Lenon lowered his eyes, his complexion looking a bit awful.

The trial day was in two months, but the Male Zerg had said he wouldn't marry him until then. If anything went wrong in the meantime, the consequences would be hard to predict.

But despite the countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Lenon still revealed a perfectly appropriate smile. He continued to straighten Lin You's scarf, his movements patient and meticulous. "Then I shall quietly wait for Your Excellency's good news."

—He didn't even ask Lin You for a reason.

Lin You touched his nose, a little afraid to meet those azure eyes. Under Lenon's upturned collar were still kiss marks, yet he was unwilling to promise a wedding, acting just like a fickle scumbag. But the novel's plot was laid out right here: the first half consisted of Lenon being highly attentive while the Third Prince ambiguously strung him along, interspersed with punishments like kneeling, right up until the wedding ended and the next chapter began.

What a pity Lin You couldn't say any of this.

He vaguely said his goodbyes to Lenon and boarded his aircraft.

"..."

Lenon pulled his coat closer, suppressing all his emotions under a gentle mask. He said goodbye to the butler and headed toward the major general's residence.

During the journey, he took out his Light Brain and unmuted it. The moment he did, countless messages flooded in, ringing incessantly.

Devon alone had sent him nearly fifty messages.

8:55: "Lenon? Are you done?"

9:35: "Are you still not done? You're not being made to kneel as punishment, are you?"

10:17: "Did the Third Prince say anything? Did he agree to marry you?"

...

Just now: "My god, I haven't been able to get through to your phone all night, what's going on? Are you still alive? Are you alive, Lenon? Did the Third Prince make you kneel all night?"

Lenon replied concisely: "Alive."

Devon replied in seconds: "My god, what did you go through? What did the Third Prince do to you? Are you okay?"

Lenon's hand gripping the Light Brain paused.

...What did he go through?

A soft cushion, a fairly satisfactory hot pot meal, countless kisses, and a good night's sleep.

The scent of citrus still lingered around him, making his body involuntarily relax. If it weren't for the fact that the Male Zerg hadn't given him a promise in the end, this would have been Lenon's most comfortable day in years.

However, these things couldn't be spoken of to outsiders. Lenon answered vaguely, "Nothing, I'm fine. Have you arrived?"

"Just arrived near Zone 35, I can see the Graveyard."

"Mm, I wish you a pleasant journey. Say hello to our departed old friends for me."

At this point, the conversation seemed to end. They went offline at the same time and immediately switched to the Third Legion's independent satellite frequency. The channel was triple-encrypted; aside from the Third Legion's high-ranking officers, no one could connect to it.

Devon: "I used paying respects as an excuse. I don't know if the old geezers in the Second Legion bought it. Damn it, the moment my aircraft crossed the border of Zone 35, I was targeted. The other party followed very covertly and used a stealth coating; my electromagnetic radar completely failed."

The instruments he was equipped with were all the latest technology of The Empire. To block the radar's search was absolutely not something just any black-market star pirates could do.

Lenon: "Stay safe. If they disguise themselves as star pirates to attack you, I'll have no choice but to accept it."

Devon: "I've put on a full show. I just bought the liquor. Tomorrow I'll launch drones to pay tribute and then fly alongside the 'Graveyard'. Once I notice them approaching, I'll return immediately."

Lenon nodded: "Notify me immediately if anything happens."

They went offline at the same time again, switching back to the chat channel. All was calm, with nothing happening.

The two casually chatted for a bit longer as if nothing had happened. When Lenon arrived at the Third Legion's office area and was about to go offline, Devon asked again, "By the way, is Admiral Hoyle satisfied? Is your marriage finalized?"

Lenon let out a bitter smile: "No."

This matter was still going to take a lot of grinding.

That morning, Lin You hurried over to Admiral Hoyle's residence.

A Prince's coming-of-age ceremony was a very important event in The Empire. From the selection of the date down to the seating arrangements, Admiral Hoyle reviewed everything one by one. He handed the schedule to Lin You and asked, "Is there anything you are dissatisfied with?"

Lin You lowered his eyes and saw a familiar name: White Liam.

Lenon's ex-fiancé.

In the early stages of the novel, White and Lin You were the two who carried the banner of abusing the protagonist.

The coming-of-age ceremony was also a major point of abuse. At that time, apart from the Third Prince, the other two princes, as well as Lenon's heavily injured ex-fiancé—the only Male Zerg of the Liam Family, White Liam, would all be present.

According to the novel's timeline, White had been recuperating at home before this. This would be his first public appearance since his injury.

Although there was a lack of solid evidence at present, White had already deemed Lenon the main culprit. Various rumors and gossip were causing an uproar throughout the city, and the original owner of the body had heard of them too.

Between the two of them, White harbored resentment. As for Lin You, on one hand, he coveted the Colette Family's wealth. On the other hand, although he wasn't familiar with White, he was extremely dissatisfied with Lenon's actions of harming a Male Zerg. With the intention to torment, he kept stringing Lenon along with the marriage while tacitly permitting White's various excessive behaviors.

If Lin You remembered correctly, there would be an extremely excessive humiliation at the coming-of-age ceremony, and the Third Prince would simply watch from the sidelines without saying a word.

Lin You disliked this type of novel. He couldn't stomach reading long paragraphs of humiliating descriptions, so he had just gotten the gist and hastily skipped them. Now that the banquet was right in front of him, he had no choice but to pull out the novel and reread it.

Seeing him staring at the invitation list in silence for a long time, Admiral Hoyle asked, "Is there anyone you don't want to invite?"

Lin You shook his head: "No."

The plot demanded that these people must be present.

Admiral Hoyle nodded and asked again, "What about the other arrangements? Are there any places that need to be modified?"

Lin You knew absolutely nothing about the noble etiquette of the Zerg. He casually glanced at it twice before tossing it aside, letting the Admiral finalize it himself. Meanwhile, he strolled around the Admiral's residence, finding it quite novel.

Admiral Hoyle had outstanding merits and was one of the most famous generals of the Zerg in the current era. His medals of honor were enough to fill an entire bedroom. Lin You looked at them one by one, lamenting that the original owner's father was truly no ordinary person. Finally, he stopped by an egg-shaped device right in the middle of the bedroom and tried to turn it on.

—He had seen this in the Third Legion's exhibition room; it was a simulation training device of the military.

Admiral Hoyle noticed his son seeming to want to lie down in it, and he felt quite a headache. "Youyou, what are you doing?"

Lin You looked up: "Can I try it?"

He had heard that the simulation devices were very similar to human shooting games, like a holographic version of a AAA title. He wanted to test out how it felt.

Hoyle: "...This isn't for playing."

The military system was made to be extremely realistic; one shot would result in a bloody mess. He was afraid of scaring Lin You.

Lin You: "Just for a little bit, is that okay?"

Admiral Hoyle only had this one precious son. Although they spent little time together due to work, he had still raised him by spoiling him rotten. And now, Lin You was sitting in front of the simulator, half-leaning on it looking for the power source. His amber eyes looked at him expectantly, seeking permission with a soft voice and eagerly asking, "Can I?"

"..."

Admiral Hoyle kept a straight face. "You can."

He lowered the pain level to the minimum for Lin You and switched it to practice mode. The military system required real-name registration, but Admiral Hoyle was one of the highest leaders in the military. He didn't care whether it was real-name or not. Using his administrator privileges, he fabricated an alternate account out of thin air for Lin You, instructing him, "Just play for a bit and then come out. Playing for too long will make you dizzy."

Lin You randomly selected the initial data and then entered the system.

Admiral Hoyle was still next to him, so he didn't dare to play too intensely. He just tested out the guns and shot at stationary targets. Earth's firearm technology couldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the interstellar era's. Whether it was the recoil, the reloading method, or other parameter indicators, the interstellar era had made tremendous strides. A compact handgun could produce an effect similar to a sniper rifle.

Lin You chose a silver fully automatic handgun. His posture was relaxed and natural. He raised his hand, extended his arm, took aim, and pulled the trigger—

He missed the target.

The handling of a firearm was very important, and the feel of interstellar guns was indeed unfamiliar to Lin You.

However, missing the target only provoked Lin You's competitive spirit. He had an extraordinary talent in this area: his dynamic vision was extremely sharp, and his reaction speed was different from ordinary people. While others relied on experience to aim, Lin You aimed by feel. In typical action games, he could get the hang of it in the first match, grasp most of the controls by the second, become familiar within five matches, and dare to enter high-tier matches by the tenth. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hit the national rankings of Galactic Warfare after only streaming for two months.

Lin You picked up the dozen or so guns in front of him one by one, testing the feel of each. Without any guidance, within ten minutes, he was already able to steadily hit the seventh ring on stationary targets.

System clapped its hands: "Host, you've got some skills."

Lin You: "It's nothing."

He was just planning to continue testing when Admiral Hoyle knocked on the pod door: "Youyou, are you feeling dizzy?"

Many Male Zergs would experience motion sickness from 3D vision.

Lin You still wanted to play, but the original owner was an arrogant, willful, and weak prince who fainted at the sight of blood. He didn't dare to deviate too much from the original character setting, so he opened the pod door, climbed out, and put on an act of rubbing his temples.

"So dizzy."

Admiral Hoyle looked at him disapprovingly. "I told you that you're not suited for this thing. Come out quickly, lunch is already prepared."

Lin You tumbled out of the pod door and looked at him eagerly, saying softly, "Female Father—"

Hoyle: "?"

He became alert: "What do you want?"

"I'm coming of age, but you haven't given me a birthday present yet! I want a birthday present!"

"...What kind of present do you want?"

"I want this gaming pod... ah, no, this military training pod."

"..."

Admiral Hoyle looked at him woodenly.

Lin You looked back expectantly.

They stared at each other. The Admiral remained wooden, and Lin You remained expectant. Two seconds later, the Admiral admitted defeat.

The highest leader of the military pinched his forehead with a headache, signaling Lin You to do as he pleased. Thus, Lin You directed the attendants to drag the Admiral's training pod straight away, hauling it all the way to the Prince's mansion.

In the middle of the day, he had no mind to take a nap. He lay directly into the gaming pod, and 55 helped him bypass the Admiral's account to register a new one.

55: "What kind of initial model do you want?"

Lin You struggled for a moment and asked very quietly, "Can I use my digital wife?"

55: "...You can."

It imported the data for Lin You. Shortly after, a stunning beauty with a tall figure, long legs, silver hair, and blue eyes appeared in the system. Lin You tested the controls and named the character "Pomelo Lord"—this was his streamer name.

He took less than thirty minutes to clear the default tutorial. He felt an itch to play the live-action mode for a while and couldn't hold back, entering the matchmaking lobby. While waiting, the world channel kept refreshing, with chat messages constantly flying past.

To prevent retaliation, the matchmaking mode was mostly anonymous. Only a small number of generals were known to everyone because their personal styles were too prominent or their nicknames were too conspicuous. Right now, what was being discussed in the lobby was exactly the Major General of the Third Legion, Lenon.

"Damn, what's up with Major General Lenon? Who exactly made him unhappy? He's acting like a madman today."

"The Major General is in a really bad mood today. I feel scared just looking at his icy, iceberg-like face. I feel like in the next second he'll drag me into the trial court to be skinned alive."

"He started playing at noon, and it's almost time to get off work yet he still hasn't logged off. It's been at least thirty matches by now."

"I just got headshot by the Major General..."

55 followed Lin You. In the virtual system, it simulated itself into a robot pendant, poking Lin You. "Are you going to match?"

In front of Lin You, Lenon had always been gentle, courteous, and acting with propriety, just like a well-bred gentleman. However, Lin You knew that wasn't the real Lenon. He gripped the silver-white handgun in his hand, itching to give it a try.

The system's electronic voice exploded in his ear, "Your matchmaking is complete. The matched IDs for this group are: Pure White Iris, Hearts of Iron... Pomelo Lord."

With Lin You's current qualifications, it shouldn't have been his turn to match with Lenon. However, Lenon had been killing for the whole afternoon, killing to the point where no one else dared to enter the arena. It took a long time just to scrape together one group, which was how it became his turn.

This simulation system was a bit like live-action CS. It grouped players automatically, and the last one surviving won. The system simulated various extreme environments in the universe. This round was a primeval forest. The gnarled branches of ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun, while tree roots and various low shrubs occupied the ground, crisscrossing in a tangled mess.

Lin You had played similar games, but the holographic mode was still his first time. His concealment skills were average, and his marksmanship was inconsistently accurate. Coupled with his unfamiliarity with the rainforest environment, just a few minutes into the game, he was caught red-handed by Lenon.

The Major General's azure eyes stared at him coldly, as icy as inorganic gemstones. His expression was terrifyingly indifferent. He raised his gun crisply and cleanly, his silver hair tied in a high ponytail drawing a beautiful arc in the air. The pitch-black muzzle aimed directly at Lin You. The knuckles under his leather gloves bent slightly, and the handgun sounded out in tandem—

Bang.

Fire flashed from the barrel, and Lin You went offline.

55 commented: "Host, your wife is a bit fierce."

Lin You was full of interest: "He really is."

Lenon was gentle, respectful, frugal, and yielding in front of him, putting on the appearance of a humble and noble person, but in the military, he had this kind of style?

He went online again and applied for matchmaking.

This time, the map was an abandoned coastal town. Due to the extremely low number of players matching, he was once again grouped with Lenon.

This time, Lin You's anti-reconnaissance awareness was stronger, and he had gradually gotten used to the positioning in the holographic system. He lasted for a quarter of an hour before once again being cornered in a desolate alleyway.

Lenon stood atop an abandoned clock tower, the muzzle of his gun aimed straight at the corner. The fierce wind whipped up his pure white trench coat, and his epaulets shone brightly in the sunlight, reflecting brilliant golden light.

He pulled the trigger.

Pomelo Lord went offline.

Lin You: "I refuse to believe this..."

He matched again.

This time, his controls were even more proficient, with basically no empty shots. He persisted for more than twenty minutes. The system kept its ears to the ground, also providing him with some assistance. One of his bullets even grazed Lenon's cuff, knocking off Lenon's sapphire cufflink.

But his magazine ran out, and he was still cornered.

The trigger was pulled, and Pomelo Lord went offline once again.

Lin You's competitive spirit was completely roused. He was just planning to go for another round when the butler knocked on the door and asked softly, "Your Highness, dinner is ready. Would you like to dine now?"

Meals still had to be eaten. Lin You clicked offline, tumbled out of the training pod, and sat down at the dining table. He was just about to pick up his chopsticks when his Light Brain buzzed slightly.

Lenon: "Good evening, my Highness. Although only half a day has passed, I already miss you a little."

The accompanying picture was a bouquet of fresh flowers. The main floral materials were roses and irises, with verdant thunberg spiraea and fresh lemon leaves inserted around the edges.

Lin You put down his chopsticks, his meaning unclear. "Oh?"

—Miss me? You literally just headshot me three times in a row in the game.

Lenon: "I've prepared an iris floral arrangement for you. I hope you like it."

The fresh flowers in the vase stretched out beautifully. Both the roses and the irises were expensive varieties rarely seen on the Main Star. Their petals were delicate, having been air-freighted from their place of origin that very day.

Lin You: "I like it, it's very pretty. Did you prepare this?"

Male Zergs liked soft color palettes, and quite a few Female Zergs would take elective courses in home aesthetics. But this clearly didn't include Lenon. The other party had just exited the matchmaking two minutes ago. Yet this flower arrangement was divided into many upper and lower layers, staggered in height, and appropriately matched. Aside from the main flowers, there were also many small-leaved accent flowers. If such a complex floral arrangement could be completed in two minutes, the floral foam would have been arranged so fast it sparked.

Lenon bypassed this topic, only saying, "I hope it can bring you a moment of good mood."

Through the screen, Lin You could imagine the silver-haired beauty's reserved tone. He chuckled involuntarily and replied, "Of course, thank you."

Lenon breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Third Prince didn't immediately agree to the marriage, his attitude was still gentle. He should harbor some favorable feelings toward him and wouldn't be completely sick of him right after a night of intimacy.

Lenon was exceptionally polite, replying cautiously: "Thank you, it is my honor."

The more polite words he used, the more Lin You could sense Lenon's nervousness through the screen. The other party seemed to feel uneasy because of his refusal that morning. This was why he was simultaneously going crazy in the combat system while carefully testing his attitude.

The conversation should have ended here, but Lin You thought for a moment and added a few more words, treating it entirely as appeasement: "I will be holding my coming-of-age ceremony soon. I will invite you then, remember to attend."

The other side quickly replied: "Of course."

It seemed even his typing speed had gotten faster.

"..."

Lenon was completely unaware of what he would face if things went according to the novel's plot. Major General Iris's dignity would be cast to the ground, crushed into the dirt just like that bouquet of fresh flowers trampled to pieces by Lin You.

Lin You sighed softly.

He opened the novel with a bitter face and thought to himself, 'I have to figure out how to act this out again.'