Chapter 4

In fact, Carlos could not even figure out why he had brought such an inferior larva back.

He had given him a healing sac, and had even asked him, rather foolishly, which colony the little outcast in front of him had belonged to. If he could at least learn that, he could pretend he had noticed nothing until the spaceship landed and offer him a little protection in the colony's name.

But that was all Carlos could do.

The world of the Zerg was one where strength reigned supreme.

Inferior specimens would never be allowed to remain in the tribe. Carlos and Hill, in particular, both came from the seven great families at the very top of Zerg society. If not for this accident, an individual as feeble and inferior as the one before Carlos would not even have been allowed near him.

Without strength, there could be no protection.

Unless he was truly willing to exchange his body for Hill's personal protection, his fate would probably be no better than dying in a human research institute.

"What's your name, outcast?"

Carlos heard Hill ask the larva with a grin.

"...Su... Su Lin."

Then the cold Zerg colonel heard the larva answer with immense clumsiness and hesitation.

The larva sounded as though he were speaking for the first time; even his voice was incredibly faint.

But there was no denying that it was a rather pleasant voice.

Hill clearly thought the same as Carlos.

From where Carlos stood, he could see the thick, metal-like armor on Hill's back part slightly. The tips of the soft wings hidden beneath it emerged, their colors growing brighter.

It was a sign that Hill was excited.

Carlos glanced briefly at Hill's gorgeous wings, then looked away in disgust.

Well, no male Zerg would want to look at another male's wings.

But Carlos did not know why he continued to stand there, watching the larva named Su Lin tremble beneath Hill's fingertips.

He was terrified.

Carlos could sense it, and strangely, it made him feel a subtle, unfamiliar restlessness.

The next moment, he saw the larva look toward him as if asking for help.

Carlos: ...

Chapter 4

Carlos picked Su Lin up and placed him behind himself.

He spoke to Hill in an even colder voice than usual.

"Your scent is disgusting."

Carlos was referring to the scent Hill was giving off.

Hill hissed at Carlos.

He was clearly very taken with this larva, whose voice and appearance were both quite alluring.

"Hey, little thing, I'll ask you one more time. You really won't come with me?"

The man turned and looked at Su Lin with the hint of a smile.

Faced with the seemingly gentle question, Su Lin felt his scalp go numb. He did not know how he had managed it, but he had indeed sensed that strange aura coming from Hill, an aura filled with the desire and greed of a high-ranking adult male Zerg seeking pleasure.

"..."

Hill watched the frail, pale young man before him press his lips together and shake his head at him with great determination.

"Tsk-"

He licked the tips of his teeth.

It had been a long time since Hill had felt so genuinely displeased.

Perhaps it was because Carlos had been watching from the side when that ungrateful larva rejected him.

"I really hope you won't regret this later."

Hill's voice grew much colder than before.

Su Lin involuntarily shuddered again at his whisper. Only then did the unfortunate human realize that, once the seemingly glib and frivolous officer dropped his mask, he looked even more sinister and cold than Carlos.

"You should leave."

Just then, Carlos suddenly spoke.

He took a seemingly casual step forward, positioning himself between Su Lin and Hill.

"The elders of the Black Thorn Colony are waiting for you in the conference room. They want you to explain why you abused a Black Thorn Colony member on the team for no reason."

Carlos was as formal and precise as ever.

Noticing Carlos's small movement, Hill's expression darkened further.

"Has anyone ever told you, Carlos, that this sanctimonious act of yours is really disgusting?"

Before leaving, Hill suddenly pulled his lips into a grin and sneered at Carlos.

"You're still considered wounded at present. Until the spaceship returns to base, military personnel are not permitted to harm the wounded. For that time at least, you will receive temporary protection from me, Carlos Pale Calamity, in your capacity as a wounded person."

After Hill left, Carlos noticed that the larva behind him was still trembling badly.

He gazed closely at the pathetically weak larva and, after a brief silence, granted him unprecedented preferential treatment.

Unfortunately, the larva had clearly been terrified by Hill. Even after receiving such a boon, he still looked utterly frightened.

Carlos frowned, feeling irritated once again.

But he still did not know why.

Su Lin did not know why things had turned out this way either.

Carlos made suitable arrangements for him before leaving, and Su Lin, who had been observing closely from the side, realized that the place where he had been staying was actually a Zerg medical room. Was he really aboard a Zerg warship, receiving exactly the same treatment as a real Zerg?

Once he realized this, Su Lin could hardly wait to hide back inside that sticky, soggy, thoroughly disgusting-looking fleshy lump. He now knew that it was actually a Zerg medical pod-or, in the Zerg's own terminology, a "healing sac."