Chapter 25 The Female Insect’s Child-Rearing Manual

Chapter 25: A Male Zerg's Guide to Raising Offspring

Xierlan was instantly charmed, his ears burning crimson. Unable to resist, he reached up to rub them, then quietly typed a reply.

Xierlan: Yes, I’m a kitten, meow meow meow.

Xierlan: Alright, this cute stuff is better left to those who are good at it.

Xierlan: Right, Sexia?

Xierlan: After all, the truly cute one is someone else.

The Zerg had no emojis, and their built-in system expressions were far from cute. After some deep thought, Xierlan’s love-struck brain kicked in. He decided to spend half an hour drawing a set of adorable emojis to send to Sexia, just to shamelessly dote on his clueless little female Zerg.

Since they were into each other anyway, when he acted spoiled, Sexia would just blush adorably and say nothing.

It took Sexia forever to respond, seemingly unsure how to reply. Xierlan especially loved it when his Sexia was too shy to speak. He drew several super-adorable kitten stickers and sent them over.

Xierlan: [Patting the kitten’s head.JPG]

Xierlan: [Kitten showing its belly.JPG]

Xierlan: [Kitten cutely wagging its tail.JPG]

On the other side of the screen, Sexia’s ear tips turned transparently red. He was wrapped up tightly, a large hood covering most of his face, revealing only a small portion.

Looking at the messages on the screen, he lightly pursed his lips. Because his ear tips were too hot, Sexia reached up to pinch his reddened ears, as if trying to cool himself down.

Xierlan was always like this.

Breathing hotly, his ear tips red, Sexia thought for a long time before carefully replying to Xierlan. He even saved all of Xierlan’s stickers and replied earnestly.

Baby: You’re also very cute.

Baby: [Kitten cutely wagging its tail.JPG]

Seeing this reply, Xierlan was utterly melted, the corners of his mouth curving uncontrollably.

Sexia had no idea how proper, serious, and crazy cute he sounded when he spoke like that—it was absolutely endearing! How could he be this cute!

Xierlan pressed his hand to his chest, feeling his wildly beating heart, and sent a message to his partner.

Xierlan: It seems a certain cute female Zerg is quite self-aware.

Xierlan rubbed his flushed cheeks, blinked, and continued chatting. He thought that if Sexia was busy, he wouldn’t bother him further, so he asked what he was doing.

Xierlan: Baby, what are you doing, baby? I was just secretly studying, then thought of you and sent you a message.

When Sexia saw this reply, he had just arrived at the Undercity. He was working on identity documents for Xierlan. The research institute wasn’t urgent; Sexia felt it was better to ask for his opinion first before choosing a location.

His own affairs required a long timeline. Restoring his position as general needed to be postponed for now. Sexia’s influence was still laying low; he had to remain patient. This was a time of reorganization, and if he made the wrong choice, the current stability would disappear.

Sexia would never let his efforts go to waste.

As for Xierlan’s question, Sexia wasn't hiding anything and sent a message.

Baby: I’m getting a fake ID made for you.

Thanks to his status as the primary consort, not many Zerg were watching him closely, but plenty were still plotting in the shadows.

Sexia was in disguise. The person handling the procedures had a sensitive identity, so he had to handle this in person.

Xierlan saw the reply and truly hadn’t expected Sexia to act so quickly. It would take him three months just to get out of the correctional facility, and doing this now meant Sexia was taking his matter far too seriously.

Xierlan was about to cry.

Xierlan: Baby, you’re already in a sensitive position. What if you get noticed while out? I don’t want you to put yourself at risk for this.

Sexia had already passed through heavy metallic doors and reached the core area. The Zerg he was looking for were gathered here.

Baby: It’s okay.

Sexia knew exactly what he was doing. He looked down at the light screen, his ice-blue eyes shimmering with a soft glow.

Baby: I asked some experts. The content on the StarNet only covers half of what’s needed. To get certified, besides meeting the score requirements, applicants also need an A-level or above research institute training certificate.

Baby: I’ve already prepared this certificate for you. The exam dates are in 45 days and 3 months. If you miss these, you’ll have to wait another six months for the next session.

Baby: This wasn't hard, my male. If it’s too rushed, we can delay it. It’s fine. You can also choose not to do it—I’ll support you either way.

Baby: So don’t feel like you have to stick with it just because I’ve made arrangements. Just do what you can.

As a general, Sexia knew a lot about medical matters, but he didn’t need certifications or deep understanding of these topics. When Xierlan expressed his desire to pursue this, Sexia took it to heart and asked Zerg in his network who were in related fields.

Xierlan read word by word. He didn’t feel pressured by the short study period; what mattered most was how seriously and wholeheartedly Sexia was handling his affairs! He could even imagine Sexia considering his feelings, gently and earnestly telling him that it was okay if he chose to give up even after everything was arranged.

Wuwuwu, Baby Sexia.

Tearfully, Xierlan quickly replied: I won’t give up! I’m determined to do this. Even though it’s hard, I believe I can do it!

What was there to fear about memorizing professional knowledge in 45-90 days? He could do it!

Xierlan was highly motivated.

When he first looked into it, he had already summarized the exam outlines from the past five years and listed out the core knowledge points. He planned to spend a month mastering them before tackling the less frequent topics.

During free time, Xierlan pretended to read novels while actually studying. Miao Qie and the others could see his location through the identification code and swarmed around him like flies, curious about what novel he was reading.

The chat boxes with the primary consort had gone dead for all of them, but unsure how to restart the conversation, they decided to seek out Xierlan.

Miao Qie plopped down in front of him, saw him reading on the electronic screen, pouted, and said disapprovingly, "Xierlan, what are you reading so intently? Why is a male Zerg reading?! Male Zerg are virtuous without talent!!!"

For a moment, Xierlan thought he had misheard, finding it inexplicably amusing. Pretending to be proud, he said, "Are books in the library meant for male Zerg? I’m reading *The Female Zerg's Guide to Raising Offspring*."

Haibi was stunned and couldn’t help but doubt, "You’re not a female Zerg. Why are you reading a guide to raising offspring?"

Xierlan began his brainwashing, sending them the e-book and speaking with feigned seriousness, "You don’t understand. Male Zerg either beat other Zerg or end up in punishment rooms with electric shocks, all bloody and messy. It really doesn’t interest me at all."

Miao Qie strongly agreed. He didn’t really want to beat female Zerg either—every time he whipped one, it felt like they were about to tear him apart the next second.

But his primary consort was so stiff, never softening no matter what! Just like his appearance—such a handsome face, yet always as stern as a rock!

Not likable, not likable!

Xierlan said leisurely, "Female Zerg understand female Zerg best, right? They treat egg-bearing as more important than anything. I’m studying how they raise their young."

As if afraid his act wasn’t convincing enough, Xierlan thoughtfully propped his chin and posed a question, "What do you think would happen if we treated them like we treat Zerg young?"

This sentence felt like a hammer striking their heads, instantly clearing their minds.

Wouldn’t that make it easy to see a different side of the females?

Female bugs are proud and fiercely independent creatures—treating them this way might just yield some surprises.

So, the three male bugs began reading about how female bugs parent.

The book starts from the very beginning of egg development: after successful fertilization by the male bug’s tail hook, the female bug’s body accepts and selects the healthiest sperm to combine with, first developing into an egg inside the female’s body. The maturation cycle takes about half a year, with egg diameters ranging from over ten centimeters to around twenty centimeters.

Once the egg is fully formed, it must incubate in an incubator for about two months. Healthier larvae hatch earlier, though this also relates to the father’s pheromones.

Research shows that if female bugs receive sufficient pheromones during pregnancy, the eggs develop more healthily. Conversely, the female’s body may suffer severe intolerance, manifesting as the body’s nutrients being absorbed by the egg, extreme susceptibility to emotional instability, and if the mother’s body isn’t adequate to support the egg’s birth, the egg will desperately draw energy from the mother to secure a chance at survival.

At this point, the mother's survival becomes secondary—everything is for the sake of the egg.

Moreover, the book also states that "everything for procreation," "endurance is normal," "sacrifice is normal," and even "it’s normal for male bugs not to react to any of this."

Miao Qie was terrified by the illustrations, Haibi was even more frightened, and Liposi turned pale.

"Who said insect eggs come out easily? This is horrifying! How is this any different from a parasite? And the eggs are ten to twenty centimeters—such a small, narrow space, twenty centimeters! Insect gods above, I’m scared to death."

Miao Qie, thinking about how terrifying it was for his primary consort to give birth to a small female larva, felt his legs go weak, nearly stumbling and falling.

Even though his primary consort was strong, it was still terrifying, ahhh!

His vision went dark, and he trembled, "I didn’t hit him when he was carrying the egg, but he didn’t get much pheromones either. I'm done for, no wonder my child isn’t healthy."

It was earth-shattering—these were things female bugs never talked about!!!

Xierlan also shared their fear and nodded in agreement. Seeming to remember something, he looked at Miao Qie, "Oh right, you have a child. What’s the situation at your place?"

Miao Qie looked petite, with a youthful and pretty face—hard to tell he was a male bug with children.

Miao Qie nodded. His perspective had started changing from not being allowed to speak insultingly about female bugs. Unconsciously, he’d begun to realize how tough female bugs had it, greatly reforming his old habit of cursing them. He answered honestly, "Yes, just hatched—a frail female child."

Xierlan truly hadn’t expected that.

Haibi was also scared. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for his distant primary consort to carry an egg—it was too terrifying. He couldn’t picture something over ten times larger coming out of there.

Wouldn’t that just split him open?!!!

Liposi rubbed his head in frustration. He had originally wanted to have a child with Sang Li, but under these circumstances, he was afraid Sang Li would die in bed, and he wouldn’t get anything.

The three bugs each had their own thoughts.

Xierlan shrugged, "Right? I also think it’s terrifying, so treating females well is completely fine. Giving them pheromones can keep them safe, though I think it’s best not to have offspring at all."

It wasn’t just about fear—from any perspective, reproduction causes damage to the mother’s body. So, the choice of whether to reproduce should be entirely up to the mother.

Xierlan’s father was afraid something would happen to his mother, Ms. Bai, and besides, she was too young, so he persuaded her to terminate the pregnancy.

In the insect race, if male bugs didn’t find this disgusting or nauseating, they were already among the better ones.

Xierlan sighed, then noticed Haibi trembling as he took out his light brain and sent a message to his primary consort.

Since Haibi was sitting right beside him, Xierlan saw it immediately.

Haibi: Do you want to get pregnant?

The other side seemed to be online and replied quickly.

[?]

Haibi’s face instantly flushed bright red. Nervous and gritting his teeth, he quickly typed another sentence.

[Yours is too small—I’m afraid laying an egg would split you open.]

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Author’s note: Commenting is open now, welcome to join the fun OvO.