Chapter 329: Male Zerg Celebrity × Arms Dealer (16): Shamir Is Still One Female Lord Away from Inheriting the Farm

[The moment Shamir returned home, he received a grand welcome.

Starting from the moment he walked through the door, he was showered in ribbons. His Female Older Brothers had also filled the house with colorful balloons, while all kinds of Shamir dolls had been placed around as decorations. It practically looked like a fairy-tale world a Male Zerg hatchling would love.

But Shamir was an adult Male Zerg. All of this was far too childish for him, and he also found it hard to imagine those big, burly Female Zergs individually preparing balloons and dolls.

But faced with his Female Older Brothers’ sincere eyes, he could only say that he liked it very much.

That made the group of Female Zergs extremely happy.

His Female Father called him over to eat.

The family had prepared all his favorite dishes for him. Even after so many years, they still tasted exactly as he remembered.

It really did feel like home.

As Shamir ate, the corners of his lips gradually lifted.

There were crystal-clear red fruits on the table, from a potted plant he used to own. His family had kept taking care of it for him all these years, and because it had grown too quickly, part of it had been transplanted into the yard. It had spread over a large area and produced many bright red, sweet, fragrant fruits. He had happened to return just in time to eat them.

His room had also always been cleaned and tidied by robot Zergs. Even though he hadn’t returned for ten years, no one had ever neglected it.

The furnishings in the room were almost exactly the same as before he left.

There were also some new releases from clothing and toy lines he had once liked. Clearly, his family had habitually bought them for him over the years.

It was just that he had been busy filming, and these were only ordinary little toys. His family had been afraid of disturbing him, so they hadn’t specially mailed them to him and had simply left them at home.

Shamir was already an adult and no longer felt as strongly about the toys he once liked.

But he liked the affection behind being cherished this way.

His Male Father was in poor health, and his Female Father was never at ease unless he personally took care of him.

The family businesses had long since been handed over to their several adult hatchlings, while his Female Father spent most of the year accompanying his Male Lord outside for medical treatment and recuperation, or traveling with him to places with beautiful scenery.

His eldest brother was a military Female Zerg. After retiring from the military, he went to work for the law enforcement team and was usually very busy.

His second brother was responsible for the family orchard and farm and also helped manage the doll factory Shamir had newly purchased, so he rarely had free time either.

His third brother was a researcher who spent most of the year at the research institute and came home even less often.

And Shamir himself had spent all these years outside filming and working as a celebrity, his schedule packed full.

He hadn’t returned home in ten years.

A gathering like this had been a long time coming.

It was as if he had returned to his hatchling days, when the entire family was lively and bustling together.

Actually, Shamir hadn’t expected things to be this lively either. He hadn’t expected everyone to come back.

This time, he had deliberately waited until after retiring from the entertainment industry before telling his family that he was coming home, precisely because he hadn’t wanted them to make a big fuss over it.

But he had clearly underestimated either his family’s speed or just how much they valued him...

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t moved.

Even though Male Zergs were raised to think that all of this was only natural and were not easily touched by such small things, Shamir was an excellent actor. He had rich emotions and was also very good at sensing the emotions present in everyday life.

Shamir enjoyed the warm atmosphere of home, opened the gifts his Female Older Brothers had given him, and listened to his Female Father talk about how good this Female Zerg from such-and-such family was.

He listened curiously and occasionally agreed with a few things, treating it purely as casual conversation.

Who would have thought that the moment he followed along with his Female Father’s words a few times and offered a little praise, every Female Zerg in the room would turn to look at him.

Even his sickly and aloof Male Father looked over and gave him a slight nod.

What... did that mean?

Shamir was still stunned when his Female Father said, “Since Shair also thinks he’s good, then find a chance to meet and have a chat. Young Zergs probably have more things to talk about with each other.”

Shamir’s eyes widened.

Only belatedly did he realize that his Female Father was arranging a blind date for him!

Shamir had left home to make his way in the world right after graduation.

His way of interacting with his family was still stuck in his student days.

There was a blank period of ten years between them!

Shamir’s mindset was still stuck in the past. Back then, his Female Father had still been worried that some bad boy at school would steal him away.

For things to suddenly change this much, he couldn’t adjust at all!

His Female Father’s expression was also somewhat unnatural.

In his eyes, his hatchling was still a baby.

Marriage and Female Zergs and all that were far too early. There was absolutely no need to rush.

But when he thought of all the rumors on StarNet, and of the way Shamir had interacted with that Female Zerg during the livestream, he still had to harden his heart and make a decision early.

Shamir clearly cared very much about that Female Zerg.

The more he cared, the more painful separation and hurt would be.

He couldn’t let Shamir keep sinking into sadness over the past and waste away.

He needed a new Female Zerg to enter his world.

But Shamir reacted with extreme resistance.

“No! I don’t want to meet him! I don’t even know him, so why should I meet him?”

Shamir knew what his Female Father meant.

This was a blind date.

A very common blind date between a Female Zerg and a Male Zerg—or rather, a date.

But he didn’t want to go, nor did he want to try.

“What era are we living in? I want free love! Free love, do you understand?”

Shamir loudly emphasized his view of romance.

His Female Father didn’t understand.

“Of course this is free love. You’re free to choose whether to fall in love with him, or you can fall in love with some other Female Zerg instead. It’s not like we’re directly using Genetic Matching and making you marry him. How is that not free?”

For a Male Zerg, refusing to develop a relationship with a Female Zerg was extremely easy.

Even during a blind date, all he had to do was say that he didn’t like that Female Zerg.

No one would force a Male Zerg to marry a Female Zerg he disliked.

Shamir’s Female Father thought this was very free.

Shamir realized there was no way to explain it.

His Female Father wasn’t some rigid old-fashioned Zerg either, but he simply couldn’t understand why Shamir was so resistant to meeting other Female Zergs.

Shamir himself couldn’t explain it clearly either.

The moment he thought about meeting other Female Zergs for blind dates, he thought of Ravens.

Although there was already no possibility between him and Ravens, he still didn’t want to do something like this.

He didn’t want to meet other Female Zergs.

It gave him the feeling that he was betraying his own feelings.

But this was something he couldn’t tell his Female Father or the rest of his family.

They wouldn’t understand.

Instead, they would be shocked and become even more worried about him.

Faced with the hidden concern in his parents’ and Female Older Brothers’ eyes, Shamir could only drag things out.

Male Zergs and hatchlings acting spoiled were especially effective in situations like this.

He angrily hid in his room and refused to come out.

His Female Father had no way to deal with him and could only coax him.

The subject of blind dates and meeting Female Zergs was never brought up again, as though it had never happened.

But during this period, there were noticeably more Zergs on the farm.

The family’s residential area wasn’t in the same place as the area where the tourists moved around, so no Zergs came directly in front of Shamir.

But Shamir noticed that the farm had become much livelier.

From far away, he could see groups of Zergs everywhere, taking photos as souvenirs.

Some Zergs were even wearing the farm’s work clothes and doing labor.

These Zergs clearly weren’t farm employees.

They were probably only there for the experience, because Shamir would only see them once, and the next day they would already have been replaced by a new group of Zergs.

“Are our farm experience projects really this popular?” Shamir asked his second brother, who had always been responsible for the family’s affairs.

His second brother gave him a meaningful look and said, “They were already very popular before. Recently they’ve become especially popular. Reservations are already booked through next year. The vast majority are your fans.”

Shamir genuinely hadn’t expected that even after he retired from the entertainment industry, so many Zergs would still come here because of his name.

Shamir felt extremely apologetic toward the fans he had let down.

During this period, livestreaming platforms had also approached him wanting to sign contracts.

The promotional effect of his last virtual game livestream had been quite good.

After learning that he had already terminated his contract with his company, they wanted to sign a contract directly with him as an individual.

Shamir didn’t immediately refuse.

He was still considering it.

He truly had no intention of returning to acting.

Experiencing that kind of Zerg life once was enough.

He had no desire to spend his entire life living under the spotlight.

But if he only livestreamed farm life and promoted the farm and his hometown, then maybe that would be fine?

While he was still hesitating, Shamir received a message from an unexpected Zerg.

Mr. Ravens.

Mr. Ravens said that he wanted to bring the pets to the farm for a vacation and asked whether it would be convenient for Shamir to let him come over.

Shamir hadn’t expected that when Mr. Ravens had said he wanted to visit his farm, it hadn’t just been polite talk.

He was really coming!

After a brief burst of excitement, Shamir quickly calmed down.

Of course it was convenient for him.

And of course he welcomed Mr. Ravens’s arrival.

But his second brother had just told him that the hotel was completely booked.

There might not be any vacancies for the entire coming year.

Was he supposed to invite Mr. Ravens to stay at his home?

Shamir’s heart gave a heavy thump as countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

If Ravens stayed at his house, there were spare rooms.

Even if there weren’t, he could let Mr. Ravens stay in his room...

But how was he supposed to explain that to his family?

“My former boss wants to come stay at our home for a while and experience farm life.”

During dinner, Shamir brought it up with an unconcerned expression, as if mentioning it casually.

The gazes of several Female Zergs at the dining table instantly sharpened.

Even his eldest brother, who hadn’t planned on eating and had been preparing to head back to the law enforcement team, stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.

A Male Zerg’s keen emotional perception immediately told Shamir that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

His heart jolted.

Had he accidentally let something slip?

He shouldn’t have...

But because he had a guilty conscience, he felt especially nervous and couldn’t be certain.

In the end, his second brother was the first to speak.

“Boss? You mean... the chairman of Ravens Group?”

Shamir gave a tiny nod.

His family knew some things about his situation.

Things like the company and his boss were all public information.

Of course, he absolutely did not dare tell his family about the contract.

If he did, his Female Father and several brothers would definitely storm over there, beat Ravens half to death, and drag Shamir back home.

His Female Father seemed to give a cold snort and said in an oddly sarcastic tone, “Ravens invested in the farm nine years ago. He’s a major shareholder. The hotel has suites reserved specifically for shareholders, so you don’t need to worry about where he’ll stay.”

For some reason, Shamir felt that his Female Father’s expression had turned extremely dark and unpleasant.

Especially when he mentioned Ravens investing in the farm, it sounded almost as if he were grinding his teeth.

But when had Ravens invested in his family’s farm?

And nine years ago?

That early?

How had Shamir known nothing about it at all?

Ravens had never mentioned this to him.

His family hadn’t mentioned it either.

Shamir’s eyes were filled with pure confusion.

Seeing him like this, his Female Father sighed heavily in his heart.

That investment had come nine years ago.

Calculating the time, it should have been around three months after Shamir first entered the entertainment industry.

At the time, they hadn’t known much about the capital backing the company Shamir belonged to.

When the investment came, they had simply treated it as ordinary business dealings.

Only later had they learned Ravens’s identity.

If they had known all of this even a little earlier, they never would have accepted so much as one star coin of investment from him.

Now they didn’t even have a chance to return the money...

Remembering how they had once praised this shareholder for paying readily, causing no trouble, and never interfering with the farm’s operations, the expressions of the Female Zergs all turned unpleasant.

They also hadn’t expected that the other party would still dare come to the farm.

And worse, he was coming through Shamir, as though he wanted to move directly into the room next to Shamir.

No.

That guy’s ambitions might be even greater.

Maybe he wanted to move directly into Shamir’s room.

Their hatchling had been bullied without them knowing.

They had held back because they were worried about Shamir’s feelings, and because those rumors had ultimately only been unverified speculation.

They hadn’t wanted to recklessly bring it up and make Shamir sad, so they hadn’t directly gone over to beat Ravens up.

But now that the other party was coming here, there was no way they would let Shamir be wronged again right in front of them.

His eldest brother, who had originally been about to leave, stayed behind.

The several Female Zergs told Shamir to go rest first.

They would handle this matter themselves.

Shamir opened his mouth, still wanting to say something, but his Male Father pulled him away.

His Male Father spoke to him with the experience of someone who had been through this before.

“Give the Female Zergs some private space. Female Zerg matters should be handled by the Female Zergs themselves.”

“But this matter...”

Shamir hesitated and said, “This matter involves my... former boss.”

His Male Father’s eyes narrowed slightly in a dangerous way, and with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, he said, “You said it yourself. He’s your ‘former boss.’ You have nothing to do with each other anymore, so what are you still worried about?”

Shamir didn’t know what he was worried about either.

Since Mr. Ravens was a shareholder in the farm, his Female Father and brothers couldn’t possibly make things difficult for him...

Right?

Male Zergs were especially sensitive to emotions.

Even though Shamir didn’t know what had happened, he could still sense that his family wasn’t very friendly toward Ravens.

There was even a faint sense of rejection.

That made him very worried.

But no matter how worried he was, he had not formally taken over the farm.

The family affairs were still managed by his Female Father and second brother.

It wasn’t really his place to interfere.

His Female Father had said before that once Shamir married and had a Female Lord, the farm would officially be handed over to him, and his Female Lord could manage it on his behalf.

That matter was clearly still a very long way off.

Families with Male Zerg sons rarely gave their Male Zergs troublesome physical businesses that still required management.

Usually, they simply gave them money.

Male Zergs generally preferred that too.

The treatment of Female Zerg sons was completely the opposite.

Families were more inclined to give them physical businesses they could keep under their own control, rather than money that would immediately be divided with a Male Zerg once they married.

Even if part of the business would still be taken by the Male Zerg, the Female Zerg would ultimately still be the one managing it.

As long as it remained in his own hands, he would still have confidence and a fallback.

For example, Shamir’s second brother had directly taken over the family orchard as soon as he became an adult.

His eldest and third brothers had ambitions elsewhere, so they had handed their own shares entirely over to their second brother to manage.

They had even invested some additional funds and collected dividends each year.

Shamir was able to receive the farm because he himself liked this place.

He liked the place where he had grown up.

After discussing it, the family had decided to give the farm to him.

But at the same time, as a form of insurance, Shamir needed a Female Lord who could manage the property for him.

Shamir found this extremely troublesome.

As things stood now, he was still one Female Lord away from truly inheriting the farm.

Without a Female Lord, he couldn’t formally take over the farm.

And if he couldn’t take over the farm, he couldn’t be responsible for receiving Mr. Ravens.

But without Ravens, where was he supposed to get a Female Lord?

Shamir was stunned by his own logic for a second.

Only then did he realize that this train of thought wasn’t quite right.

He and Mr. Ravens...

There was no possibility between them.

How could he automatically place Ravens in the position of Female Lord?

Had that farm life in the virtual game affected him?

Shamir thought about it in confusion.

The next day, he saw Mr. Ravens wearing the farm’s work uniform.

The other Zerg was even carrying a bucket in his hand and looked like he was about to go milk the Milk-Jar Beasts.

A group of pet Fluffball Beasts followed beside him.

The moment they saw Shamir, the Fluffball Beasts pounced over, circling around his legs and crying out happily.

Shamir casually picked up one familiar little creature and lifted his eyes to meet Ravens’s gaze.

The moment Ravens saw him, delight blossomed in his eyes.

Then he seemed to remember what he was currently wearing and looked somewhat awkward.

But in the end, he simply smiled in relief and faced Shamir openly, his eyes never leaving him.

“Mr. Ravens, what are you...” Shamir looked at Ravens’s outfit in confusion.

Even if he wanted to experience farm life, was there really any need to be this formal about it?

Ravens gave a dry cough and said:

“The hotel rooms are in short supply. I came in through the employee channel, and that was how I managed to get a rest room. The condition is that I have to work in exchange for accommodation. The advantage is that I don’t have to pay rent, three meals are included, and I can even collect a salary.”

“In short, I’m an employee of the farm now. You can just call me Ravens. You don’t need to call me ‘Mr.’ anymore.”

When Shamir first started calling him that, Ravens had thought it sounded rather nice.

A young, beautiful Male Zerg who suited his tastes calling him Mr. Ravens—there was no Female Zerg who wouldn’t like that.

But after enough time passed, it started to feel far too distant.

This was a perfect opportunity to change the form of address for good.

Shamir was still too shocked by Ravens saying that he had become a farm employee to care about how he addressed him.

This was how his Female Father and brothers had arranged accommodation for a major shareholder?

Huh???

He didn’t understand it at all and was deeply shaken.

He was very worried that Mr. Ravens would be angry.

But judging from Mr. Ravens’s expression, he didn’t seem to have any complaints.

If anything, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Ravens lifted the bucket in his hand and explained:

“My current job is to go to the livestock shed, milk a portion of fresh Milk-Jar Beast milk, keep it warm for the family’s Male Zerg son, and have it ready for him to drink when he wakes up.”

As he spoke, he lifted his eyes to look at Shamir and suddenly seemed to realize something.

The Male Zerg son had gotten up earlier than expected.

His milk wasn’t ready yet.

His work today was clearly unsatisfactory.

He wondered if he would be punished.

Ravens pursed his lips slightly.

He wasn’t afraid of having his wages deducted.

Even if they deducted so much that he had to work for the farm for the rest of his life, he wouldn’t mind.

That would be even better.

What he was worried about was being fired for neglecting his duty.

That would be terrible.

Shamir’s Female Father and Female Older Brothers were extremely dissatisfied with him.

Once he was fired, he would never have another chance to step foot here again.

However, before Shamir gave his opinion, they wouldn’t fire him.

Even if he failed to do something properly, it would be Shamir who punished him.

Because he was an employee specifically assigned to take care of Shamir.

Thinking of this, Ravens was no longer afraid of the punishment that might come.

If Shamir was the one punishing him, then no matter what kind of punishment it was, he would accept it.

...]