After Song Jin finished speaking, the entire space fell so quiet that only the whistling of the wind and the faint voices of Jiang Hao and the other two in the distance could be heard.

The longer Li Xiao remained silent, the more frustrated Song Jin became. Finally unable to hold back, he spoke up first, “Give me some reaction.”

“You’ve been sullen these past few days just because you were thinking about this?” Li Xiao’s tone carried no ripples.

“What do you mean just this?” Ignited by this single sentence, Song Jin stood up to leave. “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

He cared about it to death, yet Li Xiao didn’t take it seriously at all, as if it didn’t matter whether he liked Alphas or not.

Li Xiao pulled Song Jin’s hand. “You kept quiet and didn’t tell me because you were considering my feelings? Were you afraid I’d be angry?”

With a sour face, Song Jin remained silent, which counted as a silent admission.

Li Xiao gestured for him to sit down first. “Why do you feel like you don’t like Alphas?”

His casual tone made it sound like they were truly just chatting, as if they weren’t the ones facing a breakdown in their relationship.

Since things had already reached this point, Song Jin simply threw caution to the wind.

“Ever since the campaign began, I’ve become more and more repulsed by your scent. Injecting suppressants didn’t help either. It might just be like this from now on.”

Li Xiao tore off a piece of jerky and fed it to him. “Aside from the scent, is there anything else you find repulsive?”

Song Jin opened his mouth and bit into it. “No.”

Li Xiao knew this kid disdained lying about such matters; if he said no, then it truly was a no.

“You repulse my pheromones, but you don’t repulse me as a person—is that what you mean?”

Avoiding Li Xiao’s gaze, Song Jin suppressed his frustration, his tone a bit sharp. “It wasn’t like this before.”

You kid must have forgotten how many times you kicked me out of bed.

Li Xiao fed him another bite. “Given our pheromone levels, how it is now is actually considered normal.”

Song Jin asked, “Why wasn’t it like this before?”

Li Xiao chuckled. “Because you hadn’t grown up yet.”

Song Jin knitted his brows. “Are you mocking me?”

“I mean, you don’t need to be anxious about this. It’s an instinct, unrelated to personal preferences.” Li Xiao tried to soften his tone. “If you can’t stand it, then we can try to keep our distance for a while.”

“No way!” Song Jin grabbed Li Xiao’s collar and pulled him closer. “Are you trying to take this opportunity to end your relationship with me?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Clearly having only a superficial understanding of emotions, yet incredibly sensitive in these areas.

Li Xiao pulled him in for a hug, asking softly, “You won’t feel uncomfortable like this?”

Right after he finished speaking, the sound of knuckles cracking echoed. Before getting punched, Li Xiao stepped back a bit.

Seeing Li Xiao’s expression that practically said, “See, I knew it would be like this,” Song Jin knew he was in the wrong. Unwilling to back down, he asked resentfully, “How are we supposed to keep our distance?”

Li Xiao let go of him. “What kind of distance do you think is comfortable?”

Song Jin: “How it is right now is fine.”

Li Xiao had excellent control over his pheromones; they couldn’t be sensed at a normal social distance at all.

“Alright.” Li Xiao tore off some jerky and fed him. “If anything comes up in the future, just speak up directly. Don’t bottle it up and overthink things on your own.”

Seeing that Li Xiao wasn’t as angry as he had anticipated, Song Jin couldn’t tell if he was happy or disappointed.

“Don’t you think I’m being a jerk?”

The one who said he liked him was him, and the one who said he didn’t like him was also him.

Li Xiao laughed softly. “When you start reflecting on these questions—”

Song Jin looked at him. “What?”

Li Xiao didn’t spell it out directly. The onlooker sees clearly while the insider is puzzled; some things can never be understood unless one realizes them on their own.

Besides, this kid looked quite cute when troubled by love.

Li Xiao fed him another piece, completely deadpan. “You only covet my beauty? Aren’t you going to covet something else while you’re at it?”

Song Jin: “…”

What the hell are you happy about, kid?

Not far away, crouching in a corner, Jiang Hao and the other two were eating while reading the online news.

The video exposing the illegal resale of supplies had blown up, with public opinion reaching its peak after fermenting for two days.

Unless it was a first-class residential planet, planets below the second class were all likely to suffer attacks from mutated species to varying degrees. The issue of distributing relief food after taking refuge concerned the interests of the vast majority of ordinary people. The single-day discussion volume for related topics exceeded a hundred billion, with countless people venting their grievances and adding fuel to the fire under the threads.

“No wonder the food handed out to us could never fill our stomachs! Those making a fortune out of national disasters must be severely punished!”

“The elderly at home couldn’t get any relief food for three days, do you people still have a conscience?!”

“Requesting the military to thoroughly investigate the Fifth Legion!”

“I remember there was a fuss about this last year too, but the news disappeared very quickly back then. Other legions might have this problem as well.”

“Four months ago, refugees from Zifu Constellation Z837 marched to denounce the royal family, but it fizzled out after being suppressed by the military. Looking at it now, it really might not be the royal family’s fault.”

The volume of discussion remained high, and countless people staked out the official account of the Fifth Legion to voice their denunciations. Netizens spontaneously organized themselves to take turns flooding every single military account, before running over to the royal family’s public page to frantically spam complaints.

At the same time, the trending phrase #Second Prince Li Xiao Personally Distributing Supplies on the Frontline# rushed up the hot search list.

[Ran into the Second Highness by chance! He is so gentle in person, sob sob sob, every single one of us received supplies! [Photo] [Video]]

[Ahhh so excited! I thought the Second Highness only went to one refuge point, I didn’t expect I’d see him too! [Video]]

[Did the Second Highness personally distribute them because he knew someone was stealing supplies? My friend is at another refuge point and said they haven’t received anything to eat for two days! [Photo]]

[Aww aww aww saw the Second Highness! Song Jin is so pretty! All five of them were super patient! By the way, why are they acting alone? It looks so hard, aren’t there any military officers leading them? [Video]]

At the same time, inside the general’s office at military headquarters.

Qi Shoude’s three assistants were anxiously contacting various platforms.

“Still can’t delete it? If it’s not handled within an hour, just wait for your site to be shut down for rectification!”

“How could it be impossible to delete?! The server was hijacked? Heh, are you joking with me?!”

“If the technicians are incompetent, then fire them! Do you know how much of an impact this kind of false public opinion will have on the military?!”

With his hands behind his back, Qi Shoude stood before the enlarged virtual screen, his face grim.

They had already handled it when it was first exposed two days ago, and at the time he thought it had been suppressed. He hadn’t expected it to escalate to this point.

If he had to guess who was pulling strings behind the scenes, he couldn’t think of anyone else besides that old bastard Yi Yongning.

For so many years, Yi Yongning had led the entire Yi family in hiding away like cowards. For him to suddenly dare stretch out his claws, it likely couldn’t be separated from the postponement of Old Meng’s handover of management rights.

Did they really think they could cover up the management rights of Tianjiang Constellation this way?

“Sir.” The adjutant hurried over. “It’s time for the emergency meeting.”

“Understood.” Qi Shoude turned and walked quickly out of the office.

In the conference hall, the five Grand Generals sat at the head of the table, while the other attending generals sat along both sides of the round table.

With his hands crossed in front of him, Yi Yongning looked solemnly at everyone. “Regarding the issue of the Fifth Legion reselling supplies discussed online, we just received instructions from the royal family. His Majesty is extremely angry and demands the immediate establishment of a special investigation task force to thoroughly check the supply distribution of each legion over the past year. Please organize your information and submit it within two days.”

Saying this, he glanced at Qi Shoude. “The Fifth Legion is currently fighting on the frontline, so their deadline can be extended to within a week.”

Qi Shoude’s gaze swept over an Alpha Lieutenant General on the left, who took the hint and raised his hand to speak, “Right now is the busiest time for each legion. Investigating the accounts just over some online rumors will needlessly increase the workload on one hand, and affect the legions’ morale on the other.”

As soon as he finished speaking, other Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals raised their hands one after another in agreement.

“I’ve watched the online video, it doesn’t prove anything at all.”

“Sometimes supplies are temporarily stockpiled in one place just to free up transport vehicles, which is completely normal.”

“If we investigate at a time like this, it will make us look like thieves with a guilty conscience instead.”

“Then how do you explain the inadequate distribution of supplies?” Yi Yongning’s gaze swept across these people. “The masses don’t care how you operate internally; if they don’t get the supplies, then there is a problem!”

Qi Shoude noted suggestively, “Who knows if someone is pushing and fanning the flames behind those matters online?”

Yi Yongning asked, “Then do you mean we should first solve the people raising the problem?”

“I didn’t say that.” Qi Shoude remained expressionless. “But if someone really takes advantage of the military’s busiest time to cause trouble, isn’t that very suspicious?”

Zheng Kang’an chimed in, “Now that you mention it, it really is possible. It might very well be enemy spies, so we must investigate thoroughly.”

Truly a master at turning black into white.

Yi Yongning was almost driven to laughter by anger. He turned his head to look at Meng Jian. “Then what do you mean?”

Meng Jian spoke in a relaxed tone, “Even if we are to investigate, it shouldn’t be now. Let’s stabilize military morale first. As for the matters on the internet, just release an investigation announcement to suppress it.”

This was preparing to muddle through the matter and let it go.

It was like this every single time, three against one; Yi Yongning stood absolutely no chance of winning.

Unwilling to accept this, Yi Yongning looked toward Gao Wanxin, who sat on the far left. “Old Gao, you say something too.”

Gao Wanxin was seventy-one this year, with a straight posture and graying temples. The smile lines at the corners of his eyes made him look more amiable than the other four.

“I’m fine with anything, I’ll listen to you guys.”

Yi Yongning: “…”

Are you a lackey? Have some opinions of your own for once!

The meeting was discussed for an hour, and the result was clear.

When Li Ji received the feedback from the top-level military meeting, he threw the folder out in a rage.

“A bunch of old fogies!”

The special assistant, Old Liu, went to pick it back up and spoke cautiously, “Their considerations aren’t entirely without reason.”

Li Ji picked up his teacup, gulped down a large mouthful, and slammed it down hard. “They are just short of outright robbery!”

“Frontline morale is indeed very important.” Old Liu said tactfully, “Your intentions are always distorted. Sticking to an investigation is of course for the masses, but there’s no telling what it will turn into once it spreads to the military.”

Li Ji gave Old Liu a deep look. “What will it turn into?”

Bracing himself, Old Liu said, “They are risking their lives on the frontline, yet they are being guarded against like thieves; they definitely won’t feel good about it.”

Li Ji slammed his hand onto the table, making Old Liu flinch.

Old Liu hurriedly said, “I’m just talking nonsense.”

With a cold face, Li Ji replied, “You aren’t wrong.”

A normal investigation could not possibly cause such a massive impact, but it didn’t rule out some people exaggerating things to take the opportunity to incite public opinion and disrupt military morale.

Li Ji fell silent for a moment before telling Old Liu, “Send down the notice to allocate supplies from nearby to reinforce the frontline. If it’s still not enough, keep reinforcing until every single refugee can get supplies!”

Old Liu: “Yes!”

Calling him to a halt, Li Ji added another sentence, “Tell Qi Shoude that if there are still refugee complaints after the first batch of reinforcing supplies arrives, then let him personally escort the supplies to the frontline.”

Old Liu’s eyes lit up, and he bowed in response, “Yes!”

At military headquarters, Qi Shoude hung up the video call with Old Liu, his fists clenching so hard they popped.

The Emperor seemingly took a step back by not rushing the investigation, but he threw the problem entirely onto his head.

If it couldn’t be properly resolved in the end, he would be held directly accountable.

The adjutant asked carefully, “What should we do next?”

“Tell them to tone it down.” With a stiff face, Qi Shoude said, “The Emperor has already given a warning, can we still go head-to-head with the royal family?”

The adjutant asked hesitantly, “Can he really do anything to you?”

Qi Shoude opened the royal family’s public page. The royal family’s announcement had already been issued, and all the comments below were praising them.

“Public opinion has completely sided with him, it’s not worth it for this small amount of money.”

The adjutant quickly scrolled down.

First there was the Second Prince personally delivering supplies on the frontline, and then there was the Emperor timely issuing a reinforcement announcement.

This wave of operations was indeed very effective at raising the public’s goodwill.

If they kept pushing back, they would become the side completely devoid of reason.

Twirling the ring on his ring finger, Qi Shoude was lost in thought. “How are things going over there?”

Taking the hint, the adjutant said respectfully, “Very smoothly, but won’t this be too risky?”

Qi Shoude: “High returns are bound to come with high risks. If it goes smoothly this time, the plan will be half successful.”

Suyang Constellation S80, East District 4.

The wind was strong at night. Li Xiao and Song Jin finished sharing a piece of jerky and prepared to head back to rest.

Just as Li Xiao stood up, a slender hand slid into his palm.

Seeing Li Xiao look over, Song Jin was puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Li Xiao: “…”

An unconscious little gesture?

As the two walked down the steps, Qian Can and the other two stood up.

Qin Le: “The royal family has issued a reinforcement announcement. In another two days, we’ll be able to ease up a bit.”

Qian Can: “It’ll be a miracle if they still dare to stir up trouble.”

“They won’t.” Li Xiao spoke calmly. “They aren’t stupid. The situation will improve tomorrow.”

Halfway there, they suddenly caught a faint rustling noise. Li Xiao paused his steps and looked in the direction of the sound.

Black shadows flickered faintly in the pitch-black night sky. The small black dots gradually grew larger, revealing the contours of birds.

Realizing something, Li Xiao abruptly scanned the other directions; quite a few small black dots were flashing everywhere.

“Get in the vehicle quickly.” Li Xiao signaled them to speed up while sliding open his terminal, finding Chen Lie’s communication number on the public frequency to dial out.

But after a long while, no one picked up.

Li Xiao hung up while running, switching to contact Yan Qing instead. The moment the other party picked up, Li Xiao said, “There’s an unidentified bird invasion in East District 4, notify the rescue troops immediately!”

Yan Qing froze for a moment. “You guys are still on the battlefield at this hour?”

Observing the surrounding situation, Li Xiao quickly walked up the steps. “The number of birds is immense, visually estimated to cover the entire East District 4. None of the residents here have been evacuated, hurry!”

“Understood.” Yan Qing hurriedly rushed out of the rest cabin, finding a guard from the Fifth Legion on duty in the outer lobby. “East District 4 is being invaded by mutated species, please inform the rescue troops immediately!”

The guard raised his hand to signal him to calm down. “The combat deployment center will detect it at the first opportunity, rest assured.”

Yan Qing’s face was anxious. “There are still five trainees doing missions in East District 4, make sure to bring them back safely!”

The guard gave a cold response, “We will.”

Seeing that this person clearly didn’t take it to heart, Yan Qing knitted his brows and ran outside.

On the first day Li Xiao and the others were forced to act alone, he had already reported the situation to the logistics troops, thinking it had been adjusted, but he hadn’t expected it to still be like this.

Recalling Li Xiao’s urgent tone, Yan Qing felt waves of uneasiness. On the way, he contacted the second-year director, Xiang Hong.

“Have you received any news about supporting East District 4 over there?”

The second-year was responsible for following the rescue troops this time; as long as there was an assignment, Xiang Hong’s side would receive the notice.

Xiang Hong: “East District 4? No, that’s a safe zone over there.”

Yan Qing: “A large flock of birds has invaded there! None of the masses have been evacuated!”

Xiang Hong: “Calm down first! I’ll ask around.”

East District 4.

Just as he stepped onto the steps, Song Jin also heard the commotion, a buzzing sound blending together into a vast sheet.

Li Xiao started the vehicle.

At this hour, most people were resting indoors; if the rescue troops issued an evacuation notice immediately, there would still be time.

The transport vehicle had been set to a fixed route, and its next stop was originally supposed to be back to the starship. Li Xiao wanted to check the streets, but only after switching to manual piloting did he find out the system had been locked.

This vehicle could only move between a few fixed locations.

Was Chen Lie afraid they would run around, so he had someone lock the system?

This thought flashed past, but Li Xiao didn’t take it to heart. He switched to the background and unlocked it in a couple of moves, sliding the control lever to take off.

Flying low along the street, there were still quite a few people wandering about, and traffic was considerable.

“Why hasn’t the air defense siren been activated yet?” Qin Le checked the time. “Could Teacher Yan be unable to contact the rescue troops?”

Li Xiao observed the surroundings. “He’s right on the warship, anyone will do.”

“They’re here!” Song Jin looked at the monitoring screen on the top left. “The flight speed of this bird species is very fast.”

Qian Can and Jiang Hao leaned forward to the front seats to look. Sure enough, a dense, black mass of bird flocks appeared on the screen.

09: 【Warning! Undergoing infrasound attack!】

Li Xiao swept a glance and quickly activated the transport vehicle’s sound wave interception system, his ominous presentiment growing stronger and stronger.

“Intervene in the air defense siren of this area.”

09: 【Received!】

Ten seconds later, the siren echoed throughout the entirety of East District 4, and the warning indicator lights on high-rise buildings everywhere flashed continuously.

Some floating screens along both sides of the street automatically popped up. On the pages that usually played advertisements, flashing red characters appeared:

【Mutated species invasion, please immediately find a safe enclosed space nearby to take shelter!】

Simultaneously with the screens lighting up, the appearance of the bird flock clearly manifested on the transport vehicle’s monitors.

The birds were covered in black feathers, with relatively long necks and something resembling a rooster’s comb on top of their heads. Their bodies were as tall as a human, with a wingspan of nearly five meters.

Song Jin hadn’t seen this kind of bird before. “What kind of bird is this?”

Li Xiao’s heart sank. “Crane Eagles, a species unique to Danse.”

Qian Can: “It looks so fierce!”

Jiang Hao chimed in, “Its combat power ranks first among mutated eagles, and it can also summon other birds. The thug among eagles, plus it eats meat.”

Qian Can: “Holy shit! Then with one claw coming down, won’t your intestines be scraped entirely clean?”

Three hovercars on the navigation lane were hit by the infrasound attack, veering lopsidedly toward the ground. Even after trying their best to slow down, they still crashed and flipped onto their sides upon landing.

The Beta man driving smashed open the car door, crawling out with difficulty. He reached his hand inside the car, “Baby, come to Daddy quickly!”

Holding a fever patch on his forehead, a little boy grabbed his hand, crying as he crawled out, “Daddy, I’m scared, sob sob…”

Under the piercing air defense siren, everything became urgent.

The Beta picked up the child. Before he could even determine if the child was injured, his peripheral vision noticed a black shadow darting down from the sky. Thinking it was a car, he looked closer and saw it was actually a mutated Crane Eagle, scaring him into sprinting away.

“Help!”

The shops on this commercial street had all closed, leaving absolutely nowhere to hide.

Vehicles continuously fell from the high-altitude lanes, emitting loud crashes as they slammed onto the ground. The car bodies scraped sparks against the pavement, and shattered metal parts scattered everywhere.

“Help!”

“Ah—! It’s a Crane Eagle!”

Cries and screams echoed. The Beta couldn’t help but turn his head, wanting to see how badly those people were hurt. Just then, a Crane Eagle rushed over. His pupils shrunk, and his body stiffened to the point of being unable to move.

Bang—!

A deafening gunshot exploded right next to his ear.

The Beta stared blankly as the Crane Eagle’s head blew apart, slamming onto the ground. Behind it where it had blocked the view, a military transport vehicle appeared. A blonde youth leaned out from the window, the silver gun in his hand pointing right in their direction.

“Get in,” Song Jin said flatly.

The Beta snapped out of it, his trembling legs sprinting toward that direction.

Qian Can pried open a deformed car door, helping an elderly Beta out. Hearing the sound of flapping wings by his ear, he raised his gun and fired three consecutive shots at the charging Crane Eagle.

“How can just these few rounds of bullets be enough to use?”

Qin Le passed by carrying a child. “Hurry up!”

A Crane Eagle flapped its wings and landed on a flipped car, continuously trying to peck at the gap in the glass, scaring the Beta couple inside into screaming as they huddled together.

Jiang Hao stepped on the car body and leapt up, drawing his blade to sever the Crane Eagle’s neck. Crouching down, he tapped the car door, “Get out quickly!”

On the vehicle, Li Xiao waited for them to rescue the last person before taking off again, heading toward places where people were present.

The number of Crane Eagles grew, crashing against the transport vehicle and making it rock continuously.

There were escaping people on almost every road. They could only rescue them as they went, and the rear compartment was fast becoming full.

Song Jin flipped through the map and threw a coordinate to Li Xiao. “This is the nearest residential district.”

Residential districts generally had garages underneath, which wouldn’t be much of a problem for fending off birds.

Avoiding the bird flocks, Li Xiao drove as smoothly as possible to the residential district, letting 09 hack into the access control system to open the underground garage.

The massive transport vehicle blocked the garage door, eliminating any possibility of the Crane Eagles flying inside.

The rear compartment opened, and Qin Le and Jiang Hao guided the citizens off the vehicle.

Once the compartment was cleared, Li Xiao had 09 close the garage door, before stepping on the gas and flying back out.

Over a hundred rescued people looked at each other, walking together into the garage, feeling a sense of celebration for surviving a disaster yet carrying some solemnity.

“The one just now was St. Aya’s Song Jin, right?”

“Yes, the Second Highness was there too, he personally drove the vehicle.”

“Fortunately, they rushed over in time.”

The crowd fell silent for a moment. An injured Beta couldn’t help but roar in anger, “Why did the mutated species arrive right when the air defense siren sounded? How is anyone supposed to have time to escape?!”

Once this was said, it became completely uncontrollable.

The Beta holding the child dialed the local garrison’s public communication number. The moment it connected, he let out a fierce torrent of words, “Are you guys asleep?! Well, we can’t sleep! If the air defense siren isn’t set off earlier, do you know how many people it will kill?”

The operator asked, “Which district are you in?”

Beta: “East District 4!”

The operator: “East District 4? That’s a safe zone, how could the air defense siren be turned on?”

The Beta was dumbfounded by the question. “What kind of nonsense are you talking? The sky over East District 4 is entirely full of Crane Eagles!”

The operator froze. “Reporting the situation immediately.”

After hanging up, the group of people was completely stunned.

The garrison didn’t even know about the situation here, so how did the air defense siren come about?

Outside, just as Li Xiao started the transport vehicle, his peripheral vision caught a Crane Eagle crashing straight into a high-rise building in the residential district. Under the lights, the shattered glass and swaying human figures could be clearly seen.

He happened to head over, hearing Song Jin say, “There’s trouble over there too.”

“On the left too!” Qian Can shouted.

Jiang Hao: “On the right, the glass is smashed too!”

Qin Le: “The building behind us is too!”

Song Jin looked toward Li Xiao. “Let’s split up.”

“Everyone be careful, pay attention to your own safety,” Li Xiao said while flying toward the nearest ten-story-high gap.

Qin Le opened the car door and waited for the transport vehicle to approach, saying to them, “Keep in touch on the public frequency!”

Qian Can: “Be careful!”

A Crane Eagle flew into a living room. A family of three fled in panic, throwing things while screaming.

Qin Le leapt into the interior from the gap, rolling upon landing, and drew his sidearm to fire three consecutive shots at the Crane Eagle’s head.

After two rubber bullets, the third live round truly shattered the Crane Eagle’s skull.

“Ahhh—!” Blood splattered onto the carpet and sofa, causing the family of three to lose their composure and scream.

Other Crane Eagles could enter from the gap at any moment. Qin Le immediately got up and waved at them, “Follow me!”

When opening the room door, Qin Le smoothly turned off all the lights in the entire house, leading them toward the underground garage.

After sending off Qian Can and Jiang Hao, Li Xiao drove the vehicle and rapidly flew toward the most dangerous twenty-story-high gap, saying to Song Jin, “I’ll go, the vehicle is yours.”

The higher up, the easier it was to suffer attacks from Crane Eagles.

“No need for such trouble.” Song Jin placed his hand on the car door button, his gaze sweeping across the monitors. “I have 07 with me, you find a way to solve the light problem first.”

The vehicle approached the gap, and Song Jin stepped on the pedal to leap into the room. A middle-aged Alpha was stuck between the sofa and the wall, using a metal tabletop to shield himself while shivering violently, as five Crane Eagles flapped their wings to peck at him.

Song Jin raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Hearing a movement by his ear, he abruptly turned his body sideward, drawing his blade with his left hand to slash downward.

A scream rang out.

The Crane Eagle fell to the ground at the sound of the shot, twitching twice in the blood before it stopped moving.

Another four or five Crane Eagles darted in from outside the window.

Firing his gun as he retreated, Song Jin shouted under his breath to the middle-aged Alpha, “Go turn off the lights! Follow me!”

The moment the middle-aged Alpha saw the combat uniform on Song Jin, the heart that had leapt into his throat settled halfway. Choking up, he said, “My daughter is still in her room, her condition isn’t very good…”

“Which room? Hurry up!” Song Jin grabbed him by the back of his collar as he passed by.

The middle-aged Alpha staggered a couple of steps, hurriedly turned off the living room lights, and led Song Jin toward the bedroom.

The moment the bedroom door opened, a dense wave of Omega pheromones rushed out at them.

Song Jin swayed violently, only managing to steady himself by holding onto the door frame.

07: 【Warning! Pheromone level fluctuations have exceeded the normal range!】

07: 【Master, please leave the current area immediately! Should the pheromone filtration system be activated?】

Inside the room, an Omega man was shielding his daughter as they crouched at the foot of the bed, his face filled with terror.

“Father…” The Omega girl’s face was flushed, and she shrunk weakly into her Omega father’s embrace.

Song Jin: “She… is in heat?”

The middle-aged Alpha nodded anxiously. “I was afraid going to a centralized refuge point would affect other people, so I didn’t dare go.”

Song Jin asked with frustration, “Where is the suppressant?!”

With a mournful face, the middle-aged Alpha cried, “It happened too suddenly, there was no time to buy any.”

Song Jin tossed over the only remaining suppressant he had and backed away into the hallway. “Inject it and bring her out!”

The middle-aged Alpha frantically caught it. “Alright, alright!”

From the dim living room came the sound of tearing and chewing, making one’s skin crawl.

Yet even a sound this terrifying could not distract Song Jin’s attention.

So fragrant… so sweet…

Song Jin’s knuckles turned white from how hard he gripped his gun. Cold sweat slid along his temples down to his jawline, and his entire back was drenched in sweat as his consciousness slipped into waves of haze.

He wanted to turn around immediately and go back into that room…

The moment the thought flashed past, Song Jin dragged the air gun across his own left arm.

The instant it scraped across, the gun barrel transformed into a military blade, leaving behind a bloody gash.

07: 【Master, you cannot harm yourself! QuQ】

07: 【The pheromone filtration system will be forcibly activated in three seconds.】

“No need.” The stimulation of the pain jolted Song Jin’s nerves, clearing his consciousness a bit.

Once the middle-aged Alpha came out carrying the girl on his back, Song Jin signaled for them to head toward the entrance.

“Cough, cough, cough…” The girl couldn’t help but cough softly a few times while covering her mouth.

The subtle sound drew the Crane Eagles that were feeding in the living room once again.

Scared out of their wits, the couple quickened their pace and ran toward the front door.

Song Jin brought up the rear, using his mind to command 07 to switch to condensation rounds.

Struck by the rounds, a flock of Crane Eagles stiffened right where they were, overlapping and stacking against each other to form a wall that blocked out the bird flock behind them.

The material of the front door was enough to withstand ordinary attacks from Crane Eagles.

After shutting the front door, Song Jin gestured for them to head toward the elevator.

Sensing Song Jin’s abnormality, the middle-aged Omega asked cautiously, “Are you alright? We can handle things on our own from here, why don’t you go rest for a bit?”

Song Jin ignored him, keeping his focus on the elevator floor display as he tried his best to overlook the sweet fragrance permeating the air.

The elevator arrived, and its metal doors slid open slowly. Just as the middle-aged Alpha was about to step inside with his daughter on his back, a sharp beak suddenly thrust out from the gap between the doors.

“Ah—!”

Song Jin shoved the father and daughter out of the way. Before the doors could open completely, he drew his military blade with a reverse grip and decapitated it in a single strike.

Blood splattered onto the metal doors, sliding down slowly.

The doors fully opened, revealing a situation inside that was even more shocking to the eyes.

Two men covered in blood lay inside, already eaten beyond recognition.

“Blegh—!” The couple couldn’t help but dry-heave.

“Hurry up!” Song Jin threw the Crane Eagle’s carcass out and squatted down to check the carotid pulses of the two men; both were already past saving. “Do you know them?”

Covering her mouth, the middle-aged Omega’s eyes turned blood-red. “The one on the left lives on the twenty-third floor.”

Song Jin pressed the button for the underground garage and stepped out of the elevator. Once the metal doors closed, he ran toward the twenty-third floor via the safety stairwell, a few Crane Eagles pouncing down directly at him.

07: 【Master, your heart rate is too fast and your pheromone levels are fluctuating too heavily. You have already reached the brink of your susceptibility period!】

Without 07’s reminders, Song Jin also knew his state wasn’t right.

His breathing pattern was an absolute mess, his entire body was burning up, and his heartbeat simply couldn’t be calmed down.

He rushed toward the bird flock, flicking his wrist as 07 transformed from an air gun into a long blade, slashing toward the Crane Eagles.

As long as he didn’t stop, those wild and messy thoughts wouldn’t surface.

07: 【Master, you are being too reckless!】

His face and hands were scratched by the sharp quills on the Crane Eagles’ tail feathers, leaving behind several bloody marks. Ignoring 07’s warnings, Song Jin ran quickly to the twenty-third floor, finally spotting the wide-open door of unit 2303.

The Crane Eagles had poured straight in through the shattered glass, entering the interior of the building along the open doorway.

Song Jin dealt with a wave of Crane Eagles at the entrance, flung the blood off his blade, and was just about to close the door when he suddenly heard Li Xiao’s voice coming through the building’s voice-controlled public address system.

“Please turn off all indoor lights immediately, lock your front doors, and head to the underground parking garage with your families to take shelter. Repeating once more, please turn off all indoor lights immediately…”

Song Jin snapped out of it abruptly. “Li Xiao…”

07: 【If the Madam finds out you are being this reckless, he will be very worried QuQ】

Song Jin’s trembling fingertips tightened, and in the blink of an eye, the long blade in his hand turned back into an air gun.

Inside the transport vehicle, after dropping off Song Jin, Li Xiao recorded his own voice and had 09 loop it through the residential district’s voice-controlled system, while he himself leapt into the twenty-first floor of another building to save people.

He left 09 to control the transport vehicle, dodging left and right in the air.

In the blink of an eye, the lights in the residential district went out one by one, and before long, it was pitch black.

The elevators and safety stairwells of each building were entirely filled with residents relocating downward.

“Hey, didn’t you guys say you were just going to hide in your room?”

“But the voice-controlled system said to go hide in the garage. My son said that voice sounded a lot like the Second Highness’s.”

“Yes, yes, yes! I didn’t want to come down either, but the moment I heard it sounded like the Second Highness, I brought my whole family out!”

“It is the Second Highness! His voice is very unique, I recognized it the moment I heard it!”

The household Li Xiao entered had a baby who wasn’t even a month old yet. The husband had been scratched by a Crane Eagle, and the woman was weak after childbirth, making it very difficult for them to carry the baby and flee.

Li Xiao had no choice but to brace himself and take over the task of holding the baby. Feeling something soft like a lump of mochi resting on his arm, he hadn’t been this panicked in his two lifetimes combined.

Fortunately, the little lion was an Alpha; he didn’t have to worry about accidentally crushing the baby in this lifetime.

Before they could even walk out the front door, the sound of flapping wings came from behind them.

The couple was already crying from fear, pressing against the wall and shivering violently.

Holding the baby with one arm, Li Xiao drew his military blade and hurled it out.

The military blade pierced through the Crane Eagle’s neck, killing it instantly.

Li Xiao activated his launcher, wrapping around the hilt of the military blade to pull it out.

The military blade traced an arc through the air, ultimately returning to Li Xiao’s hand.

Li Xiao looked down at the baby in his arms; it was still asleep, not awakened by his movements at all.

By the time he delivered this family to the underground garage, Li Xiao’s arm was already stiff. It was only when this family’s neighbor took the baby over that he finally felt like he had come back to life.

The neighbor expertly cradled the baby and, seeing his tension, smiled and said, “You’ll get used to it once you have your own child in the future.”

Li Xiao: “I already have one.”

The neighbor / the surrounding people: “…?!”

When did the Second Highness have a child?!

“Who can contact the garrison?! A family of four in Building 12, Unit 1902 is trapped in the bathroom!” someone in the crowd shouted loudly.

Li Xiao left a word of instruction, turned around, and left.

Half an hour later, after bringing the final family to the underground garage, he finally saw the late-arriving garrison.

The crowd was causing quite a fierce commotion, with most people complaining that the alarm had come far too late.

“If the Second Highness and his group hadn’t rushed over, how many of us would have died?!”

The garrison looked in the direction the crowd was pointing and locked eyes with Li Xiao.

“Which unit are you currently with?” A garrison Sergeant went over to greet him. “Why didn’t the garrison receive any rescue notice over here?”

Li Xiao: “Doesn’t the garrison base have its own monitoring and prevention control system? Since when do you rely entirely on the Legion?”

The Sergeant’s face turned a bit ugly, not expecting Li Xiao to actually understand these things.

“But we indeed did not receive the notice.”

“Then you should communicate with the Legion’s side; I am just a trainee.” Li Xiao checked the time. “Since you all are already here, I’ll leave this place to you.”

With that, he turned and left.

Seeing that the Second Highness was about to leave, the group of taking shelter refugees repeatedly expressed their thanks.

They thought to themselves that the Second Highness indeed did things very reliably, just as dependable as the internet said.

Li Xiao returned to the first floor. The black shadows in the sky were like a plague of locusts, filling his entire field of vision.

Less than two minutes after he contacted Song Jin and the others, the transport vehicle flew to the entrance of the lobby.

Song Jin sat in the driver’s seat and waved at him.

Once Li Xiao got into the vehicle, Song Jin asked, “Where to?”

“Head east.” His voice was somewhat raspy. Li Xiao looked toward Song Jin and, seeing blood on the other party’s face, knitted his brows. “Are you injured?”

Song Jin looked straight ahead with a look of total indifference. “Just a scratched skin, that’s all.”

Li Xiao: “I’ll drive, you tend to it.”

Song Jin: “No need.”

Li Xiao reached out to take the medical kit handed over by Jiang Hao and pulled out the wound-cleaning tools. But before his hand could even touch Song Jin, his wrist was grabbed by Song Jin and pushed away.

“I said no need.” Song Jin’s gaze swept across the various monitoring screens. “Don’t affect my driving.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Is this kid in a bad mood again?

The main body of the Crane Eagles was coming from the east; over there was the hardest-hit area.

Quite a few armored vehicles had been deployed on the main streets, but this scale was clearly not enough. These belonged to the garrison; the Fifth Legion had made no move to this day.

If this kept up, it would very quickly affect East District 3.

Li Xiao tried to contact the Legion, but still no one picked up on Chen Lie’s end. He contacted Yan Qing again, who said he had already communicated with the rescue troops.

Yan Qing: “Find a safe place to hide, you must ensure your own safety!”

Li Xiao: “Understood. If there is any movement from the Legion, let me know.”

Yan Qing: “Alright.”

“Boss, the residential area over there has its lights on,” Jiang Hao pointed out the window.

Li Xiao hung up the communication. “Let’s go take a look.”

09: “Should I play the previous recording?”

Li Xiao: “It’s no longer appropriate.”

Over half an hour had passed, and it couldn’t be ruled out that Crane Eagles had already flown into the building. Relocating now would be very dangerous.

The transport vehicle approached the French window shattered by the Crane Eagles with difficulty. Jiang Hao spotted the human figures through the glass doors, “There are people.”

Li Xiao opened the car door. “Save them.”

The situation in this residential district was much more severe than the previous one.

After dropping off the other four, Song Jin flew toward the gap on the fourteenth floor. Just as he was about to leap out, his vision suddenly blurred, and he only stabilized himself after taking a couple of breaths.

07: 【Master, you need to rest!】

“A small matter.” Song Jin composed himself and leapt into the gap. Dodging the Crane Eagles’ wings and sharp beaks, his military blade flipped rapidly. After dealing with six Crane Eagles, he stepped across the messy living room and walked inside, “Come out!”

The bathroom door opened a crack. The moment the Beta woman and the boy saw it was Song Jin, their eyes lit up.

“Song Jin!” The six or seven-year-old boy ran over excitedly. “It’s Song Jin who came to save me!”

Another Crane Eagle flew in from outside the window, charging straight for the boy.

The Beta woman’s face changed drastically, “Haohao!”

Song Jin scooped up the child, the tip of his blade flipping upward to pierce into the Crane Eagle’s neck.

With his back turned, the boy didn’t know what had happened. He wanted to turn around but was led outward by Song Jin, “Follow us.”

The Beta woman: “Alright!”

The five of them had been patrolling the most dangerous areas, and every single person had sustained some injuries to varying degrees.

It wasn’t until four in the morning that the Fifth Legion’s heavy obstacle-clearing fighter jets finally deployed.

The density of the bird flock was too immense, and Qin Le and the others were also so exhausted they couldn’t move, unable to continue any longer.

Li Xiao found a factory nearby and parked the vehicle under a protruding eave on the exterior.

“Everyone take a rest.” Li Xiao turned to look at the back seat. “Remember to tend to your wounds before sleeping.”

Qian Can sprawled out, panting, “Don’t want to move at all.”

Jiang Hao looked at the wound on his thigh. “Take off your pants, I’ll help you bandage it.”

Qian Can shrunk toward Qin Le’s side. “What do you want to do to me?!”

Qin Le bandaged the wound on his own hand. “Just take them off quickly, you’ll suffer later if Little Jiang does it himself in a bit.”

Qian Can: “…”

Lele, whose side are you on, kid?

Li Xiao had 09 turn into a therapeutic light, aiming it right at everyone’s wounds to irradiate them.

Song Jin rubbed his temples, growing increasingly irritated. A vehicle full of Alpha pheromones was making him unable to catch his breath.

Before losing his sanity, Song Jin opened the car door. “I’m going out to get some fresh air.”

“Xiao Jin.” Li Xiao reached out but caught only empty air. Turning around, he opened the car door and chased after him.

The door on one side of the factory building was left half-ajar, inside of which was a dilapidated, empty room.

Song Jin stepped into the room, leaning against the wall as he gasped for breath. No longer able to contain his rampaging pheromones, he allowed them to release wantonly.

07: 【Master, your pheromone levels are too high! You have already broken through the threshold of your susceptibility period!】

“Xiao Jin.” Li Xiao chased his way inside, instantly hit by the overbearing attack of Alpha pheromones, to the point where even his skin could faintly feel a stinging pain.

The dim light filtered in from the dilapidated skylight above. The Song Jin before his eyes was already drenched in sweat, and the gaze he looked over with was burning and laced with an aggressive edge, as if wanting to tear him to pieces.

Li Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, understanding the situation in an instant.

This kid had reached his susceptibility period.