Chapter 106

Chapter 106

To everyone’s surprise, the empress consort trembled with excitement upon hearing this: “M-Male consort, this… this is an entirely new star map!”

“Are you asking for a beating or—wait, wh-what?” The male consort was about to lose his temper when he was struck by the shocking news, leaving him utterly stunned.

The empress consort continued excitedly, “It’s a new star map, absolutely correct! Male consort, we’ve truly discovered a new star system!”

The male consort stood frozen. Why did he understand every word individually, but the sentence as a whole made no sense?

Hadn’t they just passed the garbage planets in the northern sector?

He had previously avoided those filthy junk planets, hiding in his room to avoid the view. How could a new star system suddenly pop up now?

He remembered the imperial military had scanned this area—nothing but garbage planets and dangerous asteroid belts. Where did this new star system come from?

If it truly existed, even the most clueless male consort could tell from all those glowing planets on the screen that the empire would’ve surely claimed such a cluster of planets.

Or perhaps, had a space station been built here at some point? Had they undergone a hyperspace jump, arriving in another star system—one so new that the star charts on the StarNet hadn’t been updated, which was why the female bugs hadn’t recognized it?

The male consorts could delude themselves like this because they genuinely didn’t understand. A few convincing words from anyone, and they’d likely believe it.

But the female bugs were different.

By now, some had already sensed something amiss and tried to retrieve their weapons from their Space Buttons, only to find their psychic abilities inexplicably sealed. They couldn’t muster even a fraction of their power, nor could they open their Space Buttons.

“What’s going on? Why can’t I use my psychic energy?!”

“What? Mine’s gone too!”

“Same here!”

“…”

The hall erupted into chaos. Some female bugs attempted to act, but before they could, hidden suppression rings injected them with anesthetic, knocking them out cold.

One after another, several female bugs dropped. Even the dullest male consorts realized something was wrong and began to panic.

Ximeno was terrified, but since these male consorts were his responsibility, he forced himself to stay calm.

“Everyone, don’t panic! W-We’re male consorts. Even if there’s danger, they wouldn’t risk harming us! And… we still have our psychic energy!” Ximeno swallowed hard after speaking—truth be told, he was still terrified.

Glancing around, he realized Lu Cian was nowhere in sight, which made him even more nervous.

The dozen or so male consorts had brought along numerous concubines, female slaves, and bodyguards, but their attackers were ready, taking them down bloodlessly.

Did the male consorts, who also possessed psychic energy, resist?

Of course they did.

Unfortunately, male consorts were too cowardly, and their abilities were unimpressive at best. Nair Inan didn’t even need to lift a finger—his crew dealt with them effortlessly.

The disheveled male consorts weren’t locked in separate rooms. Instead, they were all crammed together, each looking utterly devastated, their expressions utterly defeated.

In such a miserable state, one male consort wanted to blame Ximeno, but seeing how pale and shaken he was, the words died in his throat. Instead, he burst into quiet sobs.

The mood was contagious. Seeing one male consort cry, the others couldn’t hold back either, whimpering and sniveling softly, afraid that louder cries might attract the terrifying “space pirates” outside.

The one who had marched them to the room was from the Harding Tribe—towering and grim-faced, looking absolutely terrifying!

“Wah… I want to go home…”

“Wah… If only I hadn’t been so reckless…”

“Wah… Why did this have to happen to me…”

None of them directly blamed Ximeno, but as more male consorts broke down, his expression grew increasingly despondent.

After all, it was because of him that they’d been captured by space pirates.

Ximeno had even checked his optical brain earlier, only to find that while it wasn’t damaged, it couldn’t connect to the StarNet—there was no signal at all!

They’d been captured, their optical brains cut off. Forget sending an alarm—even the tracking and emergency alert functions were useless now.

If Ximeno still didn’t realize they’d encountered a formidable group of space pirates, then his years of safety training had been wasted.

His face ashen, Ximeno thought despairingly—how could this happen?

A dozen male consorts, all captured by space pirates. The Male Protection Association (MPA) hadn’t received any abduction alerts. By the time their families noticed their absence and reported it, it would be far too late!

No wonder! No wonder they’d been made to sign those agreements—this had been the trap all along!

Ximeno couldn’t help but grieve inwardly. By the time rescue arrived, would there even be anything left of them?

And what about his close friend Lu Cian…

As the room’s chorus of sobs grew louder, Ximeno felt like crying too.

With a creak, the door opened, and someone stepped inside.

All the male consorts instinctively looked up—only to see Lu Cian entering.

Lu Cian paused briefly at the sight of the red-eyed, tear-streaked male consorts before continuing inside.

But he wasn’t alone. Nair Inan followed closely behind, wary that Lu Cian might be bullied.

Seeing Lu Cian, Ximeno immediately stood up, asking anxiously, “Are you okay? Did those space pirates do anything to you?”

His concern for Lu Cian was genuine.

But when they noticed Nair Inan—now reverted to his true form—trailing behind him, the male consorts froze.

Even though male consorts had seen countless beauties, faced with such a strikingly handsome face, they couldn’t help but stare, even if he was likely a space pirate.

Yet the next second, Ximeno’s expression changed.

Because he realized—this face looked familiar.

Male consorts had so many concubines and female slaves that they rarely remembered their faces. But Nair Inan’s features were too striking, too unforgettable. Anyone who had seen him would remember him.

It wasn’t just Ximeno who found him familiar. The other male consorts also felt they’d seen him somewhere before…

Which meant he was either a celebrity—or a fugitive!

“Y-You’re Nair Inan?!” One male consort with a sharp memory blurted out.

The words landed like a bombshell.

Boom—

The faces of all the male bugs paled instantly.

This was the very fugitive even the Bug Emperor despised with every fiber of his being!

The most notorious fugitive, hunted for years on end, finally captured—only to escape again!

At this moment, all the male bugs gritted their teeth in fury, cursing the Bug Emperor for his sheer stupidity. Why hadn’t he executed such a walking catastrophe instead of dumping him in some obscure prison, all under the high-minded excuse of “not wanting to see the Shelley Clan wiped out”?

What a load of crap!

It was clearly about torturing and humiliating him while luring out the remnants of the Shelley Clan—yet they draped it in such flowery excuses!

And the result? Far from what they’d hoped. Not only did they fail to achieve their goal, but they also ended up with egg on their faces!

The truth had long since spread: the guards had been negligent, allowing the fugitive to be rescued right under their noses.

Rumor had it that when the Bug Emperor learned the truth, his face turned livid, and he splintered the armrest of his throne in rage.

Many male bugs knew the Bug Emperor had a habit of using male bugs as pawns to eliminate female bugs without a trace.

Using male bugs’ charms to defeat female bugs—even as fellow males, they found it utterly despicable.

Who’d have thought the Bug Emperor would be hoisted by his own petard, his plans foiled by a male bug? Though none dared say it aloud, what they really thought was another matter.

Now, trapped in the hands of a fugitive, the male bugs seemed to awaken a sudden clarity of mind, tearing apart the Bug Emperor’s hypocritical facade with razor-sharp insight.

It appeared male bugs hadn’t completely lost their edge after all—in critical moments, their intelligence returned.

Ximeno had been truly worried about Lu Cian, but upon hearing someone identify the gorgeous specimen as Nair Inan, he instinctively let go of Lu Cian’s hand and took a step back.

When Ximeno noticed the interaction between Nair Inan and Lu Cian—realizing their relationship wasn’t one of captor and captive—his eyes filled with disbelief. He pointed at Lu Cian, too stunned to speak for a long moment.

Lu Cian met Ximeno’s accusatory gaze and averted his gaze uncomfortably.

“Lu Cian, you… you actually deceived me?!”

Lu Cian: “…”

I expected shock, anger, even fury—but not this wounded, betrayed look.

Wait, did we even have anything between us?

Why are you looking at me like I’m some two-timing jerk?!

“Ximeno, we’re both male bugs.”

Ximeno wiped his tears and sniffled, “If you weren’t a male bug, I wouldn’t be crying this hard!”

Lu Cian: “…”

His expression was indescribable.

“Can you… talk normally?”

Ximeno WAAAAHed loudly, “WAAAAH! You lying bastard! How could you lie to me? So cruel!”

“I treated you like a brother, and you betrayed me! Sucked me dry of trust!”

Lu Cian: “…”

His face remained impassive.

Lu Cian snapped, “Talk. Properly.”

When Lu Cian turned serious, he was downright intimidating—especially with Nair Inan, the fugitive, standing behind him. A single glance from that man could make babies stop crying!

Ximeno instantly choked back his sobs, fighting back hiccups, and shuddered involuntarily.

Lu Cian: “…Really? You’re twenty-eight, not a little grub. Crying like this—aren’t you embarrassed?”

Ximeno gritted his teeth, his face flushing red. He wanted to glare at Lu Cian but didn’t dare, so he angrily turned his head away—only to spot the tear-streaked faces of the other male bugs. Instantly, he felt justified.

Ximeno muttered resentfully, “Everyone’s crying, yet you single me out. Dad was right—you can’t just trust any bug out there!”

Lu Cian: “…”

You’re saying that loud enough for me to hear, aren’t you?

Whatever. Lu Cian didn’t want to argue with Ximeno, who was acting like an eight-year-old. He had more important matters.

“Since we’re friends, I’ll point you to a way out.”

“If you consider joining us, you’ll be a champion of male bugs in our new star system.”

“Of course, if you’re willing to help persuade these male bugs to submit, your contribution will be even greater.”

Lu Cian had no issue saying this in front of the other male bugs. Manipulating minds wasn’t his forte, but handling these male bugs was more than enough.

Once one male bug hesitated and yielded, the rest would follow—it was only a matter of time.