In the control room, Chi Yao leaned back in his seat at the console, looking up at the virtual screen.

A knock sounded. Chun Qin entered and handed him the notebook in her hands.

“They insist they stayed here to resist the beast tide and protect their families.”

Chi Yao took it and flipped through.

All those captured in these recent arrests had participated in the competition—roughly matching their estimates.

“Protect their families?” Chi Yao casually tossed the notebook on the table and scoffed. “So they needed to assassinate the commanding officer of the rescue legion?”

Chun Qin: “Should we change interrogation methods?”

Chi Yao: “Change to what?”

Chun Qin’s eyes flashed as she smiled: “I just developed a poison. Haven’t done human trials yet.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi listening nearby: “…”

That evening, Jing Xi hadn’t returned yet. With nothing to do, Chi Yao leaned against Yinwei in the rest cabin listening to interrogation recordings.

“I have to protect my family!… Ah! The beasts are coming—they’ll kill us all… I have to… protect…”

Chi Yao frowned and rewound to listen again.

“The beasts are coming… they’ll kill us all!”

The slurred voice kept repeating this phrase. It sounded rather hair-raising.

Something was wrong.

Hadn’t the beast tide already come?

The beasts he mentioned—weren’t they the ones at the current front lines?

Chi Yao copied this recording segment and continued listening to others.

“Those things are watching us constantly. They’ll destroy everything!”

“You’ll regret what you did today someday!”

“It’s too late… let’s all die together…”

Jing Xi only returned to the rest cabin after hearing reports from all departments.

He wearily rubbed his brow. Upon entering, he saw Chi Yao sitting on the living room carpet, back against Yinwei, lost in thought.

He picked up a thin blanket and draped it over Chi Yao’s shoulders.

“Not turning on temperature control and sitting on the floor—aren’t you cold?”

Chi Yao snapped back to attention and pulled him down to sit, sharing half the blanket.

“Listen to these recordings.”

The more Jing Xi listened, the more his brow furrowed.

“Confessions from the failed products?”

Chi Yao wrapped an arm around his shoulders: “What’s your impression?”

Jing Xi relaxed against him.

Big dog had high body temperature—indeed very warm.

“Sounds like they’ve been brainwashed.”

Chi Yao: “What are the ‘they’ they’re referring to? Are there other mutated beasts here that haven’t been deployed yet? Dangerous enough to ‘destroy everything’?”

Jing Xi looked thoughtful: “Do you remember what that thing on Planet 333 did?”

Recalling that self-destruction, Chi Yao still felt lingering fear.

He’d once thought that would be his fate too.

“Possessing higher mutation abilities, capable of controlling beast herds’ movements.”

Chi Yao turned to look at him. “You mean the beast tide here was also initiated by these human-like beasts?”

Injecting human genes into mutated beasts, awakening human consciousness in beasts, yet having no connection to humanity whatsoever.

Neither human nor purely beast—Chi Yao didn’t know how to describe such things. For now, he could only call them human-like beasts.

Jing Xi both nodded and shook his head: “If they were also abandoned, leading to hatred of humans and initiating war wouldn’t be strange. But Ghost is here—how can they count as abandoned?”

If the “they” Ghost referred to were the human-like beasts, clearly these two weren’t on the same side.

The two pondered for a long time without finding clues.

Chi Yao: “Could Ghost and the human-like beasts not belong to the same organization?”

Jing Xi frowned: “Not impossible. We currently have no concrete evidence proving they come from the same organization.”

Chi Yao leaned back into Yinwei’s soft fur. His temple throbbed.

“One pervert isn’t enough?”

Seeing his irritated expression, Jing Xi reached over and gently massaged his temple.

“We’ll figure it out eventually.”

Chi Yao pulled him over and took a deep breath at his neck.

“I want to have the same time as you.”

Jing Xi’s eyes flashed. His slender fingers ran through Chi Yao’s hair and pressed a light kiss to his forehead.

“Though we can’t come of age together, we can definitely grow old together.”

Chi Yao: “…”

The terminal suddenly vibrated, breaking the intimate atmosphere.

Chi Yao swiped his finger lightly. A virtual window popped up mid-air.

The screen showed Li Yuan.

“Boss, there’s a discovery.” Li Yuan held a cigarette in his mouth, smiling fiercely. “Turned this place over twice before finding it. Hidden enough.”

As he spoke, he sent over a file package.

Chi Yao sat up and opened it.

Li Yuan: “This is a research lab installed in a submarine. I staked out for several all-nighters before it surfaced.”

Jing Xi sat up as well and examined the photos together with Chi Yao.

The photos were taken in night mode—outlines very clear, but details not as sharp as those taken in good lighting.

Jing Xi asked quietly: “Is this where you used to stay?”

Chi Yao flipped through one by one and shook his head.

“I don’t remember going underwater.”

Li Yuan: “I plan to continue north. Brother Liang goes south to see if we can discover more leads—”

“Wait.”

Jing Xi indicated for Chi Yao to flip back to the previous photo.

He enlarged the shore area. Three tall men in suits could be seen—impossible to tell their secondary gender from photos alone.

“Xu Zhou.” Jing Xi frowned.

After escaping from the base, he actually appeared here.

Chi Yao extracted this photo and continued flipping.

Upon seeing the last one, his eyes darkened and he enlarged the details.

Three people also stood on the pitch-black shore. This time, not only Xu Zhou appeared but also Liu Sichen—that young beta who was with Qiu Tianlin at Xingguo Biological Research Institute.

“They actually know each other.” Jing Xi was puzzled.

Li Yuan didn’t know what medicine they were selling in their gourd. After waiting a moment, he quickly lost patience.

“Then you study it first. I’m going to sleep. Tired to death.”

“You guys return to 820 first.” Chi Yao spoke.

Li Yuan was puzzled: “We go back—who follows the leads?”

Chi Yao: “I’ll send others separately.”

With these two people appearing, Chi Yao had a premonition things over there weren’t simple.

Li Yuan and Fang Liang had no available people around them. If situations arose, it would be very troublesome.

Being able to return, Li Yuan instantly wasn’t tired anymore.

He grinned: “I’ll prepare to move now!”

After hanging up the video call, Chi Yao looked through the photos again.

Jing Xi asked: “You plan to have the Dark Department take over?”

Chi Yao’s gaze swept over every place in the photos, not missing any detail.

“Under these circumstances, the Dark Department is more suitable.”

Jing Xi nodded: “Good point. They’re indeed needed here.”

Transferring large numbers of Ghosts to warships for screening was too troublesome and highly dangerous.

If Li Yuan and Fang Liang came over, they could cooperate in taking initiative, capturing secretly.

“Did anyone check Dragon’s Whisker Mouth they mentioned?” Chi Yao asked.

Jing Xi: “My people found no activity at the ferry. They probably sensed something wrong and left. Very vigilant.”

Chi Yao’s eyes turned cold: “Speed up Ghost capture and force them out.”

Just past noon the next day, Li Yuan and Fang Liang were secretly brought from the space station.

The two had just boarded the warship when they smelled a noseful of food fragrance.

“Holy shit! What heaven is this?!” Li Yuan sniffed everywhere, chasing the aroma as he charged inside.

“Brother Li!”

Chu Xiao, wearing an apron, waved at him. “Food’s ready. Come eat quickly!”

Li Yuan froze.

Fang Liang walking behind hadn’t expected Li Yuan to stop suddenly and nearly collided.

“Possessed?” Fang Liang pushed him. “Hurry up.”

Li Yuan grabbed Fang Liang, hooking his neck as they squeezed into a corner.

He lowered his voice: “Brother Liang, look—is my hair messy?”

Fang Liang glanced at his buzz cut.

“Rather hard to mess up.”

Li Yuan straightened his back: “What about clothes? Look shabby?”

Fang Liang’s expression grew increasingly strange.

“Are you okay?”

He looked past Li Yuan toward the young alpha standing at the cafeteria door, then assessed Li Yuan again.

“You—aren’t thinking of robbing the cradle, are you?”

Li Yuan nearly threw a punch in anger: “Am I that kind of person?!”

“Don’t know.” Fang Liang’s eyes looked innocent.

Even the boss could get together with his mortal enemy. What couldn’t happen in this world?

Li Yuan: “…”

No friends left.

Li Yuan and Fang Liang were Chi Yao’s right and left hands—ruthless characters in outsiders’ eyes.

But now these two ruthless characters were squeezed in a corner with no movement for ages.

Chu Xiao: “…”

What secret talk couldn’t wait until after eating?

After waiting forever, those two finally finished talking.

Chu Xiao watched Li Yuan approach and said excitedly: “Brother Li, been waiting for you!”

Li Yuan cleared his throat and patted his shoulder: “Haven’t seen you in a while. You grew taller.”

Chu Xiao: “?”

Just measured—hadn’t grown.

“Come to the meeting after eating.” Chi Yao stood at a crossroads, beckoning to Li Yuan and the other.

Fang Liang’s face was wooden: “Haven’t even entered the cafeteria yet.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Returning to the rest cabin, Chi Yao immediately smelled a milky fragrance mixed with some caramel scent—very pleasant.

“Xi Xi?”

Not seeing anyone at a glance, Chi Yao turned toward the kitchen.

In the semi-open kitchen, Jing Xi was rolling up his sleeves, cleaning flour paste stuck on his hands.

The high and mighty general was currently a complete mess—face, hair, clothes all covered in flour.

“In such high spirits today?”

Hearing the voice, Jing Xi turned to see Chi Yao leaning against the doorframe with folded arms, laughing.

“Old Li and them are back?”

Chi Yao walked over, glancing at the operating oven.

“You’re not making this for them to eat, are you?”

Jing Xi pulled at flour clumps between his fingers.

“What do you think?”

These hands—as beautiful and nimble as they were when holding knives and guns—were equally clumsy when cooking.

Chi Yao really couldn’t bear watching. He grabbed a handful of flour and sprinkled it on Jing Xi’s hands, gently kneading.

“Might as well let clumsiness kill you.”

Jing Xi extended his hands for him to handle.

“You despise me?”

Chi Yao lifted his chin toward the stove.

“Look—are you worth despising?”

Jing Xi looked over.

The counter was a complete mess—used tools thrown everywhere, seasonings and dough scraps all over. Didn’t look like cooking but rather a robbery scene.

Jing Xi: “…I’ll clean it up.”

“Please don’t.” Chi Yao hummed, helping him clean his hands before rinsing under the faucet. “I’m afraid this kitchenware won’t survive.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Ding!

The oven chimed.

Jing Xi couldn’t bother wiping his hands. He opened the oven door to retrieve the tray.

“Stand still and don’t move!”

Chi Yao slapped his hand away, grabbed a cloth to pad with, and removed the tray.

Seeing what was on the tray, Chi Yao fell silent for three seconds.

“Did you bake poop?”

Crooked lumps, golden yellow.

Jing Xi said seriously: “Strawberries.”

Chi Yao pointed at one lump: “Where does this look like a strawberry?”

Jing Xi seriously pointed at the narrow end: “This is the strawberry tip.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi: “I’m very certain every step was correct. Why did they turn out like this?”

Chi Yao: “Asking me?”

Placed under instruments, they cooled quickly.

Jing Xi picked up a piece and held it to Chi Yao’s mouth: “Try it?”

Chi Yao glanced: “Do I still have a chance to grow old together with you?”

Jing Xi: “…”

“I didn’t put poison. You’re strong enough not to die.”

After speaking, Jing Xi seriously added: “But I can’t guarantee other things.”

Chi Yao was amused by his earnest expression and opened his mouth to bite.

Though appearance was terrible, if you didn’t imagine that shape, the taste was passable.

Jing Xi’s expression showed slight tension: “How is it?”

Chi Yao: “Not bad. Don’t make it again next time.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Really that bad?

Jing Xi wanted to taste but Chi Yao captured his wrist. The little cookie was sent into the other’s mouth again.

Chi Yao: “Why suddenly want to make this?”

With so many things at the front and Ghost causing trouble, forget Jing Xi—even he hadn’t slept well for days.

Jing Xi: “You’ve been gloomy these past days. Wanted to make you happy.”

Chi Yao’s chewing motion paused.

Jing Xi put the remaining half in his own mouth.

A bit hard, too sweet.

Chi Yao leaned back against the counter, pulling him over to encircle in front, wiping flour off his face.

“Thought about it for a long time to make me happy?”

Jing Xi: “Originally wanted to take more photos for you, but felt that was too ordinary.”

Ordinary?

Chi Yao scoffed: “Such ordinary photos—please give me more.”

Jing Xi looked up: “What if you get tired of looking?”

Chi Yao cupped his face and kissed him.

“I’ll only find them insufficient.”

Li Yuan and Fang Liang reported for a meal then went to find Chi Yao.

Just reaching the door, the cabin door opened.

[Matches pre-recorded information. Please enter.]

“Flying Dragon’s warship models are all quite nice.” Li Yuan picked his teeth while looking around. “Have the boss inquire if we can get similar models.”

Active military equipment models couldn’t be bought, but perhaps previous generation versions could be obtained on the black market.

After talking for ages with no response, Li Yuan poked Fang Liang.

The other made a silencing gesture, pointing in a direction.

Li Yuan looked in that direction and widened his eyes.

“Holy—!”

Through the kitchen glass, they could just see Chi Yao and Jing Xi kissing inside.

Li Yuan/Fang Liang: “…”

Should have eaten slower earlier.

After the moment of shock, Li Yuan’s eyes gradually turned lecherous.

He moved to Fang Liang’s ear, lowering his voice to snicker: “Looks like the boss completely fell.”

Fang Liang’s face was wooden as he pulled him to the living room.

“Better than finding some shady character in the star pirate circle.”

Li Yuan glanced at him: “Completely incomparable, okay?”

With Jing Xi’s qualifications, he was one of the top diamond bachelors in the entire Empire—worlds apart from some vases in the star pirate circle.

Fang Liang: “The boss always had good taste.”

Even when hijacking ships years ago, he had to hijack the biggest one.

If not for that, perhaps their group wouldn’t have met.

Li Yuan pulled a cigarette from the pack and held it in his mouth.

“But the boss’s body—”

Fang Liang’s heart sank, then heard Li Yuan laugh wickedly: “If he suddenly transforms into beast form during hehehe, wouldn’t that be thrilling?”

Fang Liang: “…”

That’s the focus?

When they first entered, both Chi Yao and Jing Xi had already noticed.

But with such a rare good atmosphere, neither wanted to stop.

Only when Jing Xi felt difficulty breathing did they separate slightly while panting.

“When this war ends, let’s discuss what comes next.” Jing Xi said quietly.

Chi Yao: “What comes next?”

Jing Xi: “Chun Qin sent me some tutorials. She said to break through our current stagnant relationship, I need to take initiative.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chun Qin, you traitor.

What tutorials—why not send them to him first!