Lu Yuan always felt that even if he were to truly die one day, he would have to choose a spectacular and grandiose death. Dying silently due to lack of money for medical treatment seemed a bit too unfair.
When the battleship finally arrived at the capital of the Salaranfa main star and smoothly landed at the entrance of the largest medical center in the imperial capital, Lu Yuan had already fallen into a semi-comatose state due to the onset of snake venom. His hair was soaked with sweat, his stern brows furrowed in pain. He shivered uncontrollably, managing to utter a few unclear words:
“So… cold…”
Yusto lowered his gaze, looking at Lu Yuan’s exposed body, unconsciously furrowing his brows. He raised his hand to undo his own military jacket while instructing Yulejia, “Hurry and carry him down.”
Yulejia, upon hearing this, was momentarily stunned and turned into a startled groundhog, “Are you crazy? He hasn’t bathed in five days!”
Yusto dangerously narrowed his eyes, “Will you carry him or not?”
Yulejia, still upset, grabbed his head in frustration, “Damn it, don’t talk to me like that! You haven’t settled the account for the lie you just told me. If you want him carried, do it yourself!”
Upon hearing Yulejia’s words, Yusto clenched his fists, making a cracking sound. Originally, he intended to deal with Yulejia, but seeing Lu Yuan’s dire condition, he decided it was best to get him to the hospital first.
On the planet Salaranfa, the body of a female zerg should not be seen by the opposite sex; otherwise, it would ruin their reputation. Yusto took off his own military uniform and put it on Lu Yuan, covering his upper body, before carrying him down from the battleship.
Lu Yuan barely retained a trace of consciousness. Lying on Yusto’s back, he struggled to lift his eyelids, as if wanting to say something. However, he couldn’t resist the overwhelming drowsiness that invaded his mind, and he passed out completely.
The medical center had received a distress call from the squad four hours ago, reporting the discovery of a male zerg bitten by a mutated species in the Solitiam Forest, with critical vital signs.
Upon hearing about the injured male zerg, the medical director swiftly arranged an operating room and a private ward. He personally, along with his assistant, stood at the entrance to welcome them. When they saw Yusto carrying an unidentified male zerg, they immediately stepped forward to help lift Lu Yuan onto the medical bed.
The medical director habitually opened Lu Yuan’s eyes to check the dilation of his pupils. When he discovered the rare black eyes of Lu Yuan, he raised an eyebrow with a surprised “Oh.” Then, he removed the gauze from Lu Yuan’s legs and found the wounds that had been treated with basic care.
“Do you know what kind of mutated species bit him?” he asked.
Yusto shook his head, “The genetic database didn’t yield any information. We speculate it might be a new type of mutated species. On the way here, we injected him with a C30-4 serum and no other medications.”
The medical director turned to his assistant and said, “Quickly take him to the operating room and call Dr. Kobo.”
As the medical director was about to enter the operating room, he turned around and noticed Yusto and the others hesitatingly looking at him. Sensing something was amiss, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yusto hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to be truthful. After all, there was no way to hide it any longer. “Sorry, there was an error in the information we reported. He’s actually a female zerg.”
Yulejia, poking his head out from behind, quickly added, “He has amnesia, doesn’t remember anything. Can you help him recover his memory?”
The medical director was dumbfounded upon hearing this, subconsciously looking in the direction Lu Yuan had been taken. He exclaimed in shock, “What?! He’s not a male zerg?!”
Yulejia and Yusto could only nod awkwardly.
The medical director erupted in anger, “You damn soldiers, is it amusing to toy with me?! I canceled three meetings to rush here for the surgery, and now you’re telling me he’s not a male zerg?! Who’s your superior? I’m filing a complaint!”
Yusto, who had initially considered apologizing, narrowed his eyes at the medical director’s words and looked at him with an unfriendly gaze. “Complaint? On what grounds? Or is it that a female zerg’s life is so cheap and insignificant that it’s not worth your personal surgery?”
The last sentence was dripping with sarcasm.
The medical director choked at the words, and in frustration, he turned and walked away, saying, “I don’t have time for you!”
Seeing this, Yulejia discreetly pulled Yusto aside and whispered, “Enough, Yusto. Don’t stir up trouble. We received a message from headquarters urging us to return.”
Upon hearing Yulejia’s words, Yusto subconsciously glanced at the miniature terminal on his wrist and realized there was a return order. He was about to leave the hospital with Yulejia when he took a few steps and seemed to remember something. He turned back to the reception desk, pulled out a blue translucent star card from his wallet, and tossed it onto the table, saying, “The medical expenses for the female zerg we brought in just now, charge it to this card.”
Yulejia whistled at the gesture, “Seventh Prince, you’re quite generous.”
Yusto gave him a cool glance, “Maybe I should make you pay. After all, Lord O’Hara is the Empire’s finance minister, isn’t he?”
Yulejia shrugged, “Hey, don’t count on my big brother. Haven’t you heard that the wealthier the zerg, the stingier they are?”
On the other side, Lu Yuan had already been wheeled into the operating room. His body was no longer cold; instead, he was running a high fever. When he reached out to touch himself, the heat was astonishing, causing his breathing to become rapid.
The medical director changed into surgical attire and began methodically extracting a blood sample from the wounds on Lu Yuan’s body. He handed it to his assistant for toxin analysis and injected several medications to stabilize his vital signs.
The nearby instruments beeped, and red light scanned up and down, transforming the data from Lu Yuan’s body into a graphical representation displayed on the monitor.
Male zergs, due to genetic degeneration, lacked wings and had skeletal structures vastly different from female zergs, resembling human males to a great extent. Thus, when the skeletal image of Lu Yuan appeared on the screen, it almost showed no difference from that of a male zerg.
The medical director, who was originally removing infected tissues near Lu Yuan’s wounds, casually glanced at the screen. This casual look nearly made him drop his scalpel, and he angrily cursed, “These damn soldiers, the one they sent is clearly a male zerg! How dare they lie to me!”
Although Lu Yuan was bitten by a new type of snake venom, the central medical hub in the capital had gathered the top elites of the entire medical community. Combined with abundant medical resources, they quickly identified a snake venom serum that could be used as a substitute.
When the last dose of medication was injected, Lu Yuan’s vital signs finally returned to normal.
“Transfer him to the intensive care unit, monitor his body data 24/7, and notify me immediately if there are any sudden developments.”
Having given these instructions, the medical director walked out of the operating room. To his surprise, he found a middle-aged female zerg waiting outside. He was dressed in a sharp military uniform, adorned with four military stars on his epaulets.
The medical director, familiar with him, walked up to him and asked, “General Saphir, why are you here?”
General Saphir smiled upon seeing him but glanced past his shoulder, curiously looking at the zerg lying inside. “Today is a break at the Military Academy, and I came for a medical check-up. I heard you received a male zerg rescued from the restricted zone. How is he?”
The medical director took off his mask, feeling a bit troubled. “He’s been bitten by a new type of mutated snake, but we haven’t been able to capture the snake that bit him to extract the serum. We can only temporarily suppress the toxin with a broad-spectrum serum. So far, it seems to be working reasonably well.”
General Saphir frowned slightly upon hearing this and fell into thought. “The search team said that the male zerg stayed in the most contaminated area for a full five days. I don’t know if it’s true or not. Have you conducted a thorough examination of his body and blood?”
“Of course, it’s a lie. Never trust those soldiers who are full of lies. Fragile male zergs wouldn’t survive for five minutes, let alone five days, in the restricted zone.”
Coincidentally, the assistant wheeled Lu Yuan out of the operating room, and the medical director immediately requested a copy of the test results. While flipping through the report, he said, “We’ve examined him, and his body seems fine for now. However, regarding the purity of his blood… I can’t tell you that at the moment.”
General Saphir frowned, “Does that mean he’s severely infected?”
“No, quite the opposite,” the medical director shook his head, handing the data to him and pointing at a specific line. “Not only has he not been contaminated, but he’s exceptionally healthy. Look, blood purity is at 100%…”
Before he could finish his sentence, General Saphir’s hand trembled, and he almost stumbled in place. He stared at him incredulously, asking, “What did you say?!”
The medical director sighed in exasperation, “Relax, of course, it’s fake. The highest blood purity among male zergs in the Empire is only 56% at the moment.”
General Saphir pointed at the displayed 100% on the report, struggled for words for a while, and uncommonly lost his composure. “That… that…”
The medical director casually took back the data, tucked it under his arm, and adjusted the heavy glasses on his nose. “There are currently two possibilities. First, the hospital’s equipment is faulty. Second, the snake venom has affected the blood purity test, causing a deviation in the data. However, given that the instruments are newly replaced, the chances of them being damaged are very low, leaving us with the second possibility.”
He looked up at General Saphir, as if knowing what he was thinking, and shook his head with self-deprecation. “The Empire will never have a 100% pure-blood male zerg. That’s the punishment from the Zerg God for not cherishing our homeland. You know it, and I know it…”
“Unless one day you can completely eliminate the source of contamination, which means the Zerg God finally forgives his people…”
Being hospitalized is never a particularly delightful experience, at least for Lu Yuan. He felt like he had been in a very long dream, where countless times he tried to open his eyes and wake up, but it felt as if there were two heavy stones pressing on his eyelids, preventing him from opening them.
Intermittent conversations reached his ears.
“This gentleman is really handsome… Unfortunately, he hasn’t woken up…”
“Is he really a male zerg… the nape of his neck… zerg markings…”
“Maybe it’s a birthmark… a design…”
“Stop chatting… I still need to make rounds in the next room…”
A closing door echoed, and the surroundings fell silent once again.
Lu Yuan struggled to move his fingertips and finally managed to open his eyes with great effort. What greeted him was a piercing ray of sunlight. He instinctively closed his eyes again, and after a long pause, he reopened them. This time, as his vision focused, he could finally see the surroundings clearly.
He was currently in a luxurious hospital room. The bright and comfortable decor featured white tones, and a vase of fresh dew-covered flowers adorned the bedside. Even the air seemed fragrant.
There was an IV needle in the back of his hand, with several bottles of intravenous fluids hanging on the medicine rack above, dripping steadily at a surprisingly slow pace.
Using his hands to support himself, Lu Yuan slowly sat up from the bed. Glancing around the empty room, he lowered his gaze to the hospital gown he was wearing. It seemed clean, indicating that someone had taken care of his body.
“Is anyone here?”
Lu Yuan subconsciously tried to call out, but his throat was so dry that not even a sound came out. He furrowed his brow, scanning the surroundings, but couldn’t find a water bottle or cup. There was a button on the bedside instrument panel, but with all the colorful symbols, he hesitated to press it randomly.
Frustrated, Lu Yuan, feeling extremely thirsty, decided to remove the needle from his hand and slowly dragged his injured leg to move out of the room, hoping to find a medical staff member. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw a curvaceous subfemale with a pink miniskirt swaying his hips as he walked past him.
Yes, a subfemale.
Yulejia had explained to Lu Yuan back on the battleship that Salaranfa had not only male and female zergs but also a third gender called subfemales.
These creatures had well-developed chests and curvy buttocks, appearing quite similar to human females from the outside. However, this couldn’t hide the fact that their reproductive organs were larger than those of a male zerg.
As Lu Yuan watched him pass by, his eyelids couldn’t help but twitch. Most male zergs tended to prefer soft and petite subfemales, finding the firm and sturdy structure of female zergs less appealing. The subfemale noticed Lu Yuan’s gaze, glared at him disdainfully, and, catching sight of the zerg markings on the back of his neck, mistook him for a female zerg. With a snort, he said, “Rogue zerg, what are you looking at! You won’t find a body as good as mine no matter how much you look!”
Lu Yuan thought to himself, ‘I’m looking at your what? Everyone’s got one.’
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