Sir, do you want the pheromones? - Chapter 18

“Commander!” He Xinglan’s voice sounded at the door.

Jin Ran quickly pulled his hand back, sitting on the ground as he panted heavily. He turned his head toward the door and saw that it was He Xinglan, who, luckily, was a Beta and couldn’t smell pheromones.

“Hurry up and take your commander away. I’m already in confinement, and he still comes here to lecture me. What’s the deal?”

He Xinglan ran over, glanced at the unconscious Pei Xingyu, and didn’t dare to move.

“Why are you just standing there? Pick him up!”

He Xinglan whispered, “I don’t dare.” Even with ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare touch Commander Pei. If Pei Xingyu found out he had carried him, it would be disastrous.

Jin Ran took a deep breath, suppressing his agitated pheromones. He put on gloves, pressed his hands on the ground to help himself up, and shook his arm, which still hurt from being hit by Pei Xingyu.

Just as he was about to pick Pei Xingyu up, the strong scent of his pheromones hit him again. Jin Ran grabbed a coat, threw it over Pei Xingyu’s face, and lifted him in his arms, heading for the door.

He Xinglan was startled, “Hey, what are you doing?”

Jin Ran turned his head to look at He Xinglan and didn’t mention the pheromones. He simply said, “If you don’t cover him up, do you want the whole fleet to watch as I carry your commander back to his flagship?”

He Xinglan shrank his neck; of course, he didn’t dare think that.

“So, what then? Do you want your commander locked in here with me? Or do you want to go out and shout that your commander fainted and have them carry him out, so the whole fleet will know he passed out in the confinement room for no reason?”

He Xinglan immediately shook his head and nervously explained, “No, no! Don’t say that!”

Jin Ran tilted his head, looking puzzled, “Hey, kid, how did you become the commander’s adjutant with this temperament?”

He Xinglan blinked in embarrassment and whispered, “Commander Pei rescued me from a lab when he was cracking down on space pirates. I don’t know how, but… he kept me. Maybe it’s because… I’m cute?”

Jin Ran was silent.

Not knowing what he was thinking, He Xinglan hesitated, then whispered again, “Carrying the commander like this is against the rules. Your confinement starts counting from the moment you entered, and not a second can be missed. This is a violation. The system will log it as a punishment, and it’s going to be very painful.”

“I don’t care.” Jin Ran strode out of the confinement room, thinking that this could be considered paying Pei Xingyu back for rushing to save him.

Though he didn’t need Pei Xingyu to save him, repaying this debt would allow him to comfortably demand that Pei Xingyu settle what he owed to Jin Xian.

Jin Ran’s gaze fell on Pei Xingyu, covered by the coat, before looking away. He didn’t owe him anything anymore.

There must really be a traitor in Ziwei Yuan. Pei Xingyu’s departure from the fleet was highly confidential—he only took two light ships and didn’t make any fanfare, not even going through the proper jump procedures. So how did someone know he had left Ziwei Yuan?

The enemy attacked before they reached the jump point, clearly not planning to let Pei Xingyu survive. But whether it was just the “Greedy Wolf” gang is another question.

There were many people in this universe who wanted him dead—not just space pirates.

Access to the command flagship requires iris recognition, and aside from Pei Xingyu himself, no one else could enter without his permission. Jin Ran placed him on his own bed.

“Go find Meng Ruqian,” Jin Ran said, turning to He Xinglan.

Pei Xingyu and Meng Ruqian had a close relationship. Since Pei wanted to keep his Omega status hidden in an all-Alpha fleet, he would need help, and that person was likely Meng Ruqian.

He Xinglan swallowed nervously, not thinking too much about it, and asked instinctively, “What about you?”

Jin Ran glanced at the bed, “I’m watching your commander. Unless you want to stay here and watch him while I go?”

He Xinglan quickly waved his hands, “No, no, I’ll go. I’ll go.” He then ran out, and Jin Ran closed the hatch to make sure the pheromones wouldn’t leak out.

In the military, Omegas were strictly forbidden. Pei Xingyu was the highest-ranking officer in Ziwei Yuan, and if he was an Omega, it would constitute a military crime. If he were brought to trial, there was no telling if he would survive.

Before coming to Ziwei Yuan, Jin Ran had done some digging. Meng Ruqian was someone Pei Xingyu trusted deeply. His first order upon taking command of Ziwei Yuan was to request Meng Ruqian from the Interstellar Federation.

Meng Ruqian was notoriously stingy, known for his frugality in Huo’er, yet he gave all his savings to develop that missile defense system for Pei Xingyu.

An Omega has two options to deal with their heat: bonding or suppressants.

Pei Xingyu would never choose the first option.

Jin Ran tapped Pei Xingyu lightly on the forehead. “And you still dare to fight me like this? Look who you’re underestimating now. Bet you know how tough I am now, huh? You even got triggered into heat from the fight.”

He paused and thought to himself, damn, I’m good.

The bandage wrapped around Pei Xingyu’s wrist had come loose when Jin Ran carried him earlier, and after their fight, it was already soaked with blood.

Jin Ran found it odd and crouched down to take a closer look. The bandage on the inside of Pei’s wrist was stained completely red with blood!

Crap?

Jin Ran looked at the unconscious Pei Xingyu. His military uniform made him look even paler, and the sight of that bloodied bandage was chilling. Jin Ran carefully peeled it off and almost choked in shock.

The wound on Pei Xingyu’s wrist was clearly self-inflicted. Jin Ran sniffed the bandage and caught a whiff of pheromones mixed with the scent of blood. Frowning, he glared at Pei Xingyu. That strange, metallic, pheromone-laced drink he had given him earlier—was it his blood?

He used his own blood to help regulate the pheromones?

Is he crazy?!

“Don’t you know your own situation? What the hell… bleeding yourself like this!” Jin Ran ground his teeth in frustration. Having messed-up pheromones wasn’t fatal. Was he really that afraid of Jin Ran demanding a divorce?

Jin Ran felt exasperated. Sure, he was crazy, but Pei Xingyu wasn’t much better, bleeding himself like that.

The sound of the eco-pod’s alarm rang out as Jin Ran stood up, watching Meng Ruqian anxiously follow He Xinglan inside.

“What happened? How did he faint? Where did it happen?” Meng Ruqian, drenched in sweat, came in rubbing his hands nervously. The moment he entered, he supported himself on the doorframe.

“What’s that smell?”

Jin Ran suddenly coughed and shot Meng Ruqian a look to silence him. Then he turned to He Xinglan and said, “You go out for a bit. I have something to ask Captain Meng.”

He Xinglan quickly nodded. “Oh, okay.”

As soon as He Xinglan left, Meng Ruqian rushed over and grabbed Jin Ran’s arm, sniffing him up and down. “Who? Whose pheromones? Where’s that Omega scent coming from?!”

Jin Ran frowned and brushed off his arm. “Hey, calm down!”

Meng Ruqian turned his head and saw Pei Xingyu lying unconscious. “Wait, the commander’s?!”

Jin Ran finally realized something was wrong. Why was Meng Ruqian reacting like this? Did he not know Pei Xingyu was an Omega?

“You didn’t know?”

Meng Ruqian froze in disbelief, stumbling back a few steps, his face turning pale. Cold sweat trickled down as he grabbed the edge of the table for support, then slapped himself across the face.

“Shit.”

Jin Ran was stunned by his reaction. Meng Ruqian looked at Pei Xingyu, shaking his head in shock. “No way, how is this possible? The commander’s an Alpha! How could he be an Omega?!”

“You didn’t know?” Jin Ran repeated.

Meng Ruqian was dumbfounded. “I… I didn’t know! If I knew, why wouldn’t I say something?! I… shit!”

Jin Ran stepped closer to Meng Ruqian. “You know what happens to Omegas in the military, right?”

Meng Ruqian nodded.

“If anyone leaks this secret, I’ll kill them.”

Meng Ruqian hadn’t fully processed how Pei Xingyu went from being an Alpha to an Omega, but Jin Ran’s deadly threat snapped him out of it. “Do you think I don’t understand how serious this is?! Kill them? What’s your relationship with Commander Pei that makes you think you can do that?!”

“My relationship with him…” Jin Ran bit his tongue and forced his words to change, “…has nothing to do with this. Since you’re here, find some inhibitors to help him out, or someone will figure it out eventually.”

Meng Ruqian nodded to show he understood, then suddenly looked up. “Wait, the whole ship is full of Alphas! Where am I supposed to get inhibitors?!”

Jin Ran glanced back at the unconscious Pei Xingyu. His pheromones were probably thrown into chaos because of the pressure in the drop pod, and before he had time to adjust, he gave Pei blood and fought with him. It triggered Pei’s heat, which knocked him out.

If he bit Pei’s gland, people would notice. He wasn’t interested in explaining that.

“What are you doing, Jin Ran?!” Meng Ruqian screamed in shock, seeing Jin Ran pick up a knife and walk toward Pei Xingyu. He quickly pulled him back. “What are you trying to do?”

“It’s fine. Just gonna draw some blood.” Jin Ran figured that since he was an Alpha, if Omega pheromones could adjust him, then maybe his blood could adjust Pei Xingyu. Whatever. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

He knelt down, pulled back his military uniform sleeve, and made a cut on his wrist. His brow furrowed instantly, but he didn’t make a sound as his blood dripped onto Pei Xingyu’s pale lips, staining them bright red.

Meng Ruqian gasped again. “Jin Ran!”

“Quiet.” Jin Ran tossed aside the knife, grabbed Pei Xingyu’s jaw with his other hand, and forced him to open his mouth, letting the blood drip inside. When he felt it was enough, he stopped, grabbed a random cloth—unsure if it was clean—and wrapped his wrist carelessly.

Meng Ruqian stood frozen, speechless, as he watched Jin Ran finish the whole process. Then Jin Ran poured some water to wash away the metallic smell of blood and the scent of white musk in Pei Xingyu’s mouth.

Jin Ran leaned in to check, making sure no scent lingered before he stood up. “Don’t tell him I drew blood. With his position, just pretend you don’t know. I can’t be bothered to explain it to him.”

“I get it, but…” To be honest, Meng Ruqian didn’t trust Jin Ran. “Are you sure you won’t let it slip yourself?”

Jin Ran paused and said, “If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have called you. As much as I want to… I’m not the type to use these kinds of methods. Don’t worry.”

Meng Ruqian held back the question about Jin Ran and Lian Jingfeng’s relationship, probing instead, “No matter what Commander Pei is, he’s the absolute leader of Ziwei Yuan Yuan. I don’t care about his gender; I follow the person.”

“Who you follow has nothing to do with me.” Jin Ran wasn’t interested in hearing his declaration of loyalty. He grabbed some clean gauze and carefully bandaged Pei Xingyu, making sure he wouldn’t notice it after waking up. Then he stood up again.

Seeing Jin Ran about to leave, Meng Ruqian hurriedly called out, “Hey, where are you going?”

Jin Ran waved his hand without looking back, having repaid his debt to Pei Xingyu. “Where else? Following your commander’s orders, going to lock myself up.”

Meng Ruqian looked at Pei Xingyu lying on the bed and couldn’t help but shiver. No way, how could Commander Pei be an Omega? He had always been an Alpha, right?

His face stung. Meng Ruqian touched his right cheek, which he had slapped earlier, the burning pain reminding him it was real.

Their Commander Pei was truly an Omega!