In the distant past, the Great Priestess leaned down, her gaze fixed on the flickering Fireseed. Her usually gentle face bore a rare expression of solemnity and gravity as she spoke. "Therefore, remember this well: whatever you do, never wake the cub early."
As she uttered those words, a terrifying pressure emanated from her, overwhelming and sharp as ten-thousand-year-old ice, deep and frightening as an abyss.
Terrified by her stern expression, the Fireseed shrank back. "W-what happens if the cub is accidentally woken up?" it asked timidly, fearing that something truly terrible would occur.
Sensing that she had frightened the little spark, the Great Priestess smiled, withdrawing her inadvertently leaked aura. She reached out and patted the Fireseed comfortingly.
"If the cub really is woken up ahead of schedule..." She paused to reflect, then looked at the Fireseed with a gentle smile. "Then you just have to be on your best behavior and wait for his temper to pass."
Possessing the gift of prophecy, the Great Priestess thought lightheartedly that since this cub—destined to be born as a peerless weapon of destruction—would have a "scabbard" born alongside him, nothing too disastrous should happen as long as they remained together. At most, the cub would just be a bit cranky.
A cub with a bit of a waking temper was manageable. With the "scabbard" following him, surely nothing major would go wrong?
Thinking irresponsibly, the Great Priestess casually added an extra seal to the Fireseed, ensuring it wouldn't wake up before the cub. That way, even if the cub did wake early, the culprit responsible would be the one to suffer his wrath first, sparing this silly little spark from being caught in the crossfire.
The Great Priestess looked at the foolish Fireseed with eyes full of pity.
This silly spark had no idea why it was the only one left behind. It was because all the other Fireseeds who had lived long enough knew that any cub born with a companion "scabbard" was a peerless weapon—vicious and fierce, nothing like the soft, cute cubs of the Xi race. Only a fool would stay!
Thus, when the Great Priestess prophesied that a new cub was about to be born with a "scabbard," only this ignorant, newly-born Fireseed was tricked into staying behind.
And this foolish spark, upon waking and seeing the cub and the "scabbard" by his side, actually thought Ji Yeran was a "protector" chosen by a "frail" little cub. It had no idea that he was actually the "scabbard" meant to protect them all from the cub.
***
At that moment, Ji Yeran, still unaware of his duty as a "scabbard," strode into the laboratory with a cold face.
The Warden, returning from outside, radiated a chilling aura as he marched through the laboratory corridor. He was there to catch someone—a certain little patient who had been slightly well-behaved recently but had started acting out again ever since he got a "new toy."
Ji Yeran’s expression was grim. The AI butler system had already filed a complaint: the moment he stepped out the door this morning, a certain disobedient patient had snuck into the lab and stayed there until now. Forget resting on time; he hadn't even eaten.
What was he trying to do? Entering the lab, Ji Yeran caught the self-neglecting patient red-handed.
The Omega, who had been shut in the lab all day without a drop of water, looked exceptionally pale. In the laboratory, which was as cold as an ice cellar, he was draped only in a thin white lab coat. His frost-whitened fingertips gripped a weapon that looked incredibly dangerous, his expression intensely focused.
Seeing this, Ji Yeran raised an eyebrow, silently applauding the Omega’s commitment to courting death.
Sensing something was wrong, Feng Zhixi looked up warily. When he saw the figure standing by the door, he froze for a moment. Only then did he realize he had forgotten to set a reminder.
However, wasn't this man back a bit early today?
Noticing the deep darkness in the Alpha’s eyes, Feng Zhixi calmly deactivated the miniature energy gun, which was emitting a suspicious purple glow, and put on a composed front.
"You're back?" The Omega looked up, his eyes hiding a beautiful starlight. The moment he turned off the suspicious weapon, the temperature in the lab began to rise. Only then did Feng Zhixi realize he felt a bit cold.
As the temperature rose, Feng Zhixi immediately understood the reason behind the Alpha’s dark expression.
Looking at the cold-faced Ji Yeran, Feng Zhixi blinked and reached out toward him. "Cold."
Under the cold white lights of the lab, his slender fingertips looked as fragile as glass. The crisp scent of strong spirits became more active as the Alpha approached—sweet, sharp, and soul-stirring.
Sitting by the workbench and looking up, the Omega looked as innocent as a harmless small animal—if one ignored the suspicious weapon still in his hand.
Looking at this exceptionally "obedient" little patient, the Warden found himself caught between anger and amusement.
So this disobedient, delicate thing finally realized he was cold?
With a silent sigh, Ji Yeran walked over and pulled him into his arms.
The cold scent of spirits filled Feng Zhixi's senses, soon surrounded by the warm aroma of green plums.
Wrapped in the scent of green plums, Feng Zhixi’s lips curled slightly. He leaned lazily into the warm embrace, unwilling to move. He found that this "green plum" was becoming sweeter and sweeter, like his favorite candy—alluringly sweet.
Ji Yeran was frustrated by the patient’s habit of outward obedience and inward defiance, yet seeing the Omega leaning into his chest like a soft, contented animal, the Alpha found his anger vanishing completely.
Fine.
Thinking that the boy hadn't eaten anything all day, the unprincipled Warden gave a toothless warning: "Don't let there be a next time."
"Mhm~" The Omega nodded, making a sweet promise. As for whether there would be a next time... he'd worry about that when the time came.
As he led Feng Zhixi out, Ji Yeran glanced at the energy gun the Omega was still holding and asked casually, "Is that weapon special?"
Being led by the hand, Feng Zhixi didn't need to watch where he was going. He looked down, fiddling with the gun. "Nothing special. It’s just a bit powerful, so it needs to be controlled carefully."
Hearing this, Ji Yeran’s brow furrowed slightly. He looked at the Omega with a gentle gaze. "Can it hurt you?" Did "hard to control" mean the weapon was dangerous to Feng Zhixi himself?
Seeing the worry in the Alpha’s eyes, Feng Zhixi tucked the gun away and said lightly, "I just made a small prototype. It’s fine." He had originally wanted to make a giant version to play with, but now it seemed he should forget about it.
Having painfully given up on his giant toy, Feng Zhixi returned to the manor and saw beautiful desserts laid out on the dining table. The Omega’s eyes instantly lit up; these were limited-edition treats from the most famous dessert shop on the Capital Star.
At that moment, the "scabbard" focused on feeding the cub had no idea that he had inadvertently closed a Pandora’s box.
***
No one knew that in the previous timeline, when the anti-curvature hyper-nuclear bomb was detonated and the sapphire-glowing starship was sucked into the core of a black hole, a peerless weapon of destruction had been awakened.
*Beep!* In a secret base known to no one, countless eyes snapped open. Crimson pupils, bodies of steel and machinery, and an unimaginably vast fleet—this was the private army of the Weapon Master Feng Zhixi, a massive legion of biological mecha.
This army, born solely for slaughter, was activated by the death of its creator.
As the sky filled with rising starships, a terrifying weapon system—identical in design to the miniature energy gun but magnified countless times—was initiated. It was "World-Ending," a system the space pirate leader Feng Zhixi had spent years deploying, a project that had once been the Federation Military’s greatest headache.
When the World-Ending System locked onto the Capital Star System, a purple beam pierced through the void. An ill omen shrouded the stars, and Pandora’s box was flung wide open...
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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大祭司 | Great Priestess | The ancient leader/prophet of the Xi race.
火种 | Fireseed / Spark | The "Light Ball" companion; the last remaining spark of the Xi race.
绝世凶器 | Peerless Weapon / Ultimate Weapon | A metaphor for Feng Zhixi's destructive potential.
剑鞘 | Scabbard / Sheath | A metaphor for Ji Yeran's role in tempering/containing Feng Zhixi.
灭世系统 | World-Ending System / Doomsday System | The ultimate weapon system created by Feng Zhixi in the previous timeline.
青梅 | Green Plum | Feng Zhixi's pheromone scent.
烈酒 | Strong Spirits / Liquor | Ji Yeran's pheromone scent.
起床气 | Waking temper / Post-slumber irritability | Refers to the cub's destructive mood upon being woken early from his long sleep.
