The exhausted white male Zerg returned to the nest and collapsed into his mate’s embrace.
The setup for all the minor Information Nests across the charted planets was finally complete, but the administrative and distributional affairs remained tedious and long-winded. The Flash-pattern and Pincer species had pushed hard to install a large number of female Zerg as administrators, but Gera had remained unyielding regarding the quota for male Zerg positions.
Across the third and fourth quadrants, a synchronized operation was underway to purge the raiders drifting through the cosmos. Sarkdi occasionally needed to oversee these efforts personally, which meant the two of them had spent much of this half-cycle frequently separated for short periods.
On the matter of eradicating raiders, the Core species and the armored units of the Gray-winged tribe had reached a consensus.
Kleiman had fully demonstrated what it meant to be single-minded. Once he made a promise, he immediately set about figuring out how to implement it, using their home planet as a starting point to systematically settle scores with those bandits who struck and fled.
This task happened to align perfectly with Sarkdi’s expertise. When it came to flushing out Zerg from hidden nooks and crannies, no one was more proficient than him.
Large numbers of wandering Zerg drifting aimlessly through the universe posed a significant hidden danger. Now that all the core genetic tribes were being woven into a unified alliance, Sarkdi had begun the work of uprooting the raiders who remained outside the fold.
These interstellar outlaws didn't just rob Zerg; they occasionally preyed on humans as well. In their eyes, everything was something to be devoured or plundered. Letting such creatures run wild across the world was no different from leaving a field of buried landmines.
Having recently acquired enough Zerg from other tribes, Sarkdi moved with maximum speed to break down and reorganize these new recruits, beginning to build a force that belonged entirely to the Alliance.
The Gray-winged armored species was a precision blade, but the newly formed Alliance needed its own military force with a broad membership base. Otherwise, if the Gray-winged had to be deployed for every single dispute, Clark would likely tear his head off without hesitation.
The black female Zerg had once requested information from the Sub-King of the Flash-pattern species.
It was a very brief description, devoid of images or video, occupying almost no memory at all. It detailed a small group that had been forced to migrate after losing a power struggle, only to be wiped out by a large-scale raider fleet. They never reached the core territory of the Flash-pattern species to reunite with their kin.
Gera, who had opened the file much later, said nothing after reading the data.
However, during that period, the white male Zerg often woke up startled in the middle of the night.
In the silence of the dark night, Sarkdi would hear his mate’s faint weeping. He would fold his wings, tucking the male into his embrace, kissing him tenderly and stroking his trembling body.
The soul and consciousness are wondrous yet contradictory things.
Just as Sarkdi had once loathed the inherent flaws of humanity and the helplessness of his own body lying on a hospital bed, he ultimately had to admit that he still deeply loved that race.
Gera stubbornly maintained that the Zerg knew no love or hate and would not be troubled by the past.
But in reality, a quiet nest, old and mottled walls, the rustle of swaying leaves, an empty hollow, or even a potted green plant brought from a Flash-pattern planet could make him suddenly realize—on an utterly ordinary afternoon or late at night—the fact that a part of his own blood and kin had long since vanished from the universe.
He could no longer find his brothers or relatives anywhere.
Fortunately, time is the most effective corrective tape. It covers up once-deep wounds, allowing the stinging details to gradually blur.
As Gera slowly regained his spirits, he threw himself into the work of setting up Information Nests in the first and second quadrants. He had lost his own small tribe long ago, but those other Flash-pattern males needed a better environment to survive.
This also meant that the white male Zerg, who had been arguing incessantly with the other Sub-Kings lately, felt exhausted every hour of every day.
He suddenly understood Sarkdi’s daily urge to flip the table. The drudgery of work was a soul-crushing mask.
The Flash-pattern Sub-King had tried every trick to install his own direct female subordinates into the Information Nest’s operational system. His ulterior motives were so transparent that Gera had shut him down on the spot.
The director of the Great Information Nest had smiled while speaking in circles, politely conveying only one core idea: it was absolutely impossible. The Information Nests would prioritize male Zerg, as well as disabled or elderly female Zerg.
Not a single young, able-bodied direct subordinate would be accepted.
Back in the nest, Gera clung tightly to the Core-type Zerg, taking a deep breath and frantically inhaling the familiar scent of his pheromones. He nuzzled against the other’s arms, not wanting to say a single word, yet his physical instincts drove him to seek comfort.
Sarkdi chuckled.
Before the black female Zerg could mischievously pinch those weak, fluttering little wings, a sound echoed in the nest.
"Ji?"
Immediately after, a Zerg rushed over, wagging his tail and lunging into Gera’s arms. A pair of arms hugged him tight, and a small scaled tail swept back and forth rapidly.
Liber was currently on the threshold between childhood and sub-adulthood. His body had grown a size larger than before; when he looked up, he reached just to Gera’s shoulder blades. Having witnessed the entire interaction, the Zergling squeezed in hurriedly, wanting to join the cuddle session.
Sarkdi’s approach to childcare followed a rough, free-range principle where anything could be a toy. The big one and the little one would squat in the nest, snapping wood and digging in the dirt. The man’s overly powerful manual skills allowed him to carve out parts of various sizes, piecing together a mecha model that earned him countless "wow"s of admiration.
Their nest was also piled with numerous carvings of little horses, cows, and dogs. There were two small tooth marks on a cat-shaped piece of wood—a masterpiece from two years ago when Liber, still entirely in his childhood mindset, had stuffed the toy into his mouth.
The Zergling’s scales were glossy and beautiful, a flowing silver-gray—the result of careful nurturing. This Zerg’s mimicry had clearly inherited the superior genes of the Flash-pattern species; even before reaching sub-adulthood, he could already retract all his stray limbs and feelers.
However, his habit of chirping whenever he saw his kin had never been corrected.
Only newly born Zerglings were supposed to make those peeping, cooing, and mewling sounds. When Liber had been stranded in the territory of the Pedipalp species in his early years, he had been kept by a male Zerg named Greta. However, Greta had struggled so painfully to raise three larvae that he had no energy to teach them anything beyond basic Common Tongue.
Consequently, some of the Zergling’s vocal habits had never been fixed.
Thus, he would chirp at Clark and Arthur, and he would chirp at Gera and Sarkdi as well.
The Gray-winged Sub-King had originally intended to steer this habit back onto the right track. But when the larva crawled onto him, kissing and nuzzling the Sub-King while rubbing his head against the ferocious beast and letting out a faint hum, the stern-faced Clark, who had been attempting to educate him, ultimately met his defeat.
The Sub-King, his weakness thoroughly exploited, held his ground for exactly one minute before giving up the struggle.
The human, who happened to be on the home planet at the time, witnessed the whole scene and burst out laughing. The annoyed silver-gray female Zerg gently swept the human away with his tail, only to be embraced by Arthur the next second.
"Please don't be angry."
The human held the two silver-gray Zerg, one large and one small, his gentle voice carrying unmistakable mirth. "Please give me a kiss. I want to cuddle with you too."
It was a crushing defeat.
Whenever the Sub-King faced the blue-eyed youth, his heart would harden every time, only to crumble every time.
The lessons on proper address also met with failure at an unimaginable speed.
Liber would stay with Clark for two days, then run to Sarkdi’s side for another two, still calling out with a mess of coos and chirps. The young male was quick and clever when learning other aspects of the Common Tongue, understanding new knowledge after hearing it only a few times, yet he would still make those sounds at his kin whenever he was nervous or happy.
Now, the Zergling climbed into Gera’s arms with practiced ease, his little scaled tail wagging gently.
The white male Zerg, having just returned to the nest, felt his face flush and his temperature rise. The administrator of the Great Information Nest hadn't expected the larva to be sent over at this time. He had lunged into Sarkdi’s arms to act spoiled the moment he walked in, not forgetting to rub some pheromones off his partner, only to be caught red-handed.
It was truly a loss of his dignified image as a guardian.
"Liber is here so early?" Gera asked softly, stroking the larva’s head. He tried to cover up his immature side.
However, Sarkdi was truly wicked to the core.
The tall Core-type Zerg scooped up his partner, along with the Zergling in his arms. His powerful arms wrapped around those drooping, beautiful white wings, holding Gera entirely in his embrace.
Suddenly lifted high, Liber exclaimed, "Oh!"
The albino Zerg, turning pink all over from shyness, was startled. His slender scaled tail lashed against Sarkdi several times.
"Put me down!" Gera’s wings fluttered. Liber’s curious gaze made him overheat instantly. "How can you be so mean!"
As it turned out, Sarkdi could be even meaner.
The rascal of a Core-type Zerg laughed and walked toward the door, egging the little Zergling on as he went. "En and Enna are back. Do you want to see them?"
"Yes!" Without a moment's hesitation, Liber’s tail wagged furiously.
He also liked En and Enna very much. The male of the two brothers would hug and kiss him every time they met and bring him many strange little trinkets. Unfortunately, they were often away from the home planet, frequently heading to distant places for duty.
By now, he understood what "work" and "duty" meant. For a male Zerg, those were good words.
"Then give Roxanne a kiss." The black whip-like tail swayed leisurely behind him as Sarkdi pushed his mischief even further. "If he agrees, I’ll take you there. *Ji*."
"Don't you dare make that sound!" The adult male Zerg, driven to distraction by the other’s "ji," struggled to jump down, his tail coiling and uncoiling in agitation.
But Liber’s execution was swift. Tucked in Gera’s arms, the Zergling quickly kissed his kin, refusing to let go of the male’s neck. "Want to see En!"
He took Gera’s hand and placed it on his own head, nuzzling it like a kitten while maintaining an utterly serious expression. "Roxanne, let's go see En."
Gera: "..."
The white male Zerg was also defeated at lightning speed. He and Clark were neck-and-neck in the speed of their downfall.
Sarkdi burst into loud laughter.
The black female Zerg finally found his conscience and set his partner and the Zergling down. He pressed close to Gera, entining their tails, and leaned down to kiss his weary mate.
"Are you tired? If you're tired, rest for a bit. I'll take Liber over."
"I'm going too," Gera said. He was still shy from the moment before, the scales on his exposed tail looking quite pink.
As a genetically defective specimen, he would never have his own Zergling. For a species like the Zerg that placed such emphasis on reproduction, this was a fact that almost entirely contradicted nature.
"I haven't seen En and Enna in a long time. I miss them a little."
Fortunately, the male Zerg was surrounded by a circle of "black sheep" who had left the flock. Whether it was the Gray-winged Sub-King who chose to spend his life with a human, the short-winged administrator who placed his love for his partner above the instinct to care for larvae, or En and Enna who spent their lives rooted on the front lines of conflict—all of these Zerg, to some extent, struggled against their own nature by choice.
And so, he was no longer anxious.
Becoming cheerful, Gera wagged his tail and took hold of his partner’s arm.
Sarkdi held Gera with one hand and, with the other, reached down to pick up the larva, whose expression looked very serious even as his little scaled tail wagged like a blur.
The larva, having received so much love, was no longer afraid of being held. Once lifted, he automatically clung tightly to the Core-type Zerg.
Sarkdi let him sit on his shoulders.
"Let's go," he said. "I'll give you a horsey ride."
***
