It had to be said that working with an old partner was a truly stress-free experience.
As the secretary to two consecutive High Hegemons, Klein often resolved issues on his own without needing Sacdi to provide detailed explanations when handling tedious affairs. One pending item after another was cleared at high speed, nearly doubling their previous work efficiency.
For a few fleeting moments, the Core species almost felt a sense of nostalgia for life in the Red Deer Palace.
Living in the Swarm's territory had certain advantages, such as being unrestrained and following one's whims. However, having to personally oversee every little thing to prevent those insects from performing some incomprehensible feat was a separate, headache-inducing reality. Minor conflicts that would be inconsequential in human territory often escalated into serious accidents when involving this group of interstellar brigands who were prone to exploding at the slightest provocation.
For instance, when the Armed species fought.
The Grey-Winged tribe always maintained a united front and a frenzied, pack-like momentum when facing other swarms. Yet, when it came to internal disputes, they were just as likely to beat each other bloody without yielding an inch.
Sacdi recalled a time he had rushed to the scene after receiving an urgent report, only to find the entire training area splattered with blood. All the females were locked in a biting melee, some flashing their wings while others entered their xenomorphic states. The black Core species had to pick up the culprits and give them a thorough thrashing until they started chirping in submission.
The good news: his inexplicable prestige increased.
The bad news: he still had to rely on violence.
It was exhausting. Love and peace were inapplicable most of the time.
During his time on Kamlan, Sacdi experienced the long-lost atmosphere of social etiquette. There were no mornings where heads were ripped off over a disagreement, nor evenings where a group of bruised and swollen insects stood before him to be lectured. It was such a refreshing and pleasant living environment.
This was truly living.
Then, this life came to a screeching halt at dawn a few days later.
Klein hammered on Sacdi’s door in a state of sheer panic. The female insect, who had been sleeping soundly while holding his partner, thought some cataclysm had occurred or perhaps the humans staying on Kamlan had started a brawl with the insects. He scrambled out of bed and yanked the door open.
"What happened?"
He looked at his old partner, whose hair was flying in all directions and who was nonsensically clutching an empty bowl, his mind filled with massive question marks. At this moment, less than two star-hours had passed since they had ended their meeting and returned to their respective quarters to rest.
"They... them... ah!"
The secretary, looking like he was sleepwalking, appeared incoherent and displayed signs of extreme terror.
This should probably be counted as a workplace injury, or perhaps an unexpected stroke of bad luck.
As matters regarding the trade zone gradually got onto the right track, Sacdi continued to drive everyone to work at an exhausting pace as usual. He was anxious to finish the tasks at hand so he could immediately set out to explore the planet Arthur had discovered; he also wanted to personally examine the model remains of Kamlan. Consequently, he was utterly relentless when ordering people around.
Meetings lasting until midnight became the norm, and Kai and Arthur were forced into a grueling "007" work schedule alongside them. The middle-grade female insect wailed loudly without shedding a tear, but that didn't stop him from immediately picking up the rhythm and beginning to cheerfully make friends with the humans. A sycophant would quickly establish a social network anywhere.
In contrast, the blue-eyed youth was much more composed.
Arthur had been in an obviously good mood these past few days. No matter how late they worked, he showed no signs of fatigue. He introduced the heads of the Federation's remnant garrisons to both parties and arranged suitable personnel for the expansion of specific engineering projects.
When yet another work meeting concluded, the young human waved and walked in a direction opposite to the garrison's rest area. "See you tomorrow."
It was nearly dawn. Among the crowd of withered, haggard faces, his high-spirited and pristine appearance—looking as if he had just stepped onto a stage—was far too absurd.
"Aren't you going back to rest?" Sacdi asked instinctively. He began to suspect the youth was experiencing some sort of terminal lucidity.
From what he knew, people who worked under him often displayed split-personality traits: one moment they were deathly still, the next they were anxious and irritable, and at other times, they were hyper-energetic and active. The former Imperial Finance Minister and several Legion Commanders used to be shaking hands and laughing one second, only to be pulling each other's hair the next, as if they had developed bipolar disorder.
"Clark is waiting for me. I'm going to find him first." Arthur’s expression was normal. He explained with a smile and then turned to leave quickly.
Klein’s reaction, however, was much more grounded in reality. "I haven't had dinner yet. It looks like I can only wait for the morning to arrive."
The middle-aged person in charge of the Kamlan garrison nearby also laughed. "This discussion was indeed too long. Let me take you to the canteen. The kitchen there can be used normally no matter how late it is. Some simple meals can still be provided quickly."
And so, after finishing the meeting with Sacdi regarding subsequent work arrangements, Klein—who had detoured due to hunger—was walking with a bowl of food he had just gotten from the garrison canteen when he collided with his miserable fate at a corridor corner.
To be precise, it was a pair of miserable fates.
The gentle, low tone of the Grey-Winged Sub-King was too recognizable. Even though the other party wasn't speaking the Human Common Tongue at the moment, it still sounded pleasant to the listener. In contrast, the human youth's voice was much more lively and happy. They were conversing in the Insect Common Tongue, which fell upon the ears of the bewildered passerby as indecipherable, fragmented syllables.
"I'm begging you."
The youth, clinging to the other while acting spoiled, displayed the same "sticky candy" persistence he had as a child, tightly hugging the older man. "Your refusal is breaking my heart."
Clark was almost driven to laughter by exasperation. "No. And you are not allowed to use honorifics. Go back to sleep immediately... mm."
Like a blissful puppy, the youth leaned down and kissed the other's palm. The kiss made the fierce-looking but soft-hearted female insect shudder instantly.
"I won't give up until you agree."
Lake-blue eyes flicked upward, looking at the other from below with a perfectly calculated expression of entreaty, feigning sadness as if on the verge of tears.
"Just once. Just one time is enough."
"Without your love, I can't even maintain my heartbeat; I've even lost the strength to breathe. Like dew to a morning rose, without it, I shall quietly wither away."
It had to be said that the human's expression management could serve as a textbook sample for every idol in the Imperial entertainment industry. He played the part so perfectly that even though the recipient of this "tea-like" behavior was well aware of the trick, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsher.
"Don't say such things."
Any words involving ominous implications brought fear. Even if they expressed a convoluted affection, it was enough to make Clark tighten his arms. He spoke softly. "You will live a long, long time, healthy and happy."
Perhaps he was dazed from the pestering; otherwise, there was no way to explain why the usually vigilant Grey-Winged Sub-King failed to notice the approaching footsteps and the human scent.
When the secretary turned the corner, he happened to see the silver-grey female insect lower his head with a look of hesitation. With a speed almost too fast to recognize, he gave the youth—who was clinging to him fervently—a very light, fleeting kiss.
Klein’s entire bowl of rice slammed onto the floor.
The unlucky, honest man seemed to have turned into Lot’s wife, transformed into a dry, rigid pillar of salt simply because he had caught a glimpse of something while fleeing Sodom. This scene was far too difficult to comprehend for a rigid dogmatist in his fifties.
The pair, startled by the noise, looked up instantly.
Those silver-grey insect wings unfurled instinctively, shielding the youth between them in an aggressive posture, while a long, powerful whip-tail coiled nearby.
"Please don't be afraid."
Seeing who it was, Arthur softly comforted his raiser, his fingers stroking the wings that were poised for action. "During our last meeting, I briefly introduced you to him."
He then turned to Klein, his expression natural, without a trace of panic or fear, as if he were merely greeting him with "the weather is nice today."
"I apologize for the fright. Please allow me to make a more formal introduction, though you have seen each other many times before."
"The Sub-King of the Grey-Winged tribe, Clark," Arthur said. "My partner."
One sentence shattered the other two.
The silver-grey female insect froze instantly at the sudden "partner" label dropped on his head. He looked anxious and possessed a trace of indiscernible shame, looking as if he wanted to turn and leave immediately.
As for the secretary, he had lost the ability to comprehend. His mind was thundering with nothingness. The phrase the other had once mentioned—"I will introduce my partner to you the next time we meet"—now became a boomerang that struck him until he was dizzy.
"I also apologize for disturbing your rest," the man who had picked up his bowl replied slowly with a wooden face. In reality, his soul had already left his body, flying to a height unreachable by humans, but his years of instinct in handling people remained in his body, triggering an automatic response. "I wish you a wonderful night."
The secretary, who had no idea what he had just said, held his bowl with a sleepwalking expression and turned toward another direction. At first, his pace was steady and mechanical, then he walked faster and faster, until finally, he was sprinting down the deep corridors of the Kamlan garrison base.
Thus, when the morning light embraced the entire garrison base, the Core species' door was hammered with earth-shattering force.
"They... Isn't the Grey-Winged Sub-King Simmons' foster father?!" The collapsing man tightly gripped the nonsensical bowl he had brought from the canteen kitchen as if it were a lifeline. "I saw them k... k...!"
Sacdi: "..."
Gera, poking his head out from behind Sacdi, looked at the black female insect blocking the doorway, then at the secretary whose mental worldview had completely crumbled and could not be reconstructed in the short term.
"!!"
The male insect said nothing, but his expression said everything.
The Core species wordlessly pulled Gera in front of him, embracing his little partner whose tail was wagging frantically with excitement, and gently pinched that eager mouth.
"You are not allowed to speak."
His chest was pressed against the other's back, feeling the small, white wings fluttering incessantly. "And you are not allowed to use your mental power to investigate. Have some mercy."
The male insect laughed. "I wouldn't do such a thing." He nudged Sacdi gently, emitting a few soft, melodic hums. "I'm just a little bit surprised."
The Core species, with a heavy expression, poked his old friend with the tip of his tail, making a gesture as if patting his shoulder. "Calm down. You're about to wake the whole base with your door-slamming. You should know that most humans are still asleep at this hour."
A mouth at normal temperature often spoke the coldest, most heartless words.
"And... yes, it is exactly as you saw."
"You'd better accept it as soon as possible."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 亚王虫 | Sub-King | A high-ranking insect rank below the King/Queen. |
| 核心种 | Core species | A high-level genetic group of insects. |
| 雄虫 | Male insect | In this setting, often the rarer/protected gender of the insect race. |
| 雌虫 | Female insect | In this setting, often the warrior/worker gender of the insect race. |
| 007 | 007 | Chinese slang for working from 00:00 to 24:00, 7 days a week. |
| 茶 | Tea-like / Green Tea | Refers to manipulative, feigned innocence (from "Green Tea Bitch"). |
| 伴侣 | Partner / Mate | Used here to denote a romantic/life partner. |
| 灰翅族群 | Grey-Winged tribe | One of the insect ethnic groups. |
| 武装种 | Armed species | A classification of insects focused on combat. |
| 中等种 | Middle-grade species | A classification of insects based on genetic rank. |
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