Chapter 425: My mom doesn’t like dummies

Rory stared thoughtfully in the direction Bree’s starship had gone.

She turned to Vincent and asked, "If she really is Zerg, what happens to the males who bonded with her?"

Rory had heard that the mates Bree selected were all influential males across various sectors, and none of them were low in rank. If she truly belonged to the Zerg race, it was easy to see her objective: she wanted to use these males to infiltrate every corner of the Empire. This was a highly ambitious Zerg.

"If she really is Zerg, it’s impossible for her to truly bond with beastmen males," Vincent said, looking at Rory tenderly. "I’ll have her identity cleared up before the Female Festival. As for her current mates, I’ll also figure out exactly what’s going on with them."

Rory nodded. Specialized matters were best left to the experts. However...

"Vincent, have someone look out for Dax. From the looks of it today, Bree is growing impatient and wants to make a move on him. Since she didn’t succeed today, she’ll definitely try again."

Right now, Dax had already fallen out with the high-ranking officials of the Empire and the Fox clan. He likely didn’t have many high-ranking powerhouses left by his side to protect him.

Hearing this, Vincent let out a soft chuckle. Rory looked at him, slightly bewildered by his reaction. "What are you laughing at?" she asked.

Vincent shook his head. "Nothing. Don’t worry, Vangar and I took the benefits he offered, so we absolutely won’t let anything happen to him."

Rory nodded and checked the time on her optical computer. It was almost noon; it was time for them to head back.

Rory smiled and raised a hand to pat the top of her head where Terry was. "Terry, are you awake yet? We’re heading home!" Terry had insisted on coming along to accompany her shopping, but he had done nothing but sleep since they arrived.

"Te—" Rory’s hand froze on her head, her expression changing instantly. "Terry?"

"Vincent, Terry seems to be gone." Rory frantically patted around her head, but she couldn’t feel him anywhere.

Vincent checked her head himself and confirmed that Terry wasn’t there. His gaze swept over Rory’s outfit. "Did Terry hide somewhere in your clothes?"

Rory carefully checked herself over and shook her head, tears of panic threatening to fall. "No!" Though Terry possessed her memories, he was still just a cub at the end of the day. How could Rory not panic when he went missing?

"Rory, don’t panic just yet. Terry might have spotted something interesting and run off to play. He should still be inside the Starlight Prime Tech building. I’ll notify Dax right now to lock down the premises. I promise I’ll find Terry."

Rory nodded rapidly, forcing herself to calm down. "Terry was still on my head when I was in the lounge. Have Dax check the surveillance footage. Terry must have gone missing right around the time I stepped out of the lounge." She distinctly remembered patting Terry a couple of times while she was resting in there. He was definitely around back then.

Vincent nodded and immediately alerted Dax. Following that, he notified Jasper and the others that Terry was missing.

Meanwhile, aboard the starship.

Bree sat in the master control room’s seat, looking displeased as she glared at Sylas. "Didn’t I tell you to keep Rory and her mates distracted? How did she show up so quickly?"

If she had just been one minute later, she could have made Dax obey her completely.

Sylas lowered his head and replied in a deep voice, "At that moment, Rory claimed she had an upset stomach and needed to use the restroom. Vincent accompanied her out. I originally intended to follow them, but her mate, Jasper, blocked my way."

Bree’s expression darkened instantly. "She definitely did it on purpose. Acting like my friend on the surface, but in reality, she still doesn’t trust me."

This Rory sure knew how to play a part. She wasn’t like that idiot Yilan, who was genuinely brainless.

"Dax has already fallen out with both the Imperial high-ranking officials and the Fox clan. We must hurry and force him to become my mate. Otherwise, once he finds a new backer, it will be even harder to make a move on him."

Hearing this, Sylas frowned. "Does it have to be Dax? I heard the one who helped him handle the Imperial officials was Vangar. As for the Fox clan, it was Vincent who intervened. Could Dax already be collaborating with them?"

Bree pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Dax used to be Rory’s matched partner. Aren’t you males highly possessive? How could powerhouses like Vincent and Vangar possibly collaborate with a beastman who once tried to compete with them for their female master? Most likely, Rory made them help Dax out."

Having said this, Bree rubbed her arm as she analyzed the situation further. "Looking at it this way, Rory hasn’t completely given up on Dax either. That’s why Dax still holds onto hope for Rory even though he clearly knows their match was revoked."

Rory certainly had good methods, managing to string along a shrewd male like Dax to this extent.

Sylas glanced at Bree and asked, "Then what should we do next?"

"Force him to bond with me, of course," Bree said without a second thought.

Securing Starlight Prime Tech was equivalent to securing the Empire’s wallet. With all that money, she would be able to expand her network of connections much faster. When the time came, she could use that network to control all intelligence across the interstellar Empire, gradually eating away at and dismantling these beastmen.

Once the timing was ripe, she would lead the Zerg race to completely occupy this place.

Staring at the scenery outside the starship, Bree instructed Sylas, "You go personally tonight. No matter what method you use, you must bring Dax before me."

Since Dax refused to do this the easy way, they could only do it the hard way.

Sylas nodded. "Understood. I’ll go prepare right now."

After stepping out of the master control room and returning to his private lounge, Sylas reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a berry-sized fruit.

"You little cub, you certainly have a lot of nerve. Knowing she’s Zerg and you still dared to follow us here."

Terry bounced a couple of times in Sylas’s palm, speaking in a tiny voice. "If I didn’t follow you, how was I supposed to cure your poisoning? Without me, you’d be eaten clean by that bug in another two days. You should thank me—I’m your savior."

"Thank you, my little savior." Sylas extended a finger and gently poked the round little guy in his palm.

This was the cub of Yuel and Rory. He was truly adorable. If those misunderstandings hadn’t happened back then, would he and Rory have had such a cute cub together by now?

Unfortunately, there were no ’ifs.’ Even though he hadn’t truly bonded with Bree, the things he had done for her over this period meant he no longer had the right to appear before Rory.

"What’s wrong with you?" Terry sighed, seeing Sylas suddenly staring at him with a sorrowful expression. "Are you feeling sad because you think you’re no longer worthy of my mom?"

Terry shifted into his apple-sized child form, sitting down in Sylas’s hand as he offered some earnest advice. "Actually, you don’t need to be sad."

Sylas looked at him. "You mean..." Did he still have a chance?

Terry said, "I mean, even if you hadn’t been tricked by that bug, you still wouldn’t have stood a chance with my mom. Because you’re too dumb, and my mom doesn’t like dummies."

Sylas: "..."