Inside the escape ship, Lin Quan and the other two, Lu Youqi, frantically searched all the surveillance feeds but couldn’t find the white mecha anywhere.

“Where did it go?!” Lin Quan yelled hysterically.

After a series of physical and psychological blows, Lin Quan was on the verge of a breakdown.

Lu Youqi: “Scan the hull!”

Programmer: “Yes, sir!”

A virtual screen popped up, displaying a 3D model of the escape ship. After a few rotations, they finally found an anomaly on the bottom of the hull.

The camera zoomed in. Lu Youqi briefly glanced at the location and his face changed drastically.

The spot where the mecha was standing was right over the energy bay!

“Send the AI patrols to get rid of him!”

Outside the escape ship, Rong Shi pulled out his long sword and fired several armor-piercing rounds at the opening.

The sturdy hull was instantly shattered.

He grabbed the crumbling hull and forcefully tore it outwards, making the opening at the bottom of the energy bay larger and larger.

Practice makes perfect. Rong Shi skillfully cut the reactor’s circuits and kicked the energy stone out into space with one foot.

[01: Waaah, my food!]

Rong Shi: “Can you still eat?”

[01: I’m crying because I can’t eat anymore. My heart hurts so much QuQ]

Rong Shi: “…”

Since when does an AI have a heart?

After throwing out half of them and hearing movement inside, Rong Shi stopped and stood by the opening, waiting.

He blew up every AI patrol that came.

In front of the live stream, Song Yu rested his chin on his hand and smiled.

“This violent aesthetic, I like it.”

The comment section scrolled by rapidly—

“I like it too!”

“Like +1”

“Watching the Chairman fight and destroy things is so satisfying hahaha”

“Watching His Highness watch the Chairman fight is what’s truly satisfying [slurp]”

“The Lin and Lu dogs are in danger!”

“Drag them out and make them tour space in an open-top mecha!”

Qin Luo sat casually cross-legged on the floor next to Song Yu, laughing uncontrollably at Rong Shi on the screen.

“Good thing I’m not Big Shot Rong’s enemy. This is too tragic, hahaha—”

Metal fragments flew everywhere. After all the AI patrols were destroyed, Rong Shi unhurriedly continued to destroy the energy reactors.

Inside the escape pod, listening to the incessant AI warnings, Lin Quan, Lu Youqi, and the others panicked.

The programmer was drenched in cold sweat. Looking at the row of red numbers on the panel, his voice trembled. “Commander! Only 5% of energy is left! We have to move now!”

Once they ran out of energy, they could only surrender.

Lin Quan slammed his fist heavily on the table and ordered them to prepare the escape craft.

The escape ship was already small enough; it was impossible to fit another escape ship inside.

To survive, they only had a small, tens-of-meters-long escape craft to leave in.

The energy dropped to 3%. Red lights flashed continuously throughout the escape ship, and the alarm was deafening.

Lin Quan, Lu Youqi, and Lin Yue ran into the escape craft and managed to pilot it out of the hangar just before the energy was completely depleted.

Looking at the boundless space ahead, the three of them, drenched in sweat, slumped into their seats and let out a long sigh of relief.

The craft suddenly shook violently.

Lin Quan’s face was ashen. “What’s going on?!”

If there was another accident, they could only eject the escape pods. But the escape pods could only drift in space waiting for rescue; there was no escape!

The pilot had barely warmed his seat when a huge red warning appeared on the screen.

A loud cracking sound came from above, and a sword stabbed through.

“Ah—!” Lin Yue scrambled backward, screaming in collapse.

After the sword tip retracted, it stabbed in again less than a second later.

Lu Youqi watched as the cracks formed along a single line, his heart pounding with fear.

What was he trying to do?!

Soon, his guess became reality.

The craft began to split along the cracks. Under high pressure, even a small crack was fatal.

“Open the escape pods!” Lu Youqi screamed hysterically.

“Hahahaha—” In front of the live stream, Qin Luo fell to the ground laughing. “Isn’t Big Shot Rong being a bit too ruthless? Hahaha—”

The comment section was filled with people laughing just as hysterically.

“Lin dog: Stop killing, stop killing! If you keep killing, there’ll be nowhere left to run!”

“Lu dog: Mentality has collapsed.”

“This is so much like me chasing a cockroach.”

“If they had surrendered earlier, they could have kept their last shred of dignity. Now, they don’t even have their underwear left.”

Rong Shi stood on top of the escape craft, watching as it split in half. Three escape pods ejected.

He pressed a few buttons on the control panel. His left palm transformed and opened, and three chains shot out, accurately binding the escape pods.

The supreme commander of the rebel allied army was captured, and the remaining forces fell into disarray.

Before dawn, the First Legion and the garrison had surrounded the rebels.

Before they could send a signal, the rebels’ signals of surrender came one after another.

As the first ray of the star’s light dispelled the darkness, the war on Snow Star officially came to an end.

The students who had been watching the live stream all night felt it was all a bit unreal.

They had been prepared to sacrifice themselves, and that was it?

Why did it feel like they had participated in a large-scale team-building exercise?

On their way back to the academy, seeing the ground ravaged by bombs, they gradually came to their senses.

This was real war.

It was just that someone had shouldered unimaginable pressure to protect them.

---

Imperial Capital Star

Shen Sinian opened the heavy metal hatch. It was dark inside.

His leather shoes clicked on the metal floor.

He stopped in front of a cell door, looking through the metal bars at Ji Ling sitting on the bed inside.

As if sensing something, Ji Ling looked up from his daze.

When he saw Shen Sinian’s face, he screamed as if he had seen a ghost and shrank back against the wall.

“You have moments of fear too?” Shen Sinian looked as if he had seen something interesting and sneered. “I thought you were fearless.”

Ji Ling’s chin trembled as he gasped for breath. It took him a long while to calm down.

“Are you here to gloat?!”

“Gloat?” Shen Sinian shook his head and chuckled. “No, I’m here to thank you.”

He took out an exquisite teapot from the food box he brought and poured a cup of tea, placing it on the small window for passing items.

“Thank you for taking care of my husband and child for so many years. This is a token of my gratitude.”

Ji Ling subconsciously followed his hand to look.

The beautiful white porcelain teacup was filled with tea, its fragrance spreading through the narrow cell.

Just by the smell, Ji Ling knew what kind of tea it was.

Many years ago, he had used this very teacup and this very tea to send Shen Sinian on his way.

Fear made Ji Ling’s eyes widen.

“You… you knew I drugged it all along?!”

Shen Sinian stood with his hands in the pockets of his white coat, his posture tall and slender.

“No matter what, I was born into a family of doctors. Did you think you could use such a low-quality drug on me? Are you looking down on me?”

Ji Ling: “Then why did you drink it?!”

Shen Sinian: “If I didn’t drink it, how could I have fooled you?”

Having reached this point, Ji Ling was no longer afraid. He laughed tragically. “You’re so capable, but in the end, didn’t your husband and child still fall into my hands? Do you know how many chances I had to kill that child?”

Shen Sinian’s expression grew cold. “The debt I owe my child, I can never repay in this lifetime. But I am not just his father; I am also the Queen of the empire.”

“So what if you’re the Queen?!” Ji Ling suddenly exploded with rage. “Can the Queen just abandon her family?! I hate you hypocrites the most!”

“The one who abandoned you back then wasn’t me. You don’t need to take your anger out on me.”

Shen Sinian took a thin cigarette from his breast pocket and toyed with it between his fingers. “The responsibilities of being Queen are too heavy, and I have to be on guard against psychopaths like you. It really isn’t suitable for me.”

Ji Ling gritted his teeth in anger. Just as he was about to retort, he heard the other say, “Sometimes I think you’re pitiful, having never gotten what you wanted in this life. But other times, I think you’re amazing, willing to sacrifice everything to achieve your goals.”

Shen Sinian looked at him faintly and said softly, “Your base is gone.”

Ji Ling froze.

Shen Sinian: “Those children will grow up normally. There will be no more modified omegas like you in the future. Are you happy?”

Ji Ling’s eyes widened slightly, and he shouted angrily, “What does that have to do with me? Why should I be happy?!”

“Your ending cannot be changed, but there is still time for others. No one will follow in your footsteps again. I’m just letting you know.” At the door, Shen Sinian suddenly stopped. “This is probably the last time we will meet. Farewell.”

The hatch closed, and everything fell into silence.

After a long time, Ji Ling broke down in the silence, crying his heart out.

---

Back in the command cabin, Song Zheng and Song Yu were discussing the next steps.

Seeing him arrive, Song Zheng stood up and went to take his hand.

“A corner of the chambers was bombed. After the war is over, which palace do you want to live in? I’ll go with you—”

Before he could finish, the hand in his slipped away.

Shen Sinian held a cigarette between his lips and smiled at him. “I didn’t agree to go back with you, Song Zheng.”

Song Zheng: “…………”

Shen Sinian had a strong personality, and his decisions were always hard to change. Song Zheng felt he couldn’t force the issue. He tried to change the subject. “Smoke less; it’s not good for your health. You didn’t use to smoke.”

He reached for the cigarette in his mouth, but Shen Sinian dodged him.

Shen Sinian: “I never knew being single was this great either.”

“…………”

Song Zheng followed him and said in a low voice, “Come back. Do you want to leave me all alone in the palace?”

Shen Sinian: “We’ll talk after I’ve had my fun.”

The two of them couldn’t come to an agreement. Song Yu, who had overheard their conversation, looked over.

“I, on the other hand, think being single is very bitter.”

Shen Sinian: “…”

Song Yu finished organizing the plan and saved it. He stood up to leave and said casually, “My gege’s body is so delicious. If I can’t have it in this life, I’ll drag him into another one.”

Shen Sinian / Song Zheng: “…”

Wanting to have Rong Shi might be a bit difficult.

At the door, Song Yu turned his head to look at Song Zheng. “I’ll leave the rest of the mess for you to clean up. I’m going to Snow Star.”

Song Zheng called out to him and said thoughtfully, “You’re already eighteen and an adult. It’s a semi-public state now. I was planning to formally announce your identity after this is all over, but my health isn’t good right now. How about we skip the heir ceremony and I just abdicate to—”

“In your dreams.” Song Yu didn’t buy it at all. “Now that Dad is back, you have no intention of working? I want to have a serious relationship with my wife. I’m busy.”

Song Zheng: “…”

---

Snow Star—

Seeing the alpha who walked in, Lu Youqi’s eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground, his mind a complete blank.

“You… how are you here?!”

Rong Guang stood outside the bars, his expression silent. “If I’m not here, where should I be?”

“No… impossible, absolutely impossible!” Lu Youqi muttered to himself.

Although he hadn’t seen Rong Guang’s body back then, he had confirmed repeatedly that he was dead! Why was he standing here?!

Rong Guang: “I’ve always been curious. Why did you betray me back then?”

One sentence sent Lu Youqi’s thoughts back to his youth.

He gritted his teeth, still unable to let it go.

“You will never understand how painful it is to be overshadowed by your wings!”

Rong Shi leaned against the corner with his arms crossed, watching them dig up old scores. He suddenly found it utterly absurd.

Lu Youqi sent people to assassinate his father, simply because of his rampant jealousy.

The star set in the west. The father and son walked out of the interrogation room.

Rong Guang’s face was expressionless. For a moment, Rong Shi couldn’t guess what he was feeling.

He thought for a moment and comforted him, “His son is also the eternal number two. Luckily, Xiao Yu and I are strong enough that he can’t bully us.”

Rong Guang: “…”

Be a decent person, you brat.

Outside the command cabin, Rong Guang said in a low voice, “There’s a lot of clean-up work to do. I’ll be very busy for the next while. I’m really worried about your father being all alone back home. Make a trip and bring him over.”

“I was planning to go in the next two days even if you didn’t ask,” Rong Shi replied.

Professor Ji and Professor Qin were already developing a restorative agent. Bringing his father over would allow for nearby treatment and an earlier recovery.

The cabin door opened. Rong Guang walked in as he spoke.

“I’ll send a few people with you. Remember—”

He stopped halfway through his sentence. A shadow flashed before his eyes. He turned his head to see his son and daughter-in-law already embracing.

Rong Shi breathed in the familiar scent from Song Yu’s neck, tightening his arms to hold him close.

“Why didn’t you say you were coming?”

Song Yu’s gaze swept over his slightly parted lips, his voice deeper than usual. “I couldn’t wait to see you.”

Little Song Cat’s gaze was too intense. Rong Shi’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

“Your heart is beating so fast.” Song Yu’s long fingers gently grazed his chin, his beautiful eyes half-lidded. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Gulp.

Rong Shi heard himself swallow.

In the past, Little Song Cat was always direct, pouncing on him for a flurry of messy kisses. But now, he had changed his tactics.

No, I can’t resist.

This little kitten knows how to tease him too well.

Rong Shi grabbed his wrist and strode towards the rest cabin, saying without turning back, “I’m taking Xiao Yu to rest. We’ll leave directly to pick up Dad afterwards. You can handle your own business.”

Having successfully hooked the rabbit, Song Yu smiled wantonly and waved at Rong Guang behind him. “Don’t wait for us for dinner.”

Rong Guang, who was left behind: “…”

As if he doesn’t have a wife?

---

Author’s Note:

Song Cat: We’re almost at the end. Let me top for once.

Rong Bunny: I, the official top, haven’t even topped yet. What kind of sweet dreams are you having?