SZAR Chapter 40

Chu Ci parked the flying vehicle in the underground garage and took the elevator upstairs.

The elevator was a transparent observation lift. As it rose to the second floor, the passengers’ eyes aligned with the giant poster of the mall across the way. Chu Ci saw Erwen on the advertisement, the five-star shoulder insignia on his uniform smashed by stones, leaving a dark hole. One of the larger stones was wedged in the supporting metal frame, slightly bending the steel brace. His clothing and hat brim were dotted with countless tiny black marks, all from the stone damage.

The poster, which had looked pristine just yesterday, had become tattered overnight; the frayed edges fluttered slightly in the wind.

Chu Ci gripped his personal terminal tightly. From the elevator, he noticed a dense, dark mass of people in the distance.

The elevator dinged and stopped. Cha Lade walked in from the second floor and greeted him: “Good day, boss.”

This was the assistant that Secretary Lin had assigned to Chu Ci. Chu Ci waved back and pointed toward the crowd. “What’s going on?”

Cha Lade replied, “When I passed by, it seemed like they were marching. I heard the admiral betrayed the country, and citizens are demanding a thorough investigation into corruption within the military.”

He opened his personal terminal and held it in front of Chu Ci. “Haven’t you seen? The trending searches are exploding. The expeditionary forces suffered a crushing defeat, and with the admiral accused of treason, everyone’s furious, demanding full disclosure of how Erwen became an admiral.”

Chu Ci understood every word Cha Lade said, but together it felt hazy. His head buzzed as he repeated, “What do you mean by full disclosure of how Erwen became an admiral?”

Cha Lade explained, “The public suspects that Erwen betrayed the country and colluded with the enemy to become a general. They think the enemy infiltrated our ranks, so they’re demanding accountability. Even Admiral Douglas… oh, that was Erwen’s previous superior who promoted him… has been taken in for investigation.”

He pointed at the crowd. “See? They’re holding the protest signs.”

By then, the march had reached this street. Chu Ci read the banners: ⟬ Clean up the military culture, seize traitor assets.⟭

The traitor they referred to was, of course, Erwen.

Ding-dong…the elevator reached the designated floor. As the doors slid shut, Chu Ci could no longer see the marching crowd outside.

He felt stunned. Just yesterday, everything had seemed fine, but overnight, everything had turned upside down. Yesterday, Erwen was still a hero, now he was abandoned as if worthless; yesterday, the campaign was going well, now it had ended in disaster; yesterday, Nuo Wei had promised he’d be back soon…

Chu Ci dragged his feet back to the office, collapsed into his chair, and scrolled through his lightbrain, trying to call Nuo Wei. But the signal from the distant star systems was terrible, sometimes it rang once, sometimes there was nothing at all.

He closed the communication interface and began checking the expedition updates one by one. News of the defeat had already flooded the Star Network with millions of posts, mostly angry rants, with only a few media outlets explaining the cause.

They reported that Admiral Erwen had set fire to the mecha depot, which spread to the nearby supply depot. The blaze raged fiercely in the middle of the night, visible from half a planet away.

At that time, the expeditionary troops were asleep, and the alien forces took advantage of the opportunity, inflicting heavy casualties.

When subordinates tried to report the incident immediately, they found that Erwen’s residence was empty, his ship gone, and even his electromagnetic signature could not be traced.

The distinguished imperial admiral had simply vanished into the vastness of space, neither alive nor dead. and no one knew where he had gone.

As a result, rumors of Erwen’s treason and collusion with the enemy spread like wildfire. Already, protests had broken out in multiple regions, demanding a thorough investigation of the general’s promotion history.

Under this pressure, the emperor responded quickly, sending an investigation team to the barren star, with the delegation set to depart today.

Chu Ci took a deep breath.

Treason? Admiral Erwen?

Although Chu Ci and the admiral had only met briefly, he couldn’t believe the news.

Erwen was Nuo Wei’s uncle. Though their family ties seemed cold on the surface, the care and protection he gave were genuine. Whenever Nuo Wei stepped out of line, Erwen would rush to send jewels and plead for leniency. He never said it aloud, but his love for Nuo Wei was undeniable.

The report said the admiral had disappeared alone. If Erwen had truly defected, he would have taken Nuo Wei with him.

But it was useless for Chu Ci to argue. The Star Network was ablaze with accusations, if he dared to post that he believed Erwen, the backlash would bury him in a storm of ridicule.

He had no time for online battles. Right now, all he wanted to know was how his partner was doing.

As Chu Ci’s mind wandered, staring at the blank search interface, his light brain buzzed.

He thought it might finally be Nuo Wei returning the call. Picking it up, he saw the familiar large [ 1269 ], another call from the Male Zerg Protection Association.

He hesitated a moment, then clicked to answer and held it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Mr. Chu, we’ve finally reached you,” came a soft, gentle voice, deliberately chosen to appeal to male listeners. “We’ve tried calling you many times, but couldn’t get through.”

Chu Ci felt a shiver; he couldn’t stand these pretentious tones. Suppressing his irritation, he asked, “You’ve been calling me all this time. What is it about?”

“It’s like this, sir. We called before because your partner has gone on the expedition. There’s no one at home to take care of things, so we wanted to introduce a few female attendants for you.”

Male zergs were hopeless like this; left alone at home, they could burn themselves alive just lighting a stove.

So that’s why Nuo Wei had told him not to answer the calls.

This quiet, stubborn little female had finally dared to make a request of Chu Ci. His wording was subtle and careful, like a cat cautiously poking its head into a new territory, testing the boundaries.

Chu Ci’s territory, however, was soft and generous. With a thick carpet laid down, Nuo Wei had already ventured half a turn inside, significantly bolder than before.

Unfortunately, Chu Ci hadn’t fully coaxed Nuo Wei out yet, when a new surprise arrived.

Chu Ci asked, “And now?”

Before, it had been about introducing female attendants, but now?

“Oh, it’s like this,” the voice on the line continued. “We’ve assessed that your partner is no longer suitable to hold the position of female monarch. We wanted to ask if you’d like to replace them.”

Chu Ci didn’t speak.

He found it absurd. Nuo Wei’s life and death were uncertain on a distant front, and the Male Zerg Protection Association was eagerly calling him… just to kick his partner out at this moment?

The voice on the other end went on, relentless: “Sir, the females we’ve selected for you are all outstanding. The lowest rank is A+, with many S-grade options. Most come from excellent families and possess abundant wealth. I’ve already sent the list to your email for your review…”

“Wait a moment,” Chu Ci interrupted. “Why do you think I need a replacement?”

There was a pause on the line. “…What?”

Chu Ci’s expression turned icy. “I asked, why do you think my partner is no longer suitable to hold the position of female monarch?”

Ridiculous. He had shared every day and night with this female, slept side by side, lived together. Chu Ci himself knew whether they were suitable or not. Why did some absurd Male Zerg Protection Association need to give him instructions?

No male zerg had ever asked such a question before. The voice on the other end faltered, then began reading mechanically:

“Uh, it’s like this, Lord Chu Ci. Firstly, your partner is involved in the investigation of Admiral Erwen’s alleged treason. Secondly, we discovered that their assets are severely depleted and can no longer support your household. Thirdly, their rank has dropped, currently only A-level, and there is a possibility of further decline, making them incompatible with your status.”

Due to the fact that female zergs far outnumber males, a male’s partner is generally one rank higher: A paired with S, B paired with A. Some females, hoping to earn better treatment from a male, are even willing to cross two or three ranks to match. Chu Ci, an A-rank male, was a rare gem among the entire zerg species. Under normal circumstances, his partner should be S-rank.

“…In short, according to the above rules, we judge that Nuo Wei is no longer suitable to serve as your female monarch. We hope you will reconsider and choose a suitable partner.”

Chu Ci restrained his temper. “Just now you mentioned a rank drop, what does that mean?”

After all, the Male Zerg Protection Association was a massive organization. Their information sources were far broader than Chu Ci’s own, and it was clear they had obtained detailed records of this expedition. Chu Ci urgently needed to know what had happened in that distant star system.

“Yes, General Nuo Wei was injured in this attack. His mental sea suffered severe damage…”

Chu Ci frowned. “Mental sea suffered severe damage?”

The mental sea of zerg was always a mystery. Aside from a male’s own calming presence, there was no effective treatment.

Chu Ci asked, “Who can treat him?”

“…”

The operator at the Male Zerg Protection Association wiped sweat from his brow. This male was asking way too many strange questions, each sharper and more unusual than any male he had dealt with before.

He spoke honestly: “Sir, no one can treat him.”

Except you.

The operator swallowed those words silently.

The female zerg had already been marked, he could only be guided by his male lord. Chu Ci was Nuo Wei’s only remedy. Yet Chu Ci was many light-years away on the home planet, separated from Nuo Wei by several star systems. The general was stuck in a hospital on the desolate planet, waiting for the investigation, unable to return. The precious male zergs could hardly travel there either, they were too picky on the home planet, and on the barren planet with no infrastructure, they wouldn’t survive a day.

At this point, there was no saving him.

The operator felt a pang of sorrow, a mix of regret and helplessness. That was once a general, a shining star of the empire, now left to exhaust the last bit of reason, facing rank drop, a drained mental sea, and perhaps the torment of having his male lord take a new partner, all while awaiting judgment.

But the operator’s grief lasted only a second. The fate of female zergs was mostly like this; nothing unusual. He quickly composed himself and repeated in a formal tone: “Sir, no one can treat him. According to our assessment, his mental sea will soon fall to B, entirely unfit to be your female monarch. Therefore, we recommend…”

“They’re still being investigated in place, so that means they’re still in the Pamir Star system, right?”

Chu Ci didn’t bother listening to their useless advice. He didn’t hang up on the Male Zerg Protection Association. The moment he got confirmation, he called his assistant: “Cha Lade, check the tickets to the Pamir Star system and book me the next available one.”

Cha Lade, busy organizing the data from the second test, froze for a moment at his boss’s order. The Pamir Star system was a godforsaken place, just bombarded, and he was booking a ticket now?

While checking flights, Cha Lade sent the schedule and seat info to Chu Ci: “What are you going there for?”

Still in the guise of a female zerg, Chu Ci couldn’t tell the truth. He quickly selected the next available flight and replied after a moment: “To bring my cat back.”

Cha Lade: “?”

The Pamir Star system, a godforsaken hellhole… and there’s a cat there?