The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

Roy looked at Ye Ming with both jealousy and astonishment. 

After he’d betrayed the humans for Xicks, for these past several years, he’d been helping Xicks bring in infected people to infiltrate.
And not long ago, Xicks had once again asked him to arrange a suitable identity.

After suffering two bitter defeats, the human military became harder and harder to infiltrate.
Roy was unable to choose a senior military officer, so he chose Kevin, a patrol officer from the remote base F876, and offered him to Xicks’s subordinate.

 

 

All of Kevin’s relatives had died when Fort Frederick was destroyed.
He was the only one left.
He also didn’t have many close friends, so even if he was suddenly replaced by someone else, no one would notice.

Infected people had trouble with human cognition.
Even if they had the help of human memories, people around them might still detect abnormalities with them when in close contact.
They needed some time to adapt.
Plus, military inspections were very frequent and strict.
It wasn’t easy to bring people in stealthily—everyone was constantly on high alert.
Kevin was a very suitable identity. 

Roy knew all of Kevin’s information very well, so he recognized him with just one glance.
The soldier standing in front of him was no longer the original human being but an infected sent by Xicks, a substitute—a filthy, ugly hybrid creature wearing human skin.

 

Roy knew that the infecteds’ mission was to constantly infiltrate the human military and acquire higher authority and access in order to aid Xicks, just like Harvey did.
But he initially hadn’t taken Kevin seriously.

Xicks had thousands upon thousands of such ordinary infected.
The large majority of them were cannon fodder that would likely be found out very quickly and killed before they could even make any waves.
Harvey was one exception who couldn’t be found among ten thousand people…So Roy totally didn’t expect that in such a short time, this infected, which he hadn’t thought much of, had actually managed to get close to Cossen! And even be physically intimate with him!

Roy stared intently at the young man in front of him.
The hickeys on the young man’s neck made his jealousy start to flare up, and he couldn’t help but remember Harvey.

 

The one he envied and hated to an incomparable degree.

Roy had liked Cossen for a long, long time already.
He was born to an aristocratic family on the capital star and had worshipped the powerful Cossen and thought of him as his idol since he was little.
In order to get closer to Cossen, he didn’t hesitate to join the military at the dangerous borderlands and fight those disgusting alien beasts.

He worked extremely hard just so that he could win Cossen’s attention.
He constantly chased after Cossen, adoring him with his heart and soul…But Cossen was always out of reach.
He seemed to treat everyone equally and was a perfect model human being, but by nature he also kept people at a thousand-mile distance, not letting anyone into his heart.
He was distant and detached.

But suddenly, one day, another figure appeared by Cossen’s side.
That handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed officer was clearly of ordinary birth, but standing next to Cossen, he didn’t seem to be inferior in any respect.
He was like a dazzling sun, drawing in everyone’s gaze. 

In the same way, he drew in Cossen’s gaze.

Now that Cossen had someone he liked, he stepped down from his godly altar and opened his heart up to someone else.
Only when he was looking at that person did his gaze fill with deep love and warmth.
His smile, too, was for that person alone.

Envy drove Roy mad.
He hated that he couldn’t take his place.

In what way was he not good enough? Did he not work hard enough? Why couldn’t he win Cossen’s attention even after putting in everything he had, while that low-ranking officer could win Cossen’s love? 

Effortlessly obtaining what he couldn’t despite putting in all of his effort.

He hated Harvey.

But this anger and jealousy was of no use.
The gap between him and Harvey grew bigger and bigger, and he was so discouraged he even thought about leaving and returning to the capital star.
But suddenly, one day, his friend asked him, Do you also want to be like Harvey?

His friend was an infected.
He had seen through the weakness and darkness in his heart.
Little by little, he lured him in. 

His friend told him that Harvey was just an infected—he was the same as all those other ugly monsters.
Everything he had was bestowed upon him by Xicks daren.
It was only thanks to Xicks daren paving the way for him that he could attain his current achievements.
In reality, he wasn’t the heroic human soldier that Cossen liked, but rather a counterfeit that Xicks had molded according to human expectations.

If Roy relied on Xicks, Xicks daren could help him as well and give him everything that Harvey had.
Roy was swayed…In addition, Xicks promised that if they broke through humanity’s battlefront, it would not only help him win over Cossen’s positive regard, it could also push him to a supreme position among the humans.

 

Even if he returned to the capital star, the most he could achieve in this life was to inherit his father’s title and become a little nobleman that sat around with nothing to do except wait for death.
But if he followed Xicks, he would become a hero of humanity and attain what he previously wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

Though it was cruel here, there were also infinite possibilities.
Every day, people fell down from the sky, and every day, new stars would rise up. 

All of this caused Roy to finally fall into the enemy’s hands.

He was a human, yet he ultimately chose to side with Xicks, to turn traitor.

Indeed, Xicks fulfilled its promises and helped Roy.
But still the gap between him and Harvey was very large—so large that he couldn’t hope to catch up.
And Harvey was Xicks’s darling.
Xicks definitely would not discard Harvey so easily.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Roy couldn’t stand that even if he relied on Xicks, he was still stuck below Harvey.
It was a pity that by now, there was no going back.
He could only continue going forward. 

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Roy didn’t think that Harvey, who had it all, would actually do something so absurd! Not only did he expose himself, he also betrayed Xicks.
Overnight, God’s favorite child was reduced to a forsaken outcast and became wanted by both Xicks and humanity.

Roy simply couldn’t contain his delight.
He couldn’t understand why Harvey would do something so stupid.
He personally led a group of alien beasts in pursuit of Harvey and presented him to Xicks.
Furthermore, he used Harvey’s access privileges to seize the confidential information according to Xicks’s orders.
Later, when Xicks launched its attack, he coordinated with it from the inside. 

Xicks finally conquered the nearly undefeatable Fort Frederick.
Although Cossen ultimately stopped it outside of Fort Müller, it was very satisfied with Roy’s performance and rewarded him handsomely.
For the past three years, it had cultivated him zealously, just as it had formerly cultivated Harvey, delivering him an unending stream of resources and achievements.

Roy finally obtained what Harvey once had, so he thought he would be able to attract Cossen’s attention and even replace Harvey by his side…but he soon realized that was just his own wishful thinking.

Harvey’s betrayal made the already distant Cossen turn even colder and seal off his heart so that no one could get near.
He became stricter, more callous…The only part of him that remained the same was his loyalty to humanity, but apart from that, he was like an unmelting iceberg.

This made Roy feel very hopeless, but he was also reluctant to just give up.
He thought that as long as Harvey wasn’t there anymore, he would still have a chance…He could also become just like Harvey—he just needed time. 

But what did he see now?

To his surprise, he saw another filthy infected come out of Cossen’s command room with hickeys on his body—so he and Cossen had been physically intimate? The marshal, who practically never let anyone close, who was aloof and out of reach, and whom one could only gaze up at from down below, had actually been physically intimate with a low-ranking soldier, an infected!

He could understand if he wasn’t as good as Harvey, but was he not even as good as this laughable, low-level infected?!

Roy really, really wanted to directly kill the person in front of him, or perhaps expose his identity, but if he did, Xicks probably would not forgive him.
He took a deep breath and stared coldly at Ye Ming.
“Who are you, and why are you here?” 

He knew Kevin, but Kevin didn’t know him, so Roy wouldn’t rashly reveal his identity.

Ye Ming looked at Roy, countless emotions instantly welling up inside his heart.
This was the purpose of his return—to expose this traitor! It was him who killed those countless innocent civilians and soldiers and personally brought about the fall of Fort Frederick.

 

He couldn’t understand why Roy, a human, would betray humanity, but he definitely would not give him another chance to do so.

Ye Ming pushed aside the chaotic emotions inside of him.
He glanced at Roy’s epaulets and stood at attention.
“I’m the marshal’s orderly, Kevin.” 

Orderly? Then wouldn’t that mean they were in contact with each other day and night? The jealousy in Roy’s heart flicked its tongue like a viper.
His voice was cold and gloomy as he asked, “Where’s the marshal? Please pass on the message that Colonel Roy has something to report to him.”

A slightly unnatural look appeared on Ye Ming’s face when he heard that.
He said, “The marshal isn’t inside.”

So this infected not only climbed into bed with Cossen, he also got to stay in Cossen’s command room alone? Cossen was this trusting and fond of him? When Roy thought of that, the last of his rationality finally snapped.
He hadn’t hesitated to side with Xicks just so he could attract Cossen’s attention.
But now that Harvey was no longer here, another infected came and took his place…then where did that leave Roy?

Roy’s gaze turned cold.
He was just about to flare up when he saw Cossen coming down the other side of the hallway, and his expression changed immediately.
He looked toward Cossen passionately and admiringly and said, “Marshal!” 

Cossen gave him a small nod, his dark gaze sweeping over the two of them.

He had deliberately left Ye Ming here alone today in order to see what Ye Ming would do when given such a good opportunity.

But what surprised him was that after Ye Ming woke up, he didn’t seem to want to steal any confidential information or poke at their data at all.
He didn’t even reveal a single trace of abnormality in his expression.
But supposedly, even if he wasn’t planning on doing something at the moment that might expose himself, it shouldn’t be possible for him to be completely indifferent when given such a good opportunity, especially not after Cossen had specifically mentioned their plans to attack Xicks right in front of him today…

But Ye Ming didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.
Instead, he seemed very uneasy, as if worried that his staying in there alone would create undue misunderstandings.
He didn’t even dare take an extra glance around. 

He behaved exactly like a loyal, honest human soldier.

For the first time, Cossen had a suspicion that he shouldn’t have had.
He felt that Ye Ming didn’t really seem like a traitor.
A spy just wouldn’t act this way.

Because of this absurd conjecture, Cossen’s thoughts were in turmoil.
How could he once again be softhearted toward and swayed by an infected? If Ye Ming wasn’t a traitor, then why did he leave? And why would he secretly return after changing his appearance? There was no other explanation for any of this.

He knew Ye Ming had to head over to Brody soon and initially hadn’t planned on showing up, but he hadn’t expected that Roy would just so happen to return right then, and furthermore, he seemed to be planning on making things difficult for Ye Ming. 

So Cossen came without a second thought…

Cossen nodded at Roy and coldly told Ye Ming, “Go to Brody.”

When he heard that, Ye Ming got ready to leave, but he suddenly heard Roy yell, “Wait!”

Cossen’s brows furrowed.
His emotionless gaze fell straight on Roy.
His voice deep, he said, “What’s wrong?” 

Roy stared at Ye Ming, seeming very suspicious of him, and said, “He says he’s your orderly.
Is that true? I only left for a short time, and I didn’t even realize you got a new orderly.”

Cossen replied indifferently, “Yes, I didn’t think I needed to tell you about this matter.” He was very clear about Roy’s feelings for him—he knew he liked him, but so did numerous other people, and he wasn’t obligated to respond to each and every one of them.

 

Roy was very humiliated and angry upon hearing that.
Right now, he wasn’t the slightest bit worse than Harvey was, and yet Cossen still wouldn’t look at him amiably.
Even his attitude toward him was so indifferent.

Cossen coldly said to Ye Ming once more, “Corporal Kevin, did you not hear my order?” 

Ye Ming jumped.
He lowered his eyes and said, “I’m going right away!”

As he turned around to leave, he shot Cossen a complicated glance.
He seemed to have the strange impression that Cossen was defending him in front of Roy, but he was probably mistaken…

Cossen watched Ye Ming leave before finally turning back to Roy and saying, “Come inside if you have something to talk to me about.”

Roy was so upset his teeth itched, but in the end he was only a colonel and couldn’t really give Cossen’s subordinates a hard time right in front of him.
But his eyes abruptly flashed with ferocity.
He couldn’t do anything about it right now, but if Cossen found out that Kevin was an infected, he wouldn’t keep him by his side any longer! 

As long as he leaked a little rumor, he would be able to calmly and easily get rid of Kevin.
But he couldn’t be too obvious about it—it would be bad if Xicks found out or if Cossen began to suspect him.

Roy walked inside Cossen’s command room and sat down across from him, giving a report of the state of affairs at the other base he’d been working at.
Finally, the topic of conversation landed on Ye Ming.
Roy said, “I know it’s inappropriate, but I wanted to ask what relationship you have with that soldier who just left.”

Cossen was a bit impatient.
In a deep, low voice, he replied, “Colonel Roy, are you asking about my private affairs?”

Gritting his teeth, Roy replied, “Of course I don’t have the right to ask about your private affairs.
I just thought that soldier was a little bit suspicious.
Have you investigated his identity? Is it safe to keep him by your side? After all, some infected will squeeze into any space they can find…We’re all worried that Harvey’s situation will repeat itself.” 

Cossen’s expression immediately frosted over completely.
He stared straight at Roy.

Cold sweat dripped down Roy’s forehead.
He knew his words might be breaking a taboo with Cossen, but he absolutely couldn’t stand the thought of that infected continuing to bask in Cossen’s affection.

Cossen looked at Roy for a long while before slowly speaking in an ice-cold voice.
“Of course I won’t let those things happen again.
You don’t need to worry about this matter.
If that’s all, you may leave.”

Roy was extremely disheartened.
He’d already done everything he could, but it was all in vain.
Today, he’d said such words in a moment of impulsiveness, and he feared Cossen might like him even less now. 

This was all that damn Harvey’s fault! This was all that damn infected’s fault!

Roy left Cossen’s office, his gaze sinister and his teeth gritted hard.

………………

Ye Ming went over to Brody and trained while watching Roy and Cossen talk. 

[Ye Ming: This little spicy chicken wants to set me up.
Even if he doesn’t realize I’m Harvey, he still can’t stand my relationship with Cossen.
This time, he was upset really badly.
Jealousy turns people ugly, hehe.]

[888: I suppose so.]

 

[Ye Ming: He already framed me once, and now he wants to frame me a second time—how could I possibly let him? I’ve really disliked him for a long time now.
It’s always been me dumping the pot onto other people; this is the first time someone else is dumping the pot on me.
That’s very brave.]

[888: …] 

[Ye Ming: This time, let’s see who frames who.
If I don’t toss the pot back to him, then my last name’s not Ye ^_^]

[888: Your last name really isn’t Ye, currently.]

[Ye Ming: …]

Cossen watched as Roy left, his gaze slightly cold and contemplative.
Ye Ming was indeed an infected, but what Roy had said just now was not out of fairness but selfishness, that was all. 

In fact, he didn’t mind Roy’s words.
What made him twitchy was that even though he no longer loved Harvey, he still didn’t like it when people tried to vilify Harvey in front of him out of jealousy or selfishness.

The next day, Ye Ming arrived at Cossen’s office.
After Cossen finished his work, he called Ye Ming over to stand in front of him and studied his face.

Ye Ming looked a bit uncomfortable.
He stood there nervously and didn’t seem to understand why Cossen was looking at him like that.
Ever since yesterday, he’d been thinking about how to deal with Roy, but he still didn’t have any good ideas.

Cossen’s eyes were somber, and Ye Ming couldn’t tell exactly what he was feeling.
After a moment, he commanded in a low tone, “Come a little closer.” 

So Ye Ming inched forward a little bit.

Cossen stood up from his chair.
The two of them were very close to each other.
When Cossen lowered his head, the tip of his nose nearly touched Ye Ming’s forehead.

At such close proximity, Ye Ming could very clearly sense Cossen’s aggressive aura and was reminded of how it felt to be taken by him.
He trembled slightly.
Those were not really nice memories for him; in fact, now he was a little bit afraid whenever Cossen got close to him.

He used to love him very much, and he still did.
But this affection was no longer pure.
It was like some beautiful, pure object that had been smashed and broken.
Even if he still treasured it in his heart, it would no longer look the same as it once did.
It felt discordant, and it hurt. 

Cossen lifted his hand and grabbed Ye Ming’s chin, tilting his head up.
Without warning, he lowered his head and kissed his lips.

Ye Ming’s eyes widened in shock.
His mind was completely blank.
He couldn’t seem to believe Cossen would do something like this.
And this kiss was so gentle, tinged with a hint of reverence.
It was completely different from his previous roughness.
It was just like…the way they were in the past.

Cossen shut his eyes and quietly immersed himself in the pounding sensation this person brought to him.
These lips were exactly as soft as before.
He would never forget the feeling.

He’d always longed to kiss him again.
He knew he shouldn’t have, but he still did it. 

This person was like an addictive drug.
Despite his rationality warning him not to get close, his instincts would not let him give him up.

Cossen suddenly pushed Ye Ming down onto the table.
He grabbed his hands and pressed them above his head.
His dark red eyes were fixed on those two purple ones, and he kissed him again, forcefully.

 

Ye Ming was stunned for a moment.
Then he closed his eyes, pained.

No matter how tender this kiss was or how similar it was to those of the past…The two of them were not like they used to be.
Now, he was only a subordinate that Cossen had brought over to sate his desires.
That tenderness was only a facade. 

The reason why Cossen would do this…he actually understood it deep down.

Because he no longer loved Ye Ming.
He no longer loved a despicable, infected traitor…Ye Ming was no longer the one he loved and cherished.

So if he became ever more coldhearted, if he even slept with other people, what right did Ye Ming have to criticize him?

Cossen didn’t like him anymore, and that was only to be expected. 

Ye Ming was pale.
He didn’t resist and simply lay there compliantly, waiting for this difficult ordeal to be over.
But suddenly, he heard Cossen whisper next to his ear, “You don’t like it when I treat you like this, is that right?”

Ye Ming felt his hot breath blowing on his ear and his heart was filled with pain.
He knew he should disagree.
A soldier should make his superiors happy.
It wouldn’t be smart to defy Cossen.
But at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to lie about his true feelings.

Because he truly was very sad.

Cossen gently rubbed his earlobe.
The harsh, sharp corners of his mouth quirked up a little bit, and he said, “But I really like you, because you’re very similar to someone I used to love.” 

Ye Ming stiffened and abruptly opened his eyes, looking at Cossen fearfully.
These words almost made him forget about his pain.
He even faintly sensed that when Cossen spoke those words, they carried a sort of dark, frigid killing intent.
Had he found Ye Ming out?

Cossen gazed into Ye Ming’s eyes.
The emotion in those eyes were as deep as the vast universe.
Slowly, word by word, he asked, “Will you betray me like he did?”