EROS [Zerg]

Eros didn't ask any further questions.

He had a vague idea of ​​who the female insect was.

However, Eros no longer feels averse to that name.

Seeing that it was getting late, Brandt said goodbye to Principal Joseph and took Eros back to his office.

Back in his office, Brandt pulled a registration form from his drawer and placed it on the table: "Eros, I wanted to talk to you after class today to ask if you would like to register for next year's Imperial Insectoid Military Machinery Competition?"

"A competition?" Eros was somewhat surprised and didn't know what to do. He thought that his teacher, Brandt, would test him first before teaching him the techniques, but he didn't expect that he would be asked to participate in a competition right away.

Brandt raised his long neck: "This is a competition that all the best military mechanics in the First Galaxy will participate in. The next competition will be next year. If you dare to participate, I can set aside three hours every day to train you individually."

Eros knew how invaluable it was to have the Zerg Empire's best military mechanics dedicate three stars a day to training him.

But there's no such thing as a free lunch.

What does the teacher need me to do?

Eros believed that Brandt must have some demands, and he was prepared to accept all of Brandt's demands.

Brandt glanced at Eros's serious face and gave a disdainful smile: "If I want something, I will get it myself."

"My requirement is that you dare to participate and can stick with it."

“I dare.” Eros looked at the registration form in front of him, filled in the information without hesitation, and handed it to Brandt.

“Sign another one.” Brandt placed a white contract in front of Eros.

“This is…” Eros opened the contract and found only one clause: [Party A will provide free training to Party B. Party B promises to obtain a military mechanic qualification certificate within one year. If Party B fails to do so within the specified time, Party B shall pay Party A 100 million star coins as a penalty.]

[Party A: Brandt]

[Party B:]

"..."

One million. Eros had never seen so many star coins in his life.

Signing this contract would be tantamount to signing a contract to sell oneself into servitude.

"Why don't you dare?" Brandt's lips curled up into a wider, more pronounced smile, the sarcasm growing stronger.

Eros stared at the contract before him, completely oblivious to the sneer on Brandt's lips. At that moment, a storm raged through his mind, a jumble of chaotic thoughts sprouting like mushrooms after rain.

The contract in front of him was an opportunity, and Brandt's help and guidance were like a ladder raised high, enabling him to realize his ideals faster and more smoothly.

But signing this contract is like taking a huge gamble. If you fail to meet the requirements of the contract, you could very well jeopardize your future.

Eros kept weighing the pros and cons in his mind, even considering the possibility of being sent back to the underground auction house by Brandt if he failed to meet the requirements.

In the end, he decided to take a gamble.

He signed his name on the contract.

"Two copies, keep yours safe." Brandt looked at the signed contract with satisfaction, his cunning expression like that of a fox that had tricked its prey: "Starting tomorrow, come to my office every afternoon after class."

Eros felt a chill run down his spine when he saw that expression.

He thought to himself, "Brandt is clearly a beautiful sub-female, so how can she have such poor control over her expressions?"

As Eros walked out of the office building, he clutched the contract he had just signed in his hand.

The more I look at it, the more it resembles a contract of servitude...

Eros exhaled a warm breath, and the white smoke quickly dissipated into the cold night.

Eros wanted to get back to his warm dormitory as soon as possible; the nighttime temperature was still too cold for him.

The little insects in the Star Garden are laughing heartily—

The ringtone on the terminal rang again. Without looking down at Eros, he could tell from the ringtone that it was another communication from Kam.

The two insects had agreed to communicate once a day, but in the few days since they came to school from Eros, they have received at least two communications from Kamo every day.

Little male is such a clingy bug.

Eros complained, but his heart was warmed.

Once the communication was established, a small male animal with steaming water vapor appeared on the terminal screen.

"Eros! Why is it taking so long for you to connect to the communication I gave you?"

Her soft, sweet voice carried a hint of coquettish complaint.

Eros walked to a street lamp and used the light to let Kam see himself clearly.

"Eros, it's so cold at night, why are you outside?" Kamah noticed Eros's nose was red from the cold and realized that Eros wasn't inside the room.

Eros replied, "I'll be back in my dorm soon, so don't worry about me."

"Serole just gave Kam a nice bath, so I'm clean and smell nice now. I wonder if Eros will want to hug me?" Kam waved his fair arms in front of the terminal.

When Eros saw that Rika was only wrapped in a bath towel, he immediately said, "Wrap yourself up properly, don't catch a cold."

"Eros, help me wrap myself up." Kam revealed six small teeth with a mischievous grin, not only failing to wrap herself up properly but also intentionally or unintentionally pulling the towel off her body.

"Kama will get sick if he does this." Eros didn't know what little tantrum the little boy was throwing now.

"But Eros, I miss you so much, I want to hug you so much! I love your soft hair the most." Kamehameha blinked. "Don't you want to hug me, Eros?"

"Anyway, I know that if I get sick, Eros will come to take care of me right away."

Eros felt that Camus's thinking was somewhat of a rogue tactic.

"Is something bothering you, Kam?" Eros keenly sensed that something was wrong with the little boy's mood. "Kam can tell Eros about anything, whether it's something happy or something unhappy."

Kamehameha listened and pursed his lips: "Kamehameha will tell Eros, but Eros must promise that he won't think I'm being unreasonable."

"Okay, but Kama needs to wrap herself in a towel now and not get sick. If Kama gets sick, I'll be very sad and worried." Eros gently coaxed the little boy on the other end of the terminal.

Kamehameha loved it when Eros softened his attitude and coaxed him. Knowing when to stop, Kamehameha wrapped himself up tightly in a bath towel.

Seeing that he was obedient, Eros asked, "What does Kam want to say to Eros?"

"Eros promised to be Camus's queen, right?"

Eros nodded: "Yes."

"Won't Eros be tricked away by some other bad males?"

“There are no male insects in the academy, I won’t be kidnapped,” Eros said firmly, shaking his head.

"I saw female insects at the academy today, and several young males got one." There was a hint of envy in the young male's voice: "I really want Eros to come to the male insect academy to keep me company."

"Female insect?"

Kam nodded: "Yes, Sai Le said that those female insects are all powerful female insects who study at the academy. They were selected as volunteers to take care of the little males, and they will become the little males' guides."

"I hope Eros will also become a very, very powerful female insect, so that she can come to the academy as a volunteer and become a guide for Kam." The little boy covered his slightly flushed cheeks: "I really miss Eros so much."

Eros gripped the white contract in his claws: "I will try my best to become a powerful female insect to protect you."

The two insect offspring chatted for a long time until Kam's male insect nurseryman, Serlo, came to remind them that it was time for the little male to sleep. Only then did Kam reluctantly wave goodbye to the female insect in the terminal.

Eros looked at the disconnected communication on the terminal, a slight smile playing on his lips. He exhaled a breath of warm air to warm his paws, then gripped the contract in his hand even tighter, and walked step by step toward the dormitory.

Perhaps because the bad news had drained her energy, Alai, who usually likes to stay up late, was already asleep on the bed.

Eros tiptoed into the room, took off his extra clothes, and crawled into bed.

He was surrounded by many questions, such as what the volunteers and guides that Kam said were, and the requirements for the employment qualification certificate of military mechanic.

Eros searched for information on the StarNet while covered by a blanket.

The StarNet is a fascinating thing; not only the Zerg use it, but other races do too. The StarNet connects the technological supercomputers of 236 known highly intelligent races throughout the known universe. With sufficient hacking skills, one can penetrate the virtual barriers within the network and access the cultures and technologies of other races.

This wondrous existence is skillfully used in daily life by highly intelligent races in the universe, while the genius who invented it remains nameless and has never appeared in the sight of StarNet users.

Eros had been imprisoned in an underground auction house since he could remember. Before he was rescued, he was practically an insect without common sense. After being rescued, his understanding of his surroundings came entirely from the StarNet.

“...the guide..."

After Eros clicked the search bar, he was dazzled by the overwhelming array of colorful videos and images on the StarNet.

Eros's body was practically frozen in bed. Could someone tell him why typing the very positive word "guide" into the StarNet would produce such... such things that were corrupting the little bug?

Eros covered his face with his claws.

She even peeked out from under the covers to look at Alai, who was already asleep in the next bed, feeling guilty.

I have this strange feeling of guilt...

A short explanation of larval physiology, found among some videos and pictures that should have been censored but weren't, answered Eros's question.

The guide for the male offspring is the female insect that provides physiological guidance to the young male during his first differentiation. As the guide, the female insect not only teaches the young males how to reproduce by example, but also uses her spiritual power to guide the male offspring's first differentiation.

The higher the level of mental power of a female insect, the greater the chance that the male offspring will break through their own level.

The most famous example is that Grand Duke Kaven, who was originally an A-class male insect, was differentiated twice by his SS-class female ruler and eventually became an S-class male insect!

After learning what a "guide" was, Eros felt a sense of dread.

Kamo said he wanted to be his physiological guide.

Do you know what a "facilitator" is?

If Kam knew, would he only want Eros as his guide because Eros is an A-rank female insect? Or would he genuinely like and love Eros, the female insect, and that's why he chose to be with her?

Eros began to feel conflicted, his expectations of the latter making him feel guilty.

How could a female insect with a shameful past, a female insect without a healthy body, an adult female insect have feelings for an innocent and pure offspring that she shouldn't have?

What's more, this male insect cub is the offspring of the officer who had been kind to him.

Kam is just a little bug, and he can be ignorant now, but Eros is a big bug, and Eros cannot be ignorant.

Kamo will grow up one day, and perhaps then the gentle and lovely image of Eros in his eyes will become ugly and hateful.

Eros didn't want Camus to hate him one day.

He must keep his distance from the young male until another female insect appears beside him who can replace him.

……

Alai felt extremely haggard last night, but when he woke up in the morning and saw Eros with dark circles under his eyes, he immediately suspected that something had happened to his roommate last night.

Upon arriving in class, Eros slumped onto his desk for the first time, looking like a lifeless worm whose energy had been drained.

Alai leaned close to Eros's ear and tentatively asked, "You weren't rejected by Professor Brandt, were you?"

Eros shook his head.

"Isn't it great that I wasn't rejected?"

Eros didn't want Alai to know that he hadn't slept well all night because of the male insect, so he had to change the subject:

"I was just a little too excited."

“You don’t look like someone who’s so excited they didn’t sleep well last night.” Allai pointed at Desail: “You look more like him right now.”

Eros glanced listlessly at Desail, only to see that the female insect named Desail was now like a dead man, his body stiff, his forehead pressed against the table, and an unidentified colorless liquid slid down his face, dripping onto the ground and forming a tiny puddle.

"What's up with him?"

"He's heartbroken, isn't he?" Alai felt that this wasn't quite accurate: "Uh... it seems like he was cheated out of his money and his heart by that online girl he met."

"He was swindled out of his entire month's living expenses, and he's too afraid to tell his mother-in-law. He's really upset about it."

Desail is known as the love-obsessed student in Comet Class.

I heard he likes to pursue female insects and sub-females, and he gets dumped on average once every two months.

Heterosexual relationships are not uncommon among the Zerg, given the vast disparity in the number of females to males, with a ratio of 300:1. Historically, the male Zerg who married the most females was recorded to have only married 168 females and sub-females. In ordinary households, it is the most normal for a male Zerg to have one female fungus and four or five female servants and slaves.

It's impossible for every female insect to marry a male insect, so although the imperial government neither encourages nor recognizes female insects forming families, many female insects still secretly engage in insect-loving relationships for economic, emotional, and other reasons, allowing these relationships to exist without legal protection.

Eros looked at Desail with a hint of sympathy.

With just one glance, the deathly stillness and decay emanating from the female insect sent a chill down Eros's spine, instantly rousing him from his drowsiness.