Three spaceships, like phantoms in the universe, intercepted the spacecraft ahead, clearly having waited for some time.
Zzzzz.
A brief electric current sound came from the cockpit as Linda operated the controls, connecting the command terminal screen to the main spaceship’s channel on the opposite side.
A projected image, initially blurry, gradually became clear, as if the person had truly descended in front of them.
A middle-aged man with white hair at his temples sat in the luxurious interior of the spaceship, his gaze directed forward at Ji Mian and Chu Shiye, who were standing side by side.
He had come for Chu Shiye and was unsurprised by Ji Mian’s presence. He was the first to speak: “Is he your Omega?”
Chu Shiye: “Yes.”
The middle-aged man: “Aren’t you going to introduce him?”
“Ji Mian, my lover,” Chu Shiye said with a calm expression before turning to Ji Mian. “This is my uncle.”
In fact, from the moment Ji Mian first saw the man, he had already guessed his identity.
The head of the Berlon family, Dirk, was elderly, and this middle-aged man with features somewhat resembling Chu Shiye was likely Dirk’s youngest son and the next heir to the Berlon family, Jagger.
Since he was Chu Shiye’s uncle, Ji Mian responded with respect and courtesy: “Mr. Berlon.”
Jagger smiled slightly. “I’ve heard of you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he said directly, “There’s no time to waste. Come with us. The Emperor has already discovered your existence, and I’ll take you to the planet Sri Lan, a Berlon family stronghold. You’ll be safe there, at least for now.”
This was addressed to Chu Shiye, but he remained silent, his expression icy, clearly not trusting Jagger’s words.
“I haven’t told you about your mother before.” Jagger softened his tone. “Once you hear it, you’ll understand that what we’ve done is for your protection.”
The mention of his mother caused a faint change in Chu Shiye’s otherwise stoic demeanor.
Jagger seized the moment: “If we delay any longer, the Emperor’s fleet might truly find us. Come with us now, both of you, and we’ll leave immediately.”
Chu Shiye looked at Ji Mian.
Ji Mian knew that if he refused, Chu Shiye would also unhesitatingly reject Jagger.
But at this moment, he only smiled faintly and said, “I’ll stay with you.”
Chu Shiye: “…Alright.”
After a brief moment of consideration, he agreed.
The spacecraft docked with the spaceship, and Linda and the others stayed on the spacecraft, following the Berlon family fleet from behind.
When Chu Shiye and Ji Mian boarded Jagger’s spaceship, they heard him order, “Activate stealth mode and head to the planet Scarlan at full speed.”
As soon as the order was given, the spaceship emitted a beam of white light. A translucent barrier spread out, enveloping the entire fleet, including the spacecraft with Linda and the others, concealing them in the vastness of space.
Jagger: “Please, have a seat.”
The spaceship’s AI moved over, carrying glasses of poured red wine and cups of steaming tea.
Ji Mian chose two cups of tea, handing one to Chu Shiye.
Jagger prepared to speak but hesitated and glanced at Ji Mian.
Chu Shiye, guessing his intent, put down the teacup and held Ji Mian’s hand. “If he has to leave, then I won’t listen either.”
Jagger: Oh, young couple.
He said, “That’s fine, but think carefully. Once he knows these secrets, he’ll inevitably be dragged into the situation with you. However much trouble comes to you, the same amount will come to him.”
Ji Mian: “That’s fine.”
Jagger: Oh, inseparable young couple.
He no longer argued, lifting a glass of red wine. He cut straight to the point: “Your biological father is none other than the current Emperor of the Atlan Empire, His Majesty North.”
The red wine swirled slightly in his glass, and Jagger watched with interest, waiting for these two young men to show shock, disbelief, or even ecstasy.
However, the two people in front of him showed no change in expression, not the slightest bit surprised, as if they had long expected this revelation.
Jagger: “?”
Are young people these days all this fearless?
In truth, the moment Jagger mentioned “the Emperor is looking for him” when they first met, Chu Shiye had already felt a vague intuition—as though at that moment, he had pierced through his own origins through Jagger’s eyes.
Now, as his intuition was confirmed, Chu Shiye did not feel any joy over being the Emperor’s son—his first reaction was: What would Ah Mian think of him?
…Would Ah Mian find him detestable?
Ji Mian, on the other hand, appeared contemplative.
He should have guessed this earlier.
Chu Shiye’s spiritual manifestation, instead of being a mere white snake, carried certain dragon-like traits.
During the era of Old Earth, myths of dragons were long lost to the passage of time, their authenticity debated and forgotten. However, the founding Emperor of the Atlan Empire—the most powerful S-level ability user of his time—had a black dragon as his spiritual manifestation.
For this reason, the imperial family of the Atlan Empire had always claimed to possess “the sacred bloodline of dragons.” Yet since the passing of the founding Emperor, none of his descendants had ever awakened a dragon-like manifestation again, their spiritual beings being at most serpent-like.
Still… even if Chu Shiye’s father was the Emperor of the Empire, so what?
This Alpha was still his Alpha.
Moreover, from Jagger’s tone, it seemed he wasn’t intending for Chu Shiye to reconcile with his biological father.
Chu Shiye noticed Ji Mian had been silent for a while and tightened his grip on Ji Mian’s hand. Ji Mian gently scratched his palm in reassurance and asked, “Did North abandon him?”
Jagger: “You could say that.”
He began recounting a story from the past.
Chu Shiye’s mother was Catherine, the daughter of the Berlon family.
Although she was an Omega, Catherine was a powerful A-level combatant and an outstanding warrior, the pride of the Berlon family, and the shining star of the Empire.
North, the current Emperor, was then an unremarkable prince without favor or support. The previous Emperor’s empress had passed away early, leaving him with many mistresses and children. North, caught in the mix, did not stand out.
During an outing, Catherine and North met. Perhaps it was deliberate on his part, or perhaps young love was genuinely tender. Over several encounters, North eventually won Catherine’s affection.
“A cliché storyline you might have read in countless novels,” Jagger remarked. “With our family’s help, North quickly rose in rank, becoming one of the previous Emperor’s most favored princes. In his mind, the throne was nearly within reach.”
However, the competition for the throne at the time remained fierce. Although the Berlon family was deeply rooted in the Empire and had successfully supported North, they could not guarantee his victory.
North was an A-level ability user, just as the Berlon family head, Dirk, was also an A-level.
But at that time, North’s most formidable rival, the Second Prince, suddenly announced an engagement. The fiancée’s family boasted a powerful S-level ability user.
With that marriage alliance, the Second Prince’s prestige soared, overshadowing North. At that point, North likely realized that the Berlon family’s support alone would no longer be enough.
“The previous Emperor was gravely ill at the time, and Catherine was about to be engaged to North,” Jagger’s expression turned icy, still bitter over the events of that era. “Then, out of nowhere, the previous Emperor publicly announced North as the Empire’s Crown Prince, stating that his future wife would be the daughter of Dorn.”
Dorn was an extraordinarily rare psychic ability user, renowned throughout the Empire.
—Because he was the only S-level psychic ability user in the galaxy, the strongest in his domain, holding the highest rank among ability users in the Empire.
His daughter had inherited his bloodline and was also an A-level psychic ability user.
No one knew how North managed to connect with Dorn’s daughter or win her favor. But once Dorn chose North, the scales of victory tipped decisively in his favor.
Ji Mian’s gaze flickered slightly.
Once, he had visited the Empire as an S-level support ability user from the Federation. During that visit, he had met Dorn.
That meeting had been far from pleasant—because Dorn had shown a certain covetousness toward him.
Jagger continued, “What happened next… you can probably guess.”
Not long after the previous Emperor declared North as Crown Prince, he passed away from his illness. North ascended to the throne and celebrated with a grand wedding on his coronation day, marrying Dorn’s daughter as his Empress.
He seemed to have completely forgotten the Berlon family’s support and the vows he once made to Catherine. Catherine left the Imperial Capital injured, only to soon discover she was pregnant.
Somehow, news of her pregnancy reached North. Whether out of lingering affection for Catherine or a desire to preserve the royal bloodline, North sent a fleet to bring her back.
“That bastard North even handwrote a letter to Catherine, saying he would make her his most beloved mistress if she returned,” Jagger sneered coldly. “With Catherine’s character, how could she accept that? She fled, cutting ties with us to avoid implicating the family.”
“We only found her much later, discovering she had escaped to the Empire’s border regions and given birth to you a few months prior.”
“We attempted to secretly bring her back, but just as we were about to reunite, an accident occurred.”
Jagger paused for a long moment before continuing: “Perhaps you’ve heard of the Sogra Star Explosion.”
Sogra, the largest planet on the Empire’s border, had suddenly exploded more than twenty years ago, leaving destruction and chaos in its wake. The planetary explosion unleashed a violent starburst, rendering the nearby region a dead zone for a long time.
“When the explosion happened, Catherine was on a neighboring planet,” Jagger said. “She had already boarded a ship to leave, but… after the explosion, she lost contact.”
“From that day on, we could never find her again.”
Chu Shiye’s fingers clenched tightly, while Ji Mian furrowed his brows and asked, “Was this North’s doing?”
“It’s unlikely,” Jagger shook his head. “Although our first suspicion was him, after extensive investigation, we confirmed that North didn’t know Catherine’s whereabouts at the time. Even if he wanted to harm her, he wouldn’t have needed to pay such a hefty price.”
“Besides, destroying a planet without leaving a trace is practically impossible. Our investigations revealed that Sogra did indeed self-destruct.”
“Still, the reason Catherine left the Imperial Capital in the first place was because of North’s betrayal. To say that he caused Catherine’s death wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
Jagger’s final words carried a touch of emotion, while Chu Shiye fell into prolonged silence.
So, this was his mother’s story.
So… he hadn’t been abandoned by his parents after all.
At the very least, his mother had loved him deeply at the time.
His survival of that starburst was proof of her love for him.
Ji Mian turned to look at Chu Shiye. Although Chu Shiye hadn’t spoken, Ji Mian could sense how deeply this Alpha was hurting right now.
Jagger continued, “You might need some time to process all this. But because of the commotion you caused on Fran in the Federation a few days ago, your spirit manifestation was seen by many people. North has already noticed your existence and pieced together the truth.”
“We won’t let him take you away again. Go get some rest; we’ll reach Scarlan in a few hours.”
He snapped his fingers, and a concealed door slid open to reveal a hallway leading to a resting room at the far end.
Ji Mian, understanding that Chu Shiye didn’t want to linger in this place, held his hand and led him toward the room.
Before the door closed, Jagger raised his wine glass. “There are no cameras inside.”
Ji Mian said nothing.
The room truly had no surveillance. Ji Mian pulled Chu Shiye to sit on the edge of the soft bed, their gazes meeting in midair.
Chu Shiye remained silent, his expression dark and his aura heavy.
Ji Mian extended his arms. “Want a hug?”
Before the words were fully spoken, Chu Shiye embraced him, burying his head into Ji Mian’s shoulder, his whole weight pressing against him.
“Ah Mian.”
Chu Shiye’s voice was low and hoarse. Ji Mian placed a hand on his back, soothing him with slow, gentle strokes. “Mm.”
“Ah Mian.”
“Mm.”
“Ah Mian.”
Ji Mian stopped responding and instead leaned down, planting a soft kiss on Chu Shiye’s hair.
Chu Shiye froze.
Ji Mian patted his head tenderly, his voice gentle. “Want to sleep for a bit?”
Chu Shiye shook his head, still holding him tightly.
“In that case,” Ji Mian said with a smile, “would you like to hear about my past?”
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