Today is the twenty-fifth day since we were robbed by star pirates.
Xu Cenfeng held a pointed stone in his hand and made a mark on the door of the old aircraft, not more, not less, just enough to make up five "正" characters.
After he finished the last stroke, he threw the sharpened stone away completely, then sat quietly in a sheltered corner, as if waiting for something.
Raya was so cold that he moved over to sit next to Xu Cenfeng, wiped his nose with his sleeve, and asked tremblingly: "Cenfeng, will we die here? The army is chasing us from behind. What if these star thieves have nowhere to go and want to take us to death together?"
He was a rare and precious male insect. He was accidentally abducted here by space pirates while traveling last month. There were many other male insects around him who had the same experience as him. They were all huddled together in panic for warmth.
Xu Cenfeng is the quietest one among them, and also the one with the most unique appearance, with black hair, black eyes, and fair skin. He is so beautiful that he doesn't look like a male insect at all.
"No, the army will rescue us today."
His voice was gentle, and he seemed very sure of the matter, which dispelled some of the tension and uneasiness in the air.
Raya sniffed, looked outside nervously, and then lowered his voice and said, "I just overheard the pirates talking. They said that the food reserves are running out, and they want to select a few male insects to exchange supplies with the army. If we can be selected, we can leave here."
It was too cold inside the starship, and some male insects were shivering with cold and had a high fever. Seeing this, Xu Cenfeng walked out of the starship in the wind and snow, intending to find something to start a fire in the nearby bushes. Fortunately, this place was close to the Solitia forest, with lush vegetation. If he went to other places, he might not be able to find branches.
Xu Cenfeng smiled and said, "I'm not from your side."
Xu Cenfeng raised his hand to wave away the choking smoke. Seeing that Laya was staring at him with a sad face, he said, "Don't worry, they don't dare to shoot."
The nobles in the west respected male insects, while the northern nobles respected female insects. This starship was filled with male insects from various places, and one could tell from their appearance.
The males in the west are fairer and more delicate, while the males in the north are slightly darker and a little rougher. The only thing they have in common is that they are delicate and weak.
One of the armed pirates saw Xu Cenfeng coming out and immediately pointed the black barrel of his gun at him, frowned and said in a rough voice: "Who allowed you to come out? Go back!"
"Good morning, everyone. Today is January 6th of the insect calendar. Welcome to watch today's news broadcast..."
Those male insects didn't expect Xu Cenfeng to be so kind. They looked at each other in surprise and gathered around the fire to absorb a little pitiful warmth.
Raya scratched his hair in confusion: "What a strange name, I have never heard of this place, how did you get captured by these space pirates?"
Raya was confused: "People?"
Perhaps it was because they were closer, or because they shared the same suffering, but they couldn't help but talk in low voices, guessing each other's future fate.
The Clet Alliance was the most powerful group among the star pirates. They were chased by the army a month ago and were beaten and fled. A group of star pirates who survived fled from the west to the north. They originally wanted to take advantage of the conflict between the two tribes, but they were too smart and attracted the attention of the northern Horsburg.
In the past, they would have been drooling over such a handsome male insect, but unfortunately, now that they were at the critical moment of life and death, the strings in their minds were extremely tight, and no one had the mind to think about romance.
That's true.
"The following is a list of the male insects that were looted..."
The military has been searching for their whereabouts. Once these pirates open fire, their coordinates will be immediately exposed, which is tantamount to seeking their own death.
A dozen armed pirates were patrolling back and forth outside to prevent the imprisoned male insects from escaping. After all, that was their only bargaining chip with the army and their last life-saving trump card.
Along with the sweet voice of the anchor, photos and identity information of the abducted male insects appeared on the star screen. They had different hair colors and eye colors, and basically their "original owners" could be found in this abandoned starship. However, until the end of the broadcast, there was not a single photo of a male insect with black hair and black eyes.
Xu Cenfeng had a lighter in his pocket, but the dead branches were damp and difficult to light. He found a magazine in the corner to use as a starter and finally started a fire.
Xu Cenfeng stood up from the ground, tightened his collar and walked to the window. There was a mobile star screen above his head, which could barely receive the signal and broadcast today's news intermittently.
Xu Cenfeng spoke in a normal tone, not afraid of the black barrel of the gun at all. He walked around the nearby bushes and soon picked up a pile of wet dead branches, then turned back to the starship.
Other insects would be more or less panicked after being kidnapped, but Xu Cenfeng was unusually calm. He sat by the fire and made a fire to keep warm. Seeing other male insects shivering with cold, he invited them, "Come over and warm yourself too."
"Of course the army will take care of us. The number of male insects in the north is even less than that in the west. If we die, how can the empire continue to thrive?!"
After knowing each other for so many days, he seemed to only know Xu Cenfeng's name and nothing else.
Raya was curious: "Where is your hometown?"
There have always been interstellar pirates roaming around in the land of Salilanfa. They specialize in robbing rare and precious male insects, either for themselves or for ransom. But after a massive crackdown by the military, there are only a few left.
In Saliland Law, male insects are extremely rare and precious, so there should be no mistakes in the statistics.
"According to the news from the front, the case of the Clete Interstellar Pirate Alliance robbing male insects, which has received much attention recently, has made significant progress... The northern leader Phaeth is leading the army to pursue the pirates. The whereabouts of the pirates have been found, and it is expected that they will be successfully rescued in the near future..."
Laya was also watching the news. He walked over to Xu Cenfeng and looked at him in confusion, a little puzzled: "Cenfeng, why is there no information about you on it?"
Xu Cenfeng shook his head. His slender, white fingertips were covered with a layer of warm orange against the backdrop of the fire. It was so beautiful that people couldn't take their eyes off him. "My hometown is not here."
Sure enough, no matter how much time passed, he could not get used to this title, whether in his previous life or this life.
In fact, the Zerg are not completely unified. Although they live together on the same planet, they are divided in the middle by the Sorida Forest, forming two major factions, the west and the north, and there is a long-standing grudge between them.
Upon hearing this, Xu Cenfeng tilted his head to look outside. As expected, he found that the number of pirates on guard outside with guns today was nearly half less than yesterday. He wondered if they had gone to negotiate with the military.
It was extremely cold in the north, and it was the season when snow was flying everywhere. After days of fierce fighting, these pirates had been forced into a dead end by the army. Even the only combat starship had long been scrapped and was parked alone in the snow, temporarily serving as a place to imprison the male insects.
It was a pity that the porthole glass was broken, and wind was leaking in from all sides, so nothing could stop the wind. Snowflakes blew in through the gaps, and even the ground was covered with a thin layer of white frost.
Laya noticed that Xu Cenfeng had been quietly warming himself by the fire, and couldn't help but ask, "Cenfeng, are you also a male insect from the west?"
Xu Cenfeng said: "Earth."
One of the male insects sighed, "If this were the West, we would definitely be rescued. In the North, females are respected. Now that we are in Horsburgh's territory, I don't know if the army will care about us."
Raya had just seen those pirates pointing guns at Xu Cenfeng, and was so frightened that her heart was hanging in the air. When she saw him coming back, she hurried forward and said nervously: "You are crazy, running out at this time, what if they shoot and kill you!"
"It's too cold inside. I'll pick up some branches and start a fire."
Xu Cenfeng changed his words: "Insect."
Xu Cenfeng smiled and said, "When I was riding on a bus passing through a mountain road, it accidentally overturned and I fell off a cliff with my friend. We wandered in the forest for a long time and were caught by these space pirates by accident."
Laya didn't expect Xu Cenfeng to have the same fate as her. She was indignant and said, "I was also captured by these space pirates when I was traveling. They are so abominable! Which tour group did you sign up for? Could it be the same one as mine?"
Xu Cenfeng added a few dead branches to the fire, thinking that he was not here for tourism, he was the tour guide of that car, and whispered a few words: "Little Yellow Duck Tour Group."
Raya shook her head, "I haven't heard of it. Where did your friend go? Is he here too?"
Xu Cenfeng didn't go into too much detail: "He went to the far west, where a female insect was waiting for him."
Raya chatted, "So why did you come to the north?"
Xu Cenfeng lowered his eyes and warmed himself by the fire. The orange flames danced endlessly, casting a shadow on his clear face. He looked even softer than white jade. He whispered something that others could not understand: "I want to wait for a female insect here..."
Before Raya could ask anything, he heard a burst of footsteps outside. It turned out that the pirate leader and his men had returned. He immediately became nervous and kept quiet. Even the other male insects fell silent. "Those damn black dogs! Do you really think I'm afraid of them?!"
A tall and strong female insect walked into the starship angrily and kicked over the debris piled beside him. He had a scruffy beard and a black eye patch on his face. It was obvious that he was blind in one eye, so everyone called him One-Eye.
One-Eye was originally just a small fry in the Clet Alliance, but since the leader was captured, he temporarily became the leader of this group of space pirates. Unfortunately, he only had a few days of glory before he was forced to run out of ammunition and food by the army.
Seeing this, one of the space pirates asked nervously, "Boss, could it be that those female soldiers are unwilling to agree to our conditions?"
The one-eyed man gnashed his teeth and said, "That fellow Phaeth asked us to hand over five male insects in exchange for supplies first, and the aircraft will be considered separately!"
"What?!" Upon hearing this, the pirates rushed forward and shouted angrily, "We only have eight male insects in our hands, and he wants us to hand over five?!"
"How are we going to get out of here without a flying vehicle?!"
"He obviously wants to wear us out. Rather than starve to death, we might as well rush out and fight!"
The not-so-small starship was in an uproar, with people chattering and talking at the same time. The one-eyed man felt like his head was about to explode, and finally he roared, "Enough! Shut up!"
This team has been without food for more than three days. Hunger and cold are weighing on their fragile nerves. If this continues, not only will these pirates lose their combat effectiveness, but even the fragile male insects will starve to death.
The one-eyed man strode to where Xu Cenfeng and the others were gathered for warmth. He glanced at the panicked male insects and pointed at a few of them: "You! You! You! You! All of you, come out!"
The male insects he pointed at couldn't help but tremble together. They didn't understand why the One-Eye Man called them out, but under the pressure of the black gun barrels, they still stood up tremblingly.
Only four males were left.
Xu Cenfeng was sitting on the ground. Seeing the pirate leader looking at him and Raya, he knew that he was selecting male insects to exchange supplies with. He placed his palm behind Raya, exerted a little force, and pushed him out without leaving a trace.
“Plop!”
Raya lost his balance for a moment, and his legs were weak from the cold, so he fell down unexpectedly when he was pushed out. Seeing this, the one-eyed man roughly pulled him up from the ground and pushed him directly to the men behind him: "Let's go! Use them to exchange for supplies!"
The remaining male insects' faces changed drastically when they heard this, and they realized that the selected male insects had a chance to be rescued, and they panicked. However, before they had time to regret their previous evasive actions, the one-eyed man had already hurriedly left with some of his men.
"What should we do?! They've been taken away. Are we going to be left here to die?!"
"I don't want to die. I haven't lived enough!"
The pirates who stayed behind to watch over them were so noisy that they shouted angrily, "What are you arguing about? If you keep arguing, we'll kill you!"
The muzzle of the gun was pointed at Xu Cenfeng who was sitting alone on the ground: "Learn from him and be quiet!"
Xu Cenfeng ignored the crying and shouting in his ears. He looked up at the star screen above that was reporting the news. There was a time display in the upper right corner -
10:05.
Xu Cenfeng's fingertips tapped unconsciously, his expression thoughtful. There was still half an hour left...
This half hour was very long, long enough for the sky to cover an entire planet with snow, long enough for Xu Cenfeng to lean against the corner and take a nap with his eyes closed, and long enough for him to recall some events from his previous life.
Xu Cenfeng is a human being.
He was born in a remote mountain village on Earth. His father died early and he grew up under the care of his mother. Fortunately, he had excellent grades and went to work in a big city after graduation.
A year ago, Xu Cenfeng's mother was seriously ill, so he quit his job and returned to the village just to take care of his mother. However, he still failed to keep his only relative, as she died in the early spring of the following year.
After Xu Cenfeng took care of his mother's funeral, he gave up the idea of working in the city and decided to stay in the village as a tour guide. Unexpectedly, the tourist bus he was riding in accidentally overturned and he traveled to a country called Salilanfa.
There are no humans in this country, only a group of insects that have evolved into human form. They are not divided into males and females, but only males and females. Female insects are brave and good at fighting, and are responsible for reproduction, while male insects are rare and extremely precious.
If measured according to the standards of the Salilan method, Xu Cenfeng should be considered a male insect, and a very rare 100% pure-blooded male insect.
When he traveled through time in his previous life, he happened to fall near the dense forest of Sorida and was captured by the interstellar pirates roaming nearby. After being imprisoned for 25 days, he was rescued by the northern army.
Male insects are rare and precious, let alone a male insect with 100% pure blood. I'm afraid there won't be a third one in the entire empire.
As you can imagine, Xu Cenfeng was presented to the noble leader in the north—
Phaeth.
Whenever Xu Cenfeng thought of this name, he would always feel a strange pain in his heart, but it would soon fade away like a ripple.
It was as if he had never spent countless days and nights with the other person, as if he had never deeply marked the other person in bed, as if he had never been disgusted with that canary-like life and tried every means to escape from Horsburgh...
A female Salilanfa insect can only accept the deep marking of one male insect in her lifetime, and then rely on the other's pheromones to survive for the rest of her life. Otherwise, she can only endure the pain of mental turmoil again and again, hovering on the brink of life and death.
In his previous life, Xu Cenfeng had deeply marked a female insect, but eventually escaped from it, found the entrance to time and space, and returned to his hometown.
He didn't know what happened to the female insect, nor did he know whether she had forgotten him.
Xu Cenfeng had dreamt countless times in the middle of the night that the other party was in agony due to his mental disorder, but he refused to use drugs to erase the traces of his mark, and finally died on a distant battlefield while carrying his blood.
The snow outside was getting heavier again. The cold wind carried the snowflakes into every corner, and finally a layer of white frost covered Xu Cenfeng's dark hair. He watched the snowflakes outside the window in silence, then reached out to catch a snowflake, and felt a chill in his hand...
It is said that when it snows heavily, old friends will return from afar.
Time passed quietly, and the time on the star screen jumped to 10:35.
This seemed to represent some kind of signal. Suddenly, a burst of dense gunfire was heard from the snow in the distance, and it was getting closer and closer. All the insects on the starship were startled for a moment when they heard the sound, and subconsciously gathered at the window, only to see several black shadows suddenly appear in the sky above, and then fell to the ground in a mess like a kite with a broken string. It turned out to be the one-eyed man who went out to exchange supplies.
The pirates were horrified when they saw this, and immediately rushed forward to help One-Eye up from the ground: "Boss?! What happened?!"
Female insects have wings that can be used to fly, but One-Eye was shot in the back and his wings were obviously injured. He staggered to his feet, holding his chest, his rough face looked very hideous because of the pain, and he said with difficulty: "Run! Phaeth and the others have already found this place and will catch up soon!"
As soon as these words came out, it was like water falling into a frying pan, instantly causing a boiling fire, and the star pirates were all terrified:
"What?! Phaeth and the others are chasing us?!"
"Run! Otherwise it will be too late!!"
"Take those male insects with you! They can be used to save your life when necessary!"
The pirates immediately armed themselves, pulled Xu Cenfeng and the others out of the starship, and ran hurriedly into the depths of the jungle with guns pointed at their lower backs.
The dense forest of Solitian is full of dangers and is said to be a forbidden area that not even gods dare to set foot in. These space pirates are in a panic and don't care about much for the moment. They just want to find a place to hide quickly.
But they obviously underestimated the speed of the army behind them. They saw a group of swiftly chasing figures appear in the sky behind them, with pure black wings spread out, swooping down with great momentum, and the wind and snow scattered in an instant.
The one-eyed man heard the sound of flapping wings and subconsciously turned back to look. His expression changed drastically:
“Phaeth—?!!”
The voice was horrified, hiding the fear deep in the bones.
(End of this chapter)