Chapter 41: Snow Leopard Habits Die Hard

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After all the staff had assembled, the base’s ground deck opened, and sunlight poured over the steadily rising spaceship, its sharp artificial edges slicing the light into sharply defined shadows. The engines roared to life, sending vibrations through the cabin. Li Yan, walking down the corridor, almost lost his balance and was steadied by a hand on his arm.

“Thank you, General Zhou,” Li Yan said.

“No need.” The owner of the hand didn’t even look at him, speaking calmly, “Go take your seat. Military transport ships aren’t as shock-resistant as civilian craft.”

“Y-yes…” Li Yan slunk away, worried that if he lingered near Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen, he might accidentally compare the collars and… better not think about it. Once the ship took off, Lu Yao placed the gift box into his personal carry-on bag.

Zhou Yunchen, sitting beside him, no longer attempted conversation, which made Lu Yao feel comfortable. He used this time to organize the NTL concept drafts, sending all data to Chang Jian and Mo Feng before leaving the New Blue Star’s signal zone.

Fifteen minutes later, the ship exited the atmosphere of New Blue Star, and the compass-shaped First Starport floated into view. Countless docking arms extended outward, with ships and starships’ exhaust blazing like a swarm of tiny fireflies around it. The ship docked at a military-exclusive berth. The “Wild Field” starship, reserved for the First R&D Base, was already prepped and ready. Personnel quickly transferred ships.

The Wild Field was thirty kilometers long, its powerful warp engines capable of interstellar-level missions. The ship had many spacious rooms for sleeping. Li Yan asked Lu Yao, “Do we pick rooms to stay in?”

“No need. After leaving the Rose Star System, we’ll make the jump and reach the destination in four hours,” Lu Yao replied. “It’s currently 9 AM New Blue Star time. If you want to rest now, you can choose a single-bed room.”

“I’m not sleepy. Just didn’t expect it to be this fast.”

Lu Yao didn’t dwell on the question and continued: “Technicians will stay in the central lounge, which has entertainment facilities. Director Wang, I’ll head to the bridge next. Come along if you need to film. General Zhou, you?”

“I’ll go with you to the bridge.”

Zhou Yunchen didn’t explain why, but Lu Yao didn’t ask. He felt no need to; Zhou Yunchen’s presence on the bridge would cause no trouble. Only Li Yan was struck by the inexplicable, tacit chemistry between Zhou Yunchen and Lu Yao.

On the bridge, the crew took their stations. This test mission had been executed many times; Lu Yao needed not speak. His cold silence and authority gave all present a sense of stability amidst the floating expanse of space. But this time, something was different.

General Zhou Yunchen stayed half a step behind Lu Yao. Even if he tried to restrain himself, his natural alpha pheromones—his presence and possessiveness—made some alpha crew members’ breaths tremble.

Lu Yao approached the captain, observing the space imaging on the displays. He leaned on the captain’s chair for support, tapping his fingers unconsciously, a subtle gesture that appeared intimate. The captain nearly felt the gaze of this S-class alpha materialize into actual beams of energy. The captain, an A-class alpha, was sweating under the pressure of Zhou Yunchen’s pheromones. Lu Yao, as always, felt nothing.

The Wild Field flew past the star Ruth, its engine thrusters emitting brilliant white light. The system transit would last three hours. After confirming the route, Lu Yao returned to the observation station. The captain finally exhaled after being under stress for so long.

The ship’s AI delivered chairs to Zhou Yunchen and Zhao Minghe. Director Wang took the chance to pull Li Yan over for a recorded Q&A with Lu Yao. Li Yan sat to Lu Yao’s right, Zhou Yunchen to his left, but the camera only framed Lu Yao and Li Yan. Zhou Yunchen gave him a cold glance.

“Chief Engineer Lu, I’ve heard of the Federation Space Test Range, but no one seems to know its exact location,” Li Yan asked, polishing the question from the script.

“It’s in a completely safe location, with no impact on inhabited star systems,” Lu Yao replied. “Its coordinates cannot be found on star charts.”

“So this is our first official filming inside the space test range?”

“Perhaps. Some photos have circulated, but this is the first time filming is officially permitted,” Lu Yao said.

Li Yan continued, “Is there a risk of leaks?”

“Leaking to whom?” Lu Yao countered, catching Li Yan off guard. Normally, he would have answered ‘no,’ but Lu Yao chose a sharper, more deflective response. Recovering, Li Yan asked a question viewers would also be curious about, “For example, the Federation’s enemies?”

“You mean the aberrant beasts?”

“Yes, the aberrant beasts.”

“The Alien aberrant beasts are ox-based organisms; they are weapons themselves and don’t need to learn human weapon structures.” A voice spoke off-screen. Director Wang and the cameraman exchanged a glance and moved the floating camera to include Zhou Yunchen in the shot.

Zhou Yunchen was now closest to the camera. In the current composition, he and Lu Yao instantly became the focus of the frame.

“And what about humanity’s competitors?” Zhou Yunchen even helped Li Yan ask the next question.

Lu Yao replied, “Space weapons aren’t something you can copy just by looking. The flying fish/torpedoes in space and the ones that once swam in Earth’s oceans look almost identical externally, but their principles and destructive power differ enormously.”

After the Q&A, Li Yan no longer had to face Lu Yao’s unfathomable thoughts or Zhou Yunchen’s imposing presence. His tense nerves finally relaxed, and he practically fled to the central lounge. Most of the crew also left the bridge to film interior shots of the Wild Field starship.

Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen remained in place. They didn’t have much to say, yet there was no awkward silence; they sat side by side quietly for three hours.

As the starship reached the edge of the Rose system, space became almost pitch black. The ship’s AI warned everyone to brace for the upcoming jump. The engine glow gradually shifted to blue. The jump corridor opened ahead, and in an instant, the starship was propelled forward by enormous thrust, leaving a long, dazzling tail of light in the darkness.

Ten minutes later, the starship exited the jump. Stellar light returned, illuminating the bridge in stark detail. Lu Yao’s eyes became almost transparent in the intense light. Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared before him, shielding his eyes. Lu Yao turned his head and met Zhou Yunchen’s gaze.

Zhou Yunchen said, “Your eyes can’t handle bright light, can they?” His voice was calm, magnetic, without obvious emotion, respecting personal space.

“Mm.” Lu Yao lowered his head and put on his sunglasses. The large lenses covered most of his face, leaving only his high nose, smooth jaw, and well-shaped lips visible. With his cold, piercing eyes hidden, the soft pink of his lips became more pronounced, emphasizing his delicate features.

Zhou Yunchen watched him until Lu Yao turned away, then restrained himself from moving his gaze. Previously, he would never have stared so directly at Lu Yao; the experience of being in his snow leopard form had left him with some bad habits.

“The starship will glide a bit more,” Lu Yao said. “We’ll land at Artificial Ring City Two.”

The film crew and Li Yan once again focused on capturing Lu Yao’s explanations. Li Yan and Lu Yao approached the panoramic window, taking in the entire test range. Two massive, bright stars rotated slowly in deep space.

Li Yan asked, “Is this a binary star system?”

“You could say that,” Lu Yao replied. “It was born with two stars.”

Lu Yao activated the telescope and spectral imaging functions of the panoramic window, showing the camera another massive spherical object beside the stars—a black, cold metal sphere bound by the stars’ gravity.

“This is the third artificial star, activated during specific tests to simulate the chaotic dynamics of a three-star system. The Federation has extensively modified the space test range. Beyond the five natural planets, researchers built seven artificial planets to balance gravity and create special cosmic conditions. Additionally, there are five Ring Cities serving as research personnel residences.”

Li Yan gazed out at the silver Ring Cities floating in the void. Each Ring City consisted of five to seven rings of varying sizes, constantly rotating. Artificial gravity and electromagnetic fields stabilized the atmosphere, while centrifugal forces kept structures secured to the surfaces.

The center of each ring lacked a core; this area served as docking for starships. Each ring could house millions, but as a test range, only a few maintenance staff lived there permanently.

Li Yan’s eyes drifted past the rings and noticed a faint golden light. Squinting, he asked, “Is that… a black hole? Won’t its gravity pull in all the celestial bodies here?”

“That’s a controllable black hole,” Lu Yao said simply.

Zhou Yunchen added, “I remember it’s one of your creations from seventeen years ago.”

Li Yan’s eyes widened. “A man-made black hole?”

“Yes. I designed and built this controllable black hole back then. Special techniques give it a wormhole-like spatial connection, now used to test starship and mecha jump endurance. Compared to frequently opening jump gates, a pre-existing controllable black hole saves a lot of energy.”

Lu Yao preferred explaining its function over bragging, even though the black hole had made him famous.

Destroying a star and creating a black hole wasn’t difficult for the Federation’s technology now, but placing one in a previously empty location, moving a distant star or black hole into that space, and controlling its gravity so it wouldn’t devour everything—that was the challenge.

At the time, people thought of Lu Yao only as a mecha genius. It was this black hole creation and relocation that made everyone realize this beautiful, icy young omega was far more extraordinary than they imagined.

 

 

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