LIGHTNOVELONLINE 40
“When that man left, did he leave any other mementos?” Rhys asked anxiously.
Since the elderly human began speaking, he set down his teacup and listened attentively to the narrative.
“Other than the jade pendant He Qin carries, there doesn’t seem to be anything else…,” the old man replied hesitantly. “Wait, there should be something else. My memory isn’t what it used to be…” He lamented, pounding the bed board in frustration. How could he not have kept a diary back then? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have forgotten so many details.
“Headmaster, please don’t rush. Take your time to remember,” He Qin reassured.
This happened twenty years ago. Even if he wasn’t a silver-haired old man, most young people wouldn’t remember things so clearly either.
Starting from the jade pendant, the old man reminisced and recalled the sight of the man drenched in fresh blood at that time.
Yes, blood. How could he forget? “That’s right, there was something else, a garment wrapped in your clothes stained with blood.”
Though the old man’s legs were not agile, he moved as quickly as possible, limping to the corner of the room. He rummaged through the bottom of a cabinet, dropping a few clean shirts in his haste.
“Here it is.” From the bottom of the cabinet, the old man retrieved a white robe tinged with green. “Now I remember, the green stain on this used to be bright red. I distinctly recall it was soaked from that man’s body. How did it turn this color after drying?”
Seeing this robe, Rhys could confidently confirm that the person who sent the male zerg out was indeed a certain female zerg. When the robe was unfolded, he dared to completely affirm that the injured man mentioned by the elderly person was a certain female zerg.
The warm blood of higher zerg races, like Earth’s humans, is bright red. However, once the blood leaves the body and gradually cools, it turns green.
“And may we take this garment with us?” Rhys politely sought the old man’s permission as he took the robe.
“Of course, this garment rightfully belongs to He Qin.”
Stored in the repository of zerg race blood samples are specimens of zerg blood from births throughout history, and only by sending the blood from this robe for analysis and comparison can the identity of the male lord’s female father be revealed
He was just an ordinary orphanage director in a small town, an elderly man who had little exposure to the outside world, and whose thinking remained stuck in decades past. Previously, he stubbornly believed that if a child would be troubled by knowing their father’s true identity, it was better not to give them hope of finding their father.
The brush with death six months ago made the old man realize many things between life and death. He no longer clung to many old beliefs and was willing to reveal the true experiences of the children.
The town nestled among mountains and waters boasted some of the top natural scenery in Country C. Before the war, the mountains behind the town were a famous five-star scenic area.
In his childhood, He Qin often played in the mountains behind with his friends.
This time, he brought his lifelong companion, the female zerg, to his former secret garden.
“From here, looking into the distance, you can see the entire town and enjoy the most beautiful scenery in these mountains,” He Qin led the female zerg through a narrow mountain cave. Who would have thought that behind such an ordinary cave was actually a vast meadow.
Several small squirrels and rabbits were cleverly lying in the grass, feeling intruders into their world. The small animals simultaneously raised their heads towards the cave entrance.
“Tired? Sit down and rest for a while.”
He Qin didn’t disturb the peace of the animals; he deliberately chose another path and selected the best vantage point to sit down.
“The water in that valley is very clear. When I was a child, I often went to the mountain stream there to pick up stones. And there, it’s the forest the headmaster strictly forbade us from entering. I heard there are many fierce beasts in that forest.” He Qin pointed here and there, continuously introducing his hometown to Rhys.
A gentle breeze blew, causing the grass to bend in the direction of the wind.
Not far away, several small animals, perhaps not sensing any threat from the intruders into their world, boldly hopped closer to the two.
These small forest creatures were not afraid of humans at all. After a bit of probing, a few rabbits even hopped into He Qin’s arms, while squirrels searched Rhys’s pockets for food.
“Male Lord, why are these little things as fluffy as your hair?” Rhys touched a certain fluffy creature leaning against his hand. The little guy wasn’t afraid at all and even forcefully squeezed himself into Rhys’s hand.
The most numerous creatures in the central star system, besides the zergs, are various birds with strong reproductive abilities. They eat a lot of bird meat. Creatures covered in hair like the one beside him can be easily pinched to death with one hand, and there are so many on Earth.
Just as the Male Lord said, Earth indeed is a planet of abundant resources and diverse life.
“These are rabbits, these are squirrels, and those over there hiding in the trees are the long-armed apes. My hair doesn’t feel as nice as these little guys, does it?”
“How can these little things compare to the Male Lord? Your hair is softer.” Rhys said this while his hands kept touching the little rabbits.
Many small creatures in the mountains gradually approached the cave out of curiosity, as they had not encountered humans for many years.
He Qin expanded his mental force outward a bit. Ensuring the safety of the surrounding environment, he relaxed his vigilance and truly lay down on the grass.
“Relax, I’ve checked. It’s very safe here.”
The current male Lord’s mental power application ability is estimated to be comparable to Rayn’s, and Rhys imitated the male Lord’s manner and also lay down on the grass.
However, He Qin’s posture with his left leg half bent, right leg resting on his left knee, and hands crossed behind his head, was too relaxed. The usually serious and upright major general even when lying down kept his hands neatly placed on his abdomen.
The valley was very quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing and the rustling of animal fur through the grass.
“Whiz, whiz, whiz…” Several thin needles swiftly cut through the air. On the road bordering the town and forest, soldiers in camouflage, hidden in the jungle, fell one after another before they could react.
At least a hundred meters away, under a towering tree, five ordinary human-shaped men saw what was happening ahead and put away the weapons they were carrying on their shoulders.
“Captain, why don’t we just kill them?” A man with fox-like eyes poked at the unconscious soldiers with a stick.
“Are you stupid? We only have a few hundred crew members. We can’t afford to declare war on the protective humans,” the man referred to as Captain, with a strangely pure white right eye, turned around to scold the fox-eyed man.
“Let’s move. This job might earn us five million star coins. If we kill that male zerg, we won’t have to worry about food and drink for half a year.”
“Got it, Captain. After we complete the mission, can I bring Major General Rhys back to the starship?”
“Stop talking nonsense. That Major General isn’t easy to deal with. You better worry about keeping your own life first!”
“Oh, come on. This time, I specifically swapped the zerg weapons with the military doctor. I must capture that ‘Empire Hero.'”
“You’re thinking with the wrong head…”
“What did you say, you bastard?”
“Quiet, all of you.”
“Yes, Captain.” “Yes, Captain.”
Chastised by the Captain, the men instantly fell silent. A flash of light enveloped them, and they were suddenly clad in armor, various weapons appearing in their hands.
The small animals that had been quietly lying on He Qin and Rhys, enjoying the touch of these human-like but differently scented beings, suddenly all raised their heads alertly. The rabbits sniffed the air deeply. A few seconds later, they all bolted towards the depths of the valley.
Something was wrong.
He Qin and Rhys exchanged glances. He Qin extended his mental power as far as possible and indeed detected the presence of five humanoid entities.
“Boss, this little guy must be our target,” the fox-eyed man was the first to emerge from the cave entrance. Seeing He Qin, he seemed unusually excited.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” He Qin retracted his mental power and formed a hard wall to block the strangers.
The entrance to this cave was very concealed and small. Most people would pass by without noticing it, which is why He Qin and his friends called it the ‘secret garden.’
These people must have followed them for a while to find this place.
He Qin discreetly used the phone in his pants pocket to send multiple signals to Enzo’s men nearby but received no response.
“Don’t be afraid, little guy. I kill quickly, so I promise you won’t feel any pain,” said the fox-eyed man as he drew a sharp dagger from his back. As he struck the dagger against the ground, the blade instantly extended.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other four men aimed their guns at them.
“Fire!”
These men were well-prepared, having chosen gravity guns for the task. Within minutes, cracks began to appear in the mental barrier that He Qin had erected.
“Master, hide behind me.”
At some point, Rhys had released the wings hidden on his back. The zerg’s large skeletal wings wrapped protectively around He Qin.
The fox-eyed man’s threat had thoroughly angered Rhys. The various spikes on his wings bristled, ready to give the men who threatened his master a bloody lesson.
With a loud “bang,” the mental barrier that He Qin had formed was finally breached by the gunfire. The severed black mental lines began to retract back into his body.
The men initially attacked from a distance, using highly destructive laser guns against Rhys. However, Rhys’s wings were even sturdier than those of a typical zerg, making the gunfire relatively ineffective.
Rhys fully extended his wings, which, when combined, spanned ten meters, filling the valley inside the cave.
Seizing the initiative is crucial in battle. Rhys pushed He Qin behind a large rock and began to counterattack.
The force of a zerg’s wings could break a human’s spine if struck directly. Rhys deftly dodged the laser cannon attacks and struck at the men with his wings, the spikes on them slicing through their flesh.
His initial target was the leader’s head, but his attacks only managed to hit some non-critical areas. Judging by their movements, these men were clearly familiar with zerg combat techniques.
Rhys quickly shifted his focus to the fox-eyed man.
The fox-eyed man smiled triumphantly, pulling a vial from his jacket pocket and injecting it into the most vulnerable part of Rhys’s wings.
The moment the needle pierced his wings, Rhys shook them violently. However, the fox-eyed man seemed to have anticipated this, and the liquid spread quickly.