An Ming’s heart began to thud wildly.
He watched as that figure walked over with slow steps, like a tranquil autumn night, like flowing poetry. Finally, the figure came to a halt right in front of An Ming.
LAN stood over 185 centimeters tall, half a head taller than the little merman. He bowed his head slightly, looking down at An Ming. His handsome face appeared somewhat haggard; there was no telling what he had been busy with these past three days.
Evan remained silent, and No. 9 had not appeared.
An Ming originally had no expression on his face after all, he had already made his decision and thought things through clearly but at this moment, his nose suddenly felt sour, and his mouth pouted.
Bastard! he cursed in his heart. I’ve already shared such an intimate moment with you, and you can’t even say goodbye? Then why even come here! Why bother seeing me off!
An Ming was fuming, a sense of grievance swelling rapidly within him. He tried his best to control his facial expressions, not wanting to lose face at the very last moment.
But he couldn’t control it!
No. 9 had told him earlier that disembarking onto a planet required passing through several security checkpoints before officially stepping onto the soil of Planet Onte. For this reason, he had eaten his fill in advance and even drank half a bottle of water. This merman body was simply unbelievable how could it turn water into tears so easily?
Just as the little merman’s tears were about to burst from his eyes, LAN suddenly bent down and swept him up by the waist.
A princess carry.
“!!!” An Ming’s tears were sucked right back in. He instinctively struggled. “What are you doing! Let me go!”
“Don’t move,” LAN said calmly. “I just woke up and don’t have much strength. If you keep squirming, I’ll drop you.”
An Ming didn’t dare move.
LAN said nothing more, nor did he look at Evan. Carrying the little merman in his arms, he took long strides and headed back.
An Ming’s whole body was tense. Everyone was still in the hall! Fortunately, LAN turned a corner and headed toward the light elevator.
Throughout the way, LAN remained silent. An Ming’s mind was filled with questions. What did this mean? Was there something they couldn’t discuss properly? Why did he have to carry him?!
Had LAN regretted it? Did he want the million star-coins back?
That wouldn’t do! There’s no such thing as taking back a gift!
Could it be… that his suspicion of being a spy hadn’t been cleared yet? Was he going to be interrogated further?
Interrogate your head!
An Ming’s mind was a whirlwind of silent complaints, but his hands remained tucked against his chest. He didn’t dare to proactively touch the mixed-blood “Great Evil Dragon,” acting like a weak and nervous little white rabbit the entire way.
The little white rabbit was carried back to the private room on the exclusive deck. LAN walked to the sofa in the living room and only then set An Ming down.
“Sit,” the big bad mixed-blood said, while he himself sat in the single swan chair opposite the little rabbit. “Let’s talk.”
An Ming sat down reluctantly, stiffly pressing his knees together, staring back at the other man.
“This time, my berserk state should have left me unconscious for a month, perhaps even longer,” LAN began, ignoring the little merman’s resistance. “After waking up, there was a high probability that my spiritual power would have dropped to SS-rank.”
SS-rank?
An Ming recalled No. 9 saying that LAN was an extremely rare SSS-rank. He didn’t have a clear grasp of the concept, but it was certainly very high.
“Because of you, I only slept for three days. Now, aside from feeling a bit fatigued, there aren’t many issues.”
He said he just woke up, and then said he slept for three days…
No wonder he hadn’t come to find him. An Ming’s anger dissipated instantly. How could he sleep so long? LAN had closed his eyes right after the marking was finished; was it really that physically draining?!
“I was too proud. You aren’t as dispensable as I imagined. Your pheromones can effectively alleviate my symptoms they are more useful than I arrogantly assumed.”
LAN spoke slowly, then paused. “An Ming, I need you.”
I need you… An Ming’s heart trembled slightly. But at the same time, he was slightly puzzled.
Is LAN stupid? If it weren’t for his troublesome pheromones, LAN wouldn’t have fallen into such a terrifying state of rage and wandering in the first place. Wouldn’t LAN be safer without him?
LAN seemed to see through what the little merman was thinking and explained, “When pheromones with high compatibility first blend, it is indeed very easy to cause an overreaction in both parties. It will be much better afterward. Once I become more familiar with your scent, it will be difficult for me to lose control like I did this time. However, you can continue to have a positive effect on me.”
So that was it.
“…So?” An Ming asked hesitantly.
“So,” LAN’s expression turned solemn, and he said with extreme gravity, “Are you willing to stay on the Phoenix and become my partner? I will officially introduce you to everyone. Once this flight mission is over and we return to our base planet, I will also announce our relationship to the entire military.”
!!!
If he hadn’t misunderstood, LAN was inviting him to be a lover, a soulmate, a bedmate… whatever the word, even if they called it “friends with benefits,” it all meant that kind of thing, right?
When No. 9 and Evan had said it before, An Ming hadn’t felt much, but now that it was coming from LAN himself, he felt it was a bit overwhelming.
Seeing the “colorful” expressions on the little merman’s face, LAN quickly added, “Don’t be nervous. I just don’t want you to give so much without having a formal status. I won’t offend you, nor will I force you to exercise any so-called Alpha obligations.”
“I only need you to stay by my side daily, so that I can smell you and feel you. My rut cycle is quite long, and a temporary marking will only be done when the time comes. It won’t be too much trouble for you.”
“Oh…” The little merman was incredibly embarrassed, his face turning crimson. So he had been overthinking it!
“Then why did you carry me just now?” An Ming felt he hadn’t entirely overthought things.
“…I was afraid you would run away.”
“So, do you agree?” LAN asked.
“…Let me think about it.”
An Ming felt as if his brain was a tangled mess of thread. If it were just helping with a temporary marking, although that was also “something,” it wouldn’t be a big problem. But now he was being asked to stay as a partner even if it were fake, the significance was still extraordinary.
He had never seriously considered establishing such an intimate relationship with LAN. Regardless of whether it was “real” or not, it was practically a de facto marriage.
However, one thing was certain: LAN wasn’t keeping him because of those kinds of needs. His spiritual power seemed to have an issue that required An Ming’s help. If it were just an allergy to other Alphas, he wouldn’t have reacted that way. Therefore, LAN likely had some kind of unspeakable illness.
Since LAN hadn’t stated it explicitly, An Ming wouldn’t press him. But the feeling of suffering from a serious illness was something he knew better than anyone.
“Then… are you familiar with my scent now? Will you go on a rampage again?” the little merman asked.
If that happened again, everyone else would have to stay far away, leaving him alone to figure out a way to soothe LAN. …It felt a bit daunting.
“It shouldn’t happen. Your marking… was very effective,” LAN replied.
Last time, the two had been in close contact, biting necks and hugging, but An Ming hadn’t injected pheromones, which was why the rage was triggered. In the future, with regular injections, it would be very safe.
“As long as you perform a temporary marking during every future rut, there won’t be any issues,” LAN explained.
“Oh…”
At the thought of having to regularly bite a neck, An Ming’s back felt a bit itchy. The previous sensation was still fresh in his memory that tingling, numbing tremor that accompanied the entire marking process. It wasn’t just “comfortable”; it felt like he was about to explode with pleasure.
An Ming’s small face turned beet red.
LAN suddenly took a step forward and knelt on one knee before the little merman. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out both hands to take An Ming’s.
An Ming instinctively tried to pull away but couldn’t. He widened his eyes, staring at the guy kneeling before him. So warm… his hands were completely enveloped.
“Is it okay?” the mixed-blood dragon-man asked seriously.
An Ming’s breath hitched. “It… it’s okay…”
Ahhh, he agreed!!!
“Thank you,” LAN said, breathing a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Then, he gave the little merman a smile. The smile was very faint, unable to hide a certain heavy emotion. But it was very sincere.
An Ming slowly regained his breath and returned the smile. LAN was infected by the sweet smile, his blue eyes reflecting a momentary tenderness. He quickly released the little merman and stood up.
“I need to sleep a bit longer,” he said. “No. 9 will take you for registration and permission entry. After that, you will be able to move freely on the Phoenix.”
With that, he nodded to the little merman and turned toward the bedroom behind him.
“Ah, wait… aren’t you going back to rest?” An Ming was a bit confused.
“This is my room.” LAN turned back, the corners of his lips dipping slightly. “You are my partner now; we live together.”
“!”
The merman who had “usurped the guest’s place” truly had no self-awareness at all.
Just as the bedroom door closed, with two “shasha” sounds, No. 9 appeared beautifully. He was grinning from ear to ear as he tossed a holographic official document into the air:
“This noble son has been commissioned by the First Commander of the Phoenix to handle the affairs of a new recruit: Mr. An Ming, please follow me to the Military-Political Office immediately. You will officially join the Justice Army as the partner of the Supreme Leader and join us in achieving our great revolution!”
An Ming: “…”
How did I seem to sell myself off in such a muddled way?
An Ming followed the holographic No. 9 out of the room. They took the light elevator to the Military-Political Office, where the Zerg, Evan, was already waiting.
No. 9 gave a formal introduction: “Evan Richie, Second Commander of the Phoenix, LAN’s adjutant, and Deputy Leader of the Justice Army. He is in charge of all internal affairs.”
“Hello.” Evan nodded solemnly, producing a stack of photon documents and a small entry device. “Sign these. Collect a fingertip blood sample here.”
No. 9 explained from the side: “We are a formal organization; procedures are unavoidable. These documents explain your salary, benefits, and special rights within the army. This device will record your genetic information to facilitate your access permissions on the Phoenix, other starships, and base planets, as well as operational permissions for weapons, mechs, and other electronic or mechanical equipment. Don’t worry, we won’t sell you.”
An Ming signed them one by one and pressed his finger onto the device, thinking to himself, How else could I be sold?