“A Ferryman?” Song Jin’s mind instantly flashed back to the abandoned cult sacrificial site at the base.

Hearing these three words come out of Wei Feng’s mouth didn’t bode well at all.

It was also the first time Li Xiao had heard of it.

“Does it also involve blood?”

“Yeah. I accidentally overheard it back when I was undercover in another space pirate organization.” At this point, Wei Feng let out a sarcastic laugh. “They certainly love their sense of ritual. Supposedly, even if you obtain the blood, it has to be used under the guidance of a Ferryman to work properly, otherwise, it has no effect.”

Li Xiao asked nonchalantly, “Do you have any leads on the Ferryman?”

Wei Feng shook his head. “I’ve only heard of them; I’ve never seen one.”

“Just playing mysteries,” Song Jin scoffed. “It only tricks those rich idiots.”

Wei Feng agreed completely. “The Danse empire has nothing if not an abundance of idiots.”

Li Xiao tossed the shoulder insignia over. “How is the matter I asked you to investigate last time coming along?”

Wei Feng caught it, flipped it over in his palm for a glance, slipped it into the inner pocket of his jacket, and pulled up a folder on his terminal to send to Li Xiao.

“I looked into two of them. These are photos of the VIPs. I’m not sure if any were missed, but I did find a breeding base.”

As he spoke, Wei Feng fished out a small vial from his other pocket and threw it over. “Tissue sample.”

Li Xiao caught it and quickly flipped through the photos, locking his gaze onto a corner of a banquet hall.

A middle-aged man stood there holding a wine glass, chatting and laughing with others. His posture was perfectly upright, conspicuously different from the bearing of everyone else around him.

This was Zhang Bin, the General Affairs Director of the First Military Academy, holding the rank of Colonel—and a member of the Zheng faction.

“Someone from the military?” Song Jin leaned in to look closer. “These people aren’t even wearing masks. Are they certain they won’t be exposed, or do they just not care if they are?”

Li Xiao replied, “Whichever it is, it’s not a good sign.”

For a military colonel to participate in a killing game hosted by a space pirate group without even bothering to cover his face meant things had reached a brazenly flagrant level.

Seeing how intently they were looking, Wei Feng hesitated for a moment before asking, “Where did you find that shoulder insignia?”

Li Xiao looked up. “Inside the stomach of a corpse.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Wei Feng’s pupils contract. Though Wei Feng tried to appear calm, Li Xiao could still sense the tightly suppressed rage radiating from him.

Noticing Li Xiao’s scrutiny, Wei Feng stood up casually. “It’s getting late. You guys should head to bed early.”

“Wei Feng,” Li Xiao called out to him. “This isn’t the border.”

Wei Feng held the doorknob, his back turned to Li Xiao. The depths of his eyes were ice-cold, yet his voice was forced into a cheerful, laughing tone. “Of course I know that.”

Once Wei Feng left, Li Xiao went back to reviewing the photos.

“What do you think about the Ferryman?”

“Ferrying… as in guiding ordinary people to find salvation from their suffering and walk the path of modification? What a malicious name.” Song Jin leaned back against the sofa, rubbing his throbbing forehead. “That old bastard Wei is still testing us. He definitely knows more than he’s letting on. Since he gave us a heads-up, let’s look into it.”

Li Xiao shared his view.

Going by Wei Feng’s description, there was definitely more than one Ferryman. Aside from anything else, there were quite a few modified humans among the exchange students alone. If they had gone to the same planet one after another to undergo modification, it would be easy to find out.

Furthermore, since the box of blood this time was bound for T999, it was reasonable to guess that a Ferryman was active on T999.

Thinking of that box of blood, Li Xiao asked, “What did you spray on that box of blood back then?”

Song Jin replied, “A special tracer paint. Once it gets on you, it can’t be washed off unless you use a specific chemical solution. If it successfully makes it to T999, tracking it down should be relatively easy.”

“Then we’ll have to make a trip back.” Li Xiao browsed through the photos, calculating the plan to go to T999.

It wasn’t easy to sneak into the military academy. Instead of hiding and sneaking around, it would be better to just transfer directly over.

Hearing no movement for a while, Li Xiao turned his head and saw that Song Jin had fallen asleep against the sofa at some point.

“If you want to sleep, go back to the room.” Li Xiao tapped him, but received absolutely no response.

It was already nearly four in the morning. Li Xiao simply turned off his terminal and reached over to carry Song Jin back to the room.

The little lion had suffered an ordeal tonight. If he caught a cold on top of that, he would probably throw another tantrum, and there wouldn’t be anyone nearby to serve as his punching bag.

Before he could even lift him off the sofa, a sudden chill pressed against his neck. Li Xiao looked down to find that the brat had woken up and was pressing the tip of his finger right against his jugular artery.

“Put me down,” Song Jin warned with a cold face.

Li Xiao said, “Why so fierce?”

“If anyone’s doing the carrying, it’s going to be me carrying you.” Song Jin pushed him away and nimbly flipped off the sofa. Suddenly, his vision went black. He hurriedly grabbed the sofa for support, clutching his forehead with a sharp intake of breath. “Hiss—didn’t they say it would be fine after getting the inhibitor? That Omega definitely put poison in their pheromones!”

To think he was still trying to be tough when he was in this much misery. Li Xiao found it a bit amusing. “Can you still walk?”

“Piece of cake.” Song Jin turned toward the bedroom. His footsteps were unsteady, his left foot practically tripping over his right foot. Completely out of control, he headed straight for a table leg.

Before he could crash, Li Xiao stepped up quickly to support him. “Careful. Don’t break the floor here. A normal family like ours can’t afford the compensation.”

Song Jin let out a soft huff. “Then I’ll just pawn you off here to work as a cross-dressing hostess.”

Li Xiao replied, “You’re the pretty one. It’s more cost-effective to pawn you.”

Waves of sharp pain throbbed in his temples. Song Jin turned and leaned his head against Li Xiao’s shoulder to alleviate the dizziness and discomfort.

“My head hurts so much, and my stomach feels awful too.”

It was rare to see the little lion show weakness and act spoiled. Li Xiao held him securely and walked steadily toward the bedroom. “You’ll be fine after a night of sleep.”

Song Jin caught a whiff of Li Xiao’s scent. Though it didn’t actually do anything medicinally, it made him feel psychologically better.

“How are you so knowledgeable about this? Have you encountered high-compatibility Omegas before?”

Li Xiao replied, “I have. Quite a few.”

Song Jin chuckled weakly. “Too bad for them, they ran into a brick wall. Who would’ve thought that you’re pure appearance on the outside, but inside you’re just a sixty-something old man who has absolutely no reaction to beauty.”

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Who says I have no reaction?”

Song Jin looked up at him. “A reaction to whom?”

Li Xiao said, “I forgot.”

Entering the bedroom, Li Xiao turned up the room temperature and helped Song Jin take off his jacket. “Put your hands down first.”

Song Jin draped himself over Li Xiao’s shoulder, letting his arms drop from where they had been wrapped around Li Xiao’s neck, listlessly allowing himself to be fussed over.

“Did you feel like this before whenever you smelled an Omega’s pheromones?”

Li Xiao thought back to over a decade ago. His memory was a bit hazy. Helping Song Jin unbutton his clothes, he casually replied, “Yeah. I threw up too. I thought I had an upset stomach from eating undercooked food.”

“Met them at a banquet?” Song Jin let Li Xiao undo his buttons, perking up a bit upon hearing the gossip. “Then what happened between you and that Omega later?”

Li Xiao said expressionless, “I couldn’t hold it in and dry-heaved. The Omega thought I was publicly humiliating them and ran away crying.”

Visualizing that scene, Song Jin burst out laughing.

“Serves them right. Who told them to try and seduce you with pheromones.”

Li Xiao bent over to pull back the covers, placing the person attached to him into the bed.

“You didn’t go look for them afterward?” Song Jin lay down obediently, looking up at him.

Li Xiao lifted Song Jin’s long legs to help him take off his shoes. “Why would I look for them?”

Song Jin said, “It’s rare to find someone with such high compatibility.”

Li Xiao replied, “High compatibility and liking someone are two completely different things.”

Song Jin pressed further, “Then who do you like?”

Li Xiao: “…”

So after circling around for so long, this was the question he was waiting to drop.

Li Xiao sat by the edge of the bed and tucked him in. “Go to sleep early. Does your head not hurt anymore?”

Song Jin hummed displeasured, “Buzzkill.”

Seeing Li Xiao stand up and walk out, Song Jin called out to him, “Where are you going?”

Li Xiao replied, “My presence here will affect you. I’ll sleep in the next room tonight.”

Song Jin’s pheromone levels had been triggered into instability, making this the exact time his senses were at their sharpest. Having an Alpha nearby would only keep his nerves tense and prevent him from sleeping peacefully.

“Come back! Since when could I be affected by you?” Song Jin patted the space beside him. “Sleep right here. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere.”

Li Xiao looked at the small bed, recalling the sheer terror of being dominated by a steel-wool raccoon-fox. He said dryly, “Don’t hit me if you can’t fall asleep.”

Song Jin said confidently, “Even if you release your pheromones, I can still sleep just fine.”

Li Xiao didn’t say a word. He immediately released just a tiny hint of his pheromones.

The familiar scent of wine permeated the air. Song Jin tried to endure it but failed. He suddenly sat up, clutching his throbbing head with a sharp intake of breath. He glared at Li Xiao irritably, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, a lethal look in his eyes that suggested he wanted to beat Li Xiao to death.

“Get over here!”

Li Xiao: “…”

Perhaps Song Jin could sleep, but Li Xiao feared he wouldn’t survive to see tomorrow’s sun.

After turning on the indoor air purifier, Li Xiao opened the door and left.

Watching the door close and being left alone in the room, Song Jin lay back down reluctantly, suddenly feeling a bit lonely.

“It’s not like I actually said I’d hit you. Running away so fast.”

Within a few breaths, Song Jin recalled every single grievance he had suffered from childhood to adulthood. Reaching his limit, he was just about to go bring Li Xiao back.

The sound of the door opening came, and Song Jin snapped his gaze over to see Li Xiao walking in carrying a glass of water.

“Drink some warm water, it makes it easier to fall asleep.” Li Xiao handed it to him.

Song Jin asked, “Are you sleeping here?”

Li Xiao stroked his hair. “I’ll head to the next room after you fall asleep.”

Song Jin took the glass and drank a couple of sips, watching Li Xiao sit down on the edge of the adjacent bed, deliberately keeping some distance from him.

“My brother and his partner have slept together for decades without any issues.”

Li Xiao activated his terminal to start working. Hearing this, he let out a soft laugh. “They are used to each other as if they are parts of their own bodies. We aren’t there yet.”

Song Jin couldn’t argue with that, though he thought to himself that sooner or later, they would be.

How could a grown man like him be defeated by pheromones anyway?

For some reason, all those negative emotions vanished into thin air. Not long after closing his eyes, Song Jin fell into a deep sleep.

At around nine o’clock the next morning, Li Xiao first checked on Song Jin in the next room. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly and that the pheromone levels reported by 07 had returned to normal values, he left quietly.

In the dining room, Wei Feng, Jiang Hao, and Qian Can were eating breakfast.

Upon seeing Li Xiao, Wei Feng grinned and waved warmly.

“I specially saved two scallion pancakes for you guys—my specialty dish. If you had come any later, they would’ve been snatched clean.”

Li Xiao sat across from him, picked up a hard-boiled egg, and asked Jiang Hao, “How are things with the garrison?”

Jiang Hao swallowed the fried dough stick in his mouth and opened two virtual screens, projecting them into mid-air. “They pushed out the commander of the unit responsible for the Sector Three pest control that day to take the blame. At five in the morning, the Royal Family published a list of sacrificed garrison members alongside a list of arrests, claiming they will thoroughly investigate and punish the culprits severely.”

Li Xiao looked at the screen and instantly spotted Gao Mo’s name on the arrest list.

Qian Can chimed in, “We took a turn outside this morning. The citizens of Sector Three are extremely furious about Gao Mo being arrested. They are preparing to organize a protest march.”

At this point, Qian Can glanced at Li Xiao’s expression before continuing, “A lot of people are saying the Royal Family is pushing a good man out to take the fall. They are very disappointed.”

Wei Feng cut in, “If the group that caused the trouble wasn’t under this Gao Mo’s responsibility, shouldn’t it be very easy to investigate? Why did they bother doing something so redundant?”

“The impact of many actions takes effect immediately. No matter what the subsequent truth turns out to be, once the impact is created, it’s very hard to erase.”

Li Xiao peeled his egg, his face expressionless as he said, “Besides, since they were able to put this list forward, they have ways to ensure others won’t be able to clear it up easily.”

Jiang Hao remarked, “They say rumors take a second to spread but a lifetime to debunk. Right now, the entire Sector Three’s favorability toward the Royal Family has plummeted.”

Qian Can added, “Not just Sector Three. Countless people are cursing them online. The Royal Family’s PR team must have gone on vacation; they’re completely dropping the ball the whole way through.”

Wei Feng looked at Li Xiao. “What do you plan to do?”

Li Xiao replied, “First, neutralize the impact.”

Just as Li Xiao was about to eat the egg, a blur flashed before his eyes, leaving him with only half an eggshell in his hand.

Song Jin bit off half of it in one mouthful, casually pulled out the chair next to Li Xiao, and sat down. “What are you talking about?”

Li Xiao repeated the matter they had just discussed.

“Feeling better?”

“Never better.” Song Jin stuffed the egg into his mouth, licked off the yolk stuck to his finger, and smiled refreshingly. “I feel like I could punch a bull to death.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Better be a bull.

Li Xiao grabbed another hard-boiled egg and placed it in front of him.

“I don’t want it anymore.” Song Jin reached for the intricately patterned scallion pancake instead.

Li Xiao said, “You stole mine. Peel one and give it back to me.”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin gave Li Xiao a dark look. “You dare command me to do chores?”

Li Xiao urged, “Hurry up.”

“…” Remembering how Li Xiao had stayed with him while he slept last night, Song Jin decided not to hold a grudge. He took the egg and cracked it open, looking at Wei Feng. “I forgot to ask last night. Do you happen to have an identical twin brother who is a few years older than you?”

“Are you insulting my intelligence?” Wei Feng was amused to the point of anger. “How can twins be born years apart?”

Song Jin handed the peeled egg back to Li Xiao. “You can just freeze the embryo. There are plenty of ways.”

Wei Feng replied, “That’s a game you rich people play. Poor people born on peripheral planets like us still follow the most primitive laws of nature.”

Li Xiao watched open-mouthed as Song Jin peeled away both the shell and the egg white together, ultimately presenting him with an egg that was only half its original size.

“Are your parents still around?”

“No, I’ve never seen them.” Wei Feng pulled a cigarette from his pack, holding it between his fingers. He propped up his chin with an ambiguous smile. “Why the sudden question about whether I have a brother? Where did you see someone who looks exactly like me?”

Song Jin took a bite of the scallion pancake, brushing it off casually, “They just looked a bit similar. Just asking out of curiosity.”

Wei Feng pressed on, “Who? Where did you see them?”

Song Jin looked over at him. “Are you that interested?”

Wei Feng spread his hands and laughed, “Who knows, maybe I can recognize a rich older brother and save myself a hundred years of hard work.”

Song Jin countered, “A golden thigh is right in front of your eyes, whose thigh are you still trying to cling to?”

The two of them went back and forth, probing each other, yet neither managed to gain the upper hand in their defensive maneuvers.

Seeing Li Xiao slather a massive pile of chili sauce onto his scallion pancake, Song Jin couldn’t help but complain, “Eating such heavy flavors first thing in the morning.”

Li Xiao replied, “My family has a hereditary disease. If I don’t eat spicy food, I won’t have a good complexion.”

Song Jin: “…”

I’d truly be a fool to believe your nonsense.

Wei Feng asked grinning, “This chili sauce is pretty good, right?”

Li Xiao chewed expressionless, “Yeah. Where did you buy it? I’ll take some back.”

Wei Feng boasted, “It’s a Wei Family special blend. It’s not sold anywhere outside.”

Li Xiao demanded, “How much do you have left? Give it all to me.”

Wei Feng asked, “Do I not need to eat?”

Li Xiao bargained, “I’ll leave you one jar.”

Wei Feng gaped, “Are you a bandit?”

Song Jin’s gaze flickered back and forth between the two of them.

They really were blood relatives; even their tastes were so similar.

Feeling a bit like an outsider, Song Jin refused to accept it. He grabbed Li Xiao’s wrist, leaned in, and took a bite out of the chili-sauce-covered scallion pancake, nearly crying from the spice.

“So hot.”

“Spit it out, quick.” Li Xiao held a strawberry to his lips. “Are you still half-asleep? Why steal it if you can’t handle spicy food?”

Song Jin bit into the strawberry.

Fine, an outsider it is.

After breakfast, Li Xiao had Jiang Hao and Qian Can clear out an empty room, while asking Wei Feng to fetch some commonly used medical equipment.

“Help me wrap the bandages.” Li Xiao signaled Song Jin to follow him back to the room.

Song Jin asked, “Who are you planning to trick this time?”

Li Xiao took off his shirt. “It’s about time this farce came to an end.”

Song Jin walked over with the bandages. Catching sight of the lines of Li Xiao’s muscles, his gaze drifted slightly.

Halfway through the wrapping, Li Xiao felt a restless hand extending from behind him, groping around right under his nose. “…Be serious.”

Song Jin retorted, “If you’re making me do manual labor, you have to give me compensation, right?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Just as the internet was in an absolute uproar over the latest arrest list published by the Royal Family, a newly registered burner account posted a video under the relevant trending topics. In the video stood a somewhat sickly-looking Li Xiao—