SZAR Chapter 52

After returning from the tribunal, Chu Ci spent another half-month at home with Nuo Wei.

At first, his female monarch’s spirit was very fragile. Although Nuo Wei acted normally in public and even handled some of the household chores, Chu Ci noticed the difference, whenever they were not in the same space, Nuo Wei would subconsciously try to find him.

If Chu Ci worked in the study, Nuo Wei refused to sleep in his own room. He would come by every hour to bring water or fruit. Chu Ci, worried he would tire himself out, repeatedly told him it wasn’t necessary, but Nuo Wei didn’t feel relieved. Instead, he looked a little sullen.

Chu Ci had no choice but to move his work back to the bedroom.

His typing was loud, yet Nuo Wei seemed to take it as white noise. The sound of Chu Ci’s keyboard became an even more soothing lullaby than the rain. As long as Chu Ci worked in the bedroom, Nuo Wei would rest his head on the pillow and fall asleep.

During his busy moments, Chu Ci would occasionally glance up. His female lay nestled in a pile of soft blankets, breathing evenly, face calm, with only a fuzzy head showing. Silver-white strands of hair spilled over the pillow, making Chu Ci want to reach over and tease him.

Everything was moving in a good direction, including Chu Ci’s career.

His first mini-game had just entered public testing and received good feedback. Chu Ci’s company quickly recovered funds. After mentoring a few new staff members, he could finally set aside ongoing tasks and start developing a new game.

Chu Ci was extremely ambitious in his career. After his first big success, the company wanted him to develop a similar pet-raising and dress-up IP based on his previous work. But he wasn’t satisfied with that. Chu Ci had only one goal: to create an open-world “Souls-like” game based on brain-machine interfaces.

This was a highly developed genre in the human world, famous for its open maps, extreme freedom, and immersive role-playing experience. Yet among the zergs, such games were completely absent.

Compared to humans, the zergshad superior technology. Their brain-machine interface wasn’t some crude VR headset, it was real, true immersion.

Zerg’s neural interfaces were highly advanced. By linking through them, Chu Ci could even access Nuo Wei’s memories. But until now, the technology was strictly military-grade, and it seemed no one had considered bringing it to gaming.

Chu Ci didn’t understand all the technical details, but he had Stellar behind him. Stellar had the largest brain science research center in the interstellar space. Chu Ci pitched an investment plan to Yi Xi. The latter pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, thought for only half a minute, and then readily agreed.

A sharp business instinct told Yi Xi that this was a huge opportunity. This was a revolution on the scale of Bill Gates promoting the PC or Steve Jobs introducing mobile phones. Once brain-machine games became mainstream, individuals would inevitably purchase game pods. If Stellar became the first to pioneer and launch a pod, both brand accumulation and first-mover advantage would bring enormous profits.

He signed off a jaw-dropping investment, and while the game pod was being developed, Chu Ci’s game project was progressing at full speed.

For the setting, he consulted with his writers and after much discussion, settled on the ancient zerg civilization as the background.

Human works were always full of reverence for ancestors. In China, games often took place in the Tang, Song, Yuan, or Ming dynasties, or even older prehistoric eras. In the West, the medieval period was popular. Famous works like 《Bloodborne》 or 《Elden Ring》 were full of weathered rose windows and spired towers in churches. Knights, kings, queens, and traitors were woven into stories, passed down by bards, naturally giving an epic weight to the world.

In the ancient era, before the world had fully formed, kings competed for supremacy. Female zergs spread their heavy wings across the skies, while male zergs used absolute mental dominance to manipulate and control, together creating a magnificent, blood-soaked age.

Chu Ci even hired experts from the Imperial Central University to study ancient scripts and architecture, aiming for precise historical accuracy. Through Lin En and Nuo Wei, he also recruited retired military female insects from the army to model maps, striving for perfection in every detail.

With support from many sides and sufficient funding, Chu Ci’s work progressed extremely smoothly. What he hadn’t expected was that his biggest trouble would turn out to be his coworkers.

Chu Ci returned to the company in the second month after the expedition ended. Nuo Wei’s condition had stabilized and no longer required him to stay by his side every day. But the moment Chu Ci stepped into the office, he felt something was off.

The originally noisy hall fell completely silent the instant he entered. As if by prior agreement, everyone stopped what they were doing and peeked at him through the glass partitions above their desks, as though he were some rare giant panda.

Chu Ci complained to Secretary Lin, “Why is everyone looking at me like that? Like I’m some precious wild animal.”

Secretary Lin glanced sideways at him. “Aren’t you?”

Is there anything rarer than a male zerg who actually works?

Chu Ci had shot to fame on StarNet overnight, and both he and Nuo Wei had gone viral. Compared to the gradually calming public opinion around Nuo Wei, the discussions around Chu Ci were far more outrageous.

【 I’m telling you, I refuse to believe there’s a male zerg like Chu Ci. Could he be a female zerg in disguise? 】

【 That’s not impossible. What if there was a mistake on the birth certificate? 】

Perhaps because Chu Ci’s behavior was so unbelievable, they began seriously discussing the possibility.

As things developed, a complete storyline had even formed, female-born commoner Chu Ci fell in love at first sight with Major General Nuo Wei, altered his gender records, successfully matched with him. The Major General was shocked and confused, but moved by Chu Ci’s sincerity, accepted his true female identity. They fell in love and never left each other from then on.

Someone retorted, 【 His Excellency just did a rank assessment. Do you remember what it said? S-rank male zerg. S-rank! Male!】

Someone else stubbornly refused to give up: 【What if the appraisal center made a mistake too? 】

【 The chance of the appraisal center making a mistake is one in ten thousand. The chance of layered mistakes is one in a billion. How is your brain wired? 】

【 With hundreds of billions of people across the interstellar, it’s not impossible. 】

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

【 Stop arguing, stop arguing, everyone stop. 】 A netizen named ‘@ILovePlayingGames’ tried to smooth things over. 【His Excellency Chu Ci works at my company. I’ll find a chance to test him for you.】

What he didn’t expect was that this remark would stir up even bigger waves.

【 He even works? That’s it, confirmed! Female zerg for sure.】

【 Why can’t a male zerg work? What if His Excellency is just unconventional? He’s already unconventional enough. 】

Facing the tribunal head-on in front of all of StarNet, forcefully protecting the Major General and actually succeeding. There was probably only one male zerg like that in the entire interstellar. Being a little more unconventional wasn’t that hard to believe.

One group kept arguing, while another group’s curiosity exploded. They tried every possible way to find out what Chu Ci actually did for work.

【 What does His Excellency do? I can’t even imagine him working. 】

【 I can’t imagine it either. The only thing I can accept is His Excellency being the Major General’s decorative secretary, sipping tea and reading the news at the military headquarters, boosting morale. 】

@ILovePlayingGames: “……”

He pressed a hand to his forehead. 【 Stop guessing. His Excellency is the chief planner at a game company. The recently viral ‘Virtual-Raising Little Male Zerg’ was his work. 】

That very day, even more people flooded into the servers. The queue time to log in stretched to half an hour. The official team had to announce emergency maintenance and upgrade the servers overnight.

Meanwhile, in the office, Chu Ci stared at the skyrocketing revenue and held his forehead in pained disbelief.

A surge in revenue was of course a good thing. But when his coworkers started acting up along with that surge, it was no longer a good thing.

Today, countless people found all kinds of excuses to pass by his office door. When he went to the restroom, to eat, or to meetings, there was always a group sneaking behind him, casting excited yet secretive glances at the back of his collar. Their eyes were like hungry wolves, as if they wanted to strip him bare with their gaze.

During a board meeting presentation, when Chu Ci turned his back to write on the board, more than a dozen business tycoons in sharp suits were below making faces and whispering to each other. They looked exactly like elementary school students passing notes behind a teacher’s back. Strange light flickered in their eyes; now and then they raised their brows. Not a single one of them was actually paying attention to Chu Ci’s proposal.

Chu Ci took a deep breath, nearly snapping the chalk in half.

After enduring it for two more days, he couldn’t take it anymore. Since his identity couldn’t be hidden anyway, he simply tied his hair into a small ponytail, exposing the back of his neck cleanly and letting them stare.

His hair was much longer than when he had first awakened. Loosely tied up, it made him look even more relaxed and casual than before. His coworkers began staring openly, even privately discussing digging into Nuo Wei’s corner.

【 I definitely won’t compete with the Major General for favor. I’ll just cook for him, fried dough sticks, soy milk, buns, glass noodles. I’ll fatten the Major General up. 】 —This was Nuo Wei’s die-hard fan.

【 I won’t compete either. I just want to watch them. I’ll hang at home like a wall painting. Just seeing them makes me happy, like I’ve eaten candy. 】 —This was a CP fan of the two.

【 I’ll secretly stake out and take photos. Then I’ll post special shots of their collarbones and abs, like His Excellency Chu Ci fresh out of the shower, or Major General Nuo Wei with his robe loosely tied. Benefits for everyone. 】—This was from certain questionable “fan-service” bloggers.

This comment was quickly pushed to the top and received a flood of replies saying, 【OP is a good bug.】

Chu Ci: “……”

Unable to endure the disturbance any longer, he publicly posted on StarNet:

⟦ Thanks for the invite. I won’t take a female attendant. There will only ever be him. ⟧

StarNet was first shocked, then felt it was only natural. A zerg who had staked his life on the tribunal platform to save his female monarch was meant to be like this.

Amid waves of blessings, a few scattered comments claimed they didn’t believe Chu Ci’s vow. No matter how beautiful a love story was, time would wear it down. They bet that one day Chu Ci would bring someone new home.

Chu Ci didn’t respond. Words were too empty. Time would prove everything.

In the second year after the expedition ended, Nuo Wei returned to S-rank.

He once again put on his pure white formal uniform and went back to the First Army’s garrison. With a ribboned medal pinned to his shoulder, he accepted part of the First Army’s authority from Lin En.

His bravery during the expedition proved that he was by no means just a decorative vase¹, nor someone who rose through connections with his uncle. He had staked blood and honor, and would rightfully compete for the position of full-power Admiral of the First Army.

That same year, the zerg race’s first brain-machine game, 《Ancient Era》, officially launched.

As chief planner, Chu Ci blended human aesthetics into the historical background of the zerg race, ruined ancient city-states arranged in uneven layers, swamp villages crossed by winding rivers, towering royal cities built from stacked white stone. Under the skilled hands of the modelers, those ancient scenes slowly unfolded. Roaming within them felt as though one had truly entered the ancient era of the zerg race.

Players held rapiers in hand, zerg wings spread from their backs, soaring beyond the clouds and bearing the blue sky. The combat was smooth, each move flowing naturally into the next, exhilarating and satisfying.

Stellar Group placed many free trial game pods in shopping malls for public use.

At first, people came for the novelty, the free experience, and Chu Ci’s growing fame. They were curious about the chief planner. But after trying it, the excellent gameplay experience created a wave of word-of-mouth fans who flooded forums with excited cries.

【 Ahhh who hasn’t played 《Ancient Era》 yet? The graphics are insane. 】

【 Even someone clumsy like me played it hahaha. If you can’t win, just spread your wings and enjoy the scenery. But be careful passing city-states,you might get shot down by defensive cannons. 】

【 Best game in ten years. No objections accepted. 】

Beyond short comments like these, many people left long reviews on the forums:

《 An Excellent Historical Learning Aid — On Architecture and Clothing in Ancient Era 》

《 Beginner Guide: Recommended Starter Weapons and Character Analysis 》

《 Discussing the Planning Quality of Ancient Era from a Numerical Perspective 》

As more and more word-of-mouth fans joined in, the game’s popularity rose like water lifting a boat. Player enthusiasm reached an unprecedented height. On the first release day of Stellar’s game pods, 100,000 units were sold out instantly. Stellar had no choice but to post an announcement saying the factory was rushing production. Yet half a month later, during the second batch sale, they were still gone in seconds. Snagging one was even harder than when Chu Ci had fought to grab the first-release 《Savior》 back in his previous life.

Along with that came the continuous expansion of the wealth in Chu Ci’s hands. In the end, he even bought part of Stellar’s shares and officially became one of Yi Xi’s shareholders.

Nuo Wei, however, felt a bit resentful about it.

After accidentally seeing Chu Ci’s account balance one time, he had started feeling down. There was an emotion in his heart he couldn’t quite describe. It grew even stronger when Chu Ci returned his salary card and even began giving him monthly pocket money.

Nuo Wei’s way of expressing his resentment was subtle. Normally he said nothing, but at night he became much more intense, so much so that Chu Ci was reminded of the time they had clung to each other desperately on the small sickbed on Pamir Star.

On one occasion, when Nuo Wei was clearly exhausted, eyes misty with tears yet refusing to say stop and instead clinging to Chu Ci for another round, Chu Ci sharply sensed something was off.

He pinned his female monarch’s wrists above his head, pressing him into the corner of the bed, intensifying his “advances” as he demanded, “What’s wrong?”

Nuo Wei’s lips pressed into a straight line as he protested, “How can a male give me pocket money?”

He was supposed to be the one supporting the family!

Chu Ci couldn’t help laughing.

He squeezed Nuo Wei’s cheek. “What does it matter? I like supporting you.”

Counting on his fingers, he listed things out for him: “Look, Admiral Erwen has so many gemstones, you can buy them too. And aircraft, game pods… Here, just like when I used to spend your money, spend freely.”

Chu Ci truly had the confidence to say that. With his current assets, he could spend however he pleased and still not finish it in several lifetimes.

Nuo Wei didn’t want a game pod, nor did he plan to change his aircraft. He wrapped his arms around Chu Ci’s neck and suddenly asked, “The gemstone Uncle gave you… can you give it to me?”

Chu Ci froze for a moment. “Which one do you want?”

He had received three gemstones in total. The first time they met, there was a cyan one. Later, during the seven-day appeal, there was an amber one. And finally, he had ‘extorted’ a white one.

Nuo Wei said, “The amber one.”

That gemstone carried extraordinary meaning. Its color was so much like the male zerg’s eyes that just looking at it made one’s heart race. It had been given during the seven-day appeal. Those seven days were among the most important in Nuo Wei’s life. Within that short time, the male zerg’s attitude had changed completely, taking Nuo Wei by the hand and leading him out of hell and toward a new life.

Chu Ci said, “Mm, that one… I was planning to give it to you anyway. But not today.”

Nuo Wei looked confused. “Then when?”

Chu Ci replied, “In half a month.”

Half a month later, countless players who were fighting enemies and sightseeing in 《Ancient Era》 suddenly received an in-game mail.

⟦ Today at 18:00, all players may travel to the Island in the Lake. After offering blessings to the Marriage Tree, you may receive a limited outfit: [Pure White Wedding] .⟧

The Island in the Lake was a real landmark on the main star. Located at the center of Blue Lake, it was shaped like a heart. Deep blue waters surrounded the lush green island, like emerald set within colored glass.

Legend said that in ancient times, female and male zergs would pledge their lives to each other there. The ancient trees on the island had witnessed countless unions. But as the status of female zergs gradually declined, fewer and fewer male zergs were willing to accompany them there, and the tradition slowly fell into neglect.

Chu Ci had moved this island into 《Ancient Era》 exactly as it was.

The player community exploded. The clothing designs in《Ancient Era》 were detailed and carefully researched. The modeling was exquisite, every hidden pattern finely carved. Through the brain-machine interface, the texture felt as real as clothing in the physical world.

And with that level of craftsmanship came high prices. Aside from quest rewards and starter outfits, high-tier costumes in the game were expensive and rarely given away.

Now, just by going to the Island in the Lake and offering a blessing, players could receive a limited outfit set?

Players rushed toward the Island in the Lake, only to discover that a ten-meter area beneath the largest Marriage Tree had been set as a restricted zone. On the platform under the tree stood a pair of dolls.

One doll had black hair and amber eyes. The other had silver hair and pale cyan eyes. They wore pure white formal outfits, their hands tightly clasped together. Where their hands met, there was even a small painted heart.

The players were completely baffled. They then noticed an NPC standing beneath the tree named [Master of Ceremonies.]

After speaking with the NPC, they found that he would ask a strange question:

⟦ Whether in wealth or poverty, whether in health or sickness, will you stay together and never abandon each other, until forever? ⟧

For most female zergs, such a vow was far too extravagant. All they wanted was a male lord who did not beat or scold them, someone with a gentle temper. As for “never leaving or abandoning, until forever,” that was something far too distant.

Someone quietly commented, 【If anyone could do that, it would probably only be His Excellency Chu Ci and Major General Nuo Wei.】

Someone else suddenly had a realization: 【 Look at those dolls, don’t they represent His Excellency Chu Ci and Major General Nuo Wei? And the outfit you receive after giving your blessing, doesn’t it look like wedding attire? 】

The discussion section instantly became lively.

【 But haven’t His Excellency Chu Ci and Major General Nuo Wei already gotten married? 】

【 They have… but they never held a wedding, right? 】

【 They didn’t? 】

【 No, they didn’t. I heard that at the time, His Excellency Chu Ci didn’t like Major General Nuo Wei. 】

A shared understanding slowly dawned on them:

【 Then today… are they making up for it? 】

At this moment, on the Heart Island of the Main Star, Chu Ci wore a pure white formal suit, handsome and charismatic. He stood side by side with Nuo Wei, facing the visiting guests. Under the guidance of the Master of Ceremonies, they solemnly recited their vows beneath the long-abandoned Marriage Tree of the zerg race.

“Whether in wealth or poverty, whether in health or sickness, I will never leave you, until forever.”

Chu Ci took the cufflinks from his pocket, Erwen’s gem was too large to make a ring, so as a second choice, he used it as a cufflink.

He pinned the amber-colored one to Nuo Wei’s sleeve, and had Nuo Wei pin the cyan one to his own. Their eyes met, and slowly they clasped hands, fingers interlaced tightly.

Lin En and the other generals of the First Army teased from below, “Kiss! Kiss!”

Chu Ci raised an eyebrow at the crowd. Lin En, unsure why, suddenly feared this commanding male lord so much that he immediately quieted down, lowering his head in silence.

Chu Ci turned to Nuo Wei, cupped his face, and asked, “Is it okay?”

Though they had kissed so many times before, this moment was still so solemn.

Nuo Wei nodded.

Then they suddenly embraced, lips meeting in a fierce kiss, as if they wanted to devour each other, exchanging a passionate kiss.

As they continued, their kiss gradually softened into intimacy. Finally, in the silence of the entire gathering, they parted. Chu Ci placed Nuo Wei’s hand against his lips, planted a gentle kiss, and whispered a vow only they could hear.

“I will hold your hand, and never let go again.”

……………………………………………

『dapotaturs note: Arc 1 ends. Arc 2 next: Chu Xiu × Yi Xi』

Arc 2: Gold Medal ‘Soft Rice’ with Collecting Hobby × Gentle and Refined Older Male Big Shot

Chu Xiu was a famous gold-digger in the circle. Handsome, passionate, attentive, and gentle, he never disobeyed his sponsors. If they pointed east, he would never go west. If they turned south, he wouldn’t dare face north. There was nothing his benefactors could imagine that Chu Xiu wouldn’t accomplish for them.

One day, freshly transmigrated into a new world, Chu Xiu was hit by the wealthiest Zerg bigshot, Yi Xi, and ended up in the hospital. As compensation, Yi Xi agreed to marry Chu Xiu as his attendant.

Yi Xi, utterly despairing: “My life is over.”

Chu Xiu (overjoyed, beyond his wildest dreams): “My meal ticket has arrived!”

And so—

At the wedding, Yi Xi smiled bitterly: “The Male Zergs despise me. I only hope he won’t make things difficult for me in front of the guests.”

Meanwhile, backstage, Chu Xiu, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, tie, vest, and perfectly groomed hair, clenched his fists: “The gold-digging king won’t disgrace his meal ticket!”