To avoid alerting potential Ghosts, Chi Yao had originally intended for him and Jing Xi to investigate quietly together.

However, after discovering these syringes, he suddenly didn’t want to wait anymore.

The night was already deep. Chi Yao and Jing Xi stood by the roadside, watching as the people from Extreme Shadow approached silently.

Ordinary people’s night vision wasn’t as good as modified humans, and mobilizing the army was more likely to attract attention from the military.

Once everyone had arrived, Chi Yao gestured for a comprehensive search.

The group immediately dispersed, disappearing at the crossroads.

“You have no impression of this place?” Jing Xi asked in a low voice.

Chi Yao shook his head: “It’s not here.”

The climate and environment were different.

The two stood in the cold wind for a long time.

Jing Xi held his cold fingertips, warming them in his palms, while simultaneously sending a message to Yan Kai.

[Send me the sea turtle monitoring data.]

Yan Kai responded quickly, sending over a summary table of the recent monitoring results.

Through the connection between Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei, Jing Xi opened a shared view, and the same report popped up in front of Chi Yao’s eyes.

The monitoring data showed that the trajectory of all sea turtles was only along the eastern coast.

Jing Xi opened the map for comparison. There were only three villages along this trajectory, and it did not pass through this village.

Which meant the place where the syringes were stored or discarded wasn’t here.

Chi Yao swiped open his terminal and called three more teams over, his voice cold: “Check them all tonight.”

A faint fragrance drifted with the wind, very light, yet stimulating to the mind.

Jing Xi had only smelled a similar scent in places where felons were interrogated.

It was a hypnotic agent.

But the current concentration wasn’t enough to cause hypnosis.

And this scent was slightly different from what he had smelled before.

“Cold?” Chi Yao, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, seemed to suddenly snap back to reality.

Jing Xi shook his head: “Not cold.”

Chi Yao reached out and pulled him into an embrace, rubbing him.

“I’m cold. Should have worn more clothes if I’d known.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Saying so, Chi Yao was actually blocking the wind for him.

Jing Xi pressed against his neck, wanting to give him some warmth, only to hear Chi Yao suck in a breath and say with immense disdain: “Your face is too cold!”

He looked up at Chi Yao: “Then do you want to snuggle or not?”

Chi Yao clicked his tongue, saying reluctantly: “Snuggle if you want. Who made me spoil you?”

Jing Xi: “…”

An hour later, the Extreme Shadow subordinates gradually returned.

Chi Yao’s expression changed, asking seriously: “Any discoveries?”

“No discovery.”

“No discovery.”

“Found a scent diffuser, but the contents were empty.”

“Found two scent diffusers.”

…

“Should we have them cross-check again?” Jing Xi suggested.

If the syringes were hidden so securely, it wouldn’t be strange if one search missed them.

Chi Yao shook his head, gesturing for everyone to split up and support the search in those three villages.

Extreme Shadow’s people were trained in searching; it was basically impossible for them to make mistakes.

Judging by the situation in this village, the possibility of finding a large amount of evidence left behind was almost zero.

The syringes in the hidden compartment of the restroom were likely overlooked during a hasty escape.

Chi Yao requested a hover car and drove Jing Xi back to the forest.

“Not going to take a look?” Jing Xi asked.

Chi Yao: “Even if nothing is found, what I have in hand is enough.”

At the edge of the forest, the group of beast kings was still waiting eagerly.

Seeing the hover car approach, they immediately perked up.

Chi Yao parked the car in the shade of the trees, had Xiao Hei activate anti-scan mode, and said to Jing Xi while unbuckling his seatbelt: “I’ll go ask a few questions and come back.”

Jing Xi: “Should I go with you?”

“No need.” Chi Yao opened the door and got out. “You stay put.”

Through the car window, Jing Xi watched Chi Yao walk up to those wild beasts.

He could only see eye contact between the two parties but couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Chi Yao’s uniqueness became particularly obvious at times like this.

Jing Xi propped his head on his hand and rubbed his throbbing forehead.

His terminal suddenly rang. He glanced at it; it was Han Yousheng from the External Liaison Department.

“What is it?” Jing Xi asked.

“Boss, something’s not right!” Han Yousheng looked nervous. “A huge amount of comments attacking Extreme Shadow suddenly appeared online, and, and saying they aren’t normal humans. Are you free now? Maybe check first—”

Jing Xi frowned. Before he finished, he immediately opened the social platform.

No need to search specifically; any news related to Extreme Shadow was trending now.

[Is it really okay for the Empire to praise a star pirate group like this? No matter what they do now, it can’t erase the crimes they committed before!]

[I saw Extreme Shadow robbing mines in the mining area before. Don’t know if my eyes were playing tricks, but their hands looked like beast claws. Is this some new type of weapon?]

[Listing Extreme Shadow’s criminal record since debut, the last one is unforgivable!]

Jing Xi clicked open a random comment section, and eight out of ten comments were mocking Extreme Shadow and Chi Yao.

“It’s really magical lately. The trending searches are dominated by a star pirate group. Is the Empire going to perish?”

“Just speechless. Isn’t the star pirate circle a concentration camp for trash? How capable can they be? Can they be stronger than the army?”

“Chi Yao has so many brainless fans. Say one bad thing about him and you get flamed immediately. The government doesn’t even intervene. Crazy, right?”

“I also saw them using beast claws. So barbaric.”

Although the proportion wasn’t high, some people were indeed intentionally or unintentionally mentioning “beast claws.”

When Chi Yao returned, Jing Xi turned his head to look.

“Yao Yao, aside from dealing with Ghosts, have you ever transformed in front of outsiders?”

“How is that possible?”

Chi Yao scoffed. “If we exposed ourselves so casually, we wouldn’t have to work so hard investigating.”

Jing Xi nodded: “I knew it was impossible.”

Seeing his serious expression, Chi Yao was puzzled: “Why ask this suddenly?”

Jing Xi told him about the online situation.

“Related to Chen Bingfeng, right?” Chi Yao sneered, driving the car out. “Afraid he’ll be exposed, so they expose us first. Preemptive strike, good move.”

Jing Xi’s face was dark, deep in thought.

“Then let’s divert the disaster.”

Chi Yao loved this expression of him secretly plotting mischief. He raised his hand and took a picture.

“Who are you planning to scam now?”

Shortly after returning to the front lines, Jing Xi gave Chi Yao the answer with practical action.

“You’re really going to post this?” Chi Yao followed him towards the main cabin.

Jing Xi was expressionless, but Chi Yao could tell his mood was terrible.

“Going to post.” Jing Xi beckoned Han Yousheng over. “Not only post, but also write an essay.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi sent the photo to Han Yousheng, saying faintly: “Regarding the online comments about beast claws, organize the language yourself and post this picture.”

Han Yousheng was confused. Opening the photo, he blurted out a “holy crap.”

The photo showed a hand in a military uniform sleeve, the stripes indicating a Lieutenant General, but the exposed hand was a bear paw with sharp claws.

“Who, who, who is this?” Han Yousheng was so shocked his tongue tied.

Their stern, cold, unsmiling boss actually took this kind of goofy photo?

“Don’t worry about who it is. Just say this is a new type of weapon, nothing unusual.” Jing Xi said expressionlessly.

Han Yousheng zoomed in on the picture to look carefully, suspecting life itself.

Did technology regress or what? Using a bear paw directly as a weapon? Who would be convinced?

How to spin this? Posting it is just asking to be scolded!

Han Yousheng’s voice trembled, almost crying.

“Boss, could you give some pointers?”

Jing Xi thought with a wooden face: “Environmentally friendly, pollution-free, using the enemy’s spear to attack the enemy’s shield.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Only you could come up with that.

Han Yousheng: “…”

Whoever wants to write this essay can write it.

“You write first, I’ll revise after you’re done.”

Dropping a sentence, Jing Xi pulled Chi Yao to the armory.

Passing the medical area halfway, Chi Yao tugged his hand, stopping by Chun Qin’s office first.

He kept two of the brought-back syringes for Jing Xi to seal as evidence, and gave all the rest to Chun Qin.

“Same as the syringes we used back then.” Chun Qin picked one up with gloved hands.

Chi Yao sat casually on the edge of the desk, one long leg bent.

“Don’t know if the stuff inside is the same. You check first.”

“I’m not confident.” Chun Qin said softly. “I didn’t understand these things back then.”

Chi Yao: “Doesn’t matter. Just test the components to see if it’s a modification agent. Later if we can get syringes from that place, we can compare.”

He didn’t explicitly say where “that place” was, but Jing Xi knew he referred to the place where he grew up.

Thinking of this, Jing Xi looked at Chun Qin and asked: “You don’t know where that planet is either?”

Chun Qin shook her head: “I was taken there while unconscious. All positioning devices are prohibited there, and I didn’t pay special attention.”

The last sentence seemed to imply something hidden, but Jing Xi didn’t press.

Chun Qin looked up at Chi Yao: “If my master were here, maybe progress would be smoother.”

Facing her expectant gaze, Chi Yao said expressionlessly: “I’ll mention it to the old man, but I don’t know if he’ll agree.”

Chun Qin’s eyes flashed: “As long as you mention it, he will agree.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Master?

Jing Xi had never heard that Chun Qin had a master.

He didn’t ask, but Chi Yao brought it up proactively.

“I told you before, Chun Qin used to be an assassin.”

Jing Xi: “Mn.”

On the way to the armory, Chi Yao said unhurriedly: “She only started learning to save people after getting on the old man’s ship. At that time, I was forced to catch up on cultural studies, while she followed the military doctor at the time as an assistant.”

Assassin changing careers to doctor.

That’s not an ordinary span.

Thinking of the past, Chi Yao couldn’t help laughing.

Seeing Jing Xi looking over from the corner of his eye, he suppressed his smile: “Just remember one thing, don’t provoke Chun Qin, especially don’t take the tutorials she gives too seriously.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao’s memories on that unknown planet were a past he hadn’t participated in.

Jing Xi only knew the environment there was treacherous, but he couldn’t feel Chi Yao’s joys and sorrows at all.

“If only I had been there too.”

Without thinking, Jing Xi blurted it out.

Chi Yao took his hand: “Are you jealous?”

Jing Xi with a wooden face: “If Chun Qin were a few years younger, you would be childhood sweethearts.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Seeing Jing Xi sullen, it seemed he really cared.

Chi Yao leaned in slightly, lowering his voice in his ear: “For the sake of our good relationship, I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t tell anyone else.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Are you an elementary schooler?

Jing Xi: “Go ahead.”

Chi Yao: “Chun Qin is a top.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Jing Xi: “Does she like betas or omegas?”

Chi Yao: “You should ask if she likes men or women first.”

Jing Xi: “…………”

Looking at it this way, him and Chi Yao, two alphas dating, seemed quite normal. At least their attributes were the same.

Arriving at the armory, Jing Xi rummaged through the shelves.

Chi Yao watched him take some parts to the adjacent work cabin.

Jing Xi conveniently grabbed some snacks and placed them in front of the seat nearby.

“Keep me company.”

Chi Yao looked at the braised snacks and chips: “…”

Elementary schooler?

A moment later, Chi Yao gnawed on a chicken wing, watching Jing Xi work.

Metal in his hands could only be flattened or rounded at will.

Soon, the object suspended by the small mechanical arm took the rudimentary shape of a claw.

Chi Yao tore off a piece of chicken meat and held it to his lips.

“Making a claw?”

Jing Xi opened his mouth to bite, cheeks puffing as he chewed, eyes never leaving the parts in his hands.

“Mn.”

Seeing him so serious, the corners of Chi Yao’s lips lifted.

“If the time is right, I don’t care if my identity as a modified human is exposed.”

Jing Xi: “I care.”

His hand movements didn’t pause at all. Assembling complex sensory nerves was simpler for him than eating.

“I don’t want you to be misunderstood.”

Chi Yao: “Getting yourself so tired just for those people’s words?”

Jing Xi put down the tools and took down the claw made of special metal.

“Not just for that.”

“Although Xiao Hei can transform into a weapon, the transformation speed under extreme conditions is still too slow.”

Jing Xi’s gaze swept over the ring on his middle finger. “I want to integrate this into your ring. The response speed can be 0.5 seconds faster than Xiao Hei.”

The simpler the structure and the more singular the function, the faster the reaction speed.

Chi Yao: “…”

Having a wife who makes weapons is really convenient.

Just as online public opinion was fermenting further, Chi Yao suddenly posted an update.

[Is a beast claw really that barbaric? [Image]]

In the photo, Chi Yao’s slender right hand wore a steel metal skeleton, sharp barbs reflecting cold light.

Refreshing the page, the comments exploded—

“Ahhhhhhh these hands are so beautiful! (Is that the point?”

“Hahahaha, depends on whose hand it’s on.”

“This weapon is cool ahhh my brain already automatically generated combat scenes.”

“Using cold weapons makes a true master!”

“Where is it barbaric or savage? Those people really just hate for the sake of hating.”

“Touched someone’s cake, so they got anxious I guess.”

Chi Yao played with the newly obtained weapon, extending and retracting it several times, surprisingly handy.

With the addition of a steel claw, the ring was only a millimeter wider when retracted.

This material was the same as what Xiao Hei and the others used. Originally a material for transformable mecha, Jing Xi had singled it out to develop transformable super-intelligent entities.

Han Yousheng rushed over with his essay, almost balding from stress.

Jing Xi looked through the three-hundred-word essay, deleted and modified bits, and quickly handed it back.

“Post it like this.”

Han Yousheng clicked his heels: “Yes sir!”

Once the person left, Jing Xi stood up to return to the main cabin, turning to see Chi Yao using the steel claws to pick up chips to eat.

Jing Xi: “Easy to use?”

Chi Yao picked up a chip and fed it to his lips, smiling: “Easy to use. Eating chips like this won’t dirty my hands.”

Jing Xi: “…”

He didn’t mean useful in that way.

Returning to the main cabin, it was almost dawn.

Jing Xi had no time to rest. He contacted Lu Meng to ask about the situation on the front lines.

Chi Yao turned to go to the kitchenette to make something for them to eat.

Halfway through, his terminal suddenly rang. He glanced at it; it was the old man.

“What?” Chi Yao continued preparing ingredients without looking at him.

“Where did you get that weapon? Wholesale some to me too.” Lin Chengde got straight to the point.

Wholesale?

Chi Yao scoffed, displaying it to the screen.

A plain, slender hand turned at the wrist and was instantly covered by steel claws.

Chi Yao: “Want it?”

Lin Chengde: “…”

This kind of weapon had average practicality in a regular army, but was very practical for the Dark Division, which frequently executed high-risk missions.

And looking at the simple structure, it shouldn’t be expensive.

Lin Chengde thought so.

Seeing Chi Yao didn’t seem willing to give it, Lin Chengde laughed hehehe, rubbing his hands: “How about this, I’ll give you a 5% commission.”

Chi Yao continued chopping vegetables.

Lin Chengde: “10%… 15%… th-then 16%, can’t go higher!”

“Even if you empty your family fortune to me, it’s useless.”

Chi Yao sneered. “This is a toy my wife made for me. One of a kind.”

Lin Chengde’s eyes widened slightly: “That kid Jing Xi made it?! Then I’ll ask him—”

Before finishing, seeing Chi Yao’s look, he silently shut up.

Looks like no chance.

Try harder tomorrow.

Hanging up the call, Lin Chengde sighed.

“This kid is definitely a Pixiu (creature that eats wealth but doesn’t excrete).”

The adjutant asked nervously: “No chance? Not even a little?”

Lin Chengde became angry from embarrassment, slapping the table: “Damn dog luck, found a capable wife and got floaty. Look at how smug he is!”

Adjutant: “…”

He can’t find a wife; aren’t you more worried?

“Sir! Flying Dragon posted an update. Seems they want to mass-produce beast claws!”

The armaments procurement officer ran over, surprised. “Quickly take a look!”

Lin Chengde’s eyes lit up. He opened the social platform and switched directly to Flying Dragon’s homepage.

Skipping the text, he clicked on the picture first.

The picture showed a bear paw covered in black fur, claws exposed, too fat to fit in a stew pot.

Lin Chengde squinted and looked again and again.

“Such high simulation?”

This model didn’t look as easy to use as Chi Yao’s; too clumsy.

The adjutant pointed to the large block of text, saying with a wooden face: “This is a bear paw.”

[In the history of the Empire, weapons like steel claws are not rare. Their role in actual combat cannot be replaced by other weapons. The military has always focused on the diversity and environmental friendliness of weapons… Mutant beast bones are strong, claws are sharp, more durable and environmentally friendly than steel claws, and can play a greater role in actual combat…]

Reading through the several hundred words of drivel, Lin Chengde had a forehead full of question marks.

“What bullshit is this.”

Adjutant: “Probably trying to create a smokescreen for Extreme Shadow.”

Procurement officer: “Joking with netizens to increase approachability?”

Lin Chengde: “This is too damaging to the image, fuck.”

Just after speaking, he suddenly realized and hurriedly clicked open the picture to check.

“Something’s wrong.”

The adjutant and procurement officer were confused.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin Chengde looked for a moment and laughed out loud.

“These two brats! They really came up with this.”

This wasn’t a joke; it was clearly a warning.

Online, the style of comments under Flying Dragon’s post changed abruptly.

“Hahahaha dying of laughter, watched nothing, Flying Dragon can also talk nonsense with a straight face now.”

“I almost believed it.”

“Jing Xi: What Chi Yao has, I cannot lack!”

“Flying Dragon: Although I don’t have it, I’ll use a real beast claw to make up the numbers first.”

“Imagining Major General Jing reciting this passage coldly, I can’t breathe hahahaha”

“Bear Paw: Are you polite?”

The previous comments slandering Extreme Shadow were instantly washed away by the explosive popularity.

Because of Flying Dragon’s funny update, the atmosphere was unusually harmonious.

At the same time, the Li family in the Imperial Capital Star Military District.

Li Bo hadn’t slept all night. The window in front of him displayed the two updates from Flying Dragon and Chi Yao. His face was dark, but his fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

Chen Bingfeng had been exposed. Would their chat records be discovered?

After guarding the front lines all night with no incidents, upon receiving the news, Chi Yao dragged the fed Jing Xi to sleep.

“Your people haven’t returned yet—” Jing Xi was dragged into the rest cabin.

“They will notify me naturally when they return.” Walking to the bedside, Chi Yao turned to undo his tactical belt. “The message has been sent out; those people won’t make a move for the time being.”

Once relaxed, exhaustion surged immediately. Jing Xi hugged Chi Yao, inhaling the scent on him.

His body was gradually getting used to the smell of Chi Yao’s pheromones.

“The person contacting Chen Bingfeng is nine out of ten from the military.”

Chi Yao turned his head and kissed his cheek: “Is this the time to talk about those things?”

Jing Xi looked up, his gaze sweeping from his eyes to his lips.

“Then what should we talk about? You don’t dare to touch me anyway.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao: “Kissing is still allowed.”

Snuggling with the person you like is a good way to relieve stress.

The atmosphere was just right. Just as the two kissed, a small snore suddenly came from the bed.

A chubby leg kicked out from under the quilt. Iron Bear lay there, sleeping sprawled out.

Chi Yao/Jing Xi: “…”

Let’s not have kids in the future.