Chapter 62: A+A (X)

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Chapter 62: A+A (X)

Shang Ke woke in Rhine’s bed and lay there in a daze. Hearing the bathroom door open behind him, he turned and saw Rhine emerge wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. His powerful, muscular body seemed to contain an almost frightening explosive strength.

“Awake?” Rhine walked over to the bed. “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll have someone prepare it.”

Shang Ke did not answer. He simply stared at Rhine, his gaze sweeping repeatedly over his body as though searching for something.

“What’s wrong?” Rhine asked, puzzled by the strange look in his eyes.

No mole. This man doesn’t have a single mole anywhere on his body! That’s completely unscientific. How can someone not have even one mole?!

Shang Ke’s instincts insisted that Rhine was the man he had been searching for, and after last night, that feeling had become stronger than ever. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mistaken someone for him simply because he was drunk and then abandoned himself so completely in bed. Yet Rhine lacked that identifying mark. Something that had appeared through five consecutive worlds—could there really be an exception?

Unwilling to give up, Shang Ke pulled Rhine’s right hand toward him and examined it carefully.

Rhine allowed him to hold his hand, his deep gaze wandering over Shang Ke’s body.

After studying it for a while, Shang Ke actually noticed something unusual. A pale line crossed Rhine’s palm. At first, he had mistaken it for part of his palm lines, but on closer inspection, it looked like an old scar.

“You injured your hand here before?” Shang Ke looked up, his eyes gleaming.

Rhine glanced at his right hand. “I cut it when I was learning to assemble machinery as a child.”

Shang Ke drew a deep breath and pointed at his palm, trying his best to remain calm. “Before you injured it… was there a mole here?”

Rhine nodded. “Mm. It was removed when the injury was treated.”

Removed. It was removed. Re-mov-ed! Did he have any idea how important that mole was?! Without it, his entire appeal dropped several levels! Without that mole, who could possibly fall for someone carrying around this much arrogant, overbearing, forcibly possessive bastard energy?!

For the past year or two, Shang Ke had been conflicted, tormented, furious, confused, and disgusted with himself—all because this bastard had gotten that precious mole removed!

Shang Ke’s gaze became razor-sharp, and his fingernails dug into Rhine’s palm. If Rhine’s skin weren’t so tough, he probably would have drawn blood.

Rhine assumed Shang Ke was angry about sleeping with him the previous night and said with complete confidence, “Fil, you should get used to my embrace. From now on, no one but me will ever share your bed.”

“…” Even after confirming Rhine’s identity, Shang Ke still thought he desperately needed a beating. Every time he remembered what Rhine had forced on him before, he felt that forgiving him too easily would be unacceptable.

He threw Rhine’s hand aside and began gathering his scattered clothes, only to discover that everything was either torn or stained with suspicious marks and completely unwearable.

Seeing this, Rhine opened his communicator and instructed the butler to bring over a fresh set of clothes and prepare some food as well.

Shang Ke went straight to the bathroom to clean himself up. While changing, he discovered that Rhine had marked him again. Gritting his teeth, Shang Ke drew on his previous experience and erased the mark with relative ease.

Rhine said nothing when he noticed, merely concluding that his mark had not been deep enough and that he would have to make it stronger next time. Shang Ke’s pheromones were unusual: other Alphas did not reject them, and there were already at least four or five Alphas in the military interested in him. Rhine therefore constantly wanted to leave his own mark on Shang Ke so no one else would dare covet him.

After they ate, Shang Ke received a new military assignment before he had even figured out how to punish Rhine.

Shang Ke immediately rose, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. “Time to prepare for battle.”

Rhine noticed a new brilliance in his eyes, as though fresh life had suddenly been poured into him. Shang Ke had always approached battle enthusiastically, but never with this kind of… dazzling vitality.

Rhine’s heart stirred. He strode after Shang Ke and fell into step beside him…

Under Rhine’s command, the 45th Legion rushed toward a new battlefield and entered another desperate struggle against the Insectoids.

For three full years, Shang Ke followed Rhine from one border region to another, surviving countless dangers and completing one perilous mission after another. Once he had confirmed Rhine’s identity, Shang Ke finally cast aside his doubts and fought with fearless energy. His status and prestige within the military rose steadily, and he became Rhine’s most capable frontline deputy. The two fought side by side with seamless coordination.

“Hah!” Shang Ke cut down an Insectoid attempting to ambush Rhine from behind. Blood sprayed across Rhine’s back, but he did not even turn around, remaining completely focused on the enemies before him.

They stood back-to-back, surrounded on every side by a black mass of Insectoids.

This time, their unit had been ordered to relocate camp, only to be ambushed by Burrowing Insectoids along the way. Of the more than five hundred soldiers who had set out, only a few dozen were still holding on.

“The Keso River is right over there! Break through!” Rhine shouted.

The remaining soldiers answered and forced their way through the encircling Burrowing Insectoids before leaping into the raging Keso River. Rhine grabbed Shang Ke and dragged him into the water with him.

Burrowing Insectoids could not swim, but dangerous aquatic Insectoids lurked in the river. Rhine and the others had to reach the opposite bank as quickly as possible before attracting their attention.

Unfortunately, their timing could not have been worse. They had jumped into the river just as a male Crimsonbone Fish King and its queen were mating. The falling humans startled the pair so badly that their reproductive effort was completely wasted into the river, leaving both fish absolutely furious. Crimsonbone Fish entered mating season only once every three years and had a low reproductive rate. They had finally gotten the right time and place and were one moment away from success—only for everything to be ruined at the last second.

The enormous fish thrashed violently and released piercing sonic waves through the water. Blood immediately poured from the soldiers’ eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, leaving them in unbearable agony.

Shang Ke was shaken until his head spun. River water flooded his mouth and nose, choking him until he nearly lost consciousness. Rhine’s expression turned grave as he held Shang Ke tightly and swam rapidly toward the opposite bank.

The two enormous fish swallowed several soldiers in succession before charging directly toward Rhine and Shang Ke.

Rhine’s expression sharpened, his pupils contracting slightly. Holding Shang Ke with one arm and a weapon in the other, he turned to face the two rapidly approaching Crimsonbone Fish…

After an unknown amount of time, Shang Ke woke in severe pain. He began coughing violently, expelling a large amount of blood along with filth and debris from his throat.

It took a long time for the coughing to stop. Once Shang Ke steadied his breathing, he looked around and quickly spotted Rhine nearby. Rhine lay facedown on the ground, his armor shattered, his back mangled and bloody, with several gashes on his right leg deep enough to expose bone. The injuries looked horrifying.

Compared with Rhine, Shang Ke’s injuries were almost insignificant. His main problem was that the sonic attack had aggravated his old injuries, leaving his entire body weak. Most of his external wounds had simply come from fighting the Insectoids.

Shang Ke’s breath caught. He staggered over to Rhine and hurriedly checked him. Only after confirming that he was still breathing did Shang Ke finally relax.

But Rhine’s injuries were severe and needed treatment as soon as possible, or he might be permanently disabled. Shang Ke looked around. The surroundings were empty and silent, with no sign of their comrades and no way of knowing what had happened to them.

Shang Ke searched his gear and found two tubes of medicine and a compressed bandage. He quickly performed emergency treatment on Rhine’s wounds, then pulled out his communicator to send a distress signal—only to discover that it had been damaged.

Shang Ke cursed under his breath, checked the terrain and direction, then hoisted Rhine onto his back and started toward camp. He had taken only a few steps when he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. His legs buckled, nearly sending him to his knees. Gritting his teeth, he steadied Rhine on his back and continued forward.

He had to find somewhere safe before sunset. Night was when the Insectoids were most active. In their current condition, encountering a large swarm would mean certain death.

After walking for more than an hour without finding suitable shelter, Shang Ke had no choice but to carry Rhine up a Pinevale Tree. This species emitted an odor that Insectoids disliked, so large insects generally avoided the surrounding area.

Shang Ke carefully settled Rhine between the branches and fed him one tube of nutrient solution. Between them, they had only four tubes remaining. Shang Ke gave Rhine a full one but drank less than half of one himself. By his estimate, the nearest camp was at least three days away, and four tubes of nutrient solution would not sustain them for long.

At that moment, Rhine slowly regained consciousness. One look around was enough for him to understand their situation.

He tried to shift his body, but the intense pain immediately darkened his expression.

“Don’t move. Rest properly and save your strength. We still have to travel tomorrow,” Shang Ke warned.

Rhine looked at Shang Ke. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Shang Ke shook his head.

In the dim evening light, Rhine failed to notice that the front of Shang Ke’s clothes was already soaked in blood.

“Mm.” Rhine’s expression eased slightly before turning serious again. “This operation should have been foolproof. We conducted reconnaissance beforehand, yet we were still ambushed. This was no accident.”

“I think so too.” Shang Ke frowned. “But who would be plotting against us?”

“Not ‘us.’ Me.” Killing intent flashed through Rhine’s eyes. “My achievements over the past few years have probably made certain people nervous. If we return victorious this time, I should be promoted to Major General.”

Rhine was only thirty-four years old and could very well become the youngest Major General in history. To certain people, that undoubtedly made him an enormous threat.

Seeing Rhine radiating killing intent, his entire expression tense, Shang Ke suddenly shifted onto the branch beside him, leaned back, patted his chest, and smiled. “Want something to lean on?”

Rhine froze, apparently unused to anyone offering him this kind of comfort. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly leaned over, rested his face against Shang Ke’s chest, and wrapped both arms around his waist.

Shang Ke held him with one arm while slipping the other hand into his hair and gently massaging his scalp.

Rhine’s body gradually relaxed until most of his weight rested against Shang Ke. He resembled a drowsy giant cat, completely unlike his usual stern and disciplined self.

Wrapped in Shang Ke’s gentle presence, Rhine experienced for the first time a sense of contentment completely untouched by desire.

In the darkness, a thin line of blood slowly trickled from the corner of Shang Ke’s mouth, and his muscles began to spasm faintly. But Rhine had already fallen asleep again and noticed nothing wrong.

Beneath the rustling shadows of the tree, the two figures rested intimately against each other. Everything around them was peaceful, with only the gentle night breeze carrying the faint, distant cries of insects…

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