Online Friends

The first thing Gu Ting did when he got home was change into his pajamas.

He had never quite adjusted to the way the male insects here dressed—fussy clothes so elaborate they bordered on cumbersome, like walking Christmas trees hung from head to toe with all kinds of glittering ornaments, lace trim being the most common touch. Even at home, the male insects wore luxurious robes, and those garments always gave off a strangely lewd air: plunging, wide-cut V-necks, slits that ran up to the top of the thigh, and the body underneath, as though forever announcing to everyone that the robe could be flipped open and things could begin anytime, anywhere.

At the very least, the first time a male insect classmate had invited Gu Ting over, he had been startled by the outfit the other boy changed into—a male insect who wasn't even an adult, wearing a deep-V robe and even trying to drag Gu Ting along to a club to enjoy the "care" of sub-females. For Gu Ting, it had been a shock that struck straight at his entire view of the world.

Probably from that point on, Gu Ting, who had turned down the invitation, became an outsider.

But he was willing to be an outsider. He refused to forget that, at his core, he was a human being, and he hoped to hold fast to the sense of honor, shame, and morality he had learned growing up under the red flag.

He couldn't change anything, but he wouldn't compromise, either.

Gu Ting didn't want to live like the insects did—sick and twisted.

Above the sky-blue pajamas, the little male insect's eyes were so clear and bright. He had drawn the sketch for the pajamas himself and had Tuantuan get them custom-made—after all, the Bird of Paradise community certainly didn't sell such "shabby" clothes.

Gu Ting shuffled in his slippers into the small study. In the modest space sat a spherical chair, its cushion sunk into the ball, its silver-white shell full of futuristic high-tech style.

The little male insect hurried in and sat down, pulled on the helmet that came with it, and with a flash of the signal light, he instantly left the real world and entered the insect race's second world—StarNet.

The entrance to StarNet was like light and shadow condensed from a rainbow. After passing through a passage that wasn't very long, he entered the lobby.

Gu Ting went about under the identity of a sub-female. So as not to stand out too much, when he set up his avatar he had sculpted a chubby, baby-faced look with a sprinkle of little freckles, naturally curly chestnut hair, and blue eyes just like his real ones.

Every member of the insect race gained the right to access StarNet after the age of ten, though minors were always accompanied by child mode, which they didn't shed until they came of age. Ordinarily StarNet was divided into two zones—the adult zone and the children's zone—but what made Gu Ting special was that, though underage, he was wearing the appearance of an adult sub-female.

—Gu Ting, who always drifted on the outside, had never known that his StarNet appearance was different from those of other insects his age.

As usual, the moment Gu Ting, under the ID "Sapphire," entered the lobby, he saw the little red dot flashing on the virtual screen. The 99+ messages in the group made him feel a little guilty.

He walked to a corner and slowly tapped open the group icon—

[Group name: Ubis Alliance]

[Cupid]: Boohoohoo, so bored! Seriously so bored! Why isn't Little Jewel online yet?

[Prisoner]: I saw Little Jewel's avatar light up.

[Cupid]: What? So Little Jewel really doesn't love me anymore? Came online and didn't even come chat with me? I'm heartbroken! Who's going to comfort the poor heart of this fallen female insect?

[Sapphire]: That's not it, I just got on.

[Tyrant]: Good evening.

[Sage]: It should be good afternoon. I remember Little Jewel said he lives on Planet Firenze, and it's still daytime there.

[Prisoner]: Good afternoon, Little Jewel. Is the new chip working well?

[Sapphire]: Mm-hm, hi everyone! Thanks @Prisoner, it works really well. Tuantuan learned a lot of new skills.

[Cupid]: You're all ignoring me, waah! Little Jewel, how about big bro gets you a new bionic robot? What kind do you like? Big bro's loaded!

[Sapphire]: Thanks @Cupid, but there's no need! Tuantuan is just fine.

[Sage]: Is Little Jewel coming?

[Prisoner]: I'll come get you.

Sage's and Prisoner's messages went out almost at the same moment. Before Gu Ting could even look up, a shadow fell over him from the front.

The little male insect in his sub-female shell looked up. Standing before him was a female insect over six foot three, tall and powerfully built, a tight black combat suit hugging muscles full of explosive power, hormones seeming to spill out of every inch of him. The female insect had bronze skin, and his silver-white buzz cut made him look somewhat rugged, but his eyes of the same color had an inorganic, mechanical quality to them.

The female insect reached out and touched Gu Ting's shoulder, frowning. "You've gotten thinner again?"

"I don't think so?" Gu Ting wasn't really sure. He was nearly two heads shorter than the female insect, and from the other's vantage point he looked even smaller and thinner.

"It's been over two years. How come you never grow?"

Avatars on StarNet changed along with the user's age, which made it easy to tell adult insects from minors. But Gu Ting's avatar had been caught in a glitch from the very beginning—even ten more years from now, his avatar wouldn't change at all.

But the little male insect didn't know that. He rubbed his arm and said uncertainly, "Maybe I'm just a slow grower."

He looked up at the female insect. "You got here so fast. Were you waiting for me here?"

The female insect—that is, Prisoner of the "Ubis Alliance"—nodded. "I knew you'd be online soon, so I came ahead of time to pick you up."

As he spoke, he took Little Jewel's hand as a matter of habit.

"Did you guys move again?"

"Yeah. The old place wasn't safe anymore."

"Did something happen?"

"Not really. It's just a precaution, so we moved again. I was worried you wouldn't be able to find it, so I came over first."

"Okay. Then you guys stay safe."

"Don't worry."

With Prisoner leading the way, the two insects left the lobby, wound through StarNet's city blocks, and finally stopped in front of a narrow alley.

The style here was wildly at odds with the entire interstellar era, giving off an incongruous, out-of-place feeling—old, worn walls, garish paint, bizarre patterns. To Gu Ting's eye, those clashing colors even seemed to form a bloody tableau, like some scene after a revolution, filled with sacrifice.

"If you don't like it, close your eyes. I'll lead you in." Seeing that Little Jewel kept staring at the walls, Prisoner assumed the little guy was a bit frightened and couldn't help offering the suggestion.

"It's fine, really." If it was only graffiti, Gu Ting wasn't afraid.

Even though, for a long stretch of time, he had often had nightmares drenched in bright red and woken up in a cold sweat. Those dreams came without rhyme or reason, and sometimes Gu Ting suspected they had something to do with his hazy memories of his past life.

They went in through the iron door at the very back of the alley. Inside was a long staircase leading down, and at the bottom the space suddenly opened up into a circular meeting room.

The equally circular table was cluttered with all sorts of things, and a few female insects sat scattered around it on chairs.

"Ah! Little Jewel's here!"

A flame-red figure sprang out nimbly. He was like a blazing fireball, radiating a heat that could scorch a person.

The female insect with the StarNet ID Cupid swept Gu Ting into a hug. Among the few female insects, Cupid was the youngest, and his personality and behavior were always brash and impetuous—the kind who got wilder the more people were around. To Gu Ting, the other even seemed to carry a latent gene for being a total psycho.

"You're going to squeeze Little Jewel to pieces." A gentle male voice sounded as Sage came over. Like a savior, he fished Gu Ting, who was being hugged so tightly he could barely breathe, out of Cupid's arms. What he said next was almost exactly the same as Prisoner: "Hm? Little Jewel, how did you get thinner again? Haven't you been eating properly?"

Cupid paused. Scratching his messy red hair, he narrowed his eyes to study him closely. "I think Little Jewel's a bit thinner than last time, too. Oh my god! If you keep getting thinner like this, by the time we meet you'll get blown away by the wind!"

"I do eat! It's not that bad!" Gu Ting's voice was a little soft—not deliberately affected, but because his youth, combined with his avatar's settings, produced a softness that fell somewhere between a boy and a young man.

Little Jewel looked around the meeting room and changed the subject. "Isn't Tyrant here?"

"He just went to deal with the 'trash.' Probably isn't done yet." Sage always spoke very gently, like the big brother next door, but Gu Ting had once had the privilege of seeing Sage's other side—the side that could roast another insect until they questioned their entire insect life.

Gu Ting: "Trash? Didn't you finish taking out the trash at home? Maybe you guys are the ones who should get a bionic robot."

Prisoner smiled meaningfully, hormones he didn't know what to do with radiating from every inch of him. "We don't need that thing. Where we're from, bionic robots are no different from scrap metal."

"Then dealing with the trash must be really inconvenient, right?"

"No, no, no, it's very convenient." Cupid flicked Little Jewel's nose with a crooked finger. He really did like this little sub-female who lived with such a clear head. If the chance came up in the future, maybe he could try luring him away to be his wife—after all, where they were from, female-female unions weren't unheard of. "The boss loves taking out the trash most of all."

The boss was Tyrant, who served as the leader among the few female insects.

"Okay." Gu Ting couldn't help marveling at the other's strange hobby. Even though they had been hanging out for over two years, he only half understood what their so-called "Ubis Alliance" was. Roughly, he understood it as a somewhat radical female insect organization whose guiding principles weren't quite the same as the Empire's, so they were looking to recruit talent into the Alliance.

And Gu Ting was the "talent" they had snagged back when he first went on StarNet.

"Little Jewel, when will you finally be able to go on StarNet without limits?" Cupid sat back down on his stool, casually hoisting Gu Ting up and holding him in his lap.

The difference in build between female insects and sub-females was huge. Cupid stood over five foot eleven, while the sub-female avatar Gu Ting had sculpted fell short of five foot eleven even at its tallest. Held by the red-haired female insect now, he fit just right, his feet not touching the floor at all.

"I..." Gu Ting hesitated. He didn't really want to tell his online friends that he was actually a minor who had just turned fifteen. "My family's pretty strict, so this is how it has to be."

In the Bird of Paradise community, Gu Ting had no friends. He had tried to fit in, but every attempt had ended in failure—he simply couldn't understand what kind of bizarre hobby it was to watch sub-females strip or to whip female insects. As a result, he had no companions his age, and only the members of the Ubis Alliance let him find the joy of real conversation.

"What a shame! But don't worry, Little Jewel. In a few more months there's a good chance we'll get to meet!" Cupid patted Gu Ting's head. This time they were determined to take Firenze, and when the time came they could even find a moment to meet up with Little Jewel—simply a perfect arrangement!

Gu Ting: shocked.JPG

Q: Urgent! What do I do if my online friends meet me IRL and find out I'm just a fifteen-year-old brat?

"What? Little Jewel doesn't want to?" Sage held out a tiny chip to Gu Ting.

"No, no, that's not it." The guilty little male insect hurriedly shook his head. He took the chip and exported its contents, and a light screen immediately appeared before him: black text on a white background, densely packed with the legal provisions currently in force in the Empire. Every bit of it had been marked up in red by Sage—circles and crosses everywhere, with hardly a single law left clean.

Sage: "I'm counting on you with these. This is a portion of the legal provisions I've newly compiled—two hundred fifty-eight articles in total. I've made revisions based on my own perspective."

"No problem." Gu Ting nodded and scanned the contents onto his StarNet storage card. "I'll read them when I get back and send them to you once I'm done."

He added, "Do you mind if I print them out on paper?"

"Whatever works for you." Sage patted Gu Ting's head. "Thank you."

"It's nothing! I want to help you guys, too."

Gu Ting knew they were all working hard against the insect race's current laws, which were riddled with injustice. The relationship of oppressor and oppressed between male and female insects had existed for a hundred years. Male insects had always lived high above everyone else, while female insects had been ground down into the dust. Their lives had become playthings for the male insects' amusement, as if a male insect only had to be slightly displeased to take up a whip and lash a female insect until he was covered in wounds.

When he first arrived in this world, Gu Ting had been in a state of bewildered confusion. His small world had revolved only around figuring out how to survive, and he had turned a deaf ear to the changes outside, like a blind man with his ears plugged. It wasn't until the first time he went on StarNet and came across the trial of a female insect—that verdict, so full of absurdity and ridiculousness, not only awakened some of the female insects, but also woke up Gu Ting, who had been pretending to sleep.

Gu Ting didn't know what he could do, but he wanted to do something.