Chapter 115: No Neutering Necessary

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Lu Yao had just walked up to them. Before he could even sit down beside them, Mo Feng suddenly leaned back, raising his hands in strong protest.

“Stop, stop! You’re full of alpha pheromones! Don’t come near me.”

Lu Yao paused, then glanced at Chang Jian. To his surprise, Chang Jian also looked at him with worry.

“Lu Yao… daytime indulgence isn’t good for your health. Don’t pick up bad habits from Mo Feng.”

Lu Yao blinked. “?” He hadn’t indulged in any daytime antics.

Mo Feng, “? What do you mean by ‘picking up bad habits from me’? Go argue with Zhou Yunchen about it.”

Chang Jian, “Speaking of General Zhou… about what you asked last night…”

Lu Yao, “It’s resolved.”

“Good. At least you’ve weighed it in your mind.” Both Chang Jian and Mo Feng weren’t worried about anyone emotionally overpowering Lu Yao—there probably wasn’t anyone in the world capable of breaking through his emotional defenses.

“So why are you at the base today?” Lu Yao asked.

“Came to check on you,” Chang Jian replied, “and to give you updates on the investigation into those star pirates and the mercenaries behind them. As it stands, Jaeger Industries is in trouble, but it’s unclear whether the specific crimes fall on Jiang Wei or the company itself.”

“You still haven’t identified the mastermind?”

“Information from the Eightday website can’t be restored. The Federation Intelligence Bureau is tracing which tip-off phone call was made to the Star Police, hoping to confirm an identity for prosecution. So Jiang Wei’s personal arrest warrant hasn’t been issued yet. He’s still at Jaeger Industries working overtime building mechas. According to your base engineers, his skill is formidable.”

“Speaking of mechas, there’s another matter,” Mo Feng interjected. “Lu Yao, the leopard-shaped mecha you brought back has been taken by the military for research. They say the power source you used is some kind of special new energy?”

“They opened the energy compartment?” Lu Yao asked.

“No. The technicians found the energy was too potent and feared a risk of explosion. They didn’t take it out, but the military has already sent someone to inquire.”

“Oh, that’s the new energy you mentioned a while back for the NTL series, right?” Chang Jian recalled.

“Yes,” Lu Yao nodded thoughtfully. “Now we can directly use this energy for the NTL. Our chances improve, and it satisfies the military’s curiosity about new weapons.”

“Are you sure it won’t explode?” Mo Feng asked, concerned. He knew Lu Yao had tested the energy via unmanned drones in space, which meant Lu Yao himself hadn’t done a full-scale trial.

“It won’t.”

Five days later, the final round of the Hephaestus Competition was about to begin. For convenience, Lu Yao returned to his mountaintop villa in District Eight. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Torque’s little cat paws clattered closer and closer. The white kitten barreled into him, leaping straight into his arms.

“Meow~ Meow~” Torque purred, licking Lu Yao’s face while snuggling against him. Lu Yao carried Torque into the living room. The familiar chill of the mountain corridors brushed past. Torque kept pressing his head into Lu Yao’s open jacket.

Lu Yao stroked his ears to calm him, then went to add fresh cat food. He opened the fridge out of habit, seeing the usual supply of fresh meat. For a moment, he realized he no longer needed to cook for the snow leopard.

He closed the fridge, added food to Torque’s bowl on the island counter. Torque jumped up, diving in eagerly. Lu Yao petted him from head to tail, but his gaze drifted to the scattered mountains outside the courtyard. He paused, then sent Zhou Yunchen a message: “Where are you? I’m back at the villa tonight.”

Zhou Yunchen: “Just finished, heading over.”

Lu Yao assumed he was busy with military work and didn’t ask further. He filled his stomach with a nutrient tube, then walked slowly to the courtyard lounge chair. He picked up a scholarly engineering journal and skimmed through the latest topics.

The autumn wind swept across the peaks, carrying a biting chill. Yellow leaves fluttered, touching the electromagnetic barriers around the courtyard, leaving tiny sparkling points of light.

Before sunset, Zhou Yunchen’s flight device landed on the pad. To Lu Yao’s surprise, he wasn’t wearing his uniform today, but a rocky-gray trench coat. Broad shoulders, long legs, an aura both cold and handsome. “You didn’t go to the military office?” Lu Yao asked.

“No,” Zhou Yunchen sat on the lounge chair beside him. “I went to the hospital.”

“Are you sick?” Lu Yao remembered him healthy just yesterday, strong as an ox.

Zhou Yunchen didn’t answer, instead pulling up a light screen. Lu Yao saw him manipulating some files and felt a sudden, inexplicable premonition. When Zhou Yunchen pushed the screen toward him, the premonition strengthened, and Lu Yao instantly recalled handing him the ethics agreement the other day.

The screen displayed St. Dono Hospital, New Blue Star… and a medical record? Zhou Yunchen actually had been to the hospital? Scrolling down, Lu Yao saw a line in bold letters: “Hydrogen Bond Targeted Sterilization Surgery (Alpha version).”

Lu Yao’s mind went blank with confusion. He sat up, staring at the screen and then Zhou Yunchen’s serious, upright face. Tentatively, he asked, “You… went to get sterilized?”

Zhou Yunchen paused briefly, then exhaled and tried to phrase it gently: “It’s not exactly sterilization.”

The term naturally recalled the cruel operation Torque had undergone. The hydrogen bond targeted surgery used radiation to subtly target the hydrogen bonds in the DNA of reproductive cells, breaking specific base pairs. Chromosomes could no longer pair, effectively preventing conception. It was lifelong and didn’t affect any other functions.

Lu Yao, of course, knew this. The procedure’s description was displayed prominently on the medical record, impossible to ignore. It was a common permanent contraception method in the Federation—but why?

Zhou Yunchen looked at Lu Yao’s uncertain expression. “Since we’ll never have children, this is safer. Also… are you willing to accept full marking?” The targeted surgery didn’t affect mating or marking.

“That’s your purpose?” Lu Yao raised an eyebrow. Zhou Yunchen smiled faintly, his eyes sparkling coldly like stars. “Partly.” Once an omega accepts full marking, removing the marks later causes extreme pain, almost a permanent decision. The same applied to this targeted surgery.

Lu Yao’s ice-blue eyes studied him for a moment. Then he reached out, “Give me your tail.”

In the cold autumn wind, Lu Yao’s expression remained sharp and indifferent, yet subtle movements of his facial muscles added a trace of soft sweetness. Zhou Yunchen sat upright. A long, plush leopard tail lifted the hem of his trench coat, tip twitching closer to Lu Yao. Lu Yao grabbed the tail. The thick fur immediately compressed under his fingers. He tugged firmly…

Mo Feng was sitting at his usual office next to Lu Yao. By mid-morning, he had already seen the base’s delivery robots arrive five times, each holding a cup of iced black coffee and jingling as they knocked on Lu Yao’s door. Before lunch, Mo Feng’s work momentarily paused. The delivery robot came again, and he greeted it before taking a cup of coffee and walking it into Lu Yao’s office.

When he opened the door, he saw Lu Yao springing up from his desk as if startled awake from a deep sleep. Mo Feng set down the coffee, glanced at the row of empty coffee cups stacked on the desk, and tapped the surface. “What’s going on? Didn’t you go home to sleep last night?”

“I did. I slept,” Lu Yao gulped down a large mouthful of coffee.

“But you look like you haven’t slept in eight hundred years.” Mo Feng lifted Lu Yao’s chin and poked the dark circles under his eyes.

“I…” Lu Yao paused, thinking. “Mo Feng, I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Is… overindulgence really harmful to the body?”

“?” Mo Feng nearly choked on his water. “Absolutely! But you’re young and strong. Maybe you should consider other possibilities, like what time you went to bed last night and what time you woke up this morning?”

“Four a.m. to eight a.m.”

Mo Feng raised an eyebrow. “You only slept four hours. No wonder you’re exhausted. Stop drinking coffee, get some rest, and then get back to work. Don’t drop dead at the base.”

Mo Feng practically lifted Lu Yao and pressed him into the sofa to sleep. An hour before the end of the workday, Mo Feng snuck into Lu Yao’s office again, trying to make him rest. But Lu Yao felt his energy had returned and decided to continue investigating the question on his own.

Was it really just because he stayed up too late? He planned to try sleeping earlier tonight, controlling variables to replicate the scenario.

After dinner, he dragged Torque onto the bed to play with him. As soon as Zhou Yunchen returned, Lu Yao shoved him into the bathroom. Through the frosted glass and rising steam, he explained tonight’s experimental plan.

“We’ll start earlier tonight and finish by midnight, same as my usual routine. That way, I won’t be sleepy.”

Zhou Yunchen’s voice was muffled through the water: “Yaoyao, if you’re tired, rest tonight. No need to force yourself.”

“No,” Lu Yao answered firmly. “We need to strictly control variables. Yesterday was five rounds, so tonight should also be five rounds, totaling four hours.”

Zhou Yunchen, “…”

The water stopped. Lu Yao heard Zhou Yunchen’s footsteps across the wet floor. When the door opened, hot steam rushed out, enveloping him completely. Lu Yao instinctively closed his eyes. Immediately, an even more scorching presence filled his world.

After yesterday’s full marking, the alpha’s sense of control was reawakened. Lu Yao’s muscles trembled, softening under the intensity. The world blurred. Autumn winds swayed the trees, casting shadows over the swaying bed. Zhou Yunchen, concerned that Lu Yao might be too tired, slowed his movements. But Lu Yao suddenly muttered, “You weren’t like this yesterday.”

He rolled Zhou Yunchen onto the bed, taking control of the rhythm. The storm of activity left him too weak to sit upright, breathing heavily as he leaned close to Zhou Yunchen’s heart, whispering, “This… is the right speed…”

A minute ago, Zhou Yunchen had managed care and restraint, but Lu Yao’s actions shattered all his rationality. Yesterday, Lu Yao came ten times; today, Zhou Yunchen brought it to twenty-plus rounds. By the end, Lu Yao was a mess, his ragged breathing like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.

Unsurprisingly, the next morning, when D’s alarm went off, lack of sleep and overindulgence gave Lu Yao a splitting headache. He grabbed the snow leopard’s tail and curled back into the covers. Zhou Yunchen silently requested a day off for him. Finally, Mo Feng received a string of question marks.

Author’s note:

This was the part originally envisioned. Today’s English lesson: for those who surfed the waves on Huanghei, remember that “I’m coming” and “I’ll make him come” carry subtle non-literal meanings.

 

 

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