My evil self is completely unable to exert its power in the Zerg.

[Year 3169 of the New Zerg Empire Era in the Star Calendar - Summer Weather: I can't remember exactly, but it should have been somewhat hot]

This afternoon, Jadel, Jaisal, and I played the "Star Trek" game in the shrubbery behind the hill.

Jadel is the captain, Jaisal is the assault team member, and I am... well, the protected "precious lord".

We're in the middle of a scene where they discover an unknown planet, and Jaysar uses a tree branch to pretend to be an energy sword, cutting down a bush while shouting, "For the Empire! Charge—"

Then, things went wrong.

Behind the bushes, instead of the familiar slope, there was a seemingly ordinary rock—but the rock's surface suddenly shimmered with a silvery light, like ripples on water.

Before I could even yell "Stop!", Jaysar, the fastest runner, had already stepped into the light and vanished instantly!

"Jay!" Jadel's expression changed, and he rushed over to try to pull him away, but he also disappeared.

"Wait for me!" I quickly chased after him and reached out my hand—the moment my fingertips touched the light, it felt like I was being sucked in by a tremendous force!

The world spun around me, the bright light blinded me, my ears were filled with strange buzzing sounds, and my body felt like it was being stretched and flattened.

I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my hands (I didn't know whose hand I was holding, maybe Jadel's).

It felt like only a few seconds had passed, yet also like an eternity, when suddenly my footing gave way—"Bang!" "Ouch!" "Thump!"

The three of us tumbled together and rolled on the hard ground.

"Enemy attack! Alert!" Jadelot immediately flipped and leaped up, his violet eyes sharply scanning his surroundings. His small body was taut like a bow, assuming a fighting stance—although he was only seven years old, his stance was personally taught to him by Lancelot's father and should not be underestimated.

"Which bastard dares to ambush me!" Jaysar jumped up, his light gray eyes glaring fiercely, his fists clenched, searching around for the enemy insects he imagined.

"Wait! Don't make any rash moves!" I rubbed my sore bottom and quickly called out to stop them.

Something's not right. Something's really wrong here.

We fell down on a... street.

It wasn't the smooth, mirror-like, snow-white crystal avenue in the Holy Court that reflected the starry sky, nor was it the clean, spacious alloy streets outside the manor where flying cars silently glided by.

This is a... drab road surface, as if it were paved with some kind of hardened gray-black material.

The houses on both sides of the road are low, at most twenty or thirty stories high, with mottled walls, some covered with dark-colored squares, and square windows, some with strange curtains hanging on the glass.

There are no flying cars.

Some short, chubby, four-wheeled metal boxes that make buzzing or beeping noises are running on the road... Maybe they are some kind of vehicles?

In short, it's slow and very noisy.

There were also many... Zerg walking along the roadside?

I squinted and looked closely.

It's definitely Zerg, but... there are so many males!

There are so many!

Almost all of them coming and going were males!

How is that possible?

What about females and sub-females?

I looked for a long time and only saw a few male insects that were slightly taller and had a more composed demeanor, but they didn't have the oppressive feeling that female insects had.

What's even stranger is the appearance of these "male insects".

Some looked like the male insects I remembered, but there were many others... Their thoraxes were bulging, like they were carrying two large loaves of bread, swaying slightly as they walked.

Is he sick? Is it some kind of tumor?

Can male insects get this disease? But Father Freya never mentioned it.

Jaysal noticed it too, and he leaned close to my ear and whispered:

"Brother, many of them have swollen chests from all the insects! Should we take them to ask Father Freya?"

As he spoke, he seemed eager to grab a "patient" to examine.

"Don't do anything reckless!" I quickly grabbed him.

This place is too eerie.

The smell in the air was strange; it wasn't the scent of flowers or medicine, but rather a mixture of dust, fried food, and some kind of chemical odor.

The sounds were also very noisy, including the hum of old vehicles, strange music with simple melodies, and various languages ​​with very high intonations that I couldn't understand.

"Look there," Jadelot said, pointing to a sign standing by the roadside not far away.

The sign had a bunch of crooked symbols on it.

I stared at it for a few seconds, and deep in my mind, some dormant, blurry fragments were suddenly stirred up—memories passed down to me by my father, remnants of his memories from a distant starry sea, known as my "hometown."

Those symbols... I recognized them.

It is neither the common language of the Zerg nor any official script of the Empire.

It is "Chinese".

The sign reads "XX Province, XX City, XX Road".

Flower Kingdom... Blue Star...

This is Xiongfu's hometown!

Could it be... that we...

"Brother Ruan Ruan?"

Seeing me lost in thought, Jadelt gently nudged me.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

Lancelot's father once said that when faced with unexpected situations, one should first observe, then analyze, and finally act.

"Jed, Jay, listen to me," I whispered, pulling my two younger brothers to an inconspicuous corner by the roadside, hiding them behind a thick, red and white painted pillar. "We... might have fallen into Xiongfu's hometown. This place is called 'Blue Star,' and the name of this planet should be 'China.'"

"My father's hometown?" Jaysal's eyes widened, his light gray pupils filled with curiosity. "Then can I...?"

"No!" Although I didn't know what he was thinking, I immediately interrupted his dangerous idea. "Something's not right here. Look, so many male insects, almost no females, that's not normal. And their appearance... We don't know the rules here, don't mess around."

Jadelot frowned, his violet eyes warily observing each passing "male insect":

"Brother, they are not very vigilant, their movements are loose, and they have no discipline. No armed forces were detected. However, their numbers are clearly superior. I still suggest avoiding conflict and prioritizing finding a way back or contacting local authorities... if they exist, to establish contact."

official?

What are the authorities here? What if they mistake us for intruders? We're just cubs; we can't possibly win.

"Let's find a place to hide and sort out the situation."

I made the decision.

The three of us were wearing custom-made clothes from home, made of very good material, but the styles were clearly not suitable for this place, and we were too conspicuous.

Moreover, although Jedrolt and Jeysal are only seven years old, as female insect larvae, their height and physique are already more robust than many "male insects" on the road, which has attracted the attention of insects.

We moved carefully along the base of the wall, trying to avoid the insects' line of sight.

Passing by a transparent shop window, I saw many sparkly little things displayed inside, and... food?

They made all sorts of cute shapes and brightly colored foods. My stomach growled.

"Brother, I'm hungry too." Jaysar stared at the food in the shop window and swallowed hard.

But we don't have the currency here.

In his father's memory, Lanxing used "money," a colorful piece of paper or metal.

There is another virtual payment method called X-Trust or X-Pay, but it is not included in our AI system.

To make matters worse, because we've been staying in the manor for years, although we have AI devices, we don't have dedicated AI space.

Jadelt patted himself down and pulled a compressed energy bar from his pocket—the military kind, high in calories, and the taste… well, let’s just say it was indescribable.

"This is all we have." He broke it into three pieces, hesitating slightly. "Such awful stuff... are we really going to give it to my brother?"

"These are special times, Jade. But I'm a male, I don't need much energy..." I took it with a heavy expression, trying to break it down a little smaller, but I couldn't, so I handed it back, indicating that he should break it down a little smaller.

"It's okay, brother. You can eat first, and give us the rest if you can't finish it." Jaysar chuckled as he stuffed the energy bar into my mouth, watching me slowly grind my teeth.

The three of us squatted in the corner, munching on hard energy bars.

Some of the male insects that passed by glanced at us curiously, but quickly walked away.

There was no malice in their eyes, but neither did the insectoid society show the natural excitement and affection for unfamiliar offspring (especially male insectoid offspring). It was more like they were looking at some new little animal.

This feeling... is really strange.

It's like we've fallen into a completely different ecosystem.

"Brother, what do we do now?" Jaysar finished his energy bar, licked his lips, and looked at me.

I looked around at the unfamiliar streets, the strange insects, the completely different buildings and smells, and the dependent look in my younger brothers' eyes.

I am the older brother.

Although I "snatched" this older brother, now I have to make a decision.

"First, we need to figure out the basic rules here and find a safe place to land. Second, we need to find a way back." I mimicked Brady's father's analytical tone. "In the memories passed down from our father, Earth also has things similar to 'communication' and 'transportation,' but the principles are different. We need to learn them first."

"Study?" Jaysar's face fell.

"Hmm." I nodded, looking at the males coming and going on the street, their chests bulging but their expressions peaceful, not at all like sick men, and the low houses in the distance...

Xiongfu's hometown...

This is much more exciting than the "Star Trek" game.

It's also much more dangerous.

Male father, female father, Klein, and all fathers...

It seems we've accidentally gone too far.

I hope you'll realize we're missing soon.

Before we caused trouble.

Or... before we, especially me, were assimilated by this strange world of "male insects"?

As I watched yet another "male insect" with a tumor walk by with a grin, I shuddered.

[Star Calendar: New Zerg Empire Era 3169? I don't know how to remember the date. Weather: Sunny, I guess?]

We ultimately failed to "infiltrate" successfully.

Jaisal was growing and got hungry very quickly.

While Jadelot and I were studying the words on the road sign, we slipped away to a shop with a transparent cabinet that smelled strange and stared longingly at the golden, cake-like food inside.

His appearance was too conspicuous—strange clothing (too elaborate and ornate for the context), blank gray eyes, suspiciously moist lips, and he even tried to communicate in the common insectoid language with the smiling, apron-wearing, tumor-ridden male (?) stall owner: "Um... can I... can I get some energy replenishment?"

The stall owner paused for a moment, then smiled even more kindly and said something in a language I couldn't understand (the language in the story of the father of the hero is not like this; I later learned it was a dialect), and actually picked up a golden circle and handed it to me through the small window on the counter.

Jaysal's eyes lit up instantly, and he reached out to take it—

"Wait!" I rushed over and grabbed him.

No, we can't just take food from unfamiliar insects on Earth; we have to exchange it for "money"!

We have no money!

Just as we were tugging at each other, a tall figure in a dark blue uniform and a strange hat walked over. He wasn't a female insect, so he didn't have that intimidating aura, but the way he walked and his eyes reminded me of the uncles in the patrol team—vigilant, scrutinizing, and carrying an air of "maintaining order."

"Little friend, where's your big bug?" he asked, speaking in a heavily accented language. Because of my family's tradition, I could barely understand a little bit of it.

Jedrolt immediately stepped in front of me and Jeysar, his small face tense, his violet eyes fixed on the other person. He whispered in the Zerg common language, "The target is a potential security force individual, not a direct threat, but their intentions are unclear. Brother, I suggest we retreat."

Evacuate? Where to? We know nothing about this place.

The male insect uncle in the uniform squatted down, looked at the three of us, and frowned.

He clearly noticed our clothing, hair color (the younger brothers were fine, but my hair color was too conspicuous here), and our wary posture.

He softened his voice, said a few more words, and made a famous hand gesture.

I understood "Dad, Mom" ​​and "Where are you?"

I opened my mouth, my mind racing.

Dad? I have many...

No, that's not right. In the inherited memories, there can only be one father here!

I took a deep breath and, using extremely broken Chinese pieced together from fragments of my father's memories, uttered one word at a time: "I...we...we got lost. Dad's name is Su Tang."

"Su Tang?" The uniformed uncle paused for a moment, then his expression turned serious. He said something to a black square on his wrist.

Then he waved to us, signaling us to follow him.

The three of us exchanged a glance.

Jadel remained wary, and Jaisal was still heartbroken over the golden ring of food he hadn't gotten his hands on. I gritted my teeth—there was no other way; this seemed to be the most "legitimate" way at the moment.

We were taken to a building (the police station) with many rooms and brightly lit signs, but which Jadelot said was heavily fortified.

It's cool inside; it must have a temperature control system.

We were seated on a bench, where a seemingly gentle male tumor worm (?) wearing a different light blue uniform served us water and those golden, round foods (she called them "fried cakes").

Jaysar immediately forgot his nervousness, grabbed it and started gnawing on it, his eyes narrowing.

The male insect uncle was busy working on the screen and the black cube for a while, talking about "foreign children" and "trafficking." His expression became more and more serious, and he would glance at us from time to time, his eyes filled with doubt and... a trace of pity?

About... well, an hour or two later?

It was getting dark outside.

A series of hurried footsteps approached, and the door was suddenly pushed open.

An old male insect rushed in.

He was very tall with broad shoulders, wearing a slightly wrinkled gray shirt, and his temples were graying. I guessed he must be about six hundred years old, like Elder Brown.

His face was rugged and sharply defined, unlike that of a male insect. His brows were tightly furrowed, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's—but the moment he saw us, especially me, that sharpness was instantly shattered by a tremendous disbelief.

He stared intently at me, his pupils slightly contracted, and his breath caught in his throat for a few seconds.

I felt a little uneasy under his gaze and instinctively shrank back behind Jadel.

The man in charge of subduing the insect walked over, said a few words to him, and pointed at us.

Grandpa male insect took a deep breath, walked over with somewhat stiff steps, and squatted down in front of us.

His gaze lingered mainly on me, taking my eyes up and down, from my face to my clothes—a simple, ordinary dress at home but out of place here, a light-colored, elegant little dress with delicate patterns—and then to my bare legs and the soft indoor shoes on my feet.

His throat bobbed, his voice a little hoarse, and he spoke in Chinese: "You...you mean Su Tang? You...know Su Tang?"

This time I understood.

I nodded, but then felt it wasn't enough, and tried to organize the fragmented words in my mind: "I...I know him. Su Tang...is my father. I...we are...Su Tang's children."

"You, all of you are?!"

The old male insect—I later learned that he was the male father of the male father on this planet, that is, my "grandfather," Su Gang—his whole body trembled violently when he heard my words.

His eyes widened as if he had heard the most incredible thing in the world.

He stared at me, then glanced at the wary Jaedrol beside him and Jaisal, who was still licking his fingers. His eyes were incredibly complex: shock, doubt, ecstasy, sadness... and many other emotions that I couldn't understand were churning within him.

"The child... Tangtang's... child?" he murmured repeatedly, his voice even hoarser. "Tangtang... he's been missing for eight years... a full eight years... where is he?"

"He's not here anymore," I said truthfully after thinking for a moment.

Unexpectedly, the old male insect burst into tears. He cried for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice:

"Children...how old are you?"

"We are six years old."

Grandpa (let's call him that for now) stared at me for a while, especially at my face, then he closed his eyes and vigorously wiped his face.

When he opened his eyes again, it was as if a crack had appeared in that stern shell, revealing his red-rimmed eyes and the emotions he was trying so hard to suppress.

He turned to the uniformed uncle and said something quickly and firmly.

The uniformed man nodded and handed him some paper documents.

Then, Grandpa Su Gang turned back, stretched out his hand to us, his movements a little stiff, but he tried to keep his voice down: "Come home with Grandpa."

Family?

Is this the father's home on Earth?

My brothers and I exchanged glances.

Jadelot remained frowning, assessing the danger posed by the unfamiliar old male insect.

Jaysal then whispered to me, "Brother, can he lead us to our father? Or to food?"

I shook my head.

I do not know.

But this is the only clue at present, and it is the "grandfather" who is related to Xiongfu by blood.

Although my father is usually carefree, when he occasionally stares at the starry sky, there is a hint of something I can't understand deep in his eyes, something like nostalgia.

Perhaps, this seemingly fierce grandfather is part of that sense of nostalgia?

I mustered my courage and took Grandpa's outstretched hand.

His hands were large and rough, with thick calluses on his palms, unlike his female father and Lancelot's father. Would the insects here leave traces of their labor?

But his hand was very steady, though it trembled slightly when he held my small hand.

"Jaed, Jay, keep up," I said to my brothers.

We followed him out of the house, where a rather nice antique car was parked.

He told us to get in, and Jadelot remained vigilant, observing everything, while Jaisal curiously touched the windows and seats.

The car drove for a long time, passing through many streets, and the houses became lower and lower, some of them resembling the style of manors I was familiar with.

Finally, we entered through a tall iron gate. Inside were neatly trimmed lawns, tall trees, and a villa that was... fairly large, but much smaller than the Holy Court or the Demon King's Castle.

Is this the "home" that Xiongfu has here?

After we got off the bus, Grandpa led us into the house.

There were many things on display that I didn't recognize, but they all looked like exquisite handicrafts.

Male insects dressed in uniform (probably waiters?) bowed respectfully.

He led us to a room with a soft carpet.

"Wait here for Grandpa," he told us, then gave a few instructions to an older male insect who followed him in before turning and walking away quickly, seemingly to deal with something urgent.

Only the three of us remained in the room, along with the older male insect. He brought us juice and more delicious-looking snacks, then quietly retreated to the doorway.

Jaisal immediately pounced on the snacks, while Jadelot frowned as he surveyed the room's layout and possible exits.

I walked to the window and looked out at the meticulously maintained garden and the distant city skyline.

The image of that old male insect flashed through my mind: his red-rimmed eyes, trembling hands, and hoarse voice.

My blood grandfather must have searched for my male father for a very, very long time, right?

He must be very sad.

I suddenly felt a little sour and bittersweet.

The male father, who was a worm in the house, was heartbroken for a long time because of his disappearance.

What exactly happened eight years ago?

I think I need more memories to be passed down...

I don't know how we got here, nor do I know how to get back.

But at least for now, we are safe in this "grandpa's" house.

Moreover, I think I understand a little why my father sometimes looks at the starry sky with that somewhat lonely expression.

Is he homesick?

Do you imagine this grandfather who looks fierce, but whose eyes would well up with tears when he heard his name?

I sighed.

The world of giant insects is truly complex.

The father who ran away from home (time travel), and the grandfather who searched for him in sorrow.

And then there are the three of us, the little ones who accidentally fell into all of this.

What should we do next?

As expected, more memories need to be passed down. My father is really unreliable; there's very little useful information in the memories he passed down—it's all just a jumbled mess of mosaics. Now, even "communication" is a bit difficult for me!