SZAR Chapter 83

At lunchtime, the staff at the appraisal center had no time to eat. Between them lay piles of documents, the morning’s results that needed to be entered and the afternoon’s appointments.

His Excellency Chu Ci’s promotion to S-rank had an enormous impact. Countless low-ranking female and male zergs flooded the center, hoping for a fortune, a single bike turning into a motorcycle.

But ranks weren’t that easy to climb.

The center ran hundreds of tests a day. Appointment slots were completely full, yet with all these insects, not a single one improved their rank. Instead, the staff worked tirelessly, almost to the point of exhaustion.

One staff member responsible for entering appointments groaned and pressed his head in frustration. “Another male insect?!”

The appraisal center feared male insects above all. Female insects, even when dissatisfied with results, retained basic reasoning. But male insects were spoiled, dreaming grandly of rank advancement. A minor dissatisfaction could cause chaos, leaving the center in turmoil.

He slumped back in his chair. “Still only an A-rank male insect. He’s already at the top! He can’t possibly think he’s His Excellency Chu Ci!”

A male insect like His Excellency Chu Ci, how many years would it take to see one?

The team leader carried his coffee, slowly passing behind the staff, glancing at the appointment list. He exclaimed in surprise, “Is it him?”

He added slowly, “If it is this noble, he might really make S-rank.”

Chu Xiu’s test had been overseen personally by the team leader.

Once the black-haired, handsome male insect was pushed into the testing pod, the progress bar representing his rank soared upward at an unbelievable speed: surpassing D in just two seconds, exceeding C within thirty seconds, and reaching parity with B-rank around 180 seconds.

For context, before His Excellency Chu Ci appeared on the scene, the previous A-rank male insect took a full ten minutes to cross the B-rank threshold.

Then the noble in the testing pod approached A-rank, also only taking about 180 seconds.

Using mental energy is a process of gradual exhaustion, a bit like releasing water from a fully inflated balloon: at first, it gushes out rapidly, then slows steadily, slower and slower, until the last drop trickles out. The balloon’s capacity represents the level of mental energy.

But Chu Xiu was different.

His speed never slowed. It was as if he wasn’t a reservoir storing water, but a rushing river, any drop released was immediately replenished, rolling endlessly, boundless and unstoppable. And the A-rank threshold was right before his eyes.

At that moment, the team leader thought this might not just be A, it could be an S-rank noble. Only the mental sea of an S-rank noble could be so vast and magnificent.

As the progress bar approached A, all the staff focused completely. They didn’t blink, their eyes glued to the bar, fingers trembling slightly, as if waiting for a miracle the Empire had long awaited.

Then, to everyone’s astonishment, the progress bar, carried by immense power, surged past the A-rank limit, then slammed to an abrupt stop, like a chicken with its neck pinched screaming in terror.

The bar halted sharply, landing just on A.

The team leader felt as if he had fallen into a dream.

He couldn’t understand where this sudden brake had come from. It completely violated the normal rules of the mental sea; it made no scientific sense. Yet the fact was right before his eyes. Ignoring the faint disappointment, he stepped forward and opened the pod. Before he could even congratulate the male insect, His Excellency had already dashed out.

He seemed urgently pressed for something, not even glancing at the female father beside him, leaping onto the aircraft and taking off. The team leader watched His Excellency disappear into the distance, exchanged a glance with a colleague, and rubbed his head.

The same question ran through both their minds:

What the hell was that sudden brake?

 ………………

Chu Xiu arrived punctually at two in the afternoon.

The officer from the Male Zerg Protection Association followed behind, watching as the male insect lay down in the testing pod.

He didn’t think Chu Xiu could reach S-rank.

Throughout history, S-rank zergs were far too rare. Each one was a treasure of the Empire. Chu Ci had just broken into S-rank, this rank wasn’t something like cabbage that could appear in clusters.

He clicked his tongue, glancing at the team leader and shrugged. “Male zergs have always been this arrogant.”

The team leader didn’t have time to respond. He carefully checked all the equipment, then personally pulled down the main control. If anyone were watching closely, they could see his fingers trembling slightly.

In an instant, the testing pod emitted a prompt tone.

The team leader looked up. The D-rank baseline had already been exceeded, even faster than last time.

Under their gaze, the progress bar surged. In the blink of an eye it surpassed C, then shot straight for B-rank. Several of the Male Zerg Protection Association attendants gasped, this speed was faster than many female zergs.

Unsurprisingly, the bar broke through A.

The team leader silently prayed, hands clasped together: “No sudden brakes, no screaming chicken, no sudden brakes, no screaming chicken…”

This time, the progress bar climbed without the slightest hesitation. In the astonished eyes of the Male Zerg Protection Association, it surged like a battering ram, breaking the highest baseline.

S-rank!

The Empire’s second S-rank noble!

The team leader, thrilled, grabbed the officer’s hand and shook it twice. He flung open the testing pod, helping Chu Xiu out and offering the congratulatory phrases that had long been prepared.

The appraisal center was filled with joyous excitement.

Compared to them, Chu Xiu appeared exceptionally calm.

He looked at the officer steadily. “Can the case be filed now?”

“Of course, Your Excellency,” the officer nodded repeatedly. An S-rank male zerg had the highest privileges. Moreover, the evidence of Chu Dian’s attempted murder was conclusive. He had confessed personally, and the video was on record. The Male Zerg Protection Association had no reason to refuse Chu Xiu’s request.

He couldn’t help cursing under his breath: “Damn it, they almost caused the Empire to lose a valuable noble!”

Chu Xiu asked, “Then the two little female zergs at home, do you still intend to take them?”

The officer wiped his sweat. “No, of course not.”

Chu Dian and Chu Jin had attempted murder first; the twins killed Chu Jin afterward. According to the law, Chu Jin lost all personal rights on the night of the crime, so the twins were legally innocent.

The efficiency of the Male Zerg Protection Association was impressive. The officer dialed through his light-brain, and within minutes issued an arrest warrant for Chu Dian, while lifting all restrictions on Clement and Clancy. He then saluted Chu Xiu: “Your Excellency, we will take our leave now.”

Chu Xiu naturally nodded.

He walked out of the appraisal center alongside Yi Xi. Just as he was about to step outside, the team leader lunged forward, grabbing his sleeve.

The bald, middle-aged female insect’s eyes sparkled with fervor. Carefully, he said, “Your Excellency, I know this may be improper, but I’ve overseen appraisals for over twenty years and have never misjudged a rank. From the moment the test began, I could roughly tell your rank, but could you tell me why your first score was only A?”

Chu Xiu: “……”

He also said carefully, “Because I assumed the highest possible rank was only A.”

The team leader froze in place as Chu Xiu swiftly walked away.

………………

When the Male Zerg Protection Association arrived, Chu Dian was in the main hall of the Chu residence, placing fresh flowers on Chu Jin’s coffin.

Chu Jin had died from excessive blood loss. His body was blue and ghastly. Lying in the ornate coffin, Chu Dian sat beside it, weaving a daisy garland.

His movements were slow, fingers clumsy. Wrapping a garland around the coffin was impossible for the family head to do alone. At his feet, several female zergs knelt, bodies bent like cooked shrimp. Their hands moved quickly, manipulating the daisy stems. On close inspection, some stems still bore smudges of blood, left from when Chu Dian had recently struck someone.

He lifted his eyes to the Male Zerg Protection Association and asked, “Did you bring those two female zergs who killed my son?”

Before the officer could answer, Chu Dian steadied himself on his cane, trembling, and pointed at one of the kneeling females. “You, go bring the cages and whips I prepared. Then gather all the female insects in the hall.”

He threw the half-finished garland to the ground. “Let them see properly what happens to those lowly female insects who harmed my son.”

The female insects on the floor shrank back slightly.

It was a cage wrapped entirely in iron mesh. Standing inside would mean being cut by countless sharp wires. The whips all had barbs and were soaked in saltwater.

A female insect whispered, “Yes.”

Chu Dian tried to rise, but a hand pressed him down. The officer adjusted his cap and said, “No need.”

Chu Dian turned his neck. He had held one posture too long; the movement was heavy and stiff, almost like a zombie. His thick neck creaked, and his murky eyes fixed tightly on the officer. He asked in disbelief, “What? You didn’t bring them?”

Suddenly enraged, he slammed the table in front of him with a clang, grabbed the officer by the collar, and yanked him close. His eyes bulged like a frog’s, black-and-yellow teeth bared, exhaling a foul, turbulent breath. His mouth nearly touched the officer’s face.

“Useless! Is the Male Zerg Protection Association full of trash like you? Two female insects preparing for a second awakening, ha! You couldn’t even bring them back?”

His steps faltered as he paced the hall, waving his cane wildly. Then he jabbed it straight at the officer’s nose. “Damn it! You’re definitely covering for them. I want to file a complaint. I’ll complain to the Male Zerg Protection Association! A valued B-rank is dead, and this is how you handle things?”

The officer looked at him. “I’m afraid, Your Excellency, you can no longer file a complaint against me.”

He unfolded an official order and cleared his throat. “B-rank male zergs Chu Dian and Chu Jin conspired 4 months ago  to murder S-rank noble Chu Xiu. The evidence is conclusive. Our office has approved their arrest…”

Before he finished speaking, Chu Dian suddenly looked up at him.

His expression was even more ferocious than before, eyes bulging with rage. “What did you say?”

The officer repeated calmly.

Chu Dian refused to believe it. He lunged forward, seemingly intent on tearing the arrest warrant from the officer’s hands, but the officer stepped back and avoided him.

“His Excellency Chu Xiu placed cameras in your room and recorded your conversation with Chu Jin. The evidence is conclusive.”

He held the arrest warrant up to Chu Dian. “Your Excellency, look carefully.”

Chu Dian stared blankly.

Black ink on white paper, the bright red seal, there was no room for falsification.

He stepped back two paces and collapsed into a chair. A flicker of emotions crossed his face, finally settling into sheer disbelief.

The officer looked at him with pity and waved his hand. “Take him away.”

The head of the Chu family had lived in comfort all his life, but the rest of his days were now destined to be spent in exile.

He was led away like a lump of dead meat, muttering to himself words like “absurd” and “impossible.” It seemed that even in his last moments, he couldn’t believe that his timid, cowardly eldest son would dare defy him, and even less that the male insect he had treated as air, utterly useless, could become one of only two S-rank males in the Empire.

When did it start to change?

From the moment Chu Xiu didn’t get hit fatally and woke up in the hospital, everything had slipped out of his control.

Chu Dian shut his eyes tightly, revealing a trace of regret.

What was he regretting? Planning the car accident or… failing to kill Chu Xiu?

But none of that mattered anymore.

When Chu Xiu returned home, Clement and Clancy were standing confined in their small room. Without orders from a male insect, they didn’t even dare sleep on this side bed for a nap. Even though they had stayed awake all night, their wounds had gone untreated.

The TV in the living room was on. The news broadcast interrupted its schedule again, the announcer’s voice brimming with excitement.

“Lady Luck smiles once more! Just now, our Empire has welcomed the second S-rank noble…”

Clancy cracked open the bedroom door just a little and peeked outside. The S-rank noble from the news had already returned. Chu Xiu and Yi Xi were chatting and laughing at the doorway. Seeing the two little female zergs hiding behind the door, Chu Xiu walked over and pulled the door wide open.

“Come out.” He handed a new light-brain device to Clement, the old one had been broken in the forest, and gave Clancy another, instructing, “Remember to call Carey. He was scared out of his mind.”

Even as they were pushed out of the house by the male insect, boarding the transport and heading to Carey’s home with his brother, Clancy could hardly believe it.

He looked down at his own hands. The sunset fell across him, leaving orange-golden patches of light, beautiful, and warm.

Since his brother had been sent away, he hadn’t seen sunlight for nearly three months.

His Excellency Chu Xiu had not shown the slightest covetousness toward him or his brother. He had lightly sent them out, even instructing Clement to take care of Clancy’s school enrollment so he could attend school. And now they were going to Carey’s home: that kind, loving female zerg’s house, to live as his adopted children alongside another female zerg he had taken in.

This was a life Clancy hadn’t even dared imagine in his dreams.

He sat on the public transport, feeling the warmth of sunlight in his hands, and suddenly began to cry.

At first, small hiccuping sobs. Then sounds he couldn’t hold back. Finally, he hugged his brother and wept loudly, until passersby turned to look, but he did not stop.

Clement patted his back gently, whispering comfort: “It’s okay, brother, it’s okay. See, I told you His Excellency Chu Xiu is a good male zerg. He would save us.”

Clancy nodded heavily, leaning against his brother, finally managing to stop crying.

In the eyes of these two little female zergs and countless citizens of the Star Network, Chu Xiu had become a figure of awe and admiration.

To rescue two unrelated little female zergs, he had first descended from the sky in a aircraft, then braved criticism to advance in rank on the spot, and sent his own murderous father straight to prison. Not to mention his gentle kindness, his charitable foundation aiding countless others, and his harmonious life with his female monarch, every single act made him a model among male zergs.

⟦#Male Zergs should be like His Excellencies Chu Xiu and Chu Ci! ⟧

And in a place unseen by the crowd, the ‘grand and impressive’ His Excellency Chu Xiu quietly pushed open the study door. The moment Yi Xi looked over, he straightened up.

He looked at his female monarch, a stray tuft of hair flicking about, his expression a mix of caution and a little grievance.

“Yi Xi…”

The male zerg muttered softly, almost to himself: “Why are you sitting here in the study all alone?”

“I advanced to S. Aren’t you happy?”