Li Po, the little lemon spirit, blew another bubble.

This bubble was blue, and Li Po liked it a lot. He thought the blue looked better than the pink. Unconsciously, a faint smile appeared in his eyes, making them curve slightly, like a crescent moon.

Jiang Yu glanced at him. For some reason, the heavy burden weighing on his heart seemed a little lighter, not as unbearable as it had been initially.

Noticing that Jiang Yu had been staring at him, Li Po suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. He bit into the bubble with his teeth, chewing on the candy as he asked, “Officer, do you want to learn too?”

“Learn what?”

“Blowing bubbles, of course.” After saying this, Li Po blew another one right in front of him.

He was already good-looking, and now, with his innocent face blowing bubbles, no Alpha could resist. Jiang Yu quietly watched him, his gaze darkening unconsciously.

“Pop—”

The bubble burst, overfilled with air.

The sound snapped Jiang Yu back to reality. He averted his gaze, his voice still cold and indifferent, “You can play by yourself.”

When Li Po heard this, he was instantly displeased. Wow, he still thinks of me as a kid, huh?

But for the moment, he couldn’t think of any way to retaliate and could only stand there sulking. As he fumed, a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked, “By the way, you still haven’t told me how to earn star coins.”

Jiang Yu, who had opened his star-brain at some point and was browsing something, didn’t even lift his head when he replied, “Out of money?”

Li Po wasn’t shy at all. He admitted openly, “Yeah, not a single star coin left. Even this candy was bought for me by someone else.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu’s fingers paused slightly as he scrolled on the screen.

The sourness of the lemon candy finally kicked in, and Jiang Yu’s brows furrowed a little, though it wasn’t clear what he was thinking.

Someone else? That Alpha, perhaps?

When he spoke again, his voice was noticeably colder: “Then go ask him.”

…What?

Li Po was confused. He didn’t understand who Jiang Yu’s “him” was referring to, but he didn’t care too much. The more pressing issue right now wasn’t how to earn star coins but getting to the bottom of the “Pollution Sand Group.” However, if he asked, would Jiang Yu tell him?

The answer was obvious—no.

So, he didn’t waste any more breath and simply said, “Officer, Doctor Bian asked me to advise you not to go on missions so frequently.”

After a pause, he added, “You’re still so young. If you exhaust yourself on missions and ruin your health, what’s going to happen to your future Omega?”

Jiang Yu’s brow furrowed. “What does this have to do with an Omega?”

The next second, he caught sight of Li Po winking at him: “Would you be willing to let your Omega become a widow?”

“…”

The thought of why Li Po knew so much made Jiang Yu’s gaze even more indifferent. He shot a cold glance at Li Po without saying another word.

Li Po didn’t understand what that look meant, but he didn’t really care either. After swallowing the blue candy in his mouth, he absentmindedly asked, “Officer, when can I go on missions with you?”

“I don’t need a teammate.”

The meaning was clear—never.

But Li Po just didn’t believe it. He still remembered hearing Bian Lu advising Jiang Yu outside the consultation room, suggesting he find a teammate, which meant Jiang Yu actually needed one; he just wasn’t willing to admit it.

Maybe if he had a normal teammate, he wouldn’t have to rely on medication. Glancing at the reagent box on the table, Li Po’s expression darkened even more.

“Fine, be that way,” he muttered under his breath.

After saying that, Li Po glanced at Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu remained expressionless, still focused on the star-brain, seemingly not paying him any attention. Watching for a moment, Li Po suddenly became interested in the star-brain he was using.

The ordinary combatants in S District didn’t have access to star-brains. Li Po had only seen Jiang Yu use one three times, and this was the third time.

Finally, unable to contain his curiosity, Li Po quietly leaned in and took a peek at the screen.

As expected, it was all interstellar news.

[Breaking News: Three new mines discovered in the energy mining area, potentially changing the energy shortage situation at the human base!]

[Lower District’s Child Aid Program officially launched, aiming to help 200 children out of poverty and into the Upper District! Note: Only for children aged 0-3, regardless of gender.]

[Private recruitment channels in the Upper District officially open, with this year expanding to recruit 100 people! Benefits are generous, with no worries about food or clothing! Note: Strong, healthy Alphas are preferred. Omegas are excluded, and applications are limited to young adults.]

[Cracking down on illegal arms trafficking and exam fraud in military academies. Once confirmed, those involved will have their freeman status revoked and will be sent to interstellar prison!]

[Another street in Lower District’s La Ear Corner becomes deserted! When will humanity win the battle against pollutants? Can the interstellar space see true hope?]

[Frequent prison breaks have been occurring recently at the interstellar prison, with the escapees’ whereabouts unknown. Below are photos of the escapees. If you have any information, please contact us immediately for a substantial reward!]

“Wait a minute.”

Suddenly, Li Po saw something, and he quickly grabbed Jiang Yu’s hand to stop him from scrolling further. Jiang Yu, puzzled, stopped moving as well, following Li Po’s gaze.

To get a better look, Li Po leaned forward, resting his upper body against Jiang Yu’s side, his fingers gripping Jiang Yu’s sleeve, and even their legs pressed together.

Realizing the awkwardness of their position, Jiang Yu tried to move away, but Li Po followed closely, leaning in even more.

“Officer, can you enlarge this person’s image?”

Li Po didn’t notice how inappropriate their posture was. His full attention was on the picture on the screen, and he hadn’t even glanced at Jiang Yu.

The scent of rose pheromones, which had unknowingly appeared again, tangled with Jiang Yu’s breath. He frowned slightly but didn’t say anything, simply enlarging the image as Li Po had asked.

The face on the screen gradually became clearer, eventually overlapping with someone in Li Po’s memory. He closed his eyes briefly, his dark lashes trembling slightly as he tried to recall something.

Finally, he was sure. “Officer, I’ve seen this person before.”

“Where?”

“My first mission, the abandoned factory in the suburbs. He was one of the mercenaries who attacked us.”

–

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The heart-wrenching screams came from a nearby room. A man furrowed his brow, spitting on the ground in disgust. “Damn it, I thought those S District combatants would be tougher. Turns out they’re just this weak. I haven’t even had enough fun yet!”

A long scar stretched across his face, making his expression even more sinister and frightening. If Li Po and Kuang Feng were here, they’d recognize him in an instant as the mercenary who had attacked them.

“Just mess around a bit. We still have to hand them over to the boss. If you break them, and they don’t want them anymore, what are we gonna do?” Another mercenary flicked away the last of his cigarette, the red ember reflecting in his eyes.

“Pfft!” The scar-faced man sneered, listening to the wails inside the room, his expression full of disdain. “Just a bunch of useless nobodies. What can they even pull off?”

“You should trust the boss’s abilities.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” At the mention of the so-called “boss,” Scarface instantly quieted down, his irritation disappearing, replaced by a fanatical and reverent look in his eyes.

But when he touched the area behind his ear, that fanaticism turned into a deep, unshakable gloom.

“Damn that fool! If he had cleaned up properly, we wouldn’t have had to come back again, and we wouldn’t have let those two escape! If it weren’t for him, we’d have already gained the boss’s favor and earned the honor of being branded…instead of hiding like rats, still labeled as fugitives from the interstellar prison!”

The other mercenary, seeing his demeanor, tried to comfort him. “It’s okay. The boss has already seen your loyalty. The day you got out of the interstellar prison, you scarred your own face just to avoid being recognized. That kind of resolve isn’t something just anyone has.”

Upon hearing this, a smile finally appeared in Scarface’s eyes. He touched the scar on his face, not feeling any disgust. Instead, he looked proud. “Of course. One day, the boss will see my true ability.”

“By the way,” he shifted topics, “did those two say anything about S District’s intel? Or were they carrying any trackers from S District?”

The mercenary shook his head. “They didn’t say anything, keeping their mouths shut real tight. But they did have chips on them—one in the sole of their foot, the other on their wrist.”

“Alright, cut those chips out. If S District tracks us down, we’re screwed.”

“Got it!”

–

“I tore off his mask back then. There was a long scar on his face, probably about…”

Li Po was about to demonstrate on Jiang Yu’s face but, meeting his cold gaze, he awkwardly withdrew his hand and gestured on his own face instead. “It was about this long.”

“That scar practically ruined his whole face. It made him look fierce, completely different from the person in this picture.” He paused, then added, “But the facial features are exactly the same.”

After describing the person, Li Po looked seriously at Jiang Yu, his eyes bright.

His gaze was so focused. Normally, people with fox-like eyes should seem flirtatious, but Li Po was different. Anyone looking into his eyes would see their reflection, making him seem deep and sincere.

Jiang Yu held his gaze for a while before shifting his eyes back to the screen. “Okay, I’ll take that into consideration.”

Li Po’s eyes lit up even more.

He followed Jiang Yu’s gaze to the star-brain and asked, “Officer, I’ve never used a star-brain before. Can I give it a try?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake, and his expression changed.

Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Yu asked, “You’ve never used one?”

Uh-oh, he’s caught.

He really hadn’t used one, but the original owner of his body had. As someone from the Upper District of the human base, there was no way the original Li Po wouldn’t have had access to a star-brain.

At this thought, Li Po closed his eyes in despair.

Facing Jiang Yu’s scrutinizing gaze, Li Po forced out a smile. “I have used one.”

“But, Officer, do you know what it means to be insensitive?”

Jiang Yu shot him a confused look.

“It’s exactly this! I was just pretending not to know how to use it so that you could teach me, but you exposed me right away.” Li Po tried to salvage the situation with an innocent smile.

“Officer, I just wanted you to teach me.”

“……”

After listening, Jiang Yu fell silent.

He didn’t meet Li Po’s eyes again, instead turning his attention back to the star-brain and pressing a few buttons.

Li Po stared at him in confusion, not understanding what he was doing.

After a moment, Jiang Yu turned his head slightly, giving Li Po a faint glance:

“Got it now?”