Chapter 74: Why Would I Join Them?
“Xie Qiang! Run!”
In the medical bay, the unconscious Hong Que sat up abruptly in bed. He opened his eyes and shouted in an instinctive panic.
“Oh, Inspector Hong Que is awake.” Shu Fenghua held up a syringe and flicked it, her tone casual. “Good. Saved me a vial of wake-up stimulant.”
She turned around and injected the stimulant into the arm of the unconscious Mo Yin.
The youth in black was lying on the bed, his abdomen bleeding. Several holes had been poked through it. On the ground were the rebar and metal frames that Shu Fenghua had painstakingly pulled out from his injured belly.
“Your brother had bad luck. When he was thrown out, he happened to crash into the scrap metal in the warehouse.”
Hong Que pressed his hands against his temples. After retrieving his memories from before he passed out, he scrambled out of bed and asked anxiously, “Where’s Xie Qiang? How is she?”
Shu Fenghua raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Ah, you’d better not disturb Her Highness. She’s currently ‘cultivating feelings’ with Commander Sen Ji.”
“Cultivating feelings?” Hong Que was stunned for a moment. “What feelings? He was in a frenzy; how could he be with Xie Qiang—”
His words came to a screeching halt. He seemed to realize something, and his face instantly darkened. “Is she solving Sen Ji’s Combined Heat?”
Shu Fenghua shrugged. “Mm-hmm~”
Hong Que’s face darkened even further. He walked to Mo Yin’s bedside, staring displeasuredly at the youth’s abdomen, though his mind had already drifted miles away.
It’s just Combined Heat. Couldn’t she just give Sen Ji a temporary mark? Does she really have to do ‘that’ in person?
Oh, right, I forgot. When Mo Yin was in heat, she clearly ate him up and still insisted on making a temporary mark!
That fickle, heartless, and lustful woman!
Rage flared up in his heart, making Hong Que feel irritable. He really wanted to find a few Zerg Kings to vent on.
“How long have they been gone?” Hong Que asked, his voice sharp.
“Hmm, maybe fifteen minutes?” Shu Fenghua checked the time.
“Heh!” The red-haired youth turned and left.
“Hey? Where are you going?” Shu Fenghua hurriedly asked. This guy liked the Princess; he wasn’t going to go and ruin things, was he? “Commander Sen Ji’s situation is critical. Don’t you dare disturb them!”
Hong Que’s footsteps faltered. His face flushed bright red. He turned back with a fierce look. “Why would I join them? Am I insane? I’m hungry! I’m going to eat!”
Shu Fenghua: … I never said you were going to join them?
…
Hong Que walked aggressively toward the lounge.
However, just as he was about to enter the hallway leading to the lounge area, he stopped, hesitating.
The red-haired youth ruffled his hair in frustration. “What am I doing? It’s not the first time for her and Sen Ji. That’s right. Even if it were the first time, I didn’t stop her back then!”
Besides, he had already said he didn’t like Guides who were “experienced hands.” She was the one who insisted on using Sen Ji to provoke him. He was already being generous by not falling out with her and just avoiding her!
“That’s right. I’m going to eat, not to look for Xie Qiang.”
Hong Que turned around forcefully and marched toward the canteen. His pace grew faster and faster as if he were afraid he would regret it and fail to control himself from kicking open a certain someone’s door and interrupting the “good deed.”
He rushed into the canteen, grabbing several random dishes. He was in no mood to notice the atmosphere around him.
It wasn’t until he turned around that his peripheral vision caught something. He froze, his gaze fixed on the scene in shock.
Xie Qiang? Sen Ji?
They were both here? How?
Did they finish already?
“Pfft—” Realizing something, a snicker escaped Hong Que’s throat. His frustrated mood vanished instantly. “No way? Only eighteen minutes? That fast?”
He walked toward them with a look of schadenfreude, ready to mock Sen Ji. But as his gaze swept over Xie Qiang’s face, his golden eyes trembled violently.
In the next instant, the red-haired youth’s face was cold and grim. His right hand transformed into a sharp hawk claw, and with a powerful strike, he lunged for Sen Ji’s throat.
“Sen Ji, have you lost your mind! How dare you put a permanent mark on her face!”
How could he? How dare he!
Sen Ji frowned and raised a hand, easily blocking Hong Que’s attack. He looked up at Hong Que with displeasure. After seeing his face, he was stunned. “What’s with you? Did you dye your hair?”
He had clearly looked dusty before. Why did he suddenly become so flashy?
Wait.
The scent was different.
That S-class Sentinel smelled like a wolf, but this one… had the scorched smell of a burnt bird.
“Hong Que!” Xie Qiang was startled and hurried to stop him. “You’ve got it wrong! It’s not a permanent mark, just a regular tooth mark.”
“A regular tooth mark isn’t okay either!” Hong Que turned back in a rage, scolding Xie Qiang. “He’s provoking all the Sentinels! He’s showing off how much you spoil and pamper him! Such a jealous act is not something a future First Imperial Consort should ever do!”
Xie Qiang shrank her head back under his scolding. She could only try to comfort him softly, “I know, I know. Please calm down and don’t get angry. It’s bad for your lifespan.”
“Hmph!” Hong Que wanted to keep yelling, but seeing Xie Qiang so worried about his death, he sat down beside her, continuing to glare at Sen Ji. “I told you not to spoil him. Now look what happened! He’s started getting ideas!”
Hearing this, Sen Ji—who had been somewhat displeased—suddenly brightened up. He looked at Hong Que with an expectant and joyful expression. “My fiancée spoils me? Can you elaborate on that?”
Hong Que: ? Is this bastard provoking me?
Xie Qiang tightly grabbed Hong Que’s arm as he moved to strike again. “Don’t be impulsive, Big Red! You can’t beat him!”
“Don’t stop me—” Hong Que flipped his tray and hurled it toward Sen Ji, cursing. “I’m going to crack open his skull today and see if he’s been turned into an idiot from sleeping with you! Is his brain filled with nothing but jealousy?!”
Xie Qiang: … That’s a bit uncalled for.
Xie Qiang decisively let go of his arm. “Fine, go ahead and fight.”
Hong Que, who was just shouting, froze. He looked back at Xie Qiang in disbelief.
“Fight.” Xie Qiang encouraged him with a soft and gentle smile. “Don’t be afraid. You’re the best.”
“…” Hong Que sat back down in his seat and muttered loudly, “Why should I listen to you?”
He had a reputation to maintain.
Xie Qiang gave a perfunctory smile. “Hehe.”
Sen Ji’s gaze moved between the two of them. His tiger eyes narrowed. He then lowered his head to ask the girl, “Is he also one of your lovers hidden outside the palace?”
“Pffft—cough cough!” Xie Qiang choked on her water. She looked at him in shock. “What are you saying! Hong Que is my friend!”
He really is acting wrong!
Not a lover? Then it must be unrequited love.
The sharp, calculating look in Sen Ji’s eyes vanished, replaced by a smile. He lifted the hand he was holding with the girl and gave it a light peck.
He then grinned at Hong Que. “So you’re just a ‘good friend.’ My mistake. I apologize.”
The man laughed with a youthful energy, his tone intentionally friendly. “You and Mo Yin are twin brothers, right? Although I’m younger than you, my rank should be higher. You should just call me Commander Sen Ji.”
Hong Que: …
Hong Que: ???
Hong Que suddenly looked at Xie Qiang, his gaze horrified. “Did you really sleep him into an idiot?”
How does this 224-year-old man have the gall to say he’s younger than me?!
Translator’s Note: “Big Red” is a hilarious nickname for Hong Que! And poor Sen Ji’s brain is still scrambled from the Zerg pheromones. He thinks he’s a teenager! Thanks for reading these chapters. See you in the next update!
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