Chapter 148: A Comforting Little Beta

Eugene, now sporting a fresh injury on his face, went completely silent upon learning that Shen Yu’s inspiration for the bomb came from the night he and Ji Laili installed the helmet together.

This works too?!

Zhai Yifei said casually, “It’s simple—just remember the mechanics from that night and replicate it.”

As long as they removed the lie-detection function and focused solely on making it explode, that would do the trick.

Because of this, researching inside the lab would inevitably attract Wen Qiushui’s attention.

Eugene, who had nearly crushed the helmet parts into dust that night: “…”

He knew it—there was no way Shen Yu could be an Imperial undercover agent!

—

Eugene and Zhai Yifei were still in the security squad, which meant they couldn’t make big moves, but they could still pull off some small tricks under the radar.

The lab had no materials for making bombs. After the previous helmet explosion, anything remotely explosive had been disposed of, so there was no chance of recycling.

Thus, they took advantage of their patrol duties to secretly smuggle in materials.

Side note: The two of them had been promoted. Their new patrol range covered the restrooms… and a hundred miles beyond them.

At least they now had a legitimate excuse to leave the base.

Eugene also picked up an interesting piece of intel—“Escort a team to meet Ferro near the Nagano Wastelands.”

He had only managed to dig up this information thanks to Ji Laili.

The key figure in this was Lauri. As Garna’s trusted aide—one who insulted fools outwardly while tolerating them internally—Lauri had been working non-stop for twelve hours without slacking off even once.

Whenever he had a moment to breathe, thoughts of Ji Laili would sour his mood.

Meanwhile, Eugene, still trying to atone for his past mistakes, had a keen sense for vulnerable prey and immediately latched onto him.

There’s a saying: the best way to get over someone is to move on to someone else.

Time to strike while the iron’s hot!—wait, no, time to seize the opportunity! Eugene planned to cozy up to Lauri.

But not everyone was a natural-born social butterfly, and not everyone was willing to entertain Lauri.

Especially not someone who had previously disrespected him!

Lauri kept his face cold. “What’s your motive for getting close to me? Oh, I know—you’re an undercover agent, aren’t you?”

Eugene, who was actually an undercover agent: “…Can you stop looking at people with bias?!”

“Heh.” At this point, Lauri suspected everyone of being a spy—he refused to let another Ji Laili incident happen.

Eugene, of course, wasn’t about to give up. He persistently followed Lauri around, venting about Ji Laili until Lauri was thoroughly annoyed. In his frustration, Lauri accidentally let something slip.

“Get lost already! Stop badmouthing Ji Laili in front of me! Who the hell do you think you are? If anyone’s going to talk shit, it’s me!”

“If you keep pestering me and interfering with my mission to escort Lord Ferro, I’ll drag you to the lab as a test subject!”

The moment Eugene got the intel, he immediately turned on Lauri, sneering, “You? Please.”

“Yeah, I’ve already been exposed. That’s right, I’m a Federal undercover agent. Even Garna hasn’t dealt with me yet—do you dare?”

Lauri’s cold expression froze. He was momentarily stunned—so Eugene wasn’t even pretending anymore?

Since his cover was already blown and Garna hadn’t bothered to handle him yet, Eugene acted like a pig that didn’t fear boiling water, openly provoking Lauri.

But in reality, he was just stalling for time—he needed to buy Ji Laili as much time as possible.

At first, Lauri was furious and argued with Eugene for ages. But then, as if realizing something, his face darkened, and he shot Eugene a sinister glare.

For once, the usually easy-to-bully guy was putting on a genuinely intimidating expression.

Of course, Eugene wasn’t scared. If anything, he thought Lauri finally looked like a proper Imperial Alpha—disgusting.

After Lauri left in a hurry, Eugene had been certain his life was over. That guy loved reporting to his superiors—there was no way he wouldn’t tattle.

But strangely, the base remained eerily silent, as if everyone inside had died. Not a single word got out.

Eugene muttered to himself, “What a coward.” ^[1]Pffft hahahha I really like this character hahah Eugene the content creator hahah.

But deep down, he was secretly relieved.

Then, in a softer voice, he mumbled, “I wonder how Ji Laili is doing. No word from him since he left the base…”

Could it be… that Philo captured him too?

Near the coordinates marked X579 in the Nagano Wastelands, a spacecraft bearing the Federal insignia was docked.

However, the people inside were dressed in Imperial uniforms, completely mismatched with the insignia. After their retreat, they had switched out of their Federal uniforms—tossing them into the incinerator with disdain, letting the flames reduce them to ash.

“How’s the energy replenishment?”

“R-Reporting to you, my lord, it’s completed.”

“What about the damage to the spacecraft?”

The Imperial Alpha asking the questions had a cold, impatient expression. His gaze swept over the two trembling operators in front of him. One Beta, visibly frightened, shivered as their lips quivered.

Then, his eyes landed on a head of soft, curly chestnut-colored hair.

Sensing the attention, the owner of the curls lifted his gaze. His light-colored eyes were clear and pure, and as his eyebrows arched into a smile, a warm, gentle expression spread across his face, twinkling like a starry sky.

—A small Beta who, at first glance, gave off an irresistibly comforting presence.

“My lord, the damage is severe. We still need another hour.”

The Alpha’s frown deepened, frustration and displeasure darkening his face. His tone turned harsh. “Another hour?!”

“Are you two just freeloading? Do you have a death wish? It’s been an entire night! If you don’t finish the repairs soon, I’ll take your heads off myself!”

The other Beta trembled even more violently, face pale, lips parting as if to say something—

But a reassuring hand patted his shoulder.

He turned around to see the chestnut-haired boy smiling, his tone light and relaxed.

“Got it.”

“The spacecraft damage is pretty serious, so one night wasn’t quite enough. But don’t worry, my lord! We’ll definitely work hard for the next hour—won’t slack off for even a minute!”

“You must be exhausted from patrolling, right? It’s a good thing you’re here; otherwise, the Federal forces might’ve made a move.”

“If that happened, I wouldn’t even have the chance to repair this spacecraft.”

His brilliant smile radiated warmth like sunshine, and his crescent-moon eyes sparkled as if filled with stars.

The Alpha cleared his throat, his cold face subtly shifting into a more authoritative stance as he clasped his hands behind his back.

“It’s nothing. Just a few Federal stragglers.”

“As long as I’m here, they wouldn’t dare show up, let alone harm you. One more hour? Fine. Even if you need an extra half hour, nothing will happen.”

“Eh?” The curly-haired Beta’s eyes widened, bright and expectant. “Really?”

Like an eager little puppy waiting for its owner’s approval.

The Alpha kept a stern face. “Of course! Get to work. An hour and a half from now, I’ll check your progress.”

“If it’s not fixed by then, I’ll cut that Beta next to you into eight pieces!”