From the moment everyone extinguished the campfire to when the surrounding alarms were triggered, only about ten minutes had passed. If this person hadn’t just been passing by unintentionally, they had likely been targeted long ago.
In the darkness, the rustling of dry leaves gradually ceased, as if what they had heard earlier was just an illusion. Two or three heads peeked out from the tents, while several gun barrels simultaneously emerged from the pre-cut holes in the tent fabric all aimed in the same direction. The idea of leaving openings for shooting had been Lu Heguang’s suggestion. Though it carried some risk, with the alarms in place, they still had enough time to react.
“Captain, over there,” Wen Zhao whispered in an extremely low voice. Realizing that speaking would expose their position, he rolled out of the tent in one swift motion, drawing the attention of the “opponent.”
Almost instantly, several bullet holes appeared where Wen Zhao had rolled. Damp soil sprayed into the air as bullets struck the ground, splattering all over him.
Without hesitation, Lu Heguang pulled the trigger regardless of who the opponent was, whether it was their rival Joan, a senior student, or even someone like Reis who had parted ways with them earlier, the other side had fired first. He would show no mercy.
After all, he didn’t want to lose the chance to attend classes with Salorian.
This wasn’t Lu Heguang’s first time firing a gun. Fortunately, Mitchell had taught him before, so he didn’t have to worry about recoil. However, two shots missed the target, and he could only vaguely see the grass rustling where someone had passed by.
Salorian was hiding behind Lu Heguang. Before he could even remind Lu Heguang to be careful, he was pushed toward Wen Zhao, who was crouching behind the tent, quietly discussing a temporary plan with Aizel inside. Startled by the sudden collision, Wen Zhao quickly steadied Salorian upon recognizing him. “Senior, where’s our captain?”
“He seems… to have charged out,” Salorian replied, turning to look back with him. They saw Lu Heguang sidestep two bullets, crouch low, and swiftly advance toward the grass, grabbing Allen for support along the way.
Allen was taller and more imposing than Lu Heguang. His sudden rise seemed to catch the opponent off guard, causing them to hesitate about whether to fire. In that brief moment of indecision, Lu Heguang had already closed in on the opponent. Mitchell had only taught him a few combat moves, and with such limited time, he hadn’t mastered them. Lu Heguang also lacked experience in fighting.
But he had a trump card.
The blue-haired Alpha’s hair seemed to glow faintly under the moonlight in the darkness, giving the enemy, who had just been discovered, an inexplicable sense of calm and reassurance. The next moment, the enemy found their hands twisted behind their back and pressed firmly against the ground. Their view shifted from the night sky to the tangled grass. “I surrender!” they hastily exclaimed.
“Don’t be a deserter, senior,” Lu Heguang said, spotting the brown insignia on the opponent’s shoulder that marked their seniority. A slight smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he used his tail to disarm the opponent. Ignoring their pleas for mercy, he drew the dagger from his waist and slashed through the insignia.
The familiar sound of the alarm rang out once again. The senior Alpha pinned beneath him cursed and scrambled to his feet, resignedly waiting to be retrieved. “Didn’t you hear me? I surrendered!”
“I heard you.” Lu Heguang retracted his dagger while also tucking away his tail, his gaze clear as he said, “But if I let you go now, you’d definitely come back for revenge, right?”
The senior was left speechless by his words and could only angrily move to another spot to wait for departure.
“Was it just him alone?” As soon as Lu Heguang stepped out of the bushes, everyone gathered around. Aizel pulled Lu Heguang aside to check him over, only asking after confirming he was unharmed.
Lu Heguang hummed in agreement. “Probably. I didn’t see anyone else.”
“Just to be safe, let’s check again.” Salorian sighed in relief and was about to personally scout the area when Wen Zhao spoke up, “Wait, where’s Allen?”
Lu Heguang froze, looking toward the direction where Allen had been covering for him earlier. Allen, who was so tall and sturdy, had vanished, leaving only his jacket behind.
“Someone took him!” One person stepped forward to pick up the jacket and noticed a slash mark on the back, left by a dagger. “I wonder if he’s injured.”
“They didn’t eliminate Allen directly. They must still have a use for him?” Salorian mused. “Have any of you made enemies with anyone lately?”
“Aside from Parker, probably no one else.” Wen Zhao took Allen’s jacket and unfolded it. “This person is left-handed.”
“Hmm?” Lu Heguang leaned in to look. Allen had been taken because he was helping him he had to bring Allen back.
Wen Zhao handed one end of the jacket to Aizel, and the two of them spread it out, signaling Lu Heguang to try slashing it with his dagger.
Lu Heguang took out his dagger again and made a slash on the jacket as instructed. Looking at the mark he left and the completely opposite force mark from the other slash, his eyes lit up. “It’s Joan.”
Salorian looked skeptical. “Joan? The captain of Class Two in the Combat Department?”
“You know her, Senior?” Lu Heguang sheathed his dagger and motioned for Wen Zhao to put Allen’s jacket away. “When she shook hands with me earlier, she instinctively used her dominant hand her left hand.”
“I don’t really know her, but I’ve heard of her.” Salorian stroked his chin and explained, “The Medical Department and the Combat Department aren’t far apart just two building zones away. You all know that, right?”
Everyone nodded. Salorian raised both hands, extending one finger from each. “Joan and Parker are siblings.”
Wen Zhao patted his chest in relief after hearing this. “You scared me. I almost thought they were in an Alpha-Alpha relationship.”
Salorian: “You have quite the imagination.”
“What do we do now, Captain?”
“We have to rescue Allen, right?”
“It looks like a trap no matter how you see it. Should we really go?”
Everyone whispered among themselves. Lu Heguang glanced westward and made a decision. “I’ll go. He was taken because he was helping me.”
“I’ll go with you.” Salorian stood by his side. “Wen Zhao, you’re responsible for protecting everyone.”
“Actually, as a guide, Senior, you don’t have to do this much for me, right?”
The two of them walked westward together. The light at night wasn’t great, so Salorian looked left and right before deciding to grab the hanging loop on the back of Lu Heguang’s training uniform to follow him, lest they get separated.
Before they had even covered half the distance, Lu Heguang suddenly asked this question. Salorian looked up at the overly large moon hanging at the edge of the sky. This planet was too close to its moon, causing the days and nights to lengthen considerably. Normally, the moon shouldn’t be visible at this hour. Thinking this, he glanced back toward the direction of the camp, but there was no movement there.
“The tidal effects won’t reach us yet. The tide likely won’t rise until around ten tomorrow morning.” Lu Heguang knew what he was looking at. Salorian chuckled and nudged the back of his shoe. “Hurry up.”
“You still haven’t answered my question, senior,” Lu Heguang said softly. The two maintained their distance, one in front and one behind, as they continued forward. “Azer also has a guide, but they usually only contact him when Azer has a problem.”
“What are you trying to say?” Salorian genuinely couldn’t understand his meaning. “Can you just say it directly?”
At his question, Lu Heguang fell silent. The Omega following behind grew puzzled. “Speak up. What do you mean by saying only half of what you’re thinking?”
Just then, Lu Heguang passed under a low-hanging tree, his head covered by the leaves. Rainwater that had been lingering on the leaves slid down the sloping surface, tracing a path across Lu Heguang’s cheek. As he reached up to wipe it away, he heard Salorian hesitate from behind. “Hey, you’re not crying, are you?”
The Alpha paused. From Salorian’s perspective, the sliding water looked just like tears falling from Lu Heguang’s face.
To make matters worse, Lu Heguang’s nose began to itch at that moment. He instinctively sniffled, which only made Salorian more flustered. Leaning closer, Salorian peered up at him from below. “Are you really crying?”
Lu Heguang wiped the water trail from his face with the back of his hand, looking genuinely aggrieved. Salorian’s expression shifted strangely, a mix of guilt and confusion over what he might have done wrong. He wanted to ask what was wrong but feared he might inadvertently hit a sore spot and make his junior cry even harder.
“I’m fine,” Lu Heguang said, his voice thick with congestion. The nasal tone only made Salorian feel worse. He poked Lu Heguang’s arm. “Tell me, what’s going on?”
“Senior, if I weren’t your guided one, would you still treat me this well?” Lu Heguang asked quietly.
Salorian thought to himself, What kind of strange question is this? “Of course not. If we didn’t have this relationship, I might not even know who you are.”
Lu Heguang: “…”
Why so brutally honest?
“Then,” Lu Heguang rephrased his question, “if it weren’t me, would you treat another guided one just as well?”
Salorian reached out and touched his forehead. The sudden closeness made the young Alpha freeze. Before any thoughts could form in his mind, he heard Salorian say, “Once we rescue Alun, I’ll boil some water for you to drink.”
“Huh?”
“The temperature drops at night here, so I can’t tell if you have a fever. But drinking hot water when you’re sick is always a good idea,” Salorian declared confidently. “Stop overthinking things. Watch your step.”
“Senior, I have one more question,” Lu Heguang took a deep breath. “Can you hear me out?”
“Go ahead,” Salorian said, taking two steps forward to walk beside him. “What can’t you say to me?”
“If my rut comes, can I ask you for help?” Lu Heguang had originally wanted to ask whether he could assist Salorian if his heat arrived, but worried that phrasing it that way might arouse suspicion. So, at the last moment, he changed his words, looking at Salorian with hopeful eyes.
Perhaps it was the sincerity in Lu Heguang’s gaze that made Salorian swallow the instinctive refusal that had risen to his throat. He couldn’t bring himself to say something like, “What the hell does an Alpha’s rut have to do with me?” Just then, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out from the tree above them
“Oh, confessing your feelings?”
Lu Heguang immediately gripped his weapon, shielding Salorian behind him. The next moment, the grade insignia on his shoulder lit up with a red glow.
“Don’t move. I can’t guarantee I won’t shoot,” Qiao An jumped down from the tree, aiming her gun at Lu Heguang with a smile. “Interested in discussing a collaboration?”