This led to the scene unfolding now.
Winslow looked at Ylair’s sparkling eyes and the spatial button being held out to him, feeling conflicted. The tall military insect across from him insisted on handing over the spatial button, claiming it was a gift of gratitude. However, Winslow had only agreed to help with the mental grooming to return the favor he owed to Chris.
He spoke tentatively, “There is really no need for a gift. Helping you with the mental grooming was a simple task; it did not consume much of my mental power. You do not need to send such an expensive present.”
Before Ylair could respond, Chris, who had been silent beside Winslow, took the spatial button and handed it to him. “This is the gratitude he ought to show. After all, you are his lifesaver. Without your help, his mental sea might have collapsed, leading to his death. If you do not accept it, Ylair might find it difficult to feel at ease.”
Noticing a flash of hesitation in Winslow’s eyes, Chris continued, “Or perhaps he made you feel uncomfortable during the mental grooming? If so, that is a dereliction of duty. To make an Honorable Male feel uncomfortable during grooming is an offense. Ylair should be punished.”
“No!” Winslow could only helplessly take the spatial button from Chris’s hand. He looked up at the red-haired Colonel in front of him. “Thank you for the gift; I like it very much. If you have a need in the future, you can come to me for mental grooming again.”
What?! There is a next time!
The military insects nearby who had not yet left were so jealous their faces nearly contorted. Their senses were exceptionally keen, allowing them to easily overhear the conversation between the Honorable Male, Colonel Chris, and Colonel Ylair.
Out of curiosity, they had been pretending to be busy nearby while silently eavesdropping for a long time. They were shocked by what they heard. It was one thing for Colonel Ylair to give the Male a thank-you gift, as that was expected, but the Honorable Male actually promised Colonel Ylair a second mental grooming session because of a simple, mandatory gift.
The group’s jealousy index continued to rise.
They had assets too! If they gave their fortunes to the Honorable Male, could they also receive mental grooming?
The answer was an obvious no. They collectively decided that Colonel Ylair must have bewitched the Honorable Male to get him to agree. After all, in the Zerg Federation, Males were notoriously arrogant. Wealth alone could not make them willingly perform mental grooming for a female; they only acted based on their personal whims.
Ylair paused when he heard the Male’s words. He wondered if he had heard correctly. Did this Male just offer him another grooming session?
He looked at Winslow in shock. Winslow, however, remained calm. His expression did not change, as if he were not the person who had just caused a collective state of shock.
In truth, Winslow did not think a single mental grooming session was that precious. In the White Tower, some Guides spent their entire day providing mental comfort to Sentinels until their mental power was completely depleted. He had only performed the task once, and including the promise to Ylair, it would only be twice. This did not even equate to half a day’s workload for a Guide.
Perhaps I should find an opportunity to test the upper limits of my mental power, he thought. How should I test it?
Chris was also stunned. Such an occurrence was practically unheard of among the Zerg. Aside from a few specialized mental grooming practitioners, who were usually Males who had committed serious crimes, or a female’s own mated Male, no Male would proactively offer a second grooming session to a female.
However, he suppressed his shock and spoke up to interrupt Winslow’s thoughts. He intended to take Lord Winslow on a tour of the military district to prevent him from getting lost or injured due to unfamiliarity. This was, after all, where the Lord would be staying until his family was found.
More importantly, they had been standing there for a long time, and the gazes of the surrounding insects were becoming increasingly fervent. Chris feared that if he were not careful, the military insects might charge forward. Fortunately, their discipline was strict, and no such incident occurred.
It was not until they left the dining hall and moved out of the crowd’s sight that both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Having suddenly received such a valuable gift, Winslow felt a bit out of his element. He had taken a quick peek earlier; the spatial button was filled with many sparkling items he did not recognize, but they looked incredibly expensive. Furthermore, the burning gazes from the crowd made him feel as if he were being roasted alive.
Chris was still processing the Male’s decision to groom Colonel Ylair again. He could not help but steal glances at the beautiful, exquisite figure beside him, who looked like a deity.
Winslow naturally noticed this and felt puzzled. What is wrong? Is it because I accepted too many gifts?
Winslow’s fingers paused on the spatial button. He wondered if Chris had only told him to accept it in the dining hall to save Ylair’s face. Should he return it now? No, that did not seem right; Chris’s expression had been very sincere when he told him to take it.
So, why does he keep looking at me?
Winslow gripped the spatial button tighter, just about to tell Chris he could speak his mind directly.
Suddenly, Chris spoke, “Lord Winslow, would you like to take a tour to familiarize yourself with the military base?”
Winslow closed his mouth, paused, and then said nonchalantly, “I can do that.”
Chris’s invitation aligned with his own thoughts. Since he was certain he would be living here for a while, he should get to know the environment.
Wait, surely I will not be stared at again?
Winslow felt uncertain. He wondered if it were too late to back out, but he knew he could not stay indoors forever. He considered that staying indoors forever might actually be an option.
On the other side, having received Winslow’s consent, Chris led him in the opposite direction. Winslow had no choice but to let go of the idea of backing out.
Sure enough, his fears were realized.
The first place they visited was the military insects’ training grounds, which were exceptionally crowded. The movements of the insects on the field were perfectly synchronized, and each strike carried a sharp, murderous intent. Some were engaged in hand-to-hand combat using their wings, while others were skillfully piloting airships.
Because Winslow had seen very few Sentinels, and those he had seen were solo combat experts, he had never witnessed a scene like this. It was magnificent, shocking, and brimming with killing intent.
Winslow thought the insects were so immersed in their training that he would not be gawked at. Regrettably, the commanding officer on duty noticed Colonel Chris and the Honorable Male beside him.
Thus, a thunderous shout rang across the bustling field, “Attention! Pay your respects to Colonel Chris and Lord Winslow!”
The noisy training ground fell silent instantly. Whether they were on the ground or in the air, whether they were insects or airships, everyone turned toward the entrance. They snapped into a standard military salute and their voices boomed like bells, “Greetings, Lord Winslow! Greetings, Colonel Chris!”
Winslow remained silent.
Chris returned the salute naturally, as he was used to such occasions. Now, every eye was fixed on Winslow.
“Look, it is that Lord,” one insect whispered with his eyes to the one next to him.
“The Lord is so handsome and exquisite. His rank must be very high,” the other replied with sparkling eyes.
“Definitely! They say his purification level is one hundred percent!” the first insect noted.
“I really want to catch his eye. This Lord is not only beautiful and high-ranking, but his temper seems very good. He is nothing like most of the Males on the main planet,” someone began to whisper.
“Exactly. If you became his female, you would not just avoid being beaten and scolded; you might even get regular mental grooming, just like Colonel Ylair.”
“What happened with Colonel Ylair?” asked an insect who had not heard about the cafeteria incident.
“You do not know? The Honorable Male accepted Ylair’s gift and even promised him a second chance at mental grooming! It is so enviable.”
The newly informed insect was too shocked to speak.
Fortunately, Winslow was used to keeping a blank face. His eyebrows did not even twitch, though his slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed his discomfort. He gave a small wave to return the greeting.
This time, Chris sensed Winslow’s slight unease. He called out in a steady voice for the insects to resume training and then led Winslow further along. The insects shouted their compliance, but they did not restart immediately. Their peripheral vision kept drifting toward Winslow.
Winslow’s back remained stiff until they cleared the training base gates and turned a corner. Only then did he exhale.
“The next place is the storage and maintenance area for warships and airships,” Chris’s voice was steady and slow as he introduced the area. “There are also some individual flying vehicles stored here. You can use them if you need to go out, though it is best to have a military insect accompany you for safety.”
Winslow nodded to show he understood, his eyes falling on the high-tech building.
The moment they pushed the door open, Winslow noticed the atmosphere was different from the noisy training ground; it was quiet and orderly. Massive military vehicles were parked in rows, and insects at work were holding terminals, recording test data for the airships.
Hearing the door, several insects looked up and saw Chris walking in with an unfamiliar figure. They found the stranger very interesting; he looked quite thin and frail, but his face was so exquisite they could not look away. Everyone held their breath until one insect realized who he was.
He is thin and has no wing patterns. He is that Honorable Male!
That insect suddenly became excited. The others were confused for a moment, but after looking closely at the stranger’s neck, they reacted.
It is the legendary Lord!
Aside from Chris, the eyes of every insect present lit up. However, they were much more restrained than those in the cafeteria or the training ground, offering only polite nods of greeting.
Winslow also returned the nod, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed.
“Next is the prison,” Chris’s voice dropped slightly for some reason. “Inside, besides criminals and interstellar pirates, there are also military insects.”