Xi Yujin's Plan B was for the two of them to elope using Tidal Peace, but the important part was that he would be with Gano.

At last, he finally arrived at the scene.

But the situation he had imagined, with Gano battling the Queen while the little star led the Zerg in a grand escape, never happened.

Ubit had unexpectedly calmed down. A quarter of her eyes were looking at Xi Yujin and another quarter were fixed on Gano.

Gano looked at the Queen in confusion, then at the approaching Xi Yujin. The longing in his heart tightened painfully, yet he did not dare to step forward immediately.

It felt as if he was split into two. One part wished only for Yujin's safety, while the other greedily wished to stay with Yujin forever.

What did the Queen mean? Marriage alliance? With whom? Did such a concept ever exist among the Zerg?

Ubit nudged Gano with one foreleg, as if complaining that this child was being far too passive.

The gelatin she secreted seemed almost alive, pointing toward Xi Yujin, she said,

"I think it's a good idea. This Brood Host's jokes are very funny."

Xi Yujin stopped walking, trying to catch up with the Queen's wildly jumping train of thought.

Ubit continued arranging what she considered the perfect scenario. "And you..." she said to Gano. "Your mental disorder can heal itself at a deep level. I have decided that you two are well matched."

She already forgot that Gano had earlier said he wanted to awaken the Grade-S Brood Host, implying that the two knew each other.

Ubit rarely remembered anything clearly. She also never listened to others and never acted according to anyone else's wishes.

Her madness originated from the mental instability of her children. Yet just moments ago, she had suddenly felt as though someone had given her brain a massage.

It was wonderfully comfortable, like a long-sealed basement suddenly flooded with sunlight.

Like a high-pressure water jet blasting away years of accumulated grime, wherever it passed, everything became spotless and renewed. Her entire body relaxed in bliss.

Ubit was stunned. 

What was this feeling? 

Her mind felt so light, as if it might float away.

It reminded her of when she was still inside her egg. Countless piles of food surrounded her, and nutrient-rich oceans buoyed her gently through warm waters.

Every day she ate until full, slept peacefully, and enjoyed careful soothing massages. She felt herself becoming lazy all over again...

The source of everything seemed to be this tiny descendant before her.

Gano could think and experience mental instability.

But during his journey, Gano had been immersed in the entirety of Blue Planet literature. He had been the first reader of every work as the first translator. Aside from Xi Yujin himself, no one else in the universe understood that magnificent ancient civilization better than Gano.

Gano's thinking had always been incomplete.

He had gone from feeling nothing toward the outside world... to suffering because of numbness... and to learning love, which was the most beautiful thing in existence.

Finally, before the Queen, he experienced the pain brought by love itself.

His soul was reforged through suffering, and the circuit of his thoughts finally became complete.

At that instant, the tide of literature surged through the mental network.

Some unseen hand seemed to pull the Zerg Queen back from the abyss which she had been falling, and gently set her upon solid ground.

After regaining clarity, the first thing Ubit did was read the writings Xi Yujin had uploaded into the Interrogation Main Brain. The Main Brain itself had been cultivated from one of her eggs, so she naturally could access its records.

Damn! This Brood Host's writing is so funny!

But I can't laugh in public. I have my dignity.

Reading words for the first time feels unexpectedly comfortable! It's better than eating a hundred Brood Hosts!

Feigning a completely expressionless face, Ubit quietly pulled her foreleg out of the crater she had created.

During the thirty seconds in which no one noticed the changes in the Queen's state of mind, Ubit thought through many possible plans.

Gano belonged to her. His life was already hers, so she didn't need to worry much about him. But she also refused to let this Brood Host escape. How should she tie him down?

She understood how fragile novelists were. After all, she had eaten many of them before. If she simply brainwashed one, the novelist would lose the ability to create.

Then she remembered something she had read from one of the books inside Gano's mind. There existed a gentler method.

Marriage alliance.

The Zerg never needed political marriages before, but now they could.

Thus, Ubit invented a brand-new Zerg term: Marriage Alliance!

Translated literally, it meant: Ubit-style non-edible nesting.

As for whether the Brood Host actually wished to build a nest with Gano... that never entered Ubit's considerations.

With one foreleg, she carved a deep trench through the earth between Gano and Xi Yujin, making it easier for them to walk directly toward each other.

She admired her own handiwork, but seeing that neither of them moved, she frowned with dissatisfaction and asked sternly,

"Why aren't you two together yet?"

Now it was Xi Yujin's turn to have a headache.

His soul had just received... mental power feedback from the Zerg Queen. He could roughly guess what had happened, and it seemed that Mother Earth had saved his life again.

An enormous, crude flood of mental power surged into him like an overwhelming sandstorm. It was extraordinarily... Zerg-like.

The mental power he had exhausted while traveling through the wormhole was completely restored. In fact, it had become even stronger than before.

Xi Yujin couldn't help thinking that he was probably the first novelist in history to receive the Zerg Queen's mental power.

This journey was definitely worthwhile. He went to prison, collected achievements, and even obtained his lover's mother's approval.

Seeing Xi Yujin rub his temples with a slight frown, Gano immediately rushed over.

"I'm fine..." Xi Yujin smiled lightly and opened his arms to welcome his beloved, only to be hugged even tighter by Gano.

After a while, Xi Yujin noticed that his shoulder became slightly damp. It was the first time Gano had cried in front of him.

Only then did Xi Yujin fully realize how heavy this journey was. The two of them had narrowly escaped death.

Looking up at the sky, he saw the Queen's flower-like eyes hidden among the clouds, while the gazes of the surrounding high-ranking Zerg drifted subtly toward them.

The Zerg had no concept of romantic love. At this moment, they were probably still wondering why Gano's emotions had become so uncontrollable.

Xi Yujin murmured, "It's such a pity you don't understand. That's exactly why Gano is so special..."

Then he said to Ubit: "I accept the marriage alliance."

...

The Zerg Queen explained to Xi Yujin how to reunite his human body with his stellar form. He could not simply consume his human body. Instead, he needed to find a young red dwarf star and continue the stellar fusion process there.

"So that's why I've always attracted stellar matter..."

Xi Yujin suddenly understood where all those asteroid Typing Machines had come from. His stellar body had never finished forming, so it was simply stealing dust and materials from neighboring stars.

He negotiated with the Queen, asking permission to leave the Zerg territory together with Gano. Only outside could Gano experience more literature and continue healing the Queen's mental instability.

Ubit refused, and her reason was simple.

"You're a star with a soul. What if you run away?"

Gano immediately gathered his courage.

"I won't let Yujinno run away!"

Ubit casually gestured toward the tiny Gano with one thick forelimb. The meaning was obvious. Such a tiny Zerg soldier, how could he possibly keep a star contained?

Gano lowered his head. He had actually tried using all his extensive theoretical knowledge to build a nest with Xi Yujin. But his wings were stiff and awkward, and no matter what he did, nothing worked.

Xi Yujin even teased him about it. After all, he was technically an underage star. Gano trying such things was morally questionable.

Besides the term underage star, Xi Yujin had also invented countless ridiculous titles, such as Mother's backup lover, contract partner who failed to elope with his little sweetheart, and thought criminal and patrol guard locked inside a flower bud.

Although Gano subconsciously believed he shouldn't feel embarrassed, Xi Yujin always left him completely defeated. He eventually became too ashamed to lift his head.

Finally, Xi Yujin told him: "Let's wait until I've completely become human again."

Ubit paid no attention whatsoever to their private little interactions. With one flap of her enormous wings, she directly gifted Gano a set of King-class armor, made from Ubit's own discarded exoskeleton.

Then she instructed him,

"Once you're outside, don't let this Brood Host escape."

Gano nodded earnestly.

Xi Yujin was delighted that they could finally leave Zerg territory openly and honestly. But one question still lingered in his heart. Looking up, he asked,

"Your Majesty, there's something I'd like to ask. My former home also had another name, Earth*. Have you ever heard of something called humans?"

After a pause, he added, "Or mankind... or humans..."

Could this Ers be some Zerg from a foreign country?

Ubit answered simply, "Never heard of it."

Then she added, "Ers has already forgotten its past."

Xi Yujin's emotions became indescribably complicated. Regarding the past... he would never discover the truth. The only thing he could grasp was the future.

Perhaps Earth had already perished a thousand times in the history of this universe. But he could allow it to awaken a thousand and one times as long as humanity still existed.

"I want to leave something behind here," Xi Yujin said to Gano. "When we get out, we'll find a nice place and hold our wedd..."

Gano, busy testing his new armor, flew over and asked carefully, "Hold what?"

"Nothing." Xi Yujin smiled. "I just need to finish writing the second volume of Third-Rate Lover for all my Brood Host friends here."

...

[

In The Dragonfly Count, the Dragonfly faction overthrew the Butterfly Dynasty and established a parliamentary government.

The emperor became little more than a figurehead, and the once-glorious butterfly nobility could only squander their fortunes to maintain appearances.

Then a mysterious noble appeared. They seemed connected to the reformists, yet somehow possessed a noble title. Their entourage was humble, but they could spend fortunes on jewels without hesitation.

No noble knew their lineage. Yet all were utterly captivated by their elegance. Invitation letters piled into their mansion like falling snowflakes.

The Dragonfly Count refused to meet any of them. Just as the nobles were growing dissatisfied, they happened to coincidentally encounter the patriarch of the Phoenix-Tail Butterfly family.

The two got along splendidly. The Count even declared the Phoenix-Tail patriarch a close confidant.

The entire aristocracy erupted with envy. Secretly, they cursed their own bad luck, but publicly, they congratulated the Phoenix-Tail family.

The Phoenix-Tail patriarch naturally believed that fortune had smiled upon them. They desperately clung to the Count's enormous wings and behaved with exaggerated humility whenever they met.

Then the Count found themselves in conflict with a notorious local tyrant. Furious, the Count demanded a duel and invited the noble and virtuous Phoenix-Tail patriarch to witness it, who eagerly agreed.

On the day of the duel, the Phoenix-Tail publicly exposed every crime the villain had ever committed. Creatures from all over gathered to watch the spectacle. They saw the Count calmly circle their opponent, and then, in the blink of an eye, smoothly draw a pistol and shoot the tyrant dead.

The spectators burst into applause.

The Phoenix-Tail patriarch asked: "Such a despicable villain hardly deserved Your Lordship's personal intervention, did he?"

The Count replied, "Personally dealing with my enemies is my way of taking revenge."

At the trial, the Phoenix-Tail Butterfly testified that the tyrant had brought everything upon themselves. But to the Count's surprise, the lawyer defending the villain was none other than the protagonist's adopted son and former lover: the Law Butterfly.

The Law Butterfly was already a notorious attorney, specializing in helping villains escape punishment, and had built an extensive network of powerful connections. They failed to recognize the Count's true identity, but with the Phoenix-Tail's testimony, the Count easily won the case.

Yet after secretly investigating the Law Butterfly, the Count discovered that after the protagonist's imprisonment, the Law Butterfly had returned to its family, inherited the estate of its elders, and joined forces with other aristocratic butterflies. As a result, countless commoners had suffered.

Within the Law Butterfly's household was a younger relative who wished to elope. The Law Butterfly stopped them, locking the youngster away in an attic to be married to one of the influential figures the Law Butterfly knew.

The Count was heartbroken.

"Why would they do such a thing? Haven't we already suffered enough? We ourselves were sacrificed, so why allow the tragedy to continue?"

The Count resolved to help the young butterfly escape.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix-Tail Butterfly shamelessly came to borrow money, but the Count refused to receive visitors. Growing anxious, the Phoenix-Tail heard rumors that the Count was involved in an extremely profitable business venture but lacked sufficient capital. Greed took hold, so the Phoenix-Tail secretly contacted the broker and invested their entire fortune.

Unfortunately, the investment turned out to be a financial scam. In an instant, they lost everything. The entire Phoenix-Tail noble family went bankrupt and ended up in prison.

Meanwhile, the Count staged a haunting inside the attic, terrifying the guards assigned to watch the runaway youngster until they nearly lost their minds. The Law Butterfly rushed over and immediately saw through the Count's scheme.

Yet at that very moment, the young runaway repeated the very words the protagonist had once spoken: "You don't understand the love in my heart! You don't understand the price I'm willing to pay for it! Don't stain my courage with money!"

The Law Butterfly remembered the protagonist.

The pain was unbearable, yet they still refused to abandon their plans.

"The great person I've arranged for you to marry is honorable and upright. They can give you a wonderful future. But if you refuse... I don't mind seeing one butterfly die tonight."

The Count angrily demanded, "Family? That vague illusion? What could possibly be worth throwing away your conscience for?"

The Law Butterfly let out a cold laugh. "Because of love. I intend to rescue the one I love... from prison."

The Count's heart trembled. Finally, they removed their mask and revealed their true identity. The Law Butterfly froze in shock while the young butterfly successfully escaped.

The Count and the Law Butterfly stared at each other for a long time. Then, suddenly, the Law Butterfly smashed their wineglass and ordered the Count to leave.

Not long afterward, news spread that the Law Butterfly had fallen gravely ill and was near death from emotional exhaustion. The Count secretly visited their bedside.

The Law Butterfly, half-conscious, asked, "Did you ever hate me?"

"No." The Count answered softly. "It was fate, cruel and unjust fate, that separated us. No matter how many unfamiliar things stand between us now, I could never hate you."

The Law Butterfly looked utterly defeated. "You loved me because I loved you with complete sincerity. But now I have nothing left. All that remains is filth. So... what are you still waiting for?"

The Count removed their hat without looking at them. "I'm waiting... perhaps... for love."

]

...

"Ahhhh! It's so good! So good! This emotional drama hurts so much and yet feels amazing!"

On the Brood Host planet, Shayou practically wanted to grab Xi Yujin and kiss him repeatedly.

Unfortunately, the terrifying Zerg standing nearby made that impossible. He could only roll around on the ground in excitement.

"Love is the most precious thing in life. You write it so beautifully that I almost want to fall in love with a Zerg myself."

Haiying, who was responsible for supervising the Brood Hosts, finished reading The Dragonfly Count and frowned. "Only the revenge parts were written well. Love? Hmph. I don't understand why these characters pursue it."

Xi Yujin laughed awkwardly and glossed over the topic. The remaining Brood Hosts and the high-ranking Zerg probably would never intermarry anyway. There was too much resentment between the two groups.

The Brood Hosts would likely have to continue working for the Queen before being allowed to leave. In any case, Ubit had long wanted to send them all away.

Xi Yujin hoped that the other high-ranking Zerg could also help relieve the Queen's mental instability. But unfortunately, none of them were as special as Gano. Even after finishing The Dragonfly Count, they showed absolutely no reaction.

Left with no alternative, Xi Yujin announced dramatically: "To help the Zerg understand love, I've decided to add an incest subplot in Part Three."

Gano: ?

"What's incest?" Haiying asked curiously. "Does the protagonist get beaten until his bones break?"

"I don't know either," Baiying replied with its arms crossed.

...

[

In Part Three, the glorious Dragonfly Parliament, which had flourished for decades, was overthrown.

The guillotine ran red with blood and the butterfly aristocracy rose once again.

The emperor reclaimed the throne, declaring that noble blood was inherently superior and that commoners could never rise above their station.

To avoid persecution, the protagonist boarded a train and traveled to the Nation of Snowfields. There, they unexpectedly encountered someone familiar. It was their elder brother.

The elder brother was giving a public lecture. "Butterfly wings can become magnificent decorations... or they can stir up storms. The key lies in the butterfly's own choice. I was once an extravagant noble butterfly, and I deeply regret wasting my life."

The protagonist listened to the entire lecture as though meeting their brother for the first time. The elder brother failed to recognize them, and the protagonist introduced themselves as a wingless dragonfly refugee seeking political asylum.

Warmly, the elder brother shared all the new ideals they had learned. They personally helped construct railways, laboring for the countless creatures who depended on them.

The protagonist found themselves attracted to this reborn version of their brother. Yet they shared blood ties, and there could never be a future for them. So the protagonist remained only a friend.

At the same time, they enrolled in classes to study the Snowfields' new ideology. Throughout the process, their exceptional intelligence and broad learning naturally revealed themselves, and everyone who heard them speak was captivated.

And then... the elder brother confessed their love.

"Only after meeting you did I understand what it means to find a soulmate. I want to spend my entire life striving toward our ideals with you."

"Whenever I pursue love... fate always toys with me."

Deeply moved, the protagonist immediately confessed their true identity, which made the elder brother utterly stunned.

They had both changed too much.

The once-indulgent aristocratic elder brother turned into a railway worker.

The once-innocent and romantic protagonist had endured twisted yet passionate romances, become entangled in dynastic struggles, been imprisoned, lived within the imperial palace, and finally become a philosopher admired across the snowy plains.

They both deeply regretted their past.

The elder brother was overwhelmed with embarrassment and broke off all contact. On the other hand, the protagonist no longer dwelled on it and dedicated themselves to their ideals.

Later, an accident at a mine injured the protagonist's eyes, which blinded them. They quietly reflected upon their life.

Didn't I already suffer far greater hardships? Would such a small obstacle truly break my spirit?

"No. I will never bow before fate." The protagonist declared. "My entire life has been devoted to pursuing love. But love is not only proof of happiness; it is also the reason I can endure so much suffering."

They learned Braille and continued recording their thoughts by hand. An anonymous publisher helped publish their works, and even if the protagonist knew exactly who that publisher was, neither of them ever said it aloud.

That autobiography, which was the title of the third volume itself, was called Steel Wings.

]

...

"Well?" After finishing the manuscript, Xi Yujin asked his readers.

Naturally, Gano believed that anything Yujinno wrote was the best.

The surrounding Brood Hosts exchanged awkward glances. One of them finally said, "This kind of incest literature... is still a little too advanced for us."

Xi Yujin said nothing. The literary foundation of the Zerg was still far too shallow. Perhaps the future generations would understand it someday.

Shayou looked at him solemnly. "You're terrifying. If I remember correctly... isn't this supposed to be your autobiography?"

Only then did Xi Yujin remember that particular setting, but he wasn't too worried. First, he had used a pseudonym. Second, it was only published within Zerg territory, so no alien civilization should know that Blue Planet Yujin's autobiography was this story.

The high-ranking Zerg, including Haiying, found Shanhui (Xi Yujin's alias) even more terrifying. When they reached the scene where the elder brother confessed their love to the protagonist, their collective thought was:

Is this even possible?!

Then they became even less interested in romance than before.

As serialization continued, the high-ranking Zerg gradually disappeared from the reading sessions altogether. Instead, they all arranged combat matches with Gano in the arena.

Wearing Ubit's armor, Gano won fairly and spectacularly, becoming recognized as the strongest warrior of the Zerg.

After giving his manuscripts to the Brood Host who had once provided the clue leading to Tidal Peace, Xi Yujin prepared to depart with Gano.

He carefully cleaned the Tidal Peace.

The ship was empty. There was no black box, and no artworks from other civilizations. Only a thick layer of dust remained, though it was in slightly better condition than when it had drifted at the edge of the universe.

"I wonder which galaxy we'll reach next."

Gano carefully checked the star charts. The storms surrounding Zerg territory were terrifying, and only by locating the proper passage could they leave safely. After surviving so much, he certainly didn't want to die in a cosmic storm.

Then Ubit's flowing golden gelatin suddenly wrapped around the Tidal Peace. "You came through the wormhole near the watchtower I built, didn't you? I'll send you out."

Xi Yujin blinked.

He could actually go back? And the Zerg Queen herself was personally escorting them through the wormhole?

He had already accepted that he might never return and that all his hidden identities and careers would be abandoned forever. But now...

Could it be that the Queen had gone mad again in an entirely different way? Was she planning another invasion of the universe?

Xi Yujin simply asked her directly.

Ubit answered calmly, "I just want to fly once before I die."

Even the Zerg Queen had a lifespan, and Ubit could feel that her own life was approaching its end.

In truth, she too had once dreamed of flying freely. But that wish was simply buried too deeply beneath anger and suffering until even she herself had forgotten it.

Her gelatin enveloped the Tidal Peace, carrying it steadily across the storm belt and directly into the wormhole. After all, the Zerg Queens had created it, and no one knew its pathways better than they did.

They knew every direction within every wormhole, and theoretically, they could appear anywhere in the universe at will.

That was why all living beings feared them.

Xi Yujin cautiously asked, "Won't other civilizations protest if you just fly around like this?"

Ubit snorted. "As if they could stop me."

Xi Yujin hesitated. "Then... what about the Intelligent Machines?"

Ubit finally lost her patience. "You're so noisy! Can't you see I'm already trying my best to fly stealthily!?"