"Take good care of yourself, Yu Yu." Feng Qi patted Jiang Zheyu’s head.

"Okay." Jiang Zheyu gave a faint smile.

"Master, I’ll make you something delicious when I get back." Jiang Yi also gave Jiang Zheyu a hug.

"Mhm." Jiang Zheyu felt herself getting sad as well.

’I won’t be able to eat any more delicious food. I’ll have to go back to drinking that awful nutrient solution every day.’

’Although, the nutrient solution wasn’t actually that bad. It was just... disappointing compared to a real meal.’

Jiang Zheyu watched as her three Beast Husbands departed.

Her heart suddenly felt hollow.

Pink was supposed to be a beautiful, comforting color. But now, the room just felt empty. Loneliness washed over her.

Jiang Zheyu looked out the window. All she could see was a dim sky and stark, black-and-white buildings that looked cold and emotionless.

The desolate Planet F was one of the Empire’s research bases.

No humans lived here. The entire planet housed a single research base, and the only inhabitants were the Beastmen inside it.

The people in the research base rarely went outside, as they would occasionally run into Zergs. The base patrols only cleared out the Zergs near the Research Institute; the rest of the planet was left untouched.

The place looked desolate and lonely.

Jiang Zheyu sighed to herself.

’It’s easy to get used to luxury, but hard to go back to a simpler life.’

’I need to hurry up and heal the Beastmen here who’ve suffered spiritual power damage. I have to get back to the Imperial Capital Star as soon as possible.’

’I want to go back to my comfort zone.’

’Sigh... this place is just too dangerous. And full of Zergs.’

’It’s really not the place for me.’

"Host, you already have 5S Spiritual Power. You’re perfectly capable of killing plenty of Zergs." The System’s voice suddenly sounded in Jiang Zheyu’s ear.

Jiang Zheyu had been living such a blissful life, she’d almost forgotten the System existed. After all, she no longer needed to complete daily evolution quests. It had been a long time since she’d spoken to it.

Now that the System had suddenly spoken up, it took Jiang Zheyu a moment to register it.

’System? So you’re still there,’ Jiang Zheyu thought.

"Host, you’re a female with 5S Spiritual Power! If you continue healing and evolving, breaking through to 10S spiritual power will be no problem at all," the System encouraged. "Go to the battlefield! Annihilate the Zerg Race! Tear them apart with your bare hands and become the strongest fighter on the planet!"

Jiang Zheyu thought of the disgusting Zergs and replied quietly, "System, I can’t do it. You should have bound yourself to someone determined to conquer the world, not someone like me who just wants to muddle through life."

With her Beast Husbands gone, Jiang Zheyu was already feeling down. The gloomy, gray world outside, with its cold, black-and-white architecture, only made her feel worse.

"Host, you’ve been living too comfortably these past three months. You’re too dependent on your Beast Husbands. They’re going to spoil you useless!" the System said grimly. "You have 5S Spiritual Power! Wouldn’t it be great to annihilate the Zerg Race, make a contribution to the interstellar community, and leave your mark on history?"

"Isn’t the whole reason I worked so hard to improve my spiritual power so I could just chill and live a shameless, blissful life with my Beast Husbands?" Jiang Zheyu sat cross-legged on the bed, propping her chin in her hands.

’And that Beastman the Empire sent to protect me... he looks like he’s not to be trifled with. Looks like he has a bad temper, too.’

Jiang Zheyu had a feeling she was in for a rough time here.

"If you wipe out the entire Zerg Race, your Beast Husbands will never have to go to war again. You won’t have to worry about them being killed on the battlefield. They can just stay tucked in bed with you every day," the System suggested.

That got Jiang Zheyu’s attention.

She wasn’t interested in wiping out the Zerg Race, but the thought of her Beast Husbands dying at their hands... that made her feel uneasy.

"Can the Zerg Race really be wiped out for good?" Jiang Zheyu asked the System. "For over a thousand years, interstellar people have failed to eliminate them completely. Every time they’re defeated, they just come back a few hundred years later. These Zergs are prolific breeders."

"You just have to kill the Zerg Mother," the System said. "A new one might be born in a few hundred years, but in the meantime, wouldn’t it be nice to have several centuries of peace and happiness? Those Beastmen wouldn’t have to hold the line in Zone -2, marching to their deaths day after day."

Jiang Zheyu recalled that in the novel, the final crisis was the war against the Zerg Race. The story reached its grand finale right after the Zerg Mother was destroyed.

But Jiang Zheyu felt the author had rushed the ending. The book never revealed if the female lead successfully developed the potion to heal spiritual power. It just jumped to defeating the Zerg Race, achieving world peace, and then... nothing.

Back then, it was Si Yu who, in order to be with the female lead openly, had led his troops to kill the Zerg Mother. He’d secured a century of peace for the interstellar people, then changed his identity to be with her.

All of his subordinates died. Only Si Yu survived.

’So, will Si Yu still go kill the Zerg Mother now? It’s hard to say.’

Jiang Zheyu had no idea what Si Yu was up to these days.

Si Yu hadn’t caused any trouble in the past three months. ’He probably likes me, but it’s nothing compared to the deep, unforgettable love he had for the heroine in the novel.’

’After all, his love-hate relationship with the heroine in the novel was the very definition of unforgettable.’

’But he got together with me without any trouble at all. Maybe because it was too easy, he doesn’t love me as much.’

Not that Jiang Zheyu cared.

"You’re right, System. If the Zerg Mother is killed, the interstellar worlds could have a century of peace. But that goal is a little too ambitious for me right now," Jiang Zheyu sighed. "Let’s just start with me being able to kill a single Zerg."

’Last time I saw a Zerg up close, I was too scared to react. But next time, I’ll definitely be mentally prepared!’

Meanwhile, the Beastman returned to report to Shan Xun.

"Captain Shan, the female is settled in." The Beastman’s heart still burned when he recalled the beautiful female. But he knew that Beastmen like him, from Zone -1 and Zone -2, could never return to Zone 1. They were destined to die here, so he didn’t dare entertain any ideas about her, for fear of holding her back.

"Understood." Shan Xun nimbly climbed out of a deep pit.

He started walking, but after a few steps, he stopped and asked, "The house... what did she think of it?"

"The female said she likes it," the Beastman replied.

"Good." A glint flashed in Shan Xun’s deep purple eyes. He started walking again, his expression wild. "Back to slicing up Zergs."

"Yes, sir." The Beastman understood. Captain Shan must have found where the remaining Zergs were hiding.

The squad followed close behind him.