It turned out that taking advantage of the mad cat wasn’t easy; you’d have to pay back double sooner or later.

In the bedroom, their clothes were casually tossed on the floor. Rong Shi got out of bed, covered in teeth marks, and took off his sweat-soaked shirt to shower. Song Yu, like a large cat, clung to his back, being dragged towards the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, they emerged fresh and clean. Song Yu poured two glasses of water and handed one to Rong Shi: “Did you get anything out of him?”

Rong Shi took it and drank half the glass in one go, then recounted what Qin Lin had said.

“They found that Omegas who were injected with the medicine not only didn’t appear weak during their estrus period but their pheromones could even subtly suppress Alphas.” According to Qin Lin, the original intention of this project was to help Omegas avoid being completely passive during their estrus period, allowing them more freedom of choice.

Whether an Alpha suppressed an Omega, or an Omega suppressed an Alpha, neither was a good thing.

“They knew continuing the research would lead to trouble, so they terminated it?” Song Yu sneered, “They completely shirked responsibility. How do you explain the current situation then?”

Rong Shi: “He’s not clear either.” After the project was terminated, Qin Lin followed Qian Fan to work at Academic Star and hadn’t contacted Ji Ming since.

“But this research didn’t terminate as he said,” Song Yu leaned against the sofa, his long fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. “Either he lied, or a third person stole their research results.”

Rong Shi nodded: “By the time he realized something was wrong, more than ten years had passed, and things were already out of control, beyond his ability to influence.”

“No,” Song Yu’s finger paused. It sounded reasonable, but upon closer inspection, it was full of holes. Since Qin Lin and Ji Ming were such a well-matched pair, how could they just fall apart over a failed project? Besides, the project wasn’t a research failure; they decided to terminate it themselves. Why did Qin Lin appear in V99 back then? If it was related to the underwater base, how did he know the underwater base was there, who told him, and what was his purpose? The medicine he gave Mian Mian and the SYT7737 used by the organization had similar ingredients; was it just a coincidence?

Seeing Rong Shi finish drying his hair, Song Yu moved closer to him: “You believe him?”

Rong Shi nodded. “He hid a lot, but the part he confessed should be true.”

“That old fox,” Song Yu turned sideways and hugged Rong Shi, as naturally as hugging a pillow. “I figured he wouldn’t be completely honest.”

Rong Shi pulled him over to dry his hair. “It doesn’t matter, find Ji Ming first.”

Qin Lin’s position in this matter wasn’t Rong Shi’s primary concern. As long as Qin Lin wasn’t an enemy, he didn’t mind playing mind games with him. Both major bases of the organization had been found, the list of modified super Omegas was in their hands, and the Omegas being cultivated on Snow Star were already under surveillance. The most urgent task now was to gain Ji Ming’s trust through Qin Lin, let him complete the research on the repair agent, and minimize the consequences of this matter. The sooner the medicine was successfully researched, the sooner Dad and Mian Mian could recover.

Song Yu simply lay down, resting his head on Rong Shi’s thigh, his eyes half-closed and drowsy: “Recently, I keep dreaming of strange things.”

“Dreaming of what?” Rong Shi asked casually.

“Dreaming that you’re dead, Mian Mian’s dead, King Father’s dead, Uncle Yin’s dead, you’re all dead, and I’m the only one left,” Song Yu scoffed, “Am I too hard to kill?”

Rong Shi’s hand, drying his hair, paused, and he said calmly: “Dreams and reality are opposites.”

Song Yu smiled: “You said I’m short-lived—ouch!”

“Talking nonsense again,” Rong Shi flicked his forehead with a bent finger, “This time, I’ll be with you as you grow up.”

After a night of mischief, it was already 2 AM, leaving them with just over four hours of sleep. They changed the dirty bedsheets and duvet cover, then climbed back into bed.

Who knows how much time passed, but Song Yu suddenly opened his eyes, without a hint of sleepiness. The sound of long, steady breathing filled his ears. He cautiously lifted his head, staring at Rong Shi’s sleeping face in a daze. Rong Shi had said, “This time, I’ll be with you as you grow up.” Besides this time, when else was there?

Since returning from the mission, Rong Shi’s reputation at the military academy had skyrocketed. Although he had gained a large number of fans upon enrollment, most of them were “face-dogs,” only attracted by his looks and physique. But now, it was different. 

Rong Shi controlled his scores in monthly exams, even capriciously deciding how many points he wanted to get, and the hidden rivalry between him and the exam setters directly led to the monthly exam papers becoming increasingly difficult. 

The enraged freshmen plunged into their studies, attempting to get revenge with their grades, and fiercely slapping Rong Shi and the exam setters in the face. Older students felt disgraced seeing him promoted to second lieutenant less than a semester after enrolling, while they were still nobodies. 

They didn’t even have the face to challenge him and all studied fiercely. Without his knowledge, Rong Shi, by himself, managed to draw the hatred of the entire military academy, making all students addicted to studying, even the teachers were stunned.

On the forum, there were no less than a hundred new posts daily discussing Rong Shi’s individual combat strength, command ability, mecha operation skills, and so on. 

This didn’t even include the various “analysis emperors” analyzing Rong Shi’s every move and data from simulated and actual battles, almost dissecting his walking posture into a detailed step-by-step guide. Chen Chen, as a big shot among the analysis emperors, spent every day, besides eating and sleeping, watching Rong Shi’s videos. 

Even then, he was constantly urged to post analysis threads, and Chen Mu would also text him to rush him occasionally.

“My dear brother,” Chen Chen propped his chin with one hand in the cafeteria, listlessly taking a large bite of fish fillet. “I’ve watched so much, I almost don’t recognize the chairman’s face anymore, and they still complain that my posts are too slow.”

Across from him, Liu Hong ate while watching a video in a virtual window. “Old Chen, what’s the angle of this backhand straight cut? How much thrust was used? Why doesn’t it have this effect when I do it?”

Hu Feng scooped rice, his gaze fixed on the virtual window. “I remember there was an extra 3 units of boost, right, Old Chen?”

Bai Ting took a bite of a chicken leg, gesturing at the virtual screen: “This gesture is so damn cool, what key binds? Old Chen, hurry up and release a tutorial.”

They couldn’t even eat in peace. Chen Chen’s tone was chilling: “It’s so unlike you academic failures to be so proactive.”

Liu Hong tilted his head to look at him, speaking with full vigor: “What do you know? If we’re going to be academic failures, we’ll be in the highest tier, otherwise, how can we cling to Rong Shi’s coattails?”

Bai Ting chimed in: “Exactly, the Chairman has already been promoted to second lieutenant, we can’t be too bad, or we’ll just be an embarrassment following him.”

Hu Feng slowly drank his soup: “Our goal is to follow the Chairman and live a good life after graduation.”

Chen Chen: “…What a coincidence, mine too.”

This was probably the biggest wish of all foodies, wasn’t it?

“Hey, have you guys heard?” Bai Ting suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes darting cautiously left and right, “The military department has been a mess lately. My father suddenly called me and scolded me, telling me to behave myself in school and not cause trouble during this special period.”

Liu Hong: “I also got the message. The big shots upstairs are fighting, and everyone below is walking on eggshells.”

Chen Chen: “The Qin family suddenly went berserk and took out a branch of the Lin family. Three departments under my father were removed in one day. It should be related to—”

Bai Ting: “The big shot above the Lin family is probably fuming.”

Hu Feng: “What can be done about that? Maybe that person is just waiting for him to make a move, so they can find a reason to deal with him.”

The others nodded silently at this. Song Yu was indeed capable of anything. Now, the situation had reversed, Song Ke’s power had greatly diminished, and His Majesty’s attitude was unclear. This was the best time for Song Yu to turn the tables. It was possible that the military department was about to change. Thinking of this, Chen Chen lowered his voice and asked: “You guys know Song is—, are you still planning to follow the Chairman?”

Liu Hong gave him a strange look: “I only made up my damn mind because I knew that.”

Hu Feng: “Me too, that other person is hard to describe.”

Bai Ting: “My family’s stance doesn’t represent mine. Anyway, I’m sticking with him.”

Chen Chen: “…”

They were all damn werewolves.

In the dorm, Song Yu was busy in the kitchen, with his special assistant’s holographic image projected on the empty space five paces away. “The Lin Feng line has been completely cleared. The criminal evidence and accusations against Lin Yue have also been mostly collected; we can act anytime.”

Various bottles and jars were arranged in front of Song Yu as he watched a tutorial and mixed sauces. “King Father’s attitude could change at any time, so act as soon as you’ve collected everything.”

“Yes!” The special assistant responded and reported the next item. “There’s a new development regarding the previous illegal mining of ores. They transported the ores to the barren planet Andromeda M0220B and used them to process a special metal material. Our people infiltrated and discovered that it’s a black arms processing plant.”

The Empire allowed enterprises with firearms manufacturing licenses to produce firearms. All military equipment and weapons would be stamped with a unique batch number upon leaving the factory to indicate their legality. However, black arms were privately manufactured by unlicensed enterprises or individuals, had no batch number, and were not allowed to circulate in the market.

Song Yu meticulously mixed the sauce, asking casually, “Scale?”

The special assistant thought for a moment: “Half of Gu Group’s.”

Song Yu’s hand paused, and he tilted his head to look over: “How big did you say?”

The special assistant: “Half the size of Gu Group’s main processing plant, and this is just the part we’ve discovered so far.”

Black arms processing plants were usually small workshops. Once discovered, they would be sentenced according to the highest penalties, so no one dared to operate openly. But this black workshop was surprisingly large. A flash of thought suddenly crossed Song Yu’s mind, remembering the military equipment at the V99 underwater base, vaguely feeling that there might be a connection between the two.

“Tell them to keep following, don’t act rashly without my orders. Tighten the security on the ores. If they’re caught stealing again, just blast them.”

The special assistant quickly understood his intention and asked, “If they want to negotiate cooperation—”

Song Yu: “High price, limited supply.”

The special assistant’s eyes lit up. Currently, all planets with blue crystal raw ore had been purchased, essentially monopolizing the entire market. 

The black workshop’s access to raw materials was blocked, and they didn’t dare to openly send troops to confront them. The most likely scenario was to seek private cooperation and pay to resolve the issue. 

Controlling the raw materials meant holding the black workshop by the throat. As long as their background was investigated, they could be taken down in one swoop, and they could also make a quick profit. 

Taking a step back, if the black workshop dared to confront them directly, they could escalate the matter, and the military could legitimately send troops to resolve it.

Thinking of a large sum of quick money about to come in, the special assistant felt incredibly relieved. Perhaps they could double the money they had invested in the past few months. His Highness was indeed shrewd.

“Shit.”

Hearing a low curse, the special assistant snapped out of his money-eyed trance and, after a closer look, suddenly didn’t know what to say. The shrewd Highness had crushed an egg with his bare hands, unfortunately, with too much force, smashing the yolk. His hands were covered in egg liquid and shell.

“Your, Your Highness, let the housework robot do it.”

“No need,” Song Yu frowned irritably, dumping the failed attempt, rinsing his hands clean, and picking up another egg, ready to smash it.

The special assistant: “Your, Your Highness, it’s easier to crack it on the rim of the bowl first—”

“Do I need you to tell me that?” Song Yu retorted irritably, clumsily tapping the egg on the rim of the bowl. The eggshell cracked. His hands got covered in egg white, but he finally managed to get the egg into the bowl without much trouble.

The special assistant hadn’t fully relaxed when he saw Song Yu heating up the pan, ready to violently toss the egg in. “Your Highness, it’s too heavy, the oil will splash on your face! Gently! Gently—”

“Your Highness! Don’t get your face so close, turn down the heat—the pan’s going to burn through, quickly get some water!”

“Your Highness—”

…

Seeing Song Yu put the lid on the pan, the special assistant broke out in a cold sweat. Watching His Highness cook was more thrilling than a war.

The counter was a mess. Song Yu glanced at the time casually and took out a large soup bowl. Catching a glimpse of the special assistant’s holographic image still standing there, he said irritably, “Is there anything else?”

The special assistant unconsciously straightened his back: “No, nothing.” Seeing Song Yu’s foul mood, he added, “Anyone who gets to eat noodles personally made by His Highness must be very happy.”

Song Yu sneered: “Nonsense.”

The special assistant: “…”

In the student union office, Rong Shi was reviewing the military academy’s equipment list. Besides those used for teaching, there was also a reserve for replacing teaching aids or resisting unexpected attacks.

The little cat’s dream might be a past life memory that was about to awaken. 

Mian Mian said that he had been fighting for several years after his severe injury, and the little cat said everyone died. 

Combining his own experiences with this information, it was easy to deduce how strong the enemy’s forces were. This time, due to his influence, many things had advanced. Even if the enemy didn’t make a move, the time for their final capture wasn’t far off. He had to plan ahead.

His terminal suddenly vibrated. Rong Shi swiped it open without even looking. “Who is this?”

“Your husband.”

Rong Shi’s eyes flashed, and he turned his head to look. The other party was sending audio, so he couldn’t see the face. “I’ll be a while longer, you go eat first.”

On the other side, Song Yu paused for a moment. “How much longer will you be?”

Rong Shi estimated in his mind. “About an hour.”

Song Yu: “…Oh.” He didn’t sound too happy.

Rong Shi was about to offer some comfort, but the other party had already hung up. Was he angry?

Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the office door. Hearing footsteps, Rong Shi casually said, “Put it on the stack on the left, I’ll sign it later.”

Just as he finished speaking, a lunchbox suddenly appeared in front of him. Rong Shi looked up, and indeed, it was his little cat. Song Yu’s lips curved into a smile: “If you don’t come back, then I can only deliver it.”

Rong Shi was surprised: “You made this?”

Song Yu opened the lunchbox and sneered: “Do you need to be so surprised? Is there anything I want to do that I can’t?”

Rong Shi: “…”

The lunchbox opened, emitting a smell that was hard to describe as either fragrant or foul. Rong Shi looked closely and saw it was soup noodles. The ingredients were abundant, full of large and small seafood, all looking cooked. He breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his chopsticks, and smiled: “So enthusiastic today?”

Song Yu didn’t answer, watching him eat: “How is it? Is it delicious?”

It was just cooked. But for Song Yu, being able to cook it without blowing up the kitchen was already amazing.

“Delicious,” Rong Shi said, giving him face by taking another big bite.

“That’s good,” Song Yu kissed him on the forehead, laughing softly. “Wife, happy birthday—”

__

Author’s note: 

Song Cat: Are my noodles good? [Smile]

Rong Bunny: …G-good.