The Crematorium of the Top Omega Chasing After Alpha - Chapter 4

Song Qingpei stormed out of the rest cabin with a darkened expression, her chest aching with fury.

How could a person’s personality change so drastically just from losing their memories? Her wife used to be gentle and clingy. During her heat cycles, she would sit in Song Qingpei’s lap, wrap her arms around her waist, blush, and call her “darling,” gradually coaxing out her pheromones without ever showing the slightest distaste for their overly aloof nature.

But now, this person who had become General Ming Yu was not only cold-blooded and ruthless but also utterly unreasonable. It was clearly her pheromones that had provoked Song Qingpei’s reaction, yet she had coldly threatened to carve out her glands.

Only a lunatic would like someone like that.

Any lingering affection Song Qingpei had held for her wife was now thoroughly doused, like a bucket of ice water poured over her heart. There was no need for self-delusion anymore. For the first time, she saw with stark clarity that her beloved wife was truly gone.

And the desire stirred by that familiar face quickly faded under the weight of her rationality.

She didn’t even need any inhibitors anymore, the Alpha pheromones that had been aroused had already vanished without a trace. Perhaps this was the only advantage of being an inferior Alpha: her pheromones would never be so overwhelming that she lost control. She thought this with a hint of self-deprecation.

Gazing at the star-filled sky outside, Song Qingpei stood in the corridor for a moment to collect herself, then turned and headed back to the rest cabin.

She couldn’t be bothered to deal with that madwoman. She just wanted to go back and sleep, holding her precious daughter.

But as she strode angrily toward the cabin, she was taken aback to find the door shut tight.

She’s definitely doing this on purpose. Annoyed, Song Qingpei shouted, “Open the door!”

The response came in a mechanical voice: “Command failed!”

“Facial recognition failed!”

“Cabin door cannot be opened!”

“Please re-enter command!”

Each automated reply stoked Song Qingpei’s rising fury.

But in her anger, all she could do was fume.

This was Ming Yu’s territory. All the survival skills she had honed during her years drifting through the stars were utterly useless in the face of absolute power.

Swallowing her pride, she continued to call out, hoping Ming Yu would have a change of heart and open the door.

But Ming Yu clearly had no heart. Song Qingpei’s throat grew hoarse from shouting, yet the cabin door remained unresponsive.

It was almost certain she wouldn’t be getting in today.

Ming Yu’s repeated displays of authority had worn down her temper. Resigned, she ended her futile attempts and desperately sought help from Lieutenant Lin the only person she had any contact with aboard the Feiyun starship.

Fortunately, Lieutenant Lin had previously told her where she was staying. Following the corridor, Song Qingpei found her rest cabin.

Awakened by her AI system, Lieutenant Lin opened the door in a daze. Seeing Song Qingpei’s dejected expression at the doorway, she asked in disbelief, “Miss Song, what’s going on?”

Song Qingpei couldn’t bring herself to admit she’d been locked out her pride wouldn’t allow it.

So she mumbled vaguely, “Sorry to disturb your rest, Lieutenant Lin. General Ming Yu asked you to arrange accommodations for me.”

“Huh? But the General said you could stay there. Why the sudden change of mind?”

Lieutenant Lin scratched her head in confusion but didn’t dwell on it. Hesitantly, she explained, “Well! Class A rest cabins require advance applications. It’s past the application window now, so I can’t request one at the moment.”

Embarrassed, Song Qingpei didn’t want to trouble her further. Thinking she could just find some unoccupied spot to rough it for the night, she turned and started to leave.

“Sorry to disturb you, Lieutenant Lin. You should get some rest early.”

Lieutenant Lin was taken aback and called out to her, “Miss Song, where are you going?”

Song Qingpei felt utterly embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

Sensing her discomfort, Lieutenant Lin, also an Alpha, quickly said, “Well, if you don’t mind, why not stay here for the night? Tomorrow, I’ll apply for a rest pod for you.”

“This wouldn’t it be too much trouble?”

“Not at all! Not at all! I have an ultra-fiber air-foldable bed here. It’s no trouble at all.”

With that, Lieutenant Lin immediately summoned her personal smart robot, set up the foldable bed, and brought over a set of simple military supplies for Song Qingpei to use.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Lin.”

This was a heartfelt thank-you from Song Qingpei. Even someone she had just met was better than her cold-blooded ex.

Lieutenant Lin scratched her head sheepishly and urged Song Qingpei to lie down and rest. Since the two weren’t familiar with each other, silence soon fell between them.

Song Qingpei tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with despair about how to endure such hopeless days.

Meanwhile, the young Lieutenant Lin was too consumed by curiosity to sleep. The cold and aloof General, the lofty Empire Rose, actually had a three-year-old child with this unknown Alpha before her, and their relationship seemed strained. She was burning with curiosity about their story.

After hesitating for a while, she couldn’t resist asking, “Miss Song, are you still awake?”

Song Qingpei was startled by her sudden voice and snapped back to reality, replying with a soft “Hmm.”

Lieutenant Lin couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked, “So, how did you and the General meet?”

Song Qingpei, who had just calmed down, felt her heart ache again at the unintentional question. She really didn’t want to recall her ill-fated relationship with Ming Yu, and if she dared to say anything out of turn, Ming Yu would never let her off the hook.

So she shifted the blame onto Ming Yu, vaguely saying, “We just happened to meet. General Ming Yu forbade me from saying anything more. I’m sure you understand.”

“Understood, understood.”

Lieutenant Lin nodded repeatedly. If the General forbade it, no matter how curious she was, she wouldn’t dare ask again.

The two exchanged a few more casual words before eventually falling asleep.

When Song Qingpei woke up again, it was Lieutenant Lin who roused her, informing her that a rest pod had been arranged and she could go there to rest.

As soon as Song Qingpei regained her senses, her first thought was to find her daughter. However, Lieutenant Lin told her that Song Song had gone to the mecha training ground with the General early in the morning. She hurriedly followed Lieutenant Lin there.

As soon as she entered, she felt an intense aura of combat.

Five black giant mechas were surrounding a crimson-red mecha, simultaneously launching attacks at it. For a moment, the air was filled with a hail of bullets and smoke, making it impossible to see clearly. She could only vaguely make out the crimson mecha nimbly dodging the attacks.

Song Qingpei’s gaze immediately fixed on the crimson-red mecha.

She had seen this mecha before it was Ming Yu’s personal unit, “Blaze.”

She scanned the area but found no trace of her daughter. With disbelief, she considered the only possibility: Could Ming Yu have brought Song Song along for a 1v5 battle?

As if to confirm her suspicions, Yan successfully dodged a wave of attacks and swiftly shifted from defense to offense, disrupting the assault formation of the five mechas with an even fiercer momentum.

Song Qingpei watched with bated breath.

Seizing an opening in one of the black mechas, Yan immediately launched a counterattack, destroying it almost in the blink of an eye. The remaining mechas attempted to encircle her, but they couldn’t keep up with Yan’s speed.

After another round of attacks, only one black mecha was left struggling to hold its ground.

In just two more exchanges, the last mecha had its right wing crippled, emitting a series of urgent beeping alarms.

Lieutenant Lin, who had been watching intently, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavens! As expected of the General taking on five opponents alone while carrying a child and still winning so brilliantly!”

Witnessing such a perilous scene, Song Qingpei’s pupils contracted sharply, and she immediately rushed toward Yan.

Just then, the hatch of Ming Yu’s mech slowly opened.

Songsong sat in Ming Yu’s lap, waving her little arms and cheering, “Wow, Mom, look! Mommy is so amazing! She can take on five all by herself! Five!”

The General, expressionless, stood up while holding her daughter.

Her gaze briefly fell on Song Qingpei, a dangerous glint flickering in her eyes. If it weren’t for this infuriating woman, she wouldn’t have had to come to the training ground early in the morning to vent her uncontrollable pheromones, a humiliation in her eyes.

Unaware of this, Song Qingpei anxiously approached and asked, “Songsong, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“Nope! Songsong was very brave and didn’t get scared at all!”

Songsong waved her little hands excitedly, looking quite proud.

Hearing her daughter’s reply, Song Qingpei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reached out to take Songsong into her arms.

Ming Yu handed Songsong over with a cold expression, calmly withdrawing her gaze.

Lieutenant Lin stepped forward and said, “General, there’s a military meeting in twenty minutes. Should it proceed as scheduled?”

“As scheduled.”

Ming Yu was sparing with her words, only offering a faint smile when facing Songsong.

She exchanged a few more words with Songsong and, amidst the little one’s enthusiastic praise of “Mommy is so amazing,” smilingly promised to bring her back to watch the mecha fights again before leaving with Lieutenant Lin.

“Bye, Mommy! Songsong will be good and wait for you to come back!”

Songsong waved reluctantly, as if she had a tail she wished she could wag.

Song Qingpei felt a surge of frustration, a sudden and intense sense of crisis washing over her. Was her little “leaky cotton jacket” (leaky cotton jacket: a metaphor for a child who isn’t entirely loyal or close) going to be so easily won over by Ming Yu’s sugar-coated bullets?

“Mom, where did you go? I couldn’t find you when I woke up this morning.Thank goodness, her little cotton-padded jacket still had her in mind.

Song Qingpei comforted herself, picked up Songsong, and said, “Mom had something to take care of. Come on, let’s go back and eat.”

The two left the training ground and walked through a long corridor.

Passing by Ming Yu’s private rest pod, Song Qingpei was reminded of the humiliation of being locked out the day before. Gritting her teeth in secret, she quickened her pace, heading toward the rest pod assigned to her while holding her daughter.

Songsong tugged at her, tilting her head and pointing at the rest pod with a laugh. “Silly Mom, you forgot the way! We’re here.”

Song Qingpei smiled bitterly and explained helplessly, “Songsong, we can’t get in.”

Before she could finish speaking, Song Song’s milky voice chimed in: “Little Flame, open the door!”

The smart pod door’s originally emotionless mechanical voice suddenly switched to a sweet, girlish tone: “Command received!”

“Facial recognition successful!”

“Door opening now!”

“Welcome home, dear little princess!”

The series of overly sweet, high-pitched voice commands left Song Qingpei utterly bewildered.

Once inside, she managed to coax the story out of her daughter. It turned out that when Song Song woke up crying for her mother that morning, Ming Yu had comforted her by granting her access to the rest pod’s central AI. With the AI’s help, Song Song quickly learned how to use the smart devices in the pod.

The little one found the emotionless mechanical voice utterly distasteful, so she had the AI change the pod’s voice system. Judging by the result, she clearly had a particular fondness for sweet, girlish voices.

Song Qingpei’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

For a moment, she didn’t know whether to feel comforted by Ming Yu’s affection for their daughter or to pity herself for being treated differently.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of this, Song Song was still chattering excitedly about mechas and how amazing her mommy was. It was clear the little girl genuinely adored mechas.

Was this the power of genetics?

For an instant, Song Qingpei felt a pang of heartache and briefly wavered in her decision.

Was keeping her daughter by her side too selfish? As Ming Yu had said, considering the long term, leaving Song Song with Ming Yu was clearly the better option?

But, she truly couldn’t bear to part with her. Song Song was her only family in this world.

Fortunately, she wasn’t one to dwell on self-doubt for long. She quickly resolved to keep striving after all, there were still two years left. She would leave it to time to decide. For now, there were more pressing matters to address.

Ming Yu clearly didn’t welcome her, and deciding where Song Song would stay during this period was a thorny issue.

Noticing her mother’s silence, Song Song shook her shoulder. “Mommy, what’s wrong? Are you unhappy?”

“Mommy’s fine.”

Song Qingpei quickly composed herself and coaxed, “Song Song, Mommy can’t stay here. How about I take you to where I’m staying to play?”

Song Song widened her sparkling eyes, full of confusion. “Mommy, aren’t we going to live with Mama?”

Although Song Qingpei didn’t want her daughter to be hurt by adult matters, the current situation made it impossible to hide the truth. She could only explain as gently as possible:

“Song Song, your mama doesn’t like living with me, so…” She gritted her teeth and said, somewhat cruelly, “Song Song can only choose to sleep with Mommy or with Mama. Understand?”

“Oh.”

Song Song seemed a little unhappy but accepted it quickly. “Then let’s go, Mommy. I’ll come play with Mama when she’s free.”

Song Qingpei breathed a sigh of relief and took Song Song back to her new rest pod.

All day, her heart had been in her throat, worried that Ming Yu wouldn’t simply allow her to take Song Song to live separately.

But even after she had coaxed Song Song to sleep, Ming Yu still hadn’t shown up. Only then did she finally relax.

However, not long after she lay down, the rest pod door chimed. Through the virtual display, she could see Lieutenant Lin standing outside, his expression grim. Her heart sank with a foreboding that nothing good was coming.

She got up and opened the cabin door, stepping outside. “Lieutenant Lin, what’s the matter?”

Lieutenant Lin replied, “Miss Song, the General has asked me to take you to the medical bay.”

What business did she have in the medical bay?

Song Qingpei froze for a moment, then asked warily, “Did she say what it was about?”

Lieutenant Lin shook her head, clearly just following orders. Song Qingpei had only been taken in by them yesterday and didn’t want to cause any trouble. She could only ask the lieutenant to keep an eye on her daughter before reluctantly following her to the medical bay.

Along the way, Lieutenant Lin seemed to hesitate several times, as if wanting to say something.

Finally, under Song Qingpei’s questioning, she said, “Miss Song, when the General returned to her quarters and found no one there, she didn’t look too pleased. Then, I’m not sure what happened, but she suddenly went to the medical bay. Not long after, she ordered me to bring you there, absolutely furious.” She added worriedly, “I’ve never seen the General this angry before. You’d better be careful.”

This only made Song Qingpei more uneasy.

But no matter how much she thought about it, all she had done was bring Song Song back to her own quarters. Surely that wasn’t enough to provoke such anger?

When they reached the medical bay, Lieutenant Lin stopped at the door, signaling for Song Qingpei to enter alone.

The door slid open, and Song Qingpei steeled herself as she walked in. A smart robot guided her through a long corridor to the inner part of the medical bay.

From a distance, she could see a military doctor in a white medical uniform, seemingly administering an injection to Ming Yu, who was half-lying down.

Ming Yu’s clothes were pulled down to her shoulders, her hands gripping the fabric tightly. Her cheeks were flushed, and beads of sweat dotted her forehead, clearly indicating she was in intense pain. As the injection finished, her expression eased slightly, and she collapsed weakly onto the medical bed, closing her eyes to rest.

After administering the injection, the military doctor turned to Song Qingpei, her voice gentle and soothing. “Miss Song, you’re here.”

Song Qingpei was bewildered and about to step forward to ask what was going on when Ming Yu, hearing the voice, abruptly sat up and glared fiercely at her, gritting her teeth. “Song Qingpei, look what you’ve done!”

Song Qingpei: ???

What was going on? What had she done?

The military doctor, observing their contrasting reactions, sighed inwardly. As Ming Yu’s personal physician, she knew the General’s condition all too well. This Miss Song was simply unlucky to have stumbled into the line of fire.

“Miss Song, the General’s heat cycle was triggered prematurely and has become difficult to control due to the stimulation from your pheromones.”

Before the doctor could finish, Ming Yu cut her off.

“Administer a strong suppressant to her immediately. I don’t want to smell her pheromones anymore.”

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