Madness. Absolute madness.
The swarming insect tide that had been closing in was now scattering in every direction.
They were no longer like the era of the Broodmother, where they would charge forward in waves, fearless of death, to defend their King. There was no longer a King Insect to use a mental link for a forced summons; every direct Core Gene lineage now acted only for its own interests.
The few insects still lingering as spectators saw the main turrets of the crimson starship rising and chose to retreat at high speed.
It was no joke—the *Red Taisui* was equipped with the last Star-Devouring class weapon left by humanity, and it had carved a path into the King’s Nest several times in the past. Only a fool would go head-to-head with it. They only wanted to wander into their neighbor’s home to scavenge and claim some territory; they had no desire to get tangled up in such massive trouble by brawling with an old nemesis.
This could probably be considered the largest-scale diplomatic incident in history. The unannounced appearance of a human starship at the King Insect’s Nest was, by any definition, a harbinger of war.
Where was Evelyn? Would she set foot in this sector along with Klein?
For a moment, Sarkdi couldn't even tell if this was an autonomous action by the *Red Taisui* or if the Empire had suddenly decided to take advantage of the chaos to wipe out this long-loathed neighbor once and for all.
Sarkdi’s mind raced at maximum speed. If it were the former, he would consider discussing with the Gray-wing species whether to take the fall for this. They could frame the intruder as an invited outside aid. Though it sounded absurd, it was better than the *Red Taisui* appearing on its own.
That was, provided his old partner didn't blast him out of the sky along with the other insects.
He hadn't been able to reconnect his mental link with the ship since he woke up. Currently, he was still aboard a Gray-wing warship; hovering here made him look like a prime target. He couldn't remember the ship’s internal frequency, and he had no way to shout across the vacuum of space.
The only saving grace was that the high-raised main turrets were likely just for show—that thing wasn't something that could be fired on a whim. Even if technological iterations meant it no longer required a twelve-star-hour charging period, the security protocols required to deploy a Star-Devouring weapon involved over a hundred administrative approvals and signatures.
Humanity had been traumatized by the previous tragedies on the Capital Planet and V217. Unless Evelyn had decided to completely flatten the insects, she would never authorize the use of such a thing.
His head throbbed, and the entire scene was a mess. Sarkdi could only send messages to the external communication channel while maneuvering his ship to trace a "figure-eight" right in front of the *Red Taisui*, which looked ready to fire.
*Red Taisui*: "???"
This was a little game they used to play often. When they first started piloting the starship and their mental link was still unstable, they would loop in figure-eights between the two planets closest to the garrison, constantly breaking their speed records while weaving through chaotic asteroid belts to practice obstacle avoidance. Only through practical operation could they truly improve their synchronization.
The planets surrounding the Reformist military base had nearly been polished to a sheen by their maneuvers. Afterward, they had been cursed out by their superiors for wasting energy. The *Red Taisui* burned Black Gold, an energy source mined from the Akashic Rift that was far more precious than gold. In the end, one of them had stayed silent while the other agreed with everything the first said, and together they had secretly burned through a budget-shattering amount of fuel.
Klein had held his head down and forced him to write three self-reflections in one night.
But performing this maneuver now made Sarkdi feel like an idiot. He had never imagined he would have to prove his innocence to his old partner by performing a mysterious "waggle dance" like a bee while piloting a warship in front of other insects.
A second later, his communication request was accepted.
With over half of the insects' Great Information Nest collapsed, long-distance transmission was temporarily cut off; only this type of face-to-face "calling" was still functional.
However, at first, neither of them spoke.
A strange sensation welled up—a feeling akin to hesitation, something he had never experienced in either of his two lives. The Core Species forced down the awkwardness of this long-awaited reunion and finally cleared his throat. "Hi. It's me."
The *Red Taisui* remained silent.
This was getting a bit embarrassing. Sarkdi felt the other party begin to scan his entire warship. Such an act was undoubtedly offensive to a stranger or a foreign insect, but at this point, he had given up. His mind was filled with *'Fine, scan away, whatever.'*
"At least say something," he couldn't help but sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Otherwise, I look like a moron."
"Or do I need to have another nosebleed in front of you to jumpstart your memory?"
"You are aboard a Gray-wing vessel."
A voice finally came from the other side—as familiar as ever, still that steady, genderless tone. "Are you one of them now?"
The opening was slightly bizarre, but better than silence.
The Core Species sat in his chair. A large area in the center of the intense combat zone had been cleared; the Pedes and Broad-wing species were fleeing as far as they could. The old King’s Nest was continuously disintegrating, though the collapse of the Great Information Nest and Clark’s warship had been temporarily paused by the static field. He stood in a standoff with his old partner.
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn't the reunion he had imagined.
"It’s a long story. I’ll need to explain it to you in detail later." He let out what felt like his hundredth sigh of the cycle and asked, "Is Evelyn here? Who else came with you?"
Another silence from the other side.
Sarkdi felt his blood pressure beginning to spike. After a few years apart, it seemed his old partner’s personality had been reset; it apparently enjoyed watching him perform this one-man show.
"Answer me."
"Even though I am no longer your Primary Linker, I need to know if this operation was your own judgment or authorized by the current Emperor."
"Evelyn is extremely cautious. This behavior doesn't fit her usual command style."
"It was my autonomous action."
The starship finally gave a clear answer. "It has nothing to do with Evelyn. The Great Information Nest was sending deep-space signals, and both it and the Time River port were at risk of collapse. I judged this to be a top-priority situation and took action exceeding my authority."
"The core of my mission is to maintain human survival. When a sudden malignant event threatens to affect human-habitable sectors, I will initiate mandatory measures."
"Understood."
Something wasn't right. Something was off.
But there were more pressing matters to handle. He needed to conduct a rescue before the King’s Nest completely disintegrated—regardless of whether his "flimsy boss" was dead or alive, he needed a result. Moreover, that boss had a human with him.
*Damn it.* Clark had likely left Arthur on the warship.
Because it housed the port, that warship’s shields were the thickest of any vessel, and its self-repair capabilities were extremely strong. That was why it hadn't immediately exploded when the Sub-King detonated the entire core orbital ring. But the unlucky ship had first been half-blasted by the Sub-King and was now completely frozen by the *Red Taisui*.
"Help me scan the ship you just frozen. Can you tell if there’s a human on board?"
His Alpha warship couldn't do this; only a starship could.
The *Red Taisui* quickly replied, "No."
"There are no humans on board, nor are there any remaining living insect signatures."
Then they had entered the King’s Nest together.
The Core Species, nearly suffering a stroke from stress, finally caught his breath. If his friend had died because of his old partner’s intervention, he couldn't imagine what he would do.
"Can you temporarily stabilize the King’s Nest?"
Setting the warship to hover, he spoke to the ship while heading toward the hangar, preparing to switch to a small landing craft. "I want to go inside."
"It is very difficult."
The *Red Taisui’s* reply remained calm, without a single ripple. "The mass of the King’s Nest is greater than mine. I cannot cover it with a force field. Maintaining the stability of the Great Information Nest and the Time River port takes precedence over it."
"Fine."
Sarkdi, who never demanded the impossible from his ship, quickly accepted this. The King Insect’s Nest was indeed a difficult nut to crack; otherwise, they wouldn't have had to expend so much effort to blast its gates open during the previous expedition.
"I’m transferring command of this warship to you."
The once-interconnected orbits were now almost entirely ruined. It looked as if someone had tossed a firecracker into a hornet's nest—it possessed a certain scorched, smoldering beauty.
Fortunately, the Great Information Nest was frantically running self-repair programs. Fleshy tentacles crawled out from the nest’s body, tightly bonding the structure together, attempting to reunite the splintered parts. Its damage was slightly less severe than the King’s Nest, and with the *Red Taisui’s* energy field supporting it, perhaps a portion could still be salvaged.
From a distance, it looked like a planet in space had grown hair, and those hairy tentacles were crawling all over the surface.
"If there are Gray-wing survivors, or Gray-wings coming from other sectors to help..." Sarkdi weighed his words carefully; they felt heavy on his tongue. "Can you help them settle on my warship for now?"
He knew the request was somewhat unreasonable. Regardless of whether the *Red Taisui’s* actions were authorized, it was still a starship belonging to the human side.
"Help me save them, Red."
In his current identity, he truly had no standing to command the ship to assist. "This is merely my personal request."
After a moment of silence, the crimson starship finally let out a long sigh. The facade of cold, programmed code was pulled back an inch, revealing its full autonomous consciousness.
"Very well," the *Red Taisui* replied.
"I will closely monitor the movements of the Gray-wing species. If any survivors are found, they will be transferred to your warship."
"At the same time, I will drive away the other insect swarms."
"Thank you."
Sarkdi thanked it with genuine sincerity. He quickly transferred the control keys and, just as he was about to descend toward the King’s Nest area, suddenly added: "By the way, I have a partner now. I’ll introduce you later."
"???"
On the *Red Taisui’s* main control terminal, countless 0s and 1s arranged themselves into a giant "speechless" emoji.
"Heh," it said.
***
The Core Species’ prediction was correct. There were indeed some surviving Gray-wings who, after crawling out, were fleeing the King’s Nest at maximum speed. They had descended earlier than the humans and didn't know that all the docking orbits had been destroyed. If Sarkdi hadn't traveled thousands of miles to get here, their escape would likely have ended in a fatal plunge.
A few units wanted to enter the core of the King’s Nest to drag their leader out, but the Sub-King was determined not to let anyone escape. It had focused its attention on the main force that had landed with Clark, blasting every passage until they were impassable.
In contrast, the human who had slipped in through another entrance had reached a considerably deep position.
The entire nest was vibrating. The closer one got to the core, the higher the temperature rose.
The hall where the Broodmother once resided had mostly collapsed, and the high heat was melting the surface of the human’s exoskeleton armor. Arthur lost consciousness several times, only to be jolted awake by the sound of nearby explosions.
The lack of oxygen and the intense heat were nearly killing him; his head felt like it was splitting open. The ruined paths were impassable; for the latter half of the journey, he relied almost entirely on crawling through the architectural wreckage.
Then, he tumbled into the deepest pile of remains.
It was a throne built from an endless accumulation of skulls.
Splattered blood had dried quickly in the heat, turning from pink to deep crimson, coating the walls and floors that were etched with spiral patterns.
The Sub-King was everywhere.
He said this because it had been smeared until its original shape was almost unrecognizable. Large patches of torn tissue were scattered here and there, forming a grotesque tableau. This was supposed to be a death match witnessed by the direct lineages, but now it had become a stalemate with no victor.
A silver beast stood tall upon the high platform forged of bone.
Broken wings and a tail-whip hung limp; shattered bones protruded from beneath the skin, and once-beautiful scales were scattered among the cracks in the floor. The head was bowed, the two pairs of usually calm, light-gray eyes were closed, and the body was torn open from chest to abdomen.
Even so, the body did not fall. It remained perched over the throne in a commanding posture.
The Sub-King’s remaining head and heart lay displayed at his feet.
Many direct lineages would choose to devour the corpse of a peer after a fight—not merely as a ritual, but to seek a genetic breakthrough. Just as a new King Insect would feast on the remains of the old.
But he hadn't. He had simply torn Krisha into pieces.
"Clark..."
The environment was too harsh; the human could barely make a sound. Arthur used both hands and feet among the bones. He didn't have the strength to stand and walk; every movement made his vision go black.
The floor of the nest was humming, buildings were constantly falling, and soon the entire gravity field would cease to exist. The high heat scorched his respiratory tract; breathing became an unbearable agony. Any weight felt like an impossible burden—the exoskeleton, the particle beam rifle... even his own heartbeat sounded like thunder. Blood hammered against his eardrums and temples, and his vision flickered between light and dark.
He practically dragged himself up the high platform. Where his limbs were exposed through the cracks in his armor, his skin was scorched the moment it touched the ground, sliced by shards of bone.
The silver-gray female who would usually hold him the moment he was hurt and ask if it pained him remained motionless. The wounds, which exceeded his limits, would no longer heal; blood had dried directly within his chest cavity, staining the entire monster red.
"Clark."
The youth used all his strength to prop himself up and reach out. Braving the nearly lethal heat, he disengaged part of his outer armor, wanting to see if the female before him was still alive.
His right hand, which bore scars from holding the other when he was a child, gained a new layer of injury from the heat of the scales.
It was as if a distant fate had come full circle.
Tears fell before he was even conscious of them. Once, if he cried out loud, the other’s warship would appear before him like something out of a magical fairy tale. The Gray-wing, wearing a mask of indifference, would pick him up and take him back to that safe nest—their nest.
After understanding that he was deeply loved, he no longer needed to cry to get his guardian’s attention. Thus, he could face anything with a smile, including his awkward identity and an uncertain future.
But this time, when his tears fell, the other gave no response.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 红太岁 | Red Taisui | The name of a sentient human starship; "Taisui" refers to a mythological/biological mass. |
| 吞星级 | Star-Devouring class | A top-tier weapon classification used by humans. |
| 黑金 | Black Gold | A rare and precious energy source mined from the Akashic Rift. |
| 克里沙 | Krisha | The name of the Sub-King Insect (antagonist). |
| 阿卡夏裂隙 | Akashic Rift | A spatial phenomenon and source of energy. |
| 大信息巢 | Great Information Nest | A massive biological/technological communication hub for the insects. |
| 时间河 | Time River | A medium for FTL travel or high-speed communication. |
| 主导者 | Primary Linker | The dominant partner in a mental link between a human and a starship. |
| 核心种 | Core Species | Also referred to as Core Gene Race; the elite insect lineage. |
| 灰翅种 | Gray-wing Species | The insect lineage to which Clark belongs. |
| 亚王虫 | Sub-King Insect | A high-ranking insect below the King/Queen. |
