Chapter 15

The thought flashed through Su Lin's mind.

He soon fell asleep, his mind at ease.

Of course, if Su Lin had been fortunate enough to see the look in Medises's eyes as he stood outside the treatment pod at that moment, he probably would have had a hard time feeling so happy and at ease.

With all his disguises stripped away, the silver-haired Zerg looked downright chilling.

Certain unusual fantasies even made Medises lose control and fully reveal his original Zerg form in the room.

He was a huge, ferocious, terrifying monster, with hard scales covering his entire body, visibly sharp cutting claws, and a fearsome venomous stinger.

His entire body was bright red, the vivid red of the thickest, hottest blood.

Yet that color did not extend to Medises's wings, even though, for a Blood Wing, their wings should have been the most richly colored and brilliant part of their bodies.

But Medises's wings were gray.

They were not the wings a Zerg was born with, but mechanical metal wings installed later. Of course, even a glance was enough to show that Medises's metal wings embodied a great deal of advanced Zerg technology. They were weapons capable of easily causing enormous casualties, yet the silvery gray metal looked so incongruous and ugly against his scarlet body.

Even so, Medises spread his wings to their full span without restraint in front of the Class A treatment pod.

"The price..."

he murmured.

"Is staying by my side forever."

Author's note:

Xue Yao: Why are you trying so hard to suck up to me?

Little Grove (183): For the scholarship, boss! Your lab has the most scholarship money, aaaaaah!!!!!

Chapter 15

First Star Sector, Milky Way Human Alliance

Research Institute No. 3, under the Military Intelligence Bureau

At the same time that an unlucky straight man somewhere in the distant stars curled up and fell fast asleep in an expensive Class A treatment pod, someone deep inside a military secret base in the First Star Sector was frantically questioning a man standing at a lab bench. They were in the laboratory reserved for the special operations team of the project codenamed "Cake."

"...Professor Xue Yao, I need a clear answer. Research Institute No. 37 was attacked this time without any warning whatsoever. Was it because the Zerg have realized that we possess fragments of a Zerg Queen's remains?"

Those words should have been delivered with more authority, and the man speaking was certainly not weak or useless by nature. In fact, many of the alliance's major policies had taken shape under his leadership. Yet as chief of staff for the latest administration, this sought-after adviser in other fields seemed especially powerless before the white-clad researcher not far away.

Xue Yao, whom many people secretly called the "Tyrant," did not really fit the average person's stereotype of a researcher.

Even beneath a white coat loose enough to conceal his entire figure, his tall, solidly built body, shaped by rigorous training, still stood out.

His face was handsome enough to put the popular male idols of the day to shame.

Even knowing who he was, ninety-nine percent of people who saw him for the first time would have thought he was some top male model created through advanced genetic engineering.

Or a bionic human meant to serve a special purpose.

If the typical researcher was supposed to be frail and mild-mannered, then Xue Yao was the complete opposite of that default conception.

His eyes were very dark, and his expression was always indifferent. Whenever he looked directly at someone with those eyes, which were almost inorganic, or perhaps more like those of a cold-blooded animal, he always put them under tremendous psychological pressure.

That held true even when the person in question was a senior government adviser of extraordinary status.

Hearing the adviser's urgent question, Xue Yao shook his head expressionlessly.

"Like the other garbage institutions in the other star sectors, Research Institute No. 37 only had fragments of a clone."

he replied.

Every word came at exactly the same pace and pitch, making him sound more like a robot than a robot.

The indifferent response clearly did little to reassure the adviser.

The adviser wiped away his sweat and could not resist pressing further. "But it was a Zerg Queen, the most supreme being among the Zerg. Even if it was only a clone-"

Before he had finished, Xue Yao had already turned away and buried himself in his work.

The adviser's expression changed at once.

An assistant nearby saw that things were going badly and hurried forward, explaining on his superior's behalf with a wry smile, "Mr. Adviser, I imagine you haven't had time to finish reading all the declassified documents? Based on new intelligence obtained over the past few years, we can now confirm that there are actually quite a lot of Zerg Queen remains like the ones kept at Research Institute No. 37. For many years, the Zerg have been creating large numbers of Zerg Queen clones. We haven't yet fully determined why they do this, but what we can say for certain is that, to them, these seriously flawed specimens are nothing more than relatively valuable scrap."

"But according to the remaining data, it was the Royal Court Guard that completely destroyed Research Institute No. 37 this time. There may be some other issue involved," the adviser said, his face haggard and his heart full of frustration.

He thought his luck was simply terrible. Heavens, the war between the Zerg and humanity had been deadlocked for so many years, so why did the Zerg have to invade the border just as the administration he served came to power?

"The Grand Commander wants to know whether this incident means we are going to resume the war with the Zerg?"

Recalling the chaos in the Middle Commander's office, the adviser asked with great bitterness.

What he did not notice was that, as he kept bringing up the tragedy at Research Institute No. 37, Xue Yao, whose hands had always moved with robotic precision, made a small mistake in his work.