ICAWZ Chapter 135

Xu Cenfeng clearly didn’t come to find Ah Sui without reason. He stepped into the starship through the snow and wind, then took off his hat, brushing off the snow on it. He fixed his gaze on Ah Sui and asked, “I heard from the guards outside that you gave Carlos a good beating yesterday?”

Ah Sui hadn’t expected Xu Cenfeng to come for an inquiry. Hearing this, he paused his steps instinctively and stopped not far away. He lowered his head and poked the ground with the long sword in his hand, neither denying nor confirming. His voice was muffled as he replied, “Yeah, I did hit him.”

Ah Sui had been out for two hours the night before, deliberately waiting until Xu Cenfeng was asleep before giving Carlos a thorough thrashing. He didn’t go easy on him, and it was said that Carlos could barely get out of bed today due to the pain.

Xu Cenfeng didn’t seem angry. “Why?”

Ah Sui turned his head, and his reason was both ridiculous and amusing. “There’s no reason. I just wanted to hit him.”

Xu Cenfeng frowned slightly at this response. “The Klayt Alliance’s military force is mostly under Carlos’ control. How can you just go and hit him like that? Aren’t you afraid of his retaliation?”

Ah Sui muttered under his breath, clearly dissatisfied. “I’m the Great Leader. Why can’t I hit them?”

Xu Cenfeng, however, ruthlessly pointed out his weak spot. “You’re the Great Leader, but you don’t have any troops under you. Who would listen to you?”

Initially, pushing Ah Sui into the position of Great Leader was merely a temporary measure. They planned to lay low and wait for the troops to come and clear things up. He didn’t expect Ah Sui to stir up so much trouble in just a few days.

Ah Sui didn’t want to admit fault but also didn’t argue back. Seeing this, Xu Cenfeng couldn’t help but soften his tone. “Don’t do this again. You’re not good at scheming, so how are you going to fight them?”

Ah Sui felt that they might be able to escape now. “Brother Cenfeng, why don’t we secretly escape in a starship? Their guards are relaxed right now; they probably won’t notice us.”

Xu Cenfeng was about to say something when he suddenly noticed a gaze fixed on them from a short distance. Turning his head, he saw a golden-haired, blue-eyed female zerg sitting on Ah Sui’s bed, and the words he was about to speak were swallowed back.

“… Let’s talk about it in a few days.”

The topic was too private, and Xu Cenfeng clearly didn’t want to discuss it in front of Blairand. He quickly reassured Ah Sui with a few words and then turned to leave, moving with an air of mystery.

Blairand had remained silent throughout. After Xu Cenfeng left, he turned his attention back to Ah Sui. “Did you fight with Carlos yesterday?”

“Why do you ask the same question as Brother Cenfeng?” Ah Sui walked up to Blairand, crouched down in front of him, and, without hiding anything, said matter-of-factly, “He lashed you so many times yesterday, so I went to get revenge for you.”

Blairand was taken aback, not expecting that Ah Sui fought because of him. “Aren’t you afraid Carlos will kill you?”

Ah Sui thought it was no big deal. “He’s wanted to poison me for a long time. Even if I hadn’t done anything, he would still try to kill me. At worst, I’d secretly escape in a starship, but unfortunately, Brother Cenfeng won’t allow it.”

Ah Sui’s muttered words hinted at something unusual. Blairand noticed that Ah Sui, with his simple-mindedness, didn’t seem keen on becoming an interstellar pirate and wondered if he had been manipulated or coerced by some bad zergs.

Blairand couldn’t help but think of Xu Cenfeng from earlier. As he put on his clothes, he asked seemingly casually, “Why do you follow his instructions so closely?”

Ah Sui, who had always lacked initiative and simply followed his senior brothers around, instinctively saw Xu Cenfeng as his anchor in this unfamiliar place. “He’s like my brother, so of course I listen to him.”

Blairand was puzzled. “Your real brother?”

Ah Sui shook his head, a small dimple appearing on his cheek when he smiled. “No, he trained with me at Great-Grandfather’s place, so he’s like a senior brother to me. Anyway, I’m the youngest in the whole village.”

He addresses everyone as “Grandpa” or “Brother.”

Blairand now vaguely suspected the situation. Ah Sui was likely deceived into becoming an interstellar pirate, and Xu Cenfeng was probably the culprit. He wanted to advise Ah Sui not to be misled, but since their relationship seemed quite good, he refrained from making any statements that might be seen as sowing discord. He decided to suppress his thoughts for the time being.

Blairand got dressed, pulled the covers aside, and struggled to get up from the floor. His legs were weak and wobbly, and he nearly fell.

Seeing this, Ah Sui quickly supported him. “Lie down and rest. If you need anything, I’ll help you.”

Blairand glanced at his hand but didn’t pull away. “It’s fine. I just wanted to get up and move around.”

Ah Sui then let go, but he was concerned that Blairand might fall again, so he followed closely behind, keeping a careful distance. Though he appeared carefree, his attention to detail showed his meticulous nature.

Ah Sui had an endless curiosity about big cities. Noting that Blairand was a high-ranking official, he guessed that Blairand must live in the city and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you usually live in the city?”

Blairand looked at him in response. “Are you referring to the capital? If the military isn’t on a mission, I usually live in the capital.”

Ah Sui asked, “Is the capital beautiful?”

Blairand thought about saying that while the capital was bustling, the power struggles and undercurrents among the elites there made it no better than the wilderness. However, seeing Ah Sui’s eyes sparkling with interest, he changed his response. “Of course, the capital is beautiful. It’s the most prosperous place on the main planet. You can find anything you want there. It’s much better than being an interstellar pirate here.”

Ah Sui couldn’t help but exclaim, “The capital sounds wonderful.”

Blairand noticed his interest and said vaguely, “If you want, I can take you to the capital. You were looking for your Grandpa San, right? He might be in the capital as well.”

Ah Sui suddenly became shy and blushed as he replied, “But I don’t have any money. Let’s wait until I’ve earned enough before going to the capital.”

His Great-Grandfather had told him that prices in the city were high, and people from the mountains couldn’t afford them.

Blairand didn’t expect that Ah Sui was hesitant to go because of money. Seeing Ah Sui’s fair face blush, he instinctively flicked his fingers but then gently brushed a strand of golden hair off his shoulder, lowering his voice as he said, “Even if you don’t have money, you can still come. I’m in the capital too, and I won’t let you go hungry.”

After speaking, Blairand suddenly felt that his words might be interpreted in another way. He paused and added, “I’m older than you, so you can think of me as an older brother. Don’t feel embarrassed.”

Being so close to Blairand reminded Ah Sui of what happened the night before. He felt his face burning and instinctively took a step back, his gaze wandering as he stammered, “Um… Are you hungry? I’ll go get you something to eat.”

Ah Sui originally intended to change the subject, but just then, the chubby chef arrived to deliver breakfast. Carrying two trays, the chef entered the starship with his usual smiling and friendly demeanor. “Great Leader, I’m here to bring you breakfast.”

Seeing this, Blairand’s eyes flashed with a hint of wariness and sharpness. He lowered his voice and warned Ah Sui, “Don’t eat anything he gives you.”

Ah Sui glanced at the trays in the chef’s hands and reluctantly shifted his gaze away from the abundant food. “Just put it aside. I’ll eat it later if I’m hungry.”

The chubby chef, however, anxiously persuaded, “You haven’t eaten anything all day yesterday. If you don’t eat now, you’ll starve. This bowl of meat soup should be drunk while it’s still hot; it’ll taste foul when it cools down.”

Ah Sui was pondering how to refuse, but Blairand’s fingers suddenly transformed into sharp claws without a sound. He stepped up beside the chubby chef, grabbed him by the neck, and asked in a low, cold voice that revealed no emotion, “Are you willing to drink a sip yourself?”

The chubby chef was startled and looked at Ah Sui in shock. “G-Great Leader, you don’t suspect that I’ve poisoned the soup, do you?!”

Ah Sui hesitated and nodded. “Yes.”

The chubby chef: “……”

The chubby chef immediately understood the situation. He knelt on the ground with a thud, his eyes brimming with tears as he waved his hands in denial. “The Second Leader and the Third Leader did indeed try to bribe me to poison your food the day before, but my life was saved by you on the battlefield. How could I be so ungrateful? All these dishes are safe. If you don’t believe me, I’ll eat them in front of you!”

He quickly began to devour the food on the trays, taking mouthfuls and gulping down the meat soup in one go. He choked and pounded his chest, gasping for breath as he said, “G-Great Leader… see… the food is fine. I haven’t poisoned anything…”

Ah Sui was somewhat surprised. “You really didn’t poison the food?”

The chubby chef nodded repeatedly. “The day before yesterday, the Second Leader gave me a bag of jewels and asked me to poison the food. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but you were staying on the starship and I didn’t have a chance to speak.”

He then pulled out a gray cloth bag from his apron pocket. Inside were sparkling gemstones that shimmered under the light, almost blinding: “Look, these are the jewels they gave me.”

Ah Sui, being quite unsophisticated, gulped as he saw the amount. “So much?”

The chubby chef looked distressed and said, “I can’t accept such dirty money. Great Leader, it’s better if you take it.”

Ah Sui felt too embarrassed to accept it. “They gave it to you, so it’s yours. Keep it.”

The chubby chef tentatively suggested, “How about we split it between us?”

Ah Sui’s eyes lit up for a moment. “You really want to split it with me?”

The chubby chef, assuming Ah Sui agreed, quickly pulled out a large handful of gemstones and handed them to Ah Sui, keeping only a small portion for himself. He muttered, “You should keep some money for yourself as protection. The Second Leader and the Third Leader have enough treasures to fill two starships. You don’t have anything, so how will you recruit soldiers or buy horses in the future?”

It turned out even the chubby chef knew how destitute Ah Sui was.

Blairand stood by, watching as Ah Sui and the chubby chef divided the loot successfully. The chef then went to get two more breakfasts and brought them over. The crisis was smoothly resolved.

Blairand still felt uneasy. He looked at the chubby chef, his sharp claws hadn’t yet retracted, and asked in a deep voice, “Aren’t you afraid that Carlos and the others will kill you?”

To his surprise, the chubby chef shook his head confidently. “I’m not afraid. I’m the only chef left in the entire Klayt Alliance. If they kill me, there won’t be anyone left to cook for them.”

Blairand: “…”

Blairand had never been so acutely aware of the saying “like zergs, like home.” Ah Sui was naive, and his subordinates weren’t much smarter.

Blairand had originally been concerned that Ah Sui might be schemed against by the zergs, but now it seemed his worries were unfounded. Foolish zergs had their own kind of luck; there was no need for him to be concerned.

Ah Sui, hungry, had already sat down on the floor and started eating breakfast. Noticing the cold gleam on Blairand’s fingers, which resembled the claws of some animal, Ah Sui paused and unconsciously began to bite his own nails.

It was a troubling thought—had the doctor been right about Blairand falling into a bug-like state?

Ah Sui found it hard to believe, but seeing Blairand’s fingers turn into claws, he wondered if Blairand might actually be a bug…

This thought startled Ah Sui so much that he dropped the strawberry bread he was holding. Blairand, however, remained unaware of Ah Sui’s distress. Seeing the chef leave, Blairand quietly retracted his claws and sat down next to Ah Sui to have breakfast together.

Blairand noticed the bread Ah Sui had dropped on the ground. “Why did your bread fall?”

Ah Sui explained awkwardly, “I didn’t hold it steady just now.”

Blairand didn’t think much of it and handed over the bread from his own plate to Ah Sui. He absentmindedly ate something else, while he was deep in thought about how to pull Ah Sui out of the interstellar pirate nest and convince him to leave with him. However, it seemed challenging since Ah Sui appeared to have a good relationship with the male zerg named Xu Cenfeng.

Ah Sui was also somewhat distracted. He took a bite of his food, then glanced at Blairand, took another bite, and glanced again. He couldn’t figure out how a beautiful person like Blairand had turned into a bug.

Ah Sui couldn’t help but tentatively ask, “Do you… change into a bug form?”

Blairand paused for a moment, looked up at Ah Sui, and asked, “Why do you ask that?”

In the southern zerg races, females usually don’t change into their zerg forms except in a state of irrational frenzy, as it makes them easy to capture.

Ah Sui shook his head and, to cover up his fear of bugs, concocted an excuse. “It’s nothing. I was just curious about what your wings look like.”

Bang!

He had inadvertently stepped on another major landmine.

Blairand’s lips stiffened at the words, and his expression slowly fell. He ate in silence, his gaze lowered, unwilling to say a word. His quietness seemed somewhat unusual.

Ah Sui, enamored with the gemstones the chubby chef had given him, carefully wiped them with the hem of his clothes. Holding a pile of sparkling gems, he asked Blairand, “Are your wings also shiny, like these gems? Are they as beautiful?”

Blairand: “…”

Seeing Blairand’s silence, Ah Sui whispered, “I heard from Brother Cenfeng that your wings are all shiny and look like diamonds.”

Blairand: “…”

Ah Sui blinked in confusion. “Why aren’t you responding to me?”

Blairand: “…”

Ah Sui scratched his head and cautiously asked, “Did I say something wrong?”

 

 

 

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