CH 58

“Brother Pei, I’m leaving.” 

Si Huaixi looked at him with a melancholic reluctance, his beautiful blue eyes pitifully resembling a little cat watching its owner go on a distant journey.

Ironically, he was the one going on the journey.

Pei Zhaozhou smiled helplessly and said, “Yeah, the sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.”

Time was pressing, leaving Si Huaixi with little opportunity for a lengthy conversation. He marked a few more spots on Pei Zhaozhou’s neck, possessively imprinting his scent on him.

The touch of his spiritual power made Pei Zhaozhou’s neck glands swell, and a hint of confusion flickered in his amber eyes. Si Huaixi held him tightly, causing a tingling sensation throughout his body.

Si Huaixi, observing the affectionate gaze in Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes, felt a tightness in his lower abdomen. Suppressing his desire, he feigned fierceness and whispered in his ear, “I’ll be back in a few days, Brother Pei. Don’t think about flirting with anyone else!”

Pei Zhaozhou’s face flushed, and he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Where would I find anyone to flirt with?”

Narrowing his eyes, Si Huaixi, feeling a pang of jealousy that didn’t really exist, said, “Stay here obediently and wait for me. Don’t let anyone else lay eyes on you.”

After speaking, Si Huaixi bit his lip, gently kissed Pei Zhaozhou’s crimson lips, and held his increasingly delicate and supple waist. During his pregnancy, Pei Zhaozhou’s body temperature was slightly higher than usual. The touch of Si Huaixi’s fingers on the soft and fair skin felt warm due to the warmth of his expectant spouse.

He was increasingly reluctant to leave.

Si Huaixi clenched his teeth, gently pushed away his pregnant lover, stood up stiffly, and with a serious expression, instructed, “Stay vigilant until I return… I’ve already provided the spiritual energy nourishment the little baby needs. Brother Pei, your gland hasn’t fully recovered yet. Before that happens, give your subordinates some orders and refrain from piloting the mech.”

“Alright.”

Once the alluring Si Huaixi left, Pei Zhaozhou sat in the command cabin of the fleet, observing the starry sea. His amber eyes occasionally drifted into a daze, unintentionally worrying about Si Huaixi, who had just departed. The sudden drop in temperature around him made him particularly uncomfortable.

“Driver Yu, where is Vice Officer Si’s fleet now?”

Yu Feiwen was originally one of the pilots of this spaceship, but now he took on the role of Vice Officer Si in his absence, serving as General Pei’s assistant.

Yu Feiwen looked at the lights on the control panel and replied, “General Pei, Vice Officer Si’s spaceship is currently on the M7 route in the 18th Ring Star Domain, with no anomalies detected.”

Pei Zhaozhou gazed at the desolate starry wilderness outside the command cabin, the reflection of the spaceship in his amber eyes had long vanished, just like the spiritual connection he had with Si Huaixi, gradually fading until only a vague sensation remained. He was moving farther away in the remote direction of the starry wilderness.

“Okay, let’s keep moving forward.”

The rescue fleet traveled for four days, gradually finding scattered escape pods. Most of the passengers had normal physical conditions and quickly regained their health with the assistance of the medical staff aboard the rescue ship.

Unfortunately, there were some unfortunate passengers who, during the escape process, had their escape pods damaged by objects like meteoroids from outer space. The damaged pods were unable to withstand the extreme cold of minus one hundred degrees Celsius in outer space, and by the time the rescuers found them, the passengers had already lost signs of life.

Whether alive or deceased, the rescue personnel would bring the passengers back to the spaceship to await treatment and burial upon returning to the Empire.

“…A life pod has been found,” a rescue soldier said with a grave expression.

The person beside him remarked, “Well, if they’re alive, they’ll be taken back to the doctor for treatment. If they’re dead, they’ll be brought back to the spaceship for arrangements.”

The rescue soldier wiped the glass window of the old escape pod, revealing two people inside… No, wait, if they’re still alive, there might be three.

There was a pale and fearful pregnant woman, her belly protruding high, and in her arms, she held a ten-year-old boy who clung to her in fear and distress, just like his mother before their imminent death.

The production date on the escape pod was surprisingly a hundred and thirty years ago.

The young rescue soldier’s eyes showed surprise and pity.

The person beside him took a glance and said, “Over a hundred years ago, no wonder this escape pod looks so outdated. It seems these are passengers from a past spaceship accident that were never recovered. If they were to be sent back to the Empire, perhaps they would have no relatives to claim them.”

The rescue soldier felt great pity for the people inside the escape pod, trapped in outer space without being able to return to their homeland. Who knows if there were other passengers trapped in similar escape pods, enduring despair and agony until their miserable deaths?

The person beside him, fearing his thoughts, patted the young rescue soldier’s shoulder and comforted, “Don’t think too much. There are still many living people waiting for us to rescue. The passenger information from this escape pod can be traced. By bringing this pod back to the Empire, we might be able to find their descendants. It’s at least better than drifting in outer space indefinitely.”

The rescue soldier nodded heavily.

On the fourth day of the mission, the rescue operation seemed to be going smoothly. Pei Zhaozhou received the news of Si Huaixi’s return.

“General Pei, I have found fourteen escape pods. There are thirty-four survivors and seventy-eight casualties. The rescue mission is complete, and we are now returning,” Si Huaixi reported the mission results.

Pei Zhaozhou gave a location for the meeting and agreed to return, saying, “Gather at this location. After the rescue mission is over, divide the people into two groups. One group will escort the passengers back to the Empire’s capital, while the other group continues to search for the escaped star pirates. Reliable information suggests that the Star Pirate King, Ke Yan, was behind the hijacking of the K108 spacecraft, but there are rumors of internal strife within the pirate group, and Ke Yan has been presumed dead. The remaining escaped pirates and the K108 spacecraft disappeared together.”

Si Huaixi’s eyes darkened slightly, “I didn’t see any spacecraft on my end, not even the pirates. What about you, Brother Pei?”

Pei Zhaozhou replied, “Same here. According to the Empire’s undercover agent on the Sinful Star, the pirates’ headquarters has had no one return. The remaining passengers are likely still on the K108 spacecraft. Now, my concern is that the pirates have taken the passengers as hostages and are confronting us aboard the K108.”

Si Huaixi said, “That’s highly unlikely. If they were pirates, why would they stay on the spacecraft and face the Empire’s military firepower? Even with hostages, the chances of escaping from under the Empire’s control are slim. After the death of the Pirate King Ke Yan, those pirates should be busy with internal conflicts and power struggles. For now, the passengers should be relatively safe.”

Pei Zhaozhou had a faint sense that something was amiss and inquired, “If the pirates wanted to escape, why would they take the burden of the entire spacecraft with them? It would be sufficient to capture a few passengers as hostages. Why take the entire ship…”

Before Si Huaixi could comprehend this matter, news arrived from Pei Zhaozhou’s side that the K108 spacecraft had been found.

The soldier who came to deliver the news spoke excitedly, “General Pei, we have found the missing K108 spacecraft. Life signs were detected inside the ship through the life detection system. Please instruct us on the next rescue operation.”

A composed voice came through the communicator, “Brother Pei, has the K108 spacecraft been found?”

Pei Zhaozhou furrowed his brows slightly. He still had many unanswered questions about this long-lost spacecraft, but finding it was a good thing nonetheless.

“Yes, we have indeed found it on my end.”

Si Huaixi’s eyes narrowed slightly, his tone tinged with urgency. “Brother Pei, let me come back first before initiating the rescue operation. The ship has been in the hands of space pirates for so long, and I’m worried they might have done something.”

Pei Zhaozhou replied, “It will take at least three days for you to return here. As the overall General of the rescue mission, rescuing the missing passengers is our top priority. There are so many soldiers waiting to participate in the rescue. I cannot delay it for another three days.”

Si Huaixi’s eyes darkened, and he spoke urgently, “Brother Pei, give me two days. I will personally pilot a spacecraft and rush over at maximum speed.”

Pei Zhaozhou chuckled, his amber eyes radiating a gentle warmth. He said, “You don’t have to worry too much. I am an S-class Alpha with my own abilities. Those space pirates are no match for me. Besides, Silver Arc is by my side, and it will monitor any unusual activities.”

Si Huaixi, on the other end, furrowed his brows tightly, his hands clenched with visible tension. Somehow, he felt a sense of unease and fear, even more intense than when he encountered a horde of zombies in the post-apocalyptic wilderness.

Back then, he thought he had stumbled upon an ordinary group of zombies— around twenty or thirty slow-moving ones. With his advanced psychic abilities, he could easily handle such a small group of zombies. However, Si Huaixi felt a sudden palpitation in his forehead, an inexplicable sense of danger.

To his surprise, within that small group of zombies, there were three high-level psychic zombies, one of them being a psychic-type. The psychic zombie controlled the other two high-level psychic zombies. Psychic-type zombies were extremely rare, and whether they were zombies or human psychic ability users, encountering someone with the same psychic power would often lead to a desire to consume the opponent’s psychic energy core for an upgrade.

The psychic zombie was extremely cunning, constantly driving the psychic zombies to attack Si Huaixi. At that time, Si Huaixi was surrounded by a group of zombies, including high-level psychic ones. He was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the zombie horde. Fortunately, the psychic zombie had its sights set on his brain and didn’t want him to be devoured by other zombies. It controlled the horde, continuously depleting Si Huaixi’s physical and psychic energy.

When the psychic zombie thought that Si Huaixi was completely exhausted, it disguised itself as an ordinary zombie and approached him, launching a sudden psychic control attack, attempting to take control of his brain. However, Si Huaixi had anticipated this and had already emptied his mind, feigning being under control. The psychic zombie, eager to consume his brain, let its guard down and was subsequently killed by Si Huaixi’s psychic power.

That was the moment when he was closest to death. The zombies’ teeth were almost about to sink into his neck.

Si Huaixi’s eyes turned dark as night. Facing this unknown and unsettling emotion, he tightly grasped the communicator, gritting his teeth.

“Wait for me, don’t move.”

“Stay put and wait for me, Brother Pei, or else I’ll punish you.”

Pei Zhaozhou blushed at the sound of Si Huaixi’s angry yet anxious words. His amber eyes flickered with a mix of embarrassment and anger as he retorted, “How else do you want to punish me?”

Si Huaixi stared intently, his voice low and threatening, “Brother Pei, you know what I’ll do.”

Pei Zhaozhou clenched his teeth. “I won’t go in, alright!”

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