EROS [Zerg]

Eros opened the book he had taken from his claws, and after just one glance, he couldn't help but gasp.

The palm-sized book is covered with dense text on every page.

After a cursory glance, Eros felt dizzy and even doubted whether he was illiterate.

Although Eros didn't attend school for many years, he believed his learning ability was exceptional. What would take female insects of the same age a month to learn, Eros could usually memorize after reading it only twice.

But now Eros recognizes every single word in the book in his hand, yet he doesn't recognize them when they're put together.

"These are all books that Evanson Eastland read?" Eros looked utterly hopeless. It's no exaggeration to say that he could barely count the number of words he understood in the entire book on his two paws.

Eros had to admit that Evanson, this noble insect, was a formidable opponent, but he encouraged himself and vowed not to be intimidated by such strength.

"He's lived for over forty years, while I'm probably only in my early twenties now. I wouldn't be able to keep up with the loss of insects now."

Eros encouraged himself as he opened the paper book in his paw, turned on his terminal, and searched for unfamiliar words on the StarNet.

The more Eros read the book, the more profound it seemed. Only by following Evanson's annotations in the margins and the introductions on the StarNet could Eros barely understand what was in the book, but he couldn't think about it. His shallow knowledge was insufficient to support his understanding and reflection on the knowledge in the book.

Halfway through the book, Eros felt his eyelids drooping. Just as he was about to rub his eyes and continue reading, he heard the sound of a doorknob turning behind him.

Eros had no idea which insect would come looking for him at this hour. His back stiffened suddenly, and when he turned around, he saw a young female insect.

The little female insect only reached Eros's shoulder in height, looking like a juvenile that hadn't yet undergone secondary differentiation. Her golden curly hair was casually tied into a ponytail and hung down her back. She wore only a short-sleeved shirt, and had a ball tucked under her arm.

"Who are you?" Eros asked, having never seen this insect before.

To everyone's surprise, the female insect cub that had "intruded" ignored Eros. After putting the ball in the cabinet, she took a book from the bookshelf and went to the French windows outside the dressing room to read it, showing no concern for Eros whatsoever.

Eros was curious about the baby insect and wanted to go over and say hello to see what this very unique female baby insect looked like.

He had just walked behind the insect cub when he heard another slight rustling sound behind him.

Eros turned around and was surprised to find that an adult insect was now sitting in the chair he had just been sitting in.

"When did you come in?" Eros was surprised and turned around to find that the little female insect that had been sitting on the ground reading a book had disappeared.

Eros sensed something was wrong.

The female insect, engrossed in her chair, didn't notice Eros, who was sitting at her desk writing something.

Eros walked over and reached out his claws toward the female insect.

As expected, Eros's claws pierced through the female insect's body.

"Is this...an illusion?" Eros looked at the female insect sitting on the desk and vaguely guessed that the insect was Evanson.

Seeing Evanson engrossed in writing something, Eros leaned over curiously and asked, "What is he writing?"

Just as Eros had the idea of ​​taking a peek, Evanson, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly closed the notebook in his hand.

Eros watched as Evanson didn't put the notebook back on the shelf, but instead walked towards the balcony.

Eros followed and found that Evanson had stuffed the notebook under a floor tile on the balcony.

This is a very hidden space; even if you look closely, it's hard to tell that the floor tile is different.

"What is it that Evanson wants to hide?" Eros asked curiously, looking up to meet Evanson's gaze.

In an instant, Eros felt as if he were struck by an electric current, and something seemed to explode inside the insect core, startling him so much that he suddenly opened his eyes.

The white light entered his eyes, and Eros stared blankly at the neat and bright room in front of him. He subconsciously wanted to look at the female insect from before, but when he tried to straighten up, he realized that he was lying on the table.

I actually fell asleep just now.

There was only one insect, Eros, in the room, and a book that was one-third open lay flat on the table.

"It was just a dream." Eros rubbed his eyes, pulled out a chair, and tried to get up and move around.

The room was very large, more than three times the size of his dormitory at the college.

Stepping onto the balcony, Eros wanted to open the window for some fresh air, but his gaze inadvertently fell on the floor tiles beneath his feet.

The white ceramic tiles are exactly the same as those in my dream.

As if by some strange twist of fate, Eros crouched down and placed his paw on the third tile from the left against the wall. In his dream, Evanson had hidden something under this tile.

The tile felt no different from the surrounding tiles. Eros tentatively tapped it, and just as in his dream, the tile made a hollow, thumping sound.

Eros gently inserted his claws along the edge of the tile, and with a light pry, the entire tile loosened easily.

Move the tiles aside, and a dark brown book lies quietly inside, covered with a thin layer of dust.

Eros picked the book up from the ground and wiped off the dust, only to discover that it was actually a diary.

Evanson Eastland's diary.

Eros couldn't understand why Evanson would hide the diary in such a secluded place.

The diary's cover was very thick and heavy. Eros had seen this kind of cover in the military. It was made of star beast skin and was very sturdy and durable. It could withstand high pressure, high temperature, or even flames without damaging the documents inside. It was also extremely expensive.

Using it for writing a diary is a waste of its potential.

Eros carefully turned to the first page and found that the contents were notes taken by Evanson during his internship at the military.

The contents are very concise, resembling a record of military experience.

When Eros turned to page thirteen of his notes, he noticed that the notes, which were like a record of his experiences, suddenly stopped.

Turning to page fourteen, it turned out to be a year later.

The notes written on the new page have a different style.

[Perhaps this is an experience I will never tell any insect until my body dies and my soul sleeps in the embrace of the insect god, but I want to record it. Maybe some insect will see it in the future, but I definitely don't want it to be while I'm still alive.]

During a patrol mission in the Soran Nebula, the patrol ship I was on with Yharnam was shot down by space pirates. He died, and I was captured.

Fortunately, at that time, the Blue Star Pirates and the Zerg military had never engaged in a direct war; they had never seen real Zerg, so when the group of pirates saw me, they mistook me for one of their own.

They are so much like us.

[After reflecting on it, I guessed that they probably saw me as one of their own, on a different side.]

Although the days of captivity were so painful that I had suicidal thoughts every day, I still managed to survive because I wanted to go home.

I carefully concealed the insect wings and tentacles. Although I was puzzled as to why they didn't take my terminal, it was a good thing. I sent a distress signal to the military.

[While waiting for rescue, I attempted an escape from my insect life. The cage they used to hold me was as thin and fragile as cardboard, but their base was more difficult to navigate than a maze.]

I stumbled into a strange room by accident, and it was in that pitch-black room that I met RouLi.

RouLi is a cub of a Blue Star human. When I saw her, she was trying to pry open a metal door. I helped her open the door, and she was startled to see the metal door I had torn open, but she quickly calmed down.

RouLi walked through the metal door, and I followed. Although she was somewhat wary of me, she agreed to let me go with her. After passing through a winding, narrow passage, I saw hundreds of transparent crystalline rooms, each inhabited by a Blue Star human.

Looking at the Blue Star people living in the crystal houses, all of them naked, without a single marking on their bodies, I had a momentary illusion that they were all male insects.

While I was still reeling from what was happening, RouLi rushed in and started shouting something at the Blue Star people inside the crystal room. I couldn't understand their language, but I could see that the Blue Star people living in the crystal room were wavering under RouLi's encouragement, though none of them actually made a move.

[Later, after I learned the language of Earth, I realized that RouLi was inciting the female Earthlings to escape with her from the crystal chamber that trapped them and forced them to reproduce endlessly, and to encourage everyone to fight for their right to freedom.]

No one from Earth paid any attention to RouLi, which was probably something RouLi hadn't expected. She stood there anxiously until a woman pressed the alarm, at which point she fled in a panic.

She hadn't forgotten me. RouLi was clearly very familiar with the human base; she chose a perfect route to avoid surveillance and led me into a room.

[That room belonged to RouLi. Noticing the unusual clothes I was wearing, she hid me in the closet. Soon, there was a rapid knocking at the door. Through the crack in the closet door, I saw some Earthlings talking to RouLi, seemingly scolding and warning her, but there was no real punishment in the end.]

After the group of Earthlings left, RouLi let me out of the closet. She seemed very friendly and treated me like one of her kindred spirits.

At first, because of the language barrier, I could only keep my mouth shut and try to avoid all conversation. I should thank the Insect God for the talent he gave me; after about a month, I was able to have very basic communication with RouLi through some gestures and simple words.

Based on my imagination and my resemblance to Earthlings, I fabricated an identity for myself: a branch of Earthlings lost in the boundless universe, much like the lost lineages of ancient civilizations often depicted in online novels I'd read on the StarNet.

RouLi believed me. While teaching me the language to communicate with the Blue Star people, she also told me some things about Blue Star thieves.

They came here from an ancient planet called "Earth" in a distant galaxy. 70% of that planet was covered in water and appeared blue from the outside, hence its other name, Blue Star.

Because a villain destroyed their original home, making Earth uninhabitable, they had no choice but to leave their home and venture into the universe in search of a new home.

Although RouLi said the Earthlings were just looking for a place to live in this universe, I know in my heart that their harassment of the Zerg borders is undeniable aggression.

Communication is difficult. The language of the Earthlings is extremely complex to learn. I rarely find learning difficult, but understanding the Earthling language is truly challenging.

RouLi said that in their former home planet, the Blue Star people once had thousands of languages, but now, due to a sharp decline in population, their civilization has disappeared. To make the Blue Star people more cohesive, they now use only one common and easy-to-understand language and are also working hard to understand and learn a universal language.

I offered to learn their language in depth, in exchange for teaching RouLi the universal language of the universe.

RouLi generously gave me many books to read. She said that many civilizations once existed on Earth, but they were all destroyed in that catastrophe.

I hid in RouLi's room for a long time, but the military's rescue was delayed. I had no choice but to look for another opportunity to escape.

[Coincidentally, RouLi was preparing to mobilize the females living in the crystal rooms to join her in the rebellion; she called this a struggle for women's rights.]

[RouLi wanted my help, so I learned that the Earthlings and the Zerg both face reproductive difficulties. Their females are weak and few in number, while the males are relatively strong, so they keep the precious females in captivity and protect them.]

RouLi says that all humans on Earth believe that females belong to all of humanity; they are precious, selfless, and great; they nurture the future and are humanity's hope.

I can understand why their females are valued because of their scarcity, much like male Zerg.

RouLi, however, said that this was all a lie. Women weren't given education, they weren't allowed to know history, and all the male Blue Star people were hiding the truth, constantly brainwashing them, saying they were precious and bore the future, therefore their responsibilities were heavy, and therefore they had to work harder, to soothe the emotions of the brave male Blue Star people who protected the race, and to bear offspring for the race as their lifelong mission—this was the sublime meaning of their existence.

RouLi says that thousands of years ago on Earth, their ancestors, regardless of gender, existed equally in society. Strong females maintained peace with their own strength, while weaker males could also engage in respectable work. Later, due to various natural and man-made disasters, the number of females dwindled. Although assisted reproductive technology existed, it was extremely expensive, especially in this resource-scarce universe. The low success rate and high cost of assisted reproductive technology meant it was no longer used casually. The female reproductive organs became the most economical and readily available gestational sac.

I thought the Blue Star Pirates were in a similar situation to the Zerg, but it was clear they didn't value rare females as much as the Zerg valued males. At the time, I looked down on them, but later, as this matter repeatedly surfaced in my mind, I belatedly realized how terrifying the Blue Star Pirates were.

If they use such ruthless methods against their own kind, the Earthlings, how could they possibly choose peaceful coexistence with other races? Perhaps in the near future, we will clash with them in the universe. The Zerg must act quickly and eliminate them in their infancy, preventing them from growing stronger.

……

……

Eros flipped through Evanson's notes page by page. At this time, the female insect's writing style was still somewhat immature, recording what Evanson saw, heard, and thought during the three months he was captured by Blue Star.

Turning to the last page, Eros saw the last line, which had been written on the cover because it was too large to write on:

Their mythology holds that the desire for love is the origin of all things, far older than heaven and the gods.

[Never among the Zerg gods has I felt such a captivating and unforgettable admiration.]

The deity who governs love is called Eros.