The readers collectively fell silent after finishing the update.
No Zerg believed a Female Zerg could remain conscious under the pheromones of an A+ Male Zerg.
Claire shouldn't have been able to, either.
But somehow, he did.
Rather than harming the Male Zerg, he would rather inject massive amounts of suppressants and endure pain akin to genetic collapse. After running out of suppressants, he tore open his own flesh with his claws again and again, using blood and pain to force himself back to reason...
And he never once hurt the Male Zerg.
He had faced not only the temptation of Male Zerg pheromones and physical torment, but also the pursuit of the Tianga.
Yet in such an utterly impossible situation, he had actually brought Xi'an back safely.
[Claire... I salute him as a Female Zerg. A truly valiant military Female Zerg.]
[I'll never curse Claire again. He has lifetime immunity from criticism from me.]
[I said all those things about him before. Damn it, I deserve to die.]
[I think about it in the middle of the night and want to slap myself twice.]
[No wonder Lord Xi'an chose him. If this is the reason, it's not hard to understand at all.]
The Male Zergs understood this even more deeply.
They were Male Zergs themselves and knew exactly how irresistible the pheromones of a high-level Male Zerg were to Female Zergs.
Enough to make even the coldest and most solemn Female Zerg cast everything aside, lose himself, abandon reason and dignity, crawl on the ground, expose his ugliest side, and become nothing more than a lust-driven beast.
Female Zergs believed Male Zergs were incapable of love.
Male Zergs believed Female Zergs were incapable of love as well.
Could that even be called love?
It was nothing more than fanatical obsession with pheromones.
Put another high-level Male Zerg there and they would do the same.
Bowing and scraping, wagging their hips and begging for pity.
Precisely because they understood how terrifying the influence of a high-level Male Zerg's pheromones was, they were even more shaken by what Claire had done.
They seemed to understand why Xi'an had fallen for Claire.
No one could remain unmoved by such devotion and feelings.
[But... Xi'an didn't know any of this before.]
[Right, then why did he like Claire?]
[Maybe it's because Claire himself is wonderful, so he loved Claire, not because Claire treated him well.]
It seemed understandable.
And yet not entirely.
They desperately wanted to see what happened next.
They wanted to see Xi'an and Claire's story.
[Author, update already! You've rested for five whole minutes, time to get up and post the next chapter! (Reward: x1 Spaceship)]
[I normally don't read bloody stories like this, but this one hurts too much. Hurry up and heal Claire (crying). Then do him on the pilot seat and fulfill Claire's fantasies.]
An Ruo, who had logged in to read the comments: "???"
As expected of the Zerg race.
As obscenely horny and violent as ever.
Not surprising in the slightest.
The other Female Zerg readers didn't find comments like that strange at all.
Look, His Lordship was even thinking of healing Claire before sleeping with him.
He wasn't planning on taking Lord Xi'an right there among the wounds and in the pool of blood.
A Male Zerg willing to sleep with a Female Zerg was already a good Male Zerg, noble and worthy of respect.
And if he conveniently gave psychic soothing afterward, then he was an exceptionally, exceptionally good Male Zerg.
An Ruo: "..."
He wasn't particularly eager to admit this was the world of a novel he himself had written.
The standards Female Zergs had for Male Zergs were absurdly low.
Under circumstances like these, how noble could Male Zergs really be expected to be?
An Ruo exited the comment section and was about to count the rewards he'd received recently when a news notification popped up above. He tapped it reflexively.
"New Law: Married Male Zergs Must Regularly Perform Psychic Soothing for Female Zergs in Their Household"
Including Female Lords, attendant females, and Female Zerg children.
As for slave females?
Sorry, the Federation officially did not recognize slave females.
There were no slave females.
The law further stated that if a Male Zerg's rank was too low to meet the standards required for psychic soothing, Female Zergs could apply for divorce.
An Ruo was stunned.
The Zerg race actually had such a law?
Unbelievable.
Though he vaguely remembered something...
The Male Zerg protagonist in the original story had once mentioned that Male Zergs had to regularly provide psychic soothing for the Female Zergs in their households. If a married Female Zerg suffered mental problems, the Male Lord would also be held accountable.
At least in the timeline of the original work, this was common social knowledge.
These changes had all come during Ulysses's rule.
Not entirely good.
But not entirely bad, either.
Step by step, Ulysses had raised the status and rights of Female Zergs while simultaneously restricting Male Zergs.
By the later stages, he had become so extreme that he sought to imprison all Male Zergs and use them merely as tools.
Once he had reached such extremes, he naturally became the villain.
Destined to be defeated by the righteous protagonist.
The blade that pierced him happened to belong to the Female Zerg protagonist who had been selected and nurtured under his own policies.
Even years later, that Female Zerg protagonist had to acknowledge Ulysses's contributions to improving the status and rights of Female Zergs.
This law was only the beginning.
An Ruo felt as though he had stepped into the chapters of a novel and was witnessing the plot unfold with his own eyes.
At the same time, it felt as though he were standing within the river of history itself, personally experiencing the tides of an era.
Everything had already begun.
And everything would eventually proceed toward its predetermined future.
An Ruo didn't believe he could change anything.
If he were still in his original world, perhaps he could rewrite an ending as the author.
But he was in a Zerg prison.
The copper walls and iron barriers of the prison separated him from the outside world.
He could do nothing.
The chaos outside had nothing to do with him.
If he lived long enough to see the day when everything ended, perhaps he would sit inside his prison cell and record it all with his pen.
He would write the chapter that belonged to Ulysses.
He deserved a chapter of his own.
...
"The Instructor Update," "Psychic Soothing," and "New Law" occupied the top three trending topics on StarNet simultaneously, with popularity continuing to rise.
The Male Zergs had been happily chasing the novel, only to turn around and discover that their home had been stolen.
——This law was clearly aimed at them!
Regular psychic soothing for all Female Zerg family members.
Female Lords, attendants, and children.
And Female Zergs could even divorce if the Male Zerg's level wasn't high enough.
Nani?
The audacity!!!
Suddenly being saddled with a pile of mandatory work was intolerable to Male Zergs who had grown accustomed to freedom and leisure.
More important than the law itself was the attitude toward Male Zergs hidden within it.
Male Zergs were particularly sensitive to such things.
The hot-tempered ones immediately picked up their virtual keyboards and began cursing on StarNet.
The others were panicking as well.
They hurriedly recalled whether they had been performing psychic soothing regularly, how great the rank gap was between themselves and their Female Lords and attendants, and whether their wives might seek divorce.
Those who realized they had been doing things properly quietly sighed in relief.
Those who clearly hadn't fulfilled the requirements grew anxious while joining the online cursing.
They cursed the Federation.
They cursed the Council.
They cursed Marshal Ulysses...
Ah, no, they didn't dare do that openly.
Instead, they switched to cursing Annor.
Although Ulysses's name wasn't mentioned anywhere in the law, anyone with functioning eyes could tell he was involved.
The clause allowing Female Zergs to divorce Male Zergs with rank differences too great for psychic soothing was ironclad proof.
Back then, the B-rank Male Zerg Annor had somehow struck lucky and married General Ulysses, who had been SS-rank.
A B-rank Male Zerg could at most provide psychic soothing for an S-rank Female Zerg.
That was already the limit.
Once one entered S-rank, the gap with lower ranks was like a heavenly chasm, as though they belonged to entirely different species.
A B-rank Male Zerg simply couldn't perform psychic soothing on an SS-rank.
That Male Zerg couldn't even open General Ulysses's psychic domain.
Nor could he perform psychic soothing or mark him.
The Male Zerg became twisted under repression and even committed domestic violence against the General, causing severe incidents.
Heaven knew where he had found the courage.
Now that Male Zerg sat in prison and would spend the rest of his life there.
Yet innocent Male Zergs outside had to bear the bitter consequences he had left behind.
How could they not curse him?
Picking up their terminals, Male Zergs typed with psychic power at astonishing speed and cursed that imprisoned Male Zerg into oblivion.
The innocent An Ruo caught in the crossfire: "Uh..."
Perhaps he wasn't entirely innocent.
After all, he had written this plot.
He simply hadn't expected it to come true for himself.
Forget it.
Curse away.
He was in prison, after all.
Those Male Zergs couldn't exactly storm in and beat him up.
An Ruo manually blocked some of the especially vicious comments and checked the reactions of Female Zergs through their verified StarNet gender markers.
Female Zergs were the absolute beneficiaries of this matter.
Unmarried Female Zergs supported the law one hundred percent.
Even those speaking up for Male Zergs secretly hoped the law would be implemented.
Even if only partially.
Most married Female Zergs were busy calming their Male Lords and didn't have time to post on StarNet.
The Zerg race worshipped strength.
Rank gaps, pheromones, and psychic soothing were all harsh realities.
Even though Male Zergs were scarce, low-ranking Male Zergs still found it difficult to marry high-ranking Female Zergs across two rank levels.
If such rare cases occurred, either the Male Zerg's family held power and influence...
Or there were underhanded methods involved.
Of course, there was one more possibility that the Zerg race hardly believed in or understood at all—
True love.
Council Speaker Cassian was dealing with the aftermath of the law when he suddenly received a communication from his Male Lord.
He had no choice but to stop his work and answer.
A figure appeared on the light screen.
White hair.
Pink eyes.
Like an exquisite doll.
But those petal-like pink eyes were currently overflowing with tears.
The Male Zerg had apparently been crying for quite a while.
The moment he saw him, tears began falling one after another like broken strings of pearls.
"What do we do, baby? Our rank difference is greater than two levels. I can't perform psychic soothing for you. The court is forcing us to divorce."
"Please calm down, Male Lord. There is no forced divorce. The Federation will never force spouses to separate. The court only intervenes if the Female Zerg applies."
Cassian explained patiently in his usual calm and gentle tone, appearing composed and trustworthy.
In reality, the moment he saw those tears, his brain was about to explode.
There were only two people in this world whose tears terrified him.
One was his younger brother Xi'an.
The other was the Male Zerg before him.
When his younger brother cried because of him, he would bite back and immediately run off to complain to their female and male parents. Ever since childhood, Xi'an had never been one to suffer losses.
But his Male Lord really was...
Like a fragile porcelain doll.
Touch him and he'd shatter.
Shatter and he'd cry.
Tears pouring endlessly.
He was exactly like those whiny Male Zergs in a certain genre of novels that Male Zergs had complained about for years.
Because of that, Cassian had become a loyal reader of those novels, constantly seeking advice from the Female Zergs in them and learning how to coax Male Zergs.
His Male Lord had been born with genetic defects and possessed an exceptionally fragile body.
Cassian was terrified of making him sad.
Before the law had been released, he'd explained everything over and over again, repeatedly assuring him that it wouldn't affect them and giving him plenty of reassurance.
Yet after the law was officially announced, his Male Lord had still been frightened by the discussions on StarNet and came crying to him.
Cassian regretted not staying by his Male Lord's side.
Had he known, he should have taken leave in advance.
After a long time spent comforting him, the Male Zerg finally calmed down and stopped crying.
Crystal tears still clung to his snow-white eyelashes like dewdrops on flower petals, trembling enough to shake a Zerg's heart.
Rubbing his eyes, the Male Zerg sniffled softly and asked,
"They really won't force us to divorce?"
"I guarantee it."
Cassian even raised a hand in a swearing gesture.
Only then did the Male Zerg smile through his tears and wipe them away.
Suddenly remembering something, a clear and mischievous glint appeared in those freshly washed eyes.
"Oh right, I just saw your younger brother on StarNet."
"...Xi'an?"
Cassian frowned in confusion.
Wasn't Xi'an in the Ninth Military Region?
How had he ended up on StarNet?
Still puzzled, he received a link from the other side and casually opened it.
"The Instructor" Trending Discussion:
#LordXi'anGotMarried
#LordXi'anAndClaireAreTrueLove
#LordXi'anCried
Cassian: "???"