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

Chapter 30: You’re the male lord, your word is law.

Yi Er opened his eyes.

He seemed not to be sleepy anymore, staring fixedly at Qi Yao as if scrutinizing him. “Stardust can remember its own route. It doesn’t need you to control it.”

“Huh?” Qi Yao released Yi Er.

If it didn’t need his control, then how would he obtain the permission to implement his immature plan?

“What’s wrong?” Qi Yao couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face, sending a shiver down Yi Er’s spine.

Qi Yao racked his brains but couldn’t come up with a better reason than before. He had to improvise based on the current situation: “Nothing, I just feel that as your male lord, it’s a bit of a failure that I can’t even get access to your starship.”

Yi Er: “…………”

It’s just that Qi Yao’s temperament wouldn’t allow him to dwell on it. If other zergs knew he didn’t give his belongings to the male lord, it would inevitably lead to gossip.

But what did Qi Yao need this permission for? He didn’t even have a starship driver’s license.

“Why do you insist on getting permission for Stardust?” Yi Er asked him.

Qi Yao’s brain didn’t turn, realizing that the identity of “male lord” he just improvised was quite useful. Feeling like he held a secret weapon, he blinked and said excitedly, “I wasn’t particularly fixated on getting permission for Stardust before, but since you refused it so obviously just now, I suddenly really want it. It’s like… the unattainable always stirs up desire.”

Yi Er glanced at him sideways. “Unattainable?”

Qi Yao shamelessly continued, “Exactly, my consort. My consort didn’t tell me about his two asteroids, nor did he give me permission to use the starship. Which male zerg in the empire is like me?”

Then he added sentimentally, “Maybe my consort has also hidden other things from me, and I don’t even know. Ah, I spoil him too much, reluctant to scold or discipline him, which makes him overlook the male lord’s authority. Look at Ke Lisi and then look at me, isn’t it a failure?”

“…There’s no need to compare yourself to Ke Lisi,” Yi Er couldn’t help but frown.

What’s wrong with the male zerg today? He looked so soft, unexpectedly caring so much about the male lord’s identity and being so persistent about the starship permission.

Was it to prove the male lord’s identity?

Forget it, it’s not a big deal anyway. Just give it to him.

Yi Er didn’t insist anymore, conceding, “Fine, you’re the male lord, your word is law.”

Then he granted Qi Yao access to Stardust.

Qi Yao remained calm on the surface but was ecstatic inside. With the permission in hand, would the transformation plan be far behind? Excitedly, grand blueprints began to take shape in his mind.

After finishing all this, the two zergs lay down again to watch the asteroids.

The colorful asteroids were indeed beautiful and could relax the zergs, but Qi Yao was completely absorbed in constructing his blueprint plan and had no interest in admiring them.

After watching for a while and seeing that the beautiful asteroids couldn’t capture Qi Yao’s interest, Yi Er suggested, “Do you want to continue watching? If not, we can go back.”

Qi Yao readily agreed, “Hmm, let’s go back.”

With his finger on the return program button, Yi Er was about to press it when suddenly, Qi Yao grabbed his hand.

Yi Er was puzzled, “?”

Qi Yao blinked quickly, his black pupils shining brightly. “I just got access to Stardust. Let me experience it.”

Yi Er generously stepped aside, “So you want to press this button?”

“…No.”

How should Qi Yao tell Yi Er that he wanted to switch positions and personally pilot the starship?

Yi Er obviously didn’t think so.

To prevent Qi Yao from having any dangerous ideas, at the first moment of hesitation, Yi Er immediately made him realize a reality: “Male lord, you don’t have a starship driver’s license. You can only press this button.”

“…Too realistic.” Qi Yao couldn’t find a word to retort and immediately surrendered, firmly sitting back in his seat and even fastening his seatbelt carefully. “Alright, you’re right. I don’t have a starship driver’s license, so I won’t even touch the return button. I’ll leave it to you. There’s an asteroid belt ahead, so be careful when piloting.”

Yi Er followed Qi Yao’s gesture and looked ahead, where the asteroid belt was crowded with floating meteoroids.

The automatic driving program couldn’t safely navigate through the asteroid belt. After looking at the obedient Qi Yao for a moment, Yi Er canceled the automatic driving and decided to navigate through it manually.

“There will be more turns ahead. Hold on tight…”

Before he could finish his sentence, suddenly, there was a bang—

Half a second too late, Stardust didn’t evade a huge meteorite floating from the side, causing it to jolt. A crackling sound of electricity followed, and most of the indicator lights on the console flickered on and off before dimming down.

Qi Yao opened his mouth, unsure whether to be happy or worried that the blueprint plan had unexpectedly accelerated due to this impact.

The meteorite came so conveniently, providing him with a perfect reason to modify Stardust. He was five parts afraid, three parts nervous, and two parts calm, trying to make himself appear less calm as he said, “Yi Er, maybe… we need to repair it.”

Yi Er: “…Hmm.”

What was he thinking just now? He didn’t even see such a large meteorite.

Yi Er felt he had lost all face in front of the male lord.

—

In the mothership’s starship area.

Stardust slowly docked.

From afar, Yalman saw the damage on the side wing of Stardust and walked over with a look of surprise and suspicion. When he saw such a large dent and damage, his heart ached, “What happened?”

Qi Yao remained silent. This wasn’t his business; it was better for Yi Er to explain.

Yi Er replied emotionlessly, “Was distracted.”

“Hit by a meteorite?”

“Yeah…”

Yalman frowned as he approached and examined it, then concluded, “The impact wasn’t severe, but it will take some time to repair. Stardust’s protective shield material is quite complex, we’ll need to contact Nos for this.”

The starship area was already busy, and now they had an additional task for no reason, making Yi Er feel guilty.

“Yalman, sorry to trouble you.”

Yalman didn’t mind, “It’s all part of our job. What’s troublesome about it? If you ask me, you should quickly check if there’s any resonance impact inside Stardust. Repairing that would be troublesome.”

Yi Er returned to the cockpit.

Yalman took the opportunity to call Qi Yao over and said bluntly, “Did you hit it, and Yi Er took the blame for you?”

Qi Yao protested, “Although I have some ideas about Stardust, I really didn’t hit it with a meteorite. Oh, wait, that’s not right…”

Actually, it was because he had been pestering for the pilot’s seat, making Yi Er distracted, otherwise he wouldn’t have missed the large meteorite nearby.

In the end, he also bore some responsibility.

Yalman had an expression of “I knew it,” blaming him, “What ideas do you have about Stardust to sabotage it like this?”

Although he did have some, Qi Yao hesitated whether to tell Yalman. After all, Stardust belonged to Yi Er, and any modification required Yi Er’s consent.

After some consideration, he decided not to say for now, “No particular ideas, just asked Yi Er for permission to control Stardust.”

Yalman was shocked. Usually, to prevent surprise attacks during battles, they wanted to periodically inspect Stardust. Whenever they asked Yi Er for permission, Yi Er always refused, citing that everything was fine. Now, after just going out for fun, Qi Yao had obtained permission for Stardust. He didn’t expect Qi Yao to have this capability.

“How did you get it?”

Qi Yao shrugged indifferently, “I’m his male lord, can’t I have his things?”

Yalman clicked his tongue, “Oh, sounds tough. I thought you were soft and easily bullied, thinking that in your family with Yi Er, Yi Er was the one in charge?”

“…”

Qi Yao couldn’t let himself be underestimated so easily. He raised his chin and declared loudly, “When I need to be in charge, I can do it!”

Actually, Yi Er was also half in charge.

But… there’s no need to let Yalman know, right?

Yi Er quickly came down from Stardust and heard Qi Yao’s words. Instead of denying, he cooperated by bending down: “The male lord is right. In our family, important matters are decided by the male lord.”

Implicitly, minor matters were under Yi Er’s jurisdiction.

Yalman naturally understood and shook his head, sighing inwardly. It was fortunate that it was Yi Er who encountered this. Otherwise, if it were another male zerg, their household would be in constant turmoil.

Yalman asked eagerly, “So, any damage from the resonance impact?”

Yi Er shook his head, “I didn’t find any.”

Leaving the starship area, the two zergs returned to their rest cabin.

Yi Er flipped through the documents provided by Dai Na on the makeshift desk, while Qi Yao handed him a cup of nutrient fluid.

After delivering it, Qi Yao didn’t leave. Yi Er thought he was worried about the collision with Stardust and comforted him, “Just leave it to Yalman for repairs. Don’t worry about it.”

It didn’t sound like Qi Yao was unconcerned; rather, it sounded like Yi Er wasn’t concerned. Qi Yao found it strange, “Don’t you care about it?”

Yi Er lifted his head from the table, glanced at Qi Yao, then lowered his head again, “What’s there to care about? It’s just a weapon for battles. Bumps and scratches are normal. If you’re always worried, then it’s better not to manufacture it in the first place.”

“?”

Why did Yi Er say such things? It didn’t fit his usual style.

Qi Yao asked, “Then why did you stop using it for two years?”

Yi Er remained silent, flipping a page of the documents in his hand.

Qi Yao continued, “Nos and Yalman told me it’s because Stardust is old and can’t keep up with the power of the new starships, so you stopped using it.”

“Do you believe them?”

“They are the heads of the Starship Department of the Second Military District, who wouldn’t believe what they say?”

Yi Er calmly continued his work, “What’s wrong with Nos’s design?”

“Are you implying that it’s not inferior?”

Yi Er smiled lightly, “Did I say it’s inferior?”

“Then why…?”

“Just don’t want to use it anymore.”

“…”

What a capricious answer. Many military females wished to have a starship personally designed by Nos, but Yi Er simply said he didn’t want to use it, leaving Qi Yao speechless.

Was there something unpleasant that happened with Stardust in the past that led Yi Er to make this decision?

But there were no rumors about it.

Qi Yao couldn’t understand it.

Only Yi Er, the one involved, could provide him with answers. So, it’s better to ask him directly.

Qi Yao organized his words, intending to ask directly, “Why? Why don’t you want to use it?”

Today, Qi Yao was too persistent about Stardust, and Yi Er couldn’t help but notice his intentions. He countered, “Do you want me to use it?”

“If it can help you smoothly resolve the trouble in the Glassy system, would you want to use it?”

Yi Er couldn’t help but laugh. Qi Yao was saying nonsense. “Do you know how powerful their new starships are? Haven’t you seen how busy the Starship and Mecha areas are since you arrived here?”

Qi Yao replied, “I’m not overestimating myself.”

Yi Er picked up a pen and scribbled on the documents, “Don’t worry so much. With me and the Queen present in the Glassy system, as for Stardust, Nos understands it best, and Yalman will contact Nos to handle it.”

Qi Yao didn’t intend to give up, “Since you’ve entrusted me with the permissions for Stardust, can’t I be involved?”

“You can.” Yi Er looked up at him, “Isn’t maintenance your job?”

Qi Yao was satisfied and leaned on the table eagerly, “What do you want to repair it into? Restore it directly?”

Facing each other, Yi Er played with the pen in his hand and asked instead of answering, “You’ve been talking about Stardust all day. Are you planning something behind my back?”

“…I don’t. I don’t even know my own capabilities, right? I’m just worried that if other issues are discovered during maintenance, Yalman will disturb you. What if you’re in battle?”

Yi Er smiled. Yalman, with his experience, knew that disturbing a military female in battle was a taboo and wouldn’t do so casually. Qi Yao was just being overly concerned.

Instead of going against Qi Yao’s intentions, it’s better to see what he really wants to do.

Yi Er said, “Okay, anyway, you, as the male lord, now also have half the authority over Stardust. Let them ask you for decisions if there’s anything.”