Seeing that Jing Xi was silent for a long time, Chi Yao finally realized that there was something wrong with what he had just said.

It was missing the word “blood.” The meaning of the whole sentence was completely different.

The first time he tasted Jing Xi’s blood in the maze, it was sweet with a rich scent of alcohol, which almost made him unable to suppress his beastly transformation.

He could understand why that level five little cat pounced on Jing Xi.

If it weren’t for the fact that sucking too much blood would make his complexion pale and affect the quality of the photos, he would have grabbed Jing Xi and hung him from his belt, treating him as a mobile blood bag.

“Don’t misunderstand. I meant—” Seeing Jing Xi look over, Chi Yao carefully chose his words. “Your pheromone smells pretty good.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Don’t take a playboy’s harassment seriously.

Jing Xi tried to convince himself not to care.

But he couldn’t just tolerate it.

“Then do you want to try with me?” Jing Xi asked expressionlessly.

Lü Meng, who was bringing a dish over, was so shocked his expression went blank.

What did the boss just say?

He wanted to try with Chi Yao?!

His hand loosened, and the Kung Pao chicken he had just plated was offered to the earth.

“My chicken!”

Jiang Feng walked into the dining room, glanced at the ground, and walked around it.

“Boss, they’ve been picked up and are currently undergoing inspection at the base’s security hall.”

Jing Xi heard that, put down his chopsticks, got up, and left.

“Let’s go take a look.”

“Hey.”

Chi Yao called out to him but couldn’t stop him.

He scoffed, patted Yin Wei’s head, and followed him. “Let’s go, let’s watch the show.”

When Jing Xi arrived at the security hall, Chun Qin and Tie Xiong were sitting in the isolation room, waiting for the inspection results.

Chun Qin was the same as always: a long, elegant dress, black leather high heels, her hair in a bun, and a cross around her neck.

Tie Xiong had a wolf bone slung over his shoulder and was holding a book, his short legs swinging as he read seriously.

Jing Xi took a look and walked into the inspection room.

When the staff saw that it was the Flying Dragon’s commander, they immediately stood up and saluted.

“Major General Jing!”

Jing Xi nodded slightly, his gaze turning to the screen.

“What inspections did they do?”

The staff member said respectfully, “Basic infectious disease and virus screening.”

These inspections were a mandatory process for all visitors entering a military base. All inspection results and information would be uploaded to the military’s internal system.

Jing Xi motioned for him to move aside. He pressed a few keys on the control panel to retrieve the inspection reports from the database.

After a quick look, he permanently deleted them.

The base’s network hadn’t been opened yet. The information would be temporarily stored in the local database and then uploaded to the military’s internal system when the network was opened.

The staff member was anxious when he saw that Jing Xi had deleted the files. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Major General Jing, our boss said these files can’t be deleted—!”

He stopped talking when he met Jing Xi’s gaze.

There was no emotion in Jing Xi’s eyes, but it made him flinch.

“Here, what I say goes.”

The staff member lowered his head and quickly replied, “Yes.”

Jing Xi didn’t say anything else. He took his long strides and walked out.

The safety of the base was important, and inspections were necessary, but the military’s current internal system wasn’t safe. Leaving the data behind could cause problems.

“Didn’t you say you only tolerate the non-human ones?” Chi Yao said, leaning against the corridor with his hands in his pockets. “I feel like I’m being treated differently.”

“The non-human ones—” Jing Xi added without blinking an eye. “And women and children.”

Chi Yao: “…”

The two of them stood outside the isolation room. A moment later, the metal door opened.

“Boss!”

Seeing Tie Xiong’s eyes light up, he broke free from Chun Qin’s hand and rushed over like a cannonball. The corner of Jing Xi’s lips curved slightly, and he opened his arms to welcome him.

But Tie Xiong ignored him and jumped onto Chi Yao.

Jing Xi froze. “…”

He came back to his senses when he heard a scoff.

He was in his own body now. Tie Xiong couldn’t possibly be close to him.

“Boss! Why haven’t you been home for so long?” Tie Xiong wrapped his arms and legs around Chi Yao’s thighs, trying his best to climb up.

Chi Yao stood with his arms crossed, completely unmoved.

“Get down and stand properly.”

Tie Xiong looked up, his cheeks puffed out.

“Can’t I even climb up once?”

Chi Yao: “No.”

“I’ll let you climb.”

Tie Xiong heard this low, pleasant voice. He tilted his head to look at Jing Xi, and then immediately turned his head back.

“I’m not f*cking familiar with you.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Although all his homework was wrong, he had successfully changed half of his catchphrases.

“Hello.”

Chun Qin stood three steps away and greeted Jing Xi. “Thank you for taking care of our boss during this time.”

Her expression and tone were calm, and her voice was soft and low. She looked gentle and beautiful.

When he was in the Phantom, Jing Xi had felt that Chun Qin didn’t fit the word “space pirate” at all.

“It must have been a long journey,” Jing Xi said, nodding slightly. “Let’s go eat first.”

On the way, Tie Xiong hung on Chi Yao, swinging back and forth. He looked around and repeated the story of their journey from home to here, his mouth never stopping.

By the second time, Chi Yao was already annoyed.

“Are you a little chatterbox?”

“Chatterbox?” Tie Xiong hooked his arm around Chi Yao like a koala. “Is it a cake made with flowers? Is it delicious?”

He heard a chuckle. Chi Yao looked up at Jing Xi and only saw the faint smile lines about to disappear from the corner of his lips.

He casually swung his arm and threw the troublesome kid over.

“Let this big brother tell you.”

Tie Xiong didn’t know what was happening and was sent flying, but he was caught steadily the next second.

He looked up and saw that it was the pretty guy who was so mean to his boss.

He was a level he couldn’t deal with.

Jing Xi looked down and saw that Tie Xiong in his arms was quietly pulling back his chubby hands that were on him. His body was leaning slightly outward, and he was looking at him with caution.

Tie Xiong: “Hey, if you f*cking dare to be mean to me, the boss will lock you in a dark room.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Receiving Jing Xi’s dagger-like glare, Chi Yao: “…I never said that.”

He usually just did it without saying.

Tie Xiong cautiously poked Jing Xi with his index finger and quickly pulled it back. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes,” Jing Xi said, adjusting his posture and softening his voice. “I won’t be mean to you.”

Grumble—

Tie Xiong rubbed his stomach. “This lord is hungry.”

Jing Xi: “What do you want to eat? I’ll have them make it.”

Chi Yao: “…”

This kid.

He had just looked away and saw Yin Wei trotting over to Jing Xi, howling and barking.

“What is he saying?” Jing Xi asked, looking at him.

Chi Yao: “He’s ordering food.”

Jing Xi: “…”

With two more people, and Li Yuan’s group of four, Chi Yao and Jing Xi finally didn’t have to stare at a table full of chicken dishes.

But with more people, the atmosphere at the dinner table was very strange.

Jiang Feng and Fang Liang didn’t say a word.

They had never dreamed that they could sit at the same table and eat peacefully with the Phantom/Flying Dragon.

Li Yuan and Lü Meng started competing while they were eating. After finishing one chicken, the two hotheads grabbed a bottle of alcohol and went outside to compete in drinking.

Tie Xiong sat next to Yin Wei. Seeing how deliciously it was eating, he reached out to grab a piece of chicken from its bowl.

“No, you can’t.”

Hearing Chun Qin’s voice, his hand stopped. He quietly pulled it back, chewing on the chicken soup rice seriously, pretending that nothing had happened.

Jing Xi ate a few symbolic bites and then put down his chopsticks.

“Miss Chun Qin, has Chi Yao told you about the situation here?”

Chun Qin glanced at Chi Yao from the corner of her eye and said nonchalantly, “He mentioned a few things.”

Jing Xi: “Feel free to let me know if you need any support.”

Chun Qin nodded faintly and didn’t say anything else.

After dinner, Jing Xi followed Chi Yao and Chun Qin to Building 10.

Two more metal doors were added outside the original room.

When the innermost door was opened, an unpleasant smell filled the air.

Chi Yao’s foot that was about to step in retracted. His face was dark, and his entire body was screaming rejection.

“Put this on,” Jing Xi said, handing him a simple filter mask.

Inside the room, the mutated Alpha was tied to the bed by Xiao Lan. He seemed to be exhausted.

Chun Qin put on gloves and a mask and checked his hands, feet, neck, and other parts.

“The skin texture has changed, and he has rabbit fur on his hands and feet, but his bones are normal. The mutation level is about 10%.”

Chi Yao wore a mask and glanced at him from a distance.

“No need to explain. Hurry up.”

Chun Qin opened her medical box and took out several vials of reagents and a syringe. She mixed all the reagents and injected them into the mutated Alpha.

Jing Xi: “What kind of medicine is this?”

“A sedative and a stabilizer,” Chun Qin said, pulling out the syringe and throwing the needle into a recycling bottle. “There’s no targeted regression agent yet. These medicines can only delay the process. Whether he can return to a normal state depends on the person.”

Jing Xi: “It has to do with a person’s physical constitution?”

Chun Qin: “No, it has to do with willpower.”

Jing Xi frowned slightly.

Chun Qin took out a detection device and placed the patch on the Alpha’s neck. Various data immediately appeared on the virtual screen.

“The toxicity in his blood is decreasing, but even if he returns to normal this time, it will take at least a year for the toxins to be completely expelled. He won’t be able to live a normal life for a while.”

A year…

An ordinary person would undergo some kind of examination from time to time in a year.

If the toxins in his blood were flagged as abnormal, it would probably cause a mess.

Not to mention the panic it would cause if it was leaked to the public, it wouldn’t be a good thing even if it was just circulated within the military.

Jing Xi glanced at Chi Yao.

Is this also why he brought the Phantom mercenary group people back to his base?

In just five minutes, the crimson film in the mutated Alpha’s eyes faded, and the white fur on his face fell off, revealing his normal skin.

He let out a long sigh, as if he could finally breathe normally.

Chi Yao walked a few steps closer and looked down at him.

“Can you understand me?”

When the Alpha saw him, a flicker of light appeared in his eyes. He nodded with great effort, and tears rolled down the corners of his eyes.

Chi Yao: “You should know that you’re not a normal person anymore.”

The Alpha’s eyes widened slightly, and he nodded again.

Chi Yao: “You’ll be able to recover after tomorrow. You can go home, but something could happen at any time. Your parents and friends could die by your hands, or you can come with me, but you have to sever all ties with your past.”

Jing Xi was stunned and looked over.

Chi Yao’s eyes were half-closed, and his tone was casual, but Jing Xi knew that he was being serious.

Could it be that everyone in the Phantom was—

This choice was too difficult.

Forcing a person to give up everything from their past was almost like making them start their life all over again.

The Alpha’s chest rose and fell violently, and his tears soaked his hair.

Chi Yao didn’t have the patience to wait. He turned around and walked out.

“You have one day to think about it.”

Seeing him leave, Jing Xi wanted Chun Qin to leave too.

Chun Qin tilted her head to look at him. “I still need to observe. You and the boss can go first.”

Jing Xi looked at the mutated Alpha.

Although his symptoms were lessening, it didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous.

“It’s okay. I’ll be careful,” Chun Qin said, sensing his concern. The corner of her lips curved slightly. “You’re not what I imagined.”

Jing Xi was puzzled.

But Chun Qin looked away and re-examined the data on the instrument.

“You give me the same feeling as the boss sometimes.”

Jing Xi: “…”

A woman’s intuition was indeed sharper than a man’s.

When they walked out of Building 10, it was already dark outside. The evening wind blew, and it was bone-chillingly cold.

Chi Yao walked down the stairs one step at a time, his face very cold.

Halfway down, footsteps came from behind him.

“Why are you making him choose?” Jing Xi followed him, his voice devoid of emotion. “Does he really have a choice?”

“Of course he does,” Chi Yao scoffed, looking up at the starry sky. “If he’s willing to come back with me, it’s just a change of environment to start a new life. The universe is so big. What’s the difference where you live?”

Jing Xi stopped and looked at his back. “What if he’s not willing?”

Chi Yao sighed softly, smiling nonchalantly. “Then he can only be taken back and imprisoned in a strange place for the rest of his life. He won’t be able to see the people he wants to see or return to the home he wants to return to. He’ll grow old and die from mental torment.”

“The result is the same, but also different,” Chi Yao continued to walk down. “It depends on what he thinks—”

As soon as he took another step, his wrist was grabbed from behind.

“What about you?”

The surroundings were dim and silent. Jing Xi’s voice sounded a little deeper than usual. “Which one are you?”

Chi Yao paused and turned around.

A gust of wind messed up his hair.

For a moment, no one spoke. It was as if even the air had frozen.

“Me?” Chi Yao let out a soft laugh from his nose. “Which one do I look like?”

Jing Xi walked down a step and looked at his eyes with his head slightly lowered.

“Is there someone you want to see but can’t?”

Chi Yao: “Probably not.”

Probably?

Jing Xi pressed on. “Then is there a home you want to return to but can’t?”

An image flashed uncontrollably in front of Chi Yao’s eyes.

It was like an overexposed photo.

It was very bright, and everything was unclear.

On a lawn, there was a toddler running and an adult chasing him.

The adult’s upper body was hidden in the light. He could only see black pants and military boots.

He seemed to be able to hear the toddler’s laughter and a deep voice saying, “Yaoyao, slow down.”

The image flashed by, but it didn’t bring back any memories. Chi Yao only felt a tightness in his chest and a sense of annoyance.

He broke free from Jing Xi’s hand, turned around, and walked down, acting nonchalantly. “Home is something that just doesn’t suit me.”

“Chi Yao.”

When he reached the last step, he suddenly heard Jing Xi call his name.

Chi Yao stopped but didn’t turn back.

He didn’t know if his expression at this moment revealed something he didn’t want others to see.

Footsteps approached and finally stopped behind him.

A pair of hands rested on his arms. His right shoulder suddenly felt heavy.

Chi Yao: “…”

Why was this guy more depressed than he was?

“What, are you thinking about your childhood friend again?” Chi Yao stood still, looking at the faint lights of the dormitory building in front of him. “Since I’ve already agreed to you, I’ll definitely help you find him. No news might be good news.”

Jing Xi rested his forehead on his shoulder. His hands unconsciously tightened, and his eyes felt a little warm.

“If you had one, would you want to see them again?”

It was a nonsensical question, but Chi Yao understood.

After a long silence, he said in a low voice, “No.”

Jing Xi froze.

Chi Yao felt his change and a pang of frustration in his heart.

“You can’t go back. Seeing them again would only add to the trouble.”

Add to the trouble—

It was like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him. The cold spread from his bones. These four words made Jing Xi feel both cold and miserable.

“But I won’t tell you not to look for him,” Chi Yao said, joking casually. “It’s stupid to not make money when you can.”

After saying that, he slightly broke free from Jing Xi’s hands and walked away without looking back.

After crossing the entire patchy green belt and feeling that Jing Xi was no longer looking at him, Chi Yao’s face fell.

His family had never looked for him. What was the point of seeing them again?

For so many years, he had been to countless planets, and he had never heard of a case of a family looking for him.

The only thing that was somewhat related was the “Yaoyao” that Jing Xi had found.

It was a pity. How could he be a young master’s childhood friend?

Feeling frustrated and unable to vent by killing mutated beasts, Chi Yao decided to go to the vanguard troops’ dormitory to find Lü Meng for a drink.

He suddenly heard a very faint rustling sound.

Chi Yao slightly tilted his head. His eyes changed.

The sound was moving quickly from behind him, across the entire green belt.

The only things left behind on this road were Building 10 and a small training ground.

When he had come over, there was no one on the training ground.

Something was wrong.

Chi Yao quickly turned around and ran back.

Halfway there, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound.

It was an R891 mechanical pistol with a silencer.

Jing Xi hadn’t come over yet!

Chi Yao sped up, his face dark.

He rounded the corner and quickly scanned the entire exterior of Building 10.

In the darkness, his eyes gradually glowed with golden light.

“Ugh—!”

He heard a groan of pain.

Chi Yao immediately locked onto the location and ran over.

In the right corner, Jing Xi was choking a Beta soldier against the wall. Blood was dripping from his hand onto the ground.

The soldier’s feet were off the ground. He struggled, kicking the wall, and a rattling sound came from his throat.

“You dare to attack here,” Jing Xi’s voice was cold. “The person above you must think very little of me.”

“Let—ugh!”

With a crack, the neck bone broke.

The soldier’s arms and legs fell, and his head slumped to one side.

Jing Xi let go. The man fell to the corner of the wall like a pile of mud.

Chi Yao grabbed his arm and looked closely.

There was a long cut on his upper arm, and the area was already soaked with blood.

“How could you get hurt by this kind of trash?” Chi Yao frowned.

Jing Xi broke free from his hand, sent a message to Jiang Feng to have him come and clean up the mess, and walked away with a cold expression.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Chi Yao pulled him back and took a handkerchief from his pocket to tie it around his arm.

Jing Xi wanted to pull his hand back, but when he saw Chi Yao’s furrowed brow as he bandaged him, he decided not to move.

The white handkerchief was quickly stained red. Chi Yao’s voice was very cold. “I’ll be too lazy to care even if you’re shot full of holes after you pay off your debt.”

So it was just because of the photos.

Jing Xi pulled his hand back, ripped off the tied handkerchief, and threw it away. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay you back what I owe you, with interest.”

After saying that, he strode away.

With that movement, the wound on his arm started to bleed heavily.

Chi Yao caught up in a few steps, grabbed his arm, and pressed him against the wall.

As Jing Xi pushed him away, he pinned him against his body.

“What are you so upset about?” Chi Yao’s hands were covered in blood. His irritable emotions couldn’t be suppressed.

The wound on his arm was already deep. Now that Chi Yao was touching it, Jing Xi gritted his teeth and frowned. “Does my happiness or unhappiness have anything to do with you? Why are you angry?”

“Does my anger have anything to do with you?”

“Since it doesn’t, then let me go.”

“No.”

“Chi Yao!”

Chi Yao punched the wall. “Don’t let me see you bleed again!”

His nose was filled with the strong smell of blood and a hint of a light alcoholic scent.

No matter how well he controlled his pheromones, they would still be released through his blood.

He couldn’t resist this scent.

Jing Xi froze. The words he was about to say were suddenly swallowed back.

A gust of cold wind blew, and his feverish mind finally calmed down.

Jing Xi: “You don’t want me to bleed?”

Chi Yao: “How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

Jing Xi’s face was blank. “If you don’t let go, I’m going to bleed out.”

Chi Yao paused and let go of his arm.

He had been too angry to notice. Now he realized that because of his actions, the entire wound had been torn open.

“…”

Jing Xi’s gaze swept over the ground. He bent down and picked up the handkerchief that had been blown to the corner of the wall.

“It’s dirty.” Chi Yao went to grab it, but Jing Xi dodged him.

Jing Xi put the handkerchief in his pocket. “You tore the wound open. You’re responsible for bandaging it for me.”

Chi Yao: “…”

“You’re not going to?” Jing Xi walked out expressionlessly. “I need to recover from my injury, so I’ll postpone my debt.”

Chi Yao: “Wait!”

Five minutes later, in Jing Xi’s bedroom.

He sat on one side of the two-seater sofa. A medical box was on the low table.

Chi Yao sat next to him and picked up an alcohol swab to clean the skin around the wound.

He hadn’t noticed how bad it was in the dim light before, but now, under the light, the wound looked horrifyingly torn.

“What the f*ck were you doing?” Chi Yao’s anger flared up again as he was cleaning the wound.

Jing Xi: “I was spacing out.”

Chi Yao: “Please wait until you get home to think about your little childhood friend next time.”

Jing Xi’s face was blank. “I’m not thinking about him anymore. It only adds to the trouble.”

Chi Yao was puzzled. “You’ve suddenly gained such high awareness?”

Jing Xi looked into his eyes. “Now that I think about it, the person I’ve spent so much time and energy looking for might be a bastard.”

Jing Xi’s serious expression amused him. Chi Yao wrapped a layer of gauze around the wound.

“Your childhood filter must be pretty thick.”

Jing Xi looked at his hands and said in a low voice, “Grandpa sent a message saying he bought poker cards.”

Hearing about poker cards, Chi Yao remembered that.

“He actually went and bought them?”

Jing Xi: “I don’t know how to play poker. How am I supposed to play with him?”

He added, “You just keep digging holes for me.”

Chi Yao pulled the two ends of the gauze and tied a neat bow. He scoffed, “I just said it casually. Who knew he would take it seriously? Besides, if I were to dig a hole for you, would I dig one that’s so insignificant?”

Jing Xi glanced at the dazzling bow.

“Come home with me next time and teach me how to play poker with grandpa.”

Chi Yao was so angry he laughed.

What kind of young master tantrum was this guy having now?

Chi Yao: “You want me to go, and I’ll go?”

Jing Xi straightened his shirt collar. His voice was very faint. “You owe me this.”

Chi Yao: “…”