Chapter 118: Let’s Talk About a Partnership
Inside a room made of dark gray metal, Yan Gui Xing hung suspended from a beam, clad only in black trousers. The tips of his toes hovered a full five centimeters off the ground, leaving his entire body weight to be supported by the wrists bound in chains.
The vent above his head blasted cold air. The temperature was set so low that the air came out as a white frost, coating the top of his black hair with a layer of rime.
Due to the freezing temperature, his bare skin had turned a sickly blue-white. Blood had congealed over the whip marks on his chest and back. The raw, abraded skin of his wrists stuck to the frozen metal, dying the lead-gray chains a vivid red.
General Yao, seemingly impervious to the cold, was still wearing his dark gray military uniform. Holding a whip stained dark with blood, he circled Yan Gui Xing twice. Yan Gui Xing’s head hung low, his face obscured by his hair, looking as if he had passed out.
Yao stopped in front of Yan Gui Xing, looking with interest at his chest, which was flushed red from the abuse. He extended the index finger of his right hand, encased in a black leather glove, and traced the air over the crisscrossing wounds, seemingly debating which one to pick.
Finally, he chose a lash mark that stretched from the left shoulder to the right side of the abdomen, traversing the entire chest.
The slender, gloved finger landed deceptively lightly on the wound on the left shoulder, then slowly but firmly pressed into it.
His scarlet vertical pupils narrowed in pleasure as he watched the muscles of the body before him tense up in response to his action.
It took General Yao fully five seconds to press the pad of his finger deep into the wound. Blood squeezed out, splattering onto the black leather glove in dark red dots.
He wasn’t done yet. The finger slowly slid down the length of the injury, tearing apart the flesh that the congealed blood had begun to knit together.
Warm, fresh blood flowed from the edges of the wound, leaving trailing red streaks on the taut, cold-white skin—a sight that was shocking to behold.
Despite the agonizing pain of his wound being ripped open, Yan Gui Xing’s breathing only grew slightly heavier. Once the finger left his flesh, he let out a heavy breath and chuckled softly.
“Satisfied?”
He had just endured a round of severe torture, and with the room temperature so low, his voice was raspy and broken. If General Yao hadn’t been standing so close, he wouldn’t have heard what he said.
General Yao looked at the body before him, which seemed covered in a blood-red spiderweb, and tutted. He knew Yan Gui Xing could understand their language, so he didn’t bother speaking the Imperial tongue.
“Satisfied? How could I be? You human, you caused the death of His Highness. Even if I sliced you into a thousand pieces, it wouldn’t be enough to quell my hatred.”
“A thousand pieces?” Yan Gui Xing sneered. “Just now, you told Commander Fang that as long as he tore up the new treaty, admitted the Empire invaded the Zerg, and sent you ten starships filled with weapons, you would let me go. What, do bugs have no honor?”
General Yao chuckled. “Honor? Only you weak humans believe in such things. Let me tell you the truth: even if your Commander does exactly as I ordered…”
“The next step will be to behead you and those humans in front of the entire galaxy, using your heads as a sacrifice to His Highness.”
Yan Gui Xing’s eyes, hidden behind his black hair, trembled violently.
This filthy bug intends to kill everyone? Damn it! His Mu Mu is still among them!
His expression, which hadn’t changed even under heavy torture, now turned utterly grim.
Yan Gui Xing suddenly lifted his head and threw his body toward General Yao. The violent movement caused the chains to clatter loudly.
Startled, the Tentacle Adjutant and the four Zerg soldiers in the corners raised their laser guns instantly. If Yan Gui Xing dared to do anything to General Yao, they would shoot him dead on the spot.
General Yao, however, remained calm. He raised his left hand and pressed it down, signaling them to stand down.
Through his messy hair, Yan Gui Xing stared at General Yao with eyes so wide the corners seemed about to split. He gritted his teeth and hissed, “I, Yan Gui Xing, am the one who killed your kin and caused your Prince’s death! It has nothing to do with those civilians! If you want revenge, come at me! Let them go!”
General Yao could rack his brain forever and never guess that Yan Gui Xing was so agitated because his lover was on the slaughter list.
He simply assumed Yan Gui Xing was like other human commanders he had killed in the past, trying to use his own life to protect others.
General Yao gripped the whip and used the handle to shove Yan Gui Xing hard in the chest. With no leverage, Yan Gui Xing swung back and forth in mid-air like a pendulum.
“To be honest, I don’t really understand this human concept of…” General Yao paused, then said, “Self-sacrifice? Altruism?”
He felt the idioms weren’t quite right. He tilted his head and frowned in thought for a long while but couldn’t find the right words.
General Yao sighed lightly, looking at Yan Gui Xing, who was still swaying. “Don’t you think it’s stupid to sacrifice yourself for humans who are weaker than you?”
The swinging motion increased the pressure on his wrists. The skin there was thin to begin with, and in no time, the chains had ground it down to a bloody mess.
The pain caused a layer of cold sweat to break out on Yan Gui Xing’s forehead and back. When the cold air hit him, his body shuddered uncontrollably.
He tried to keep his voice steady. “You’re going to kill me anyway, aren’t you? Is there any point in asking this? What, if my answer satisfies you, will you spare me?”
General Yao didn’t answer immediately. He seemed annoyed that Yan Gui Xing’s hair was blocking their communication. Surprisingly, he reached out, gently cupping Yan Gui Xing’s face with one hand while using the whip handle to brush the hair away with the other.
He held Yan Gui Xing’s face like that, his scarlet eyes scrutinizing him closely, silent for a long time.
Yan Gui Xing was nauseated by General Yao’s “affectionate” display. He rolled his eyes, deliberately trying to disgust Yao. “What, fallen in love with me?”
General Yao didn’t get angry at the repulsiveness. He let go, took a step back, and pulled the corners of his mouth into what he thought was a beautiful smile.
“I just realized something.”
Yan Gui Xing played along. “What?”
“You are an Imperial Admiral,” Yao said.
Yan Gui Xing looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Isn’t that stating the obvious? If I weren’t an Admiral, I wouldn’t have been qualified to face your Prince.”
Yao didn’t get angry at the retort and continued on his own track. “That means you possess all the important intelligence of the Imperial Military.”
Yan Gui Xing’s right eyelid twitched twice. He understood what Yao wanted him to do.
Sure enough, Yao continued, “I can offer you and your human companions a path to survival. But in exchange, you must provide me with intelligence to conquer the entire Empire.”
Yan Gui Xing: “???”
Honestly, if his hands weren’t tied, he would have dug out his ears to check if he was hearing things or if this bug had gone insane.
Conquer the entire Empire? If he had that kind of capability, he would have rebelled and made himself Emperor long ago. Why would he still be working for someone else?
Yan Gui Xing let out a breath and said helplessly, “Do you realize what you’re saying? Conquer the Empire? Even your Queen wouldn’t dare to think that.”
At the mention of the Queen, the smile on Yao’s lips faded a little, turning into a sneer. His scarlet vertical pupils filled with blatant disdain and dissatisfaction.
“The Queen is old. Naturally, she lacks the foresight and boldness of His Highness. If the Queen hadn’t refused to send reinforcements later on, and if His Highness hadn’t coincidentally run into you, Yan Gui Xing, he would have marched into the Capital Star by now.”
Yan Gui Xing didn’t refute Yao. He had fought the Zerg Prince—now blown to ashes—and knew he was a formidable character.
If his support had kept up in the later stages, the war wouldn’t have ended so quickly. The worst-case scenario would have been all four Admirals being dragged to the battlefield, leaving only one legion to guard the Capital Star.
At that point, the victor would have been uncertain.
But Yan Gui Xing never boosted the enemy’s morale at his own expense. His bloodless lips curled into a cold sneer. “Since the Prince you admire so much ended up defeated by my hand, I advise you to stop dreaming. Be a good bug, let us go, and flee back to your Zerg territory. Save your own little life.”
Anger surfaced in General Yao’s scarlet eyes. He glared at Yan Gui Xing as if he wanted to eat him. He raised the whip in his hand, but hesitated to bring it down.
Killing Yan Gui Xing would certainly avenge the Prince, and a live broadcast of the execution would terrorize the Empire.
But that effect would be temporary. His Highness wouldn’t want that kind of revenge.
Conversely, if he could use Yan Gui Xing to conquer the Empire completely and fulfill the Prince’s lifelong wish, he believed the Prince would be very happy.
General Yao lowered the whip, no longer bothering to smile at Yan Gui Xing. He stared at him coldly and threatened, “Yan Gui Xing, I am not negotiating with you. I know your bones are hard and you can withstand any torture. But I believe those humans in the warehouse probably can’t handle a whipping.”
Yan Gui Xing wasn’t surprised that Yao would use those people to threaten him. He narrowed his eyes, looking dangerously at Yao. “Are you threatening me?”
“Of course,” Yao nodded openly. “I’ll give you three hours to consider. If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer in three hours, I will randomly select one person to be tortured right in front of you. The torture will last for one hour. Whether that person survives or not depends on them—and you.”
Three hours? Yan Gui Xing gritted his teeth. Achi had said earlier that they could catch up to the Zerg starship in four hours at the fastest.
It had probably been close to two hours since he boarded the starship. Mu Mu and the others must have been brought up shortly after him.
As long as he held out here for another three hours, Achi could rescue Mu Mu.
Three hours. Yan Gui Xing exhaled a puff of white mist. I should be able to survive it.
He lowered his eyes, his lashes hiding the dim light in them, and rasped, “Don’t kill anyone yet. Let me think about it carefully.”
Hearing this answer, General Yao relaxed. If Yan Gui Xing had agreed immediately, he would have suspected some hidden trick.
Yao clapped his hands and laughed. “Good. I’ll give you time to think. Stay here; the low temperature will help keep your mind clear. I believe that in three hours, you will give me a satisfactory answer.”
With that, he turned and walked out the door. The Tentacle Adjutant and the four other Zerg soldiers followed him out.
The iron door locked, turning the cold storage room into Yan Gui Xing’s personal ice prison.
After the fifty survivors from the spaceship were taken aboard the Zerg vessel, they were locked in a warehouse on the lowest level.
Usually used to store nutrient fluids and other food, the warehouse was currently empty and large enough to hold a hundred people, so the Tentacle Adjutant confined everyone there.
The main color scheme of the Zerg starship was dark gray, especially the bottom levels. The warehouse was neglected and dusty, the metal walls covered in grime. Gray and bleak, lit by harsh white lights, it was depressing no matter where you looked.
With their fates unknown, people had no mood for conversation. They scattered around the warehouse in twos and threes, either sitting or standing in a daze.
Mu Mu still had Yan Gui Xing’s terminal tucked in his chest. He knew Achi could track the terminal’s signal and would follow it to save them.
He didn’t dare get too close to the others, afraid they would discover he had a terminal. After entering the warehouse, he hid in the farthest corner.
Perhaps because everyone knew Mu Mu had an “intellectual disability,” and they feared he might lash out if agitated, they all stayed far away from him, leaving a large empty space around him.
The captain, hiding in another corner, looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to their side, he quietly scooted over to Mu Mu.
Mu Mu, head down, saw a large shadow fall over his feet. He hugged his knees tighter, pressing his body down, before looking up warily. Seeing it was the captain who had spoken up for him earlier, he looked at him suspiciously.
The captain ignored Mu Mu’s wariness. Staring at the backs of the people in front of them, his lips moved, his voice so low it was barely a whisper in his throat.
“You have a terminal on you, don’t you?”
Mu Mu’s pupils constricted. His fingers nervously clutched his pants as he whispered, “No.”
The captain didn’t believe the nonsense about Mu Mu having an intellectual disability. He was with Admiral Yan, and the Admiral clearly took special care of him. Only a fool would believe they had no relationship.
He had carefully recalled all the recent news about Yan Gui Xing and realized that this delicate, cute young man must be the lover Yan Gui Xing had publicly announced.
And Admiral Yan would absolutely never let anything happen to his lover. Therefore, Mu Mu definitely had something life-saving on him.
That thing had to be a terminal. With a terminal, they could contact the military.
The captain knew Mu Mu wouldn’t reveal his hand to him. He licked his dry lips and pleaded softly, “I won’t ask much, really. Just please tell me, can we make it out of this hellhole alive?”
Mu Mu remembered that the captain had helped him earlier. If the captain hadn’t stepped forward, he might have already died under the Zerg’s guns.
He didn’t speak. He simply lowered his eyes and gave a nod so slight it was almost imperceptible.
[Author’s Note]: Achi appears in the next chapter, and then… and then it’s the finale.
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