The system returned to the void. Throwing the blue crystal—purer in color and larger than the last—it silently stayed afloat.
Looking through the data fluctuations around it, it found its target and jumped,
disappearing from its place.
Claude gritted his teeth and walked out of the library. He felt despair for the first time.
The Dean had told him something that shocked him to the core.
According to the Dean, the Male Protection Association had existed for a very long time, far removed from this era. During ancient times, Zerg females and males were almost equal in number. Zerg females had strong bodies and were prone to violence. They retained their racial characteristics from ancient times to the present. The insect-like cicada wings were both the most sensitive parts of a female and their most lethal weapon.
Zerg males in ancient times were just as strong as females but had an additional advantage: they could mobilize their mental power.
Back then, when Zergs were in their most primitive state, males existed only as tools for mating. After a female mated with a male, she would absorb him as nutrients for her unborn egg. The eggs that had absorbed their male contributor were stronger than ordinary eggs, and the female herself also gained improved mental strength.
Now, as the Dean lay dying, he told Claude that everything they had until now was a bubble built by those despicable females. Modern Zerg males were useless. Their weak, delicate bodies, soft appearances, and indulgence in promiscuity were all part of a disguise.
Males were still used as breeding tools, disguised as male privileges. A male would be given multiple females to breed with. Status depended on this—the more female slaves a male had, the higher his compatriots regarded him. The abuse of females and all the atrocities committed against them…
Claude sneered. Wasn't this the result of what these hypocritical females had decided?
The Dean of the Male Protection Association was dying. Before he passed, he gave Claude all the information he had gathered over the years. The female rebellion would soon conclude.
This farce had lasted quite a while. But it was just their self-made play. The ratio of males had been declining, and now it was only one male for every hundred females. How ridiculous.
Claude walked through a secret passage inside the file room and ended up in a large underground room, lost in his thoughts.
Currently, most of the males were imprisoned by the females. There wasn't even resistance to all of this.
Zerg females occupied all walks of life, and males were decorative dolls whose only purpose was to enjoy life and wait for natural death. Until then, their enjoyment consisted of sex with multiple females.
The methods had changed, but the Zerg system perhaps had never changed from the very beginning.
Today, after losing his only relative and father-like figure, Claude felt life was colorless. What was the reason for his existence, he thought absently.
When the little male was lost in thought, a metallic electronic sound rang in his brain.
[Ding~ Show Off the Wealth system bound successfully]
[Hello, Host]
Claude was speechless. At first, he thought it was the terminal he had destroyed to avoid tracking. Had he been implanted with a chip unknowingly?
The sound rang again.
[Data analysis has been completed. Please prepare yourself to start a life of wealth.]
This time, Claude didn't panic. He recalled what the sound called itself: Show Off the Wealth System.
What was this? He was confused, but he realized this thing wasn't malicious. It seemed to be helping him.
Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Who are you?… What are you?" He corrected his words.
The system thought the host might be mentally slow. Hadn't it introduced itself twice already?
Little did it know how rich Claude's emotions were becoming. After a long explanation, Claude finally understood the purpose of this system: to make him rich and then show off his wealth.
Well, he was indeed a pauper now.
"Alright! If you help me, I will agree to anything you demand… except the destruction of my people."
The system sighed again, thinking what a naive host he was. Silently, it erected a light curtain in front of him.
[Name: Claude Easton
Age: 17 years
Wealth: 0 credits <+>
Health: 4.3/10
■ Body: 1.2/10
■ Mind: 3.7/10
■ Spirit: 2.3/10
Talent: ??? (to be determined)
Skills: None
◇ Task
◇ Draw
◇ Learning Space
◇ Warehouse]
Claude watched the projection screen in front of him with his numerical and statistical data.
He wasn't a fool, as his system claimed. He was more intelligent than his peers. That intelligence had made the Dean intend for him to become his heir, and even at his last breath, he entrusted Claude with the heavy responsibility to save his kind.
After tinkering with various options on the screen, Claude began to figure out the many amazing functions of the system. He was amazed, but currently too tired to keep up. Excessive use of his mental strength drained him of energy. He wasn't even a C-class male—how could he maintain such a highly tense and vigilant state for long?
Choosing a corner in the metal-coated underground room, he fell asleep. He didn't want to think anymore today.