MHOMASB Chapter 12

TL: Hua

For Ji Xuan, it felt like it happened in an instant.

The released mental power failed to fully control the mecha, and the piercing alarms mingled with the system’s cries, turning his head into a chaotic mess.

But soon, thick white smoke sprayed from the control console, instantly filling the entire cabin with gas.

The spiking lines on the monitor began to drop visibly, meaning the mental power connected to the mecha was temporarily suppressed as its master lost consciousness. The mecha’s left arm went limp, and the massive machine slowly settled into stillness.

Lai Zhou released his hand from the emergency button; his work had finally been saved.

Mental power overload was the most dangerous scenario possible.

Forget Lai Zhou; even Pei Yingye had never seen it before.

“Normally, people either have a mental power grade too low to connect, or they’re drained dry by this unlucky contraption of yours,” Pei Yingye said. “Where on earth did you find this deity? He nearly sent us all to the afterlife.”

Lai Zhou slowly pulled his hands away from the console and exhaled a long breath. “…I’d really like to know the answer to that, too. Aren’t you from the Combat Department? You should know better than me if there are any deities like this in your department.”

Pei Yingye was silent for a moment before grinning and looking at him with a nonchalant air. “He scammed you, or he’s on drugs. Which one do you want to believe?”

Lai Zhou didn’t want to believe either.

“Open the hatch; I’m going in to fish him out.” Pei Yingye tapped the console and walked toward the mecha.

The sedative gas in the cockpit had completely dissipated, but Pei Yingye still counted several seconds outside.

“You’d better thank your lucky stars. If I hadn’t been here today, with that bunch of unlucky bastards in the Mecha Department who only know how to build but not how to pilot, who knows how long you’d have been lying in there before being hauled out…”

While the emergency hypnosis inside the cabin could knock out the pilot, it couldn’t forcibly strip their mental power from the mecha. Though Mecha Department students received mental power training, they were practically clueless about how to suppress someone else’s mental power or how to take over a mecha covered by it.

Even if someone knew how, they wouldn’t dare step forward as recklessly as Pei Yingye did without knowing the other person’s grade.

Pei Yingye leaned in, his mental power descending like a heavy iron curtain.

So strong.

Aside from the time he was ruthlessly swept by his Alpha parent when he first started learning mecha years ago, Pei Yingye had never felt such powerful mental power.

Moreover, he instinctively felt a sense of familiarity.

He tentatively released his mental power to touch the other person.

In the next moment, the Omega’s residual mental fluctuations, sharp and arrogant, uncompromisingly blocked his intrusion.

His Alpha instincts were triggered, and Pei Yingye’s mental power immediately tightened.

Why the hell didn’t Lai Zhou mention the person he invited was Ji Xuan?!

“I always said Omegas were the most troublesome creatures on earth,” Pei Yingye ground out between his teeth.

If it were just between Alphas, or between an Alpha and a Beta, he could use mental power to suppress them without issue. Pei Yingye’s original plan was to quickly and decisively take over the authority from the other party’s mental power.

But one absolutely could not use such a crude method on an Omega.

—Because if an Omega’s mental power is violently suppressed, it is very likely to force them directly into heat.

That damn Lai Zhou had really handed him a difficult problem.

Ji Xuan leaned quietly against the seat, his head slightly tilted, his eyelashes casting faint shadows in the dim light of the cockpit. When closed, his eyes were different from usual, carrying an innate cold elegance, like snow that could be startled by a stray breeze.

Pei Yingye narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Maybe I should just let your fiancé come save you.”

But quickly, he added with a hint of smugness and sarcasm, “Oh, I forgot, he’s an unreliable piece of work who disappears the moment things get critical.”

Pei Yingye braced against the cabin wall with one hand while covering the interface device on Ji Xuan’s wrist with the other.

He abruptly reined in his aura; the original plan for a violent takeover was completely abandoned. His vast mental power instantly condensed, turning into wisps of silk that silently probed into the mecha’s mental network.

The agitated mental power in the cabin suddenly froze.

Half a minute later, Ji Xuan’s residual mental power on the mecha was finally, carefully squeezed out by Pei Yingye’s mental power. The mecha was taken over by Pei Yingye, and he gently removed the device from Ji Xuan’s hand.

Pei Yingye let out a long breath. “Alright, ask Lai Zhou for compensation when you wake up.”

With that, he reached out to lift Ji Xuan from the pilot’s seat.

Ji Xuan’s body was light as a cloud. Pei Yingye supported his back and thought for a fraction of a second before deciding to carry him in a horizontal, bridal carry.

The scorpion braid brushed against his chest, itching slightly. As he got closer, he could faintly smell a crisp, cold fragrance on him. His body wasn’t soft like the descriptions in biology textbooks; his shoulders were thin enough to feel slightly bony, yet it gave Pei Yingye a novel and strange sensation.

He looks like he can cause plenty of trouble, so why is he so light?

He adjusted his grip and couldn’t help but tease in a low voice, “Like a cat. Has the Ji family fallen so low they can’t afford to feed people?”

Ji Xuan’s head rested quietly against his shoulder, unable to give him an answer. As Pei Yingye walked out of the hatch, just as he was marveling at how damn mysterious fate was, he saw Shen Que hurrying over behind the crowd.

It was unclear if someone had notified him or if he had received the news himself.

Pei Yingye intentionally paused his steps and raised an eyebrow.

He could tell at a glance the expression on Shen Que’s face, cold and indifferent, with a hint of complex hesitation, as if he were debating whether to step forward and take Ji Xuan from his arms.

After all, this Omega, who was still engaged to him, was now lying docilely in another Alpha’s arms, his tilted head resting quietly against Pei Yingye’s shoulder, his soft breaths brushing against his neck. To any outsider, the posture and scene looked incredibly intimate.

Shen Que was a man who cared deeply about his reputation; even if he had no feelings for Ji Xuan, he wouldn’t allow this to happen.

“I was upstairs just now and only just learned something happened in the warehouse,” Shen Que’s voice was ice-cold. “This is my fiancé. Please hand him over to me; I will handle it.”

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Pei Yingye, however, laughed. “The mecha is stabilized, I’ve taken over the mental power, the person has been brought out, and now you know he’s your fiancé?”

Shen Que’s face darkened.

“So sorry, Chief Shen.” Pei Yingye tightened his hold on Ji Xuan. “In case he suddenly wakes up and thinks you were his savior, wouldn’t all my hard work for so long be going down the drain?”

Shen Que’s face was grim as he asked word by word, “You think I’m here to steal your credit?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” After Pei Yingye replied with a beaming smile, he shouted to Lai Zhou nearby, “What are you standing there for? I’m taking him to the infirmary; hurry up and follow me. Are you expecting me to pay the medical bills?”

With that, he didn’t bother acknowledging Shen Que further and walked out with great strides, carrying the person in his arms.

–

Ji Xuan’s consciousness plummeted from a great height.

It was only for a split second before it quickly returned to his body.

The body that belonged to his original self, which had already been blasted into pieces under the Heavenly Tribulation.

Was it a dream?

It must be a dream; otherwise, this scene, buried deep in his memories for many years, wouldn’t have appeared before his eyes.

Before Ji Xuan usurped the position of the demon lord, he had always lived in the Sea of Blood deep within the Demon Realm.

Contrary to the tragic and sinister imagery others imagined, the palaces of the Sea of Blood were no different from any other part of the Demon Realm. Exotic flowers and herbs grew in the courtyard, and glazed lamps hung beneath the eaves. It was just that too many people had died here, and in the end, only he was left. Thus, the massive hall felt incredibly silent and empty, with the faint, lingering scent of blood drifting through the air.

The youth was the Sea of Blood’s first guest.

Ji Xuan didn’t know where he came from. One day, while Ji Xuan was practicing his sword, the boy simply dropped from the sky. He initially thought the boy was a new disciple taken in by the Old Demon Venerable, but the Old Demon Venerable was in seclusion at the time, and no one had come to notify him, so he quickly ruled out that possibility.

And so, he pressed the Queyue Sword against the youth’s neck, demanding to know where he came from.

After a moment of dazed confusion, the youth seemed to wake from a dream and called out his name.

“You know me?” Ji Xuan asked coldly.

“Of course I know you!” the youth shouted enthusiastically.

Yet, Ji Xuan still intended to take his life.

Until the other party said he knew what Ji Xuan wanted.

“You want to usurp power; you want to kill the Old Demon Venerable. But your cultivation is still shallow; you can’t beat him yet.” The youth looked him in the eye without evasion, but his voice was kept very low, as if terrified of being overheard. “I can help you. Only I know how to help you.”

So, Ji Xuan spared his life.

He kept him there for over half a year.

But a living person of that size entering the Demon Realm couldn’t keep their tracks hidden forever. The Left Protector sent people several times to inquire, but Ji Xuan brushed them off. He would always stroke the youth’s head, lifting his gaze to look at the messengers with a beaming smile, saying unhurriedly, “What? I’m bored staying here by myself. If I want to keep a living thing to play with, do I need the Protector’s permission?”

“You needn’t worry about me neglecting my cultivation because of this. Who knows, one day when I grow tired of playing, I might just strip his bones, feast on his flesh, and devour him completely.”

Once those people left, he would lean lazily back into his chair draped in fox fur and curse listlessly: “So annoying. Maybe I really should just eat you. How many times has this been?”

At such times, the youth would slump against the armrest and plead for his life in a muffled voice: “Human meat is sour; stripping bones and eating flesh isn’t good at all. Don’t copy those blue-faced, fanged demonic beasts of the Demon Realm. That’s too terrifying; it would be a waste of your face.”

Ji Xuan asked with a laugh, “Then how do you think I should be?”

“Like this…” The youth gestured grandly. “Use the tip of your sword to tilt their chin up, making them kneel on the ground but forced to look up at you. Then step on their shoulder, scare them, tease them, humiliate them!”

Amused by him, Ji Xuan drew the sword beside him and used the hilt to press against the youth’s jaw, lifting it lightly.

At that time, his features still held a hint of youthful tenderness; his eyes hadn’t fully matured, and his lines were still soft. But when he looked at someone with that tilted gaze, he possessed an indescribable aura. It made one involuntarily want to surrender at his side, not out of fear, but out of a desire to see more.

“Like this? Pei…”

Pei Yingye looked at Ji Xuan’s hand, which was tightly clutching his wrist.

He had been quiet and obedient the whole way, showing no reaction even when placed into the medical capsule. Why did he suddenly grab him just as the hatch was about to close?

Pei Yingye’s gaze fell upon Ji Xuan’s opening and closing lips. The fragmented sounds made it impossible to hear what the other was murmuring, but the familiar syllables made him lean in closer instinctively.

“Pei…”

This time, he heard it clearly.

“Yeah, I’m right here. What are you looking for me for?” Pei Yingye hooked a nearby chair with his leg and pulled it over, not even minding that Ji Xuan’s fingernails were nearly digging marks into his hand.

However, before his butt even hit the seat, he saw those soft lips move to spit out the rest of the name.

“Pei…”

“…Fu… Guang.”

Pei Yingye’s face instantly darkened. After a long silence, he stared at Ji Xuan’s hand, let out a sneer, and said through gritted teeth, “And which bastard’s name is that—”

A total waste of his feelings.