“Whoosh—”
Emerging from a sharp ringing in his ears and a mire-like pressure, Lawson’s consciousness had yet to fully clear when he felt someone steady him by the arm.
He opened his eyes, dazed and groggy.
Before him was an ancient medieval-style courtyard, with several men dressed in elaborate, elegant attire standing ahead.
“Commander Razia, please forgive my negligence. In the past, it was always the attendants who took care of the children, so I was not aware that my child Lawson… had already differentiated into a male zerg.”
The old man in the middle, clearly an aristocrat, was already drenched in sweat and struggling to continue.
But the man opposite him, wearing a tall crown and impeccably fitted white robes, wore a cold expression, completely unmoved.
“According to Article 1 of the Male Zerg Protection Act, when a family produces a member who has differentiated into a male zerg, the head of the family must report it to the Church within four interstellar hours. Otherwise, it shall be treated as conspiracy to harm His Excellency the male zerg…”
Watching the aristocratic old man’s face grow paler by the second, and listening to that long, complicated string of sentences, Lawson suddenly realized something.
That wasn’t Chinese. So why could he understand it?
“Of course, because you’ve transmigrated, Host!”
A cheerful mechanical voice rang out in his mind, accompanied by a tinkling, joyful bell sound.
“Congratulations! You’ve become a rare male zerg in the interstellar era! I am your Love Collection System!”
An unfamiliar environment, a mechanical voice in his head…
Lawson was no scholar who buried his head in books and ignored the outside world—on the contrary, before transmigrating, he was a game developer.
Transmigration, rebirth, comeback…
Lawson’s vision went dark. But the next second, a slender hand steadily supported the back of his head.
“His Excellency Berkeley·Lawson requires better care. I will take him to the Male Zerg Protection Base. As for you and your family…” The person beside him spoke in a cool tone, then gently and restrainedly released his hand.
“Take His Excellency Berkeley·Lawson away from here.”
The white-robed figures on both sides nodded, flanking him on the left and right, guiding him forward with an absolute air of protectors.
Only after being securely wrapped up and comfortably settled into a futuristic circular pod, which then took to the skies, did Lawson truly realize—
He was that very His Excellency Berkeley·Lawson—the precious male zerg who had been hidden away by his family, only to be discovered and taken away by the Church.
“Ding-dong! Congratulations, Host! Identity and background unlocked!”
“The Love Collection System is now officially activated!”
A series of dings and dongs went off in his head. Wrapped in the soft, plush blanket, Lawson pinched himself a full eight times—and every single time, it hurt like hell.
The scenery outside the window whizzed past in a blur, streams of futuristic light flowing like condensed shooting stars.
Sitting in this unfamiliar place, wrapped in a strangely fragrant blanket, Lawson fell silent.
God, I’ll never call you ‘Lord’ again—because you clearly never treated me like your own grandson.
He had worked his heart out, pulling overtime to make that game. The trophy for Game of the Year had just landed in his hands—he hadn’t even had time to feel its weight—when a chandelier came crashing down and sent him straight into another world…
“Host, look on the bright side—at least you transmigrated as a male zerg. The missions will be easy. At least you didn’t end up as a female zerg!”
The cheerful mechanical voice clattered on in his head, laying out facts and reasoning as it fed him a whole load of information.
According to the system, he had become a type of humanoid creature known as the Zerg.
The Zerg itself was divided into male zergs and female zergs.
Male zergs were physically weak and few in number. They had the ability to help—even resolve—the mental rampages of female zergs, and were therefore carefully protected as precious resources.
Female zergs, on the other hand, had high combat prowess and existed in overwhelming numbers. They were typically used as war machines, thrown into endless battles like meat into a grinder.
“In this world, it’s very easy for a male zerg to receive love. To put it dramatically—just a wave of a hand and a swarm of female zergs will come flocking.”
Listening to the system’s cheerful voice in his head, Lawson had a gut feeling it wouldn’t be that simple.
He had worked as a game planner before, so he knew it couldn’t possibly be that simple. If all it took was a wave of the hand to complete the mission, why bother binding a human to do it? Might as well just bind an ant on the roadside.
“Hehe, nothing gets past you, Host. Collecting love is easy—but collecting 10,000 points of love within a month? That’s not so easy.”
The system’s voice gradually shifted from cheerful to calm.
【Probationary Mission Activated】
【Love Collected: 70/10000】
【Time Remaining: 29 days, 23 hours, 10 minutes, 24 seconds】
【Mission Success: Official Binding】
【Mission Failure: Annihilation】
Staring at the countdown ticking away second by second before his eyes, Lawson felt like he was about to faint. It all felt like a dream—but no matter how many times he closed and opened his eyes, he couldn’t wake up. All he could hear was his own pounding heartbeat and the sound of the countdown slipping away, moment by moment.
After a long while, Lawson managed to talk himself into acceptance.
Haha, well… since I’m already here.
If God wouldn’t treat him like a grandson, he’d have to fight for himself.
Looking back on his past life—stumbling forward through his school years, grinding from nine to nine after entering the workforce—every ounce of effort had been for the sake of a better life.
At this moment, nothing was really different.
Collecting love was just like collecting currency.
Lawson quickly adjusted his mindset. He forced himself to focus, approaching everything with the same attitude he’d take toward a daunting work project.
If he backed down every time he faced an impossible task, he wouldn’t be the person he was.
“System, give me a detailed breakdown of the key points for collecting love.”
“Alright…” The system paused for a split second, then launched into an enthusiastic explanation.
Love, as the name suggested, was a quantifiable value derived from the emotions and feelings in other zergs’ hearts.
“A single zerg can give a maximum of 100 points of love. But trying to get all 100 points from one zerg is inefficient—I don’t recommend that approach, Host.”
The system continued logically and methodically.
“Even in this world, as a male zerg, getting a female zerg’s unreserved 100 points of love will take some time—at least three days, minimum.”
The system rambled on, making three days sound as exaggerated as three years.
But to Lawson, the idea that “you could make someone fall completely in love with you in three days” was already mind-blowing.
So just how ridiculously high was the status of male zergs in this world?
“One every three days means ten in thirty days—that’s only 1,000 points of love total. But we need 10,000.”
The system spoke smoothly and fluently, as if painting a picture. In its words, he was practically a legendary incubus—three days for one, thirty days for ten. The process of acquiring love was as simple as eating or drinking, without a single hitch.
Lawson was already starting to sweat, but he still listened attentively.
“I suggest—!” The system suddenly raised its volume, as if signaling that it was about to highlight the key point.
Lawson held his breath and pricked up his ears—this was crucial knowledge that concerned his very life.
“The Host should leverage a larger platform and get in touch with as many female zergs as possible!”
“We need to collect 10,000 points of love within thirty days—which means at least 331 points per day. If you only connect with four female zergs a day, it’ll be very difficult to reach 331 points.”
The system’s tone was deadly serious, like a renowned mathematician presenting a groundbreaking new theory.
“If the Host can establish contact with ten female zergs every day, then you’d only need to get 34 points of love from each one—ten would give you 340 points. After thirty consecutive days, the probationary mission would be successfully completed, just like that.”
The system concluded its speech, like a famous entrepreneur wrapping up a keynote address.
Nothing practical—just hot air and empty talk.
Lawson suddenly realized just how precious life really was—because this was a nearly impossible mission.
He’d have to connect with ten female zergs every single day. Could he even keep up with that? From morning till night, he’d be constantly interacting with others. To earn their love, the conversations couldn’t stay superficial—he’d have to talk about feelings, romance, life philosophies, and share emotional bonds.
One or two would be fine. Three or four might still be manageable. But ten a day? That’s three hundred in thirty days.
And he—Lawson, the ultimate workhorse—had worked all kinds of jobs throughout his life, big and small, developed dozens of games, but had never once been in a romantic relationship.
Ten zergs a day. Talking about feelings.
Lawson felt like he was beyond saving.
But listening to the thumping of his own heart in his chest, he figured he could still fight a little longer.
He may not have eaten pork before, but he’d seen pigs run—at the very least, he’d helped colleagues write romantic storylines for games before.
“Wait, where is the Church taking me?” Lawson suddenly realized there was a very important point.
“Congratulations, Host—you’ve discovered another challenge of the mission. As a precious male zerg, you’ll naturally be taken to the Male Zerg Protection Base Cluster, where you’ll live alongside other precious male zergs.”
“So there are no female zergs there?”
“There are,” the system said calmly, “but only as high-combat guardians of the base. Under normal circumstances, male zergs don’t get to interact with them.”
“Then the internet in this world should be pretty advanced, right?” If he couldn’t meet them in person, he could always do long-distance online dating. If it was just chatting online, ten a day didn’t seem so hard anymore.
“I’m sorry, Host, but the Male Zerg Protection Base has its own closed regional network. It’s not open to the outside.”
???
Lawson frowned. No matter how he turned the current situation over in his mind—drawing on nearly a decade of work experience—he couldn’t see a way out.
“Haha, stop joking around. Just tell me the real way to collect love already.”
“Eh? Host, how did you know I had a way?” The system’s voice suddenly perked up again.
Lawson was already drenched in sweat.
“Actually, in this world, there is a unique channel through which a noble male zerg can connect with many female zergs he’s never met before.”
Lawson perked up and listened carefully.
“And that is—the sperm bank.
“Every male zerg has a duty to contribute their sperm. As long as you provide ten or more samples of semen every day for the next 30 days, once those frozen samples reach the female zergs who redeem them, perhaps they’ll develop some fondness for you. Then we can achieve our goal of getting over 340 love points per day.”
At this point, the system paused briefly, as if it thought it was being very considerate.
“If the Host finds ten or more samples a day too strenuous, a few less is fine—but then you’d need to rely on supplementary methods, like managing your social media presence and showing deeper charm to the female zergs who redeem your frozen sperm.”
“…”
“What’s wrong, Host? According to system analysis, this is the most reasonable and simplest method.”
The system chattered on, displaying the arrogant, inhuman nature of a mechanical being.
“Ten samples a day—you make it sound so easy…”
Lawson lay curled in his chair under the blanket, feeling both physically and mentally shattered.
“Oh well. At least I’ll get to see the sights of this other world for this final month. That’s not so bad.”
Lawson turned his head. The spacecraft was still moving forward, and outside the window, scenery he’d never seen before streaked past in a blur.
Dazzling neon lights, vibrant digital billboards, and larger-than-life handsome faces flashed before his eyes.
This was a world completely different from Earth. Though the system he’d encountered at the start was rather unhinged, that didn’t stop Lawson from feeling a flicker of curiosity about the view outside.
As an accomplished game developer, he had once crossed mountains and valleys to experience niche folk customs and unique landscapes—all to create a more authentic atmosphere and setting for his games.
So Lawson, with the mindset of someone who had only 24 hours left to live and had made peace with everything, reached out and fiddled with the spacecraft’s window.
To his surprise, the window actually opened—and the sounds from outside came rushing in like wind.
“Great news! Great news! Galactic War III, the ultimate interstellar combat game, will be officially released in three days!”
“Great news! Great news—”
The wind carried the pulsating advertisement voices far behind the spacecraft.
Galactic War… a combat game…
A game…
Lawson’s eyes lit up. Games were his specialty! He lifted his head, eyes blazing with determination. “System—I know how to get 10,000 love points within a month.”
“Tell me, Host.” The system sounded delighted.
“I’m going to make a game with romance as its core gameplay!”
TOC | More chapters later
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