Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 48

” All the biochemical weapons have been strictly sealed and stored on that spaceship. As long as a suitable location is found, they can be destroyed.”

 

” Pang Li from the Locke Galaxy took people to capture them. They are speeding up. At the latest, they will be able to capture Molton back the day after tomorrow.”

 

” The physical examinations of the laborers have also been completed. Considering the physical condition of most people, the doctor suggests replenishing nutrition first and then sending them back to their original place of residence.”

 

” In addition to the laborers, we also rescued a group of people who were about to be used for flesh trade. They are all omegas kidnapped from various places.”

 

Xie Yu looked up. “Is that all?”

 

Lika hesitated, afraid that Xie Yu would be furious when he heard the rest.

 

Xie Yu tapped the console with folded fingers. “Speak up, don’t beat around the bush.”

 

Lika had no choice but to say, “While you and General Pei were alone in the command room, we received a message from the Council saying that Hulick has been sent to detain you and take you back to Central Star.”

 

Hulick was the one who had a communication with Xie Yu when he was in a very bad mood.

After Lika finished speaking, she glanced at Pei An quietly, only to find that Pei An happened to look up as well.

 

“Hulick? I’ve heard that name from the space pirates. He’s from the Seventh Legion, right?” Pei An, after confirming his relationship with Xie Yu, didn’t have time to indulge in affectionate moments. Both of them were busy on the bridge, and they wouldn’t have shifted their attention if Lika hadn’t mentioned a familiar name.

 

Lika’s mouth opened wide. Hulick, as the legion commander of the Seventh Legion, an imperial colonel, was colluding with space pirates?

 

Xie Yu asked, “What’s the reason?”

 

“Originally, the space pirates intended to transport the biochemical weapons on that ship to the Balem Galaxy for deployment experiments. They chose the Balem Galaxy because Hulick’s patrol sector is in the Balem Galaxy.” Pei An reiterated what Andyku had said.

 

Lika slapped her forehead. “Right! Hulick’s patrol area is in the Balem Galaxy, not too far from us. No wonder he was able to access our communication channel.”

 

Encountering Hulick during the war, Lika felt extremely unlucky.

 

Pei An tilted his head. “Did Hulick mention that he was responsible for detaining you during the communication?”

 

Xie Yu replied affirmatively, “No, he was just gloating.”

 

“Lika just said that Hulick is now responsible for detaining you and taking you back to Central Star, which means that something must have happened during this time period for the order to change from ordering to detainment.” Pei An rested his chin on his hand, wondering what it could be.

 

Xie Yu had been quite active during this time. The 286th Legion was trapped in the Moran Galaxy, unable to send out a distress signal. Sheila Mondley was still in Xie Yu’s hands, and she had silently changed sides.

 

“Is there any reason given for asking you to return to Central Star?” Pei An asked.

 

Xie Yu looked at Lika, who suddenly remembered that she hadn’t finished explaining fully and immediately added, “The reason is that the commander has been absent from his post for a long time and has left without authorization.”

 

Pei An admired, “The Council is really good at making up stories.”

 

Xie Yu recalled receiving the order, secretly boarding a spaceship to carry out a mission, and then the spaceship exploded. Such a big incident, yet they didn’t make any statement. Instead, they wanted to investigate Xie Yu for dereliction of duty. It was truly shameless. Did they want to provoke a conflict?

 

Impossible. The Eight Grand Armies are actually controlled by the eight commanders. Even if the Council has managed to sway some people, they wouldn’t dare to directly confront the Third Legion.

 

“I submitted the report to the military department, and they have started investigating. However, when they tried to delve deeper, the Council came out to obstruct.” Xie Yu hadn’t told Pei An about this before. It wasn’t good to involve him in such matters, so he didn’t bother mentioning it.

 

“If Hulick comes and causes trouble, he’ll simply be accusing himself. Considering that the Locke Galaxy is also within his patrol area, where the space pirates have been entrenched for over a decade, and there’s even been smuggling of biochemical weapons and human trafficking, he can’t escape the charge of neglecting his duties. If Hulick doesn’t provoke us, then he’s just a cowardly opportunist. He can keep his position and land, but he chose to act recklessly. As the saying goes, if you don’t court death, you won’t die. If Hulick ends up in military court, it’s his own fault.” 

 

Lika grinned, not knowing where Hulick found the courage to provoke their command. Now he’s in trouble, right?

 

Xie Yu wrote and drew on the light panel, then stood up and dragged a chair over to sit next to Pei An.

 

“Pei An, look, the point marked as 1 is our current location, which can also be considered as the location of Dragon Port Base. The point marked as 2 is an industrial star in the Locke Galaxy. There is a heavy industrial factory on this star, which can provide conditions for destroying biochemical weapons.”

 

Biochemical weapons are always a hot potato. Even if they are tightly sealed, there’s always the fear of gas leakage. So it’s better to destroy them sooner rather than later. Xie Yu had been busy finding a location to destroy the biochemical weapons.

 

“After the factory is used to destroy the biochemical weapons, it cannot continue production. Now that our relationship with the higher-ups is not good, do you plan to buy the factory yourself?” Pei An asked knowingly.

 

Xie Yu replied seriously, “Molton has been captured by me. He is the secretary of the Customs Administration. The position of secretary is quite delicate. If Molton gets into trouble, it means that the head of the Customs Administration will also be in trouble. If he wants to save his life, he’ll have to show some sincerity. Moreover, Molton has been helping the space pirates smuggle goods for so many years and has made a lot of money from it. No matter who foots the bill, it won’t be our turn.”

 

Pei An was shrewd when dealing with people other than Pei An.

 

“I’m not at ease until I see these biochemical weapons being disposed of with my own eyes. Xie Yu, let’s go to the Locke Galaxy. We can leave the rest to Zhuge or Lika. They are both capable.” Pei An suggested.

 

Before Xie Yu could speak, Lika, who had been treated as if she were invisible, raised her hand and spoke up, “General Pei, thank you for trusting my abilities, but I already have a lot of tasks to handle. Let’s leave the remaining tasks to Zhuge. The two of us working together, a handsome man paired with a beautiful woman, will make the work less tiring.”

 

Xie Yu mercilessly undermined her, “Look at yourself and ask yourself honestly, do you look like a beautiful woman?” Almost everyone who saw Lika for the first time mistook her for a male alpha.

 

Lika was indignant, “Commander, I don’t like what you said. I have style, you know? A stylish female alpha like me is even more likely to attract pretty girls.” With that, she ran her hand through her stylish hair.

 

Xie Yu said gently, “I don’t need to attract anyone.” He already had Pei An.

 

Lika, who innocently received a mouthful of dog food, thought to herself, “Okay, you’re amazing.”

 

“You and Zhuge will oversee things here. All rescued personnel must be properly resettled. Regardless of how much medication is needed, use it directly without reporting. If the canned food is not enough, send people to the nearest planet to purchase supplies,” Xie Yu patted Lika on the shoulder. “You’ve worked hard. Pei An and I will go to the Locke Galaxy.”

 

The ship carrying the biochemical weapons probably never expected that it would be escorted by two main warships in its lifetime, the Blaze and the Azure Dragon, along with several escort ships. The journey from Dragon Port Base to the industrial star selected by Xie Yu would take about seven to eight star days. There wouldn’t be any danger along the way, and even if there were any sudden incidents, the bridge could handle them with ease. All the officers and soldiers under Xie Yu’s command were highly skilled, and they could also take care of the group of people Pei An brought out.

 

Meanwhile, Xie Yu and Pei An found a small meeting room, where they both looked over reports. Pei An was reading a summary of their organization’s work over the past six months. The report was extremely concise in language, but still jaw-droppingly long. If printed out, it would be as thick as a brick. Over the past six months, they had made quite a bit of money from the industries they quietly developed outside. Every item was a source of income, but there were also significant expenditures. Their research was no longer just spending money; it was burning money. Coupled with investment in military production, the hard-earned money disappeared in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t quite a financial deficit, as they still had a surplus, but the speed at which they spent money would only increase in the future, especially with the ongoing construction in the Moran Galaxy, which required substantial funds. However, they still earned quite a bit, enough to afford everyone a happy meal.

 

While Pei An was content, Xie Yu wore a troubled expression. He was looking at the battle damage from the two recent battles. There weren’t many casualties, but the joy of fighting quickly turned into regret. Having developed a habit of thriftiness and frugality, he felt pained at the thought of wasting even a bit. “Do I really have to rely on plundering to get rich?” Xie Yu sighed.

 

Pei An put down the report in his hand and decided to show some concern for his newly appointed boyfriend. “What are you sighing about?” Xie Yu pushed the light screen towards Pei An. “I’m daydreaming about money falling from the sky.”

 

Pei An picked up the battle damage report and glanced at it. He understood why Xie Yu looked troubled; it was all because of money issues. “Do you remember our discussion about building an arsenal?” Pei An handed the light screen back to Xie Yu. “I think now is a good time to build one.”

 

Xie Yu suddenly became interested. “Tell me more.”

 

“We already have arsenals scattered around under our organization’s control, but due to the lack of unified data for the military equipment we currently use, we can’t directly produce from the existing arsenals. Expanding production on a large scale is also risky. It would be best to find a place to build a new arsenal. Today, I observed the situation on the ground at Dragon Port Base. I believe we can directly build an arsenal there.”

 

Xie Yu had a sudden realization. “That’s right. Dragon Port Base is a pirate stronghold. It’s reasonable for me to station troops there. Coupled with the matter of the biochemical weapons, I can completely justify it by saying that we’re here to prevent any remaining biochemical weapons from being found. So, we’ll dispatch troops to stay here and conduct searches. As long as no outsiders come in, no one will know what we’re doing here.”

 

During his time at the military academy, Xie Yu had studied a course on armaments. In fact, many of the military equipment they currently used didn’t cost that much to produce. If the cost of production was low, so would be the selling price. If they had their own arsenal to produce military equipment, they wouldn’t have to worry about the military budget being released.

 

“What does that have to do with anything? You’re here with me, aren’t you?” Pei An thought to himself, this must be what it’s like to be loved. Xie Yu was willing to endure hardships himself but didn’t want Pei An to suffer, wanting to give him the best.

 

“If you’re not busy, you can tell me jokes and chat with me. When a person’s attention is focused on one thing, they won’t notice anything else,” Pei An said.

 

Commander Xie didn’t know how to tell jokes. But Commander Xie could learn how to tell jokes.

 

Learning target one: Lika, who was full of humor every day.

 

“That’s easy! Commander, I’ll tell you some jokes right now!” Lika’s mind was spinning rapidly at this moment. She guessed that Xie Yu wanted to learn how to tell jokes for Pei An’s sake. This kind of thing was absolutely no problem for her!

 

Xie Yu expressed his willingness to listen.

 

“Today, I wanted to leave work early, but the boss disagreed and said, ‘If you leave early, you’re considered absent!’ I smiled slightly and said, ‘I already am!’ Then I picked up my pickaxe and left the mine.” 

 

Xie Yu: “???”

 

“Do you find that funny?” Xie Yu couldn’t believe it. Was that actually a joke? Where was the humor?

 

Lika was disappointed. “Commander, don’t you find it funny?”

 

Xie Yu replied, “It wasn’t funny to begin with.”

 

Lika said, “Then let me tell you another one!”

 

Xie Yu waited for Lika’s performance, hoping she would be more reliable this time.

 

As it turned out, he shouldn’t have trusted someone with such a low sense of humor like Lika. What kind of nonsense was this again?

 

“The cannibal said, ‘There should be a bottom line in everything we do.’ I asked him, ‘What’s your bottom line?’ The cannibal said, ‘Eating people but spitting out the bones.'”

 

As the saying goes: First time, a surprise; second time, a shock; third time, you’re out.

 

Xie Yu couldn’t wait for a third time. He gave up hope of learning how to tell jokes from Lika.

 

If Ye Xiuzhe were here, Xie Yu would definitely prioritize seeking help from Ye Xiuzhe. Ye Xiuzhe was the most reliable one. Since Ye Xiuzhe wasn’t here, Xie Yu could only settle for second best.

 

Pang Li couldn’t be relied upon either. Xie Yu once again pinned his hopes on Zhuge Yue, hoping Zhuge Yue wouldn’t be as self-indulgent as Lika.

 

Xie Yu explained his intentions to Zhuge Yue. Zhuge Yue didn’t tell him jokes but instead made a serious suggestion.

 

“Commander, other people may have different preferences from Pei An, but from my observation of so many couples, being together doesn’t always require doing specific things.”

 

Xie Yu’s heart steadied. Zhuge was very reliable.

 

“I’d like to hear more.”

 

In helping Xie Yu and Pei An develop their relationship, they wished they could use all their knowledge reserves. Zhuge Yue didn’t hold back at all and taught Xie Yu everything.

 

“Nowadays, young couples like to go to the movies together, have a meal, take a walk, share a cup of milk tea, watch the sunrise and sunset together, and buy each other flowers. Commander, you know about this, right?” Zhuge Yue suspected that Xie Yu, the workaholic, might not be aware.

 

Xie Yu responded with an “Hmm,” but what he was actually thinking about was that there was a recreational room on the warship where he could watch movies with Pei An. He could cook for Pei An directly for meals, and while he couldn’t stroll the streets, he could fly a fighter jet along routes. However, there was no bubble tea on the warship. That might be manageable, he could learn it, but as for watching the sunrise and sunset and buying flowers… How could he manage that?

 

Zhuge Yue had no idea that Xie Yu’s mind was as chaotic as a winding mountain road right now. She continued to impart her wisdom: “Therefore, the key to couples’ dates is not what they do, but the fact that they’re together. As long as two people are together, whatever they do will be enjoyable. Commander, do you understand?”

 

Xie Yu hesitated. “Is that so?”

 

Zhuge Yue thought to herself, “Isn’t that obvious? How could they, of all people, find time to go out and do those activities? If they could avoid being third wheels and find a place to be alone, even discussing battle plans in front of a star map could count as a date.”

 

“Commander, think about the commanders. Have they ever gone out to watch movies or stroll around? Haven’t they gotten married and been affectionate until now? Trust me, what you do doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you appear more often in front of Pei An. You need to be there for him.”

 

To enhance the credibility of her suggestion, Zhuge Yue made a solemn oath on the spot: “If what I said doesn’t work, I’ll be single for life.”

 

Xie Yu: “…” Admirable indeed.

 

In the end, learning how to tell jokes evolved into learning how to be in a relationship.

 

Xie Yu, a student of Zhuge Yue’s exclusive relationship training class, put her teachings into practice. After ending the call with Zhuge Yue, he knocked on the door of the adjacent room.

 

“Pei An, are you busy?” Xie Yu’s hands behind his back were trembling slightly from nervousness.

 

Pei An pondered for a moment, then stepped aside. “Come in.”

 

Everything that needed to be done was already done. They would soon arrive at the industrial star in the Locke system after a short rest. There wasn’t really anything important to keep them busy.

 

Once the door was closed, Pei An began to tease Xie Yu: “Xie Yu, how long have we been officially together? And you’re already coming into my room like this? Is this considered breaking and entering?”

 

Xie Yu was so nervous that his back stiffened, his muscles tense, and his speech was confused: “I, I just, just wanted, wanted to… spend more time with you…”

 

Oh no, oh no, would Pei An think he was too frivolous? Should he have asked Pei An out instead?

 

Pei An paused for a second, then burst into laughter, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

 

“Xie Yu, why are you so clueless?” Turning a relationship into something as awkward as this.

 

Xie Yu was at a loss. His father and his father’s partner were already old when they had him, and everyone’s situation was different. Now he couldn’t even find a reference point.

 

After Pei An finished laughing, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, he pushed Xie Yu to sit on the chair and bent down, using his index finger to playfully lift Xie Yu’s chin.

 

“Commander Xie, care to kiss me?”

 

Xie Yu struggled to swallow the non-existent saliva. “Sure.”

 

Pei An was adept at extrapolating from one example to another, and even kissing was no exception. He had only kissed Xie Yu once before, but he was already much more experienced than Xie Yu, who had stayed up late watching movies with his roommates.

 

Under Pei An’s proactive approach, Xie Yu was utterly defeated.

 

Moreover, they still needed to be prepared, as a fight could break out at any time.

 

“Dragon Port Base is close to the Locke system and not far from the Moran system. Once the Moran system is completely stable, we will inevitably need to take the Locke system. Dragon Port Base is situated between the Moran and Locke systems, making it a very safe location,” Pei An added.

 

Xie Yu thought even further ahead than Pei An. “We can also rely on Dragon Port Base as a outpost, so it can play an even bigger role.”

 

Pei An bit his lip and made a sincere suggestion, “Then maybe we should change the name of Dragon Port Base.”

 

Dragon Port Base was a name given by space pirates, and using the name of space pirates made them feel uncomfortable.

 

Xie Yu couldn’t help but agree. “What would be a good name then?”

 

Forgive him, they didn’t teach naming things in military school.

 

Very well, neither of them were humanities students, so they fell into silence.

 

But Xie Yu, being aware of his low emotional intelligence, said, “How about you do it? There’s a high probability that any name I come up with will be unanimously criticized by Lika and the others.”

 

Pei An: “Well then, I’ll do my best.”

 

Naming things, naming things, naming things…

 

Naming things was really difficult.

 

Pei An chose to temporarily give up and said he would try again when he had inspiration.

 

“I think this time it was just a high consumption of ammunition, the damage rate wasn’t high. It won’t take more than a day to repair everything. It’s just right that everyone can take a break after we’re done,” Pei An shifted the topic back to the report.

 

“After the break, it won’t be long before we have to move forward again. We’ll have to eliminate all the space pirate dens we can find, which won’t take a short amount of time,” Xie Yu said, holding Pei An’s hand. “It’s very likely that we won’t have the chance to go down to the surface. You haven’t spent this long in space before.”

 

As a soldier, spending years floating in space was common, and Xie Yu had long been accustomed to it. However, he couldn’t bear to see Pei An suffer.

 

Although it should have been freezing cold, it had turned into a warm pool of water with a faint scent of plum blossoms, filling the air with tenderness.

 

What can miles of ice and snow do?

 

Ultimately, it brought a spring breeze to one person.

 

It was initially Pei An who took the initiative, but later Xie Yu’s hands wrapped around Pei An’s waist, and Pei An straddled Xie Yu’s thighs.

 

Two young people full of vitality, this kiss lasted for quite a while.

 

Xie Yu even felt a little restless.

 

“Pei An, I…” Even though he understood that this was the instinct of an alpha facing his loved one, Xie Yu still wanted to apologize for his rudeness.

 

Pei An’s fingertips pressed against Xie Yu’s lips. “Shh…”

 

You don’t need to feel ashamed or offended, because I truly give myself to you.

 

Xie Yu understood Pei An’s gaze, grabbing Pei An’s finger against his lips and giving it a kiss. “Okay, I won’t say anything.”

 

But he still needed to take it slow; now wasn’t the right time.

 

Pei An pointed to the bathroom. “Go ahead.”

 

Xie Yu refused. “No need, it’ll pass quickly.”

 

Pei An nodded, then threw the blanket to Xie Yu to cover himself.