Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 18 Verdict

Li Chengrui looked bewildered. He had just planned to take a shower and go to bed, but Pei An sent a message to everyone, including several key members of the organization. These individuals had the authority to participate in all major decisions.

Without even changing out of his lab coat, Li Chengrui headed to the meeting room as per Pei An’s message.

Pei An had gathered everyone in the meeting room but hadn’t informed Xiao Xue and others. The issue at hand was something that they could decide, but what could be so important to discuss in the middle of the night?

Until Pei An entered the meeting room with a stern expression and a strong alpha pheromone scent lingering on him, Li Chengrui realized something was seriously wrong.

“Which stinking alpha has released pheromones in front of you?” Li Chengrui was infuriated. He was also an alpha and could sense the potent alpha pheromones on Pei An. It was as if someone had tried to mark Pei An.

“Enough, why are you shouting?” Pei An’s face had cleared slightly, but he said, “I’m sorry to disturb your sleep, but for those of you who can smell it, you know what I’ve encountered.”

Li Chengrui’s heart skipped a beat. “Did Lu Changhui do this?”

Pei An had strict rules for his subordinates. Whether they were alpha or omega, he didn’t allow them to release pheromones recklessly. It was even more unacceptable to release pheromones directly toward him. The only person bold and impulsive enough to do this, besides Lu Changhui, was no one else.

“Lu Changhui is in rut, and instead of isolating himself, he followed me home with the intent to attack me. Now, what do you all think we should do about this?”

If it were still in the post-apocalyptic world, Pei An wouldn’t have sought anyone’s opinion. He would have taken decisive action. But it wasn’t the post-apocalyptic world, and he couldn’t handle this situation the way he used to. Even though he had encountered countless challenges over the years, this was the first time someone dared to attack him.

“Boss, you’re not injured anywhere, are you?” Luo Sisi rushed over and checked Pei An all over. She was in charge of coordinating energy resources.

“If I could say that Lu Changhui had injured me, I wouldn’t need to stay here.” Pei An responded with ease. “He’s not my match.”

“Where is Lu Changhui now? I need to ask him, what the hell is he up to!” He Dun slammed the meeting table, his anger reverberating.

He Dun, like Pei An, Li Chengrui, and the others, was one of the survivors from the past. He was twenty years older than the younger generation and regarded them almost as if they were his children. That’s why he was so furious.

“We have him locked up in the confinement room,” Pei An explained. He didn’t let Xie Yu into the base and asked Ah Huai to take him to the confinement room. During a rut, an alpha like Lu Changhui could be very dangerous. For safety’s sake, Pei An had him detained.

“All right, we should go to the confinement room and find out what he’s planning!” He Dun was livid.

The group relocated to the confinement room. As a precaution, Pei An sprayed two bottles of odor-blocking spray on himself, completely masking the scent of his pheromones.

Lu Changhui had been incapacitated, both physically and in terms of communication, when Pei An had reached the confinement room. However, now he was free.

He Dun, observing Lu Changhui’s crazed expression, was on the verge of physically assaulting him. “You despicable alpha! How could we have been so blind to accept you into our group?”

Lu Changhui seemed to pay no attention. He was just gazing at Pei An, lost in a trance.

“Pei An..you…an omega, can’t resist the alpha pheromones during his rut. You’ll succumb and fall into my arms.”

Pei An was tired of rolling his eyes. Lu Changhui was completely delusional. Even when he was about to be judged by the organization, Lu Changhui was still entertaining absurd fantasies.

“You have no shame!” Luo Sisi was not proficient in cursing but managed to utter these words, her face red with frustration.

“Lu Changhui, I’ll ask you one question.” Pei An stopped in front of Lu Changhui and said, “Do you remember the oath you made?”

Perhaps his mind had been clouded by pheromones, or perhaps Lu Changhui hadn’t genuinely meant the oath, so he had completely forgotten it. He just continued to stare at Pei An with an infatuated expression.

“Pei An, I genuinely like you a lot. Look at what I’ve done for you. I’ve done everything I could to be a team leader for you. What about you? What have you done for me? How can you make me give everything without giving me anything in return? You have to respond to me! Why won’t you respond to me?” Lu Changhui, who had always had an obsessive mind regarding Pei An, acted like a madman, especially in his current state of being in rut.

Pei An took a few steps back, allowing Lu Changhui to reach out and hold thin air. “If you like me, does that mean I have to like you in return? Lu Changhui, don’t think that I owe you anything. You need to understand that I have never owed you anything. I even saved your life. Don’t be so delusional.”

“What’s more, the ‘liking’ you’re talking about is following me home during your rut and trying to force me into submission using pheromones. Is that what you call ‘liking’? I had considered, perhaps, that you had feelings for me, and even though I couldn’t reciprocate those feelings, I would have been grateful. My parents told me that if someone likes you, you should be grateful because in their eyes, you are someone’s special. But it seems you, Lu Changhui, might not even qualify as ‘someone’ at this point.”

“Stop wasting time with him,” He Dun said. He had once personally trained Lu Changhui on flying small spacecraft, but at this point, he didn’t want to revisit the past.

“According to our rules, the handling of organization members should be decided by a vote from three or more core members.” Pei An spoke calmly. “The four of us—myself, Arui, Sisi, and Uncle He—are sufficient.”

Lu Changhui finally realized that Pei An had genuinely cut off all ties with him. “What do you want to do with me?”

“You have violated the organization’s rules by recklessly leaving the base during your rut and attacking the leader of the organization,” Li Chengrui stated, “and this could warrant execution.”

The words “execution” jolted Lu Changhui’s nerves. He struggled vigorously despite Pei An’s telepathic suppression. “You can’t kill me! I’ve done my part for the organization, even though I didn’t achieve much! Are you not afraid that this will alienate others?”

Pei An was getting tired. He didn’t want to deal with Lu Changhui’s issues anymore.

Li Chengrui gave Pei An a pat on the shoulder and said, “Leave this to me.”

Pei An was several years younger than Li Chengrui, Xie Yu, and Xue Xue, but he had shouldered heavy responsibilities for fourteen years. Today’s minor issue could be taken care of by his older brother.

“Lu Changhui, attacking the leader of the organization is an unforgivable crime,” Li Chengrui said. Though he usually had a sly smile, his stern face was also intimidating.

Lu Changhui’s body couldn’t break free from Pei An’s telepathic suppression, but his brain was unrestricted, and he spewed nonsense.

“You let an omega like Pei An become the leader of the organization. What future can such an organization have? Omegas are nothing more than subordinates under the influence of alpha pheromones.”

Lu Changhui’s remarks only further bewildered Pei An. “Even with my telepathic power suppressing you, did I show any signs of being influenced by your pheromones today?”

It was foolish. To think that he could be easily manipulated by alpha pheromones was to deny everything that Fan Wen had been doing. If Pei An could be so easily affected, what would be the point of the 286th Legion seeking help from him?

“Arui, this person is in your hands.” Pei An didn’t want to deal with Lu Changhui any longer. He was genuinely exhausted.

Li Chengrui said, “The procedure is complete. You should go get some rest. Are you heading home or staying at the base?”

“I’ll go home.” Pei An had asked Xie Yu to wait for him.

“After you go back, just rest well, and don’t think about anything,” He Dun patted Pei An on the back. “You’ve worked hard.”

Luo Sisi gave Pei An a hug. “Boss, you’re incredibly amazing. We believe in you, and following you is the right choice.”

With Li Chengrui and the others handling Lu Changhui, Pei An left. He could still hear Lu Changhui’s hysterics.

“If you treat me this way, aren’t you afraid of losing people’s support? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?” Lu Changhui’s voice echoed.

“If we don’t execute someone for attacking the leader, then won’t everyone want to do the same in the future?” Li Chengrui was a typical research scientist, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t use a gun.

However, it wasn’t time to execute Lu Changhui yet. When it would be daylight, and everyone would be awake, they would publicly announce their decision regarding Lu Changhui. The evidence against him would be clear.

Pei An arrived at the hovercar, where Xie Yu was leaning against the vehicle with the headlights on.

“Now heading home?” Xie Yu walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the car door for Pei An.

Pei An thanked him and got into the car.

Xie Yu closed the car door on Pei An’s side and then returned to the driver’s seat, starting the hovercar.

The journey was silent, and Xie Yu didn’t ask any questions. Pei An thought Xie Yu might inquire about something.

Xie Yu noticed Pei An was looking at him, so he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Pei An asked him, “Aren’t you curious about how I handled Lu Changhui?”

Without hesitation, Xie Yu replied, “Execution, right?”

Pei An chuckled softly. “How did you know?”

“Because of Lu Changhui’s actions, execution is the appropriate punishment.”

Xie Yu held a high position and had dealt with subordinates who had betrayed him. However, in this case, he hadn’t expected that his entire spaceship would blow up. Everyone had perished, except for him.

“I’ve executed all the traitors I’ve captured without explaining why they deserve it. When someone commits a betrayal, they should already understand their fate.”

“When you stand on the same side as yourself, your teammates and you can trust each other. If you are no longer on the same side, the information they possess and the secrets they know will become your threats. Cut it off before it turns to chaos.”

Pei An looked at Xie Yu, his head tilted. While Xie Yu was quite naive in some aspects, believing that the Lyte Empire was all prosperity, he also had a deep understanding of human nature and worldliness. His recent comments had struck a chord with Pei An.

“Xie Yu, by telling me this, aren’t you afraid that one day we might become opponents, and I’ll act first?”