SZAR Chapter 81

That night, Chu Xiu surprisingly didn’t cause any trouble. He seemed very tired and fell asleep early, resting his head on the pillow. Yi Xi was a little worried and decided not to go to work the next day, staying home with him.

Chu Xiu’s biological clock was usually very late. Even when the sun was high, he hadn’t woken, but the phone rang first.

He groggily got up and saw it was Carey.

Carey was usually reserved, rarely disturbing Chu Xiu, especially not early in the morning. Half asleep, Chu Xiu answered, and after just a few words, he was already more awake.

“Don’t cry, female father, don’t cry,” He urged rapidly. “Don’t panic. I’ll go find them right away.”

Chu Xiu gripped the light-brain device. “Trust me. Nothing will happen.”

The male zerg had just undergone his second awakening. He usually spoke gently with a smile, sometimes acting cute or whining playfully. But now, his voice was calm and steady, and somehow utterly convincing.

Carey held back his tears and let out a soft hum.

Chu Xiu hung up the phone, jumped out of bed, hurriedly put on his coat, slipped on his slippers, without even washing his face, and pulled Yi Xi toward the door.

They leapt into the aircraft. Chu Xiu ignited it in one swift motion, pushed the speed to maximum. White smoke puffed from the rear like firecrackers, and it shot forward, producing a small sonic boom. Only then did Yi Xi find a moment to ask.

He said, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Xiu’s expression was grave. “Clement¹’s brother is in trouble.”

He cursed, “Damn it. Yesterday, I got heated talking to Chu Dian on the phone, and Clement’s brother is still in Chu Jin’s hands. I didn’t expect that bastard to be such an animal.”

As an Earthling, he had overestimated the limits of male zerg decency.

If Chu Xiu had left with Yi Xi before, the Chu family would have merely lost some easy prey, and Chu Dian might have still hoped that, with some coaxing, the eldest son could bring back Yi Xi’s inheritance. But this time, Chu Xiu had wiped out the Chu family’s centuries-old casino. It struck at the family’s foundation, complete severance.

Chu Jin’s hatred boiled. That very night, he tortured Clement’s brother nearly to death. Clement’s brother couldn’t bear the humiliation and slammed into a pillar, attempting suicide. He had resolved himself to die, yet Chu Jin sent him into a treatment pod to save him, keeping him barely alive in a cycle of torment. He even recorded the whole ordeal and sent the video to Clement’s communicator.

Yi Xi frowned. “What does he want?”

Chu Xiu said, “He’s threatening Clement. If he doesn’t come to him, he’ll continue this, play it out until Clement’s brother loses his mind, breaks down completely.”

Chu Jin had long coveted the twins and was already furious that Chu Xiu took Clement away. With the casino gone and the Chu family’s lavish lifestyle destroyed, Chu Jin’s anger exploded. He booked rooms in the Imperial Hotel and told Clement that if he wanted his brother alive, he had to come alone, and no one else could know.

Clement didn’t dare delay. He left the military academy dormitory overnight and entered the hotel. His brother had just come out of the treatment pod, being supported by someone. There was no blood on him, yet his mind was hazy, reactions slow, eyes brimming with tears, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Clement couldn’t imagine what it had been like before his brother went into the pod.

Yi Xi asked, “But you said you went to get them, did they escape?”

Chu Xiu said, “Clement is in the military academy, part of the First Army reserves. His courage is truly extraordinary.”

Once they entered the hotel, Clement pretended to cooperate. He was handsome, and being a twin with his brother, Chu Jin had never dealt with someone like this before. Joy swelled in his heart, and he dismissed the other servants, leaving the twins alone in the room to serve him.

Then, taking advantage of the service pretext, Clement bit down on Chu Jin’s prized part.

Chu Xiu said, “At that moment, Chu Jin was in so much pain he couldn’t stand, screaming loudly, rolling on the floor, clutching himself, cursing Clement, swearing he’d make them pay a hundredfold. He was in excruciating agony. Yet the hotel, specially designed for male zerg pleasure, had excellent soundproofing. No one outside dared interrupt the young master at the height of his excitement. Clement dragged him to the bathroom, tied him to the toilet with the whip he used on Clement’s brother, and then walked out with Clement’s brother acting completely natural, saying the young master was tired and needed to rest.”

Yi Xi clearly hadn’t expected this turn of events. He frowned and looked at Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu continued, “Clement bit into Chu Jin’s main artery. Blood sprayed all over him. The servants outside saw him covered in blood and, seeing the pool inside the room, assumed it was Clement who was bleeding. Feeling sympathy, they let him and Clement’s brother go straight downstairs.”

However, leaving the young master alone in the room for too long was abnormal. Not long after, an attendant entered to check and found Chu Jin tied up in the bathroom.

Yi Xi asked, “What happened to him? Is there any chance of… reconnecting?”

From a personal perspective, Yi Xi didn’t want the reconnection to succeed, that would mean more female zerg would suffer. But if it failed, causing a high-ranking male zerg to lose reproductive ability would be a major crime, and Clement and his brother could not escape death.

Death itself wasn’t the worst part. Worse was that if Chu Jin lost the ability to reproduce, as the victim, he could dictate Clement’s fate. He could demand the judge remove their wings, disable their limbs, then keep them alive to torment repeatedly, dragging them in and out of the treatment chamber, until their mental seas completely collapsed.

Chu Xiu shook his head. “It’s not possible. Chu Jin is already dead.”

Dead from massive blood loss.

The wound had dense blood vessels. He was first dragged into the bathroom, tied so he couldn’t move, unable to stop the bleeding. By the time the servants entered, Chu Jin had lost about a third of his blood, eyes open, no breath. The scene was reportedly horrific. Chu Dian, seeing even a glimpse from afar, fainted on the spot.

Yi Xi drew in a sharp breath.

To cause the death of a B-rank male zerg, what a massive crime that would be.

Back then, Yi Xi had only collided with an F-rank male zerg and hadn’t killed it, yet nearly expended everything. If it hadn’t been Chu Xiu involved, that male zerg probably would already be dead.

So now, what if a B-rank male zerg was killed in an extremely “cruel” way?

Chu Xiu said, “Clement and his brother knew how serious things were and fled overnight. However, Chu Dian has already received this news, and the Male Zerg Protection Association will mobilize fully…”

He paused, leaving the rest unsaid.

What use was fleeing overnight? In the interstellar era, not to mention the countless cameras everywhere, ultra-precise satellites hovering overhead could locate every ant on the ground. Within two hours, the Male Zerg Protection Association would have captured them. Then, what kind of insane punishment Chu Dian, having lost his only son, would inflict on them was impossible for Chu Xiu to guess.

Yi Xi quickly caught the key point: “So they’re still on the run? They haven’t been caught?”

Chu Xiu said, “No. From the moment they left the hotel until Chu Jin was discovered, there was a two-hour window. Clement’s military training is good, he has solid counter-surveillance awareness. They managed to get far away.”

He opened the light-brain, showing Yi Xi a blinking red dot: “You know Carey, he’s meticulous. Not trusting the young ones, he installed a tracker on Clement. I’m heading toward their location now.”

Chu Xiu hadn’t had much contact with Clement, but he had a strong fondness for the smart, ambitious little blonde female zerg. He was also raised by Carey, making him half like a little brother to him. Now, with Chu Jin’s sudden attack, Clement and his brother Clancy had been dragged into this mess because of Chu Xiu’s influence. No matter what, Chu Xiu was determined to bring them back safely.

Yi Xi sensed his emotions and pressed his hand.

The older one spoke softly, soothing: “It’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be fine.” Chu Xiu was such an unpredictable male zerg. He was the first to accept a female zerg with a pheromone disorder, the first to cook on livestream, the first to establish a fund, and the first F-rank to rise to A-rank. If he wanted to rescue two female zergs who had committed serious offenses, he could surely do it.

Yet despite this, Chu Xiu himself wasn’t optimistic.

A B-rank male zerg had been killed. Even A-rank Chu Xiu would have difficulty protecting them. Even if he reached Clement and Clancy before the Male Zerg Protection Association did, what then? If the association surrounded their villa and Imperial judges demanded their surrender, could he refuse?

The cockpit grew heavier with tension.

As the aircraft climbed higher and higher, Chu Xiu looked up. The residential zones of the home planet had already disappeared from view. Looking down through the craft’s porthole, an endless expanse of primeval forest stretched below. The deep green woods seemed dense and mysterious, but within this darkness, flashes of silvery light glimmered.

Yi Xi frowned. “It looks like they’ve already arrived.”

The aircraft, entirely silver with transparent gemstones reflecting rainbow-colored light, belonged to the Male Zerg Protection Association.

Chu Xiu lowered his gaze. On the aircraft’s navigation screen, the tracker’s dot was clearly visible, Clement and Clancy were directly below.

………………

Meanwhile, deep in the dense jungle:

Clement struggled over a fallen giant tree, holding out her hand to her brother. “Hurry!”

The trees in the primeval forest towered over a hundred meters high, their thick branches needing several people to wrap around. To avoid detection by their pursuers, they couldn’t spread their wings and had to rely on walking.

Clancy braced himself against a tree trunk, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

Unlike his younger brother’s sharp agility, Clancy had been drained of all his energy after three months under Chu Jin. He looked gaunt, moved slowly, and if it weren’t for Clement supporting him, his speed could have been several times faster.

Clement leapt back, trying to lift his brother. “I’ll carry you across!”

Clancy pushed him away with all his strength. “If you carry me, you won’t make it.”

From ancient times until now, female zergs who killed male zergs and tried to defect were more than just these two—, but no zerg had ever escaped the Male Zerg Protection Association’s iron-clad net. Clancy panted: “We can’t get out.”

He reached out to touch his brother’s cheek, where a wound from a freshly cut blade of grass was slowly healing. Strong regenerative abilities were both a blessing and a curse for female zergs, they allowed survival in extreme environments but also let them endure much longer under a male zerg’s whip.

Clancy looked at him gently. “You go. I’ll tell them I killed Chu Jin. That I couldn’t endure the humiliation.”

“It’s useless.” Clement’s eyes reddened. “There’s still my DNA on him. The Male Zerg Protection Association has forensic teams, female zergs who do profiling, and they’ll test you with a lie detector. Brother, we can only run. If we’re caught, no one survives.”

Clancy froze for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh.

He had always followed Chu Jin, not even allowed his own light-brain. He didn’t fully understand what Clement was saying, but he knew there was no hiding from this.

Three months apart, and his younger brother had already grown.

Sadly, there was no more time left for him to grow.

Clancy whispered, “They’re here.”

Above them, the massive rotor roared, the silver fuselage reflecting sunlight in blinding flashes. Through the loudspeakers came a cold voice: “Cease resistance. Heavy firepower is covering your position. I repeat, cease resistance. Heavy firepower is covering your position…”

Clancy actually laughed.

His back arched like a bow, wings spread, looking ready to resist under heavy fire, clinging stubbornly to life.

Being blown to bits by the Male Zerg Protection Association’s firepower would be a hundred times better than returning to the Chu household and being tortured by the crazed Chu Dian.

“Brother! Wait!” Clement pressed him down. “That aircraft above us… it doesn’t seem to belong to the Male Zerg Protection Association?”

Above them hovered a modified business aircraft, also with a silver, streamlined body and matte paint. Compared to the Male Zerg Protection Association’s blindingly shiny planes, this one exuded understated luxury.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Male Zerg Protection Association was in a total panic.

He used a specific frequency band to try to drive the business aircraft away, repeating constantly over the comms: “Sir, the Male Zerg Protection Association is operating here. Please leave the area. This zone is under fire coverage. Please leave the area…”

His subordinates were baffled. “Sir, he’s ignoring us and flying straight into the capture zone. He’s descending, can’t we just open fire?”

The commander slammed his fist down on his subordinate’s head, and growled, “Shut up! Do you even know whose aircraft this is?”

He continued to repeat the warning broadcast without letting up.

Subordinate: “They’re about to land!”

The business aircraft completely ignored the Male Zerg Protection Association’s warnings and landed right beside Clement and Clancy, even opening its cabin doors.

This was already a deliberate provocation against the Association.

The commander gritted his teeth. “Aircraft marked 9573, this is the Male Zerg Protection Association. Please leave, or in ten seconds we will cover this area with fire. I repeat, aircraft marked—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

From the very start, the communication had been one-way, but now there was a sharp beep as the channel switched to two-way. The cockpit’s feed transmitted clearly.

A few subordinates silently went quiet.

In the pilot seat sat a black-haired, black-eyed gentleman. He sat upright in the cockpit, his expression cold, lips pressed downward, radiating extreme displeasure. His right hand supported his light-brain, the screen showing his identity information.

Chu Xiu — an A-rank male.

There are so few A-rank noble males in the Empire that you could count them on one hand. The Male Zerg Protection Association knew the status of each males inside out. They exchanged glances, frozen into silence.

Chu Xiu lifted his face and asked calmly, “I’m sitting here right now. Are you really going to blanket this area with heavy firepower?”