The main force from the Flying Dragon’s stationed base would take at least 12 hours to reach Military Space Station No. 3. Chi Yao could still get a good night’s sleep.

That was the original plan.

After tossing and turning in bed for an hour, Chi Yao sat up, his forehead covered in sweat.

“What kind of joke is this—”

In disbelief, he checked the room temperature. It was less than ten degrees.

To sweat through a thin blanket in this temperature.

There was only one possible explanation.

Chi Yao irritably slicked his hair back, grabbed a random piece of clothing, and went to find Jing Xi.

Across the river, Jing Xi was busy in the study.

A war was about to start, yet he knew nothing about the situation on the front lines.

He couldn’t contact the garrison at No. 333 with his current identity.

However, even if he used his original identity, he probably wouldn’t get a good result.

In the corner of the study, Tie Xiong was sleeping on top of Yin Wei, his little face flushed. Jing Xi rubbed the bridge of his nose and went to cover him with a small blanket.

This, however, woke Yin Wei up.

“Awooo?”

Yin Wei wagged his big, fluffy tail, his watery eyes looking over.

Looking at this tail, Jing Xi’s fingers twitched.

“I wonder if he has a tail,” he muttered to himself.

When Chi Yao arrived, he saw Jing Xi squatting in the corner, stroking a dog’s tail with a look of enjoyment.

Chi Yao: “…”

He deliberately made his footsteps louder, and Jing Xi immediately retracted his hand.

“Secretly harassing my dog while I’m not around?” Chi Yao leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a lazy smile on his face.

Jing Xi got up with a straight face. “You’re awake already?”

Chi Yao sauntered in. “The dog is here. I was worried.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao walked to the desk, glanced at the virtual screen and the documents on the table, and said casually, “If you needed this information, you could have just told me instead of going through all this trouble.”

Jing Xi shook his head. “That group of people probably isn’t that obedient.”

Chi Yao knew he had misunderstood. He sat down at the desk and smiled. “As long as you can pay the price, what kind of intelligence can’t I get?”

Jing Xi walked over, leaned over the back of the chair, and bent down slightly. “I’ve given you all my secrets, but I haven’t seen you help me find my person, have I?”

Chi Yao: “…Next question.”

Jing Xi smoothly turned and leaned back against the desk, one long leg bent. “I’m worried now that the intelligence the higher-ups have received is inaccurate.”

Satellite monitoring was only an auxiliary function, generally used for monitoring uninhabited planets. Inhabited planets had garrisons, and all aspects of security and equipment were well in place, leaving no need for satellite monitoring.

Chi Yao: “You’re afraid the actual situation is more serious than what’s known?”

Jing Xi nodded. “Something like this hasn’t happened for many years. No matter how useless Li Bo’s men are, they wouldn’t fail to report such a major incident. If something really went wrong, none of them could bear the responsibility.”

Chi Yao casually picked up some of the summaries Jing Xi had written on the desk. “Maybe they just wanted to cause trouble to pin the blame on you?”

At this juncture, even the old man wouldn’t dare to act rashly. Any incident could easily be exploited and amplified by their rivals.

Jing Xi thought for a moment and shook his head.

“That might be a possibility, but if it were me, I wouldn’t provoke someone I can’t handle at a time like this.”

Chi Yao raised an eyebrow. “Just you, a little general with not even a decent garrison under your command? That Li fellow is much stronger than you.”

Jing Xi looked down at him. “If it weren’t required for a Major General to have a garrison, I wouldn’t even want the few I have. They’re a hassle.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao sneered. “So, you took this official post just to oppose me?”

Jing Xi: “If you weren’t so unrestrained, no one would dare to provoke you, and you wouldn’t have fallen into my hands.”

As they were talking, a noise suddenly came from the corner.

The two of them subconsciously looked over.

Tie Xiong, dreaming of who knows what, suddenly shivered, dazedly clutching the dog’s fur. His little face wrinkled up, and he mumbled in his sleep.

“Boss… Boss is eating… eating people…”

He sobbed as he spoke, and it was unclear whether he was laughing or crying.

Yin Wei wanted to howl from being grabbed but was afraid of waking the cub, so his paws scratched back and forth on the floor.

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi: “…”

Jing Xi went over and carefully picked Tie Xiong up.

When he opened his palm, he found that his fingers had turned into beast claws again, and a patch of white fur had grown on them.

“Chi Yao!” Jing Xi’s heart leaped, and he nervously carried him over for Chi Yao to see. “His hand again—”

Chi Yao glanced at it. “It happens when he gets emotional. It’ll be fine in a moment.”

Jing Xi frowned.

Although Chi Yao said it was fine, remembering that 30% bestialization was irreversible, he still felt very uneasy.

Recalling the few times he had seen an omega coax a child, Jing Xi gently patted Tie Xiong’s back and said in a low voice, “I won’t eat people. Don’t be afraid.”

Perhaps because he was close, Tie Xiong smelled his scent and snuggled into his arms, falling back asleep a moment later.

Jing Xi felt the grip of the small claws on his fingers loosen. A moment later, the white fur and sharp nails visibly receded, turning back into a human cub’s hand.

Chi Yao watched him coaxing and holding the child, even smiling, and felt a sour pang in his heart.

Why had he never been this nervous about him?

Afraid that putting him back down would cause more problems, Jing Xi decided to wait until Tie Xiong was sound asleep. He looked up and saw Chi Yao’s stern, unhappy face.

“Are you very hot?” Jing Xi saw the sweat on his forehead and turned to look at the temperature displayed on the thermostat system.

Eighteen degrees. It was impossible to be this hot.

Could it be—

A thought had just flashed through Jing Xi’s mind when he saw Chi Yao sneer. “If you have any medicine to delay the susceptible period, hurry up and give it to me. I won’t be responsible for anything that happens during the march.”

As soon as he finished speaking, “his own” face magnified before his eyes.

Before he could dodge, a forehead was pressed against his.

Jing Xi, holding the child, could only use his forehead to test his temperature.

It was a little high. The susceptible period was probably in the next few days.

“Send a message to Lu Meng and have him bring it over.”

Chi Yao: “Are there any effective ones? The ones Jiang Feng gave me before were useless.”

After speaking, he saw Jing Xi hesitate, unable to reply for a long time, and Chi Yao understood.

“Don’t tell me inhibitors don’t work on you.”

Jing Xi avoided his gaze. “My susceptible period cycle is quite long. It has never occurred during wartime.”

Chi Yao narrowed his eyes slightly.

In other words, this guy didn’t take his susceptible period seriously at all.

Chi Yao was very curious. “So you just lock yourself at home and cry every time?”

Jing Xi’s face was wooden. “…As long as my mind is calm, the symptoms won’t be too strong.”

Chi Yao sneered. “So you’re saying my mind isn’t calm, which is why I’ll cry myself unable to sleep?”

Less than five minutes later, Lu Meng rushed over with a medical kit.

“Boss!”

He opened a large case. “These three are the ones you usually use, and these three are the enhanced type.”

Chi Yao directly took an enhanced syringe and injected it into his arm.

Lu Meng said worriedly, “How about we let Old Jiang lead the team this time? He’s been with you for so many years; this small mission won’t be a problem for him.”

Chi Yao really wanted to nod, but unfortunately, a certain person opposite him, holding a child, was glaring at him fiercely.

“Everything will proceed according to the original plan,” he said, then added, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course I won’t blab!” Lu Meng agreed and left. At the door, he hesitated and turned back. “Boss, should we bring a few omegas? Just in case—”

Chi Yao: “No—”

“No need.”

Jing Xi answered first.

Lu Meng looked at him, his eyes wary.

Jing Xi carefully adjusted his posture to make Tie Xiong more comfortable and said faintly, “If it really comes to the last resort, I will mark him.”

Lu Meng’s eyes went blank. “…”

What nonsense was this star pirate leader talking about?!

Chi Yao: “…”

Marking himself was impossible. Not in this lifetime.

Lu Meng felt his own resolve couldn’t be weaker than a star pirate’s, so he suggested with a sincere face.

“Boss, if it really comes down to it, you can bite me—”

Before he could finish, a pen flew over and stuck into the wall next to him.

Chi Yao: “Get lost!”

Lu Meng: “………”

At four in the morning, the support troop leader, Jin Ze, sent a message saying they had arrived near Space Station No. 3.

Jing Xi sized up Chi Yao. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Better my ass,” Chi Yao was irritable. Not only was he abnormally hot, but his head was also starting to feel dizzy.

The lights on both banks of the river were brightly lit.

The Flying Dragons were ready, and the warships were lined up in order, a spectacular sight even in the dead of night.

Everyone in the Extreme Shadow was too nervous to sleep.

They were afraid the Flying Dragons would pull some trick and suddenly attack them.

Li Yuan, Fang Liang, and Chun Qin escorted Jing Xi to the spaceship. They really couldn’t understand why their boss had to go along when the Flying Dragons were on a mission.

Jing Xi looked at Tie Xiong in Chun Qin’s arms and instructed, “He might have been frightened by something. Pay more attention to him recently.”

Chun Qin nodded slightly in acknowledgement. “I will.”

Li Yuan asked in a low voice, “Boss, have you been kidnapped?”

Jing Xi: “…No.”

Fang Liang raised his eyes, scanned the spaceship before them, and then looked at the fleet in the sky.

“I’ve arranged for some brothers near No. 333. They might be able to help.”

Brothers?

Extreme Shadow still had people over there?

Before Jing Xi could figure it out, Chun Qin took two steps closer.

In the cold wind, she lowered her voice.

“Boss, your critical value is approaching. Be extra careful and avoid large emotional fluctuations.”

Critical value?

Jing Xi’s heart skipped a beat, and he could only think of bestialization.

Chun Qin handed him a syringe.

“Do not use it unless absolutely necessary.”

After the spaceship took off and entered the main ship’s hangar, Jing Xi reminded Chi Yao to send a video call to Jin Ze.

Both sides sat in the conference room next to the main ship’s cockpit for a meeting.

To avoid trouble, Jing Xi had applied necessary disguise to his face and changed into a new recruit’s uniform, acting as a common soldier beside Chi Yao.

Jiang Feng, Jin Ze, and others, as the core officers of the Flying Dragons, participated in the meeting via holographic projection.

Jiang Feng’s face was serious. “I have already established contact with the front lines through multiple channels. The current situation is very grim.”

He opened a map, which was a 3D projection of Planet 333.

“The red marked locations are the towns that satellite monitoring previously detected as destroyed. The yellow shaded areas are those currently under attack by mutated beasts, and this large black area is where we currently cannot establish contact.”

Jing Xi stood behind Chi Yao, looking at this map, his face darkened.

This was on the verge of being completely lost!

Besides Jiang Feng’s report on the front-line situation, the leaders of each unit also gave detailed reports on the current personnel and equipment situation of their units.

From beginning to end, Chi Yao sat at the head of the table without saying a word.

Jing Xi noticed something was wrong. He looked down and saw that the collar of his shirt was already wet.

Jin Ze: “We can reach the airspace of 333 in 2 hours at the earliest. I suggest we deal with the yellow areas first and advance with the red areas as the center to shrink the mutated beasts’ range of action.”

Lu Meng: “The yellow areas are too scattered. The forward troops plus the mecha unit might barely be enough.”

Jiang Feng: “I will keep trying to contact the garrisons near No. 333. We should be able to mobilize some more forces.”

They discussed for a long time, then suddenly realized their boss hadn’t participated in the discussion at all. They all turned their gazes to the head of the table.

Lu Meng: “Boss, what do you think of this plan?”

Jing Xi lightly tapped Chi Yao’s back a few times, signaling him to agree for now.

The battle plan would be changed at any time according to the battle situation. This preliminary plan was acceptable, but the main reason was that Jing Xi was afraid he couldn’t hold on.

Under everyone’s gaze, Chi Yao lowered the hand that was propping up his chin, his expression calm.

“No.”

Two short words made the conference room fall silent instantly.

Jing Xi was a little surprised. He raised his fingers to his back, but for some reason, he pulled them back.

Although he was using his voice, the tone made him sure that Chi Yao was serious.

At this moment, he suddenly wanted to see what kind of battle plan Chi Yao would devise—

Chi Yao raised his hand, and with a light swipe of his fingers, the sphere in the middle of the round table rotated.

He tapped his finger, and the colored area was magnified.

He marked two outwardly extending red areas on the originally black area.

“Able to attack buildings and render the army helpless, at least half of these beasts are level three or higher. This planet has a dry climate and few seas. We can preliminarily judge that the beast packs are mainly composed of aggressive felines and large birds.”

As Chi Yao spoke, he drew several lines on these areas. “Given their attack speed and habits, these two places will soon become the next areas to be annihilated.”

With his drawing, the others instantly understood.

The one among them with the least combat experience had five years. It couldn’t be said that they could think of everything, but they understood with a single pointer.

As expected of the boss, he could always think of points they couldn’t.

Everyone’s eyes were shining brightly, waiting for their boss’s next instruction.

Chi Yao coughed twice, took a sip of tea, and looked at everyone. “It’s not wrong to start with the yellow areas, but these two areas I’ve marked also need special attention. Otherwise, if the beast packs spread further horizontally, it will be very difficult to wipe them out centrally.”

Lu Meng calculated and spoke first. “Then how about this: the forward troops will be responsible for these two red areas and the yellow areas on the extension line, and the rest will be filled by the mecha unit and the rescue unit.”

Chi Yao nodded and pointed to a yellow area in the north. “This area has more mountains. The beast packs may not have entered the inhabited areas yet. The difficulty is the lowest. We can consider letting the new recruits practice there.”

Lu Meng: “Yes, sir!”

Chi Yao stood up and waved his hand casually. “Let’s leave it at that for now. We’ll adjust as we go.”

The other officers stood up at the same time, saluted, and then went off to work according to the plan.

Jing Xi walked behind Chi Yao, looking at the man in front of him, the corners of his lips curling up.

This person, when he was serious, was really very charming.

He unconsciously made people want to do as he said.

Back in the rest cabin, as soon as the cabin door closed, Jing Xi was about to praise him, but the person in front of him deflated like a popped balloon, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath.

“Chi Yao?” Jing Xi’s face changed. He took two steps closer and supported him. “Are you in a lot of pain?”

Chi Yao tore open the buttons on his collar, his face covered in sweat.

“Get me a glass of ice water.”

Jing Xi quickly went to the kitchen to get water. “You sit down first.”

Chi Yao unbuckled his utility belt and threw it on the carpet, unbuttoned his military jacket, and sat on the sofa, holding his head. He felt terrible.

He wanted to cry.

He really wanted to cry.

He was about to lose it.

In the conference room, if he hadn’t been counting little wolves to distract himself, he might have burst into tears on the spot.

“Here,” Jing Xi handed him the ice water and reached out to test the temperature of his forehead.

Very hot.

Chi Yao took it, drank it in one gulp, put it on the coffee table, and pulled down the hand on his forehead. “You said to calm down. How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!”

Jing Xi looked at his red-rimmed eyes from holding it in. “…”

He checked the time. There was about an hour and a half left.

Jing Xi pulled him to lie down and placed a towel-wrapped ice pack on his forehead.

“I’ll tell you a story. You’ll feel better if you sleep.”

Chi Yao pulled the towel down to cover his eyes and said irritably, “Then hurry up.”

Jing Xi sat on the carpet and helped him wipe his sweat.

“Once upon a time, there was a little wolf who thought he was a dog—”

Chi Yao: “No, change to a different voice.”

Jing Xi: “…”

He woke up Xiao Hei and simulated his original voice.

This time, Chi Yao had no objections.

Jing Xi listened to his breathing gradually lengthen but still continued to speak unhurriedly.

“Later, the little wolf became the wolf king, found his lost relatives, paired with the most beautiful she-wolf in the pack, and had a litter—”

His body suddenly tensed, and the towel with the ice pack rolled onto the floor.

Jing Xi paused and turned his head to look.

The sleeping Chi Yao had turned sideways, his hands wrapped around him, his head resting against his arm, muttering to himself.

“Xi Xi—”