Chapter 26: Can’t Even Protect an Omega? How Pathetic.

Across from him, Yu Mo’s brother, Yu Han, was calm enough to extend a friendly hand. “Hello, Shao Ye. I’m Yu Han, a Black Panther Alpha as well.”

Shao Ye pressed his lips together, ignoring Lu Zhanxing’s expression. He shook the offered hand. “Hello.”

Another guy stepped up—blond, green-eyed, with a mixed-blood look. He offered a hand too, introducing himself. “Hey, I’m Yas Thomas, Cougar Alpha. Nice to meet you.”

Shao Ye shook his hand as well, brief and firm.

Then, a crisp female voice cut through from the cockpit. “Lai Xueluan here, Snowhawk Alpha.”

“And I’m Li Rui, Hummingbird Alpha,” chimed in the younger guy in the copilot seat.

Shao Ye made mental notes of each name.

He wasn’t one to care about such things. Normally, he’d let introductions slide right past him. But these weren’t just anyone—they were Lu Zhanxing’s comrades, and that alone made their names worth remembering.

Yu Mo leaned in, voice sharp with curiosity. “Boss, wasn’t the council pushing you to the frontlines ASAP? Why are we heading for the Dust District?”

Lu Zhanxing answered without fuss. “Got a mission. Finding someone.”

“In that dump?” Yu Mo frowned. “Who in their right mind is worth your time there?”

“My sister,” Shao Ye cut in, his voice low but laced with urgency. “I’m asking for your help.”

The cabin went still.

It hadn’t clicked for them before, but now they realized—their commander’s Omega came from there, that grimy, forgotten pit of a place.

Looking at the faint sadness in Shao Ye’s eyes, even the hardened soldiers softened.

The shattered Eighth Galaxy, hanging near the Dust District, has caught wind of rebel forces making a bold move toward the Dust People's Zone.

The Dust District wasn’t a priority for the Alliance military. Too remote, too unimportant. But with their lieutenant’s Omega’s sister still stuck there?

It suddenly became essential.

Yu Mo broke the silence first. “Relax, Shao Ye. You’re looking at the best of the best here. Special ops handpicked from across the Alliance. Getting your sister out? Child’s play.”

Shao Ye nodded slightly. “Thanks. Really.”

As jumped in with a grin. “Come on, what’s with the thanks? We’re ride-or-die for the boss. He promised I’d be his groomsman someday. That makes you our sister-in-law. Of course we’ve got your back. By the way, you two haven’t had the wedding yet, right? The boss didn’t even give us a heads-up about meeting his fiancée. If he had, I’d already have my groomsman suit on order.”

Lai Xueluan’s voice rang out from the cockpit again, dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, shut it, Yas. Didn’t you say you’d wear that homemade outfit your mom gave you? Now you’re all about custom tailoring?”

As scratched his head sheepishly. “Hey, I’m just trying not to embarrass the boss. A Lu family wedding’s no joke. Even the waitstaff’s uniforms are designer. I’d look ridiculous showing up in my mom’s DIY.”

Lu Zhanxing glanced at Shao Ye before shooting As a flat look. “Don’t overthink it. Just show up. That’s enough.”

“No doubt, boss. You finally found someone. We’re definitely throwing a proper celebration.”

Shao Ye stayed silent, head lowered, as their banter rolled on.

They were so eager to see Lu Zhanxing settle down, but Shao Ye knew he’d only disappoint them in the end.

Their military transport reached the docks soon enough. They transferred to a sleek warship bound for the frontlines of the Eighth Star System, only to veer off course mid-journey to board a compact fighter jet heading straight for the Dust District.

En route, Lu Zhanxing briefed the team.

“Once we’re there, Shao Ye and I are one team. Yu Mo, Yu Han, you’re another. Li Rui and Xueluan, the third. We split up to search for Bai’s hidden lab. Report in every three hours with status and coordinates. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

With the orders clear, Lu Zhanxing wasted no time. He dragged Shao Ye to the small training cabin at the back of the fighter and started running him through the gear.

“Ye Li, activate the simulation field,” he barked, his tone crisp, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, sir."

With that cold, clipped response, Ye Li’s voice triggered an instantaneous transformation of their surroundings. Within seconds, the room morphed into a hyper-realistic simulation of the Dust District’s streets.

Shao Ye was floored. "Damn. This level of realism—feels like I’m actually there."

He turned to Ye Li, curiosity sparking. "You can summon yourself here too?"

Before he could blink, Ye Li's ghostly figure materialized out of thin air, sending a chill down Shao Ye’s spine.

"Sir," Ye Li's voice dripped with eerie precision, "as long as there’s a connected electronic device, I’m everywhere."

Shao Ye frowned. "But the Dust District’s network has been cut off from the Alliance for years. You can access it?"

"The Skylight System’s central control is stationed on Imperial Star’s space station," Ye Li said matter-of-factly. "Its mainframe outclasses anything in the Dust District by orders of magnitude. Cracking their network is child’s play."

Shao Ye, no stranger to programming himself, knew Ye Li wasn’t bluffing.

"Then why don’t you just hack their surveillance system, track down Boss Bai, and pinpoint where my sister is?"

Levi’s tone remained clinical. "Sir, Boss Bai’s last recorded appearance on surveillance was the day you left your post. He exited the monitored area in a private vehicle and hasn’t resurfaced. I’m already analyzing movements of his associates. The search radius is down to 1,246 kilometers."

Shao Ye mulled it over. "So his lab’s likely somewhere within 1,246 kilometers of the factory. But the Dust District’s terrain is a nightmare. We don’t have enough manpower for a sweep."

"Don’t lose faith," Lu Zhanxing cut in, voice steady. "Trust your teammates. They’ll deliver."

Gratitude flickered across Shao Ye’s face. Without their help, he’d be flailing in the dark. At least now, there was a target—no more running blind.

"Still a few hours before we hit the Dust District. Let me show you how to handle these weapons," Lu Zhanxing said, grabbing Shao Ye’s hand and forcing it around the grip of a handgun.

"Grip tight. Aim. Align your sights. Pull the trigger. Got it?"

"Yeah." Shao Ye took aim at the virtual target and fired without hesitation.

Bang!

The training gun barked. No live rounds, of course, but Ye Li's simulation made it feel real enough.

"How’d I do?" Shao Ye asked.

Lu Zhanxing’s sharp eyes already caught the result, but he hesitated. Crushing the guy’s confidence wasn’t the goal here.

Ye Li’s voice rang out, merciless as ever. "First attempt: zero. Target missed entirely."

Shao Ye scratched the back of his head, embarrassed but trying to play it cool. "First time, right? Practice makes perfect."

But he wasn’t fooling himself. There wouldn’t be time to “practice” on a battlefield.

Lu Zhanxing cut the pity party short. "Listen. When we’re in the Dust District, stay within five meters of me. Don’t ditch the body armor, and if things get hairy, you hide behind me. Got it?"

"Got it..." Shao Ye muttered, deflated.

Hours later, they touched down in the Dust District, setting down in a desolate junkyard to avoid drawing attention.

The fighter jet’s cargo hatch opened, revealing sleek, sci-fi-esque dirt bikes. The team dispersed, each member grabbing a bike and heading off into the chaos.

Shao Ye’s mood soured when he realized there was only one bike left for him and Lu. "Why the hell are we sharing? I know there were more bikes in the jet."

Lu Zhanxing shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "You don’t have a license. Can’t ride solo."

"This is the Dust District," Shao Ye snapped. "Who the hell cares about licenses here?"

"Less talk. Get on," Lu Zhanxing shot back, tossing him a helmet.

Reluctantly, Shao Ye climbed on, muttering curses under his breath. Lu gunned the throttle, and the bike roared forward like a beast unleashed. The speed forced Shao Ye to grab Lu’s waist, gripping tight to avoid being thrown off.

Their first stop: Shao Ye’s old factory. It was a ghost town now. Not a soul in sight, and the once-pristine mechs had been hauled off long ago.

"Still no word on Boss Bai. Who took the mechs?" Shao Ye asked.

Lu Zhanxing’s jaw tightened. "The moment I knew Boss Bai had you replicating Alliance military tech, I suspected a mole. Turns out, I was right."

"Who?"

"The Lin family."

Shao Ye’s stomach sank. "Lin Na’s family?"

"Yes. Her father’s a high-ranking elder on the Alliance Military Council. Levi’s been gathering evidence with Special Ops. After Lin Na threw you into that dungeon, she was nabbed by Lu family security. We found encrypted emails between her and rebel forces—Boss Bai included. And those two scientists who escaped the Alliance’s maximum-security prison? One of them’s her mother. She smuggled her out and hid her in Boss Bai’s lab."

The puzzle pieces clicked into place, leaving Shao Ye stunned. Lin Na was locked up. No wonder Lu Xinglan, Lu’s brother, had been seething with hatred.

"You took Lin Na down. Aren’t you worried your brother will hate you for it? He really liked her."

Lu scoffed, voice dripping with contempt. "I don’t care who he likes. She tried to screw you over. Payback was inevitable."

The sheer indifference left Shao Ye reeling. He couldn’t fathom Lu’s detachment toward his brother. It was nothing like his own relentless devotion to his sister.

His thoughts drifted to the family dinner, when Lady Alice—the Lu matriarch—had addressed Lu not by his name, but as "Commander Lu." Something about that still gnawed at him.

Shao Ye cut in sharply, “And Alice? How the hell are you explaining this to your mom?”

“She’s not my mom.” Lu Zhanxing’s voice dropped, rough and raw. “My real mother was just a civilian Omega, forced into a match with my father.”

Shao Ye froze, blindsided.

Lu Zhanxing stared into the past, voice quiet but sharp enough to cut. “Ah Ye, did you know? My mother was a lot like you. Craved freedom, refused to bow down. Even after having me, she never stopped scheming her escape.”

“She was like a butterfly flying straight into a storm—she knew she’d never make it across the ocean, but damned if she’d waste her whole life rotting in some gilded cage.”

Shao Ye couldn’t relate. Two lifetimes and he hadn’t tasted even a crumb of maternal love. But looking at Lu Zhanxing now, he didn’t need to. The longing in his eyes told the story—his mother had been extraordinary.

She had to be. She had to be one hell of an Omega and an even better mother to pull this off. After all, what kind of woman could raise someone like Lu Zhanxing?

“What happened to her?” Shao Ye asked.

Lu Zhanxing’s gaze locked on him, haunted, the weight of every memory dragging him down.

“When I was five, I let her go.”

“And then the news came back—she was dead.”

The words hit Shao Ye like a gut punch, the kind you don’t walk away from.

Zhanxing’s tone didn’t falter, cold and distant, the way someone sounds when the pain’s too deep to feel anymore. “I thought I was giving her freedom. Turns out, I handed her to the abyss myself.”

“I’ve hated myself ever since. For forgetting… forgetting she was just an Omega.”

Shao Ye didn’t say a word. He stepped in, arms wrapping around Zhanxing, a firm pat on his back that said everything words couldn’t.

“You were a kid. That blame’s not yours to carry.”

Lu Zhanxing’s voice cracked, low and jagged. “But I’m an Alpha. If I couldn’t even protect her… doesn’t that just make me useless?”