Among the crowd of high-ranking officers present was Li Bo, face wrapped up like a pig’s head.
He hid at the back, waiting for Jing Xi to be officially reprimanded.
But when he heard that last line, his cheeks went green, then red.

Chi Yao, having vented, felt much lighter. He turned and walked away.

Pei Zhenyue almost called him back, but stopped himself.
He knew well enough: Chen Bingfeng and Zhao Hongyi had colluded for years, targeting Jing Xi at every turn.

Resources mismatched his strength. Reinforcements sent his way were sabotaged. On top of it, constant slander and suspicion to endure.

Jing Xi might wear aloofness on the surface, but the pressure was real.

And from the day he cut ties with Chen Bingfeng, it seemed he’d decided not to swallow it anymore.
That was a good thing.

Everything worth having had to be fought for, and obstacles deserved to be swept aside, not ignored and left free to trample.

That warning earlier may have looked like it was aimed at faceless others—but it had been a declaration of war against Zhao Hongyi and Chen Bingfeng.

Pei Zhenyue understood the meaning very clearly. But understanding didn’t change reality. Jing Xi had roughed someone up. It had to be handled.

“Call medics, get him treated first. Report again once he’s conscious.” Pei Zhenyue ordered an adjutant.

“Yes, sir!”

Zhao Hongyi rushed over only to see Jing Xi already walking away. He couldn’t keep the anger from his tone.
“Old Pei, you’re just letting him walk?”

Pei Zhenyue replied evenly, “What else? We don’t even know the details yet. You want me to hold court right here?”

“At least detain him in headquarters until this is investigated—” Zhao Hongyi pressed.

“You’re teaching me how to do my job now?” Pei Zhenyue’s stare flicked his way.

The surrounding officers, who’d been sticking around hoping for gossip, scattered instantly at the sight of two giants ready to clash.

By the time Chi Yao returned to Jing Xi’s small house, the news of him brutalizing someone in public had already spread like wildfire through HQ.

Just inside the door, a cat darted out at him, eyes wary.
Once it realized he was its master, it strutted away lazily.

“Come here,” Chi Yao called, stepping into the living room.

It was a casual order. The cat was arrogant, only obedient when it felt like it.

Sensing his foul mood, YaoYao hesitated, then reluctantly hopped onto the sofa armrest—washing a paw midair before being abruptly snatched up.

“Meowww!”

Chi Yao hugged the cat hard, buried his face, and felt the sting of tears again.

“Your master did this on purpose. Swapped me in during his heat just to make me suffer. Too cruel.”

The cat yowled indignantly, fur ruffled all over.

Pulling up the terminal, he dialed himself. The other side picked up quickly.

Jing Xi: “What is it?”

Chi Yao: “If I don’t use the suppressant, what else stops the crying?”

Jing Xi frowned. “You haven’t injected it?”

Chi Yao sneered. “And who knows what you had sent over?”

“I wouldn’t poison myself,” Jing Xi retorted coldly.

“That’s debatable. What if it’s just some sedative drug?”

When Jing Xi stayed silent, Chi Yao sprawled on the sofa, stroking the cat.
“Say nothing, and fine—I’ll go to work like this every day. The whole HQ watching me cry rivers daily. That’ll be quite the spectacle.”

“…” Jing Xi fell silent.

Chi Yao sniffled, eyes red.
“And if pheromones leak… what if I trigger some omegas’ heats? And what if I can’t hold back—”

“Go to the study,” Jing Xi cut him off sharply.

Grinning triumphantly, cat in arms, Chi Yao headed upstairs.

On-screen, Jing Xi watched his cat being “abused,” face stiff. “Handle it gently. It’s suffering.”

“I’m enjoying myself. Isn’t that enough?”

“…Scum.” Jing Xi thought darkly. The man even bullied a cat.

He beckoned. His hound Yinwei padded over, glaring viciously through the feed.

Once Chi Yao entered the study, his expression stiffened—because on screen Jing Xi had braided Yinwei’s fur into ridiculous little ponytails.

The once fierce level-five mutant hound now radiated utter silliness.

“Spare my cat, I’ll spare your dog,” Jing Xi said flatly, comb in hand.

Chi Yao smirked. “It’s ugly, not me. What’s it to do with me?”

Jing Xi patted Yinwei. “Go show Li Yuan your new hairstyle.”

“Woo!” The dog bounded off eagerly.

“Wait—!” Chi Yao barked.

Jing Xi called the hound back. If the big mutt ran off flaunting that hairdo, even his leader’s dignity would drop into the mud.

After a stand-off, Chi Yao released the cat. It leapt down, kicking him hard in the chest with its back legs in parting.

“…The whole Jing family are bastards,” he muttered.

“And now?” he demanded.

Jing Xi said curtly, “Left.”

Chi Yao trudged to the left-hand bookshelves. “And?”

“Bottom.”

As the tears welled up again, irritation tightened his voice. “Will it kill you to use more than two words?”

“Center drawer,” Jing Xi replied.

“…F*cking knew it.”

Inside were boxes and stacks of books.

“Third book. Don’t touch the rest.”

Chi Yao gave a cold laugh. “What if I do?”

“XiXi—” was all Jing Xi said.

“…Damn.” The deadweight would be his ruin.

The third was a children’s storybook, twenty or thirty years old, neatly preserved.

Flipping through, he found nothing inside.

“And then?”

Two long minutes passed before Jing Xi muttered quietly, “…Hold it. Sleep with it.”

Chi Yao: “???”

Five minutes later, Jing Xi ended the call, face stiff as he replayed the image of Chi Yao—in his body—tearing up but still smirking. His own ears flushed red.

At that moment Fang Liang knocked.
“Boss, Tiger’s leader has arrived at Aquarius Station 7.”

Jing Xi steadied his expression. “Let’s go.”

…

On the sofa, Chi Yao leafed through the storybook.

“Over twenty years old, still reading this?” he snickered, though a strange familiarity nagged him. Maybe some edition he’d seen years ago, during his insomnia.

Ten minutes later the book slid from his hand to the carpet. He was fast asleep.

---

Seventh Station.

Jing Xi sat in the reception lounge as a burly alpha stomped in, trailed by thuggish underlings.

“That’s the Tiger Boss, Meng Dahu,” Fang Liang murmured.

Meng Dahu plopped down opposite him, men glaring like wolves from behind.

Jing Xi set down his teacup with a light clink.

Yet that was enough to make the entire Tiger crew shudder back half a step.

Meng Dahu’s leg twitched, ready to flee.

“…,” Jing Xi said nothing.

Fang Liang explained smoothly. “Relax. Our Boss called you here to talk serious business.”

“Serious business?” Meng Dahu tugged his fur coat around himself. “What ‘serious’ is there in piracy?”

“…I heard your crew has stolen stockpiled military gear. I want to talk about that,” Jing Xi said.

Ah—so this was a business deal? Meng Dahu’s heart steadied. He straightened.

“Of course! No one better than Tiger when it comes to scavenging the battlefield. Name a model—we can get it, no problem!”

Jing Xi: “I want a complete list of every piece of military hardware you’ve stolen. I’ll take it all.”

Fang Liang: “?!”
Li Yuan: “?!!”

Why buy junk? Half that scrap was unsalvageable!

“Uh… all of it?” Meng Dahu blinked. Was he hearing right?

“Yes. Itemize each piece and its source,” Jing Xi said.

“…And… money?” Meng stammered.

“We’ll sign a formal contract. Trade ore against gear. You name the price.”

Ecstatic, Meng Dahu nearly pinched himself to be sure it wasn’t a dream. His underlings looked equally dazed.

“Three days,” Jing Xi continued. “Bring the list here for transaction.”

“No need! Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll deliver!”

“Fine.”

Meng Dahu grinned. “Working with Boss Chi really is refreshing. Straightforward, bold!”

But Jing Xi’s next words made him stiffen.

“I don’t condone battlefield looting. I’ll pay to buy back this haul. But if I catch you doing it again—”

Cutting off their livelihood?

Meng Dahu’s scalp prickled, but he forced a grin.
“No problem! If Extreme Shadow forbids it, then we won’t. We’ll find other work!”

The profits from this alone were enough to retire on. Only a fool would refuse.

So the Tiger came trembling in—and left bursting with glee.

Once the doors shut, Li Yuan blurted, “Boss, what on earth? Paying them for scrap? Why not just rob them—”

Jing Xi calmly sipped his tea. “If we just rob, what makes us any different from common bandits?”

Li Yuan: “…”
But… weren’t we bandits?

Fang Liang murmured, “Their pricing won’t be cheap.”

“Two batches of grade‑four ore will cover it,” said Jing Xi.

Li Yuan and Fang Liang winced. Hundreds of carts of rare ore handed away—for trash. This wasteful habit of his needed fixing!

“And when it’s delivered, split into teams to return everything to its original sites.”

Both: “……!”

Return them…?!

---

At military HQ, Pei Zhenyue was drowning in work.

After an entire afternoon of heated argument, the generals decided Jing Xi would remain under inspection—but Pei Zhenyue did manage to secure Cetus for him.

…

The next day, Chi Yao awoke near noon, rubbing sore temples, wiping eyes—and realized. Dry. Not crying.

Had that book really worked?

Where other alphas relied on omegas to endure their heats, Jing Xi relied on children’s picture books.

Chi Yao sat up grinning.

Just about to go bother that princess‑cat, he froze. Wrong body. This was his own room.

Immaculately tidy. He barely recognized it. On the desk by the window sat a half‑assembled model—a Flying Dragon battleship, Jing Xi’s personal kind.

A knock at the door. Chi Yao wandered out lazily. Fang Liang was waiting.

“Boss, Tiger’s crew is at the station. Time to finalize the deal.”

“Finalize?” Chi Yao poured himself water. “What deal?”

Assuming he was still foggy with sleep, Fang Liang quickly explained.

“They’ve brought everything. This afternoon we’ll inventory, then return them to their planets.”

Chi Yao chuckled. This spendthrift brat. Waste his own resources, fine. But wasting his?

“Return? No. We’re keeping it.”

“…?” Fang Liang blinked.

Chi Yao washed his face, threw on a jacket. “Let’s go.”

“Tiger’s asking for ten billion credits,” Fang Liang said cautiously on the way. “About three hundred carts of grade‑four ore.”

Chi Yao’s stride turned predatory, a crooked smile tugging his lips.
“Ten billion? Sure, I can pay. Let’s see if they dare take it.”

Fang Liang: “???”