ICAWZ Chapter 137

Blairand immediately regretted his words; after all, he was an unmarried female zerg, and sharing a bed with the opposite sex seemed rather presumptuous. He thought to himself that Ah Sui would most likely refuse. If the other party declined, he would remain silent and never bring up such matters again.

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, a pair of cool legs slipped into the bed. Ah Sui had actually come in. He seemed a bit excited, wiggling his feet under the covers. “Really? So, I’m coming in?”

“…”

Blairand thought to himself that since Ah Sui was already in the bed, there was no point in asking. He made an effort to ignore the unusual sensation under the covers, picking up a bowl of still-warm soup from the nearby floor and handing it to Ah Sui. “Eat up quickly, or the soup will get cold.”

After speaking, Blairand opened a nearby medicine cabinet, pulled out a small vial, and swallowed a few pale yellow tablets. With no suppressants available in the team, he had to use this medication to temporarily ease his mental strain. Although the effect was minimal, it was better than nothing.

Ah Sui, unfamiliar with the medication, asked, “What are you taking?”

Blairand lied, “Cold medicine.”

Ah Sui thought to himself that Blairand was indeed ill. After finishing the soup, he patted Blairand on the shoulder. “You’re too weak. Let’s exercise together tomorrow morning. That way, you won’t fall sick so easily.”

Upon hearing Ah Sui call him weak, Blairand paused for a moment, his thoughts racing. He considered that even the weakest female zerg should be stronger than a male, but remembering Ah Sui’s extraordinary combat skills, he swallowed the words he had nearly spoken.

Blairand hesitated before asking, “Am I… really that weak?”

In Salaranfa, only powerful females are well-regarded. Power means the ability to go to the battlefield, and going to the battlefield earns military achievements. Military achievements, in turn, attract the favor of males.

Although southern females are not particularly skilled in combat, Blairand, despite his youth, held the rank of major general and was quite capable. This was the first time a male had said he was weak.

Ah Sui offered a gentle consolation, “You’re not really weak; you’re just not very strong.”

Blairand: “…”

Blairand had invited Ah Sui into the bed earlier merely to keep him warm temporarily, fearing he might be cold. However, it seemed Ah Sui had misunderstood. After his bath, Ah Sui naturally climbed into the bed, and the scent of the bath gel quickly filled the space under the covers.

Blairand felt his presence and stiffened immediately, looking at Ah Sui with surprise. “You…”

He hadn’t planned on sharing the bed with this male tonight.

Ah Sui, clearly not understanding the situation, unconsciously snuggled into the covers and sighed, “It’s so warm under the covers; it’s too cold outside.”

Blairand felt awkward about rejecting him now. He remained silent for a moment, shifting uncomfortably to the side, and turned his back to Ah Sui, murmuring, “It’s getting late; let’s go to sleep.”

The pheromone scent from the male was so strong that Blairand couldn’t help but momentarily lose control over his breathing.

Ah Sui responded obediently and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. Blairand, noticing this, quietly opened his eyes and asked in confusion, “Aren’t you afraid of the dark?”

After spending some time with Ah Sui, Blairand had come to understand some of his little habits. This male was very afraid of the dark and never dared to sleep alone at night, always needing to leave a small light on.

But Ah Sui said, “I’m not afraid as long as you’re next to me.”

Blairand’s heartbeat skipped a beat upon hearing this.

People who are afraid of the dark are not necessarily afraid of darkness itself but of loneliness. Ah Sui, shortly after his birth, was abandoned by his biological parents on a mountain to be fed to wolves. At that time, he was too young to remember, but for some reason, he still clearly recalled that desolate and silent night twenty years ago, with the dark shadows of trees clawing and grasping as if they were monsters ready to devour him.

He was afraid of being alone, but with someone by his side, he felt safe.

After speaking, Ah Sui quietly turned in the darkness, facing Blairand. He saw the golden strands of Blairand’s hair scattered on the pillow and couldn’t help but reach out to touch them. The proximity allowed him to even catch a faint scent of the female zerg.

Blairand felt the slight touch of the strands of hair and finally couldn’t help but turn to face Ah Sui. “What are you doing?”

Ah Sui instinctively pulled back his hand, blushing as he shook his head. “Nothing.”

Sometimes, zergs’ emotions are strange. When you see the other zerg more nervous than yourself, you inexplicably feel less anxious. In the dim light and shadows, Blairand quietly watched Ah Sui and suddenly remembered something. He asked, “What’s your blood purity?”

Ah Sui looked confused. “Blood purity? What’s that?”

Blairand was surprised that Ah Sui didn’t even know what blood purity was. He wanted to explain but didn’t know where to start. In the end, he tried to explain in a way that Ah Sui could understand: “Blood purity is… the nobility of your lineage. In the capital, the higher the bloodline, the better the treatment you receive. You might even become a partner to the crown prince.”

Marriages among the nobility often prioritize the blood purity of the male zergs. For someone like Ah Sui, who has no background or support, if his blood purity is below 35%, he might find it very difficult to make a way in the capital.

Males are like natural diamonds—rare and precious—but small diamonds are worthless. Similarly, males with very low blood purity are also considered worthless.

Ah Sui still didn’t understand. He shook his head and said, “My great-grandfather said that we’re just ordinary commoners, not noble.”

Upon hearing this, Blairand instinctively assumed that Ah Sui’s blood purity was low and felt an inexplicable sense of regret. After all, if Ah Sui had high blood purity, he would have been living a comfortable life in the capital long ago, rather than being an interstellar pirate here.

“Let’s go to sleep,” Blairand said softly. In the darkness, he seemed to lightly touch Ah Sui’s face, but the touch was so faint it was barely perceptible. “I’ll take you to the capital in the future.”

Ah Sui blinked and said softly, “You’re so kind.”

When expressing his delight, Ah Sui instinctively wanted to hug Blairand but felt a bit shy in the presence of such a great beauty. In the end, he simply leaned in and lightly touched Blairand’s forehead. “In the future, I’ll also take you to visit my home.”

Blairand’s face inexplicably felt warm. He wanted to say that an unmarried female zerg shouldn’t visit a stranger’s home, but seeing that Ah Sui didn’t seem to understand, he chose to remain silent.

“Okay…”

He ended up saying just that one word.

The next morning, Ah Sui got up from bed as usual to practice his swordsmanship. He had originally planned to invite Blairand to train with him, but upon finding that Blairand was sleeping soundly in bed, he hesitated and couldn’t bring himself to wake him. In the end, he dressed quietly and left on his own.

After finishing his morning routine and stepping out of the starship, Ah Sui habitually looked around and discovered that the females he had “recruited” the day before were shivering in the snow, each one freezing quite badly.

Seeing this, Ah Sui unconsciously furrowed his brow. He performed a sword flourish and walked straight to the females, asking in confusion, “Didn’t I tell you to stay inside the starship yesterday? Why are you out here?”

One of the pirates hurriedly stepped forward to explain, “Report, Grand Leader. Leader Black Fang said they couldn’t just stay there for free. Since the team needed firewood for cooking, he had them gather dry branches from the nearby forest before dawn.”

Ah Sui asked, “Did Black Fang give them any food?”

The pirate hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. “No.”

Ah Sui thought to himself that no wonder these females looked so pale; they hadn’t had any food or water since being captured the day before, and now they were being sent out before dawn to gather firewood. With their energy depleted and the cold biting at them, it was no surprise they were freezing. He decided he would need to address this with Black Fang later.

Recalling that there was a box of compressed biscuits in his starship, Ah Sui turned around and went back inside. At that moment, Blairand had just woken up and was getting out of bed. Seeing Ah Sui carrying a supply box and heading outside, he asked in confusion, “What are you doing?”

Ah Sui explained, “The females outside haven’t had any food. I’m bringing them some biscuits to tide them over. They need to be well-fed to have the energy to train.”

Blairand put on his clothes and walked over to Ah Sui, glancing at the biscuits in the box. “These will only be enough for them for two meals. What are you planning to do after that?”

Ah Sui had already thought this through. “Once they’ve had enough to eat, I’ll take them into the mountains to hunt. I’ve been in the dense forest with Brother Cenfeng, and there are plenty of things to eat there.”

Blairand frowned slightly, barely noticeable. “You don’t even know whether they’re good or bad. Why are you helping them?”

Ah Sui was puzzled. “Huh?”

Blairand paused and then said, “Nothing. Wait for me to wash my face. I’ll go with you.”

Regardless of whether the females outside were good or bad, Ah Sui couldn’t just watch them starve, and neither could Blairand. They would have to observe for a while longer before making any judgments.

After Blairand finished washing up in the bathroom and put on a coat, he went out with Ah Sui. As expected, they found the females standing in the snow, shivering miserably. Their warm clothing had been taken by Black Fang, leaving them with only short sleeves and long pants.

Ah Sui carried the supply box over to them and began distributing the compressed biscuits one by one. “Eat these biscuits to fill your stomach for now. I’ll figure out a way to get you some water soon.”

The compressed biscuits were very dry, and without water, they were difficult to swallow as they would stick in the throat.

The females, who had been dragged out of the starship in the early hours of the morning and had their coats forcibly removed by Black Fang, were then coerced into the snowy mountains to gather firewood. They had been tortured to the point of being somewhat disoriented. Seeing the black-haired, black-eyed male leader suddenly approaching with biscuits, they instinctively took two steps back, their expressions a mix of fear and unease, worried that Ah Sui might have ulterior motives.

Blairand also helped distribute the supplies. He took a handful of biscuits from the box and handed them out to the females, reminding them, “Hurry up and eat. If Black Fang sees you later, you might not even get these biscuits.”

Perhaps because Blairand seemed more “righteous,” the females hesitated for a moment but then reached out to grab the biscuits, eating them eagerly. One of the tallest females, who was quite astute, bowed and said to Ah Sui, “Thank you, Grand Leader. Thank you, Grand Leader. We will definitely follow your orders in the future, no matter what!”

Ah Sui was pleased with this response. He looked at the female, assessing his from head to toe and noting his stable build and good bone structure. “What’s your name?”

The female quickly replied, “Reporting to the Grand Leader, my name is Quike.”

Ah Sui patted his shoulder. “Good. From now on, you’ll be the leader of their group. Don’t worry, if you train hard with me, you’ll definitely have enough to eat and wear!”

When Quike heard that Ah Sui planned to train them in martial arts, his expression became momentarily strange. He thought to herself, aren’t males supposed to be weak and delicate? How could he want to teach them martial arts? Did he hear that correctly?

But Quike quickly came to his senses and bowed, saying, “Yes, thank you, Grand Leader! Thank you, Grand Leader!”

Meanwhile, Blairand was distributing the compressed biscuits to the females. He deliberately slowed his movements, subtly brushing his hand over theirs during the handoff while secretly observing their dirty faces.

A female with golden-brown hair took the biscuits from Blairand’s hand and muttered a muffled, “Thank you.”

His hands had thick calluses on the palms and the spaces between his fingers, indicating he had handled guns before.

Blairand maintained his expression and continued handing out the biscuits to another female, who was equally moved and said, “Thank you! Thank you!”

His hands had calluses on the backs, mostly around the knuckles, indicating he had trained in military combat skills and was quite skilled.

Blairand frowned slightly, noticing this. He continued handing out biscuits to another, leaner female, and patted his shoulder, saying softly, “If it’s not enough, there’s more.”

His shoulders were strong and callused, suggesting he was a loader for armor-piercing ammunition.

Blairand’s heart grew heavier. By the time he handed out the biscuits to the last female, he no longer had the mood to analyze the calluses on his hands. He had golden eyes, gray hair, high cheekbones, and a scar on his chin. Standing at 187 cm, he was Julian, the squad leader of the Fourth Legion’s Assault Team.

Southern females were best at reconnaissance and gathering intelligence. Blairand had an extensive database of all military personnel, with at least 80% stored in his memory. Even if he had never seen the zerg before, he could accurately pull up their profile based on distinctive features.

Blairand had been puzzled since yesterday about how a tourist starship had suddenly appeared in the wilderness, coincidentally right in the path of Black Fang’s gunfire. Now, he finally understood. These females were clearly undercover agents sent by the military to eliminate interstellar pirates.

Logically, Blairand should have been pleased, but as he watched Ah Sui chatting amiably with Quike not far away, he suddenly couldn’t feel any joy.

Ah Sui was like a little lamb that had fallen into a wolf’s den, completely unaware of the danger, and still ambitiously planning to expand his team.

Blairand was beginning to admire Ah Sui’s luck. The military had sent a total of thirty-nine undercover agents, and he had managed to pick out all thirty-nine.

 

 

 

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