SZAR Chapter 49

Nuo Wei felt a moment of daze.

He stared at the figure of the male on the stage, as if gazing at a fragile bubble ready to burst, then trembled as he reached out, wanting to touch that shadow.

Chu Ci grabbed his hand.

Firmly, he threaded his fingers through Nuo Wei’s, interlocking them, then pulled him into an embrace, holding his partner close.

Nuo Wei’s eyes widened like a startled cat.

Hesitantly, he raised a hand and touched Chu Ci’s hair, brushing it lightly and the warmth of another body flowed into him.

Warm. The body heat of a male.

Nuo Wei felt a little flustered. He didn’t understand why Chu Ci was here. He struggled slightly to get out of the embrace, frowning: “My Lord, why are you here?”

Only criminals and those awaiting trial were supposed to be in the Tribunal. How could a male have come in? What had happened in the three days Chu Ci had been away?

Nuo Wei had no idea. The male had shaken the entire Star Network, all just to reach out to him here, today.

Chu Ci’s words were concise: “I’m here to be your guide.”

He gave a rough explanation of Qu Xia’s research, introduced the guiding mechanism, and spoke about how it affected mortality rates, but Nuo Wei’s frown never smoothed. He interrupted the male, asking, “Will this affect you?”

Directly ahead, the red light on the camera blinked faintly.

The lie detector involved details about Admiral Erwen’s defection. Every word in the trial would be made public across the entire Star Network.

The audience was surprised by Nuo Wei’s boldness: 【 What? Nuo Wei’s first reaction isn’t even being moved? 】

【 …He actually interrupted the male? I didn’t expect that. 】

【 The male sacrificed so much for him. Shouldn’t he be crying, thanking him for never leaving? 】

Nuo Wei couldn’t cry his eyes out, nor could he put on a show of loyalty and devotion. His calm heart was filled with anxiety and worry.

He stubbornly looked at Chu Ci: “Will this affect you?”

“Uh…” Chu Ci felt uneasy. He remembered the consent form he had signed, glanced around nervously: “Maybe… uh, maybe not?”

Nuo Wei understood.

He turned to the presiding judge, brow tightly furrowed: “I do not agree.”

“My male lord is an A-rank male. You cannot risk him.”

The presiding judge looked at Nuo Wei, one eyebrow raised, the other lowered, twisting his face into the expression of extreme constipation, his lifelong composure collapsing. If not for the live cameras in front of him, he would have kicked over the judgment desk and shouted curses.

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Didn’t we know your male lord is a high-rank male? Did we wanted to risk him? You…idiots…get out of my court!

Chu Ci forcibly suppressed Nuo Wei’s protest: “Your objection is invalid. I am your male lord. I decide.”

Nuo Wei could let Chu Ci decide on almost everything, but not this.

He pressed his lips together tightly, turning them into a thin white line, neither agreeing nor opposing, simply silent.

This was a silent protest.

For the Star Network audience, it was the first time seeing Nuo Wei act like this. The male was sacrificing so much for him, yet he behaved like he didn’t appreciate it. Many female users left comments expressing confusion and disbelief:

【 What does Nuo Wei mean? I’d be crying out of gratitude already. 】

【 Exactly, I’d be thanking him, crying my heart out. 】

【 For something like this, falling from the sky into your lap, of course you agree! Why not agree? 】

………………

After all the discussions, one comment quietly appeared.

@Gold-Medal Soft Rice¹:【If you feel thankful and like the universe handed you a gift, at the root, it’s because you don’t love your partner.】

For a moment, everyone fell completely silent.

Most male–female pairings among the zerg are the inevitable result of pheromones and the mental sea. The soothing of pheromones and the collapse of the mental sea produce one resentful pair after another. They are tightly bound by social morals, law, and custom. Love? What is love?

Endless whipping, torment, humiliation…how could there be love?

They looked at the screens, watching Chu Ci tightly holding Nuo Wei’s hand, seeing the male’s persistence and the female’s resistance, and suddenly it all made sense.

This wasn’t some pie falling from the sky. This was a couple supporting each other standing at the edge of a cliff, one on the cliff refusing to let go, the one in midair insisting on letting go.

Unfortunately, Chu Ci would never allow him to let go.

He took control, clasping Nuo Wei’s hand, and began to go over old business: “You know the lie detector carries a risk of death, right?”

Nuo Wei stiffened, eyes darting: “…Yes.”

Chu Ci pressed harder: “You know the death rate is as high as 26%, right?”

Nuo Wei looked up at the ceiling: “…Yes.”

Chu Ci ground his teeth, the molars creaking: “So you hid the consent form from me, didn’t tell me, and even said the death rate was only a little? What were you thinking?”

Nuo Wei: “…”

He lowered his head, eyebrows slanting miserably: “…I didn’t want to either.”

“You didn’t want to either?” Chu Ci sneered, poking the female’s forehead with his finger. He softened the pressure so it only hurt a little: “Where did your Female Manual go? Deceiving your male lord, what kind of sin is that?”

Nuo Wei hadn’t expected Chu Ci to bring up the Female Manual now. With a red mark on his forehead, he stared at Chu Ci blankly, looking like a little animal that had been bullied. He wanted to say, “You made me drop it,” but he couldn’t. So he said nothing.

Chu Ci continued to sneer coldly: “Speak. What kind of sin? Cat got your tongue?”

The cameras faithfully broadcast everything, and the Star Network fell into an eerie silence.

Netizen A: 【 Can someone explain what’s happening? Why do I have goosebumps all over? 】

Netizen B: 【 Help, I feel so uneasy, like my back is itching… as if wings are about to sprout. 】

Netizen C: 【 This male lord is interrogating him seriously, right? 】

Netizen D: 【…I guess, but why does it feel so wrong? 】

@Gold-Medal Soft Rice popped up again: 【(CatLightsCigarette) Silly kids, yes, you’d suffer if your male lord interrogated you like this, but if Nuo Wei gets interrogated, his male lord will lie down in the lie detector to save him. 】

His comment drew everyone’s attention. This netizen’s words were so worldly-wise, so insightful, filled with the kind of philosophy you gain after seeing a thousand sails; it was as if he were some social butterfly drifting between multiple male masters. Many rushed to his profile to see who he was, but it was surprisingly plain: all videos of him cooking at home, apron on, face never shown. A gentle, devoted virtuous female.

Photo: [ Slow-simmered clear chicken soup, sprinkled with scallions and goji berries. ]

Caption: ⟬ Sigh, is a stomach problem the standard illness of a rich domineering CEO? Can’t eat anything yet likes to fuss, wakes me at night to vomit secretly, ahhhh how can a beauty have a stomach problem, it pains me T_T… Nothing I can do, I chose this CEO myself, will pamper him even on my knees (Cat Crying).⟭

Interstellar netizens: “?”

Domineering CEO? Rich-person illness? What is this?

No matter how confused the netizens were, at the trial platform, Chu Ci had already cornered Nuo Wei.

He pressed forward relentlessly, question after question, and Nuo Wei’s spirit weakened with every one. With each interrogation, he stepped back slightly, until he found himself at the very edge of the platform.

Chu Ci leaned one hand against the wall, forming a classic kabedon²Japanese term for slamming a hand against a wall next to someone to pin them pose, his heavy shadow completely covering the female. Narrowed eyes, dangerous and mysterious: “Say it. What are the consequences of deceiving your male lord?”

Nuo Wei, cornered, whispered like a mosquito: “Sent to the correctional facility.”

Chu Ci pressed on: “Do you want to go to the correctional facility?”

Nuo Wei stiffened his neck. He wanted to answer defiantly, “Yes, I want to,” but when he looked up at Chu Ci’s faintly amused eyes, he drooped his head and admitted, “No.”

Chu Ci asked: “Then do you still dare deceive your male lord?”

“…I don’t dare.”

“Do you want to listen to your male lord?”

“…”

“Do you want to listen or not?”

Nuo Wei turned his face away, avoiding Chu Ci’s gaze: “…Yes, but not right now.”

Even if it meant putting Chu Ci in danger, he absolutely refused.

Chu Ci froze.

He had expected Nuo Wei to go along with him, but this stubborn little bug still said no.

Chu Ci’s heart softened instantly. He felt he couldn’t keep up the act of gritted-teeth severity, couldn’t say harsh words, and the tough expression on his face collapsed. The performance was over.

He took a deep breath and cupped Nuo Wei’s face: “But I’m scared, Nuo Wei.”

Even as adults, saying you’re scared in public felt a little embarrassing, but Chu Ci said it anyway.

He raised one hand to show him: “See? I’m shaking.”

His hand trembled so hard that the muscles quivered slightly; pressing against Nuo Wei’s skin, it caused a faint ticklish sensation.

Nuo Wei clumsily held onto that hand.

Chu Ci pressed a hand to his forehead, covering his eyes, squatting on the edge of the trial stage: “A one-in-four death rate, Nuo Wei. I can’t accept it. I’m really scared.”

Nuo Wei squatted down with him.

Both of them, long-limbed men in trench coats and ties, crouched at the edge of the trial stage like two bullied mushrooms.

Chu Ci said, “Have you thought about what I’d do if something really happened to you?”

Nuo Wei murmured without a word.

Losing a female shouldn’t be a big deal for a high-ranking male. Nuo Wei had been taught that since he was young: there are plenty of females; just remarry.

But Chu Ci was scared.

He was genuinely afraid, his hands trembling uncontrollably, as if losing Nuo Wei was something he could not bear. Chu Ci now felt like a family member sitting on a hospital bench, waiting for news of a loved one’s surgery. If Nuo Wei wouldn’t let him act, every second was torture.

Chu Ci let out a bitter laugh: “I know you never thought about it.”

For a female, enjoying a male’s affection while alive, receiving a promise like “Even if your rank falls, you’re still my female”, was already a blessing. As for what would happen if an accident occurred, Nuo Wei had never considered it.

Chu Ci was indispensable to him, but he had never realized that he was equally indispensable to Chu Ci.

Chu Ci looked like a moldy mushroom, letting out a bitter laugh: “Nuo Wei, if you weren’t here, I could never accept another female into our home. I couldn’t bear him lying in the bed you’ve slept in, sitting on the sofa you’ve sat on, making San San do chores you instructed, using your same-scented detergent, wearing shirts like yours… Just thinking about it makes me so sad I could go mad. Nuo Wei, how can you be so cruel? You want me to gamble on that one-in-four chance, to gamble whether I’ll end up alone for life?”

That was an extremely harsh accusation.

Nuo Wei froze for a long moment, then held Chu Ci’s trembling hand, helped him to stand, and walked with him to the center of the trial stage.

A smile touched Chu Ci’s features.

He was already handsome, and now the smile spread across his face like snow on a branch, soft and tender.

Chu Ci raised their interlocked hands and signaled to the judge: “Alright, he’ll cooperate. Let’s continue.”

“…”

The judge sat high on the platform, expressionless, watching them.

If the camera got closer, one could see his deadpan face: the left side screamed collapse, the right side screamed speechless.

Forced to witness a young couple flirting and bickering, the judge was physically and mentally exhausted. He had no desire to work. He wanted nothing more than to throw Chu Ci and Nuo Wei out and make them leave, but professionalism forced him to point weakly at the equipment in the center of the trial stage and explain the rules in a lethargic voice.

“Lord Chu Ci, please lie down in the polygraph pod with Major Nuo Wei. We will update the firmware to link your mental waves together.”

“Before the test officially begins, there will be another linking phase. During this, Major Nuo Wei’s mental sea will display irregular fragments, like dreaming. Lord Chu Ci, you need to stay by his side to make sure he clearly knows these are dreams.”

The so-called central polygraph is more like a scanner. It forces the subject to recall the fragments the examiner wants to see. Even if the memory is extremely painful, and the brain has suppressed it to protect itself, it will be forcibly extracted. In such cases, the subject may confuse reality with dream, and fall back into memories they do not want to revisit, causing a secondary trauma to the mental sea.

In such circumstances, if a trusted person stays by their side to share the pain and hardship, the subject’s condition improves considerably.

“Alright, since the two of you have reached a consensus, we will now begin the testing phase,” the presiding judge said.

The staff helped Chu Ci affix the electrodes, guiding him into the sleep pod next to Nuo Wei.

Once both were settled, the judge signaled for the pod doors to close: “Lord Chu Ci, the testing phase begins. Please stabilize your astral body within the mental sea and assist Major Nuo Wei in breaking free from the dream. I must remind you, if this phase is not successful, we will not risk letting you proceed to the next stage.”

Chu Ci nodded: “Understood.”

The mechanical hum of the pods filled the room as the doors sealed. The electrodes on his temples glowed bluish, and countless waves flowed into his mind.

Chu Ci closed his eyes.

The scene before him violently fluctuated, colorful threads twisted and snapped, finally merging into a central whirlpool.

After a brief dizziness, Chu Ci opened his eyes.

He found himself in a strange place, like a villa room. The décor was cold and austere, the surroundings empty, except for a round Bohemian-style rug in the center. On it sat a cherrywood crib.

Chu Ci approached the crib, lifted the blanket, and saw a fresh, tender egg.

Chu Ci pinched the electrode pad. “Where’s Nuo Wei?”

Since this is Nuo Wei’s dream, why is there only an egg?

A guide can communicate through the mental waves with the outside world. The presiding judge’s voice came through: “Lord Chu Ci, based on the nano-psychic analysis, Major General Nuo Wei… should be that egg?”

Chu Ci: “?”

His female monarch is dreaming he’s turned into an egg?

Chu Ci carefully lifted the egg from the blanket. It was a healthy female egg, patterned beautifully. He tapped the shell and asked, “How should I guide it? Should I break the shell?”

“No, you can’t, Lord Chu Ci. Please don’t.” The judge said, “Your female monarch, in his subconscious, is currently the egg. Breaking the shell would make him feel unsafe and could cause harm.”

Worried that Chu Ci might accidentally drop it, he hurriedly added: “Lord Chu Ci, please put Major general Nuo Wei back. Let’s take a long-term approach.”

Chu Ci returned the egg to the crib, feeling a bit troubled. If it were a person, he could guide and communicate, but an egg?

He walked around the crib. The chubby, adorable egg rolled along, but it moved to avoid him. When Chu Ci went left, the tip of the egg pointed right; when he went right, the egg’s tip pointed left, spinning in the opposite direction.

His female monarch is avoiding him?

The sensation was strangely fascinating to Chu Ci. Nuo Wei had never avoided him before. On the contrary, his female usually liked to cling to him, as if suffering from skin hunger. There was only one exception…

That was when Chu Ci had teased him too much in front of others.

He liked to act intimate with Nuo Wei publicly. Watching the tips of his antennae turn slightly red gave him the satisfaction of a successful prank.

A light bulb went off in Chu Ci’s mind. He seemed to understand why Nuo Wei’s subconscious had turned into an egg.

Nuo Wei is embarrassed.

This seemingly calm, silly little bug was so easily embarrassed. Just a little tease and his ears would turn completely red. Just now, he had been cornered by Chu Ci at the judgment platform and couldn’t move, and in front of the Star Network, there had been hand-holding and confessions, a barrage of mortifying love lines said recklessly. He must be embarrassed, so he disguised himself as an egg to avoid looking at Chu Ci.

A faint smile spread across Chu Ci’s face.

The presiding judge and the assistant were still outside, flipping through the records left by Qu Xia, trying to figure out how to establish a link with an egg. Their brows were tightly furrowed, and the rustle of pages reached Chu Ci’s ears clearly. He tapped the electrode pad and said, “No need to trouble yourselves. I know how to get him out.”

When it came to coaxing a female monarch hiding in his shell, Chu Ci always had a way.

He picked up the egg, suddenly leaned down, and kissed the shell.

At first, it was a light kiss, lips touched and then separated. Then he intensified it, lingering longer. Finally, he even pressed closer and audibly smacked the shell with a wet kiss.

“—Mwah.”

On the display, the egg shook violently, then slowly began to blush, growing redder and redder until it was fully flushed.

It looked like the egg was about to cook.

Outside, the machine let out a sharp alarm.

The presiding judge rubbed his forehead: “…Lord Chu Ci, the mental sea is overloaded. The lie detector is warning you, please be gentle.”

Chu Ci chuckled softly, returned the egg to the crib, and squatted down, staring at it.

The egg stiffened slightly, then slowly inched backward, as if some monstrous flood were in front of it. Chu Ci watched it back away until it bumped the crib wall, and he chuckled, pressing his warm fingertip on the egg.

He spoke deliberately, his tone strangely dangerous: “Nuo Wei, are you trying to avoid your male lord?”