When A Commoner Carries The Child Of A Stranger Alpha - Chapter 3

The next morning, when Shen Buqi woke up, he found that Ji Weishi was already awake and standing by the window.

The faint light of dawn draped over him, making him look like a descending deity.

Perhaps hearing the sound of Shen Buqi getting up, Ji Weishi turned sideways and smiled at him.

Shen Buqi imitated him and smiled back, though his expression was as stiff as if he had just acquired this face for the first time. Still, overall, it was a pleasing sight.

Ji Weishi’s inner thoughts, however, were not as warm as his outward appearance. He hadn’t slept at all last night. Instead, he had stayed awake to study the person beside him, even going as far as touching him to check his details.

Bone age around 20 years old. He should have presented by now, yet he showed no characteristics of a second gender, he was definitely a Beta.

That was strange. Ji Weishi couldn’t help but suspect if Shen Buqi was carrying something like an inhalable suppressant. But after checking, he found nothing. Even that lingering scent had vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

There was definitely something fishy going on here.

Even more suspicious was why this person had brought him back. He didn’t crave beauty, he didn’t seek money, and he didn’t set up even a shred of defense. Furthermore, Shen Buqi’s attitude toward him was contradictory, he was clearly trying to please him, yet there was a hint of condescending indulgence in his manner.

It was like raising a dog, or perhaps teasing a cat.

But who in the apocalypse would keep a stranger as a pet? Unless Shen Buqi already knew he was an S-class Alpha and had some other ulterior motive.

Just as his curiosity about this man reached its peak, Shen Buqi woke up.

Unaware of Ji Weishi’s convoluted thoughts, Shen Buqi got up to wash as usual and then approached him.

“A-Shi, do you want anything to eat? I’ll go prepare something.”

His voice was cold, but water droplets still hung from his eyelashes after washing his face, trembling slightly.

Ji Weishi’s gaze darkened. He lowered his eyes and said gently, “Anything is fine.”

Anyway, he wouldn’t eat it.

Shen Buqi froze for a moment. Why was he suddenly… so easy to talk to?

He felt something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He could only compare it to Mimi again, even if Mimi allowed him to pet her, she was never truly docile.

So what exactly was going on?

He did his best to make some food using what was available in the house, then grabbed a tube of nutritional supplement for himself and headed off to work.

Before leaving, he gave a final instruction: “Don’t go out casually, and don’t open the door for anyone.”

The cold tone sounded like an order.

Ji Weishi, however, obediently replied, “Okay.”

At the workplace, the boss was already going over the accounts. Seeing him, the boss gave a lazy nod: “Morning, Xiao Shen.”

Shen Buqi gave a slight nod in return but didn’t say anything. He walked to his workstation, a table piled high with mecha parts and began to work.

District 7 had no real industry. What people did most here was rob.

Of course, besides robbing, they could also take on some low-level labor, such as repairing and assembling mechas or preparing nutritional supplements. Because human labor here was so cheap and spatial costs were low, it was actually cheaper than using AI in other districts.

Shen Buqi’s job was repairing mechas, but what made him more skilled than others was that he repaired scraps.

Rather than “repairing,” it was more like waste utilization. He could take the useless trash of District 7 and assemble it into D-rank, C-rank, or even B-rank mechas.

This was an invaluable skill, equivalent to waste recycling. There was plenty of junk in District 7, but Shen Buqi was likely the only one who could extract value from it.

Therefore, the boss valued him highly. Even though Shen Buqi wore a sour face every day, the boss didn’t mind and had even set up a quiet workstation for him, complete with all the tools he needed. Occasionally, if Shen Buqi found a mecha fragment he was interested in, the boss couldn’t be bothered to care and let him take it all home.

For instance, today, after finishing his duties, Shen Buqi picked up a piece of transparent blue metal and examined it repeatedly under a UV light.

The boss happened to pass by and remarked casually, “Someone sent that. If you like it, just take it back.”

Since Shen Buqi was so capable, this little bit didn’t matter.

Shen Buqi nodded, his face still expressionless, though his hands moved a bit faster.

When the lunch break arrived, he grabbed the processed items and headed out, bumping into Gao Haoyang, who was returning with his meal.

Seeing Shen Buqi heading toward the public canteen, Gao Haoyang looked as if he’d seen a ghost: “Xiao Shen, don’t you usually only eat nutritional supplements?”

Shen Buqi nodded: “I’m getting food for my Alpha.”

His tone was so flat, as if he were saying he was getting food for a pet dog. Gao Haoyang didn’t register it at first and nodded along: “Oh, getting food for your Alpha… wait, since when did you have an Alpha?”

But Shen Buqi was already walking fast, and his figure soon vanished, leaving Gao Haoyang standing there in confusion, thinking it was bizarre.

He went inside and asked the boss, “Boss, did you know Xiao Shen has a partner?”

The boss gave him a sidelong glance. “Worry about yourself first. I heard that in the last two days, the gates to the other districts have opened.”

This was big news. Gao Haoyang’s interest was immediately piqued. “When did this happen? For real?”

The boss waved his hand. “Why care so much? We can’t get out anyway.”

Shen Buqi was unaware of the news about the other districts. He only noticed that there were very few people at the canteen when he went to get food.

He rarely came to the public canteen, usually making do with nutritional supplements, but he often heard Gao Haoyang wailing about how crowded it was. The public canteen was the only place in District 7, besides the black market, that sold hot meals. Because the prices were low, it was usually packed.

Today, however, there were only a few scattered people, which was clearly abnormal.

Shen Buqi didn’t care to investigate. He ordered several of the most expensive dishes and paid with currency.

Given the price, the taste of the public canteen was naturally hard to describe. Of course, there were good-tasting dishes, but they were much more expensive, and even if you ordered them, you weren’t guaranteed to get them.

The male Alpha serving the food sized Shen Buqi up with an uncomfortable, predatory gaze.

Shen Buqi remained silent.

“Here, your food. Catch.” The man casually scooped two ladles of something from the stainless steel bucket in front of him.

Shen Buqi finally hesitated, a flash of doubt in his eyes. “This isn’t right. I ordered Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, Spicy Beef, and Pickled Cabbage Fish. You gave me fried rice.”

The Alpha said impatiently, “This is it. Take it or leave it.”

People in District 7 didn’t listen to reason. If you didn’t have enough martial force, no matter what you ordered, you’d end up eating “salty fried rice” which was essentially rice fried with salt grains.

Ordinarily, this Beta server might have been patient enough to relay the order to the kitchen, but right now, everyone was in a hurry to see the excitement and find a way to leave District 7.

This Alpha server was no exception. If it weren’t for Shen Buqi, he would have finished his shift and left already. And coincidentally, the person in front of him was a Beta with no pheromones, whose combat power was clearly inferior to his own.

He couldn’t be bothered to deal with Shen Buqi.

Shen Buqi frowned slightly and blocked the Alpha who was about to leave. Just as he was about to say something, a fist came flying at him with a gust of wind: “Get the fuck out of my way!”

He had no choice but to reach out and fight back.

In the end, the Alpha server didn’t get to see the opening of the district gates, but Shen Buqi’s Alpha got to eat a feast.

Ji Weishi looked at the dishes, which actually looked quite appetizing, and then at Shen Buqi’s hand, which was dripping with blood. He was genuinely stunned for a moment.

Then, biting his lip, he looked up with eyes full of fragility and heartache.

“What happened to you?”