Chapter 105: Temptation

Chapter 105: Temptation

"Ludwig!"

Coach Ober tried to intervene anxiously, but it was too late. He had never seen such a dark expression on Ludwig's face before. Despite the blazing sun overhead, the chill emanating from Ludwig penetrated to the bone. Staring at Fang Yun, he enunciated each word through gritted teeth:

"Remember, no one is stopping you if you want to die, but don't joke around with your comrades' lives! They can die in battle, but they must not perish due to such a pathetic reason as an accidental discharge!"

Fang Yun, kicked until stars danced before his eyes, felt a surge in his stomach that nearly made him vomit. No one dared to help him up. Clutching his abdomen, he retreated in terror on the ground, blurting out in disbelief, "I... I am a male. How dare you hit me?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, even Fang Yun himself was stunned.

Was that really what he said?

Ever since his arrival in the insectoid race, Fang Yun had felt extreme discomfort. Here, males stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid, shielded and protected by laws regardless of their wrongdoings. They abused their power recklessly, something he had once scorned and looked down upon from the bottom of his heart. Yet, as time passed, he seemed to have lost something, forgotten something.

The fear of assimilation far outweighed the pain inflicted by Ludwig. Fang Yun trembled violently, his complexion growing increasingly pale and ghastly.

Ludwig looked down at him condescendingly, his eyes icy cold. "If you're unsatisfied, you may directly apply for arbitration at the Male Protection Association. I will accept any punishment."

When Ludwig delivered that kick, he had already anticipated the consequences. Fang Yun had no roots in the capital, so even if the Male Protection Association intervened, it wouldn't be excessive. At most, he would receive fifty lashes of light-whip, which, when rounded off, didn't seem like a loss.

But while he was willing to bear the consequences, there was someone who wasn't.

As soon as Ludwig finished speaking, a pull on his arm dragged him behind Amber. The deep voice of the male sounded in his ear, its emotions indiscernible: "Sir Fang Yun has always been one to stand up against the strong and help the weak, caring for female insects. How could he blame you for such a trivial matter? After all, it was his accidental discharge just now. If we were to truly discuss it, perhaps he should apologize to you... Sir Fang Yun, don't you agree?"

Amber, who had almost been caught in the crossfire earlier, showed no signs of anger. After all, he never held grudges with those about to die. Revenge was best served privately; why bring it to the surface and invite suspicion? He maintained a smile throughout, but the deeper the smile, the more perilous it seemed to the insects.

Fang Yun, who had accidentally discharged his weapon and nearly killed Amber, couldn't escape responsibility. Moreover, he was a man who loved his face. Hearing Amber's words, he struggled to rise from the ground, clutching his stomach. He forced a smile, "Yes, I should apologize to the instructor. It was an accidental discharge just now. This won't happen again."

At this point, there was little Ludwig could say. He spoke icily, "In that case, please be more careful, Sir. Cook, replace his light energy bullets with practice rounds. Before we go to the battlefield, I don't want to see anything like an accidental discharge again!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing the order, Major Cook responded promptly, rushing forward to swap Fang Yun's magazine and leading him to the indoor shooting range for solitary practice. After all, no soldier wanted to be shot in the back by a comrade during training without any reason—just as General Ludwig had said. Dying in battle was one thing, but dying at the hands of a teammate? That was simply too humiliating.

Although today's training had some unexpected twists, it went relatively smoothly overall. However, Ludwig's mood remained sour, and even after returning home that evening, his expression hadn't improved much, his features shrouded in gloom.

"If I'm not angry, why are you?"

Amber lounged lazily on the sofa, still somewhat surprised by the events of the day. After all, he had been among the insectoids for quite some time and had never encountered a female insect daring enough to strike a male. Seeing Ludwig sitting sullenly by the bedside, he couldn't help but feel amused.

Ludwig clenched his teeth inwardly, cursing the higher-ups for not assigning a mission yet. He longed to personally deal with the menace that was Fang Yun on the battlefield. "That shot of his was intentional. If we hadn't dodged quickly, you would have become crippled!"

Amber asked with interest, "Would you abandon me if I became crippled?"

"Of course not!"

In response, Ludwig pounced into his arms like a small beast, the force of the impact causing Amber's chest to ache slightly. He stroked the female insect's light golden hair, listening to the muffled voice, "I'll take you in no matter what form you take. But if you were to become crippled, you'd suffer more than death."

Even as insectoid technology advanced rapidly, the survival instincts of beasts still lingered within their genes. Disabled animals couldn't hunt, only to be abandoned by their companions and nature. In the world of military females, disability meant being unable to return to the battlefield, losing their most significant value. It was akin to a living death.

Amber's slender fingers slowly combed through Ludwig's hair, an odd thought surfacing in his mind. This female insect seemed to genuinely care about him? Uncertain how to comfort the other party, he simply said, "Don't worry. I've been keeping an eye on Fang Yun."

Even if Ludwig hadn't reacted in time, Amber had noticed the bullet heading their way. Fang Yun couldn't harm him.

Ludwig lifted his head upon hearing this, nipping Amber's throat with his sharp teeth before lightly licking it. His voice, deliberately lowered, concealed the murderous intent beneath, "No wonder you mentioned wanting to get rid of him before. This male insect is indeed trouble. We can't let him live."

He then half-jokingly added, "Fang Yun is jealous of you."

Amber asked in confusion, "Jealous of what?"

Ludwig gently scratched his chin with his fingertips, his tone ambiguous, "Who knows? Maybe it's your appearance, or your skills, or perhaps... the admiring gaze of Sifflay?"

Amber thought to himself that it wasn't an admiring gaze, but rather the scrutiny of an assassin sizing up his prey. However, he couldn't reveal this to Ludwig. The other party might never know that the brother he despised had long been possessed by a transmigrator.

Flipping Ludwig onto his back, Amber leaned over him, asking softly with a laugh, "Are you jealous?"

Ludwig raised his eyebrows slightly. "If I am, what do you plan to do?"

What could Amber do? He could only pin the other down on the sofa and kiss him, until they were breathless, suffocating, their minds muddled, leaving no room for thoughts of nonexistent matters.

"Mmm... Sir..."

Ludwig groaned, his senses scattered. His usually cold cheeks flushed with passion, exuding a forbidden allure. His neatly pressed military uniform had become loose and disheveled, his arms tightly wrapped around Amber's neck as he offered himself in a sacrificial kiss. "Sir... Sir..."

After kissing for a moment, Amber intended to withdraw. After all, he was a normal man with normal needs. It wouldn't be good if things escalated further. But unexpectedly, the female insect clung to his neck like honey syrup, more tenacious than ever. Lazily squinting his eyes, he whispered, "Just a little longer, okay?"

He was like a young insect begging for candy, and this particular piece of candy was addictive.

Amber remained silent, loosening his tie with a hand, feeling an inexplicable itch in his throat. He lifted the female insect from the sofa, his originally clear voice now slightly hoarse. Lowering his gaze, he asked, "Ludwig, aren't you going home?"

Ludwig was somewhat displeased. "Are you trying to drive me away?"

Amber exhaled slowly. "We have training tomorrow. Go back and rest early."

Although they had shared a bed before, Amber felt that his self-control had been declining recently. If they slept together tonight, he couldn't guarantee what might happen.

Ludwig uttered an ambiguous sound, seemingly seeing through Amber's thoughts. He hesitated, "Alright, then I'll go home."

He hadn't planned on anything happening before marriage either. If his insect pattern faded, it would be noticeable.

With that, Ludwig climbed out of Amber's embrace, straightened his clothes, and was about to leave through the window. However, just as he stepped onto the windowsill, Amber suddenly grabbed his hand.

Ludwig paused, seemingly anticipating what Amber was about to say. Shrugging, he sighed, somewhat resigned, "Fine, I'll leave through the front door."

He was about to climb down when the male insect suddenly held him back. Amber scrutinized Ludwig's flushed face, unsure what he was thinking. In the end, he hooked his finger under Ludwig's chin and gave him a chaste kiss that lacked any desire—it was so light, so shallow, so gentle that it seemed uncharacteristic of him.

"Be careful on your way."

He didn't seem to care much about Ludwig climbing out the window anymore.

Ludwig was taken aback, feeling as if that kiss had carried some unusual meaning—less of the casualness from before, more of some hidden emotion. His eyelashes fluttered, but in the end, he said nothing, nodded, leaped, and vanished into the darkness.

For a while after that, Amber was participating in combat training with the Black Eagle Corps, secretly keeping an eye on Sifray and Fang Yun's movements. Unfortunately, these two insects showed no signs of abnormal behavior; Fang Yun still didn't like him, and Sifray still sent him flirtatious glances. Seeing that more than half of the two months had passed without any sign of the assassin making another move,

Until one morning, General Giles came out of a military meeting with news that was neither good nor bad: "According to the research team's detection, a new type of alien beast has appeared on Quarga Star, temporarily named 'Gourmand.' This alien beast has a thick shell that is hard for energy guns to penetrate, and it reproduces rapidly, devouring Quarga Star's energy ores in a frenzy. The damage has already exceeded 36%. Considering that the First Army needs to guard the capital, and the Second and Fourth Armies have their own missions, the task of exterminating the alien beasts falls temporarily on the Black Eagle Corps."

It was clear that General Giles was reluctant to take on this hot potato. His unit had recently suffered a severe blow, although they had absorbed many fresh recruits, they were still in the process of gelling. Taking on this mission was indeed too risky.

Aubrey frowned. "These alien beasts reproduce quickly; we can never kill them all. Going to Quarga Star is just sending us to our deaths, isn't it?"

General Giles explained, "'Gourmands' have a social structure similar to bees, with a 'queen' responsible for laying eggs, and the rest of the 'worker bees' responsible for foraging and delivering energy. As long as we kill the 'queen,' her offspring will lose their mental control and instantly fall apart."

"This mission is difficult, yet simple. Aubrey, we've been through countless battles, there's no reason why we can't handle this one."

Aubrey slowly exhaled. "I'm just worried about those newly recruited soldiers who haven't gone through the gelling period yet."

General Giles rose and patted his shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Aubrey, only blood and actual combat are the best ways to gel."

Aubrey rubbed his face in a complex mood and had to make a compromise. "Alright, I'll go talk to them."

The news that the Black Eagle Corps was going to Quarga Star to exterminate the alien beasts caused the entire unit to erupt in excitement. Insects were naturally warlike, and nothing attracted them more than a good fight, especially the many new recruits who were at the peak of their vigor, eager to establish themselves on the battlefield and accumulate enough points to find a male insect to settle down with.

Only the veterans and Amber, the oddity, remained calm.

After training, everyone was enthusiastically discussing the upcoming trip to Quarga Star. Amber wasn't interested in joining in, as usual, he went to the locker room to change clothes. He opened the locker door, took off his jacket, and suddenly caught a whiff of an unusual fragrance in the air, narrowing his eyes sharply.

This fragrance was overly fragrant and familiar. Amber had seen salespeople promoting it in the mall, claiming it was particularly popular among female insects because the perfume contained a small amount of pheromones that could arouse male insects, making it suitable for dating.

But this was the male insect locker room.

Amber paused with his hand on the button of his shirt, looking around and finally fixing his gaze on a corner, asking in a toneless voice, "Still not planning to come out?"

"…"

A faint rustling sound echoed, and a figure slowly emerged from the shadows in the corner. Golden wavy hair, sea-blue eyes—it was none other than Sifray. He walked up to Amber with a smile and whispered, "Sir, I knew I couldn't hide from you."

Ever since the attack at home, Amber always carried a dagger. He quietly tightened his grip on the handle in his sleeve, contemplating whether to test Sifray's identity here. He spoke indifferently, "You're in the wrong place; this is the male insect locker room."

"Is it?"

Sifray didn't seem to mind, his eyes seemingly glued to Amber, filled with suggestive implications. "It doesn't matter. It's too noisy outside. Don't you think it's quieter here, more conducive to getting to know each other?"

Amber laughed as if he'd heard something interesting. "Did Fang Yun know you were coming to see me?"

Sifray bit his lower lip, somewhat resentful. "Do you have to mention him?"

Amber fiddled with the terminal on his wrist, seemingly casually asking, "You seem to have already planned to get engaged to him?"

Sifray took another step forward, this time standing unusually close to Amber. He gently played with the metal buttons on Amber's training uniform, moving them up and down, trying to stir the heart of the male insect. "Grandfather doesn't agree with my marriage to Sir Fang Yun, but I'm not sad at all, sir. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for Amber to answer, he continued, "Sir Fang Yun is great, but compared to you, he seems to be lacking a little. My brother and I have always been very close. If we could marry the same male lord, wouldn't that be nice?"

He actually harbored such thoughts towards Amber and was so brazen about it.

Amber glanced at the door, smiling ambiguously as he pushed away his hand. "I don't mind, but Ludwig is my future empress. Why don't you ask for his opinion?"

Hearing that Amber seemed to be relenting, Sifray couldn't help but curl his lips. "You are the male lord, so I only need to ask for your opinion. As for Ludwig, he's not important..."

Before he could finish, a rather amused voice sounded behind him, low and cold, causing an inexplicable jolt in the insect:

"Is that so?"