Chapter 1 Transmigration: Monster?

Chapter 1: Transmigration. A Monster?

The city wall receded into the distance, the howling wind whipped past his neck, tearing through his mid-length jet-black hair. His blood-stained clothes snapped violently in the wind.

Su Jibai looked up, his pupils holding the reflection of the crimson sunset against the ruined wall. Amidst the smoke and cannon fire, he curled his pale lips into a faint, pleased smile, closed his eyes, and let himself fall.

Good.

He would see his elder brother soon.

The expected pain was slow in coming. The wind in his ears paused for a moment, then suddenly intensified. Blinding light lanced from all directions, followed by the sounds of explosions, gunfire, chaotic footsteps, and raucous yelling.

The noise made Su Jibai's head feel like it was splitting open. He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead weights. The rushing wind gradually slowed, gently lowering him onto the littered ground.

In the dark alley, a wounded and fleeing military female insect, in his desperate escape, inadvertently glanced towards a corner, a ferocious glint in his eyes.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill him!"

The military female insect manifested insect claws, gripping the unconscious insect he had unexpectedly discovered. Several red marks instantly appeared on Su Jibai's pale neck.

Even though Su Jibai was in a hazy, semi-conscious state, the pressure and stinging pain on his neck clearly signaled to him—he was being taken hostage. The kidnapper seemed to be using him to threaten someone else.

Ha! Someone was actually taking *him* hostage!

Su Jibai couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This guy was an idiot. In a war, trying to survive by taking a worthless "fool" hostage on a street full of enemy troops was simply seeking death.

Once he'd sized up the situation, Su Jibai stopped struggling. He let his consciousness sink, serenely awaiting the outcome he had envisioned countless times.

The clamor in his ears was like thousands of soap bubbles popping simultaneously. After a brief silence, it grew even more intense. Amidst the chaos, a steady, heavy tread approached from a distance.

Tap.

Tap.

The rhythmic footsteps stopped at the mouth of the alley. Laifu, holding the hostage, upon seeing the newcomer, nervously retreated further into the corner.

In the process, he unconsciously tightened his grip. The sharp insect claws dug in deeper. The long-absent throbbing pain made Su Jibai uncomfortable, yet also oddly comforting.

"Laifu, given your current situation, you are not in a position to negotiate terms with me."

A clear, cold, and stern voice, carrying an intangible pressure, swept into the dark alley. Hearing it, Laifu's insect claws trembled, deepening the wounds.

"Idris!" Laifu glared fiercely, his eyes wide with rage as he stared at the white-haired military female insect at the alley entrance, a trace of venom flashing in his gaze.

"Laifu, is it worth it to drive yourself to this state for a male insect?" Idris's tone was calm, but a hint of barely perceptible pity was hidden in his purple eyes.

Worth it?

Worth it!

It wasn't!

Laifu was stung by the words "worth it." As if desperately trying to prove something, he struggled, pulling Su Jibai's body into a hunched position. Staring with bloodshot eyes, he roared hoarsely, "Worth it! Of course it's worth it!"

Glancing at the wounds on the unconscious insect's neck that continued to ooze blood, Idris's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He looked up, his gaze passing over Laifu, signaling the military female insects behind him to continue their approach.

"Then you shouldn't have killed other attendant insects just to monopolize a male insect's favor." Idris advised while subtly moving forward. "Laifu, don't compound your errors. Release the insect in your hands, choose to surrender. Perhaps you can still have a dignified end."

Listening to Idris's sanctimonious words of comfort, Laifu couldn't help but let out a burst of despairing, maniacal laughter. The hoarse laughter echoed in the dark alley, like the cry of a night owl, filled with endless desolation.

"Dignified? Hahahaha..." Laifu laughed while tightening his insect claws, unable to hold back his accusations. "I lost all dignity when I was forced to submit to pheromones, when I wanted to escape but compromised again and again due to pheromone dependency, even when I couldn't control myself from groveling and begging for the male insect's pity! And now you talk about giving me dignity?"

"Hahahaha, Idris, you're so naive. You don't think a few words of advice will make me surrender meekly, do you?"

"You're dreaming!"

"Anyway, it's a dead end. Having company on the road to meet the Insect God isn't a loss for me!" Laifu sneered, pressing his insect claws down forcefully. A deep wound appeared on the side of Su Jibai's neck, the gushing blood quickly staining the nearby collar.

Idris hadn't expected Laifu to have gone so mad as to harm an insect indiscriminately. Seeing this, he hurriedly tried to stop him. "Laifu, don't be impulsive!"

"Major General Idris, I'm not impulsive," Laifu giggled. "If I were truly impulsive, I would have killed that male insect who turned me into this state and escaped long ago! How could I have sunk so low!"

Laifu's words exploded in the dark alley, stunning the pursuing military female insects.

This Laifu was insane, he actually wanted to harm His Excellency!

Seeing that further talk was useless, Idris signaled with his eyes to the military female insects who had gotten close to act while Laifu was emotionally agitated. A bullet whizzed through the air, hitting the insect claw Laifu was using to grip Su Jibai.

Seeing the hostage slip from his grasp and knowing escape was impossible, Laifu decided to go all the way and directly detonated his Mind Sea.

A powerful mental shockwave surged forth like a raging tide. Su Jibai only saw a flash of white light, followed by a sensation as if thousands of steel needles were piercing his brain, the pain almost making it explode. As his limbs grew weak and his consciousness blurred, a pair of warm, sturdy arms caught him.

So warm...

Was it the person who had just spoken, trying to save him?

Su Jibai fought against the pain and his fading consciousness, struggling to open his heavy eyelids.

What met his eyes was a shimmering yellow. Enormous butterfly wings, half-furled in the air, their black and white patterns, illuminated by the surrounding lights, formed a protective wall shimmering with flowing light. That flowing light, seen through his hazy, fogged vision, was dazzlingly beautiful and dreamlike.

Wings? Is this person a monster?

"How are you feeling?" Seeing signs of the insect in his arms waking, Idris quickly asked softly.

Hearing this, Su Jibai slowly turned his head and immediately met a pair of slightly concerned purple eyes. Those eyes were extremely clear, like fine lavender amethyst.

Then, he noticed the handsome brows and eyes, the high-bridged nose, and the lightly pursed thin lips. As if discovering something, Su Jibai's heart trembled. His dark eyes, veiled with mist, quickly scanned the man's face up and down.

A moment later, he desperately grabbed the sleeve of the garment near his hand, straining to lift his torso. His gleaming white neck arched high. Trembling, panting, he struggled to raise himself higher, as if in an offering.

Warm, rapid breath carrying an indescribable fragrance wafted across his face. Idris felt slightly uncomfortable and leaned back, trying to avoid it.

Su Jibai, using the movement, drew closer, eagerly wanting to see the "monster's" face clearly.

He paid no heed to his torn wounds, nor to his moon-white robe, now stained red over half its length. Like a white moth drawn to flame, he lifted a blood-stained hand and, with immense tenderness, caressed Idris's face.

The touch was extremely light, as if afraid of damaging a fragile treasure. Then, his hand suddenly fell.

Idris looked down, examining the insect who had fallen unconscious again, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. He was certain he had never seen this insect before. So why did the other seem so familiar with him?

Just now, he seemed to have uttered something?

Idris's memory was always excellent. He parted his lips, trying to reconstruct the captured lip movement: "&＄..."

The pronunciation didn't resemble the insect language. It was truly strange.

"Major General, Laifu's body has been collected." The adjutant Ray approached from the side. After reporting, he leaned in, curiously observing the unconscious black-haired beautiful insect in Idris's arms. "How should we handle this injured sub-female insect?"

"Sub-female?" Idris came back to his senses.

"Isn't it? This one's much shorter than a female." Ray rested his chin on his hand, thinking, and said jokingly, "It can't possibly be a male, can it?"

Idris's gaze fell upon Su Jibai again. The unconscious figure was indeed quite small. Among their kind, this build was only seen in sub-females or juvenile males.

But juvenile males were usually closely guarded and would absolutely never appear in a dark alley.

Moreover...

Idris's eyes swept over the clothes soaked with blood around Su Jibai's waist and abdomen. Being injured like this made it even more impossible for him to be a male.

"Major General, let me." As Idris made to stand, Ray volunteered, reaching out to take the insect from his arms.

But who would have thought, the moment Idris moved, the insect furrowed his brows, moaned, and shrank further into his arms, looking terribly uncomfortable.

Idris's motion to hand him over immediately halted. He frowned, staring at the crumpled sleeve for a long while.

Ah, well. Might as well see it through.

Picking up the unconscious insect, Idris quickly walked out of the dark alley: "Notify the squad to assemble, and call for a medic."

Ray promptly acknowledged, contacting the hospital and squad members while sneaking glances at Idris, who was already walking far ahead with the insect.

"Hasn't the Major General always disliked getting involved in others' affairs? Did the sun rise in the west today?"

Recalling Idris's usual attitude of keeping a respectful distance from males, Ray's heart jolted. Could it be that the Major General...

Was into females?

No way! That can't be right!

Ray hurriedly shook his head, brushed off the crazy idea, and jogged to catch up with Idris.

Passing near where Laifu had held the hostage, Ray paused, picking up a pendant from the ground—it had shattered into three pieces from the fall. Hesitating for a moment, Ray bent down, put the fragments in his pocket, and hurried towards the alley entrance.

A few minutes later, an emergency hovercar arrived at the mouth of the dark alley. The medics descended from the hovercar with a stretcher, standing ready at the vehicle's entrance.

Two minutes later, the stretcher remained empty, the sick insect still curled up securely in Idris's arms. The medics looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

Idris's brow furrowed deeply. He tried again to pull at his sleeve. The sick insect's fingertips were white from gripping, then flushed red, but the clothing remained firmly in place.

A standby medic, seeing the bloodstain on the sick insect's abdomen spreading further, stepped forward and volunteered. He forcefully pried open the insect's already pale fingers, gave a tug, and the problem was solved.

However, the originally fair fingertips now bore several bloody marks. Seeing this, Idris shot the medic a faint, sidelong look.

As if sensing something, the medic hurriedly explained, "Sub-females aren't as tough as full females, but they recover pretty well. These wounds will heal on their own shortly. In comparison, the sick insect's other injuries are more serious and need to be treated at the hospital as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Idris withdrew his gaze and quickly placed the insect on the stretcher. With the patient loaded, the emergency hovercar didn't linger, speeding away.

Watching the hovercar disappear into the distance, Idris withdrew his gaze, casually smoothing the wrinkles on his sleeve, rounded up his team, and hurried back to the military headquarters to report.

*Knock knock knock knock knock knock!*

Urgent knocking interrupted Idris's movements. Tossing the empty inhibitor vial into the trash, he quickly straightened his uniform before speaking.

"Enter."

The office door swung open with a clang. Ray hurried into the room, his expression complex, eyes filled with worry: "Major General!!! We've got a big problem!!"

Idris looked puzzled. Ray was usually so level-headed; what was going on today? "What is it?"

Ray struggled to organize his words, saying, "The MPA just called, ordering you to report there immediately! The identity of the insect rescued today is... problematic."

Idris was stunned for a moment, then rose to his feet: "What problem?"

Could that insect be a runaway concubine or slave of some high-ranking male? Thinking this, Idris voiced the question.

Upon hearing this, Ray's face became a picture of even greater discomfort. He took a deep breath and spoke with difficulty: "Major General, that insect isn't a sub-female... it's... a male!"

Idris's eyes widened: "What?!"

A male?! How is that possible!

Recalling the near-death state the male was in when he was taken away, Idris felt a little dizzy. His Mind Sea, which had just stabilized after the inhibitor injection, nearly churned into turbulent waves.

It's over!

He was in for it now.

*

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Author's Note:

Finally starting the story! Originally planned to finish the entire manuscript before posting, but after writing for 12 months, I didn't reach the goal and couldn't delay any longer.

Thank you for waiting, babies. I'm really happy and encouraged [sparkling eyes]. Currently, more than half of the manuscript is drafted. I'll work hard to draft more later, so don't worry, babies. [dog head holding a rose]

Finally, I wish all babies always have wonderful stories to read, that the stories you like are discovered by more people, and that the authors you like top the charts with every book. [applause]

Sending love. [yellow heart]

— Jiang Zhichuan

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Insect Calendar 4056, July x, Cloudy, Sunday

On a mission, accidentally rescued a sub-female [crossed out] male. In a very bad mood, hoping such accidents won't happen again. [melted]