A Gender-Equality, Infrastructure-Building, Interstellar Zerg-War Novel

Also known as: After a Cool Engineer Transmigrates into a Good-for-Nothing in the Insectoid World

And the protagonist's gender options clearly included "unknown," but the system wouldn't let me choose it, so I had to pick "male." Seriously weird.

Cheng Che wakes up to find that he has become the most useless male in the insectoid world.

He only wants to keep a low profile and stay alive, but unexpectedly discovers that this world's technology tree has gone wildly astray.

He casually repairs the starship core that no insect has been able to fix for a thousand years, and a military bigwig knocks on his door in the middle of the night: "Your Excellency, the military needs a talent like you!"

His improved method of mental-power cultivation sets the entire race abuzz, and ancient insectoids who have lived in seclusion emerge one after another: "We’ll protect this little one."

When Cheng Che reluctantly finds himself at the pinnacle of technology, all the insectoids who once looked down on him are on their knees:

"You are the true future of the insectoid race!"

The insect world is full of astonishing beauty, expressed in many forms. Some insects look like exquisite jewels, while others resemble graceful fairies. Here are some of the most beautiful insects, grouped by type:

1. Elegant and graceful, like flowers in flight

Butterflies and moths are the stars of this group, with fluttering movements and wonderfully artistic colors and patterns.

1. Blue Morpho: Hailed as "the most beautiful butterfly in the world." Its wings shimmer with a metallic sapphire blue that shifts with the angle of the light, like ripples on a deep blue ocean. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

2. Rosy Maple Moth: It looks like a watercolor painting. Its wings are patterned in soft pink, yellow, and purple, and its fuzzy body is adorable, defying people's usual impression of moths.

3. Leopard Lacewing: The undersides of its wings are vivid orange-red with black leopard spots, while the upper sides bear delicate black-and-white patterns, like a work of art you can wear on either side.

4. Giant silk moths with long tails, including the Luna moth and the Madagascan sunset moth: They have enormous wings and graceful tails. Their bodies are often soft pale green or creamy yellow, like fairies dancing beneath the moon, radiating elegance.

2. Cute and charming, like miniature cartoon characters

These insects are usually round and brightly colored, making them irresistibly adorable.

1. Ladybugs: Classic symbols of cuteness. Their plump red or yellow bodies are decorated with symmetrical black spots, like little candies that can crawl. They are especially adorable when they first emerge from their pupae, with their tender yellow bodies.

2. Caterpillar stars:

- Puss caterpillars: Their long, soft "hairs" make them look like miniature cats or fuzzy toys. They look soft to the touch, though many caterpillars' hairs are defensive, so don't touch them casually.

- Crystal caterpillars, such as glasswing butterfly larvae: Their bodies are transparent as crystal, revealing a green digestive system inside. They look like walking emeralds or gummy candies, strange and cute at the same time.

3. Damselflies: Close relatives of dragonflies, but more slender, with eyes like two sparkling gems. They fold their wings together over their backs when resting, and fly with light, graceful movements. They are exceptionally delicate in appearance.

3. Splendid jewels, like naturally carved gemstones

These insects have hard shells that gleam with metallic or jewel-like colors.

1. Jewel beetles: The "gems" of the insect world. Their smooth bodies shine with dazzling metallic luster, often in emerald green, sapphire blue, or coppery purple. In sunlight, they look like flowing, brightly colored metal.

2. Rainbow stag beetles: The heads and mandibles of males of some species are not only imposing, but also display brilliant rainbow colors in the light, combining strength and splendor.

3. Golden tortoise beetles: Small in size, with transparent, glass-like wing cases edged in gold or bronze and decorated with intricate black patterns in the center. They look like tiny pieces of inlaid jewelry.

4. Strange and exquisite, masters of form and mimicry

Their beauty comes from their incredible shapes and powers of mimicry.

1. Orchid mantis: The "queen of disguise" in the insect world. Nymphs are a perfect pinkish white or pale purple, with limbs shaped like flower petals. When one sits quietly among orchids, it is almost impossible to tell it apart from a real flower. It is the perfect combination of elegance and lethality.

2. Dead leaf butterfly: When its wings are closed, it looks exactly like a dead leaf, complete with lifelike veins and mold spots. But when it spreads its wings to fly, the inner sides may reveal vivid blue or orange markings. The contrast is astonishing.

3. Eyed mantis: Its wings bear enormous eyespots resembling an owl's eyes, used to frighten predators. It is both mysterious and beautifully designed.

5. Other beautiful examples

- Dragonflies: Hailed as "fighter jets of the sky," they have compound eyes like brilliant planets and finely woven wing veins like lace. Their bodies are often vivid blue, red, or green, and their flight is a striking display of strength and agility.

- Bees, such as blue orchard bees: They are not all striped yellow and black. Some bees are covered in beautiful metallic blue-green fuzz that gleams like velvet in the sunlight. They are truly captivating.

A note on observing insects:

The beauty of insects is something we need to take the time to discover. When observing them in the wild, try to disturb them as little as possible, don't catch them, and protect their habitats. Many stunning insect photos are taken with macro lenses. You can appreciate the breathtaking beauty of this miniature world more deeply through nature photography.

They are not only the most successful group of animals on Earth, but also masterpieces created by nature's master artists.

Energy.

Like an icy tide, it washed over every inch of his senses. Or perhaps it was blood, viscous and slow, pushing something heavy through his body.

Cheng Che's eyes snapped open.

Instead of the familiar ceiling of his apartment, he saw a hazy, curved enclosure emitting the faintest blue glow. He was immersed in a warm liquid with a strangely sweet, fishy smell, yet his nose and mouth felt no sensation of being blocked or suffocated. It was as if the liquid itself were... breathable.

He moved a finger, and an unprecedented weakness seized him. Even raising an arm seemed extraordinarily difficult. As his vision cleared, he saw where he was: a huge "chamber" that looked like living tissue. Its fleshy membranes pulsed faintly, and the dim blue light came from threads embedded within them, like neural pathways.

This wasn't Earth. It didn't even look like anything from a human science-fiction movie.

Fragments of confused memories assailed his mind: working late into the night, testing the stability threshold of a new energy core, the blinding white light of the lab bench, and then endless darkness...

Had he transmigrated? Or was this some kind of intensely realistic nightmare?

Before he could figure it out, the fleshy wall in front of him slid open without a sound. The warm liquid quickly drained away, and the force field supporting his body vanished. He collapsed onto a cold floor with a strangely chitinous texture.

Cold. And an intense, unfamiliar presence everywhere around him.

Several towering figures loomed over him. They wore close-fitting, dark uniforms with a metallic sheen. Their silhouettes were almost human, but their shoulders were far too broad, their waists lean and powerful, and their coldly gleaming compound eyes clearly belonged to arthropods. There was no mistaking that they were not human.

Insectoids.

The word surfaced in Cheng Che's mind, accompanied by a cold shiver.

One of the insectoids crouched down and swept a cold metal instrument over Cheng Che's body. It emitted a brief series of beeps. "Number 734. Vital signs stable. Energy level..." The insectoid paused, its compound eyes flashing with undisguised contempt. "F-rank. Degenerate. No latent mental threat. Classified as 'harmless.'"

Its voice was hoarse, with a strange rasp like metal scraping against metal, yet somehow Cheng Che understood it.

F-rank? Degenerate? Harmless?

Cheng Che pressed his lips together, his stomach feeling as though a block of ice had been stuffed inside it. He was twenty-eight, the Federation's chief energy engineer, one of the brightest minds at the forefront of human technology. And now, here, he had become the lowest of the low... a good-for-nothing?

Another insectoid handed him a rough piece of fabric. "Put this on and come with us. The quarters assigned to you are ready. Remember your place. As a degenerate male, obedience is your only way forward."

His so-called quarters were a cramped chamber deep underground, almost completely sealed off. Its walls were cold, unadorned metal. The only light came from a stark white lamp overhead, and a niche in the wall continuously seeped clear, odorless nutrient solution. The air was filled with a stale smell like a mixture of engine oil and dust.

It was less a home than a poorly equipped prison cell.

Cheng Che leaned against the cold wall and slowly pulled on the rough "clothes." The fabric rubbed against his skin, causing a faint stinging sensation. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down.

Assess the situation: First, he had transmigrated and become a male of low status in insectoid society, labeled a "degenerate." Second, he didn't seem to be in immediate danger, but his situation was dire. He was under close surveillance and short on resources. Third, and most importantly, there seemed to be something wrong with this insectoid civilization's technology.

On the way here, he had caught a glimpse of some of their facilities. The energy circuits etched into the corridor gates were crude, with severe energy leakage. The basic principles behind the force-field generators that maintained environmental stability looked childish to him, and their efficiency was infuriatingly low. Even the way they regulated the faint flows of basic energy in the air was riddled with unnecessary waste and redundancy.

How could a civilization capable of interstellar travel have so many primitive, inefficient designs in its use of basic energy and field control? It was like watching a group of people with fusion technology still boiling water with a steam engine.

His expertise seemed to offer a key to identifying these "insectoids'" technological flaws.

The days passed in oppression and silence. Cheng Che followed the rules strictly, collected his bland, tasteless nutrient solution, and stayed within the small area he was allowed to use, behaving like a truly numb "degenerate." The insectoid guards watching him gradually let their guard down. After all, what trouble could a male with an energy rating of only F and mental power so weak it was practically nonexistent cause?

Until one day, a shrill alarm tore through the silence of the underground facility.

Red warning lights spun wildly, bathing the corridor in blood-red light. The clatter of hurried footsteps and the sharp cries of insectoid soldiers drew closer.

"Energy hub in Sector B-7 overloaded! Main circulation pump has stopped!"

"Hurry! Manual restart failed! Backup energy won't connect!"

"Cooling system failing! Core temperature keeps rising! Risk of meltdown!"

Amid the chaos, the door to Cheng Che's chamber was suddenly smashed open. An insectoid official in a different, more prestigious uniform rushed in, anxiety and a trace of barely concealed despair flashing in its compound eyes. Two fully armed soldiers followed behind.

"You! Degenerate!" The official's voice grew even more grating with urgency. "You're being conscripted. The B-7 energy hub has malfunctioned and needs emergency manual intervention. Enter the core conduit and turn the third and fourth circulation valves by hand! Do it now!"

This was not a request. It was an order, and an extremely dangerous one, practically a death sentence. The radiation and heat inside an overloaded energy hub's core conduits could kill even a strong combat insectoid in a short time, let alone a "degenerate" like him.

The two soldiers stepped forward, roughly hoisted Cheng Che up, and dragged him outside.

Cheng Che didn't resist. In that instant, his mind was already racing. The B-7 energy hub... From what he had secretly observed and the scraps of information he'd overheard these past few days, it should be an old "bio-mechanical" hybrid reactor supplying basic energy to this underground area. An overload... manually turning the circulation valves...

They half-dragged and half-carried him toward the malfunctioning section. A wave of scorching air hit him in the face. The air reeked of burnt energy and something foul, like charred living tissue. A huge organ resembling a beating heart was exposed, its surface covered in ruptured blisters and scorch marks. The mechanical structures connected to it crackled with unstable electrical arcs.

The insectoid soldiers and engineers were in chaos, trying in vain to stabilize the system with every physical means at their disposal.

"Get in there!" the official shouted at Cheng Che, pointing to a conduit leading to the core that was constantly spewing hot steam and leaking energy.

But Cheng Che's gaze passed over the entrance and landed on a dusty control panel nearby that everyone had overlooked. It was an early direct-logic control terminal. Most insectoids had forgotten and abandoned it as technology advanced, but in theory, its underlying access privileges were still higher than those of the current biological neural-link control system.

"Wait." Cheng Che's voice was hoarse from disuse, but carried a strange calm.

The soldiers holding him and the official all froze for a moment.

"That control panel," Cheng Che said, raising a weak hand to point at the dusty console. "Give me access. Maybe we won't have to send someone in to die."

The official's compound eyes filled with disbelief and fury. "Degenerate! What nonsense are you talking about?! That's obsolete..."

"The energy leakage rate has exceeded the safety threshold by seventeen percent. The core temperature will reach critical levels in three minutes and twelve seconds." Cheng Che interrupted him. His pace was unhurried, but his precise words brooked no doubt. He had calculated the result in an instant from the energy fluctuations and heat dissipation rate. "Forcing my way into the conduit gives us less than a five percent chance of success, and will accelerate the core's collapse. Let me try that console. It's the only chance we have of turning this around."

Time was running short. Every second brought them closer to destruction. The official looked at Cheng Che's eyes, far too calm for a "degenerate," then at the energy hub, which was rapidly deteriorating and groaning under the strain. The impulse to grasp at any last hope overrode its rational doubts.

"...Give him access!" the official rasped at a nearby technician.

The technician hurriedly cleared the dust from the console and granted temporary access. Cheng Che was pushed in front of it. A virtual screen lit up, displaying a complex interface with an unmistakable insectoid biotechnology style. Dense curves and parameters representing energy flows flashed with warning alerts.

All the insectoids around him held their breath as they watched the frail male, labeled a "degenerate," place his pale, slender fingers, which looked utterly powerless, on the controls.

Then his movements became a dazzling blur.

His fingers flew across the controls, but he wasn't clicking at random. With astonishing precision and efficiency, he opened deep-level menus and entered line after line of obscure command code, swiftly modifying the energy circuit's parameters. He shut down several obviously redundant auxiliary loops that would only worsen the energy buildup in the current situation, reset the distribution priorities for the main energy flow, and even bypassed some burned-out biological neural nodes, forcibly taking control of part of the system through mechanical logic.

His movements flowed smoothly, without a moment's hesitation, as though he knew the unfamiliar, complex system inside and out. The alerts and garbled data that had baffled the other insectoid engineers seemed to turn into clear pathways and solutions in his eyes.

A few minutes later, the shrill overload alarm abruptly stopped.

The flashing red warning lights changed one by one to a steady, gentle blue.

The energy hub's terrifyingly violent pulsing and humming gradually subsided, returning to a stable, low rumble.

The scorching air in the corridor began to recede, leaving only a lingering smell of burning.

Silence fell.

Every insectoid present, from soldiers and engineers to the official who had given the orders, stood frozen in place, compound eyes fixed on the frail figure slowly withdrawing his hands from the console. They looked as if they were seeing something incomprehensible, something that defied everything they knew.

An F-rank male labeled a degenerate... had used an abandoned, ancient control panel... to resolve in just a few minutes a serious malfunction that had left every one of them helpless and nearly caused a catastrophic energy disaster across the entire region?

How was that possible?!

Cheng Che let out a faint breath. As his intense concentration eased, a wave of weakness washed over him again, nearly making him collapse. Bracing himself against the edge of the console, he looked up and met the senior official's compound eyes, which were wide with shock and almost vacant.

The official's vocal organ seemed to have jammed. Several seconds passed before it managed to produce a dry, distorted sound:

"...You..."

Its voice carried a complex mix of emotions it had never felt before: shock, confusion, and a hint of awe.

Cheng Che didn't answer. He simply looked away, toward the stark white lights at the end of the corridor.

His plan to keep a low profile and stay alive seemed to have officially failed at that very moment.

It looked like trouble was impossible to avoid.

Author's message: If you don't take the ground of public opinion, someone else will naturally occupy it.