I Flirted with the General in the Zerg Empire [Interstellar]

Abandoned Zerg

Star Calendar 3069, on the trash planet at the outermost edge of the zerg star.

Amidst the mountains of trash, the smell of discarded mecha oil mixed with the stench of various household waste.

“Beep—Detected known life form.”

The voice came from a round, green robot with flashing red warning lights in its eyes. It disdainfully remarked, “A lowly female zerg.”

He Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “You don’t know what’s good; this is a precious thing.” He set down the dirty mecha fragment in his hand and added disdainfully, “Much more noble than you.”

The robot’s red eyes paused. Female zergs, abundant in number, held a low status and were known to be wild and brutal. Since when did they become something rare? Moreover, the female zerg before them was barely alive and still in its juvenile stage!

“Come take a look, see if it’s salvageable?” He Yi squatted down slowly, taking a closer look and gasping in surprise.

A female zerg child lay quietly on the bloodied mecha fragments, with clothes tattered, body covered in cuts and bruises with not a single good piece of flesh, and the breathing was barely perceptible.

Tsk, truly pitiful.

The robot hesitated for three seconds, retracting its metal arm that was sorting through the garbage for good items, and activated the treatment mode.

“Beep, scanning start…” the cold electronic voice rang out.

“…10%”

“…25%”

“…50%”

Dense laser beams aimed at the quiet, seemingly lifeless female zerg juvenile, with light flickering around.

“…100%, beep—scan complete. Detection result: E-grade female zerg, body with various degrees of lacerations, initially assessed as caused by spatial turbulence in the universe, difficult to heal.”

The robot criticized the unconscious female zerg:

“This female zerg has poor quality and is classified as non-reusable. Suggesting owner to abandon treatment.”

“Difficult? So it can be treated then?” He Yi frowned. This was the first living creature he had seen since crossing over from the apocalypse, and they were both of the zerg race. Yes, his current identity was—

A noble male zerg.

A noble male zerg barely making a living by scavenging scraps.

Beginning with nothing but a trash planet, survival depended entirely on laying low. Meals consisted of either potatoes or low-grade energy blocks, while drinks were either poor-quality or expired nutritional fluids. The only remotely useful item was the small robot, Xiao Yi, which He Yi had painstakingly scavenged from a pile of junk. It was functional, barely.

Life was tough, and He Yi sighed.

Moments later, the young female zerg opened her eyes.

They were a striking ice-blue, beautiful beyond words. The gaze was sharp as a blade, yet it quickly softened into a look of confusion and disbelief.

Zhao blinked; it was the scent of a male zerg.

A strong, sweet aroma of male zerg pheromones surrounded him! Female zergs had an innate sense of smell.

He stared wide-eyed at the male zerg lord above him, who smiled down with curved lips. Zhao was in a daze, and the intense pain in his body seemed to lessen.

“You’re awake, little one,” He Yi said, awkwardly softening his voice.

As a high-ranking dual-ability user of wood and psychic powers who had once been a force to be reckoned with in the apocalypse, he was best at maintaining a cold, aloof demeanor. He had no experience in dealing with delicate and fragile young ones.

The delicate female zerg, Zhao, opened his lips and hesitantly said, “Your… your Excellency?”

He Yi, who had only recently learned the common interstellar language, barely understood. He simply responded with a light “hmm.”

Careful to avoid the wounds, he gently touched the young one’s soft, blood-stained little hand, awkwardly attempting to comfort him in broken interstellar language: “Don’t worry, I’ll… check your wounds. It won’t hurt… much.”

Finally, he tried to recall scenes from the human survival base in the apocalypse, where mothers cared for their children. Tilting his head, he used a commonly used term for addressing children:

“Good boy.”

Zhao, who also didn’t fully understand, was awestruck by the stunning appearance of the male zerg.

He squeezed his eyes shut, his long eyelashes trembling constantly. Could such a perfectly beautiful male zerg really exist?

Zhao thought: A critical hit, my health bar is empty!

Seeing the little one’s face grow even paler, He Yi quickly channeled wood-based energy, gently infusing it into the young zerg’s body.

Wood energy—the power of life.

The power of healing.

Zhao felt his injuries rapidly healing. The incredible speed of recovery was no less than the most advanced treatment pods on zerg Star. It was miraculous.

Trembling with blood-stained lashes, Zhao managed to speak, “Your Excellency, were you sent by the zerg god to save me?”

He Yi didn’t answer. The tired young zerg, soothed by the gentle, calming treatment, had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

“Xiao Yi, pack up and let’s go home.”

He Yi carefully lifted the young zerg and issued a command to the robot. He turned and left, walking steadily.

*

In the central star system, the Zerg Clan’s main planet—Pasor.

The star network was in an uproar.

The Empire’s Information Department programmers had been working non-stop for seven consecutive days and nights!

Even the extraordinarily resilient female zergs in the military couldn’t withstand such strain, let alone the more delicate sub-females. However, the netizens on the star network were already in a frenzy.

Like sharks smelling blood.

—General Zhao is missing! The light of the Empire has been swept away by a space rift!!!

Major news outlets across the zerg Clan released reports questioning and condemning the event, emerging like mushrooms after the rain. Zerg citizens stirred up a storm on the star network:

“This is a huge provocation against the Empire! It’s a deliberate assassination attempt on the Zerg Clan’s general!”

“This must be a conspiracy by the Federation! Those cunning plotters are up to no good!”

“Andrew, that long-faced weirdo, definitely has something to do with this. The general’s disappearance is tied to that meteorite he presented!”

“Relevant authorities, come out and take the heat! If there’s nothing shady about this, I’ll livestream myself eating a snailshell beast!”

“On a side note, the snailshell beast tastes amazing. Slurp, slurp…”

“u1s1, that meteorite was exchanged for three rare black zhuo stones by our general himself, right at the entrance of the hall where the surrender ceremony was held. It was witnessed by everyone, and the news is accurate! Source: my neighbor’s sub-female’s brother’s friend, a major general in the Third Legion.”

“Stupid zergs! Flaunting a massive meteorite at a grand, solemn meeting, the Federation scumbags’ ambitions are known to all!”

“Give us back our general! Give us back the light of the Empire!!!”

“Ahhhh, a thousand daily declarations of love for the general! All you fake fans above, please have more faith in our general; our Empire’s light is not a false title!”

“Agreed with the above. Every battle the general has commanded has been a classic, and a counterattack from desperate straits is standard for him! What’s a space rift? My idol will still walk with honor and return with glory!”

“Good fortune to the general; praying for his safety!”

“Praying for the general!!”

…

*

The female general receiving these prayers was just waking up.

Perhaps because he had just woken up, Zhao’s ice-blue eyes were misty. He stared blankly as a large lump of green mush was shoved into his mouth. He didn’t have time to stop it and instinctively chewed.

It tasted a bit sweet and cool.

“Swallow it; it’s medicine,” the gentle voice of the male zerg sounded above him.

Medicine? Zhao blinked, understanding only the word “medicine.”

“Xiao Yi, come translate,” He Yi called to the robot, seeming to understand the confusion of the young zerg.

With a series of creaks and a loud crash, the robot burst through the dilapidated wooden door, hopping into the room.

“[The master says you should swallow it quickly, don’t dawdle,]” translated Xiao Yi, in a slightly mocking tone.

He Yi’s brow twitched.

This was the forty-eighth time Xiao Yi had broken the door!

This troublesome robot, possibly missing parts or with faulty wiring, only knew how to break down doors to enter a room. It couldn’t walk normally and could only hop around like a zombie, no matter how many times it was corrected.

What an embarrassment—no, a disgrace to zergs.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Zhao politely thanked, despite Xiao Yi’s tone. After all, all the male zergs in the zerg tribe behaved this way; it would be strange if the attitude of the noble males ever changed.

“You’re welcome.” He Yi understood the young zerg’s gratitude. Hearing the soft and tender tone, he couldn’t resist reaching out with a green-stained finger to poke Zhao’s fair cheek.

Quite cute.

No wonder his subordinates in the post-apocalyptic world couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch kids.

At this moment, the playful male zerg chose to ignore the green smudges he left on the young zerg’s face.

Hmm, so soft.

Much more pleasant than the bloody appearance at first sight.

Zhao bit his lip, trying to suppress a cry of pain.

His heart was pounding, and every inch of his skin tightened. The intense pain seemed to crush his body, making him curl up on the bed, struggling to breathe.

Realizing belatedly that the little one on the bed was shaking, He Yi was startled. He leaned forward and pressed down on the trembling shoulders caused by the pain. “I’ve already given you preliminary treatment; besides a fever, I haven’t found any other symptoms. Are you uncomfortable? Is it very painful?”

Given the complexity of the situation, He Yi didn’t use his clumsy interstellar language this time but conveyed his words through mental communication.

In the zerg tribe, robots can understand a male zerg’s commands through a mental link. However, after crossing over, He Yi’s abilities had reset, and on this irradiated wasteland, his mental and wood-based energy were almost depleted daily.

“Xiao Yi, translate.” He Yi felt irritated as he looked at the robot standing motionless.

Xiao Yi’s red eyes flashed briefly before translating: “[The master said he’s already treated you. You’re just a female zerg, how can you have so many ailments? If you’re uncomfortable, just endure it!]”

He Yi, deeply concerned about the young zerg’s condition, didn’t notice Xiao Yi’s inappropriate translation. Frowning, he wrung out a rag and gently wiped the sweat off the young one’s forehead and the green stains off his cheeks. He then softly patted the child’s back to comfort him and discreetly channeled the last bit of his wood-element energy into the young zerg’s body.

Recalling the sweet taste lingering in his mouth, Zhao quickly apologized as soon as he felt a bit better. “I’m very sorry, Your Excellency, for troubling you…”

His voice was hoarse and rough due to the pain.

“It’s no trouble,” the newly appointed guardian He Yi responded, averting his gaze as he picked up an old, but not too shabby, small blanket from the floor and covered the young one again. It was their only bed covering, and he couldn’t afford to lose it.

Another frugal day, he thought to himself.

As the pain subsided, Zhao felt drained. A strange sense of weakness washed over him, and he lay quietly, eyes half-open, staring blankly at the wooden ceiling entwined with various plants.

It felt as if his body had reverted to a juvenile state, and the formidable strength that once carried him across the stars now seemed as distant as a crashed starship, fading into the vast cosmos.

When had he ever been this pitiful and weak?

When had he ever been this close to a male zerg?

Such a novel experience.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Zhao’s vision suddenly went dark. A pair of large hands gently closed his eyes, and a faint scent of sandalwood filled his nostrils.

“Sleep now, little one.”

The male zerg’s voice sounded so gentle. His Highness had an exceptionally handsome appearance and a noble demeanor far beyond any other male zerg on the zerg star.

Zhao tried to control his erratic heartbeat and quietly took a deep breath.

Ah, how enchanting!

The captivated female zerg fell into a deep sleep under the mental suggestion of the handsome male zerg.