WCHM Chapter 65

Lu Chi didn’t bother checking the reply. He got up and strolled into the bathroom, leisurely turning on the shower.

He was still wearing the cat outfit. The fluffy trim brushed against his skin, while the ribbons hung half-undone, crisscrossing over his shoulders. Once he slipped it off, countless faint red kiss marks came into view.

They dotted his chest and thighs like flower petals, beautiful at first glance, yet decadently alluring. The light washed over him, making his whole body seem translucent as jade, like a delicate jellyfish drifting beneath clear water.

Lin Jingsi had kissed him for a long time. Before leaving, he’d even rinsed his mouth and then lightly bitten the gland at the back of Lu Chi’s neck, telling him to wait until he came back to continue.

The Alpha had spoken as though talking to a house cat, his voice low and hoarse as he promised, “It won’t be more than two hours. The moment it’s over, I’ll come straight back.”

“Wait for me, Xiao Chi.”

Lu Chi had smiled and agreed.

Then Lin Jingsi had caught his ankle and spent another while kissing his calf. Lu Chi’s other foot had lazily reached down, nudging and teasing him with the tip of his toes. The Alpha quickly grabbed hold of it. By the time he finally let go, Lu Chi’s hand was flushed red from how tightly it had been held, while the tips of his toes had been thoroughly coated with Lin Jingsi’s pheromone scent.

Because it came from bodily fluids, the scent was especially noticeable.

After showering, Lu Chi walked out completely naked without the slightest embarrassment. Standing before the mirror, he blow-dried his long hair, then picked up his terminal and snapped a fresh full-body photo of himself. After that, he took another picture focused from his collarbone downward and sent both to Lin Jingsi, who was currently preparing for his match.

In the photo, the two pale pink buds had deepened in color from repeated attention. Beside them were distinct bite marks, and lower down, cold-white abdominal muscles faded into skin as smooth as carved jade.

Satisfied, Lu Chi added a caption:

[This part misses you so much.]

Whether it missed being licked or sucked… he’d leave that entirely to Lin Jingsi’s imagination.

The message was marked as read almost instantly, and a few seconds later, Lin Jingsi replied with a picture of his own. It was an obscenely suggestive hand gesture.

A thumb and finger forming a small circle while another finger thrust through it, the sort of crude imitation only uncouth street thugs would make.

Lu Chi hadn’t expected him to be so direct, and the tips of his ears warmed for what was almost a rare occasion. It suddenly struck him that beneath Lin Jingsi’s composed exterior lurked the roughness of a soldier, a man who became downright feral whenever desire overtook him.

For no reason at all, Lu Chi’s stubborn competitive streak flared to life.

A contest to see who can be more shameless?

Bring it on.

So he flipped the camera around. Refusing to lose, he stuck out his tongue at the front-facing lens, wrapped his slender fingers around his own throat, and took a close-up from above before sending it over.

The other side fell silent for two seconds. Then a voice message came through. His voice was low and heavy, sounding as if he’d already swallowed Lu Chi whole.

“Should I forfeit the match and come back right now?”

Lu Chi burst into laughter, taking the threatening voice message as nothing less than a white flag of surrender. Feeling rather pleased with himself, he magnanimously replied:

B-1121: [That won’t be necessary.]

B-1121: [Win first. When you get back, I’ll perform it for you.]

B-1121: [With sound, too.]

Sometimes, it really wasn’t surprising that Lin Jingsi’s opponents lost. After all, who wouldn’t want to watch Lu Chi straddling them, putting on a show with that flushed, pleasure-filled expression?

At least, Lin Jingsi wanted to so badly he was practically losing his mind.

………………..

The Main Shou sent dozens of messages afterward. Lu Chi skimmed them without replying, casually closed his terminal, curled up on the sofa, and turned his attention to the live broadcast.

The commentators were enthusiastically showering Lin Jingsi with praise. Every time they finished, they’d inevitably tack on something like, “It’s truly a pity that contestant Lu Chi withdrew from the competition!”

On screen, the gray mecha shifted impatiently, drawing an immediate wave of excitement from the audience.

“I can’t wait to see if Lin Jingsi breaks another record this time! He looks even fiercer than before!”

“I heard he’s already organizing his own squad after the academy tournament! Anyone who joins the military’s direct line is guaranteed a bright future. I want in too!”

“In another six months he’ll undergo his second differentiation. The military might really rise again because of him. Shouldn’t we start currying favor with him now?”

Because it was a live broadcast, every comment from the audience came through crystal clear. But in the Federation, rigid social hierarchy had long become the norm. Trying to ingratiate yourself with those above your station was perfectly ordinary.

So the commentator remained unfazed and continued smiling.

“Looks like tonight is Lin Jingsi’s stage once again. It feels so familiar; it reminds me of the previous tournament!”

The other commentator laughed.

“That’s right. Four years ago, everyone was just as excited to witness the birth of a new superstar. The atmosphere tonight is even livelier. The only regret is that Lu Chi didn’t come.”

“It looks like quite a few Betas showed up today… and judging by their expressions, they’re not in the best mood.”

“But I still believe the victory a week ago was nothing short of a miracle. Once tonight’s tournament ends, the students will all be leaving the floating island and returning to the capital star.”

“I believe an even brighter future awaits Lu Chi.”

The competition soon began. The commentators ended their conversation and focused entirely on the simulated battlefield.

This year’s academy combat tournament had doubled the difficulty, so consciousness overlap was prohibited. Several hundred contestants were randomly assigned opponents and battlefields, while thousands of cameras captured every mecha collision across the arena.

Half of them were trained on Lin Jingsi.

The Alpha moved with ruthless efficiency, cutting through the battlefield with terrifying ferocity. Lu Chi lounged comfortably on the sofa, watching alongside the system with great interest, when he suddenly heard it mutter in confusion:

[Host… I…] The system mumbled suspiciously, [That guy… why does he look like he’s in such a hurry…?! Hiss… he just made another opponent cough up blood. That’s terrifying!]

Lu Chi merely smiled without answering, his gaze fixed on Lin Jingsi. After the AI refreshed the virtual battlefield’s rankings, the arena was left with nothing but waves of frenzied cheers and deafening screams.

After all, violence was both the most exhilarating and the most intimidating language of all. Lu Chi recalled how the original novel had described Lin Jingsi as a “tyrant”, a man who could simply decide to leave and lead tens of thousands straight into the fires of war.

In the workplace, nothing was worse than a cowardly boss who hid behind everyone else, and the battlefield was no different. But Lin Jingsi always stood at the very front, expressionless as he crushed every obstacle in his path.

As for those who followed him, they might have done so for profit. Or for power. Nothing reshaped status and fortune more dramatically than war, so by following him, they were also pursuing their own ambitions.

Then what was Lin Jingsi’s ambition?

Lu Chi took an unhurried sip of water, and soon enough, the match ended. On the rankings, Lin Jingsi’s name stood firmly at the very top, an undisputed first place.

“So terrifying! Every single time Student Lin competes, the only words I can think of are absolutely terrifying! If this tournament’s only miracle was Student Lu Chi, then its only true victor can only be the S-rank Alpha, Lin Jingsi!”

“He’s broken his own record yet again! Tonight’s awards ceremony is destined to be unforgettable. Every Federation student will remember this moment. Student Lin, Lin…?”

On screen, the gray mecha that had emerged from the virtual battlefield rested for barely two seconds before suddenly taking off again. Before everyone’s eyes, it shot across the arena and straight past the cameras, disappearing into the horizon without so much as a trail of exhaust.

An eerie silence fell over the floating island. The spectators watching from behind their screens were equally baffled.

…Why did the champion suddenly leave?!

The commentator stood there dumbfounded for a long while before forcing out an awkward smile.

“Student Lin certainly has… quite the personality. He must have had something urgent to attend to…”

“Ah… not a second to spare. Let’s turn our cameras now to this tournament’s runner-up…”

Even the system in Lu Chi’s head froze before letting out an excited scream, shouting, [He must’ve needed to pee really badly! That’s exactly how I look when I’m holding it in!]

[Who would’ve thought the Protagonist secretly has such refined taste? He holds it in just like me! Hmph, I suppose I’ll reluctantly acknowledge…]

Bzzzt.

The system was forcibly disconnected for violating content guidelines.

At the exact same moment, the lounge doors slammed open with a deafening bang.

Before Lu Chi could even turn around, a tall, burning-hot body crashed into him, pinning him down. His chin was gripped, forcing his mouth open to receive the man’s scorching, possessive kiss.

Lin Jingsi had come back.

Lu Chi let out a muffled sound, his fingers sliding up to squeeze the back of Lin Jingsi’s neck, gently rubbing over his gland. The Alpha’s breathing grew heavier as he grabbed Lu Chi’s hand, forcing his fingers into a tight circle, perfectly recreating the vulgar hand gesture he’d sent in the photo.

Lu Chi laughed, and a pleasant numbness spread across the back of his tongue. His fingers, cool and soft at first, quickly became burning hot from the relentless friction.

They kissed for a long time. The room was saturated with the dense scent of their pheromones. Lu Chi wasn’t wearing any clothes, wrapped only in a blanket like a sleepy cat curled up on the sofa. Now even that was pulled away, exposing warm, smooth skin.

The heated kiss finally ended.

Lin Jingsi pinned Lu Chi’s wrists above his head, spread his knees apart with one leg…

…and then simply stared at him without moving any further.

His gaze never wavered.

Lu Chi was undeniably beautiful. The corners of his eyes naturally tilted upward, while the bridge of his nose was sharp and elegant. Lin Jingsi rested his forehead against Lu Chi’s. After a long silence, his voice came out hoarse enough to break.

“I won.” Then he whispered, “Xiao Chi…”

“May I love you?”

Lu Chi paused. He met those deep green eyes, still carrying the warmth of their shared breath.

So what was this man’s ambition?

The answer had always been only two words.

Lu Chi.

Looking back at him, Lu Chi gently trapped Lin Jingsi’s knee between his own and smiled.

“Of course.”

Lin Jingsi always could, because from beginning to end… Lu Chi had only ever relied on this one person.

Love was passionate, but it was also elusive. People instinctively fell in love with distant ideals while overlooking the real, tangible person beside them, and Lu Chi understood that. He even accepted it, for he was accustomed to showing only the moonlit beauty everyone admired, never exposing the scarred surface of the moon itself.

It wasn’t shame, but a clarity of mind born from strength. But at this moment… He let that strength fall away.

Resting his cheek against Lin Jingsi’s warm, broad palm, he rubbed against it lightly, just like a cat. Smiling, he asked softly, “Lin Jingsi…”

“Loving me makes you happy, doesn’t it?”

What a vividly alive person.

Bright, confident, and always shining.

Lin Jingsi stared at him, wanting nothing more than to tear open his own chest and show Lu Chi the heart inside.

“Yes. It makes me very happy.” Then he asked quietly, “What about you, Lu Chi?”

Not because he was a Beta. Not because he was an Omega. Not because he was an Alpha.

The soul Lin Jingsi loved was simply Lu Chi.

“Lin Jingsi…” Lu Chi smiled. “I’m happy too.”

Pain could rebound, warmth could spread, but love was like air. It could never be forced into existence from only one side, so the reason happiness existed…

…was because, before either of them had realized it, the one being loved had already opened half the door to his heart and smiled as he switched the light to green.

Their eyes met, and Lin Jingsi’s heart pounded violently. Unable to stop himself, he lowered his head and kissed Lu Chi deeply once more. Their different pheromones intertwined, growing richer and richer, but neither of them noticed.

Both were completely immersed in each other’s breathing, the soft sounds of kisses filling the room. Lu Chi kept Lin Jingsi’s knee trapped between his own, slowly rubbing against him. His wrists remained pinned overhead, yet he made no attempt to struggle. Instead, his flexible waist moved like a snake’s, enough to make anyone’s pulse race.

Leaning close to the Alpha’s ear, he breathed softly, “It tickles here. Do I look pretty like this?”

“Lin Jingsi…”

“What do you want me to call you?”

The glass windows reflected two figures pressed tightly together. The taller one knelt beside the sofa, every muscle drawn taut, while the long-haired one sat astride his lap, wrists held overhead as his body rose and fell.

After a long while, the long-haired figure tipped his head back and was kissed deeply once more. Their breaths mingled, and the room filled with the cool scent of freshly fallen snow.

……………..

When Lu Chi woke up the next day, he found himself sleeping somewhere unfamiliar. They had played a little too enthusiastically the previous night, and he hadn’t fallen asleep until around six or seven in the morning. Now it was already four in the afternoon.

The system watched him with icy disapproval as he got up, washed, walked through an absurdly enormous bedroom, followed the AI’s directions to the dining table, and quietly began eating.

Only when Lu Chi activated his terminal did it finally snap.

[Stop looking! The Protagonist isn’t here! He’s gone to deal with those entitled AO snobs who were doxxing you!]

“Oh.” Lu Chi paused. Completely unfazed, he continued opening the map, where three words appeared on the holographic display:

Federation Capital Star.

The academy combat tournament was over. While Lu Chi had been asleep, Lin Jingsi had already brought him away from the floating island and returned to the Federation’s capital.

The starship must have entered warp while he was sleeping. Continuing through the news, Lu Chi noticed there wasn’t a single report about Yu Kexing collapsing or disappearing.

Clearly… the story had already branched onto a different path.

A thoughtful look crossed Lu Chi’s face, but the system finally couldn’t hold it in any longer, asking, [Host… did you mess up again?]

[Mess up?] Lu Chi raised an eyebrow.

[Yes!] The system screamed, [A one-on-one kind of mess-up!!]

[…]

Lu Chi swallowed the last bite of bread, suppressing a laugh as the system had a full-blown meltdown inside his mind.

[Don’t think you can fool me! I can tell at a glance now, something’s wrong with you two!]

[Why?! Why?! Why do you always get tricked by the Protagonist?! He sucks!!! You should be loved by more people, by everyone!]

Its mechanical voice cracked from shouting as it stubbornly repeated, [You’re the best! Everyone should love you!]

Lu Chi took a sip of water without answering. After a long moment, he suddenly closed his eyes, sinking into the familiar darkness of his consciousness. Amid scattered speckles of light, a little gray kitten crouched inside his mental sea, biting its own tail as it meowed angrily.

Its world had once been very small.

Every day it had simply followed Lu Chi to and from work, leaking urine in the most ordinary way imaginable. When it wasn’t having one of its seizure episodes, it never wandered off, monopolizing Lu Chi’s lap and stubbornly refusing to leave.

Lu Chi had never realized that after gaining a trace of human intelligence, while losing all its memories, the obsession buried deepest in its mind would become this.

That eternal love must always surround Lu Chi.

To the system, that was an unquestionable law. Lu Chi opened his eyes again and calmly resumed eating his bread. Only after the system had screamed itself hoarse did he smile and ask, [Then tell me, who doesn’t love me?]

The system froze. It opened its mouth, only to remember how every world’s main cast had become obsessed with its host.

Dead or alive…

It seemed Lu Chi really had always been loved by everyone.

“…”

What a terrifying succubus…

[Even you love me, don’t you?] Lu Chi smiled.

“…”

For some reason, the system suddenly wanted nothing more than to throw itself around Lu Chi’s neck and rub against him. Squatting in the flow of data, it nodded earnestly: [Yeah! Of course! Loving you is normal!]

[I know,] Lu Chi chuckled. [Thank you. Go play now, okay?]

His voice was so gentle that the system nearly fainted from happiness. It immediately wandered off in a blissful daze.

After finishing his meal, Lu Chi stared at the sauce remaining on the white plate. A moment later, he picked up his fork and casually drew a little cat face in it. The Beta lowered his eyes and smiled before standing and leaving the dining room.

This was probably one of Lin Jingsi’s residences on the Federation’s capital planet. The property was astonishingly vast. Stepping onto a single-person hover platform, Lu Chi activated the navigation and selected the bedroom as his destination.

As he glided forward, he turned his head slightly, taking in the dense forest of skyscrapers stretching into the distance. The mansion featured an enormous transparent roof and floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Situated atop one of the tallest buildings in the city, it offered an unobstructed view of everything below.

Unlike the floating island, with its towering holographic advertisements, neon billboards, and decorative mechas, the architecture of the Federation’s capital felt far colder, built from steel and iron.

Countless aerial traffic lanes threaded between the skyscrapers, but mechanical eyes were far fewer here. Instead, patrols of stern-faced Alphas in military uniforms rode hover vehicles through the sky on routine inspections. Whenever they encountered a criminal, they simply drew their guns and executed them on the spot.

And farther away, beyond the glittering skyline…

An enormous wasteland spread beneath the city’s shadow. Dilapidated buildings clustered together like an anthill, crowded and ugly, clinging stubbornly to the metropolis like moss that refused to be scraped away. They housed countless ragged, expressionless people from the lowest rungs of society.

On the capital planet, the Homeland Group no longer monopolized everything. Instead, the long-declining Legion remained the most visible power. The building Lu Chi currently occupied seemed especially unique.

Not only was it one of the few hundred-story towers on the capital planet, but not a single patrol unit came anywhere near it.

He arrived at the bedroom, opened the walk-in closet, and unsurprisingly found an entire room filled with brand-new clothes tailored perfectly to his measurements.

Lu Chi snapped a picture and sent it to Lin Jingsi, and the reply came instantly.

[You’re awake? Sorry, I didn’t notice the AI notification earlier.]

[Do you like the clothes? If not, I’ll take you to have some custom-made when I get back.]

Too lazy to type, Lu Chi simply initiated a holographic call, but this time, it took several seconds before Lin Jingsi answered. The holographic projection quickly assembled into the image of a tall, reserved man.

He stood in the corner of a corridor, his handsome brows still clouded with a trace of gloom.

Raising an eyebrow, Lu Chi noticed the blood still staining the Alpha’s hand, so he asked: “Did you go kill someone?”

Lin Jingsi paused but didn’t hide it. “Just a lesson,” he said. “Some technology families failed to dox you online, so they tried hiring students to obtain your genetic data…” A cold laugh escaped him. “The conglomerates.”

The last two words were squeezed out through clenched teeth. Lu Chi was a Beta who had defeated an A-rank Alpha, so his genetic data had already been driven to astronomical prices on the black market.

Even the Research Institute and the Homeland Group had become interested, and Lin Jingsi knew exactly how those so-called scientific families operated.

Profit came before everything.

They had already made headlines countless times, for psychological torture, human experimentation, gene replication…

Disgusting.

He couldn’t tolerate trash like that setting their sights on Lu Chi.

Lu Chi blinked before smiling at him with complete trust, saying, “Then I’ll leave it to you, Senior Lin.”

He casually removed his clothes, crouched slightly, and pulled on a neat black outfit. Silver hair slipped over his shoulders like drifting snow as he lowered his gaze, and Lin Jingsi fell silent.

“…You’re going out?”

“Personal business,” Lu Chi nodded. “I’ll tell you about it when I get back.”

At that, the Alpha said nothing. Instead, he remotely unlocked several portable firearms for him. His deep voice remained steady as he continued, “The armory is next door. Take whatever you need.”

“The house has already registered your biometric information. You have full access.”

“Okay.” Lu Chi smiled. Just as he was about to end the call, Lin Jingsi suddenly spoke again.

“Xiao Chi… did the kitchen suit your tastes?”

“Yeah,” Lu Chi paused. “It was delicious.”

“Then… Lin Jingsi said. “Shall we have dinner together tonight?”

“…”

Looking at the man’s expressionless face, Lu Chi nodded after a moment. “Sure. We’ll eat together.” Smiling, he added, “Captain Lin, I’m not going to run away.”

Click.

The smiling Beta ended the call. The tall Alpha remained where he was, staring blankly into space. For once, he’d drifted off, and his mind was filled with the image of Lu Chi smiling as he called him Captain.

It felt… strangely good.

His gland had begun to warm faintly, forming a stark contrast with the endless screams echoing behind him. Only after a long while did Lin Jingsi finally snap out of that secret satisfaction. Turning around, he leisurely walked back into the room, where the thick scent of blood saturated the air.

Several men with mangled limbs lay sprawled across the floor, barely clinging to life, injection needles still protruding from their necks. The leader clenched his teeth as blood frothed from his nose.

A stubborn one.

Legion personnel stood expressionlessly around the room. Lowering his eyes almost ceremonially, Lin Jingsi asked, “Who told you Lu Chi was involved with me?”

The moment he had returned to the capital, before he’d even had time to settle everything, he’d received an anonymous email. It claimed someone was preparing to expose Lu Chi’s relationship with Lin Jingsi across the StarNet.

It even fabricated convincing details, including that Lin Jingsi had supposedly given Lu Chi a diamond engagement ring. Lu Chi was already under suspicion for withdrawing from the finals, so if people learned he had ties to the Legion, conspiracy theorists would immediately claim the entire tournament had been staged by the military.

But Lu Chi’s biological data couldn’t be faked.

So how had he won? Performance-enhancing drugs? Human experimentation?

Genetic modification?

A successfully modified body could fetch an unimaginable price on the black market. The truly fanatical scientists from the Research Institute and Homeland Group would stop at nothing to seize Lu Chi and dissect him for research. So whoever planned this wanted the entire Federation to turn against Lu Chi…

…while simultaneously dragging the Legion’s reputation through the mud.

The leader gritted his teeth, while his hoarse voice forced out, “You’ll never make me…!”

Bang! Bang!

His head exploded instantly, and brain matter burst outward like a smashed watermelon. Lin Jingsi lowered his pistol, looking down at the spreading pool of blood without expression.

“Search them.”

“See if they have brain implants or chips.”

His subordinates immediately stepped forward, deploying mechanical scanning spheres without a word. The remaining men had already wet themselves in terror as they fell over one another trying to confess everything.

Lin Jingsi’s eyes shifted, and his gun rose toward them. Gunfire erupted once more, and blood splattered everywhere. Some time later, one of his subordinates handed him a tiny microchip.

Lin Jingsi accepted it. Held beneath the light was a familiar lotus emblem, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

…………………..

A lotus logo was sewn onto the corner of a worker’s uniform.

Lu Chi watched the Homeland Group employee from a distance. The instant the man passed the corner, Lu Chi slipped into motion. His tall figure was swift and silent, like a black cat.

Broken stones littered the ground, and scars from previous explosions remained visible. There were no power lines overhead, and not even the most basic surveillance cameras.

The system sounded puzzled, asking, [Baby, why doesn’t the Main Shou use any modern technology?]

[He’s the Homeland Group’s young master. He should have access to the best technology.]

[And everyone working here is human. It’s so primitive… it almost feels like the previous world.]

These were the two abandoned buildings Yu Kexing had purchased, the same place that would later become the site of the rebel bombing. Surveying the surroundings thoughtfully, Lu Chi murmured, [Yeah… why is that?]

In the original story, Yu Kexing had grown up surrounded by technology, and he trusted machines more than people. Born into an AO-obsessed bloodline, every member of his family cared only about profit.

He had never experienced genuine family affection or friendship. And yet now…

Yu Kexing had dismantled the machines.

Instead, he had hired human workers.

What could cause someone to become the complete opposite of who they once were?

Combined with the suspicious “coincidence” of purchasing these two buildings… Lu Chi lowered his eyes. Without hesitation, he opened Yu Kexing’s chat window and asked directly.

B-1121: [Are you reborn?]

……………………..
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