The little white snake crawled to Samuel’s neck and coiled around it.
While Samuel was seriously observing the mental combing being performed on a military female, he felt a sudden twitch at the hem of his trousers. Confused, he looked down and saw a joyful little creature at his feet. It was a snake.
Samuel’s pupils constricted. Based on its shape, it was indeed a snake, and a pure white one with red eyes at that. The Zerg race did not have snakes. Although the Zerg had developed robust bodies and powerful mental strength through evolution, they were ultimately insects, and snakes were their natural predators. However, snakes had long been extinct in the galaxy. Samuel only recognized it because of his love for reading; during his ambitious pursuit of the Marshal title, he had devoured countless books and encountered this legendary species in ancient texts. He wondered why a snake would appear here.
Before Samuel could react, the little white snake, sensing no danger, treated him like a new toy. It climbed up his trouser leg, over his lean and powerful waist, across his firm chest muscles, and finally stopped at his neck. It settled there leisurely, slowly coiling around before burying its head in the crook of his shoulder.
As the Zerg Marshal, Samuel could have eliminated this seemingly harmless creature in less than a tenth of a second, but he chose not to. One reason was that the species was extinct, and he was curious why it had appeared in a male’s mental combing room. The other reason was that he felt no aggression from it. Even as it wrapped around his neck, the pressure was light. He felt no suffocation, only a cool, soft sensation proving it was truly there.
He looked down thoughtfully at the little white snake nesting against his neck, which was apparently preparing to continue its nap, and considered whether he should pull it off. Although the threat level was zero, having his neck constricted felt somewhat unsettling. The famously aloof Marshal did not realize that his level of tolerance for this newly met snake was unprecedented. In the past, he would never have allowed a living creature to get so close, let alone tolerate one sleeping on his neck.
Nearby, Winslow, who was performing a mental combing, felt something was wrong. To an extent, he shared senses with the little white snake, as it was a spiritual manifestation separated from himself. Usually, he did not care where it went or what it ate, but today felt different. He wondered why he suddenly felt so warm. He questioned where his spiritual manifestation had gone and if it was sitting by a fire.
Winslow quickly finished combing the current soldier, pressed the wake up button, and began to sense the snake’s location. He soon realized it was behind him, but since the snake had tucked itself away, he could not immediately see its exact position. He whipped his head around and let out a sharp gasp at the scene before him. His gluttonous, sleepy little snake had coiled itself tightly around the Zerg Marshal, marking its territory around his neck, which was a lethal strike zone. Winslow felt a wave of dizziness and his temples throbbed. He regretted letting it out, as it was causing trouble instead of working.
Chris, noticing Winslow had stopped, followed the male’s gaze and saw him staring at the Marshal. The Marshal was also staring directly back at the Excellency. Chris looked confused, wondering if he had missed something during this sudden, intense eye contact between the two.
Eventually, Samuel was the first to look away. He observed the three living beings in the room: the male, Chris, and the little white snake on his neck. Based on his observations, Chris could not see the snake; otherwise, he would have reacted to something so obvious. However, the male before him clearly could see it and was likely its owner. Samuel remained composed, pretending he could not see the creature either. He did not even lower his head, instead meeting the male’s gaze with a clear look and a hint of well timed confusion, as if wondering why the male was staring at him.
Realizing his behavior looked odd, Winslow quickly turned his head and called for the next soldier, acting as though he had simply been daydreaming. However, his left hand twitched inconspicuously, and the little white snake coiled around Samuel’s neck vanished, returning to Winslow’s hand in a flash. Pretending his hand was sore and relying on the fact that no one else could see the snake, he gave it a little squeeze and a shake.
As the snake was pulled away from his neck, a sudden pang of reluctance flashed through Samuel’s heart, though the feeling vanished before he could fully grasp it. He turned his eyes toward the next soldier, appearing focused on the mental combing process, but his peripheral vision remained glued to the little white snake in Winslow’s hand. The new soldier entering noticed nothing. It was confirmed that only the two of them could see the little snake, and the male seemed to know it was invisible to others.
Soon, Winslow began the next round of combing, but this time, he utilized the little white snake. In Samuel’s eyes, the snake entered the soldier’s spiritual sea along with Winslow’s mental power and emerged with it. A look of shock and suspicion crossed his eyes. He wondered if the little white snake was a tool the male used for mental combing. It was unheard of.
Samuel’s doubts grew. He considered that a male of unknown origin with a little snake that could help him comb so many soldiers quickly and easily might be part of a conspiracy. Yet, if it were a plot, it made no sense to send out such a powerful male. A male of this rank, likely exceeding S rank, was of incomparable value; several resource planets could not equal his worth.
Samuel dismissed the idea that the male was a spy from the Sky Gar. The Sky Gar were not that generous, and their males were never this confident or radiant. This male possessed an innate nobility and confidence that made him shine just by standing there. The environment of the Sky Gar, where females were honored and males were humble, could not produce such a male. Even within the Zerg, no male was this brilliant.
Furthermore, his observations confirmed the male was genuinely performing mental combing and not controlling the soldiers, which was something Samuel, as an SSS rank, could easily detect. He grew more puzzled. With a questionable identity but clearly not a spy, he wondered if this male was truly a blessing sent by the Insect God. Samuel scoffed at the thought. He never believed in gods; he only believed in himself.
Therefore, regardless of the male’s origin or purpose, as long as he did not harm the Zerg, Samuel could turn a blind eye. A sharp glint flashed in Samuel’s eyes before being hidden behind his eyelids, unnoticed by the others or Winslow.