Chapter 16: Change the Terminal

Shi Chan certainly couldn’t mention that he wanted to try using cultivation methods to treat his body. His thoughts spun in his mind, and he looked at Xi Ming with a slightly serious expression.

“I think we can try to figure out a way to treat your body. After all, you’ve marked me, you’re my alpha, and my… husband. Naturally, I want to stay with you for as long as possible… Although, with current technology, cosmic radiation can’t be fully cured, maybe there will be a breakthrough in the future. As long as we stay alive, there is always hope.”

Shi Chan paused, then expressed his feelings for Xi Ming from his middle school days. Of course, he didn’t mention his awakening cultivation memories but explained it as a result of experiencing many nightmares about his parents’ “indifference” to him.

These words had never been intended to be spoken in front of anyone, but now that they were revealed to the person himself, Shi Chan couldn’t help but look away as he spoke, nervously feeling his heartbeat quicken.

From Shi Chan’s explanation to his confession, Xi Ming had been quietly listening. After Shi Chan finished speaking, Xi Ming’s gaze darkened, his heart uncertain of what to believe, yet his actions were to stretch out his hand and pull the person standing in front of him into his arms. One hand pressed against Shi Chan’s head, while the other gently stroked Shi Chan’s back like petting a cat.

Shi Chan was very sensitive to others’ emotions, but due to the emotional turbulence earlier, he could only lower his gaze and focus on feeling Xi Ming’s soothing touch.

After all, Shi Chan’s life in this world had been too peaceful and comfortable. Aside from maintaining his sensitivity to danger and hostility, his alertness in other areas had dulled after twenty years of comfort.

Especially when facing Xi Ming, a graduate of the military academy with perfect scores, the shining star of the empire, for Xi Ming, even if his body had problems, it wouldn’t be difficult to deceive a person’s senses and hide his true thoughts.

The room was quiet, and Shi Chan gradually calmed down as Xi Ming’s caress softened him. He leaned into Xi Ming’s chest, slowly trying to adapt to and enjoy the embrace.

It was a strange kind of closeness—he felt lost, yet in the overwhelming alpha scent, he found a peculiar sense of security, as if no matter what happened, the other person would be there to protect him.

Shi Chan knew very well that this was just a physiological illusion brought on by marking between AOs, but he still liked this feeling of having someone to rely on.

“I have recorded these data.” Xi Ming did have a habit of recording his physical data, after all, he had never given up hope of finding a cure. However, these data, especially those from the last few days, would expose Xi Ming’s true physical condition, and he kept them on an anonymous terminal that was never connected to the network.

“But you are clear about the relationship between the empire and me.” Xi Ming looked at the omega in his arms, gently gripping Shi Chan’s delicate white neck, his thumb brushing lightly or heavily across Shi Chan’s Adam’s apple, his voice dangerous. “I don’t know if I can trust you.”

In truth, Xi Ming didn’t trust him, but because he relied on Shi Chan’s spiritual awareness for comfort, he couldn’t be so direct. Xi Ming only tightened his gaze on the omega in his arms, seemingly entrusting his trust. “These data must not be leaked.”

Shi Chan’s nerves tightened as he sensed the danger, but he suppressed his instinctive resistance, only feeling a slight itch at his neck. Unconsciously, he swallowed, and his Adam’s apple moved up and down.

Seeing this, Xi Ming’s eyes darkened. His thumb gently pressed on Shi Chan’s Adam’s apple.

Shi Chan’s long eyelashes trembled as he looked at Xi Ming, his eyes clear and bright. His mind was also thinking about what Xi Ming had said. With Xi Ming’s current situation in the empire, Shi Chan understood his caution, so he assured, “I will never leak it. I just want to understand your physical condition and see if I can think of a way to alleviate the damage to your body.”

Just making an oral assurance had no credibility. After thinking for a moment, Shi Chan proposed a solution. “How about this? You open the data for me to see. I won’t copy it, and I won’t touch it. This way, there’s no danger of it being leaked.”

After humans entered the interstellar era, their average lifespan had doubled to 200 years. The top tier of people could live even longer, but for most civilians, their basic abilities hadn’t changed much, and unless specially trained, it was rare for people to develop skills like “photographic memory.”

The omega’s genetic level was usually average, and even with training, it was difficult to master such advanced skills. So, in general, the method Shi Chan suggested could effectively prevent the data from leaking.

But… Xi Ming’s heart sank. He thought of Shi Chan’s previously evident spiritual power strength, which clearly exceeded the normal range.

If Shi Chan had received professional training, both his spiritual awareness and photographic memory could be reasonably explained.

Shi Chan didn’t receive a reply and became somewhat puzzled. He didn’t know that his spiritual awareness had been mistakenly thought by Xi Ming to be a result of training. So, he asked again, “Do you think the method I just mentioned would work? I guarantee I won’t leak anything.”

As Shi Chan spoke, Xi Ming’s hand hadn’t loosened its grip on his neck, forcing him to slightly tilt his head back. But since he was leaning against Xi Ming’s shoulder, the posture wasn’t uncomfortable.

Xi Ming, having long known that alphas were naturally domineering, had read some reports on Xi Ming’s personality before coming. He had already prepared for the worst when it came to their interactions.

However, in practice, Xi Ming was much easier to get along with than Shi Chan had imagined. Although he always appeared cold, he had never harmed him and had even subconsciously protected him. Therefore, Shi Chan had been tolerating and adapting to Xi Ming’s actions on him, rarely refusing him.

Xi Ming looked down at Shi Chan, his mind spinning. In the end, he realized that even if he noticed Shi Chan’s “flaws” in his identity, he couldn’t let him leave.

Looking at the omega’s gentle expression, Xi Ming calmly said, “In addition to opening the data for you, there’s one more thing. You need to change your terminal to the one I provide.”

Shi Chan’s terminal was a new model he bought with his friends a few years ago. It was actually only different in its patterns. To Shi Chan, these wristband-style terminals all seemed the same, and their functions were similar. So when he heard Xi Ming’s second request, he was quite confused. What does the terminal have to do with this?

Xi Ming glanced at the design on Shi Chan’s current wristband terminal and casually made up a reason. “The one you’re using now, the ‘Floating Ying,’ has a risk of information leakage. I have a special terminal here with enhanced security features that won’t leak any data. When you’re checking the information, there’s also a risk of accidentally exposing my physical condition. I don’t want that to happen.”

However, Xi Ming only told half of the truth. Aside from not wanting to expose Shi Chan’s traces on the star network, more importantly, Xi Ming could control the special terminal he was going to provide to Shi Chan. If Shi Chan wanted to send out sensitive information, Xi Ming could intercept it directly or even forge a response.

This special terminal had been developed by Xi Ming’s subordinates for special intelligence personnel, but after the battle on 823, his subordinates had died fighting the insectoids. Only these few samples remained in Xi Ming’s house, preserved intact.

Xi Ming knew that his body couldn’t be without Shi Chan. It would be great if Shi Chan stayed by his side willingly. If an accident occurred, this terminal could also help Xi Ming figure out Shi Chan’s purpose early and even track his direction if he left… A sinister look flashed in Xi Ming’s eyes, but he wouldn’t let the latter happen.

Shi Chan, of course, had no idea what the special terminal was. He only thought that the reason Xi Ming gave sounded reasonable, so he didn’t hesitate to agree.

Xi Ming’s mood brightened, and his voice softened, “I’ll go get it for you.”

“Okay.” Shi Chan nodded in agreement, intending to stand up, but was immediately pressed back into Xi Ming’s arms.

Shi Chan sat back in Xi Ming’s embrace, feeling the strong arm around his waist. His face reddened slightly, but he didn’t try to stand up again.

Xi Ming controlled the wheelchair and moved to another room, his arm still around the omega’s waist, while his other hand tapped on a hidden virtual screen, entering a password.

Shi Chan diverted his gaze.

“What color do you like?” Soon, Xi Ming’s voice rang out from above Shi Chan’s head.

Shi Chan raised his head and found that a recessed cabinet had appeared where the wall had been. Inside, there were several wristband terminals, each model slightly wider than the one he normally used, with almost no patterns. They only came in silver, white, and black.

“White, please.” He was currently wearing a white terminal.

Xi Ming single-handedly took off Shi Chan’s old terminal and then retrieved a white terminal from the safe, snapping it onto Shi Chan’s wrist.

Shi Chan’s wrist was fair and slender, and the white terminal looked like a delicate accessory on him, making his skin appear even more smooth and beautiful.

After transferring the data from the old terminal, Shi Chan completed the authentication, and now all his permissions and messages would appear directly on the new terminal.

With that done, Shi Chan brought up the matter of meeting Lan Ying tomorrow.

Xi Ming frowned. “How long will you be gone?” He was most worried about this situation. Besides being with their alpha, omegas rarely spent time without their alpha, making it hard for them to always stay by their side.

“I’ll leave in the morning and return in the afternoon,” Shi Chan said, gazing at Xi Ming.

Although he was very reluctant, since it was the first time the omega had made a request, Xi Ming still agreed. “Okay, be careful, and remember to come back early.”

“Mm.” Shi Chan smiled brightly at Xi Ming, his eyes gleaming with joy.

After lunch, the two went back to their respective rooms. Xi Ming opened the dark web, which was not governed by any faction, and Shi Chan continued to search for information related to cosmic radiation in the virtual domain.

After dinner, Shi Chan went to find Xi Ming again. Under Xi Ming’s watchful gaze, he began to check Xi Ming’s physical data, though he was only looking at data from the first two years. Xi Ming had hidden the recent data showing the sudden changes in his physical condition.

That night, Shi Chan, unusually, did not practice cultivation but slept. However, his dreams were filled with data related to radiation and Xi Ming’s physical condition. When he woke up the next day, his brain felt foggy.

“Shi Chan, are you awake?” Lan Ying started to mess with Shi Chan on the terminal.

“Just woke up.” Shi Chan replied before heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he returned, he saw Lan Ying’s reply: “I just woke up too. I should be heading out in about half an hour, but I have to eat breakfast with my husband first. Hehe (#^.^#).”

A smile flickered in Shi Chan’s eyes as he replied, “Okay, I’ll be leaving in about forty minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”

Shi Chan was also having breakfast at home… and with his husband… cough…