Reborn as the Paranoid Female’s Rejected Sweetheart [Zerg Tribe]

Chapter 48: Can’t exert yourself.

Qi Yao envied the physical endurance of the female zergs. After exercising all night, they could still feel refreshed the next day. In contrast, he couldn’t.

All day long, working alongside Nos, he clearly felt his mental reactions were slower than usual. Normally, when Nos said something, he would immediately understand what he needed to do next. But today, he was always a beat behind.

Moreover, he wasn’t sure if it was because of excessive exertion last night, but now he felt a vague, indescribable soreness in his limbs and body, coming in waves, subtle but impossible to ignore.

Qi Yao seriously reflected on this. This couldn’t continue. But why did he suddenly feel so drained today when he hadn’t experienced this before? Did something go wrong?

He needed to discuss this with Yi Er when he got back.

From morning to afternoon, Qi Yao remained silent and visibly absent, lost in thought. After observing him for a few seconds, Nos, in a rare moment of concern, advised him, “You should take a break if you’re not feeling well.”

Qi Yao was taken aback. “Huh?”

Why would he need to take a break? Since he arrived here, how many times had he already taken breaks? Frequent breaks weren’t good.

Moreover, he didn’t have a reason to take a break.

After scrutinizing his face for a moment, Nos, in a matter-of-fact tone, said, “You indulged yourself last night.”

“!!!” Qi Yao’s face immediately flushed, feeling like disappearing into the ground out of embarrassment. He couldn’t even look Nos in the eye.

But Nos wasn’t done with the topic yet.

Perhaps realizing that he had been too straightforward, he relaxed his tone and kindly reminded him, “Haven’t you noticed anything different about your body?”

Yes, he had noticed! Can we please stop talking about it now? He knew he had overindulged last night, and he wouldn’t do it again!

Qi Yao’s whole body was practically emitting smoke from how red he was.

But Nos was serious and solemn. “When Yi Er comes to pick you up after work, I need to talk to him. Even experienced zergs like him don’t take the lord’s affairs seriously. You still came to work at a time like this.”

“…?” Qi Yao was at a loss.

Today, Nos was unusually lenient, indicating that he was indeed displeased. It was wrong for indulgence to affect work, but did Nos really need to remind Yi Er? That would be so embarrassing…

He would warn Yi Er when he got home. If he had to work the next day, he must restrain himself the night before.

“Teacher Nos…” Qi Yao raised his blood-red face and stuttered, “I, I’ll be more restrained in the future, so… please don’t tell Yi Er…”

Nos widened his eyes. “No, that won’t do. There are only a few chances for zergs to have such experiences. It’s natural for elders to teach a few words. Otherwise, how can he take it seriously?”

“But…” Qi Yao weakly protested.

Nos insisted on his opinion and, to alleviate Qi Yao’s concerns, gave him encouragement and advice, “You’re a male zerg, why are you so reserved and shy? You need to assert your dominance as the lord when necessary. He’s your consort now. Can’t he handle such a trivial matter?”

Isn’t it… getting harder to understand what Nos is saying?

Is it his misunderstanding, or is Nos expressing it unclearly?

Nos sighed, “Forget it, I’ll tell him now.”

As he spoke, Nos opened the terminal.

Three seconds later, Yi Er’s face appeared.

Yi Er seemed to be in the combat room, sweat beads covering his forehead, and the sounds of zerg fights could be heard in the background.

“Nos, what’s up?” The noisy background noise diminished as Yi Er walked to a less disruptive corner.

Without wasting any time, Nos, with an extremely serious expression, scolded Yi Er, “You’re usually so careful, but how could you be so careless today?”

“?” Yi Er was puzzled.

Qi Yao: “…”

Qi Yao tried to interject, but Nos interrupted him again.

“Come and take your master away. If something happens to him later, I can’t guarantee that I can return you a complete male lord.”

Yi Er didn’t understand. “What do you mean? Isn’t he fine with you?”

Nos aimed the terminal’s frame at Qi Yao.

Yao: “Look, he’s been restless all day. Just now when he spoke to me, I could even smell his pheromones. If I’m not mistaken, he should be undergoing his second molting.”

Yi Er’s motion of wiping sweat halted.

Qi Yao widened his eyes in disbelief. “I, I need to…!!”

“It shouldn’t be wrong. My partner at home went through the same thing,” Nos, still unfriendly, remarked. “Come and take him away. Neither of you has an elder around, so I have to remind you of these matters.”

Yi Er immediately ended the terminal call without even giving instructions in the combat room, rushing over to Nos’s location.

Qi Yao hadn’t recovered from Nos’s words yet. He stared blankly, thinking, He’s undergoing his second molting? So soon? I’m not prepared at all.

What should he do now?

As usual, he would search for related posts on the Star Network to find experiences and answers. But now he was completely overwhelmed by surprise and anticipation, thinking only of undergoing his own second molting. Would this mean he could finally match Yi Er’s physical abilities?

Wait, what preparations should he make for his second molting?

When Yi Er underwent his, they were on the Stardust, with an ample supply of nutrient fluid. As it approached its end, they even landed on a water-bearing asteroid.

This time, he would probably be at home.

At least home was more spacious than the Stardust.

Qi Yao pondered aimlessly.

Suddenly, Nos spoke again, “I’ve approved your leave. You’ll probably need several days.”

“You should have prepared for this earlier. With these signs, you shouldn’t go out. Don’t you know the second molting is very dangerous?” Nos’s tone was as gentle as possible. “Lethargy, inability to control pheromones and mental power, and bone soreness are all signs.”

Qi Yao felt ashamed. He lacked experience and hadn’t thought about this at all.

Last night, he just felt tired. After Yi Er helped him bathe, he even said Qi Yao unconsciously released pheromones. At the time, he thought Yi Er was joking. This morning, when his body experienced slight twinges of pain, he thought it was due to lack of restraint last night.

Each point made sense, so who would think about this aspect?

Nos continued to educate him, “Your mental power isn’t low, so the pain during the molting should be severe. But with Yi Er there, who is physically strong and excels in all aspects compared to you, helping you alleviate it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qi Yao listened absentmindedly.

“You’re legally married. If you need anything, just tell him. Helping you alleviate pain, I think he’d be happy to do so.”

As soon as it was mentioned, Qi Yao started feeling uncomfortable again.

In no time, Yi Er arrived.

Just coming out of the combat room and running all the way, he had sweat drops on his face.

Without bothering to greet Nos, Yi Er went straight to Qi Yao.

As he approached, the pheromones that filled the entire bedroom last night once again wafted into his nostrils.

Faint, elusive, it was Qi Yao’s scent.

He had noticed last night, but he hadn’t thought about it at all at the time. Today, he still let Qi Yao come to work, and he felt deeply sorry for not taking care of Qi Yao.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Nos has approved my leave.” Qi Yao couldn’t help but comfort him when he saw the guilt written all over his face.

He was fine now, far from as severe as he had imagined, but his mental reaction was significantly slower, and his thinking ability was noticeably reduced.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Yi Er asked.

Qi Yao avoided eye contact. “I… I’m fine.”

Which meant he was not.

Turning to Nos, Yi Er said, “Thank you, Nos. I’ll take him away now.”

Just after educating Qi Yao, Nos now turned to educate Yi Er. “Off you go. Although this won’t happen again in the future, he’s your lord. You should take care of him. Don’t just think about your own comfort.”

Yi Er understood what Nos meant and smiled apologetically. “I’ll pay more attention in the future.”

The spacecraft slowly started up and leaped toward the designated destination.

Qi Yao sat in the co-pilot seat, watching the Second Military District’s shadow recede further and further, and the scenery outside the window becoming increasingly unfamiliar. Slowly, he asked, “Aren’t we going home? Why does it feel like we’re getting further away from home?”

Yi Er inputted a coordinate into the navigation system and checked the food supplies in the spacecraft before finally relaxing and saying to Qi Yao, “We’re not going home.”

Qi Yao was puzzled. “Not going home? Then where are we going?”

“To asteroid Y7112.”

“To that place? Isn’t it very far?”

“It’s a bit far, but we have to go.”

“Why?” Qi Yao struggled to think, but his brain couldn’t turn, unable to provide him with a hint as to why they were going there.

Yi Er patiently explained, “If we stay home, you’ll affect Dean, and there are female zergs near our home…”

“Oh…”

With this reminder, Qi Yao finally understood.

During the molting period of zergs, especially zergs of S rank or higher, both mental power and pheromones become uncontrollable. In such cases, pheromones will leak extensively, and if detected by opposite-sex zergs, it is highly likely to attract them for mating.

It’s one thing if it’s a female zerg, but Qi Yao is a male zerg, a soft S-rank male at that. If he accidentally attracts passing female zergs, it’s not just a matter of being preyed upon like a tiger pouncing on its prey; it will inevitably cause a brawl, including Yi Er, for mating rights.

That scene is unimaginable.

When Yi Er underwent moltinh, he knew to take Yi Er away. How did he forget about Qi Yao himself?

It must be because of his current slow reaction.

“Male Lord, having me here is enough,” Yi Er said softly. “I’m happy that you’re undergoing your second molting now.”

Qi Yao: “?”

Yi Er: “I’m afraid your molting will come at the wrong time, coinciding with my egg-bearing period, and I won’t be able to help you.”

Qi Yao: “…”

The spacecraft sped out of the Imperial Capital at light speed, heading toward asteroid Y7112 at maximum velocity.

Time flowed, slow yet fast.

In the cramped cockpit, the male zerg unknowingly emitted enticing pheromones, not even needing to deliberately sniff; just breathing, waves were stirred up in Yi Er’s body.

This was pure torture for Yi Er.

But the male zerg causing him torment was completely unaware.

This couldn’t go on. He needed something to distract himself.

Turning on the spacecraft’s autopilot mode, Yi Er crouched in front of Qi Yao.

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?” he asked Qi Yao.

Qi Yao shook his head. He just felt the pain in his body becoming more and more apparent, as if an invisible force were pounding his bones, knocking here and there, searching for a suitable point of destruction to shatter and rebuild his entire skeletal structure.

But strangely, when the female zerg approached him and gazed at him affectionately with those deep blue eyes, he unexpectedly felt a bit better.

“Are you hungry?” Yi Er asked again.

The pain of molting and relieving it would consume a lot of physical energy.

Qi Yao, motionless, replied in confusion, “Not hungry. Are you?”

“Not hungry,” Yi Er said.

Qi Yao looked at him.

After watching for a while, Qi Yao, with a longing expression, said, “Can I touch your belly?”

He really wanted the female zerg to approach, but he couldn’t find a suitable reason, so he racked his brain and could only make such a request.

Yi Er had long noticed that the male zerg liked touching his belly recently, obediently took off his jacket, and let him touch.

But Qi Yao just looked at him, showing no intention of raising his hand to touch.

Was it because he was wearing a shirt?

“I’m hungry,” Qi Yao suddenly said.

Yi Er turned to get him some nutrient fluid.

Watching Yi Er get up and turn around, Qi Yao’s mind raced, and he straightened up.

At that moment, he had only one thought.

This female zerg couldn’t leave him.

Even in this cramped cockpit, where the female zerg wouldn’t stray far from him, he wouldn’t allow her to leave his side.

Not even one step away.

“Yi Er,” he called out to the female zerg going to get nutrient fluid.

Yi Er paused, as if his ankle was entangled by something, and bent down to look.

But there was nothing there.

It should just be an illusion.

He turned back, gave Qi Yao a reassuring look, and said, “I’ll go get you a bottle of nutrient fluid. I’ll be right here, and you can see me.”

After speaking, Yi Er lifted his foot again.

This time, the feeling of entanglement on his ankle came again.

He had to look again, but there was still nothing there.

But the feeling of entanglement was exceptionally clear, as if a very fine hair had fallen on his ankle, suddenly tightening when he took a step and relaxing when he stopped.

There were no hairs in the cockpit long enough to entangle his ankle.

What is it?

Yi Er tried lifting his foot again, and sure enough, the feeling of entanglement returned.

He seemed to understand and helplessly looked at the fervent-eyed Qi Yao, “Lord.”

The male zerg’s mental power leaked uncontrollably, forming a thin mental thread like a strand of hair, trying to tether Yi Er and prevent him from leaving.

But the male zerg doing all this wore an innocent expression, completely oblivious.

Yi Er sighed, walked over, and didn’t try to persuade Qi Yao to restrain his mental power, saying, “I’ll go get the nutrient fluid, I won’t leave.”

Qi Yao nodded, “I know, go ahead.”

Although he said this, his subconscious urged his mental power to once again entangle Yi Er’s ankle.

But the male zerg still couldn’t fully control the mimetic mental power. Yi Er effortlessly broke free from the irritating mental thread, brought two bottles of nutrient fluid, opened one for Qi Yao, and handed it to him.

“Just make do for now. When we reach the asteroid, I’ll make something delicious for you.”

“Okay.”

Qi Yao took a few sips and stopped.

He didn’t know what he wanted to do, his eyes glued to Yi Er. The intermittent pain in his body didn’t seem to have started at any particular time but continued to pound his bones.

The physiological pain persisted, but as long as the female zerg moved within his field of vision, that pain seemed to stay away from him.

“Still want to touch my belly?” Yi Er asked.

Qi Yao’s eyes lit up, “Yes.”

Yi Er lifted him up, sat himself down on the seat, letting his sturdy thighs bear Qi Yao’s weight, and said, “You can touch for three hours.”

“Three hours?”

“In three hours, we’ll arrive at asteroid Y7112. Master, go easy on it, don’t touch too hard.”

“Huh? Can’t be too hard. You’re demanding.”

Yi Er chuckled, “Yeah, can’t be too hard, after all, we have a mission here.”