Ye Zhizhou quickly discussed and completed the deal with Egbert. Clay's expression was dark the entire time and he had tried to end the call several times but was stopped by Ye Zhizhou's swift hand every time.

"Thanks for your generosity, beauty." When Egbert finished talking about business, he immediately became indecent again. He coquettishly looked at Ye Zhizhou. "Little Pansy, I'm looking forward to meeting you in a few days. I just hope that your side will be clean by then and that there won't be a certain disgusting royal Empire person beside you."

"Your wish won't come true." Once again, Clay reached for Ye Zhizhou's communicator with an expression as dark as the deep sea. "I'll come to find you with an arrest warrant. Get ready to spend the rest of your life in prison."

"Blahblahblah, you only know how to talk big. So what if you catch me? It's not like I can't escape." Egbert rolled his eyes before disconnecting the call before Clay could do it. "I don't want to talk to you. See ya."

If you're reading this, this translation is stolen. Please support our translators at chrysanthemumgarden.com

With the sound of a click, the call screen disconnected. Ye Zhizhou looked at Clay from the corner of his eye. "Childish much?" He hadn't even gotten to say the most important thing yet!

Clay remained unmoved. He stretched out his arms to hug Ye Zhizhou and rubbed against his neck.

Ye Zhizhou roughly tugged at Clay's hair. Afterwards, he took out his communicator to send Egbert another call request. When the other party picked up, he quickly said, "Pay attention to a beta named Randy Jeckles. On the surface, he's a Federation police officer, but in reality, there's a Zerg inside of him. Additionally, someone by your side leaked your route to the Zerg. Remember to clear out the traitor. There's nothing else to talk about, goodbye."

When the call ended, Ye Zhizhou looked at Clay's extended hand with dead fish-like eyes and sneered. "Didn't you say that you would save my brother? Why are you still here disturbing me?"

Clay withdrew his hand and his expression became dark. "Was that the reason you were looking for allies? You think that I can't save your brother?"

"I never doubted your ability to save him." Ye Zhizhou didn't want to sink into any trust problems with his lover, so he earnestly said, "I have other reasons for seeking Egbert out. Trust me, I just want to get rid of those insects as soon as possible."

"Of course I trust you." Clay raised his hand to rub his hair, frowning. "I just don't trust Egbert."

"I have a sense of propriety." Ye Zhizhou placatingly hugged him while asking in his mind, "Tongtian, do you have any way to temporarily ensure Aldo's safety?"

[Does host wish to receive the mission reward 'Tied Destiny Bond' in advance?]

Tied Destiny Bond? What kind of item was this? He doubtfully chose to receive it and then found that a simple red thread had appeared on his wrist.

[The Tied Destiny Bond allows one to temporarily transfer a blood-related family member's misfortune onto oneself. During this time, the other party's injuries shall be borne by the user. Duration is 10 days.]

Ten days... He lowered his eyes and rubbed the red thread on his wrist. A trace of coldness flashed through his eyes. For just killing those insects, 10 days was more than enough!

[The probability of Egbert and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 50%, may the host persist in his efforts.]

Ye Zhizhou's communicator dinged; Egbert had sent him a text message. He tapped the communicator to look at the message and then slightly moved his fingers to type out some words—it's time to tell Egbert a love story.

Clay noticed Ye Zhizhou's little actions and his expression became dark again. However, he thought of the other side's current mood and patiently stuffed him deeper into his arms, pretending to be deaf and blind.

A day later, the Federation police officer Randy was given an early leave by the chief. At the same time, Egbert intentionally boarded a ship to the planet on the Empire's border.

On the Freedom Alliance's main ship, Aldo was looking at Dan Gotte, who had just opened the door to walk in. He calmly asked, "Dan, as the Freedom Alliance's leader, are you really so free?"

"Shut up." Dan tossed Aldo a nutrition pack, carefully sized him up, and snorted. "I didn't expect that the person who disrespected his Highness actually had a superb brother. It's unfortunate that you're so sickly."

"Yes, it's so unfortunate that I'm this sickly." Aldo picked up the nutrition pack and slowly opened it. He turned his head and looked out the narrow window, staring at the vast sea of stars. "Thank you, Dan. This is my first time seeing a real sea of stars."

He was pale-faced with a thin and weak body, yet it seemed like he had a strong unshakeable aura. Dan suddenly felt that the smile on Aldo's face was very annoying. He frowned and knocked away the nutrition pack in his hand. He roughly grabbed Aldo's chin and turned his face toward him. He said in a heavy tone, "You're not allowed to look! Not allowed to laugh either! You had better behave yourself, don't think about running away!"

"Escape?" Aldo took out his handkerchief to wipe off the nutrition pack that had spilled on his hands. His blue eyes looked straight into Dan's angry eyes. He faintly wondered out loud, "How could I escape when I'm like this? Dan, why are you angry? I don't understand."

Dan became increasingly agitated. He fiercely pushed Aldo onto the ground. "I'm not angry. Do you think that you, a hostage that I can kill at any time, can make me angry? I'll have someone deliver another nutrition pack to you. You better behave." After he said this, he turned around to leave.

"Dan." Aldo propped himself up with his elbows before fully standing up. He looked at Dan's back and asked, "Is a life where Zerg plunders every place really freedom? It's obvious that their death is set in stone, Dan. You chose the wrong faith."

Dan's footsteps abruptly stopped, and he instead opened the door to shout, "Someone, bring me a super optical computer!"

The door was slammed shut. Aldo sat on the bed and turned his head to look out the window again, gazing into the vast starry sky. His eyes finally revealed his true emotions. Dear Pansy, don't come here. Please don't come.

Another day later on a remote planet, Egbert accepted the big box from Ye Zhizhou, with an expression as if he was smelling something disgusting. "Didn't you agree that you weren't going to bring that royal Empire bastard with you?"

Ye Zhizhou raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to continue hearing the story?"

" ... See ya!" Egbert turned around and walked away with his back looking resolute.

[The probability of Egbert and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 30%, may the host persist in his efforts.]

Ye Zhizhou suddenly stopped walking and lifted his hand to cover his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Clay frowned and helped support him, his eyes were filled with worry. "Did you not sleep well last night?"

"No." His face visibly paled and a trickle of blood suddenly dripped down his forehead. "Don't worry, I'll be fine after sleeping for a bit... Tongtian will save me. Don't worry." Ye Zhizhou's eyes closed right after he said this, and he started to fall forward.

"Xiao Zhou!" Clay quickly held onto Ye Zhizhou's body and held a hand to his forehead. He was greatly alarmed. "What's going on? Who is Tongtian? Xiao Zhou!"

[Abnormality of host's body detected. Protection mechanism starting. Preparing body repair... Body repair ready. Starting repair.]

Clay looked on helplessly as the fresh blood on Ye Zhizhou's face quickly disappeared, followed by the wound on his scalp. Suddenly, a round silver metal device fell to the ground.

Ned had just happened to walk by the moment that this scene occurred. He asked, "What's wrong with the consort, your Highness?"

Clay hurriedly turned to the side to obscure the sight of the metal device that fell to the ground. He hugged Ye Zhizhou tighter and indifferently said with a calm expression on his face, "It's nothing. He was just too tired so he fell asleep. Call all the guards back and get ready to return."

"Yes!"

Two days later, Egbert and Randy had a romantic "coincidental encounter" on a civil spacecraft. That night, Ye Zhizhou woke up and grabbed the metal egg that had fallen from his skull. His expression was cold. "To go as far as putting an optical computer into my brother's brain. Damn it!"

The sequence of events proceeded just as the plot information had described. Egbert "got hurt", returned to his hotel, and was pulled to the room by Randy.

"Randy, it's just a tiny wound. It doesn't matter if it's bandaged or not."

"If you don't treat the wound, it'll become inflamed and then infected. You're seriously so careless." Randy said this with an anxious face. He took out a medical kit from his space ring. "Where's the wound? Take your clothes off."

"On my back." Egbert turned around and raised his hand to slowly unbutton his shirt. "Are you still thirsty? Why don't you drink another glass of water?"

"Didn't you just pour me a glass of water to drink? Why... Ah!" Randy suddenly cried out in surprise. His body felt soft as he lifted a hand to cover his stomach.

Egbert quickly turned around and asked with 'deep concern', "What's wrong?"

"M-my body doesn't feel right..." Randy fell onto the sofa, raising his eyes to meet Egbert's emotionless and taunting gaze. He finally reacted and asked through gritted teeth, "Egbert, what did you add to the water that you gave me?"

Egbert buttoned the open shirt back up and smiled at him. He elegantly pulled out an energy gun and pointed it at Randy's abdomen. "I only treat insects with one thing—strong insecticides."

Randy was greatly alarmed. He tried to run away but found that his body had no strength. His expression cycled a few times before it morphed into something sinister, and his voice became ear-piercingly hoarse. "You were deceiving me this entire time? Useless humans, do you think that you guys can kill me this way? Keep on dreaming!"

"Who said our goal was to kill you?" Egbert narrowed his eyes and aimed the gun at Randy's stomach. He directly and efficiently pulled the trigger. "How is just killing you enough? We're going to kill your whole family."

There was a dull sound as the bullet entered the flesh. Then, with a bang, Randy's abdomen exploded and left a bloody hole. Pieces of black Zerg limbs mixed with blood and flesh flowed out.

"He really was an insect." Egbert's face twisted as he put the gun away and looked toward the door. "Why hasn't my old friend arrived yet? Don't tell me he is waiting for me and this bug to go into estrus first?"

[The probability of Egbert and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 0%. The seventh soul flag has been pulled out. Congratulations to the host, may the host persist in his efforts.]

[Fluctuation of the protagonist's soul has been detected... Soul fluctuation ended. Scanning soul flag state...Scanning complete. No abnormality.]

Ye Zhizhou turned off the system prompt and looked at the optical computer screen in Big Beard's hand. "Are you positive that the person arriving with Dan is my brother?"

"The bones are 100% matching." Big Beard's fingers deftly moved across the optical computer. His eyes changed as he exclaimed, "Dan Gotte has appeared! Alone!"

Ye Zhizhou had wanted to get up, but Clay kept him pressed down. Clay whispered in his ear, "Be prepared to mobilize. Starport's side should also be prepared. In three minutes, we will surround the Free Alliance's main ship."

When the hotel room's door was finally kicked open, Dan Gotte stormed in with an angry expression while shouting, "You damn Egbert. What are you doing to Randy?!"

"Didn't do much, just shot and killed him." Egbert was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a glass of wine in his hand. "Hey, I haven't seen my old rival in a long time. I heard that you've been relying on the Zerg's help? Tsk tsk, I hope you have a good time in prison for the rest of your life."

Dan was completely stunned by this scene that was entirely not according to his plan. His eyes swept over the corpse on the long sofa. His pupils shrank and he genuinely became furious. "Egbert, you actually killed His Highness!"

"This corpse was just a clone; what are you yelling about? Don't worry though, I doubt the real body will live long." Egbert put the wine glass down and looked towards Dale and the others who were leading soldiers through the door. He dully waved his hand. "Arrest him. I feel like his brain hasn't been normal in these past two years."

"Indeed, he's been abnormal." Dale stood to the side to make way for the soldiers, raised their hand, and pushed their glasses up. "He's never been normal. The thing in his head just made him even more abnormal."

"Egbert, you've actually degraded enough to collude with the Empire!" Dan Gotte now understood that he had stepped into a trap. He had a calm expression on his face as he allowed the soldiers to lock him up with various things that suppressed his constitution and spiritual power. He coldly said, "Do you guys think that catching me will be of any use? Tell this to that damn Pansy for me—his brother isn't going to live for long."

Dale heard his words and sneered. "Don't worry. He'll definitely live longer than you. Tie him up tightly. This guy might be brainless, but he is skilled. Don't give him a chance to escape."

In the other room, Aldo was tightly hugging Ye Zhizhou, who had rushed in. The strong appearance that Aldo had been maintaining instantly collapsed, and he finally allowed himself to cry. "Pansy, how are our parents? Sorry, I became a burden for you again. I'm sorry..."

"Don't say these nonsensical things!" Ye Zhizhou hugged Aldo back and allowed the original owner's memories to flow through his mind. He felt sad and stuffy in his heart. "This time, it was obviously me that implicated you. I'm sorry, it was my carelessness... Wait another six months; no, wait three months and your health will improve. Don't cry."

Aldo nodded his head. His tense state of mind relaxed, and all of the tiredness that he had felt caught up to him. He directly fainted in Yeh Zhizhou's arms.

The protagonist was still alive this time, but the plot didn't change. The soul flags that have been pulled out weren't restored, however, the soul flag that belonged to Dan Gotte remained at 100%. The mission was at a stage of stalemate.

Eventually, the Zergs who had been covetously eyeing them had no more patience and launched an attack on both the Empire and the Federation in the middle of the night. The parasitic Zergs that were hiding within the human world began to riot everywhere as if they were having a reckless carnival.

A month later, Aldo's health improved, and Ye Zhizhou personally saw Clay and the others off as they went to the battlefield. Three months later, an x2 type genetic modification solution suitable for this world was made; Aldo was its first user and it had a good effect. Four months later, Aldo, whose health had greatly improved, went to the prison to see Dan Gotte.

[The probability of Dan Gotte and the protagonist falling in love has dropped to 50%, may the host persist in his efforts.]

Ye Zhizhou raised his eyebrows and called Aldo through his communicator. "Brother, what did you say to that Dan Gotte bastard? Just now, the prison had sent over a message saying that Dan Gotte realized that he made a great mistake and was ready to reform himself. He also offered up several of the Zergs' lair locations.

"I didn't really say much." Aldo, whose constitution had upgraded to B-rank, looked a lot more dazzling. A large smile appeared on his face. "I just went to tell him that I'm very free and happy now. Pansy, thank you."

"Why are you acting so courteous?" Ye Zhizhou returned his smile and pointed to the bustling twins behind him. "Do you see your custom-order mecha? It'll be finished in about 3 more months. You need to work hard and upgrade your constitution to A-rank, understand?"

"Yes." Aldo nodded, his eyes full of satisfaction. "Pansy, in the future, Brother will protect you instead. I want to protect you just like how you protected me when you were a child."

Ye Zhizhou thought of this body's original owner, who had already reincarnated somewhere else, and nodded. "Yes, Brother."

Divi: This arc is finally wrapped up. What did you think of the ending? In the end, Ye Zhizhou used his mission reward early to save Aldo.

Mina: This ending was kind of a let down after all those twists and turns. There's still half a chapter left before we start the new arc so maybe we get some answers there.