Zerg: After being rescued by the Major General, I pledged myself to him.

"What?"

Lu Yao looked at Lan Yang in shock.

"I've known Anqing for so long, how come I've never heard him mention this before?"

When Lu Yao met An Qing, An Qing was a D-level male insect, and Lu Yao thought that was his initial level.

Lan Yang sighed and said slowly, "This is his scar, and I think he probably wouldn't want to talk about it."

Lu Yao lowered his eyebrows, looking somewhat sad.

He doesn't discriminate against lower-ranking males, but if Anqing was initially an A-rank male but was forced to drop to D-rank due to an accidental injury, that would be too cruel.

Over the years, An Qing has suffered a lot of humiliation from the male insects of the capital star because of his D-level male insect status.

His older brother, An Luo, was also valued by the Marshal and the An family because he possessed an A-level pheromone level, and he would often cause trouble for An Qing because of this.

"After that accident, the Marshal's Mansion and the An family joined forces to cover it up, after all, it was a shameful thing."

Yan Mo's thoughts raced, and remembering Lan Yang's earlier statement that An Qing and An Luo didn't get along, he immediately made a guess.

"Is Anqing's pheromone level drop related to Anluo?"

Lan Yang nodded with a sigh, confirming Yan Mo's guess.

"What?"

Lu Yao was startled again.

He then gritted his teeth and said, "I only knew An Luo was ruthless, but I didn't know he could be so cruel to his own brother?"

Yan Mo asked curiously, "What did An Luo do?"

What methods could be used to downgrade the pheromone level of male insects? Such methods would inevitably be resisted by male insect protection associations.

How did Anlu manage to do that?

Lan Yang shook her head.

"I don't know the specifics. The Marshal's Mansion and the An family kept this a secret. Only a few words leaked out from the rumors. Other people just listened to it as gossip."

"I heard that the Male Insect Protection Association even approached Marshal about this. They couldn't tolerate such methods that harm male insects, but Marshal blocked them all. The Male Insect Protection Association had no evidence and couldn't do anything to Marshal."

"Lord Anqing was killed shortly after his differentiation. At that time, he had not yet registered his pheromone level with the Male Insect Protection Association, and the Marshal's Mansion claimed that Lord Anqing's original differentiation level was D."

"Because of this incident, the Male Insect Protection Association has stipulated that male insects should immediately record their pheromone levels with the association after differentiation. For male insects with high potential, the association will also send female insects to test their pheromone levels."

……

Lan Yang's words brought silence to the dining table.

Both are sons of the Marshal's Mansion, yet their statuses are vastly different. What's even more tragic is that An Qing was originally a chosen one, but he was ruined by his own brother, and his parents both sided with An Luo.

The Marshal and the An family's actions are understandable. They've already destroyed a high-level male insect offspring, so they can't let the matter be exposed and destroy another male insect offspring as well.

Once Anluo's actions are exposed, even though he is a high-ranking male insect, he will not escape the sanctions of the Male Insect Protection Association.

I understand, but I can't help feeling disheartened.

Hearing this, even those unrelated insects felt heavy-hearted, unable to imagine how much pain and helplessness An Qing must have felt at that time.

Lu Yao couldn't even eat, and his eyes were flushed red.

Yan Mo admired An Qing even more. After suffering such a blow, he was able to heal himself and grow into a sunny male insect who loved adventure and travel. His resilience was unimaginable.

Lan Ze had been listening quietly without saying a word until this moment when he spoke up: "An Luo probably used a gland contaminant."

Yan Mo looked at Lan Ze: "Lan Ze, you know about this?"

Lan Ze nodded: "I know a little."

The Fourth Army couldn't possibly ignore the appearance of something that destroys male insect pheromones.

After the incident, not only the Fourth Army, but also other legions, the Male Insect Protection Association, the Council, and the major families of the capital star, all sent insects to conduct secret investigations.

However, the Marshal's Mansion and the An family acted too quickly, cleaning up An Luo's mess in the first instance.

The Fourth Army only found out that An Luo had been in frequent contact with the head of an underground research institute before An Qing split up.

That underground research institute was a remnant of the Great Purge. After escaping the purge, it lived peacefully for decades, but there were faint signs of it resurfacing.

The insects sent out by the Fourth Army found information about a drug in an abandoned research institute.

This drug, known as gland contaminant, is made from pollutants extracted from various polluted planets. It can contaminate the pheromone glands of male insects. Once the glands are contaminated beyond their purification capacity, the male insect may die if the contamination is not removed in time. Even if the glands are preserved, the pheromone level will drop significantly.

"Glandular contaminant? Does this kind of drug still exist?"

Lanze shook his head: "I don't know. To cover up Anluo's crimes, Marshal Sith sent his personal guards to destroy the research institute and even killed the leader who had contact with Anluo."

Lu Yao slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

"An Luo was able to act so recklessly because he anticipated that the Marshal and the An family would cover for him!"

Yan Mo's eyes turned slightly cold as he casually said, "Do you think the Marshal might have left behind the drug formula when he destroyed the research institute? And An Luo, since he used this method to harm An Qing once, won't he use the same method again to deal with another male insect that gets in their way?"

Lan Ze clenched his fist tightly at his side.

Lu Yao was startled: "Brother Yan, you mean they'll use this kind of drug against you?"

Yan Mo said calmly, "After all, I am now the biggest enemy of the Marshal's Mansion."

Anluo hated him for taking Lanze away.

Yan Mo's appearance has made next year's election a highly unpredictable event.

Yan Mo's suspicions were not without reason.

Lan Ze said coldly, "I will not let that happen."

Yan Mo smiled and pulled away Lan Ze's nails, which were almost digging into his palm, and reassured him, "Don't worry, this is just my guess. Glandular contaminants are such dangerous things. If the Male Insect Protection Association finds out about them, the Marshal's Mansion and the An family will be in deep trouble. They might not take such a risk."

Moreover, now that he had this suspicion, Yan Mo was on guard and prepared to prevent An Luo and the others from making a move.

"That bastard Anluo is insidious and despicable. We must be wary of him. I'll invite Brother Anqing to my house tomorrow. Let's form an alliance and advance and retreat together."

Lu Yao said angrily, then scratched his head in distress: "But Brother Yan, Brother Anqing's glands are damaged, so he's only a D-level male insect. He has no influence and no status in the Marshal's Mansion or the An family. I'm afraid he can't help us deal with An Luo."

Yan Mo shook his head: "I invited An Qing here not to help us deal with An Luo, but for another matter."

"What is it?"

Lu Yao asked curiously.

You'll find out in a while.

Yan Mo kept it a secret.

Lu Yao could only suppress his curiosity and change the subject.

"By the way, before I came here, my father asked me, now that my brother is out, do you still want to continue what you discussed with him before?"

Yan Mo nodded.

"Continue, of course we must continue."