APUTFFZG Chapter 37.2

Translator: Deyonna

Tip me

He had noticed very early on that the male zerg had a pair of very beautiful hands.

They looked like meticulously tended white jade, from the pale pink nails to the fair, slender fingers to the soft, warm palms, every curve perfect, like a work of art.

Unlike military females like him, who worked hard all year round and had calluses all over their hands, the male zerg showed even the slightest bruise clearly on his. The last time his hand got scratched, it had stayed swollen for a whole week.

But those same hands had easily seized his throat and his vital spot and reached into his abdomen to stir his soft insides, like a burning blade sinking into butter and slicing effortlessly through thick fat with a sizzle.

He watched helplessly as he was cruelly disemboweled, feeling the suffocation of near death. His vision blurred into mottled double images, until warm blood finally splattered out.

It was a scene of devastation, utterly shameful.

Xi Ze half opened his eyes and stared blankly at the white ceiling. His expression seemed to show pain, but also something else.

He really deserved it...

He thought.

Next time, he mustn't be fooled by the male zerg again.

Xi Ze blinked away the sweat that had run into his eyes and turned his face to the left without thinking.

In his blurred vision, he saw the corridor leading to the room.

Because of the angle, it created a small triangular blind spot, and a figure seemed to hide in the shadows...

The figure had a pale little face that was desperately trying to hold back fear, and its body trembled uncontrollably.

He blinked slowly and belatedly realized something.

When he was young, he had once hidden there in fear, watching as his female father was trampled underfoot and tortured by his male father, blood staining the carpet in patches.

At the time, his female father had turned his face this way, expression pale and numb, eyes empty and devoid of emotion. Xi Ze had thought he hadn't been seen, but the shadow hadn't been enough to hide the cub.

Would his own cub have its turn to hide there too, watching all of this in terror and helplessness?

"Nng, ahh... Hng..."

The thought was like a sharp knife that suddenly stabbed into his mind and shattered his conscious awareness into countless fragments.

Xi Ze's pupils constricted sharply.

His waist and abdomen bucked up like a dying fish, spasming and struggling so hard that he nearly threw Ye Er off.

A perpetually gloomy, damp room, the sharp barbs on the whip, the endlessly spiraling staircase, and the stinking soil of the back garden...

Blood-stained silhouettes and chaotic fragments flashed wildly before his eyes, stirring up a hurricane deep in his mental landscape and instantly turning the female zerg's eyes red.

It seemed as if a loud noise echoed beside his ears, like something heavy hitting the floor and shattering completely with a series of cracks and rattles.

It felt like wine poured over his head years ago, and in the next second, the crisp sound of a bottle breaking against his brow bone.

&T%... swish, woosh, woosh, throw... Bang!

He remembered how bright the chandelier in the hall had been, but perhaps the wine had corroded his retina, because the shadows before him grew darker and darker, threatening to tear all brightness apart.

As his mental power stretched to its limit, a warm sensation covered his brow and eyes.

—The sharp, noisy sounds beside his ears abruptly ceased.

The world fell still, as if a defensive barrier had suddenly risen to protect him steadfastly within.

Cold mental power accurately found the empty cracks and forced its way in, sweeping away the surging, deep-seated ailments.

Cool, fine snow fell from the sky, soaking silently into the vast barren land and quietly nurturing new greenery.

Ye Er felt the tremor in his palm slowly subside, and the warm liquid seeping between his fingers stopped overflowing. He finally let out a sigh of relief and only then noticed the sharp pain in his forehead.

He reached up to touch it, and faint bloodstains spread across his fingertips. The wound wasn't deep. It seemed to be only a scrape.

What had happened earlier had simply been too sudden. Before he could react, he had been knocked down and had almost hit the sharp corner of the coffee table. As he stood up, Xi Ze, still struggling, had knocked him again, and he had staggered.

The coffee table had been completely overturned, and 015 had rushed over, sparking with fright.

None of the previous mental guidance had ever brought such a strong response from the female zerg. This time the method really did seem to work.

Ye Er glanced sideways at the coffee table, which had been flipped over several times, and clicked his tongue softly.

...Next time, I'll have to remember to move it out of the way before the guidance.

"Can I let go?"

After waiting a while, Ye Er took away the hand covering Xi Ze's eyes and asked softly.

Xi Ze's breathing quickened for a moment. His pale lips pressed together tightly, then relaxed by force, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

Ye Er lowered his hand and, as expected, saw a pair of wet red eyes. The eyelashes were clumped together with physiological tears, and the light golden eyes looked washed with water, deep and clear.

Xi Ze's gaze flickered. He didn't raise his head to meet the male zerg's eyes. He only turned his head slightly and immediately saw the mess on the floor, and his body stiffened.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was hoarse and wet with a nasal tone, sounding unusually fragile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want it to be like this..."

He hadn't wanted to spoil the mood, and he certainly hadn't wanted to show such a disheveled side of himself.

But his body and subconscious had been entirely out of his control, breaking through his suppressed rationality and instantly flooding his mouth and nose, nearly setting off a mental riot.

The feeling of losing control of his body bred panic. Xi Ze couldn't help clenching his still slightly trembling hands, and he closed his eyes.

"...I'll clean it up now."

Ye Er studied his expression for a moment and, after confirming that nothing was wrong, reached out to pull the female zerg up. "It doesn't matter. Let 015 take care of it."

Xi Ze squeezed his eyes shut again, then carefully took hold of Ye Er's hand. He raised his gaze, about to say something, but his gaze suddenly froze.

The messy strands of hair on the male zerg's forehead exposed a small patch of fair skin, across which ran a glaring, swollen red wound. The blood that had flowed out had clotted on the tip of his eyebrow, extremely dazzling.

He felt as if he had been stung by a poisonous scorpion, its venom pouring into his heart and bringing intense pain.

"Did I hurt you just now?"

Xi Ze's expression darkened. He shook off 015's mechanical arm, quickly pushed himself up on his elbows, and pressed down on Ye Er's shoulders.

The female zerg probably didn't realize how scared his own expression looked. The tip of his mental power, which hadn't yet been withdrawn, carried unmasked worry and guilt, and his state had shifted from satisfied exhaustion* to rigid sharpness.

*Literally "eaten one's fill"

Ye Er paused for a moment. "It's okay. I'll just..."

"Don't move. Let me see," Xi Ze said sternly, without thinking, with an unyielding authority that left no room for argument.

Like training a soldier, Ye Er thought, but he still didn't move, letting him check the wound.

The female zerg reached out and gripped his jaw, tilting his face up to expose the wound. His calloused fingertips brushed the soft corner of Ye Er's eye as he pressed lightly around the injury several times.

...Fortunately, it was only a scrape, and it had already stopped bleeding.

Ye Er's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he let out a low nasal sound as the pressure eased again.

"How much does it hurt?"

Xi Ze furrowed his brow tightly and reached out to push the hair back from the male zerg's forehead. He leaned in to look at the wound once more, unaware that they were so close their breaths mingled.

"We should go to the hospital for an examination. There aren't any specialized medical facilities here."

It looked like only a small injury, but because it was on the head, it could easily involve nerves or other sensitive areas, so it couldn't be taken lightly.

If Ye Er didn't stop him, Xi Ze would end up carrying him to the hospital.

Ye Er took hold of Xi Ze's wrist and gently pulled it away, coughing lightly. "It's really fine. Some medicine and a bandage will be enough."

Xi Ze still looked disapproving, but he couldn't argue with Ye Er's insistence. In the end, he went to fetch gauze and medicine.

He carefully wiped away the dried blood, then gently pressed a damp, soft cotton pad soaked in medication near the wound until it was fully absorbed. Then he covered it with a clean layer of gauze and wrapped it up neatly.

Ye Er lay with his head on the female zerg's thigh, his eyelids growing heavy as the bandaging went on, so comfortable that he nearly dozed off.

The treatment he was getting feels more like it's for a concussion than a simple scrape.

The male zerg in his arms had completely closed his eyes.

Mental guidance left both the one giving it and the one receiving it exhausted, so it was usually done alongside some physical activity. Afterward, one could conveniently fall asleep and recover one's energy.

Xi Ze pushed the medicine aside and pulled over a thin quilt to cover the male zerg.

After all that, he leaned back against the sofa. In the silence that followed, he suddenly recalled the memories that had surfaced during the guidance.

The unfortunate events before had made him forget those disgusting matters completely. Now the vivid empathy had faded and settled into tasteless dregs.

But he also recognized the deep-seated worries buried inside him.

He feared that one day he would follow in his female father's footsteps, put down the weapons in his hands, and give up his freedom and life to a malicious male zerg, trapped in that desolate mire, wasting his life away.

Step by step, he would twist his principles and bottom lines, even raise a butcher's knife against weaker young ones instead of enduring the pain of cutting away rotting, foul flesh.

His female father couldn't bring himself to do it, but that was okay...

Xi Ze silently curved his lips at the thought of that bright, striking blood color. For a moment, even his feelings of loathing faded, leaving only a lingering sense of delight that had lasted until now.

But Ye Er was clearly different.

The beautiful, soft face of the young male zerg was nothing like the harsh, arrogant middle-aged male zerg of his memories. It wasn't only a difference in age and looks. It was a deep difference that came from the soul, and it showed in their eyes.

He wasn't a lamb for slaughter, and the male zerg before him wouldn't turn into a butcher.

When their mental power had blended completely, Ye Er had shown him this as fact by opening himself up fully.

Malice and cruelty couldn't stain him, and mediocrity and ordinariness weren't enough to move him. Only something as brilliant as the stars could make a person into a bursting firework, piercing that pitch-dark, cold, snowy night.

Xi Ze's fingertips brushed the soft gauze on the young male zerg's forehead, and the chill in his gaze melted away.

He gently combed Ye Er's soft hair. When the breathing in his arms turned long and steady, he lightly cradled the young male zerg's head, set it on the pillow, and got up to make lunch.

---

Not long after the female zerg left, Ye Er, who had seemed fast asleep, woke with clear eyes.

Beep, beep.

He picked up the terminal that had rolled onto the floor and opened it to check the new message.

[Doctor Xie: How is it going? Is that method useful? [Rose][Rose]]

Remembering the effect of the mental guidance, he moved his fingers and sent a simple "Mm."

[Doctor Xie: That's great! Mental guidance is the most effective way to treat female zergs' psychological issues. A few more sessions should basically solve the problem! [Smiley face]]

[Doctor Xie: By the way, since today went so smoothly, did you find an opportunity? Military females are tough nuts to crack. They won't open up the depths of their mental landscape easily.]

Ye Er raised his eyes thoughtfully and looked at the faint figure of the female zerg's back in the kitchen.

[wwn: I guess so.]

☰