EROS [Zerg]

"Could it be that the mental energy of an SS-level female insect remains in this book? But why have I never encountered such a situation before?" Alai immediately put all his previous troubles behind him, holding the white book with both paws and scanning it back and forth with his mental energy, but he did not see the shadow of Lieutenant General Evanson like Eros did.

Eros's attention was still on the blue star that the shadow had mentioned earlier.

Eros didn't know what Blue Star was, so he could only ask Alai, "What is Blue Star? Is it territory stolen by Blue Star?"

"Blue Star... I heard it was a blue planet covered in water, but it was destroyed thousands of years ago. Blue Star pirates were the original inhabitants of Blue Star."

"After the destruction of Blue Star, its original inhabitants began to wander in the universe. In order to find a suitable space for them to live, they often clashed with other races. Eventually, they were driven out by various races and could only make a living by robbing passing spaceships in the universe. We call these space pirates Blue Star Pirates."

"Their appearance is very similar to our Zerg, and they are often mistaken for other races." Alai showed Eros several pictures from the personal terminal:

"There are many creatures in the Blue Star Thief that look exactly like male insects, but don't be fooled by them. They often rely on this deceptive appearance to deceive female insects."

“The simplest way to distinguish them with the naked eye is to look at the top of their heads. Blue Star Pirates don’t have the tentacles of our Zerg.” Alai touched the slender tentacles hidden in his hair on the top of his head.

Eros nodded as he looked at the photos Alai had shown him: "I've seen them; they do look very much like male insects."

"You've seen it?!" Alai's voice rose two octaves, then fell back down: "You didn't get hurt, did you?!"

"Losed?" Eros asked, puzzled, but still answered honestly, "I was shot."

As soon as he finished speaking, Alai grabbed Eros's shoulder with his claws: "The world is too unfriendly to female insects these days. If you encounter a male insect in the future, you must keep your eyes wide open and carefully distinguish them. It would be too terrible if you were taken advantage of by Blue Star disguised as a male insect."

Taking advantage?

Eros looked puzzled: "We are the Zerg, and we're not even the same race as them, so why are we being taken advantage of?"

"Although I don't understand it either, there are real examples that prove that the genes stolen by the Blue Star can make female insects pregnant."

"They use their similar appearance to the male insects and their feigned docile nature to seduce the female insects and obtain their sustenance."

The Zerg value procreation and have open customs; it's not uncommon to see interspecies mating in many underground locations. Although Eros hadn't been forced to marry someone of another race before, he had witnessed those horrific scenes firsthand:

Several alien guests disguised as insectoids tortured the female prostitutes they had bought, tearing them apart and devouring them alive.

“Long ago, before our Zerg discovered the true nature of those Blue Star Thieves, we treated them as male Zerg who had been living away from home, giving them the treatment of male Zerg and providing them with the best resources.”

"Many excellent female insects are deceived by their beautiful appearance and feigned gentle nature."

Eros was puzzled: "Deception?"

"Yes, it's deception!" Alai's face showed anger: "They're poisonous, poisonous even more poisonous than the aliens!"

"Poison?" Eros was somewhat surprised, but he remembered the "insecticide" he had seen in the hands of the Blue Star thieves on the spaceship—a very potent poison with a terrifying name.

"Yes, the offspring born from female insects that have mated with them are all genetically deficient. They are either disabled, have intellectual problems, or are even born deformed. Moreover, their lifespan is only less than 100 years."

"Those blue star thieves especially like to contaminate the bodies of female insects with their inferior genetic markers."

"Female insects that have been marked by them can no longer give birth to normal offspring. If a male insect mates with a female insect that has been marked by them, it will also be contaminated. Those inferior genes are simply poison!"

"Fortunately, those space pirates practiced a one-on-one marriage system, so the scope of their harm was relatively small."

"You should know that when the female insects discovered the truth about this matter 600 years ago, they collectively scrapped eight A-grade male insects, sixteen B and C-grade male insects, 87 offspring, and nearly a hundred female insects from B to S grades!"

"Moreover, those Blue Star Thieves even tried to use their similar appearance to male Zerg to deceive high-ranking female Zerg with those low-class so-called 'feminine-loving' methods, demeaning our own Zerg males to the point of worthlessness, and then attempted to overthrow the regime of our Zerg society!"

"Thinking about what those insidious Blue Star Thieves have done, I suddenly find those male Zerg that we Zerg hate, who only know how to eat, drink, and have fun, to be incredibly appealing."

Seeing the anger and hatred on Alai's face, Eros nodded in agreement. When faced with an invasion by a foreign race, as a member of the Zerg, one should naturally unite against the outside world, regardless of whether one is a female or male.

Alai was worried that Eros was too naive and lacked experience, so he explained to him some ways to distinguish between blue star thieves and male thieves: "Although we may never see a blue star thief in our lifetime, if we do encounter one, we absolutely must not be fooled by them!"

"I see."

Seeing Eros nod, Alai checked the time: "It's getting late. Mr. Brandt should have finished talking with the principal. You should be able to find him in his office now."

"Professor Brandt is an excellent military mechanic who holds a prominent position in the military industry. If we can receive his guidance, we will gain a lot of help in the future."

"It feels like a dream." Eros had never imagined that he would one day receive so much kindness.

"Do you want me to test whether you're dreaming?" Alai grinned maliciously and waved the thick, brick-like book in his hand in front of Eros.

"No need, I'm sure I'm perfectly sober right now." Eros smiled, took a step back, picked up his school uniform jacket hanging on the wall, and walked out of the dormitory.

As night fell, cold air from the Cythesis Highlands swept across the insectoid capital of the plains once more.

Eros arrived at the office building and looked up to see that the principal's office on the sixth floor was still lit.

Brandt's office was also on the sixth floor. The incandescent light from the ceiling illuminated the corridor in a stark white light. The office was dark and there were no insects. Brandt had not yet returned.

Eros remembered that the light in the principal's office was on, so he walked to the principal's office at the end of the corridor.

The heavy door let in no light, but the faint sounds of two insects talking could be heard coming from inside.

“Brandt, there’s something else I’d like to ask you. Yesterday and now, three more instructors have submitted written applications to me, stating that they no longer wish to teach the Comet Class. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.”

“Brandt, there’s something else I’d like to ask you. Yesterday, three more instructors submitted written applications stating that they no longer wish to teach the Comet Class. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.”

After listening to Principal Joseph's words, Brandt's pretty face showed a slightly solemn hesitation: "I can understand the teachers' thoughts. The learning atmosphere in the Comet Class is really incomparable to that of other classes. Most of the students in this class come here to just pass the time and avoid arranged marriages by their families."

“They believe that the knowledge learned here is useless, at least not for becoming a female servant.”

"That's true. For these female insects with physical disabilities, they can't go to the battlefield or do any other work. Their only purpose is to serve as tools for family marriage."

Joseph nodded: "From what you're saying, you agree with the academy's decision not to admit any more students to the Comet Class next year?"

Brandt nodded after a slight hesitation: "Most of the students in the Comet Class are no longer worth the Academy's annual funding to complete their studies. They have no value to the Academy or to society."

“They have given up on themselves, and the academy has no obligation to continue training them.”

……

Eros stood outside the door, taking in all the barely audible conversation coming from inside.

It turns out that the Comet Class is really going to be canceled.

Eros stood there, unsure whether he should feel sad or relieved.

He felt he should be grateful that he had caught the last train; at least he could graduate smoothly as long as he didn't fail any courses.

But Eros found himself not happy at all; upon hearing the news, he felt a vague sense of loss.

Eros was undoubtedly lucky, but what about the other disabled female insects who wanted to go to school after the Comet Class was canceled?

What will become of his classmates in the Comet Class? And what should Alai do?

If even the First Military Academy of the Insect Star Empire no longer admits disabled students, then other academies are even less likely to do so.

What about the female insects on resource-rich or even barren planets who have never been to school and have no special skills?

Eros stood at the door of the principal's office for a long time, lost in thought. Finally, he took a step forward and knocked a few times on the heavy door with his paw.

Upon hearing the knock, the two female insects who were talking in the office stopped and turned to look at the closed door.

"Please come in."

Principal Joseph watched as a familiar female insect walked in after the office door was pushed open, and he almost called out the wrong name on his own: "...Eros, is there something you need from me?"

Eros pushed open the office door and entered. Seeing Principal Joseph and Teacher Brandt standing before his desk, he bowed respectfully to their surprised gazes, then rose and addressed the two elders with utmost seriousness:

"I came to see Professor Brandt. I apologize for overhearing your conversation outside the door without permission."

Joseph looked at the female insect that had suddenly appeared; it was also a female insect from the Comet class.

"Principal, is our Comet Class really going to be canceled?"

Brandt had high hopes for Eros, and seeing Eros's worried expression, he comforted him, "Eros, if the Comet Class is to be canceled, it will only be canceled after your current batch of students has graduated, so don't worry too much."

Eros wasn't worried about that. He was concerned that "what will happen to the disabled female insects if no schools are willing to accept them anymore? Without schools, they won't learn anything."

“There were no classes specifically for disabled female insects before. Canceling them now is just returning to the way things were before; it won’t have any impact.” Brandt walked up to Eros. “The academy is a place to learn knowledge and hone skills, not a refuge.”

"It's normal for those who can't see reality to be eliminated."

“What if they are males?” Eros asked, unwilling to give up. “What if they are males missing an arm or a leg? Wouldn’t they be spared?”

Brandt found it amusing:

"The role of the male insect is not that it has arms and legs."

"The possibility of a male insect being abandoned is only considered if it loses its fertility and its pheromones are completely unable to soothe the female insect."

Eros didn't understand: "If this is the outcome, why did you even start the Comet Class in the first place?"

"Because a certain insect obtained a word from the Blue Star Thief—humanism."

"He wanted to turn humanism into insectism."

"You may not understand these messy ideologies. When I first heard them, I also didn't understand them at all."

"He said he wanted to change society into one that respects every member, that the female insects of the empire could have their lives guaranteed, that they could have the status they deserved in their families and society, that the male insects could go out safely and freely, that they could do work that could realize their life value, and that they could speak out their demands and requests without being labeled as spoiled or throwing tantrums."

"Isn't this great?" Eros thought it was a wonderful blueprint.

“Oh, of course that’s good.” Brandt turned away. “But that bug is a fraud.”

"He incited the other insects, but he himself had no power to change the world."

"He lied to me, he lied to the principal, he lied to the Insect King, he lied to all the insects in the Sixth Star System."

"Not only did they accomplish nothing, they also gave a bunch of insects the illusion that they had found hope."

"Sometimes you don't feel pain when you don't see hope, but you feel pain when you see it."

"He brought hope, but he didn't leave it to us. He just showed it to us and then took it away, leaving us standing still!"

"Your current worries and your current pain all stem from him."

"If that insect hadn't gone and started that ridiculous comet class, Alai and that bunch of decadent female insects would have been married off long ago. Even if it was painful, they would have been numb to it by now."

"You're not telling the truth, are you?" Eros looked at Brandt's back in surprise, then at Principal Joseph standing silently to the side.

Brandt felt much lighter after venting his frustrations, but couldn't help laughing out loud after hearing Eros's question: "Is it so hard to understand how you feel about hating a worm who makes empty promises to you?"

Eros blinked. "Where did that bug go?"

"he died."