Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Hearing the gravity of the situation, the male consorts, who had initially planned a leisurely outing, exchanged uneasy glances.

They looked at one another, momentarily indecisive.

Lu Cian nodded understandingly: "I fully grasp your hesitation. That's why I'm giving you two days to consider. We will depart from Planet Aputban the day after tomorrow. If you wish to join us, come find me then."

The male consorts nodded, indicating their comprehension.

Afterward, they huddled together, whispering: "Ximeno didn't tell us it would be like this!"

"Ximeno mentioned there would be danger, but I thought it was just minor safety concerns. That male consort made it sound terrifying—is it true or false?"

"How would I know? Aren't you the closest to Ximeno?"

"Our relationship is good, but look at Ximeno's expression; he's clearly just as bewildered. There's no way I'd know more than him."

"Hey, do you think that male consort is just trying to scare us off so we won't go?"

The others turned to the speaker. "What do you mean?"

The male consort explained: "When Ximeno came to us, he raved about how amazing this friend was, how brilliant his ideas were, how they were sworn brothers. He was practically bursting with excitement..."

"I heard the seduction kit was that male consort's invention. If this undeveloped planet were truly so dangerous, would Ximeno be willing to go?"

"That makes sense," the others agreed.

The male consort continued, "I suspect this is just an act they're putting on to frighten us and prevent us from joining them."

One of them looked puzzled: "If they didn't want us to go, they could have simply not told us. Why put on an act?"

The male consort shot him an exasperated look: "Are you stupid? If they left, we'd definitely find out. And if we found out, wouldn't we be interested? If we were interested, we'd secretly follow, and then they'd be exposed!"

The others nodded: "That makes sense."

The male consort added: "Of course, this is just my guess. We have two days anyway—we can wait and see, then decide whether to go with them the day after tomorrow."

These two days were not only for the male consorts to deliberate but also for them to pack.

When male consorts traveled, whether for a few days, months, or years, the amount of luggage they packed was practically equivalent to moving house.

By the day after tomorrow, when Lu Cian saw the male consorts gathered at Ximeno's estate, he was surprised to find that almost none of them had backed out.

Lu Cian stroked his chin, thinking to himself, *These guys are truly daring, always eager for the next thrill. They really don't fear for their lives.*

Since everyone had arrived, Lu Cian had nothing more to say. He had already warned them about the dangers; if they boarded this "pirate ship" and then claimed they had been deceived, it would be too late.

Each male consort piloted their most luxurious limited-edition aircraft, their blinding colors and bizarre designs no longer fazing Lu Cian as much as they once had.

"Let's move out." At the command, all the aircraft took off from Ximeno's estate. Besides Ximeno, a few other male consorts were also piloting starships.

Lu Cian's aircraft led the way, heading beyond the city limits.

Along the way, the skies of Aputban were filled with aircraft of all colors, their numbers visibly increasing.

Lu Cian couldn't help but feel relieved that their starship was parked outside the city, where male consorts rarely ventured and the females chasing after them wouldn't go.

As they moved farther from the city, the number of aircraft dwindled. By the time they reached the undeveloped outskirts, the tourist craft had completely disappeared.

Lu Cian relaxed as his aircraft returned to their starship, accompanied by the rescued tribal survivors and... a group of male consorts who had brought their entire households.

Upon arrival, Nair Inan docked the starship, making the massive vessel visible. Lu Cian took the opportunity to announce:

"Male consorts without starships, please board in an orderly manner."

"Due to the large number of passengers, space will be tight. Please be courteous and maintain order."

"Fellow male consorts, no roughhousing, chasing, or petty disputes. Do not damage the starship's interior. If any issues arise, please come to Room No. 1, and I will resolve them fairly."

Though these words might not guarantee compliance, they served as a warning. If anyone disregarded the rules and caused trouble, he would have no choice but to use force.

When they arrived, the male consorts already knew Lu Cian had a large starship. Seeing the cloaked vessel gradually materialize didn't surprise them. They urged their hesitant pilots to hurry inside, not wanting to fall behind the others.

Though the pilots had doubts, they kept them to themselves and steered their aircraft into the starship at their male consorts' insistence.

"Launch."

The massive starship, followed by several medium and small starships, soared into space amid the male consorts' excitement.

Once the journey stabilized, the initial thrill wore off, and the exhausted male consorts retreated to their assigned rooms to rest.

Ximeno and the male consorts from the other starships also boarded the main vessel.

As for their original starships, they had been taken over by Lu Cian's crew with the excuse:

"The main starship is larger and more spacious. Male consorts should stay here."

And if the male consorts were here, wouldn't their empress consorts and concubines follow to serve them?

Thus, very few remained on their original starships.

A few days later, having adjusted to life in space, many male consorts grew bored despite the initial excitement of building a new planet—without seeing tangible progress, their enthusiasm waned.

In their boredom, they began noticing the females moving around them and stumbled upon a problem.

It was their empress consorts and concubines who first pointed it out.

"Male consort, that individual up ahead—aside from the face not matching the one I saw before, their bone structure, build, and voice have also changed slightly. But their hair volume, the small mole behind their ear, the glimpse of insectoid markings on their neck... and their walking and speaking mannerisms—I'm certain they're identical to one of the female slaves by Lu Cian's side. It's the same person!"

Though the male consorts racked their brains trying to recall which of Lu Cian's female slaves resembled the ones they had seen, they trusted their people. Their companions wouldn't make such claims without being absolutely sure.

The male consorts' expressions turned grave. They quickly gathered the others and, with the help of their females, began analyzing every detail, searching for inconsistencies. Eventually, they uncovered a serious issue.

Aside from Nair Inan, everyone else had changed their faces.

No—perhaps it wasn't that they had changed faces. Maybe they had been in disguise before, and now their true faces were revealed. Or, more drastically, perhaps even now they were still disguised, and these weren't their real faces either!

What kind of person would layer one false face over another?

The answer was obvious—space pirates!

This realization was like dropping a bombshell among the group of male consorts.

Had they walked into a den of space pirates? And worse—they had cheerfully walked right in themselves!

The male consorts: "..."

Then, a group of male consorts, whining, went to find Ximeno.

Ximeno was startled when his friends told him that Lu Cian's female slaves were all disguised.

*How could this be?* he thought. *His good-natured, sweet, sensible, and generous buddy—how could he possibly be a space pirate?*

*They've got it all wrong! Absolutely mistaken!*

But when he went to check, he happened to run into several unfamiliar faces.

Ximeno: "..."

*Well, this is like catching them in the act!*

But he absolutely refused to believe his good brother was a space pirate.

Ximeno marched right up to Lu Cian, his face full of concern. "Lu Cian, have you been kidnapped?"

Lu Cian: "???"

*What's going on? How am I kidnapped?*

"Why are these female insects disguised? Are they holding you hostage?"

As he spoke, Ximeno even looked downright guilty. "Have you been trying to ask for my help all this time? But I didn't understand, and now I've been kidnapped along with you... boo hoo..."

By the end, Ximeno's voice was breaking with emotion.

Lu Cian: "..."

*This guy's imagination... is as wild as ever!*

Lu Cian quirked his lips. "Ximeno, you're overthinking it."

*You really are overthinking it. If anyone's doing the kidnapping, it's me kidnapping all of you!*

Lu Cian continued, "Actually, I'm a male insect from the home planet. You know I'm only D-tier—insects like me get mocked by other males back there. My female insects are so damn fine, and if those male insects took a liking to them, they'd definitely try to steal them away. So, I had to disguise them."

Ximeno looked skeptical. "That's all?"

Lu Cian nodded firmly. "Of course! Don't they look familiar to you? Don't they give you déjà vu? That's just how fated greatness is!"

Ximeno glanced up at Lu Cian, then thought about the appearances of those insects. Paired with Lu Cian's words, it suddenly made a lot of sense.

Ximeno nodded seriously. "As expected of the good brother I befriended—your eye for female insects is truly extraordinary! You're right, those male insects are just jealous of you!"

Lu Cian: "...Thanks for understanding."

*I didn't expect Ximeno to be so easy to fool.* Lu Cian felt a little twinge of guilt.

***

Before leaving Planet Aputban, Lu Cian also went to the seaside. With the help of the seaside setting, he shelled out big credits to purchase a large amount of fresh and delicious seafood ingredients.

After inputting the recipes into the robot insect system, the female insects dug into freshly grilled fish-beasts, boiled fish, fish hotpot slices...

There was also a type of fish-beast perfect for making spicy dried fish. However, in the insect race, there were no small-sized fish-beasts, so this was an extra-large spicy fish jerky.

All the dishes were incredibly delicious—so much so that it brought tears to their eyes.

*This is what insects should be eating...*

*What were we eating before? Complete trash even beasts wouldn't touch!*

"Wuwuwu, so delicious..." In the cafeteria, Timothy couldn't stop raving, sounding very much like a backwater hick who had never seen the world.