Chapter 66: At the Foot of the Bed

Chapter 66: At the Foot of the Bed

Xiao Sa flipped over, pushing Lantis off him, then restrained his limbs that tried to resist with both hands and feet.

"Weren't you quite arrogant just now, Lantis?"

Lantis's wrinkled shirt had long vanished, his bare chest heaving violently, from his smooth forehead to his collarbone, covered in a fine layer of sweat.

The sweat droplets refracted a faint luster under the warm yellow light, sliding down the grooves between Lantis's pectorals, leaving trails of ambiguous moisture on his abs.

More evident were the various finger marks left by Xiao Sa, two clear palm prints on either side, appearing a congested rose-pink, with a thin layer of moisture spreading out as Lantis breathed heavily.

Xiao Sa's gaze roamed over Lantis's body, restraining him while admiring his handiwork.

His voice was hoarse, a low chuckle escaping his lips: "Lantis, if there were a mirror here, I should let you see how wet you are..."

Lantis tried to get up several times but was pushed back by Xiao Sa each time. After a few attempts, considering Xiao Sa's wound on his back, he gave up struggling.

He caught one of Xiao Sa's wrists and bit it hard with his lips.

Lantis looked up, gazing at Xiao Sa's handsome face, which had become increasingly flushed from the intense struggle. He nipped at a soft piece of flesh near Xiao Sa's wrist bone, licking it gently with his tongue: "Didn't someone say they weren't interested?"

He deliberately stretched out his other arm, lifting his chest to give Xiao Sa a clearer view.

Tsk. The hateful Lantis, getting better and better at seducing him.

Xiao Sa's face darkened, and he lightly slapped Lantis's chest, the white, moist mark trembling before being drawn away by him again.

In recent days, he had taken a lot of Little Star's milk, which had a very light, fresh scent. Xiao Sa smacked his lips, understanding why Little Star refused to drink from the bottle and insisted on burying itself in Lantis's embrace.

But he felt absolutely no shame in competing with his son for food.

The aroma of tequila and milk mingled together, forming a rich scent that continuously tempted the two hungry individuals, reigniting their hunger both physically and psychologically.

The rising warmth between their tightly pressed skins radiated outward. The sweet breaths, the vibrant flesh—it was as if the skin itself had become an obstacle.

No amount of caressing or kissing could satisfy the desire to possess; they wished to bite through this bothersome layer of skin, to suck the blood and gnaw the flesh, to swallow it all into their empty stomachs, only then would they feel truly possessed.

Lantis, barely able to endure, pulled Xiaosha down, tilting his neck to seek a kiss.

The hospital bed was almost on the verge of collapsing from their exertions. Xiaosha supported himself with one hand beside Lantis, watching as Lantis' closed eyes seemed lost in some form of pleasure or pain.

Their hot breaths intertwined between their lips and tongues, and Xiaosha leaned close to his ear:

"My commander, do your soldiers know that their stern and cold-hearted commander can be so passionate?"

Lantis struggled to open his eyes and gave a cold snort: "My soldiers are doing push-ups on me."

Xiaosha couldn't help but laugh.

Lantis tilted his neck back and said hoarsely: "Too slow. In my warship, someone with your physical condition would be punished."

"Ha!" Xiaosha narrowed his eyes, and his movements suddenly became swift and fierce. His abdominal muscles, clearly defined, rippled gracefully with each motion.

From Lantis' perspective, Xiaosha's front view was nearly flawless, exuding explosive power. Under such force, Lantis could only tilt his head back and gasp for breath.

Feeling like he really wouldn't be able to leave this room for three days, Lantis slightly regretted his earlier provocation, seeing nothing but a blurry white light before his eyes.

In a corner of the room, under the sofa, a white tiger and a black cat, one white and one black, were also rolling around, biting and clawing at each other. Black Flame, being larger than White Tiger, could completely encircle the smaller feline with its forepaws.

The white tiger's fur was licked wet all over, the character 'Wang' on its forehead emitting a faint glow. It growled and gnawed at Heiyan's throat without letting go.

The room was filled with a thick scent of pheromones. Heiyan, sniffing the rich aroma of alcohol from the white tiger, finally collapsed, his tail raised high, rubbing with his fluffy hind legs.

No one paid attention to the two little ones.

Xiao Sa slightly propped himself up, wiping away a bead of sweat, pushing the damp bangs from his forehead to the back. He stared at Lantis’s clearly defined abs in confusion: "What is this?"

How could he not remember feeling this magical spot when he was with Lantis before?

Lantis grunted, his voice hoarse, almost unable to speak.

Xiao Sa's expression changed slightly, his eyes flickering, he stared wide-eyed: "Have you really turned into an Omega?"

Men from the Star Sea Region could actually be physically transformed? No wonder he felt Lantis's pheromone scent getting stronger and stronger; could it be that even his glands had developed?

Xiao Sa smiled mischievously, leaning closer to him, he asked softly: "Lantis, do you know what a knot is?"

Lantis opened his eyes hazily, his ice-blue pupils still unfocused, asking instinctively: "...What?"

Xiao Sa blinked: "You'll find out soon."

He bared his canines, which gleamed sharply under the light, and plunged them deep into Lantis's side neck.

The familiar tingling and dizziness returned. Lantis clutched the sheets tightly, every nerve ending jumping wildly, electric currents racing up his spine, his blood boiling, making his scalp tingle...

It was unknown how long had passed, but the room was still thick with pheromones.

Lantis held Xiao Sa, burying his face in his neck, his burning cheeks rubbing against the other's jaw, savoring the rare intimacy of being so close.

He grabbed Xiao Sa's hand, their fingers tightly interlocked.

Xiao Sa wrapped his arms around Lan Disi’s waist, his fingertips caressing the other's skin contentedly, then suddenly asked, "Is it still painful?"

Lan Disi laughed helplessly, "It's almost empty, what will we do when Little Star comes back?"

Xiao Sa looked up at the sky, shifting his gaze, "How should I know? Anyway, he won't come to drink my milk."

He lowered his head and poked Lan Disi's firm, hot chest, "If you squeeze, there will be more."

Lan Disi: "..."

Xiao Sa suddenly thought of something and asked again, "By the way, I haven't asked when you got pregnant. Didn't you say you couldn't have children? That in vitro embryo technology requires two people's genes, right?"

He whispered, "I thought Little Star was like that."

Lan Disi said unhappily, "Shouldn't you be asking yourself? How would I know? As soon as you left, the doctor found out I was pregnant. I was shocked. It couldn't be because of anyone else but you."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He laughed coldly, flipped over, and pressed down on Xiao Sa, biting his lips fiercely. Poor Xiao Sa, his just-healed corner of his mouth split open again.

"You made my body like this and still dared to leave without a care. You really deserve a beating!"

Xiao Sa blinked, "But why is Little Star growing so fast? On my planet, it should be similar to here."

Lan Disi shook his head, "I don't know either. Could it be because Little Star likes to drink the soothing inhibitor you left behind?"

Xiao Sa exclaimed, "That stuff can't be given too much to a child; absorbing too much could be overwhelming. No wonder he's growing so fast."

Lan Disi frowned at him, "Why didn't you say anything earlier? I thought it was just a good nutritional supplement for the child."

Xiao Sa said helplessly, "It is indeed a nutrient solution, just too nutritious." He hadn't expected Little Star to have such high tolerance; he didn't even vomit.

He chuckled awkwardly, "I wasn't really sure it would turn out like this. On my original planet, only Omegas can get pregnant, which means that after we got together, you differentiated into an Omega."

Suddenly, something clicked in Xiao Sa's mind. Could it be that the people of the Star Sea were actually a group of undifferentiated individuals?

Since their ancestors once lived here, it was highly possible that hundreds of years ago, they were also from the Star Sea. However, due to different reasons or environments, they took different evolutionary paths.

Xiao Sa's thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he couldn't make sense of them. He could only say to Landis, "If there's a chance in the future, I'll take you to our Star Alliance to see the doctors there. The doctors here probably won't understand your special condition."

Landis looked at him with confusion, "What is the Star Alliance?"

Xiao Sa briefly explained about finding his clan, establishing a city on a desolate planet, gathering nearby natives, and making a fortune through the production of suppressants, highlighting the key points.

Landis gave him a disapproving glance, "So the recent surge in suppressant smuggling along the empire's borders all started with you. According to what you said, you began developing your suppressant industry even when you were on Central Star."

Xiao Sa nodded. Suddenly, he remembered that Landis had come on a mission to deal with the smuggling syndicate. He had inadvertently revealed himself again.

Xiao Sa raised his eyes and looked at Landis, "You're not going to arrest me too, right? I'm just a foreign supplier; the smuggling within the empire isn't my doing."

Landis's expression changed, and he stared at him for a long time, lost in thought. Finally, he grabbed his hand and coldly snorted, "Haven't I already caught you?"

After a moment, he added, "If it were before, I definitely wouldn't let you do such dangerous things. But now, the situation is special. It might even solve a big problem."

Xiao Sa's expression turned serious, "You mean the royal family's research on mech beasts?"

Landis nodded, "I've gathered a lot of evidence. There must be a deep conspiracy behind this. Your identity is very sensitive. Although I trust you won't threaten the empire, the royal family won't see it that way."

"I'm not sure when the royal family will make their move. We need to be well-prepared."

"I hope you can start trading inhibitors directly with the military in the future. You know the empire has always relied on them to control the military. Given the current situation, we don't know what risks we might face later on. If we can control the inhibitor supply, it’ll give us more leverage for self-protection."

Landis paused, finally asking the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time: "Why were you able to control those aliens that day? What is the relationship between your race and the aliens?"

Xiao Sa frowned. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure. After my second differentiation, my mental energy level increased, and I could roughly sense the pheromones emitted by those aliens."

"Pheromones are signals, much like scents, that can be used for communication."

"I can sense that these aliens are self-aware and can communicate through their pheromones. A strong pheromone signal from a higher-level alien can command or even control lower-level ones, though it might also be resisted."

It’s similar to how a high-level Alpha’s pheromones influence lower-levels.

Xiao Sa continued, "My parents told me that our ancestral homeworld was right here. Centuries ago, our ancestors built an underground palace on our ancestral homeworld, where our history is stored."

"I’m not sure if our people are connected to the humanoid mutants you mentioned from centuries ago, but I feel that the truth might not be as you described."

Landis was silent for a moment before saying, "If it's Central Star, the palace was built on the ruins of an underground palace from hundreds of years ago. That place used to be the core area where humans lived underground after the Great Cataclysm."

"The underground palace has always been a royal restricted area. Apart from the Central Mind's core chamber, whether there are any other secrets, only the royal family knows."

They continued chatting and eventually found themselves kissing again.

It wasn’t until the two cats curled up under the sofa and fell asleep, snoring softly, that the overburdened hospital bed finally got a break.

Landis got up, covered in ambiguous marks, and headed to the bathroom to soak in the tub. As soon as he stepped out of bed, he suddenly felt an indescribable, subtle discomfort.

He looked down at the wet spot on the carpet and touched his flat abdomen, wondering if it was just his imagination, but he felt a kind of bloated fullness, as if he had eaten too much.

Glancing back, he saw the culprit sprawled on the bed, head resting on the white pillow, staring at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Xiao Sa blinked at him and said with a grin, "What's up, Landis? Are your legs giving out on you? Need me to carry you to the bathroom?"

Landis raised an eyebrow, feeling both amused and annoyed by Xiao Sa's playful tone, and snorted, "No need!"

Xiao Sa crawled to the side and fiddled for a moment, somehow pulling out a tiny object, no bigger than his pinky, that looked like a small plug. He squeezed it and asked, "Do you want this, Landis?"

Landis looked at him suspiciously. "What is that?"

Xiao Sa cleared his throat lightly, his gaze shifting away, but he sneaked a glance back. "It’s something my brother gave me to help with... you know, making babies."

Landis's face instantly turned red with embarrassment. "I don't need it!"

Xiao Sa followed him to the bathroom door and stuck his head through the opening. "Really don't need it? Then I'll throw it away..."

The door swung open, a hand darted out, snatched the object, and the door slammed shut before Xiao Sa could react.

Xiao Sa looked at his empty palm and couldn't help but chuckle.

He then heard Landis's irritated voice from inside the bathroom, muffled by the sound of running water. "If you're not here when I get out, I'll break that thing in the middle!"

Xiao Sa rubbed his nose, realizing he really needed to brush up on his AO physiology knowledge, like Omega heat cycles, and wondered if Landis, who had only recently become an Omega, would experience them...

When Landis emerged from the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes, Xiao Sa was holding Little Star, who had just returned from playing. He had a recently warmed bottle of milk in his hand, which he shook in front of Landis. "My dear, here's your favorite bottle of milk. If you don’t drink it, you’ll be starving later, okay, buddy?"

Little Star pouted and turned his face away, but upon seeing Landis, his eyes lit up as if seeing a savior, and he stretched out his arms, "MaMa!"

Time for milk!

"Ahem..." Landis took Little Star into his arms, letting the golden-haired little head nuzzle against him.

Little Star fumbled with the bottle, a tiny bit of milk smearing on his lips, and he looked up at them with wide, confused eyes. Where was his milk? He remembered it being so big and sweet. Now it was gone, and all he had were big eyes full of confusion.

Little Star waved his short arms, still unwilling to give up, and tried to dig into Xiao Sa's arms in search of a miracle.

But no miracle happened, and no milk either. Love comes and goes, but PaPa and MaMa were still in love—Little Star was just the extra prize from a phone plan.

His big, blue eyes filled with tears as he stared at them, accusation written all over his face.

Landis and Xiao Sa exchanged a glance, then in perfect sync, they both pointed at each other. "Blame him (her)!"

Just as the little one opened his mouth to cry, Xiao Sa quickly shoved the bottle of milk into his mouth, and the world fell silent.

Watching Little Star hug the bottle with a aggrieved expression, Xiao Sa sighed in relief and wiped the non-existent sweat from his brow, catching Landis looking at him with a half-smiling expression.

"Never seen someone being a father like this."

Xiao Sa shifted his gaze away. "Hey, I’m just doing what you asked for when you said you were uncomfortable."

"Heh!"

A few more weeks passed, and Xiao Sa’s back injury finally healed enough for him to be discharged from the hospital.

He powered up his old lightbrain, which hadn’t been used in months, and was instantly flooded with notifications.

Kaman and the others had been flooding his group chat with messages, almost daily, as if they were paying respects to him at a shrine.

"Did Xiao Ge rise from the dead today? Nope. [Candle emoji]"

"Did Xiao Ge receive an offering today? Burn more paper.jpg"

"Why hasn't Xiao Ge come back yet? Did the aliens kidnap him? Stay safe and be happy out there!"

"Aww, Xiao Ge, why haven't you come back yet? How am I supposed to live without you?"

Xiao Sa sighed. "..."

At least they’re keeping busy.

Xiao Sa sent an encrypted message and then reached out using his new lightbrain ID.

"I'm still alive, thanks."

Kaman: "???"

"Holy crap! Xiao Ge’s back from the dead! [Chaos emoji]"

Kaman was so excited that he sent a barrage of voice messages, one after another, faster than Xiao Sa could even respond. Eventually, Xiao Sa interrupted:

"Stop the nonsense, get to the point. I'm almost done with my business and planning to return to Central Star soon."

"The business is still running smoothly, and the dividends have been deposited into your private account as scheduled."

"How's the situation over there recently?"

Kaman expressed his excitement for a moment and then poured out like beans from a jar:

"Since the last major lockdown, Central Star has been on edge, and even our family’s business has taken a hit. But here’s the good news: my father found out about my side business, and instead of blaming me, he praised me for being resourceful. He’s even given me control over part of the family’s operations. Even my older brother can’t complain."

Xiao Sa smiled slightly, not surprised. For a major noble family like the Lot family, following the law was irrelevant. They wouldn’t hesitate to undermine the royal family when necessary. The most important thing was not to put all their eggs in one basket for the family’s long-term survival.

"Also, I heard there was a mutant uprising on Customs Star in the edge star zone. Videos of it are all over the Stellar Network. From what I’ve gathered, the royal family has been moving the garrison forces around a lot lately and placed a huge order with the inhibitor suppliers and the Royal Association. Something big is definitely brewing."

Xiao Sa: "I understand."

He pondered for a moment. Landis had taken control of Customs Star and managed to delay the spread of news about the mech beasts mutating into mutants, but with so many witnesses, it was only a matter of time before the truth went viral.

The royal family must be aware of this by now, and they might already suspect that Landis had discovered their secret. They’d been urging him to return to Central Star every few days, but he had been ignoring them, using the pretext of eradicating armed group forces and pollution sources to stay put at Customs Star.

Lately, Landis had been acting secretive, holding military meetings that stretched into the night. No one knew what he was planning.

A month later.

A sudden piece of news interrupted Xiao Sa’s rare bonding time with his child.

In the conference room, Landis sat at the head seat, quietly listening to Caro's report.

"A rare large-scale mutant wave suddenly appeared in the edge star zone, located in the debris belt near the border of the empire, at coordinates 358 Constellation Cluster. The emperor himself issued an edict, ordering the Third Legion to lead the army to exterminate them."

"There's something strange about this. Usually, the nearby garrison would be the first to discover mutant waves and report to the military department, which would then dispatch forces. Why didn't the military department receive any information this time, and instead, the royal family issued the order? Isn't that weird?"

Caro pushed his glasses up and reviewed the gathered intelligence again. "The information provided is quite detailed... Sir, I still think it's not right."

Xiao Sa sat on the sofa, secretly frowning. The royal family had ulterior motives, but the debris belt was also close to his clan’s Star Alliance. Better safe than sorry. Landis' icy blue eyes focused on the display screen showing the distribution map, his face devoid of extra emotion, and said lightly, "Since it's an edict from the emperor himself, we have to give him that respect."

Caro hesitated, "What if it's a trap?"

Landis' gaze was cold, scrutinizing and calculating, but he ultimately shook his head. "Even if there's just a one percent chance it's real, we have to go. It's our duty as part of the Third Legion."

"If it's a trap, we need to be ready for anything."

Caro gave a quick salute and didn't say another word.

Landis turned to Xiao Sa, his expression hesitant. "You still..."

Xiao Sa raised an eyebrow and cut in, "I'm going with you."

He'd prepared a bunch of arguments to convince Landis, but to his surprise, Landis just nodded after a brief pause.

"Alright then."

Xiao Sa blinked, confused. "Wait, what?" He gave Landis a suspicious look, and Landis sighed, almost exasperated. "What kind of look is that? If I refused, would you stay here obediently?"

Xiao Sa shook his head without hesitation. "No way."

Landis let out a soft sigh, rubbing his temple. "Might as well keep you where I can see you."

He paused, pulling a sealed file from his desk drawer. "This is your file from your last promotion."

He paused, giving Xiao Sa a serious look. "If you're coming, you'll start as a low-ranking officer. My standards for my officers are pretty high."

Xiao Sa shot him a skeptical glance.

How strict are we talking? Like, push-ups-for-everything strict?