Wei An, who was in his arms, listened to his vague words and opened his mouth to respond with a couple of soft “ah ah~” sounds.
The adorable sounds made the zergs present feel their hearts soften.
Taking advantage of the moment when he had just changed into a military uniform, Quan Chu bent down to offer the bottle to Wei’an. This bottle was made from the powdered shell of the little male cub’s egg.
For the zerg race, the egg shell is very important at birth, as it determines whether they can grow up healthily.
Female cubs will eat most of the egg shell within the first day after hatching, usually finishing it within two days.
Male cubs, due to their weaker bodies, need seven days to consume the entire egg shell.
Quan Chu had just examined the egg shell and found no signs of it being eaten, which made him realize that his male cub seemed to be weaker than usual.
In his father’s arms, little Wei’an opened his mouth and held the pacifier in search of the taste and instinctively began to suckle, making gulping noises accompanied by satisfied little whimpers.
The entire living room was so quiet that only the sounds of breathing could be heard. The zergs present stared blankly at little Wei’an drinking from the bottle, watching his impossibly tiny hands holding the bottle with a look of utter contentment, feeling a profound sense of joy.
Quan Chu looked down into Wei’an’s misty, blue eyes, and his usually cold heart softened slightly. This was his male cub, the one who would call him “female father” in the future.
Halfway through drinking and feeling tired, little Wei’an tilted his head and fell asleep in his father’s arms.
Alhandra, holding little Wei’an, frowned as he looked at the half-empty bottle. He lowered his voice and asked, “Why did he drink so little?”
Quan Chu shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. He then knelt on one knee, looking up at the male lord with a weakly pleading expression in his crimson eyes. “My lord, the matters at the military department cannot be delayed. May I go and handle them?”
A month ago, after returning from the battle at Wuhai, the male lord had forbidden him from going out, instructing him to stay home and be a proper female monarch.
Although he knew this day would come sooner or later—other military females are stripped of their right to return to the battlefield once they have a male lord—his male lord was quite lenient, giving him thirty years.
But he was unwilling, and there was nothing he could do. In the insect race, males are superior to everything, and married females’ bodies and hearts all belong to the male lord. Females cannot resist males unless their lives are in extreme danger.
Just as he had resigned himself to his fate, a little male cub hatched from his egg.
Quan Chu knew this was his only opportunity.
Indeed, Alhandra looked at little Wei’an in his arms and nodded, “Go ahead.”
“Yes.” Quan Chu stood up straight, handing the remaining half of the bottle to the butler beside him before turning and leaving.
Hiding behind his female father, Quan Fan looked at the back of his departing father and then sneakily glanced at little Wei’an in his male father’s arms, his eyes filled with a faint envy. He wished he could be held by his male father too.
At night, Quan Fan stood in front of the mirror in his room, looking at his face and the ink-green zerg patterns that matched his eyes, feeling a bit disappointed.
The male cub was so tender and delicate that it was no wonder his male father liked him.
The caretaker Zhao Yan was sent back to the care center. Although little Wei’an’s crying wasn’t due to his fault, it didn’t stop Alhandra from wanting to change caretakers.
Zhao Yan felt quite happy about his colleagues’ sympathy. Alhandra was known for his capriciousness, so being able to return in one piece was already something to be glad about.
With a new caretaker assigned, news of Alhandra’s male cub quickly spread throughout the zerg race.
…
In the morning, in the specially decorated room for little Wei’an, Alhandra was carefully removing Wei’an’s hand from his mouth, noting how tiny it was and fearing it might be crushed if he wasn’t careful. “It’s so dirty. No more sucking on your hand.”
Lying on the carpet, little Wei’an heard him speak and smiled with his toothless mouth. The little hand that was caught was waving wildly, “Ah~”
Seeing him smile, Alhandra couldn’t keep a stern face. “If you understand, then stop sucking.”
Little Wei’an responded with an “Ah~” as if he understood, but as soon as Alhandra let go, he immediately put his hand back into his mouth. Alhandra had no choice but to keep holding his hand.
Wei’an didn’t get upset about having his hand held still. Instead, his other hand reached for his toes, happily babbling in a way that no one could understand.
For the past half-month, Alhandra had been taking care of little Wei’an entirely on his own. The new caretaker’s involvement had been minimal, only occasionally providing reminders.
The new caretaker, Jiang Yang, understood this, as little Wei’an was just too adorable. The sight of the chubby, well-behaved cub made everyone want to pamper him.
“Call me ‘male father,’” Alhandra said, lying on the carpet and playing with little Wei’an.
“Ah ya~”
“Male father.”
“Ah~ ya~”
“Really foolish.” He reached out and tapped Wei’an’s nose, unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face as he looked into the cub’s twinkling eyes.
The terminal suddenly chimed, and Alhandra wiped the smile off his face, frowning at the displeased call display. He answered with an irritable tone that left no room for pretense, “What is it?”
The virtual figure displayed was tall and robust, with deep grayish-white eyes that seemed to scrutinize him, carrying an inexplicable sense of oppression.
This was Alhandra’s family’s current head, Alhandra Zang, who was once a general in the military.
He was a rare female family head.
Unlike the petty male zergs who were raised to be arrogantly ignorant, males from prominent families received top-notch education and resources from birth.
This gave them wisdom and power that matched their high status, so the leadership of the top zerg families had always been male-dominated, with Alhandra Zang being an exception.
He was the one who had pushed Alhandra to the position of family head.
The reason was simple: he didn’t want to waste his brief life on trivial matters.
He had power, status, and wealth. If Alhandra Zang dissatisfied him, he could always drive him out and strip him of the Alhandra name, which he got for being the head of the family.
“I heard you have a male cub?” Alhandra Zangshi’s deep voice came through, indifferent to Alhandra’s attitude. His younger brother had always given him a hard time, and he was quite surprised that he had been chosen as the family head.
Alhandra Zangshi had heard about the male cub a long time ago, but it took him half a month to get through to this call.
A male cub was a significant asset for a family’s rise in the zerg world. Although the Alhandra family’s current position didn’t require the boost of a male cub, this cub was the only male of this generation in the Alhandra family.
As a family head, he naturally had to inquire about it.
“Ugh.” Alhandra’s expression darkened, but he still turned the camera towards Wei’an.
Lying on the floor, little Wei’an was trying to grasp his own feet with his hands. When he saw his father looking at him, he grinned widely with his toothless smile, flailing his tiny white hands in the air.
Seeing this, Alhandra Zangshi’s gaze softened ever so slightly. Were male cubs this adorable when they were young?
He glanced at Alhandra again before lowering his eyes. Perhaps it was their burning youthful qualities, “What’s his name?”
“Wei’an,” Alhandra’s voice noticeably softened.
“He seems quite weak.” The small bundle appeared smaller than his newly hatched female cub, making him wonder if this male cub had really been out of the egg for half a month.
Lying on the carpet, Wei’an looked curiously at the phantom image that appeared before him. He pointed at Alhandra Zangshi with one hand while his other hand clutched at his father’s little finger, babbling in unintelligible baby talk, “Ah ya~ buu~”
Alhandra lifted Wei’an and tilted his chin dismissively towards the screen. “There, your uncle.”
Wei’an clutched at his father’s chest, tilting his head to look at the unfamiliar image with his big, blue eyes blinking, babbling in his cute baby language. The sight of the tiny cub even softened the expression of the stern former general, who gruffly said, “Good boy, Wei’an.”
“Ya.”
“Mm, good.”
“Ya ya~”
The zerg race was naturally combative, and due to their robust physiques, even newly hatched female cubs were tough to handle. This led to a rather rough approach to raising cubs.
However, they took extraordinary care with male cubs.
This was Alhandra Zangshi’s first encounter with such a delicate being. The small, obedient bundle nestled in his father’s arms, with black hair and a pair of large, round blue eyes. The tiny hands, too small to even hold half of his finger, clutched tightly at his father’s chest, curiously observing him.
The soft sounds coming from the cub made it seem as though even from across the screen and several planets away, he could almost smell the milk.
Honestly, Alhandra Zangshi did not regret giving up the right to have a male lord when he assumed the family head position. Knowing the nature of male zergs, he was even somewhat pleased.
Now, however, he felt a bit of regret.
Without a male lord, he would never have a soft and cuddly male cub like this in his life.
Alhandra, feeling the weight of the cub in his arms, furrowed his brow slightly. The weight hadn’t increased for two days.
Compared to female zergs who were strong from birth, even among the males he had seen, his cub was unusually weak.
Other male cubs would finish their egg shells within a week after hatching and could roll over and babble a few words in about ten days. But Wei’an, after more than half a month, still had half of the egg shell left.
His appetite was so small that after drinking a few sips, he refused to eat more. He still couldn’t roll over.
The zerg doctor had examined him thoroughly. Apart from being weak and needing careful nurturing, there were no major issues.
In the galaxy, only humans had advanced medical skills due to their own frail nature, and the zerg race’s medical techniques were learned from them.
Alhandra was considering whether to find a skilled human doctor from a human planet.
Alhandra Zang nodded in response to his thoughts. “A doctor will arrive in three days.”
Humans were a peculiar species. Despite their own frailty, they had carved out a place for themselves in the vast universe through technology.
Moreover, their females and the zerg race’s sub-females looked very similar, though the sub-females had a higher stature and a more robust appearance.
This similarity had piqued the zerg race’s interest.
Over the years, humans and zergs had developed a good relationship. Humans provided technology, and zergs were not stingy in offering protection.
While they talked, Wei’an had fallen asleep in Alhandra’s arms. His tiny chest rose and fell, looking especially soothing.
Perhaps because of the damage to his original body, Wei’an was rarely awake, totaling about five to six hours a day. When he was awake, he was very well-behaved, not crying or fussing, which made Alhandra both happy and heartbroken.
Even though it was his first time caring for a male cub, Alhandra knew that his little Wei’an slept too much.
