"You look very beautiful!"
As the Core Race male adjusted his coat for the fifth time, the male insect, infected by his partner's nervousness, finally couldn't help but speak up to comfort him.
Sakedi let out a short laugh.
He had no intention of correcting his partner's use of Human Common; most Zerg, when praising another, did not weigh their adjectives with any sense of gendered distinction. Beautiful wings, a beautiful tail-whip, a beautiful xenogeneic state... to them, "beautiful" and "pretty" were synonyms for "powerful."
Only a healthy Zerg would possess lustrous, bright wings and scales; malnourished ones mostly appeared dull and grey.
"I just want to be more formal," Sakedi said softly.
His signature golden-brown eyes had been replaced by pure black. This was the first time in his life he had used an iris adjuster, and the experience of temporarily changing his pupil color was quite novel.
As far as he knew, some idle nobles loved to fuss over their appearance; their hair and pupil styles were more varied than a chameleon's. In earlier times, people liked to use "black boxes" to completely sculpt a false face, but for certain specific reasons, that practice was strictly banned after being popular for a while.
"And me?"
Gela sat beside him, waiting for the final port verification, his tail standing straight up. The male insect had almost forgotten how to use his respiratory slits; once his omnipotent partner showed signs of seriousness and uncertainty, he couldn't help but tense up as well. "Do I... look like I fit the human aesthetic?"
"You have always been the brightest star."
The Core Race male tapped his tail against his partner's. He covered Gela’s hand, which was resting uneasily on the chair, his praise devoid of any lewd undertones. "Beautiful, resilient, and powerful."
Three Alpha-class battleships and seven frigates were the maximum specifications allowed by the humans for passage.
In contrast, the Empire's approach was much more blunt; they had directly brought out the *Red Tai Sui*. In a sense, it was a reunion of old acquaintances.
After a short wait, the passage through the Time River was unlocked.
This was the first time since the establishment of the entire Galactic Inner Ring Network that the human capital planet and the habitat planets of the ten Core Gene Zerg races were connected simultaneously.
The moment the warships entered the "river," the sensation of dizziness made Gela tense his body again.
This spatial leap, inherited from the Akashic Rift and ignoring the laws of physics, truly made the traveler feel as if they had been sucked into a vacuum pump, a terrible physical sensation sufficient to scramble one's brains.
He gripped Sakedi’s palm tightly and did not let go.
Once the buzzing auditory reception system and the flickering vision returned to normal, Gela saw everything projected on the bridge.
On the other side of the deep-space corridor, a crimson giant ship floated quietly in space. Between the humans and the Zerg stood that steel fortress garrisoned by the Federation remnants.
The Graveyard of Stars remained as it was centuries ago. Broken planets and pollution-soaked lands were like half-closed eyes, staring at the visitors who had stepped foot here once more.
Some civilizations had been destroyed in the long passage of time, while other newborn civilizations had just begun to emerge. Everything in this universe was constantly changing shape, seemingly whispering a truth: change is the only eternal constant.
However, in this silent land of death, even time no longer flowed.
Every planet turned to ruin preserved the scenery of centuries past. The parts completely caught in the "tides" no longer interacted with the world, nor were they illuminated by the rising and falling of stars; they presented a state of total void.
Other lands lightly brushed by pollution retained the sights of old days, as if the people who once lived there had simply fallen asleep and forgotten to wake up. The tables, chairs, and buildings that signaled human presence remained as they were in their final moments, static vessels waiting for ghosts that would never return.
This was the first time in nearly five Great Cycles that Gela had stepped into Kamlan.
He had once been abandoned by his swarm on a barren planet, spending a long and difficult time there before being taken onto a small smuggling ship by scavengers roaming the universe.
To him, Kamlan was like a vast, hollow tomb, and the beginning of a great suffering.
Until Sakedi took his hand.
The Core Race male’s fingers gripped his firmly, not giving him a single chance to feel bewildered.
"That is where Arthur lives."
A soothing, low voice slowly explained things to him. Sakedi looked at him with a smile. "The last time we came here, we unloaded an entire ship of Star Core energy."
"The humans completely terraformed planets that were originally uninhabitable, building a fortress of steel. They have been stationed here long-term to intercept the Xenogeneic Tides."
"Humans are very impressive," the male insect said softly. He felt a slight roughness on the back of his hand; no matter how submissive a female's skin and scales appeared, they would always be harder than a male's. "Even we don't want to approach the Graveyard of Stars, yet they took root in this land and persisted in living here."
"Indeed, they are impressive. Humans are very impressive."
A rustling laugh brushed past Gela’s ear, causing his negative emotions to gradually subside.
He knew his partner was trying hard to distract him and make him happy. Sakedi was deliberately telling strange and quirky stories in a gentle tone.
"And soon you will meet the most impressive among them. The Empress—I mean Evelyn—she will like you very much. But be careful of the traps in her words; whatever you do, do not engage in deep discussions with her about egg incubation or anything related to pheromones."
He had a premonition that once his troublesome friend caught an opportunity, things would become very dire. A heap of dead memories was stirring, ready to attack him at any moment.
Gela: "???"
The concerns and focus of humans were truly shocking to a Zerg.
By the time they detached from the fleet and landed on the ground, the male insect was still deeply confused by a worldview that had been refreshed several times.
Sakedi told him some other interesting stories. Often, Gela couldn't understand why human friendships were so full of the smell of gunpowder.
But these chaotic thoughts were soon interrupted by Arthur Simmons, who was walking toward them.
A meeting of this caliber should have followed a series of tedious protocols and etiquette. However, the Zerg never excessively pursued a sense of ritual in such matters, and the current Empress of humanity was someone who extremely disliked formalism.
Thus, the two parties making first contact reached a strange consensus to keep everything simple.
The humans who had arrived at Kamlan first had already entered the Long Hall. As a third-party member, Arthur personally went to the orbital lift to welcome the Grey-wing group.
From head to tail, it had been nearly one Great Cycle since they had last met in person.
The young man, having returned to the human side, looked quite well-recovered, no longer appearing pale and sickly as he once did.
He showed no awkwardness facing Kelake and his friends. Even when he saw the cold-faced Kliman, he fully displayed his attributes as a "social butterfly," politely greeting him.
The Sub-King remained expressionless.
Kelake’s wings were tucked behind him, and his silver-grey tail-whip hung low. He maintained a very serious and formal demeanor to show his stance.
But the human did nothing out of line.
"The Empress arrived before you," the young man said with a smile. "She expressed a desire for both parties to meet once before the formal negotiations begin."
"If you agree, I think now is the perfect time."
"Fine."
The silver-grey female’s voice carried a slight rasp, and his fingers curled at his side.
The human did not act as imagined, nor did he rush forward with reckless passion as he had in every past encounter. Instead, he spoke calm words that fit social etiquette.
Confessions over a comms link were vastly different from a face-to-face gaze. A Zerg’s scent glands could feel the warmth and breath of a living person—sensations that cold light particles could not provide.
His ward had unknowingly grown into a solid, steady man. This made him feel a slight sense of loss, as if he had been left behind by time as it strode forward.
"I want to see her too, to see them," Sakedi said, once again slightly adjusting his clothes and weapon belt.
Once, he had been chased and scolded by Marshal Ye Ciyuan for his slouching manner. This habit hadn't improved much over the years, only getting better after he took office.
"I'll take you there," Arthur said.
The group of humans who had entered the Long Hall first remained silent, seemingly waiting for the other party's arrival.
Because the Empress had not taken her seat, the other attendants, represented by the secretaries, also stood waiting. In fact, when the supreme ruler did not speak, everyone felt a certain degree of pressure.
With just one glance, the woman standing in the center captured all of Gela’s attention.
She was a tall woman.
Her height of six-foot-five gave her a natural sense of oppression. With long fiery red hair and green eyes, even when covered by solemn attire, one could still see her vigorous limbs and the muscular lines containing great power. Her beauty was filled with the most primitive and wild vitality, like a fire burning beneath the surface of the water.
It was hard for the male insect to piece together her appearance from Sakedi’s sporadic past descriptions, but at this moment, all the tiny details materialized, leaving a deep impression in an indelible way.
It was a form of intimidation unrelated to age, gender, or status.
When her gaze swept over, Gela felt a slight suffocation and fear.
He tasted a scent like the deep sea.
Zerg were far more sensitive to the pressure of superiors than other species. It was just like the feeling when Sakedi had first crouched down to look at him on the scavenger ship with an expressionless face.
Power meant composure, and it also meant a steadiness unmoved by external things. Those creatures standing at the apex of predators no longer feared most things in this universe, because very few things could truly harm them.
Gela tightly held the Core Race male’s hand, then tried his best to calmly look back at her.
If he could bravely face the *Red Tai Sui*, then he could also face the Human Empress and Sakedi’s friend.
The quiet air stagnated for a moment until the young man attending the meeting as a third party broke the deadlock.
"I don't think you need me to provide any more self-introductions."
Arthur seemed not to notice the heavy atmosphere, smiling gently to deflect the sharp edges of both sides and dissolve the awkward silence.
"I have met with His Excellency Klein too many times, and thus have lost a portion of my precious mystery."
He naturally stood on the side of the Zerg, beside the silver-grey female.
"But next, please allow me to fulfill my duties as a translator. Kelake, the Sub-King of the Grey-wing swarm, my..."
The pale grey pupils dilated slightly for an instant, but the immovable image was maintained so well that no one noticed the trace of unease leaking from the female.
Kelake did not speak to interrupt; he went still because of the young man’s tiny pause.
"...Nurturer."
As if not noticing the anomaly, the young man fluently continued his words, the polite smile never leaving his face. Then he turned to the black Core Race male and the white male insect standing just as tightly by his side.
"And Sa of the Energy Star, and Roxanne, the manager of the Great Information Nest."
"I am very pleased to come to Kamlan at the invitation of the Grey-wing swarm."
As the current Empress took a step forward, her voice was clear and steady.
"On behalf of the Empire and its people, I extend greetings to the garrison of Kamlan and the Grey-wing swarm."
Evelyn and Kelake touched palms in a common gesture of etiquette. This was the first time the supreme leaders of both sides had met face-to-face to break a relationship that had dropped below freezing point after nearly half a century of conflict.
"Humanity once received help from the Grey-wing swarm. I am delighted that we are about to sit at the same negotiating table once again."
In the early stages of the Time River's construction, some Core Gene races had conditionally provided technical keys, which became the prerequisite for both sides to reach a trade consensus and hold peace talks.
Then she turned to Sakedi and Gela.
"Sa of the Energy Star, and Roxanne."
The greeting itself was unremarkable, but Gela tasted a hint of goodwill.
The woman reached out her hand, no longer in the form of a brief touch, but in a handshake.
This was a pure human greeting ritual.
When Gela gently took that hand, the green eyes that had made him feel slightly afraid a moment ago were now watching him tenderly.
There was no unsettling scrutiny or appraisal, nor was there judgment or evaluation.
Just like looking at a friend returning from a long journey, she revealed a faint smile.
"I have always hoped to meet you," Evelyn said.
***
