After he hung up, Berg reported this incident to His Majesty. Trand wasn"t completely at ease with the way things had gone. He frowned and said, “Xi Wei"s only fourteen years old. If you give him Egret right now, isn"t that going to put too much pressure on him?”

Berg shook his head. “That won"t happen, brother. You"re underestimating Xi Wei. This child"s talent, courage and insight are even higher than we thought. He only took three seconds to complete a mental match with Egret. His mental strength is even higher than mine. Not to mention, he"s only fourteen years old. He"s probably the first member of the royal family in hundreds of years to attain this kind of result. With Egret at his side, he won"t be in any danger, so you can be at ease, brother.”

Trand was quiet for a moment, then said, “Alright. Make sure he"s careful and pays attention to safety.”

“I will.” When he had just finished talking, Berg received a message from Egret.

When he opened the connection, he saw a row of text messages from Xi Wei. “Uncle, I discovered a man called Dean Sherman among the list of Alliance members you sent me. He looks just like my cla.s.smate Aiden"s dad, Randy. To tell the truth, they"re the same person, right?”

Xi Wei had quickly ferreted out the story behind this matter. According to his understanding, fifteen years ago, there was an attack during the celebration of Ellen Academy"s founding. Mechas shot down the students, resulting in the deaths of about a dozen of them. There had been a special report in the news about it. He had searched the internet a moment ago, and Dean was on the list of casualties.

What"s more, Aiden"s date of birth just so happened to fall on the August of the following year. That was to say, after faking his death, Dean went to the capital planet under a forged ident.i.ty, where he gave birth to Aiden and made a new life for himself. Following this train of thought, the other omegas on the casualty list might also be, like Randy, living on in various places in the empire under a.s.sumed ident.i.ties.

Having thought to this point, Xi Wei said in dawning astonishment, “That year, it wasn"t a surprise raid from the Federation at all, was it? That attack at Ellen Academy...it was actually the Underground Alliance pulling the strings from behind the scenes.”

When he heard this, Berg couldn"t help but smile. He said in praise, “Xi Wei, you"re so smart. You figured it out so fast.”

Xi Wei: “..."

Berg explained, “That year, I was the one who controlled the mechas and made them start attacking. I took advantage of the opportunity to finish installing the equipment in the underground factory. The so-called surprise raid from the Federation was actually carried out under my direction, using disguised soldiers from the Royal Guard. They painted the symbol of the Federation on their s.p.a.ceships, and when the military pursued them, they escaped at the first chance they saw. The news that there was a Federal spy at Ellen Academy was also something I purposefully leaked to the military. As for the omegas who “died” in the attack, those were all faked deaths. As you thought, they were all members of the Underground Alliance. I"ve already sent them to other places under new ident.i.ties.”

Xi Wei: “...”

Seeing the resourcefulness of this Alliance leader, he really wanted to kowtow in admiration!

In the chaos caused by the fake Federation attack, not only had he managed to move equipment into the underground factory, but he had also been able to make new ident.i.ties for several omegas by means of forging their deaths. Apparently, Randy was one of those omegas.

Xi Wei was only puzzled about one thing. “A dozen omegas died, didn"t their families look into it?”

Berg said, “Ivan"s usually responsible for managing the aftermath. We injected realistic mannequins with the omegas" blood, and then we bombed the mannequins beyond recognition. When the family members got back the results from the DNA testing of the blood, they naturally accepted the reality of their children"s deaths.”

After having spoken to this point, Berg couldn"t help but let out a soft sigh. “These omegas chose such an extreme method because their families gave them no other way out. The Dean you"ve mentioned was one of them. That year, his grandfather had forced him to get engaged to an alpha a few decades older than him. That alpha had a ruthless temper, and Dean didn"t like him one bit. But the wedding date had already been set, and in a few more months, he had to return home to marry him. He was at the end of his rope, and so he finally asked me to add his name to the list of casualties.”

Xi Wei said in surprise, “So what you"re saying is, he really is the grandson of General Christian Sherman of the Rose Corps?”

“That"s right, he"s the eldest grandson of the Sherman family. His father, though, was born with low mental strength, and didn"t have any say in family matters. His mother, too, was sweet-tempered and mild, and bent to people"s will. His grandfather General Sherman ruled the whole family with an iron fist, and he made the marriage decisions for everyone in the younger generation. Dean was forced into a corner, and so he had no choice but to fake his death and escape.” Berg paused, then continued, “He had a younger brother named Hooper, who encountered a similar fate. You must have heard of Ling Feng from Ivan, right?”

Xi Wei said, “Isn"t that the one who"s working undercover as a doctor in the Central Hospital? One of the four core members of the Underground Alliance?”

Berg nodded. “At that time, Ling Feng was working as a doctor at the Central Hospital under the ident.i.ty of a beta. He met Hooper there, and the two of them fell in love. But General Sherman was absolutely against it. So Hooper took Ling Feng and left his family, and the two of them ran away together. In the end, the general sent men out after them to bring them back, and he forced the two to part. But Hooper wasn"t willing, so the general thought up a cruel method to make him compliant. He made him undergo an operation to remove his memories, so that he forgot everything that had happened…”

Having spoken to this point, Berg"s eyes sharpened. “Christian is a very ruthless man. He even did such a thing to his own grandson. It"s a good thing that Dean took advantage of the chaos that year to leave the Sherman family, or he may have come to an even worse end.”

When Xi Wei heard this, he felt a little chill. Randy was doing very well for himself at the moment, planting a few flowers as he liked, raising some pets, and selling handcrafted goods online to make money. But Xi Wei could well imagine what Randy"s situation would be like if he hadn"t managed to escape that year. He might really have been forced by his grandfather to marry an alpha a few decades older than him.

Berg was silent for a moment, then said in a soft voice, “Many of the omegas of the Underground Alliance are outstanding in capability, but many of them also have very troubled pasts. Xi Wei, after you finish reading through their information, you"ll realize that it wasn"t easy for them to make it this far. That"s why you have to use all of your strength to protect them. As for their ident.i.ties, you can"t leak half a word to anyone about it, or it might very well bring down disaster on their heads. Do you understand?”

Prudently, Xi Wei nodded and said, “I understand, uncle.”

Asking a fourteen-year-old boy to protect all those omegas sounded a little ridiculous, but Xi Wei buried those words in his heart.

In this unfair world, many omegas came across hardships at every step. For them, the Underground Alliance was their only hope, the one thing they could rely on. As an omega prince, as his uncle"s personally selected successor, Xi Wei needed to take up his responsibilities. When his uncle gave Egret to him, it wasn"t so he could take him for a spin, it was so he could make use of his natural-born mental strength, and get the most value out of this S-cla.s.s mecha!

Xi Wei lightly clenched his fist, and thought silently in his heart: If he had the opportunity, he would definitely put everything at at stake in order to change this unfair system. The ident.i.ty of a prince was a burden at first, but now, it was his greatest advantage!

——————————

Ever since school started, Klaire and Carlo would pay close attention in cla.s.s. After cla.s.s, they"d immediately go to the library to study, borrowing textbooks meant for students in higher grades. Each person would take on three subjects and take notes of the important points. After they returned to their dormitory, they"d share their notes and look over them together.

The life of a top student wasn"t easy. While the other students in their cla.s.s were playing ball or watching movies to relax, Klaire and Carlo were burying themselves in a sea of books, taking notes on topics that were dry as dust.

A week pa.s.sed by, and Carlo felt a bit frustrated. But when he thought that Aiden might get married to another alpha, he could only spur himself on to keep up with Klaire"s progress speed. Sometimes he couldn"t help but admire Klaire. Such thick books, and he read them all day long, even keeping a smile on his face… Truth be told, Klaire wasn"t having a great time either. Back in the old days, he had also been a slacker student, and now he had turned around and become a diligent overachiever. From the bottom of his heart, he felt tired.

However, if he didn"t diligently improve himself, in the future when he was facing down his compet.i.tors, he wouldn"t have a single advantage. So he could only put in his best effort.

That night, after he finished a series of simulation tests, Klaire returned to his dorm room and called Xi Wei.

The boy who appeared on the holographic screen had a rosy face, looking as if he had just gotten out of the bath, his jet-black hair still constantly dripping. Next to him sprawled a white cat and a black cat. Those two guys had already gotten to know each other, and were playing as they liked by themselves. Xi Wei said, “How come you"re looking for me so late at night?”

Because I miss you. Klaire said softly in his heart.

When he saw that the boy in front of him was completely silent, Xi Wei couldn"t help but ask in confusion, “What"s wrong?”

At this, Klaire finally smiled, and said, “Nothing. I just wanted to ask if you"re doing well at Ellen Academy.”

Xi Wei said, “I"m doing fine. The environment here is nice, and the cla.s.ses are pretty easy too. It"s just that…”

Thinking of how his uncle made him promise to keep everything a secret, Xi Wei could only stop there and purposefully say in a relaxed tone, “Alright, you should get to sleep soon. I"m going to go feed the cats, and then I"ll get ready for bed as well.”

Klaire nodded. “Goodnight."

Originally, they trusted each other the most out of anyone in this world. But the Underground Alliance held the fates of so many omegas in its hands, and Xi Wei had promised his uncle not to leak out half a word about it. So even if it was Klaire, he didn"t dare to tell him. He knew Klaire wasn"t a loose-lipped person, but what if there was equipment monitoring him? Or what if his father the general noticed some clues off of him?

Xi Wei didn"t dare to run the risk, so he silently swallowed down everything about the Underground Alliance.

That night, his uncle sent him new orders through Egret"s AI. “Xi Wei, next month there"s an important mission that I"ll give to you to complete. During this period of time, you should prepare yourself. Make sure Egret"s power source is fully charged. When the time comes, I"ll have Ivan tell you how to complete the mission.”

Xi Wei quickly replied, “I understand, Uncle!”

When he thought that he could finally make use of his skills, Xi Wei couldn"t help but look forward to it.

School had started for a week, and the seventh of September soon arrived. In the imperial palace on the capital planet, General Craig faced the king with a serious expression and requested leave. This time, he was asking for a leave of three days. His Majesty Trand approved it. Immediately afterwards, Craig drove his personal hovercar to Randy"s home.

Randy had just been lying on the sofa sunbathing when he heard the robot report that a guest had come for a visit. He took a look at the security monitor and saw that tall alpha standing expressionlessly at the door. Randy smiled, and had the robot open the door.

Craig soon walked with quick steps to the doorway of the living room. Randy smiled and said, “You came.”

Craig said a little awkwardly, “Yes…”

Randy said, “Come in first.”

He had Craig sit down on the sofa with him, and poured him a gla.s.s of water. He looked at the other with gentle eyes, and said softly, “I troubled you to make the trip, I really have to apologize. But you also know about the state of my son"s illness, so I can only request your help with my heat this time…”

Craig interrupted him. “You don"t have to say all this, I completely understand.”

Randy was silent for a moment, then said, “My pheromone levels have been going up and down for the last two days, and my heat might not necessarily come today...in any case it"ll come during the next few days, so how about you stay over for now?”

The truth was, after long-term use of suppressants, suddenly going off of them resulted in unpredictable control of the heat. Dr. Louis had told him that his heat would come between the 7th and the 10th. Exactly when it would come, he couldn"t say with any accuracy.

When Craig heard this, he was a little uncomfortable at heart. This feeling of being an object to be used really wasn"t great, and now he also had to wait around for him at his house…

When he looked back and saw his clear eyes, Craig"s heart softened at once, and he agreed without thinking: “Alright, I"ll stay.”

He had asked for leave from His Majesty anyway, so it didn"t matter if he stayed at this omega"s house for a few more days.

When he thought of this, he felt a little better at heart. He asked, “Have you eaten already?”

Randy smiled and said, “I ate a lot and replenished my energy. Otherwise in a while, I"d only be able to do it halfway before running out of steam.”

Craig: “...”

This guy can really talk bluntly! Did he ever learn the meaning of the word “tact?”

The two men looked at each other, and Craig suddenly felt his heart miss a beat. The sweet scent of pheromones gradually rose into the air, a scent that could tempt the soul from the body. It was exactly the same as the scent buried in the depths of Craig"s memory.

Craig"s spine stiffened, and he sat up straight as a ruler on the sofa.

“Ah…” Randy lightly gasped, feeling a little hot. He took the initiative to unb.u.t.ton his shirt, exposing a stretch of fair skin. 

Craig didn"t even dare to look, and rigidly turned his head in the other direction.

Randy moved over to him on his own, and leaned into his arms. He lifted his head, smiled and said, “Maybe the scent of your pheromones affected me. Well...do you want to eat first and restore your energy, or...should we just start?”

Craig"s face darkened, and he reached out and took this boldfaced omega up in his arms. He said in a deep voice, “No need to restore it, I have plenty of energy.”

As he said it, he picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, pressing him down on the bed at once, and closing up that annoying mouth with his own.

This omega feels so soft when you kiss him. While Craig"s mouth was occupied, his head was filled with absentminded thoughts.

The result was that by the time he had finished kissing him, he found that Randy had stripped him of all of his clothes.

Craig: “...”

Can"t you be a little more modest?! Can"t you leave something like stripping off clothes to the alpha?! What are you in such a rush for?!

Looking at the omega lying on bed, cheeks flushed, eyes bright with excitement, Craig really felt completely helpless.

Randy"s heat this time was relatively normal, lasting for three full days.

Craig followed the knowledge he"d crammed during the last few days, and patiently took care of his omega. When Randy felt tired and needed a rest, he"d feed him some concentrated nutrient liquid to replenish his energy. By the time the last day ended, Randy could barely get off the bed. His whole body aching, he lay on the bed and let Craig attend to his every need. Craig had finally been able to enjoy himself to satisfaction.

At the moment when he permanently marked Randy, Craig felt a strong impulse to hold onto this omega for a lifetime, without ever letting go. He absolutely couldn"t let any other alpha see the image Randy made right now!

That strong possessive desire finally made Craig realize that perhaps...perhaps he liked him?

Why else would Randy constantly be on his mind for so many years, why else would he be so excited when they met for the second time?

Craig cupped the back of Randy"s head and softly kissed him. Randy had been too exhausted by the permanent marking and had fallen asleep, but when Craig kissed him this time, he was completely earnest, and extraordinarily gentle.

After he kissed him, Craig, who had never been given to poetic declarations, softly touched Randy"s face, and said in a low voice, “Randy, I"ll protect you, and our son as well.”

The omega before him had a body covered with purple marks, and was sleeping quietly. Craig"s heart softened so much it almost melted, and he took Randy into his arms.

Halfway through the night, Randy"s brows suddenly wrinkled in his sleep, full of unease. He murmured softly, “Father, I won"t marry that man, help me persuade Grandpa...please… Mom, I"m sorry, I know you"re very sad, but I can"t come back...sorry…”

He seemed to be caught in a nightmare, his body trembling incessantly. Craig"s heart hurt looking at him. He clumsily stroked Randy"s back, saying, “Don"t be afraid, Randy...don"t be afraid, I"m here...sleep well, now...”

Maybe his clumsy caresses had an effect, or maybe the bad dream ended, but Randy finally fell deeply asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, as soon as Randy lifted his head, he saw this man"s handsome profile. His arms were wrapped tightly around Randy"s waist, and their bodies were pressed closely together. No wonder he felt so nice and warm.

Randy smiled, and struggled to get up. Craig was woken by his movements, and immediately sat up, saying, “You don"t want to sleep a while longer?”

Randy shook his head. “No need, my heat has pa.s.sed, and my energy has pretty much recovered.”

While he put on his clothes, he calmly said, “Thank you, general, for taking care of me these three days.”

Craig touched his nose and coughed. “Don"t say something like that.”

Randy smiled, then turned and left for the bathroom to clean off the stains on his body. Craig felt a bit guilty. After three consecutive days, he had also been very tired last night, and he had gotten too excited, so he forgot to help Randy clean himself. It must have been really uncomfortable to have those things left inside of him.

Craig stood at the door of the bathroom, and said in a low voice, “Why don"t, um, why don"t you take a bath first, and I"ll make you something to eat.”

When Randy came out of the shower, he saw that Craig had plated a whole tableful of delicacies. He never thought that this serious-faced general would actually know how to cook. Randy sat down and ate a little, then said, “Thank you. If there"s nothing else, you should go back to the palace.”

Craig: “...”

After a moment of silence, Craig pressed down his anger, frowned and said, “Do you think I"m at your beck and call? Randy, who do you think I am?!”

Randy stared at him blankly, then said, confused, “Didn"t we discuss it beforehand…”

“Enough!” Craig interrupted him furiously. “I"m a man, not a tool! Randy, you"d better get that through your head!”

The general was pretty scary in a rage. Randy flinched, looking at him with a face full of innocent surprise. He seemed to be saying, Didn"t we agree beforehand that we"d get through this heat and then we"d be done? We rolled around in bed for three days and both enjoyed ourselves, so what exactly are you angry about?

Craig shot him a glare, then directly turned around and left.

Randy scratched his head. He didn"t quite understand this general"s thought process.

The time flew by. Craig hid in the palace sulking, and didn"t come find Randy again.

A month pa.s.sed and sure enough, Randy started throwing up often, just like he had that year. When he went to the hospital for an examination, Dr. Louis was really happy: “You"re pregnant!”

Randy was also very pleased, and he smiled and said, “It"ll be great if the baby"s an omega this time. Although the original reason for giving birth to him was to save his older brother, I"ll definitely love him a lot, and raise him up well until he"s big.”

Louis nodded and said, “Right! When you give birth next year, you can just take the blood directly from his umbilical cord. Don"t worry, it definitely won"t harm the baby.” He paused, then said, “That"s right, the child"s father, do we need to notify him?”

Randy thought it over carefully and said, “I think I"ll tell him in person. I have to thank him.”

That night after he came home, Randy sent Craig a message, saying, “General, I"m pregnant. If the baby is an omega this time, Aiden will be saved. I really have to thank you.”

The corner of Craig"s mouth twitched twice—what the h.e.l.l was this, thanks for being my sperm donor?

All the alphas of the empire added together probably wouldn"t be as tragic as General Craig. Being used as a prop, and afterwards just tossed aside—it was really enough to drive you mad!

Craig was so angry he felt like his chest was suffocating and he couldn"t contain it. It just so happened that his friend Anderson was walking by, and seeing Craig"s face that was as black as the bottom of a pot, he couldn"t help but ask, “What happened? Your confession was rejected?”

Craig cut a sorry figure. He rubbed his nose and said, “I, I still haven"t confessed yet.”

Anderson said incredulously, “If you haven"t confessed, then what are you so depressed for? At least confess first and sound him out, otherwise how do you know he"s not interested in you?”

Craig reflected, and thought that his buddy had it right. So that night, he ran over to the store like someone lit a fire under his a.s.s, bought a pile of nutritious food for pregnant omegas, children"s clothes, toys and the like, and delivered all of it to Randy"s house.

Randy opened the door, saw him holding a pile of things, and couldn"t help but ask, “How come you"re here?”

Craig said, embarra.s.sed, “I bought you some things. Did you go to the hospital for a checkup? There"s no problems with your health, right?”

Randy said, “I"m fine, thanks.”

Craig was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “From now on, you"re not allowed to tell me ‘thanks."”

Randy looked up at him questioningly.

Craig said, “You"re my omega, you"re my son"s dad, and now you"re having my baby. Taking care of you...is just what I should do, and I"m happy to do it.”

Having spoken to this point, Randy paused awkwardly, looking at Randy"s face full of confusion. He summoned up his courage, went over to Randy, kissed him and said, “I, I like you.”

Randy: “...”

——————————

When translating, I had to break off at a cliffhanger again, just when things were getting steamy...only to realize, the next day, that it was a fade-to-black...  ಥ_ಥ 

Deleted scene:

Craig: "I"m a man, not a tool!"

Randy: "But it"s your tool I need to use…"

——————————