APUTFFZG Chapter 26.2

Translator: Deyonna

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Even though reason clearly told him that these military females were giant zergs with thick skin, he couldn't help recalling the soldiers and firefighters of his previous life, who had been admired and respected.

But despite defending the territory and protecting the people, the identity of a military female didn't seem particularly special here.

The number of female zergs in the Zerg race was so vast that it practically overflowed. Losing large numbers on the battlefield caused no regret, and it was even seen as a way to lighten the planet's burden.

Furthermore, because male zergs were scarce, only high-ranking military females could pair with them. Synthetic pheromone replacements and soothing agents were expensive, and many ordinary military females who survived the battlefield died of pheromone deficiency and mental power instability.

It was a cold, cruel law of social elimination.

Ye Er had been in the Zerg race for a long time, and though he intentionally avoided deep social interaction, he still knew most of their common knowledge. But knowing and accepting were two different things.

Elaine, however, seemed to regard the scene as commonplace, and the smile on his face didn't diminish in the slightest. His tone remained cheerful and upbeat.

"Your Excellency, this way, please! The VIP lounge is just down this corridor…"

His voice wasn't loud, but in the extremely quiet corridor it carried quite clearly. Several military females woke and looked up at them.

Ye Er happened to lower his head and meet a pair of miserable eyes, deep and clear, stained with blood and dust. They stared silently back at him from a meter away.

The blinding, vague white light outside the window cast a hazy veil over the chaos, making it seem quiet and solemn.

In this unusual silence, he could clearly hear his own heart beating like a drum.

It felt very... strange, like a detached NPC who had been following the script, finally acknowledging and slightly integrating into this real world.

He could sense the sadness and pain of the natives, and he truly began to empathize with their complex, vast social emotions.

He stood there in a daze until that military female lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"Doctor! Doctor...!"

A hoarse, urgent cry suddenly erupted. The next second, the door to the ward beside Ye Er was flung open.

"Where's the doctor?! Alvin can't hold on much longer! Have the pheromone replacements arrived yet?"

A military female with bloodshot eyes strode out. The few soldiers by the door instantly stood up. Hearing the pained groans from inside, their expressions turned extremely grim.

"Get out of the way! Don't block the door!"

The doctor, arriving at top speed, swept into the ward like a whirlwind. He didn't even have time to close the door before hooking up the equipment and starting emergency treatment.

The military female who had burst out earlier had a tough look on his face, but his voice trembled uncontrollably. "…It's useless. Without the pheromone replacement this time, Alvin won't last a few days."

The tough, iron-blooded military females standing around looked at one another, red-eyed, unable to utter a word.

Pheromones on the market were all luxury goods. Even in peacetime they were in short supply, and in wartime it was almost impossible to find even a few bottles.

The hospital's reserves hadn't been much to begin with, and they had been depleted during the past few days of war. Supply from the Main Star was completely out of the question.

They were already fed up with hearing the hospital's excuses, but the truth was that there simply weren't any pheromones. They could only watch helplessly as their comrade died before their eyes.

The emergency treatment lasted only a few minutes. When Ye Er looked up, the doctor's hand had already stopped. The military female named Alvin was hidden behind a stained blue curtain, so his figure and appearance couldn't be seen.

Only one hand hung limply from the bed, its knuckles hard and defined. Veins snaked across the back of the hand, stained with mottled gunpowder and blood, casting a light gray shadow on the floor.

Elaine, who had appeared behind Ye Er at some point, was also looking into the ward. His usual exaggerated smile was gone, replaced by a hidden sadness in his eyes.

His voice was very soft. "Shall we go in and take a look?"

Ye Er's eyelashes trembled as he shifted his gaze to the female zerg who had been so out of tune just moments ago. A flicker of understanding crossed his face, but in the end he silently nodded.

Seeing that the male zerg was willing to go in, Elaine quickly stepped forward, pushing aside the military females and doctor crowding around the bed and making room.

"No unauthorized zergs allowed… Little Director, why are you here?"

The doctor's irritation turned to surprise. He glanced at Elaine, then at the zerg behind him, and stepped back.

No matter what, this military female named Alvin is doomed to die soon. There's no way to conjure pheromones out of thin air.

And it isn't just the pheromones. Mental power riot, damaged foundations, complications... any one of them could be deadly.

Never mind the director's own second child. Even if the director himself came personally, he couldn't save him.

He sighed, defeated, and set down the emergency medical equipment in his hand. Turning to the indignant, grieving female zergs around him, he said, "There's nothing the hospital can do... I'm sorry for your loss."

Those words set the military females off completely. The one who had rushed out to call for the doctor shot to his feet and roared like a wounded beast in a violent rage.

"He's not dead yet! What are you mourning for?! If you can't cure him, get out! We don't need your fake sympathy... Who are you, standing here watching the show? Get the fuck out of here!"

"Calm down!"

Elaine spoke coldly, shielding Ye Er behind him with one hand so he wouldn't be accidentally hurt by the ignorant* military female. At the same time, his eyes kept darting toward the male zerg's expression, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

*Literally "not knowing what's important."

"How am I supposed to be calm?! It's not your comrade who's dying. This lousy hospital can't even get a few vials of pheromones, and those male zergs are too busy getting drunk and wasted to provide even that much value! I see now, this empire is rotten to the core…!"

His comrades tried to restrain him together. The scene was chaotic, and the struggle nearly escalated into a full-blown brawl.

Ye Er seemed unable to hear the dispute. His hand gripped the rusted bedside rail as he lifted a corner of the curtain, his attention fixed on the military female in the bed.

He was a military female with a crew cut and a determined face, tall and strong, barely fitting in the narrow bed.

His □□* upper body was crisscrossed with countless bone-deep wounds. For no reason he could name, it reminded Ye Er of a whale caught in a propeller, its flesh brutally torn apart.

*Most likely "naked" (or "bare").

When Ye Er had first picked up Xi Ze, the wounds from the torture had still been fresh.

But with each treatment, the injuries Xi Ze had sustained in the war surfaced more prominently: more severe, deeper, and more numerous, piled up in a ghastly way.

Ye Er snapped out of his thoughts and suddenly frowned. He bent down slightly and sniffed the air.

The military female emitted a scent that was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar. According to what the doctor had said earlier, this military female was in a weakened state, having forcibly suppressed his estrus period after it went out of control.

The area around the bed was filled with a volatile yet weakened mental power, clearly in the late stages of a mental riot.

"Shut up!"

Elaine finally snapped, his loud bellow silencing the military females in the ward.

He glared at the military female with the indignant, grief-stricken expression and warned him quietly, "If you keep making trouble, Alvin will really be beyond saving!"

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Ye Er, who stood by the bedside.

His meaning, along with his subtle gesture, was so clear.

The military females froze, following Elaine's gaze almost incredulously toward the "sub-female" who had been brought into the ward.

No, maybe he isn't a sub-female, but...

But could it really be possible?

On this barren planet, one that even the nobles' dogs would disdain, in this old battlefield hospital, beside the bed of a tormented military female on the verge of death—

Could a male zerg actually show up?

Elaine's eyes had already given the answer.

But compared to the arguments and misery filling the room, the male zerg's expression was undeniably cold. His pure black eyes were clear, yet like a frozen lake without waves or ripples, they reflected nothing.

The military female who had been roaring in indignation moments earlier froze, his expression stiff. He had undoubtedly scorned those rotten male zergs who wallowed in luxury and extravagance, and he had practically insulted this male zerg to his face. One could imagine how difficult it would now be to obtain even a bit of his pheromones.

...But it was the only way to save Alvin.

In the extremely quiet, narrow space, a dull thud suddenly broke the silence, like a mountain collapsing with a resounding crash.

Ye Er snapped out of his thoughts and saw a military female kneeling straight before him. His face was very pale, but the shine in his eyes was resolute.

His voice, soaked in exhaustion and grief, was hoarse and unpleasant, stumbling over the words as he pleaded in a low, humble tone.

"Your Excellency, please save him. He only needs a bit of pheromones… Alvin is an outstanding soldier. He saved many people during the war. He has always…"

He was completely different from his earlier tough, cold self, yet there was little humiliation in his expression. Kneeling for a comrade's life and death wasn't really a difficult choice.

Realizing that the male zerg might not be interested, the military female abruptly stopped and changed tack.

"We can buy it. You can name any price in star coins… I have lots of military merits from this war. You can take them all if you want…!"

"I'll give you my military merits too. Please save Alvin!"

"You can have mine too…"

"Mine too…"

"We b-beg you…"

The ward was filled with a sea of kneeling figures, their pleas and promises rising in a chorus. The scene was almost awe-inspiring. And at the center of attention, watched closely by dozens of eyes, was Ye Er.

But the male zerg's face remained indifferent, revealing nothing of his mood. With each passing moment, Elaine's heart lurched and sank further.

...I was too hasty.

Although their time together had been short, it was clear that the male zerg's temperament was not easily swayed.

Now the situation has become so embarrassing that, in his eyes*, it's probably nothing more than blatant calculation and threats.

*Ye Er.

But it was indeed true. After learning from Hughes that there was a male zerg in the hospital with a good temperament and character, and a certain probability of obtaining pheromones, Elaine had gone to great lengths to bring him here.

The path they had taken earlier was not the one leading to the VIP lounge, but one he had deliberately chosen to deceive Ye Er.

He had intended to take things slowly, but Alvin couldn't wait any longer. Yet... perhaps he had been too hasty.

It was his fault. If Ye Er was truly angered by this, not only would Alvin not be saved, but all the military females who had knelt would be punished.

Elaine closed his eyes and was about to turn back when he saw Ye Er move, taking a step back.

He didn't look at the many military females kneeling at his feet, his expression calm as he lowered his gaze.

"Let's go."

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