MCDWTBS Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“What do you mean?” Serra’s voice rose a bit: “But Marshal Ax clearly violated—”

“Ax privately injected male pheromones without being marked. That’s the reason he maintained his combat power.”

Clisson stared directly at Serra, his face gloomy: “And that bought him about seven years, seven years of rationality, seven years of combat power, seven years of protection for the Imperial army. Before confessing to the Church and the Royal Family through that speech, he was already at the end of his rope, every blood vessel in his body was collapsing.”

“And our act of stealing male pheromones had already been discovered. In the last few days of Ax’s personal presence on the battlefield, he went through the process of suffering from pheromone deficiency syndrome for several years that ordinary female insectoids endure. Unbearable pain made him want to end his life countless times, and in the end, he chose to end everything in a ridiculous way, declaring the final failure of Project Dawn.”

“In those final days, he wanted to prostrate himself at the feet of the male insectoid he had never even seen, who was forced to provide him with pheromones, every moment of every day. He wanted to beg every moment. He tore his body apart countless times, enduring that kind of pain.”

“So he said to those military female insectoids, to those sub-males, ‘The Bug Mother will not favor us.’ This sentence was verified by him with all his efforts and struggles. He walked through the flames of hell, and the Hall of Glory did not open its doors to him, did not make an exception for any female or sub-male insectoid.”

“We have no room for clever tricks, no shortcuts to unscathed retreat. So even if the Duke asks me many times, I will still say, no.”

Serra quietly looked at Clisson’s electronic projection. Even though the other party didn’t show a look of grief or despair on his face, but rather a nonchalant gloom, Serra still felt layers upon layers of dark clouds crushing down airtightly.

Despair is beyond words. It will rob a living being of its five senses, leaving only a seemingly fearless and painless numbness.

“No.”

The young male insectoid’s voice was clear and bright, his caramel-colored eyes radiating a burning light: “I cannot accept this result, Professor Clisson. I cannot give up, forgive my naivety and recklessness. But there must be a path ahead. Living beings are not made by gods, and there is no high or low distinction between you and my soul. No god can decide life and death with a single thought. Project Dawn may have failed, but we will have other plans.”

Clisson quietly stared at the young male insectoid for a long time, so long that the young male insectoid thought he would never speak again. After a long time, Clisson raised a mocking smile:

“Lofty words spoken by a young bug who has enjoyed all the pampering of the gods and all the privileges of his status.”

“I don’t believe in gods.”

Serra said suddenly. The curly-haired little cub’s ears twitched quietly, and his caramel-colored eyes rolled around, a little guiltily afraid that Edwin would suddenly appear and hear this sentence. Last time, Edwin heard him being disrespectful to the Mother Goddess, and he had rarely put on a stern face for him.

But he quickly realized that Edwin had been asked to rest in the medical bay and would not appear in the workshop. The cub’s head hair re-emerged, and a pair of burning, fearless eyes stared straight at Clisson:

“I don’t believe in gods, I don’t respect gods. I don’t believe that gods created you and me. I don’t believe that gods would inflict such cruel punishments on high-level female insectoids, just to entertain so-called ‘divine sons’. I am not a divine son either. My body is much more fragile than yours. In fact, if you wanted to, you have a million ways to kill a male insectoid.”

“And I am sure that the so-called gods will not punish you, because she has never existed. Our fates are all in our own hands. This is the meaning of our existence. Therefore, I will definitely continue to try, and I hope to get your help. But if not, I will never give up.”

Clisson was silent for a long time. A hint of surprise rarely appeared on his gaunt face, and that almost diluted his numbness and indifference. Serra thought, perhaps because no atheist or male insectoid would say these things to him.

“You’re very interesting, Duke. But… the genes of female insectoids and sub-males seem to have been cut and added with a segment of genes that male insectoids don’t have, used to match the genes injected by male insectoids.”

Clisson reopened his mouth, his voice losing some of its gloom and coldness, sounding like a wise elder: “After female insectoids and sub-males reach adulthood, the defective genes begin to destroy their bodies. The higher their physical level, the faster they are damaged. Therefore, military female insectoids, who are at the peak of the insectoid race’s combat power, begin to face gene collapsing disease after adulthood. The other female insectoids and sub-males are luckier if they use less of their mental energy or stimulate their physical abilities. But pheromone deficiency syndrome still affects their bodies, only the effect is slow, bestowing them with a few decades of life.”

“You guessed right, the process of a male insectoid marking essentially uses divine power to inject pheromones into the body of a female or sub-male insectoid. Divine power allows the genes carried in the pheromones to compensate for the defective genes of the female insectoids and sub-males, so that they become a part of the male insectoid genetically. And the extra genes in the female insectoid and sub-male insectoid’s bodies also help the male insectoid reproduce.”

“The Church hasn’t lied about at least one thing: female insectoids and sub-males seem to be toys and weapons tailored for male insectoids. Without male insectoids, they cannot survive, and male insectoids hold their leashes.”

“Without being voluntarily marked by a male insectoid, stealing and injecting male pheromones is like drinking poison to quench thirst for female insectoids and sub-males. Male insectoid pheromones will temporarily leave the male insectoid’s genes in the female insectoid’s body, but they will not stay, making the female insectoids feel like they are being eaten by ten thousand ants at every moment, with no peace. Death is even a relief.”

“These are the results of years of secret research by Project Dawn. Now, does the Duke understand?”

Serra frowned tightly. There were still many things he couldn’t understand. Such a biological genetic structure didn’t conform to the laws of natural evolution at all, to the point that it overturned all of Serra’s previous speculations.

As a human, he naturally firmly believed in Darwin’s theory of evolution, but did the insectoids really have the same life evolution process as humans? If so, the physiological structure between males and females couldn’t have such sharp contradictions and inequalities. And if not, how could one explain the so-called mental energy of male insectoids?

Currently, it seemed that mental energy was indeed a huge bug. The insectoid race revered it as divine power, because it was invincible. No matter how powerful a female insectoid was, she couldn’t compare to mental tendrils. Was this really reasonable? If female insectoids and sub-males couldn’t be tainted by divine power, how was it conceived in the bodies of female insectoids and sub-males?

The more Serra thought about it, the more his head hurt. He shook his little head, shaking out the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind, and reaffirmed his atheistic beliefs.

Yes, he was still a firm atheist. He would definitely get to the bottom of everything and find the root of everything.

“I understand. Thank you for your selfless sharing, Professor Clisson. But I will not give up my attempts.”

Serra bowed slightly to Clisson, expressing his gratitude. But Clisson didn’t speak. He hung up the video, and soon sent the remaining data of Project Dawn and the new system for the hand ring to Serra’s mainframe.

*

Serra was so busy that his hand ring emitted a prompting vibration, only then did he realize that it was time to make lunch for Edwin again. He trotted down from the workbench and walked to the door of the small kitchen, only to find Edwin with an apron tied around his waist, standing in the kitchen.

His slender, fair hands were holding a kitchen knife, using an odd posture of encircling the handle with his tiger’s mouth, cutting a piece of plant rootstalk in a stabbing motion. Yet, he was cutting it especially finely, as thin as cicada wings.

Hearing Serra’s footsteps, he turned his head and winked at Serra, whose eyes were full of surprise. Sunlight reflected a halo between his gentle eyebrows and eyes. Serra stopped, his eyes dazed.

“Is *Cifu* cooking? What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for *Cifu*.”

“I also want to make it for the Young Male Master.”

Overnight, Edwin became more and more proficient in using “I” as the subject to express his likes and dislikes. The societal regulations had once prevented him from directly using himself as the main body to express his thoughts. But under the careful nurturing of the young male insectoid, he was quietly changing.

The young male insectoid raised the corners of his lips, squeezing out two small dimples. He swung his chubby carrot-like legs and climbed onto the kitchen island, resting his chubby face on his hands as he watched the female insectoid’s broad, straight shoulders and the narrow waist bound by the apron.

“Okay, just this once. *Cifu* shouldn’t stay away from the medical bay for too long, okay?”

“Understood, Young Male Master.”

Edwin’s voice was gentle, accompanied by the sound of the blade gently tapping the cutting board. Sunlight poured down, gilding his ink-black hair with a layer of golden light, making the young male insectoid watch intently.

“Host, I feel something is wrong.”

The system’s voice sounded faintly in Serra’s mind.

“What’s wrong?” Nonsense, this is extremely right. Serra’s gaze fell on Edwin’s slender waist, absentmindedly answering the system. The fabric around Edwin’s waist was softly gathered because of the constraints of the apron, and the outline of his waist was faintly visible, even more seductive.

“According to the main system’s prediction, given Edwin’s current state, the probability of him heading to the Rebel Army in pain is less than twenty percent.” The system’s voice was faint: “The probability of Edwin heading to the Rebel Army is less than forty percent. Even if the host is only concerned with the outcome, does Edwin look like he’s ready to pick up a weapon and fight the Empire to the death?”

The system’s girlish voice suddenly rose, finally making Serra, who had been staring at Edwin with glazed eyes, have a buzzing in his head. He blinked, and when he looked at Edwin again, he really couldn’t directly refute the system.

Edwin was wearing a dark gray cashmere cardigan, the v-neck revealing a section of delicate, smooth, and powerful chest. His movements of carefully turning the ingredients were cautious and unskilled, his fingers gentle and careful, his ink-black hair pulled up behind his ears, his translucent side face like a nineteenth-century portrait, exuding a hazy, saintly gentleness.

Even if Serra had ten mouths, he would be embarrassed to say that Edwin looked like he could join a revolution at any moment. In reality, he was like the gentle wife in a drama who, after all the prosperity had faded away, wholeheartedly wanted to spend the rest of his life with the one he loved.

Wife… Serra’s nose warmed up, and he quickly covered it with his chubby hands, trying to cover up his indecent associations and talking nonsense to the system:

“You can’t say that, system. Didn’t you see my efforts? You’re anxious about even the slightest deviation. Actually, I’m playing a very big game.”

He was very serious, but actually trying to cover it up, saying, “Look, isn’t Edwin’s body weakening? And I’m a four-headed body with only a fighting strength of five, and I can’t control the degree of physical punishment at all. So, I’ve researched a brand new way to stimulate Edwin’s awakening, and that is mental manipulation. Have you heard of pua? Once a female insectoid has been pua’d, she will be in unbearable pain with just one look from me. This can not only stimulate Edwin, but I don’t have to go head-to-head with a military female insectoid with my five-short, fighting-strength-of-five body. Just watch.”

The simple system was fooled again. Its current buzzed for a while, and then uncertainly asked:

“But what does mental torture have to do with Edwin being your *Cifu*…?”

Seeing that the system was about to grow a brain, Serra’s little chubby cheeks twitched, and he quickly made up for it:

“This is a deception to relax him! Actually, I’m preparing to subject him to cruel mental abuse, making him mistakenly believe that being my *Cifu* is part of my plan. I have my own rhythm, don’t worry about it, just cheer me on. Oh right, actually, I’ve always had a question. Why did the future send you here? The revolution will happen no matter what. This despicable civilization will come to an end. Edwin participated in the revolution, even… sacrificed his life, didn’t he? Why did you make me transmigrate here to help him awaken?”

The system’s buzzing became louder. After a long time, it replied:

“Because the losses in the future were too severe. The change and disappearance of civilizations are different. A disappearing civilization is like a slowly spreading plague, silently taking away all living beings, even the gods cannot save her people.”

“Even if the rule of the male insectoids is overthrown, all the hatred, resentment, death, and genocide will still be staged in turn.”

“Gods? Wait, system, who is your creator? What is Edwin’s final ending? You clearly said that he joined the Rebel Army, overthrew the rule of the male insectoids, and also organized the male insectoid rule that dragged the insectoid civilization to destruction, didn’t he? He—”

“He didn’t see what happened later, host. He just fell at the moment when the rule of the male insectoids collapsed. Male insectoids, female insectoids, sub-males, no matter what position they were in during the transformation, they all died one after another. Civilization was saved, but it also declined. It was not destroyed in the war, but it is disappearing. My existence is the final attempt made by the Cosmic Life Tribunal. General Edwin is the key to reversing the situation, and his last words before his sacrifice were, ‘If I hadn’t been so foolish, and had woken up sooner, things would have been better.'”

“The Life Tribunal therefore took action, and I chose to bind to the host. I hope the host does not forget his original intention, completes the Life Tribunal’s wish, as well as Edwin’s personal wish, and helps him awaken as soon as possible.”

Serra listened to the system’s calm words, and his heart ached because of the information the system revealed.

His Edwin, in the end, was like Marshal Ax, giving it his all for a future that he couldn’t see hope for after experiencing all the torture, and died on the battlefield.

He left a fragile spark for his compatriots, enduring all the pain to die. But his only thought was to blame himself for why he couldn’t have come sooner, to blame himself for why his already drained life couldn’t squeeze out a little more energy to protect more other lives.

His Edwin… This is his Edwin. How could he bear for Edwin to suffer any more hardship?

Serra lowered his eyelids, suppressed his surging thoughts, squeezed out a smile, and coaxed the system, saying:

“Don’t worry, everything is on the right track. I’m torturing Edwin’s mind. Soon he will be overwhelmed and head towards awakening! Don’t worry about my work.”

“Okay, host. Since you’re so sure, then good luck!”

The system encouraged innocently, and Serra patted the system’s head in his heart as reassurance. In his eyes, he saw Edwin, who was ignorant of his fate, picking up the plate and walking towards him, swaying his bound slender waist:

“Young Male Master, please enjoy.”