Huo Xianfeng's journey took a whole month, but Jiang Ci completed it in less than a week. After all, the speed of a high-level starship is dozens of times that of a garbage ship.
Before coming, Jiang Ci carefully reviewed the military's confidential information about Tiandong Star.
It was originally a planet rich in mineral resources, but when the resources were exhausted, it was classified as a garbage planet. However, these are just appearances. Under the ground of this planet, countless underground spaces originally dug out due to mineral mining have been quietly used to build a huge underground city area, which also operates the largest black market in the entire empire.
In fact, this is a breeding ground for sin and darkness. Various forces are intertwined, notorious star pirates, bloodthirsty mercenaries, mysterious and brutal poachers can be seen everywhere.
And what Jiang Ci needs is right there.
He Zhun was supposed to come by himself, but as a weak scientific researcher, he could not complete the task at all.
In addition, this kind of thing must not be known to any third person other than the two of them, so the final plan became He Zhun covering in the hospital while Jiang Ci came to Tiandong Star.
Due to years of excessive mining, the surface of Tiandong Star is always covered with yellow sand, and with countless garbage piled up, almost everyone here has a cloak and scarf, covering themselves from head to toe. Therefore, Jiang Ci also changed into the same clothes as the locals in advance.
His features are too striking, so it's better to cover them up.
"Oh, my lovely and stubborn little master, Xiao X once again advises you to leave quickly. Good children should not come to such a dangerous place."
AI's exaggerated and worried tone came through the headset, disturbing Jiang Ci. He pressed the necklace on his chest and scolded in a low voice.
"Shut up! I told you not to call me that anymore!"
"Okay, baby Aci."
"… "
—This is the A-class mecha he used when he was a student.
It was just that Jiang Ci was reluctant to use it for some obvious reasons. Because the artificial intelligence Xiao X installed in this mecha was originally designed as a parenting AI, suitable for preschool children.
If it weren't for the fact that this thing was one of the few relics left by his deceased parents, Jiang Ci would have thrown it into an electronics recycling plant eight hundred years ago.
But now that Bai Ze has been confiscated by Zhou Jiuya, he can only bring this guy with him.
The young Omega Major General pulled down the hood on his head and barely found a path through the piles of garbage.
He was wearing a plain grey cloak with a large, thick hood covering his face, and a black filter mask that even covered his chin.
Even so, he still couldn't resist the countless prying eyes around him. Or rather, as early as the moment Jiang Ci appeared, he was stared at by dozens of eyes.
Those who can survive here are all smart people. Even though Jiang Ci chose to dress like the people here, and even used pheromones to cover up.
But he has a tall and slender figure, his steps are neat and graceful, his innate temperament and the upbringing ingrained in his bones make him look nothing like a pariah who makes a living by picking up garbage.
In short, everything about Jiang Ci made him incompatible with all the filth, darkness and evil here.
If I have to find a metaphor, it would be like a beautiful ragdoll cat that has strayed into a den of wolves.
despair.
Jiang Ci suddenly stopped.
"Oh, it's a rare new face."
There were two people standing in front of me. Or to be more precise, two Alphas who had already released threatening pheromones.
Jiang Ci raised her head, a frost forming in her beautiful eyes.
"Step aside."
"Wow, it's quite prickly?"
One of them laughed and winked at his accomplice.
"With such a clean smell, it must be a Beta of good quality."
Jiang Ci used a special agent to simulate the most common beta pheromone. Fortunately, he had injected a large amount of inhibitors before, which covered up his own pheromones, so it was effective.
The scarred man next to him made an obscene hip thrust.
"It's been a while since we've had any new comers on Tiandong Star. Let me have a taste of what's new first. I'll be able to sell him for a good price when I take him to the dungeon."
Xiao X whispered in Jiang Ci's ear, soothing her in a coaxing tone.
"Don't be afraid, Aci baby. According to the preliminary identification of pheromones, they should all be only B-level..."
"vomit-"
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Ci suddenly covered her mouth and made a suppressed and slight retching sound.
—This is one of the side effects of Zhisu mutation
Because of long-term use of conventional inhibitors, Jiang Ci's body's resistance to inhibitors is several times higher than that of ordinary people. Therefore, after just one week, one third of the inhibitors in his body have been metabolized.
Although the Omega's pheromones had not yet leaked out, he had already begun to show some early signs of false pregnancy.
For example, there is physiological nausea in response to unfamiliar Alpha pheromones.
The filtering mask on the face has filtered out most of the pheromones, but the human body's pheromone receptors are not only in the respiratory tract, but are spread all over the body, just mainly concentrated in the respiratory tract.
The silver-haired Omega covered his mouth and nose, revealing a look of extreme disgust.
"It's really the stuff picked up from the garbage dump."
This behavior instantly angered the opponent, and the scarred face who had just pushed the opponent directly pulled out the electromagnetic gun from his waist.
"You fucking..."
call out-
At this moment, a smoke bomb suddenly appeared from nowhere.
boom!
In an instant, a thick gray smoke erupted within a diameter of ten meters, along with an extremely pungent smell.
“Cough… cough cough cough… what is that?!”
By the time the two men came to their senses and fired air cannons to disperse the smoke, two or three minutes had passed.
The "Beta" who was standing there just now had already disappeared. The fat sheep that was about to be caught ran away, and the scarred man spat angrily.
"Damn it! Where are the people?!"
"Yo-"
On the hill behind the two of them, the black-haired boy put one hand in his pocket, tilted his head and shrugged.
"Although I'm not sure, should I be considered a human being now?"
At the same time, Jiang Ci had successfully retreated several dozen meters away with the help of smoke bombs. The loving mother Xiao X immediately clapped her hands and praised in an extremely exaggerated tone,
"Wow, you are indeed A-Ci Bao..."
"—Who threw the smoke bomb just now?"
Jiang Ci tried hard to calm the nausea in her stomach.
"Have you located it?"
"certainly!"
The artificial system created for the purpose of raising children said proudly,
"Xiao X is doing the job, don't worry, dear~"
"… "
But surprisingly—
It turned out to be a little girl.
Tang Cha looked at the dispersing smoke and murmured to himself,
"I can only help you up to this point. The rest is up to you."
However, when she turned around, she ran into a tall and straight figure.
"!!!"
Although Jiang Ci is an Omega, his net height is 1.78 meters, which makes him stand out among the average height of male Omegas who are 1.65 meters.
The silver-haired Omega Major General looked down at the child condescendingly. His aura from being in the military for so many years made the other person freeze in place instantly, like a little quail that was extremely frightened.
Having been here for many years, Tang Cha's instinct made him want to escape immediately. However, the next second, the other party threw something at him.
Snapped!
Tang Cha subconsciously stepped back and didn't pick it up, letting it fall to the ground.
—Just a small packet of star coins.
It doesn't look like much, only two or three hundred, but it is enough for her to make seventy or eighty crudely made smoke bombs.
“—This is a thank you gift from earlier.”
Although he didn't need any help against several B-class Alphas, an S-class Omega Major General didn't need any help at all.
"Oh... Oh,"
Tang Cha picked it up tentatively, his movements like a vigilant stray cat trying to take away the ham fed by a kind person.
"Then we're even. I'm leaving first."
"etc."
Jiang Ci called her but did not rashly approach this child who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old.
"I want to ask you something. How can I enter the underground city of Tiandong Star?"
"There… "
Tang Cha bit her lip.
"You'd better not go."
But as a child who grew up here, her kindness and advice only went so far. She did not persuade him any further, but only pointed Jiang Ci in a direction.
"If you must go, go find Wei He, the owner of the recycling station."
After saying that, she immediately turned around and ran away, soon disappearing in the endless mountain of garbage.
Jiang Ci turned around and looked in the direction the girl had pointed, and saw a bungalow building that looked like a factory.
The silver-haired major general narrowed his eyes.
"Recycle Bin...?"
At the same time, Tang Cha took many twists and turns and returned to the place where Jiang Ci met the two Alphas just now.
But the situation at this time was quite different. The two alphas who had been so arrogant just now were lying at the feet of a person, their limbs twisted, and it was unknown whether they were dead or alive. Seeing the familiar black figure, Tang Cha ran over happily like a little deer.
"Brother Xiao Huo—"
The boy casually wiped the blood off his fingertips, turned around, and saw the little girl running towards him.
Tang Cha, 12 years old, was an ordinary beta girl born on Tiandong Star. A week ago, she was caught by human traffickers and Huo Xianfeng rescued her. It happened that he needed an aboriginal as a guide, so he kept her with him temporarily.
The thick hood covered the boy's face, revealing only a little bit of his jawline. Compared to the first time he woke up from the ancient earth, he was now much taller than before.
Huo Xianfeng asked casually: "How about the new Beta?"
Tang Cha thought about it and sighed.
"I think he's a good guy... He won't live long on this planet."
The boy nodded in approval.
"Well, that's true."
A pet rabbit should not stay in a den of wolves. But Huo Xianfeng was not in the mood to meddle in other people's business. His target was only the two traffickers. As for the new Beta, he just happened to meet him. What happened next was none of his business.
However, seeing that the little girl seemed hesitant to speak, Huo Xianfeng asked another question.
"What's wrong?"
Tang Cha hesitated for a moment before taking out the small packet of star coins Jiang Ci had given him and said hesitantly,
"I feel like he's... pregnant."
Whether Omega or Beta, they will enter a weak period after pregnancy. Most importantly, in this era when the birth rate has fallen to negative numbers, the prices of pregnant women and babies are surprisingly high in the black market human trafficking.
A pregnant beta appeared on Tiandong Star, just like a shaved bunny breaking into a wolf pack.
Huo Xianfeng recalled the beta's strange retching, and he showed a slightly surprised expression.
"how do you know?"
"Pregnancy beta pheromones have a distinct smell that I've smelled... my mom's."
Tang Cha held up the small packet of star coins that Jiang Ci had given him, and motioned for him to smell it as well.
"Although it was very shallow, and the pheromone was carefully covered, I can confirm that he has similar ones."
—This is also the main reason why Huo Xianfeng kept this little girl by his side.
Tang Cha is naturally very sensitive to pheromones, and as an underage beta, he is not affected by pheromones, which just makes up for his current shortcomings.
"… "
Huo Xianfeng casually glanced at the small bag containing star coins and did not take it.
—He didn’t tell Tang Cha that he couldn’t sense pheromones.
But since the little girl said that the Beta is pregnant, it should be almost certain.
Seeing that he had no intention of taking it, Tang Cha took it back silently.
"But there's something strange."
She frowned.
"Whether they are Omega or Beta, they will become extremely dependent on their partners after they become pregnant. Unless it is absolutely necessary, they will stay with their partners throughout the pregnancy, and their bodies will also be filled with their partners' strong pheromones, but..."
The girl's hesitation made Huo Xianfeng frown slightly.
"but what?"
"But the beta just now didn't have any pheromones from other alphas or betas."
—This is simply impossible.
Tang Cha thought of something, and suddenly a bit of sadness appeared on his face: "Unless he..."
Unless his partner is dead, a pregnant beta will be like her mother, without any trace of her partner's pheromones on her body.
Huo Xianfeng guessed what Tang Cha had not finished saying.
"You mean—"
The young man raised his eyebrows slightly.
"He is a pregnant widow?"
(End of this chapter)