The Males Were Reborn After The Female Ruler Was Scumbed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 23
Chu Ran felt that his compatriot was truly somewhat metaphysical in nature, shaking his head and clucking in wonder.
This streak of bad luck was such that digging for coal in Siberia for eight generations probably wouldn’t even come close to one-ten-thousandth of Lu Qing’s misfortune.
Lu Qing: “…”
He could only say that life was unpredictable, like small sausages wrapped in big sausages (a Chinese idiom for twists and turns).
Life was too difficult.
Lu Qing had unspeakable woes. He couldn’t figure out what kind of monstrous sins he had committed in his past life for the heavens not to leave him any way to survive.
Every time Lu Qing thought he was about to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, life always gave him a new shock.
This made his struggles to stay alive seem particularly like a futile joke.
—Even though he had been trying (forced) to turn over a new leaf in this life, you know ==.
The male Zerg’s face was crumpled with worry, his eyebrows twisting into a wavy line, making anyone who saw him want to call him a little bitter gourd.
“It’s not that bad, it’s not like there’s no way…”
Chu Ran was amused by his appearance. Just as he was about to say something, his wrist suddenly vibrated.
[Good boy, the signal that tracked you last time has been cracked. It was that bastard Wales. Hurry back.]
Chu Ran paused, unable to control his annoyance, and clicked his tongue impatiently.
Chu Ran poked the terminal emotionlessly, editing a message to send back.
Lu Qing was waiting for him to continue but didn’t hear anything for a long time. When he looked up, he saw that the male Zerg’s expression wasn’t good. He was stunned, “What’s wrong?”
Why did Chu Ran look even more down than he did, a person who was about to die young?
“Nothing…” Chu Ran pressed the terminal screen off and scoffed, “Just recalled something annoying.”
“Let’s not talk about this.” Chu Ran stretched, “Qingqing, I have to go first. Should we exchange terminal numbers?”
Lu Qing weakly raised his hand to touch his. With the sound of a prompt, the friend connection was completed.
“Go on, go on, just let me fend for myself—”
Chu Ran couldn’t help but curve his lips, “Alright, it’s not that bad.”
“I was afraid you’d be disappointed, so I didn’t tell you earlier.”
Chu Ran patted his shoulder, “My Cifu (male-father equivalent) should know someone in the Male Zerg Rescue Association. I’ll have him help you see if there’s any other way to resolve this.”
Lu Qing: “!!!”
This was not just a compatriot; this was a living Bodhisattva.
If he hadn’t been wrapped up like a mummy, he would have personally walked Chu Ran to the door.
Now, he could only tearfully watch him leave: “Tell me if you have any news.”
Lu Qing thought it would take at least three or five days, but he didn’t expect Chu Ran’s communication to come in while he was taking an afternoon nap.
Lu Qing rubbed his eyes a little groggily, “Did you find a solution so quickly…?”
In the light screen, Chu Ran watched him with his arms crossed, smiling faintly, “My Cifu asked a friend to check, and it turns out your name is no longer in the database of male Zerg awaiting disposal.”
Lu Qing’s sleepiness immediately vanished, “What did you say? Gone?”
“Yeah, it just happened two days ago. It’s still hot off the press.”
Lu Qing: “…”
He had walked this path cautiously, meticulously scheming, finally gained some hope, only to encounter an unexpected situation like the capital relocation ceremony clashing with the racial summit;
Just when he thought he had reached a dead end, he was told that the knife that had been hanging over his neck all day had quietly moved away.
Lu Qing’s mood was a little complicated, “Who helped me?”
Every name existed in the association’s database, and only high-level personnel could alter it.
But Lu Qing was just an ordinary male Zerg with no background or identity. How could he know those big shots?
If he had those connections, why would he have had to hook up with Lan Xi in his previous life?
“That’s what I wanted to ask.” Chu Ran leaned closer to the screen and blinked, “Qingqing, what is your relationship with Lan Xi Edrei?”
Lu Qing stiffened when he heard this, not understanding how the topic suddenly jumped to this. He subconsciously denied it, “No, no relationship at all. I’ve only met him a few times. We’re friends, I guess…”
Chu Ran blinked, “Boyfriend?”
Lu Qing: “!! What are you thinking?! Just regular friends!!!”
“Oh, is that so?…” Chu Ran said meaningfully, “Then that’s strange. Why would he go to great lengths to filter out and erase your identity information?”
“Of, of course…” Although it was true, Lu Qing’s voice lacked confidence when he said it for some reason.
Wait, Lu Qing realized something, “He did it?”
“Yes, my Cifu said that he made significant concessions to the association for this matter, ne.”
Lu Qing was stunned, “Concessions? What did he do?”
“I don’t know the specifics.” Chu Ran shrugged, “I only know that unlike you, you can purely use money to buy your life, but Lan Xi’s identity dictates that if he gets involved, it will inevitably involve power, and things get complicated.”
Lu Qing murmured in disbelief, “How could that be…”
Chu Ran knew what he was thinking from his expression and explained, “Although the Edrei family is powerful, they can’t reach everywhere.”
“With so many opposing forces, and the association always having an unclear relationship with the Nikos family, if they seize the opportunity, they will definitely make exorbitant demands.”
Chu Ran paused, “Moreover, the Male Zerg Rescue Association trading male Zerg lives for money and power is irregular and cannot be brought out into the open. If you push them too hard and they bring it into the open, you’ll be on a dead end.”
Lu Qing: “…”
In his previous life, Lan Xi had sorted out the Male Zerg Rescue Association matter before their partner ceremony.
He said it took no effort, and Lu Qing genuinely believed that with the power of the Lan Xi family, taking the life of an ordinary male Zerg was just a matter of a single word.
“Why…” The male Zerg looked confused, paying such a high price to help him.
If they were partners in the previous life, Lan Xi did these things because he loved him…
Then what about this life… They had no emotional foundation, nowhere near that level.
“Qingqing, I don’t know Lan Xi Edrei, but I’ve heard from my Cifu that he never does business that results in a loss.”
Chu Ran propped his chin and said slowly, “Obviously, you have something he wants.”
Lu Qing touched his chin: “… But he’s bound to lose money on this deal. I have nothing.”
No… Chu Ran looked at the male Zerg’s restless expression. Perhaps the sub-male Zerg’s goal had already been achieved.
When Chu Ran investigated, he realized that although Lan Xi hadn’t told Lu Qing about it, he hadn’t deliberately hidden it either, as if waiting to be discovered.
Otherwise, with the Edrei family’s methods, if they truly didn’t want anyone else to know, how could he have found out so easily?
It was clearly an attempt to wait for Lu Qing to find out, be moved to tears, and soften his attitude.
Chu Ran pouted. He felt that his Cifu was right; this sub-male Zerg was quite cunning.
But no matter how cunning, it was useless against Lu Qing, who was pretending to be blind.
Chu Ran was a little annoyed at first when he realized he had accidentally become Lan Xi’s tool, but seeing that Lu Qing wasn’t completely indifferent to that sub-male Zerg, he could only reluctantly continue to be his mouthpiece.
“Remember to invite me to your wedding if you two get together.”
Lu Qing: “?”
So, when Lan Xi came in the evening, he was greeted by a Lu Qing who looked utterly resigned and lay like a salted fish corpse.
Lan Xi was stunned to see this, not understanding why the male Zerg, who had been lively in the morning, had suddenly wilted like this. Remembering that the male Zerg had been crying out in pain all day, he couldn’t help but worry, “Does your wound hurt again?”
Lu Qing drooped his head, “No.”
Lan Xi paused, placed the thermal box aside, “What happened, Lu Qing?”
“I…” Lu Qing glanced at him, then quickly lowered his head again. He had many doubts.
He wanted to ask Lan Xi why he secretly helped him resolve the Male Zerg Protection Association matter. He wanted to know what Lan Xi hoped to gain from him…
But Lu Qing always felt that if he asked, the development of something would get out of his control.
Lu Qing wanted to stick his head in the sand like an ostrich, but someone wouldn’t let him. A hand gently lifted his chin.
Then, Lu Qing, whose head was forced up, unexpectedly met the sub-male Zerg’s gaze. He saw his own reflection in the emerald green eyes.
“Tell me, Lu Qing.”
As if enchanted, Lu Qing couldn’t help but blurt out the words he had been holding in all afternoon, “Why did you help me?”
“What?” Lan Xi was slightly surprised.
Lu Qing lowered his eyes, “The matter with the Male Zerg Protection Association… I know everything.”
“So, you’re unhappy about this?”
Lan Xi smiled, “I accidentally found out when… I was processing your admission procedures. Since we are friends, I went to the Male Zerg Protection Association and said a few words.”
“Are you blaming me for acting on my own?”
Lu Qing shook his head, “Lan Xi, I just want to know what you gave in exchange.”
Lan Xi paused, “Just some irrelevant things. It’s no loss to me.”
Lu Qing stared at him, his gaze a little dark, “My friend told me that the Male Zerg Protection Association has a close relationship with the Nikos family, and you two have always been at odds. How could it be an irrelevant matter?”
“Alright.” Lan Xi looked a little helpless, “They wanted the crystal mine on Planet Beta. I gave them a few percentage points of the profits.”
Crystal mines are the most important raw material for minting star coins, yielding astonishing profits.
Lu Qing frowned. He had heard Lan Xi say before that the Edrei family originally had three crystal mines. The one on Planet Beta was accidentally discovered by the military during an alien beast cleanup and later came under the control of the Edrei and Nikos families.
Lu Qing was puzzled at the time. The two families were like fire and water, and two tigers couldn’t share one mountain, yet they allowed each other to share control.
It turned out that Lan Xi gave it up because of him.
Lu Qing raised his eyebrows, “Is that all?”
Lan Xi nodded honestly.
Having finally managed to claw a piece of flesh from their mortal enemy, would the Nikos family be satisfied with just that?
Lu Qing frowned, still feeling it wasn’t that simple, so he asked, “How many percentage points did you give them?”
The sub-male Zerg’s gaze flickered: “… 60%.”
Lu Qing’s pupils dilated, “How much?!”
Lan Xi looked like a child who had done something wrong, unconsciously clenching his sleeve, “… 60%.”
The crystal mine was an important industry for the Edrei family. Lu Qing recalled the accounts he had seen before, that string of zeros… and now only forty percent of the entire crystal mine’s income remained.
That much money was enough to guarantee the wealth of a small family for several generations and enough for the Nikos family to squander for a long time. No wonder they gave up so easily.
But Lan Xi just gave it away.
In the previous life, for a liar.
In this life, for a passerby.
He’s crazy.