After making a round of inspections, Jing Xi felt a bit hungry. Looking at the time, he realized it was past lunch.

Normally, Chi Yao would have come over by now. What was he busy with today?

“Boss, have you eaten? What would you like? I’ll go get takeout,” Yan Kai came over from the command cabin.

Jing Xi shook his head: “I’m going to the rest cabin. Come report if there’s anything.”

Yan Kai responded: “Alright.”

As soon as the rest cabin door opened, Jing Xi smelled the fragrance of sweet and sour pork ribs.

His eyes flashed, and he unconsciously quickened his pace toward the kitchen.

Through the glass window, he could see Chi Yao’s figure busy at the stove with his sleeves rolled up.

“Doesn’t it make you dizzy?” Jing Xi entered.

Chi Yao turned his head. He was wearing two layers of purification masks plus a transparent protective shield, looking less like he was cooking and more like handling some toxic gas leak.

Jing Xi: “…”

“You actually changed shifts on time today?” Chi Yao smiled. “I was planning to call you after I finished cooking.”

“There’s still some distance from the southern area, so it’s not busy right now.”

Jing Xi’s gaze fell on him, unable to look away.

The person he loved had made a meal and was waiting for him to get off work—this was a daily routine he had never dared to hope for.

“If you’re hungry, go eat some fruit first. It’ll be ready soon—”

Before Chi Yao finished speaking, a pair of hands reached from behind and encircled his waist.

“Yao Yao.” Jing Xi hugged him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder.

Chi Yao’s eyes moved slightly, and he chuckled softly: “What? So hungry you can’t move?”

Jing Xi watched the steam rising from the pot and tightened his arms.

“Thank you.”

Chi Yao estimated the time and turned off the heat to open the lid.

“What will you thank me with?”

Jing Xi thought for a moment: “Next time I’ll make your favorite dish—stir-fried strawberry tips?”

Chi Yao: “…”

Smelling the fragrance of sweet and sour pork ribs, Jing Xi said generously: “Don’t like it? Then whatever you want to eat, just ask.”

After plating the dish, Chi Yao glanced at the reflection on the metal surface.

His eyes were normal.

He removed the protective shield and turned around, teasing: “Can you let me live a few more days?”

Jing Xi looked at his beautiful eyes: “Disasters last a thousand years—you’ll definitely live longer than me.”

Chi Yao put his arm around him and laughed: “Are you praising or insulting me?”

Jing Xi’s eyes showed a hint of amusement: “What do you think?”

At the dining table, Jing Xi suddenly remembered something and spoke up: “Grandfather has already contacted a medical team. I’m planning to go back to the Capital Star once things are settled here. Do you want to come back with me?”

Chi Yao: “What would I go for?”

“If those people are reliable, I want them to examine your body.” Jing Xi looked at him. “And Qiu Tianlin will be there too. We can take the opportunity to probe the situation.”

Qiu Tianlin was an advisor to the illegal biological research institute and couldn’t possibly be an outsider.

Chi Yao half-lowered his eyes to conceal his emotions and said indifferently: “I have something to do. I can’t go.”

Jing Xi paused slightly, not expecting him to refuse.

“Then when are you free? I’ll coordinate the time with them.”

Chi Yao put down his chopsticks and picked up his glass of water, drinking a large gulp.

After the war started, all alcoholic beverages were prohibited.

“Not sure. I might never be free.”

Jing Xi looked at him deeply and didn’t press further, picking up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib and putting it in his mouth.

“It’s delicious.”

Chi Yao put down his water glass and watched him eat the ribs with puffed cheeks, inexplicably cute.

“Were you born liking such sour things?”

Jing Xi spit out the bone: “A certain boy who loved sweets always gave me the things he hated eating. Over time, I got used to eating them.”

Chi Yao: “…”

So getting used to sourness through continuous sourness is your experience?

In the afternoon, the Flying Dragon main force entered the southern mountain area.

The density of wild beasts here surprised everyone.

Although the detection system had already checked the number of wild beasts in the area, seeing it with their own eyes was still shocking.

Jing Xi was so busy in the command cabin that he had no time to drink water, while Chi Yao sat in the rest cabin staring blankly at Jing Xi’s photo floating in mid-air.

Loss of self-control was the first step of beastification.

When it reached complete loss of control, there would be no going back.

Currently, the only thing that could stop this process was the toxin on the Ghost Mask.

Chun Qin had extracted it for research and confirmed it could indeed inhibit beastification, but required long-term inhalation. Once the medication was stopped, there would be a rebound.

But long-term inhalation would greatly shorten one’s lifespan.

After thinking for a long time, Chi Yao sent a message to Chun Qin.

[Prepare the medicine.]

The reply came quickly.

[Have you thought it through?]

Chi Yao sneered: “Do I have a choice?”

After making the decision, he felt relieved.

He had long had a deep understanding of his own ending—it was only a matter of time.

Returning to the command cabin, he didn’t see Jing Xi at a glance. There was no one at the command seat.

Before he could walk over, he heard a soldier in charge of monitoring shout anxiously.

“The Flying Dragon signal is intermittent—we’ve lost contact for one minute!”

Chi Yao’s expression changed, and he quickened his pace.

“What happened?”

Yan Kai turned around and saw it was him, speaking rapidly: “The Boss personally piloted the mecha to the front line, but somehow the signal is very poor. We currently can’t locate his position.”

Chi Yao pushed him aside and walked to the monitoring station, his gaze sweeping over the layers of virtual screens.

“The location of the last signal?”

A white coordinate was quickly marked on the holographic map.

32 kilometers in a straight line from the cave.

Before Yan Kai could say anything more, he saw Chi Yao striding away with his long legs in a hurry.

“Where are you going?”

In the mountain area, Jing Xi landed the Flying Dragon in a dense fir forest.

“How is it?”

Flying Dragon AI: [Severe interference. Part of the communication and positioning system has been destroyed. Emergency repairs in progress—]

Jing Xi’s expression wasn’t good.

That thing’s influence was increasing.

The virtual screen in front of him suddenly showed circles of red warnings, and the enlarged map marked a series of dense coordinates—these were the locations of nearby level-five mutants.

As soon as the warning lit up, a giant wolf ran out from the bushes and pounced on the mecha with a roar.

The claws of level-five mutants were very sharp and could pierce even the mecha’s outer shell.

In the few short minutes waiting for the mecha to repair, this small area had been occupied by high-level mutant beasts.

Jing Xi endured his headache and wielded his long blade, but soon several mutant wolves were hanging at his feet.

“Awooo—!”

“Ugh!”

Each time he heard a wolf howl, Jing Xi’s vision swayed.

Even with the Flying Dragon blocking it, the sonic attack hadn’t weakened much.

“Xi Xi!”

Hearing Chi Yao’s voice in his ear, Jing Xi snapped back to attention. A level-five wolf king had just jumped onto the mecha’s head, its claws preparing to stab the position of the mecha’s core chip.

Jing Xi threw it to the ground and stabbed down with the blade’s tip.

More mutant wolves rushed up. Jing Xi was about to retreat first when a black mecha appeared before his eyes.

“Are you injured?”

Hearing Chi Yao’s voice in his ear again, Jing Xi realized they weren’t communicating through normal channels—the sound was directly transmitted to his brain through Xiao Hong.

“I’m fine.” Jing Xi asked, “Why did you come?”

Hearing this, Chi Yao laughed in exasperation.

“I was afraid if I came any later, I’d be a widower.”

Jing Xi: “…”

The beast horde was endless. After Chi Yao dealt with several difficult level-five wolf kings before him, he grabbed the Flying Dragon and ran.

Jing Xi looked at the distance they’d covered and signaled Chi Yao to stop.

Chi Yao: “Won’t feel comfortable unless you get hurt?”

“I want to test the degree of sonic interference at this distance.” Jing Xi had him land.

Chi Yao: “Can’t you let them do this kind of thing?”

Jing Xi: “I’m not at ease.”

If the data was wrong, all subsequent decisions would have problems. He couldn’t let the Flying Dragon take that risk.

Chi Yao landed helplessly and sent him a video call.

In the pop-up virtual screen, Jing Xi’s face was slightly pale, and the hair at his forehead was already soaked with sweat.

Chi Yao frowned: “How close did you get?”

Jing Xi shook his head: “20 kilometers. When I came before, the sonic wave’s range of influence wasn’t this far.”

The two tested together every kilometer.

The results made both their expressions look unpleasant.

With the Flying Dragon’s current military equipment, they could only get to 20 kilometers outside the cave. Trying to go further in was impossible.

Returning to the warship, Jing Xi staggered when jumping down from the mecha and was steadied by a hand.

“So weak you can barely stand but still running around?” Chi Yao pulled him over and wiped away the sweat sliding down his forehead. “Do you want me to carry you to the emergency room?”

Jing Xi shook his head: “It’s not that serious. I’ll be fine after resting.”

Chi Yao sneered coldly: “Do you think I believe you?”

He really did look angry.

Jing Xi’s voice was very soft: “Yao Yao—”

Chi Yao: “Don’t act cute. I’m not falling for it.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Just as they walked out of the hangar, Yan Kai came running over in a hurry.

“Boss, are you okay?!”

Jing Xi: “I’m fine.”

Yan Kai retreated behind Jing Xi to follow along, sneaking glances at Chi Yao who was walking alongside with his hands in his pockets and a cold face. He quietly pushed him and gave a thumbs up: “Boss, you’re awesome!”

Chi Yao snorted coldly, too lazy to speak.

Yan Kai: “…”

Just a bit moody.

Returning to the command cabin, Jing Xi’s terminal rang. It was Jin Ze.

“Boss, those bastards from Cygnus are really worthless!”

In the screen, Jin Ze was gritting his teeth. “As soon as they arrived, the garrison stopped working again!”

Jing Xi: “How’s Cygnus’s rescue progress?”

“Rescue my ass!” Jin Ze couldn’t help but curse. “They came to sightsee! Taking photos everywhere, doing that whole leadership inspection and comfort routine. Besides taking photos, they haven’t done anything!”

Jing Xi frowned slightly.

Jin Ze: “It’s bad enough they don’t work, but they’re also bossing our people around. The rescue team’s workload is heavier than before!”

Jing Xi listened to him finish and was silent for a moment: “I’ll contact him.”

Chi Yao watched him hang up the communication and switch to Chen Bingfeng’s contact page, pressing down on his hand that was about to dial.

“You don’t need to beg him.”

Jing Xi looked up: “I’m not planning to beg him.”

Chi Yao: “Even if you’re not begging, you’ll still have to suffer grievances.”

Chen Bingfeng could do this because he calculated that Jing Xi had no way to ignore the refugees and beast horde. In the end, if things went well, it would all be Chen’s credit; if not, it would all be blamed on Jing Xi. He had nothing to lose either way.

Reaching out now, the other party wouldn’t soften because of it. Instead, he’d become even more excessive to manipulate Jing Xi. Only if Jing Xi gave in would there be a chance.

Chi Yao could think of this, and of course Jing Xi could too.

But this war couldn’t be dragged out.

Currently, nearly half of Planet 333’s land had been affected. If it dragged on, it could very likely lead to a great migration, returning this planet to a wilderness state.

Also, personally, he hoped to end the war quickly and return to the Capital Star to see the medical experts.

Chi Yao’s body couldn’t be delayed either.

On this basis, just softening his attitude and being criticized by Chen Bingfeng, getting his shoes worn a bit—none of that mattered.

Jing Xi thought for a moment: “Then I’ll contact General Pei and have him step in to resolve it.”

“No.”

Chi Yao lowered his voice: “We can’t completely trust him yet.”

If Cygnus kept refusing to cooperate, the Flying Dragon would fall into a bitter battle, with the situation potentially even more difficult than at the beginning.

Jing Xi rubbed his throbbing forehead, feeling irritated.

After a moment, he stood up and walked out: “Let’s talk.”

Under Yan Kai’s astonished gaze, Chi Yao unhurriedly followed.

In the temporary rest room next to the command cabin, Chi Yao closed the door behind him and looked at Jing Xi: “What do you want to say?”

Jing Xi: “No matter what our relationship is privately, when it comes to business, I hope we don’t interfere too much with each other’s decisions.”

“Think I’m being too controlling?” The smile at Chi Yao’s lips was sarcastic. “Because I stopped you from giving in to Chen Bingfeng?”

Jing Xi looked at him expressionlessly: “I don’t care about these things.”

“You really don’t care.” Chi Yao nodded slowly and sneered. “Indeed, no one else could have worked under him for so many years like you did.”

Seeing his expression, Jing Xi knew he was very angry.

He had already upset him, and now causing such a scene—with Chi Yao’s personality, it would be strange if he wasn’t angry.

Jing Xi pulled his hand and softened his voice: “Yao Yao—”

Chi Yao pulled his hand back and turned his head away from him.

“You’re the general, I’m just a space pirate. I really don’t have the qualifications to give orders. From now on, you can do whatever you want. I won’t offer opinions anymore.”

Jing Xi frowned: “That’s not what I meant.”

“Whatever you mean.” Chi Yao turned to open the door. “Since you don’t need me for anything, I’m going back to sleep.”

His hand had just touched the sensor when Jing Xi hugged him from behind.

“I’m sorry—”

Chi Yao kept a cold face: “You did nothing wrong. Why apologize?”

Jing Xi: “I know you’re doing this for my own good. Please don’t be angry, okay?”

Chi Yao was indeed very angry.

Letting Jing Xi suffer another sonic attack, and then having to grovel to scum for the greater good.

Jing Xi racked his brain, trying hard to think of how to soothe Chi Yao’s mood.

His arms were suddenly pulled apart. Jing Xi’s heart tightened, but the next moment he was forcefully pressed against the door.

Chi Yao was so angry he bit his mouth twice. Hearing his pained sound, his tongue traced over the bite marks and explored into his slightly parted lips.

Jing Xi hugged him back, his fingers tightening as he endured his beast-like kiss.

Just when he felt about to lose control, Chi Yao finally released him.

“Breathe.”

Hearing Chi Yao’s reminder, Jing Xi realized he had forgotten to breathe.

He cupped Chi Yao’s face, their foreheads touching.

“I want to finish this as soon as possible.”

Their breathing was both unsteady. Chi Yao held him in front of himself, clearly able to feel his own racing heartbeat.

“Why the rush?”

Jing Xi looked up at him, about to speak, when he saw a flash of golden light in Chi Yao’s eyes.

In an instant, those beautiful eyes turned into beast pupils.

It happened again.

At noon in the kitchen, Chi Yao’s eyes had shown this same change.

They couldn’t delay any longer.

At the same time Jing Xi saw it, Chi Yao also saw the momentary change in his own eyes reflected in Jing Xi’s pupils.

His eyes darkened, and he released Jing Xi.

“I’m a bit tired. I’ll head back first.”

Jing Xi held onto his hand.

“I’m afraid I’ll forget later, so let me make this clear first.”

Chi Yao paused but didn’t turn around.

Jing Xi spoke in his usual cool voice.

“Even if one day you turn into a beast, our engagement won’t be canceled—”