Lin You's sudden outburst caused White to fall to the ground, and a dead silence fell over the venue.

Lenon looked up in surprise, his gaze fixating on Lin You.

Lin You stood in front of him, completely blocking White's line of sight in an entirely protective posture.

Lenon was stunned. "Your Highness..."

But Lin You ignored him. He kicked the edge of the table leg, scaring White into trembling violently, his face showing disdain. "My person, is it your place to discipline him?"

Lenon's fingers twitched slightly.

...His person?

Meanwhile, in Lin You's mind, the System let out a sharp screech: "Ahhhhhh!"

"My god, what are you doing? There's still a plot segment later, there are lines to say!"

Lin You suppressed the System. "Calm down." He looked ahead obscurely. "Isn't it coming right now?"

The commotion here was not small. The surrounding guests quickly turned around, and someone immediately walked over quickly, asking in surprise, "My god, Xiao You, what are you doing?"

The newcomer had an elegant and gentle temperament. He wore a black tailcoat made of solid material and dressed exquisitely, clearly an invited noble as well.

Lin You looked at him, stood up a bit straighter, and his expression became more obedient. "Big Brother."

The First Prince of The Empire, Lin Yu.

This background character in the novel only had a scene here; the rest of the time, he was nowhere to be found.

Lin You didn't know this so-called Big Brother at all. It was purely based on the novel's description, which stated that The Empire's three princes were loving and respectful to each other, and the Third Prince listened to his two older brothers very much. Only then did he act according to his character setting.

Lin You lowered his eyes, looking obediently at the ground, but his private expression was quite cold.

——He hadn't forgotten that after Lenon's death in the novel, the Third Prince died in a power struggle.

The original text was vague, but when it came to a power struggle, the only ones who would want the Third Prince dead were the other two princes. No one else.

Lin Yu was quite surprised. His gaze swept over Lenon, pausing on him slightly, and then glanced at White, his tone astonished: "Xiao You, White, what is this?"

Lin You sneered. "Ask White, and tell him not to lay his hands on what he shouldn't lay his hands on."

The original text described the Third Prince as moody and temperamental, so Lin You didn't break character at all when acting crazy.

"...Lay his hands on what he shouldn't lay his hands on?"

The First Prince's gaze swept over Lenon again, and he immediately smiled. "Why hurt the harmony between us? Everyone is in the same circle, and we will often play together in the future. There are plenty of fun things, so there's no need to stick to one Female Zerg, right?"

He helped White up and smiled. "Xiao You has had this temper since he was a child. He hates it the most when others touch his things. Bear with him a bit."

White repeatedly echoed, "Yes, yes, yes."

The First Prince then pulled Lin You up and advised, "Our Xiao You is already an adult. You can't be so willful anymore, not to mention..."

He looked at Lenon again and said coldly, "Acting violently against his former fiancé with conclusive evidence, instead of reflecting on his crimes, he is eagerly buttering up a prince of The Empire. Such a Female Zerg isn't worth cherishing either, is he not?"

"..."

Lenon bowed. "Your Highness is right to lecture me."

However, the First Prince didn't look at him. He simply blocked Lin You and coaxed, "Let's go, stop being angry. Big Brother has prepared a coming-of-age gift for you."

Looking like a classic Mr. Nice Guy.

This part was in the novel, so Lin You wasn't surprised at all. He feigned pleasant surprise and grabbed Lin Yu. "What gift?"

Lin Yu smiled slightly. "Exclusively for adult Male Zergs. You'll like it."

He led Lin You into the hanging hall and waved to the corner. A waiter immediately brought over a black leather suitcase and placed it flat on the long table.

Lin Yu's fingertips brushed over the leather case, seemingly carelessly: "The Female Zergs of the Colette Family are no good. You are too close to him. What means did Lenon use to catch your eye and make you protect him like this?"

This was the original plot, not a single word was off.

Lin You then looked at the teleprompter and drawled lazily, "What other reason could there be? He has a pretty face, and I want the Colette Family's wealth. It's that simple."

The First Prince nodded in satisfaction.

Lin You looked at the suitcase. "Brother, let's not talk about this anymore. Where's my gift?"

Lin Yu handed him the leather case. "Here, high-end goods newly delivered from the Pheromone Research Center. I only have two of these on hand myself."

Lin You opened the latch. Nestled quietly within the velvet silk cloth was a cherry-pink cocktail. The liquid was crystal clear and translucent, like a dream.

Generally speaking, colors with such high brightness rarely appeared on food. Once they did, it usually meant they were toxic.

Lin You reached out and took out the liquor. Even though he already knew what it was, he still read the label and pretended to be curious: "What is this?"

"A little something to add to the fun." Lin Yu smiled, showing an understanding look. "Lenon is a bit hard to handle, right? Then you can let him try this. From now on, he will never be able to leave you again. Once he loses your pheromones, it will be worse than killing him. I guarantee he will scream and beg for your rewards."

Lin You appreciatively observed the liquid without showing any emotion, but his right hand uncontrollably tightened around the bottle's neck, gripping so hard that his fingertips turned pale.

If Lenon's suffering in the first half of the book came from the Third Prince and White, then what ultimately caused him a living hell, dying in a foreign land, was this tiny bottle of pink liquor.

Pheromone Addiction Adjuvant.

The Zerg's pheromones had always been the focus of research. They could force the toughest Military Female Zerg to surrender helplessly and suffer a fate worse than death, or they could heal hidden injuries and soothe the Spiritual Sea. The Zerg's disparate gender ratio forced most Female Zergs to rely on artificial pheromone preparations. Therefore, here, the Pheromone Research Center was The Empire's highest scientific research institution.

They not only developed normal pheromone substitutes but also expanded their experiments under the tacit approval of various higher-ups to earn huge profits. Addictive preparations were one of them.

If it were a normal union between a Male Zerg and a Female Zerg, although there would be fluctuations due to pheromones—for example, Lenon particularly liked being close to Lin You—separating would not be fatal; it would only make them uncomfortable. But if the addictive agent was added, it would cause an unbearable, bone-piercing pain.

At the same time, similar to the contraband drugs of the human race in his previous life, this substance would greatly destroy the nervous system. Drinking this, Lenon would become half a cripple; from tonight onwards, he wouldn't even be able to hold a gun steadily.

The First Prince really seemed to hope something would happen to Lenon.

Lin You was thoughtful, suddenly asking softly, "System 55, is this the same kind of thing as what Lenon confiscated in Zone 35?"

When they visited the Third Legion, they saw black market samples, and System 55 even extracted a drop for physical and chemical analysis.

In a place where Lin Yu couldn't see, the liquor in Lin You's hand fluctuated quietly. An insignificant drop evaporated and dissolved, and all the internal molecular formulas were displayed on the System's screen.

System 55: "It's not the same thing. The effects are different, but the manufacturing methods are extremely similar. What you saw in Zone 35 looks like an intermediate product of this thing."

"In other words, in order to manufacture this, someone did experiments and produced a large number of intermediate products, which are illegal pheromone preparations, and then these products flowed into the black market of Zone 35 and were used by innocent Female Zergs?"

System 55: "Yes."

Lin You: "Can we find the place of origin? Is it Zone 35?"

Counterfeit pheromone preparations had always been a low-cost, high-profit, violent industry. The huge cash flow brought by fake injections was enough to move the upper echelons of The Empire. And mass production required precise, modern factories. These illegal factories couldn't possibly be located on the Main Star, but were certainly on desolate, remote planets.

System 55: "I can't be sure right now if it was produced in Zone 35. I need some air from there for sample analysis."

Pharmaceutical products require sterility, but they wouldn't completely filter the air. Different planets had different air compositions; as long as there was a sample, System 55 could analyze it.

Lin You: "I'll figure out a way later."

As he spoke, he held the cocktail and looked at it for a long time, as if mesmerized by its color.

The First Prince leaned against the door frame, not rushing him, just smiling. "Isn't it beautiful? How about it, do you like my gift?"

Lin You raised a smile: "Of course I like it. Big Brother knows best what I want."

In the original text, the Third Prince coveted Lenon's beauty but was also wary of his strength. While tormenting and toying with him, he was also afraid that Lenon would suddenly snap and hold a knife to his neck. Having such a thing was simply perfect.

Lin You accepted it, but Lin Yu didn't seem to want to leave. He just smiled: "Aren't you going to try it out?"

Lin You also smiled: "Of course I will."

He waved to the waiter, his tone excited: "Call Major General Lenon over."

This was originally part of the novel's plot as well.

The prince's mansion had many small rooms for guests to rest in. Inside were large beds with soft bedding and fully equipped supplies, provided for unexpected needs.

Lin You opened the bottle in front of the First Prince, poured the liquor into a glass, and shook it with great interest. The First Prince gave an ambiguous smile and pulled the door shut for him. "Remember to tell me the effects of using it."

Lin You smiled and nodded. Just as he sat down at the table, System 55 suddenly warned: "5 o'clock direction, right above the stained-glass vase, a pinhole camera."

Lin You caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and sure enough, he saw a grain-of-rice-sized lens hidden in the glass pattern, faintly reflecting a cold light.

He turned slightly sideways, pretending to play with the ornaments on the table, and his back firmly blocked half of the camera's field of vision as he ordered: "Bring up what I prepared."

Waiters filed in.

Ten minutes later, guided by a waiter, Lenon stepped up the stairs.

He pulled a sapphire brooch from his chest, handed it to the waiter, and asked with a smile, "Did His Highness say what he wanted me here for?"

The banquet was nearing its end. White had become much more well-behaved after receiving a kick and didn't dare to look at Lenon recklessly anymore. Everything was in order, but the waiter suddenly summoned him to go upstairs.

The first floor was the banquet hall, while the second floor was full of guest rooms.

The waiter silently pushed back the gem and only said, "His Highness didn't say anything."

After a moment, he lowered his eyes and cryptically reminded, "The First Prince just left."

It was known to everyone on the Main Star that the Colette Family and the First Prince had an old, long-standing grudge.

Lenon's movements paused, and he immediately smiled. "Thank you for the trouble."

Although he was smiling, the smile didn't reach his eyes. His brows furrowed slightly, and his expression was as cold as a frozen mountain that hadn't melted in a thousand years. But when the large doors were pulled open to reveal the Third Prince's delicate and handsome face, Lenon instantly changed his expression again. He bowed politely, his eyes rippling with deep affection, and smiled, "Good evening, my Prince."

"Good evening, Lenon."

Lin You pulled out a chair and nodded in greeting. "Come here, I just got a new bottle of wine and want to invite you to taste it."

Lenon: "It's my honor to be able to taste fine wine with Your Highness."

He sat down at the table. His azure eyes smiled as they swept over the various wine vessels on the table, but when he clearly saw the liquid in Lin You's hand, he suddenly stopped, his face turning pale.

He recognized the color of that liquor.

In the storehouses of Zone 35, in the medicine cabinets of the black market, and in the flowing blood of his comrades from the Third Legion when they roared in agony.

The cherry-pink liquid rolled into the transparent glass cup. In front of the pinhole camera, Lin You pushed it to Lenon: "Taste it."

"..."

If being tortured and played with was merely sinking deep into a quagmire, then drinking this cup of wine would mean endless, eternal damnation.

As early as when he climbed into the Third Prince's bed, Lenon had envisioned this possibility. Therefore, upon their first meeting, he had hidden his pheromone-stained gloves and coat, ordering Devon to analyze and copy it.

But how could the pheromones of a high-level Male Zerg be so easily copied? In the end, they even resorted to black market methods. That method had massive side effects; the injected preparations researched would cause the body to collapse within two years, until even getting out of bed would be difficult to sustain. Many comrades in the Third Legion had died from this very thing.

But even so, progress remained sparse.

Lin You pushed the wine glass forward, silently urging him.

If it were before, Lenon might have weighed his options and simply drank it. But the Third Prince's unusual attitude had somewhat raised his extravagant hopes. Lenon uncontrollably thought: If he softly begged a little...

If he softly begged a little, would the Third Prince's heart soften? Could he avoid this punishment?

So he pursed his lips, forced a superficial smile, and asked softly, "Why does Your Highness want to use this kind of thing?"

Lenon stood up and leaned in close to Lin You. His fingers touched the metal buttons of his uniform, casually popping open the top two, exposing his slender neck and collarbones together. His cold, pale skin was exposed to the air, raising a layer of fine goosebumps.

He sat down intimately pressed against Lin You, his skin exposed within the Third Prince's reach. As long as Lin You reached out his hand, he could slide it in through the gap of the uniform and play with anything he wanted to play with.

"Using these things is so boring. Is Lenon not obedient enough?"

Lenon's azure eyes stared at him fixedly, deep down in his pupils carrying unconcealable sorrow: "Your Highness, if I am obedient enough, can this cup of wine be spared?"

Lin You hooked his thumb on the wine glass, somewhat unable to hold out.

The wine was fake. He had swapped it out. But even so, facing Lenon's mournful eyes, Lin You couldn't bring himself to open his mouth and tell him to drink.

The Major General was truly sad, and also truly afraid.

This was the original plot, and the lines were also from the original text. The novel's description was: "Through the feedback from the camera's footage, it was clearly visible that Lenon drank the cherry-pink liquid. His eyes were shut tight, and his Adam's apple trembled painfully, as if what he drank wasn't liquor, but scorching magma."

"When the cup was drained, two drops of liquor rolled down his Adam's apple. His long silver hair had already been soaked in sweat. He staggered to push away the cup and glass, half-knelt on the ground, and began retching silently."

The original host's actions in the novel were despicable and inferior, utterly shameless. Lin You felt terrible when reading it. Now that he had to act it out face-to-face, he wished he could just yank Lenon away, smash the wine on the First Prince, curse him out as a dumbass, and then swagger off.

But he couldn't do that.

Lin You had only been here for two months, but he could already feel the undercurrents surging beneath the surface of the Zerg. Lenon was definitely deliberately framed by someone; a Major General of the nation could be ruined just like that, left with no choice but to survive like this.

Lin You was currently still under the protection of Admiral Hoyle and hadn't encountered much storm. But with a little thought, he knew that the prince's position was the eye of the typhoon at the center of the storm. The slightest carelessness would shatter his bones to pieces. If his character setting collapsed too much, never mind everything else, Admiral Hoyle would be the first one to find trouble with him.

Taking the initiative to break away from the plot at this time would not only fail to help Lenon, but it would also force them both onto a path of no return.

Lin You glanced at the script. His voice was cold and harsh, allowing no refusal: "Drink it."

"..."

The light in Lenon's eyes gradually weakened. He silently curved his lips into a sarcastic smile, not knowing whether he was mocking Lin You or himself. That smile widened more and more, so much so that Lenon had to lower his head to hide it.

In a deathly silence, as if he had finally accepted his fate, he raised his hand to hook the cherry-blossom pink liquor. His fingertips trembled along with the glass, but halfway there, he was stopped by someone's grip.

With his back to the camera, Lin You mouthed: "Don't worry, it's okay."

He sighed, trying to grasp the original host's persona: "Don't be afraid. I played too far. This is just a joke."

Before Lenon could react, after Lin You finished speaking, he took the initiative to pick up the wine glass, took a sip, and then, under Lenon's astonished gaze, yanked him over and kissed him forcefully. From the camera's forced perspective, it looked exactly as if he used his mouth to force Lenon to swallow it.

The cherry-blossom pink liquid overflowed from where their lips and teeth met, rolling down the Adam's apple. Most of it was swallowed by Lin You; Lenon only tasted a faint hint of it between his lips and tongue.

It was very sweet, with only a slight taste of alcohol.

It was sweet white peach wine added with cherry blossom coloring.

The citrus-flavored pheromone spilled out silently, lingering around Lenon. Lenon's Adam's apple trembled silently, a cold sweat slightly breaking out on his forehead. Then, Lin You pressed on his shoulders, gesturing for him to half-kneel down and perform a movement akin to dry heaving. Meanwhile, out of the camera's sight, Lin You comfortingly rubbed his trembling back, repeating softly: "Don't be afraid."

After all the designated actions from the novel were completed, Lin You pulled the Major General into his embrace. He was slightly smaller than the Major General, yet this posture was unexpectedly harmonious. Lin You stroked down Lenon's back once, like comforting an uneasy large animal. The metal medals on Lenon's chest pressed against him, causing a bit of pain, but Lin You didn't let go.

Lin You whispered: "Don't worry, I never intended to feed you that kind of thing."

Lenon shut his eyes tightly. He panted, taking a long time to recover, and only then did he open his eyes. His gaze swept over a certain spot, and his pupils immediately shrank.

He saw that grain-of-rice-sized camera, hidden behind the glass screen, faintly glinting with a cold light.