Chapter 39: One Night for Ten Thousand, It's Mine.

Shao Ye crouched in the shadows of a street corner, eyes sharp, scanning the chaos around him. The streets were a cesspool of characters—crooks, hustlers, and predators—all wearing expressions that screamed of cunning and menace.

His mind churned. How the hell was he supposed to slip out of this godforsaken place unscathed and track down Lu Zhanxing?

Fingers instinctively brushed against the smooth band of his ring—a small relief. Their wedding rings had trackers embedded. A little insurance in this madness.

He smiled bitterly. Lu Zhanxing better have the brains to find him.

Then, it hit—a wave of shouting erupted nearby. Heads turned. A group had gathered in the middle of the street, locked in a heated argument. Voices clashed, tempers flared, and it was all over some shady deal gone south.

Shao Ye’s lips curled into a razor-thin grin. Trouble had a way of showing up uninvited.

Some lunatic was swinging a weapon like he owned the place, sending the crowd scattering like roaches under a flashlight.

Bang! Bang! Shots ripped through the air, and just like that, a few unlucky bastards hit the ground in a messy sprawl of blood right in the middle of the street.

The crowd? They didn’t give a damn. Instead, they hooted and hollered like it was some twisted form of entertainment.

From the chaos, an Omega woman broke free, flinging herself onto the corpse of her Alpha husband. Her wails were gut-wrenching, but no one lifted a finger to help her.

Instead, the black-bearded Alpha who'd just offed her husband stood there grinning, a sleazy, predatory smirk plastered across his face. He didn’t stop there. No, this sick bastard threw the crying Omega over his shoulder like she was nothing more than luggage and headed straight for a nearby sleazy brothel.

Watching all this unfold, Shao Ye’s gut twisted into knots. His brain screamed at him to turn around, to get the hell out of there. He wasn’t a hero, and this wasn’t his fight.

But just as he made to leave, a flash of memory hit him—the brutal, mangled corpse of his old Omega neighbor. The image froze him in place.

Gritting his teeth, Shao Ye cursed under his breath. He couldn’t just walk away.

Moving quietly, he tailed the black-bearded scumbag, keeping to the shadows. His heart raced as he followed him to the brothel, a dingy place reeking of booze, smoke, and regret.

At the front desk sat a one-eyed woman, casually munching on sunflower seeds. She tossed a keycard to the Alpha without even looking up and smirked. “Don’t go chopping her up in the room, alright?”

Shao Ye wanted to blend in, to slip by unnoticed, but a group of thugs lounging in the reception had other plans.

“Hey, who the hell are you?” one of them sneered, stepping into his path. “Sneaking around like some rat.”

Shao Ye’s brain scrambled for a response. “I... uh, I got lost. Just looking for the way out.”

He tried to sound harmless, but the tall guy wasn’t buying it. He looked Shao Ye up and down like a butcher sizing up meat. “Lost? You don’t look like you belong here.”

The others circled closer, suspicion etched into their faces.

Shao Ye’s palms were sweating, but he kept his voice steady. “Really, I didn’t mean to bother anyone. I’ll just go.”

All he could do was pray they didn’t figure out he was an Omega. If they did, he was screwed. Hell, he might as well gift-wrap himself and bow to the wolves.

The one-eyed woman leaned against the bar, chewing thoughtfully. “Hmm, soft skin, pretty face… even if he’s a Beta, he’d fetch a decent price.”

Her words sent an icy jolt through Shao Ye’s spine.

“Wait!” he blurted, desperate. “I’ve got a disease! Highly contagious!”

The room erupted in laughter. “You think that’s a deal-breaker here?” the tall guy said, grinning. “Hell, most of us are carrying something. Come here, sweet thing. I don’t mind sharing.”

Shao Ye’s eyes darted to the fruit knife sitting on a nearby platter. If it came to it, he’d go down fighting.

Another thug, a tattooed brute, leered at him. “Perfect. We’ll have our fun, then sell him off to the pirate market. Bet he’ll bring a nice bounty.”

And just like that, the puzzle clicked. Shao Ye realized where he was. This wasn’t just some lawless outpost—it was pirate territory. A cesspool where order and safety were a bad joke.

And right now, he was the punchline.

Shao Ye was still trying to fight his way out of the situation. With a snarl, he sneered, “Let’s not beat around the bush here, I’m a fucking hooker. Been at this for five or six years now. AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, crabs, chlamydia, you name it, I’ve got it. So tell me, do you still want in?”

The group of men froze, all of them looking like they'd just seen a ghost, their jaws practically hitting the floor in disbelief.

The tall guy suddenly snapped, his voice rising, “Holy shit, you’ve got all those diseases, and you’re still out here fucking around? What, you trying to ruin people’s lives on purpose?”

Shao Ye put on a pitiful face, fake tears welling up as he feigned innocence. “What else can I do? I need to eat. If I don’t do this, I can’t do anything else. I just had my third kid recently. Hell if I even know who the father is. I’m just trying to survive and make some cash to feed my kid before I die."

He forced a few dramatic tears to roll down his face.

The tall guy then leaned in and sniffed Shao Ye’s body odor, much too close for comfort. Shao Ye nearly reached for the fruit knife he kept tucked in his pocket, ready to stab the bastard, but before he could, the guy spoke again, “Wait, what the hell? You’re telling me Beta’s can have three kids now?”

A tattooed guy with a filthy mouth grunted, “Didn’t this whore say he’s been getting fucked for like seven, eight years? No surprise he’s got three kids. After that many miles on the odometer, what’s one more?”

Shao Ye gritted his teeth, his face still showing a defeated look. “Yeah, yeah. But we’ve got standards. That’s why I’m letting you know what you’re dealing with upfront.”

At that moment, a woman with an eye patch appeared from the bar. She eyed him skeptically, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. You trying to pull some shit on us? Drop your pants, let me check.”

Shao Ye froze, his skin prickling with a sudden, ominous feeling. The room was heavy with the men’s hungry, predatory stares, and the dim lighting only made them look more dangerous.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, but he tried to hold his ground, scanning for a way out.

The group closed in on him, stepping closer, about to rip his pants off when a voice suddenly rang out from the door: “Stop right there!”

A tall figure stepped out from the shadows, backlit but unmistakable. It was Lu Zhanxing.

He barely spared Shao Ye a glance before his gaze turned sharp, fixing on the men.

The tattooed guy shot back, “Who the hell are you?”

Lu Zhanxing pointed casually at Shao Ye. “I’m here for him.”

The one-eyed woman raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re here to fuck this diseased whore too? You don’t care about catching anything? Sleeping with a piece of trash like that? You’ll probably be walking away with your dick rotting off after one night.”

Lu Zhanxing’s brows furrowed slightly as his gaze lingered on Shao aye.

Shaoye, desperate not to give away any signs of panic, quickly shot back, “I don’t care, okay? It’s a thousand for the night, take it or leave it. If you change your mind, no refunds.”

The tall guy and the tattooed one both stared at him, eyes widening. “Wait, what the fuck? A thousand for that? Are you serious? Your shit’s coated in gold or something?”

Shao Ye, caught off guard by their reaction, wasn’t even sure what the going rate was. He thought he was quoting a reasonable price, but now, he didn’t know what to say. His mouth dried, and he felt his confidence falter.

Before he could panic too much, Lu Zhanxing spoke again, “A thousand a night? Cheap. I’ll take it.”

The men’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads. “Dude, you’re getting scammed. This bitch has every disease in the book—AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, the works. You sure you want to risk your dick rotting off for that?”

$No worries. In a battle, you never know when your number’s up, so when you're alive, live it up. And he definitely had that vibe, didn’t he?” Lu Zhanxing said with a nonchalant smirk.

When he heard that this guy could drop ten thousand on a single night with a prostitute, he thought, "Okay, he's loaded. Time to make a move." But as soon as he mentioned "going to battle," none of these street thugs were about to act foolish.

In the world of interstellar pirates, "going to battle" meant raiding other planets for supplies—essentially, stealing. But those stolen goods were what kept the scum of the Earth fed back home.

That’s why in a pirate's domain, so-called "soldiers" had serious clout. Anyone who messed with them was signing their own death warrant.

Add to that Lu Zhanning’s aura of military authority, coupled with his sharp, militaristic style, and these lowlifes were quick to realize he wasn’t someone you messed with.

So, they backed off.

The one-eyed woman flashed him a slick, obsequious smile, picking up a room key from the bar, handing it to Lu Zhanning with a sly remark: “Sir, enjoy your night.”

Did that mean they were supposed to do business in this shitty hotel?

Shao Ye was caught off guard, the awkwardness starting to settle in.

But Lu Zhanxing was cool under pressure, smooth as hell as he grabbed Shao Ye’s hand and headed straight to the room.

As they reached the door, Shao Ye noticed the tall guy and the tattooed thug had sneakily followed them.

Lu Zhanxing turned, voice casual but with an edge: “You two wanna join in?”

His tone was calm, but if they said yes, he'd drag them in and kill them right there.

Both men quickly shook their heads, practically begging for mercy. “Man, you're nuts. Sleeping with a moving virus library? Not for us. We’d like to live a little longer.”

Lu Zhanxing smirked, guiding Shao Ye inside and slamming the door shut.

They exchanged a look, the tension thick, neither knowing where to begin.

Suddenly, Lu Zhanxing shed his coat with a snap and pushed Shao Ye onto the bed, all too quick and aggressive.

Shao Ye froze, panicked, instinctively struggling. But before he could break free, Lu Zhanxing pinned his hands down, his body hovering but not crushing.

He leaned close, his lips grazing Shao Ye’s ear with a tone that was half seductive, half dangerous: “Those two haven’t left. They’re spying from the next room.”

The hell? Peeping freaks?

Shao Ye’s eyes widened in surprise, then he quickly snapped into focus, glancing around the room. Surely, there had to be some hidden cameras in this trashy place?

And there it was—a small hole in the air conditioner, a clear sign of a hidden camera.

“There’s one in the AC. Should we take it out?” Shao Ye murmured.

Lu Zhanning kept up the act, his voice a smooth, almost teasing whisper in his ear. “Not just one. There’s one in the vase on the windowsill, another in the painting on the wall, and at least five or six more in the TV cabinet. When you come to a place like this, you know there’ll be cameras. But no one gives a damn. If you try to remove them, it’s considered theft, and the hotel owner’ll have a word with you.”

Damn, they’re all sick freaks!

Shao Ye gritted his teeth, muttering, “What do we do now?”

Lu Zhanxing stiffened, his muscles tensing, eyes narrowing dangerously.

He blocked the view of the cameras with his body, and in a low, husky voice, whispered into Shao Ye’s ear, “Did you ever think about what exactly you wanted to do in a hotel like this?”

“I…” Shao Ye’s face flushed, eyes closing instinctively.