Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

News of Colin's escape from Blackrock Prison reached the Insect Emperor's ears that very day.

He was an S-class female soldier who disappeared without a trace after leaving the dense forest. The military deployed nearly 70% of its female soldiers for a thorough search, but still could not find Colin's whereabouts.

Enraged, the Insect Emperor's condition worsened. He collapsed onto the bed, his eyes clouded and lifeless, staring intently at the dark sky above.

Sean came to see Colin several times, but was turned away by the Insect Emperor each time. Regardless of whether Sean helped Colin or not, Colin's escape is a fact, and Sean cannot escape blame.

"More than one...more than one..." the Insect Emperor murmured, straining his eyes to try and push aside the thick black fog before him to see inside.

The royal physicians surrounding him were all puzzled by what he said, and could only wait on the sidelines until the medicine was cooked before feeding it to the Insect Emperor.

The Insect Emperor's days are numbered.

*

Adrian stayed in the villa for the next period of time and did not go out. Apart from occasionally flipping through the white paper, Adrian spent his time collecting information from all over the StarNet.

The recent wedding had a significant impact. Colin escaped, Sean was implicated and imprisoned in the palace, and the Insect Emperor fell seriously ill... all these events followed one after another, undoubtedly adding insult to injury for the entire Mulihera royal family.

The various factions within the Zerg are secretly plotting and wary of each other, creating an atmosphere of impending doom.

Adrian kept an eye on Arran's situation; compared to before, Arran's condition was relatively good.

He found an opportunity to contact Cecil in the black market. Cecil provided him with intelligence, and Arran secretly directed the operation. The two insects cooperated to crack down on the insect trafficking activities in the black market.

With the help of the military, most of the trafficked male and female insects returned to their original habitats. Aran made a great contribution and was rewarded by the Insect Emperor.

But the good times didn't last long.

However, after only a week, Adrian suddenly lost contact with Arran.

Adrian could roughly guess the reason. He asked Fabian, and things turned out exactly as he had guessed—the royal physician who had previously escaped had returned to Sean's side and risked his life to reveal Arran's female insect identity to the Insect Emperor in the main hall.

There was absolutely no way that Aran would strip naked in public to prove his innocence. He was at a stalemate with the doctor for a while, but in the end, the Insect Emperor ordered that Aran be taken to the inner palace for examination.

The examination revealed that Aran's identity was correct; he remained a male insect. The royal doctor, who had falsely accused the prince, was immediately executed by order of the Insect Emperor.

After that, Aran was locked in the inner hall and disappeared without a trace.

Adrian immediately understood what had happened.

Aran still couldn't hide her identity. The female insect's body skeleton and muscles are completely different from the male insect's. Even if Aran could cover the insect pattern behind her neck, her wings, reproductive cavity, mental turmoil... these were all difficult to conceal.

The Insect Emperor's execution of the royal physician was merely a pretext to cover up his shame. Given the current unfavorable situation, and having already punished Sean, the Insect Emperor couldn't possibly execute another "male" prince in public.

But he was deceived by a female insect for more than ten years, and the Insect Emperor will probably not let Aran off the hook.

"Your Excellency, I'm keeping an eye on Prince Arran; he's out of immediate danger. The rest is up to you... The military has begun dividing up its power, and Commander Maurice needs to withdraw as soon as possible..."

Fabian's words were brief, and Adrian grasped the gist. He slowly rubbed the skin on his wrist and said, "Alright, I'll proceed according to plan."

After the call ended, Adrian tossed the personal computer aside.

The Insect Emperor is inherently suspicious. Even in his current state of illness, he is determined to reopen the old cases of the late Emperor and investigate the identities of the female insects one by one.

Adrian wasn't worried about the Insect Emperor; his body only lasted a month at most. However, Sean hadn't completely lost his imperial heart, and his current actions against Aran were a form of retaliation.

"Ryan was originally a plant insect. Later, all of his organs deteriorated rapidly, the main reason being that his heart was damaged and he couldn't get a matching heart transplant in time..."

Adrian slowly touched his face with his fingertips. Even after so long since his rebirth, he still felt a dull pain on his face at irregular times.

The fire wasn't burning fierce enough to kill Sean.

Adrian gripped the white paper tightly in his hand.

He wanted to add fuel to the fire for Sean.

……

After Arran was imprisoned, Morris also submitted a leave of absence to the military. He had been wearing a bandage over his right eye the whole time, and now his eye condition was serious; the virus and bacteria had invaded the inside of his eye, and he would probably have to undergo surgery to remove his eyeball.

When the military superiors saw the hospital's report, their faces immediately showed worry.

The military had two brilliant stars, Colin and Morris, but now one was on the run and the other was about to become a one-eyed man. Their plight made the insect sigh with pity.

Given the severity of Maurice's injuries, the military granted him leave. While female soldiers typically recover in two or three days after surgery, Maurice's case was exceptional, so he was given a week of rest.

Adrian intended to escalate the situation. He spread news about Maurice's eye removal surgery across the StarNet and then cut off all contact with him.

Morris got a week off for nothing.

These past few days, he'd watched Adrian typing away on the keyboard in front of the personal terminal, and he didn't quite understand his intentions: "My Lord, the Insect Emperor already knows the news, but he's too ill to access the personal terminal."

Adrian's men continued working, and he said, "I don't want him to see it, I want the other insects to see it."

Morris: "Other insects?"

“Yes.” Adrian selected a picture of a bloodstained whip, edited it with insect script, and posted it to his account. “Let him see how I torture you.”

Morris: "..."

Adrian always seemed to be hiding something from Maurice.

Morris was perceptive and knew that Adrian always liked to scheme and do things behind his back. For example, the white book that he often secretly read—Morris only flipped through it once, and Adrian immediately hid it in a different place.

That's how this little male insect is; his fickle mind is a source of trouble for the insects.

Morris glanced at Adrian's personal computer screen and didn't ask any more questions.

He pulled out his yellowed book and leaned against the corner of the bed, continuing to ponder the thousand positions inside.

……

Adrian sent pictures for two consecutive days, and then logged out of the computer.

The pink ball has been completely silent for the past few days. Its affection level has been decreasing, dropping by four or five points every day. In just three days, it dropped from the forties to twenty-five.

Adrian occasionally saw it crying in its cage, its pink color extremely dull. As soon as the creature, barely clinging to life, drifted past it, its brightness would immediately return to normal.

Do you think I'll forgive you? I will never forgive you!

Pink gripped the railing and uttered harsh words to those who were merely clinging to life.

Numb with the prospect of merely surviving, it returned to its sleeping wardrobe and slammed the door shut.

[Waaaah...]

Adrian: “…”

Adrian made room for the two of them, closed the door, and walked towards his bedroom.

It was late at night, and the bedroom was pitch black. Adrian opened the door and went in, and the bedroom light suddenly turned on.

Where is Maurice?

Adrian stopped in his tracks, turning his gaze to the dark muzzle of the gun resting on his temple.