Who understands? The aloof female ruler always flirts without even realizing it.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Karandal was awakened by a peculiar notification sound from his wrist-mounted computer. It wasn't a routine military announcement, but rather an encrypted message from higher-ups.

He quickly checked the information, his brow furrowing.

"What's wrong?" Shen Yan was woken up by the noise. Before he even opened his eyes, he smacked his lips and asked in a muffled voice.

The female soldier had already gotten up and was quickly and efficiently adjusting her uniform.

"A serious accident occurred in the nearby neighborhood. A male insect caused the accident, fled the scene, and dragged its young with its vehicle. The circumstances were egregious."

"Because His Excellency is involved and the situation is special, the higher-ups want me to go to the scene as a high-ranking military officer to assist in stabilizing the situation and ensuring that the procedures are in compliance with regulations."

"I'll go with you!"

Shen Yan immediately snapped out of it, sat up in bed in a flash, and said without hesitation.

"Need not."

"I want to go!"

Without much argument, the two insects quickly arrived at the scene of the incident.

The scene has been brought under control by law enforcement. The air is filled with the pungent smell of the energy fluid leaking from the hovercraft, as well as a strong stench of blood.

Damaged vehicle parts were scattered all over the ground, and a long, shocking drag mark stretched from the center of the street to the edge of the police line. Although the little bug had been rushed to the hospital, the mess at the scene silently testified to the tragedy that had just occurred.

Karandal identified himself and walked through the restless crowd and the somber-faced law enforcement officers.

His gaze, like the most precise scanner, calmly swept over every detail of the scene, finally settling on the male insect that was being held down firmly on the hood of the damaged vehicle by two strong law enforcement officers.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

Samuel!

That face, distorted by alcohol and anger, was plain and even somewhat ugly, yet it instantly awakened all the memories he had deliberately suppressed.

A chilling coldness instantly shot up my spine to the top of my head, and my blood seemed to stop flowing at that moment.

The wounds on my body, which had long since healed, seemed to be torn apart again by an invisible force, sending a sharp, familiar phantom pain through me.

Countless fragments of forcibly sealed memories surged forth like a burst dam, relentlessly assaulting his sanity. The piercing laughter, the cracking of the whip, the groans of his bones bearing the weight, and the bone-deep sense of humiliation.

At the same time, Samuel, who had been subdued, also saw them.

Struggling to lift his head, his scarlet eyes locked onto Kalandall, and a smile instantly spread across his face, a mixture of resentment and malicious excitement.

"Kalandall!!"

His voice was hoarse yet loud, with a deliberate high pitch.

"What a coincidence, darling—did you come all this way just to see me?"

Almost simultaneously, Shen Yan's eyes suddenly turned icy cold. He stepped forward half a step, shielding the female insect behind him in a completely protective posture, his gaze like a poisoned icicle.

Samuel glanced back and forth between Kalandel and Shen Yan, his tone dripping with malicious lewdness: "What's wrong? You've got a new master insect, and you've forgotten what it was like working for me?"

"Do you need me to help you remember?"

The voice suddenly turned somber and subdued:

"...I love whipping you the most, even if I whip you until your skin is torn and bleeding, you will never beg for mercy."

"You screamed so pitifully when your wings were cut off. Thinking about it now still makes me tremble with excitement. I wish I could do it a few more times..."

Reveling in his own brutal violence, he seemed to be recalling a great work of art:

"What I admire most about you is this: you're in so much pain, yet you don't even dare to groan. Watching every muscle in your body tremble, yet still glaring at me with that cold, defiant look... it's so satisfying..."

"The only regret is that I couldn't fully enjoy your beautiful body..."

"Samuel!"

He was interrupted sharply. Shen Yan's voice was hoarse from suppressing his anger. He stood straight, his eyes sharp as ice blades.

"What awaits you is the most severe punishment under the Imperial Law."

"Sanctions?" Samuel laughed wildly.

"Compared to the art you once performed on Karandel, what just happened is nothing, huh?"

"Besides, you don't really think the Empire would attack me, do you?"

Shen Yan's face darkened completely.

Taking a step forward, the SS-class male insect's mental power relentlessly pressed down on Samuel, abruptly stopping his rampant laughter.

"Samuel," Shen Yan's voice was icy cold.

"You will pay the price."

The mental suppression from the SS-rank male caused Samuel to curl up on the ground in pain, unable to utter any more arrogant sounds.

Enforcement officers quickly put the male insect, which was completely unable to resist, into a special restraint vehicle.

"Let's go."

The subsequent processing procedures were carried out step by step.

Because the evidence was conclusive, and because it involved the serious injury of innocent insect offspring and had a negative social impact, Samuel was quickly prosecuted.

However, as many insects had anticipated, the influence of male privilege and the relentless operation of the family behind the scenes began.

In court, the defendant's lawyer strongly emphasized that his behavior was "a momentary loss of control" and offered a large sum of Star Dollars as compensation in an attempt to gain forgiveness.

The victimized family consisted of only a single female father, without a male to support them. The offspring were also made in test tubes using frozen sperm purchased at a high price, and they had no ability to resist the powerful.

Despite the prosecution and Carlandall's side submitting ample evidence demonstrating the defendant's past misconduct and the extreme egregiousness of this act, the final verdict still left the defendant disheartened.

Samuel was convicted of multiple offenses, including dangerous driving, hit-and-run, and causing serious injury to insects, and was sentenced to seven days in a male insect disciplinary facility.

Seven days.

Compared to the harm he caused and the sins he committed, it's as light as a joke.

When the verdict was sent back, Shen Yan was giving his female pet a nutrient solution. He looked at the brief verdict notification on the screen and was so angry that he smashed the cup in his hand on the ground, shards and liquid splattering everywhere.

"How dare he! How dare they!"

His chest heaved violently, and his eyes were filled with unbelievable rage.

"A bug cub might be left with a lifelong disability, plus what he did to you before... and he's only worth seven days?!"

Compared to Shen Yan's fury, Karandal's reaction was much calmer, but beneath this calm lay a deeper chill and disappointment.

He sat on the sofa, his gaze fixed on a point in the void, his face expressionless, only his slightly curled fingers on his knees betraying that he was not indifferent.

"This is reality, my lord."

His voice was deep and steady, revealing no emotion.

"The privileges of male insects, the power of their families... often, the scales of justice are tipped."

He had long been accustomed to this injustice.

For Samuel, seven days of imprisonment was hardly a punishment; it was more like a short, painless vacation.

Suddenly standing in front of the female ruler, Shen Yan squatted down and forced her to look him in the eye: "This shouldn't be reality! At least, it shouldn't be your reality!"

He gripped his hands tightly, his tone resolute:

"I won't let him escape so easily."