Chapter 2
January 3rd, year 5000 of the Interstellar Calendar—the third day since the male Zerg egg had been laid.
The living room on the first floor was bright and clean with excellent natural light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting golden sunlight across the spotless floor. Three Zergs sat together on a white sectional sofa.
The young man sitting in the middle smiled, his arms wrapped tightly around his two partners. On his left held a beautiful, slender, fair-skinned sub-female—and on his right, he embraced a strong, muscular female Zerg. He desired both beauty and brawn, harboring no prejudice toward either type.
Bzzt.
The watch-like terminal on his wrist vibrated. The young man in the middle raised his hand and lightly tapped the face of the watch. A seven-inch virtual screen was projected directly in front of him.
“Your Highness Henry, it's my turn tonight. Will you come visit me?” The attractive sub-female on the other side of the screen asked subserviently.
Henry smiled and replied, “Sure thing, babe.”
Who was Henry? And what was his relationship with the female Zerg beside him?
Henry was the dominating master of the household. As one of the rarest Zerg males, he possessed the legal right to marry numerous females or sub-females and confiscate their property. Only the primary female consort, the female sovereign who contributed the most to the household, was permitted to own personal property. Secondary female consorts and female slaves were forbidden from owning anything of their own.
The two individuals flanking Henry were merely his secondary female consorts. Even now, while lounging with them, he was actively scanning the market for new dating prospects.
Did his female consorts have no complaints about this behavior?
They dared not complain. Zerg males were incredibly scarce and were granted extreme, absolute rights in domestic life. As long as they continued to fulfill reproduction duties with the female Zerg, spending massive amounts of money was not an issue at all, nor was being unfaithful. In fact, it was considered an advantage for the entire Zerg society.
“Your Highness Henry, I have reserved the most expensive room. I will be waiting for you.” The sub-female on the screen was overjoyed, thrilled that she had finally secured her chance to engage in reproduction duties with the Zerg male.
“See you then.” Henry hung up the video call with a faint smile playing across his lips.
The muscular female Zerg sitting to Henry's right pursed her lips and lowered her gaze towards the floor. She felt dejected, thinking that she wouldn't get to see this master again tonight. But, she couldn't just lock her master up in the house and forbid him from leaving.
Why was it that despite being so strong, she didn't dare force Henry to stay?
Because male Zergs possessed psychic power, which allowed them to suppress female Zergs.
Throughout history, there had once been an era when female Zergs oppressed male Zergs and treated them merely as breeding tools. At one point, male Zergs made up only one in every thousand Zergs, and not a single new male Zerg was being born anywhere in society.
On the verge of extinction, the male Zergs awakened their psychic powers.
The great male Zerg revolutionaries united all male Zergs and overthrew the rule of the female Zergs. The balance of power was reversed, and male Zergs reigned supreme.
To prevent history from repeating itself, male Zergs were granted the highest level of authority in their daily lives. A male Zerg could marry multiple female partners and become the head of the household, helping the low-fertility Zerg race reproduce.
Henry was the head of the Eisenberg household, and his psychic power was ranked A-class. He had one primary female consort (Cijun), seventeen secondary female consorts (Cishi), and six female slaves (Cinu).
In a world where the ratio of males, sub-females, and females was 1:8:16, Henry's family size could only be described as average. However, as a romantic playboy, he could have married far more female consorts. The reason he hadn't was...
Henry was simply too much of a womanizer. He was too promiscuous, constantly loving the new and loathing the old. He was either on his way to see a new lover, or is already with one.
Exactly how many Zerg females had Henry dated? If not eight hundred, then at least six hundred. As for the exact number, Henry couldn't quite remember.
Still, Henry considered himself a responsible male. As long as someone became pregnant with his Zerg egg, he would marry them regardless of whether they had money. After all, a pregnant female Zerg who didn't receive nourishment from a male Zerg could face face life-threatening danger.
So how many children did Henry have?
At present, Henry's women had given birth to thirty children in total. Among them was one male cub and twenty-nine female cubs.
There was also... the male Zerg egg born just three days ago.
No matter the household, the birth of a new male egg was always a momentous occasion and is something that the whole family paid attention to. They would dispatch manpower to monitor the egg's condition around the clock. Even a typically self-absorbed male would show extra care and concern for a male Zerg cub.
Henry, however, was different. He was far more self-absorbed, caring only about living a life of indulgence. Besides, he had already experienced the joy of welcoming a male child into the family once before.
His first male Zerg hatchling looked just like him. He was clever and adorable, polite and well-behaved. Even at such a young age, he understood that his mother was busy and would even help Henry resolve family disputes. He cared about the female consorts Henry didn't have time to look after, learned how to cook from them, and then made food for his mother.
Because of how sensible this male Zerg hatchling was, Henry promoted his mother to the position of primary female consort as a reward. This was despite the fact that this primary female consort was neither the highest earner nor the highest-ranking military officer in the family. To the Zerg, a female giving birth to a male cub was the greatest contribution one could make.
Henry didn't see anything wrong with his precious male offspring being overly considerate of females, entering the kitchen to cook for them, or being obsessed with gender equality.
After all, there were only two rules in a Zerg's life: None of my damn business, and none of your damn business.
Now that there was a second male Zerg egg in the family—and it belonged to a consort who rarely came home—Henry had already lost interest.
Whatever, let it be. It's not like it'll die anyway.
And what about the mother of the second male Zerg egg? The egg's mother was also on a video call at that moment.
Standing in the center of the room in a crisp military uniform, the blue-haired female answered the superior on the terminal screen: "Yes, ma'am. I can return to my post tomorrow."
The female superior on the screen spoke with a trace of kindness in her voice: "The war is tight right now, so we can only grant you three days of maternity leave. It's going to be hard on you, so hang in there—wait!"
The superior suddenly paused, and then her expression changed: "You gave birth to a male egg!"
She had actually spotted a large, pure-white egg. Only male Zerg eggs were completely white. female Zerg eggs all had patterns on them. The egg's mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“A male hatchling. That's wonderful. Truly wonderful.” The superior's tone leaked with envy and wonder.
"It's a pity you can't stay with the male cub a bit longer."
The female Zerg officer glanced at the time.
“Have you bought your ticket? You should be leaving soon, right?”
"I bought it. Departing in ten minutes."
“Good. I won't disturb you any longer. Hurry up and pack your things.”
The call ended.
The blue-haired officer inside the room picked up the luggage she had already packed beforehand and stood silently, gazing deeply at her egg.
"Little one, your mother has to leave now."
There was no response. Perhaps the cub was already asleep.
Bzzt.
The terminal on her wrist vibrated—it was the alarm she had set in advance. The egg's mother turned and left the room, unaware that at the instant she had closed the door, the white egg lying on the bed slowly stood upright. Psychic power spread throughout the room, carrying with it an unmistakable sense of reluctance.
Mother...is gone.
Still inside his egg, the male Zerg cub felt that familiar presence growing farther and farther away.
The room felt empty. In the silence, time slowly passed.
The male Zerg hatchling realized that his mother wasn't coming back. He fell asleep.
No one knew how much time had passed.
When the male Zerg cub awoke, that familiar presence was still nowhere to be found. The male cub released his psychic power, using himself as the center to sense his surroundings. In the small room of about seven or eight square meters, there was a clean and tidy bed, a completely bare desk, and a standing wardrobe.
The fact that his environment hadn't changed brought the male cub a sense of security. Next, he increased the output of his psychic power, expanding his perception range to the living room. A fluffy beige carpet, a glass artisan coffee table, a white leather sectional sofa, and... three adult Zerg.
"!"
He detected a familiar aura—it was his father. The male cub used his psychic power to greet his father, expressing his joy.
In the living room, Henry was currently rummaging through the shoe cabinet, trying to pick out a more handsome pair of shoes to match his outfit. He was about to go out on a date with a new lover. Having no time to deal with the little hatchling, he casually shot back a response with his own psychic power:
Go play on your own. Your daddy is heading out to make contributions to the Zerg race's reproduction.
After saying that, Henry didn't bother wondering whether the little Zerg cub understood. He changed his shoes and left the house.
Zerg reproduction? What is that?
For a moment, curiosity completely overrode the sadness of being left behind. Just as the young little male Zerg cub was pondering this...
Knock, knock, knock.
A knocking sound echoed, and the door was pushed open. A short-haired teenage male Zerg entered the room and walked toward the egg. In stark contrast to his cold, aloof expression, he lifted his hand and poked the egg.
“Who are you?”
The male Zerg cub could only sense the presence of his direct relatives. He didn't recognize this unfamiliar Zerg at all.
Sensing the psychic power coming from inside the egg, the teenage male Zerg raised an eyebrow. He curled his finger and tapped on the egg, as though he were checking whether a watermelon was ripe.
“I didn't expect you to already know how to use psychic power to communicate while you're still inside the egg. Don't tell me you're from Earth too?”
"……" The male Zerg cub didn't understand and gave no response.
"The King of Heaven covers the Earthly Tiger?" (A classic Chinese pop culture secret signal/meme)
"……"
"Hoeing millet in the midday sun?" (A famous classic Chinese poem line)
"……"
"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony?" (A Socialist Core Values meme thing)
"……"
The teenage male Zerg shook his head. "Forget it. Let me reintroduce myself. I am your older brother, Jasper. Although our father doesn't like you, and your mother is too busy to take care of you, your brother will love you, take care of you, and become the person who cares about you the most. If you need any help, you can look for your brother."
“?”
What was this strange Zerg babbling about?
The male Zerg cub thought about it, and his psychic power transmitted nothing but confusion.
“Is there anything you want to ask your brother?” The teenager's voice was naturally somewhat low, but he deliberately softened it.
“What is Zerg reproduction?”
The male Zerg cub decided to ask the question he had been curious about from the start, accurately transmitting the message to the teenager via psychic power.
The teenage male Zerg seemed to choke.
The male Zerg youth let out a sudden coughing fit. He didn't know whether to be shocked first by the male Zerg cub's incredibly gifted use of psychic power, or by the fact that an unhatched cub was asking about reproduction. After thinking for a moment, a strange smile surfaced on his face. "You'll understand when you grow up."
After some thought, the teenage male Zerg decided to add an explanation. “It means finding a partner, laying an egg, and giving birth to a little Zerg cub.”
“I don't understand.”
The male Zerg cub still didn't get it. The teenager continued explaining.
“When you grow up, you'll find a partner and then do certain things that only adults can do. But when you look for a partner, you absolutely must only find one! You are not allowed to become a scumbag!"
“Okay, Brother.”
The male Zerg cub had no idea what this strange teenage male Zerg was talking about.
“I’m sleepy.”
He decided to send him away.
The youth looked at his obedient, sensible younger brother with great satisfaction. Feeling that he had made an outstanding contribution to promoting proper life values today, he strolled out of the room.
After the strange male Zerg who called himself his brother left, the male Zerg cub once again released his psychic power to investigate his surroundings.
He was inside a three-story villa. There were ten rooms on each floor, and every room had a different interior arrangement. There was no unified style. Most of the rooms were empty, with no Zerg inside. The several sub-females and female Zergs in the house were gathered in the living room, busy cleaning.
When the male Zerg cub tried to explore the environment outside the villa, he suddenly felt exhausted. He withdrew his psychic power and fell asleep.
When he woke again, the male Zerg cub continued using his psychic power to explore his surroundings. This time, his range extended across the entire courtyard.
Through his psychic power, he could “see” the scenery within the courtyard: the large trees and lawn in the backyard, as well as the swings, seesaws, and parasols. There were lounge chairs in the small plaza in front of the house.
His psychic power was running out again. He came up with an idea: instead of expanding his psychic power outward in a three-dimensional sphere across all directions, he changed it to a linear expansion. Strands of psychic power, completely undetectable to the naked eye, drifted out from the white egg and floated toward the outside of the villa.
Unlike before, when he could “see” everything surrounding him, the field of vision provided by this strand of psychic power was narrow. However, his sense of touch was much clearer.
The little cub could feel that grass and soil had a different texture from concrete. He could even detect different smells and distinguish between different things through the smallest details.
The strand of psychic power extended westward along the road beside the villa. The male Zerg cub saw one villa after another, Zergs walking along the street, and hovering vehicles traveling along the road.
Because the strand of psychic power had a narrow field of vision and consumed less energy, this exploration took a very long time. From dawn until nightfall, the male Zerg cub finally withdrew his psychic power and fell asleep.
From the time a Zerg cub was born until it hatched, it normally took thirty to thirty-one days. During this period, the cub absorbed nutrients from the egg fluid and continued growing inside the egg. Once its body reached a certain size, the little cub would break through the eggshell and will be successfully born.
However, on the twenty-fifth day after the egg had been laid, the eggshell cracked.
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊⊱·✶·⊰₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
Oh my ger. My first full-length chapter. I have never known how much time and effort the translated Chinese novels I usually read take. That was a journey...
Anyway, aside from the gendered ways of address these characters have, there were some terminologies earlier that represented the hierarchy of females in the Zerg world:
1) Cijun = main wife/highest in the hierarchy (the official consort)
2) Cishi = secondary female consorts/concubines
3) Cinu = 'female slaves'/lowest in rank
If I had to compare it to the hierarchy system in most imperial Chinese novels, the Cijun will be the empress, the Cishi will be the concubines, and the Cinu will be the maids who somehow got impregnated/recognition from the emperor. Something like that. Just for reference~
As for the references made in the chapter:
1) 天王盖地虎 (tiān wáng gài dì hǔ) is famous as a secret password / bandit code phrase from the novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest (《林海雪原》). The standard exchange usually goes like: The Heavenly King covers the Earthly Tiger!” and the other responds with “The Pagoda suppresses the River Demon!”
2) 锄禾日当午 (chú hé rì dāng wǔ) is the opening line of the famous Tang-dynasty poem 《悯农》, traditionally attributed to Li Shen (李绅). It's supposed to be something that is taught to children in China's schooling system. The poem goes:
Hoeing the grain beneath the midday sun,
Sweat drips down onto the soil.
Who knows the food upon our plates?
Every grain was earned through hardship.
3) “富强民主文明和谐” — “Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony” are the first four lines in China's 24 Socialist Core Values. Basically every Chinese citizen knows them since you'll see them in schools, government/public spaces, propaganda materials, etc.
Let me know your feedback or comments for this chapter down below!
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