Chapter 100: Beauty under the light.
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“Follow the stars?” Zhou Yunchen hesitated slightly. “It’s too cold at night, and there isn’t a moon or other satellite bright enough to guide us. It’s not suitable for traveling.”
“I remember the terrain map. We can follow the stars even during the day,” Lu Yao said, immediately pulling up the micro-mecha system’s display to draw a map. “After crossing this mountain, head northwest, cross a large canyon…”
As he spoke, he sketched the route. The soft yellow light from the micro-mecha’s illumination mixed with the cool blue glow of the display, casting interlacing hues across his face, giving his fair skin a pearlescent sheen. Beauty under the light.
Even in this critical, frigid moment, Zhou Yunchen couldn’t help but pause, his heart skipping a beat. The last time he saw Lu Yao bare-skinned was under a dim moonlit wind. Back then, he had been in the snow leopard form, and Lu Yao had always let down his guard around the big cat—sometimes even indulgently so. In turn, he treated the snow leopard in ways unconstrained by human social rules, like curiously touching its plush bell…
Once Lu Yao finished the map and turned, he noticed Zhou Yunchen staring at him with a subtle expression.
“You usually use 3D or contour maps. Can you understand the flat map I drew?”
“Yes,” Zhou Yunchen replied.
Lu Yao looked into his eyes. “You saw it?”
No—he’d only been staring at Lu Yao. Zhou Yunchen cleared his throat awkwardly, glanced at the map, and said, “No problem, I understand it. That’s an underground base?”
“Yes.”
“Any landmarks nearby?”
“There’s a huge sinkhole—you can’t miss it.”
“Good.” Zhou Yunchen looked back at Lu Yao. He noticed Lu Yao’s lips had turned slightly purple. At first, he thought it might be the blue light from the display, but on closer inspection, he realized it was Lu Yao’s own lips. “Are you cold?”
Zhou Yunchen grabbed Lu Yao’s hand. His fingertips were icy, and even his nails had a purple hue. Despite the mecha’s warm air, the cold outside seeped into the cave. The blood-soaked clothing was no longer wearable, so Zhou Yunchen quickly removed his military jacket and put it on Lu Yao.
The jacket’s stiff fabric could potentially harm Lu Yao’s wounds, so Zhou Yunchen also removed his inner shirt and layered it under the jacket. The residual warmth enveloped Lu Yao. As he buttoned it up, Lu Yao asked what they should do next. Even with an alpha’s higher body temperature, no one could safely endure near-zero degrees without proper coverage.
Zhou Yunchen didn’t answer immediately. The gentle glow illuminated his well-built muscles, giving them the texture of thoughtful marble. “I have an idea.”
He didn’t reveal the specifics, but stepped back and shifted into the snow leopard form. Lu Yao froze for a moment—the snow leopard’s natural coat was well-suited for high-cold environments. Then, Zhou Yunchen changed back, wearing the same military jacket as before.
Lu Yao blinked. Zhou Yunchen glanced down, as if confirming something, then draped the jacket over Lu Yao’s shoulders, shifted into snow leopard form again, and back to human, this time wearing a space-walk combat suit. The suit’s material could resist the cold, perfect for this situation. However, it was a full-body uniform. Zhou Yunchen removed the outer layers, leaving only an inner shirt and pants, then wrapped Lu Yao from head to toe in warm cloth.
“Is this okay?” Lu Yao asked. While zipping him up, Zhou Yunchen said, “I didn’t expect that. Humans still don’t fully understand the power and methods of the Villeau civilization.”
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yunchen set aside two short military jackets, then, by toggling between forms, “borrowed” some Villeau tech to create a winter wool coat for Lu Yao. Torque quietly slipped under Lu Yao’s coat and nestled in.
Lu Yao now had insulated gloves, boots, and only his face and a small part of his neck exposed. Zhou Yunchen loosened Lu Yao’s tied-up hair, pressing the back of his hand to his cheek—the warmth slowly returning. That was enough.
“Rest a bit more. Once the temperature rises tomorrow morning, we’ll continue.” Zhou Yunchen used the two extra jackets to pad the icy cave floor so Lu Yao had a place to lie down.
The rocks were still too hard, so Zhou Yunchen shifted back into snow leopard form, lying on his side and letting Lu Yao rest on his long fur.
Lu Yao seemed to smile, curling up with his shoulder against the snow leopard’s belly, face near its head. Torque meowed, slipping between Lu Yao’s legs and belly. One person, two cats, piled together in a warm heap. Lu Yao pressed his cheek against the snow leopard’s neck, draped Zhou Yunchen’s wool coat over himself, and wrapped up completely. His body, already weakened by blood loss and injuries, began to recover. As his warmth returned, he drifted into sleep.
On the Rambler
“How’s the situation?”
“Very bad,” Zhao Minghe said, frowning at the data on the screen. “After the large explosion we detected, the pirates immediately activated a global signal-blocking system. Many of our satellites went offline, and we can’t receive any signals from the General.”
“But at least we know they weren’t trapped in the pirate base—they’re on the move,” Li Mo said.
“Yes, but that brings more danger and uncertainty,” Zhao Minghe said, closing his eyes. On the screen, the day-night line divided the ochre planet into light and dark halves.
“According to our agreement with General Zhou, we can’t act recklessly.”
“I understand,” Zhao Minghe exhaled. “I want the technicians to work harder to restore the satellites. If we can get the life-location system back online, we can detect whether they’ve dispersed and confirm they’ve escaped pirate control. Then we can land immediately.”
“They will. He will succeed,” Li Mo said. Zhou Yunchen had survived alone in space for over ten years—there was no way a handful of pirates could defeat him.
Lu Yao couldn’t sleep peacefully until the sun rose over B13. In the latter half of the night, Zhou Yunchen suddenly sensed an unusual fragrance that made him restless. The snow leopard, half-asleep, flicked its tail, almost sinking into this intoxicating scent.
In the next moment, Zhou Yunchen fully awoke. This planet had no other plants or animals—how could such a scent appear? He quickly shifted back into human form. A bad premonition prickled his mind. He tested Lu Yao’s forehead temperature, then checked the swollen glands at the back of his neck. Damn it. Lu Yao had entered estrus under these circumstances.
No… he should have realized sooner. The daytime explosion had dragged Lu Yao back into a trauma re-experience. His brief awakening wasn’t a sign of recovery; his physiological instincts had forced him into estrus.
Heat surged across his face, reddening his skin in the cold night. Zhou Yunchen felt sweat seeping through Lu Yao’s temple hair. The strange sensations of estrus made him shiver. His eyes were tightly closed, yet indistinct murmurs escaped his lips. Waves of catnip-scented pheromones began filling the cramped cave, drifting outward on the wind toward the distant horizon. This was far too dangerous.
Zhou Yunchen’s worry intensified. An omega in estrus needed a secure environment, as well as ample water and food. This tiny, crude cave couldn’t meet Lu Yao’s needs. The mecha could barely provide heat at night, and when daytime temperatures climbed above fifty degrees, the cave would become like a sauna.
Even worse, they hadn’t gone far enough yet. Uncontrolled omega pheromones would linger in the air for kilometers, likely alerting the pirates to their location and inviting a search. They had to move now.
Zhou Yunchen glanced at the black starry sky outside the cave and decided to start packing. As he gathered the bottles and supplies back into his backpack, Lu Yao stirred, seemingly disturbed by the movement. He blinked groggily and asked, “Has the sun risen yet?”
“Not yet,” Zhou Yunchen replied, moving to Lu Yao’s side and wiping the sweat from his face. “You’ve entered estrus. We need to head to the abandoned base immediately. At least there, you can rest properly in a man-made structure.”
Estrus-induced hormones clouded Lu Yao’s mind. He caught only a few keywords in Zhou Yunchen’s words. “Okay… okay…”
After finishing packing, Zhou Yunchen hung the backpack in front of Lu Yao, placed the deeply sleeping Torque inside, and shifted back into snow leopard form. Wearing the mecha, he carried Lu Yao and set off.
Lu Yao clutched the snow leopard’s neck, letting out a low whimper: “Ah… it… hurts…”
An omega in estrus becomes especially emotional, requiring extra care and attention from the alpha. Zhou Yunchen removed the mecha’s head armor so Lu Yao could press his face against the snow leopard’s long, heat-radiating fur while holding on.
When the snow leopard leapt out of the cave with its passengers, a sudden gust of cold wind made Lu Yao shiver violently. His mind cleared, and tilting his head toward the silver-studded black sky, he said to Zhou Yunchen, “Go left-front, at the ten o’clock direction—that’s north on this planet.”
The snow leopard began climbing the mountain to the upper left. The cave was halfway up the mountainside. Once they left, the rugged, sheer cliffs became their path. The barren peaks, sculpted over centuries by relentless wind into sharp, knife-like ridges, loomed in the dim starlight like a massive graphite monument rising from the plains. Behind them, thick shadows fell like blood across the land.
Following the direction etched in Lu Yao’s memory, the snow leopard needed to cross the ridge before them. The silver-white form leapt gracefully between mountain rocks, tail sweeping to maintain balance. The stars flowed behind them like a cascading torrent, while ahead, howling winds raced through the mountain passes, and the cold night sky slowly revealed more bright stars.
Author’s note:
Going all out with Villeau civilization tech, heh heh.
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