Chapter 281: Laying an Egg at the Banquet?: "I Think... I’m About to Lay?" Cyril Stiffly Looked Down

The Male Zergs gathered together to ask An-shen for autographs.

At some point, someone decided they wanted to collect the protagonists' signatures as well, and as they kept signing, eventually everyone simply added their names.

Little wolf Zerg Ul signed his name in the newly released Undercover, drew a roaring little wolf head beside it, then quietly leaned toward An and whispered:

"An-shen, just how did you know our story? Was it because your powerful Psychic Force could sense it? Or is it some unique innate ability of yours? Tell me secretly~"

The other Male Zergs who had their heads lowered as they signed quietly pricked up their ears.

An Ruo thought about it seriously, then decided to tell the truth. "I don't know either. I just wanted to write a story like that, and it naturally came out that way."

"€€? You don't even know yourself? Then doesn't that mean any guess could be possible?"

Ul sighed in wonder. "Psychic Force really is mysterious. Even high-ranking Male Zergs can't help but marvel at how much about it remains unknown."

Ul particularly loved the story An had written. Even though its developments weren't entirely the same as what he and Avis had experienced, and even the ending was completely different€€€€in the book, he joined the Federation for Avis, while in reality, he forcibly kept Avis with the star pirate crew€€€€he still loved the story.

For a moment, Ul even felt that this might truly have been how he and Avis developed in another timeline.

Without all those years of tangled conflict, imprisonment, and the hurt born from love and hatred, they would have resolved all their conflicts early on, overcome every obstacle, and gotten together.

Perhaps if some tiny detail in reality had been different, they really would have gone down that path and developed exactly as they did in the story.

Of course, Ul liked the present too.

In the story, he had gone to the Federation for Avis, leaving behind the Wolf Crew that had raised him.

But now, Avis was the one who had stayed with the Wolf Crew for him, living together with their huge family of star pirates.

For a while, Ul couldn't say which world was better. Either way, he was very happy now, and as he told An-shen all this, he couldn't help propping his face in his hands and grinning foolishly.

Hill, standing nearby, slowly raised his eyes.

As an art student, Hill's Psychic Force was more sensitive, giving him exceptionally keen perception.

Whether it was School Heartthrob or the later cameo appearances of him and Iso in Undercover, he had his own perceptions and realizations about them.

He had never mentioned these things to any Zerg. He had only given An-shen a painting, thanking him for bringing these "stories" and these "gifts."

They were the most precious gifts of all.

Virtual Male Zerg Roy looked from one to another. He couldn't quite understand what they were talking about, so he simply gave up thinking and tugged at An to ask:

"An-shen, they said the original map of the game world I live in was created by you. Is that true? And the original map only exists with you now?"

Roy asked with shining eyes.

An Ruo nodded and told him, "I'll transfer the original map data to you. You can take it with you."

It was an unexpected surprise. Besides his delight, Roy felt as though a huge weight had suddenly been lifted from his heart.

But then he thought that this was a game An-shen had created, so wouldn't it be inappropriate for him to simply take it away?

For a moment, he became bashful and conflicted.

An Ruo had made this decision long ago and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Putting himself in Roy's shoes... or Zerg shoes, if the Blue Star world he had originally lived in were a game, there was absolutely no way he would feel comfortable leaving the game's data in someone else's hands. He would only feel at ease if he guarded it himself.

That was also why he had separated the game's original map from the beginning and hadn't included it in the open beta.

He had long since decided to give the game's original map to Roy.

Before that, however, he still needed to move house inside the game and take away his little villa and everything inside it.

That villa had been designed according to his preferences. Inside were the flowers he'd given Ulysses, a Ulysses doll...

Those things meant a great deal to him. He needed to move them somewhere else.

Roy hurriedly said that An-shen could come play in the game whenever he wanted. The data of those one hundred closed-beta players would also be preserved forever.

He was so happy there were practically fireworks going off above his head.

"It's snowing!"

No one knew who said it, but the Male Zergs all crowded around the window to look, and An Ruo was swept forward with them.

The temperature inside was constant and the lights were warm, so no one had noticed anything. Only after opening the window did they discover that the temperature outside had dropped considerably, and pure white snowflakes were drifting down from the night sky.

The Male Zergs squeezed together and looked upward, their eyes filled with wonder.

"The weather forecast didn't say it would snow tonight."

Felix reached out and caught a feather-soft snowflake. It gradually melted into water on his fingertip.

The warmth indoors and the crisp chill of the snowy night seemed divided into two separate paintings, yet strangely merged beneath the light spilling from this single window, illuminating the smiling faces of the Male Zergs gathered there.

An Ruo remembered that on a special-grade planet like Capital Star, the weather was artificially regulated by Zergs. Normally, there shouldn't be any weather outside the forecast.

He instinctively wanted to look for Ulysses, but when he turned around, he found that Ulysses had already walked up behind him.

Ulysses looked calm and composed, quietly gazing at him, as though even this unplanned snowfall had been part of the plan all along.

An Ruo smiled at him, took his hand, and pulled him to his side so they could raise their heads and watch the snow together.

Lucas, Iso, Claire... also came over.

Philor turned around and searched the crowd for his Female Consort, but couldn't find him.

...

Selerus had also attended the banquet.

He already lived in the Marshal's residence, so there was no need for any special invitation. He only had to leave his room, go downstairs, turn a corner, and he was there.

He was an elder, and a Zerg who had been tempered by prison at that. He had no intention of joining the younger generation's excitement, much less crowding around his own hatchling asking for candied fruit...

That would be far too embarrassing.

So he stayed in the inner room, catching up with old friends such as Cyril.

The laughter of the Male Zergs drifted in from outside, along with someone saying that it was snowing.

Enzo got up and took the newly hatched little hatchling, who was interested in absolutely everything, outside to see the snow.

Cyril remained seated.

He was carrying an egg and only wanted to laze around in the warm inner room. He had no intention of joining the excitement.

Selerus's gaze landed on his belly with a hint of teasing amusement. Moving on to a topic between Female Zergs, he asked, "Your second?"

"Mm." Cyril nodded, naturally resting a hand on his abdomen. His brows relaxed with a trace of pride.

It wasn't easy for an S-rank Female Zerg like him to have even one egg, much less a second.

He and his Male Lord had worked for decades to get this egg. It hadn't come easily and was exceptionally precious.

"I heard it's a female egg this time?" Selerus asked.

Cyril nodded. Thinking of his Male Zerg's head of flower-like pink hair, a smile appeared in his eyes as he said, "Pink-haired."

Although Selerus had spent many years in prison, there were still some things he knew after coming out. Hearing this left him somewhat speechless, but he still asked with a smile:

"Does your family really lack pink-haired hatchlings? You cherish this particular shade that much?"

Female hatchlings usually inherited their male parent's hair and eye color, and there really were quite a few pink-haired female hatchlings in Cyril's family. Even if they weren't everywhere you looked, pink certainly wasn't uncommon.

"One I give birth to myself is different in the end." Cyril admitted his own selfishness.

He was a fairly impartial Female Consort. He treated all the hatchlings in the family equally, took good care of every one of them, and, partly because he loved Philor and partly because Female Zergs naturally adored hatchlings, he genuinely thought every hatchling was adorable. When they were little, he'd even picked them up one by one and cuddled them to his heart's content.

But every Zerg had selfish feelings.

So did he.

No matter how equally he treated them, he would still pay more attention to Hill, and he would still want a biological little pink-haired female hatchling of his own.

Hill was a male hatchling, and in a Zerg family, spoiling male hatchlings more was perfectly normal.

Cyril wasn't the only one who doted on him. From his Male Lord to the other Female Zergs in the household, everyone cared for Hill, protected him, and practically held him in the palms of their hands.

Come to think of it, in a family environment like that, it was genuinely difficult for a male hatchling not to grow up spoiled rotten.

Yet Zerg society and Zerg families alike had extremely low standards for Male Zergs, so as long as one wasn't too outrageous, he generally wasn't considered to have turned out badly.

He was simply considered a normal Male Zerg.

Hill certainly hadn't turned out badly.

He was merely rather special.

As his female parent, Cyril thought his hatchling was wonderful in every possible way and outstanding at everything.

Even if there were some aspects of him that didn't quite conform to mainstream Zerg society, that wasn't a problem.

A hatchling-obsessed female parent would never think there was anything wrong with his own hatchling. If there really was a problem, then clearly the problem was somewhere else.

As for the one in his belly...

This was the connection between his bloodline and his Male Lord's, the little pink-haired female hatchling he had longed for for so many years.

One he would give birth to himself.

He could only promise not to show favoritism materially. Every hatchling would receive all the resources they needed for their education and growth.

But he couldn't promise not to show favoritism emotionally.

After all, even a Zerg's heart grew off-center.

Sometimes Cyril felt ashamed of thinking this way and would try his best to compensate. But he couldn't do too much either. The hatchlings had their own female parents, and excessive concern from him would instead be inappropriate.

Over time, Cyril learned to stop being so hard on himself.

His moral bottom line was there. He would never treat them badly or create any glaring differences between them.

Beyond that, his feelings could naturally vary according to how emotionally close he was to each of them.

Just watching Cyril manage such a huge family made Selerus feel exhausted, but Cyril himself seemed to enjoy it.

Being able to run a family well was a skill in itself.

And he had his hatchling...

Being able to hold everything firmly in his own hands—from his Male Lord to the Female Attendants, to the resources under his control, and then to the hatchlings—created a network centered entirely around him.

Every Zerg needed him.

It allowed him to keep his own hatchling by his side, personally care for him, and act as he pleased. No Zerg could bully his hatchling.

Sometimes, Selerus envied him.

Suddenly, Cyril's expression changed, and the hand resting on his belly tightened.

"What's wrong?" Selerus immediately became nervous when he saw this.

Cyril stiffly lowered his head and looked down at his lower body. Feeling that distinct sensation of something descending, he said blankly, "I think... I'm about to lay?"

Cyril himself was dumbfounded.

He had laid an egg once before. He knew how the process worked. Normally, weren't there supposed to be a whole series of warning signs, followed by half a day lying on a birthing bed before the egg finally came out?

Why did he feel like the egg was about to come out right now?

Could it be that Hill was relatively shy and withdrawn and liked being alone, so Hill's egg had taken a long time to come out?

While this female egg was lively, active, and loved crowds so much that he wanted to come out right here at the banquet???

Cyril stared blankly.

Seeing that even this Zerg, who had just been saying he had experience giving birth, had gone completely stupid, Selerus knew there was no point expecting a pregnant Female Zerg about to lay an egg to remain clear-headed and rational.

He could only step up himself.

He hurried to notify the others and contact a doctor.

Philor was still outside watching the snow when he suddenly heard that his Female Consort was about to lay an egg?

Wakami?

There was no time to think. He instantly spun around and shot toward the inner room like a streak of pink lightning.

When Selerus saw a Zerg rush inside, he instinctively stepped forward to block the way, shielding Cyril behind him.

Then he watched as the Male Zerg threw all dignity aside, ducked beneath his arm, and anxiously rushed over to check on Cyril.

Only then did Selerus realize that this was the safe Marshal's residence.

The Zerg who had come in was Cyril's Male Lord, who shared an excellent relationship with him.

He wasn't someone coming to hurt Cyril and take away his egg.

Selerus stood blankly to the side.

More and more Zergs hurried over after hearing the news. All of them anxiously checked on Cyril, concerned about his condition, though there was also some curiosity about a pregnant Female Zerg laying an egg.

Ulysses walked in and swept his gaze across the room before his eyes settled on Selerus.

He walked toward him, stopped at Selerus's side, and quietly called:

"Female Parent."

Selerus abruptly came back to himself and looked at the female hatchling standing beside him.

His hatchling had already grown up, reached adulthood, and become even stronger than him.

For some reason, Selerus's eyes grew hot.

Ulysses comforted him in a low voice. "The doctor and medical aircraft have already been arranged. They'll be here very soon. You don't need to worry."

Selerus nodded.

He turned back toward Cyril, who was surrounded by everyone, and felt that there really was no need for him to worry.

Cyril's Male Lord looked capable of carrying both Cyril and the sofa onto the medical aircraft all by himself.

A Male Zerg who appeared so delicate could unleash quite a surprising amount of energy once he panicked.

The doctor arrived quickly. A whole group of Zergs escorted Cyril onto the aircraft, with Philor following him aboard. Hill, Iso, and Isidore's little family followed as well.

The banquet had also reached its end. Some Zergs decided to go to the hospital together to visit Cyril, while those who weren't particularly close thought it over and ultimately bid farewell to the Marshal before heading home.

An Ruo stood where he was and watched for a while, then retreated to Ulysses's side.

Although he really was worried—and admittedly quite curious—a pregnant Female Zerg was giving birth. It would instead seem strange for an unrelated "Male Zerg" like him to go along.

Ulysses took his slightly cold hand and enclosed it within his own, carefully warming it.

The snow was still falling, and the night wind was slightly chilly.

But warmth flowed from Ulysses's hand, and An Ruo didn't feel cold in the slightest.

Nearby, Selerus hesitated and kept glancing in the direction of the departing aircraft.

Ulysses knew he was worried and took the initiative to suggest that he go visit Cyril on behalf of the Marshal's residence.

The worry hanging over Selerus finally found somewhere to settle. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked several steps forward before suddenly turning back.

Under the two Zergs' puzzled gazes, he presented an exquisitely wrapped box to Ulysses and said somewhat apologetically:

"New Year's gift."

As he spoke, he also gave An Ruo, who was curiously looking over from the side, an apologetic smile.

An Ruo understood.

There was nothing for him.

But how could there be nothing for him?

That was too much!

After Selerus left, Ulysses opened the gift box. When An Ruo saw the familiar pattern of the scarf inside, he finally understood why there wasn't one for him.

With so little time, Selerus had only managed to finish knitting one scarf.

Seeing that Ulysses didn't seem to know what to do either, An Ruo took the scarf out, wrapped one end around Ulysses's neck, and wrapped the other end around his own.

There.

Now they both had a scarf.

Sharing the scarf beneath the snowy night sky, An Ruo tilted his head and smiled at Ulysses.

The movement even tugged the scarf against Ulysses's neck.

Ulysses gazed at him indulgently, a smile appearing in his eyes as well.

The scarf was very warm.

And perhaps one scarf was even warmer than two.