Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ling Yue stumbled back a step.

But seeing the two-headed bug held up by its neck, one head already rolling its eyes back, Ling Yue was so startled he hurried forward again, pinching the loose skin at the back of both necks with two fingers to rescue it from this careless bug's grip.

The rattled two-headed bug shot to the ground in a flash and ran off without looking back.

On the other side, the Purification Department's work bugs had caught enough bugs and zoomed off in their hovercar.

With the Purification bugs gone, Ling Yue relaxed a lot, and the strong-armed bug in front of him came into sharper focus.

The pheromones coming through his forehead were now unmistakable.

Ling Yue's mind felt foggy, but once he got used to it, it was like having a weird new sense—freaky but handy.

The pheromones naturally fed him info, and a thought slowly crept into his head: this bug in front of him looks tough, but he's actually a total waste of space—there's no way in hell he could knock me up!

Oh, pregnancy.

Ha.

Ling Yue felt dizzy and nauseous, crouching down and clutching his stomach.

After the scare from those Purification bugs just now, his fragile new gestational sac had clearly been jolted, and the ache in his lower belly was getting worse.

Cold, hungry, hurting, and queasy.

The useless trash bug across from him had probably never seen anything so fragile. He was super curious about Ling Yue, leaning down to "gently" poke his shoulder: "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Ling Yue got shoved to the ground by his sheer strength.

The useless trash bug didn't think he'd done anything wrong. He bent over and poked Ling Yue again: "What's wrong with you? I just got my new leg and haven't gotten it adjusted yet, so I can't squat down. Lift your head and let me see—you crying or what? Why are you crying? Is your stomach messed up?"

His stomach wasn't messed up—it had grown something weird inside, and if he wasn't careful, he might actually get knocked up...

Pregnancy, ha.

Ever since this weird thing had grown inside him, Ling Yue had given up on ever going back to Earth.

His gut told him the bugs had something he needed, and if he bailed now, he'd die.

Not to mention that ditching the bug race was nearly impossible for a mutated Earthling like him.

In the big interstellar era, most aliens were reasonable and open to talking—except the bugs.

The bugs were the wild cards of the interstellar age.

Lawless and reckless, but no race dared to mess with them. For one, they were stupidly strong—you couldn't win against them.

And two, as everyone knew, the bugs were almost extinct.

Without a Broodmother, the bugs were weak and unhinged.

A race with brutal genes that had backed themselves into an evolutionary dead end—Earth's species research experts talked about them with total disdain.

And now, Ling Yue couldn't exactly call himself human anymore. Though not fully a bug, he was covered in bug traits from head to toe, and at any moment, the bug genes might eat away at him until he was a full bug.

Human society wouldn't take him, so he had no choice but to survive among the bugs.

Far from home, stuck in survival hell mode, Ling Yue lay on the ground, burying his head in his chest and pretending to be antisocial. Even the most optimistic person wouldn't feel like chatting at a time like this.

Anyway, this useless trash bug couldn't hurt him.

After all... he's useless trash.

The useless trash bug was probably pretty young. Curiosity got the better of him, and he limped around Ling Yue in circles a few times, but no matter how he circled, all he could see was the back of Ling Yue's head.

He stomped his foot in frustration, letting out a metallic clang.

"..."

Only then did Ling Yue notice this bug was disabled—his whole leg was a mechanical contraption, with black metal climbing up to cover most of his waist.

Where the metal met his skin, there were fresh bloodstains—probably from a recent install that hadn't settled in yet.

Ling Yue vaguely remembered that the Purification Department, though not big on combat, had made a name for itself in bug society through science. Besides the Broodmother breeding experiments, fitting disabled bugs with mechanical limbs was a huge business.

The dark-skinned bug in front of him was probably here to get a new limb. He'd been badly hurt before—looked like a chunk of him had been sliced off in one hit, losing half his waist, half his ass, and a whole leg.

Ling Yue's gaze lingered on the bug's flat crotch. Oh, he'd lost something precious down there too. No wonder the pheromones had flagged him as useless trash.

At least he'd gained something instead of losing something!

Ling Yue's mood weirdly improved.

The useless trash bug stomped his mechanical foot loudly, then even bent down to try to pick Ling Yue up!

Remembering how the two-headed bug had been choked almost to the point of passing out, Ling Yue had to shove the useless trash bug's arm away. "Don't touch me."

The useless trash bug apparently realized he'd overstepped. He stopped awkwardly, but still kept straining to bend over and stare at Ling Yue.

He just couldn't stop.

He didn't know why, but this weak, soft, pale bug in front of him—he just wanted to scoop him up and stash him in his nest.

With the bug staring at him so earnestly, Ling Yue couldn't keep pretending to be antisocial. Besides, this bug had zero sense of restraint, so Ling Yue could only look up and answer: "I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?"

The useless trash bug immediately opened a hidden compartment at his waist and pulled out his last two packs of nutrient solution. "Here, drink this and I'll—" Remembering he was broke, the useless trash bug paused. "Drink this and I'll figure something out!"

Ling Yue took the nutrient pouch and tried to tear it open... tear it... The fruit from earlier hadn't been very filling, and recovering his mental energy had drained him. His hands were shaking too much to even rip the package open.

The useless trash bug immediately snatched it back and ripped it open in one go. He looked at the nutrient pouch in his hand, then at Ling Yue, his face full of eager anticipation. "Want me to feed you?"

"...That'll cost extra," Ling Yue said in a small voice.

The useless trash bug remembered his horrifying bank account and pulled his hand back with great regret.

...The Purification Department's mechanical bug limbs were way too pricey! Even though he'd saved up a ton of money from his past military service, there were all sorts of fun add-ons you could pick when choosing a mechanical limb.

Like adding a hidden compartment at the waist to stash his treasures;

Or adding two hidden bone spurs at the knees and along the leg—a sneaky trick for fighting;

Or adding an exhaust vent at the crotch—when you wrap your legs around an enemy's neck, you let out a stink bomb and show them what true "Gates of Hell" means!

With so many useful features, what bug could resist...

Now his pockets were empty, he was drowning in debt, and he couldn't even afford a ticket home. Where was he gonna get the money?

The useless little bug was sighing heavily when Ling Yue realized this was a fairly easygoing bug. Though a bit poor and a bit flighty, he was full of boundless energy.

After one packet of nutrient fluid, his stomach felt full, and Ling Yue instinctively slipped back into his professional habits. He softened his voice: "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have starved to death by the side of the road."

"Don't mention it, my name is Taste."

To get closer to Ling Yue, Taste had sat down on the ground. As he moved, the bloodstains at the mechanical joint on his waist became more visible.

Ling Yue reached out his hand, as if wanting to touch it, but pulled back before making contact.

"Taste, my name is... Yor. Were you injured on the battlefield?" On this unfamiliar planet, Ling Yue no longer existed—only an experiment named Yor remained.

Taste looked proud: "Yeah, I just came off the front lines over in the Spencer Galaxy sector."

"To be hurt this badly, you must have been incredibly brave."

Probably never having heard such direct praise before, the young bug's face froze for a moment, then his lips curled up in a smile he couldn't suppress. "Heh, no big deal, heh heh."

"You're bleeding again. What should we do about that?"

"Ah, no worries. I heal fast. Once it stops bleeding from rubbing, that's when it's perfectly in sync with the mechanical parts."

So he'd deliberately left the wound open, just to wear it into the perfect fit.

Definitely a bunch of lunatics.

Yor lowered his eyes. "But bleeding this much, your family will worry."

"Huh? My brother? He wouldn't give a damn. And by the time I figure out a way home, it'll probably be healed by then."

The young bug rambled on about how expensive the return tickets from the Purification Department were, wishing he were strong enough to cross wormholes on his own, then started frowning and scrolling through his terminal.

Yor mentally sorted through the information on Taste: a war bug, lively and simple-minded.

He had a brother he wasn't close to, was too broke to afford a ship ticket but not that worried about it—meaning he had another way back.

Most importantly, he was interested in Yor but hadn't overstepped, and... was very safe.

Yor's voice dropped low: "That must be nice. Even if you can't afford a ship ticket for now, at least you have a home to go back to."

Taste's hand scrolling through his terminal stopped abruptly. He leaned in close to Yor: "You don't have a home?"

"You've probably figured it out too. I'm not a bug—I'm..." Yor looked toward the direction of the pure bug laboratory, as if recalling something he didn't want to remember.

Taste slapped his forehead: "I get it! You were captured as material for the Broodmother transformation experiment! You failed, right?"

The young bug leaned in and sniffed, but unfortunately... a male bug who'd lost his precious parts no longer had the ability to sense pheromones. But he wasn't discouraged at all. Instead, he perked up and continued asking: "Some failed broodmothers can still produce a little bug honey. It doesn't do much, and drinking it might even poison you, but plenty of bugs still want it. How badly did you fail? Can you still produce honey?"

......

Yor's eyes went wide. Was this even something a person would say?

Honey, honey, honey—for the sake of this damn honey, how many alien creatures had the bugs ruined!

Thinking of the broken-down experiments in that lab, and his own half-bug, half-human mess of a body, Yor almost wanted to jump up and kick the cripple's good leg.

But looking at Taste's fist the size of a wok, he held himself back and forced a bitter smile: "I... failed pretty thoroughly. Just surviving by the skin of my teeth was already a miracle..."

Flushed cheeks, eyes glistening with a mist of tears that made them especially bright—even though he'd been glared at, the young bug stared at Yor and swallowed hard, feeling that glare itch somewhere deep in his chest, all the way down to his fingertips. If only he could touch this little failed broodmother.

"Then... why don't you come home with me?" Seeing Yor's face full of disbelief, Taste's voice got quieter and quieter. "I can steal my brother's money to take care of you..."

"......."

Even though he did want a temporary meal ticket and was desperate to leave the Purification Department's territory right away, was this bug in front of him really up to the job?

The more Yor thought about it, the less confident he felt, and for once, he hesitated, when Taste's terminal suddenly went off.

Taste glanced at the name on the screen and answered cheerfully, "Captain, I'm all done installing my mechanical body, and I can report back to the team right away. Of course, as long as you buy me one... or maybe two return tickets."

The caller was clearly used to Taste's flighty nature and said directly, "I saw your medical report. You've lost your pheromone perception ability. You're being moved out of my team and into logistics. Someone will contact you shortly."

"Oh, I see. Then the tickets..." The other party hung up without ceremony. At the sound of the dial tone, Taste nonchalantly put away his terminal and sighed at Yor, "Looks like I'll have to find another way to take you back."

"But," the lively young bug suddenly perked up, "I can take you to the spaceport area first."

The young bug suddenly reached out both hands and grabbed Yor's waist, then with a firm lift, Yor was placed on the young bug's shoulder.

In a straddling position with legs spread apart—or rather, the "riding a big horse" pose that fathers on Blue Star often used with their kids—Yor sat on Taste's shoulder. As the bug ran, Yor squinted, enduring the wind rushing against his face, his expression as cold as ice.

Maybe dying in the pure bug lab wouldn't be so bad after all.