This was bad. Lei Ting had actually come.
And... with that man’s level of perception, he would definitely be able to trace a single glance back to its source!
"Mr. Wen" strode through the alleyway, his steps steady and swift. His presence, however, grew increasingly faint, eventually dwindling to a point where it was nearly impossible to detect.
This was the first time in years he had allowed himself to enter such a state—a state he usually only adopted during wartime for infiltration missions.
The Ring World was unimaginably vast. A commoner could spend their entire life without traversing even a ten-thousandth of its tens of millions of sectors. Consequently, even within the Ring World, traveling from one side to the other, from the outer ring to the inner ring, or even from one sector to the next required the use of the Ring World’s built-in teleportation system.
The technology behind this system had remained a "black box" to both the former Galactic Empire and the current Galactic Consortium. It was completely indecipherable, yet it never broke down or lagged, meaning it required no maintenance.
The access points for the teleportation system were located in the central halls of every sector. "Mr. Wen" only needed to take the transit system to the central hall and teleport to any sufficiently distant location to avoid the figure he did not wish to face.
Suppressing a certain leaping sensation in his chest, "Mr. Wen" stepped firmly into a capsule car of the transit system and turned into the washroom.
A short while later, a stranger emerged—a male humanoid with brown hair and red eyes. He wore ordinary casual clothes, and the fine whiskers on his jaw combined with the scale structures on his cheeks made him look like some sort of fighting-fish spirit. At a glance, he was clearly a citizen of the Abrisak Empire.
The transit system was fast. Before long, the brown-haired, red-eyed man arrived at a central hall illuminated by a small simulated star. He stepped into a spherical teleporter, a structure entirely devoid of straight lines.
In the warm golden sunlight, the teleporter’s hatch slid shut, and the system began its silent operation.
Inside the teleporter, where it was impossible to install surveillance, the man changed his appearance once more. He let out a sigh of relief and, after a wait of about five minutes, stepped lightly out of the opening hatch.
This was a new area, and the one where he currently operated most frequently—the Orion Human Sector.
The identity of "Mr. Wen" could no longer be used. He hadn't anticipated Lei Ting’s current level of perception... Fortunately, that face had actually been a classic Orion human facial template; it was impossible for Lei Ting to find him through that visage. Furthermore, based on his understanding of Lei Ting’s conduct, the man wouldn't announce his existence to others or use the Consortium’s power to search for him.
Of course, he couldn't be certain if his "understanding" of Lei Ting was now a few versions out of date.
The golden sunlight shone upon him. The warmth made him feel subtly relaxed—at any rate, he had left the area where the entire Galactic Star-Net’s media and elites were gathered. He didn't need to worry about anything else; he only needed to return to his rented apartment...
...And give himself a shot of suppressants.
Evanhilem sighed.
From the very first moment he saw that person, he could clearly feel his body... "awakening." Certain sensations he once possessed were dancing with joy in his memory. He was thirsting for that Alpha, thirsting for that embrace; it was a physical instinct.
And he... if one were to set aside the facts, he could probably claim that he didn't feel a single subtle throb of emotion toward that figure.
Just like years ago, when that youth had looked up at him earnestly and asked: *"Let’s start as friends, from a relationship of mutual understanding and sharing, okay?"*
In that moment, it had been truly difficult to tell himself that he felt no affinity for those pitch-black, clear eyes.
Evanhilem adjusted the collar-style suppressor on his neck, feeling momentary relief that he always kept an isolation field active. It was a necessary optical computer component for operating in a multi-species interstellar society, much like those invisible respiratory isolation masks.
Because of it, he could ensure that even in his "ordinary person" state, no one would smell the scent of his spiraling pheromones.
Entering and closing the door in one fluid motion, Evanhilem stumbled into his capsule apartment—which was roughly the size of a single bedroom in "Droplet Garden 2202"—and collapsed onto the bed, gasping for air.
He had long since run out of pheromone extract. He hadn't smelled that subtle scent of raw iron for two whole years... and during those two years, he had begun to find suppressants loathsome. Why? Because of their coldness? But they were always cold, and the mixtures made from the extract were equally cold...
But he had endured. He had always been this resilient—resilient enough to bear the burden and maintain silence, resilient enough to restrain the desires born from within himself.
He would break free from the past. Once, while reminiscing about those days with a heart that felt nothing, he thought he had succeeded.
Until today, when he finally realized...
Longing is a spring that never freezes.
...
Evanhilem let out a long sigh and weakly reached out to tap his optical computer, closing the blinds on the nearby window.
The simulated blue sky blocked out the distant, eternally dying Galactic Core, and the curtains blocked out that false sky.
Then, he deactivated the disguise built upon the dual foundations of super-power and technology. His form quietly shifted, revealing his handsome features beneath the lights.
As his re-activated super-powers provided some relief, he seemed to feel a bit better. His thick, long, golden eyelashes fluttered. With a mere thought, the indoor lights naturally dimmed.
Amidst the feverish heat, the mature, beautiful man with a head of brilliant golden hair reached out feebly. With a gentle flick of his slender fingers, his outer clothes transformed into scattered starlight, drifting throughout the room.
He panted, one long, powerful leg draped over the side of the bed and the other resting crookedly upon it. This was his usual relaxed posture when alone, but now... he felt the fabric was a bit tight. Moreover, he was getting hotter and hotter.
It was fine. He would solve this problem... he definitely would.
Evanhilem tilted his head back, reaching for the high-purity suppressant on the bedside shelf while simultaneously removing the suppressor from his neck and tossing it onto the nightstand.
But he failed.
—At some unknown point, a powerful hand reached out from the side, catching the hand he had extended toward the suppressant. It then slid gently down to his well-defined, elegantly lined wrist. The coarse, anti-slip, cut-resistant layer of a glove lightly rubbed and massaged the back of his hand, where veins had bulged from clenching his fist too tightly.
Ah... though the texture was slightly painful, for Evanhilem, it was just right.
A familiar, intoxicating scent of raw iron enveloped him. Yet he felt no joy; instead, he shuddered violently, his form exploding into scattered starlight as he reappeared, staggering, on the other side of the room.
"...Lei Ting?!!" Evanhilem’s face tightened as he stared fixedly at the figure sitting sideways on his bed.
Lei Ting watched the starlight slip through his fingers and tilted his head slightly. He unhurriedly placed the suppressor collar he had just caught onto the nightstand, then stood up, turning to look at Evanhilem with total composure.
In the dim light, his medium-length black hair almost merged with his uniform, armor, visor, and cape. The golden laurel crown shimmered with a soft luster, and in that warm golden glow, Evanhilem’s heart sank further and further.
"Evanhilem Corn..."
A deep, commanding, and magnetic voice echoed in the cramped room. It was the first time in his life he had addressed him by this name face-to-face.
Then, this "Solar Star," whose fame was at its zenith, stood with his back to the window that leaked thin rays of light and gave Evanhilem a smile.
It was a smile where the corners of his mouth pulled back, yet it carried no emotion. It was the first time he had smiled this year.
It was also a smile... that made the hair on the back of Evanhilem’s neck stand up.
Without a word, Evanhilem sent a message to the other Resistance members: 【Mission terminated, retreat immediately.】 At the same time, he attempted to leap directly into the Ethereal Plane. However, a brilliant golden light blocked his path—
How... "radiant" it was. Whether referring to the arrival of the de facto ruler of the Human Federation, or...
...Or the golden light permeating the air in every direction.
Within that brilliance, the power trait of "Immovable" made no attempt to hide itself.
—Space was locked. It had become "steadfast and unmoving."
It would not permit anyone to pass. Not even "Starstream," who usually treated spatial displacement as easily as breathing.
In this moment, amidst the despairing tide of heat and the desire that sapped his strength, Evanhilem was drenched in sweat. He gasped for air, watching the "Solar Star" approach.
He realized with sorrow: if he wanted to escape this room, his only option was to go to war.
But... setting aside the fact that he likely couldn't defeat the other man right now, the aftershocks of their battle alone would be enough to destroy this entire sector.
Truly... an unimaginable speed of growth.
The last time they met, this person was still a big boy with a gentle, clean smile. But the one now closing in on him step by step was a man—hard as a mountain of steel, powerful as the blazing sun in the sky.
—Raytine. His name was like a bolt of lightning.
The lightning that "Evanhilem Corn" had once yearned to become, and yearned to see.
Evanhilem panted, leaning against the cold wall behind him, yet it provided no solace to his body, which was cold on the outside but burning with fire from within.
He knew that here, he had no choice but to surrender.
As he slid down, an embrace caught him. That embrace was indeed hard and thick... but so warm. The near-scorching temperature, combined with that pure yet forceful pheromone scent, enveloped him. Within a few breaths, it felt as though he were about to melt.
"...Sigh."
He was lifted up. He heard the man sigh.
"Don't be afraid," he said. "I won't do anything to you..."
Amidst the rich aroma of peppermint candy, Lei Ting somewhat helplessly weighed the man in his arms. He looked down at the tightly furrowed brows, the flushed cheeks, and the fine lines at the corners of the man's eyes.
Now, this person truly existed within his arms... in a state of induced heat, appearing to have abandoned all struggle and resistance against him...
Lei Ting held him, his gloved fingers kneading and massaging the other man's nape, which was covered in a thin layer of sweat. As that body—so full of attraction for him—writhed uncomfortably, he walked with agonizing slowness to the bed and sat down.
The tides of his blood told him he wanted to do more than this... perhaps the other party felt the same.
But in the end, having never received explicit permission, he merely embraced the trembling Evanhilem with restraint. He buried his head by the other’s neck and spoke softly before his teeth could graze that nape: "...Don't be afraid, 'Eynam.' You are in your home, in a safe place."
"This is just a hug," he said. "Get some sleep, my 'Uncle'."
As he spoke, he seemed to find himself a bit ridiculous—"Eynam Vallen," the name Evanhilem had discarded along with their past. Why did he bring it up? "Eynam"... this long-lost name was truly no good... it was almost like a sigh.
His deeply hidden, unspeakable sigh.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 亚布里萨克帝国 | Abrisak Empire | A galactic civilization mentioned in the text. |
| 斗鱼 | Fighting-fish | Specifically referring to Betta fish; used to describe the alien disguise. |
| 伊文海勒·康 | Evanhilem Corn | The true name of the character previously known as Eynam Vallen. |
| 埃南·瓦伦 | Eynam Vallen | The alias/former name used by Evanhilem. |
| 抑制器 | Suppressor | A device (often a collar) used to hide or control pheromones. |
| 抑制剂 | Suppressant | Chemical/medical substance used to control heat/pheromones. |
| 信息素 | Pheromones | Biological scents in the ABO-style setting. |
| 发情期 | Heat | The biological cycle of an Omega (implied). |
| 虚灵位面 | Ethereal Plane | A dimension used for spatial travel/teleportation. |
| 星流 | Starstream | Likely Evanhilem's codename or specific spatial ability. |
| 不动 | Immovable | Lei Ting's specific power trait that can lock space. |
| 阳星 | Solar Star | Lei Ting's title/epithet. |
| 猎户人族分区 | Orion Human Sector | A specific residential area on the Ring World. |
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