Chapter 3

Beneath row after row of conspicuous S grades was a single-line assessment: This candidate female insect displayed emotional instability on multiple occasions during testing and possesses pronounced violent tendencies. He is unfit for work protecting a male insect. Luke Carter.

Xie Yanxing read the sentence aloud at an unhurried pace, his voice soft and even. He finished the entire passage without a single insect being able to tell from his tone or expression what he thought of the assessment. Even Que Rong, who stood right in front of him, could not discern what opinion Xie Yanxing had formed of him.

Que Rong did notice, however, that the moment he approached, the two soldiers beside Xie Yanxing gripped their guns with particular vigilance, apparently terrified that he might suddenly fly into a frenzy and hurt someone. To keep the two of them from getting so nervous that their weapons accidentally discharged, Que Rong silently stepped back again.

"Could you be more specific about these 'multiple displays of emotional instability'?" Xie Yanxing asked.

Lieutenant Colonel Luke, who had fabricated the entire thing, naturally had no answer. That did not stop him from sounding utterly self-righteous despite having no leg to stand on. He pointed haughtily behind himself. "Isn't the current situation obvious enough? He dared to openly provoke and assault a public official right here in the administrative hall. Who knows what he's like in private—"

"Sir!" A voice abruptly rang out from the crowd. "The female insect beside him was the one who started the provocation. We all heard it."

Every insect looked toward the source of the voice, but no one could identify who had spoken.

With everything going wrong at once, Lieutenant Colonel Luke seethed. "Who was that? Who said that?"

His question received no response. Instead, two more unfamiliar voices suddenly sounded behind him. "The female insect next to him threw the first punch too!" "The surveillance footage can prove all of it!"

"Who said that?"

The authorities could not punish an entire crowd, and the watching female insects grew increasingly vocal. "It was three against one at first. Fighting back was self-defense!" "Doesn't look like anyone got hurt. Just give him a lighter punishment..."

"All of you who spoke... step forward!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Luke..." A vein throbbed on the director of the Military Affairs Office's forehead. "Don't make me repeat myself a third time. How much longer do you intend to keep the young male master standing in the doorway?" He knew this old colleague's habit of bullying other insects by abusing his position all too well. One look told him Luke had no evidence and was simply using his authority to oppress a female insect. Ordinarily, when Luke did not go too far, the director would turn a blind eye. But today, right in front of an official from Upper Planet...

Bin, now the target of everyone's condemnation, was so furious his nose nearly went crooked. Gritting his teeth, he growled under his breath, "Que Rong... you set me up... Just you wait."

He could, of course, shout that Que Rong had deliberately provoked him, but how could he possibly make those unspeakably humiliating taunts public? Besides, exposing them would not necessarily get Que Rong convicted of anything. It would only turn Bin into a complete laughingstock instead... At this point, all he could do was swallow the injustice in silence.

"Thanks for that reliably explosive temper of yours." The corner of Que Rong's mouth curved almost imperceptibly. For the first time in months, he felt some of the weight lift from his mood.

After mocking Bin, he casually raised his head—only to meet Xie Yanxing's eyes without the slightest warning. His back tensed instinctively, as if he had encountered his natural predator. The gaze was plainly calm and unruffled, yet it bore down on Que Rong with a pressure that made his skin prickle, as though every petty scheme and little trick of his had been seen through by those mysterious black eyes.

As though none of his calculations could escape the male insect's notice...

Que Rong had never realized three seconds could be so long or so difficult to endure. Only when eyelids slowly descended over those bottomless black abysses did he manage to let out a strained breath. Xie Yanxing lowered his eyes and placed the score sheet in his hand together with those of the other insects. The gesture could not have made his position any clearer, and he trusted the silver-haired female insect would not miss it.

Taking advantage of the pause, the director of the Military Affairs Office hastily jumped down from the table, carefully straightened the hem of his clothes, and walked up to Xie Yanxing. "Young male master, the bodyguard candidates are all waiting for you on the fifth floor. This way, please."

"All right." Xie Yanxing smiled. Even after his figure had vanished completely from everyone's sight, he did not spare Que Rong another shred of attention. But Que Rong was no fool. Once the whole entourage had entered the elevator, he shot up the stairs and raced back to the waiting room. Then, under the blond military female insect team leader's thrilled and approving gaze, he took his place in line with the other candidates.

Before long, nine female insects stood in a straight line in the interview conference room. Xie Yanxing sat directly opposite them in the central seat; no matter how high their military rank, every military female insect had to yield the place of honor to him. One reason was that he came from Upper Planet. The Insect Star System consisted of five planets, each inhabited by insectfolk. Upper Planet was the undisputed political, technological, and military center—the seat of power. Secondary Planet, meanwhile, was known for its advanced economy. As for Third Planet, where they currently were, its economy had developed so rapidly in recent years that it was showing signs of overtaking Secondary Planet.

But that was only a secondary reason Xie Yanxing commanded such respect. The most important one was that he was a male insect.

Among the insectfolk as a whole, the female-to-male ratio was nearly thirty to one, and society followed a one-male, many-female system. So long as a male insect wanted to marry and had the stamina for it, he could theoretically take an unlimited number of female insects as spouses. Even then, vast numbers of female insects still had no hope of finding a match. Marrying a male insect—and frequently receiving his favor after marriage—was an immense source of prestige, the kind of thing one could openly flaunt far and wide.

The grotesquely skewed sex ratio had given male insects an extraordinarily high social status. Even though Xie Yanxing held no military rank and was merely a single male insect who happened to be somewhat handsome, he could still occupy the seat of honor among a gathering of high-ranking Military Command and government officials and look down from above as he passed judgment on nine elite military female insects however he pleased.

The director of the Military Affairs Office, who knew better than anyone how to curry favor, had prepared hot water before Xie Yanxing even took his seat, turned on the air-conditioning, and dragged in a space heater from the storeroom that had been gathering dust for who knew how long, positioning it directly in front of Xie Yanxing's chair.

It was only when he saw him again that Que Rong noticed Xie Yanxing seemed to be wearing rather too many clothes. The capital of Third Planet had a largely subtropical climate, with temperatures remaining between fifteen and twenty-five degrees Celsius throughout the year. Even now, in late December, the average temperature remained above fifteen degrees. Female insects with hardy constitutions wore only a single long-sleeved shirt, and even male insects would add no more than one jacket.

Yet Xie Yanxing had conscientiously put on a navy-blue turtleneck sweater, and even the coat he had removed upon entering the warm room was fleece-lined. The hot water the director brought him was plainly just what he wanted. Xie Yanxing's eyes curved as he nodded to the other insect, then lifted the cup in both hands to warm them.

Invigorated from head to toe by the handsome male insect's smile, the director asked, "Young male master, would you like them to introduce themselves?"

Xie Yanxing's gaze moved from the curling white steam above his cup to the line before him, drifting almost imperceptibly over each insect's ankles. Trousers of various colors had been tucked neatly into military boots; everyone was properly dressed except for the silver-haired female insect, who had incongruously rolled up one pant leg and left his ankle exposed. Que Rong noticed where Xie Yanxing's gaze lingered. He looked down and immediately berated himself for his carelessness.

"There's no need for introductions." Xie Yanxing set down his cup. "I gave everyone's... every insect's file a quick look earlier. You are all exceptionally capable military female insects. With your abilities, any one of you could serve as my bodyguard and keep me perfectly safe. Before I make my choice, however, there is one final and extremely important test I need everyone to complete."

At that, Xie Yanxing paused. An accompanying staff member from the Upper Planet Confidentiality Bureau immediately took several pheromone-blocking masks from the bag in his hand and distributed them to every female insect in the conference room except the nine candidates. Finally, he put one on himself.

Xie Yanxing continued, "For a variety of unusual reasons, I am still in my male-pheromone dysregulation period."

Every newborn male insect entered the so-called male-pheromone dysregulation period when sexual development began at around ten years old. It lasted until they reached sexual maturity between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, at which point the dysregulation period ended accordingly. During this time, they had poor control over their male pheromones and emitted them freely and without restraint. After reaching adulthood, the vast majority of male insects gained precise control over their pheromones and released them only when they chose to.

The male pheromones emitted by a juvenile male insect merely inspired affection and pity in female insects, whereas the pheromones of an adult male insect usually carried sexual implications, making female insects feel sexual temptation and thereby triggering their susceptibility periods.

As for the remaining effects, the first was that an appropriately minute amount of male pheromone could stabilize a female insect's emotions and relieve stress. This generally did not require a male insect to release it deliberately. A female insect would naturally feel the effect whenever he approached an ordinary male insect.

The second occurred only in extremely rare cases. The male pheromones unique to a high-ranking male insect could exert an oppressive force over female insects in addition to their sexual effect, making him seem forbidding and inviolable and compelling female insects to submit.

"Ordinarily, I try not to remove my pheromone-suppressant patch." Xie Yanxing tugged open the collar of his sweater, revealing the straight line of his collarbone. Sure enough, a square white pheromone-suppressant patch covered the hollow above it. "But my condition isn't stable. Occasionally, my male pheromone leaks out. After all, accidents are always possible, so I need to confirm..."

As his words trailed off, Xie Yanxing swept his gaze across the face of every military female insect in front of him, as though giving them time to prepare themselves. Almost every time his gaze touched one of them, that insect involuntarily held his breath and stiffened his spine.

Lieutenant Colonel Luke swallowed unconsciously as well. He straightened his back and sucked in his stomach in his seat, staring fixedly at Xie Yanxing's long, slender fingers as they prepared to peel off the pheromone-suppressant patch. For some reason, Luke's two subordinates also grew nervous. They hastily lowered their heads to check yet again that their masks were firmly in place.

The next second, Xie Yanxing tore the little white patch from above his collarbone, revealing the vivid red, intricate insect marking beneath it.

This pattern was unique to male insects. Like a fingerprint, every male insect's insect marking was different. The brighter its color, the greater the male insect's fertility. It was their one-of-a-kind emblem.

When a male insect completed mating with a female insect and fully placed his mating mark on him, an identical insect marking would appear on the nape of the female insect's neck, except his would be black. Likewise, the deeper the color, the greater the female insect's reproductive capacity.

As a powerful species whose fertility and offspring survival rates were both abysmally low, the insectfolk had practically stamped WE MUST REPRODUCE across their foreheads.

The instant the pheromone-suppressant patch came off, a rich and overpowering surge of male pheromone flooded the conference room. Brooking no resistance whatsoever, it swept through the pheromone glands and rational minds of every female insect present, throwing their thoughts into complete chaos.

Four of the nine female insects collapsed on the spot, their legs so weak they could not remain standing. Flushed scarlet, they tried to cover themselves with their hands—only to discover that large patches of their military uniforms were already soaked through.

"Young male master... Young male master..." One military female insect who had barely managed to remain standing abruptly charged several steps forward. A quick-eyed, quick-handed married female insect from the Upper Planet Confidentiality Bureau caught him, but no matter what he did, he could not stop the military female insect's besotted, frenzied ravings. "Young male master, take me as your primary consort. No—no, anything will do. Everything I have can be yours... Young male master, young male master!"

Even after being forcibly dragged out the door, he continued to scream hysterically for the young male master...

In scarcely more than ten seconds, fewer than half of the nine competitors remained.

Soon, another military female insect from the air force saluted Xie Yanxing with the veins at his temples bulging. "I'm sorry, young male master. Your male pheromone is too overpowering. I'm afraid I'm not capable of the job."

To keep from losing control as the previous female insect had, his eye rims had gone red from the strain, and even the whites were threaded with blood. The muscles in both cheeks were clenched tight in his struggle to remain rational, twitching and trembling. After forcing out those words, he turned his rigid body around and left of his own accord.

"Three left..." Xie Yanxing rose from his chair and slowly walked over to the final three candidates.