EROS [Zerg]

After finishing his morning classes and training, Eros borrowed the tools Brandt had given him and then headed to Fran's warehouse where the aircraft were stored.

After spending the whole afternoon finalizing the repair and modification plan with Fran, we directly contacted the parts supplier to have the necessary paint and parts delivered, and rescheduled the next repair time.

Upon returning to the academy, Eros keenly sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere around him.

He walked quickly back to his dormitory, only to find several cars from outside the school parked downstairs.

There were many students whispering around him. Eros overheard a few of their conversations and it seemed like they mentioned Alai. His heart tightened, and he quickly ran back to the dormitory.

Several insects dressed in black uniforms stood outside the dormitory; Eros had never seen them before.

Eros frowned and rushed over: "What happened?"

“Our commander is inside, please do not approach.” The leading female insect’s expression was solemn, which made Eros uneasy.

"What happened to my roommate?" With Alai inside, Eros wouldn't give up until he got to the bottom of it.

“Our commander is Alex’s mother and won’t harm him. There’s no point in you standing here.”

Alai's mother-in-law?

Eros's heart skipped a beat. Had Alai's affair with that male insect been discovered?

In the dormitory

A female insect with wine-red hair looked at the female child kneeling at her feet with a serious expression, her brows furrowed.

Sind was still wearing his uniform, clearly having rushed over after hearing the news.

Alai's cheeks were swollen high, and he knelt on the ground with his knees together, but there was no guilt or regret on his face, and even a hint of relief.

Sind took in the female's expression and stared coldly at Alex.

"Alai, where is that C-grade male insect?"

"Female father, you are a prosecutor, you should know better than anyone that it is illegal to pry into the male's information...!"

Before Alex could finish speaking, Sind's ruler struck him hard across the face, leaving a deep mark that quickly turned into a swollen, purplish-blue bruise.

Alex gritted his teeth and endured it, resisting with silence.

Sinder was furious with the female he had favored since she was a child. He thought bitterly that punishing her with a ruler was too lenient and wouldn't wake her up from her stubbornness!

"Alex! Where is your former lucidity?!"

"Who instigated you to do such a stupid thing as getting pregnant out of wedlock?!"

Sind's voice was filled with uncontrollable anger and pain.

Despite his father's wrath, Alai braced himself and met his father's gaze, whom he had revered since childhood: "Father, it was all my own choice!"

Sind glared at Alai with exasperation, then raised the ruler only to find that Alai's face was so swollen that there was nowhere left to hit him. He could only angrily throw the ruler on the ground. The ruler fell to the ground, bounced off, and finally landed next to Alai's legs.

Sind looked sadly at his little female: "Before you two get married, and before your information is in the Imperial Archives, I can use some connections to preserve your reproductive cavity. Come with me now for surgery to remove that male's mark!"

"Wash them off and then what? Be used as female servants and slaves and given to other male insects?" Alex's lips curled into a mocking smile, his words full of resistance.

"You think lowly commoner males can be any better than noble males? They're just more vulgar! You've seen all kinds of male insects since they were little, don't you know what they're like?!" Sind's voice sounded deflated; his once obedient and affectionate female now utterly disappointed him.

"I never expected you to dig your own fire pit and jump into it yourself."

Seeing the sadness on his imposing female father's face, Alai's inner turmoil gradually eased: "Female father... I want freedom. I don't want to be a tool for the male father's transactions. If I can gain freedom, I would rather not be a nobleman!"

Sind bent down and gripped Alai's shoulders tightly: "Freedom... Ha, you're clearly digging your own grave. You were born disabled, no job is suitable for you, how can you support yourself? Let alone support a male insect."

"The male insect you've set your sights on will become disgusted with you when you can't satisfy his material desires. He'll then seek out other females, and everything will be completely different!"

“Then let’s get a divorce. It’s definitely easier to divorce a C-rank commoner male than a male from the Kritata family!” Alex said, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible.

“Female father, I have no expectations of the male’s feelings. I only want to gain my own freedom through this marriage. Do you also hope that your female child will be like the male father’s female servants and slaves, only able to kneel and serve the male insects, without any dignity, and even be given away at will?”

"So that's what you were thinking all along?" Sind looked at his insect-like offspring, who had suffered since birth, and felt as if he had never truly understood him. "You'll regret this sooner or later, Alai."

Alex lowered his head: "Father, this is my own path. Even if I get hurt, please let me walk it myself."

"At least it was my own choice."

Upon hearing this, Sind realized that no matter what he said, Alex wouldn't listen, and his female child was likely determined to keep going until she hit a brick wall.

“Your father has already filed a lawsuit against you with the Male Insect Protection Association, demanding that you repay him for all the money he invested in you, plus interest, and that you be expelled from school.” Sind's claws gripped Alex's head, and he shoved a star card into his collar.

“You’ve grown up, but you’ll always be my female.”

"No matter where you go, let me know where you are, so that your father can find you."

The voice was filled with a faint sense of helplessness and compromise.

Alex looked up, his eyes already brimming with tears: "Father..."

Sind stood up, no longer looking at his female offspring, turned around and walked to the door to open the dormitory door.

Eros saw the dormitory doorknob being turned and anxiously approached. The moment the door opened, Eros was met with a shocked face.

Before Sind could fully hide the sorrow on his face, another face that would cause him immense pain suddenly appeared before him without warning.

"Evanson?!"

The shouts in my chest were silenced.

Sind's face froze in astonishment; the face of the dead insect had reappeared in this way, in this place.

Eros didn't know how to address Alai's father-in-law, but when he saw his friend kneeling on the ground with obvious bruises on his face through the crack in the door, he didn't care about addressing this elder and rushed into the dormitory, brushing past the door.

Sind stared blankly as Eros brushed past him and rushed toward his female offspring.

"Alai?!"

He could hear the voice calling to its female offspring.

This is all...it's like a dream.