Chapter 69

He was like a devout believer, but without an overly fanatic or insane demeanor. Instead, his eyes were clear, radiating a warmth reminiscent of sunlight.

Rei's eyes flickered slightly, his fingers moving unconsciously, tightening the silk thread wound around Ural.

The youth instantly felt a taut sensation across his body, the sharp silk pressing against his skin, yet seemingly not causing any harm.

The companion was attempting to touch the guarded boundaries of the queen, driven by pure love, carefully and stickily drawing closer.

Rei glanced at Ural, responding nonchalantly, then released control of the silk and left the command room.

"The command room was left with only Delyan and Ural."

As soon as Rei left, the two companions' demeanors changed instantly.

Delian, usually wearing a gentle smile, still smiled but now with a subtle hint of the intimidation that comes from being long accustomed to power, resembling an elegant godfather manipulating hearts.

Ural, whose emotions fluctuated only in Rei's presence, now looked coldly at the tall insectoid, his lips curling into a slightly mocking smile.

“Merely a cunning weakling,” Delian said with a slight smile.

“A useless incompetent,” Ural remarked coldly.

Each companion made a sarcastic comment. Though both harbored thoughts of conflict, they were reluctant to disrupt the residual aura of Rei in the command room, a gift they cherished.

Yet, unwilling to share a confined space, two apex predators inherently could not tolerate another’s presence in their territory.

With a cold huff, Ural exited the command room.

Rei had just issued the next navigation orders, and Ural didn’t possess the authority to command the Sovereign for now – not his forte, so he chose to step back.

Companions didn’t engage in irrational conflicts like ordinary insectoids, vying for the queen’s favor in trivial matters without great consequence. In dangerous or special situations, they would instantly divide tasks for maximum benefit.

*****

Rei returned to her resting quarters.

The time distortion lasted four days, during which Rei’s power reverted to its initial post-birth level, though her physical condition remained largely unchanged.

Without logistic insectoids to manage food and living, Rei was unconcerned about these aspects.

Interestingly, the Sovereign stored a batch of backup robots, which Gaia reactivated and instructed to serve.

Hence, the food tasted somewhat mechanically bland over these four days.

Despite Gaia's impressively lifelike imitation, the mechanical signature was hard to mask, especially to someone as perceptive as Rei.

The cyber-brain’s words and decision-making processes were the result of meticulous calculations.

Rei reopened her cyber-brain, and Gaia screamed again: [They actually went back to Your Majesty’s timeline from ten years ago, why didn't my database generate new overlapping records?]

"Even if temporarily cut off from signals, Gaia, existing as molecules in other dimensions, would retain some effective data records upon return."

"Rei casually responded, 'There's no signal on the abandoned planet. Why are you so excited?'"

"[Oh...]" Gaia said dejectedly, "[Your Majesty, I should have started recording data from your birth. I've already missed twenty-seven years, and if I could fill in that gap, my operation would be more complete.]"

"With fresh fruit on the table, Rei picked up a piece to eat. Hearing Gaia's words, she suddenly thought of something and asked softly, 'Isn’t the network system of the Monst insect clan interconnected with yours?'"

"[Of course not,]" Gaia replied with difficulty, "[The Monst insect clan's technology is on par with the main star, but in the past, 'we' attempted to infiltrate their network and failed every time. The most severe attempt even caused 'our' operation to crash, leading to a temporary loss of decision-making for the pseudo-king.]"

"Since then, newly created AI consciousnesses have learned from these failures and no longer attempt to infiltrate the Monst insect clan's network."

"A complete crash of the AI consciousness would dangerously undermine the pseudo-king's already precarious position."

"Moreover, with the insect clan in such a state of decline, the AI consciousness unanimously believed that no new queen would emerge to repair them."

"Even in extreme events, they could not frivolously reveal their existence to the entire insect clan."

"When Danya reconfigured the AI system, she even strictly incorporated a hard line. Even the most loyal symbionts, without the true queen's permission, could not easily expose the existence of the AI consciousnesses."

"This was because the purpose of the AI system's operation was exceedingly specific."

"'Your Majesty,' Gaia suddenly spoke, 'Using my intuitive emotional system, I guess Delyan might have noticed my existence, but there’s no trace of suspicion in the data on his cyber-brain.'"

"Data can be deliberately circumvented."

"But even the slightest emotional fluctuations of the swarm cannot escape the control of the queen's psychic seascape."

"The dual function of the AI system and the psychic seascape had, at this moment, become a deeper means of controlling the insect clan."

"'It's okay, I haven't heard any doubts in his thoughts,' Rei said calmly."

"Blind trust."

"'Understood,' Gaia noted, slightly raising Delyan's credibility in its notebook, 'Oh—Your Majesty, Delyan has found the exact location and information of a nearby planet. It's not far from us, the Sovereign will reach it in another fourteen hours.'"

"'A lower-level planet with a high degree of desolation, only three areas have dense life activity,' Gaia remarked dismissively, 'Figures, how could traitors occupy high-level planets?'"

****

"L032 planet, experimental base number one."

"Stewart, are you sure we have no missions to execute in the near future?" asked an insectoid with signs of decay etched on its face, its voice almost monotonous, resembling a cold, mechanical being.

Yet, the scars on its body were strikingly evident.

Although Rei had cured the insectoids of their decay cycle, it did not include the Monst insectoids.

Instead, these traitorous insects suffered in the punishing fires, burning away the last vestiges of their struggling consciousness.

"No, go ahead," replied the insectoid known as Stewart, nonchalantly seated at the center of the control room, lounging back with one hand propping up his cheek and the other tapping on a cyber-brain keyboard, his gaze somewhat intense on the data screen.

The insectoid, hearing this, silently withdrew.

The three experimental bases on L032 star had ceased operation a long time ago—since Rei's emergence.

The already abnormal Monst insectoids had become utterly aberrant due to this.

The branch leaders communicated through psychic screams.

[Do we continue producing the psychic sedative?]

"[Worthless. What do you think?]"

[What about those hybrids? Kill them?]

[...No, wait for a while.]

[Himon seems to have disappeared recently.]

No Monst insectoid responded to the last statement, instead thinking in unison—it's better he's gone, so they don't have to pretend to follow orders that deeply defy their instincts.

After dealing with recent deaths among their ranks, Stewart absentmindedly opened another data window. His deep purple beastly eyes flickered with hesitation and struggle, ultimately closing the window.

The entire data screen slowly faded, leaving dozens of pale blue blank windows.

Bored, Stewart leaned back in his chair, momentarily lost in thought.

[Zzzt—Warning! Warning! An unidentified starship has forcefully breached L032 planet’s defense belt. Currently retrieving starship information…]

Stewart, lost in thought and idle, suddenly snapped to attention, rapidly tapping on the data keyboard to accelerate the network's defense processes.

"Strange? Who would be so idle as to visit this planet?" Stewart mused aloud, finding such an invasion a rare occurrence and thus not taking it too seriously.

As one of the branch leaders, Stewart was about to activate L032 star's attack system when he suddenly heard something, halting all his actions.

The decay scars hidden under his collar swiftly climbed up his neck to his cheek, their deep red hue striking.

[Preliminary starship information retrieved—it's the Sovereign from the main star.]

[Estimated to land on L032 star in forty minutes. Shall we activate the attack system?]

Stewart felt as if his blood had frozen in an instant, his entire body turning cold.

His beastly eyes sharpened into vertical slits.

The Sovereign hadn't been used in ten thousand years, and even the rebel insectoids far from the main star understood the significance of this starship.

The magnificent and vast starship, exclusively belonging to the queen.

Trembling, Stewart re-engaged the cyber-brain keyboard. But this time, instead of initiating the so-called attack system, he deliberately disabled all defenses, silently passing the message to the insectoids stationed on the periphery of the planet.

No insectoid responded to the leader's decision, perhaps also caught in the shock of the sudden news.

Stewart stood up from his seat, pulling a ribbon from his pocket and meticulously tying his black hair, hanging to his waist, into a low ponytail. He tidied up his disheveled attire with practiced ease, as if he had done it a thousand times.

Stewart's reflection on the screen showed the bright red decay scars crawling to the edge of his cheeks, his eyes unable to return to a normal human form, maintaining the wild beastly appearance.

"...Your Majesty," Stewart murmured to himself, his peach-blossom eyes filled with pain, repeatedly muttering the same title as if doing so could momentarily forget his betrayal.

Suddenly, all defenses on L032 star were deactivated, allowing the Sovereign to land fifteen minutes ahead of schedule.

Delian first activated the Sovereign’s external protective shield to temporarily isolate the harsh environment of L032.

When Rei disembarked from the Sovereign, she noticed the high-ranking insectoids standing far beyond the protective shield.

Intense wind and sand whipped through the air, which was dry, with the ground crisscrossed by numerous thin, dry cracks.

The temperature was significantly higher than comfortable levels.

Delian frowned slightly, quietly asking Rei, "Your Majesty, considering the environmental conditions of this planet, how long do you wish to stay?"

The companions completely disregarded the traitors ahead, focusing solely on the Queen's well-being. Such a harsh environment was deemed utterly unfit for the Queen to set foot on.

After pondering, Rei glanced at the insectoid group and responded nonchalantly, “Not for long. Let’s first visit their experimental base.”

The insectoids accompanying the Queen were elite soldiers from the first star system, capable of easily annihilating such a feeble branch.

However, Rei wasn’t in a rush to kill them, seeing potential use in keeping them alive for the time being.

“Yes,” Delian said with a smile, “Your Majesty, they surrendered before our landing, offering unrestricted access to the experimental base. But deceit and flattery are what traitors excel at. I'll be vigilant of their every move.”

"Rei nodded slightly."

Stewart, leading the insectoids, had already engaged in brief communication with the Sovereign’s controlling companion before its landing.

[Lord Delian, I am Stewart, the administrator of L032 planet.] Stewart's hoarse voice came through the cyber-brain communication, preemptively stating, [The environment of L032 is indeed harsh, but the experimental base has an entirely artificial environment.]

Delian replied with a half-smile, [You seem quite certain that Her Majesty would be interested in staying at your so-called experimental base?]

The companions were extremely sensitive to anything related to the experimental base, filled with endless loathing upon its mere mention.

Unexpectedly, Stewart was particularly conciliatory, [We will comply with all of Her Majesty’s wishes.]

With a faint smile in his eyes, Delian looked at the black-haired insectoid on the communication interface, remaining silent.

What right did a traitor have to touch the boundaries of forgiveness?

The communication between the two insectoids was far from pleasant and was soon cut off.

Rei walked unhurriedly towards the location of the Monst insectoids, followed by a group of elite insectoids.

The two parties were separated by a transparent protective shield, distinctly apart.

Realizing Rei’s approach, these haughty insectoids suddenly exhibited a demeaning demeanor, their beastly eyes filled with evident fear and confusion.

Having strayed from their nature for so long, they had forgotten how to exhibit the proper submissive posture, to demonstrate the loyalty expected before the Queen.

For instance, they shouldn’t be standing upright, using their tall stature to look down upon Rei, assuming an unauthorized and presumptuous stance of scrutiny.

Rei regarded them with mild curiosity, internally estimating how much flesh and blood of their weaker kin these insectoids must have consumed as a life-sustaining elixir.

The decay wafting through their blood.

Stewart, the leader, felt his heart beating intensely at this moment.

"The white-haired girl stood amidst the tall insects, powerful and aloof, exactly as described in the intelligence reports."

The protective shield somewhat isolated the Queen's presence, yet Stewart still felt an abject fear, the guilt and torment of being placed upon the flames of punishment.

Fine, sharp black lines silently grew and spread from the ground, passing through the transparent shield undetected, a sweeping change unnoticed by the insectoids.

Rei slightly narrowed her eyes.

The traitors were fearful, their remaining instincts seemingly evoking their most primal subservience.

Yet, within their depths lurked numerous rebellious elements, like muzzled mad dogs, their beastly eyes subtly glowing, suppressing their destructive urges.

Awaiting the right moment to strike.