MORIC - Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Who's Playing the Villain

Xi Zhoumeng had no such hobby. She pulled Chi Yueshan to sit on the softest sofa.

This was also her first time in this lounge, but the brief time before their sparring match had been enough to train the lounge's AI robot to be extremely well-behaved. It now served hot tea and rose pastries, and even provided musical accompaniment. It was just that its random music library didn't quite match the atmosphere, playing a popular hit from many years ago where the most frequent lyric was "happy breakup."

Xi Shuang: ...

An AI like this should probably just be scrapped.

Ling Xun, however, found the song quite nice and quietly added it to her playlist.

Xi Zhoumeng acted as if she had developed a condition that prevented her from walking properly in pants, and had now changed back into a dress. However, this one had been prepared for her by Shen Yu. As an elder who had watched her grow up, even she didn't have a perfect grasp of Xi Zhoumeng's tastes.

The new dress was brand new and didn't quite fit Xi Zhoumeng's usual ornate and magnificent style; it was a bit too simple.

But it had a unique charm on Xi Zhoumeng. Her foul habit of extravagance and debauchery was now flaring up, and she had to have Chi Yueshan in her arms, creating a scene somewhat reminiscent of a fatuous ruler meeting a loyal and devoted minister.

But perhaps the only one present who fit the description of a loyal minister was Wen Xinghuo.

Xi Shuang didn't seem like she was here to listen to a plan at all. She even took out some fresh melon seeds from the AI robot's snack compartment and began cracking them with the glee of someone watching a show.

Ling Xun seemed very neutral, but not obviously so. She held her hot tea while sneakily taking the shelled seeds that Xi Shuang had cracked.

Wen Xinghuo took a deep breath, trying to suppress the pessimistic thought that this planet might be doomed, and urged Xi Zhoumeng to get on with it.

"I have to take over the patrol shift later. If you have anything to say, just say it all now."

Chi Yueshan also couldn't stand this embarrassing position of being held in an embrace. She sat up from Xi Zhoumeng's lap and echoed Wen Xinghuo, "Exactly. Hunhun is still at home, I need to go back and check on her."

She shouldn't have mentioned it. The moment she did, Xi Shuang asked, "Is Zhoumeng taking care of the child now?"

Xi Zhoumeng: "Let's talk business. Stop prying into other people's family matters."

Ling Xun: "Exactly, sis, you're so nosy."

Xi Shuang: ...

Xi Zhoumeng opened her light-brain and shared the screen. "Does this Zerg look familiar to you all?"

Xi Shuang recognized it instantly. "An old acquaintance."

Ling Xun: "It's very powerful."

Wen Xinghuo: "It's the one from the practical training. The data center has now upgraded it to a Special-Grade Zerg."

Because there were no records of this Zerg in the current database, it was classified as Special-Grade, and it was currently the only Special-Grade Zerg in the database.

Xi Zhoumeng's freshly dried golden hair was still soft, with one side tucked behind her ear. She dropped her joking tone and asked Ling Xun, "Have you encountered it again since then?"

"After all, you and Xi Shuang were the ones who spent a long time with the Expeditionary Force."

Ling Xun shook her head.

Xi Shuang: "Ling Xun and I were usually in squads that weren't often with the Commander."

Xi Shuang: "Commander Xi, oh, I mean your mother. The last time she was injured was because of an unusual situation; the leader of Combat Team A was in a critical state."

It was almost from that moment on that the Zerg began to attack the human Expeditionary Force commanders.

The combat records from that time weren't very clear. Xi Zhoumeng had watched them over and over again, recalling her own fight with that Zerg.

She always felt as if the Zerg's eyes held human emotions, but the creature had quite a temper, being quiet one moment and violent the next.

Xi Zhoumeng: "Were you two there when the succeeding commander was injured?"

Xi Shuang shook her head. "Ling Xun and I were separated that day."

Ling Xun: "It was also that Zerg's doing. It's very strong, and its recovery ability is also exaggerated. Someone shattered its wing before, but the next time we saw it, it was perfectly intact again."

Ling Xun paused after speaking. "Actually..."

She hesitated, pursing her lips, until Xi Shuang nudged her. "Go on, we're all friends here."

Ling Xun: "I always feel like this Zerg is a bit like a person. It seems to be looking for something."

Ling Xun had once yearned for battle, but it wasn't until she was truly on the battlefield with Xi Shuang that she realized nothing was that simple.

The Alpha courses at Guyun Academy were merely the basics. On-site, there were far too many things she had to consider.

Ling Xun had encountered that Zerg more times than Xi Shuang. Once, her mecha was so damaged she couldn't return, and she hid silently in a pile of collapsed bushes.

But she discovered that the Zerg was searching for someone among the pile of mechas she had defeated.

This thing seemed to have human emotions. Its wings beat slowly, stirring up a mountain wind. The foul, fishy smell in the air would make a human feel nauseous; at least, Ling Xun was about to throw up. She covered her mouth and activated her mecha's simulated inanimate mode.

But then she saw that the Zerg was actually vomiting noisily.

Even though it was prettier than a low-grade Zerg, it looked very clumsy when it vomited.

The sight made Ling Xun's mouth twitch. It was so strange.

You're a Zerg, is it necessary to bend over and vomit like a human? Your wings are already drooping to the ground.

Then, because its wings got stained with the blood of a low-grade Zerg, the creature made a strange noise and finally left.

Ling Xun wasn't as dramatic as Xi Shuang when she spoke, so her retelling of this event was rather flat. But she still found it utterly absurd and, fearing that the others would think she was making it up, she earnestly added, "I really saw it. My mecha has a recording."

Xi Shuang: "But your mecha was too badly damaged that time. The recorder malfunctioned."

Ling Xun let out an "oh," her eyes downcast with a hint of disappointment.

Xi Shuang: "I didn't really think much of it when you told me before, but now, why do I feel like this Zerg gives me a very familiar feeling?"

After she spoke, she glanced at Wen Xinghuo. Wen Xinghuo, who had been deep in thought, met her gaze for two seconds, and they reached a consensus. But Chi Yueshan was faster—

"That behavior is so like you."

Xi Zhoumeng didn't react at first. She was still pondering the creature's origin, wondering if it was the one Sheng Xilin had sent out back then...

Then she looked up and found everyone in the room staring at her.

Xi Zhoumeng: "What? Are you all starting to suspect I've had a consciousness invasion?"

She narrowed her eyes. The natural radiance of her golden hair did nothing to diminish the oppressive aura of a top-tier Alpha she was exuding at that moment.

Xi Shuang felt as if she was being attacked by the other's pheromones and quickly waved her hands. "How would we dare? Someone as powerful as you would be the one invading others."

Wen Xinghuo, Chi Yueshan: ...

Somehow, it felt like a happy-go-lucky fool like Xi Shuang was the most fortunate one.

Chi Yueshan placed another pheromone patch on Xi Zhoumeng and asked, "Could it be that it was originally human?"

After she said that, a silence fell over the lounge.

Xi Zhoumeng wasn't surprised that Chi Yueshan would say this, since she had told her about her trip to the Prime Century.

But the others were completely dumbfounded.

Xi Shuang: "That's even more terrifying!!!"

Ling Xun: "If being invaded by a Zerg's consciousness turns you into that..."

Actually, it wasn't that surprising. After all, Sheng Yangkui had been invaded before. But she hadn't reached the state of the previous queen, who was covered in Zerg eggs, nor had she had time to fully Zergify before being saved by Wen Xinghuo.

Even if the method of rescue was rather brutal.

Ling Xun and Xi Shuang subconsciously looked at Wen Xinghuo again.

Wen Xinghuo took a bite of a rose pastry, found it bitter, and put it back down.

"What are you all so surprised about? It's entirely possible. Back when we had joint formations with M-Galaxy, many people went missing during Zerg Tides. There were also those who disappeared on the return journey from R-Galaxy, as well as the people who have vanished into the cosmos with their ships over the years."

She pursed her lips, feeling that even the crumbs of the rose pastry carried a faint bitterness. "Perhaps the Zerg were man-made from the very beginning."

Chi Yueshan was dumbfounded. She glanced at Xi Zhoumeng.

She thought to herself: Senior Wen doesn't look that smart, but she's clearly very sharp.

Xi Shuang: "Then... can you Zerg turn back into humans?"

This was simply too terrifying. She subconsciously leaned closer to Ling Xun.

Xi Zhoumeng thought of the incomprehensible language Sheng Xilin spoke as she died, and the spaceship she had gone to great lengths to send away.

A spaceship with no destination, like a Noah's Ark, carrying her life's work and the most precious feelings of her lifetime.

Did the Sheng Xiqian who arrived, the thoroughly Zergified Sheng Xiqian, still possess human consciousness?

At least Sheng Xilin was lucid until her death.

Her hatred for humanity was bone-deep.

Xi Zhoumeng let out a laugh. "Wouldn't that be more fun?"

She used to find the world boring, but she never expected to be sent to such an interesting world. It allowed her to gain a cherished person, friends she had never expected to have, and a family that treated her like a treasure.

So much so that when she looked at this world, she didn't feel the same sense of coercion she had in the ZR-Galaxy.

She had the AI robot pour more tea and said, "Let's not worry about turning back into humans for now. Next, I'm going to the Expeditionary Force. Their fleet is currently docked at Planet C-987."

"Wen Xinghuo, you continue to follow Marshal Shen at the Capital Star, and keep an eye on..."

A profile appeared on everyone's light-screens, projected by Xi Zhoumeng. It was a photo of a woman who appeared to be between 25 and 35 years old.

Ling Xun: "Isn't that Yueshan's..."

Chi Yueshan blinked, looking at the profile of Zhou Fengqin—no, Qin Fengzhou.

Her most recent registered home planet was in R-Galaxy, but her original home planet was in Z-Galaxy.

And her original records showed she had been married once, to an Omega whose home planet was in U-Galaxy.

Both U-Galaxy and Z-Galaxy were completely extinguished star systems, but Zhou Fengqin's Omega was a survivor from the star system that had developed mechas.

Chi Yueshan sniffled. "My master."

Her gaze fell on the listed military unit: M-Galaxy. The detailed list specified she was Colonel Jiang Zhi's mecha technician.

Chi Yueshan knew all of this; Xi Zhoumeng had told her bit by bit.

But Xi Zhoumeng had never shown her this identification document.

So Chi Yueshan had never stopped to think deeply about why Zhou Fengqin had never told her the origin of the button for all those years.

She clearly knew her Alpha mother, Jiang Zhi; she was even Jiang Zhi's mecha technician.

And why was it that in the aftermath of that final Zerg Tide, only Zhou Fengqin had survived?

After all, everyone else involved had died.

Jiang Zhi's body was never even found, leaving only severely damaged mecha parts in space. Chi Yueshan had painstakingly pieced them together and repaired them, treasuring them by binding them to her light-brain.

Xi Zhoumeng: "It was she who wrote in her notes that there were Zerg in the passage between the upper and Lower Worlds."

Wen Xinghuo looked up. "Was this the source of the exploration intel you had me look into before?"

Xi Zhoumeng nodded.

Unfortunately, their actions had been caught by their elders, and Shen Yu had handled the fallout very well. Even though many Zerg had crawled out when the passage was first breached, and many excellent officers were lost, she still had the situation under control now.

Xi Zhoumeng: "I feel—and this is just my feeling—that there's still a problem there."

Explaining something like spatial jumps was just too troublesome. When Xi Zhoumeng left the Prime Century, she had clearly entrusted Wen Liuyun to pay attention to future changes. She had also mentioned the upper and Lower Worlds, but fearing that changing the past would affect the future too much, she had ultimately spoken cryptically.

Since nothing had changed here now, it meant that Wen Liuyun really hadn't understood.

In that respect, she was just like Wen Xinghuo.

Wen Xinghuo didn't understand why Xi Zhoumeng was suddenly scolding her with her eyes in the middle of a conversation.

Wen Xinghuo: "Why?"

Xi Zhoumeng: "No why. I just think there is."

Wen Xinghuo just said, "Oh."

She didn't ask any further. Xi Zhoumeng had always been like this.

How Zhou Fengqin knew was a question with no answer now; the person was dead.

Xi Zhoumeng didn't want to reopen Chi Yueshan's wounds either. Her Omega always got very sad whenever this was mentioned.

She was raised by Zhou Fengqin, but it felt as if she didn't understand the person who raised her at all.

Zhou Fengqin was a very good person, yet also not so good. She kept secrets, refusing to speak even in death.

Actually, Xi Zhoumeng wasn't that pessimistic. She was even a little grateful that Zhou Fengqin hadn't directly told Chi Yueshan, "Your mom is dead."

Otherwise, Chi Yueshan would have had no desire to go to the Upper World, nor would she have worked so desperately.

In other words, without Zhou Fengqin's partial concealment, she and Chi Yueshan might never have even met.

Wen Xinghuo was only one of Chi Yueshan's motivations. Her core desire for the Upper World was still to find her mother.

To the extent that mechas were first, and her mother was second.

Xi Zhoumeng: "Xi Shuang, have you two been assigned to a squad yet?"

Xi Shuang nodded. "I've been assigned to Team A. Ling Xun hasn't yet."

She looked a bit awkward. "Ling Xun's father just called to bother her again..."

At the mention of Ling Xun's family, Xi Shuang's expression would always turn cold. The good-natured person seemed to have had a nerve struck, and even her usual cheerfulness vanished.

"I told you not to marry a 'phoenix Alpha.' My aunt fell for my uncle's face back then, supported his career, and now..."

Ling Xun: "It's fine, just ignore him. I won't get married so casually."

Xi Zhoumeng understood. It was pressure to get married.

Now that the Zerg Tide had arrived early, no one knew how long this war would last. Even though the Capital Star was in dire straits, the wealthy merchants were still most enthusiastic about online matchmaking.

So much time had passed. According to the normal school schedule, Ling Xun and Chi Yueshan would be second-years now. Matchmaking and marriage were all too normal.

Xi Shuang: "He's just incorrigible. Back then, I..."

Xi Shuang was wonderful in every way, perhaps except for her past life. And in that first life she didn't know about, the sisters who repeated their mistakes were separated. Ling Xun was like an imprint on her very bones; no matter how many times, no matter the order of priorities in life, Ling Xun was always at the top of her list.

Ling Xun smiled. "So I think I'll just get assigned to the Special Forces, on the same team as you and Senior Wen. As long as I'm on the Capital Star, he'll be a nuisance."

She looked at Xi Zhoumeng. "Senior, I'll go to the Expeditionary Force with you."

Xi Shuang: "I disagree! Didn't you say you wanted to fight side-by-side with me?"

Ling Xun: "Aren't we always fighting side-by-side?"

She even audaciously pinched Xi Shuang's cheek. "Don't worry, cousin. I can stay unmarried for a lifetime, watching you break up and get back together."

Xi Zhoumeng shivered from the goosebumps. "Then it's settled."

Wen Xinghuo: "What about Xiao Kui?"

She could tell that Xi Zhoumeng hadn't fully recovered, and she felt very guilty, but emotions were hard to pacify.

Worry was practically stuck in her throat. In fact, even if she wasn't on patrol tonight, Wen Xinghuo would have requested to be.

She couldn't rest, because Sheng Yangkui had returned to the Royal Palace.

Xi Zhoumeng: "She has the resolve to repeat her mistakes. I believe you also..."

Before she could finish, Chi Yueshan pinched her waist hard, making her almost cry out in pain.

Chi Yueshan: "Why are you playing the villain? You're the one who has risked everything."

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