Chapter 15

The Terminal Bai Ruonian was equipped with was a special Security Model, capable of real-time communication monitoring.

Right now, the voices crackled through it, grating and harsh.

Zhang Huaijin held his breath, not daring to make a sound, as he heard Lu Mingjin’s mocking laugh beside him.

People always have an origin, a purpose. There was nothing different about him.

Just as he was about to deactivate the monitor, Bai Ruonian’s voice suddenly came through, loud and clear. It carried his uniquely sticky, drawling way of speaking, each word distinct. “Impossible.”

The voice was mixed with electrical interference, but it was unmistakable, so sharp it was jarring. The young man’s suppressed breaths intertwined with the static, hitting the ear like a blunt knife, or perhaps a heavy hammer.

He had treated Bai Ruonian like a nail under observation, keeping him close to watch his next move.

But he never expected this outcome.

Lu Mingjin slammed on the brakes.

Zhang Huaijin asked shakily, “Boss?”

The silence was not absolute. The static was mixed with the sound of shattering objects, Bai Shouyi’s roars, and more things breaking.

Then, abruptly, everything returned to silence.

Inside the starship, only the sound of breathing remained.

Zhang Huaijin tensely looked at Lu Mingjin’s face. “The Terminal’s broken.”

“Is Military Command’s equipment this poorly made?”

Lu Mingjin’s face was stormy. Zhang Huaijin wanted to explain that the chip inside the Terminal was standard military issue, but he’d bought the outer casing from Commercial Street to conceal its identity. But before he could get a word out, Lu Mingjin floored the accelerator with a furious roar of the engine. Outside the porthole, the starlight warped.

By now, the Bai Family Residence was a complete wreck.

Bai Shouyi clearly hadn’t anticipated such sharp, head-on defiance. In the past, Bai Ruonian would never have dared. Even if he was unwilling, he would have just avoided the house. He never would have dared to be so confrontational.

But looking at the person before him now, there was no blustering cowardice. He truly dared to speak, and to act.

Shaking with rage, Bai Shouyi finally lost control and hurled a cup. Shards of porcelain sprayed everywhere, grazing Bai Ruonian’s arm.

“I painstakingly raised you for all these years, and this is how you repay me?” Bai Shouyi trembled with fury and sneered. “You don’t even have a Mark yet! He doesn’t even look you in the eye! Do you really think that just because you’re called the Major General’s wife, no one dares to touch you?”

Bai Ruonian couldn’t hear a word of what Bai Shouyi was saying, and he couldn’t be bothered to try. He just glared at Bai Shouyi and, in retaliation, also smashed a cup.

Betray his Master? The very idea was unthinkable!

Everyone was startled by Bai Ruonian’s sudden action. Bai Shouyi was even more stunned.

No matter how unruly Bai Ruonian might be outside, at home he had always been timid and submissive. The only time he’d argued was when they’d forced him into that marriage. No matter how much courage Bai Ruonian mustered, his eyes never lied.

He had been so easy to manipulate.

But now, everything was completely different.

A pair of blue eyes were glaring at him. The figure was unconsciously arched, poised with pure, undisguised, unafraid fury. He didn’t look like a person. He looked like a wild, untamable cat ready to pounce on birds outside—as if one more word would make him leap and claw his face.

Bai Ruonian smashed another cup, then a plate, then a saucer. He’d thought about throwing the plate of fish in front of him but hesitated, then grabbed the bird’s nest soup bowl and hurled it straight at Bai Shouyi. Crouching on all fours, he scrambled up onto the dining table.

Bai Shouyi couldn’t dodge in time and was hit square. Wet, gelatinous strands clung to his hair, a picture of utter wretchedness.

“Bai Ruonian! Is this how you treat your elders?!”

Bai Ruonian smashed another cup.

Bai Jianyin and Madam Bai watched in horror.

They had utterly failed to anticipate Bai Ruonian would be so… feral.

This shouldn’t be happening!

Bai Jianyin still remembered the first time. He was definitely easy to manipulate.

How had he changed so suddenly? Just because they asked him to spy on Lu Mingjin?

He’d exploded this violently?

The entire Bai dining room was now a scene of chaos.

Madam Bai trembled at the sight, frozen in her seat. After a long moment, as if making a decision, she shrieked, “Jianyin! Don’t we have the Neural Blocker? Bring it and inject him! Come here and hold him down!”

Madam Bai’s voice was so shrill that even Bai Ruonian, with his poor hearing, caught most of it.

Hurt, disbelief, and an involuntary trembling of his body washed over him. Bai Ruonian knew it was the residual physiological reaction of the original owner.

But he wasn’t the original owner. He wasn’t him. He had only one reaction now: he absolutely could not let that thing near him.

Standing off to the side, Bai Jianyin stared dumbfounded at the carnage as if waking from a dream.

Right!

That person had given him the latest Neural Blocker, unavailable even on the Black Market. Supposedly newly developed, one shot could make a person obedient in a second. Although the side effects were severe, they had no choice now.

He scrambled to grab the safe hidden under the dining table. Bai Shouyi lunged to hold Bai Ruonian down, but the latter had already climbed onto the table.

Bai Jianyin fumbled with the safe’s lock, getting the combination wrong several times. Bai Shouyi roared furiously, “You useless waste!”

The more anxious he got, the more he fumbled. Bai Jianyin was drenched in sweat, but finally, a “click” was heard, and the safe swung open.

The emblem on the case gleamed with a dark, metallic sheen. The hyper-fine, sharp needle glinted with a cold, silver light. The liquid inside was unidentifiable, holding a strange, ominous gleam.

Bai Ruonian’s eyes locked onto that dark emblem, and his whole body went rigid.

Terrible memories surged forward.

It was the day before he died.

Those people had input his Master’s biometric code, captured him, and used him to threaten his Master, forcing him to come alone to the A-2 Star System. The sign on the chests of those people… it was the exact same emblem.

His ears buzzed. Bai Ruonian trembled uncontrollably, his mind chaotically flooded with memories: the moment of death, the violent fluctuations of his Master’s Mental Power—no, he was dead—the collapse of the A-2 Star System. They all poured in at once, splitting his head with pain.

He grabbed a plate and threw it, but it missed.

Bai Shouyi, snarling viciously, prepared to climb up and grab this fake son, who looked like a cat with its hackles raised. Suddenly, a fish slapped him hard in the face. The half-eaten carcass, mixed with fish soup, hit him squarely, spraying juices everywhere. Fuming, Bai Shouyi bellowed, “Bai Jianyin, what are you standing there for!”

Bai Jianyin, watching from the side, was petrified. Holding the expensive Neural Blocker, he met the gaze of Bai Ruonian’s fierce blue eyes. Bai Ruonian glared at him with such ferocity that Bai Jianyin actually flinched. His hand trembled.

Splat.

With a crisp sound, the expensive syringe fell to the ground.

Under everyone’s stunned gaze, it shattered into pieces.

The Bai family members were all dumbstruck. Bai Shouyi’s lips quivered with rage. “Bai Jianyin, you fucking—”

At that moment, a pounding started on the door outside.

“Locked? Little Bai? Are you okay?”

Hearing the commotion from below, Chen Zhenghe had realized something was wrong. He hadn’t even buttoned his shirt before racing downstairs and banging loudly on the door.

The Bai family looked at each other, a bit numb.

The sound of Chen Zhenghe’s voice from outside suddenly ceased.

Bai Shouyi wiped the fish soup from his face, trying to muster some composure, when another voice sounded from outside the door. It was deep, yet unexpectedly young. “Move aside.”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. It wasn’t quiet, it was a true stagnation. There were faint crystallized ice particles in the air, and one could almost hear the wild shriek of a hurricane.

This was the materialization of Pheromones, something only an extremely high-rank Alpha could achieve.

Everyone knew who had arrived.

It wasn’t an illusion.

Every person in the room turned rigid. Only Bai Ruonian’s eyes lit up.

With a thunderous crash, Lu Mingjin shoved the useless punk still banging on the door aside and kicked it open with devastating force.

Zhang Huaijin, who had rushed after Lu Mingjin, instinctively closed his eyes as the door blew open.

On the way over, he had faintly sensed the turbulent undercurrent in his Boss’s Pheromones, an abnormal intensity. His instinct told him things were about to go very wrong.

He didn’t want to face this reality.

About ten seconds passed. The surroundings were quiet.

The expected scene did not appear.

There was no pitiful little Omega with red-rimmed eyes, teetering on the verge of collapse after being bullied by his family.

Quite the opposite.

The Bai family members, led by Bai Shouyi, sported bruises and were covered in a mess of leftover food, utterly disheveled and wretched.

Meanwhile, Bai Ruonian was standing on the dining table, radiating fury, surrounded by utter chaos. Yet he, standing upon that table, was completely untouched by the mess, looking exactly like a lion king.

The Alpha’s Mental Power abruptly receded.

Lu Mingjin raised an eyebrow: “…”

“Mas—”

Seeing his Master, Bai Ruonian’s eyes sparkled. A flash of pure joy was immediately followed by a wave of grievance. He blinked, and tears began to fall in streams. He swallowed back the word “Master.” “Lu Mingjin.”

It was the first time he had spoken those three words. A sobbing, sticky, mush-mouthed sound, but every syllable was clear.

As distinct as the word “Impossible” that had come through the Terminal monitor.

Lu Mingjin felt something stab at his heart. His body straightened into a taut line. He licked his lips. “I’m here.”

Bai Ruonian’s eyes were bright as stars, his long, curling lashes still beaded with tears. Who said his Master didn’t like him? Master had come to save him.

He didn’t know if he felt wronged, moved, or happy. As a cat, he had never experienced so many emotions at once.

Instinctively, he leaped toward his Master’s chest. But the moment he launched himself, his heart sank.

Damn. I’m not a cat anymore. I probably can’t jump that far.

Bai Ruonian’s lashes trembled and he squeezed his eyes shut. The anticipated pain of hitting the floor never came.

Lu Mingjin didn’t even know why. He just moved on instinct to catch him.

And caught him.

“Wuwuwuwu.” Bai Ruonian cried out loud, wiping his tears all over Lu Mingjin’s military uniform.

Zhang Huaijin: “…….”

This change of attitude is a bit fast? And this close?

Seems different from the rumors.

Didn’t Song Hanshan say he wanted to send Little Bai back? And this is after only how many days?

That instinctive movement from Major General Lu, so deeply ingrained it looked like muscle memory. Wouldn’t it take a couple of years of practice to be that smooth?

Not only was Zhang Huaijin surprised, but the Bai family members present were also shocked.

Didn’t they say there was no Mark? How could they be this intimate??

If they’re this intimate without a Mark, what would happen after a Mark??

This was bad…

The Omega in his arms was a small, slight figure, draped over his shoulder, sobbing in fits and starts.

The room’s temperature plummeted, a direct manifestation of his Mental Power. Even Zhang Huaijin’s epaulettes were now coated in frost. Lu Mingjin stood there, backlit and grim, his face expressionless. The crushing pressure he exuded was overwhelming; his presence could not be ignored.

“Major General Lu… you… you… what wind blew you here?”

Bai Shouyi, completely devoid of his earlier bluster, asked, his voice trembling. He was still trying to make small talk.

“What do you think?” Lu Mingjin let out a short laugh. “A rare occasion like this, and my father-in-law didn’t invite me?”

The word “father-in-law” made Bai Shouyi break out in a cold sweat. Before he could reply, Lu Mingjin surveyed the chaos around him, tongue poking his cheek. “Is this a personal grudge against him, or against me?”

Bai Shouyi looked down at the soup soaking his own clothes. Major General, maybe you should look again.

Seeing that Lu Mingjin was about to erupt, Bai Jianyin quickly interjected, “No… Major General, we were just having a casual meal. There was a little accident…”

Before he could finish, Bai Jianyin saw the icy expression on Lu Mingjin’s devastatingly handsome face, and the courage he had mustered instantly evaporated. He lowered his head timidly and clenched his fists in secret.

He was the True Young Master, the one who had struggled in poverty from childhood, finally clawing his way back to claim the life that should have been his. So why could this person who stole his destiny still act all wronged and coquettish in someone’s arms, completely unharmed? While he had to bow and scrape, not even daring to lift his head.

An SS-Rank Alpha had ignored his public duties to come and rescue this guy. The look in his eyes when he looked at that person was completely different from when he looked at him.

How did this guy get so lucky?

Lu Mingjin gave him a cold glance. The Omega in his arms was clutching his collar, still trembling slightly. A trickle of soup dripped from his arm. Looking closer, his hand was also cut. He was as wretched as a stray cat.

“I want to go home…”

Bai Ruonian tugged at his collar and sniffled, looking utterly pitiful.

“Alright. Let’s go home.”

Lu Mingjin shot a meaningful glance at Zhang Huaijin, who immediately understood. He quickly collected the already-shattered vial. The entire room fell silent. Bai Shouyi moved to stop him, but was cowed into retreat by Lu Mingjin’s dark expression.

“In the future, for any gathering like this, if I’m not present, he doesn’t need to come either.”

Bai Shouyi had regained some composure, his face a mask of displeasure, but in the end, he dared not say a word. He could only force a smile and nod repeatedly. “Yes, yes, of course.”

Outside the dining room, the tactless Nanny Wu was still craning her neck to see. She walked right into this incredible scene—Bai Shouyi being dressed down by Lu Mingjin, a twenty-year-old junior, without daring to retort. Bai Shouyi was already losing face, and seeing Nanny Wu immediately ignited his fury. He erupted in a tirade.

“How can you be so blind! Ruonian injured his hand and you just stood there watching! The house is a total mess and you haven’t cleaned it up! You even spilled the soup! Did we hire you to just eat?! And when Ruonian first arrived, what kind of welcome was that? Making faces and rolling your eyes! Who do you think you are?”

Then, hastily, he added, “It’s all these low-level staff with no sense. I’ll fire her right away.”

Lu Mingjin gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Understandable.”

With that, he carried the Omega in his arms and strode out of the dining room. As the King Yama departed, Bai Shouyi hadn’t even had time to feel the fear of relief when suddenly, a silver fork flew into the air from the table. With a sickening squelch, it happened almost too fast to register, impaling itself precisely into Bai Shouyi’s left hand. Bai Shouyi screamed in agony, his entire face contorting.

Within the dining room, the faint tidal force of raging Pheromones swirled.

As Bai Shouyi’s scream echoed from inside the house, Lu Mingjin carried the Omega in his arms away from the Bai Family Residence, his expression completely indifferent. “Now that was an accident.”