The walk up the wide stairs was completely silent. General Zhen Sheng carried Li Yan over his big shoulder like a sack of potatoes, his loud steps hitting the floor. Li Yan did not even have the power to kick. His body was burning up from the inside out, his skin turning red as the trapped energy cooked his inside paths.
Prince Jing Yuchen walked a few steps ahead, his long hands tucked behind his back. His face showed deep annoyance. The first panic at the gates had passed, replaced by a lasting frustration. To them, this entire evening had been a total mess.
Zhen Sheng kicked the big doors of the main bedroom open. He marched straight over to the large bed and dumped Li Yan onto the middle of the mattress without a single bit of gentleness.
Li Yan let out a weak groan as his back hit the soft bed, his breath coming out hot and rough. He rolled onto his side, holding his chest as he tried to look up at them through his messy hair.
"Stay there," Zhen Sheng said, wiping a line of sweat from his own forehead. He looked down at Li Yan with distant eyes, his jaw pressed tight. "We don’t need you wandering out and leaking that sweet mess again. I have enough trouble managing my men without you turning this place into a breeding ground."
"I did not ask for this," Li Yan panted, his voice thin and rough, yet his eyes still carried a flash of pure hatred. "Your royal prince is the one who shoved his freezing power into my throat. If I die of a fever under your roof, it is your fault."
Jing Yuchen stepped up to the edge of the bed, his violet eyes looking down at Li Yan like a judge looking at a criminal. He showed no care for the heat coming from Li Yan’s skin.
"You will not die, Mingxuan," Jing Yuchen said, his voice flat and smooth. "Your SS-Rank body is tough enough to handle a basic seal. But you are becoming a big trouble for our position. First the collapse in the big room, now a wild fight outside. My father is already looking for a reason to question our stability."
"Then let him question it," Li Yan hissed, his fingers digging into the bedding as a wave of heat rolled through his stomach. "Go back to the capital and leave me alone. I am tired of looking at both of your faces."
Zhen Sheng let out a dark, dry laugh. "We would love nothing more than to leave you here, Duke. But the Emperor’s emergency messenger is waiting downstairs. The northern sea borders have completely broken, and we have to head to the central war room right now."
Jing Yuchen fixed the sleeves of his dark robes, turning his back on the bed. "The house guards will lock the doors from the outside the moment we step out. You are to stay inside this room under tight guard until we return from the palace. Do not try to use your servants, and do not try to leave."
"I am a lord of this empire," Li Yan managed to say, his boss pride refusing to let them have the last word even as his sight blurred from the fever. "You cannot lock me up like a common prisoner."
"We can, and we will," Zhen Sheng said bluntly, turning around to follow the prince toward the exit. "For your own safety, and for ours. Keep your mouth shut and sleep it off."
The big doors slammed shut behind them, and a second later, the clear sound of lock shifting into place went through the quiet room.
Li Yan was left entirely alone in the dark. The only light came from the dim moon shining through the glass windows, casting long shadows across the floor. He let out a long, shaky breath, rolling onto his back as the fever inside peaked, making his body ache with every heartbeat.
He tried to push himself up on his elbows, wanting to find some water to cool his burning throat, but his arms gave out under his weight, dropping him back onto the mattress.
"Stupid world," Li Yan muttered, his mind screaming curses at the two Alphas who had just handled him like a broken piece of luggage. "Stupid system. If I ever find a way out of this book, I will personally delete their characters."
Suddenly, a loud, sharp chime exploded directly inside his brain, the sound so clear and loud it made his ears ring.
Li Yan winced, closing his eyes tight as a bright blue glass screen flashed into view right in front of his face. The text wasn’t the usual helpful blue; it was glowing in a bright, demanding gold color that stayed in the dark room.
[MANDATORY MISSION UPDATE: Zero Negotiation Mode Engaged.]
[Core Objective Unlocked: The Return Ticket.]
[Mission Parameters: Host must successfully raise the affection levels of both targets to 100%.]
[Failure Condition: If targets do not reach maximum affection before the final novel arc concludes, the Host will be permanently locked inside this world, losing all rights to return to his modern life as a CEO.]
Li Yan stared at the golden text, his heart skipping a beat as his smart boss mind processed the threat. "What? 100%? Are you crazy?" he shouted at the empty room. "They just pinned me against a post and choked my breath out! They think I am a traitor and a total trouble!"
The system did not give a verbal answer. Instead, the screen shifted with another sharp chime, revealing a small status box at the bottom of the gold text.
[Current Target Affection Status:]
[General Zhen Sheng: 10%]
[Prince Jing Yuchen: 5%]
Li Yan looked at the tiny single-digit numbers, and a stream of bitter, bad curses tore out of his mouth. He slammed his fist down against the mattress, his face turning red from pure anger rather than the fever inside.
"Five percent?" Li Yan barked, his voice cracking with anger in the quiet bedroom. "The prince is at five percent? The brute general is higher than him? I saved the general’s life on the floor of the big room, and he only gives me ten percent?"
He stared at the screen in total disgust. In his past boss life, if a business partner showed him numbers this low during a deal, he would have fired them on the spot and walked away. But here, these numbers were his only way back to his real life, his real body, and his real money.
He was trapped in a room with another burning fever, locked away by two powerful men who hated his weakness, and the system was demanding he make them love him completely just to go home.
"Ten percent and five percent," Li Yan whispered, his teeth pressing together as he looked at the golden screen until it slowly faded away into the dark. "They are completely heartless. This isn’t a romance novel, it’s a trap."
He pulled the sheets over his shaking shoulders, his mind already spinning with dark, angry thoughts as he planned his next move against the two Alphas who held his future in their hands.