NOVEL NEXT 61
As the representative of male zergs and the dream lover of many female zergs, Woody was publicly exposed as the culprit who intended to kill the royal bloodline, His Highness Green.
The Chief sentenced Woody and his family to exile on a nearby desolate star.
This caused a huge uproar in the Empire, with many ordinary female zergs lamenting the loss of another excellent male zerg.
The Chief’s health was deteriorating, and the overwhelming workload was suffocating him. Under the current Chief’s direction, the new Chief’s succession ceremony would be held a month earlier.
The ceremony took place in the solemn government hall, still broadcasted live to the entire audience.
However, few zergs had the qualification to attend the succession ceremony in person.
“Your Highness Green, your little zerg cub is so cute. Have you named him?”
As soon as the ceremony ended, many high-ranking female zergs’ attention was drawn to the little one in the male zerg’s arms, who was staring with wide eyes, neither crying nor fussing. They surrounded the family of three.
“Yes, we have. His name is Milo Hill.” He Qin was increasingly displaying the demeanor of a father now. The look in his eyes as he gazed at the little one was filled with love and pride.
He Qin kept holding the baby, occasionally rocking his arms. Perhaps he used too much strength, and the little one, feeling uncomfortable, struggled with his small hands to escape his male father’s embrace.
From birth, the little one was different from ordinary male zergs. He inherited He Qin’s strong physique and his enthusiasm for food. Five meals a day were not enough to satisfy his appetite, and his eyes would light up whenever he saw something new.
With ample nutrition and a good physical foundation from birth, the little one had never been ill and was much stronger than other zergs of the same age.
“Ah!” “Oh my, be careful.” The onlookers exclaimed in fear.
Being a new father, He Qin dared not use too much force while holding the baby. With Milo suddenly struggling hard, he almost lost his grip, and the child nearly fell to the ground.
Since entering the room, Rhys had not taken his eyes off He Qin, who was holding the little zerg. Quick as lightning, he caught the little one who was about to fall. “My Lord, let me hold him.”
Rhys extended his hands to take over the chubby little zerg. Compared to the male zerg’s stiff holding posture, Rhys’s way of holding the baby was much more professional.
The little one buried his face in his female father’s chest and quickly forgot why he was fussing, giggling, “Hee hee hee.” He chuckled foolishly at the onlookers.
The male zerg cub, with his chubby cheeks, moved his body, making the flesh on his face ripple. “Ah, ba.” His round, big eyes blinked, charming the female zergs to no end.
—
“Little Highness is so cute.”
“Yes, indeed.”
The crowd buzzed with discussions about the little zerg. He Qin usually disliked being the center of attention, but hearing the praise for his and Rhys’s child made him feel proud, and he patiently entertained the little one in Rhys’s arms.
“Your Highness Green, Major General Rhys.”
Wearing luxurious attire, Barton approached He Qin’s family from another group of people.
He was the true protagonist of today’s event. The officials parted ways for him, forming a path, and more people gathered silently, afraid to interrupt the conversation between the distinguished individuals.
“Congratulations, Mr. Barton.” He Qin squinted his eyes, sincerely congratulating the new Chief Executive Officer.
Barton was one of the most advantaged candidates. Even with Woody Hill out of the picture, there were other competitors. Power struggles always brought troubles, and his succession wouldn’t be smooth.
This was thanks to Major General Rhys of the Starry Night Legion, representing the empire’s strongest military force, who fully supported his side.
Of course, Major General Rhys, who had a family with a male zerg, also represented the intentions of the male lord behind him.
The open support from these two major forces instantly discouraged other competitors, making those causing trouble stop and those trying to win favor give up.
After all, who could compete with His Highness Green and Major General Rhys?
“Everyone, I need to speak privately with His Highness Green. Please give us some space.”
After becoming the Chief, Barton’s petty and calculating demeanor vanished. Bearing the responsibility for the stability of the higher zergs, he seemed to have matured overnight and genuinely changed.
“You and His Highness Green have important matters to discuss. We were being thoughtless and interrupted your important conversation.”
The former Chief, being old and mentally exhausted, had handed over his duties to Barton a week ago and moved all his personal belongings out of the top floor office of the government building.
“This is the Chief’s office of the empire, indeed spacious.”
“Ah, ya!” The little one chimed in.
Curiosity brimming, father and son widened their eyes and moved their heads from left to right in unison.
“How is the handling of Woody’s remaining forces? Any problems?”
Barton couldn’t intervene in royal matters, so dealing with the criminal Woody’s royal private soldiers and numerous faction forces under him was left to He Qin.
But He Qin was quite indifferent, spending his days playing with the child or teasing the family leopard.
Fortunately, He Qin had an all-capable female lord.
Rhys handled matters efficiently, quickly executing, imprisoning, or reorganizing the royal private soldiers as needed.
According to several female zergs, they had had enough of Woody. That male zerg’s personality was completely unlike his gentle public facade. He was abusive and easily angered when dealing with them.
“Beatings and scoldings were the least of it. If a task didn’t satisfy Woody, they would suffer inhumane torture. If they failed to satisfy him more than three times, they would disappear from the team.”
“The atmosphere in the empire really needs to change,” Barton sighed.
During a discussion on governance strategies with the human leader, it was suggested that the unequal relationship between male and female zergs in the empire impacts its development.
Afterward, Barton reflected that if the empire didn’t provide male zergs with a carefree, privileged status, would they be willing to practice their mental power under pressure?
A single male zerg with strong mental power could bring hope to the empire, but a group of such males would significantly advance the empire’s strength.
In this distorted social environment, many bold, talented female zergs were tied to their homes by marriage contracts, unable to return to work.
If the empire could harness this talent pool, how great it would be!
At that point, races like the Beastmen and the inhabitants of other Stars would be left far behind, unable to catch up.
“Barton, oh, I mean, Chief,” He Qin quickly corrected himself, nearly forgetting Barton’s new status.
“You are a royal descendant, we are equals, just call me Barton.”
“Then you should call me He Qin. It feels strange to be called Geen.”
‘He Qin’ was the name he had been called for over twenty years. Being addressed as Green Hill suddenly was still unfamiliar.
Every day before going out, He Qin would stand in front of the mirror and silently repeat ‘I am Green Hill’ three times to avoid any embarrassing mix-ups.
“Alright, I’ll call you by your given name when we’re alone. He Qin, what were you about to say?”
“I was going to say that achieving equality between male and female zergs involves too many interests and should be approached gradually, like boiling a frog slowly.”
After saying this, He Qin noticed two astonished and shocked gazes beside him, plus a child’s innocent look, making the atmosphere even stranger.
“Uh, what’s going on?”
In some matters, his emotional intelligence was still lacking, so it was better to directly ask to avoid misunderstandings.
“My Lord, I think the Chief meant that he didn’t expect you to learn patience,” Rhys said, now more inclined to tease his male lord under He Qin’s influence.
After the first time he playfully remarked and saw his lord’s flustered yet pretending-to-be-angry reaction, Rhys didn’t hold back his thoughts.
“I’ve always been mature and calm. Right, Rhys?”
His lord, blushing from the neck to behind his ears after being pointed out, suddenly raising his voice, was simply too cute.
Even cuter than the little zerg in his childhood state.
“That’s right, you’ve always been mature and steady.”
Seeing the sticky pink bubbles rising between them again, Barton quickly interrupted, “Woody is going to be exiled to the barren star in two days. Do you want to see him?”
“Did you find out anything about the truth behind my male father’s and female father’s accident?”
“He still insists that he won’t say a word unless he sees you,” Barton replied.
To save his life, Woody held onto this last card. Before being thrown into prison, he adamantly claimed to know the truth behind Prince Allen’s accident.
After all, Woody was still of royal blood and a noble male. They couldn’t torture him to extract the truth.
Woody insisted on seeing He Qin before he would reveal everything.
Barton conveyed the message to He Qin, but He Qin remained stubborn for a long time, refusing to see Woody Hill despite all efforts to persuade him.
“Forget it then. I don’t want to see him.”
In He Qin’s opinion, such a criminal who tried to kill his wife and kidnap his child should be executed on the spot.
He feared that if he saw that criminal, he wouldn’t be able to stay calm and might kill him on the spot.
“My Lord! You should go see him. The barren star isn’t far, but the journey is treacherous. If you miss this chance, you might never learn the truth.”
Rhys always thought long-term. If he let He Qin be stubborn over his pride, they might never know the truth about Prince Allen’s accident.
“He Qin, I think you should see him. At least don’t let that criminal feel like he always has a bargaining chip to save his life.”
He Qin still resisted, clenching his teeth so hard they ground together.
“My Lord!” Rhys gently squeezed He Qin’s cheeks, stopping him from hurting himself, his displeasure evident.
Instead of feeling his dignity was affronted, He Qin saw Rhys’s slight anger and suddenly understood what it felt like to be henpecked.
Misunderstanding the source of Rhys’s anger, he shrugged his shoulders and reluctantly said, “Alright, I’ll go, okay?”