Chapter 30: The Heat Cycle

Xi Ming and Shi Chan weren’t ones to procrastinate. The moment they decided on a course of action, they immediately got moving. Before night fell again, they found a place near the Foresting Zone to stay—a small apartment in an old residential building, five stories high and roughly 80 square meters. No identification was required for moving in, and Shi Chan paid the rent using interstellar credits from an anonymous terminal.

This time, their outward identities were both Beta—a wise choice, as in this area, it would be strange not to be Beta. Alphas and Omegas were in the minority compared to Betas, and the Empire even granted special privileges to these two genders. Such individuals wouldn’t endure living in a “giant trash heap” like this.

Their arrival caused no stir. In the Foresting Zone, transient residents were too common to notice—every day, people unable to make ends meet elsewhere came here to scrape out a living.

After collecting the keys from the landlord and moving in, the first thing Xi Ming did was reinforce and modify the doors and windows with the materials on hand.

In a place as poor and chaotic as this, law enforcement was naturally abysmal. Break-ins and robberies were everyday occurrences.

If Xi Ming had been alone, he wouldn’t have cared. Despite his disability, he had enough ability to protect himself. After all, if he hadn’t, the Imperial family wouldn’t have let him live “peacefully” for years in his previous life, only daring to act after his body had been utterly damaged by cosmic radiation.

But now, there was an Omega in the house. Xi Ming couldn’t allow Shi Chan to live in an environment where the door could be broken into at any time.

Most of these skills, Xi Ming had picked up in military school and on the front lines; some were self-taught over the years of living alone. Shi Chan, though having lived in the interstellar world for over twenty years, had never learned such things at the Omega Academy. Thus, while Xi Ming was busy reinforcing their home, Shi Chan could only assist him as best as he could.

Feifei was also let out, lying listlessly on Shi Chan’s shoulder. The constant relocations had taken a toll on the little creature. However, Shi Chan would occasionally use his spiritual power to adjust Feifei’s physical state, so although it looked sluggish, it hadn’t fallen ill.

By the time they finished reinforcing and modifying the apartment, it was already dark again. As newcomers, they hadn’t had time to buy a cooking robot or natural ingredients, so they had to make do with nutritional supplements for dinner.

Xi Ming, accustomed to surviving on nutritional supplements during missions, didn’t mind. But seeing Shi Chan, who had barely had a decent meal for days, he realized this couldn’t go on.

“I’ll get a cooking robot as soon as possible,” Xi Ming said, thinking about the small, shabby kitchen. He added, “And the necessary kitchen appliances. I’ll get them in a few days.”

Shi Chan, having seen the poverty of the Foresting Zone on their way here, had already steeled himself to endure hardship. Upon hearing Xi Ming’s words, his first thought was Xi Ming’s safety. He frowned slightly. “It’s not necessary. Don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“It’s fine,” Xi Ming reassured him. He opened his terminal and accessed the Foresting Zone’s dark net. “This place only appears poor on the surface. I just checked; last month alone, there were hundreds of purchases on the black market here exceeding 500,000 interstellar credits. This means there are plenty of hidden ‘wealthy individuals’ in this area, likely with numerous bounties on their heads. To cater to such people, delivery services here are highly discreet. Using an anonymous terminal to buy some luxuries won’t be a problem.”

Having spent years at home, Xi Ming had honed his skills in navigating the interstellar network. By now, he could slip into the dark web undetected.

Seeing Shi Chan still hesitant, Xi Ming pulled him into his arms and gently pinched his ear. “Trust me. There won’t be any danger.”

“Mm…” Seeing Xi Ming’s insistence, Shi Chan didn’t argue further. After days of subsisting on nutritional supplements, he too longed for some real food.

Xi Ming placed the orders on the dark web, scheduling delivery for the next morning using a one-time delivery robot. The delivery fee was even more expensive than the items he bought, but the discretion was worth it.

That evening, Shi Chan followed his usual routine of calming and smoothing Xi Ming’s mental power. After finishing the session, he rested briefly before kneeling at Xi Ming’s legs. Channeling his spiritual energy to his fingertips, he carefully stimulated the acupuncture points on Xi Ming’s legs.

With disheveled hair falling loosely, illuminated by the dim light, Shi Chan knelt before Xi Ming, his expression focused and serious. His posture, however, exuded a certain tenderness.

Xi Ming’s heartbeat quickened as his dark eyes reflected only the figure before him.

“So this is the special treatment method you mentioned?” In the stillness, Xi Ming’s voice softened.

“Mm.” Without lifting his head, Shi Chan replied, focusing entirely on Xi Ming’s legs.

Xi Ming’s legs, having suffered prolonged inactivity due to radiation, had withered slightly and no longer matched the proportions of his otherwise robust body. The radiation wounds on them, though mostly healed under Shi Chan’s care, still left scars that looked menacing.

Shi Chan’s expression, however, didn’t change in the slightest. His fingers moved over the scars without hesitation or aversion, meticulously working on Xi Ming’s meridians and acupuncture points.

Although Xi Ming still couldn’t feel anything in his legs, watching Shi Chan’s devoted actions seemed to soothe the hatred boiling within him. For the first time, his turbulent heart found a moment of peace and warmth.

“It’s done.” Shi Chan finally finished, wiping the sweat from his brow. His gentle eyes met Xi Ming’s as he said, “That’s it for today. Let’s rest.”

Seeing Shi Chan exhausted, Xi Ming reached out to wipe the sweat off his face. “Go take a shower. You go first.”

“Mm.” Shi Chan nodded, taking his change of clothes into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Xi Ming picked up his terminal and contacted the pirate group that had been pestering him.

Xi Ming himself has the ability to analyze intelligence, and with the sporadic future news remaining in his mind, his guidance has made the Swift Eagle Pirates more powerful, and their strength has increased several times. The Pirates admire this mysterious strategist and hope that he can join them as soon as possible.

However, Xi Ming still did not accept the other party’s invitation. After spending some time solving the other party’s problem, he cut off contact without any regrets.

Before shutting down the dark web, a message flashed.

[x: I have got the information you requested, don’t forget to pay the balance]

Xi Ming didn’t say much to the other party. He directly downloaded the information, read part of it to confirm its authenticity, and then paid the balance. The moment the balance was paid, the conversation record between the two was automatically destroyed. Xi Ming transferred the information to another terminal that was not connected to the Internet, and then exited the dark web.

Just as he was thinking about showing the information to Shi Chan later, Xi Ming heard a thud coming from the bathroom, as if something fell to the ground.

“What’s wrong? Did you fall somewhere?!” Xi Ming immediately forgot about the information.

“It’s okay.” Shi Chan’s voice sounded a little muffled through the door, “I accidentally fell down, I’m up now.”

Xi Ming had just felt relieved after hearing Shi Chan’s answer when he awoke to his nose with a faint and refreshing fragrance, which was intermittent and dotted around… At the same time, an uncontrollable groan was heard.

Xi Ming immediately controlled his arms to move himself to the wheelchair beside the bed and to the bathroom door.

The smell of pheromones is stronger here.

Shi Chan also noticed Xi Ming at the door. He touched his slightly hot glands with one hand, as if trying to block the pheromones that kept overflowing. He frowned, with a little panic in his eyes. “I might be in heat. Take out the isolator quickly.”

The two of them are now using the identity of beta, so if the pheromones are detected by outsiders, they will definitely be noticed. Fortunately, Shi Chan had considered this situation before leaving and specially brought a pheromone isolator in the space link.

“I’ll get it right away.” Xi Ming immediately went to find the isolator, set it up in the room, and only went to the bathroom door after making sure that not a trace of pheromones could leak out.

Recalling the physiological knowledge he had learned, Xi Ming remembered that omegas have no strength in their bodies during heat.

Especially since this is Shi Chan’s first time in heat, the situation is more serious.

In the bathroom, Shi Chan’s body did become weak as Xi Ming guessed, but after all, he had cultivation and was able to control his behavior. After asking Xi Ming to open the isolator, Shi Chan sped up his shower and walked out with some weak hands and feet before Xi Ming pushed the door open.

Xi Ming immediately reached out and hugged the man into his arms, then raised his hand to touch Shi Chan’s forehead, “Does it hurt?”

“I feel a little weak.” Shi Chan sat in Xi Ming’s arms and spoke the truth. His face was slightly flushed, his limbs were sore, and his voice was slightly hoarse. “I feel that the gland is a little swollen.”

Ever since Shi Chan began receiving omega education, he had always heard about how difficult the omega heat period was and how painful it was to be without an alpha around. But now that the heat period had really arrived, he felt that it was not as scary as the rumors had said. Of course, this was probably because he had cultivated and his spiritual power alleviated the physical discomfort.

Even so, Shi Chan could still feel the itch that seemed to be coming from the bottom of his heart. The faint pheromones emitted by the alpha beside him suddenly became obvious, becoming a fatal temptation that attracted Shi Chan’s entire attention.

The Adam’s apple that had been moving slightly in the line of sight seemed to become extremely attractive.

Xi Ming was also feeling uncomfortable with Shi Chan’s increasingly strong pheromones. He asked about Shi Chan’s physical condition purely by willpower. After getting his answer, he felt that his pheromones were also constantly surging out. He clenched his hands on the wheelchair so tightly that veins on the back of his hands were almost popping out.

There was also a change in the place where the two of them were pressed against each other, and Shi Chan noticed it immediately.

Hearing Xi Ming’s increasingly heavy breathing beside his ear, Shi Chan subconsciously tensed up, his eyes dodging, “Are you…are you okay?”

These words were like a feather floating slowly onto the surface of a calm lake, causing sudden ripples.

Xi Ming’s mental and physical desire for the omega suddenly surged. The omega pheromone was the fuse that ignited the explosives, detonating Xi Ming.

“Chan chan…” Xi Ming tried his best to steady his tone, but he couldn’t suppress his increasingly heavy breathing. His eyes darkened, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down, his voice was hoarse, and he suppressed his desire, “You’re in… Heat.”

An omega’s first heat period will occur between one month and six months after the initial marking. Shi Chan calculated that it has been almost three months since he was first marked, so he should indeed be in heat.

The omega’s silence intensified the brewing of a certain emotion in the room. The alpha could no longer endure his emotions and lowered his head to sniff the gland on the back of the omega’s neck.

“Let’s… go to the bed first.” Shi Chan did not reject Xi Ming’s closeness, but they were still at the bathroom door.

Xi Ming could no longer maintain his usual composure at this time, he did what every alpha would do, almost without stopping, he could not wait to carry the omega to the bed, and then… did whatever he wanted, completely controlling his omega.

Knowing that the room was already equipped with an isolator, Shi Chan could no longer endure it. While taking Xi Ming’s body into consideration, he indulged in his heat desires – exposing his glands to Xi Ming to mark them.

The smell in the room became stronger and stronger, mixed with heavy gasps and low, fragmented pleas for mercy. The clothes that were torn apart impatiently half hung down from the edge of the bed, and slowly slid to the ground as the bed shook.