Seeing this trending topic, Wen Qi became interested. He opened the link and saw the verbal abuse within.
Because of his previously pinned comment, many insects were boycotting “Moumou Streaming.” Today, the seeds he had planted finally erupted. Moumou Streaming apologized and adjusted his profit-sharing ratio so that he would now take 90%.
However, this move also pushed him thoroughly into the eye of the storm. How should he stream in the future? Would he be dug up by other insects? Always using a temporary terminal was not a long-term solution either.
But he could not rush it. Given his current mental state, the quality of a broadcast would not be very good; he still needed a few days. He scrolled through the comments one by one, feeling satisfied with the results he had caused.
If they had given him a reason to ban him, he would not have felt much of it, but Moumou Streaming did not give a single reason before banning his room. Was this not bullying him too much? Toward insects that bullied him, Wen Qi was never soft-hearted.
As he scrolled through the news under the trending topic, one message suddenly caught his attention.
“Does any insect know the streamer ‘Reading Worm’? We are from the Eighth Legion of the Matthew Sector. We need Mr. Reading Worm’s help. If you know him, please contact @EighthLegion.”
That message was posted three times. Wen Qi clicked on the user’s profile; the location was indeed in the Matthew Sector, and the account he mentioned was indeed the official Matthew account. Wen Qi checked the user’s following list. Several others seemed to have the same identity and had also posted several messages looking for Reading Worm.
Wen Qi hesitated for two seconds before sending a message.
“Why are you looking for Reading Worm?”
The other party was online and replied quickly: “Hello, can you provide information on Mr. Reading Worm? If it is verified, we will give you a reward. We offer 100,000 Star Coins for information and 500,000 Star Coins for helping us find Mr. Reading Worm.”
Wen Qi hesitated for a moment and replied, “I know him, but I need to know why you are looking for him.”
He always had a certain respect for military insects. If these insects were coming to him for help, he was willing to provide it if he could. Seeking out the identity of Reading Worm was undoubtedly for his voice, but was the Matthew Sector really unable to produce even a few male insects? Or was there something else?
The other side fell silent. Two minutes later, Wen Qi received a reply: “Two regiments in our Eighth Legion encountered Star Beasts while exploring a new planet recently. The death toll has exceeded a hundred, and the other insects are about to fall into a spiritual sea riot. With 1,500 insects per regiment, two regiments make 3,000. Aside from a hundred or so who can still hold on, the others are at their breaking point. If you know Mr. Reading Worm, can you ask him to do a live stream? They have listened to those previous videos so many times that they are almost useless now.”
Wen Qi frowned and slowly typed a line: “Why not ask the Male Insect Protection Association to send male insects over?”
The reply came back very quickly: “Male insects are rare. Our Eighth Legion is at the bottom of the Matthew Sector; not many male insects can be dispatched to our side.”
Wen Qi went silent. Two minutes later, he sent a message: “Reading Worm is currently in the Blue Sequence.” A minute later, he sent another: “How long can they hold out?”
The other side replied immediately: “Three days at most.”
Wen Qi deleted the dialogue box and stared at his terminal in a daze.
Early the next morning, Wen Qi checked himself. His wounds were mostly healed. After taking a simple sip of nutrient solution, he headed out.
It was still early, and Wen Qi lived in a remote area. By the time he took a flight vehicle back to the house he had previously rented, it was already past 10:00 AM. Wen Qi used his mental power to sweep the surroundings. His mental power lingered for half an hour, but he found no suspicious insects nearby.
He walked into the rental house and inspected it carefully, concluding that no insect had been there since he left yesterday. He opened his terminal and clicked on the streaming app. Entering the backend, he refunded all the Star Coins he had promised to return yesterday. He then directly deleted his streaming account, logged into the forum, and posted the video he had recorded on Blue Star 6 as a backup for emergencies.
The whole process took about a minute. Just as Wen Qi was about to log out of his forum account, a sharp, thin whistling sound rang out. His expression changed slightly. In the perception of his externalized mental power, many female insects suddenly appeared. These females seemed to have sprung from the ground, appearing so unexpectedly that even Wen Qi’s vigilant mental power had not detected them beforehand.
Before Wen Qi could react, the sharp whistling sound landed inside the rental house, and a thick scent began to spread. Wen Qi only felt a burning sensation in his body; his pheromone secretion seemed to accelerate significantly.
Wen Qi’s face darkened. He quickly tore off a piece of his sleeve to cover his nose and mouth. His gaze landed on the forum account he had not yet logged out of. His eyes flickered for a moment, and he decided to go all out, directly mentioning the Male Insect Protection Association.
“Biyu Town, Blue Star 1. There are insects hunting me down. If captured, I will destroy my own mental power.”
After posting, he exited the logout screen, held his terminal, and used his nearly half-recovered mental power to strike fiercely outward.
The insects outside were clearly wearing protection, but that did not matter. When the mental power pierced down ruthlessly, sounds of agony echoed throughout the building. Taking advantage of his mental power, Wen Qi quickly rushed out of the rental house.
These insects did not seem certain which floor he was on. There were not many insects on his floor, and he quickly knocked them down with mental attacks. The hallways were filled with that scent; they were clearly using a wide-area attack.
He now faced two choices: go out now and certainly be discovered, or stay here and not only affect other insects but also be affected by that scent himself.
Wen Qi made a decision. He pushed his mental power to the maximum and located a building—a cluster of five buildings surrounding each other. The buildings were still under construction; the basic infrastructure was complete, and there were no insects inside. That building was nearly a hundred meters away.
He was currently on the second floor. There were three female insects on the fifth floor in a descending elevator, and another insect at the exit below. It was a total dead end.
Wen Qi’s eyes flashed. He ran quickly toward the bottom, thrusting his mental power deep into the head of the insect standing at the exit. A shrill scream rang out again, and as the sound traveled, Wen Qi bolted out the door.
Those five buildings were not far from the rental house, each five stories high. As Wen Qi ran, the female insects from upstairs had already come down. One female even used her bone wings. Wen Qi directly fired a mental attack; the flying female insect crashed to the ground with a shrill cry.
Seeing this, the other female insects retracted their bone wings one after another. With the interference of Wen Qi’s mental power, the female insects behind him failed to catch up by the time he reached the five buildings. As he entered the building, his terminal chirped twice. Two notifications clearly reached his ears.
This was the Male Insect Protection Association.
The President of the Association was an S-class male. He was old now, but he still gave off a wise, refined, and gentle aura. His long emerald-green hair made him look very energetic. At this moment, however, his face was grim as he looked at the message on his terminal and issued an order.
The massive Male Insect Protection Association went into full operation. In less than a minute, he received a name. Seeing the name, his expression darkened further.
The President opened his terminal and dialed a communication. Soon, a platinum-gold figure appeared on the screen. The figure had short silver hair, a majestic face, and silver pupils that gave off an air of inviolability.
Silver was as rare as black in the Insect Empire. That iconic color and expression were unforgettable to anyone who had seen this insect. That was the Marshal of the First Army of the Insect Empire, Zong Xiangxing.
It was unclear where Zong Xiangxing was at the moment; the surroundings were pitch black, and the light from the terminal illuminated him. The President of the Association clearly saw bloodstains on his hands.
“Marshal Zong Xiangxing,” President Cang Huai spoke, looking at the figure in the platinum-gold military uniform. His expression was ugly. “Leash your dogs. That male insect in the Blue Sequence belongs to our Association. You have no right to touch him.”
Hearing this, Zong Xiangxing wiped the blood from his hands nonchalantly. After finishing, he looked at the elderly figure in the call and said with a heavy face, “To whom is the President referring?”
He said indifferently, “A year ago when the President made things difficult, did I not leash all my dogs? Why? Are there some missing? How come I did not know?”
Cang Huai stared coldly at Zong Xiangxing and spat out a name: “Yi You.”
“Do not think I do not know. He begged you back then, and you were the one who sent him to the Seven-Color Sequence,” Cang Huai said. “I do not care what grievances you have with Gu Nan, but do not involve our male insects. Otherwise, even if the Insect Emperor is behind you, I can pull you down.”
Zong Xiangxing’s voice remained cold, but carried a tone meant to irritate: “My apologies, President Cang. Yi You stopped being my subordinate long ago. He defected; surely you knew that? You should know the details of what happened back then better than I do.”
Cang Huai ignored his attitude and stared at him. “It seems this is your stance, then. Since you, Marshal Zong, can allow your subordinates to persecute our high-level males, then I assume the First Army you lead has evolved to the point of not needing our mental soothing and pheromones. If that is the case, I will recall the male insects tomorrow.”
Hearing this blatant threat, Zong Xiangxing’s face darkened completely. A flash of gloom crossed his eyes, but he finally took a step back. “President Cang is right. Yi You’s persecution of a high-level male is an unpardonable crime. This Marshal will have him return immediately, if he still listens to my orders.”
He said in an icy tone, “If there is nothing else, I will hang up now.”
Cang Huai sneered. “That male insect said if he is caught, he will destroy his own mental power. If he truly dies, the Insect Race will inevitably face turmoil. When that time comes, do not say our Association did not look out for your First Army. At that time, forget becoming the General Commander of the Insect Race; you will not even keep your seat as the Marshal of the First Army in the Mid-Heaven Territory.”
Zong Xiangxing frowned. Realizing that if the male insect destroyed his mental power, he would end up with nothing and have terminally offended the Male Insect Protection Association, it simply was not worth it.
This old fellow Cang Huai always did what he said. If the male insect really died, not only would Zong Xiangxing fail to become the General Commander like the original protagonist in the book, but he would not even be able to hold his current position. Thinking of this, he could not sit still.
As someone from the modern world, how could he be worse than a paper character? That would be too embarrassing. Thinking of this, Zong Xiangxing said to Cang Huai, “Thank you for the information, President Cang. This Marshal understands.”
With that, he quickly disconnected the communication.