Chapter 277: The Invited Protagonists: As for being close to giving birth... he hasn’t given birth yet, has he?

At Silver Fortress, Felix stared at the unusual invitation, still feeling bewildered.

The General intended to have him serve as the face of next spring's military recruitment campaign. Before that, they had never publicly revealed that he was a Male Zerg. Originally, only the Zergs inside Silver Fortress knew his true sex.

But then, one day, the entire StarNet suddenly knew.

And it was all because of that novel that had once labeled him as being in a female-female romance.

Being called part of a female-female romance was one thing. He could even keep reading that with considerable amusement. But that book actually knew that he had differentiated into a Male Zerg!

That much could still be explained by the involvement of relevant personnel. The Zergs at the testing center knew that he had gone back to have his registered sex changed, and supposedly the author of that book was also the Marshal's current Male Lord, so it wasn't strange for him to know some secrets concerning Felix's family.

But the most outrageous thing of all was that the book even knew about "the three things a Male Zerg must protect"!

When Felix reached that part, he felt as though the sky had collapsed.

It was over. The entire Zerg race now knew that, as a Male Zerg, Felix needed to protect his rear position in front of his Female Lord.

They also knew that whenever his Female Lord got drunk, he would forget Felix's sex, mistake him for a Female Zerg, and had once even wanted to personally take care of him.

Felix shattered on the spot.

From then on, he resolutely refused to discuss anything concerning the book.

Even when military Female Zergs at the fortress asked him about the novel, he firmly insisted that it was only a fictional story and had nothing whatsoever to do with reality. The two were completely different!

That was what he said, but in private, Felix actually liked the book very much.

Those passages describing Lucas's attraction to him and fascination with him were enough for Felix to savor over and over again. And the lines describing Lucas gradually succumbing amid the struggle between reason and emotion made Felix's own face flush and his heart pound every time he read them.

The book had become one of his private treasures. He had reread it many times when no other Zerg was around. He desperately wanted to ask Lucas whether he really felt the way the book described, yet he didn't dare share the novel with him, afraid Lucas would discover its existence.

At the same time, reason told Felix that with the book being this popular, there was no possible way Lucas didn't know about it.

While Felix remained tangled up in this dilemma, he received an invitation from the novel's author and the Marshal.

Lucas received one as well.

Of course Lucas knew about that book too, and his feelings toward it were even more complicated.

The version of himself in the book had spent so much time with Felix without realizing he was a Male Zerg. He had even let Felix hug and rub against him while thinking it was because Felix was exceptionally gifted and the mushrooms were poisonous. Even after Felix released his pheromones, Lucas had still assumed he was using commercially produced pheromone spray...

There were simply too many embarrassing parts. Lucas could only rigorously investigate cases of lax training and the spread of the novel within the military while simultaneously praying that Felix had never read it.

The two Zergs both knew perfectly well while deceiving themselves and hiding it from each other, until the arrival of the invitations finally made it impossible to keep pretending.

Felix saw the identical invitation in Lucas's hand, coughed dryly, and said, "You too..."

"Mm..." Lucas pretended to remain calm despite his embarrassment.

"Are you going?" Felix asked.

Lucas considered it. "It's an invitation from the Marshal. We should go."

Felix nodded as well. "I also happen to want to meet the Zerg who wrote our story."

Lucas felt that "meet" wasn't quite the whole story.

"And then? What are you planning to do once you meet him?"

Felix clenched his fist, flexed his wrist and knuckles, and revealed a villainous smile.

"Obviously, I'll force him to rewrite it. What 'three things a Male Zerg must protect'? There are clearly only two! Besides, Lucas has never coveted my rear. He's always opened himself up and let me do whatever I want, and he really enjoys the feeling of being the Female Zerg."

Lucas had nothing to say to that and decided it would probably be wiser not to argue.

...

Out among the sea of stars, Ul and Avis also received invitations aboard their star pirate ship.

"Unbelievable. Have the Zergs upgraded their methods for catching star pirates to the point where the Marshal teams up with a Male Zerg to send them invitations now?"

Ul sighed in amazement.

Avis was puzzled too. He frowned as he read through it, then asked the Male Zerg who was the leader of their star pirate crew, "Then are we going?"

"We are. Of course we're going! Doesn't the invitation say they'll guarantee our safety?"

Ul looked up with a smile. "Besides, Avis, you haven't been home in a very long time, have you?"

Avis was different from him. Avis had a home among the Zergs and held deep feelings for both the Federation and the military. He had accompanied Ul in exile all these years. Although Ul never said anything about it aloud, deep down he felt guilty and believed he owed Avis far too much.

Previously, under the pretext of carrying out a mission, he had taken Avis back to Zerg territory once, though they had used false identities.

At the time, the novel about the Tianjia Emperor and the stranded Male Zerg had still been serializing. The transit stations outside Zerg territory had been overflowing with travelers. They had nearly failed to rent a hotel room and only managed to pick up a last-minute vacancy in the middle of the night.

Later, after reading the novel, Ul even suspected that the room they'd managed to get had been next door to the Tianjia Emperor's. The pheromone pressure of an SS-rank Tianjia had been so powerful that it frightened away the neighboring guest, which was why Ul and Avis had managed to snag the room.

For Ul and Avis, it was nothing more than a small episode in their lives, a brief moment when they had brushed past other protagonists from that author's stories without knowing it.

Even so, looking back on it now still left him somewhat emotional.

Avis's hand tightened when he heard the word "home," and he immediately opened his mouth to refuse.

After all these years, he had long since come to regard Ul as his home. He also had hatchlings and friends within the star pirate crew. Although he occasionally still felt the desire to go back and take a look, he knew he couldn't bear the price that might come with it. He had already grown accustomed to his current life and didn't want Ul taking risks for his sake.

Ul knew what he was about to say. He raised a hand and lightly pressed a finger against Avis's lips, stopping him.

"Don't worry. Things are different now. We're safe."

When Ulysses had first taken office, Ul really had been worried for a while.

Ulysses was an iron-blooded commander. Given the divorce case in his past, there was no possibility that he had a favorable attitude toward Male Zergs. Under his influence, the Federation might tighten its restrictions on Male Zergs.

For an outsider Male Zerg like Ul, entering the Federation could very well result in his immediate arrest. He might be forced to marry who knew how many Female Zergs, or even be sent directly to serve a prison sentence.

Over the past year, Ul had indeed noticed that the Zerg race was changing.

But it was changing in a direction completely different from what he had expected.

Ulysses introduced a new law that increased Male Zergs' obligations, requiring them to shoulder responsibility for the Psychic Soothing of the Female Zergs in their families. Just when it seemed things were heading toward mandatory enforcement, everything abruptly took a turn with the release of Psychic Soothing devices.

Nor had the social atmosphere become as tense and stormy as Ul had predicted. Instead, it was relaxed and lively. Everyone chased after novels and demanded updates, while sweet pheromones carrying the unmistakable meaning of courtship seemed to fill every corner.

Small conflicts occasionally arose, such as disputes between the Tianjia and the Zergs, or arguments over the new law and Psychic Soothing devices, but they vanished almost as quickly as they [N O V E L I G H T] appeared and couldn't affect the overall atmosphere of society at all.

Ul believed that the current circumstances were suitable for taking Avis back to the Federation and staying there for a while.

With those two Lords suspected of being S-rank, the numerous A-rank and above-A-rank Male Zergs who had emerged in recent years, and now the invention of Psychic Soothing devices, the Zerg race was no longer so desperately lacking in high-ranking Male Zergs that they would lose all reason over one. Under such circumstances, the Federation's authorities would also be more willing to respect a Male Zerg's own wishes.

Added to that were the promises made by the Marshal and the Zerg who had sent the invitation, as well as the positive role Ul's own star pirate forces played for the Zergs. Ul didn't believe the Federation would disregard everything and forcibly detain him. This trip into Zerg territory was relatively safe.

As for Avis, his name had never appeared on a wanted list from beginning to end. According to the Federation and military records, he was still a military undercover operative.

He was one of their own.

Ul persuaded Avis and also convinced the other members of the star pirate crew.

This time, the two of them would return to Zerg territory together. Their older hatchling would remain behind and take responsibility for the Wolf Crew's affairs, which could also serve as valuable experience. Their younger hatchling was too young for long-distance travel and would be left in the care of the Wolf Crew's members.

"So what you're saying is that our Male Father and Female Father abandoned us so the two of them could go on a date?"

The young Female Zerg who had been left behind to watch the house and take care of his younger brother asked this soul-searching question.

...

Meanwhile, in the First Military Region.

Roy, who freely traveled between the virtual world and Morris's terminal, was astonished.

"Even a virtual Male Zerg gets an invitation?"

Roy checked several times. There were two copies of the invitation, and both his and Morris's names were written on them.

As a virtual Male Zerg, he had been invited together with Morris, in the capacity of Morris's lover and partner.

They had held weddings before, one in the game world and another in the real world, but those weddings had no legal effect. They had merely served to announce to all their relatives, friends, and the outside world that they were together.

Yet on this invitation, he had been treated as a Zerg equal to Morris and invited in his own right.

Roy found the feeling wonderfully strange, and it made him even more curious about the Male Zerg who had invited them—the author who had once written their story.

As a special life-form active within the virtual world, nothing on the network was truly secret from him. It depended entirely on whether he wanted to know.

He had known that Lord's true identity for a long time: the Psychic Soothing specialist who had once lived in the First Military Region Prison. Come to think of it, that prison was even under Morris's jurisdiction.

It was simply that the Lord's location had always been shrouded in fog, leaving Roy unable to infiltrate it or peer inside. He could only suppress his curiosity.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the other party was released from prison and even sent him an invitation.

Roy went to discuss it with Morris. He wanted to upgrade his mechanical Zerg body so he could attend the banquet in absolutely perfect condition.

Upon hearing his request, Legion Commander Morris said, "...All right. Is it going to glow this time, vibrate, or sing?"

Roy said, "Those are all old-fashioned, outdated functions! I want something more interesting!"

Morris could only accompany him to research more interesting functions.

...

Things were much simpler for the others.

Hill and Iso happened to be on Capital Star, and Isidore was also on school vacation, so naturally all three members of the family would attend.

General Enzo would attend with the little hatchling he had newly hatched, dressing little Axel in an adorable pink hatchling outfit and putting a tiny hat on him.

Cyril's due date was only a week away, so Philor hesitated, wanting his Female Lord to remain at home, rest, and wait for the birth.

Cyril had other ideas.

He knew perfectly well how much Philor loved An-shen's books. If Philor missed this opportunity to meet him, he would definitely regret it. Cyril wanted Philor to get his wish.

As for being close to giving birth... he hadn't given birth yet, had he?

This was Cyril's second egg. He already had experience from carrying Hill and wasn't some inexperienced new Female Father who knew nothing. He knew there would be warning signs at least half a day before labor, if not earlier. If it just happened to start during the banquet, he could simply leave early, go home, and lay the egg. It wouldn't affect anything.

In their family, major matters were always decided by the Female Lord, while minor matters followed Philor's wishes. Whenever the two principles came into conflict, they followed the first.

Philor was also accustomed to following the advice of his older and more experienced Female Lord. Since Cyril had already made his decision, Philor hesitantly agreed.

Anyway... surely it couldn't be that much of a coincidence, right?

Female Zergs had powerful bodies. Even while carrying an egg, Cyril got more exercise every day than Philor did. It was only going out to attend a banquet.

There shouldn't be any problem... right?