TL: Hua

Chapter 43

Sector S1 was the core area of North Star Fortress.

Ji Xuan didn’t quite understand why they received such an order, but Pei Yingye seemed to have a hunch. He got up early in the morning and stood before the mirror, meticulously smoothing his clothes several times, even grooming his hair until it was flawless.

It was the first time Ji Xuan had seen him like this, so he couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

After passing through layer upon layer of rigorous security checks in Sector S1, the two arrived outside the office hall ten minutes before the appointed time.

The metal doors slid open silently. The space behind the doors was extremely minimalist: cold grey walls and a floor polished like a mirror. The only decoration was a map of the five major galaxies on the wall. The morning sunlight poured unreservedly through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, adding a touch of softness to the room’s uncompromisingly cold tones.

As the supreme commander of North Star Fortress, Ying Xun was currently sitting in front of the window, backlit by the sun.

His face looked very young, his complexion a deathly pale from years of avoiding sunlight. He wore an ink-blue uniform, the collar fastened tightly to the very top, and a belt at his waist traced a sharp line.

An Alpha. His rank shouldn’t be low, either.

That was Ji Xuan’s first impression of him.

Ying Xun held a white coffee cup in his hand, the rising steam blurring his brow and eyes, which weren’t as fierce as those of an ordinary Alpha. Hearing their footsteps, he slowly looked up.

His eyes were a light shade, appearing as a transparent grey in the light. His gaze landed on Pei Yingye first, sweeping quickly over his almost formal attire with a flash of amusement in his eyes. Then, he turned his gaze to Ji Xuan.

“You’re here?” His voice wasn’t loud; it was very soft and sounded quite gentle.

He set the cup down gently on the desk in front of him, then pointed to the sofa nearby and added, “Sit first.”

Ji Xuan and Pei Yingye sat down as instructed. A robot in the office quickly and cooperatively served them both coffee. Ji Xuan looked down, staring at the rim of the cup for a few seconds. Just as he was about to pick it up, Pei Yingye reached out and pressed his hand down.

“It’s extremely bitter,” Pei Yingye whispered in his ear. “The kind that makes your soul ascend to heaven. You definitely won’t like it.”

So Ji Xuan frowned slightly and let go of the handle he had just hooked.

However, how could this whispering escape the ears of a high-grade Alpha with keen senses? Ying Xun let out a laugh, walked from behind the desk, and sat down across from them.

“Since when did you become so considerate?” Ying Xun’s gaze fell upon Pei Yingye’s hand, which hadn’t fully retracted yet. He then called over a robot to replace Ji Xuan’s drink with a new latte. “But Neo is indeed used to preparing things according to my preferences; the concentration is a bit high. Change to this one and give it a try.”

His attitude was so warm and natural that it felt as if they weren’t a superior and subordinate meeting for the first time, but rather an elder facing a familiar junior. Ji Xuan picked up the cup again and took a sip from the rim. The smooth liquid carried a moderate milky fragrance and sweetness; it was indeed quite different from the pitch-black liquid in Ying Xun’s cup.

“It’s very good. Thank you, General,” Ji Xuan said politely, putting down the cup and looking directly at Ying Xun.

Ying Xun nodded, meeting his gaze without avoidance or feeling offended by such scrutiny. His eyes remained gentle as he scanned Ji Xuan with an almost identical look of appraisal.

“I’ve looked over the records of the annual assessment carefully.” He skipped the small talk and cut straight to the point. “Ranked first at Mars Military Academy—that’s a score we haven’t seen before. You even pushed down the top students from the previous two years. Very impressive.”

Hearing this, Pei Yingye curled his lips slightly in dissatisfaction.

“Of course, second place is also very impressive.”

Pei Yingye felt a bit better. He leaned back grandly against the sofa, his outstretched arm inconspicuously pressing against Ji Xuan’s back.

“I heard about what happened when you came to report in. I apologize to you for that,” Ying Xun said. “The arrangements for training personnel usually don’t reach my level. Although it’s been emphasized that judgments shouldn’t be made solely on gender identity, many issues still arise during execution.”

Ji Xuan replied, “I understand.”

He didn’t particularly care. Just like in his original world, where orthodox sects discriminated against rogue cultivators, rogue cultivators looked down on demonic cultivators, and demonic cultivators in turn looked down on ghost cultivators and the Hehuan Sect, anywhere there are people, hierarchies will be drawn to establish the superiority of one’s own group.

Back when he was a medicine human, though he was nominally the disciple of the old Demon Venerable, he was constantly slighted by other demonic cultivators in the Demon Realm. However, once he gained power and let those people feel his strength, they would crawl back to bow, scrape, and wag their tails for mercy.

“That may be so, but there’s a bit too much petty scheming at North Star Fortress. General, my ‘fan filter’ is breaking; who’s going to compensate me?” Pei Yingye said sarcastically, crunching loudly on the extra ice cubes he’d added to his coffee.

“Wherever the sun shines, there will naturally be shadows,” Ying Xun responded unhurriedly. “The auxiliary defense forces are mostly non-regular troops sent from various galaxies. Things have been busy the past few years, and we neglected their reorganization. This is a good opportunity to take them down a peg—I should also thank you; the mecha duel last night was quite good.”

“However, North Star Fortress isn’t an idol drama set. You really should drop the unnecessary ‘filters’.”

“So, did the General call us here just for this?” Ji Xuan asked calmly.

Ying Xun shook his head. “No.”

“I asked you here because the Azure Bird Guard currently has a special mission.” Ying Xun’s voice remained elegant and gentle, yet his tone carried the unique majesty of a high-ranking official. “We need a few fresh faces with strong combat capabilities and enough adaptability to handle emergencies.”

“Of course, the mission will be very dangerous. You have half a day to consider it.”

–

The metal door closed behind them, and the two followed the original path down to the plaza in front of Sector S1.

Until the moment they left, Ying Xun had revealed no specific information regarding the location, target, or other details of the mission. Every time Pei Yingye tried to ask, he was smoothly blocked by the other man.

But they had a rough idea of what the mission was.

Last time, the dark-faced veteran mentioned that Ying Xun had been investigating border smuggling; he likely returned this time for the same reason.

Ji Xuan had chosen North Star Fortress because of the Zerg gene extraction fluid and genetic weapons mentioned by Pei Yingye and Lai Zhou during the full-domain simulation, and he hadn’t forgotten it even after being assigned to logistics. Thinking back to the veteran’s interrupted sentence, for some reason, he had a gut feeling that what Ying Xun was investigating and what had ultimately caused the original owner’s injury were the same thing—or at least closely linked.

“What do you think?” Pei Yingye bumped Ji Xuan’s shoulder and asked.

Ji Xuan glanced at him. The eager light in the latter’s eyes was almost overflowing, making his thoughts instantly obvious.

“I remember you saying that wherever I go, you go?” Ji Xuan intentionally avoided a direct answer, bringing up Pei Yingye’s previous words to tease him.

Pei Yingye raised an eyebrow and stared straight at Ji Xuan. His gaze roamed over Ji Xuan’s face as if trying to see through his expression. However, Ji Xuan’s cold face was flawless. Still, relying on instinct, Pei Yingye understood his decision in an instant.

“You want to go too,” Pei Yingye said with certainty.

Ji Xuan gave a light laugh and countered with a question: “You know me that well?”

He stopped walking and turned to face Pei Yingye. Reaching out, he slowly and methodically adjusted Pei Yingye’s collar, which was actually already neat.

“You guessed right.” Ji Xuan’s fingertip grazed the mole on Pei Yingye’s Adam’s apple with just a hint of weight before pulling away. “Pity, there’s no reward.”

Pei Yingye touched his own Adam’s apple where he had been touched, his eyes swirling with complex emotions after being teased.

“Just guessing what you’re thinking… how is that enough?” He suddenly leaned closer as they walked side by side, his warm breath brushing against Ji Xuan’s ear and neck. “Don’t you plan to let me know a little more?”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Ji Xuan’s lips. The sunlight on the plaza was intense, and a golden beam cast a small patch of shimmering light on Ji Xuan’s lips. Pei Yingye’s mind wandered for a moment, his eyes darkening.

It had been over half a month since their last kiss. Pei Yingye was constantly pondering how to redeem himself and prove his prowess, but Ji Xuan never seemed to give him the chance.

He admitted that he was greedy; he had developed a taste for it. What Alpha could calmly sleep in the same dormitory as an Omega every day? He wasn’t some saintly ascetic.

However, Ji Xuan acted as if he didn’t understand the hint. He lowered his eyes, his gaze lightly sweeping over Pei Yingye’s nearby lips before slowly looking up into those blue eyes.

Then, he changed the subject: “I was looking at him for a long time just now.”

“Huh? Who?” Pei Yingye was stunned. It took a few seconds for him to realize Ji Xuan was talking about Ying Xun. His eyes narrowed instantly, and his previous flirtatious mood was replaced by a sharp alertness. He straightened up almost immediately and asked through gritted teeth, “You mean Ying Xun? Why were you looking at him?”

“You don’t look much like him,” Ji Xuan said with a half-smile. “Your personalities aren’t much alike either.”

Pei Yingye’s tense nerves relaxed at the unexpected answer.

“You figured it out?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I take after my troublemaker dad more. Except for the nose, I don’t look like my female-father at all.”

Ji Xuan pondered the term. Although he had a hunch, he was still slightly surprised.

In this world, men… Alphas could actually get pregnant.

Ji Xuan’s worldview received a small shock.

“He looks very young,” Ji Xuan said. “If you hadn’t said anything, I would have thought he was your brother.”

“Everyone says that. If you met my dad, you’d think he looked even more like my brother.”

Ji Xuan looked at him in confusion and asked, “Why?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Pei Yingye scratched his hair and said casually. “Because I was born when he was nineteen. In those multi-child families on the capital planet, the gap between the eldest son and the youngest is about that much anyway.”

Ji Xuan: “…”

Purchase complete translation in EPUB format HERE.