Evolution - Chapter 60
Chapter 60
The two sides, locked in a bitter feud, didn’t forget about Ji Changqing even as they fought. Both would occasionally take a potshot at her, the source of all their troubles.
Ji Changqing scrambled for cover, her defensive shield growing dimmer by the second. She rolled into a hidden spot, evading their casual attacks.
The shield absorbed most of the damage, but after six straight hours of pursuit, she was more than a little banged up. The pain made her thoughts wander.
The interstellar age was really something else. Everyone was so focused on noise reduction, on doing things quietly. Making a sound was a no-go. It made it impossible to dodge attacks by sound.
A silent battle was far more terrifying than a noisy one.
Every clash and attack was silent, right up until something exploded into a firework.
It forced her to constantly twist her head around to watch her back as she fled, nearly giving herself a crooked neck.
After lying low for a while, she figured the guys from the starting point of this whole mess must be sneaking over by now. Maybe she should stir things up again? One, it would help her escape. Two, it would ease the pressure on her approaching comrades.
She weighed the grenade in her hand, picked up a few rocks of similar size, and tossed them toward a spot where she’d heard movement.
As expected, they were shot to pieces.
She crept toward the confirmed enemy positions, staying low to the ground. Skipping them like stones on water, she tossed a small timed bomb toward each group, then threw the grenade high into the air.
Someone cursed but didn’t fire. They probably just grabbed a rock or something and knocked the grenade away.
Everyone started treating it like a game of hot potato. The moment the grenade came their way, they’d knock it aside, terrified it would blow up on them.
The thoroughly rejected grenade finally gave up and exploded in mid-air, turning itself into a firework.
Under the cover of its brother’s sacrifice, the timed micro-bombs successfully blew up two enemy positions.
These two groups must have belonged to different factions, because Ji Changqing suddenly found herself being targeted by concentrated fire.
There were at least twenty people left between the two sides. Their combined fire pinned her down completely, making it impossible to even lift her head.
Fine, you’ve got the firepower. I can’t mess with you. In that case, let’s make it so no one dares to shoot recklessly. Hand-to-hand combat would be best. If not, then you can all just wait to be surrounded and wiped out!
After all, you’re all so obsessed with this shiny little thing!
Ji Changqing decisively threw out the glittering “bait.”
“Stop!”
“Stop!”
Aside from shooting at Ji Changqing, this was a rare moment of agreement between the two sides. They both yelled for a ceasefire.
The intense firefight came to an abrupt halt.
Ji Changqing said languidly, “I’ve given it back to you. No need to make a big fuss and keep chasing me!”
With another tacit understanding, both sides opened fire on her again.
Dammit, you’re the one we’re trying to hit! Are you crazy, throwing that thing around so casually? You could have at least used it to negotiate!
Ji Changqing curled up on the ground, head down, and continued her antics. With her face to the dirt, her voice was muffled. “Are you guys stupid, using all your ammo on me? How do you know the other side isn’t holding back?”
That’s true.
Everyone thought that made a lot of sense. The Empire’s side stopped first. The space pirates, led by the squad leader she had thoroughly screwed over, still fired a few hateful, sporadic shots in her direction before finally ceasing.
The Empire’s side was the first to test the waters. Someone with nimble movements tried to sprint toward the storage sphere.
The space pirates gave him the Ji Changqing treatment without hesitation.
The two groups finally left Ji Changqing alone and focused on taking each other out.
They traded fire for over ten minutes, and both sides grew anxious. This wasn’t their home turf. What if these cadets used human wave tactics? Their weapons might be crap, but there was no standing against sheer numbers!
The space pirates were especially panicked.
The Empire’s warship wasn’t as damaged as theirs. Who knew if they had allies nearby?
Coincidentally, the people from the Empire were thinking the same thing.
In the suffocating silence, both sides were on edge, yet neither was willing to give up the fat prize right in front of them.
Only Ji Changqing was lying low, perfectly relaxed and at ease.
Go on, stay silent. The longer you drag this out, the more time my friends have to surround you.
She looked around, wondering how a large group with crappy weapons would go about encircling them. She needed to retreat to a safe zone before that, so she wouldn’t get in their way.
Quietly, quietly, trying not to be noticed, she began to move slowly, wanting to get out of the combat zone.
Don’t panic. Lie low. She could do this!
Compared to the space pirates, the Empire’s men clearly had the upper hand—because they had a suicide squad.
They were a guard unit belonging to some noble house, they had a warship, and they were systematically causing trouble and trapping cadets here. This meant that even if they weren’t official soldiers, they were close enough—possessing the willingness to sacrifice their lives to complete a mission and cover for their teammates.
The Empire’s side moved first. Two members of the suicide squad charged forward under fire. One provided cover while the other snatched the storage sphere and threw it toward his teammates.
One after the other, the two men fell, collapsing heavily to the ground.
It was a bloodless death. The concentrated energy blasts had shattered their defenses, pierced their bodies, and cauterized the wounds.
Smelling the scent of burnt flesh, Ji Changqing frowned in discomfort.
The pirates had no such brave and fearless men, but they didn’t lack those with a “take you down with me” mentality. “If we can’t have it, we’ll destroy it so no one can!”
As the storage sphere carved a swift arc through the air toward the Empire’s side, the pirates unanimously aimed their guns at it.
Ji Changqing shot it out of the air just in time.
She wasn’t sure if an energy blast could destroy it, but she couldn’t allow any accidents. The net hadn’t closed yet; how could the bait disappear so soon?
She fired again and again, forcefully altering the storage sphere’s trajectory until it landed some distance away from both groups.
The two sides returned to their tense standoff.
This place wasn’t far from the ambush point. During the seesaw battle of fighting and pausing, Ji Changqing finally retreated out of what she estimated would be the coming engagement zone.
She continued to rustle and creep backward. Both groups heard her, but they didn’t have the energy to spare her any attention, their eyes still locked on each other.
They were in a bind now.
Aside from Ji Changqing, who had the guts to abandon the storage sphere, both sides were holding out hope. Neither dared nor was willing to so easily give up the prize that was within their grasp.
What if their allies arrived soon? Right?
If they gave up now, any comrades who arrived later might report them behind their backs, and life would become very difficult.
No matter what, they had to continue the standoff!
The pirate squad leader felt uneasy. Ji Changqing had screwed him over so many times that he was traumatized, and he had a feeling she was up to something.
He signaled for his men to keep an eye on the Empire’s people while he snuck over to Ji Changqing’s position to see what she was doing.
Just as he got close to her, he heard several cries of pain from behind him.
He whipped his head around, his eyes wide with fury.
Those damn cadets had circled around to the mountain on the other side and were now raining down indiscriminate, sweeping fire on the twenty-odd people below.
No matter how crappy their weapons were, they couldn’t stand against such superior numbers. The cadets had “baby-mode” protective shields ensuring their safety, so they weren’t afraid of return fire and didn’t hesitate to unleash their energy!
After three volleys from the hundred-plus cadets, everyone left on the field, whether from the Empire or the pirates, was dead.
The squad leader was overcome with rage and grief. Just as he was about to charge out, a sharp pain shot through his right hand, and he lost his grip on his energy gun. He quickly snatched it with his left hand, only to see Ji Changqing pointing an identical energy gun at him.
“I didn’t take a fatal shot while you were distracted because I was hoping you’d cooperate,” Ji Changqing said slowly. “Trust me, you can’t raise your gun faster than I can pull this trigger.”
They’d been chasing and shooting at her for so long. Did they think she didn’t have a temper?!
But in the end, she really didn’t have the temper for it.
The cadets who had converged and once again succeeded by bullying with numbers came down to clean up the battlefield and loot the bodies. Their expressions were all grim, showing none of the cheerful smugness that should follow a victory.
He Qingping, Eve, and Cheng Jian had all been stationed along this ambush line, and now they had all gathered.
Ji Changqing realized that something bad had happened—something she probably didn’t want to know.
After listening to Gu Changge and He Qingzhi’s explanation, Ji Changqing, who had been leaning against a tree, let out a long sigh and slumped into a boneless heap.
She had read through the Alliance’s history. If the official accounts hadn’t deliberately demonized the Empire, then in her understanding, the Empire was a nation similar to ancient Huaxia—a semi-slave, semi-feudal society.
It was especially terrible for Omegas.
After all, once fully marked, an Omega would become involuntarily dependent on the Alpha who marked them.
Although she was now an Alpha, a privileged class in the Empire, it didn’t stop her from detesting such a system.
Alphas reigned supreme. To consolidate their superior status and solidify their rule, they shackled Betas and Omegas with countless restrictions in the name of “it’s for your own good,” denying them not only opportunities to prove themselves but even the right to an equal education.
He Qingping, the future quartermaster, was knowledgeable and reliable—far more reliable than Gu Changge.
“The Empire’s system causes most of the capable, knowledgeable, and oppressed Betas and Omegas to find ways to leave and join the Alliance. But because there have been cases of Imperial spies infiltrating in the past, the Alliance has designated settlement areas for Imperial immigrants and doesn’t allow them into the core regions.” He Qingping resignedly squatted down to educate this country bumpkin, Ji Changqing.
They had lost contact with the instructors. They had just discovered pirates here, and then an Imperial warship appeared over there, and at least ten thousand people had fallen into their hands.
For the moment, they didn’t have any good ideas, so they wanted to see if Ji Changqing had any new insights.
“So they have a serious population drain, meaning the Empire is short on people? Is that why they’re abducting military cadets?”
“Not entirely.” He Qingping chose his words carefully. He found this god-tier teammate Gu Changge had found to be a bit of a mystery. “The Empire has a tradition. The noble houses have their own private armies and warships. Whenever they wish, or when they deem it worthwhile, they will periodically go on a hunt.”
“And the prey is… people?”
“Yes.” He Qingping struggled to keep his voice steady. “Especially Alphas and Omegas.”
Ji Changqing didn’t need him to elaborate; she could fill in the blanks herself. They plunder populations, screen for those with superior physical qualities, and force them to breed. The children are brainwashed from a young age, and naturally grow up to be loyal to the Empire.
To the people of the Empire, Omegas were just breeding tools. As for the abducted Alphas, they always had a use, whether as cannon fodder or as miners.
He Qingzhi sneered coldly, “They don’t even need to abduct Alphas. Don’t plenty of them defect to the Empire’s embrace every year?”
Ji Changqing turned to look at the angry young man.
He seemed to hold a deep prejudice against Alphas. She wondered what kind of trauma he had suffered.
She thought about her own life. As a woman with a niche sexual orientation, living on a planet like Blue Star in a country where advocating for equal rights was a losing game, she only ever felt that men had it good and still played the victim. She had never been this cynical!
This angry young man lived in the Alliance, an ABO society that strove for fairness and justice, where merit was based on contribution. What could have possibly happened to make him so twisted?
He Qingping pretended not to hear. As a Beta, it was better to just be zen about it.
“They used an upgraded version of the forbidden drug N128. It’s an agent that induces premature estrus. Once pheromones are triggered, the drug mixture causes powerful hallucinations in those in heat.”
Ji Changqing instantly understood why everyone looked so grim.
Among those ten thousand-plus people, it was highly likely that most were Alphas. Under the influence of such a drug, if any of them lost control and tried to assault an Omega, their future in the Alliance would be essentially ruined.
She looked curiously at the angry young man. He was an Omega and knew exactly what drug had been used. How had he been strong enough to escape?
He Qingzhi understood her gaze. His voice was hoarse and tinged with a sob. “Among the people who were abducted, some were Betas. They were holding back the frenzied Alphas.”
When he recalled those nightmarish few hours, he felt so agitated and depressed he thought he would explode.
After discovering the enemy had sprayed the forbidden drug, some Alphas resolutely tied each other up, restraining themselves. But a considerable number of Alphas refused to be bound, unwilling to place their lives in others’ hands.
The Betas, unaffected by the pheromones, formed a human wall in front of the crazed Alphas, desperately protecting the Omegas who were also suffering but refused to yield.
When they realized he wasn’t as heavily affected, the Betas, under immense pressure, managed to clear a path for him to escape that place.
He saw a Beta whose shield had run out of energy being beaten by a frenzied Alpha until he was coughing up blood, yet he never retreated a single step.
He didn’t retreat even half a step, right up until he collapsed, weak and silent.
He still remembered, when they had cleared a path, how he had pleaded with the Beta escorting him to come with him.
The other person had smiled and said, “We are soldiers of the Alliance. You leave to get help. I stay to protect.”
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