In this universe, novelists can treat mental disorders.

Let Blue Planet give it a try!

But Xi Yujin still had one lingering question. Given the Zerg's military strength, stealing literature from other races should have been easy. So why did the Zerg never develop literature of their own?

Looking up at Ubit, Xi Yujin said, "I'm a novelist. I'm willing to write for you and help ease your mental disorder."

To his surprise, Ubit replied, "You called me all the way out here for something so boring?"

At that moment, Baiying straightened up and frantically gestured at Xi Yujin, signaling him not to choose this approach. Xi Yujin paused in confusion.

Baiying then pulled out another banner with the number 1000 written across it as a reminder.

Having 1,000 eggs would still be a better idea than writing novels!!

After thinking for a moment, Xi Yujin still looked at Ubit and said, "Please let me try."

"I won't give you the chance," Ubit replied. "I hate reading, though that doesn't make me illiterate."

She casually scraped the ground, immediately causing tremors comparable to a magnitude-five earthquake. "And if you make me unhappy, I'll chop you into a hundred pieces and feed you to my children as snacks."

Xi Yujin smiled calmly, his eyes curving without the slightest trace of fear. Whenever he was about to talk extraterrestrial beings into something, this was always his expression.

Ubit continued, "But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll chat with you a little longer. To be honest, from the day I was born until now, there's only one kind of literature I can stand..."

The entire planet fell silent. The high-ranking Zerg stood like statues. Only the Queen's voice echoed through the air.

"I only like... jokes."

Xi Yujin: ?

The Zerg Queens had abandoned every civilization that came before in exchange for an overwhelmingly powerful body. Their brain contained an immense library of scientific knowledge, all usable through instinct alone. But their literary aptitude had deteriorated to an astonishing degree. Only after generation upon generation of evolution did a Queen like Ubit who was capable of speaking so much appear.

The only writing the Zerg Queen could tolerate consisted of jokes no longer than 140 characters, requiring no interpretation whatsoever, instantly amusing, and placing absolutely no burden on the mind. Even then, her standards for jokes were extremely high. She didn't laugh at just anything.

As a result, the idea of treating the Queen through literature had been rejected from the very beginning. There was therefore no reason for Zerg literature to develop.

During the war, the Queen had tried devouring novelists from various races, hoping to improve herself by incorporating their genes. The result? She merely produced a batch of frail La workers. Otherwise, it accomplished nothing.

Later, any captured novelist was simply eaten outright, preventing literary information from reaching the Intelligent Machines. Smaller factions copied the behavior of the two great powers: if they failed to recruit a novelist, they simply killed them.

The number of novelists plummeted during the war, which accelerated the decline of literature throughout the galaxy.

Xi Yujin remained silent for a little too long. Suddenly, Ubit's flower-like eyes moved close to him, nearly two-thirds of the countless pupils focusing directly on him.

"You aren't about to say... that I'm illiterate... are you?"

Her tone hadn't changed. Yet Xi Yujin could hear the murderous intent hidden beneath it. The Zerg Queen truly hated being called that.

"Of course not." Xi Yujin answered calmly. "In my hometown, jokes are especially popular in a place called Hell*. Please allow me to think about it."

Only then did Ubit slowly withdraw to her previous posture. Before she completely lost patience, she was still willing to display her magnanimity.

Her thoughts jumped from subject to subject, and her attention wandered elsewhere very fast. Looking toward the surrounding children, she resumed her decades-long concern over their nest-building.

"Speaking of Brood Hosts..." Ubit's flower-eyes turned back toward Xi Yujin. "Why did you leave behind your Grade-S Brood Host and insist on walking around in this ugly mineral shell?"

Xi Yujin blinked blankly. "What Grade-S...?"

Ubit lazily repeated, "Why did you abandon your original body and insist on using this ugly rock-like appearance instead?"

...

Elsewhere.

Gano was entering the prison for the third time.

The first time was when he took an unauthorized shortcut and was caught by patrol guards. His vague rebellious instincts had only grown stronger afterward. He broke through their encirclement and, in full view of everyone, stole the armor of a high-ranking Zerg.

The second time was when the Ers Royal Armor carried him back into Zerg territory. Numerous high-ranking Zerg immediately pinned him to the ground, locked both arms behind him, and dragged him into the Glacier Prison.

Cold temperatures could not harm a Zerg. But the specially engineered ice fragments inside produced white noise that made every Zerg feel intensely uncomfortable while temporarily dulling their hearing. Gano never mentioned any of that to Yujinno.

This time was his third imprisonment. He fought Haiying to a standstill. But there were many other high-ranking Zerg present, some of whom served directly at headquarters and possessed exceptional combat ability. Without his armor, he was pinned down again.

Even while being escorted away, he quietly forced his dislocated joints back into place so they would be ready for his next escape.

Fortunately, this imprisonment was slightly better than the previous ones. Instead of Glacier Prison, he was taken directly to the Interrogation Court.

"I used to think that you'd simply inherited too many riot-related genes, which explained your tendency toward robbery..." Haiying looked at him thoughtfully.

Sophisticated language was evidence of thought. Since Gano had never spoken in the past, they had all misunderstood him. Only after seeing him together with Xi Yujin did they begin to suspect otherwise.

"So... you can actually think?"

Gano frowned and shot him a cold glance, with no intention of answering. Though his hands were bound behind his back with vines, he somehow looked more arrogant than every living creature in the Interrogation Court combined.

If Xi Yujin had been there, he would have been astonished. After all, Gano had always behaved as a well-mannered and rational companion.

Gano reflected on himself for a moment. But since Xi Yujin wasn't beside him, he decided that there was no need to waste effort pretending.

He had never received higher Zerg education. He was an entirely wild Zerg who happened to know how to fall in love.

Several high-ranking Zerg watched him with childlike curiosity. Although they had fought earlier and everyone bore injuries, among the Zerg, the fiercer the fight, the greater the mutual goodwill afterward.

"What exactly is your relationship with that thought criminal?" one asked. "Did he teach you how to think?"

Gano refused to answer. Instead, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Yujinno being called a thought criminal... He'd probably be rather happy about that.

Another Zerg asked, "Why did you want to leave Zerg territory? Don't you feel guilty toward Mother?"

Gano looked toward the Interrogation Main Brain nearby. He knew it was transmitting encrypted signals, but he wasn't a high-ranking Zerg. His brain wasn't developed with the necessary structures. Without armor, he couldn't understand conversations between the Interrogation Main Brain and high-ranking Zergs.

The realization left him feeling miserable as he thought about Xi Yujin again. The relaxed and peaceful Tidal Peace was where he truly belonged.

"He lacks the authority to receive that education. He doesn't understand these things." One high-ranking Zerg spoke up for him.

Then another issue was raised. Should Gano's permissions be upgraded?

"He's no different from us. His combat ability meets the standard, and his thinking speed also meets the criterion."

"But his body is very different from ours. He can't understand encrypted transmissions, and he can't reproduce."

"We should upgrade him anyway. If he can build a nest with that Brood Host, Mother will be happy."

The high-ranking Zerg were, in truth, somewhat resistant to the idea of nest-building. They were worried that it might harm their Mother, yet they also couldn't disobey their Mother's wishes.

Now that Gano had appeared, he seemed like the perfect candidate to fulfill that duty.

Gano's ears immediately perked up.

Nest-building? What nest-building?

After some discussion, one of the high-ranking Zerg spread out an even more detailed anatomical diagram in front of Gano and began explaining it with a pointer. Getting arrested apparently came with free lessons. Gano's eyes widened.

"This part has three separate structures. One is used for... another is used for..."

The high-ranking Zerg spent several days giving him anatomy lessons. Nest-building among the Zerg involved numerous steps and required careful study.

"I'm not sure whether your body has this structure, but you can try. If we want to... then first we must... then... Do you understand?"

Gano nodded. He thought he had finally figured out where Yujinno's wings were.

The moment he thought of Yujinno, his cheeks grew warm. Without realizing it, he nodded again.

The Zerg giving the lecture ended the class with great satisfaction.

Some of the Zerg jokingly asked Gano whether life with a Brood Host he had fallen in love with was exciting. The questions carried no malice. Their lively, casual tone left Gano bewildered.

The high-ranking Zerg... felt strangely similar to people from Blue Planet. So this was what their lives were like. Completely different from the life he himself had lived.

If he wasn't extraordinarily lucky enough to escape their territory, he would never in his life have understood the happiness of the high-ranking Zerg. And if he himself had been born as a high-ranking Zerg, he too would have been willing to show kindness to a kinsman who had never known good things.

Because the Zerg were sharply divided by rank, yet they valued morality.

He couldn't quite describe how he felt. Perhaps wronged, but in any case, he wasn't happy.

The Gano from before the journey might have been confused. But the current Gano only wanted one thing, and that was to escape back to Xi Yujin.

The two of them would continue flying freely through the universe, meeting new friends and creating new stories. And if Yujinno was willing... he could even put his newly acquired knowledge of nest-building to use.

After seeing the vast universe, he was destined to never accept living inside a tiny cage again.

"You're all getting ahead of yourselves." Haiying, who had suffered the most injuries during his fight with Gano, spoke coldly.

He was hatched from the same generation of eggs as Queen Ubit, though only after the war had ended. His guilt and devotion toward the Queen ran deeper than anyone else's. He could feel that the Zerg race was inching closer and closer to ruin, and no one possessed the power to save it.

"Free thought only increases Mother's burden." Haiying stared at Gano. "He isn't one of us. He's Mother's burden."

After a pause, he quietly added to himself, "We all are."

Gano met his gaze without backing down. He wasn't going to be intimidated by such hostility.

Suddenly, news spread overhead. Queen Ubit had successfully returned from the black hole.

Haiying visibly relaxed. Too many Mothers had fallen into black holes and drifted beyond the point of return. Within black holes, time stretched infinitely long, so they remained alive in a state no different from death. The fact that Queen Ubit still possessed enough vitality to escape the black hole was wonderful news.

We have to protect Mother...

The surrounding Zerg all looked at Gano again. He was too unusual. Even the Interrogation Main Brain could not determine what crime he had committed.

If they declared him innocent... what if he became the final straw that broke the Queen's mind?

Yet protecting one's own species was instinctive to the Zerg. Most high-ranking Zerg subconsciously wanted to keep Gano safe.

"Take him to the Nest Palace first." A long-haired Zerg from the Botanical Bureau suggested. "We'll wait there for Mother's return."

Thus, Gano was released from prison, but his hands were still bound tightly behind him by vines. Along the way, he refused to speak to a single Zerg, carrying his rebellious attitude to the very end.

The Nest Palace was both the Queen's resting place and her dining hall. Gano had never seen the Queen's true appearance before, and this would be his first visit.

Within the Egg Brain's simulated memories of the ancient battlefield, the Queen always appeared as a blurred mosaic, preventing Zerg from developing misplaced emotional attachments. But Gano had never felt any attachment toward her in the first place. He didn't even want to call her Mother.

Before the Nest Palace stretched a staircase thousands of meters long. Several high-ranking Zerg walked ahead on foot, and Gano trailed behind at a leisurely pace, calculating when he could escape.

Did Yujinno's plan succeed? Did he find Tidal Peace?

The six-petaled gates of the Nest Palace slowly rotated open. One high-ranking Zerg exclaimed, "So this is a Grade-S Brood Host?"

Without looking up, Gano climbed another step.

Haiying explained, "I found him drifting through space two years ago and offered him to Mother. But Mother Surya didn't even bother to look at him. Hopefully Mother Ubit will take an interest."

Gano climbed another step. At the top of the staircase, he could just make out the edge of a glass coffin.

Another Zerg murmured, "He looks... so much like us. And... he's incredibly beautiful."

Gano stepped into the Nest Palace and casually glanced toward the Grade-S Brood Host. He wasn't interested because it was Grade-S. He simply thought Yujinno would probably be curious about it. If Yujinno ever asked later, he wanted to have something to tell him.

But that single glance made his entire body go cold.

The twenty-meter-long glass coffin was surrounded by flowers. Inside, blossoms filled every available space. The most beautiful flowers the Botanical Bureau could cultivate had all been gathered there, and were replaced once every planetary day.

Amid the luxuriant blooms, only the upper half of the Grade-S Brood Host was visible. He wore specially tailored white clothing with fresh flowers resting in his hands. His skin looked soft, utterly lacking the mineral texture common to Brood Hosts. His obsidian-black hair was striking, and his expression was peaceful, as though merely asleep and ready to wake at any moment to greet Gano.

Gano couldn't possibly mistake that face. The Grade-S Brood Host looked exactly like Xi Yujin.

An icy chill spread through Gano's heart, as though a knife were grinding it to pieces. He forced himself not to collapse. In truth, he already felt as though his soul had drifted away, floating somewhere above and looking down upon everyone below.

Perhaps he was speaking. Perhaps he was shouting. The other Zerg all turned toward him in surprise. It was the first complete sentence they had ever heard him utter.

His voice trembled. "Why... is he asleep?"

"He was already like this two years ago." Haiying added, "On the planetary day when you left. I found him drifting through space."

...

"My patience is almost gone."

Back at the cavern prison, Ubit's attention shifted again.

"I'm not some Machine La that answers everything."

Her moods changed rapidly. One moment she refused to hear literature that required understanding, and the next moment, she found Xi Yujin rather pleasant to look at and decided to tolerate him a little longer.

She said, "I can guess what happened. While traveling through a wormhole at high speed, you encountered an explosion. By an incredible coincidence, your consciousness separated from your body. Your awareness drifted far away and attached itself to a nebula. Meanwhile, your original body remained inside the Nest Palace."

She proceeded to explain the phenomenon using a long series of quantum-physics principles. The Zerg Queen's scientific knowledge was extraordinarily advanced. Zerg biotechnology stood at the pinnacle of the universe, and for that reason, she had always believed that the Intelligent Machines were idiots.

Xi Yujin didn't understand a single word. Carefully, he asked, "So... what will happen to me in the future?"

Ubit replied, "Was that supposed to be your joke, Grade-S Brood Host? It's actually rather funny. The answer is obvious. If your consciousness remains separated from your body for too long, your original body will gradually age and die, and when it does, your consciousness will disappear along with it."