Yuan Jing looked at the intelligence sent by his subordinates, seemingly livid. He coughed incessantly, his obese body trembling; it was a sight both comical and terrifying.
Outside the curtain, Lu Jin and the others stood silently.
“Nearly six hundred cadets were affected by the pheromones and had their ruts triggered! Is your counter-reconnaissance ability really that weak?”
“And that crucial research building was actually razed to the ground by rebels. Can a whole group of you not defeat a few stragglers?”
Song Qisheng said timidly: “Star Lord, this incident was likely a deliberate target on Song Xu by the rebels. Fortunately, Song Xu is unharmed, and the other Alphas have no major issues. Please calm your anger so as not to harm your health.”
“How do you expect me to calm down? They might be fine, but the research building was blown up, and we don’t even know what they stole! The thought of those filthy rats and ants plotting to kill me behind my back makes it impossible for me to sleep peacefully at night!”
After speaking, Yuan Jing panted and scanned the people outside the curtain. Suddenly remembering something, he said coldly, “Where is Song Xu?”
Just as he finished speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open. The newcomer brought in the morning wind that stirred the curtains. A tall, upright figure with an exquisite and beautiful face gradually emerged from the backlight.
Song Xu bowed to the beaded curtain: “Star Lord.”
Yuan Jing lowered his murky eyes: “Song Xu, have you found any clues?”
“Star Lord, before the incident, three airspace scouts were knocked unconscious in the monitoring room. I suspect there is a mole within the academy who worked from the inside to launch this attack.”
“A mole?” Yuan Jing crossed his legs. Seeing this, the Omega servants on either side immediately knelt down to massage his legs.
“Yes. We are currently retrieving the relevant surveillance footage; clues should be found soon.”
“Hmph! For something like this to happen on your first day taking over the academy, it’s a disgrace to you and to the military. How about this: transfer your second uncle, Song Qisheng, to be the Vice Principal to give you a hand. Leave the matter of the mole to him. He is an Alpha and won’t fall for underhanded tricks as easily. In the future, you can leave any inconvenient academy matters to him.”
Upon hearing this, Song Qisheng quickly lowered his head and bowed to thank the Star Lord for his appreciation.
Song Xu’s eyes shifted slightly, but he said nothing.
On the surface, it was about his uncle giving him a hand, but in reality, it was about stripping him of his power and planting a spy to watch him.
“Mingcong, you are still the one who puts me at ease; you never cause any trouble.” Yuan Jing’s gaze moved to Lu Jin’s face. He breathed a sigh of relief and lay back on the couch. Remembering something else, he added: “Oh right, Mingcong. That. Beta fiancé of yours. Bring him over sometime for me to see. I haven’t met him yet.”
The beaded curtain swayed against Lu Jin’s face, casting rows of flickering shadows. Lu Jin lowered his eyelids. “Understood.”
Yuan Jing seemed exhausted after venting his temper. He sighed and waved his hand, signaling everyone to withdraw.
By the time the group stepped outside, it was already 10:00 AM. The sky was overcast and gloomy, with no hint of sunlight.
Lu Jin and Song Xu left together in a spacecraft. Lu Tao, being tactful, did not follow them.
Seeing this, several people nearby caught hold of the “left behind” Lu Tao, prying for information about Lu Jin and Song Xu.
“Those two don’t look like strangers at all. Is there still a chance for them?”
“Did the Admiral say how he’s going to handle that Beta fiancé?”
Lu Tao raised his hands helplessly in a gesture of surrender. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
He still hadn’t met Lu Jin’s Beta fiancé. He felt he wouldn’t know who Lu Jin truly loved until he saw that Beta for himself.
By the time Lu Tao caught up with Lu Jin’s spacecraft, Song Xu was no longer on board. Lu Tao asked if Lu Jin was heading back to the North District, as there was a military simulation exercise he needed to command the next day.
Lu Jin opened his optical brain and looked at the itinerary prepared by his assistant. There were no particularly important matters for the next five days.
“Lu Tao, you command the simulation. I’m taking five days off.”
“Huh?” Lu Tao clicked his tongue. In the past, Lu Jin only rested when the military had a holiday. This was the first time he had ever proactively applied for leave. Had something happened?
Lu Tao glanced at him, but before he could say anything, the spacecraft had already sped away.
After the others left, Yuan Jing summoned Fu Zhao and Fu Lin. He smashed a teapot directly against their heads, his rage appearing even more intense than before.
“How did you let someone fish in troubled waters and blow up the research building?”
Originally, they were only supposed to arrange the pheromone attack. He hadn’t expected the plan to be seen through so clearly. Someone had taken advantage of the chaos at the academy to storm the research building and make off with unknown scientific data.
Even more infuriatingly, they blew the building up before leaving!
Fu Zhao wiped the blood from his forehead and said hurriedly, “Star Lord, we at least have a lead. The mysterious person wore a protective mask, which proves he is an Alpha. Based on that, we will find clues in the Upper City very quickly.”
“It better be!” Yuan Jing threw the last teacup from the tray. Fu Zhao did not dare dodge and took the hit.
“If you don’t find them, don’t bother going to the South District battlefield. You can come back and sweep the streets for me!”
“Yes, yes!”
The Fu father and son bowed and nodded repeatedly.
By the time Lu Jin returned to Nebula, it was 12:00 PM.
The nanny, Ellie, reported on Chu Li’s condition. He listened with a calm face, gripped the doorknob, and gently pushed the door open.
The person on the bed was sleeping deeply, his head buried in the pillow. One leg was sticking out from under the covers, revealing half of a rounded, firm buttock. Even the loose boxers couldn’t hide the curve.
The straight, taut line of his leg extended to the ankle, where unsightly red marks remained. They were finger marks left by the thugs from the previous night.
Lu Jin walked to the bedside and tucked the quilt around him. Only upon getting closer did he notice distinct finger imprints on the gland at the back of Chu Li’s neck.
His expression darkened as he fetched ointment to apply to the wounds.
As Chu Li was about to wake up, he had a nightmare. It was a continuation of being trapped on the roof. He was pushed to the edge, and just as he was about to jump, the Alphas grabbed him. They were like terrifying zombies, tearing his clothes and pinning him to the ground to devour him.
The suffocating fear made his breathing irregular, and muffled sounds escaped his chest.
“Don’t. Don’t come over.”
Suddenly, a hand touched his cheek. In his subconscious, he swung a punch, but his fist was instantly caught. His vision cleared as he looked at the person in front of him, his breathing ragged and his eyes bloodshot.
“A nightmare?” Lu Jin asked.
Chu Li nodded dazedly, his eyelids drooping. Not fully conscious yet, he pressed his hands to his forehead, as if his head throbbed with pain.
Seeing this, Lu Jin said, “Chu Li, stay at Nebula to recover for the next few days.” His physical injuries weren’t severe, but his mental state seemed poor.
Chu Li’s lips were so dry they had white flakes. His voice was raspy. “Okay. Are the others alright?”
Lu Jin shared the update from the academy.
After the “black cloud” was cleared, suppressant spray was showered over the academy for over half an hour. High-level Alphas were mostly fine, but low-level Alphas had suffered mental trauma from the surge of rival pheromones and were being treated in the hospital. They were expected to recover in five days.
Thinking of something, Chu Li asked, “Was the attack done by the rebels?”
Lu Jin was silent for a moment. “No.”
He didn’t elaborate, but he spoke with absolute certainty.
Chu Li couldn’t help but glance at Lu Jin. He recalled Lu Jin’s reaction in the spacecraft when he saw the mysterious man. He had been momentarily stunned before becoming angry. That look suggested he knew the mysterious man.
That evening, Chu Li saw a leak in the news. Last night, “rebels” had stolen the Poly-Dilute Energy Ring, the latest research achievement from the research building.
There was almost no information about this energy ring online. The only report was a three-year-old news item saying the academy had developed it but hadn’t used it on mechas for various reasons.
He was staring at the screen in deep thought when Lu Jin pushed the door open with a bottle of nutrient solution. Chu Li shut down his optical brain and looked up.
After his rest, the redness in his eyes had faded, but his face remained pale.
For a moment, Lu Jin felt the person before him was so pale he was almost transparent, as if he might fade away.
Lu Jin: “If you can’t eat, drink some nutrient solution first.”
“Okay.”
Lu Jin watched him drink the nutrient solution without blinking. A silent stillness filled the room; no one spoke.
Only after Chu Li let out a yawn did Lu Jin turn and leave.
Chu Li’s injuries weren’t severe—no broken bones—but the red marks wouldn’t disappear quickly. In fact, by the second day, they became even more prominent.
Unaware of it himself, he walked around Lu Jin with his neck gland red and swollen. The air around Lu Jin seemed to freeze, and he instinctively released deterrent pheromones, wanting to possess what belonged to him.
But Chu Li couldn’t sense the pheromones.
“Admiral, aren’t you going back to the military?” Chu Li asked.
“The military is on break,” Lu Jin replied calmly. He raised his gaze slightly, but only for a second before looking away from Chu Li’s neck.
Chu Li nodded and didn’t ask more. In the afternoon, he sat in a rocking chair reading a mecha atlas.
Before long, drowsiness hit, and he closed his eyes to rest. He was startled awake by a communication notification. It was a message from Ruan Ruan.
After reading the content, he suddenly stood up and rushed to Lu Jin, who was working in the study. “Admiral! Admiral! The star pirates have appeared!”
He remembered Lu Jin saying that once the star pirates appeared again, they could be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Lu Jin had already received the message. He didn’t say a word, keeping his head down as he looked at a holographic image.
Inside a black iron cage were several vacant-looking Omegas. They were fitted with collars and were about to be loaded onto a spacecraft.
Thinking Lu Jin hadn’t heard him, Chu Li knocked and continued, “Admiral, several Omegas went missing from the slums last night. A friend of mine saw one of them being captured and followed them to an abandoned factory. We suspect that might be their hideout.”
Lu Jin’s voice came from the room, cold and calm. “Chu Li, I am aware.”
“Then when are we going to save them?”
After a moment of silence, Lu Jin pushed the door open. He seemed to bring a chill with him. He looked down into Chu Li’s expectant eyes. “Attacking the star pirates now won’t affect the true power behind them. We need to plan carefully.”
“Plan carefully? For how long?”
Lu Jin didn’t answer directly. He only said, “Chu Li, the star pirates will definitely disappear.”
Chu Li understood the implication behind those ambiguous words. Looking into Lu Jin’s dark pupils, his heart slowly grew cold.
First, he said they would catch them as soon as they appeared; now, he said they needed to plan carefully. By the time the timing was “ideal,” who knew how many Omegas from the Lower City would be dead.
Ultimately, Lu Jin was like the other people from the Upper City. He didn’t view people from the Lower City as human beings. He only saw this as a bargaining chip to restrain his opponents, letting the lives of countless Omegas become stepping stones for their quest for fame and power.
“If the Omega captured by the pirates was the Star Lord’s son, would you still delay like this?”
“Chu Li.”
Chu Li took a step back, avoiding the hand Lu Jin reached out. He turned and left. He didn’t blame Lu Jin. Lu Jin held a high position; what he thought and considered was beyond Chu Li’s understanding.
Similarly, Lu Jin couldn’t understand him.
Lu Jin frowned and grabbed him from behind.
“You still have injuries. Where are you going?”
“I’m going back.”
“Back where?”
“Back to the Lower City.”
“Are you planning to save them? You can’t save them alone.”
Lu Jin gripped his shoulder, but Chu Li pushed him away again. After a while, a voice mixed with a sigh rang out.
“You weren’t like this before.”
Lu Jin froze, a flash of daze in his eyes. Before.
He indeed wasn’t like this before.
He used to be an idealist, thinking he could save everyone. Later, he realized he couldn’t even save himself.
He was no savior at all. Like everyone else, he was stuck in this muddy world.
Unable to breathe.
While he was dazed, Chu Li had already pushed the door open and left.
Chu Li took out some star coins and waited at the maglev station.
A cold wind blew through him, pressing his clothes against his body and making his figure look even more slender. He straightened his collar, got into the flying car, and chose a window seat. His expression was poor as he thought back to the conversation with Lu Jin.
Just as Lu Jin said, he couldn’t save them. But he had once been a victim himself. If Lu Jin hadn’t saved him back then, he would probably be an Alpha’s sex slave on some planet by now, or perhaps tortured to death long ago.
It was precisely because he had experienced this that he truly couldn’t stand by and watch.
Since he couldn’t completely destroy the star pirates, saving even one person was better than none.
Ruan Ruan told him that a small spacecraft had landed at the abandoned factory, stayed for half an hour, and then left. It likely transported some of the Omegas.
Ruan Ruan sent him a photo of the spacecraft he had secretly taken.
Chu Li enlarged the photo, trying to find any clues.
Just then, he heard gasps nearby.
“Why is there a spacecraft following us?”
“Hey, the ship looks like it’s looking for someone.”
Chu Li looked out the window. A familiar black spacecraft was following the maglev track, moving alongside him.
Though he couldn’t see the person inside, he instinctively felt they were watching him. He kept his face stiff and stared straight ahead, pretending not to see.
The maglev driver, having received an unknown command, actually pulled over.
A gangplank extended from the spacecraft to the maglev track. A man’s voice came through the comms.
“Get on.”
“No.”
“I’ll take you to the star pirates.”
Hearing this, Chu Li stood up instantly. It was as if he’d been given a shot of adrenaline. His beautiful eyes curved into crescent shapes as he immediately stepped onto the gangplank.
Lu Jin glanced at him, then looked away and changed the spacecraft’s direction.
“Where is the star pirates’ base?” Chu Li asked, his voice filled with uncontrollable excitement as he stepped up beside him.
“Wanxiang City.”
Twenty years ago, Wanxiang City was called the Underground City. It was filled with all sorts of illicit black-market trades: firearms, organs, gambling, forbidden drugs, and more. Later, it was taken over by the Empire and renamed Wanxiang City, becoming a secret playground for the elite and wealthy, gradually disappearing from the public’s view.
He thought this place had “gone straight,” but he hadn’t expected it was still conducting black-market trades.
Lu Jin turned and walked a distance away to make a call. Chu Li tactfully stayed put and didn’t eavesdrop, though he caught the words “plan moved forward.”
Before long, the spacecraft landed on the roof of a black building. Lu Jin took out a black chip the size of a button and placed it on the top of Chu Li’s head. Chu Li’s hair instantly turned dark brown, his facial features shifted slightly, and a faint, exotic fragrance emanated from him.
It was the simulated scent of an Omega’s pheromones.
Chu Li: “What is this?”
“A new type of laser chip. It uses light and shadow to affect hair color and facial features. It can also simulate pheromones of different scents.”
For some reason, Chu Li thought of the mysterious man.
Had the mysterious man’s hair and eye color also been altered?
After Lu Jin put on a laser chip, his hair became blue-gray and his brows became flatter. His features became less deep and sharp, appearing softer and more delicate.
The two stepped out of the spacecraft. A waiter wearing a black carved half-mask approached with a copper tray. On the tray were a fox mask and a lion mask.
Lu Jin placed the fox mask on Chu Li’s face and leaned down slightly. “We’re going to a ball later. Remember not to eat anything.”
Chu Li nodded. He didn’t know why they were going to a ball, but since Lu Jin said they were there to destroy the star pirates, he wouldn’t lie to him.
The waiter opened his optical brain and entered Chu Li’s information.
Everyone who came to Wanxiang City had to establish a new identity. They used this new identity to trade, have fun, and indulge their dark sides here.
Chu Li gave a fake name and listed his gender as Omega.
They entered the ballroom. The lights were dim, with only a ring of wall lamps above providing light.
In the air, the scents of wine, perfume, and faint pheromones intertwined. The silhouettes in the gloom were blurry; some people were dancing, while others were talking.
To the right of the hall, a man in a white mask was playing the piano. The elegant melody spread through the eerie yet suggestive night.
As soon as Lu Jin entered, he was intercepted by a man wearing an eagle mask.
“Howie, did you get the news that there’s top-tier goods tonight too?”
Lu Jin looked at Chu Li. Chu Li nodded slightly, indicating he could stay by himself.
Lu Jin turned to the man with a smile. “Yeah. I heard they’re from Planet Mars?”
The eagle-masked man put an arm around Lu Jin and whispered in his ear, “I just heard another piece of news. Besides Planet Mars, there’s another top-tier item.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know what it is yet. That old man Ha Tu is keeping it very well hidden.”
Chu Li quietly observed the ball. Everyone was wearing masks to hide their true identities. The dim light seemed to act as a veil of shame; some people were brazenly embracing and kissing. Others huddled together, injecting syringes into their arms.
A waiter with a tray of wine approached and invited Chu Li to taste some. Remembering Lu Jin’s instruction, Chu Li shook his head and declined.
Just then, the people who had just injected themselves seemed to be in a state of euphoria. Weird laughs came from their throats as they swayed their heads and stumbled into their surroundings.
Afraid of bumping into them, Chu Li backed away. He touched something and felt a soft sensation in his palm, which gave him a start.
He turned around and saw a giant green snake coiled around a pillar. The snake was massive, its body wound around the pillar several times. It was flickering its tongue, its emerald eyes appearing as if they could steal one’s soul.
Caught off guard, Chu Li met its gaze. The image before him suddenly stuttered and flickered.
Realizing something was wrong, he backed up repeatedly.
“Chu Li.” Lu Jin caught up from behind, reaching out to steady him. “What’s wrong?”
He grabbed a corner of Lu Jin’s clothes and tried to look up at him, but Lu Jin’s face seemed to have multiple ghosts, with one face layered over another.
His lips involuntarily curled into a silly smile. “Ad…” As soon as he spoke, Lu Jin covered his mouth.
Lu Jin looked around and lowered his voice. “What did you just do?”
Under his palm, Chu Li’s body temperature was rising, and his gaze was becoming increasingly dazed. His lips brushed against Lu Jin’s fingers every now and then.
“I saw a snake.”
“A green one.”
“Silence,” Lu Jin thought.
The owner, Ha Tu, had a treasure: a green exotic snake. Legend had it that the snake’s eyes were aphrodisiac; one look could greatly increase one’s sexual drive.
“I. Feel bad. I want. I want.”
Chu Li didn’t know what he wanted. After speaking, he collapsed into Lu Jin’s arms.