Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 59

The battle had just ended, and Lika led the team to clean up the battlefield.

 

This time, the main forces fighting the interstellar pirates were the people he had brought from the Moran system, commanded personally by Lin Bieyan. The 258th Corps provided support, allowing these relatively inexperienced “new recruits” to gain some valuable experience.

 

One had to admit, Lin Bieyan’s training at the 258th Corps base was very effective. These novices, unfamiliar with combat, had significantly improved their understanding of warfare after this battle.

 

“The caliber of the interstellar pirates’ shells matches some of ours. I’ve ordered all the shells to be brought back. The main ship is severely damaged, and we need to wait for inspection results to see if it can be repaired. The escort ship is heavily damaged and outdated. I suggest dismantling it. All smaller ships and fighters should be recovered and inspected for future use,” Lin Bieyan reported.

 

Pei An picked up his coffee but put it down again. “How long do we need to rest after this battle?”

 

Lin Bieyan replied, “Mobile operations have no specific requirements. We can take our time cleaning up and head to the front lines whenever there’s a situation.”

 

Pei An rubbed his temples. For some reason, his energy had been low these past two days. Even drinking coffee to perk up made him feel nauseous.

 

“Prepare the inventory for me to review. I’ll inspect the main ship myself. If it can be repaired and upgraded, we’ll have a bit more strength,” Pei An said.

 

Lin Bieyan agreed but couldn’t help noticing Pei An’s fatigue. “Chief Pei, maybe you should rest for a bit?”

 

Pei An waved his hand. “I’ve slept long enough. Any more sleep would be counterproductive. I need to move around.”

 

This was true. Lin Bieyan clearly remembered that Pei An had slept for nine hours.

 

Sleeping for nine hours and still feeling tired was unusual for someone as mentally strong as Pei An.

 

“Get a check-up when you have time. Whatever it is, the doctor will understand it better than us,” Lin Bieyan advised, not daring to take Pei An’s health lightly.

 

Pei An agreed. Speaking of doctors, he hadn’t expected Manzhu to secretly follow him from the Moran system.

 

He had brought many people when leaving the Moran system. Three main ships could carry tens of thousands of people. If he hadn’t looked for her specifically, he wouldn’t have noticed Manzhu hiding in the group and sneaking into the 258th Corps base. She had been absorbed in a new research project, staying in the lab for dozens of days. When her research ended, and she wanted to go to the surface, the fleet had already set sail again.

 

Manzhu: “…”

 

She contacted Pei An and joined him on the Chanyuan.

 

When Pei An found out that Manzhu had stayed quietly in the fleet for so long, he was helpless and brought her onto the Chanyuan. They often talked, making the endless journey less lonely.

 

Even though Manzhu knew about Pei An’s relationship with Xie Yu, she still didn’t have a good impression of Xie Yu and often complained about him. She called Xie Yu a “heartless alpha” and suggested Pei An find someone new since they weren’t fully bonded.

 

Manzhu’s suggestions included Lin Bieyan and Lika, scaring them so much that they hurriedly avoided her.

 

Who would dare to undermine their commander? No one wanted to die.

 

More importantly, anyone could see the tender look in Pei An’s eyes when he mentioned Xie Yu. No one could replace him.

 

Of course, Manzhu was just venting. Most of her time was spent on her new research.

 

Before Pei An had a chance to ask Manzhu for a check-up, Lin Bieyan brought urgent news: “Chief Pei, a civilian ship in the Luoshui system has sent a distress signal. After receiving the signal, we sought feedback from all sides. We’re the closest unit to the Luoshui system.”

 

Pei An pulled up the star map. They were in a neighboring system but on the opposite edge, while the distress signal indicated an emergency.

 

“How long will it take to reach the distress signal’s origin if we jump continuously?”

 

Lin Bieyan quickly calculated, “Five star hours.”

 

Five star hours—by the time they arrived, it might be too late.

 

But the distress signal came from citizens of the Lyte Empire; they couldn’t ignore it.

 

What if they got there in time?

 

“Notify all escort ships to return to the main ship. Small ships and fighters should hurry back. We’ll jump immediately,” Pei An ordered.

 

Lin Bieyan acknowledged, grabbed the communicator, and issued the orders.

 

Escort ships could dock with the main ship, saving energy, as they couldn’t handle continuous jumps without specific points. They needed to attach to the main ship.

 

The captured main ship could be left behind. Repairs would take a long time. They could extract as much as possible later, but there was no time now.

 

All escort ships docked with the three main ships, and small ships and fighters returned at full speed.

 

Everyone secured themselves as continuous jumps caused significant turbulence. They buckled into their seats, and the small ships and fighters locked into the docking bays.

 

“Jumping in ten seconds,” Lin Bieyan watched the screen, counting down, “Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one!”

 

The three main ships became three streaks of light swiftly traversing the cosmos.

 

In the Luoshui system, aboard a patrol ship of the security fleet, the crew on the bridge looked at each other in dismay.

 

“Boss, are we really not going to respond to the distress call?” someone asked tremulously.

 

A bearded man kicked the speaker. “Didn’t you see the two main ships they have? Two main ships! What are we going to do, go get ourselves killed?”

 

The man yanked down the control lever fiercely. “Let’s get out of here now! If we wait until they realize what’s going on, we’ll be the ones dead!”

 

The three patrol ships of the security fleet changed course and rapidly fled in the opposite direction.

 

After the emergency jump ended, Pei An immediately tried to contact the source of the distress signal, but no one answered.

 

Everyone knew what it meant when there was no answer.

 

Five star hours, five star hours were still too long. For a civilian ship, anything could happen in five star hours, and none of it would be good.

 

In the Wright Empire, the only ones who would attack a civilian ship were interstellar pirates. The interstellar pirates were ruthless. Most likely, all they could do now was collect the bodies of the people on that civilian ship.

 

“Chief Pei, we’ve located the coordinates of the civilian ship. Shall we board?” Lin Bieyan asked softly.

 

“Yes, connect to the ship and board immediately.”

 

Pei An closed his eyes, suppressing a sense of foreboding.

 

The main ship slowly approached the small civilian ship. After confirming it was safe, they built a temporary passageway for boarding.

 

Fully armed soldiers were the first to board the civilian ship, checking its overall condition.

 

Through the communicator, Pei An heard the soldiers’ report: “The ship is intact, except for…the people on it.”

 

This report came from a veteran who had participated in many battles, bearing the rank of sergeant.

 

But even the sergeant, who had seen countless battles, had never witnessed such a hellish scene.

 

All the passengers on the ship had died horribly. Their hands and feet had been chopped off, their eyes gouged out, their hearts torn out. He even saw the captain of the ship, a middle-aged man in a white uniform. The captain’s death was too gruesome to describe.

 

He might have angered the interstellar pirates while trying to protect his passengers. Both of his arms had been crushed flat, his flesh mixed with splintered bones. His eyes bulged from pain, and his stomach was pierced with numerous knives.

 

Pei An boarded the ship. “Are there any survivors?”

 

No, not a single one. Even infants in swaddling clothes had been slaughtered.

 

“Chief Pei, you should take a look…” The sergeant couldn’t bring himself to describe the innocent people’s deaths.

 

Pei An walked into the passenger area. The once-clean ship was now splattered with blood and flesh, grotesque and terrifying. There wasn’t a single intact body in sight, and the stench of blood was so strong it made Pei An gag.

 

Could humans really do this?

 

Even in the apocalypse, he had seen zombies tear apart their companions, but this scene was even more horrifying.

 

“Go to the cockpit and retrieve the flight logs and surveillance footage from this ship,” Pei An commanded, suppressing the urge to vomit and the dizziness threatening to overwhelm him as he headed to the cockpit.

 

Someone had already retrieved the flight logs.

 

This ship was traveling between star systems. It hadn’t encountered a single meteor along the way but was attacked upon entering the Luoshui system. The captain had immediately called the local security fleet for help. The logs showed that the security fleet had received the distress signal but did not respond.

 

“We’re under attack!” the captain had shouted as he operated the ship, “Requesting assistance!”

 

The security fleet hung up, and when the captain called again, there was no response.

 

A civilian ship could never match the firepower of two main ships, and the interstellar pirates didn’t seem intent on destroying the ship outright. They surrounded it and forcibly boarded.

 

The first to confront the pirates was a young crew member, a brave young man.

 

He held up a makeshift white flag, a piece of cloth on a stick. “We surrender, please don’t shoot.”

 

The interstellar pirates laughed mockingly at the young crew member’s words.

 

“You say don’t shoot? Fine, I’ll use a knife instead.” One of the burly pirates snatched the makeshift flag from the crew member, threw it to the ground, and crushed it underfoot before stabbing the crew member amidst his terrified gaze.

 

“They actually raised a white flag for us, hahahaha! How naïve can they be?” The interstellar pirates laughed as they pulled out the bloodied knife and stabbed it into another spot.

 

The crew member was stabbed dozens of times. It didn’t stop there. The pirate picked up the trampled white cloth, balled it up, and pressed it into the crew member’s wounds.

 

“Here, let me stop the bleeding for you!”

 

All the interstellar pirates laughed maniacally, reveling in the bloody violence.

 

The crew member died, having been stabbed too many times and losing too much blood, with no chance of survival.

 

The next to step up was the captain. He locked the remaining crew and passengers in the passenger area and stood in front of the door.

 

The pirates mocked the captain just as they had mocked the crew member. “You don’t think a flimsy door like this can stop us, do you?”

 

The captain was kicked aside, and the pirates grabbed his head, forcing him to watch as they blew up the door with a bomb. Then, they tortured the captain to death in front of everyone.

 

Next, the defenseless passengers were brutally murdered, whether they resisted or not.

 

A perfectly good ship turned into a hellscape in an instant.

 

Before beheading the last passenger, the pirate said, “Rest assured, we will send people down to join you at a ratio of one to ten thousand.”

 

The pirate faced the camera, grinning eerily. “Anmo Star will soon become a dead star.”

 

…

 

“How far is Anmo Star from here?”

 

“A ten-minute jump, or one star hour by normal travel.”

 

Pei An made a swift decision. “Leave some people to handle the ship. Everyone else, return to the main ship. We’re jumping to Anmo Star immediately!”

 

The time difference was too great. According to the surveillance records, the pirates had left the ship four star hours ago. Even if they took their time, they should have reached Anmo Star by now.

 

Anmo Star was probably already beyond saving.

 

The three main ships jumped again, heading straight for Anmo Star.

 

The pirates were long gone, leaving only a scorched and desolate Anmo Star behind.

 

“Rescue the survivors!”

 

The military had a limited supply of protective suits and oxygen machines, only a few thousand sets. Pei An personally led a team down to the surface of Anmo Star and also sent people to nearby planets to purchase equipment.

 

The pirates had used biochemical weapons on Anmo Star. Upon arrival, Pei An saw many people who had died horribly.

 

Biochemical weapons were delivered via missiles from the air. Both the explosion and the biochemical agents were lethal. Survival in such circumstances was rare, but even one survivor would be a miracle.

 

Pei An and his team scoured the surface for survivors, while Lin Bieyan urgently contacted the military for additional rescue support.

 

This time, they had been outwitted by the interstellar pirates.

 

After the Second Regiment’s cleanup of the Luoshui Star System, everyone instinctively believed that there would no longer be any interstellar pirates there. Even if there were survivors, they would pose no significant threat. Unexpectedly, these pirates feigned a massive defeat, luring the army into pursuit. As soon as the army left the Luoshui Star System, another group of interstellar pirates returned and committed an atrocious massacre.

 

They searched every place where people might still be alive—underground tunnels, subway stations, and other locations. Every deceased person was uniformly transported to a single location to be cremated.

 

No one knew exactly what kind of biochemical weapon the pirates had deployed. Regardless of whether it was bacteria or viruses, incineration at high temperatures was the most effective method currently available.

 

A few thousand people were far too few. Anmo Star, like DS009, was a small planet with several million residents. It was even a tourist destination. Each winter, the night sky would be filled with dreamy lights, attracting many travelers.

 

However, after the pirates deployed biochemical weapons, this small planet would never again see eager visitors coming to witness its fantastical displays.

 

The biochemical weapons killed millions on Anmo Star and ruined this beautiful planet.

 

Pei An lost count of how many places he searched. Inside his protective suit, he felt very hot, and his vision became foggy. He also began to feel pain in his lower abdomen.

 

Unable to bear the pain, Pei An paused his search and leaned against a tree, clutching his stomach and gritting his teeth.

 

Why was his stomach suddenly in so much pain?

 

Pei An wondered, dazed by the pain.

 

But now was not the time to abandon his critical work due to personal discomfort. He needed to keep searching. His psychic abilities were extremely useful here, able to detect people buried beneath the rubble. If they kept searching, they might just find survivors.

 

After resting for a moment, Pei An resumed his work, extending his psychic abilities into the unseen ruins, examining every corner.

 

Behind his mask, Pei An’s face was pale to the point of translucence. If not for the oxygen mask, others would see his lips had no color, appearing ghostly white.

 

It hurt so much…

 

The pain in Pei An’s stomach grew unbearable. Suddenly, his vision went black, and he collapsed.

 

“Director Pei!”

 

“Someone help!”

 

“Call a doctor!”

 

…

 

The cup in Xie Yu’s hand suddenly slipped and fell to the floor, shattering and spilling water everywhere.

 

“Commander?” Ye Xiuzhe waved his hand in front of Xie Yu’s eyes. “What’s wrong? You zoned out all of a sudden.”

 

Xie Yu shook his head. “It’s nothing.” He had just felt a sudden tightness and a brief pain in his heart. If not for the fallen cup, he might have thought it was his imagination.

 

“Leave the cleanup to the service staff. Come with me to the council meeting.” Xie Yu couldn’t be bothered to get another cup of water. He grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and headed out. “Make sure to prepare a few more high-energy particle cannons for me, but not too powerful. We don’t want to scare those idiots in the council to tears.”

 

He was going to the council today to cause trouble.

 

He had already caused enough trouble for various people, and many said he was unreasonable.

 

Xie Yu responded, “Reason? My force is my reason.”

 

Ye Xiuzhe quickly followed. “Don’t worry, Commander. I’ve already arranged everything. Today, we will definitely open the eyes of the council members.”

 

…

 

Pei An had a dream. In it, he was surrounded by darkness, but not far away, there was a soft glow.

 

Strangely, he found the glow endearing and wanted to touch it. He moved toward it.

 

However, the glow seemed a bit mischievous, avoiding his touch. As soon as he got close, it moved away.

 

“Why won’t you let me touch you?” Pei An, feeling defiant, decided that the more it avoided him, the more he wanted to touch it.

 

The light dodged to the side, and he chased after it. They played this game of hide and seek for a while until the light stopped hiding and began to speed away. Pei An decided firmly that he must catch this light today.

 

He felt childish, competing with a light in his dream.

 

In his dream world, Pei An couldn’t catch the light. Despite his speed, he watched helplessly as the light flew farther and farther away until it disappeared from sight, leaving only endless darkness around him.

 

Pei An raised a hand to his heart and felt a deep sadness.

 

But why?

 

Slowly, his vision detached from the darkness. He woke up. Pei An found himself lying in the medical room, with Manzhu sitting beside him in a white coat.

 

“Manzhu, what’s going on with me?” Pei An asked slowly.

 

Manzhu hesitated, turned away, wiped her eyes, and then turned back. “Pei An, do you know you’re pregnant?”

 

Pregnant?

 

Pei An’s pupils dilated slowly.

 

He and Xie Yu had only been intimate once, when Xie Yu returned to the Central Star. However, at that time, he was not in heat, his reproductive cavity wasn’t open, and Xie Yu did not enter it. How could he be pregnant?

 

“Jie, are you joking with me?” Pei An tugged at the corner of his mouth.

 

Manzhu couldn’t hold back her tears. “Pei An, your body was never suitable for childbirth. It was fortunate that you conceived this time, but the child is gone now, and you won’t be able to conceive again.”

 

Pei An was stunned. He weakly sat up, supporting his fragile body. “Jie, am I dreaming?”

 

Manzhu turned away, unable to hold back her tears.

 

Pei An stayed silent for a long time. He placed his hand on his stomach. There had been a child here, but now, the child was gone.

 

How could this happen?

 

“Jie, is my child really gone? But I’ve been taking care of my body for years, exercising regularly, and my physical condition is better than many others. How could I not hold onto my child?” Pei An’s voice choked gradually.

 

Actually, he knew the reason. This body belonged to “Pei An,” secretly used for medical experiments by his biological father since childhood. His health was poor, but he was fortunate to have improved the condition of this body after being reborn into it. However, he only later became an omega and never thought to undergo an examination of his reproductive organs, so it’s normal that he’s not suitable for having children.

 

Moreover, he had been to Anmo Star, where the air was filled with bacteria or viruses left by biochemical weapons. It was already difficult for a child to survive under such conditions.

 

But this was his child, connected by blood, just like him and Pei Ruyu, sharing the same blood in their veins…

 

At this moment, Lika entered the medical room with a bowl of clear porridge. She saw Pei An silently shedding tears, feeling deeply distressed.

 

“General Pei, have some porridge.”

 

Pei An slowly looked at Lika, reached out, and held the bowl of porridge, devouring it.

 

“Lika, please bring me a clean set of clothes. I want to go out.”

 

Manzhu and Lika said in unison, “You can’t!”

 

“Your current physical condition is not suitable for work,” Manzhu insisted, pressing Pei An back onto the bed.

 

Pei An pushed away Manzhu’s hand, his tone resolute. “JieManzhu, I have to get up.”

  

He said, “I regret not being able to meet my child, and the culprit who caused this situation is still out. I can’t sit still for a moment.”

 

It was precisely because he knew how painful it was to lose loved ones that he was determined to do his utmost to prevent others from suffering such pain.

 

“Lika, go get my clothes.”

 

Gritting her teeth, Lika turned and went to Pei An’s room to fetch a set of his clothes.

 

Pei An got up from the bed. In the medical room, he washed his face with cold water until the traces of tears were barely visible on his face. Then he changed into clean and neat clothes, straightened his back, and walked out of the medical room.