Video Communication

To be honest, those kinds of words weren't something you'd expect to hear from a Male Zerg. Moreover, Jia Wen was a Male Zerg, so he shouldn't have such thoughts and ideas. Chu Sui glanced at him, not agreeing easily. He put Dahn on the floor to play by himself, then leaned back into his chair and leisurely asked, "What do you mean?"

Jia Wen shrugged and smiled, "Literally what I said."

Beside his hand was a plate of pinecone-shaped cookies stacked into a three-dimensional triangle. He casually placed a cherry on top, but because the contact surface was too small, it rolled off after just a few seconds.

Jia Wen said, "You see, sometimes standing high doesn't mean you're standing steady."

After speaking, he thoughtfully stroked his chin and looked out the window at the changing sky. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to see a hint of worry for the future.

'So there are a few relatively normal-minded Male Zergs in the Zerg Race after all.' Chu Sui had always thought that he, a transmigrated dog, was the only one with such thoughts. It felt wrong to agree, and wrong not to. He could only lift his water glass for a sip, then ring the bell for a waiter to come and pack up the untouched pastries on the table.

'Don't let it go to waste. There's no food at home anyway.'

Jia Wen saw him remain silent and thought, 'As an A-rank Male Zerg, is Chu Sui unwilling to hang out with a C-rank Male Zerg like me?' But it didn't quite seem that way. He crossed his legs and said, "Do you think what I said was too profound?"

Chu Sui felt that he was insulting his intelligence and denied it aloud, "No, it was very simple and easy to understand."

Just as Jia Wen was about to speak, his Female Attendant glanced at the time and finally couldn't help but step forward to remind him in a low voice, "Male Master, your reserved massage appointment is almost here."

Jia Wen: "Can't it be postponed?"

His Female Attendant gave a helpless smile, "You've already postponed it many times. If it exceeds twenty times, you'll be blacklisted."

Jia Wen shrugged out of habit. "Alright, looks like I have to go."

After speaking, he rose from his seat, nonchalantly took off the Light Computer on his wrist, and asked Chu Sui with great interest, "How about it? Want to be friends?"

This tone and manner were so much like Chu Sui's sketchy friends from his previous life. He took off his own Light Computer and tapped it against Jia Wen's signal device. The terminal automatically established a friend connection.

Jia Wen whistled, then made a fighting gesture. "Well then, friend, I have to go. I'll ask you out again next time. We can play Interstellar Space War together."

Interstellar Space War was a game developed by StarNet and had been popular in the Imperial Capital for a long time. For example, when Chu Sui first arrived in the Zerg Race in his previous life, this game was already a huge hit. It remained popular even until the later period when the Freedom Alliance overthrew the system and seized political power, which just goes to show how popular it was.

Chu Sui didn't even want to mention that he had already beaten the game. He simply nodded, "Alright."

After Jia Wen left, the waiter brought over the packed food. It was a large, full bag. Chu Sui tested its weight; it wasn't too heavy to carry. He walked straight to the front counter, then took a Crystal Card from his shirt pocket and handed it over.

Colin smiled and shook his head in refusal. "This meal is on us. There's no need to pay. Please come again. We're happy to serve you."

Seeing that he wouldn't take it, Chu Sui placed the Crystal Card directly on the counter. His tone was casual, "Take it. Consider it medical expenses."

The Crystal Card was the compensation from Chelsea just now, so he didn't feel bad giving it away. Besides, the shop looked like it had just opened. Although business was good, it was still a small enterprise. Chu Sui lacked neither money nor status, so of course he wouldn't take advantage of them.

Chelsea's compensation should have gone to Dahn, but unfortunately, under the law, fairness was hard to come by. Instead, the matter could only be settled through Chu Sui's hands, which was undeniably a kind of irony.

After doing all this, he turned and left without waiting for Colin to speak.

Seeing this, a nearby waiter's eyes filled with hearts. The Zerg was completely dazed, muttering to himself, "Oh heavens, how can there be such a good Male Zerg? It would be great if this sir could come again. I wonder if he's in need of a Female Attendant..."

His companion scoffed, shattering his fantasy, "Get real. That sir is an A-rank Male Zerg. How could he possibly lack a Female Attendant?"

No matter where you are, there's never a shortage of gossipmongers. This principle held true for the Zerg Race as well. What's more, Chelsea had been so outrageous and unreasonable that it made Zergs gnash their teeth in hatred. Some busybody hacked into the shop's surveillance system and directly uploaded the video of him causing trouble to StarNet. In just a few short days, it had rocketed to the top of the trending list.

In the video, he could be clearly seen kicking Dahn to the ground as he came downstairs. Not only that, but he also falsely accused Dahn of bumping into him. Through the screen, the StarNet masses could all feel the anger.

[He's completely deranged, to be able to lay a hand on such a small Zerg Cub.]

[Isn't it enough for them to abuse adult Female Zergs? Now they even have to bully Zerg Cubs?]

[Chelsea, oh, by the Zerg God, I finally remember who he is! He was the Male Zerg who privately used a forbidden drug last time, which resulted in his Male Monarch causing the death of a Zerg Cub. How was he released so quickly?]

[It was only three months of imprisonment. It passed in the blink of an eye, of course it was fast.]

Female Zergs were oppressed in real life and unable to fight back, but that didn't stop them from expressing their anger online. When they saw Chu Sui kick Chelsea to the ground, they couldn't help but collectively gasp. In their limited memories and perceptions, they had never imagined that a Female Zerg could deal with a Male Zerg so cleanly and decisively. Besides satisfaction, there was also shock.

Could there really be such a bold Female Zerg?

However, as they watched further, they finally realized that Chu Sui was not a Female Zerg at all, but an A-rank Male Zerg. Some who found him familiar had already recognized him.

[So it's Sir Chu Sui. He still loves to fight for justice as always. Truly a model among Male Zergs.]

[I don't think I've ever seen him lay a hand on a Female Zerg. He's always been dealing with those detestable Male Zergs. If my future Male Master could be half as good as him, I would pray to the Zerg God every day.]

[The person above is dreaming. First, see if you're even qualified. Sir Chu Sui's Male Monarch is already a Lieutenant General. Maybe he'll be promoted to Admiral soon. To be his Female Attendant, you'd need to be at least a Major General.]

Just as the StarNet populace was buzzing about Chu Sui, a comment suddenly and quietly popped up, successfully derailing the conversation.

[Shouldn't a Zerg scumbag like Chelsea who harms Zerg Cubs be sentenced to death? Why was he only in the Interstellar Prison for three months before being released?]

The Female Zergs' tolerance of Male Zergs, the Empire's laws protecting Male Zergs—wasn't the premise for all of this based on the consideration of procreation and the survival of the next generation? But if one day, Male Zergs began to treat the lives of cubs as worthless grass, beating and scolding them at will, what meaning was there in the abuse and pain they endured?

To put Male Zergs on a divine platform for the sake of procreation, only to create their cruel and heartless nature, to the point that it now affected the Zerg Cubs—how was this any different from putting the cart before the horse?

There was freedom of speech on StarNet. Many Female Zergs fell silent after seeing this comment. Male Zerg? Death penalty? These two terms were utterly incongruous, shattering their established perceptions.

Male Zergs were precious and rare, so no matter what crime they committed, they would be granted amnesty. The opposite was true for Female Zergs. If they offended a Male Zerg, they could have their wings removed and be exiled to a Barren Star at a moment's notice, even if the fault for the incident did not lie with them.

Male Zerg... Male Zerg... Why is it that they can do wrong and not be punished...

It was just a comment of a few dozen words, yet the number of likes had already surpassed a million and was rising at an astonishing rate. Some sharp netizens had already sensed something unusual in the air.

Chu Sui was completely unaware of all this. During this time, he had been collecting information about Crystal Mines and Alien Beasts, even making a special trip to the Research Institute to copy an elemental analysis chart of Crystal Mine energy. He was trying to compare it with the physical data of Alien Beasts to find a connection. It wasn't until Jia Wen sent him a message on his terminal that he discovered that the majority of Female Zergs on StarNet were suddenly protesting in a joint petition, demanding that the Empire revise the Male Zerg Protection Law.

This was something that had never happened before.

The officials stepped in and took down the protest posts, but countless new ones soon appeared. They could ban a hundred or a thousand accounts, but they couldn't possibly ban ten thousand or a hundred thousand. Under immense pressure, they were forced to open a thread for collecting opinions. The StarNet populace could freely discuss their thoughts and suggestions, and the Empire would consider them at its discretion.

When Chu Sui saw this news, he was dumbfounded. If his memory served him right, the legal reforms were supposed to happen several years later. How had they popped up now? Or was it because of his butterfly effect, that he had changed history?

The more one tries to avoid something, the more one hastens its arrival—that was probably what was happening. He had done a series of things to avoid a certain outcome, but instead, he had precipitated the final result.

From the sound of it, Jia Wen was on the verge of tears. "Zerg God, do you know? Right now, over forty-six percent of Female Zergs have left comments, demanding the abolition of all protective laws for Male Zergs and for their past crimes to be prosecuted."

This was clearly an opinion proposed by some of the more radical Female Zergs, but no one could guarantee that the Empire wouldn't actually adopt it.

Perhaps because he had experienced it once in his past life, Chu Sui was only stunned for a moment before realizing he didn't feel much of anything. While doing research in the garden, he talked to Jia Wen on a comm call, "Let them abolish it then. Don't you claim to never do anything to feel guilty about?"

Jia Wen didn't expect Chu Sui to be so calm. In comparison, it made him seem a bit too restless. "Of course I haven't done anything to feel guilty about. Heavens know how well I treat my Male Monarch and Female Attendants. They're about to love me to death."

Although this statement was suspected of exaggeration, one had to admit there was a shred of credibility to it. Chu Sui said, "Then what are you worried about?"

Jia Wen retorted, "Hey, don't you understand what I'm worried about?"

Of course Chu Sui knew what he was worried about.

The Male Zergs' long-term oppression had pushed the Female Zergs' anger to a tipping point. Amending the law was a small matter. The fear was that their dissatisfaction with the existing system would grow, and they would press on, step by step, until they reversed the primary and secondary roles. At that time, the Male Zergs would be completely powerless to resist, and their fate would probably be no better than that of a human-shaped xxx.

Of course, before the Empire developed a drug that could replace Male Zerg Pheromones, this sort of thing probably wouldn't happen for the time being.

But that was only for the time being.

After all, in his previous life, when all the Male Zergs were imprisoned, Chu Sui hadn't heard any news about the development of a new type of suppressant.

He couldn't possibly tell Jia Wen, 'Yes, that's right, everything you're worried about will become reality, because I've been reborn.' He could only offer a perfunctory and half-hearted consolation, "Don't overthink it."

Jia Wen was so angry he was about to fume. "I'm just planning ahead, alright? You have more StarNet followers than I do. Hurry up and post a comment under the official opinion thread. Suppress those radical comments with the most likes. If the Empire actually adopts their opinions, we'll be doomed."

He was still thinking too simply in the end. It was like in ancient China, where dynastic changes and uprisings in history were all driven by the will of the people and the general trend of the times, which could not be changed by human effort.

So what if the comments were suppressed? The ones with opinions now weren't just one or two Female Zergs, but thousands upon thousands.

To avoid listening to Jia Wen's blustering, Chu Sui continued to placate him, "Alright, I'll go on StarNet and take a look."

Only then did Jia Wen cut the communication, satisfied. Chu Sui heard that he had used more than a dozen alternate accounts, taking turns to suppress the comments, which could only be described as insane.

The lawn in the garden was messily strewn with sharp knives. Some time ago, Chu Sui had gone to the Military Department's Research Institute and asked for a piece of Alien Beast hide. It was pitch-black and covered with tiny scales, said to be indestructible. He had tried every method—chopping it with a knife, using an electric drill—but failed to damage the hide, proving that the researcher had indeed spoken the truth.

Chu Sui was exhausted. He simply lay down on a chair to rest and, while he was at it, logged into his StarNet account to take a look. As expected, it was just as Jia Wen had said. More than half of the Female Zergs were demanding the abolition of the Male Zerg Protection Law, and the heart-wrenching accusations in the comments section, written in tears of blood, were simply shocking.

Chu Sui also glanced at his StarNet follower count. He usually neglected it and hadn't posted any status updates. This account was only for the convenience of playing games. Unexpectedly, his number of followers had exceeded a million, and the number of Female Zergs sending him private messages trying to hook up was countless.

However, he still didn't think there was anything he could do in a situation where the tide had turned.

Chu Sui: SaltedFishPeacefullyAwaitingDeath.jpg

He rested on the lounge chair for a moment, then continued to study the piece of Alien Beast hide in his hands under the sun. The arrangement of the scales was somewhat like a snake's, dense and tight. A Light Energy Gun couldn't pierce it, and an electric drill only left a few small white marks. Chu Sui had even chipped his knives trying, but still couldn't cut through the hide.

He didn't know what came to mind, but his brow twitched, and he called out to the air, "System?"

A blue ball of light popped out with a biu: [Ding!]

Chu Sui sat up from the lounge chair and placed the piece of Alien Beast hide on the ground. "Don't you have electricity? Try zapping it."

Although the System was a ball, it had its dignity. Hearing this, it flapped its chubby wings, protesting in silence.

Chu Sui thought to himself that the System was usually so decisive when zapping him, not hesitating for even a second, yet now it was acting all reserved. He stroked his chin and mused, "Are you out of power?"

The destructive power of the phrase, 'Are you out of power?' was equivalent to asking a man if he was impotent.

Upon hearing this, the System flapped its wings and with a swoosh, sent out a bolt of lightning that struck the Alien Beast hide directly. Then, a half-meter-high flame visibly shot up.

Chu Sui was close by and was almost scared out of his wits. He leaped off the chair and said to the System, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

The System didn't speak. It quietly flew behind Chu Sui, smacked him on the head with its little wings, and then its form quickly vanished into thin air.

Chu Sui couldn't be bothered with it. He rubbed the back of his head and subconsciously looked at the ground, only to find that the originally palm-sized Alien Beast hide had gradually shrunk and hardened under the flames, forming a thumb-sized, dark, mottled, transparent crystal.

"Huh?"

After the fire went out, Chu Sui walked over and stepped on it. With a crack, the crystal shattered into powder, showing no signs of hardness at all.

The Zerg Race's technology far surpassed Earth's. They had lights for illumination and electronic devices for cooking; there was basically no need for open flames anymore. This led them to rely only on high technology when researching weapons, focusing solely on firearms and ammunition. But who would have thought that to overcome the Alien Beast's hard scaled armor, all that was needed was fire?

Chu Sui slapped his head hard, suddenly feeling that his actions of chopping with a knife and sawing with a saw these past few days were simply idiotic. After all that effort, all he needed was to set a fire. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the lightning was the cause. To be safe, he should get another piece of hide tomorrow and try again to avoid a blunder.

That night, after taking a shower, Chu Sui logged into StarNet before going to bed. Unsurprisingly, he found that the posts about amending the laws were still trending high, and the comments section was a bloodbath of arguments. He rarely lost sleep, but tonight was an exception.

He didn't know what came to mind, but he got out of bed, walked over to the bookshelf behind his desk, and scanned it. He then pulled out a volume of The Empire's Laws and Regulations, thicker than the Xinhua Dictionary, which felt heavy in his hands.

This book belonged to Arno. After all, Chu Sui never read this kind of messy stuff.

In the dead of night, Chu Sui's fingertips slowly caressed the gilt lettering on the cover. He thought, 'There's no such thing as absolute fairness in the world. Moreover, in this world, the ratio of females to males is skewed, and the gap in martial strength is also large. The Empire's preferential treatment and special care for Male Zergs were originally understandable, but once it crossed the necessary boundaries, it would lead to the tilted and imbalanced social system of today.'

Just as he was deep in thought, the Light Computer on his wrist suddenly rang, showing that a Zerg had initiated a video communication request—

It was Arno.