When the Major General Omega Picked Up a Little Snake Alpha - Chapter 10

He simply wanted to leave behind a pheromone trace.

The scents outside were far too cluttered. While hiding in “Little Fruit’s” bag, he had actually caught the scent of that bipedal Alpha from before.

It smelled like some kind of tree. If he were a wildfire, he would have incinerated that tree instantly.

Humans could only perceive the scent of pheromones under specific circumstances. But he was different, he could detect them at any time.

That bipedal Alpha harbored improper thoughts toward Little Fruit.

The nerve of some creatures, thinking they can just touch what’s mine.

And so, the little snake, still in his hatchling stage, decided to use his temporarily fragile body to leave a few marks on Little Fruit.

“I’m asking you a question,” Luo Qi’s voice interrupted his fantasies, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

The tip of the little snake’s tail curled up, tracing patterns against his wrist.

First circles, then crosses, it was impossible to tell what he was trying to say.

Just then, a knock sounded on the bedroom door. Xue Ying called out from outside, “Luo Qi, I brought the crate for you.”

“Just leave it outside, I’ll deal with it in a bit.”

Xue Ying fell silent outside. Luo Qi pulled his phone away from the little snake’s coils and held out his hand, “Come here.”

The little snake pressed his head against Luo Qi’s hand, slowly crawling up and sliding toward the sleeve of his jacket.

Luo Qi was wearing a shirt with cufflinks underneath, which blocked the snake’s path. Settling for the next best thing, the snake tucked himself into the gap between the suit jacket and the shirt, leaving only the very tip of his tail exposed.

Luo Qi gave the tail a little poke. It twitched from side to side before zipping out of sight.

The little snake hid against his left forearm, his belly undulating with soft, powerful contractions.

It felt like wearing a wrist brace, actually quite comfortable.

“You’re pretty good at hiding,” Luo Qi observed in front of the mirror. The jacket sleeves weren’t tight, leaving more than enough room for the little snake.

Luo Qi carried him back to the living room. Xue Ying was gone, and an isolation crate sat on the table. It was a very ordinary box, no passcode, just a simple snap-lock.

There was no way this crate would hold the little snake.

“How did you get out?” Luo Qi folded his sleeve back, speaking to the snake on his arm, “Can you actually teleport?”

The little snake’s head peeked out from behind his arm and flicked his tongue at him.

Luo Qi sighed, “Forget it.”

The little snake was smart, but achieving flawless communication was likely still a long way off.

It was still early, so Luo Qi opened his phone and replied to a few messages from Xiao Yu, telling him to take Fang Xi and Jiang Luoyi for a walk first.

He still had to figure out how to handle this little snake.

“Little Black, stay in the crate for a while, otherwise I can’t move around,” he tried to reason with the snake, “I’ll come back to keep you company later, okay?”

He held his palm out near Little Black’s tail, “If that’s a yes, draw a circle.”

The little tail dropped from his arm, pressed against his palm, moved, and then… drew another cross.

Luo Qi felt a bit of a headache coming on.

“Don’t you want to play with blocks anymore?”

Based on his observations over the past few days, Luo Qi had noticed the snake was obsessed with collecting building blocks.

He definitely liked playing with them.

“If you’re good and stay here, I’ll bring you new blocks when I get back tonight,” Luo Qi said, stroking his body, “If you don’t listen, I won’t play with you anymore.”

The little snake hesitated, the tip of his tail rubbing back and forth against Luo Qi’s wrist.

Reluctantly, he finally drew a circle.

He absolutely couldn’t let Little Fruit’s “snake” blocks be completed.

“Good,” Luo Qi’s eyes crinkled with a smile, “That’s more like it.”

The little snake pulled his tail back and coiled tighter around Luo Qi, looking quite reluctant to let go.

His body was a bit cool, a sensation that reached Luo Qi even through the fabric. Luo Qi covered him with his right palm to warm him, his fingertips stroking along the scales.

He felt wonderful to the touch.

Perhaps because he wasn’t in his heat cycle, the little snake didn’t dodge this time. His small, soft head rested obediently against his own coils, enjoying the attention.

Man and snake, a scene of cozy harmony.

Once Luo Qi had his fill of petting, he pulled out his button-sized computer and processed some documents on the light screen.

While he was at it, he opened the surveillance footage from the activity room at home.

The little snake had hidden directly in his bag, which meant he must have escaped the moment Luo Qi left the house.

He adjusted the timeline to the right spot and watched himself walk into the activity room, crouch by the glass enclosure, speak to the snake, and then get up to leave.

The door to the room closed, and the little snake crawled back into his nest.

Luo Qi’s eyes were glued to the screen, not missing a single detail.

In the very next second, the black coil in the nest simply vanished into thin air.

The footage played smoothly, without a single flicker or glitch.

He tapped the screen and dragged the progress bar back two seconds.

He had definitely disappeared.

This was practically a supernatural event.

Luo Qi didn’t believe someone had hacked his home surveillance. That beetle-drone monitor was military-grade.

But if it was actual teleportation…

He vaguely remembered reading something in a past battle report about “shadow creatures capable of spatial transfer.”

Not in the Landon Galaxy, but on some unnamed planet on the fringes.

He needed to find time to check the database.

Before he knew it, tea time had arrived. It was time to meet the others.

The little snake remained draped over his arm, so still he seemed to be asleep.

Luo Qi only then realized he hadn’t even eaten lunch.

“I have to go down now, you little troublemaker,” Luo Qi scratched him under the chin, “I’m hungry, and I can’t move around with you like this.”

Hearing this, the little snake finally moved. He slid down from Luo Qi’s hand and crawled across the table toward the snake crate a few dozen centimeters away.

Luo Qi had intended to pick him up, but seeing how cooperative he was, his hand hovered mid-air.

He wanted to see how Little Black would get into the crate.

The snake meandered to the base of the box, then raised his head, his belly rippling as he pushed himself upward.

Coiling around one side of the box, he used his head and tail together to press hard against the lock. With a click, the latch popped open.

He nudged the lid with his snout, lifting it just enough to slip his head through, and glided inside.

The movements were a bit clumsy, but his sliding was incredibly fluid.

The box was a bit small, just large enough for the snake to coil once at the bottom. Pressed against the walls of the crate, he found a spot to rest his head and looked up at Luo Qi.

“Good boy, so smart.”

Luo Qi pressed the latch shut.

The lock likely wouldn’t do much, but it was better than nothing.

After tidying himself up slightly, he headed downstairs toward the tea lounge.

The lounge was actually a grand arched gallery. It stood over ten meters high, with intricate patterns carved into the ceiling and a row of marble tables below, laden with pastries and drinks.

Outside the gallery lay a lush green lawn, thick with the scent of flowers. Wicker dining tables were scattered about, shaded by low trees and shrubs that offered a decent amount of privacy.

Luo Qi followed the stone path through the grass, searching for the location Xiao Yu had sent earlier.

Most of the people he encountered along the way were in formal wear, though some wore casual clothes, likely attending other banquets.

Almost everyone stopped for a second or two as Luo Qi passed, quietly turning back to watch him walk away.

The Empire’s only Omega General had appeared at Shelley Gardens?

As the news spread, someone immediately snapped a candid photo of his back from an angle. He had a tall, model-like physique, his tailcoat accentuating his firm, narrow waist. His long silver hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and as he turned his head, his long, narrow eyes, partially hidden by a few stray strands of hair—looked back toward the camera.

That gaze, half-distant and half-present, seemed to reach through the lens to snag the soul.

Luo Xiao Yu was sitting in his chair when he refreshed his screen and saw that very photo.

Staying informed about current events was part of his job, and that naturally included gossip.

Especially gossip about his brother.

“Whoa! Brother’s here!” He stood up so fast he jostled the table. Several men in conversation nearby all looked over.

Fang Xi, Jiang Luoyi, and three others from Xue Ying’s side were all Alphas. Dressed in high-end, custom black suits, they possessed an elegance that didn’t look like it came from a military barracks.

Only Luo Xiao Yu wore a casual suit in a dark red that complemented his silver hair.

“General Luo has arrived?” asked a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

They peered toward the entrance of the path but saw no movement.

“Wait here a moment.” Fang Xi stood up, and Jiang Luoyi followed suit. Both wanted to be the first to greet the General.

Luo Xiao Yu was faster than both of them, however, bolting forward and running along the stone path.

He saw Luo Qi standing in the distance by a fountain, admiring a mermaid statue in the center.

“Brother!” he shouted, but the distance was too great. Luo Qi didn’t seem to hear him, his full attention on the stone sculpture.

What’s with Brother? Why is he so interested in a stone carving?

As Xiao Yu ran past a small fork in the path, someone suddenly darted out, and they collided head-on. The person was tall, wearing a hoodie and jeans, with messy short hair and a black mask hanging off his chin.

“Sorry,” Luo Xiao Yu stepped back, blinking as he looked up, “And you are?”

The man had fair skin and striking features. Luo Xiao Yu had seen him on TV before.

He was a famous actor, Shen Yizhou, quite popular.

But Xiao Yu had no time for big stars right now. His brother was waiting, and no actor, no matter how handsome, could compare.

“It’s fine.” Shen Yizhou pulled up his mask and stepped aside, “Go ahead.”

He looked terrified of being recognized.

“Thanks!”

Luo Xiao Yu rushed past. Fang Xi and Jiang Luoyi followed close behind. Shen Yizhou leaned back to let them through and happened to glance toward the fountain. He spotted Luo Qi’s silhouette and froze.

Isn’t that… the Captain of the Luo Starship, Luo Qi?

Luo Qi was currently circling the fountain, leaning over to inspect a gap in the mermaid’s tail.

Sure enough, his little snake was hiding right there.

Little Black’s scales shimmered with a dull light, his small golden eyes watching him quietly.

When he had passed by earlier, Luo Qi had noticed a python carved around the mermaid’s neck and stopped to look.

The python’s head rose near the water’s surface, a small black snake clamped in its jaws.

Luo Qi had thought the little snake looked remarkably like Little Black, and upon closer inspection…

It really was him.

It had only taken him ten minutes to walk down here. Little Black had followed him so closely; that isolation crate truly was useless.

“Little Black, come here,” he beckoned with his arm, “Up onto my hand.”

He didn’t understand why Little Black had come down. If he didn’t like being in the box, why had he climbed in to begin with?

Perhaps he just wanted to act obediently to please him, only to sneak out and follow. It was just that his tracking method was a bit too clumsy and he’d been caught immediately.

The thought of such a possibility made Luo Qi want to laugh.

His little snake really was adorable.

In that case, he might as well keep him on his person. At least then he wouldn’t wander off.

“Come on, be good.” Luo Qi called him like he was calling a puppy. But Little Black wasn’t a dog; not only did he not come over, he vanished instantly into the crevice.

Luo Qi had no choice but to give up. He folded his arms, and just as he turned around, he saw Luo Xiao Yu jogging toward him.

“Brother!” Luo Xiao Yu lunged forward and hung onto his arm. Luo Qi ruffled his hair.

“Why did you come out? I was just heading over.”

“I came to get you,” Luo Xiao Yu pouted, “What they’re talking about is so boring, I couldn’t sit there another second.”

“You’re not a child anymore, you have to learn to listen,” Luo Qi said. He looked up to see Fang Xi approaching with Jiang Luoyi, both bowing their heads in greeting.

“Commander,” Fang Xi said, “General Xue’s adjutant is inside, along with the second-in-command from the Governor’s office.”

“They’re here too.” Luo Qi thought for a moment before giving Jiang Luoyi an order, “Luoyi, go back and keep them company. We’ll find somewhere else.”

Jiang Luoyi’s expression stiffened. He didn’t understand why the General was sending him away.

Fang Xi patted his shoulder without hesitation, “The Commander is giving you an opportunity.”

Interacting more with people from the Governor’s office would be beneficial for a young Major General.

Especially now that they were transferred back to the rear, they would be dealing with these people often.

“Understood, thank you, Commander,” Jiang Luoyi replied, though his expression didn’t improve.

He walked away with heavy steps, looking quite melancholic.

“What’s wrong with Luoyi?” Luo Qi asked Fang Xi, “How was the conversation just now?”

“Quite normal, Adjutant Jiang was chatting with them just fine,” Fang Xi said, “Commander, you don’t need to worry about him.”

That’s definitely not why he’s upset.

“Alright,” Luo Qi didn’t press further, “Let’s go find a place to sit. We still have a few hours.”

The three of them walked further into the garden and found an empty table. It was far from the gallery, and the table was already set with utensils, desserts, and tea for easy access.

Just as they were about to sit down, a piercing whistle cut through the air.

Shelley Gardens was already high up, and the sound came from a private aircraft, its body shaped like a hawk, piercing through the resort’s atmosphere.

On the main planet, only people of significant status could fly aircraft through the city; money alone wouldn’t cut it.

The newcomer was bound to be a major figure, a fact that made everyone stop and look up.

Luo Qi was no exception. He leaned back in the wicker chair, resting his elbow on his hand, and let out a soft sigh toward the sky.

“He came after all.”

Luo Huayun, the father of him and Xiao Yu, a mysterious figure they only saw once every two years, had suddenly arrived.

“Ah, Dad’s back.” Luo Xiao Yu wrinkled his nose, “He didn’t even tell me.”

“I heard there’s a classified project underway on the North Star. Your father might not have been able to make inter-stellar contact,” Fang Xi offered as consolation.

“I don’t believe that. If even Brother didn’t know, how classified could it be!”

Luo Qi had heard that rumor as well, but no matter how classified, he could have sent a quick heads-up.

“It’s not important,” Luo Qi said, lifting a small cloche covering the utensils, “Xiao Yu, didn’t you want cake? Here—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Tucked under the plate was a white cloth napkin. Something was hidden beneath it, a small bulge coiling in a circle around the base of the dish.

A tiny black snake head peeked out from under the cloth, flicking a small pink tongue at him.

Luo Qi was momentarily speechless.

Was Little Black playing hide-and-seek?