Chapter 65: He’s the Prison’s Top Attraction: A Free, Public Male Zerg

What kind of day was this?

Why were his protagonists and villains popping up in front of him one after another?

Meeting the protagonists was fine.

Meeting the villain was life-threatening.

...

No matter how much he wanted to avoid it, reality still had to be faced.

Taking a deep breath, An Ruo reopened the door and walked inside.

Ulysses had already put away the light screen and was looking at him. His expression wasn’t very good, and deep within his eyes lurked a dark crimson glow.

An Ruo suddenly realized—

He had just come back from the battlefield.

Even more dangerous.

An Ruo stopped some distance away.

There had been no official reports about the war, not even news of the return voyage.

Yet the Supreme Commander of the expedition stood before him.

——He had torn through space to return.

The abilities of top-tier female Zerg were sometimes more useful than the latest technology.

To rush back in such haste, it could only mean...

His mental condition could no longer be delayed.

This wasn’t part of the original story.

An Ruo had no confidence in dealing with this.

Their eyes met.

Adhering to the principle of never speaking first, An Ruo simply stared back at the intruder.

Eventually, Ulysses was the first to speak.

“I need a Psychic Soothing session. Name any price you want.”

The high-ranking female Zerg sat on his bed, in the prison cell that held him, looking down at him from above as he proposed the transaction and allowed him to set the price.

Sometimes, An Ruo could set aside his guilt toward the original characters and think:

“A villain is still a villain.”

“What do you think I need?”

An Ruo threw the question back at him.

If the Marshal had come through the proper channels and requested a session in the treatment room, he would have done it immediately.

It was part of his job.

No additional payment was necessary.

But since the Marshal had come privately, then they would use private rates.

He was the Military Region Prison’s number one attraction.

He was very expensive!

Ulysses narrowed his eyes and examined the male before him.

He was timid enough to run away the moment he heard he was coming.

Yet bold enough to throw the question back at him.

An Ruo met the gaze of the overwhelmingly imposing female Zerg.

As the author, he feared the final villain.

As a male Zerg, the original owner of the body had a grudge against him.

But now he was the most expensive instrument in the entire prison.

Even if the villain tore the whole prison apart, he wouldn’t be able to touch a single finger of his.

You could hit bugs.

You couldn’t hit instruments.

After a while, Ulysses looked away.

“Anything except release from prison.”

An Ruo fell silent.

He didn’t want to leave prison.

He liked it here.

This was his beloved little nest.

This female Zerg had invaded his room, occupied his bed, and was telling him he couldn’t leave prison.

It was a little funny.

He knew Ulysses would never release him.

And Ulysses knew he wasn’t the original owner, but rather an “outsider who had occupied a male Zerg’s body,” an “unknown life-form.”

If one day Ulysses really decided to let him out, that would be when he panicked.

Because what awaited him would probably be:

“Exit prison, turn left, enter laboratory.”

“All right, Marshal.”

An Ruo sighed softly.

“What I mean is, I don’t need anything.”

“This place is already wonderful. My life is wonderful. I lack nothing. Since you asked me to set a price, I honestly can’t think of anything I want.”

Their eyes met.

The male was calm and straightforward.

Ulysses knew he was telling the truth.

This unknown creature had very few desires.

He spent every day happily inside prison.

His only hobby was writing novels.

This was the first time Ulysses had encountered such a troublesome situation.

None of his bargaining chips could buy even a single Psychic Soothing session.

There was no reason to stay.

Ulysses stood up to leave.

But someone tugged at him.

Lowering his eyes, he looked at the hand clutching his sleeve.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it...”

An Ruo spoke softly, somewhat helpless.

This was the Federation Marshal, after all.

He didn’t know whether Ulysses’s extreme policies later in life had anything to do with his mental condition.

In the original story, Ulysses had never received Psychic Soothing because of his rejection of male Zerg and because of his excessively high rank.

By the end...

He really had become a little crazy.

The reason he had come to An Ruo now was probably because—

He wasn’t a male Zerg.

“What do you mean?”

Ulysses studied him with silver-gray eyes.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing.”

An Ruo sighed.

“I’m free, Marshal. I’m... a public male Zerg. You don’t have to pay.”

Ulysses pressed his lips together and remained silent.

“Sit down. Let’s take a look at your Psychic Domain. Though I may not necessarily be able to enter...”

Only when they were close did An Ruo notice the faint moisture clinging to him.

He had just taken a bath.

As for why he was still wearing his uniform—

Probably because his military uniform was his everyday clothing.

Coming back to himself, An Ruo thought that Ulysses’s level was too high. He wasn’t sure if he could enter his Psychic Domain.

Or perform effective Psychic Soothing.

If Ulysses was truly SS rank on the surface, then his own A-rank Psychic Power would be sufficient.

But Ulysses wasn’t.

Coincidentally, neither was he.

He had pretended to be A-rank for so long that he had almost believed it himself. For a moment, An Ruo forgot that his own level was fake.

He didn’t even know what rank he truly possessed.

Perhaps he could try.

This could also be a test from a Marshal who was naturally suspicious.

But it didn’t really matter.

At worst, he would go from being the most expensive instrument in the prison—

To becoming the most expensive instrument in the entire Zerg race.

And lately, he had been researching group Psychic Soothing anyway.

If things became even more extreme and they wanted to send him to a laboratory...

Then he’d destroy his own spirit and drag Ulysses down with him.

An Ruo thought through countless possibilities in an instant.

By the time he came back to himself, Ulysses was already seated by the bed, posture perfectly straight.

Yet there was a slight stiffness hidden within, proving he wasn’t as relaxed as he appeared.

Those metallic, inorganic eyes examined him.

Assessing danger.

Assessing possible harm.

“My previous offer still stands. Name any price you want, except release.”

After some thought, An Ruo said:

“Then please don’t hurt me.”

Those eyes paused.

“I won’t.”

After a moment, Ulysses added,

“As long as you don’t damage the Federation’s interests.”

Even if he did, he wouldn’t suffer anything truly cruel.

His abilities exempted him from most punishments.

At worst, life imprisonment.

Which was no different from now.

Unless his actions brought about the destruction of the Federation and the extinction of the Zerg race, with no possibility of salvation.

Only then would he receive the death penalty and perish alongside the nation.

“I hope you’re not playing word games with me.”

An Ruo thought.

He was really very fragile.

The two remained silent for a while.

Finally, An Ruo cautiously extended his Psychic Power.

Ulysses displayed some wariness.

But no more extreme reactions.

An Ruo wandered outside his mental barrier, feeling somewhat troubled.

Other female Zergs’ mental barriers were like morning mist to him.

He passed through effortlessly, as though they didn’t exist.

But this one...

This guy had built an endless steel fortress around his Psychic Domain.

Just how guarded was he?

An Ruo knocked on the wall.

——Hello, could you let me in?

The wall answered with Ulysses’s trademark cold stare.

What would other male Zerg do in this situation?

First break open the female Zerg’s body, then break open...

An Ruo paused.

Then silently continued searching for another solution.

Inside the prison cell.

Ulysses leaned against the headboard and stared at the cold white light reflected from the metallic ceiling.

His eyes were unfocused.

It felt wonderful.

The male’s Psychic Power wandered around his mental barrier.

Thin strands of spiritual silk brushed gently across it like soft little brushes.

It felt incredibly comfortable.

For a moment, he almost wanted to throw caution aside and invite the male in, letting him see his truest self.

But he couldn’t.

If the male’s level wasn’t high enough, he would become lost inside.

Ulysses could not satisfy his own selfish desires and kill him, causing the Zerg race to lose an irreplaceable Psychic Soother.

His gaze shifted and landed on the male sitting before him.

He was truly beautiful.

His beauty was aggressive, carrying a deadly allure impossible for any bug to resist.

Yet beauty was the least remarkable thing about him.

At this moment, his brows were lowered and slightly furrowed.

It made one want to smooth away all his worries.

Ulysses’s gaze moved to the male’s wrist.

Uriel really had lost his mind.

Look at the inhibitor he had put on him.

Such a delicate and beautiful ornament.

There was no need to unlock it.

It didn’t even interfere with the male’s Psychic Power dancing inside his mind.

Ulysses’s fingers moved.

Using his highest authority, he opened all restrictions on that decorative inhibitor.

An Ruo suddenly felt his spirit relax.

His consciousness plunged straight in.

By the time he reacted, he had already crossed to the other side of the wall.

An endless sea of stars spread before him.

An Ruo froze.

Only then did he realize he had entered Ulysses’s inner psychic landscape.

So huge...

And so familiar.

An Ruo had seen military posts announcing:

“The Zerg Territory Has Expanded Another Ten Thousand Light-Years.”

Soon, he connected the two.

This was the Zerg territory.

Beyond it lay the Tianga Star System.

Farther still were other nations, ownerless regions, and unexplored deep space.

Ulysses’s inner psychic landscape was absurdly enormous.

An Ruo had seen starry skies inside other female Zergs’ psychic landscapes.

But those had merely been background images.

The true cores were ships, mechs, or transfer stations.

Ulysses’s psychic landscape contained genuine star systems.

Absolutely insane.

As expected of the ruthless bug who expanded the Zerg territory threefold during his reign.

His ambition was unmistakable.

This was why Psychic Soothing was far more intimate than physical union.

Every bug’s true nature was laid bare inside their psychic landscape.

No disguises.

No concealment.

They exposed themselves naked before the male Zerg who entered.

Every bug had secrets.

Unless absolutely necessary, no female Zerg would willingly reveal these things.

That was also why adult female Zerg rarely sought Psychic Soothing from their male fathers.

When hatchlings grew up, they gained secrets of their own.

Some things became difficult to reveal even to the parents who had raised them.

Yet the existence of mental collapse forced them to seek help from male Zerg.

To female Zerg, this was probably unbearably painful.

But after countless millennia, pain itself had become habit.

That Ulysses had allowed him inside his psychic landscape had exceeded An Ruo’s expectations.

He had assumed he would only be permitted to groom yarn balls around the outer edge of the Psychic Domain.

Apparently, ever since their last meeting, after Ulysses confirmed he wasn’t the original owner and perhaps not even a male Zerg—

He had discarded something in front of him.

...

Now came the problem.

How was he supposed to soothe a Psychic Domain this enormous?

Pluck planets one by one?

He’d be plucking until the end of time.

Even after his prison sentence ended, he still wouldn’t finish.

An Ruo could only pour all his Psychic Power into it.

The powerful Psychic Power spread outward and enveloped the entire star region.

Raise the dimensional level...

The endless galaxy before him transformed into...

A sandbox.

Much better.

An Ruo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But—

Could the female Zerg outside, the one currently holding his neck, please loosen his grip first?