Chapter 40

Qu Song is not dead!

Qiao Yan opened her eyes wide, but she quickly remembered that he was a traitor.

"This time I'm probably really dead." Qu Song's voice was so different from before that Qiao Yan didn't recognize him when they first met.

In the video, he took off his mask, revealing his face covered in burn scars. "I really regret colluding with Jiang Qi back then. If I hadn't done those stupid things, I might still be a member of the Interstellar Expeditionary Force. If it weren't for those things, you would probably be in a higher position by now."

He paused, his eyes revealing regret and guilt, but Qiao Yan couldn't tell who he was referring to.

Was it for the bright future he might have had, or because of his momentary lapse of judgment that led to Qiao Yan's early departure, or for those innocent companions who died because of this foolish conspiracy?

"I regret it so much." Qu Song was almost in tears in the video. "I paid the price, and they must pay the price too! This is the evidence I kept. Qiao Yan, if you release it, you will be cleared of all wrongdoing."

The video abruptly ended. Qiao Yan glanced back at it and saw that the furnishings in the room were likely the staff dormitory of his company. He must have already anticipated his death.

Qiao Yan didn't know if Qu Song truly regretted it, but his betrayal and the death of his teammates were a done deal, and it couldn't be reversed by a simple statement of regret.

Qiao Yan didn't have much of an impression of Jiang Qi, almost like everyone else in the army she had only met briefly. He probably had four limbs and looked human, but that wasn't much else she knew.

He did extend an olive branch to Qiao Yan, but as Zhou Yi said on the phone, he was incapable of taking on important responsibilities and short-sighted.

If it weren't for the prestige passed down from his ancestors, very few people would believe in him.

Qiao Yan's first reaction upon hearing this name was disbelief, but upon closer reflection, she realized that the woman had managed to live for so long without resorting to any particularly cunning methods.

Zhou Yi and Shu Juan have already communicated, but Jiang Qi's current location is still unknown.

Zhou Yi asked her former subordinates, who all they knew was that Jiang Qi, as always, didn't have any meetings or activities.

Since Jiang Qi wants to kill her, he will send her a message sooner or later. Qiao Yan sent a copy of the storage device's contents to Shu Juan, waiting for her to release the information together.

She then got into the hovercar and headed towards Shu Juan's direction, aimlessly calling Nan Ya Yin via her terminal. Her mind was blank; after watching that video, everything from the past was over.

After dialing for what felt like the umpteenth time, the call finally went through, and the male voice that came through carried a laughable air of pity.

"Long time no see, Qiao Yan." Jiang Qi came from a noble family. Even though he was just a pretty face, he still had that embroidered exterior, and was quite noble and elegant.

"Hello," Qiao Yan said briefly, treating it as a simple greeting.

"You see, just like I said before, if you agree to stand on my side, no one will die." Jiang Qi chuckled lightly, as if victory was assured.

Qiao Yan happened to meet up with Shu Juan, who was parked to the side.

"So many people have died before you start saying this," Qiao Yan said calmly. "Don't you think it's a bit far-fetched?"

“But you still have a chance to make amends.” Jiang Qi was overjoyed, as if it were a great honor for Qiao Yan. “Look, even after all these years, I still feel I can’t leave you unhelped.”

"What opportunity?" Qiao Yan handed the terminal to Shu Juan, telling her to quickly check the location. "To prove the Dao with death? Or to use death to quell the anger of the family members?"

Suddenly, a video of Nan Yayin being tied up in a warehouse popped up on the terminal. Jiang Qi's voice was still saying, "You really have a good heart. If you had this awareness a few years ago, you wouldn't have had to go through this. But you are too afraid of death. I have gone to great lengths for you."

Qiao Yan looked at the person with their head down in the video and said, "Jiang Qi, I can give you a choice now."

"Oh?" Jiang Qi seemed quite interested. "What choice?"

"Do you want to see your father, or do you want your father to come see you?" Qiao Yan's eyes showed little emotion when she said this; she was simply stating a fact.

The connection was disconnected.

"They must have deliberately led us to this clue," Shu Juan said. "The location is... huh? Still in the new district?"

"The new district?" Qiao Yan nodded. "It seems we can't go too far."

She immediately got into the hovercar and drove towards her destination.

-

Nan Ya Yin heard the sound of water dripping, and the air was filled with the smell of rust.

Where is he?

Nan Yayin slowly opened her eyes, finding everything around her strange. Just as she was about to raise her head, she felt a dull pain at the back of her head and became dizzy.

His memories gradually returned. Before he was brought here, he was still in the old town. After seeing the text message, he felt that he would not be able to find the person behind the scenes this time either.

They were like rats hiding in a dark corner, able to escape no matter how Qiao Yan and his group searched.

Finally, the end was in sight, and Nan Yayin thought he had to do something, otherwise he might not get another chance.

The message said he had already bought the tickets and was to go to the shipport to board the starship. Nan Ya Yin herself hadn't intended to go this far; Qiao Yan or Shu Juan would eventually realize this, and perhaps they could follow him to find the person behind the scenes.

But in fact, Nan Ya Yin was knocked unconscious with a club as soon as she arrived at the location, and when she woke up, she was in this place.

There was a well-dressed man pacing back and forth, fiddling with his terminal. He was probably trying to contact someone, but it didn't seem easy; the person on the other end didn't seem interested in talking to him.

"Damn it!" The well-made leather shoes kicked the wall repeatedly.

Nan Ya Yin didn't know if he was the mastermind, but he must have been driven to desperation by something.

He remained silent, sitting quietly on the ground, not letting the man realize that he was awake.

But it was no use. He and Nan Yayin were the only two people in the warehouse. He walked up to him and nudged him with the tip of his shoe. "Hey, I know you're awake."

Nan Ya Yin remained silent; his hands were bound, and there was nothing to break them open.

The man was clearly enraged. He was certain that Nan Ya Yin was awake, and even if she was asleep now, he would wake her up. He raised his hand and slapped him hard. "Pretend to be asleep!"

Nan Ya Yin's cheek stung with pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw a face that finally seemed satisfied.

"You're so disobedient!" He gained a sense of control from the violence, and then tried to beat Nan Yayin even harder.

Although his hands were bound, the binding material was clearly not of high quality; it seemed to be something hastily made from old, worn-out materials. While it still held him firmly, it lacked resilience and had become somewhat brittle.

Nan Yayin barely dodged two blows, the rope constantly rubbing against the pillar behind him. He pulled hard and finally freed his hands.

He grabbed the man's hand that was slapping him, only to see the man give a sinister smile.

“Look,” he smiled strangely, “I almost forgot, you’re an Omega.”

Nan Ya Yin was still unsure of what he was planning to do when she smelled a strange odor—a fishy smell mixed with the smell of rust.

This is an Alpha!

Nan Ya Yin wanted to cover her nose, but pheromones don't only affect Omegas through scent.

Spending so much time with Qiao Yan, enveloped in that sweet scent, I forgot how oppressive Alpha pheromones can be.

He had a throbbing pain in the back of his neck and cramps in his calves.

"I have no interest in commoner Omegas, but it would be good to humiliate Qiao Yan and teach him a lesson."

Nan Yayin gritted her teeth and shrank back. The pheromones emanating from him, belonging to Qiao Yan, made the other man frown.

"I've forgotten what you all made me hear. It was disgusting. We need to settle this score properly."

No sooner had the man finished speaking than a hovercar rammed into the warehouse door, crashing through it like something out of an action movie, all the way to the other side of the warehouse.

Dust and industrial waste that had fallen to the ground all flew up; who else could make such a high-profile entrance?

Jiang Qi initially thought his death was imminent upon hearing the loud bang, but upon seeing the car wrecked, he let out a low laugh. "Qiao Yan is such an idiot. Driving in like that would have been a total wreck and death."

Nan Yayin listened to him talk for a long time, and only reacted to this sentence.

Qiao Yan!

His gaze also fell on the hovercar, wondering if she would open the door and get out.

The front of the hovercar was deeply dented from the impact, and Qiao Yan would have suffered a considerable shock if he had been in the car.

Nan Yayin felt a lingering fear, and hoped that the person who got out of the car wasn't her.

Until he smelled a faint scent of cream, which wasn't on him, and then glanced at the broken-down door, there Qiao Yan was standing there.

"Is there no one to protect you, Jiang Qi?" Qiao Yan slowly walked in, and as soon as she entered, she saw Nan Yayin kneeling on the ground.

Upon smelling the pheromones of another Alpha in the room, the veins on Qiao Yan's forehead bulged. "I bet you really want to see your long-deceased father."

After confirming that there were no traps around, she quickly went to Nan Yayin's side and sent a signal to Shu Juan.

Qiao Yan noticed his slightly swollen profile and knelt down to gently cup it in her hands. "You didn't have to be so impulsive as to run off alone. You could have just waited a little longer."

Nan Yayin, who was still under the pressure of Jiang Qi's pheromones, quickly snuggled into her arms when she smelled the familiar scent.

Qiao Yan originally wanted to confront Jiang Qi, but now he could only pat Jiang Qi's back and coax him like a child, not having time to care about the current situation.

They actually did this right under his nose, but Jiang Qi knew how capable Qiao Yan was. He had made thorough preparations, but now, because Jiang Su had suddenly switched sides and no one listened to him anymore, even though Qiao Yan was right there, and he was just one step away from covering up that colossal lie!

"Qiao Yan!"

Qiao Yan merely glanced at him before tossing the terminal away. "I think you're more afraid of being utterly disgraced and never being able to make a comeback."

She felt no emotional response to Qu Song's final confession, but it was undeniably a dagger that struck Jiang Qi right in the heart.

Shu Juan simply used a few tricks to amplify the news, and the online outcry grew louder and louder. A single wave stirred up a huge wave of criticism, and before long, the condemnation of Jiang Qi surpassed all other news.

As the sirens and ambulances blared, Jiang Qi continued to put up a stubborn resistance, attributing all his mistakes to Qiao Yan's ungratefulness and Jiang Su's scheming that led to his current predicament.

Qiao Yan was not familiar with him to begin with, and was not interested in the harsh words he uttered.

When she picked up Nan Yayin and put her in the ambulance, Nan Yayin was still a little embarrassed, saying, "It's just a slight headache."

"A headache is to be expected." Qiao Yan tapped his brow. "What are you thinking? Tell me. What do you mean by 'don't want me to come looking for you'?"

"I..."

"Once you're healed, you can go to school with Shuyin." Qiao Yan pinched his nose while his head was held in place. "Even if we can't catch him, you won't have to risk your life."

"What? Stop it." Nan Yayin looked at the ambulance and saw that besides the two of them, there were several doctors and nurses. "There are other people inside."

“Let’s start from kindergarten.” Qiao Yan ignored the people around him and said to him with a stern face, “You need to learn how to protect yourself first.”

Seeing that her hand was about to move again, Nan Yayin quickly grabbed it to stop her from moving, "But I'm fine, aren't I? Look, I'm perfectly alright."

Although Qiao Yan was angry, she knew that if she continued lecturing, Nan Ya Yin would probably jump up in anger. She could only sigh and didn't tell Nan Ya Yin that this time it was really just good luck.

I happened to witness the Jiang brothers, Jiang Qi and Jiang Su, double-crossing each other. I only learned the gist of these things when Jiang Qi was put into the police car.

She thought for a moment and then took Nan Yayin's hand. "Let's start learning now, instead of waiting for you to recover."

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