So you’re hungry for this?

“This is⁠‍‌⁠‍‌‍‍​‍⁠​‍​‌‍​‍‍⁠⁠‌⁠⁠ also why Huo Chao needed Jiang… Jiang Ci’s father back then,” Huo Xianfeng said.

Hearing this, Jiang Ci’s expression shifted slightly.

In truth, Huo Xianfeng was extremely arrogant by nature. He had an innate disdain for everyone around him, a fact he never bothered to hide.

Jiang Ci could deeply feel this, even when Huo Xianfeng hadn’t regained his memories, when he seemed carefree and mischievous.

Jiang Ci could sense the arrogance in him, the way he didn’t regard anyone as important.

He called Huo Chao by name or referred to him as an idiot or fool. Even the supreme Commander of Humanity was just another fool to him, although this nickname leaned more toward the affectionate banter between friends. Still, Huo Xianfeng never considered him a threat.

He called others by their names as well. In his eyes, even the Emperor of Humanity was only worthy of a slight acknowledgment, a grudging bit of admiration.

But when he referred to Jiang Ci’s father, he didn’t use his name; he called him “Jiang Ci’s father.”

—This signified respect.

“……”

Jiang Ci remained silent but listened intently to the young man’s explanation and analysis. Without a word, he opened his fingers and interlocked them with Huo Xianfeng’s, gently pressing his warm palm against Huo Xianfeng’s.

Jiang Ci knew Huo Xianfeng’s identity because the latter had made no attempt to hide it. But all he knew was that Huo Xianfeng had endured a bloody, dark, painful, and hate-filled period of imprisonment.

However, his mere twenty-seven years of youth meant he could never truly understand the blood-soaked past from three hundred years ago.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to understand, to empathize, or to share in the burdens the other carried.

“……?”

Feeling the warmth from Jiang Ci’s palm, Huo Xianfeng was slightly taken aback, but his face didn’t show too much of a reaction. So, during this serious and secretive meeting, no one noticed—

Under the table, their hands were quietly intertwined, tightly and intimately.

Jiang Ci always found more hidden meanings in Huo Xianfeng’s casual words.

“So, did this plan to escape the cage begin before Marshal Huo Chao met my father?”

He knew that his father and Marshal Huo Chao knew each other the earliest, even before he met His Majesty the Emperor. They had been acquainted since their youth. But from Huo Xianfeng’s words, it seemed Huo Xianfeng had known Huo Chao even longer than Jiang Jinsheng had.

Because it was Huo Xianfeng who suggested Huo Chao to seek out Jiang Jinsheng.

If Marshal Huo Chao had befriended his father to compensate for his own shortcomings and to build his own power, then that meant this secret and mad plan had already begun back then.

“——Yes.”

The corners of Huo Xianfeng’s lips curled up slightly. He greatly admired and liked Jiang Ci’s intelligence. It felt especially good to be understood with just a few words.

“But at that time, I didn’t trust Huo Chao; I was merely an observer.”

Huo Xianfeng would never place all his hopes and cards on a human. He just wanted to see how far this guy could go.

Out of curiosity, when Huo Chao sought his help, he gave a few suggestions.

“But before joining the military, Huo Chao asked for my advice on how to build his own, strongest force.”

As a King, even when revered by his entire species, it was still an essential task to select trusted aides.

But a King only needed to choose the most capable or those with exceptional abilities. Humans, however, were different. Their loyalty wasn’t determined by genetics but required negotiation, strategy, and effort.

So, Huo Xianfeng’s advice back then was—

[First, absolute loyalty.]

[Second, they need to compensate for all of your shortcomings.]

Huo Chao was a powerful yet foolish man.

He possessed many unique human qualities, such as humility and a willingness to learn from others. So, he eagerly followed Huo Xianfeng’s advice, quickly absorbing the young King’s strengths like a sponge.

This also helped Huo Chao grow rapidly, faster than ever before.

That’s why Huo Chao sought out Jiang Jinsheng to fill the technological gaps in the Dawn Legion, had Pei Changyun handle the political tasks he wasn’t good at, and likely needed Zhou Jiuya later when it became inconvenient for him, as a Marshal, to personally lead every battle—so he needed a sharp blade.

As for Ye Shu, he was the only one who hadn’t been actively chosen by Huo Chao but had instead forced his way into Huo Chao’s inner circle.

Ye Shu, who wasn’t outstanding in any way, had only one thing—loyalty.

—Absolute loyalty.

That’s why Huo Chao ultimately stationed Ye Shu on Winter Day Planet, to guard the Zerg eggs in the Forbidden Abyss.

It was clear that none of those present in this meeting were foolish; In fact, before Huo Xianfeng even said anything, they’d already understood their position beside Huo Chao.

However, what they hadn’t known was that the reason they were chosen by Huo Chao, since the beginning, came from Huo Xianfeng.

And the purpose of all these machinations was for a grand escape toward freedom.

“……”

At that moment, Zhou Jiuya and Ye Shu looked at the nonchalant young man in front of them, and they both felt a slight chill run down their spines.

Too terrifying…

This was a different kind of fear from the previous pressure and threat caused by physical power and pheromones. At this moment, they were truly frightened by Huo Xianfeng’s high IQ, his high-level vision, and his strategic methods.

Because this Zerg King seemed to have no flaws.

—It was as if he was born perfect.

With just a few simple words, he had effortlessly pointed out doubts they had never noticed before.

Even though Huo Xianfeng had just woken up on Earth for three or four months, he’d already unraveled most of the secret plan that Huo Chao had painstakingly devised over three centuries.

All of them combined could barely form a group that could be called perfect, barely capable of covering all possible flaws.

But Huo Xianfeng, as an individual, could do it alone.

—That was the gap.

An insurmountable, awe-inspiring, chasm-like gap.

For a moment, Zhou Jiuya looked at Jiang Ci, who was quietly watching the young man, with a complex expression. He didn’t know whether Jiang Ci’s bond with Huo Xianfeng was right or wrong, a blessing or a curse.

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“Jiang Ci…”

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“Grumble…”

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Earlier, Jiang Ci had rushed over in a hurry, so naturally, he wasn’t in the mood to eat. Plus, this was a serious meeting room, and everyone around him was his elder. Jiang Ci wasn’t like Huo Xianfeng, who could leisurely, even lazily, eat breakfast under the watchful eyes of so many people.

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The Major General remained expressionless, then silently used his other hand to cover his face, feeling his skin growing warm.

Why…

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Why did he always experience social death whenever he was in the same space as Huo Xianfeng?

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Then, Zhou Jiuya and Ye Shu watched as the young man pulled several colorful nutritional supplements from his pocket. He waved them in front of Jiang Ci like coaxing a child and asked,

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At this moment, Zhou Jiuya suddenly felt a shock.

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Because Zhou Jiuya, searching through all his memories, realized he had never shown such patience, care, and gentleness toward the young man.

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However, Ye Shu did not share Zhou Jiuya’s deep reflections. He just felt like he had been dealt another heavy blow.

—He couldn’t take it anymore!!!

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But now his idol and arch-nemesis were officially together!

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His cabbage had been eaten by a worm!

And they were flirting right in front of him!!!

Couldn’t this world give a single dog a break?!!

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Zhou Jiuya said with a complex expression,

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Jiang Ci was slightly stunned. He watched his uncle’s departing figure until he disappeared around the corner, then turned back to Huo Xianfeng, who hadn’t paid any attention to the two who had left but was instead waiting for his answer.

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Huo Xianfeng smiled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and said,

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Ours.

Jiang Ci chewed over this keyword.

He said, ours…

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A few seconds later, Jiang Ci suddenly stood up, leaned close to Huo Xianfeng and put his knee in his seat.

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“I’ll take them all.”

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The proud and arrogant King didn’t find this position uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, he thoroughly enjoyed it. He even tilted his neck back, meeting Jiang Ci’s gaze with a cooperative, upward glance.

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“Hmm?”

Huo Xianfeng tilted his head slightly and his tone was casual,

“Why didn’t I notice before that the Major General is so greedy?”

Jiang Ci looked into those deep, black eyes that reflected his own image. At this moment, they were so close, close enough that their breaths intertwined.

If Jiang Ci lowered his head slightly or Huo Xianfeng lifted his a bit, they would kiss.

“So, are you scared?” Jiang Ci asked.

Scared?

This question made Huo Xianfeng let out a soft, breathy laugh. His gaze seemed to become tangible, slowly sweeping over Jiang Ci’s face before settling on his lips.

Then, in a slow, seductive, almost sticky tone, the young man said the most arrogant words.

“In this world, there’s nothing that can make the King feel fear.”

“……”

——Indeed, only Huo Xianfeng would say something like that.

Arrogant, proud, but also incredibly, incredibly… sexy.

Jiang Ci didn’t reply; he simply lowered his head, closing the last few centimeters of distance to kiss Huo Xianfeng’s lips.

At the same time, the latter casually turned off the communication switch in the conference room.

Beep.

After a faint sound, the red light on the wall disappeared.

The moment Jiang Ci lowered his head to kiss him, as expected, he was met with an even more passionate response. But just then, a faint, unfamiliar gasping sound came from outside—

“Hiss…”

At this moment, Jiang Ci heard the noise from outside and tried to pull away to check. However, as soon as he moved and before he could turn his head, Huo Xianfeng grabbed the back of his neck with one hand, pulling him back into an even deeper kiss.

“Mm…-”

A surge of powerful alpha pheromones suddenly erupted from Huo Xianfeng, catching Jiang Ci off guard. The suddenness of it almost made Jiang Ci’s legs give out, and he nearly lost his balance. But in the next second, the young man’s other hand grasped his waist, supporting most of his weight.

In that moment, Jiang Ci completely forgot what he was about to do. He could only close his eyes and fully immerse himself in the deep kiss. As a result, Jiang Ci didn’t see that Huo Xianfeng had opened his eyes, the left pupil surged with a storm of gold, and the round pupil elongated and sharpened.

Then, the golden vertical pupil shifted—

Huo Xianfeng coldly swept his gaze over the few alpha officers peeking at the doorway.

After all, there was only one omega in the entire Legion, and he was a top-tier, stunning omega. So, even though Jiang Ci was fierce and cold, there were still many alphas who secretly admired him.

Not everyone in the corps had seen Jiang Ci and Huo Xianfeng’s entrance, or even if they had, some were still in disbelief. Now that the Legion Commander had left, a very small, unsatisfied group had come over to see what the person who could mark Jiang Ci looked like, and whether he was truly as terrifying as the rumors said.

But at this moment, when they reached the conference room door, they were met with the sight of the usually cold and serious Major General Jiang Ci pinning a black-haired youth to a chair, kissing him.

Jiang Ci’s back and the large table blocked most of Huo Xianfeng’s figure, but the outline of their current posture was still clear.

—The visual impact was simply fatal.

However, before they could take a closer look, the moment their eyes began to wander over, a golden, inhuman vertical pupil casually glanced at them.

Buzz—

With just that one look, they were instantly engulfed by extreme fear. It wasn’t just the suppression of a higher-level alpha over a lower one, but rather the kind of life-threatening terror humans feel when facing a terrifying monster.

It seemed like their dry throats were being strangled by an invisible hand, preventing even the sound of breathing from escaping.

After a brief few seconds, all the alpha officers were pale and nearly crawled away in a panic.

Too terrifying!

Absolutely terrifying—!

Some had claimed that the one who marked Major General Jiang Ci was a high-level Zerg and they didn’t believe it. But now—

It really is a monster!!!

Only after confirming that the nuisance was gone did Huo Xianfeng finally withdraw his gaze. The young man closed his eyes, continuing to kiss the beautiful omega in his arms, taking his time as if savoring the most delicious, exquisite dessert.

“Huo… Huo Xianfeng, wait…”

But Jiang Ci still felt that something wasn’t quite right. He pressed against Huo Xianfeng’s shoulder and wanted to briefly pull away.

“I… I think I heard something just now, mm…”

But the other’s hand was still gripping his nape, preventing Jiang Ci from breaking free.

“You heard it wrong, A-Ci.”

Look at that!

In moments like these, he calls him A-Ci again!!!

The omega could clearly feel the other’s movements and the slightly heavier breathing, and it was so sexy and ambiguous that it made his scalp tingle.

“You’re clearly hungry… But instead of eating the  nutritional supplements, you’re eager to eat me…”

Jiang Ci heard him let out a breathy laugh during the kiss as he mercilessly mocked him.

“So, this is the kind of hunger you have…”

 —Enough is enough!

Jiang Ci couldn’t take it anymore; he was determined to kiss this guy until he couldn’t talk!

<hr>

Author’s Note:

Since this section of the plot involves the revelation of all the foreshadowing and hidden lines, most of which tie back to events from three hundred years ago, Huo Chao’s role is indispensable.

After all, the world-building is a bit broader, requiring many characters to support it. Focusing solely on the interactions between the main couple would be too simple and wouldn’t move the plot forward.

After the main story concludes, I’ll write lots of sweet extras!