When A Commoner Carries The Child Of A Stranger Alpha - Chapter 9

On their way back after dinner, as coincidence would have it, they crossed paths with another familiar face at a street corner. Gao Haoyang was drenched in sweat, gently patting his weeping wife as she cried her heart out.

Shen Buqi glanced over and prepared to lead Ji Weishi around them.

He had never possessed much empathy, in District 7, being too warm-hearted was a surefire way to get yourself killed.

However, Gao Haoyang spotted him first and ran over anxiously. “Little Shen, could you do me a favor?”

Shen Buqi’s instinct was to shake his head, but… he suddenly remembered that the post-exposure prophylaxis Ji Weishi had taken was provided by Gao Haoyang. Hesitating for a moment, he gave a reluctant nod.

Gao Haoyang had initially asked as a last resort, expecting nothing in return. After all, Little Shen had a frighteningly eccentric personality.

Seeing him actually nod in affirmation brought overnight delight. Gao Haoyang’s eyes grew faintly misty.

He said, “That’s wonderful, truly wonderful… Little Shen, I can’t thank you enough. It’s about my wife’s younger sister. She’s an Omega, and yesterday she sneaked off to District 2. Now, no one can get in touch with her.”

Confusion flashed in Shen Buqi’s eyes. “I don’t know where she is. I’ve never been to District 2 either.”

“I know, I know,” Gao Haoyang said hurriedly. “It’s like this, Little Shen. The only thing she has on her that can track her location is an Omega positioning bracelet given by my father-in-law. But that bracelet happens to be the Baseng brand.”

He let out an embarrassed laugh. “You know how it is. It’s a big brand from the other districts. Setting aside how expensive it is, if you want to track it, you must use a large scale precision calibration locator.”

A positioning bracelet had to be connected to a locator to function. However, Baseng had no service centers in District 7, and District 7 lacked a centralized market for large scale precision calibration locators. The black market considered them too expensive for anyone to buy, making sellers exceedingly rare.

This left them trapped in a dilemma, they possessed a positioning bracelet but had no way to use it.

To be able to buy a Baseng bracelet for a child in District 7 meant she must have been incredibly pampered. Given that she was a female Omega, her family was likely losing their minds with anxiety right now.

But what did that have to do with Shen Buqi?

Ji Weishi had never possessed much patience for strangers. Right now, he just wanted to quickly drag Shen Buqi away from these useless encumbrances who couldn’t even keep an eye on their own kid.

Yet, Shen Buqi pondered for a moment before asking, “So, do you want me to build one? But I’ve only repaired one once before, so I can’t guarantee it will work…”

“It’s fine, it’s completely fine,” Gao Haoyang was so grateful he could barely speak. “We didn’t have any other options anyway. My father-in-law already fainted from anger, and my wife was so frantic just now that she wanted to head straight to District 2 to search for her. But everyone knows that going to another district right now is practically suicide. Just your willingness to help is enough for me to remember your kindness for a lifetime.”

Shen Buqi shook his head to signal it was no big deal. He then turned his head toward Ji Weishi. “A-Shi, let me take you back first.”

Only then did Gao Haoyang notice the tall, handsome man standing beside him. With an aura like that, he was clearly an Alpha, and strikingly good-looking at that.

He assumed this must be the partner Little Shen had mentioned.

He hurriedly reached into his pocket to pull something out, intending to curry favor with his colleague’s partner.

Ji Weishi shook his head. Stepping behind Shen Buqi, he tugged lightly at his sleeve and swayed it back and forth. His voice turned incredibly soft. “I want to come with you…”

Gao Haoyang’s hand fetching his cigarettes froze. This… he had always thought Alphas were somewhat chauvinistic, much like his father-in-law, considering they held a physical advantage. He hadn’t expected Little Shen’s partner to be quite like this…

For the first time in his life, he felt the urge to use the words “delicate and clingy” to describe a man who was taller than he was.

Shen Buqi, however, maintained a perfectly normal expression, as if he were long accustomed to this. He clasped Ji Weishi’s hand back and said, “Alright.” Turning to Gao Haoyang, he added, “It’s too late now. The boss has already closed up shop, and I might not have enough components.”

Gao Haoyang quickly replied, “No worries, no worries! I already spoke with the boss beforehand. He didn’t go home and is keeping the factory open waiting for us. Let’s head over right away.”

Once they reached the workstation, Shen Buqi didn’t waste any time. He gathered the necessary components and set straight to work.

Gao Haoyang and his family gathered around the boss’s counter, wearing miserable expressions and too worried to speak.

Ji Weishi, on the other hand, obediently squatted right beside Shen Buqi to watch him assemble the device, holding a small light he had found from somewhere to illuminate the workspace.

Under the dim, amber glow, Shen Buqi’s cold, pale skin was washed in a warm hue. His long eyelashes drooped slightly, his dark eyes shining with intense focus as his long, slender fingers flew gracefully across the machinery.

Whenever he needed light on a specific spot, Ji Weishi would shine it there without a single word being spoken.

Despite having only known each other for a single day, they operated with a profound, unspoken tacit understanding, as if they had done this thousands of times before.

Ji Weishi found the moment incredibly exquisite. It felt as though they truly were a pair of lifelong companions, a married couple working hand in hand.

At the same time, it felt as though they were brothers in arms, except Shen Buqi was infinitely better than those idiotic Arbitrators. He always carried a faint, crisp fragrance, laced with a hint of bitterness that was thoroughly intoxicating.

Unaware that the person beside him had already drifted into a reverie, Shen Buqi remained entirely focused on the task at hand. The principle behind a large scale precision calibration locator was actually quite simple, the core challenge lay in expanding the search radius.

In the realm of mecha class instruments, “large scale” usually referred to functionality rather than physical size.

The same applied to locators. Fabricating a microchip capable of global coverage demanded standard technical specifications and materials that were far too high to procure on such short notice, they simply couldn’t afford the time.

Fortunately, they already knew the general area where the girl was. Shen Buqi compressed the microchip’s range specifically to District 2 and District 7, serving as a makeshift substitute for a large scale precision calibration locator.

Ji Weishi noticed the unique aspect of his craftsmanship. He had initially been curious about how someone could build a large scale precision locator in such a short timeframe with so few materials.

He hadn’t expected Shen Buqi to be capable of compressing the tracking range.

This was far more practical than a standard small scale precision locator. This method essentially established a targeted, restricted boundary, whereas a small scale locator merely reduced the overall radius.

This Beta was truly talented.

As he thought this, he found himself inevitably drawn once again to Shen Buqi’s focused expression.

…And handsome enough, too.

Even with Shen Buqi’s superb skills, he still texturallly wrestled with the device until the early hours of the morning before producing a semi-finished product. Fortunately, it was functional.

Having finished the task, he harbored no interest in their profuse gratitude. He only wanted to take Ji Weishi home to get some rest.

However, the shop boss stopped them, asking with a half-smile, “Little Shen, I haven’t seen this Alpha of yours before. Which district is he from?”

Though he addressed Shen Buqi, his gaze remained locked onto Ji Weishi.

Shen Buqi blanked for a moment. He had no idea which district A-Shi originally belonged to, so he cast a helpless look toward him.

Without batting an eye, Ji Weishi offered a distant, polite smile. “I frequently travel between several districts, so it’s hard to pin down a specific one.”

The boss let out an “Oh” and turned to address everyone. “It’s almost dawn. We might as well grab a bite to eat together. Old Gao, you guys can head out to find her after eating. Little Shen, same goes for you two; otherwise, you’ll be hungry later, and it won’t be convenient to whip something up at home.”

The boss’s place was one of the rare spots in District 7 where cooking was possible.

Cooking meals at home was rare in District 7, most people ate at communal dining halls because the cost of cooking individually was far too steep.

Shen Buqi glanced at Ji Weishi, clearly deferring to his opinion.

Ji Weishi gazed thoughtfully at the boss, seemingly contemplating something, before nodding in agreement after a brief pause.

Over there, Gao Haoyang and his wife were still struggling a bit with operating the locator, so Shen Buqi lent a hand to lock down the location while waiting for the food.

Sure enough, the positioning bracelet registered under the name “Chen Zixuan” was currently located on the outer fringes of District 2.

Gao Haoyang’s wife let out an angry cry. “That wretched girl, she’s actually rushing into District 2! Doesn’t everyone know that their Sanctuary Protector has fled to another district?”

The Sanctuary Protector of District 2 was Qin Miao. Qin Che’s Omega mother, who also happened to be the one and only S-class Omega in the Human Alliance.

Gao Haoyang comforted his wife, sighing. “The core issue right now isn’t just about entering District 2, it’s that going anywhere is dangerous. Who doesn’t know that after the gates to the other districts opened, because so many people fled District 7 and they’re mostly lawless scoundrels up to no good—the outsiders formed something called a District 7 Hunting Squad.”

Ever since they mentioned Qin Miao, Ji Weishi had been observing Shen Buqi’s facial expressions, trying to discern whether he shared any connection with her.

But Shen Buqi maintained his usual indifferent facade, showing no change whatsoever.

It wasn’t until they mentioned the District 7 Hunting Squad that Shen Buqi finally lifted his head. “Then… has anyone come to District 7 to kill people?”

The couple was caught completely off guard by the question. They truly hadn’t heard of anyone coming inside District 7 to murder people.

The boss emerged from the back carrying the food. “Little Shen is trying to reassure you. To put it bluntly, those other districts are just trying to drive the people of District 7 back to keep their own borders secure. They aren’t trying to wipe out everyone in District 7. Little Xuan should be safe for the time being.”

Gao Haoyang and his wife let out a sigh of relief. His wife remarked gratefully, “Little Shen really is the smart one. If you hadn’t pointed that out, I would have lost my mind with worry.”

Shen Buqi knit his brows slightly. That wasn’t what he meant at all.

He had simply wanted to know what was going on with outsiders entering their territory to search for Alphas. Was it to kill them?

If that was the case, he absolutely had to protect A-Shi. He couldn’t be careless like them, letting their family Omega run around into such perilous territory.

The group finished their meal, each weighed down by their own heavy thoughts. Seeing Gao Haoyang and his wife preparing to borrow the boss’s cargo class mecha to head toward District 2, Ji Weishi suddenly spoke up, “Xiao Yi.”

“Hmm?”

He smiled softly, his eyes remarkably bright and gentle. “Let’s go and help them out. They look so terribly anxious.”

Shen Buqi instinctively tightened his grip on Ji Weishi’s hand. After a brief hesitation, he replied, “But A-Shi, it’s too dangerous…”

He didn’t care about Gao Haoyang’s sister-in-law in the slightest; he only cared about the safety of his own Alpha.

To his surprise, the boss chimed in, “Little Shen, weren’t you asking about outsiders coming into our territory during breakfast? I didn’t say anything earlier because I didn’t want them to worry, but people from other districts have indeed arrived recently.”

He paused before continuing, “They are hunting down a male Alpha. Their orders are to kill indiscriminately rather than let him slip away, anyone who fits the description is killed on sight. Several have already died down south. You might as well take yours and use this trip to lay low for a couple of days.”

Shen Buqi, who had still been wavering, instantly dragged Ji Weishi onto the mecha upon hearing those words.

Seeing them board, Gao Haoyang and his wife assumed they were coming along to help, leaving them even more deeply moved.

Navigating a mecha toward District 2 required crossing interstellar sectors.

A century after the apocalypse descended, Earth’s resources had run completely dry. Humanity continuously explored the cosmos to establish new habitable zones capable of sustaining human life, which later became the six primary districts, also known as the Human Expansion Zones.

As for the people who stayed behind, some were simply unwilling to leave, while others lacked the means to move entirely. Accumulating generation after generation, laws broke down and morality collapsed, giving rise to what was now known as District 7.

Shen Buqi had never left District 7 before. Staring out through the transparent viewport at the sea of stars, he found himself somewhat entranced.

They were so incredibly brilliant, glittering with radiant light. Though some appeared dim, they still glowed with a soft, metallic sheen.

The universe turned out to be this vast. He turned his gaze toward Ji Weishi beside him.

It felt as though something empty inside his chest had suddenly been filled completely.

And within this vast, boundless universe, he finally possessed a sanctuary that truly belonged to him.