Chapter 23: Pheromones
“Major General, the first squad has finished the sweep. No anomalies.”
“Major General, the second squad has finished the sweep. No anomalies.”
…
The squads converged. After hearing the reports, Saiensi nodded.
“The inspection of Planet 1347 is basically complete. We’ll rest at the camp tonight and return to Planet Efa tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir!”
Saiensi led the army back to the camp, only to find a large crowd of Females gathered there for some reason.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing the soldiers return, the crowd began to scatter. A few looked back longingly before being dragged away by their companions.
As Saiensi entered the camp, he was suddenly hit by the scent of Male pheromones.
“Major General! It’s Male pheromones!”
“I know.”
Saiensi sprinted to Lan Ze’s house. Seeing that the emergency defense mode had been activated, he understood immediately.
It seemed Lord Yan Mo was approaching his secondary differentiation.
This would surely lessen Lan Ze’s mental pollution. It looked like Admiral Lan Hechen had been very farsighted; he truly was a worthy Admiral of the Fourth Army.
Saiensi felt happy for Lan Ze.
He turned around, about to order the soldiers to return to their quarters, but he saw several of them huddled together, greedily inhaling the residual pheromones in the air.
Aside from inducing estrus, Male pheromones were a miracle cure for a Female’s mental pollution. The soldiers following him and Lan Ze had been through countless battles; all of them suffered from some degree of pollution.
Smelling the residual pheromones now brought them a measure of relief from the agonizing pain in their mental domains.
The reason the inhabitants of Planet 1347 had gathered here was for that same reason—to get a whiff of the pheromones.
A Male’s pheromones could heal a Female’s mental domain.
But Males were precious. Aside from marrying one, there was almost no way to receive the comfort of their pheromones. No Male was willing to act as a healer for a Female’s mental domain.
Military Females were particularly disliked by Males. Many spent their entire lives without ever receiving pheromone treatment.
Seeing them like this and knowing the torture they endured from pollution, Saiensi didn’t scold them. He simply turned and left.
That evening, Lan Ze felt his strength return after resting for a while.
Though the scent of Yan Mo’s pheromones still lingered in the air, it was much fainter than before.
Yan Mo recalled the process of Lan Ze guiding his pheromones with mental power. He practiced controlling his own pheromones, gradually learning how to release and restrain them.
Seeing Lan Ze wake up, Yan Mo sat down on the edge of the bed.
He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Lan Ze’s ear.
“Lan Ze, how are you feeling?”
Lan Ze’s cheeks flushed. Yan Mo’s touch made him tremble, and he gently pushed Yan Mo’s hand away. “I’m fine. Lord, how is your pheromone control progressing?”
Yan Mo stared at the hand Lan Ze had pushed away, feeling a bit dejected.
He stubbornly grabbed Lan Ze’s hand again.
Lan Ze shot him a questioning look, an eyebrow slightly raised. “What is it?”
Yan Mo shook his head.
He wanted to be closer to Lan Ze. He suddenly pulled the Female into a heavy hug, burying his face in Lan Ze’s shoulder.
Lan Ze felt a tickle from the hair and let out a soft laugh.
He reached out and stroked Yan Mo’s head, comforting the sulky Male Lord.
After hugging for a while, Yan Mo felt a delayed sense of embarrassment. He felt like a teenage boy on his first date, getting upset over a small slight from his lover.
Yan Mo muttered, “I’ve already learned how to control my pheromones.”
Lan Ze was stunned. “The Lord is truly amazing!”
Yan Mo felt Lan Ze was talking to him like a child. He said indignantly, “I’m serious! I’ll show you!”
As he spoke, Yan Mo released his pheromones, letting them swirl around Lan Ze.
Lan Ze’s body went soft, and he suppressed a groan in his throat. His face instantly turned a deep shade of crimson.
“Don’t…”
Yan Mo quickly retracted the pheromones.
After a long moment to catch his breath, Lan Ze sighed. “I believe the Lord. I’m just surprised. Males usually need two or three estrus periods, guided by a Female, to learn control. I didn’t expect the Lord to master it in one go.”
So that’s how it is, Yan Mo thought. That just means I’m very smart!
Yan Mo felt smug for a moment before remembering something. He suddenly held out his hand to Lan Ze.
“Lan Ze, look!”
Lan Ze followed Yan Mo’s gaze and saw a tiny golden sprout emerging from the center of that well-defined palm.
That sprout was clearly a filament formed from pheromones. Lan Ze’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t resist touching the tiny sprout with his long finger.
A scent of ink drifted out. Lan Ze felt his mental domain notably lightened as the pheromones washed over it.
It really was a pheromone filament!
“I was trying to control the pheromones, and then this thing just popped out. I feel like it’s made of pheromones, too. It seems like it can change shape.”
As Yan Mo spoke, he transformed the pheromone filament into a long thread that circled Lan Ze before returning to his hand.
Yan Mo thought for a moment, then plucked a small piece from the filament. He kneaded it between his fingers until a tiny golden heart appeared in his palm.
Yan Mo placed the pheromone heart in Lan Ze’s hand.
“For you!”
Lan Ze: “…”
Lan Ze was so shocked he was speechless.
Yan Mo didn’t know what was wrong. Seeing Lan Ze staring at him blankly, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the matter?”
Lan Ze opened his Light Brain and looked up a scientific entry on Male pheromones to show Yan Mo.
Among the Zerg, those born without insect markings or insectoid traits were Males. Once Male cubs grew up, they entered a period of pheromone imbalance, commonly known as estrus.
After passing through two or three such periods, the pheromones matured, and the secondary differentiation was completed. From then on, a Male could use his pheromones at will to help Females cleanse their mental domains.
Typical B-rank or C-rank Males usually required three estrus periods and a successful secondary differentiation before they could gradually control their pheromones.
A-rank Males mastered it faster, usually gaining control before their differentiation.
However, in current records, only high-level Males who had already completed their secondary differentiation could produce pheromone filaments. Low-level Males below D-rank could only use pheromones for soothing; they couldn’t grow filaments.
As for Males who grew pheromone filaments before their secondary differentiation, they were only mentioned in records from before the Great Radiation. Those were typically Males ranked A-rank or higher—or even S-rank Males, which hadn’t appeared in the galaxy for centuries.
“So… I’ll at least differentiate into an A-rank Male?” Yan Mo asked curiously.
Lan Ze shared his Light Brain access with him, allowing Yan Mo to touch the screen as well. He began swiping through the Star Net interface, trying to gather more information.
Lan Ze caught Yan Mo’s restless hand and pulled up another interface—a research report on Male secondary differentiation.
“Males usually undergo secondary differentiation between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Males older than twenty mostly have genetic issues. Even if their genes are normal, it’s rare for them to differentiate into high-level Males.”
Yan Mo, who was already over twenty, felt like he’d taken an arrow to the knee.
Lan Ze comforted him, “But the Lord’s pheromones are very strong, and you’ve mastered control and produced filaments so quickly. You might be an exception.”
Yan Mo didn’t really care about his pheromone rank. The fact that he could produce them at all meant there was no biological difference between him and other Males in this world. This meant he could stay among the Zerg without fear of his human identity being exposed one day.
As he browsed the research data, he suddenly spotted another report.
Yan Mo opened it. it was a study on the effectiveness of different pheromone ranks in treating a Female’s mental domain.
It stated that high-level Females required high-level Male pheromones for treatment.
An S-rank Female like Lan Ze would need a Male of at least B-rank or higher to treat his mental pollution.
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