After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 21

Every Alpha or Omega must receive a potent inhibitor injection upon entering a Contaminated Zone. Unlike the inhibitors used during a rut, these act as the sole barrier against the violent pheromones permeating the zone, which are strong enough to shatter a human nervous system. The mecha serves not only as a transport vehicle but as a mobile energy reservoir; it constantly releases these life-saving inhibitors through a system built into the specialized combat suits.

Historically, mechas were never designed with a switch to deactivate the central inhibitor signal until the discovery of Level 6 pollutants. This specific route had been explored and purified once before, showing no signs of pollutants above Level 2. This was exactly why Ji Xingxiao felt safe bringing Yu Yi along. It should have been a routine survey.

However, the central inhibitor had been turned off. Was it Yu Yi? Or had a contaminated organism bypassed the mecha’s camouflage and infiltrated the interior?

Ji Xingxiao’s expression darkened. As the concentration of the inhibitor plummeted, a violent, piercing pain began to hammer at his skull. He swayed on his feet, the veins on his temples bulging from the agony. It was not merely physical pain; it was a deep-seated genetic rejection of the feral pheromones in the air. It felt as if a foreign, incompatible substance was being forcibly injected into his veins, a systemic reaction so excruciating that few could endure it.

While Ji Xingxiao managed to maintain his sanity, his teammates were in worse condition; three of them had collapsed, curling into balls of agony on the ground. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ji Xingxiao forced himself up. Water vapor coalesced around his hands, instantly forming three transparent isolation shields around his teammates’ heads to slow the invasion of the toxic pheromones.

To enter the Command Academy, a natural ability user must possess three core specialized skills: Attack, Defense, and Healing. The shields currently protecting the trio were a manifestation of Ji Xingxiao’s healing ability. The moment the shields formed, the extreme agony on their faces visibly softened, though they remained too weak to stand.

They were at least one kilometer away from the mecha. In a Contaminated Zone, without the protection of the central inhibitor, that kilometer was the distance between life and death. Without a second thought, Ji Xingxiao hoisted Wen Ruxu, who was in the worst state, onto his shoulder. He grabbed Chen Yanqing with his left hand and supported a semi-conscious Gu Han with his right, dragging them step by step back toward the mecha.

Every step overextended his remaining strength. The toxic pheromones battered his nerves, causing his vision to black out in waves, yet his pace never faltered. Once he had safely deposited every teammate into the medical bay inside the mecha, Ji Xingxiao used his last ounce of willpower to reach the control panel. His fingers trembled from exhaustion, yet he precisely input the commands to reactivate the central inhibitor valve and initiate the emergency purification protocol.

The moment it was done, he spun around and rushed toward the safety pod. When he reached the small, transparent chamber, he froze. The safety pod was empty; Yu Yi was gone.

Due to the excessive inhalation of toxic pheromones, Ji Xingxiao’s head began to swim. He sat down and pulled a pheromone purification mask from the main cockpit, placing it over his face. The entire mecha was now running the emergency purification program, slowly filtering the toxins from the environment and the teammates’ lungs. Ji Xingxiao took this extra measure to skip the usual recovery time; he needed to be back at full strength immediately so the mission would not fall behind schedule.

He was capable of finishing the survey and sampling alone. Except for Yu Yi, where could he have gone?

As the toxins were purged from his system, Ji Xingxiao’s mind cleared. He walked to the safety pod door and found that the manual valve had been opened. There were no signs of forced entry. He paused, tapping the light screen next to the valve to check the operation logs. A segment of the records was missing, replaced by a long string of garbled code as if the signal had been lost.

Had a contaminated creature come in and abducted Yu Yi? No, that was impossible. A creature capable of such a feat would have to be at least Level 5. A Level 1 creature would be violently repelled just by approaching the mecha. A Level 5 creature would trigger a global warning to the Central Galaxy and activate the mecha’s maximum defense mode. Yet, when they returned, there were no signs of combat, and the mecha had not moved an inch.

Ji Xingxiao frowned, his finger hovering over the screen. He hesitated. If he scrutinized the logs now, it would be flagged as an accident, and the data would be synchronized with the Central Galaxy Control Center. If they found the records abnormal and discovered that Yu Yi had turned off the switch, it would constitute the attempted murder of his teammates.

As he deliberated, a rustling sound came from outside the mecha. “Strange, why is the door closed?” It was Yu Yi’s voice.

Ji Xingxiao’s heart tightened. He immediately closed the panel, ripped off the purification mask, and rushed to the observation window. Yu Yi was standing at the rear of the mecha, looking up in confusion as to why the bottom hatch was shut. Outside was the eternal night of the Contaminated Zone, and Yu Yi was wearing nothing but his standard combat suit, with no protection for his nose or mouth.

Ji Xingxiao glanced at the other teammates still unconscious in the next cabin. He vaulted over the railing, jumping several meters down to the base of the mecha. He hauled the heavy metal door open and yanked Yu Yi inside.

“I told you to stay in the safety pod!” Ji Xingxiao shouted, his anger uncontrollable.

“I,” Yu Yi looked at him in a panic. He did not dare admit that he only realized he had made a mistake after turning off the central inhibitor. When he tried to fix it, he found he needed a secret code. In his desperation, he had simply run outside to find them. “I came to find you all,” Yu Yi mumbled.

“Did you turn off the central inhibitor?” Ji Xingxiao asked point-blank.

“Yes,” Yu Yi knew he could not hide it. He nodded and confessed honestly. “I heard,”

“Shut up!” Before he could finish, Ji Xingxiao grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the bulkhead. The veins in Ji Xingxiao’s arm stood out from the force. He roared, “Do you have any idea that you almost killed everyone?”

Yu Yi was stunned by the roar, stammering in terror. “I, I heard a command telling me to turn it off,”

“Shut up!” Ji Xingxiao did not believe him for a second. Barring an extreme emergency, no one would ever issue a command to shut down the central inhibitor. Fortunately, the other teammates had not witnessed this. “From now on, you stay right here!”

He roughly dragged Yu Yi back to the cockpit, pushed him into the safety pod, and locked the permissions with even stricter settings than before. Then, without even taking a moment to deal with his own lingering discomfort, he turned and stepped out of the mecha again. The mission was not finished; the data had to be extracted. His teammates needed time to recover; he would have to face the trench alone.

Yu Yi did not fully understand, but he knew from Ji Xingxiao’s reaction that he had caused a disaster. He sat in the safety pod, filled with dread, wondering what Ji Xingxiao was doing out there by himself.

“Where is the Captain?”

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Yanqing was the first to wake. He walked into the cockpit and saw Yu Yi looking lost inside the safety pod. Yu Yi did not dare mention that he had sneaked outside earlier. He simply shook his head. “He went out alone.”

Realizing what Ji Xingxiao intended to do, Chen Yanqing’s face went pale. “This is bad.” Almost simultaneously, Ji Xingxiao’s calm voice crackled through the communicator. “All members, rest and recover where you are. I will complete this mission alone.”

“But, Captain,” Though he had been semi-conscious at the time, Chen Yanqing knew Ji Xingxiao must have saved them all. Even for a natural ability user whose constitution was far superior to a regular high-tier Alpha, being without the inhibitor causes damage. For Ji Xingxiao to dive into a trench with Level 2 pollutants without any rest was incredibly dangerous.

Yu Yi heard the transmission as well, and his anxiety spiked.

“The central inhibitor was deactivated due to a sudden signal blockage. I take responsibility for this matter,” Ji Xingxiao stated.

“Signal blockage?” Chen Yanqing was stunned. Such things did happen in Contaminated Zones. Usually, one person stayed inside the mecha to prevent such accidents and help teammates reconnect. This duty was usually rotated, but today, Qin Feng was not there. Chen Yanqing glanced at Yu Yi. “But,”

Before he could finish, the communication was cut. Chen Yanqing had no choice. In his current state, he could not even collect data, let alone assist; he would only be a burden. Not to mention Wen Ruxu and Gu Han, who were still unconscious. He looked at Yu Yi, who was sitting quietly in the pod. Knowing he was locked in by Ji Xingxiao and could not help, Chen Yanqing said with a complex expression, “If you want to come out for some air,”

By his count, Yu Yi had been locked in there for a long time. Even if he was useless, he should not be treated like a prisoner.

“No need,” Yu Yi shook his head. He looked at the pale Chen Yanqing and said comfortingly, “We should trust the Captain.”

Chen Yanqing nodded.

The purification system worked efficiently. As the toxic pheromones dropped to safe levels, Wen Ruxu and Gu Han eventually woke up in the medical bay. Once he regained his strength, Gu Han was the first to walk out. He found Chen Yanqing frowning at the system logs. “What happened? Where is the Captain?”

“The Captain went into the trench alone,” Chen Yanqing said without looking up. “We need to find out why the central inhibitor shut down.”

Inside the safety pod, Yu Yi was sweating from nerves. Gu Han joined the search, and eventually, Wen Ruxu arrived to help. The three of them began scouring the records. Fortunately, they did not think to check the logs for Yu Yi’s safety pod. When they reached the critical timeframe, the screen showed a mess of garbled code.

“What is this?” Gu Han frowned, tapping the control board. “Is it corrupted? Or overwritten?”

“The Captain said it was a signal blockage,” Chen Yanqing replied. He had tried several data recovery methods, but all failed. “During the time the inhibitor was off, all internal logs were corrupted.”

It perfectly matched the characteristics of a signal blockage. The three men fell silent for a moment, then simultaneously turned their gaze toward Yu Yi in the safety pod.

Yu Yi remained as quiet as a mouse. Sensing their stares, he guiltily looked away. “Ah, is, is something wrong?”

“Yu Yi,” Chen Yanqing said seriously, actually remembering his name. “You were the only one in the mecha when the system malfunctioned. Did you notice anything strange?”

Yu Yi did not know exactly what was happening, but he knew one thing: he must not reveal that he had manually turned off the inhibitor. “I, I was sleeping,” Yu Yi lowered his head guiltily, trying to hide the panic in his eyes. “I am sorry. I was just so tired.”

“No abnormalities at all? For example, the lights flickering?” Gu Han asked suspiciously.

“No.” That much was true.

“No warning sounds from the oxygen meter?” Wen Ruxu asked.

“I sleep very deeply,” Yu Yi said vaguely, hoping to gloss over the details.

The three men frowned at his answers. Was it truly such a coincidence? A rare signal blockage happened exactly when the mecha was unmonitored? “Then you,”

Seeing that they were about to keep digging, and knowing the more they asked, the more likely he was to slip up, Yu Yi panicked. In a moment of desperation, he blurted out a change of topic. “That, my husband, I mean,”

The words “my husband” caused the trio to fall into an immediate silence. Yu Yi acted as if he had misspoken, covering his mouth with a bashful expression. He continued, “Is the Captain always this serious?”

The three men exchanged glances. The atmosphere shifted subtly. Wen Ruxu’s expression wavered. “Yes. Why? Is the Captain not like this usually?”

Yu Yi thought to himself: He is always like this.

Chen Yanqing showed a rare bit of curiosity. “I heard that you and the Captain,”

The topic had finally shifted. After all, they could not expect a Beta locked in a safety pod to provide technical insights. It was better to gossip while Ji Xingxiao was away to relieve the tension. Yu Yi nodded with feigned shyness.

“No way! Seriously?” Wen Ruxu exclaimed.

Yu Yi steeled himself and started making things up. “Yes. He, well, you do not know, but he is actually quite clingy. He tells me not to call him husband, but he is actually very happy when I do. He even insists that I hand feed him his nutrition bars.”

Yu Yi grew more enthusiastic as he spoke, painting a picture of Ji Xingxiao as a clingy big cat that was the total opposite of his public persona. The three men listened, completely stunned. They thought to themselves that with Ji Xingxiao’s personality, such an extreme contrast might actually be possible.

Several hours later, when Ji Xingxiao’s silhouette reappeared by the mecha, he looked like a demon crawling out of a pool of blood. His silver gray suit was stained almost entirely black, covered in the thick, foul smelling fluids of contaminated creatures. The birthmark on his temple looked fierce and powerful, like a warrior splattered with the blood of battle.

However, he was greeted by a surprisingly lighthearted atmosphere inside the mecha. Yu Yi, whom he had locked in the safety pod, was gesturing wildly through the transparent door. “My husband, he,”

The voice cut off abruptly. The three teammates, who had their backs to Ji Xingxiao, were still eager for more. They urged him to continue. “What about the Captain? Is he really that fierce?”

Yu Yi’s body stiffened. He slowly lowered his hands and turned his back to the door. “He is quite handsome.”

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