Chapter 113

Chapter 113

Later, the male Zerg grew utterly bored. Cut off from the star network, unable to go shopping, and with their female Zerg also confined, their only recourse was to watch those peculiar educational films for larvae.

The animated films Lu Cian had specially commissioned were highly educational, brimming with positive messages, and subtly brainwashing.

While the moral lessons sometimes repeated, the content of the cartoons themselves varied.

The male Zerg watched them day in and day out, even discussing them when they met. If this didn't bring about some change, then Blue Star's indoctrination programs wouldn't have been nearly as successful.

Ximeno was already somewhat swayed internally, but he still harbored a lingering resentment towards Lu Cian.

He had considered Lu Cian a friend, yet Lu Cian had deceived him!

Well, this was a hurdle he simply couldn't overcome.

Lu Cian said, "You were the first male Zerg friend I ever made. I've always considered you a good brother and a true friend—that part was no lie."

"If you're still upset… why don't you just hit me?" Lu Cian closed his eyes, adopting an expression of mock martyrdom.

Ximeno didn't hesitate, promptly delivering a punch to his shoulder.

Lu Cian opened his eyes, putting on an exaggerated "ouch" face as he rubbed his shoulder and complained, "I told you to hit me, but you actually did it!"

Ximeno rolled his eyes. "You deceived me first. You told me to hit you, so of course I did. Besides, I didn't even use much force."

Lu Cian chuckled. After this exchange, the matter of deceiving Ximeno should finally be put to rest.

"Though I have many reasons, many things I couldn't say outright… regardless, I apologize for my mistakes." Lu Cian spoke, his expression dead serious.

The sudden shift to seriousness made Ximeno a little uncomfortable.

At first, Ximeno had been furious, but upon reflection, he realized Lu Cian was also an unwitting participant and hadn't truly suffered.

"Fine. Since you're being so sincere, I'll forgive you."

Ximeno awkwardly patched things up with Lu Cian.

Once reconciled, they were back to being thick as thieves.

"So this is the undeveloped planet you mentioned?"

Aside from pretending to be a male Zerg from a good family, Lu Cian hadn't lied about much else.

"Yeah, it's developing quite well, don't you think?" Lu Cian was quite satisfied.

Ximeno gave the "self-satisfied" Lu Cian a strange, somewhat disdainful look. "There's nothing here. How is this 'developing well'?"

Ximeno was genuinely unimpressed. Forget comparing it to Aputan, a tourist planet lavishly designed to please male Zerg. His standards weren't high, but seeing a place worse than an average planet—with cramped, shabby housing—Ximeno couldn't help but complain.

"Look at where we're living. No estates, no villas, not even a decent penthouse. Outside, it's just barren land and dust-covered female Zerg. No entertainment, no shopping, not even a halfway decent aircraft for transport…"

"I heard there's some fancy resort here, but it's just a bunch of steaming hot pools, not even one-tenth as nice as my estate."

"And some female Zerg bragged about one of Central Star's top attractions—only for it to be a dirty vegetable garden and some stubby hover-structure…"

"Now I understand why you shanghaied us, brother. With your new planet looking like this, you really do need our help and support."

Lu Cian: "…"

After enduring this torrent of complaints, Lu Cian felt a vein throbbing in his forehead.

Fortunately, Lu Cian had a good temper. Reminding himself that he was at fault first, he bit back a retort at Ximeno.

Truthfully, Ximeno wasn't entirely wrong. But Lu Cian believed practicality mattered more than aesthetics—frills just burned through resources, both financial and labor.

"We're just getting started. Functionality comes first. Why bother with appearances… Wait, how do you know about the so-called 'points of interest' here?"

Mid-sentence, Lu Cian realized something was off. He had assigned guards to keep the male Zerg from wandering freely—so how did Ximeno know so much?

Had some female Zerg been swayed by the male Zerg's charms and neglected their duties?

Ximeno showed no guilt, answering bluntly, "You told the guards not to let us out, but there's nothing fun here. We were so bored we had to ask them to show us videos of the planet's 'special spots.'"

Lu Cian felt a pang of guilt. He had allocated a fairly large area for the male Zerg, but it was indeed a barren wasteland with zero amenities.

These male Zerg had been "invited" to the Federation and couldn't be sent back so easily.

Even after passing certain tests, Lu Cian didn't dare release them—who knew if they'd turn around and betray him?

So, for the sake of their mental health, Lu Cian began considering whether to build them an amusement park or a shopping street.

That way, they wouldn't get depressed or pull some stupid stunt like offing themselves.

With that, Lu Cian assigned female Zerg to construct some storefronts.

Building was simple, and the female Zerg did an excellent job.

In just a few days, they were nearly finished. Give them two more, and they'd be ready to open.

Lu Cian did have one small request: the shops had to look ostentatiously luxurious.

He didn't ask for understated luxury with profound meaning; that required specialized designers.

But catering to the male Zerg's blinding aesthetic? Simple. Just go all out with the flashiest, most over-the-top designs possible.

The only ones suffering were the female Zerg; their eyes hurt just looking at the garish interiors.

The shops' merchandise included items purchased from outside, local Federation specialties, products from the "seduction kit" Lu Cian had commissioned, and little knickknacks the female Zerg made in their spare time. All were put up for sale.

Lu Cian also opened a proper restaurant.

From now on, the canteen would no longer serve male Zerg food—no point torturing the Federation Zerg with dishes they couldn't have.

The restaurant served two purposes: satisfying the male Zerg's appetites and making them earn their keep.

Payment was simple—barter.

They could exchange goods for meals or work it off.

Their confiscated ships, aircraft, and supplies could be converted into meal credits, but only for basic grub.

For the good stuff or luxury items, once their credits ran out, they'd have to work to pay.

What work could male Zerg do?

The easiest and most natural task for them: calming the female Zerg’s Mental Riot.

There are no wars in the Federation now, but that doesn't mean female Zerg won't experience Mental Riot.

Mental Riot has always plagued female Zerg, though war accelerates its onset.

Female Zerg with low psychic power rarely use their abilities, and their psychic fluctuations are weak, making the likelihood of Mental Riot very low.

The more psychic power they use and the stronger it is, the more prone female Zerg are to Mental Riot.

What if the male Zerg refuse or are unwilling to work?

Lu Cian: "Simple. They’ll live off their reserves until they run out. If they don’t work, they’ll go hungry. As a last resort, they can eat the most basic work meal in the cafeteria—plain boiled meat."

Truthfully, Lu Cian didn’t even want to provide work meals. His initial thought was to feed them leftovers—like it or lump it.

But he worried that eating leftovers might hurt their pride and drive them to suicide.

Sigh, male Zerg are truly too high-maintenance!

Lu Cian thought regretfully: If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have duped Ximeno and the others into coming. He should have flat-out refused!

Fortunately, Lu Cian’s efforts in building the shops paid off.

With a place to stroll around, even if the goods sold in these shops seemed subpar to the male Zerg, they were at least novel—something was better than nothing.

The male Zerg’s spirits noticeably lifted.

Luckily, Lu Cian had held off on returning the female Zerg the males had brought with them back to their side.

Otherwise, those female Zerg would surely talk down the shops’ offerings as crude, claiming they could make better and more exquisite items to elevate their own worth and jockey for favor.

Lu Cian didn’t return those female Zerg not because he feared they’d be a nuisance or wanted the males to favor Federation Zerg.

He simply worried they might make trouble, crack the secrets of the suppression rings, lead the males in an escape, and throw the Federation into chaos.

After all, Nair Inan had started with just a handful of Zerg and built himself up to his current position. Lu Cian wasn't about to underestimate the female Zerg here.

...

Time passed quickly. Lu Cian counted the days—soon, it would be the test run of the space station built by Nair Inan and his group.

But at this critical moment, a seemingly small but consequential incident occurred.

No one else was suitable to handle it—only Lu Cian could resolve it.

Lu Cian sighed inwardly: He was truly born to work himself to death.

When he learned the incident involved the male Zerg, he gritted his teeth. He must have owed them in a past life—why else was he always mopping up after them?

In the male Zerg residential area, one of the dozen or so males had had a run-in with a Federation female Zerg.

On paper, the matter was simple—whoever was at fault should be punished.

But just as the male Zerg were starting to view the Federation more favorably—possibly even considering staying—a mishandled resolution could lead to misunderstandings among them and their supporters. If they later rebelled or schemed in secret, it would be the worst-case scenario for Lu Cian.

This matter needed careful handling—no impact on the future, no hidden risks left behind.

The root of the incident lay with the male Zerg, but he insisted the female Zerg had offended him. In the Federation’s eyes, the male was at fault and should be punished.

But to the male Zerg, this would seem like the Federation talking big about fairness while playing favorites, protecting their own.

In the end, Lu Cian opted for a middle ground—punishing both sides equally.

The male Zerg was indeed at fault first, but if the female Zerg had simply ignored him and walked away when he called out, the male would've been left empty-handed, knowing she wouldn’t face consequences.