Chapter 17 – The First World 17

The system found relevant information from the original text for Chu Shici. The man opposite him is named Zuo Ting, a high-ranking member of Eternal Life Technology’s branch on the desolate planet. He is responsible for managing various affairs on the planet.

In the original text, Zuo Ting mistakenly entered a night market and was surrounded by alphas. Su Zheyan came to his rescue, and from then on, Zuo Ting became crazily infatuated with him.

The current situation doesn’t match the original text, and Su Zheyan’s words are also puzzling.

Zuo Ting seemed visibly confused. He furrowed his brows slightly and chuckled, “You’re joking, sir. This is the latest data collector developed by my company. This is the first batch of products, and Mr Su must have mistaken it.”

He walked up to Su Zheyan and lightly tapped his shirt button with his finger.

The captivating aroma of an omega made the surrounding alphas restless. Zuo Ting was handsome, with fair and delicate skin, and exquisite facial features. The corners of his pale pink lips curved slightly, as if they could entice one’s soul.

Chu Shici was worried that Su Zheyan might be deceived by Zuo Ting’s beauty, so he quickly looked up.

Su Zheyan had an indifferent expression, and there was even a hint of impatience. Truly a protagonist of a non-romantic storyline, not effected by any sweet talk.

Zuo Ting caressed the helmet and looked at him critically. “What did Mr. Su misunderstand about it?”

That last sentence seemed to have exhausted Su Zheyan’s patience. He completely ignored the person in front of him and tried to walk past him once again.

Zuo Ting was slightly displeased. He raised his hand, intending to grab the clothes on Su Zheyan’s chest to stop him.

However, the sensation he felt wasn’t quite right.

There seemed to be something in the pocket on his chest—something hard and about the size of a palm. When he grabbed it, it seemed to twitch for a moment.

His intuition told him that it was a living creature. Zuo Ting quickly took it out.

It was a platinum-colored robot, and it was evident that its owner loved it dearly. It had small patterns printed on its body and was dressed in a fancy princess dress.

Realizing it was just a vintage children’s toy, Zuo Ting felt somewhat disappointed. He casually tossed the robot up and down, planning to continue the confrontation with Su Zheyan. But suddenly, his vision blurred.

The robot, thrown into the air, was caught skillfully by someone. At the same time, a hand forcefully grasped Zuo Ting’s wrist. With a pull and a twist, Su Zheyan firmly controlled him.

His hands were bound behind his back, and a pale, slender hand firmly gripped his throat. The hand exerted continuous pressure, causing his face to instantly turn red from the lack of oxygen.

The entire process happened too quickly, and it wasn’t until Zuo Ting’s body started shaking that the bodyguards reacted.

They raised their guns anxiously, but Zuo Ting had become a hostage, so they didn’t dare to rush forward.

Chu Shici was leaning on Su Zheyan’s shoulder, his eyes shining as he looked at him. The way Zuo Ting had tossed him just now felt like riding a roller coaster. But before he could even feel scared, Su Zheyan pulled him down from above.

He glanced at Zuo Ting, who had almost been choked to death.

“What did you do to provoke him? Isn’t it better to stay alive?”

Taking advantage of the lack of attention from the people around them, Chu Shici whispered to Su Zheyan, “Yan ge, you’re so handsome, and I love you so much! I’ll perform a robot dress-up story for you when we get back.”

Su Zheyan:…

His eyelids twitched, and his grip on Zuo Ting loosened involuntarily. Zuo Ting gasped for breath, his body limp, and his vision darkening. If it weren’t for Su Zheyan holding him, he would have collapsed to the ground by now.

Chu Shici stealthily climbed up, reaching Su Zheyan’s collar and slipping into his shirt. The shoulder was too slippery, and his movements were too big, making it easy for him to slip down.

Su Zheyan paid no attention to the robot crawling around erratically. He held Zuo Ting’s throat tightly and whispered in his ear, “The Empire once ordered me to lead troops to exterminate clones. The new product you mentioned, I saw it years ago.”

He applied slight pressure with his hand, causing Zuo Ting to tremble uncontrollably.

“What you used on the clones back then was this. The Empire just turned a blind eye to it. Do you really think you can achieve perfection?”

As he spoke, the button on his collar suddenly opened. The platinum head of the robot poked out curiously, looking outside.

Due to the angle, Chu Shici could see most of Zuo Ting’s face.

He noticed that after hearing Su Zheyan’s words, Zuo Ting’s expression was both shocked and bewildered, followed by deep contemplation. This reaction was peculiar. He was probably shocked because he didn’t expect Su Zheyan to know so much, but why was he bewildered?

After Zuo Ting gestured for the bodyguards to lower their guns, Su Zheyan also released his grip.

Zuo Ting rubbed his bruised and swollen neck. “Do you care about that robot so much? It’s just a toy from Eternal Life Technology. If you like, I can give you a more advanced one as a gift.”

Chu Shici had long retreated back into his clothes, and Su Zheyan lowered his gaze to the omega in front of him. “I don’t like it when others touch my things.”

Zuo Ting reached out as if to lift his chin, but Su Zheyan furrowed his brows and evaded.

He didn’t persist and hinted, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll settle the score later?”

Su Zheyan had already shown impatience on his face. He pulled out a dagger and threw it aside. A bodyguard exclaimed in shock as his rifle fell to the ground, blood flowing from his shoulder.

He pushed away the omega in front of him, and this time Zuo Ting didn’t stop him.

It wasn’t until Su Zheyan turned into an alley that Zuo Ting shouted, “General Su, I will come find you in five days. This time, I will definitely bring a helmet that satisfies you. Refusing to record citizen information is equivalent to treason. Or perhaps you want to be stripped of your citizenship!”

The captain of the bodyguards approached, “Mr. Zuo, why didn’t you stop him? We have guns.”

Zuo Ting looked at him mockingly, “What, do you think having guns means you can overpower him? Can’t you stand apart next time? Do you still think you’re not noticable enough, wanting to be live targets? Killing you all is like playing for him. I knew you were born lowly. A bunch of defective goods, idiots! Useless! You can’t even accomplish such a simple task.”

The bodyguards knelt down in a panic, repeatedly kowtowing, as if they had heard something dreadful.

The surrounding alphas watched this scene in a daze. They were still attracted to the omega, but they shrank back and dared not approach.

Zuo Ting growled irritably, snatched the rifle, and fired randomly into the crowd.

Screams instantly filled the main street. Alphas who couldn’t dodge in time were shot dead on the spot. Even though the Desolate Star could only use the most primitive and low-level firearms, these weapons that had long been eliminated by the Empire could still easily penetrate the human body, turning living beings into cold corpses in an instant.

Although bulletproof and stab-resistant technology had long been applied to everyday clothing, it was common in the Empire. But the Desolate Star was a high-tech graveyard, the most primitive place. Under gunpowder, all beings were equal.

After emptying a magazine1, Zuo Ting tossed the gun aside.

He looked in the direction Su Zheyan had left, touched his bruised and bloodied neck, and thought, “Strange, how did he know? Did someone betray us? No, it’s not possible; he doesn’t have the means. Could there be a flaw in the system? No, it’s functioning normally.”

The turmoil on the main street didn’t affect Su Zheyan. Currently, his vitality was only 45 points, and he had little interest in external matters.

There were originally two alphas in the alley who intended to lay hands on him when he entered.

After Su Zheyan made a move, the alley became empty and quiet.

He reached into his shirt and took out the robot. Removing the robot’s little skirt, he took out a handkerchief and began disinfecting him.

Chu Shici sat on his hand and lifted his foot in coordination, allowing him to clean the wheels.

“Actually, I’m not dirty. His hands were clean.”

Su Zheyan sniffed him at the tip of his nose and wiped more carefully. “There’s a scent of roses on you.”

While smelling the robot, Chu Shici accidentally touched the slightly cool lips.

He lowered his head and looked at the mechanical hand, shaking his four fingers back and forth. “System, his lips are so soft.”

The system took a sip of tea and said, “I’m afraid that after his Vitality reaches 80 and you become a real person, you’ll do something to Su Zheyan.”

“Am I that morally corrupt in your eyes? I have no impure thoughts about Yan Ge, only admiration and appreciation for the strong. Don’t think too much, I’m very pure.”

“I checked your purchase records in the flower market. You look innocent and obedient, but I never expected you to be like this in private. Tsk tsk, Xiao Ci, you’re quite wild.”

“… I hate you.”

Although only the system knew, Chu Shici still felt like he had just returned from the gates of hell.

To alleviate the strange feeling of surviving a catastrophe, he held onto Su Zheyan’s fingers and changed the subject. “Yan Ge, what exactly is that helmet?”

Su Zheyan rubbed his head in response, his eyes filled with imperceptible anger. “The military killed all the clones, but they cloned a portion of them using genetic technology. That helmet can…”

He paused midway, clutching his forehead, and a hint of confusion flashed across his face.

Chu Shici tiptoed. “Are you having a headache? Shall I massage it for you?”

Su Zheyan remained silent for a long time, his expression growing increasingly strange.

After a while, he looked at Chu Shici hesitantly and said, “I don’t know what the helmet is for, but I know it’s dangerous. It must never be put on someone’s head, especially not mine.”

Chu Shici cautiously asked, “Yan Ge, could you have amnesia?”

Su Zheyan shook his head, then after a moment of hesitation, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

“I haven’t lost my memory. On the contrary… it seems like I have gained some additional memories.”

(a detachable ammunition storage device used in firearms)