Chapter 7
Carlos showed little expression.
"That Class A healing pod will be transferred to you from my account later."
He said.
Then, before Hill could speak, he added, "...I was the one who rescued Su Lin. As long as he's on this ship, he's under my supervision. I'm very grateful that you generously provided an advanced healing pod, Hill, but now I'm taking him to see the people from the Security Committee."
With that, Carlos looked at Su Lin.
"Let's go, Su Lin."
His gaze lingered for a moment on the wings behind Su Lin, then he quickly looked away.
He took off his coat and draped it over Su Lin's shoulders.
"It'll be a little uncomfortable when your initial wings first sprout. Don't let anyone touch them as they please. That can easily damage the wing sacs and affect your mature wings later."
He seemed to be giving Su Lin a serious warning.
After leaving Hill's cabin, Carlos and Su Lin were both silent on the way to the examination room.
Carlos had never been much of a talker, so the silence should have been normal. Yet right now, he still felt a little... a little uncomfortable.
As if that nonexistent, damaged venom sac in his body were still leaking highly corrosive venom, Carlos felt as though something were tugging hard at the nerve bundles connecting his brain to his body.
The larva beside him seemed very reluctant-Carlos had noticed it when they left Hill.
The dejected, pale-faced young man had said nothing when he left Hill, yet Carlos thought he saw a glimmer of tears in those clear eyes.
Was it because of that Class A healing pod? Or something else? In just one night, the larva who had originally been closer to him had developed such a strong dependence on that nasty, frivolous Zerg.
The thought made the discomfort even more pronounced.
It's not like I can't provide plenty of Class A healing pods too...
Carlos thought.
As he thought this, he noticed Su Lin's steps growing slower and slower.
His antennae pressed back.
"If you truly enjoy being with Hill more, I'll take you to him once the bloodline screening is over."
Carlos finally spoke, unable to bear it any longer.
Only when the words came out did he realize how cold and hard his voice sounded.
It was just like freshly cut Arthurcy ore, the kind that could draw blood through armor at the slightest touch.
Chapter 7
Before Su Lin realized something was wrong with Carlos's tone, his mind had been completely blank.
No, strictly speaking, his state was closer to "my brain is such a mess that I can't think of anything."
From the moment he heard the words "bloodline screening" and "Security Committee" from Carlos, Su Lin had been scared senseless. Other humans might not know what bloodline screening and the Security Committee meant, but as a researcher at Research Institute No. 37, Su Lin unfortunately knew all too well-
It had happened decades ago. Although humans and the Zerg were at war, the Zerg themselves were considered quite useful "merchandise" in the human world, and smugglers operating in the gray area between the Zerg Empire and the Galactic Human Alliance made a fortune as a result. In particular, the Zerg had an innate tendency to expel lower-ranked individuals, which meant the "goods" the smugglers could obtain were very safe and easy to control.
For a long time, their business had gone very well.
That lasted until the war between humans and the Zerg entered a cold war phase. The price of a Zerg on the human black market soared to an astonishing level, but supplies grew increasingly difficult to obtain.
In the end, these smugglers, who were either too stupid or too ingenious, came up with an astonishing idea-they used special methods to transplant a human brain directly into the body of a mid-level Zerg general, then found a way to have this Zerg rescued by his own kind.
The smugglers hoped this officer would become a "nail" they planted among the Zerg.
The plan should have been flawless. After all, aside from his human brain and consciousness, that "Zerg" was a perfectly normal Zerg in every respect.
However, on his first day back, the spy sent word.
He had to undergo a bloodline screening.
A few days later, the smuggler who had long thrived in the gray area and proclaimed himself its underground emperor received a special "gift," a package delivered in the name of the Royal Court Security Committee. As a Class D researcher, Su Lin had not actually had the clearance to learn everything about what ultimately happened to the man whose identity the Security Committee had uncovered. He had only gotten a general idea, but even that had made him refuse to eat meat for the next half month, because it made him feel like throwing up.
The people from the Security Committee were monsters, lunatics, demons.
And Su Lin was about to meet them.
He certainly didn't think that a chimera like himself, inexplicably fused with a Zerg through some ancient equipment, could escape the Zerg Security Committee's bloodline screening.
Thinking about what awaited him, Su Lin was in a deep panic when he realized something was wrong with Carlos's tone. Don't ask why he was so sensitive to changes in the emotions of the Zerg beside him. To put it bluntly, the short time since arriving in the Zerg world had been enough for a certain unlucky straight man to understand what was at stake: in this terrifying world full of dangers, Carlos was probably the only one he could rely on.
Su Lin had a great deal of experience choosing whose thigh to hug.
Unfortunately, at this critical moment, the only "thigh" he could safely hug seemed to have become dissatisfied with him.