Insectoids: The Job of the Males

Outside, Lu Yao tells Cheng Zhaoci and Wei Zhuo, “you can go now. Mission accomplished.”

There is also a lie detector on the chair Sun Wushe is tied up in. By releasing the surveillance footage, they can justify naming the missing males dead, and could go all out against the space buccaneers.

Wei Zhuo leads Cheng Zhaoci away; Sun Wushe glances at them. He knows, this is the last time he’ll ever see him.

As soon as they’re outside, Bai Jun is there. They still have work to do, and the males desperately need the memory removed.

Wei Zhuo is also due to return to the frontline after handing in a mid-action report.

Before they separate, Cheng Zhaoci publically embraces Wei Zhuo and plants lots of kisses, the poor Bai Jun enduring the brunt of the public display of affection.

“After this, I should be able to get some normal rest,” Cheng Zhaoci’s head hurts whenever he sees the research data nowadays. Having a brain most suited to scientific pursuits doesn’t automatically make him love it. He’s also still releasing comics on the side – though monthly – but it’s still taking up a lot of time.

The readers are none-too-pleased, too. Always demanding more updates.

“Hopefully,” Bai Jun looks away from his holodeck and asks Cheng Zhaoci, “if I remember correctly, one of the MPs for the Capital area, Lu Su, is your half-brother, right?”

“Yes, why?” Cheng Zhaoci also turns serious from Bai Jun’s tone.

Bai Jun shakes his head, and shows the breaking news on his holodeck to Cheng Zhaoci, “my father sent me this, telling you to read it as well. Parliament just reconvened earlier this month; the MP for the Capital area Lu Su has proposed a bill to repeal and replace the current marriage laws.”

Cheng Zhaoci reads the terms quickly, and shocked, yells, “proof of grave injuries inflicted by the male on the shemale or demi shall entitle said shemale or demi to file for divorce proceedings unilaterally, with their prenuptial wealth returned?!”

“This, as a bill that may affect the male privilege, will be put to a referendum by all adult males, by law,” Bai Jun takes his holodeck back.

Really? Then it’d be virtually impossible to pass.

It is, without a doubt, infringing on males’ rights. The current common understanding is still that shemales and demis are males’ properties. It is unlikely to be supported even by males who are well-behaved and sympathetic to their plight.

Cheng Zhaoci can’t help but compare it to his past life. Divorce has always been part of the modern rights of humanity. If a law was proposed that only suffering critical injuries in domestic violence can a spouse file for divorce, it’d have been torn to shreds by the media and public alone. Yet, in this world, somehow, it barely has any hope of even passing.

Cheng Zhaoci points out the obvious, “you know I’m idealistic and also dream of change, but I also think the possibility of this bill passing is abysmal. Nil, within a margin of error.”

Males who’d support such a bill, like those in Parliament and the Institute, are in a very small minority to the overall adult male population.

“My father agrees. Though he thinks this will serve as an important, symbolic victory. We are announcing to the wider society, that this is the direction the insectoids will be headed in during this government,” even someone as generally unaware of wider societal movements understands that, “it’s at least one solid, first step.”

Cheng Zhaoci is looking at the scenery racing past them, and sighing, “yes. It is certainly a first step.”

Just as they expected, when the referendum was announced, the majority opinion both online and in the media have been negative. Most males are extremely upset at the government. How did this kind of thoughtless bill get past Committee, both Chambers and even President to be put to vote by them?

Is the referendum likely to succeed?

No. In fact, male interest groups are already organising massive events to call for a ‘No’ vote.

Let shemales and demis divorce? What, do they want to create even more insane insectoids like Jin Yue?

Everyone has anticipated this, and even Lu Su is quite calm at all the bile directed towards Parliament and him in particular. No one was expecting to be able to pass something this radical overnight.

Though, unexpectedly, Ivan, the guy that always lusted after the copyright of Cheng Zhaoci’s work, was going to send him messages.

Cheng Zhaoci was just finished with an experiment when the message came through.

[IWan: those dumbasses! they really didn’t think about why the shemales and demis like Jin Yue are fighting us. we’ve oppressed them too much, this entire society! if we don’t change it now, this is bound to repeat soon enough!]

Cheng Zhaoci realises that Evan is actually pretty wise despite his lower aptitude.

Perhaps it’s a trait of creatives. Creatives like expressing what they see, and generally, they’re more idealistic, and have a keen eye for observation. They would also take risks even if they know there might be nothing waiting for them at the end of their idealistic venture.

After Evan sent his tirade to Cheng Zhaoci, Cheng Zhaoci watches Evan join the vocal minority of those who oppose the general male opposition. The arguments are flying all over the place, but being more capable than the average male, Evan can quickly whip up short videos or models that are quite cleverly insulting or ironic. In short, his battle strength is unmatched.

Cheng Zhaoci also feels like he has an itch to scratch. As far as the President’s programme to deify him is concerned, he shouldn’t say a word on either side that might risk tarnishing his general imposingness and support. Yet, if he imagined that he and Wei Zhuo had a little insectoid son in the future – a shemale, most likely, given the birth rates – who ended up married to another of these scumbag males and can’t even divorce when he’s beaten or even tortured, he will never be able to live with himself as a father.

No one can ever live it down.

That’s why he decides to take a whole week off, to dedicate himself to creating a simple comic in pure black and white. Instead of thinking of a story, he’s going to adapt something in real life. It’d be far more impactful.

He also wouldn’t have much time to colour it in. Gray-scale would also serve well to enhance the depressing atmosphere. Colours might not fit the theme he’s trying to convey.

The story he is adapting? The life story of the first recorded grade S male.

Without exaggeration, he’s basically Jin Yue but male. Yet, thanks to his peerless intelligence that afforded him much more leverage against the ruling shemales, he was able to complete overturn the primitive society, given the strength of meat and flesh of the shemale insectoids can never out-compete the mad dash of technology that ensued.

The male has built a society where all the shemales that ruled over and abused him were now trampled underfoot.

He also changed the political system. Instead of the top-dog shemale that ruled as emperor, where males were simply tools for procreation and sexual relief, he built a representative system of males, forming the precursor to the Federation. Yet, in the end, the society was perhaps no better than it once was.

There was not a single improvement. Cue Jin Yue, and especially the massive amount of shemales and demis that fled and joined his ranks.

Honestly, the only difference between Jin Yue, his gang of pirates, and the grade S shemale, is that they haven’t yet obtained enough power to turn the entire Federation on its head.

Cheng Zhaoci makes sure to the draw the comic in a depressing manner. Not even having any comic relief or sweetness that accompanied the sombre vibe in his more depressing works. He thinks it might not be as much of a hit as the other comics. At least, not compared to his happier works.

He doesn’t even care if it turned out bad; he only has a week. Research awaits when he’s finished.

Honestly, he’s impressed those Institute males can work day-in, day-out without collapsing!

Actually, he still has the shield to work on. Mobile, following the shape of the body, airtight, but also permeable, and with air-conditioning… What a mess.

… With his current experience, he thinks he could probably make a fortune if he went back to Earth and designed new tampons for girls.