In the silent vacuum of the universe, a small spacecraft navigated noiselessly through the void.
The vessel’s matte-black hull made it resemble a silent ghost of the night as it drifted through a dark nebula, far from the light of any star. This was a corner of the cosmos that no one visited, devoid of any signs of life. A naturally formed barrier of cosmic mist kept a small planet, teeming with energy minerals, hidden away—as if by a deliberate joke played by the omnipotent hand of the universe.
Guided by the star map, the small craft plunged straight into that expanse of cosmic dust and mist, a place where all monitoring equipment would lose its signal.
They sailed through a dead, aimless silence. On the holographic monitors, nothing could be seen; it was as if the ship had been dragged into a bottomless, eternal abyss. Finally, after nearly seven days of drifting through the void, the mist ahead cleared. A drab, greyish little planet appeared within the ship’s holographic field of vision.
This was the destination indicated by the star map—a small planet that looked utterly unremarkable.
Feng Zhixi scrutinized the world that was about to become his. Its dull exterior made it look barren and featureless, hardly worth a second glance from any explorer. It was perfect.
However—
"A fine base," Ji Yeran remarked, studying the holographic screen with genuine admiration.
Even without knowing about the rich mineral deposits yet, Ji Yeran was delighted by the planet’s superb location. His praise, however, earned him a sharp glare from Feng Zhixi.
Feng Zhixi looked directly at Ji Yeran with a warning gaze, his expression firmly declaring: *Mine. No stealing.*
"Fine, it’s all yours." Ji Yeran shook his head helplessly, yielding with good humor.
But it wasn't until the ship landed on the surface that he realized exactly what he had given up so easily. A mineral planet? No wonder Feng Zhixi had been so eager to make him sign an agreement while they were still in space; he had been waiting for this.
Ji Yeran shot a meaningful look at the devious little "delicate darling," silently noting this debt in his mental ledger.
To his surprise, however, he wasn't just denied ownership—he was also assigned the task of building the base.
The newly appointed Chief of Infrastructure, Ji Yeran, raised an eyebrow. With a half-smile, he looked at Feng Zhixi and asked, "I don't get a share, yet I still have chores?" Is this how the principle of equivalent exchange works?
Clutching the agreement, Feng Zhixi didn't feel the slightest bit guilty. He rested his chin on one hand while using the other to swipe a portion of the holographic construction map over to Ji Yeran, acting as if he hadn't heard a word.
Seeing the little rascal ordering him around so naturally, Ji Yeran stood up and walked over. He leaned down and drew a large circle on the base construction map in Feng Zhixi’s hand.
His fingertip pressed firmly into the center of the large circle as he demanded his payment with total composure. "Mine."
If someone was going to work, they needed to be paid. That was true equivalent exchange.
Feng Zhixi let out a displeased "tsk." He looked up, his eyes—with their slightly upturned corners—overflowing with intense disdain.
"Mine," Ji Yeran repeated, ignoring the look. His finger remained pressed heavily on the holographic map, refusing to budge an inch.
Then, he watched as Feng Zhixi extended a single finger. With a cool fingertip pressed against Ji Yeran’s own, Feng Zhixi drew a miniature circle.
"Mhm, yours." After finishing the tiny circle, Feng Zhixi nodded, magnanimously forgiving the other man’s attempt to go back on his word. The promised territory had been granted; now, get to work!
That tiny circle, when projected onto the planet's surface, was just large enough for Ji Yeran to park a single spacecraft—a small one, at that. Furthermore, Feng Zhixi had thoughtfully avoided all mineral deposits; the area he had cordoned off contained nothing but rocks—natural, non-radioactive, and incredibly hard rocks.
Indeed, in the short time since they landed, Feng Zhixi had already completed a preliminary geological and mineral analysis of the entire planet. He was just that efficient and precise.
"..." Ji Yeran suddenly felt his teeth itch. He wanted to bite someone—hard.
His threatening gaze swept over the back of the other man’s neck. He noticed that the Omega’s gland was still covered in a large patch of blue and purple bruises. Against his exceptionally pale skin, the marks looked particularly messy and pitiful.
"..." Feeling a sudden, inexplicable pang of guilt, Ji Yeran rubbed his nose. His desire to argue vanished, and he turned back to start working.
And so, having received his "generous" reward, Ji Yeran began his life as a laborer, caught between laughter and tears.
This was true manual labor. As the "Chief Executive of the Small Planet," the infrastructure plan Feng Zhixi had devised wasn't some petty mining outpost like Blood Eye’s. It was a planetary terraforming project armed to the teeth.
Feng Zhixi had taken a liking to this planet at first sight; it was the stronghold he had designated for himself. Allowing Ji Yeran to have a landing pad on it was already a sign of great generosity.
Ji Yeran: "..." *Why do I want to bite him again?*
While suppressing the urge to grind his teeth against the back of a certain someone's neck, Ji Yeran began his toil. The first step was to install a comprehensive, zero-blind-spot interference system.
Though the planet’s location was excellent and it looked like a drab, dead star from space, there was no guaranteeing that accidents wouldn't happen. What if someone accidentally landed here? The moment they touched down, they would realize this "drab" planet was actually a mineral treasure trove.
Feng Zhixi, who always believed in his own bad luck, decided to pull the rug out from under any potential problems. The best way to prevent unwanted visitors was to make the planet disappear. If they couldn't see it, they wouldn't stumble upon it.
The interference equipment could jam the vast majority of current monitoring systems. If a ship’s sensors reported that this area was merely a vacuum, no one would go out of their way to visit.
Setting up the equipment was a bit tedious—in short, it was a physical job, perfectly suited for Ji Yeran.
*So what if your physical stamina is high?* Still remembering the "grudge" of being carried bridal-style earlier, Feng Zhixi pulled out a mental notebook and made a silent entry.
On the other side, Ji Yeran, unaware that another mark had been made against him, was working hard for the sake of his landing pad.
Setting up a planet-wide interference signal was only the first step. The second step was where the real engineering began.
Feng Zhixi’s plan was to construct an integrated offensive and defensive "Energy Shell" that would encapsulate the entire planet. Unlike an energy shield, an energy shell was constructed from the same materials as a starship’s hull. The mutant radiation from the planet’s surface minerals could naturally provide power to the shell.
Compared to a shield, the shell was not only more energy-efficient but also provided a secondary layer of physical protection for the planet. Furthermore, as a physical structure, it could be equipped with a comprehensive weapons system—Feng Zhixi’s natural area of expertise.
Feng Zhixi might not have been the Federation’s greatest researcher, but he was undoubtedly its top weapon-manufacturing master, bar none.
Thus, countless small robots could be seen working industriously across the planet, with Ji Yeran acting as their commander-in-chief. Everyone knew the benefits of an energy shell, but setting aside the difficulty of obtaining the massive amount of resources required, the construction process itself was beyond the capabilities of an average weapon manufacturer.
As Ji Yeran adjusted the robots' operations according to the holographic blueprints, he circled the areas where connection errors occurred. Later, the Chief Engineer would come to inspect these spots.
As he built according to the designs, Ji Yeran realized how unique this energy shell was. It didn't belong to any existing construction system; it was lighter and required fewer materials, yet it sacrificed none of its functionality. In fact, it was even more powerful. These blueprints had clearly been upgraded and refined.
Meanwhile, as the Chief Engineer, Feng Zhixi was installing the core of the planet’s entire defense system: a small spacecraft jump channel and a devastating strike weapon.
This was the final fallback Feng Zhixi had prepared for himself. Imagine if the interference barrier failed and the energy shell was breached. Just as the invaders were about to land, they would find an empty base and the planet’s final retaliation. What a "refreshing" experience that would be.
The final counterattack Feng Zhixi had designed utilized the power of the entire planet. The ubiquitous energy from the surface minerals was the source of this final blow. Once activated, the system could instantaneously drain the planet’s mineral energy, converting it into an attack beam capable of obliterating an entire military fleet.
Feng Zhixi was full of energy as he worked on fortifying his little nest, losing all track of day and night. Just as he was directing a robot to install a key component, a large hand gently covered his eyes.
That hand, which had calluses on the palm, was the same one that had gripped his waist earlier—with quite a lot of force!
"You need to rest," Ji Yeran said softly, his hand still over Feng Zhixi’s eyes. He felt a slight itch in his palm—a strange, delicate sensation of eyelashes brushing against his skin as the Omega blinked.
With his vision blocked, Feng Zhixi paused. He stopped his work and pulled Ji Yeran’s hand away, looking up at him.
"Your heat just ended. You need more rest." Seeing the Omega’s eyes, which were slightly bloodshot from overwork, Ji Yeran pulled him up. His tone was calm but firm.
No arguments allowed. He had to go to sleep immediately.
Faced with the Alpha’s assertive attitude, Feng Zhixi didn't have much of a reaction. He obediently went to rest, but before leaving, he handed the unfinished holographic weapon blueprints entirely over to Ji Yeran.
*Build according to the map. I’ll check it when I wake up. If there are mistakes, I’m deducting land.*
Feng Zhixi felt that the circle he had drawn earlier was a bit too large; he was losing out.
Listening to the Chief Engineer’s instructions, Ji Yeran was caught between laughter and tears. He realized the price of his landing pad was becoming quite steep. It seemed he would have to find a way to get some compensation elsewhere.
As he watched Feng Zhixi’s leisurely departing figure, Ji Yeran’s gaze darkened. Where should he start looking for that compensation?
***
