Extra chapter thanks to Gofa
After all, it had only been a month since their last encounter, and Huo Xianfeng still remembered the First Legion’s emblem very clearly. Since the First Legion’s main force appeared on the Winter Day planet, it meant that Zhou Jiuya had also arrived.
——Why did he come here?
Huo Xianfeng frowned. He didn’t believe that the other party had come for him, but for now, he couldn’t think of any other reason. After all, the entire legion was mobilized, and such a deployment made it very likely that they were preparing to go to war with the Winter Day planet…
Tug—
At that moment, Huo Xianfeng suddenly felt his clothes being tugged, and he was gently shaken.
“Xiao Huo-gege, is there going to be a war?”
The little girl raised her head, her honey-colored eyes filled with a hint of fear and unease.
Although the Empire seemed peaceful now, in reality, it was not. After the Alliance collapsed, the Empire was quickly established. However, the new emperor and the restored imperial system did not make everyone surrender.
Therefore, in the two hundred years since the Earth became a dead planet, wars of all sizes have never stopped, and it was not until the last hundred years that they finally subsided.
Still, because Winter Day planet has secret interest entanglements with various forces, it barely managed to maintain a facade of stability and peace. But this illusory peace was like being in the eye of a storm.
Although it is safe to go there, if you are not careful at all, you will be swept into the hurricane and be crushed to pieces by the debris. Once Winter Day planet is attacked, the first to suffer will be the impoverished people on the surface.
“Don’t worry, it should be fine.”
Huo Xianfeng gently stroked Tang Cha’s head. He looked up at the dark, tranquil sky, and even though the First Legion’s main force was lurking in the vast expanse of outer space, their opponents showed no signs of attacking.
The existence of the underground city was not just a matter of a year or two. If the imperial family wanted to reintegrate it into their jurisdiction, they wouldn’t dare use such a fierce method to forcibly suppress and subdue it. Therefore, it was unlikely that they truly wanted to fight. It was more like they were acting as a deterrent or threat, but…
What exactly did Winter Day planet do to alarm the imperial family—for them to dispatch an entire legion all the way here to intimidate and threaten it?
No, it was not necessarily the Winter Day planet; perhaps it was somewhere else…
Like, for example——
Earth.
As if recalling something, Huo Xianfeng’s eyes narrowed slightly, “You stay here, I’m going out for a walk.”
“Oh, okay…”
The little girl watched the young man’s back disappear, eventually unable to resist shaking her head and muttering, “He just said he wouldn’t go with him. Tsk. Sure enough, my mother was right. An alpha’s words can’t be trusted…”
On the other side, Jiang Ci unfolded Xiao X and transformed it into its semi complete mecha form, quickly leaving the garbage mountain area and arriving at a nearby deserted no-man’s land.
The Winter Day’s planet surface was piled with garbage, but there were also areas of desert. Due to the constant presence of quicksand, various types of garbage would flow into the ground when dumped, so this was a prohibited area perfect for dumping garbage. Also because there is no access to any natural resources and you may even fall into quicksand, this area had become a no-man’s land.
Huo Xianfeng’s secret base was well chosen, just nestled in the dividing line between the two.
“……”
The desert was engulfed in a great sandstorm, and as far as the eye could see, it was all hazy yellow sand. Jiang Ci found a secluded corner in the desert and set up the concealment devices and signal projectors, first reporting his safety to Old Snake, then quickly contacting He Zhun.
At this moment, Xiao X was acting as an optical brain, floating in the air and projecting a blue light, rapidly weaving a three-dimensional figure. If it hadn’t only projected a head, it was so realistic that it’d make it seem like He Zhun was right in front of him.
Beep—
When Jiang Ci called, it was almost immediately answered, as if someone had been eagerly waiting for his communication. However, as soon as the call connected, He Zhun was bombarded with questions by his friend——
“He Zhun, what’s going on?!”
“How could he come to the Winter Day planet?! Did you tell him? Did you mention the purpose of my coming here?”
“Why has the entire main force of the First Legion come, and why would they suddenly want to attack Winter Day planet?”
“…”
However, Dr. He was already used to this, so he shrugged, “I was going to ask you the same thing, Major General. Didn’t you say the Legion Commander would be staying on Earth for this period? You even said that even if he didn’t stay on Earth, he would still be questioned by the royal family when he returned to the Capital. At the very least, the people from the Church would also pester him and not let him go…”
In fact, before Jiang Ci left, he had a big argument with Zhou Jiuya, deliberately poking at his sore spots. So, as expected, the uncle and nephew parted on bad terms.
In situations like this in the past, it was common for the two not to speak or see each other for half a year. Moreover, Jiang Ci had timed it well; he would be back in at most three weeks.
But—
Ideals are always beautiful, but plans always fail to keep up with changes.
He Zhun sighed and explained, “The day after you left, the Legion Commander was summoned back from Earth by His Majesty. I don’t know what they talked about, but as soon as he left the palace, he immediately went straight to the hospital to find you.”
Of course, Jiang Ci was no longer in the hospital, so as the Major General’s exclusive personal doctor, He Zhun was almost immediately captured by the military commander.
Dr. He simply couldn’t bear to look back at the terrifying air pressure on Zhou Jiuya that day. Even if he thinks about it for a second, he still feels a chill running down his body.
“In such a situation, what else can I do?”
So He Zhun had no choice but to use the excuses he had made up long ago. For example, that he advised Jiang Ci to go home, prepare for a blind date, and quickly find an alpha to marry so that he would no longer have to suffer from estrus and inhibitors.
“I said I wouldn’t provide you with inhibitors, and that you went to the Winter Day planet’s underground black market to buy them.”
This reason was seven parts true and three parts false, making it the best proportion to fool people.
He Zhun carefully observed Jiang Ci’s expression, whispering, “Moreover, him coming to capture you back isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In the past, it is the same as being punished. Once you’re back, he’ll scold you with a few words, and that’s it.”
He Zhun was indeed an bystander. After all, Zhou Jiuya and Jiang Ci had a blood relationship, and he had raised Jiang Ci for eight years, from five to thirteen years old. Although he suddenly stopped raising him, the Legion Commander who looks cold-blooded and heartless on the surface, is actually quite protective of his calf.
“You mean… he made such a fuss,”
Jiang Ci’s face was full of disbelief,
“——just to catch me back?”
“…not entirely.”
He Zhun shook his head, his expression turning serious,
“I heard that the First Legion had already begun to assemble troops before the Legion Commander came to the hospital. It should be His Majesty’s order, but why he went to Winter Day planet… That is a military secret, I don’t know.”
—- So it’s not for him.
Jiang Ci trembled slightly, then lowered his head,
“Mhm… that’s right.”
He repeated twice, “That’s right.”
“Ah…?”
At that moment, He Zhun closely observed Jiang Ci for a few seconds, suddenly asking, “Where did these clothes come from? They don’t seem to fit well. They’re not yours, right?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“…”
Coafg jii, atfs tjv ugbkc eq abufatfg. Lf Itec kjr abb jkjgf bo Aljcu Jl’r qlmxlcfrr. Ktlr ues kbeiv cfnfg kfjg batfg qfbqif’r mibatfr, fnfc lo atfs kfgf ygjcv cfk. Snfc atf dlqjb kbgc ab atf jemalbc kjr qgfqjgfv kfii lc jvnjcmf ktfc atf qijc kjr wjvf.
Aljcu Jl gfwjlcfv fzqgfrrlbcifrr: “…Pa’r j afwqbgjgs qegmtjrf, P ybeuta la bcf rlhf ijgufg ab ojmlilajaf ws vlruelrf.”
“Oh, I see…”
However, He Zhun’s face suddenly swelled up in the projection, as if he was about to rush over and stick onto the omega’s face. Even if it was just his projection, Jiang Ci couldn’t bear the intense gaze from his longtime friend, and couldn’t help but take a few steps back. He frowned, “What are you doing?!”
The blue light in which He Zhun was projected showed an uncertain expression on his face, “You… your body condition recently seems to be quite good. Your complexion looks quite flush and vibrant, and you seem to be in good spirits.”
Even he couldn’t pick anything wrong—
His eyes were bright and soft, his skin was glossy and rosy, and every strand of his hair looked like it had just been treated with some advanced essential oil. In short, the whole person was like a gorgeous rose that had been watered and rejuvenated.
The more he looked, the more he marveled,
“It’s rare, very rare. I originally thought I would see you weak and acting strong, but I didn’t expect you to look quite well.”
You see, since Jiang Ci became an adult, injecting suppressants has almost become a daily routine. Every injection is like having a serious illness, making the whole person look weak and pale, like a rose that lacks water.
Although beautiful, it is decadent and listless.
However, as a S-level omega, his recovery ability is extremely strong, so after lying in the repair capsule for a week or two, he would be full of life again. But that’s in a situation where the medical conditions are extremely perfect and adequate, not on the chaotic, poor, and gloomy Winter Day planet.
This made Dr. He have a strange feeling, and he couldn’t help but mutter to himself,
“Could this mutation… have an effect similar to that of a nutrient repair agent?”
Jiang Ci, who was simply comforted by an alpha last night: “…”
The Major General turned his face away, obviously not wanting to continue this topic, and even had a somewhat strong and angry tone,
“You’re wrong, I also used to be like this!”
“Uh… Oh, okay, I must be blind.”
Dr. He didn’t know he had touched this guy’s sensitive nerve again, but if Jiang Ci didn’t say it, it shouldn’t be an important thing.
Bringing up the actual important matter, Dr. He’s expression suddenly became serious. He lowered his voice and asked,
“Let’s not talk about this, did you… successfully find what you were looking for?”
successfully…?
To say it was a success, it wasn’t so smooth, but to say it was difficult, it wasn’t a hell-level difficulty.
“…”
Just bringing this up, Jiang Ci always felt it was a bit hard to explain. But in the end, the result was good—
“It’s already in my hands.”
Jiang Ci had Xiao X carefully check it, and it was indeed a Gardenia Rose Blossom, although it wasn’t a grown plant, it was fortunate enough that it was a living seed.
Therefore, it was not in vain for him to sacrifice so much, to proactively wear such… clothes, and to inject a high-concentration sedative in order to obtain the item. Although this plan was dangerous, it was the only way to obtain the item in the shortest time.
The only thing Jiang Ci didn’t expect was that he would encounter two strange alphas. Although he had already confirmed that the person he saw in the safe room was not Huo Xianfeng, for some reason, both of them gave him a familiar feeling…
“A-Ci… A-Ci?”
“Ah…?”
Jiang Ci suddenly came to his senses and saw He Zhun’s strange expression on the communication screen.
“What are you daydreaming about? Where’s the item?”
“Here.”
Jiang Ci took out the small box he had risked his life to grab, and then opened it. Inside was a pearl-sized pink bead.
—This was the seed of the Gardenia Rose Blossom.
“It’s just a bit different from what we expected… There’s just a seed inside.”
When Jiang Ci opened the box, he didn’t notice that not far behind him, a familiar figure was hiding in the shadows.
Huo Xianfeng had originally planned to go to the underground city, but halfway there, he caught a familiar scent.
Ah… probably because of the temporary mark, the omega’s scent was now in his olfactory system, like a lighthouse in the deep darkness.
As a result, Huo Xianfeng didn’t need to specifically search for him, or even pay close attention to find him. He could immediately locate the other person, and for some reason, he followed him.
“…”
The young man sighed softly.
—Actually, this isn’t a good thing.
Because it meant that the strange and unknown scent had a great impact on him. But following him wasn’t a bad thing either. At least, he had the chance to figure out why the omega had such an unique scent.
However, at this moment, Jiang Ci didn’t notice the unusual situation behind him. He had set up invisible barriers around him, similar to the principle of a mirage, which refracted the surrounding images and concealed his movements to the greatest extent. At the same time, it also made people passing by unconsciously take a long way around the barrier.
But this visual deception was only effective against human eye structures. Right now, from Huo Xianfeng’s point of view, what he saw was an omega standing in the corner, who didn’t seem very clever, talking to someone else in a very conspicuous manner.
Huo Xianfeng: “…”
Although the sound was muted, his lip movements were clearly visible.
So there was no point in muting the sound!
The young man sighed helplessly.
He had originally thought that something big happened for this guy to immediately run out. But in the end…
—It turned out that this beautiful omega was just as foolish as a beautiful ragdoll cat.
On the other side, Jiang Ci was still unaware that he had been labeled as a foolish ragdoll cat. He continued to communicate with He Zhun.
“Oh, by the way, A-Ci, have you felt any changes in your body recently?”
At this point, Dr. He’s expression became serious,
“Have you noticed any abnormal reactions or behavior?”
Abnormal behavior?
Jiang Ci fell into a few seconds of strange silence because of this question,
“…”
If this abnormal behavior referred to—
How he was stimulated by an alpha’s pheromones into entering a passive estrus, then threatened another unfamiliar alpha to mark him, and finally begged the other to comfort him in a very embarrassing manner, finally sleeping in that person’s bed… Could he really say such words?
“No…”
Originally, Jiang Ci wanted to refute it subconsciously, but as soon as the word came out with a rasp, Jiang Ci chose to swallow it.
——The Jiang family’s young master is not good at lying.
“If I say,”
Jiang Ci closed his eyes and after a moment of silence, he still spoke,
“I found an alpha…to do a temporary mark…”
Jiang Ci hadn’t even finished his sentence, and the other side, He Zhun, had already screamed in shock,
“What?!!! You actually &*%￥…!”
“…”
Fortunately, Jiang Ci had turned off the call volume in advance. If not, he felt that his hearing would be temporarily deafened by this high decibel noise.
However, the other party’s exaggerated expression, as well as his incoherent and gesticulating behavior, still made the temple of the Major General’s head throb,
“Enough!”
Jiang Ci gave him a cold glance, frost immediately condensing in his beautiful crimson eyes,
“Shut up for Laozi!”
“…”
The world was quiet the next second.
He Zhun zipped his mouth.
He knew Jiang Ci too well. This young master with excellent education would only use vulgar words like “Laozi” when he was in a very bad mood.
After a moment, when the Major General’s face had calmed down a bit, He Zhun cautiously spoke,
“You…forced a weak and pitiful alpha to mark you?”
Jiang Ci, who had turned on the mute but could still read lips: “…?”
Huo Xianfeng, who was standing far away but could still read lips: “…?”
But before the Major General could say anything, the other party immediately waved his hands frantically,
“Oh no no no, I misspoke. Which blind alpha was so unlucky to be caught by you?”
Jiang Ci who caught the foolish alpha: “……”
Huo “Blind and Unlucky Alpha” Xianfeng: “……”
The black-haired young man nearby thought for a moment and felt that what this person said was not entirely wrong.
As for Jiang Ci, if it weren’t for the distance of billions of light years, he really wanted to twist off other person’s head. Fortunately, after a period of incoherent babbling, He Zun’s mind cleared up quite a bit,
“Ahem, sorry sorry, it’s just that…I’m a little shocked.”
To be precise, it wasn’t just a little bit.
After all, this beautiful but fierce young general, even though his file clearly stated that he was an omega, from childhood to adulthood, Jiang Ci’s record of beating up alphas and sending them to the hospital could almost fill a book.
Even to the point where he would rather inject ten suppressants than do a simulated temporary mark without any physical contact.
Jiang Ci seemed to have a natural physical and psychological aversion to alphas, so that’s why He Zhun was so shocked. Although Jiang Ci was indeed an omega who was so beautiful that people and gods were outraged, He Zhun still couldn’t imagine the scene of him being pinned down and marked by an alpha.
At most, he could only imagine…
“So, this temporary mark,”
He Zun carefully observed his friend’s expression, held back for a long time, but still asked,
“You couldn’t have done it by pointing a gun to the head of some unlucky alpha, right…?”
——Unexpectedly, a bullseye!
Jiang Ci who pointed a gun: “………”
The unlucky alpha himself: “……..”
If it weren’t for Huo Xianfeng confirming that there was no one else present that night besides the dead alphas on the ground, he would deeply suspect that the other person had witnessed the whole process with his own eyes.
The young man narrowed his eyes slightly,
This omega’s friend…is quite interesting.
Although he seemed to like making a lot of fuss, both his observational skills and logical deduction were surprisingly outstanding.
“——Enough!”
At this point, the silver-haired young general could no longer bear it, and his face was so cold it was like a layer of frost had formed on it.
“Just spit it out if there are any side effects!”
“Well…”
He Zun hesitated a bit,
“Without detailed inspection of the data, I can’t directly draw a firm conclusion right now. But if we’re talking about temporary measures, it can only provide a certain degree of comfort, not eliminate it…”
Can’t be eliminated?
Eliminate what?
Huo Xianfeng furrowed his brows. He had a strong feeling that this was the most crucial piece of information, but the person in the projection did not say the last few words.
So, he mentally added another note to this person’s profile.
—He seems quite cautious.
“…”
Yet Jiang Ci understood what he meant. In other words, the symptoms of a false pregnancy would still exist in his body and wouldn’t disappear. In a few months, he would even show very obvious signs of pregnancy, just like a real pregnant omega.
The Major General closed his eyes, trying to calm down his annoyance. The Gardenia Rose Blossom was, after all, a plant that the Empire had ordered to be completely eradicated, and it had even been called the evil flower that could destroy the Earth.
Now, being able to find a seed was already quite good.
But…
“If we only rely on this, can you extract what you need?”
To be honest, the General’s patience was already at its limit. He really didn’t want to be misunderstood as a pregnant widow again. Or to be a widow who forced others to mark him!!
But this couldn’t be entirely blamed on He Zhun. After all, the other party had already reminded Jiang Ci to rest in bed and recuperate after he was injected with the new suppressant, but Jiang Ci did not follow the doctor’s advice…
So, he should bear the consequences.
“If we only have the seed…”
He Zhun pondered for a moment and said cautiously,
“Then it can only be cultivated first, and then extracted… for research…”
This time, Jiang Ci didn’t need to mute the sound. Dr. He’s voice was almost inaudible.
“Generally speaking… it will take at least three years to cultivate it from the seed.”
Jiang Ci: “…”
Three years…
Not to mention the antidote, even if he just waited for the seed to bloom, he would have experienced the process of pseudo-pregnancy three times and given birth to three children!!!
Jiang Ci felt that the string of reason in his mind was at its tightest at this moment, and might snap in the next second.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
“Besides this, are there any other…” methods?
Swoosh—
Jiang Ci suddenly turned around and without any hesitation, the cold and sharp blade instantly threatened to pierce the other person’s throat who had jumped at him. The young man seemed to have anticipated this, and leaned to the side, pressing down the left wrist that held the dagger, and flipping the person onto the ground.
“Don’t move!”
The familiar voice startled Jiang Ci, and his body subconsciously obeyed the other’s words. But before he could clearly see the other person’s face, he was held in the arms of the young man, and they suddenly fell down the sloping sand dunes together.
The moment he turned over, Jiang Ci saw the distant sky, that was originally an empty space, show snowflake-like electric currents. Then, a huge black warship deactivated its stealth mode and spun around, revealing its pitch-black cannons.
The Major General’s crimson eyes suddenly widened to the extreme—
“That’s…”
The next second, the two figures sank into the quicksand.
“Holy shit—!”
The silver bracelet that projected Dr. He’s head, was still sluggish in the air and He Zhun, who had been watching the whole process, showed the most shocked expression of his life.
—There’s actually someone who can pin down Jiang Ci!!!
And tumble?!!
Wait… where are they?!
But before He Zhun could say anything, a loud roar was heard.
Boom!!!
The next second, millions of electromagnetic waves suddenly struck—
The spectacular and magnificent current was like a rushing tsunami, suddenly turning the sand and rocks on the entire desert surface into a ferocious black and purple color.
In reality, this scene looked truly terrifying and eerie. If anyone saw it, they would probably be scared unconscious on the spot.
And see…
The moment a myriad of electric currents struck, the head with a “shocked face” floated in the air, and flew out with a yell——
Smack!
Plunging into the quicksand.
an interesting JJWXC comment from this chapter
Based on what you have written so far, I can just make a quick guess?
- Huo is related to the marshal. It is written that Huo woke up in an egg on a starship above the marshal’s cemetery. And when he mentioned that the names of all the martyrs were on the memorial tablet, Huo obviously showed different emotions (somewhat subtle sadness and happiness). Also when mentioning that tomorrow is the Marshal’s birthday, Huo said, “This should be the most lively birthday for this old man.” There were also some knowledge impartations he gave to second young master (which can be called imparting?) and words he said to Zhou Jiuya.
- Poachers are not simple or have bad intentions. On the day before the Marshal’s birthday, he came with the eggs of the Zerg King (maybe they didn’t know they were from the Zerg, but this is still very strange). I think it should have been premeditated. After all, everyone knows that the Zerg from 300 years ago are buried here. Or is this a deep conspiracy?
- Huo must be a Zerg and also the Zerg King (this isn’t nonsense!). Because he can command the Zerg and can smell the scent of Gardenia Rose (only the Zerg can smell it and can attract the Zerg, but he thought it was perfume…), this chapter also mentioned the protection made by Jiang Ci can’t be seen with human eyes, but Huo can see it
- Huo must be 20+ (nonsense!). Because his growth rate was unreasonable and his hair was mentioned, what Huo saw at first was a childish and unfamiliar face.
- It should be possible to dig deeper into what happened back then. Because the city lord called them (Zhou Jiuya) traitors. However, he said that he retreated following the order of the marshal, but the city lord said that he stabbed the marshal in the back, which is a bit strange.
- Huo should be the upgraded body of the fusion between Marshal and Zerg King (what the hell!). But why does he think he is called “Xianfeng”? I think he should be the Marshal… using a pseudonym (referring to: Huo Chao)?
The above is my humble opinion. I don’t know what you think. Let’s discuss it together~
PS: Since the clues are not complete yet, I can only make a few bold guesses
I feel like in the last scene HXF probably ran 10m (30ft) to reach Jiang Ci and knocked him over(and my theory on why JC didn’t notice him is because of their temporary bond, since omegas naturally trust their bonded alphas, so his perception isn’t 100%). Tho, does HXF have a spider-sense to detect danger?
As always here’s the characters’ name analysis
Ye Shu (叶疏)
叶 Leaf. Can symbolize new beginnings, growth, and resilience.
疏 Sparse, thin, distant. Can imply calmness, composure, and detachment.
He Zhun (贺准)
贺 (Hé) : To congratulate, to celebrate
准 (Zhun) : accurate / standard / follow the norm
Jiang Jinsheng (江烬生)
江 river
烬 cinders; ashes
生 to be born / to give birth / life / to grow / raw
After a day passed, the Sun’s heat managed to melt the snow and Gofa proudly presented the last piece to the puzzle!
and we’ve finished our Holiday’s puzzle search! Thanks to all the donors ☆ ～(‘▽^人)
PRD now has a character guide page and a fanart page, be sure to check it out! Should I add future donors to this image and re-upload it on Christmas day?
weibo link to fanart~
That JJWXC comment matches what I’ve been thinking since chapter 1.
I suspect that Marshal Huo and the Zerg King either merged or somehow had an offspring (Xianfeng) and Xianfeng inherited genetic memories from both. The author has been hinting things pretty strongly, so I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long to find out.
Thank you for the chapter
Look at our cute little guys in the snow 😭🩷🩷
Aww the full drawing is so cute
He Zhu is hilarious but also a great friend – always helping tsundere A-Ci put 😁
Thanks for the chapter 💞
*out
cute fanart! thank you for the chapter
thanks for the chapter!