Chapter 28
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— Rong Qiu
— Beta, Male
— Resigned
Qin Muye looked somewhat trance-like.
Reviewing it again, it was still the same.
The emotions Qin Muye had restrained for so long became restless.
In fact, all his calm composure was shattered the moment he learned that the beta was no longer in the First Military District.
His immediate reaction was to have someone find out where the beta had gone.
He needed to see the beta immediately.
But, thinking about what Su Ran had said, Qin Muye’s heart suddenly became uneasy.
Su Ran mentioned that the starship the beta had boarded had disappeared without a trace.
He might not even be in this world anymore.
He immediately notified his subordinates to find out where beta was now, but the results didn’t come out within three to five minutes.
The waiting time felt particularly long.
Qin Muye fiddled with the black pen in his hand, a pen he had used for five years but now felt extremely unpleasant.
It shouldn’t be this color.
It should be that rare deep blue-amber color, bright and cool under the light, clear and translucent in the dark, reflecting his face at any time.
After who knows how long, Qin Muye forcefully made his gaze return to the light screen.
He fell into a new state of doubt.
Beta was no longer in the First Military District…
Why did the Beta leave the First Military District?
The resource database in front of him couldn’t provide an accurate answer, only mentioning the date beta left—365th year of the interstellar calendar, September 27.
This wasn’t a special day.
But, going back four days,
It was the day he “met” the beta at the bar.
Qin Muye’s head inexplicably ached, as if an electric drill was madly spinning in his head. No matter how many times the beta appeared in his dreams, the beta from that night at the bar was always a nightmare.
Now, it was the same.
The scenes of their negotiation that night replayed in his mind, as if recorded frame by frame by the top-notch camera, slow-motioned before his eyes. Indeed, he had such a videotape, recording his entire process from leaving the Qin residence to the bar, and finally leaving the bar and returning to the Qin residence.
It was ironic that this video was recorded by federal agents to ensure his safety, but it inadvertently captured the beta as well.
And back then, he duplicated a copy with a mindset he couldn’t comprehend.
After bringing the videotape back, he never opened it to watch.
There was a lot of psychological conflict.
It was as if he was deliberately trying to ignore something, and he tucked the video into the most hidden folder on the cloud.
As if doing so would make him turn a blind eye and not get annoyed.
***
Five years later,
The Alpha opened the original video again.
A forty-minute video, but it made Qin Muye’s brow furrows never loosen.
Even though the distance captured by the federal recording was very far, the video was still very clear, vividly capturing the beta’s sadness and sorrow. However, it was only a small section of the beta entering and leaving.
He could see the beta heading towards the direction of the bridge.
The Beta’s frail figure was like a small poplar tree attacked by a storm, even though it had the pride of growing upward, it couldn’t resist the external force of the storm, being ravaged and suppressed. In the last five minutes of the video, the beta’s figure disappeared from the lens, and in contrast, it was Rong Qin who suddenly came out of the car.
In the video, Rong Qin held a phone, anxiously running towards the direction the beta left.
Qin Muye’s gaze froze.
He had never seen Rong Qin so nervous.
Rong Qin cared about the beta, he always knew that. But something that could make Rong Qin change his complexion…as far as Qin Muye could recall, the only time was when his brother was severely injured and entered the ICU.
So, something must be wrong.
He remained silent, rewinding five minutes back.
Watching it again with unease.
The more he watched, the tighter his heartstrings became.
Something was wrong.
The Beta’s condition was not right.
He had seen the beta when he was down, with the corners of his eyes drooping and the corners of his mouth unable to resist the downward curve, looking pitiful.
But the beta in the video was not just down. The beautiful blue-amber eyes of beta completely darkened, and even the whole person lacked vitality, like a decayed and withered tree that would shatter into pieces with a light touch.
Qin Muye’s heart suddenly ached.
Until now, he vaguely understood what the breakup had brought to the Beta.
It was sadness, it was sorrow.
It was a heart like dead ashes.
A nerve in the alpha’s brain suddenly twitched.
A heart like dead ashes…
He thought of his own dream from the past.
In the dream, the Beta walked along the river and sat on the high Cross-River Bridge. Like a withered butterfly, gently floating with the summer night breeze, he fell from the high bridge, blooming into a flower of blood.
He had always thought it was just a dream.
But at this moment, he couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality.
The video he had just watched repeatedly overlapped with his dream. It was as if the Beta, with a heart like dead ashes, had really stood on the Cross-River Bridge after leaving the bar, intending to take his own life.
If this wasn’t a dream…
If the Beta really jumped…
He absentmindedly fiddled with the black pen in his hand while solemnly tightening his lips. Anxious fingertips repeatedly tapped on his forehead. The veins on the back of his hand were fierce, and his back was already soaked with sweat. The soft shirt adhered closely to his protruding back muscles, even trembling with the rapid breath of the alpha.
However, he didn’t notice his own odd behavior.
Qin Muye immediately called Rong Qin.
Rong Qin hadn’t contacted Qin Muye for five years.
Caught off guard by Qin Muye’s call, Rong Qin’s tone was unfriendly, “What’s the matter? The busy Deputy Commander Qin actually has time to call a small person like me.”
Qin Muye went straight to the point, “Where is Rong Qiu.”
Rong Qin was stunned for a moment and sneered, “Deputy Commander Qin, the words you said five years ago, are they not valid now? What does it have to do with you where Rong Qiu is? Do you still want to go back to find him?”
From Rong Qin’s tone, Qin Muye silently breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that the Beta was okay.
Qin Muye tightened the phone in his hand, “After leaving the bar five years ago, what happened to him, where did he go? Did he go to the Thirteenth Military District?”
The Thirteenth Military District was dangerous, with ongoing wars.
Completely unsuitable for the Beta.
Rong Qin really didn’t want to bother with him, and his words already showed obvious impatience, “If you want to know, investigate it yourself.”
Whether he could find out or not depended on Qin Muye’s own abilities.
He had completely wiped out the segment of Rong Qiu from Rong Qin’s memory. Even if the current Qin Muye wanted to investigate, he wouldn’t find anything.
Even if he did find something, it didn’t matter.
Now, Rong Qiu firmly believed that he had buried the Beta lover. No matter how powerful Qin Muye, an S-level alpha, was, he couldn’t compare to anything when Rong Qiu cherished him. But once Rong Qiu forgot about him, that alpha would be nothing.
The grass encountered randomly on the roadside was more noble than him.
So Rong Qin was at ease.
Whether Qin Muye found it or not.
Not finding it was just right, finding it would only make him angry.
The call was abruptly hung up.
Qin Muye looked disheartened.
He had expected such an attitude from Rong Qin. Learning from Rong Qin that Rong Qiu was still safe, he was a little relieved. But he also knew that if he wanted to ask more, it was impossible. Rong Qin had always been resistant to him.
After a brief thought, he entered a phone number of a contact that had already been deleted.
***
One hour later.
A new email and a text message from Su Ran arrived.
Su Ran: I’ve sent you all the relevant videos from that night. You said you would spare my Su family.
Qin Muye ignored Su Ran’s text.
He directly opened the video in the email.
Su’s shops along the river had many surveillance cameras, and there were many recordings. Asking Su Ran to check was much faster than applying for surveillance investigation from A-star.
Qin Muye input the time, carefully selecting the footage he wanted from the vast sea of surveillance clips. Like a meticulous detective, he pieced together the Beta’s movements by integrating all the surveillance cameras, revealing the Beta’s trajectory.
The more he watched, the colder his heart became.
Because it was a video, he couldn’t hear Rong Qiu’s voice or see Rong Qiu’s specific expressions. But even from such a distance, he could feel Rong Qiu’s loneliness and coldness.
Especially when he saw the Beta wandering, and finally sitting on the high bridge, seemingly about to fall, his heart jumped to his throat, like being plunged into an icy abyss.
Fortunately, Rong Qin appeared in time and brought him down.
The video abruptly stopped.
Qin Muye fell into an unusual silence.
But his heart was extremely restless; his indifferent and cold demeanor seemed to be shattered by a giant stone falling from the sky.
He had never thought that the Beta would have thoughts of self-harm. The Beta was a tenacious sandalwood tree, a grass that regrows with the spring breeze. How could he give up his life for a bit of love? Such behavior was foolish.
But now…
It seemed like the fool was him.
That night, the Beta was very sad, and he…
The alpha’s hand touched his own chest.
It felt stuffy, swollen.
He had always thought that his feelings for Rong Qiu were intense and would fade quickly. But why, now that he saw how distressed Rong Qiu was back then, he felt so…
Uncomfortable.
This kind of emptiness and strange feeling made the alpha’s already deep eyes blend into an extreme blackness. The hostility surged, roared, and his gaze stubbornly stuck to that figure with a clear and desolate back.
Not enough to look.
Qin Muye instinctively felt that he seemed to have completely lost something.
Mixed with a more complex sense of loss and gain.
No, there was no need to feel loss and gain anymore.
Because the Beta had completely left him.
***
“Alert! Alert! Your pheromone concentration has reached a dangerous level.”
Along with it, there was the sudden closing sound of the metal gate, and the metal blinds replaced the ventilated blinds, and the ventilation system started operating. In just three to five seconds, the once clean and bright office area instantly turned into a prison that confined the alpha.
Pheromones spewed out from the back of the alpha’s neck.
Every cell in the man’s neck rolled with dozens of times the pain. Qin Muye, without hesitation, picked up the syringe from the drawer, lips tightly pursed. Before a new outbreak of pheromones, he injected the needle into his blood vessel.
***
Qin Muye stayed in the confinement room for a full two hours.
As the medication progressed, the ventilation system operated.
The concentration of pheromones in the confinement room diluted at an extremely slow rate.
When he came out, he had already received the information sent by the beta sergeant.
It was similar to what Su Ran had said.
After resigning from the First Military District, Rong Qiu took a starship to the Thirteenth Military District. In the last leg of the journey, the starship encountered a rare star tide, but the passengers were unharmed.
The information ended here.
The beta sergeant couldn’t smell Qin Muye’s pheromone, but he knew about the changes in the office. His attitude became even more respectful.
“The data related to the Thirteenth District requires time for application if you want to investigate…”
The Thirteenth Military District was different from the previous twelve districts in the Federation. It was located in a remote area, on the outermost periphery of the Federation, with its own information database. Therefore, accessing information from the Thirteenth Military District required more applications.
Qin Muye’s forehead slightly paused, his face as cold as ice. “Continue investigating.”
Finding Rong Qiu in the Thirteenth Military District was far from enough.
***
Rong Qiu was better off not knowing that someone from the First Military District was investigating him. He was now leisurely enjoying his time in the Thirteenth Military District.
In the past few years, he had always been busy, either on missions in the military district or designing mechs at the research institute. Now that the new model of mech was designed, the research institute gave him a month off.
After being idle at home for several days, Rong Qiu finally remembered to go for a haircut.
He had a membership card at this shop.
However, the beta master who often cut Rong Qiu’s hair was not there this time. A young omega was cutting Rong Qiu’s hair this time.
The skill was a bit rusty, and the apologies came repeatedly during the haircut.
Rong Qiu didn’t mind; he even asked the young omega to take his time and not rush.
The young barber blushed a bit, took a deep breath, and slowly got the hang of it.
The hair that covered his eyes and ears fell one by one. In front of the mirror, the man looked mature, and his handsome face was completely revealed.
Rong Qiu had a tall figure, and his face was becoming more outstanding over time. With the passage of years, it seemed to gain a few more mature and noble qualities. If he didn’t deliberately expose his true nature, no one would know he had a bad temper and was not easy to deal with.
Unfortunately, today Rong Qiu encountered something that made him unable to resist taking action.
The reason was simple.
Half a year ago, a new cemetery was opened in the main star of the Thirteenth Military District. It was situated by the mountains and waters, with excellent feng shui. Moreover, the design and customization of tombstones were flexible, allowing for artistic creativity.
Rong Qiu was very satisfied, and he had already paid a deposit. Today, he planned to finalize it.
Unexpectedly, when his car was halfway there, the staff there called him, saying that this set was about to be reserved by someone else.
“Don’t you follow the order? I’ve already paid the deposit.” At this point, Rong Qiu’s attitude was still acceptable.
The staff there was also very friendly. “There’s really nothing we can do on our end. Our situation here is a bit complicated… We can refund your deposit twice.”
Rong Qiu was a bit impatient, but he still spoke gently, “No need, we can talk when we meet. My car is about to arrive.”
It was only after Rong Qiu arrived that he understood what had happened.
Turned out, someone with money had set their eyes on the location he had chosen.
The man who came was very arrogant, obviously from some big family. His clothes were luxurious, and he spoke with a tough tone. However, his actions and words made the staff here feel a bit tricky.
Rong Qiu glanced at the back of his neck, wearing a black pheromone isolation circle.
So, he was an alpha.
The staff recognized Rong Qiu.
Seeing Rong Qiu, it was like encountering a savior. They were humble and full of apologies. “Mr. Rong.”
“Are you the one who reserved this grave?”
The alpha saw that the person who arrived was just a slender beta. He immediately put his hands in his pockets and spoke with a tough tone, “I have my eyes on this grave. Name a price, how much to give it to me.”
Rong Qiu sneered, not even looking at him. “Not giving.”
“One million.” The arrogant alpha doubled the amount.
“Not giving.”
“One million two hundred thousand.”
“Not giving.”
“One million five hundred thousand!”
“Haha.” Rong Qiu smiled, “Still not giving.”
If this alpha couldn’t hear the hostility in Rong Qiu’s words, then he was truly foolish.
“…This money is already a lot!”
“But I think it’s too little. Don’t you have money? Why not continue raising it? I’m still waiting for you to offer ten or twenty million.”
The beta’s voice was exceptionally pleasant, and the lines of his eyebrows, eyes, and nose bones flowed smoothly and naturally as he spoke, as if meticulously crafted by the finest sculptor.
The alpha was infuriated, his breath quickening.
How could this attractive mouth say such icy words!
The staff sighed. Seeing that the alpha customer had already clenched his fists, the veins on his neck bulging, they couldn’t help but worry. They even secretly signaled the security outside to be ready.
For them in this line of work, such disputes over grabbing a good grave position were common.
At the moment, it seemed that the beta customer would be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out.
Because this tall and sturdy young alpha seemed not easy to provoke.
But Rong Qiu didn’t need the security here to take action. He calmly took off the thin coat on him, revealing not overly muscular but extremely flexible and attractive forearms. His eyes were particularly bright.
The Beta’s eyes were like this—clear and transparent when not in the light, and deep blue and captivating when in the light.
The alpha inexplicably felt a bit enchanted.
Rong Qiu calmly said, “Follow the rules.”
“What rules?”
He was new here and didn’t understand these things. Suddenly hearing this, he thought he had encountered a local bully.
He wouldn’t be beaten up today, right!
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Rong Qiu casually explained, “It means fighting, whoever has the stronger fist wins.”
This was the survival rule of the Thirteenth Military District.
The alpha was stunned.
A beta fighting with him?
Moreover, the beta in front of him showed no sign of panic. There was even a glint of eagerness in his eyes.
What was this beta expecting? A fight with him?
People from the Thirteenth Military District, even betas, were this brave?
Such high integrity—clearly unable to beat him, yet still boldly declaring war.
In fact, at the moment when Rong Qiu repeatedly refused to transfer the grave, the alpha did feel a bit unable to contain his anger, thinking of resorting to violence. However, this thought quickly dissipated.
It felt somewhat shameless to fight with a beta.
But he didn’t expect the beta to suggest it himself, leading to the current situation where he was stuck, unable to move up or down, stiffly caught in the middle.
Seeing the alpha not making a move, Rong Qiu’s deep blue eyes showed a thin layer of impatience. He cracked his knuckles, and with a slightly stern expression, he glanced at the alpha again. The calm tone he had earlier now had a touch of urgency and impatience, “Are you fighting or not? If not, I’ll pay and go home for dinner.”
Alpha: …
***
The fight did break out.
However, the result surprised both the alpha and all the staff present.
This beta was too good at fighting!
His moves were clean and precise, each strike targeting the danger zones of the alpha. The alpha, who had always fought in a scholarly manner, couldn’t use the tactics he had learned over the years against Rong Qiu, who had been fighting for just as many years.
In less than ten minutes, the alpha was repeatedly defeated.
And Rong Qiu was ruthless, focusing on hitting the alpha’s face.
Since alphas were willing to fight betas, what need was there for face? If they had no face, Rong Qiu would help them lose it.
In the end, Rong Qiu won.
The grave belonged to Rong Qiu as it should.
However, Rong Qiu regretted it afterward.
Because this alpha unexpectedly reserved the double grave next to Rong Qiu.
Rong Qiu, without expression, tidied up his slightly messy clothes. “Are you sure you want to reserve next to me?”
The alpha, in a rough voice, said, “What’s the problem?”
“Do you want to be buried and still get beaten by me?”
Understanding the meaning behind Rong Qiu’s words, the alpha almost got angry. However, before he could speak, the wounds on his face stung painfully.
The alpha muttered softly, “D*mn it! Why are all the betas in the Thirteenth District so fierce!”
“Hmm? Aren’t you from the Thirteenth District?”
Soon, Rong Qiu regretted asking this question.
Because this alpha from the First Military District turned out to be quite a chatterbox. Regardless of Rong Qiu’s cold expression, he spoke about his details.
His name was Zhao Nanchen.
A graduate of University A, coincidentally, like Rong Qiu’s lover Ah Ye, he was also a graduate of the Command Department. Dissatisfied with family control, he secretly ran to the Thirteenth Military District, hoping to make a name for himself here.
What’s more, his idol was the current S-rank alpha, Qin Muye.
Along the way, Zhao Nanchen chattered endlessly to Rong Qiu.
Especially boasting about the alpha who Rong Qiu wasn’t interested in.
The youngest deputy commander in the Federation, with the highest recorded pheromone level among alphas.
He even mentioned that he had reliable information that Deputy Commander Qin might be transferred to the Thirteenth Military District. With courage, he had sneaked from A Star to the Thirteenth Military District.
While Rong Qiu was thinking about something else, Zhao Nanchen revealed all his details, not caring that Rong Qiu’s face had turned cold.
Rong Qiu, maintaining his politeness and composure, had wanted to shut Zhao Nanchen up for a while.
Finally reaching the underground parking lot, he quickly got into the car.
Zhao Nanchen’s friend’s application was heartlessly left behind.
***
Rong Qiu could drive.
He had obtained his driver’s license four years ago, and driving was not a difficult task for him. But initially, he had thought it was hard.
Perhaps it was because driving was associated with a specific person, causing his memory to be distorted. In Rong Qiu’s impression, there was a time when he was injured, and Ah Ye had driven him to the hospital. At that time, his eyes were full of admiration for Ah Ye.
He admired his lover, Ah Ye.
Chu Ming and Zhao Nanchen admired Qin Muye.
For some reason, while waiting for the red light, Rong Qiu easily connected these two unrelated things. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
Rong Qiu summarized this uneasy mindset as the mentality of a child guarding a precious toy. Which person wouldn’t want their cherished treasure to be unique? Or perhaps, it was like arranging a nice decorative part for his mech today, only to have countless people imitate it and ask him if it looked good tomorrow.
He couldn’t express his dislike openly, but deep down, he felt repulsed.
That’s how it was now.
Whenever someone praised that S-rank alpha in front of him, he felt choked, and he even wanted to smoke immediately, fight, or fly his mech wildly over the sea.
Could it be because Qin Muye and Ah Ye’s names were too similar, causing that person to impersonate Ah Ye.
But even if it was just the name, he felt annoyed like this.
If the appearance were also similar…
Three, two, one.
The green light lit up, and Rong Qiu blinked his eyes, pulling himself out of these inexplicable thoughts.
Tsk, how could things be so coincidental.
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Thank you for the double update~