Ever since Qi Heng began working at the mine, he had been leaving early and returning late.
Yan Ning remained at home to care for the Zerg egg, so the two of them had not spent much time talking.
By the time Qi Heng noticed that something was wrong with Yan Ning, it was already too late.
Had it been any other Zerg, Qi Heng certainly would not have meddled. But when it came to Yan Ning, he could not simply pretend he had seen nothing.
Remembering Yan Ning’s unsteady steps and weakened complexion earlier that morning, Qi Heng decided to tell Yun Jiu that he would not be going to the mine today.
At the entrance to District 49, Yun Jiu listened to his explanation and asked with concern:
“Did something happen?”
Suddenly announcing that he would not be going to the mining district was strange, no matter how Yun Jiu considered it. Yet Qi Heng himself did not appear to be in trouble.
Qi Heng had not originally intended to explain. On second thought, however, Yun Jiu might know why Yan Ning had become so weak, so he described what he had noticed that morning.
“Yan Ning doesn’t seem well…”
After hearing his description, Yun Jiu’s expression immediately darkened.
“That Yan Ning… How could he care so little about his own health?”
“You know what’s wrong with him?”
Qi Heng realized that the matter was not simple.
Considering the physical constitution of female Zerg, showing signs of illness was already serious in itself.
No one understood the Zerg’s bodies better than Qi Heng. Yan Ning’s condition was probably far worse than merely feeling unwell.
“I know.”
Yun Jiu’s face turned cold.
“He must have gone to exchange blood.”
Qi Heng stared at him in astonishment when he heard the phrase “exchange blood.”
Had he misheard, or had Yun Jiu misspoken?
Yun Jiu failed to notice his confusion and hurriedly continued:
“He’s far too reckless. I already told him that if he needed help, he could come to me. I can’t believe he actually went to exchange blood…”
“No. I need to go see him.”
Qi Heng patted Yun Jiu on the shoulder.
“You still need to work at the mine. Leave Yan Ning to me.”
Over the past several days, Qi Heng had learned a fair amount about Yun Jiu’s circumstances.
Yun Jiu was hardly better off than Yan Ning. He had several hungry mouths waiting at home to be fed, and missing even one day at the mine meant losing a day’s income.
Heaven knew how horrified Qi Heng had been when he learned that Yun Jiu had several Zerg children.
Yun Jiu appeared to be only in his twenties. Looking back a few years, he would hardly have seemed old enough to marry.
Yun Jiu hesitated, still somewhat worried.
“Can you handle it?”
“Mm.”
“Then I’ll leave Yan Ning to you.”
There was no need to speak of leaving Yan Ning in his care.
Qi Heng suspected that Yan Ning’s actions were closely connected to him.
Exchanging blood…
Trading blood for food and necessary supplies.
Qi Heng thought of the additional food and the clothing that had appeared over the past few days.
He had given Yan Ning all the points he earned from mining, but they had amounted to only fifteen points in total.
Given Yan Ning’s personality, even if those points were insufficient, he would never have told Qi Heng.
After sending Yun Jiu on his way, Qi Heng turned and headed back toward Yan Ning’s home.
…
Hearing footsteps, Yan Ning wondered who had arrived.
When he turned around, he was surprised to see Qi Heng, who had only just left.
“Brother Qi, weren’t you going to the mining district with Brother Yun Jiu? Why did you come back? Did you forget something?”
“No.”
Qi Heng walked over and gestured for Yan Ning to stand.
“I came back because of you.”
Yan Ning looked at him in confusion.
“What is this blood exchange?” Qi Heng asked directly.
“Brother Qi, why are you asking about that?”
Panic flashed through Yan Ning’s eyes as he attempted to conceal the truth.
“Yun Jiu already told me everything.”
Qi Heng felt somewhat helpless.
For some reason, he had the strange sensation that he was raising a troublesome child.
What the hell?
Could the Overlord’s influence be affecting his mentality through the fusion as well?
His gaze settled on Yan Ning’s arm.
Ignoring Yan Ning’s struggles, Qi Heng caught hold of it and pushed his sleeve up to the elbow.
Several needle marks remained clearly visible along the inside of Yan Ning’s arm.
The skin around them had turned blue-purple, standing out frighteningly against his pale complexion.
When Yan Ning realized that what he had concealed had been discovered, his face turned white.
Qi Heng knew little about the internal workings of the slums, and this was the first time he had heard of “exchanging blood.”
That did not prevent him from analyzing the answer.
“It was because of me.”
He looked down at Yan Ning and spoke as a statement rather than a question.
“You traded your blood for food and clothing, didn’t you?”
Since Qi Heng had already guessed, Yan Ning lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
Qi Heng sighed.
Ultimately, Yan Ning had been burdened because of him.
“Don’t do this again. Our agreement was that you would give me somewhere to stay. There were no other conditions attached. There was no need for you to do anything extra.”
Had Qi Heng learned about it a few days earlier, he would never have allowed Yan Ning to sell his blood.
At least, that was the conclusion he drew from Yun Jiu’s words.
When Yun Jiu mentioned exchanging blood, his tone had been perfectly ordinary, as though he were commenting on the pleasant weather.
His anger had not been directed at the act of exchanging blood itself. He had only been angry that Yan Ning had disregarded his own health and done it.
That revealed something Qi Heng found deeply concerning.
The power controlling the slums was interested in the blood of female Zerg.
Interested enough to collect their blood over a prolonged period and condition them to regard trading it for necessary supplies as completely normal.
Qi Heng was still thinking when Yan Ning suddenly raised his voice and interrupted him.
“It wasn’t unnecessary. I only wanted to help you.”
“Compared with everything you’ve done for me, there’s very little I can do.”
Yan Ning abruptly looked up at him and rushed to speak, as though afraid he would lose his chance if he hesitated.
He picked up the Zerg egg and continued emotionally:
“I can feel the little one getting better a little at a time.”
After soaking for several days, the egg’s creamy-white shell had become a much cleaner white.
The dark blue markings across it were now clear and lustrous. Anyone could see that the egg was in excellent condition.
Who would have imagined that only a few days earlier, it had been barely alive, with one foot already through death’s door?
Qi Heng was not skilled at responding to other people’s kindness, particularly sincerity as open and undisguised as Yan Ning’s.
He cleared his throat.
“In any case, don’t do it again. If I need something, I’ll exchange for it myself.”
For some inexplicable reason, Yan Ning appeared disappointed.
“Oh,” he replied quietly.
Qi Heng reached out and ruffled Yan Ning’s hair.
“Let me examine the egg.”
He took the egg from Yan Ning and carefully used his mental power to sense the condition of the child inside.
The next instant, a crisp cracking sound unexpectedly rang beside his ear.
“…Is he about to come out?”
Holding the egg in both hands, Qi Heng instinctively stopped breathing.
A crack had appeared across the shell, and it was continuing to spread.
“I-I think so.”
Yan Ning stared nervously at the egg.
Qi Heng’s expression stiffened.
The Zerg egg in his hands suddenly felt extraordinarily difficult to hold.
He strode past Yan Ning and, before the shell could break completely, placed the egg inside the nest made from dried stalks and lined with a piece of clothing.
“Is the little one coming out?”
Yan Ning followed closely behind him, never taking his eyes off the egg.
The moment Qi Heng set it down, the cracked shell seemed unable to endure any longer and split apart.
Inside lay a tiny Zerg child immersed in clear egg fluid.
Dark blue patterns covered the child’s body.
They were the Zerg markings possessed by every female Zerg.
The child’s eyelashes trembled.
When he opened his eyes, he revealed emerald irises identical to Yan Ning’s.
His eyes were large and bright, filled with a clear and innocent light as he gazed up at them.
“He’s so adorable.”
The sensation of their blood connection made Yan Ning instinctively reach out to pick up the child.
Zerg children were born in a partial Zerg form, meaning that some insect-like traits remained visible on their bodies.
Until they learned to transform fully into a human appearance, they would remain in this partial form for quite some time.
“He is.”
The child looked exactly as Qi Heng had previously seen through his mental power.
He possessed a humanoid appearance, but a slender pair of antennae grew from his forehead, while long, narrow, dragonfly-like wings hung beside his body.
Qi Heng stopped Yan Ning.
“Wait before picking him up.”
Yan Ning did not understand why Qi Heng had told him to stop, but he obediently withdrew his hands.
He only took one of the child’s small hands carefully in his own.
The child showed no desire to avoid Qi Heng’s approaching hand.
Newborn Zerg understood nothing about the world, but instinctively knew whom they should approach and depend upon.
Qi Heng carefully lifted the wings from the clear egg fluid.
His movements were exceptionally gentle.
Under his hands, the wings gradually straightened. He delicately separated the soft, transparent wings into two pairs.
The Tianjia Zerg possessed many different subspecies, a large portion of which were winged.
When children of those subspecies were born, their wings needed to be separated and positioned properly.
Once the wings dried in that position, they would not suffer damage.
Qi Heng realized that although this was supposedly his first time performing the task, his movements were extraordinarily practiced.
It felt as though he had already done it hundreds or thousands of times.
The child was not plump like an ordinary healthy newborn. His body was somewhat thin and small.
Even so, the Zerg possessed excellent genes.
With those clear, watery eyes, pale and delicate skin, and an appearance as lovely as carved white jade, he could capture the heart of any adult Zerg at first sight.
Qi Heng was no exception.
He had raised many Zerg children inside the game, but this was his first time seeing one in reality.
The child was every bit as lovable as he had once imagined.
“Wait until his wings have set before picking him up.”
Qi Heng gently pinched the child’s cheek and reminded Yan Ning in a mild voice:
“He can’t retract his wings yet, so you must be especially careful when holding him.”
“A newborn’s wings are extremely fragile and easily injured.”
In an environment lacking medicine and proper treatment, illness or injury could easily threaten a Zerg child’s life.
A female Zerg’s regenerative ability provided little protection at this stage.
Once the child grew older and completed his first evolution, the situation would improve considerably. His physical constitution would become stronger, and the evolution could also stimulate the awakening of his innate abilities.
“I understand. I’ll take very good care of him.”
Yan Ning hurriedly agreed and carefully covered the child with the piece of clothing.
The child tilted his head and rubbed his cheek against Qi Heng’s finger, which had not yet moved away.
At the same time, the tiny hand resting in Yan Ning’s palm instinctively wrapped around the finger of his female father.
“Brother Qi, the little one really likes you.”
Yan Ning’s eyes curved with happiness as he watched the child behave affectionately toward Qi Heng.
Qi Heng calmly brushed the child’s cheek with the pad of his finger.
He was not surprised.
“When Zerg children hatch, they instinctively feel close to the first Zerg they see. But the ones they love most and most want to approach will always be their female father and male father.”
Mentioning this inevitably reminded Qi Heng of his earlier misunderstanding about Zerg sex.
Only later had he realized that the terminology itself had clearly revealed how the Zerg sexes worked.
He had simply closed his eyes to the obvious and failed to notice what had been directly in front of him.
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