The suffocating feeling from having his neck tightly squeezed would make almost anyone instinctively try to grab the hand choking them, but Chen Xing didn’t. Not only did he not move, he even looked at Ji Chenxi with a bright smile, as if he was expecting something.
Expecting.
Expecting what?
A strange feeling rose in Ji Chenxi’s heart, yet the hand gripping Chen Xing’s neck tightened even more.
The skin under his fingers was warm and firm, and he could feel the faint movement caused by the other’s breathing. With just a bit more force, his strength as an alpha would be enough to easily snap the man’s neck. But this complete lack of resistance stirred an odd unease in Ji Chenxi.
Too calm. There wasn’t even a hint of pain from suffocation on the other’s face.
“You think I can’t kill you?”
Ji Chenxi tilted his head slightly, asking directly without beating around the bush.
Chen Xing looked a bit surprised, then laughed. “Your Highness can try.”
Ji Chenxi did try. The strength in his hand neither increased nor decreased, but he released the suppressive pheromones that symbolized an alpha.
The pheromones surged wildly, reaching a terrifying concentration in mere moments. Yet even under such intensity, Chen Xing showed no reaction.
At this moment, Ji Chenxi also smiled. He exerted force and casually threw the man aside. “Being unaffected by high-level alpha pheromones is an advantage of artificial humans, but it’s also a good way to tell whether someone is real or not. So now, should I suspect that you yourself are an artificial creation, or that you deliberately left an artificial human here to lure me over?”
“Your Highness is indeed smart,” Chen Xing praised, but didn’t say which guess was correct.
Ji Chenxi had told Chi Zhuo he was walking into a trap. Now it really did look like a banquet set for him.
“You told me so directly that you’ve betrayed me, leaving no room at all. That’s not your usual style. You like to control people’s emotions and plan out every step they take. Should I take it that everything before was just you provoking me, trying to make me attack you? Then after I attack you, or even kill you, what happens here?”
Ji Chenxi quietly took a few steps back.
The “Chen Xing” in front of him let his smile fade a little. “This place was specially prepared for Your Highness. Why can’t you just behave?”
The sense of unease grew stronger. Ji Chenxi lightly tapped his wrist terminal without making a sound—no response.
The signal was blocked.
“You figured it out even faster than I expected.”
The moment Ji Chenxi realized the signal was cut, countless thoughts had already run through his mind. He coldly said, “You planted a bomb here. Or rather, you yourself are the trigger for that bomb right now.”
“Correct.” A crisp snap of fingers rang out, filled with praise for how quickly he had figured it out. “But even if you realized it from the start, it’s too late. From the moment you stepped into this room, everything is under my control.”
To capture thieves, capture the leader first. Chen Xing naturally understood that principle.
The card in Chen Xing’s hand was suddenly raised and slashed toward his own neck.
Even without knowing what kind of bomb it was, an explosion in such an enclosed space would be extremely terrifying. Ji Chenxi condensed a spiritual-energy blade and knocked the card away. At the same time, he rushed forward to close the distance, stopping any chance of Chen Xing triggering the explosion.
The power of a double S-level was terrifying, and the speed far surpassed S-rank. In just a few seconds, the two had already exchanged countless moves. During that time, Ji Chenxi showed no mercy—he twisted off one of Chen Xing’s arms and bound him with spiritual-energy vines, restraining his movements.
Chen Xing lay on the ground in a miserable state. One arm had been broken by Ji Chenxi, and the other had its palm pierced by the vines. Yet it was as if he felt no pain at all. He looked at Ji Chenxi with a smile. “Actually, being able to die together with you while conscious isn’t so bad.”
That faint unease from when he first learned there was a bomb finally settled into certainty.
“The one here is from the A97 series—Thunder.”
This time, Ji Chenxi didn’t phrase it as a question, but as a firm statement.
It was impossible to plant a large bomb inside the academy, and smaller bombs usually lacked enough power. The A97 series broke that limitation, and among them, Thunder was the most complex to manufacture and the most destructive. Once activated, it would explode after a set time—unstoppable and impossible to dismantle. Destroying the trigger directly would only cause an immediate massive explosion.
“Congratulations, Your Highness, that’s correct.” This artificial Chen Xing was unusually straightforward.
Ji Chenxi felt no joy at getting it right. If this really was Thunder, a bomb requiring countless precious materials, was there any way out?
He ignored Chen Xing lying on the ground and went to the door he had entered from. As expected, it wouldn’t open at all. Even the system had completely crashed. Checking his wrist terminal, the earlier input was fine—the place truly had no signal. Beneath this laboratory was a massive signal jammer.
This kind of signal block wasn’t impossible to remove, but it would take a lot of time. And even if he managed to reconnect, he still wouldn’t be able to stop an already activated Thunder.
Ji Chenxi first tried to forcibly break the central system with his spiritual energy, then blast open the door sealed by a defensive barrier.
The result was a series of beeping sounds echoing through the room.
The constant beeping sounded like a warning.
Chen Xing, still lying on the ground, smiled. “Your Highness, your spiritual energy is too strong. The lab’s secondary self-destruction will activate in one minute, and Thunder’s explosion timer has also been moved forward.”
One minute. Even for a double S alpha, still made of flesh and blood, escaping this lab in one minute was nothing but a fantasy.
Chen Xing had expected to see at least a trace of fear on Ji Chenxi’s face, but he didn’t catch even a hint of it.
Ji Chenxi ignored the beeping and went to the lab equipment, starting to tinker with it.
One minute. Even if the other could move freely through the star network, there was no way to stop the explosion. So Chen Xing watched calmly—until he saw Ji Chenxi forcibly use nearly unusable equipment to move the cover blocking the skylight.
Forty-three seconds left.
Although the skylight was now the weakest point in the lab, it was still made of glass that could withstand photon guns. It wouldn’t be easy to break.
The skylight was locked, which didn’t surprise Ji Chenxi. From the moment the beeping started, he could feel his spiritual energy being suppressed, meaning there was also a device here that suppressed spiritual power. Everything had been meticulously arranged. The other party clearly intended to kill him in this meeting. In the entire lab, there were barely any sharp objects he could use as heavy weapons.
When Ji Chenxi found a foothold and leaped up to the skylight, the only dagger he had was already embedded into the metal wall to support him.
Time was tight. He had no time to dismantle metal to strike the glass. He clenched his fist and smashed it directly against the glass.
The dull sound of flesh hitting a hard surface echoed, but Ji Chenxi didn’t stop.
“Your Highness, knowing there are tigers in the mountain yet still going in—can I ask why?”
Seven seconds remained before the final explosion.
This time, Ji Chenxi didn’t answer.
Whether it was genuine curiosity or an attempt to stall didn’t matter. A layer of pale blue energy gathered in Ji Chenxi’s hand. Then he struck hard. In the final two seconds, the glass—already showing cracks—finally shattered like a spiderweb, completely breaking apart. Amid the rolling heat waves, he leaped out of the lab.
A massive explosion followed right after. Flames lunged greedily, trying to swallow him whole. And just before leaving, Ji Chenxi seemed to see that fake Chen Xing smiling again.
Chi Zhuo had been very uneasy about Ji Chenxi going to meet Chen Xing. He had no personal ties with Chen Xing—strictly speaking, they hadn’t even met—but from scattered bits of information, it was clear that Chen Xing was someone capable and ambitious. Would a person like that show mercy? No matter how you looked at it, the invitation was a trap.
Using his identity as a graduate of the Imperial Royal Academy, Chi Zhuo entered the academy, but he didn’t go with Ji Chenxi. Whether Chen Xing had tricks prepared or not, the two needed to meet alone, to have what might be their final proper conversation.
But even standing only a few hundred meters away, Chi Zhuo felt a strong sense of unease.
A huge explosion suddenly rang out, and the laboratory Ji Chenxi had entered not long ago burst into flames.
Seeing this, Chi Zhuo’s heart trembled violently, his breathing almost stopping. Ignoring the people with him, he rushed toward the explosion.
Many people were startled by the blast. It wasn’t a wide-range explosion, but happening on campus was enough to cause a commotion.
Students nearby quickly ran away, but Chi Zhuo stood out, moving in the opposite direction. Someone even tried to stop him.
“Wait! There’s been an explosion! There might be another one—run!”
Chi Zhuo ignored it and headed straight toward the burning area. Numerous metal fragments had been blown out, many still burning and igniting nearby objects. Just as Chi Zhuo was about to rush into the center of the explosion, a figure walked out from the flames.
He looked a mess. Several strands of his silver hair were singed, his clothes stained with dirt and blood. The hand he held was dripping blood. But the moment Chi Zhuo saw him, his nearly stopped heartbeat roared back like thunder.
“You should’ve let me go with you.” Chi Zhuo’s tone had never been worse.
Despite looking disheveled, Ji Chenxi’s eyes curved slightly, and he gave a soft smile. “Right now, I’m extremely glad I didn’t let you come.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
