trigger warning: dead of unnamed character, implied rape, implied child murder
M1zushi: this chapter has 7k characters so I was going to split it up but thanks to PRD’s ko-fi donors we’re getting it complete la~
thank you delana for the ko-fi donation!
Before meeting with Huo Xianfeng today, Ye Shu had pondered extensively about Huo Chao and their past.
Since Huo Chao’s death, everyone familiar with Ye Shu has deliberately avoided that name. Now, as it was suddenly brought up, the scenes from the past, though yellowed with time, remained vivid.
This lengthy story began over three hundred years ago with the sudden rise of the Illusory God Church. As this mysterious church deliberately sought to seize control of the Alliance Parliament, many regional governments felt a profound crisis. They saw this as theocracy devouring human rights, which was destined to bring disaster.
Simultaneously, many took advantage of the situation, and various places experienced military coups and riots.
Huo Chao entered the Alliance Army during that time.
However, at that time, Ye Shu was just a fifteen years old ordinary rebellious youth. Due to the Alliance’s overburden of politics, collusion between local nobles and stationed troops became commonplace. These parasites exploited the Alliance’s laxity and levied taxes forcefully, oppressing the people. They seemed more like enslaving colonizers than protective guardians.
Unable to endure any longer, Ye Shu’s parents, along with many others, protested and even wrote an anonymous report.
The letter, of course, never made it out. The stationed troops opened fire on the unarmed protesters, killing everyone involved. Ye Shu barely survived, hiding beneath his parents’ bodies.
Later, dragging his body full of severe injuries and carrying a heart full of hatred, Ye Shu roamed around in exile. Just before deciding to join a rebel organization in a certain area, he suddenly heard that a military officer named Huo Chao publicly hanged a dozen criminals who had colluded with corrupt military and businessmen.
So, with his last glimmer of hope, Ye Shu sought out Huo Chao, handing over the blood-stained letter to him. The latter remained silent and carefully examined it for a long time. Then, gently patting Ye Shu’s head, he said, “I understand.”
Even though at that time Huo Chao barely looked a bit older than him, when those words were spoken, Ye Shu believed them without hesitation.
Later, Huo Chao did indeed swiftly eliminate that group of thoroughly corrupt individuals and arranged a new adoptive family for Ye Shu. However, the latter stubbornly stayed by Huo Chao’s side. At that time, Ye Shu hadn’t attended military school, was thin and small, and couldn’t do anything. He could only clean the floors in the military camp every day and train with ordinary soldiers.
“Huo Chao, do you really plan to keep that little guy?” Jiang Jinsheng found the scene very amusing. Occasionally, when he came to see Huo Chao, he would praise Ye Shu for how shiny the floors were.
Pei Changyun didn’t have much of an opinion. As the Executive Officer of the Political Department and the Director of the Military Intelligence Department, he didn’t pay much attention to a kid who only knew how to wipe the floors.
It was during that time that Ye Shu got to know Jiang Jinsheng and Pei Changyun. They were already very familiar with Huo Chao, and their relationship was quite intimate.
He remembered that every time Pei Changyun came, he would carry a thick stack of documents and slam them onto Huo Chao’s desk, saying, “Here, these are the new documents issued by the Alliance, along with the intelligence and battle reports collected by the Military Intelligence Department. I’ve marked a few places in red for you to review all today.”
Review all today?!!
Huo Chao: “…Can I just look at the ones marked in red?”
Pei Changyun nodded, “You can.”
Then Huo Chao opened it and saw —
——All red.
Huo Chao: ……
Jiang Jinsheng, who was beside him, witnessed the scene and laughed heartily without any reservation.
So, almost every time Pei Changyun visited, Ye Shu would see the lights in Huo Chao’s office burning through the night.
Ye Shu spent a full three years cleaning the floor before being transferred to the guard post at the entrance of Huo Chao’s office and later to the battlefield. Over ten years, he followed Huo Chao to various major battlefields, witnessing the latter’s rise from a local officer to a general.
During that time, Ye Shu also earned some military merits, gradually climbing up the ranks with determination. He envied the camaraderie among the three of them and later strived to become part of it. However, perhaps due to inherent differences, he couldn’t stand Pei Changyun’s condescending attitude, and the latter looked down upon this kid who made his living by cleaning floors.
But with Huo Chao around, everyone managed to maintain a seemingly harmonious relationship. As for Zhou Jiuya, he was a gloomy and taciturn military academy student at the time, only joining Huo Chao’s command several years later.
In a small-scale battle where Huo Chao’s decisions and strategies were flawless, he didn’t personally participate but commanded from the headquarters. However, an unexpectedly formidable new recruit on the opposing side caused them significant losses.
Pei Changyun quickly identified the newcomer as Zhou Jiuya, Jiang Jinsheng’s half-brother.
Both were aware of each other’s existence. While Jiang Jinsheng openly acknowledged his unreliable father and the existence of this brother, Zhou Jiuya always felt like he was a stain in the family.
Moreover, despite Jiang Jinsheng being an alpha, all his talents were concentrated in his intellect. He was utterly incapable in fights or piloting mechas, the complete opposite of Zhou Jiuya. In the past, this incapability had earned him quite some ridicule from Huo Chao.
So, upon hearing about this incident, Jiang Jinsheng wasted no time, directly making a call and madly mocking Huo Chao, “Hahaha, Huo Chao, you’ve met your match!!! Tsk tsk, no wonder he’s a boy with half my blood, perhaps in a few more years, he’ll pin you down and give you a beating!”
Huo Chao: “…Heh.”
Very good.
The next day, Huo Chao personally piloted the Forbidden Abyss and set out for battle. Just when everyone was trembling with fear, they realized that the Forbidden Abyss wasn’t targeting their main base or their carrier warships. It even ignored the highest commander and headed straight for a new recruit.
“???”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Zhou Jiuya was utterly confused, not knowing that his own brother had fueled Huo Chao with resentment. He was left bewildered and incapacitated by Huo Chao’s direct assault.
Thanks to Huo Chao’s intervention, the outcome of this major battle was without suspense, and Zhou Jiuya was tossed into the war prison camp to dry out for three months. Eventually, Huo Chao, accompanied by Ye Shu, appeared in a dazzling manner and successfully accepted his surrender.
From then on, Huo Chao’s personal core team had been fully established.
Subsequently, with more and more victories, Huo Chao’s name resonated throughout the entire Alliance. Eight years later, rebellions by local governments had been largely suppressed, and rebellious forces attempting to take advantage didn’t dare to even show their faces.
In the same year, the Illusory God Church smoothly gained control of most of the power in the Alliance Parliament, even showing signs of directly overshadowing it. Huo Chao was once again promoted, directly ascending to the position of Alliance Commander.
With the wars finally subsiding, the Alliance entered a brief period of peace. History has proven that when every war ends, mankind will always usher in a wave of baby boom. With no battles to fight, a group of energetic alphas with nowhere to expend their energy would naturally think about finding wives.
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.
At that time, Pei Changyun arranged many large-scale blind dates for the soldiers. He also relaxed the leave regulations, allowing many soldiers and officers who had been away from home for years to return for family visits. The compensation for martyrs and the comfort of their families were all handled perfectly.
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So, during that time, the most respected and admired person in the military was Marshal Huo Chao, but when it came to the most liked and approachable person, it was Pei Changyun, the highest executive in the Political Department.
At that time, because Pei Changyun organized several blind dates in the army, Jiang Jinsheng teased him and even called him “Matchmaker Pei” for quite some time. However, Pei Changyun was not as hot-tempered as Huo Chao; when he is mocked, he immediately plans how to secretly retaliate and take revenge. He has always liked to hide, lie low, and wait for the right moment.
The right moment soon arrived. Since Pei Changyun often interacted with major aristocratic families in the legions, many people approached this “matchmaker” to seek his help in matchmaking.
During that period, Pei Changyun had, on one hand, a bunch of high-quality alphas, including Huo Chao, and on the other hand, a group of beautiful omegas pampered by various major aristocratic families.
Well, isn’t this quite a coincidence?
Undoubtedly, Jiang Jinsheng was the first to suffer. He went on blind dates continuously for a whole month, day and night without rest, to the extent that his eyesight had never been so strained, even after conducting experiments for a month straight. Moreover, due to being exposed to too many different omega scents, he was labeled as a scumbag alpha.
Jiang Jinsheng, holding onto Pei Changyun’s waist, weakly surrendered, “Brother Pei… spare me.”
Pei Changyun finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Afterward, neither Ye Shu nor Zhou Jiuya escaped unscathed. However, the former was too straightforward and didn’t succeed, while the latter scared people away because of his fierce appearance and expression. Consequently, both of them failed.
As for Huo Chao, he was actually the one most admired and desired by the majority of omegas. After all, he was a young Alliance Marshal, wielding great power, possessing a face as handsome as a male model and his private life was almost like a blank canvas—clean and untarnished.
Not only from the perspective of simple partner selection criteria but also from family interests, Huo Chao is naturally the best choice.
However, right from the beginning, he had sternly expressed to Pei Changyun that he refused any blind dates. Pei Changyun was adept at discerning many things from a person’s tone and expression. When Huo Chao said those words, it was obvious—
This was a warning.
So, Pei Changyun’s expression turned serious, and he solemnly responded, “Yes, Marshal, I understand.”
Ye Shu was also present at the time. Despite his dislike for Pei Changyun, as an alpha who hadn’t seen an omega for hundreds of years, Ye Shu held a strong curiosity and fondness for those beautiful, cute, and delicate creatures. Moreover, pursuing omegas was a natural instinct for alphas, so he didn’t understand why Huo Chao resisted so strongly. He directly asked, “Why, Marshal?”
“…because I don’t like it!”
Huo Chao remained silent for a few seconds and gave a cold, firm answer, “—I don’t like such fragile and delicate creatures.”
Huo Chao’s expression at that time was so resistant that Ye Shu’s impression of it remained vivid to this day. However, the most important reason was that Pei Changyun had tricked Ye Shu at that time and asked him to question Huo Chao about his preferences for betas and alphas.
Pei Changyun was always eloquent, with a silver tongue that could charm anyone. With just a few words, Ye Shu was deceived into thinking that he should die for the sake of the Marshal’s lifelong happiness and asked, “So, Marshal, do you like betas?”
“……..?”
Huo Chao frowned, giving Ye Shu a stern look, “Don’t like it.”
“Hiss…”
Ye Shu immediately took in a cold breath, “It can’t possibly be an A…”
Whoosh—!
Before he could finish speaking, Huo Chao directly grabbed the back of Ye Shu’s collar and threw him out of the window.
—It was the fifty-eighth floor.
Fortunately, they all carried mechas with them, so Ye Shu didn’t fall to his death. However, due to deploying a mecha without authorization in the administrative area, he had his salary deducted for six months.
“……..”
Ye Shu was different from the others; among the five of them, he was the only one with a genuinely ordinary background. Therefore, his sole source of wealth was that meager salary.
This incident left a deep impression on Ye Shu, that Huo Chao not only disliked omegas but was also extremely averse to them. Similarly, the Marshal did not like betas or alphas.
Perhaps Huo Chao was just cold and indifferent.
Of course, Ye Shu only dared to think such things in his mind. It’s just that this incident left such a profound impression on him, making him convinced that Huo Chao had no possibility of leaving any descendants.
But Huo Xianfeng was very puzzled.
Disliking omegas was very contrary to the nature of an alpha, and it was truly perplexing. After all, Huo Chao is almost a perfect image that has been mythical in the world’s impression.
Powerful, selfless, fearless, compassionate, devoted, and sacrificial.
Almost all the great words seemed to be related to that person. According to the mainstream values of this interstellar era, such a great figure showing love and protective instincts toward delicate and beautiful omegas should be considered normal.
“I think something must have happened to make Huo Chao dislike omegas.”
“…….”
Ye Shu was no longer surprised by Huo Xianfeng’s keen insight because he had become accustomed to the other’s intelligence.
“You guessed right. At that time, an omega intentionally broke into Huo Chao’s house during her heat. She was an A-rank omega, just reaching adulthood and experiencing her first heat. The rich pheromones were almost enough to drive any alpha crazy.”
Not to mention how a weak omega could break into the Marshal’s house, but at that time, Huo Chao had completely lost his rationality and capability to think deeply about this issue.
Huo Xianfeng frowned, immediately sensing a hint of conspiracy.
“But in the end, Huo Chao locked himself in the cockpit of the Forbidden Abyss, and that intentionally intruding omega was completely marked and knotted by a certain guard who rushed in.”
Ye Shu squinted slightly, as if recalling a long time ago,
“A month later, the doctor said that omega was pregnant.”
However, generally speaking, the higher the rank of the Alpha-Omega bond, the more difficult it is to conceive. Even though that guard was only a B-rank, for a just-adult A-rank omega, it was almost impossible to conceive.
“That was the first time we saw Huo Chao so furious. He put down all his military duties and personally ordered an investigation into this matter. But no one expected that, in the end, it would lead to the top echelon of the Alliance Council.”
Pausing at this point, Ye Shu hesitated, seemingly recalling something, and let out a cold laugh,
“Later, I learned that, to be precise, the behind-the-scenes mastermind of this incident was related to the Illusory God Church.”
“But the pregnant omega’s situation was not good. Her belly grew larger, but she visibly became thinner, as if it wasn’t the grand process of nurturing life but a terrifying event of being parasitized and drained of life by something.”
“Huo Chao killed the child with his own hands and also killed that omega. Everyone who knew about this was placed under a ban and signed the strictest confidentiality agreements. Then, he went alone to the headquarters of the church, the Holy White Tower.”
No one knew what happened inside that night. However, when Huo Chao returned, covered in blood and with a terrifyingly dark expression, he immediately destroyed all his DNA samples and erased all the medical examination reports and information entered into the system.
In the military, there was an unwritten rule that all soldiers and officers would store a blood sample and detailed medical examination report when they enlisted. This was to enable the military doctors to quickly access the physical information of injured personnel in case of injuries.
“After completing these tasks, he immediately led the entire army, directly leaving Earth. He stationed himself thousands of light-years away on the developing Lasting Cloud Planet. He also announced that the Alliance Army would be officially renamed as the Dawn Legion.”
At that time, humanity had just entered the era of vast universe exploration, and the Lasting Cloud Planet was the first habitable planet discovered besides Earth.
—Which is now the capital of the Empire.
“This incident became the catalyst for Huo Chao’s complete break with the Alliance. The media, which had once praised him, immediately turned hostile, accusing Huo Chao of harboring ambitious intentions to overthrow the Alliance rule and implement a new government. Tensions escalated rapidly, and both sides were on the brink of open conflict.”
As Ye Shu recounted these events, Huo Xianfeng had previously found related fragmented information which largely matched this story. He believed that if things had continued in this direction, today’s Emperor might have been Huo Chao instead of Pei Changyun.
“But fate is like this, always taking an unexpected turn when you least expect it.”
“——The Zergs appeared.”
Such a terrifying monster immediately became the biggest threat to the entire human race. Ye Shu smiled bitterly,
“So the two sides had to temporarily cease hostilities, and Huo Chao had to step onto the battlefield once again. He cooperated with Jiang Jinsheng to build the Skynet defense system on Earth.”
“The war against the Zergs and the internal human conflicts were not on the same level. In the early stages, aside from the few battles where Huo Chao personally led, we hardly achieved any victories. Due to numerous sacrifices and logistical challenges, Huo Chao ordered Pei Changyun to return to Earth and negotiate cooperation with the Alliance against their common enemy.”
“After much negotiation and maneuvering, we finally reached an agreement, giving us some relief. However, for some unknown reason, the Church suddenly betrayed the Dawn Legion.”
“It was the first time they demonstrated the practical use of space-time traversal technology, catching us off guard. We suffered a devastating defeat. I was severely injured, lost an arm, and spent two months in a coma in the medical facility on Lasting Cloud Planet. For the remaining three months, I was in a semi-conscious state.”
At this point, Ye Shu subconsciously touched his left arm, half of his face immersed in shadows. He whispered, “When I finally regained consciousness, the Zergs had already invaded Earth.”
——It was an unprecedented catastrophe.
No matter how many times he remembers it, he still feels horror.
“I rushed over desperately, but all I encountered was Zhou Jiuya, who was retreating the troops. As for the Church, they had already escaped using space-time traversal technology.”
Ye Shu’s voice trembled and choked with emotion, “They… all abandoned Huo Chao, leaving him there… alone… to detonate millions of nuclear bombs.”
“Pei Changyun… Pei Changyun…!!!”
The disabled alpha uttered this name, each word seemingly ripping his throat, “Inside his mecha’s storage box, there was nothing but… the nectar and petals of Gardenia Roses.”
“The Zerg race… He led them there! It must be him! It must be him!!!”
Huo Xianfeng silently gazed at him, waiting until Ye Shu’s emotions calmed down before gently asking, “Have you asked Pei Changyun about it?”
“Ask… How could I not ask…” Ye Shu bitterly smiled. “He said it was planned because it was the only way to wipe out the Zerg race at once. There are no devices on Earth capable of launching millions of nuclear bombs at once, and if they were launched into space, it would cause significant changes in the outer space environment.”
So lure the Zergs to Earth and use the Skynet to intercept the aftermath of the explosion and the Zergs attempting to escape.
— To be done once and for all.
“He very frankly told me that this wasn’t Huo Chao’s order but his own plan. Lasting Cloud Planet has been developed to a preliminary stage and is capable of accommodating all survivors from Earth. Rather than the extinction of the entire race, it’s better to… relocate.”
Ye Shu, who had endured this resentment for so long, vented his emotions proudly. His chest heaved violently, and his face was covered in numerous beads of sweat,
“How could he dare to say that, Pei Changyun… If his plan was really foolproof, why did he sacrifice Huo Chao in order to detonate the nuclear bomb?! Why didn’t he do it himself?!!”
If it weren’t for Zhou Jiuya blocking him that day, even if Ye Shu had to die with Pei Changyun, he would have killed him.
“…”
Huo Xianfeng remained silent until the other finally calmed down. Then he slowly spoke, “Ye Shu, do you want to cooperate with me?”
The disabled alpha was stunned, suddenly looking up. In his deep green eyes, the reflection of the young man’s outstretched hand was clear.
“…”
Whoosh—
An hour later, Huo Xianfeng walked out of Ye Shu’s room. Two guards stood on either side of the door. Although the room where Ye Shu lived was well furnished, it was still essentially house arrest.
“……”
Huo Xianfeng, with Ye Shu’s help, probably gathered about a third of the puzzle’s outline. The most intricate parts may require consulting Pei Changyun or the Pope.
When he returned, Huo Xianfeng saw Jiang Ci waiting at the door.
Starlight from outside poured in through the massive window, casting a faint glow on his beautiful silver hair.
However, Jiang Ci didn’t ask Huo Xianfeng about his conversation with Ye Shu. Instead, he informed him, “That sister of yours… Tang Cha? We will send her and all the children on Winter Day Planet to the orphanage on the Capital, providing compulsory education and arranging for adoption by willing families, just like normal children.”
This was part of the reassimilation policy, right?
Actually, even without Jiang Ci mentioning it, Huo Xianfeng had intended to bring it up later on. He had prepared the bargaining chips, but he hadn’t expected Jiang Ci to have already made all the arrangements.
“Well, it seems that your Empire’s child protection laws are not just empty words.”
Huo Xianfeng reached for the door, intending to open it.
Bip——
[Fingerprint input error.]
“…”
The young man paused. It was the first time he had left in three days, so he had just realized that fingerprint verification was needed to open the door.
A hand reached over from the right, pulled his wrist away, and pressed a finger on the door button.
The next second, a cheerful electronic sound played —
[Ding, welcome back, Major General Jiang Ci.]
“Register subsidiary fingerprints.”
[Ding, this permission requires iris verification.]
So, the silver-haired omega walked a bit closer, lowered his head slightly, and approached. The silver hair, as bright as snow, scattered down, with a few strands casually sliding over Huo Xianfeng’s fingers.
Buzz——
His heartbeat trembled ever so slightly for a moment.
The young man’s fingers stiffened imperceptibly, then curled up around at the fingertips.
[Bip, verification successful, please input.]
The electronic screen quickly lit up with blue light.
Jiang Ci stepped back, completely unaware of the subtle events that had just occurred. He simply gestured to Huo Xianfeng with his eyes to record his fingerprints.
“All done.”
The cool and silky feeling was suddenly withdrawn from his touch. Huo Xianfeng’s expression remained unchanged. He just lightly rubbed his fingertips, then reached out to touch the spot Jiang Ci had pressed before.
As he leaned over, his phoenix eyes lazily lowered, and his gaze seemingly swept over the omega’s beautiful silver hair,
“So you came over just to help me record my fingerprints?”
Jiang Ci pursed his lips and coldly said, “….I’m just informing you about Tang Cha’s situation and, by the way, preventing you from running away because you can’t enter the room.”
Huo Xianfeng blinked and made a vaguely meaningful chuckle. Due to the narrowness of the corridor, his voice echoed, dragging with a slightly magnetic quality,
“Oh, I see…”
When the fingerprint recording progress reached 87%, the young man suddenly asked, “So, the Major General is giving his room to me?”
“………”
Jiang Ci’s body stiffened. At that time, he was confused by Huo Xianfeng and didn’t think much about it. As for the past three days, he had been staying in the military medical room so he hadn’t noticed.
“……..”
“…I also have other rooms on the warship; this one is just surplus and would be a waste to leave it empty.”
Huo Xianfeng made a thoughtful hum and the corners of his lips lifted,
“Oh, it seems I guessed right; this is the Major General’s room.”
“…”
Jiang Ci choked up.
At this moment, an electronic sound suddenly rang out—
[Ding, recording successful, please enter the name.]
The youth extended his index finger and wrote on it stroke by stroke,
“Huo Xian Feng.”
M1zushi: mf is acting like he’s writing his marriage certificate w jiang ci XDDD
spoilers for Huo Chao's pair~
Can’t wait to read that extra as well.. but it’s still a long way to go right? 😭
Thanks for the chapter~~
I meant their love story.. wherever it is @_@
Now that’s a surprise !!! I thought Huo Chao mated with a zerg queen and had Huo kid.. lolol
Part of the text is in translator’s note.
Thanks for the chapter 😄
I’ve fixed it, thanks ^^
:OOOO That was the least expected pairing for me hfufkrkr ayy can’t wait to read about the extras ☺
Odjfnfj the pairing!!!!!! Very exciting, can’t wait for the transition :)))))) ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)੭ ᐕ)੭*⁾⁾
Thanks for the chapters btw
NO CUZ THAT NOTE MADE ME SCREAM give me a moment guys
OMG the Pride & Prejudice hand flex translator note made me giggle so much (≧▽≦)
aww jian ci so cuuuute!
thanks for the chapter!
Interesting backstory for HC, PC & YS and how they all became friends/allies…
Thanks for the chapter 💞
AOUHHH Pride And Prejudice(2005) Hand Flex Scene™ is the sexiest non-sexual scene ever ahhhh 😩👌✨️✨️✨️
Also totally didn’t see the pairing but omg it sounds delicious 👀
Wait you mean huo chao partner is pei changyun?? Is it?