth learning. The value of the Claire textbook keeps rising.]

Claire probably had no idea he was being analyzed this way.

An Ruo silently exited the thread and continued browsing.

《Speculations About Little Strawberry's Appearance》

What would Lord Xi'an and Claire's hatchling look like?

According to Zerg genetic inheritance—

Female hatchlings were more likely to inherit their Male Father's hair and eye colors, and their Female Father's facial features and skeletal structure.

Male hatchlings were the opposite.

In other words, they inherited bone structure from the same-sex parent and outward appearance from the opposite-sex parent.

Given the gender ratio of the Zerg race, Little Strawberry was more likely to be a Female Zerg hatchling.

Meaning Little Strawberry would inherit Lord Xi'an's red hair and green eyes—

As well as Claire's facial features.

(Though those wouldn't become obvious until adulthood. Hatchlings were all soft, cute little dumplings.)

One could say it was an extremely “strawberry-like” color combination.

If the small chance of a Male Zerg hatchling occurred, then the opposite would happen.

He would inherit Claire's silver hair and blue eyes, while resembling Lord Xi'an's appearance.

That would be beautiful as well.

A cool and elegant Male Lord.

A little “ice cream” Lord.

Of course, there were also rarer possibilities.

Red hair and blue eyes.

Silver hair and green eyes.

Or even traits inherited from grandparents and earlier ancestors.

Anything was possible.

With Lord Xi'an and Claire's genes, whether Little Strawberry, Little Ice Cream, or some other combination, the hatchling would definitely be incredibly beautiful and adorable.

Just imagining it was wonderful (holding face and fantasizing).

Hurry up and have one already.

Doesn't the Federation encourage having hatchlings?

Then I want theirs.

I'll make my Female Lord steal the egg, hehe.

...

An Ruo nodded inwardly at the earlier descriptions of Zerg genetics.

Those had indeed been mentioned in the original work and analyzed very thoroughly.

Then...

His expression changed when he saw the strange turn at the end.

Wait.

Who posted this?

He checked.

【Aira-C】

Little Albino really was a fanatical fan of Instructor.

So active.

An Ruo could understand Little Albino's mentality.

Why bother with natural birth when stealing was more convenient?

Unable to have hatchlings because of the huge difference in rank between himself and his Female Lord, he had started coveting Xi'an and Claire's children.

Unfortunately, Xi'an and Claire were only fictional characters.

There was no egg to steal.

Feeling sympathetic, An Ruo gave Little Albino's post a like and logged off StarNet.

Tomorrow was the day of the rank evaluation.

He needed a good night's sleep to replenish his energy.

It would be embarrassing if staying up late caused poor mental condition and lowered his test results.

After a comfortable bath, An Ruo climbed into bed.

The book had finished, and his entire body felt relaxed.

He quickly fell asleep.

Unfortunately, he had a rather unpleasant dream.

In the dream, his protagonist climbed out of the book, broke through the dimensional wall, and appeared before him.

“So I finally found you.”

Red-haired, green-eyed Xi'an sharpened a knife while grabbing his collar threateningly.

“So you're the one who made Claire forget his promise to me, chased by Tenga, torment himself inside the mecha, and abandon me to go on an expedition...”

“Hurry up and rewrite it! I want Claire to passionately pursue me the moment we reunite!”

The silver-haired, blue-eyed military female stood nearby.

After hearing this, he nodded coldly, indicating they should do as the Male Zerg said.

As an author, An Ruo had his dignity.

He would rather die than revise the book.

Seeing threats fail, Xi'an proposed something else.

“Fine, then write extras for me and Claire. Two children in three years.”

An Ruo refused again.

“With Zerg fertility rates, I was already being generous by not making it two children in three hundred years! Thirty years for two eggs, no more!”

While both sides argued over “how many eggs in how many years,” the great villain Ulysses tore through space with his bare hands.

Those icy silver-gray eyes glanced over.

Terrifying pressure descended.

Even heaven and earth changed color.

...

An Ruo woke up in fright.

His body jerked violently.

Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the bed in the familiar prison cell.

Stable light filtered in from the corridor.

The room was quiet and peaceful.

Only his own breathing and heartbeat could be heard.

No strange bugs.

An Ruo let out a long sigh of relief.

Once again, he found the prison cell unbelievably reassuring.

Thank goodness it was only a dream.

He wasn't afraid of meeting his protagonists.

Whether Xi'an and Claire or the protagonists of the original novel, he knew their true natures were good.

Even if he joined the challenge “What Would Your Protagonist Say or Do If They Appeared Before You,” An Ruo wouldn't panic at all.

But villains were another matter.

Not one villain had a normal personality.

Their experiences guaranteed that.

Especially a great villain like Ulysses, born into the already twisted world of the Zerg race.

It was his first nightmare since transmigrating.

There was no way he could fall asleep again.

After turning over, An Ruo got out of bed and washed his face.

The face reflected in the mirror was the same pale beauty he'd had when he first arrived.

Yet something seemed different.

An Ruo couldn't quite describe it.

He had never seriously studied this face.

If he had to say, perhaps it had become more harmonious.

That strange inhuman feeling had diminished.

After washing up, An Ruo sat down at the desk.

There was still one star hour before his daily morning psychic soothing session.

He could browse StarNet a little more.

StarNet was full of discussions about Instructor.

The novel's completion had pushed its popularity to its peak.

Instructor had reached first place on the rankings of the most beloved novels in recent years.

Ding.

A notification arrived from the website.

His novel had officially ended.

Total rewards received: 98*******

After deductions and revenue split, the total came to 88******* star coins.

Please withdraw as soon as possible.

The endless string of numbers made An Ruo's eyes blur.

Though he lived in prison and didn't know the purchasing power of star coins, he still understood that it was an enormous amount of money.

The problem was—

He had no use for it.

For a bug whose food, clothing, and necessities were all provided by the prison, and whose sentence was 999 years with no hope of release, no amount of money was more than numbers.

And if it sat unused, it really would become just numbers.

Money only had value when spent.

After thinking for a while, An Ruo opened his terminal communications and entered the only contact he had.

He typed a message.

Since it was still early and he didn't want to disturb the other party's rest, he didn't send it immediately.

He planned to wait until mealtime.

Meanwhile.

Uriel casually opened his communications interface and stared at the “Typing...” status at the top.

For a very long time.

Long enough that even an S-class Female Zerg's eyes became tired.

Still, no message came.

Just as he was wondering, the doorbell rang.

At the same moment, “Typing...” disappeared, and a message appeared.

[Major General, do you have the Marshal's private account number?]

Uriel: “...?”

That was all.

The Male Zerg wanted the Marshal's account number?

Naturally, he had once possessed the Marshal's private account information.

During marriage, a Female Zerg's account was completely open to his Male Lord.

But in this era where everyone relied heavily on terminals, nobody memorized such complicated strings of numbers.

So once the marriage ended, he no longer had the account.

Uriel couldn't understand the Male Zerg's intentions.

Their marriage had already ended.

Even if he knew the account number, without the Male Lord's authority, he couldn't access any star coins.

[Do you need something?]

Uriel asked.

For the Male Zerg to agonize over this short sentence for an entire star hour, there must be something important yet difficult to say.

If the Male Zerg wanted to buy something, Uriel could buy it for him.

Even a large amount wasn't a problem.

He could use his own money without reporting it upward.

The familiar “Typing...” appeared again.

This time, the message came quickly.

[I have some star coins and want to transfer them to him. Consider it a tiny compensation.]

“???”

Uriel was completely dumbfounded.

A Male Zerg sending money to a Female Zerg?

Male Zergs never spent money on Female Zergs.

No matter what they did, the Female Zergs paid.

Even if a Male Zerg initiated a date, the Female Zerg covered every expense and prepared expensive gifts.

Male Zergs spending money on Female Zergs was unheard of.

Only in web dramas would there be plots where Male Zergs spent money pursuing outstanding Female Zergs from prestigious families.

And even then, it was usually because there was a huge difference in status and rank.

The Male Zerg was simply setting a trap to lure the Female Zerg.

If both parties had equal conditions, viewers would curse it for being unrealistic nonsense.

Uriel's emotions became especially complicated.

Still, he asked,

[Are you sure?]

[Yes.]

[This is my own decision.]

Uriel remained silent for a long time before finally sending the account number.

Giving the Marshal's private account to another bug so casually was naturally inappropriate.

But considering the complicated relationship between the Male Zerg and the Marshal...

He wasn't exactly another bug.

After receiving the account number, An Ruo replied with “Thank you.”

Then he copied it into the withdrawal form.

His terminal number was special, a military anonymous number, allowing him to bypass identity verification and withdraw directly.

Otherwise, he couldn't have entered another bug's account.

“Processing.”

Because the amount was so large, it would take some time.

An Ruo closed the screen and stopped paying attention.

Next came the long-awaited rank evaluation.

It felt like facing an exam or physical examination.

Taking a deep breath, An Ruo encouraged himself.

It should be fine.

Just perform normally.

The suppressor around his neck that couldn't fully restrain his psychic power, as well as his daily overachievement in psychic soothing, proved that he was more than B-rank.

He thought—

He should be A-rank.