Chapter 21

Su Lin felt that he looked just like some kind of specimen, like the butterfly specimens he often saw in the human world. In short, he was weak and helpless, completely at someone else's mercy.

Held in midair by the levitation device, Su Lin had nothing to brace himself against. He couldn't even begin to struggle, and could only watch, pale and panicked, as Medises approached him step by step.

Under Su Lin's gaze, Medises raised his hand with a strange solemnity. His slender fingertips gradually transformed into the sharp points characteristic of the Zerg's original form.

The pointed insect limb touched Su Lin. Though it was a Zerg's carapace, it felt cold as metal against his warm human skin. The immense psychological pressure nearly made Su Lin scream, but the metal ring around his throat sealed every sound deep in his chest.

He could only breathe heavily and then close his eyes in terror.

The next second, Su Lin felt a chill on his chest.

["Mmph..."]

Su Lin let out a soundless groan. In his extreme terror, tears welled involuntarily at the corners of his eyes.

I'm done for, I'm done for, I'm done for, I'm done for. This time I'm really done for-

Su Lin screamed inwardly, mourning his short life.

"Heh."

Amid the chaos, Su Lin seemed to hear a faint, cold chuckle.

Wait, it doesn't seem to hurt much?

Delighted by this discovery, Su Lin opened his eyes, only to find himself unexpectedly staring into Medises's cyan eyes, which were just inches away.

The Zerg's irises were as pale as ice from the deepest reaches of the polar regions, radiating a sharp chill. But beneath that chill, there also seemed to be something more complex, a strange emotion that was even more bewildering.

The inspector hadn't torn open Su Lin's chest and pulled out his organs for a bite or anything. He had merely used his fingertips to cut to pieces the coat Carlos had left for a certain larva.

Suddenly stripped of all his clothing, Su Lin broke out in goosebumps, and his muscles twitched slightly with tension. A damp sheen of cold sweat covered skin made pale by years without sunlight.

As Su Lin breathed, a bead of sweat dripped from his chin onto his collarbone. Then, with the young man's involuntary trembling, it slowly trickled down, finally sliding across his somewhat slender chest.

Medises lowered his lashes, his gaze lingering on Su Lin's chest for only an instant.

"Record this," he said flatly to the Zerg beside him. "...No colony markings found on the body's surface, visible or hidden."

After a pause, he added,

"The scent of another male insect's pheromones has been detected. The individual who produced this external pheromone fluid is from the Pale Calamity colony."

The antennae on the head of the Zerg responsible for recording were pressed very low, a clear sign of his nervousness.

But he recorded the data quickly.

Next, as various screens of light flashed across the special device restraining Su Lin, Medises recited a string of complex data and information. Su Lin couldn't understand much of it, but he could vaguely tell it probably had something to do with his body.

Is this the bloodline examination?

Medises's indifferent manner and his almost mechanical method of examination made Su Lin's tense body relax without him realizing it. But just as he thought that was all there was to the bloodline examination, Medises suddenly returned to stand in front of him.

The man's hand transformed into an insect limb once more, and the next second, a sharp pain struck Su Lin.

The tears that had gathered in his eyes suddenly fell, dripping onto the back of Medises's hand. The tall, indifferent Zerg, however, seemed not to notice. His fingertip had pierced Su Lin's chest, and something was seeping through the wound beneath his skin.

Su Lin could feel a faint warmth in his chest, but he couldn't lower his head, so naturally he couldn't tell what was happening to him. One thing was certain, though: the Zerg by the instruments, who should have been quietly recording, looked unusually surprised when he saw Su Lin's chest.

"Lord Medises? This is-"

"Record this. Through the bloodline summoning procedure, the individual's bloodline has been confirmed to bear an affiliated colony mark." Medises calmly watched the pattern slowly emerge on Su Lin's chest, his pupils narrowing slightly into tiny points. "This mark proves that the individual's colony is Dew Nest, a servant insect colony of Blood Wing."

An affiliated colony?

Dew Nest?

Servant... servant?

What is all this?

Su Lin listened to Medises, utterly bewildered. He was genuinely worried about himself and naturally paid close attention to Medises's words. Yet while he understood each term on its own, when they were put together in a sentence, Su Lin, a human who had only just become a Zerg, was truly at a loss. He could only vaguely sense that the situation seemed a little bad. After hearing Medises's words, the other Zerg in the examination room all seemed to show a subtle change in attitude.

It would be a long time before Su Lin understood what had caused the strangeness in the examination room that day.

Medises came from Blood Wing, a high-ranking colony second only to the royal family. Powerful colonies like this had many affiliated colonies under them. These so-called affiliated colonies... simply put, were weaker colonies that voluntarily became servants to high-ranking Zerg in exchange for their protection.

In the human world, they could probably be called "slaves."

In the Zerg world, they were collectively known as "servant insects."

Of course, there were countless "servant insect" colonies in the Zerg Empire. After all, this was an utterly brutal world, and those who weren't strong enough but still wanted to survive could only resort to such a method.

However, among all the "servant insects," one colony was quite special: Dew Nest.