Chapter 13

The advanced healing pod that had originally enveloped Su Lin had now been reduced to a shriveled skin. Torn to pieces, it lay scattered around him, while the wet, viscous healing fluid had vanished without a trace.

"You used up an entire A-grade healing pod of mine."

Hill glared irritably at the still-dazed young man, the cutting teeth in his mouthparts itching.

It would have been a lie to say he didn't mind the loss. The last time he had been cut in half at the waist, he had dragged his organs and intestines all the way into this pod, yet used only about twenty percent of its active capacity. Su Lin, on the other hand, had used up an entire pod in one go!

But beneath Hill's impatient expression lay an even stronger, indescribable sense of relief.

As Hill saw it, Su Lin had used up such a precious A-grade healing pod simply because his level was too low and his injuries too severe. With injuries that bad, if it hadn't been for yesterday's accident, when Hill had acted on a sudden whim and forced Su Lin into the pod, the cheap pods in the medical room might have yielded nothing but the weak larva's bloated corpse the next time they opened one.

Fortunately...

Fortunately, he hadn't missed yesterday's accident.

Fortunately, it wasn't too late.

"I'm sorry."

Su Lin hadn't noticed Hill's subtle feelings at that moment.

But he was still frightened. He didn't know much about healing pods, but if using one could make a high-ranking Zerg officer look so pained by the loss, he could guess it had been quite expensive.

Su Lin immediately began to apologize.

"I didn't mean to..."

The young man lowered his head in a show of weakness, his damp black hair hiding his eyes.

From Hill's angle, all he could see was his pointed chin and pale lips.

The larva had spent so long in the healing pod, yet he didn't look any stronger. He was still that pitiful, delicate figure who looked as though a strong gust of wind could shatter him at any moment.

"Has anyone ever told you that an inferior Zerg's apology is actually worthless?"

Hill spoke, feeling a surge of irritation.

"If you really want to apologize, you should know what to do."

The tall Zerg's gaze sharpened. He stared straight at Su Lin, then reached out a hand without thinking.

He didn't actually have any bad ideas in mind just then. At most, he had intended to rub the larva's lips to bring a little color to them. But at that small gesture, Su Lin reacted as though he'd been burned. He flinched violently, then fell straight to the ground, his body too weak to support him.

"Ah..."

A low moan filled with pain escaped Su Lin's lips involuntarily.

Even Su Lin hadn't expected it. He had only accidentally bumped his back, so why did it hurt this much? Even getting hit in the dick wouldn't hurt this badly, would it?

Seeing the larva fall to the ground and tremble all over in pain, Hill, who had been about to lose his temper, stiffened. He thought Su Lin was probably just playing the victim to avoid him, and his words inevitably grew harsh again.

"What are you doing? It's not like you're growing wings. You just brushed your back against something. There's no way it could hurt that-"

Just then, his cursing abruptly caught in his throat.

Before Su Lin could stop him, he felt a chill against his skin. The loose hospital gown he was wearing abruptly shredded beneath Hill's fingertips.

His back was exposed.

"Heh..."

Then Su Lin heard a sound from Hill. He suspected he really was hallucinating from the pain. Otherwise, why did it sound as though Hill was laughing?

A few seconds later, Su Lin realized he hadn't been hallucinating. Hill's mood had visibly brightened, and he had even become utterly smug.

"Well, I'll give you one last chance. Are you really not going to accept my protection?" The Zerg stared at Su Lin, his gaze burning.

"Wh-what?"

"Look, if you become my 'honey bug,' you can have more A-grade healing pods." Hill hadn't noticed that his gaze was completely glued to Su Lin's back.

"After treatment in just one A-grade healing pod... your wings have already begun to grow."

Facing the bewildered larva, Hill licked his lips, his voice a little husky.

"You're developing again, little thing."

Before their formal eclosion, larvae went through a period of "metamorphosis" that could be long or short. They gradually began to change from their frail human forms toward the Zerg's original appearance. During this period, depending on their colony and species, they underwent processes such as shedding their skin, regrowing limbs, and replacing their wings.

Perhaps the most symbolic of these was the appearance of wings. The first wings to develop usually had no practical function. They were called "first wings" and were much more delicate and fragile than true wings. As the larva's body gradually matured, the first wings would fall off, and after formal eclosion, they would become the wings of a mature Zerg.

However, although first wings served no practical purpose in the vast majority of cases, they still carried some other significance: whether a Zerg would be powerful could generally be seen from the form of his first wings.

Strong, thick, brightly colored wings foretold that the larva would become a fiercer adult after eclosion.

By that Zerg standard, Su Lin's pair of wings was clearly nothing special-they were far too thin and delicate. Just like Su Lin, they looked incredibly fragile.

Hill even doubted that, if Su Lin was lucky enough to survive until eclosion and grow adult wings, he would actually be able to fly.

But why was a pair of wings that clearly foretold weakness and inferiority so beautiful?