I controlled the entire Zerg race with my superb culinary skills.

The aircraft that Saito gave him was the most popular airship model at the moment. Its silver body was particularly dazzling, and the interior of the aircraft was also quite complete. It was practically a mobile three-bedroom, two-living room apartment.

After signing for the package, Chu Yang had Pan Cheng take it away. Before leaving, he even gave Pan Cheng a bag of freshly steamed buns of various flavors.

"Give this to your friend as a way of saying hello. Remember, whatever you do, don't fly this aircraft. I don't think the Zhang family are any good people."

"Hehe, okay, boss, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Pan Cheng and a few of his underlings transported the aircraft to a secluded warehouse. The heavy iron door creaked as it was slowly pushed open.

"Ah Le, it's been a long time."

"Long time no see indeed."

Standing behind the iron gate was a female insect with long green hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a tight black leather jacket, who walked towards Pan Cheng with a smile.

The two insects met, each extending their hands and clenching their fists to bump against each other.

"You look radiant, have you struck it rich?"

Xu Le asked with a slight smile in his eyes.

"You won't get rich, but you'll have a powerful backer. Here, this is something my boss asked me to bring you. It's super delicious, and once you eat it, you'll never forget it."

Pan Cheng grinned and happily handed the steamed bun in his hand to Xu Le.

"Huh? You're not going to be the boss anymore?"

I took the bag from him, opened it, and saw several takeout containers inside. The food inside didn't look particularly special.

Pan Cheng took out the top takeout box, opened it, took out a small steamed bun and stuffed it directly into his mouth, staring at him expectantly.

"I haven't been the leader for a long time. My current leader is a male insect, although he's only a D-level, but he's incredibly powerful. An insect actually managed to beat the pirate leader so badly that he couldn't get up."

After finishing a small steamed bun, Xu Le raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming, and took another one from his hand.

"Oh, so this useless male insect is actually so powerful."

"Hey."

Hearing Xu Le call Chu Yang a good-for-nothing, Pan Cheng immediately became unhappy and lightly punched him with his fist.

“My boss is no good. He can take on ten, no, twenty insects without a problem. And the xiaolongbao you ate was made by my boss himself.”

Xu Le was somewhat surprised that the male insect could make such a delicious dish.

"Hey, let's not talk about this anymore. You'll understand when I take you to meet my boss next time. I came here today to ask for your help to resell this thing."

Pan Cheng gestured to his underlings to push the aircraft in, and then pulled off the cloth covering it, revealing a brand-new spaceship-shaped aircraft in front of Xu Le.

"Where did you get this?"

Xu Le frowned slightly. The aircraft looked like it hadn't been opened or used yet. If it was stolen, it would be easy to find, but the person would be banished to a desolate planet.

"Oh, this belongs to our boss. There was a female insect who tried to force herself on him, but she was caught by the Male Protection Association. This was the compensation they gave him. I don't know why our boss didn't keep it for himself. It's such a good flying machine."

Looking at the brand-new aircraft, Pan Cheng estimated that he would never be able to afford one in his lifetime.

"Hehe, it seems your boss is quite a shrewd male."

Xu Le pushed up his glasses and continued speaking, looking at the bewildered Pan Cheng.

"He didn't want it because he was afraid the other side would set some kind of trap inside the aircraft."

Hearing Xu Le say this, he suddenly realized what was going on.

"No wonder the boss wouldn't let me drive it here, but transported it instead. Now it's all yours to handle, help my boss get a good price for it."

He patted Xu Le on the shoulder, glanced at the empty box of xiaolongbao in his hand, and a triumphant smile appeared on his lips.

"Since you're already here, why not come and have some fun?"

Xu Le tilted her head at him, indicating that they should walk together.

"Haha, great! Come on, let me treat you to a drink. I'm rich now, my boss gives me money every month."

The heavy iron gate was closed, and the insects inside disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Most of the culprits in the black market operate on the fringes of the law, and the transactions here are generally illegal.

However, the government turns a blind eye to them, since some shady dealings can be found on the black market.

Inside the underground bar, Pan Cheng was sparring with a burly female insect in the boxing ring. Although she looked big, she wasn't as agile as Pan Cheng.

Before long, the big guy was beaten so badly he couldn't get up, and was eventually dragged down by the other insects.

Pan Cheng took off his boxing gloves, and, drenched in sweat, leaped off the stage.

"I haven't played in a long time, so I'm a bit rusty."

He took the beer from Xu Le and drank it all in one gulp. It felt so good.

"Ah Le, haven't you found the male insect yet?"

I sat on the sofa, arms outstretched, leaning back comfortably.

Xu Le's eyes dimmed, and he remained silent. His memory returned to his childhood, when he was starving to death and a small male insect with black hair gave him a packet of nutrient solution.

It was raining heavily that day, and he was also a homeless wanderer with nowhere to go. The two poor souls huddled together for warmth until dawn.

"Wait here for me, I'll go find you something to eat."

Confused and bewildered, Xiao Xu Le huddled in the corner, waiting and waiting. But before the male insect returned, the war broke out, and everyone fled for their lives, crying and screaming.

Many insects died in that war, and Xu Le never saw that little male insect again.

Pan Cheng looked at Xu Le, who was lost in thought, and wanted to say something but swallowed it back down.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Contact me again when you've sold everything."

Coming to his senses, Xu Le got up and saw him off.

As I walked to the bar entrance, a flyer-gatherer handed me a promotional leaflet.

"There's an auction for insect slaves the day after tomorrow, remember to come and see if there's anything to your taste~"

The little female insect gave them both a knowing look and walked away.

Pan Cheng, eager to get back, casually stuffed the flyer into his pocket.

After seeing Pan Cheng off, Xu Le returned to his cold and aloof demeanor, exuding an aura of "do not approach" that caused passing insects to detour.

Two days later, Pan Cheng received a message from Xu Le that the aircraft had been sold.

"Boss, your spacecraft sold for a lot of star coins."

Pan Cheng excitedly showed Chu Yang the message on his personal terminal. It contained many zeros, indicating a large sum of money.

"Your friend is amazing. Can he buy a flying machine? Not the latest model, a regular one is fine, even a used one is okay, but the quality and safety must be guaranteed."

"Hey boss, you've come to the right place. My friend used to be a mechanic, and he was really good at it."

"A mechanic? He should know how to modify them, right? If possible, he could modify one for me. Price is not an issue."

"No problem, I'll take care of it."

Then, as if remembering something, he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and whispered.

"Boss, can I bring him another meal?"

"Sure, wait a moment, I'll go pack it for you."

Chu Yang turned and went to the kitchen to pack steamed buns and other food, while Pan Cheng whistled and sat with his legs crossed, waiting.

I casually touched the promotional leaflet in my pocket, and without even looking at it, I tossed it into the trash can next to me.

He happily left with his takeout bag, and Shen Nanxi came right after him.

"Brother~, I'm so hungry, I want to eat fried rice with eggs."

Chu Yang looked at him with doting eyes and responded softly.

"Wait, I'll go make it for you right away."

Shen Nanxi sat in the closest seat, resting her head on her hand, waiting boredly for her meal.

As my gaze swept over the trash cans not far away, I spotted a familiar figure.

He quickly picked up the flyer that Pan Cheng had casually thrown away from the trash can.

As it was unfolded, my eyes widened in shock. The flyer depicted several naked insects hanging in cages. Zhang San's image was prominently printed on it.

[Products from the black market are guaranteed to be top-quality; insect slave auctions—there's bound to be one that suits your taste!]

The auction date on the promotional brochure was yesterday. When she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure approaching, Shen Nanxi quickly crumpled the brochure in her hand into a ball and put it in her pocket.

"Eat quickly, I'll make you a sweet soup."

With her head down, Shen Nanxi quickly picked up her spoon and started eating, afraid that Chu Yang would notice something amiss.