CR CH65

Chapter 65: Special

High-level comprehensive missions occurred two to four times a week on a rotating shift system.

At this moment, inside the Research Institute, there were only the hushed, lowered voices of the personnel exchanging information. Jiang Tianji had just finished receiving an inhibitor injection and put on an energy neck ring, bowing his head slightly as he listened to He Qian deliver the precautions.

“Ji… Tianji?”

He Qian waved a hand in front of his eyes, the light reflecting off her glasses concealing a fleeting trace of concern in her gaze.

“…Sorry.”

Jiang Tianji snapped back to reality, the deep shadows gathered in his eyes dissipating.

“I’m listening.”

“That’s pretty much all of it. However, your energy is still not considered stable and is easily affected by your emotions—this is something you need to control yourself.”

“Alright.” After thanking her, Jiang Tianji asked, “Dr. He, how long was I in repair?”

“Around three hours.” He Qian felt that every question this kid asked was outside her expectations. “Why do you ask?”

“Then do you know how long Liang Chong was in repair?”

“Let me check.” Her expression turned subtle for an instant as she opened her clearance to search. “Nearly four hours… Your energy attached itself to the inside of his body and kept tearing away at him; clearing it out consumed quite a bit of time.”

She didn’t ask further, only patting his shoulder after a moment of silence.

“Kid, act within your capabilities.”

“I understand, thank you.”

Stepping out of the main entrance of the Research Institute, Jiang Tianji glanced at the message on his device from 8:20 this morning.

• Ling: Come over at 12:30 at noon.

Seeing that time was about right, Jiang Tianji picked up a meal from the cafeteria and headed toward the officers’ building.

On his way, he bumped into several team members who had just finished a mission. Covered in blood and dirt, they were hurrying toward the dorms, and behind them, the crowd gradually grew thicker.

“Holy shit, that’s really terrifying.”

“Lately, there are more and more level-transition missions. Even if they aren’t Super S-rank, the instructors bound to have occasional oversights. Having Captain Ling and the Special Support instructors around really gives a sense of security.”

“I heard Captain Ling got injured?”

“Who’d you hear that from…”

Jiang Tianji couldn’t hear the rest of their words clearly, the wind at his ears seeming a bit sharper.

“Officers.”

Arriving at the officers’ official area, Jiang Tianji lowered his head to greet the instructors, walking all the way to the front of the Commander-in-Chief’s office to knock on the door.

With his head buried low, he didn’t notice the uniform line of investigative gazes from the Special Support officers.

The door wasn’t locked. As Jiang Tianji knocked, a crack opened up; he raised his eyes, his figure stiffening before his gaze trembled lightly.

Inside the room, Ling Kongmiao was bare-chested. Casually tossing a blood-stained shirt to the side, he retrieved a spare uniform from the storage locker.

The lines of lean muscle were crisp without being overly bulged, clean and refreshing. The hidden sense of power within his movements instantly reminded Jiang Tianji of that rainy trial night—the suffocation when those exact hands held his neck.

His gaze unconsciously drifted downward; the other’s long hair fell somewhat messily onto his lower back, fair to the point of glowing.

Blood rapidly rushed to his earlobes. Jiang Tianji instinctively turned sideways to enter the office and closed the door behind him in one fluid motion.

Ling Kongmiao’s motion of slipping on his clothes paused, looking at him just like that.

“My apologies, the door wasn’t closed.”

Jiang Tianji let out a light cough, neither turning around nor offering a greeting. His eyes rested unobtrusively on Ling Kongmiao for a moment before shifting over to the discarded shirt beside him.

“Officer, are you injured?”

Ling Kongmiao ignored the question, finishing neatening his uniform with a lowered head and letting out a soft scoff.

“The most severe injury I’ve suffered recently was those few bites from you.”

Glancing sideways to meet Jiang Tianji’s unevading, unblinking eyes, he paused for a moment and let out a exasperated laugh.

“Does it look good?”

Jiang Tianji sensibly pulled back his gaze, placing the food container on the table to open and set it up. Only after Ling Kongmiao washed his hands and took a seat did he speak up faintly.

“You have a great figure, Officer.”

Without even looking up, Ling Kongmiao tossed a bag of potato chips over: “Go play.”

“Alright.”

Catching the potato chips, Jiang Tianji got up and began wandering around the office.

Ever since stepping through the door, a faint, subtle presence had been provocatively drawing his attention.

Following a certain instinct, he walked all the way over to the storage locker. That blood-stained shirt rested quietly on the chair; he could only smell a faint metallic scent of blood.

Yet that unfamiliar presence blended together with the jasmine scent he was so accustomed to… A sharp ring abruptly buzzed in Jiang Tianji’s ears.

Deep within his eyes, the shadows silently spread outward as an extremely violent wave of emotion tightened like a hand squeezing his heart.

It was remarkably similar to the day he watched Ling Kongmiao step past him to walk toward Liang Chong—unfamiliar, somber, as if something was breaking through the soil.

Jiang Tianji stared at the bloodstains on the shirt in a daze until the packaging in his hands let out a loud pop, snapping him back to reality.

The person behind him made no movement. Jiang Tianji walked briskly over to the window, leaning against the wall to breathe in fresh air, yet the feeling of anxiety in his heart failed to dissipate.

Hesitantly, he opened his device to pull up a real-time analysis of his body metrics, leaning back only after seeing the green, safe values.

—What is wrong with me?

A bewildered voice surfaced in his mind.

“Come here.”

Ling Kongmiao pushed the food container to the side, the food inside virtually untouched.

Right now, the office was filled with the scent of lemon—a certain brat had been strolling through his office while releasing pheromones, coating a layer of his own scent like a territory mark everywhere he walked.

Ling Kongmiao glanced over his blood-stained shirt. As the worst disaster area in the room, the residual scent of the unfamiliar Alpha on it had been shredded until not a shred remained.

If he didn’t understand Jiang Tianji’s condition so well, Ling Kongmiao would truly suspect whether the boy was declaring war on him.

“First of all, pull your pheromones back.” He rubbed the center of his brows, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

Jiang Tianji froze: “What?”

“I just took an inhibitor—ugh!” Before his words could finish, he was pinned against the desk by a massive force.

Ling Kongmiao leaned over to hold him down, his pheromones and mental power invading decisively, fierce and relentless.

Even if one didn’t reject a specific pheromone, this method was more than enough to make an Alpha with sensory defects wildly restless.

He intended to use this method to warn the other to show restraint, yet when he lowered his head, he saw Jiang Tianji’s calm and confused expression.

He actually looked quite at ease, even silently adjusting his position a bit after being pressed against the hard tabletop.

“…”

Seeing that Ling Kongmiao had stopped moving, Jiang Tianji propped his body up and drew a bit closer, the fringe on their foreheads briefly brushing against each other.

“Guidance… requires this?” he asked in a low voice.

Ling Kongmiao stood up and backed away to avoid excessive contact.

His tone bore no fluctuations: “Your pheromones lost control.”

“Marking up my office like a puppy peeing everywhere; if my endurance were any worse, you’d be lying downstairs right now.”

Jiang Tianji’s expression froze, his heart sinking.

Just as he was pondering whether his weird behaviors had been completely exposed, Ling Kongmiao walked over to the window to open it to its maximum width, turning sideways to tap the sofa.

“Come over.”

His expression showed no anomalies, only a faint crease appearing between his brows. Jiang Tianji could only walk over as told.

Sitting down on the sofa near the French window, Jiang Tianji suddenly asked as if recalling something.

“Officer, haven’t the results of the ring match come out yet?”

Ling Kongmiao removed his right glove: “A draw. It’ll be announced this afternoon.”

Jiang Tianji knit his brows, his speaking speed slightly faster: “Why a draw?”

Ling Kongmiao said flatly: “You’re just less afraid of dying than he is, not stronger than him.”

His already sour mood instantly turned worse. Jiang Tianji didn’t speak for a moment, raising his eyes to look at Ling Kongmiao.

“Do you also hope he joins Special Support?”

The emotion in this sentence of his was far too obvious to ignore.

Where he got the nerve was unknown, but his words were spoken clearly and solidly, the tone managed just right to let people know he was throwing a small tantrum.

Ling Kongmiao looked down at him, giving a half-smile: “Do I need to report to you, Officer?”

Those last two words were spoken flippantly and sarcastically.

With nothing left to say, Jiang Tianji lowered his eyes and closed his mouth completely.

In the moment of quiet, his fingers brushed across his restlessly beating heart.

The taste of certain impulsive urges seemed to appear out of nowhere; even if momentary confusion arose in his mind, he was still unable to restrain it.

The faint buzzing at his ears didn’t dissipate, growing increasingly severe instead.

The scene before his eyes began to blur, many fragmented images flashing through his mind.

Collapsing, everyone running, crying out and wailing.

He was unable to move, rubble falling continuously beside him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

The overly chaotic sounds swept him into a whirlpool, cold sweat seeping from his temples.

Ling Kongmiao leaned against the French window to provide guidance for him. Frowning as if sensing something, he immediately supported the person who was on the verge of collapsing forward.

Clatter. A leg bumped against the coffee table in front, letting out a crisp sound.

Jiang Tianji jolted awake as if waking from a dream, the bizarre voices in his heart scattering away. He breathed somewhat hurriedly, his eyes dazed.

The sudden withdrawal of those unfamiliar things left him feeling hollow and uneasy.

A red warning ring manifested on his neck energy ring. Just as it was about to forcibly release energy to suppress him, Ling Kongmiao reached out his hand to turn it off.

“Focus your mind, your energy…”

Before his sentence could finish, he was grabbed dead by the wrist.

Disregarding his own discomfort, Jiang Tianji stared dead at the side of Ling Kongmiao’s neck—a mark had appeared there.

His consciousness snapped entirely clear, scared awake.

—Mine.

His heavy breathing showcased his incredulous mood.

“My… mine?”

He murmured his inner thoughts aloud, staring at the mark on the side of Ling Kongmiao’s neck.

It was a black scale mark, a dark green faint light gleaming from within the tiny gaps.

Jiang Tianji felt his heart beating with abnormal excitement. He instinctively reached out his hand wanting to touch it, only to get slapped across the hand halfway.

“Jiang Tianji.” Ling Kongmiao’s tone sank, addressing him by his full name.

Perhaps his expression was simply too shocked; sensing something off, Ling Kongmiao opened his device to aim at himself, and after confirming there were no issues, the gaze landing on Jiang Tianji carried a thread of scrutiny.

“If there’s a problem, speak up.”

Jiang Tianji quickly calmed down. Noticing Ling Kongmiao’s actions, he realized the other party probably couldn’t see this thing, raising a hand to wipe his face.

“Nothing, I misremembered/missaw.”

Though he said this, the corner of his eye remained firmly locked onto that dark mark.

Ling Kongmiao looked at him for a moment, then turned to push open the door to the side compartment, observing himself in front of the mirror.

Silver-white hair flowed over his neck and shoulders; he reached out to smooth it backward, revealing a fair neck that had nothing on it except pale blue veins.

There was a hint of hesitation in his movement as he let down his hair, but he quickly returned to his usual calmness. Returning to Jiang Tianji’s side, he picked up a pack of wet wipes from the desk and tossed it to him.

“Wipe yourself.”

Even without looking up, one could feel Ling Kongmiao’s immensely pressuring gaze.

Jiang Tianji took it, raising his hand to wipe away the thin layer of sweat seeping from his forehead and neck, his gaze no longer drifting aimlessly.

The blue fireflies rested by his side once more, and Jiang Tianji let out a gentle sigh of relief.

“Liang Chong is taking You Li’s spot.”

Amid the quiet, Ling Kongmiao suddenly spoke up flatly: “I am currently only responsible for you.”

Not expecting Ling Kongmiao to bring this up on his own, Jiang Tianji froze.

Just as he raised his head, he was pressed back down by a hand.

His mental domain was invaded, his consciousness blurring as he instantly forgot what he originally intended to do.

The scent lingering at the tip of his nose was comforting, devoid of any other unpleasant odors.

Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Tianji’s body unconsciously tilted in Ling Kongmiao’s direction.

His thoughts drifted far and serene, as if floating in sunlight.

Occasionally, an unrealistic thought would pop up in his heart.

Jiang Tianji often felt lost; too many questions lacked answers, leading him to grow up in a haze like this.

Jiang Yan’s feelings toward him, the codes left by his parents, those shadows he felt from time to time, the unfamiliar ideas deep within his heart.

He didn’t know those answers, so he tried to rest, telling himself, “You’re just an ordinary Beta.”

Right after, he turned into an Alpha, yet he remained different from other Alphas.

When others talked about pheromone scents, he sat among the crowd unable to sense the world they resided in.

The smell of pheromones was also learned from others’ mouths; every time he heard others mention it, he would feel lost.

What exactly am I?

When fatigue took advantage of him, this sentence often surfaced in his heart, never answered by anyone.

Until that day when he could no longer hold on, his hazy consciousness captured a firm response.

—You are Jiang Tianji.

That was the first time he heard an answer, followed closely by the fragrance of jasmine.

His ethereal pain felt as though it was being gently cradled by someone, telling him those things existed, but you need not worry.

As if a concrete:

“I will catch you, I will find you, I will bring you back.”

There was always a jasmine scent around him; sometimes he looked around everywhere, yet could never find the flower.

It seemed to come from afar, making facing solitude far less difficult.

Back when he was still a “problem child” ostracized by others, when getting close to stray animals, when being a gloomy youth, while sleeping, as a Beta or an Alpha… In any moment he felt lost or peaceful, this scent followed him like a shadow.

For some reason, confidence filled his heart; he knew that even if he and the world were spinning and twisting, grabbing that rope meant his hand was pointing east.

Jiang Tianji opened his hands, as if placed within an ocean where he could breathe.

He slowly fell into a dreamscape; in an entirely dark space, a small, delicate jasmine swayed in the wind.

It emitted light, the faint blue fireflies guiding him to walk toward that spot.

Following forward, his foot suddenly stepped on something hard; looking down, it was a long blade.

Jiang Tianji looked for a while, stooping down to pick up the forgotten blade, kneeling on one knee before that flower as he raised a hand to draw a circle around it.

The shadow seemed to see something terrifying, receding outside the circle like a tide, making that place the sole light source.

Like an inverted bright moon, it was not at the edge of the sky, but right before his eyes.

Jiang Tianji lay sideways and reached out his hand, hugging the moon as he fell into a deep sleep.

The moon wasn’t cold; it was warm, fuzzy, and soft.

“Phoo…”

Even breathing rose and fell inside the room.

Someone had fallen asleep midway through guidance, extremely relaxed, mouth slightly agape.

The young man was sprawled wildly sideways on the sofa, pressing his massive tail beneath himself and hugging it tightly. As direct sunlight shone over, he muttered and knit his brows.

Ling Kongmiao leaned down slightly, reaching out a hand to shield the sunlight for him.

His fingers rubbed against the boy’s hair, the cold light in his eyes melting away, replaced by a rare softness.

With a familiar scent lingering at the tip of his nose, Jiang Tianji unconsciously reached out his hand to catch his hand, bringing it to his nose to nuzzle against it.

Ling Kongmiao didn’t pull away, letting him tug at it.

Just like countlessly many times before, after falling asleep, the youth would follow the scent to feel his way over—either tugging at his hair or holding his hand, pressing it beneath his cheek to nuzzle before showing a smile.

Warm breath sprayed onto his knuckles, feeling a bit itchy.

Fair fingers twitched slightly, gently pinching Jiang Tianji’s cheek.

At night, the bright moon must hang high.

But right now, it was daytime.

Favoring a single roof corner wouldn’t be discovered.