The Top-Tier Alpha Is Lured and Captured by a Green Tea Merman - Chapter 5

Seeing Xie Yu’s eyes glued to him without so much as a blink, Pei Yan coughed uncomfortably. “You stay home today.”

He had expected the boy to make a scene about wanting to come along; Pei Yan had even prepared a whole script of refusals. Instead, Xie Yu simply nodded obediently, behaving better than anyone could have asked.

“Okay, Brother.”

The words Pei Yan had ready in his throat were forced right back down.

The butler opened the front door for him. “Young Master, the car is here.”

Watching Pei Yan drive away, Xie Yu’s heart naturally felt a frantic urge to follow, if only to prevent any sightless fools from daring to covet what was his. However, he had other matters to attend to at the moment.

Pei Yan had just arrived at the venue when an emergency report came from the military: the Northern Base had suffered a sudden Zerg attack. Many civilians had been affected and infected; the situation was critical and brooked no delay.

Pei Yan took the initiative to request a deployment to the front lines. With a wave of his hand, His Majesty granted the request.

Lu Xiao was also ordered to go on this mission.

The moment he stepped onto the warship, Xie Yu’s image involuntarily floated into Pei Yan’s mind. If he finds out I didn’t go home and went somewhere else instead, he’ll definitely cry and complain, Pei Yan thought.

Meanwhile, in a dim alleyway somewhere in the Empire.

The face of a red-tailed merman was contorted with ferocity. He extended his claws in a vicious strike, but in the next second, before he could even touch his target, he was smashed bodily into the wall.

The wall immediately caved in, forming a massive human-shaped crater. Concrete cracked and shattered, falling in heaps to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Cough… cough cough…”

The red-tailed merman slumped on the ground, coughing up a large mouthful of blood, looking quite horrific.

And the person who was expected to be “crying and complaining” was currently standing at the entrance of the alley against the light. His body radiated a heavy, dark aura. The warm yellow glow of the streetlamp stretched his shadow long across the ground, providing not an ounce of warmth.

He looked like a demon reaping lives, walking toward the red-tailed merman with slow, nonchalant steps.

Upon seeing Xie Yu’s face clearly, the red-tailed merman finally realized the truth. His eyes trembled with shock. Prostrating himself on the ground, he said respectfully, “King.”

“Heh,” Xie Yu sneered. “Recognize me now, do you?”

He walked up to the merman and looked down, his voice cold. “Do you have any idea how much trouble your actions could bring to the deep sea?!”

The red-tailed merman couldn’t stop shivering.

Xie Yu grabbed him by the throat, forcing him to look up. “Return to the deep sea immediately.”

Blood stained the corners of the merman’s mouth, and his face turned blue from the grip, but he endured the fear and said stubbornly, “…No.”

Killing intent rose in Xie Yu. Just as he was about to snap the merman’s neck, someone suddenly shouted, “Let him go!”

Xie Yu paused, glancing sideways.

It was an elegantly dressed Omega, running over from the other end of the street in a fury. “I order you to let him go!”

Xie Yu stared at him with no emotional fluctuation, his deep blue pupils flashing with a ghostly light that was clearly reflected in the Omega’s eyes.

The Omega’s breath hitched. He… he’s not human.

In a flash, Xie Yu appeared right in front of the Omega.

The red-tailed merman roared, “Xibai, run!”

The claws Xie Yu had extended stopped instantly, only millimeters away from Gu Xibai’s eyes. Had he been a fraction of a second later, those eyes would have been lost.

Gu Xibai stood frozen, the terror of being preyed upon by a wild beast enveloping his entire body. Realizing he had nearly lost his life, his face turned deathly pale, and his blood ran cold.

Xie Yu frowned. “You are Gu Xibai, the little Prince of the Imperial Palace?”

Gu Xibai’s lips were dry. “…Y-yes.”

Recalling Pei Yan’s words about “marrying him,” Xie Yu asked, “Do you know you are to be married off?”

Gu Xibai was stunned. He looked up at Xie Yu, then fearfully lowered his gaze again. “I know… but I don’t like this arranged marriage… so I ran away.”

Xie Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and retracted his hand. “Act like you saw nothing tonight, and I’ll let you go.”

“Then what about Hong-Hong?” Gu Xibai asked hesitantly, suppressing his fear.

“Hong-Hong…”

Xie Yu turned to look at the now-standing red-tailed merman. After a silence, he asked, “It’s you?”

Gu Xibai stepped in front of the merman. “It is.”

Unexpectedly, the red-tailed merman pushed him aside, his voice cold. “I don’t need you standing in front of me.”

“Then why did you come ashore?” Gu Xibai glared. “Wasn’t it to find me?”

The merman snapped back, “Who said that?!”

Watching the two argue childishly, Xie Yu didn’t want to waste any more time; he had to go home and wait for his brother.

“Enough.”

At Xie Yu’s voice, the two immediately tensed up as if facing a great enemy.

Ignoring their wariness, Xie Yu continued, “He can stay, but you must guarantee that no one other than yourself will know about tonight.”

Gu Xibai nodded repeatedly.

“And you.” Xie Yu walked toward the merman. He sliced his palm and stood before him, saying coldly, “Kneel.”

The merman obeyed. Xie Yu tilted the merman’s chin up, forcing his mouth open. A few drops of blood fell in. The red-tailed merman stiffened, his expression becoming painful.

Gu Xibai ran over anxiously. “What did you do to him?”

“My blood will allow him to maintain human form for a period of time,” Xie Yu said flatly. “If he wants to extend the duration, mating is the best way. Also… the name ‘Hong-Hong’ is too ugly. Better change it.”

Xie Yu couldn’t help but criticize the name. His brother was much better at naming things.

When Xie Yu returned home, he thought Pei Yan hadn’t come back yet, only for the butler to tell him that Pei Yan had gone to the front lines and didn’t know when he would return.

Xie Yu: “…”

“Oh, right,” the butler smiled. “You don’t need to worry about the Young Master’s safety. Young Master Lu is going with him this time.”

Xie Yu froze for a second, a stiff smile forming. “…Lu Xiao?”

The butler nodded. “Yes, who else? Let’s just stay home peacefully and wait for the Young Master’s good news.”

Xie Yu: “…”

How could he possibly have any peace of mind now?!

No, he had to go too! He absolutely could not allow Lu Xiao and his brother to have any chance to be alone together!

He would swim there tonight!

But the problem was… where was his brother? And where was the Northern Base?!

Right, I can find Gu Xibai. With that thought, Xie Yu immediately took action.

Northern Base

Pei Yan and Lu Xiao led separate warships to combat the Zerg. Though the Zerg weren’t numerous, they were scattered in remote locations, making the cleanup exhausting. After the initial sweep, they docked at the Northern Base.

The base’s high-ranking officials came out to greet them. “Commander Pei, Lieutenant General Lu.”

Pei Yan got straight to the point. “How is the situation with the civilians?”

The Base Leader replied, “Not good. When the Zerg attacked, there was chaos. We don’t know the exact number of people bitten, so we could only temporarily isolate all suspected cases for observation.”

Under their guidance, Pei Yan entered the observation zone. Through one-way glass, it was clear that the crowds were highly unstable. Had it not been for the armed mercenaries, people might have broken out already.

“We haven’t been bitten! We aren’t infected! How many times do I have to say it?!”

“If you lock us all together and an infected person mutates, what happens to those of us nearby? Who is responsible for our safety?!”

“I’m not infected, let me out!”

“Waaa, it’s so scary here, I don’t want to be here…”

The cries and shouts in the isolation zone were constant. The Base Leader’s expression was grim. He understood their plight, but at a time like this, anyone could be infected. One moment someone might be joking with you; the next, they could be ripping your throat out. To prevent letting an infected person go, they would rather detain the innocent.

Pei Yan understood the logic, but the public fury was detrimental to management. The normal observation period was seven days. With the base’s outdated equipment, these people would have to suffer through those days on their own.

However, the instruments he brought from the Alliance could be useful. By having base researchers draw blood for testing, results could usually be known within the day. Still, with so many people, they couldn’t test everyone at once. Those who had blood drawn today would have to wait until tomorrow for results. Plus, there were still Zerg hiding in the shadows, adding a layer of unknown terror to the base.

Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over him. A weird psychic wave stimulated Pei Yan’s brain. He scanned the surroundings and found the source—it seemed to be coming from one of the base officials standing beside him.

Lu Xiao noticed something was wrong. “What is it?”

Pei Yan frowned deeply. He didn’t answer but stared intently at the official, asking sternly, “Are you—”

Before he could finish, the man let out a guttural sound. His eyes rapidly turned grey, and black veins webbed across his face. He struggled painfully, as if something were about to burst out of his body.

Pei Yan acted instantly and fired his gun.

Bang! The bullet entered the center of the man’s forehead. His body jerked a few times before he slumped down, his grey eyes staring blankly.

The other officials were terrified, backing away in a scramble. When had he been infected?! They had been together this whole time and hadn’t noticed!

With his subordinate turning right in front of him, the Base Leader’s face darkened. He barked, “All high-level officials are to be thoroughly investigated!”

Lu Xiao stepped forward, looking at Pei Yan with concern. “Are you alright?”

Pei Yan shook his head slightly, saying hesitantly, “I think… I can identify the infected.”

The Base Leader froze, then said with excitement, “Commander Pei… is that true?”

“I’ll try,” Pei Yan said.

He stepped into the isolation zone, carefully sensing the abnormal fluctuations in the air. He felt his spiritual power like a net, covering the entire area and searching inch by inch—a capability he had never possessed before.

Soon, he locked onto three individuals: one woman and two adult men.