I Write Novels in a Zerg Prison

【"It really does glow..."

For the first time, Roy asked for the lights to be turned off so Morris could show him his glowing belly.

In the darkness, the light shone through his firm abdominal muscles, tinged crimson by the blood beneath.

That wasn't what Morris wanted him to look at.

The darkness concealed the redness on his face well enough, but the parts even redder than that filled him with unbearable embarrassment. In the dark, the glow clearly outlined the shape beneath the skin, making its location painfully obvious.

He pulled the thin blanket over his stomach, his head practically steaming. If not for a Zerg's sturdy constitution, he might have overheated and passed out from embarrassment on the spot.

Roy immediately began fighting him for ownership of the blanket.

"Fireflies glow with their abdomens to attract mates!"

Morris had no idea what a firefly was. Judging by the name, it sounded like some shameless species that seduced Roy with underhanded tricks. He'd investigate it later.

As for now...

He was an upright military female.

He disdained using such methods.

The Battle of the Blanket ended in Roy's defeat.

If a female Zerg truly refused to let him look, there was simply no way he could win.

The difference in physical strength between them was enormous—not only between female and male Zergs, but also between female Zergs and Machine Bugs.

After all, no machine capable of matching a Super S-Class female Zerg had been developed yet.

Not that Roy had seriously tried to snatch it away.

He didn't want to put Morris in an awkward position.

Besides...

He came with a built-in camera.

There was no need to use his eyes.

His "eyes" were only one of his cameras, anyway.

Morris' brood pouch looked so adorable.

Roy hugged Morris through the blanket, kissed his jaw, and whispered words of praise into his ear.

In short—

"I like Morris the most!"

...】

The Zerg readers were thoroughly shaken.

[So Lord Roy likes Zergs with glowing abdomens!]

(Taking notes.) [Does a species like that actually exist? Or is it something unique to the game world?]

[That's easy enough to achieve. Just absorb the appropriate genes.]

From ancient times until now, the Zerg race had evolved by devouring and integrating the genes of other species.

Although they now stood at the pinnacle of life in the universe and no longer needed to do such things, the ability remained an innate talent that could still be awakened whenever necessary.

[We should first determine whether Roy likes glowing himself, or likes female Zergs that glow.]

[As long as the final effect is the same. There just needs to be glowing during... certain activities.]

Even the male Zergs admitted that glowing abdomens for courtship sounded rather appealing.

At the very least, it sounded much safer than female Zergs displaying their wings during courtship.

A female Zerg's courtship display with wings was so intimidating that male Zergs constantly worried about losing their heads.

Only males who enjoyed excitement and had absolute confidence in themselves appreciated that style.

The more timid ones would book the first available aircraft and flee overnight.

Glowing courtship sounded far gentler.

[The female Zerg I like took me home today and showed me his glowing belly. I think we've officially gotten together.]

[??? Wait, what? Already? How did you pull that off?]

[You'll never know what female Zergs are willing to eat—or shove into themselves—in order to glow. (Facepalm.) And please don't encourage them to swallow radioactive glowing ore before going to see a male Zerg. Female Zergs might survive it just fine, but the male Zerg will end up in emergency treatment.]

[Please just use safe technology.]

[Come to me. Fully customizable. Light color and flashing frequency included. (Holding a flower between my teeth.)]

[Good grief... Has An-shen's novel become the industry's trend guide now?]

[You only just noticed? The first group of businesses that started following An-shen's novels are already making fortunes. That includes, but definitely isn't limited to, Lord Xi'an's rings, Lord Hill's painting supplies, aquarium tickets, underwater hotel suites, little wolf beast ear accessories... Though the best-selling products are still imitation male protagonist pheromones and ice cream.]

[Wrong. The hottest places are the Genetic Matching Center and the Marriage Registration Office. An-shen accomplished ten years' worth of their targets in just six months.]

[The Department of Reproduction isn't far behind. The results just haven't shown up yet. Give it another few months.]

[The Federation owes An-shen a "Federation Distinguished Male Parent Medal."]

[Actually, he already has one. Back when no one knew An-shen's sex, both the Male Parent Medal and the Female Parent Medal were prepared, and the Marshal personally presented them.

Later it was revealed that An-shen was a male Zerg. For some reason, though, the Marshal never returned the Female Parent Medal. Maybe he forgot.

...None of us are brave enough to ask.]

[...Holy crap. I think I just figured something out.]

[Normally, the Federation Male Parent Medal and Female Parent Medal are awarded together. Any family that successfully raises ten hatchlings qualifies—it doesn't even have to be biological offspring. When the family's Male Lord receives the medal, the Female Lord usually receives one too. Which means...]

[The Marshal prepaid his in advance!]

[An-shen genuinely contributed to the Federation's birthrate. But what about the Marshal? Is he planning to hatch ten eggs?]

Ulysses: "..."

These readers simply had too much free time.

In the past, he had never expected anything from male Zergs.

Eggs.

Hatchlings.

Those things had always felt impossibly distant.

Without a stable family environment, hatchlings should never be brought into the world.

As for now...

Nothing had changed.

Hatchlings still felt unimaginably far away.

He hadn't even earned the opportunity to become closer to the male yet.

The male's affection for him still existed only through plush dolls.

Ulysses lowered his gaze to the novel.

He wasn't interested in Morris' glowing belly.

Unless...

His god wanted him to glow.

He flipped back several pages until he reached the part where Roy emerged from the virtual world.

Through Psychic Soothing, Roy had left a mark inside Morris' Psychic Domain.

Perhaps it was a Psychic Mark.

Or perhaps some other kind of anchor.

Either way, it provided Roy with coordinates.

Like a perfect tracking beacon, it allowed him to pinpoint Morris' exact location.

His overwhelming Psychic Power enabled him to tear through space itself.

The Psychic Mark supplied the coordinates.

Together, they allowed him to travel directly to Morris' side.

As an SSS-Class female Zerg, Ulysses also possessed the ability to open spatial passages.

Until now, he had only used that power within the same layer of space—for transportation and rapid deployment.

He had never attempted to break through the barriers separating different spatial dimensions.

Without coordinates...

He would become hopelessly lost.

But Roy's method had given him an entirely new idea.

Deep down, he had always feared that one day his god would leave this world.

Disappear forever.

Never to be found again.

His god's promise offered emotional comfort.

But it wasn't enough.

He wanted something tangible.

Something that could truly guarantee it.

If only...

He could obtain his god's psychic coordinates.

Psychic Marks worked both ways.

A male Zerg could locate a female Zerg through the mark.

Likewise, a sufficiently powerful female Zerg could trace the mark back to the male Zerg.

The connection existed for both.

After finishing his work, Ulysses sent Cyril a message.

[Marshal]: You're on leave.

Cyril: ???

Wait.

Wasn't it too early for the next troop rotation?

He checked the date.

It was.

The handover wasn't scheduled until early next month.

Clearly...

This was the Marshal acting on personal business.

Thinking of the one inside Military Region Prison, the reason became obvious.

Other Zergs requested leave so they could spend time with their male Zergs.

The Marshal did the exact opposite.

He worked overtime so he could spend time with his.

And even stole someone else's workload in the process.

No matter how one looked at it, it benefited Cyril.

A free vacation.

He immediately packed up and vacated the office for the Marshal.

...

Ulysses arrived at Military Region Prison.

He wondered whether he should submit another visitation request.

He had already visited twice this month.

This would make a third time.

Was that...

Too frequent?

While he was still debating, the door opened before him.

An Ruo, who had sensed the spatial disturbance and come to investigate, met Ulysses' eyes in the hallway.

"Hi?"

An Ruo greeted him before secretly checking his terminal.

There hadn't been any visitation request.

Assuming Ulysses had either come to see Selerus or happened to be here on official business, he asked,

"Good afternoon. Are you here on military business today?"

"Good afternoon."

Facing the male, Ulysses stood perfectly straight as he explained,

"Cyril is on leave. I'm filling in for him."

The General was on leave again?

Well...

He was a pregnant female.

Taking time off for examinations or rest was perfectly normal.

Without giving it much thought, An Ruo confirmed that Ulysses had no other duties before inviting him inside and pouring him a cup of tea.

After meeting several times, An Ruo had noticed that Ulysses rarely drank anything besides tea.

So he'd prepared some local green leaf tea specifically for him.

Accepting the cup, Ulysses lowered his eyes slightly.

"I'm truly sorry to trouble you again."

"It isn't any trouble."

"I'm happy whenever you come."

An Ruo gently swirled the tea before taking in its fragrance.

Even the Zerg version of green leaf tea carried the rich scent of fresh green tea.

He normally didn't enjoy it.

Yet somehow...

With Ulysses sitting across from him, even the aroma seemed pleasant.

An occasional cup had its own unique charm.

An Ruo wasn't someone who naturally initiated conversations.

Ulysses had a purpose in coming.

But he certainly couldn't blurt it out immediately.

Who would directly ask a male Zerg for a Psychic Mark?

That would be far too presumptuous.

"May I ask you about something that confused me in your novel?"

Ulysses asked.

An Ruo paused mid-sip.

He hadn't expected the Marshal to read his novels.

Probably because of that game...

Actually, Ulysses had mentioned details from his books before.

He had even guessed that An Ruo had written other novels before The Instructor, using that deduction to uncover most of his identity as an author.

Right now, Ulysses appeared harmless.

But An Ruo had personally experienced the Marshal's relentless pressure before.

He knew exactly how perceptive he was.

He was an exceptional hunter.

Patient.

Restrained.

Always waiting to deliver the killing blow.

Instinctively, An Ruo became wary.

Yet he couldn't think of any reason Ulysses would harm him.

Their relationship was fairly harmonious now.

They had no conflicting interests.

"Go ahead."

An Ruo set down his teacup and straightened his posture.

"You don't need to be nervous."

"I'm simply asking as one of your readers."

"It's about..."

"Fireflies."

Ulysses asked,

"Are they a special species that possesses luminous organs? I've never heard of them before."

"Ah... more or less. Though they're different from your Zergs."

The Zergs An Ruo wrote about were fantasy creatures.

They weren't directly related to real insects.

Compared with insects...

They resembled magical beasts capable of mimicry.

The mention of fireflies brought a trace of nostalgia into An Ruo's eyes.

"They're special insects with light-producing organs at the ends of their abdomens. They communicate and find mates through their light. On summer nights, they drift low among the grass, blinking on and off like countless stars. They're incredibly beautiful."

"..."

It sounded like an entire swarm of shameless female Zergs shamelessly courting a male.

Ulysses narrowed his eyes.

At that moment...

He found himself thinking exactly the same thing Morris had.

Those female Zergs were utterly frivolous.

Cheap.

Vulgar.

He almost wanted to tear open space itself, travel back into the male's past, and give every one of those females courting him a severe lesson.

But...

The male clearly liked those glowing creatures.

Whenever he spoke of them, his eyes sparkled with nostalgia.

After thinking for a moment, Ulysses asked,

"I can absorb the genes of a luminous species and make parts of my body glow."

"Would you like that?"

Never once had Ulysses considered integrating another species' genes.

To an absolutely perfect SSS-Class female Zerg, such alterations were nothing short of contamination.

Especially genes that served no purpose whatsoever.

Genes that offered no increase in combat ability.

But...

If the male liked them...

He was willing to consider it.

"...Huh?"

An Ruo couldn't keep up with the abrupt change of topic.

His eyes instinctively drifted toward Ulysses' abdomen.

H-He wanted to glow too?

He tried imagining Ulysses with a glowing lower abdomen...

Then immediately forced himself to stop.

That was way too bizarre!

The entire mental image felt completely wrong!

Even imagining it felt disrespectful.

"I... don't think that's necessary?"

Completely overwhelmed inside, An Ruo still did his best to answer calmly.

"What's your reason for doing something like that?"

"Is this some kind of fashion trend?"

He felt like an utterly devastated parent whose perfect child had suddenly announced he wanted to dye his hair bright yellow and become a punk.

...Had he become an old fossil without realizing it?

Looking at him, Ulysses immediately recognized how difficult the idea was for him to accept.

Calmly, he withdrew the suggestion.

"I won't absorb luminous genes."

"I actually came to ask you something else..."

"Would you perform Psychic Soothing for me once more?"

This would already be the third time.

Requesting Psychic Soothing three times within such a short period...

Even for a well-loved married female Zerg, it would seem unbearably greedy.

Ulysses quietly dug his fingertips into his palm.

He didn't believe the male would agree.

Instead—

The male across from him visibly relaxed, as though an enormous burden had been lifted.

"Of course."

"No problem at all!"

Compared to bright yellow punk hair...

Requesting Psychic Soothing felt about as innocent as asking,

"May I have a pat on the head?"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!