MCDWTBS Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 “You know, the cub has never been… since he was little.”

The dark-haired female insectoid was at a loss for words, a rare look of guilt on his face.

As a female insectoid, he should unconditionally obey the male insectoid’s orders. At the male insectoid cub’s request, he should obediently report everything without any room for independent action.

However, at the same time, the church taught them to unconditionally protect the safety of male insectoid cubs. If he allowed the male insectoid cub to fall into a dangerous situation, the sin would be unbearable for him.

Edwin was invincible on the battlefield. His innate keenness and intuition always allowed him to quickly choose the right path in difficult situations. Therefore, he always chose to keep the male insectoid cub in a safe and undisturbed place, just like a mother beast going out to forage, trying to cover the cub’s nest with weeds.

But now, the chubby cub puffed up his belly and questioned him while lying on his chest. He was rarely at a loss for words, and his pale face flushed a little. Like a young and innocent male parent, he wrapped his arms around the male insectoid cub, without any majesty at all.

“Male parent, do you not care about me at all?”

The insectoid cub’s chubby face showed a grievance, his fleshy little mouth pouting, and the corners of his naturally smiling lips turned down, causing the female insectoid’s heart to tighten:

“We clearly agreed to be my male parent and treat me well, but you don’t tell me anything. Do you know how afraid I am of losing you?”

The male insectoid cub’s voice was soft and glutinous, clinging to the female insectoid’s chest, tiptoeing to hug the dark-haired female insectoid’s neck. The female insectoid’s stomach was filled by the insectoid cub, and although his body was still weak and in pain, his heart was filled with the chubby insectoid cub. He hugged the insectoid cub and, for the first time, rested his drooping, delicate face on the young shoulders of the little male insectoid.

“I’m sorry, Young Male Master. I… I will try my best to let you know.”

He said somewhat vaguely. Deep down, he still believed that protecting the male insectoid cub’s safety was his unshakable iron rule, but in the never-before-experienced satiety, he became relaxed and soft, and rarely told a small lie.

“If only that were true.”

Serra wasn’t stupid, nor was it the first day he had known Edwin, whose single-mindedness and sincerity were heartbreaking. His small voice was full of resentment:

“You know, I never had a male parent since I was little, and having a biological father is no different from not having one. No one has ever hugged me, and no one likes me, until I met male parent… Is male parent willing to let me be a little insectoid without a home?”

“Yue,” the system, which had been quiet in his mind for a long time, couldn’t help but vomit.

Serra ignored the system and stubbornly stared at Edwin with sleepy, caramel-colored eyes. Edwin hugged the soft ball of fluff, his mind in a mess, but his heart was full of pity. He couldn’t remember that the guy in his arms with the appearance of a cub was not the age of a cub at all.

The undeveloped male insectoid’s age was increasing, but his body remained at the four-headed height, which was extremely deceptive.

“I… I will be Young Male Master’s male parent, and I won’t abandon Young Male Master,” Edwin stammered, “I also like to hug Young Male Master.”

The female insectoid’s pair of clear blue eyes were as gentle as water, making the little male insectoid cub stare blankly. After a long while, he said:

“Then male parent, don’t hide anything from me, okay? Then male parent, tell me, what nightmare did you have just now?”

Edwin paused slightly, but in the end, he couldn’t refuse the male insectoid cub’s clinginess and infatuation. His light blue eyes drooped slightly, and his dark hair spread over his shoulders, looking like a static and beautiful classical painting.

“I dreamed of my male parent… my adjutant, Lian, those dead soldiers… and my former commander, Marshal Ax.”

The female insectoid’s voice was soft, narrating the scene in his dream. The nightmare wasn’t bizarre; in fact, it was just the most unforgettable scene in his short life. In the dream, he was too weak, his mental sea was on the verge of collapse, and his body couldn’t hold on… His whole life flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

“When I was born, male parent had already been driven out by biological father. Although male parent had received biological father’s mark, he couldn’t get enough pheromone replenishment during pregnancy, and he had to compete with female insectoids and sub-male insectoids for the limited resources in the exile zone… He didn’t wait for my first development and died from a mental sea riot.”

“That was the eighth year after I hatched. We had just had our own place to live, and we no longer had to squeeze together with other female insectoids… Most of them were physically weak. The pain of mental sea collapse made them scream all night long, and male parent was about to collapse. During the day, I went to the exile zone to scavenge. There were some abandoned robot fragments there. Male parent was very bold. He would dismantle those robots and pick up useful materials to exchange for the necessities we needed.”

“He said,” Edwin’s expression softened, and sadness slowly climbed up the corners of his eyes, reddening his eyelids. The male insectoid cub felt a pang of sadness in his heart and hugged Edwin’s neck tightly with his short, chubby hands, trying to convey comfort.

“He said that if I could find a piece of energy, I wouldn’t have to exchange it for a nutrient injection first, but… use it to make me a starry sky lamp. Male parent said that he still remembered seeing the Butterfly Nebula outside the window through the command ship when he was fighting in the army… He said that he wanted to make such a lamp for me so that I could fall asleep in the Butterfly Nebula and the light of the Chong Mother at night.”

“But when I knocked down several scavenging female insectoid cubs and went back holding a finger-thick energy block, male parent was dead.”

“His eyes were wide open, looking in the direction of the door—I think he should have been waiting for me, but I was only holding that cracked, inferior energy block, unable to do anything.”

“After male parent died, I completed my first differentiation and was arranged into a military academy by the system. My courses were very tight at that time, but my roommate Lian was very weak and was always bullied by other military academy students. In addition to completing my courses every day, I also had to clean up Lian’s mess every day to prevent him from being unable to attend classes and training and being eliminated from the military academy.”

“The eliminated military female insectoids… If they didn’t die, they would be marked ‘inferior’ by the system, and they might not be able to contact male insectoids for the rest of their lives. At that time, this was the thing that all young female insectoids feared the most.”

The male insectoid cub’s eyes darkened. He had already guessed Lian’s ending and felt the repressed, unresolved pain of the female insectoid beside him. The insectoid cub said nothing, only hugged the female insectoid tightly, close to his chest.

“I joined the army and brought Lian into the First Army to become my adjutant. He was timid and not very capable, but he trusted me very much, just like the other female insectoids in the army… Until one time, I accidentally brought them into a particle storm. The energy was exhausted, the enemies behind us were chasing after us, and we were also ambushed by a star beast. Lian died in front of me, leaving only a chest plate.”

Edwin’s voice was muffled in the little insectoid cub’s fluffy hair, sounding sad and intimate. The female insectoid himself didn’t realize that he had been taciturn all his life, taught to be rigid and quiet. For the first time, he opened up to a little insectoid cub, showing his weakness and pain in a daze.

Serra felt so sorry for him that he couldn’t bear it. His little paws groped around and patted the back of Edwin’s neck steadily to show comfort.

“But that military plate was counted in my property by the system and… was confiscated by the Duke.”

“I’ll get it back for you,” Serra quickly comforted, eagerly calling the robot, but met the female insectoid’s bewildered eyes:

“No need, Young Male Master… What’s the point of getting it back?”

The female insectoid lowered his eyes and said, “Female insectoids cannot own any property after marriage. Even if Young Male Master gives it to me, I… I can’t do anything.”

He was about to die anyway, he could feel it. Without the male master’s mark, even if Young Male Master kept giving him mental guidance, his body would still weaken, possibly for another year or so.

Once dead, any attachment to life would be meaningless. He was a senior officer who commanded the Empire’s wars, and he was also a meritorious senior military female insectoid, but…

Only he himself knew that he couldn’t protect anyone he cared about. He was a useless female insectoid.

Confusion, pain, and regret enveloped him. Edwin’s voice took on a hint of sobbing as he continued:

“Marshal Ax… was the Empire’s only 2S military female insectoid. He was very powerful, even more powerful than me. When I became his subordinate general, he was already 30 years old. Female insectoids of high levels had never been able to live this long without being marked. Female insectoids are inherently sinful. The higher their level, the earlier and more urgent their pheromone deficiency syndrome will occur. We all thought that Marshal Ax would not be able to survive past 26 and would accept the system’s assignment to become a male insectoid’s female consort or female attendant. But he had been maintaining his combat power and clear mind until he was 32 years old.”

“He was forcibly taken away by the people of the church. On the day he left, he turned on the communication and said something to all the military female insectoids.”

“He told us… he told us that the Mother Goddess had fallen asleep, and the insects waving her banner were a group of liars. He said, ‘The Chong Mother will not bless us; we only have each other.'”

“Then… the church’s robot attacked him.” Edwin’s voice trembled, and his arms couldn’t help but tighten, holding the cub in his arms tightly, like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood:

“He was covered in… covered in blood. His wings were torn off. I… I had the idea of disobeying military orders and violating the church. I wanted to save him.”

“But he looked in my direction and said ‘don’t’. I… I didn’t accomplish anything. His body was taken away by the church’s robot, like… like… like—”

—Like a withered butterfly.

“Male parent, I’m sorry, don’t say it, don’t say it.”

The male insectoid cub felt so sorry for him that he could barely breathe. He hugged the trembling female insectoid and forcibly pressed his soft face against the female insectoid’s cold cheeks:

“It’s all over… Male parent, Marshal Ax meant for you to live on. As long as you’re alive, there’s still hope, right? You still have me, Male parent, never give up hope, please.”