The mysterious origins of Lu Yuan raised suspicions, not to mention his inexplicable appearance at the center of the restricted zone. Just his peculiar appearance alone was enough to trigger Yusto’s vigilance.
Yusto was originally sitting by the window, but upon seeing Yulejia and the group surrounding the black-haired and black-eyed male like stars surrounding the moon, he finally stood up and walked over, his military boots making a muffled sound as they hit the ground.
“Your Excellency—”
Yusto casually pulled the blocking team member aside and stopped in front of the medical bed. Despite his smiling demeanor, there was a hint of caution and vigilance in his gaze as he looked at Lu Yuan. “Although this question may be a bit intrusive, could you please inform me of your name, address, and why you appeared in the contaminated zone?”
This was perhaps the most polite thing Yusto had said since they met.
Lu Yuan had noticed it long ago; among this group of peculiar “extraterrestrials” this silver-haired man was the most discerning. Hearing this, Lu Yuan raised his hand to touch the back of his head, deliberately feigning a thoughtful expression, and furrowed his brow, saying, “I’m sorry. When I fell down the mountain, I might have accidentally hit my head, and now my memory is a bit confused. I don’t remember anything.”
Before figuring out the surroundings, Lu Yuan wouldn’t reveal anything about himself.
Yusto clearly didn’t believe it and approached with a skeptical attitude. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything?”
Lying on the bed, Lu Yuan nodded “weakly” and put on a very apologetic expression. “I’m really sorry, I can’t recall anything…”
The dirt on his face was wiped clean, and along with that, his eyes became deep and bright. The pupils were like the starry sky under the night, mysterious and unspeakable.
No one would suspect him of lying, including the zergs.
Except for Yusto, the military females present felt a wave of compassion and comfort. They spoke one after another, “Your Excellency, please don’t worry. We have already reported to the military medical center. We believe you will receive the best treatment there.”
Yusto continued to gaze at Lu Yuan. “And your name? Your Excellency, I believe you must remember your own name, right?”
Lu Yuan thought to himself that, of course, he could remember that. He replied with a somewhat uncertain tone, “Lu Yuan? My name seems to be Lu Yuan?”
“Lu Yuan?”
Upon hearing this, Yusto slightly furrowed his brow, finding the name somewhat peculiar. As he opened the terminal program on his wrist and lowered his gaze, he spoke, “Given the scarcity and preciousness of males, aside from those taken by interstellar pirates, almost every males’ identity information is recorded on the Salaranfa Empire. If you are a legal resident, I believe there should be a record of your identity… Oh, I apologize. The data shows that the Empire doesn’t have any male named ‘Lu Yuan.'”
Yusto closed the database on the terminal and looked at Lu Yuan again, speaking methodically, “Your Excellency, there are three possibilities now. First, you are not in the system. Second, you were abducted by interstellar pirates. Third, you misremembered your own name.”
Lu Yuan decisively chose the third option, “I’m sorry; I think I may have misremembered my own name.”
Yusto pointed to the miniature terminal on his wrist, resembling a dial with a camera blinking a red dot. He stared deeply at Lu Yuan, his eyes having a ruby-like hue, evoking thoughts of noble vampires in Western castles. “But I’ve compared facial data, and there’s still no male matching your criteria. Are you sure?”
The Salaranfa Empire had never recorded a male zerg with black hair and black eyes, not even among the females.
Lu Yuan showed no signs of panic. He was adept at lying, with a face as composed as ever. The weary sunlight streamed in from the window, adding a touch of ethereal glow to his handsome features. “I don’t rule out the possibility of the second one, after all, I’ve lost my memory.”
The face was too beguiling. Yusto subconsciously avoided Lu Yuan’s gaze and pointed out with a meaningful tone, “Forgive my bluntness, but you could also be off the system.”
“It’s not possible,” Lu Yuan selectively ignored his past involvement in brawls in society. “I believe whether before or after losing my memory, I must have been a law-abiding and upstanding citizen.”
Lu Yuan was genuinely courteous, never showing anger even in the face of Yusto’s unfriendly attitude. He didn’t seem like a zerg up to mischief.
Yulejia, standing nearby, exclaimed indignantly, “You must have been a male zerg abducted by interstellar pirates; otherwise, how could it be this bad? You don’t even have decent clothes, and you’re covered in injuries. Those guys are truly despicable!”
Interstellar pirates?
Male zerg?
The first term, Lu Yuan could somewhat infer its meaning, but the second one was completely beyond his comprehension. Damn it, if only he had paid more attention in language class back in the day. Now, he couldn’t even understand what people were saying.
After some contemplation, Lu Yuan finally decided that it was better to ask than to remain ignorant. He furrowed his brow and inquired, “Um… could you please tell me what ‘male zerg’ means?”
As soon as he spoke, almost all the zergs in the cabin turned to look at him, their expressions filled with astonishment. They had heard of zergs damaging their heads and losing their memory, but they had never heard of someone forgetting even their gender.
“…”
The air fell into a brief silence, sinking into an inexplicable awkwardness. Just as everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do, a chuckle suddenly broke the stillness. Yusto casually shrugged and returned to his original position, saying:
“I think this gentleman doesn’t look like he lost his memory; he looks more like he’s become a bit foolish.”
Yusto always enjoyed stirring things up, and after uttering that sentence, he lazily sprawled in the chair, looking boneless. Fortunately, the latter part of his statement wasn’t spoken too loudly, and Lu Yuan didn’t catch it.
Lu Yuan turned to Yulejia, asking, “What did he just say?”
Yulejia’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly tried to salvage the situation. “He… He said you look seriously ill.”
Lu Yuan wasn’t deaf, though. “Was he insulting me, calling me foolish?”
The military females were always keen-eared, and Yusto, who overheard their conversation, suddenly offered a “kind” reminder, “If you find it offensive, you can sue me at the military medical center. Given the scarcity of males, the judge will surely rule in your favor. I’ll then compensate you a large sum of money and receive a three-day detention punishment…”
Yusto finished speaking and then turned his head to Lu Yuan, giving him a slight smile. His dense eyelashes drooped slightly, the corners of his eyes lifted, and his face resembled the God’s most outstanding creation, concealing a hint of imperceptible danger and interest. He shook the gun in his hand, half seriously and half jokingly saying, “Of course, the precondition is that you can survive and reach the medical center. Because I might kill you on the way to silence you~”
After reaching adulthood, he had been on three battlefields, killing beasts and even females, but he had never killed a male. The medical center was still a long way from here, and everyone on the warship was his subordinate. Even if he killed Lu Yuan on the way, he could easily come up with a reason, like saying the other died in the restricted zone, and no one would question it.
Beneath Yusto’s neatly tailored military uniform, it seemed as if there was not flesh and blood, but rather a rebellious spirit. He appeared unconventional, deviating from the norm even more than Lu Yuan, the outsider.
Yulejia found Yusto’s audacious appearance quite troublesome. He walked up, lowered his voice, and scolded, “Yusto, you need to stop this! Even if you’re the seventh prince of the empire, the Zerg Emperor won’t protect you if you break the law!”
Ignoring Yulejia, Yusto remained interested, staring at Lu Yuan. “Hey, Your Excellency, how about considering my suggestion? It sounds quite advantageous, doesn’t it?”
“No need,” Lu Yuan wasn’t overly sensitive, especially since the other had helped bandage his wounds. “It seems like you really dislike me?”
Worried that Yusto might say something inappropriate again, Yulejia quickly explained, “Your Excellency, he means no harm. If you have to find a reason, it’s probably… because you disarmed him earlier?”
It was only then that Lu Yuan remembered kicking away Yusto’s gun when they first met. “Just because of this?”
For some reason, Yusto, who was beside them, suddenly snorted, turned his head, and looked out of the window.
Yulejia smiled, “In the Salaranfa Empire, there’s a saying: ‘In the distant battlefield where the smoke of gunpowder hasn’t cleared, a true warrior never parts with his weapon. Whoever disarms your companion weapon will become your destined nemesis.'”
“You disarmed Yusto’s backup gun. In the future, you might become his nemesis.”
Yulejia half-seriously and half-jokingly concluded, “You’ll be entangled with his fate.”
Lu Yuan thought it was quite superstitious for this era but shifted his focus to another matter, “Are all of you soldiers?”
No wonder they were all dressed in military uniforms.
Yulejia sighed, now genuinely certain that Lu Yuan had lost all his memories. He opened the terminal program on his wrist and projected an image into the air. A purple planet floated peacefully in the cosmos, serene and beautiful. “Do you remember Salaranfa?”
Lu Yuan pretended to ponder for a moment, then shook his head decisively, “I don’t remember.”
Yulejia wasn’t surprised at all and began his duty of enlightening Lu Yuan, “Salaranfa is the planet we currently reside on. Each of us zergs is a citizen of the Salaranfa Empire.”
Lu Yuan’s eyelids twitched involuntarily upon hearing the term from Yulejia’s mouth: “Zergs?”
Yulejia nodded, “That’s right, zergs.”
He pointed at Lu Yuan and then at Yusto and the others, earnestly explaining, “You are a rare and precious male zerg, while we are robust female zergs. Every female zerg bears the heavy responsibility of defending the empire, and after reaching adulthood, we must serve in the military… We are all military females.”
However, Lu Yuan still didn’t grasp the meaning of “zerg”. He furrowed his brow and tentatively asked, “So you are all… zerg?”
Yulejia corrected him, “Your Excellency, you are also a zerg, a precious male zerg.”
Author’s note:
Lu Yuan: ????
Author (with deep emotion): Everyone has insects (zerg) on them~ Let me sing bugs (zerg) for you~