EROS [Zerg]

What are we going to buy this time?

When Eros first arrived here, unlike the cramped and dark black market he had imagined, every stall in the Macallan underground city was brightly decorated.

It was exactly the same as the lively food stalls that Eros had seen at the night market that day.

“Although there are many counterfeit Agama paints on the black market, if you can buy the real ones, the price will be at least half that of buying them through official channels,” Bro said.

"Military mechanics is a highly profitable industry. To improve your skills, you need to practice more, but more practice requires consumables. With your meager salary, you simply can't afford the consumables for practice."

“So, knowing about cheap raw material supply channels is also very important.” After saying that, Bro looked at Eros with amusement: “Brandt never told you about this, did he?”

Eros paused, then nodded and said, "Professor Brandt certainly didn't mention this."

“So you came with me on this trip and learned something he didn’t.” Bro smiled at Eros.

Eros was very excited, but listening to Bro's words, he realized that Bro seemed to know Mr. Brandt very well: "Do you know Mr. Brandt?"

"Of course I know him. If he hadn't gotten together with Lian Zhen, how could he have scored higher than me in this exam?"

Eros sensed a strong sourness in Bro's tone.

“Lian Zhen…?” Eros felt the name was familiar. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered that the female insect that sent Pared to steal the drawings from Brandt’s office was named Lian Zhen.

“Lian Zhen was a genius back then, but unfortunately, after he married a male insect, we never heard from him again.” Bro sighed. “If Lian Zhen were still active in the field of military machinery, what would Brandt have to do with it?”

Eros listened to Bro's sour words and became even more curious about what had happened between Professor Brandt and the female insect named Lian Zhen, and why Bro was so concerned.

Finding out gossip is not an easy thing. Eros lowered his eyes: "But it seems that Professor Brandt and that female insect named Lian Zhen are not getting along well now. I once heard them arguing in their communications."

“Really?” Bro looked surprised when he heard Eros say that. “Their relationship back then was incredibly good.”

Brandt was a sub-female who entered the First Military Academy of the Insect Empire from a minor star in the First Star System. Sub-females are rarely seen in the female insect academy.

Brandt received considerable attention amidst the stereotype that the purpose of sub-females learning was to seduce higher-ranking males.

Encouragement and curiosity are frequent companions, but so are cold stares and ridicule.

In the minds of female insects, survival of the fittest is always a golden rule. Brandt's outstanding achievements could silence some rumors, but they couldn't change the prejudice against sub-females.

Undeniably, those prejudices had a significant impact on Brandt at the time, even causing him to question the necessity of his studies.

It seems that there is always a ray of light in the darkest moments. Just when Brandt began to feel disgusted with studying, Lian Zhen pulled him into the mechanical club.

Each college has its own unique club activities organized by its students. Brandt was tricked into joining the mechanical club by Lian Zhen, the vice president of the club, when he was taking a shortcut.

At the time, Brandt thought that his outstanding talent had been successfully discovered. Only much later did he realize that Lian Zhen had only recruited him into the club to steal the two hundred star coins he paid each month in membership fees.

Playing with machines is very expensive.

If even chastity cannot be preserved, then the only option is to open a source of income.

He's good at making money, at least that's what Brandt thinks.

Following Lian Zhen, Brandt also gained access to some expensive and high-end weapon parts. He discovered that this seemingly unreliable female insect was actually extremely reliable.

"Envious, little Asian woman? These are all my treasures!" The young Lian Zhen showed Brandt the various mechanical devices he had painstakingly collected, his pride and smugness almost overflowing.

"Did you invent all of these?" Brandt asked.

"Of course! Who else has such genius-level talent besides me?!" Lian Zhen laughed loudly. "I will definitely become the greatest military mechanic."

Brandt always followed Lian Zhen around like a little shadow. Lian Zhen was usually very stingy, but he was very generous when it came to his little shadow.

Brandt never lacked practice materials while he was learning, at least he never lacked them because he couldn't afford them.

Lian Zhen always managed to get her hands on anything that interested him, and she was very generous to Brandt.

For this reason, Brandt's skills improved rapidly, and Bro, who was originally ranked first in the class, fell behind Brandt, the new little female, in several tests.

"The sub-female is so cunning."

As a student, Bro felt extremely humiliated to be ranked behind a sub-female, but because of Lian Zhen's protection, he could only secretly envy Brandt for climbing onto Lian Zhen's coattails.

Lian Zhen is quite famous among female insects who love machines. Although he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, he is straightforward and highly skilled, and many female insects like to ask him to repair their mechs.

Blo admires Lian Zhen greatly; he is the first female insect to obtain a military machinery employment qualification while still studying at school.

Unlike Eros, who relied on Brandt's teachings and resources for training, Lian Zhen obtained all her teachings and resources through her own exploration and efforts.

Brandt knew that following Lian Zhen would be beneficial, so from the moment he sensed that Lian Zhen wanted to get rid of him, he became even more eager to stick to her.

It is said that female insects are most likely to stick to male insects, so it is not unreasonable to replace male insects with female insects.

Brandt was different from Lian Zhen. He didn't like repairing and making military machinery at first. He was only selected to study at the Imperial First Military Academy because of his excellent grades. He pretended to like military machinery so that he could be protected by Lian Zhen.

Perhaps the performance was too over the top, making Lian Zhen believe that she had truly found a kindred spirit. She opened her heart and accepted this little sub-female, teaching Brandt everything she knew and sharing her resources with him.

Brandt was very smart and talented. With guidance and resources, he was soon able to participate in some competitions, achieve some results, and his reputation gradually spread.

Brandt's reputation naturally attracted the attention of some male insects, and sub-females were more likely to be favored by male insects than females.

Brandt was annoyed by the constant harassing letters. Female insects couldn't afford to reject male insects, let alone a powerless sub-female.

Among the male insects who expressed their desire to take Brandt as their female servant, the most prestigious one was a male insect from the Fengqiya family. This male insect liked to collect various excellent female insects and place them at home as decorations. For the female insects, he was a fairly good male insect, at least he was not very interested in physically punishing them.

But for Brandt, who was a sub-female, it was simply terrible. Sub-females experience mental turmoil and do not need mental soothing; their purpose in attaching themselves to males is usually for better living conditions.

Brandt rejected the male insect's advances and was prepared to accept the noble male insect's revenge, but the revenge never came. Just when he was wondering about this, he learned that Lian Zhen was going to marry the male insect.

The news that Lian Zhen was going to marry the head of the Feng Qiya family.