Perhaps driven by a complex mixture of guilt, affection, and a temporary abandonment of his usual restraint, Valen used a single communication to burn through two years of accumulated leave following that Sunday night.
Theoretically, this vacation was set to end exactly on the day of Lei Ting’s graduation ceremony.
For the next week or so, Lei Ting took it upon himself to handle all the cooking and household chores. His culinary skills were indeed impressive; although most of the dishes were decidedly vintage, both men found the meals deeply satisfying.
While undercurrents surged in the outside world, the atmosphere inside the apartment remained as warm and domestic as ever. Each day, they followed the news on the Star Net that concerned them, occasionally exchanging thoughts. However, such moments were rare; more often, they simply huddled at home, reading books, playing games, or even doing nothing at all—just existing in each other's company.
"On a rare vacation, staying home and doing nothing is the only right way to live. Working would be a waste of a holiday!"—so said Mr. Enan Valen, supervisor at Far-Light Materials.
Lei Ting, who had been dragged into this "slacking off" by Valen, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He eventually put down his technical manuals and truly began to enjoy this rare respite.
After all, the balance between work and rest was a fundamental truth. He had worked hard for four years; no one could fault him for relaxing a little now.
Outsiders would likely never know that the young, powerful, and now increasingly famous "Double S" was actually collaborating quite harmoniously with the standard-issue domestic robot of the "Waterdrop Garden" apartments. He was so efficient that every time he cooked, Valen would find himself staring at his back in a daze, struck by the strange illusion that Lei Ting was the true master of this home.
This illusion would make him chuckle—a young, powerful Alpha living with a handsome, mature Omega, both in love and finding solace in one another’s presence... it felt like a dream, or perhaps a drama series from the Star Net.
Actually, few Star Net dramas were filmed like that anymore. The downward trend of interstellar society, both economically and in public discourse, was making people less inclined to believe in the existence of beautiful things.
But here... they truly lived that way. In this soft tranquility, they thought less and less of the outside world with each passing day.
Every time Valen woke to the morning light, he would feel a warm, solid embrace and a familiar scent that had thoroughly permeated his very being. This was perhaps the first time since his gender differentiation that Lei Ting had gone so long without his scent-suppressor; Valen was nearly saturated with that aura.
Within that scent, he would briefly cast aside thoughts of the future, choosing only to enjoy the present—the pleasure of being held by the strongest Alpha in the world.
A hug is a wonderful thing; it can be the beginning, the end, and the adornment of all beautiful comforts. People like to embrace those they love for a reason, after all.
At that moment, Valen was leaning against Lei Ting in the sunken lounge area of the living room. He had just finished a round of a game, the battle results once again ending in a victory for "Half-Life."
Throughout this brief match, Lei Ting’s gaze had remained fixed either on Valen’s combat on the screen or on his profile beside it.
"Do you want to try?" Valen turned to him with a smile.
Try this game... Lei Ting had thought about it before, but his busy academic life had prevented it. Now that he finally had some free time, it was worth considering.
Lei Ting thought for a moment and actually agreed.
He immediately operated his external terminal to load the game client in a second. Upon opening it, he entered the character creation interface... and reluctantly withdrew his hand from Valen’s waist, only to wrap it back around him under the other man’s helpless, twitching gaze.
"You do it."
He decisively shared the visualization and auxiliary control permissions of his terminal with the veteran player, while he himself kept the veteran player pulled into his arms.
"..." Valen’s fist tightened.
"You have to do the character customization yourself!!" He slowly pried Lei Ting’s hand off his waist, gritting his teeth. "Don't tell me you don't know how!"
"I really don't." Lei Ting looked at him with an innocent expression, naturally resting his hand on Valen’s smooth, well-defined thigh. "I've never played games before, Uncle Enan."
Valen quickly calculated the feasibility of punching this guy every time he used that title, only to sadly realize that unless he deactivated his ability limiters, he wouldn't even be able to scratch the guy's health bar—even if Lei Ting completely dropped his defenses.
In short, if Valen was a Level 30, the highest a normal person could reach, Lei Ting was a Level 95 who surpassed the vast majority of super-powered individuals. No sane person would think they could compete on the same stage.
Furthermore, even if he did unbind his abilities... though his peak state had been Level 98, he currently lacked that level of combat power. Moreover, Lei Ting’s attribute growth per level was far higher than that of a normal super-powered individual. The only thing the boy lacked was combat experience, and that was visibly being compensated for at a terrifying speed...
...Ultimately, Valen gave up the struggle.
"Is this your attitude toward your 'Uncle'?" With a dark expression, he slapped Lei Ting’s hand away, only for his wrist to be caught and his fingers interlaced with the other's. He sighed, took over the controls, and without a word, scanned Lei Ting’s own face.
Seeing the character model on the light projection turn into his own likeness, Lei Ting raised an eyebrow, smiling as he waited to see how Valen would mess with it.
After a while, a handsome young man with black hair and golden eyes appeared in the projection. Valen enthusiastically controlled him to walk a few steps in every direction...
...And then he clicked on the initial outfit settings.
Lei Ting: "?"
Watching the man quickly deck the account out in a full cowboy outfit, Lei Ting didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You really do love this look..."
"If you don't like it, you can change it," Valen said breezily. "By the way, what weapon do you want to use?"
As he spoke, he pulled up various weapon lists for Lei Ting to see. Lei Ting glanced over them and answered instantly, "A sword. A greatsword."
"A greatsword... how retro." Valen gestured toward the direction of Lei Ting's room. "Don't tell me that black box of yours contains the greatsword mentioned in the news?"
"Evidently, it does. But I didn't know it made the news with me. It seems they are gradually lowering the secrecy level of some of my information," Lei Ting replied easily. "Also, someone whose character uses a lasso and gunpowder firearms might not be in a position to judge me..."
Valen gave a heavy "Hah!" and selected the 'Greatsword' weapon for the character.
The game’s thousand-year-old monetization mechanics immediately showed their prowess—the greatsword displayed in the character creation interface was naturally no ordinary mechanical blade, but the most famous greatsword among humanoid carbon-based lifeforms in recent years.
In the projection, the tall, black-clad youth sank into a stance. A heavy shadow of light appeared behind him, which then transformed into a two-meter-tall, blunt-edged greatsword. As the youth reached up to grip the hilt, a cool sound effect echoed, and a blade-light of blue-violet tinged with red slashed through the air.
"...'New Sun'?" Lei Ting blinked.
"Mm-hmm. Though it can't transform... if you want to unlock the transformation function, you have to level a gun-related class to the max," Valen laughed. "I heard your sword is also a fine piece with a legacy, but those news columns didn't go into detail. I'm actually quite curious."
"Oh... that's probably because it involves some classified information."
As Lei Ting spoke, he smiled with interest and remotely opened his bedroom door, letting his incredibly heavy black metal box fly out on its own.
He had kept it in a floating state these past few days; otherwise, the floor of Valen’s apartment would have been crushed long ago.
"I don't usually use it for training; its destructive power is too high. But if you want to see it..."
He suddenly smiled, raising an eyebrow meaningfully.
Even when this handsome young man was making an almost explicit request for a certain behavior, his smile remained entirely devoid of malice or irony. It was simply a grin that revealed his canines.
But Valen, facing that smile, felt his breath hitch slightly. After a deep breath, he cupped Lei Ting’s chin and forcibly turned his face toward the black box.
Lei Ting: "?"
Lei Ting laughed even louder.
The sound of "Hahahaha..." echoed in the living room. After a long while, Valen leaned back into the sofa cushions helplessly. "Are you done laughing?"
"I'm done, I'm done. Sorry, sorry," Lei Ting apologized, suddenly turning to plant a kiss on Valen’s cheek before jumping away before the other could glare. He walked toward his black box with another string of hearty laughter.
...He was still a young man, after all.
Valen touched his cheek wordlessly and smiled with resignation, watching Lei Ting reach toward the black box.
The box had no internal mechanisms; it was simply a solid block of various fused metals. But when Lei Ting reached out, his hand sank into the box without resistance.
Then, he gripped a colossal sword—the same one they had just seen in the light projection—and yanked it out. The greatsword tore through the air with a low *whoosh* and floated beside him as he let go.
"There it is. My sword, 'New Sun'."
Lei Ting smiled and tapped the blade of 'New Sun.' It let out a dull thud, and the power core glowed with a terrifying light.
"..."
Valen froze.
Moreover, his expression wasn't like his usual reaction to Lei Ting doing something unexpected; it was a complex look mixed with multiple emotions and a trace of wistfulness.
This caused Lei Ting to instinctively grow alert. He frowned, his expression turning serious as he asked, "What's wrong?"
"...Nothing." Valen regained his composed smile. "I just heard that this sword is a relic passed down through generations of the First Legion Commander."
Lei Ting was also taken aback. "...Is that so?"
He instinctively looked at the sword he had grown accustomed to using. It floated silently, accompanying him as it always did.
But before he could think more about what Valianna had been thinking when she gifted it to him upon their first meeting, his terminal suddenly popped up several emergency message alerts.
Lei Ting frowned slightly, instantly canceling the light projection and revoking all of Valen’s access to his terminal—beyond necessary caution, it was more an act of protection.
But even so, Valen’s sharp eyes caught parts of the messages.
[Warning! Regular troops from another nation have appeared at the Federation border! All military academy officer candidates, please keep your communication lines open!]
[[Pacific]: 4000th class graduates, please return to the Academy headquarters immediately...]
[[Principal]: Come back. Something has happened.]
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
远光良材 | Far-Light Materials | The company where Valen works as a supervisor.
水滴花园 | Waterdrop Garden | The name of the apartment complex where Valen lives.
半衰期 | Half-Life | A popular sci-fi game mentioned in the story.
新太阳 | New Sun | Lei Ting's signature greatsword, a relic of the First Legion.
太平洋 | Pacific | Likely a high-level AI or system within the military academy.
解限超能 | Unbound Superpower / Limit-break | The act of removing limiters on one's supernatural abilities.
