Lu Wanqing's head buzzed. The moment she woke up, she was facing the Insect Queen, but the Queen's words left her confused.
Third Brother, a few brothers? A family reunion?
What did these words mean?
She knew her third brother was among the insectoids, but what did "a few brothers" mean? Did her eldest and second brothers also survive? Did they have a chance to meet again?
And…
What did the Insect Queen mean by what she said to Cui Cui?
What was this about her and Third Brother having a fated connection, that after so many years apart, they couldn't see each other, yet their genes had somehow come together?
Cui Cui wasn't Wei Xingzhou's child. Did the Insect Queen mean…
Lu Wanqing couldn't believe it. She looked back at Cui Cui. She had always felt Cui Cui resembled Third Brother somewhat. Could it be…?
As Lu Wanqing pondered, the Insect Queen suddenly released a cloud of soporific mist. Unprepared, Lu Wanqing inhaled the mist and her vision went black. She fainted.
Cui Cui was no exception. She fainted almost at the same time as her mother.
With Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui unconscious, the Insect Queen's fake smile vanished, her expression turning icy.
"Take them down and throw them onto Old Earth Planet!" the Insect Queen commanded in a cold voice.
Lu Wanqing woke up again three days later. She and Cui Cui were locked in a cold cage, with a snake and a three-headed tiger guarding it.
Lu Wanqing instinctively pulled Cui Cui close, shielding her and warily eyeing the mutated beasts outside the cage, or were they… insects?
The insectoids seemed to notice her movement and turned their heads to look at her. The next moment, they transformed, the snake becoming a woman with a seductive figure, and the tiger becoming a tall, strong woman.
"You… what do you want?" Lu Wanqing asked, her voice trembling with nervousness.
The snake-woman looked at her and Cui Cui with a mixture of pity and greed. She licked her lips, as if wanting to devour Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui.
The man who had been the tiger frowned and warned, "Lü Yao, the Queen said not to eat them!"
The snake-woman replied impatiently, "Don't I know it?"
If not for the Queen's orders, she would have devoured these two humans long ago. Although humans tasted a bit unpleasant, she loathed them intensely.
The snake-woman and the man said nothing more, but Lu Wanqing remained tense. She looked down at Cui Cui.
Cui Cui's long eyelashes fluttered slightly, as if she were about to wake up.
Lu Wanqing breathed a soft sigh of relief. At least Cui Cui was waking up.
A moment later, Cui Cui opened her eyes. Seeing her mother, she immediately became anxious and grabbed her arm, "Mommy…"
"It's okay, Mommy's here. Mommy will protect you," Lu Wanqing said, hugging her child to comfort her.
With Cui Cui alright, Lu Wanqing calmed down slightly. Then she noticed that where the optical computer should have been on their wrists, it was gone. Instead, there was something new.
Lu Wanqing's heart grew tense again. She cautiously touched the new object.
It didn't seem… too difficult to figure out?
After a few touches, a projection screen appeared before her.
Startled, she hugged Cui Cui tighter, on guard.
Cui Cui also hid in her mother's arms, warily staring at the projection screen.
However, the projection screen was blank, showing nothing.
Lu Wanqing hesitated and couldn't resist pressing the object on her wrist a few more times, but there was no reaction.
Cui Cui was also curious and began to examine the object on her own wrist. It resembled an optical computer. When opened, it would display a projection screen.
Cui Cui's projection screen appeared and, like Lu Wanqing's, was blank, showing nothing.
Lu Wanqing pressed a few more times, and the projection screen disappeared again.
What… was this thing?
Could it be an insectoid optical computer?
Lu Wanqing's heart pounded. She remembered the Insect Queen saying before she fainted that she wanted to play a game with her.
What game?
Lu Wanqing looked at the two beings guarding the cage, or rather, the two insectoids who had transformed into humans.
"Hey…" Lu Wanqing summoned her courage and spoke.
"What's the game?" she asked nervously.
She was terrified, but she also knew that she had been captured by the Insect Queen, and escape was nearly impossible. The only thing she could do now was to play the game with the Insect Queen, and…
Thinking of what the Insect Queen had said earlier, a flicker of anticipation arose in her heart. If she won the game, could she see Third Brother?
The snake-woman cast a cold glance at her and remained silent.
The man who had been the tiger also said nothing.
Cui Cui was also nervous, but the child bravely spoke up, "If it's a game, there should be rules, right?"
Lu Wanqing hadn't expected Cui Cui to be so brave, daring to speak to the insectoids. But at the same time, she was proud because Cui Cui was strong and didn't falter in the face of danger.
The man who had been the tiger glanced back at them and warned, "No talking!"
Lu Wanqing jumped and quickly covered Cui Cui's mouth.
These two weren't going to explain. So… was the Insect Queen not going to tell them the rules of the game?
Lu Wanqing waited uneasily. Three days later, the spaceship finally stopped. Their destination was Old Earth!
Third Brother had brought her to Old Earth once before, so Lu Wanqing remembered it. The once blue planet was now entirely polluted. Plants and animals had turned black, and even the sea had become black.
The spaceship landed on Old Earth. Then the man who had been the tiger and the snake-woman came over. They carried the cage and took Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui out.
At the same time, the tiger-man took out a large black eye. He released it, and the eye instantly flew up. As if alive, it suddenly turned its head and looked at Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui.
Lu Wanqing jumped in alarm and immediately pulled Cui Cui behind her.
It was like a horror movie.
The next moment, the snake-woman approached and opened the cage they were in.
The snake-woman's cold eyes, filled with malice, stared at Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui, then she smiled sinisterly.
Looking at that smile, Lu Wanqing felt a chill. The large eye beside them was also terrifying, like something from a horror movie. She instinctively covered Cui Cui's eyes, not wanting her daughter to see this horrifying scene.
But after the snake-woman said something, she quickly returned to the spaceship. The next moment, the spaceship took off, and the snake-woman and the tiger-man left.
Lu Wanqing held Cui Cui tightly, watching the spaceship fly away until it became a tiny black dot and disappeared from sight. She was still processing what had happened. Was this…
The game?
Lu Wanqing's mind was blank. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at the large eye nearby. But just one glance filled her with dread, and she quickly covered Cui Cui's eyes even tighter.
But at that very moment, Lu Wanqing suddenly sensed movement in the forest not far away.