Translated by Eve
Edited by Karasunofight
Thank you so much to San Xiaojie for the kofi 💕 Happy New Years to you too and may your year be full of joy and blessings . Happy New Years to all my beloved readers as well! I hope that the start of the new decade brings you all fulfilled wishes and happiness!
While Sui Yuan was worrying over how to uncover the Destroyer's true identity, the protagonist shou, Nova, was secretly bringing his future sentinel gong to his temporary resting area, taking care of him until the other's wounds healed.
After all, Nova knew that the military was recently on high alert to capture all of the space pirates. Thus, he didn't dare reveal his identity. He also did not dare inform the other pirates that he had saved a person of unknown origin. Only, how could he possibly be able to hide his actions from the extremely agile space pirates who had been personally taught by Sui Yuan? Nova was naturally found out very quickly, and the information was presented before Sui Yuan.
This was simply a great aid to him in his time of need. Just when he was planning to sleep, someone sent him a pillow, ah! Sui Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up as he immediately thought of a good idea.
After observing the military, Sui Yuan had already shifted his suspicion from the military's upper management to the guides by said upper management's side.
After all, the Federation was different from an empire. There absolutely was not a lone executive who could decide everything on his own. The extermination of space pirates would definitely cost a great deal of resources and manpower. Furthermore, there was the possibility that the pirates would bite back when cornered, which would lead to societal unrest. Even if one or two people felt like they had lost face and wanted to act on a moment of impulse, there would still be calmer, more rational people who would stop them. Moreover, the ending should be like what was outlined in the plot: in which only Germain and One-Eyed's crews, these fellows who had been seeking death, were killed as an example. It shouldn't be like what was happening now with the military attacking all space pirate crews without any misgivings.
If something unusual occurred, then it must be due to some unforeseen event. The Federation issued the order to exterminate all space pirates so quickly without facing any obstructions. This meant that the person who was behind this already controlled quite a number of officers in the Federation's government. With this in mind, Sui Yuan borrowed 5237's help to invade the Federation's encrypted star network and try to find some clues. In the end, he was finally able to eliminate all sorts of suspects and ended up placing his suspicions on the guides of a few high-level officers.
These officers all came from different places and familial backgrounds. Some of them were involved in shady deals while others were upright. These officers actually didn't have the same interests. The only thing that seemed to link them together was that they all had an 'outstanding' guide who had come from the Guide Academy.
After locking onto these guides, 5237 gave Sui Yuan a pleasant surprise—it had discovered a fuzzy recording from a surveillance tape from who-knows-what corner of the web. In the recording, Sui Yuan discovered that although the guides by the officers' sides seemed indifferent, each and every one of their actions were directed towards egging on their sentinels' aggression, driving them to their mutual decision of annihilating the pirates.
It was rare for there to be multiple Destroyers in the same world, aside from a world like the last, in which an Actor became a Destroyer. Thus, these suspicious guides probably weren't the Destroyer. Instead, they were likely 'puppets' controlled by the Destroyer, who laid behind the scenes. Thus, the Destroyer's identity must be someone who the guides were very willing to listen to, so much that they were even willing to scheme and trick their own sentinels, ne?
Sui Yuan thought that the Destroyer was most likely within the Guide Academy. After all, these guides had all graduated from there. Furthermore, the Academy knew how to brainwash their students, how to turn guides who originally yearned for freedom into obedient tools that could be manipulated.
Sui Yuan thus planned to send someone to infiltrate the Guide Academy to test his hypothesis.
"…Hey, what's with your expression? What the heck are you planning, ne?" Zhao Xihe, who had been training his spiritual force off to the side, suddenly felt his hairs stand on edge and quickly turned to shoot a glance in Sui Yuan's direction.
Sui Yuan blinked and then told the other of his inferences. After, he looked at Zhao Xihe with a gaze of trust, "Then, I'll be troubling you."
"…Troubling me with what?" Zhao Xihe felt rather helpless, "You're not planning on sending me to the Guide Academy, ba? I'm a space pirate! Even if I want to go, who'd dare let me in?"
"If you voluntarily go, then the Guide Academy definitely would not dare take you. However, what if it's against your will?" Sui Yuan shrugged his shoulders happily, reaching out to flip open the document that his intelligence officer had just sent, "There's a good opportunity here for you to grab hold of, for you to be 'unwillingly' sent to the Guide Academy."
Zhao Xihe had no choice but to grab the document and scan it. Immediately, he understood, "You want to use Erick…and the military?"
Sui Yuan nodded calmly, "Erick's identity is not low. He encountered danger and went missing unexpectedly. The military will definitely dispatch a search team. Furthermore, Nova, who is by his side, is also a space pirate. Get in touch with them using your status as Nova's friend. Then, I'll find an opportunity to divulge your identity to the military, move Nova away from the danger, and then, you can be involuntarily snatched by the military!"
Seeing that his own lover was digging pits for him so happily without feeling any pressure, Zhao Xihe really wanted to light a candle for himself, "Aren't you afraid that I'll be tortured by the military and be forced to tell them about Germain's Space Pirates' whereabouts?"
"I trust that you will be able to easily deal with this trifle," Sui Yuan was not at all worried about Zhao Xihe. If Zhao Xihe didn't go tormenting other people, then that was something to be profusely grateful for. How could anyone else manage to torment Zhao Xihe?!
"Besides, you are currently a guide who has yet to come of age. A guide is precious no matter what, but they will be even more lenient in granting an immature guide asylum. In all likelihood, they will not destroy you as that would be a reckless waste of resources. Instead, they're more likely to toss you into the Guide Academy to be educated, to squeeze out all that you're worth, just like they did to Nova in the original story."
In the plot, Nova was sent to the Guide Academy after Germain's Space Pirates were all annihilated. This battle was commanded by Erick. At that time, he didn't know about Nova's identity. When he found out the other's background when held in captivity, it was already too late.
As the only surviving member of Germain's Space Pirates, Nova's status as an immature guide helped him avoid the death penalty. Furthermore, as an important figure to be monitored, he was forced into the Guide Academy and had to receive a stern education. Nova endured much humiliation in the Guide Academy while searching for a chance to escape. Furthermore, Erick was always longing for him and worried about him. In the end, Erick appointed Nova to be his guide after Nova 'showed good behaviour' and rescued him from there.
On one hand, Nova hated him for killing his elder brother. On the other hand, Erick had saved his life. After being marked by Erick, Nova became even more inextricably involved with him. Nova was torn between rationality and love.
——Of course, this was the original plot. It had nothing to do with Sui Yuan at present.
The Destroyer was at the Guide Academy. Furthermore, the Guide Academy was tightly secured by the Federation. If Sui Yuan wanted to touch the Academy, he needed to make his crew stronger, to become his own backing. Thus, he did not plan on following the original plot's developments.
Moreover, even if Germain's crew was not exterminated, this didn't mean that Sui Yuan couldn't use the same means by which Nova had originally ended up in the Guide Academy. When Zhao Xihe realized what his lover wanted to do, he felt extremely helpless, "You want Erick to carry the black pot? I'm currently Nova's good friend, ne. Aren't you afraid that Nova will fall out with Erick because of this? Aren't you afraid that you'll tear apart another CP?"
Sui Yuan was silent for a good while before coughing awkwardly, "It…probably won't get that bad, ba? In any case, even if you're sent to the Guide Academy, I will get you back safe and sound. In the plot, even though Erick had killed Nova's only relative and exterminated the entirety of the Germain Space Pirates, they still ended up with a happy ending despite all that mutual angst. How could they be split apart so easily!?"
Zhao Xihe:"…………………………"
——This was very reasonable. I am unexpectedly left speechless….
To summarize, even if Zhao Xihe wasn't willing to part with his sweetheart, he had no choice but to cooperate in Sui Yuan's plans.
The first step was to use his identity as Nova's friend to come into contact with Erick. This part was not difficult to do.
Sui Yuan used a bit of a trick to ensure that the space pirates would 'almost' discover the fact that Nova was hiding a stranger. Then, Zhao Xihe came at a crucial moment to help the endlessly nervous Nova out, thereby easily gaining the other's trust. Afterwards, he tricked Nova into taking him along to 'care for' Erick.
Although Erick had an innate vigilance against Hill, this 'friend,' Nova had a deep trust in Zhao Xihe. Secondly, Zhao Xihe's impeccable acting skills completely deceived Erick. The two of them took turns in taking care of Erick and helped cover for one another. Furthermore, with Sui Yuan's aid, they were able to smoothly proceed until Erick's injuries improved and then secretly alerted the military to come rescue him.
Nova, who was kept in the dark the whole time, naturally did not know about this. Meanwhile, Sui Yuan and Zhao Xihe received news as soon as the military moved. This meant that Sui Yuan's plan was about to succeed.
"I'll probably be captured and forced into the Guide Academy soon. Isn't there something that you want to say to me?" Zhao Xihe laid on Sui Yuan's bed, looking rosy and delicious as he asked, chin supported by his hands.
Sui Yuan had just ordered 5237 to continue sending intermittent reports in order to lead the military into their trap. He then took a moment to rest and glanced at the other, "What should I say?"
"This time, I have to go to that damned Guide Academy, and we don't know when I'll be able to come back. I'm worried about that tattered soul of yours," Zhao Xihe hopped off the bed, barefooted, stepping onto the soft carpet as he approached Sui Yuan from behind. He then reached out to wrap his arms around the other's neck.
Sui Yuan paused. He tilted his head to look at Zhao Xihe's profile, whose head was placed on his shoulder, skeptically "…Tell the truth."
"Fine, ba," Zhao Xihe shrugged, "The sentinel/guide settings are too unfair. Furthermore, you aren't the real Germain who's already experienced bonding before and therefore can resist the temptation of pheromones. I'm really worried that once I Ieave, you'll be seduced by some other guide," Pausing, he then added, "Of course, I am also worried that your spiritual force will become unstable once more."
Sui Yuan's expression relaxed, "5237 has medicine for stabilizing my spiritual force. Moreover, I don't think that my willpower is any less than Germain's. Even if I can't, Dalena has custom-made suppressants."
"Hehe, that's not for sure," Zhao Xihe sneered, "If you are to go into a mating heat because of some other guide's enticing pheromones, I believe that this group of space pirates would happily send the two of you to bed together. They absolutely will not give you even the smallest amount of suppressants."
Sui Yuan:"…………………………"
——Life is hard enough as it is, don't burst my bubble!
Realizing that Zhao Xihe was telling the truth, Sui Yuan had no choice but to compromise, "Then what do you want to do?"
Zhao Xihe smiled, sticking his soft body tightly against Sui Yuan's back. He lowered his head to kiss the other's nape, leaving a series of clear hickeys.
Regardless of whether it was sentinels or guides, the neck was an extremely sensitive region because that was where the gland that stored and released pheromones was located. Furthermore, the most basic of marking methods was to have one's gland bitten and injected with another's pheromones. Therefore, protecting one's gland was an instinct of both guides and sentinels, although it was particularly pertinent to guides.
Only, as a guide, Zhao Xihe did not have the ability to inject his pheromones into a sentinel's gland. Moreover, Sui Yuan was not an indigenous inhabitant of this world, so he had zero vigilance towards that vital part located at the side of his neck. Sui Yuan only moved his neck in unease, trying to save his slightly pained skin that was about to be torn and sucked open by Zhao Xihe.
Zhao Xihe licked at the teeth marks he left, feeling rather regretful that he didn't have the ability to inject his pheromones into the other. He narrowed his eyes that were practically glowing, because he was about to get what he wanted, "So, let's bond, ba. Only after we've bonded will I be able to leave you with my heart at rest, ah…."
Sui Yuan, who was suddenly told this, widened his eyes in shock. Immediately after, he smelled a sweet smell that couldn't be described as just purely sweet. When he smelled this scent, it immediately filled every part of his body, lighting a fire inside his body that had long been cold.
Who knows if it was because the original Hill and Germain got along, or if it was because Sui Yuan and Zhao Xihe's intimate relationship increased the attractive force of their pheromones, but this desire was intense. Before Sui Yuan could even react, it had rapidly invaded his head, destroying his rationality.
Appearing along with his lust came an unbearable pain from his over-excitement. Sui Yuan let out a muffled groan, blood trailing down the corner of his lips. His originally peaceful soul became tumultuous. Fortunately, before this hurricane could display its destructive force, a gentle and incomparably strong spiritual force suppressed it.
His training had paid off. Even if he had to expend a great effort, Zhao Xihe was still able to successfully combine his and Sui Yuan's spiritual forces, fusing them together. He suppressed and guided the other's, forcing the other to yield, to honestly and openly reveal its softest and purest interior.
——This was a spiritual bonding, a mysterious feeling that Sui Yuan had never experienced before. Clearly, their bodies were innocently stuck together, but it felt like they were invading each other, holding each other…like there was Zhao Xihe within him and himself in Zhao Xihe. It was like they were inseparably close, and nothing could pull them apart.
Although his body still felt waves of pain, the feeling of having his spiritual energy soothed and gradually stabilize made Sui Yuan feel much better. He took in a big, deep breath and used the rest of his rationality and willpower to ask, "What's happening? You…haven't come of age yet. Why did you suddenly have your bonding heat?!"
"If I want it, then there will always be a way…" Zhao Xihe's voice was accompanied by a hot breath, puffing against Sui Yuan's ear like a little hook that quickly drew in all of his attention.
The bonding of their spirits brought along physical desire. Sui Yuan instinctively wanted to press the soft, sweet guide down. However, his submissive spiritual force stopped him from doing so. He could only watch on as the other pressed him down instead, unbuttoning his combat suit.
"Relax…as a sentinel, your body isn't suitable to be entered. However, my thing isn't that big…although I don't want to admit that. Thus, you shouldn't feel too much pain…" Zhao Xihe smiled, caressing Sui Yuan's slim waist that held great strength before falling on a secret region. Meanwhile, his other hand wrapped around the front, tenderly playing with that soft little fellow that had no reaction, "This damned bonding heat is making my body soft. My strength is gradually slipping out. Perhaps in a bit…I'll have to trouble you to take initiative to…move. My dear, I think that your strength is definitely not bad."
Even though his consciousness was starting to get muddled, Sui Yuan understood what Zhao Xihe meant by 'take the initiative to move.' Instantly, he wanted to light a big row of candles for himself….
He didn't want to 'take the initiative to move' at all. In addition, there was the sentinel's instinct. Sui Yuan tried to struggle, but the fine strands of spiritual energy all around him were like a huge net, firmly constricting his movements. In the end, Sui Yuan could only restrict his desire to flip the other over and do his best to relax, cooperating to let the other enter him.
Meanwhile, the entire ship was shocked silly from the sudden, explosive pheromones that had suddenly erupted from the Commander's room.
First, there were the sweet pheromones of a guide that made these old bachelors, who had been alone for many years, (?) unable to control themselves. Only, before they could go inject themselves with inhibitors, their impulses were immediately suppressed by powerful sentinel pheromones that left them completely unable to fight. After being taught by their Commander for so many years, the space pirates were naturally able to recognize their Commander's pheromones. Anyway, their Commander who had been sexually frigid for tens of thousands of years had unexpectedly entered his bonding rut because of Hill's pheromones!
Clearly, they should be happy. However, the space pirates looked at each other in dismay, all at a loss. For a moment, they couldn't decide whether they should rush in and save Hill or their Commander. Although it was appropriate to leave a sentinel and guide together to do the deed during their mating heats, the problem was that their commander…was…impotent, ah!
When they thought about how little Hill, who wouldn't be satisfied, would be forced to roll around the bed with no way to solve his heat while their Commander could only watch from the side, unable to help while also fighting his own desire that had no outlet to be released, all the space pirates couldn't help but shed a river of aggrieved tears.
——It was simply the greatest tragedy in the world!
"…S-should we knock the door down?" Aside from Sui Yuan, the only one who had the qualifications to open the Commander's room, was the lieutenant. The space pirates looked at him helplessly and asked what to do, conflicted.
The lieutenant was silent for a long time. In the end, he didn't have the courage to make a decision, "…If…if Commander needs our help, he'll let us know. Mn, that is, if he still has his awareness intact."
The space pirates were all 'suddenly enlightened.' Each of them expressed their approval of the lieutenant's penetrating insight. They then clasped a hand over their perturbed hearts and silently scattered. Only Dalena did not retreat. She secretly placed a full container of healing salve in front of Commander-daren's tightly closed door.
——If a guide and sentinel entered their heats, they would probably be at it for several days. Dalena thought that she had to make ample preparations, debug her medical equipment, and be on full alert as there was a very high possibility that there would be a 'wounded person' after this.
God help them…I hope that it won't be too terrible….