Once Carol confirmed that all the bugs in the office were completely dead, she ignored the soldiers' advice and rushed in, burying her face in Inez's body and the bug corpses, flipping out in a frenzy.
Ye Zhizhou had just turned around when he saw this scene on the surveillance screen. He instantly felt even more nauseous in his stomach and quickly grabbed Clay to rush over.
"It's in the brain," he said, suppressing his disgust as he stepped into the office. He materialized his psychic power into a small knife that hovered over Inez's body. Then, he aimed it at the location of the brain and cut in, extracting a blood-red piece of flesh about the size of an eyeball. "The modified optical brain should be in here. Don't touch it!"
He used the small knife to create a net to hold the piece of flesh and shook his head at Carol, who had an anxious look on his face. "I can't give it to you right now. We have to wait for the military to examine whether this optical brain is safe."
Carol's hot-headedness cooled down slightly, and he carefully looked at the piece of flesh. Then, he clenched his fist and averted his gaze. "Once it's confirmed... please let my grandmother leave safely. I can't just see this as a cold optical brain and a replicated brain... this is the only thing I could find related to my grandmother."
"Don't worry," Ye Zhizhou placed the piece of flesh into an isolation box brought by the bearded man. Then, he looked troubled as he gazed at the psychic power net he had created. Even though his psychic power hadn't actually touched anything dirty, he couldn't shake off the feeling that it had already acquired the scent of the corpse.
"Let's go," Clay took a few steps forward, holding onto the small net. Then, he led Ye Zhizhou out. "The military has started using the antidote on a large scale. We need to see the results. After today, the news of the bug parasite can't be hidden for long. We need to find a way to stabilize the situation and prevent those who know the truth from panicking too much."
Ye Zhizhou nodded and hesitated, looking at his own hand. He asked in a soft voice, "Aren't you repulsed by it?"
Clay lowered his head and gently tugged at the small net in his hand, smirking. "No, I like your scent."
Ye Zhizhou suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He quickly materialized some psychic power to wrap around the small net and then shaped it into a chubby butterfly. He averted his gaze and said, "If you like it, then take it with you. It's good for nourishing your psychic power... It's fatter than the one last time, so you can keep it for a while longer."
The newly formed butterfly flapped its chubby wings foolishly, then flew up and perched on Clay's shoulder, nuzzling affectionately.
Psychic power could vividly reflect a person's emotions, and when materialized, it was even more tangible. Ye Zhizhou blushed again, trying to make the butterfly behave. But Clay held him back and said with a slight smile, "What would you like for lunch?"
This change of topic was neither subtle nor effective. Moreover, Ye Zhizhou didn't feel like eating anything at the moment. He looked at Clay in silence, and Clay met his gaze without flinching. After a few seconds, Ye Zhizhou compromised first, turning his gaze away and changing the subject, "Let's have porridge. It's good for your stomach."
Clay couldn't resist reaching out to pinch his cheek, and Ye Zhizhou gave him a blank look.
The butterfly perched on Clay's shoulder suddenly fluttered its wings and softly brushed against Clay's neck, as if it were annoyed. Clay couldn't help but laugh again, and Ye Zhizhou became even more annoyed, ignoring him.
After returning to the military headquarters, Clay had some matters to attend to and left, leaving Ye Zhizhou alone in the office. After mentally preparing himself, he opened the new plot information and began to read it carefully.
This time, the protagonist's name was Randy Jackals, gender identified as beta but written as omega, and he was a junior officer in the Federation. During his vacation, Randy coincidentally encountered the leader of interstellar pirates, Ego Bert, and discovered his true identity. Randy rashly decided to track and arrest him on his own. Ego Bert, an experienced scoundrel, naturally saw through Randy's disguise and tracking. Surprisingly, Ego Bert took an interest in Randy and deliberately got close to him. Randy was astonished and then delighted, and the two unscrupulous individuals hit it off, even agreeing to work together when they realized they were heading to the same destination.
Then came injuries, misunderstandings, and the intrusion of... no, it was Ego Bert's arch-enemy, Dan Gote, who appeared. Both underworld bosses eventually fell in love with the protagonist, but Randy refused to yield. He believed that he was a man of the Federation through and through, and he would dedicate himself to the Federation, even in death. Ego Bert and Dan, infuriated, joined forces and attacked the Federation, coincidentally when the bug swarm arrived. As a result, the Federation quickly fell under the assault of both the bug swarm and the two underworld bosses.
Ye Zhizhou: "..."
The protagonist was devastated by the fall of the Federation and grew to hate Ego Bert and Dan. He secretly fled to the Empire to seek refuge and an opportunity for revenge. Ego Bert and Dan, still furious, had another crazy idea and targeted the Empire, just as the second bug swarm arrived...
What a mess!
Ye Zhizhou angrily closed the information and felt like his mind was in chaos. What on earth was going on with this protagonist? Why didn't he die, and how did he manage to jump from the Empire to the Federation, engaging in this bizarre romance with Ego Bert? Could these bugs also manipulate shadow ****? Wait a minute, shadow ****?!
"Make way! How did a teenager like him manage to fool everyone in the military? Has His Highness' brain been scrambled, and have yours too? We must take the medicine, what medicine? My body is perfectly fine!"
"Grandfather, please calm down. Panxi is not a bad person."
"Chigita, don't pull me, Anot, get your brother away!"
"Brenda, what are you doing? This is the military, not a place for you to act recklessly!"
"Bell, you royal lapdog! You've lived for so many years, and now you believe a teenager's words? How embarrassing!"
Ye Zhizhou's psychic power, overflowing due to his emotions, allowed him to hear the conversation outside the corridor clearly. He furrowed his brow, got up, and walked out. He saw the twins, who should have been at school, trying to persuade an irate old man. On the other side, Bell was equally furious.
"What's going on?" Ye Zhizhou greeted the twins and then stood next to Bell, looking at Brenda. "Master, do you have any misunderstandings about me?"
"Misunderstandings?" Brenda brushed aside the twins' hands, threw a pill on the ground, and glared at him angrily. "Did you fool His Highness into feeding everyone this mysterious medicine? I suspect you're a bug agent! Tell me, what's your real purpose for getting close to His Highness?"
"Brenda, that's enough!" Bell reprimanded her. "Do you have no sense of being a role model? Panxi is your student in the mecha engineering department. How can you use such harsh words against him?"
Upon hearing this, Bell focused his gaze and indeed found traces of metal at the joints of the bug.
The psychic activity in the corridor suddenly ceased after another violent upheaval, and Brenda on the floor opened her eyes. She then reached out to Chi Gita with difficulty and said, "Chi Gita... save me..."
Chi Gita quickly rushed over and held her hand, wanting to help stop the bleeding but also afraid of hurting her. His eyes reddened with worry as he said, "Grandfather, just hold on. The medical team will be here soon. Please wait."
Annot knelt down next to Brenda with a composed expression and took out a medical kit from his space ring.
Ye Zhizhou dissipated the psychic power surrounding the group and looked up at the surveillance cameras in the corridor, furrowing his brow slightly. With all the commotion here, why hadn't anyone arrived until now? Could it be that something was happening in the control room? He quickly dialed Clay's communicator.
Two minutes later, Clay hurriedly arrived with members of the medical team following him. "What's going on?" He first checked if Ye Zhizhou was injured and then looked at the bug trapped on the floor, his expression grave. "A new parasitic species?"
"No," Ye Zhizhou briefly explained the situation and said, "Master Brenda has a habit of going on regular trips for learning experiences. I don't know which trip he was targeted by the bugs."
"It's my fault." Chi Gita suddenly spoke up, covering his face with his hand. "If I hadn't been careless, my grandfather wouldn't have..."
Annot gently hugged his shoulder, offering silent comfort.
Daley arrived a step behind Clay, and a bearded man followed behind him, his forehead covered with bandages.
"Damn it! There's actually a traitor in my territory, and they dared to attack me. Don't let me see him again!" The bearded man cursed as he walked, thoroughly enraged. "Those bastards! They've been eating from the military for so many years for nothing!"
"It's not a traitor; it's a new type of optical brain," Clay explained briefly, then turned to Daley. "What's the situation?"
"Riots have also broken out in several other places within the military," Daley said with a serious expression, quickly explaining, "The military officers' family members are the most severely affected, followed by the military academy. The Federation's situation is slightly better than ours, but it's still much worse than expected."
Ye Zhizhou's communicator suddenly rang, and the customized ringtone made him pause for a moment before he quickly answered, adjusting his mood and smiling as the call popped up. "Brother, why did you suddenly contact me? How have you been recently... Who are you?"
"Pansy Chazel Dan?" A tall man with red hair and red eyes sat on an ornate armchair, his smile filled with malice. "Is it you who harmed our esteemed Bug Lord? Pansy, your brother is here as my guest. If you want to get him back, use those two useless imperial princes in exchange."
Click, the call panel disappeared.
Ye Zhizhou's smile faded when he saw the man with red hair and red eyes—Dan Gault. He pressed the communicator hard, gritting his teeth. "They actually targeted innocent omegas..." The original host's emotions and memories raged uncontrollably in his mind. He couldn't help but tear up, memories of Aldo lying weak in bed flashing through his mind. His psychic powers went haywire.
"Little Zhou." Clay held his hand and pulled him into his arms. "Don't worry, I'll rescue your brother."
Ye Zhizhou clutched his clothes tightly, took a deep breath to suppress the emotions and memories belonging to the original host, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Those vile bugs and the despicable humans colluding with them, they all deserved to die!
Several hours later, news came from the original host's hometown that Aldo had indeed disappeared, and his parents had fainted in Aldo's room, severely injured.
Restlessly, Ye Zhizhou paced in the lounge. "Dan Gault should still be near my house, and my parents are there. I have medicine here that can save them. Let me go back; I promise there won't be any danger!"
Ned stood at the door, unmoved. "Your identity has been exposed, Your Highness. The hatred for you from the failed bug plan has been directed entirely onto you. You are not suitable for going out temporarily. The rescue plan for your brother is already underway, and your parents have been taken care of properly. They have passed the critical period. Please be patient."
The original host's memories were completely out of control. He grabbed his hair and suddenly thought of Dan Gault's arch-nemesis, Egobert. He quickly returned to the sofa, closed his eyes, accessed the system, and used Tian's protection to pour his psychic power into the network, searching frantically.
Fifteen minutes later, he withdrew his psychic power with a pale face, typed in a number on the communicator, and sent a text message.
The door suddenly swung open, and Clay walked in with a dark expression, striding over and grabbing his shoulder. He asked in a deep voice, "The monitoring room just detected psychic power fluctuations in the network. What did you do to yourself?"
The communicator rang, and Ye Zhizhou squeezed out a smile toward Clay, answered the call, and said, "Of course, I was looking for an ally and preparing a big gift for Dan Gault."
Egobert, a stunningly beautiful man with a sultry face, appeared on the communication screen with a scowl. He impatiently adjusted his disheveled hair and glanced at the strangely posed Ye Zhizhou and Clay. Then he sneered, "You imperial scoundrels better make sure everything you said in that text just now is true, or I'll blast your energy star with my flagship."
Clay quickly turned his head and was about to disconnect the communication.
"Mr. Egobert." Ye Zhizhou hurriedly pressed Clay's hand, glared at him, and then took out a small pill from his space. He shook it towards Egobert and said, "Everything I said is true. As far as I know, your influence is also a target that the bugs covet. There shouldn't be a shortage of people parasitized in there. I have a drug that can detect parasitic bugs. You probably need this now. In return, I just need a very small favor from you. How about it? Do you agree to this trade?"
Egobert glanced at the small pill in his hand and then at the icy Clay. Suddenly, he flashed a seductive smile, raised his hand to tug his clothes open a bit more, and winked at Ye Zhizhou. "I love doing business with a beauty~"
Click, Clay couldn't take it anymore and disconnected the communication.