Chapter 92

Chapter 92

"Why was the notice suddenly changed again? Wasn’t it supposed to be Prince Digger performing Psychic Calming today? Why was it switched back to Prince Philo?"

"Prince Philo? How is that possible! Who’s in charge of the information department at the Male Insect Council today? Have them check if there was a mistake in the automated alert system. There’s no way His Highness could be coming to perform Psychic Calming in his current condition."

"No need to check. It’s not a mistake. I just ran into Prince Philo’s chief assistant, Leslie. He told me His Highness is actually coming to the Male Insect Council soon—just to perform Psychic Calming for the female insects."

"This… How is this possible? Would Prince Yi Jia Fa agree? Would the Tulas Family not object? Didn’t the insects from the medical center say just a few days ago that His Highness is in a terrible state, with the possibility of self-harm, and needs constant supervision? How could they possibly agree to let His Highness come to the Male Insect Council now just to soothe female insects?"

"Don’t ask me—I don’t know either. But that’s the reality. Though I heard it was His Highness himself who insisted on coming. Others wanted to object, but at this crucial time, no one dared to defy His Highness’s decision, so they had no choice but to let him come."

"Ah, you all shouldn’t be so surprised. Think about the things His Highness has done before. Given his temperament, can’t you really understand why he would insist on coming to perform Psychic Calming?"

This question, admittedly, instantly calmed all the working insects at the Male Insect Council who had been shocked by Philo’s arrival.

Indeed, upon closer thought, this matter didn’t seem all that strange.

To be precise, as long as they considered who this was happening to, they shouldn’t be surprised.

The prince who would lure away star beasts alone to protect female insects, the prince who would become angry and sorrowful over the extreme actions of ordinary female insects, the prince who would harm himself to stop female insects from committing further madness—this prince, this man, now choosing to appear at the Male Insect Council for the sake of female insects in desperate need of high-level male psychic calming… truly didn’t seem all that strange.

But though beautiful flowers may become commonplace after seeing them too often, and strong liquor may lose its bite after drinking too much, this… shouldn’t be the case.

Even if countless female insects urgently needed high-level male insect Psychic Calming, even if the other A-Class Male Insect Princes were fulfilling their duties with increasing frequency, even if the Male Insect Council was under increasing pressure, even if the number of high-ranking female soldier insects dying from Psychic Outbreaks was growing by the day…

Highness, none of this has anything to do with you now.

You, still ill, you, who only recently returned from the chaotic star zones… you, who are most entitled to rest, and most in need of it—why…?

Frowning deeply, the insects of the Male Insect Council, who had only ever worried about male insects refusing to fulfill their duties, now found themselves overcome with entirely new complex emotions.

And those with similarly mixed feelings were the female insects scheduled to receive Psychic Calming today.

When they had first submitted their applications, many had specifically chosen Philo’s assigned day. After all, many of the A-Class Female Insects who had just returned from the front lines were in terrible mental states. Compared to other male insects, Philo—currently the highest-level psychic—was undoubtedly their best choice, especially for those on the brink of psychic collapse.

Though they had been eager, though some had desperately needed Psychic Calming, after the recent series of events, even if the B-Class Male Insect Prince’s Psychic Calming was little more than a drop in the bucket for these female insects, not even those in the worst psychic states had voiced any dissatisfaction with the Male Insect Council’s decision to have Prince Digger temporarily replace Prince Philo.

But though they had no complaints, though they themselves were willing to let Prince Philo rest… why was he still coming today?

Lifting their heads, the female insects already gathered in the calming hall all gazed quietly, with complex expressions, at the silver-haired prince standing on the platform.

Unlike the submissive posture they adopted when receiving Psychic Calming from other male insect Princes, though Philo hadn’t been fulfilling this duty for long, most female insects already knew his temperament.

Prince Philo disliked restraint—both for himself and for them.

Because of this, the female insects who received his calming had gradually relaxed. They no longer followed etiquette as strictly as they did with other Princes, and some even dared to look up at Philo or whisper among themselves.

Just like now.

Gazing at Philo on the platform, the female insects who should have been bowing their heads in respectful silence instead all looked up, quietly watching this Prince who shouldn’t have been here at all.

Unlike when Philo had first arrived on the capital planet—back when he was thin but his eyes still shone and his lips still curled into smiles—now, though he could indulge in any luxury, though he wore custom-made robes from the Qiankesilan family, though he enjoyed the highest rank and privileges… he was unhappy.

Highness… was unhappy.

Clenching their fists, the female insects with chaotic psychic fields—despite their own splitting headaches—couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow at the lifelessness in those amethyst eyes, so beautiful yet devoid of light.

Before Philo could even begin focusing his psychic energy, the female insects, who had only just learned he would still be soothing them today, did something unheard of in the hall.

"Highness, we can wait for Prince Digger! Please, go back!"

It was common for male insects to dismiss female insects, but for female insects to ask a male insect to leave… even the Male Insect Council workers had never seen such a thing.

And clearly, Philo wasn’t the only one who didn’t want him using his energy today.

"That’s right, Highness. Our mental states aren’t that bad. It’s fine if you rest."

"Please go back, Highness. You need to rest—don’t worry about us."

"We’re all fine, Highness. There’s no need for you to rush back to your duties. Take some more time to recover first."

The vast Psychic Calming hall, usually so silent that only the male insect’s movements could be heard, was unusually loud today.

Even the B-Class Male Insect Digger, arriving late, couldn’t help but marvel at the scene.

This was… truly bizarre.

Usually, these female insects begged and pleaded for male insects to fulfill their Psychic Calming duties. This was the first time he’d ever seen female insects unwilling to let a male insect soothe them.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. If Qi Limei saw this, he’d be green with envy. That guy would kill to avoid using his own psychic energy.

Shaking his head regretfully, Digger couldn’t help feeling it was a pity Qi Limei wasn’t here to witness this. Still, though the female insects were urging Philo to leave, Digger couldn’t help feeling relieved seeing Philo in the hall.

Honestly, he was only a B-Class Male Insect.

Normally, he only handled standard A-Class calming sessions. But this was Prince Philo’s private hall—having him soothe these female insects would be practically no different from not soothing them at all.

Digger was acutely aware of his own abilities, especially the gap between himself and Philo.

Ever since Philo had begun fulfilling his Psychic Calming duties, the Male Insect Council had assigned him only the most challenging cases—female insects at risk of psychic breakdowns.

And many of them were A-Class Female Insects. If one of them had an outbreak mid-calming, a B-Class Male Insect like him would be in serious danger.

Talk about bad luck. He’d slacked off and missed two calming sessions last month, and now, with all the A-Class Male Insect Princes exhausted and none available to help, he—just a B-Class—had been forced to cover for Philo.

Rubbing his temples, Digger glanced between Philo’s pale face and the expectant female insects, torn.

Honestly, even if he hadn’t seen much of Philo before, it was obvious just by looking at him today that he wasn’t well.

Ugh, what should he do?

If he were an A-Class Male Insect, he could step up and take over. But as a B-Class… Well, everyone looks out for themselves. Even if he knew it was unfair to make Prince Philo continue his duties now, he was terrified of what might happen if he messed up. If these female insects’ psychic fields didn’t improve—or worse, if one or two had an outbreak—what if he got hurt?

Before Digger could reach a decision, someone else made the choice for him.

The Alliance had been unstable lately—not just because of Philo, but because of the star beasts.

Since Philo’s last attack, the Federation’s border zones had been turbulent. Gore’s injury was one sign, and the increasing number of high-level female insects returning from the front lines in need of Psychic Calming was another.

If the A-Class Male Insects’ weekly workload had once been a single page, now it was a thick stack of folders.

Not just the others—even Qi Limei, who was known for slacking off, had been forced to fulfill multiple calming sessions recently. Siluan, already a Male Insect Council worker, had become a veritable workhorse—just yesterday, he’d performed a mass psychic calming session and was probably still resting at home.

Given the current pressure on the Male Insect Council and the unstable condition of the Military Females, the female insects assigned to Philo were all high-level cases with critically unstable mental states.

And such female insects were undoubtedly the most likely to have incidents.

Without warning, the three Female Insects closest to Philo, who had been silently clenching their fists to suppress their emotions, suddenly had one of them involuntarily leak a trace of psychic power. Soon, the psychic power of the Female Insects began to scatter uncontrollably.

The crowd, which had only been maintaining a facade of calm, now exploded like water hitting a grease fire, instantly shattering into chaos.

The frenzied psychic power of the Female Insects radiated outward, their eyes completely bloodshot and consumed by madness, losing all traces of restraint and clarity.

Standing in the venue, witnessing this scene, the insects who had just been urging Philo to leave couldn’t help but clutch their heads in pain, their words trailing off unspoken.

The psychic power of Female Insects inherently repelled each other, and the higher their grade, the more pronounced this repulsion became—along with the intensity of the discomfort it caused. Most of the Female Insects present not only had high psychic grades but were also with severely compromised mental domains.

The combination of these factors reduced the tenuous order to complete pandemonium within moments.

Some insects unconsciously tried to push others away with their psychic power, some pounded their own heads in agitation, some struggled to endure, and others hovered at the edge of breakdown… Watching this unfold, Dedge recoiled, his face paling.

Indeed, don't take on what you can't handle. He shouldn’t have agreed to take on this A-Class venue’s pacification duty to make up for skipping his previous two B-Class assignments.

No wonder A-Class Male Insects got the royal treatment compared to B-Class ones. Clearly, there was no such thing as a free lunch—he shouldn’t have been so greedy.

After all, even though the Male Insect Management Committee had armed guards stationed in every venue to protect the male insects, with so many A-Class Female Insects with unstable mental domains gathered here, if things went wrong, even if he wasn’t physically harmed, the scare alone would do him in!

His pupils dilated as he stared at the scene before him. Deeg completely ignored the hopeful gazes from the Male Insect Management Committee workers beside him, every instinct screaming at him to bolt.

Come on, what did they expect? Did they really think he’d risk overstepping his rank to calm Female Insects a hair's breadth from Psychic Outbreak?

No way. Absolutely no way.

Putting his neck on the line? No way. Male insects and danger? That's rich.

Clenching his fists, the Male Insect Management Committee workers, who had instinctively looked to Deeg when they noticed the situation deteriorating, caught his retreat and the exit-seeking glance.

Truth be told, the Females saw it coming. This was, after all, the normal reaction for most male insects.

In the past, when they encountered situations like this—when the A-Class Males were tapped out and lower-class males couldn’t provide temporary relief—the Female Insects had almost no choice but to resort to force. This was also the main reason the Male Insect Management Committee was permitted to equip a moderate number of energy weapons.

But even if this method maximized the safety of male insects, even if it allowed Female Insects mid-Psychic Outbreak to be subdued quickly… what became of those subdued Females... nobody wanted to say. Every insect who thought this far instinctively lowered their gaze.

Yet, while some male insects might refuse to gamble with their lives, there were others for whom life itself existed solely for this very purpose.

So—

The wind stirred.

Like winter creeping down a mountainside, deep yet unhurried, it gradually permeated the entire venue.

The stifling heat inside the hall began to cool, the unraveling emotions smoothed out, and the wildly rampaging psychic power, like a tangled ball of yarn finally finding its end, slowly began to unwind.

This was…

Lifting their heads, narrowing their eyes—

In the direction of every insect’s gaze, silver strands floated on the air.

In the end, the male insect had chosen to act.