In just one day, the battle situation showed signs of losing control again, and the entire legion was in a frenzy.

At the temporary command center, Yan Kai wished he could grow three heads and six arms, and make every minute last an hour.

Was Director Jiang like this before?

Is this a work intensity that a human can bear?

After receiving the intelligence sent back from the vanguard troops, Yan Kai transcribed it.

Soon, another virtual screen popped up among the dozens, and Lu Meng, that rough old man, appeared on the screen.

“Where’s the boss?” Lu Meng sat by a bonfire outside the camp, roasting dry rations in his hand.

Yan Kai’s heart skipped a beat. He avoided his gaze guiltily. “The boss has been busy all day. I finally urged him to go back and rest. If it’s not particularly urgent, you can tell me, and we’ll deal with it when the boss comes back.”

Hearing this, Lu Meng waved his hand. “Then don’t disturb him. It’s just some trivial matters on the battlefield. It won’t be too late to talk about it tomorrow.”

Yan Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and finally dared to look up.

The screen was pitch black, with only the firelight casting a dim yellow glow.

Lu Meng and a few of his officers were sitting around, eating and discussing tomorrow’s battle plan.

It was truly enviable.

Unfortunately, he belonged to the logistics department and couldn’t go to the front line unless necessary.

“Minister Lu,” Yan Kai said cautiously, “if you have urgent military intelligence, please contact the boss privately.”

Lu Meng’s hand, tearing the jerky, paused. He looked at him through the screen.

The other officers around also couldn’t help but look over upon hearing this.

Being stared at by so many big shots with higher military ranks than him, Yan Kai’s palms began to sweat.

They weren’t getting suspicious, were they?!

“I know.” Lu Meng tore off a piece of jerky and stuffed it into his mouth, saying nonchalantly, “I remember the boss saying he wanted to investigate personally?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Yan Kai was just worrying about what excuse to use to fool them. Hearing this, he immediately agreed. “He might be running around these next two days and won’t have much time to stay at the command center.”

Lu Meng smiled. “Then you’d better be on your toes. If you miss any news, it won’t just be a matter of getting a beating with a military stick.”

After that, the other officers also joked around.

“The chances of Director Jiang not being around are rare. Work hard and try to snatch his job.”

“Xiao Yan, I have high hopes for you.”

“I’m envious that you can work by the boss’s side.”

Yan Kai: “…………”

—You guys probably want me dead.

In the main ship’s lounge cabin, Chi Yao hadn’t closed his eyes all night.

The light of the star shone through the window. A look at the time showed it was already 6 a.m.

He reached out and placed his hand on Jing Xi’s forehead.

His temperature had gone down, and all his data had stabilized within the standard range.

There shouldn’t be any major problems.

After his emotions relaxed, sleepiness washed over him.

There was still an hour and a half before that kid Yan Kai’s scheduled report. He could sleep a little more.

In his sleep, Jing Xi’s consciousness gradually returned.

Chi Yao’s face appeared before him. The other person was looking at him with a half-smile, just like usual, as if he were about to say something sarcastic in the next moment.

Jing Xi wanted to touch him, but his hand was grabbed halfway.

He fixed his gaze on the hand holding his, but what appeared before his eyes was the paw of a beast.

“Chi Yao!”

Jing Xi’s eyes snapped open, his heart pounding rapidly.

The light coming in from outside stimulated his eyes. He panted heavily, and only after a moment did he realize that he might have been dreaming.

He took a few deep breaths before the surging emotions calmed down.

This was the main ship’s lounge cabin.

Did Chi Yao bring him back?

At a time like this, he didn’t want to be alone.

Jing Xi pressed the switch, and the protective cover slowly rose. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he saw Chi Yao sitting in a chair. The other person had fallen asleep at some point.

Chi Yao was tall, so sitting in a normal-sized chair was a bit cramped, let alone sleeping curled up.

He had been watching over him all night?

Jing Xi’s eyes flickered. He went to the bedroom, took a thin blanket, and quietly covered him with it.

The back of this chair was very low, so Chi Yao’s head had nowhere to rest. From time to time, it would fall to the side, then quickly be brought back, looking a bit pitiful.

Jing Xi squatted beside him and carefully pulled his hand to check it.

In the morning light, the hand before him was slender and strong, with well-proportioned knuckles. Even upon close inspection, there were no scars.

Except for the slightly casually trimmed nails, everything else was beautiful.

Thinking of the changes to these hands, Jing Xi’s face darkened.

Yesterday, the susceptibility period might have been brought on early by the sonic wave attack. Stimulated by this, his emotions had gone out of control.

Thinking back now, it was very possible that the bestialization drug affected his pheromones, because both were inextricably linked to emotions.

In the pheromones Chi Yao released, he could feel a very strong killing intent.

The emotional ups and downs, in turn, caused partial bestialization of the body.

So, was Chi Yao’s lack of a susceptibility period a form of self-protection for his body?

“You just got over a fever and you’re sitting on the floor?”

Chi Yao’s voice suddenly sounded, and Jing Xi came back to his senses.

“Did I wake you?”

“I woke up when you did.” Chi Yao tousled his hair messily and smiled. “I wanted to see what you would do.”

If it were any other time, Jing Xi would definitely have his hackles raised at having his head touched.

Chi Yao thought so, but saw the other person lie down on his lap, actually striking a “let you touch me” pose.

Chi Yao felt his forehead.

“You haven’t burned your brain out, have you?”

Jing Xi said in a low voice, “Just consider it a thank you for last night.”

Chi Yao paused, then sneered, “Just this?”

Jing Xi looked up. “Then what do you want?”

Chi Yao looked into his eyes and raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Jing Xi: “…”

A moment later, Chi Yao looked at the photo he had just taken, more and more satisfied the more he looked.

In the picture, the beauty was bathed in the warm morning light, his beautiful eyes half-closed, his long hair messy, a complete contrast to his usual rigorous appearance.

“Tsk, truly an unparalleled beauty on earth.”

Jing Xi had just finished his second sandwich. Hearing his umpteenth sigh of admiration, his eyes were emotionless.

The person himself was right in front of him, yet this kid preferred to look at a photo?

At 7:30, the cabin door was knocked on time.

Yan Kai came in. Seeing his boss was actually awake, he couldn’t help but quicken his pace and walk over.

“Boss, are you alright?!”

“A minor injury,” Jing Xi said lightly. “Is there any situation?”

Yan Kai opened his small notebook and, based on the transcribed keywords, reported the intelligence feedback from the battlefield yesterday in detail, one by one, to Jing Xi.

“The after-effects of this beast tide are very strong. Both Minister Lu and Minister Jin have proposed several new battle plans.”

With that, Yan Kai summarized these materials for Jing Xi.

Jing Xi’s fingers swiped lightly, and all the windows simultaneously enlarged into mid-air.

Yan Kai glanced at Chi Yao, who was sitting opposite his boss and eating, his mood complicated.

Not only was all the intelligence open to him, but they were even eating at the same table.

“You go back to work. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to consult Jiang Feng at any time. Don’t push yourself too hard,” Jing Xi said.

Yan Kai respectfully agreed and didn’t dare to linger.

“The thing in that cave is unusual,” Jing Xi said with a serious expression. “Neither humans nor machines can get close to it.”

It also hadn’t been discovered in the previous full-scale scan.

Chi Yao: “I’ll go again in a couple of days.”

Jing Xi frowned. “It’s too dangerous.”

Chi Yao sneered. “That thing’s sonic wave attacks are ineffective on me.”

“We can’t be sure it’s ineffective now,” Jing Xi retorted. “The closer you get, the stronger the sonic wave attack. Maybe it’s just not close enough yet.”

Chi Yao: “Then what should we do? Just leave it alone?”

Jing Xi’s hands on the table clenched. For a moment, he didn’t know how to answer.

He had to figure out the origin of that thing. He had a premonition that this war was related to it.

But the premise of all this was that he couldn’t let Chi Yao take risks.

“Let me think,” Jing Xi said in a low voice. “Relying on the existing shielding devices probably won’t work.”

Even Chi Yao’s ring couldn’t completely shield it.

If fully exposed to that sonic wave, a person could be torn to pieces.

Remembering some things from the past, Chi Yao had some guesses in his heart.

“What do you think is the possibility of it being a level-six mutated species?”

Jing Xi shook his head. “Very low.”

Chi Yao: “Why?”

Jing Xi: “I once heard Doctor Qiu say that in a natural state, a species can only mutate up to level five at most.”

Chi Yao’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, thoughtfully. “In a natural state—then what if it’s man-made—”

“What are you saying—cough cough cough—” Jing Xi was about to press for more when he suddenly couldn’t suppress a cough.

Chi Yao came back to his senses, took his hand, and went to the bedroom.

“Alright, you rest for me first. We’ll talk after today.”

Jing Xi looked at the time. “The regular meeting hasn’t started yet.”

Chi Yao pressed him onto the bed. “They are all mature warriors. They know how to fight a war.”

After a two-second stalemate, Jing Xi said in a low voice, “Help me get my military uniform jacket.”

Chi Yao blocked him, crossing his arms and looking down at him. “No.”

Jing Xi: “I’ll rest after the meeting.”

Chi Yao: “How many minutes?”

Jing Xi: “…Half an hour?”

Chi Yao’s face was cold. “Just twenty minutes. One second more and I’ll throw away your terminal.”

Jing Xi: “…I just gave you the photos.”

Chi Yao sneered. “Say one more word, and you won’t even have twenty minutes.”

Jing Xi: “…”

So domineering.

Time was tight. Jing Xi quickly browsed all the intelligence and sent video calls to several important subordinates on the front line.

Chi Yao went to the room he had slept in before, and took the pillow and quilt.

That workaholic, if he didn’t watch him, he definitely wouldn’t rest properly.

The terminal vibrated. It was from Fang Liang. There were several videos and a text file.

He casually clicked on the first one, and a soulless female alto voice sounded.

“In this lesson, we will teach you how to create a romantic atmosphere—”

Chi Yao: “…”

What the hell is this?

He didn’t know what possessed him, but he quickly pressed pause and quietly peeked into the bedroom opposite.

Jing Xi had already started the meeting. He probably hadn’t heard the voice just now.

He closed the door and clicked on the second video.

The soulless female alto voice: “After last lesson’s study, everyone must be very proficient in creating an atmosphere, right? In this lesson, we will teach you how to be in a relationship—”

Chi Yao: “…………”

He looked at the sender’s ID on the terminal and couldn’t believe Fang Liang would send him this kind of thing.

Looking down on him?

Did he need someone to teach him how to be in a relationship? Did he look that stupid?

The terminal vibrated again. Fang Liang sent a text message.

“Boss, this is a tutorial video that Sister Qin asked me to forward to you. She said she hopes you’ll pass the test as soon as possible after watching it.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Wasn’t he already very good at it? Did he need to watch these?

Half an hour later, Jing Xi finished the meeting and made new deployments for the situation in the southern coastal area.

Chi Yao surprisingly didn’t come to rush him.

Jing Xi looked outside. He wasn’t in the living room.

Did he go out?

Thinking of this possibility, he suddenly couldn’t sit still. He walked out without wearing his shoes.

The living room was quiet. Jing Xi lifted the curtains, looked under the sofa, picked up the quilt on the coffee table to look under the cup, and didn’t find the person.

He said he would stay with him. Where did he go?

A feeling of grievance welled up, and Jing Xi’s eyes grew hot.

A second before he broke down, he pulled back a little bit of reason and managed not to cry.

Just as he was about to go to the kitchen, a faint sound came from another bedroom.

Jing Xi didn’t know what other alphas were like, but when he was in his susceptibility period, his five senses would be several times more acute than usual.

He followed the sound and was about to knock on the door when Chi Yao’s voice came from inside.

“Heh, just this? It would be a miracle if he could pick someone up with this… What kind of move is this? It’s too low…”

Jing Xi: “…”

Who was he talking to?

Let’s wait for him to finish.

He thought of avoiding it first, but after taking just a couple of steps back, Jing Xi couldn’t help but return to the door.

Wouldn’t it be fine to just sit next to him and cover his ears?

He raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Chi Yao?”

A rustling sound came from the room, sounding a bit flustered.

Jing Xi frowned.

Who on earth was he talking to?

The door opened, and Chi Yao cleared his throat a little unnaturally.

“Finished so soon?”

Soon?

Jing Xi: “It’s been half an hour.”

Chi Yao: “Oh.”

Jing Xi frowned slightly.

“You were just—”

Before he could ask, Chi Yao took him by the hand with one hand on a pillow and led him away.

“Time to rest.”

Jing Xi had slept all night and was actually not sleepy or tired at all.

The only thing he wanted to do now was to follow Chi Yao, not leaving his side for a moment.

Chi Yao placed the simple medical equipment by the bed, connected it to Jing Xi’s wrist, and walked to the other side to lie down. “What are you looking at me for?”

The bed was very big, and it was more than enough for two people to lie down with their own quilts.

Jing Xi: “It’s just the two of us here. Who else would I look at?”

Chi Yao laughed out loud. “I’m begging you, just go to sleep.”

Jing Xi: “No.”

Being so close, Chi Yao could clearly see his eyelashes and his own reflection in those eyes.

“Not sleeping?” Chi Yao lay on his side, facing him. “Want me to sleep with you?”

Jing Xi: “…”

His hand under the quilt curled up tightly. He said with a blank expression, “Having a relationship with an alpha cannot alleviate the symptoms of the susceptibility period.”

Chi Yao: “…”

He answered so seriously that he didn’t know how to respond.

“Then tell me what can alleviate it?” Chi Yao asked.

“Bring the books from home,” Jing Xi said, looking at him sideways. “Or—let me bite you.”

He said it so seriously that Chi Yao almost believed him.

He laughed, “How come I’ve never heard of an alpha biting an alpha to get through the susceptibility period?”

Jing Xi: “You know now.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao: “Then in that case, would it also work if I bite you?”

Jing Xi thought seriously for a moment. “We can try.”

Chi Yao: “…………”

Is he already talking nonsense?

He reached out and tucked Jing Xi’s quilt in, then roughly tousled his hair. “If I really bit you, you’d hunt me down after you came to your senses. Just be good and go to sleep.”

Jing Xi rubbed his palm and closed his eyes.

It would be nice if he were always this obedient.

Chi Yao smiled silently. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, a foot stretched out from under the quilt and restlessly pressed down on his leg.

Chi Yao: “…”

So clingy.

Only after Jing Xi was sound asleep did Chi Yao close his eyes to catch up on sleep.

In a half-asleep state, he felt someone press against his back, so hot that he broke out in a sweat.

“Yao Yao—Yao Yao?”

Hearing Jing Xi faintly calling him, Chi Yao groggily opened his eyes and saw Jing Xi’s enlarged face.

“Yao Yao, I’m so hot—”

With that, Jing Xi pulled open his messy collar, his fair skin half-hidden among his hair.

The cool strands of hair brushed against the side of his neck. Chi Yao unconsciously swallowed, unable to look away.

“Yao Yao, help me.” As he spoke, Jing Xi’s eyes glistened with tears, his voice low and with an imperceptible sob.

Chi Yao’s voice was dry. “You, how do you want me to help you?”

Jing Xi slowly leaned in, their noses almost touching.

“I want—”

Chi Yao’s eyes snapped open, his heart pounding wildly.

The alluring Jing Xi was nowhere to be found.

Was it a dream?

How could he have such a dream?

It was just a dream?

He was sticky all over with cold sweat. Chi Yao was very uncomfortable.

He was about to go take a shower when he looked down and saw a pair of arms locked around his waist.

Chi Yao carefully turned his head. The person who had been so alluring in his dream was pressed against his back, sleeping soundly.

As he moved, Jing Xi’s eyelashes trembled, and he also opened his eyes.

“Did I wake you?” Chi Yao looked at the time. “It’s only noon now. You can still sleep for a while.”

Jing Xi mumbled an affirmation, rubbing his forehead against his back, it was unclear if he understood.

Chi Yao lifted the quilt to get up. His waist was tightened, and someone flipped over and pressed down on him.

“Where are you going?” Jing Xi’s voice was hurried.

Chi Yao looked at him.

This angle was surprisingly consistent with the angle in the dream.

He suddenly felt a little guilty.

“Going to take a shower.”

Jing Xi leaned into the side of his neck and sniffed. “Smells good, not stinky.”

Chi Yao: “…”

“Chi Yao—” Jing Xi’s voice sounded muffled.

Chi Yao: “Hmm?”

Jing Xi’s eyes swept over the side of Chi Yao’s neck, looking at the gland half-exposed outside the collar.

“Aren’t you going to continue?”

Continue?

Chi Yao: “Continue what?”

Jing Xi’s voice was hoarse from just waking up. “What you wanted to do to me after we got on the mecha yesterday.”

Chi Yao: “…………”

Was he asleep or awake?

Was this fucking a chain dream?