Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Lima's bar sat up high, with a long sloping path at its entrance. Yor trudged up the slope, one heavy step at a time.

All around him, bugs with legs that could cover two meters in one stride breezed past, making Yor's eyes blur.

It was just an ordinary road leading to a bar, but in the eyes of a Blue Star human, it might as well have been a stairway to heaven.

He shouldn't have gone back last night. So what if Lima had held him while he slept? It wasn't like he hadn't slept in Herman's arms before...

And that stupid medal—it wasn't like any bug was gonna steal it from his room. Why'd he have to go back just to look at it, touch it...

He was mid-scold for being so weirdly fussy when, all of a sudden, his body went light.

A strong bug limb scooped Yor up, spun him around, and plopped him onto its back.

A strange male bug... but Yor didn't flinch. He wasn't even that scared.

Sure enough, once Yor was settled, the worker bug—who'd weirdly stayed in his bug form the whole time—handed him a little note. It was a note from Lima, saying this was the bug he'd sent to pick Yor up at the bottom of the slope.

No more climbing. Yor let out a relieved breath and murmured, "Thanks."

With a bug's sharp hearing, the worker bug obviously heard him, but talking was hard in bug form. He softly rubbed his elytra together, making that metallic sound Yor knew, as a way of saying "you're welcome."

The bug was huge, and with Yor on his back, he cleared the slope in a few strides.

By the time they reached Lima's bar, the sky had just gone black—no sunset, no transition, like someone flipped a light switch.

Yor blinked, trying again to get used to Warna's batshit way of turning off the day.

The bar flickered on with a mess of colorful neon—gaudy as hell, definitely not Lima's style, but flashy enough to pull in a crowd.

Yor slid off the bug's back and stood at the back door's staff entrance, peeking inside.

Lima's bar was already lively.

Bugs didn't have a ton of entertainment options. Compared to the flashy casinos and fight pits, the corner bar was where most regular bugs wound up.

Cheap booze, loud music, and the occasional trashy show—enough to kill a long night.

Lima's bar was small and in a so-so spot, but tonight it was hawking an "incomplete Broodmother" auction, so it was way rowdier than usual. Plenty of bored bugs had shown up to gawk.

By the time Yor snuck in through the service hallway, the good seats up front were already gone. He glanced around and slid into a booth off to the side.

It was tucked away, and Yor was fine being by himself. He flipped through the drink list on the table.

The list was all stuff bugs liked to drink, with names weirder than the last. Yor couldn't read any of it, so he just flipped through.

At the next table, a group was ordering—looked like a few war bugs buttering up a client.

The pale bug in the middle was dressed to the nines, sitting there all high and mighty. One look and you knew he was the one being wined and dined.

The bartender was slick—this kind of client schmoozing was prime time to push a sale. Grinning, he started pitching a new bundle. The booze was already expensive, and now it was double.

"This bundle just dropped, exclusive to the whole bug planet. The booze is a top-shelf import, but the real kicker is this—"

The bartender lowered his voice mysteriously, pulling a sealed little pouch from his chest. "Honey cards. Yeah, they're diluted, but it's the real deal from that incomplete Broodmother's nectar. We only got a few of these, and they only come with this bundle."

Yor, who'd been staring at the menu, felt his ears go red. These so-called honey cards were made from that last drop of nectar Yor had squeezed out that day—the part he hadn't given to Herman.

That one drop had been diluted again by Lima and turned into these "honey cards." Not sold on their own—only bundled with the overpriced drink sets.

What the buyers did with them after—sniffing them, soaking them in water, whatever—that was their business.

Thinking about how many bugs would "use" that nectar, Yor rubbed his aching chest and squirmed in his seat.

But he got over it fast.

After being a broodmother for this long, he was starting to get used to his freaky body. It was still a little embarrassing, but... on an alien planet, having barely escaped death, there was this weird, reckless freedom—like no matter how much he embarrassed himself, nobody back home would ever find out.

And now he was even used to getting hauled around by male bugs.

Yor kept listening in on the next table.

Seeing the customer hesitate, the bartender pulled out the honey card from the sealed pouch and gave it a little wave above the table.

Even though he put it away after a quick wave, the war bugs' faces changed instantly. Their pupils shrank, their breathing got deeper, and they all leaned in without realizing it.

Even the pale bug who'd been acting all high and mighty froze for a second.

After a quick huddle, the war bugs at the next table actually bought the bundle.

The bartender walked off looking pleased, and the bugs slid the free honey card over to their precious client.

The pale client picked up the pouch, gave it a look of pure arrogance, and tossed it back on the table with a sneer.

"Just a failed experiment. This smell isn't even a fraction of a real broodmother's. A real broodmother—that scent, once you catch it, you never forget it. This kind of defective crap is only good for fooling low-tier bugs who've never seen the real deal."

The war bugs traded looks. They were here to kiss up to their client, so of course they just went along with him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're totally right. How could this cheap crap compare to a real broodmother?"

"Just some lab reject. How could it even catch your eye? I heard the Pure Division Lord already has a real broodmother!"

"Honestly, it's just a scam to fool bugs."

"If you ask me, this defective junk should be destroyed. Having it out there just makes your Purification Clan lab look bad."

The next table wasn't exactly quiet, so Yor heard every word.

His face went dark—though not because the bugs had been rude.

Before he got grabbed and turned into this, Yor had been in PR. He'd taken plenty of sneers and cheap shots in his time. The bugs' insults weren't even a tenth as sharp as what Blue Star had thrown at him. This stuff didn't even faze him.

No—he'd just clocked the pale client's identity... a Purification Clan lab bug.

Then, from the other side, a snicker cut through. "Filthy bug."

Yor blinked, surprised, and looked over.

In the booth across the way sat two bugs. Pale skin, smaller frames than the war bugs—next to all those muscle-bound brutes, they looked like two blades of grass lost in an iron forest.

And... two more Purification Clan bugs.

That bloodless pallor, plus the Clan's signature flashy hair colors—the higher the rank, the prettier the hair. The one who'd snickered had dark red hair like molten lava, and the other had a rare deep green.

Like waterweed growing at the bottom of a pond—dense, cold, hanging by their ears with barely any shine, but you could tell at a glance it was silky.

The redhead clearly had no love for the lab bug, his look dripping with contempt.

The one with green hair didn't seem to want any trouble, resting a hand on his companion's arm. The grip was light, but the red-haired one seemed to bite back his words, pursing his lips and going quiet.

The red-haired one lazily leaned back in the booth, while the green-haired one cast a quick, barely-there glance toward Yor before looking away, as if nothing had happened.

The bar was packed today—though it was still early, there was hardly an empty seat.

Lima didn't waste any time. Seeing Yor already seated in the corner, he immediately kicked off the auction.

At the center of the stage, a holographic projection slowly hummed to life.

In a dimly lit bedroom, dark golden light spilled down, making the whole space feel intimate.

On a large bed spread with black silk sheets, something stirred—a small figure curled up under the covers, only a hint of brown hair visible, resting softly on the pillow.

It was quiet—so quiet you could hear the steady breathing.

Accompanied by a faint, barely-there honey fragrance drifting from somewhere, the once-noisy bar gradually fell silent, though the bugs were clearly getting worked up.

In the charged atmosphere, Lima jumped onto the stage, serving as his own host.

His calm, strangely seductive voice echoed in every bug's ear: "The auction for three days with the incomplete Broodmother, Yor, begins now!"

With the honey scent doing its work, the bidding got fierce right away—especially the two tables in the center, which had come for the incomplete Broodmother after seeing Lima's ad.

"Four thousand star coins!"

"Four thousand six!"

......

"Six thousand six!"

"Six thousand eight!"

Bids came in rapid succession. Lima stood on stage, maintaining his smile, silently urging the bugs below to bid higher.

As Yor focused on the auction, the pale customer beside him suddenly spoke up: "Nine thousand eight."

He said it slow, like he was just tossing out a number.

The two center tables went quiet for a second. Everyone knew the usual price range—anything over ten thousand was already pushing it...

Nine thousand eight seemed like a deliberate move to keep the war bugs in check.

The war bugs at the neighboring table were clearly baffled—hadn't they just been complaining? Why were they suddenly bidding?

Feeling the stares, the pale customer shifted uncomfortably. He cleared his throat and took a sip from his glass. "It's cheap. Just messing around."

The table on the right gave up, but the one on the left hesitated, then ground out: "Ten thousand!"

But the pale customer shot it up to fifteen thousand without blinking, and the other side fell silent.

A Purification Clan lab bug... Yor couldn't help but grit his teeth.

But Lima caught his tension and gave him a small wave, telling him to chill.

Ever since the Purification Clan lab bug started bidding, Lima had been quietly pinging. Sure enough, a guest in the corner who hadn't said a word the whole time suddenly called out: "Twenty thousand."

A bunch of bugs turned, surprised. The pale customer's face darkened, anger creeping in.

He was a Purification Clan lab bug—every time he came to war bug territory, he was specially invited to check their physical conditions. These low-level war bugs weren't even worth his time, and now one of them was actually trying to outbid him? He snorted in disdain: "Twenty-six thousand."

Lima's fingers tightened, about to signal the corner bug, but Yor suddenly spoke into his mind: "Forget it. No point in driving the price up."

He wasn't running this auction for the money anyway. Jacking the price up to something ordinary bugs couldn't afford right off the bat wouldn't do him any favors.

As for that Purification Clan lab bug... when he'd stood in front of Zane, Zane hadn't even noticed anything weird about him. He was just a regular lab bug—Yor just had to be careful.

This was an auction, just like back on Blue Star—you had to deal with whatever clients showed up.

Lima didn't want Yor to be put out, but as a domain bug, he always obeyed.

He chatted through a few warm-up lines, and when no one else bid, Lima drew it out:

"Then, twenty-six thousand star coins, going once!"

"Twenty-six thousand star coins, going twice!"

The pale customer looked smug, leaning back in his booth and raising his glass at the stage.

Just as Lima's gavel was about to come down, a weak voice came from the booth on Yor's other side.

The voice was soft, trembling with uncertainty, yet it clearly announced a number precise to the last digit:

"Th... thirty-eight thousand four hundred twelve star coins."

The oddly specific number instantly drew everyone's attention.

The bar's lighting technician was quick on the uptake, immediately aiming a spotlight at the booth that had made the bid.

The moment the harsh light enveloped the booth, the bug inside instinctively spread his elytra, shielding his head and face.

Then, realizing he'd overreacted, he slowly folded his elytra back. After bidding, he said nothing and didn't even glance toward the host—just kept his eyes fixed on the table. Only his trembling lashes betrayed his inner nervousness and discomfort.

The bug in the booth looked completely averse to social interaction, and the oddly specific bid was clearly all the money he had. This behavior... didn't seem like a seasoned social bug at all.

Yor felt a bit concerned, but Lima on stage breathed a sigh of relief. He said softly through the mind link: "He's also a pure bug—a relative of the Pure Insect Lord. Not a lab bug, though. He's an engineering bug here to help install mechanical limbs."

Yor couldn't help but extend his mental sense for a "look"—sure enough, he had the same pale pupils as Zane.

But unlike Zane's hollow, vacant gaze, this pure bug... at least had warmth in his eyes.

The pale customer next to them shot to his feet, but after seeing who had bid, he slumped back down.

Compared to ordinary pure bugs like them, this lord's relative with his striking hair color was naturally of a higher rank.

Though this lord's relative wasn't doing particularly well for himself—that was all the savings he had—the pale customer still took another look at his deep green lashes, pursed his lips, and gave up on bidding further.

Lima on stage had already begun the countdown: "Thirty-eight thousand four hundred twelve star coins, going once!"

...

The hammer fell.

Lima quickly verified the lord's relative's funds. The first employer sat sideways, long bangs covering his eyes. He looked thin, but when he stood, he was surprisingly tall—almost matching Herman in height. Clearly, his rank wasn't low.

Yor thought for a moment, then walked over proactively. "Hello, I'm Yor. For the next three days, I'm your exclusive Broodmother."

The skinny pure bug nearly flinched at the sudden approach, completely lacking the courage he'd shown during the auction. His eyes darted away, avoiding Yor's gaze.

A... shut-in bug?

Yor didn't push. He simply extended his hand. "Would you like to hold my hand?"

The other hesitated for two seconds, then a slender, well-defined hand gently rested on Yor's palm.