After Being Forcibly Marked By My Fiancé’S Best Friend Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After speaking, Lian Xu decisively cut the communication, turned off the signal receiver, and continued piloting the aircraft through the orbit. According to the navigation route, they would reach their destination an hour after leaving the orbit.

The Barren Star, ranked second most desolate in the galaxy, was where a large number of criminals were dumped. It was once considered a wasteland, a dwelling place for refugees and scoundrels.

Lian Xu was assigned here to search for rare earth minerals.

Never before had anyone from the Imperial Planet specifically come here to mine resources, because they simply couldn’t imagine finding anything useful in a wasteland.

Shen Zaizhou gave him a time limit of three days, which conveniently coincided with the day the pheromone threshold test results would be released.

He calculated the deadline: if Lian Xu could return within the stipulated time, the plan would proceed; if he couldn’t return, all previous promises would be null and void.

The sky was dark when they landed; it was already night on the Barren Star. The darker the visibility, the harder it was to observe the surroundings, and the higher the danger factor. Lian Xu sat in the aircraft, unbuckled his seatbelt, and recalled Shen Zaizhou’s promise.

He needed to seize every possible opportunity to investigate. The identity of Operations Center Group leader was not enough; there were many Inner Cabinet documents he didn’t have the authority to view, but Shen Zaizhou did.

The new aircraft had robust defensive capabilities. While maneuvering against external threats in the sky, Lian Xu had familiarized himself with all the functions and could now use them with ease.

Yet, he still felt a sense of unease.

Sounds similar to a beast’s low growl came from all directions. Dense raindrops hammered the aircraft’s outer shell overhead, making faint ticking sounds.

Whoosh—a black shadow flashed past rapidly. Lian Xu’s hand gripping the seatbelt tightened abruptly, and he quickly reacted by turning off all lights. The sky grew darker, and the aircraft was thus concealed in the pitch-black environment. He activated his Optic Computer, glanced at the faint, flickering lights in the distance, and then clicked on a private video loop stored on the device.

A subtle voice drifted out: “Baby, I like you… I like you so much… Please don’t marry that good-for-nothing, okay? I’ll give you anything you want.”

———

“Baby, look at the camera! You are the most beautiful kitten in the world!”

“Why do I call you baby… probably because I like you too much. What? Why do I like you? Baby, you ask too many questions!”

“Baby… sweetheart… my beautiful kitten, how about I marry you? Don’t forget me when you get out. Wait for me to find you…”

Seeing this, Lian Xu could no longer hold back. He flipped the Optic Computer over onto his lap, pausing the projected video. The corners of his eyes suddenly turned red, and he bit his lip, struggling to control his voice.

“Liar… you deserve to die just like him!”

The sounds of beasts howling around him suddenly vanished, leaving only the sound of raindrops overhead. Scattered lights were rapidly approaching the direction where the aircraft had landed.

Slap—

A bloody hand slapped against the glass on the right side of the aircraft cabin.

Slap—Slap—

More and more bloody hands continuously slapped against the glass.

Lian Xu lifted his Optic Computer, using the faint light to see the bloody handprints on the glass, and the withered, decaying human faces, like skeletons, occasionally pressing close.

Were they human or something else… he wasn’t sure.

The Barren Star was rarely visited, and the intelligence brought back was scarce.

Three years ago, the Barbarian Star was stirring restlessly. The Barren Star, being the closest to the Imperial Planet, was caught in the middle and became the medium for their invasion.

Consequently, the Emperor of the Imperial Planet dispatched troops to lie in wait on the Barren Star, attempting to intercept the enemy invasion from there. But months passed, and not a single piece of useful intelligence was sent back. The day the second team arrived, they only sent one message: KIA.

After that, there was no further news.

This incident caused widespread panic, and no one dared to return to the Barren Star. Soon after, the Barbarian Star’s starships landed on the Imperial Planet, and thousands of people stepped onto the land, igniting a war. At that time, the Inner Cabinet still decided who would fight, and all bases were under the Inner Cabinet’s jurisdiction.

A minister from the Inner Cabinet personally went to the battlefield, infiltrated the enemy ranks, and captured the core leader at the time, learning the names of several key operational commanders from him. Thus, the war was named after these three commanders. Battle after grueling battle ensued, and the Imperial Planet suffered heavy casualties, yet the invaders from the Barbarian Star kept coming in waves.

That was until a young Alpha appeared. Leading an army of less than a hundred, piloting less advanced Mechs and aircraft, he successfully cut off the enemy’s powerful left flank. This tore a major opening in the Imperial defense war.

That Alpha was named Shen Zaizhou.

Since then, the “Lakalā War” was renamed the “Lakalā Operation.”

Shen Zaizhou’s appearance was somewhat sudden; there were almost no rumors about him in the Star Tower. Even those who personally went to the battlefield had not all met this Alpha.

Though both contributed to the war, Shen Zaizhou received the Emperor’s favor, while the minister was rarely known.

This was a key factor leading to the opposition between the two sides.

Thinking of this, Lian Xu closed his eyes and exited the video. Another page on the Optic Computer showed the operational summary from that year, along with a simple, two-sentence introduction to the Barren Star. Shen Zaizhou had transmitted this to him at the SCA Base headquarters before he departed.

Lian Xu quickly typed, sending a concise summary of his current situation back to the base.

Then he scrolled the Optic Computer, his gaze fixed on the Alpha smiling into the camera in the video.

Clang—

Stones clattered against the aircraft’s outer shell. Lian Xu frowned imperceptibly.

His eyes flashed, and he saw a girl hiding behind a tree on the slope near his side.

He instinctively cut the signal, turned off the Optic Computer, and put his wristband back on.

His heart pounded in rhythm with the stones hitting the cabin exterior.

Lian Xu reached for his waist, pulled out a pistol, and with a click, chambered a round. He opened the pilot’s cabin door and cautiously stepped out.

The cabin door had an automated program; sensing his departure, it closed automatically.

Lian Xu quietly circled behind the tree, covering the little girl’s mouth and holding her close: “Shh—don’t make a sound. I’ll take you away.”

The little girl knew the person behind her meant no harm, so she nodded obediently.

Lian Xu looked up at the group of humans pounding the aircraft. They seemed to lack self-awareness, holding torches and babbling incomprehensible words, like a horde of walking corpses.

Strangely, the rain was getting heavier, and Lian Xu’s clothes were soaked within minutes of stepping out, yet the torches in the hands of that group still shone with dazzling firelight.

“Run—fast—” A weak, slurred voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Lian Xu’s body stiffened abruptly. Someone had appeared silently behind him. A hand revealing stark white bones rested precariously on his shoulder. The area above the wrist was barely covered in decaying flesh, emitting a faint stench.

A nearly hoarse, low growl sounded again: “Too—late—”

It sounded like both a warning and a reminder.

Before Lian Xu could turn around, the crowd surrounding the aircraft and pounding on the cabin door seemed to receive a signal simultaneously. They all turned their heads in unison, their bloodshot eyes, nearly popping out of their sockets, staring lifelessly at the Omega.

Washed by the rain, the blocker patch gradually failed. The pheromones slowly exposed on the Omega, mixed with the scent of living human flesh, attracted this horde of walking corpses.

They all raised their torches and converged on Lian Xu.

The little girl was terrified and tried to hide behind Lian Xu, but there was a walking corpse behind him too, so she could only squat down against the tree.

Lian Xu raised his hand and stroked the little girl’s head, comforting her: “Be good, don’t be afraid.”

“Mm… Wuwu…” Fearing her crying would attract more walking corpses, the little girl immediately covered her mouth tightly with her hands.

Bang—

Lian Xu raised his hand and pulled the trigger. The first person who rushed him was shot in the forehead and instantly collapsed.

The people behind seemed deterred by the gunshot, stopping their advance.

The person standing behind Lian Xu, although he had offered a warning, was ultimately the same as the group below—he had lost his self-awareness. He was closest to the Omega, and the scent of pheromones instantly drove him mad.

Lian Xu glanced at the hand on his shoulder, suppressing his disgust as he moved it away. Unexpectedly, the hand reacted swiftly. Less than a second after leaving his shoulder, it clamped down again, gripping his shoulder tightly.

Sharp, long fingertips, like blades, sliced through the Military Uniform and deeply embedded themselves in Lian Xu’s shoulder.

Lian Xu was in so much pain he was nearly speechless. He bit his lip hard, one hand gripping the dead tree so tightly that a layer of bark was peeled off.

Blood seeped from his fingers, mixing with the mud.

The rain did not wash away the scent of blood on his shoulder; instead, it made the odor in the air thicker.

More than pheromones, the scent of blood attracted these walking corpses more. They threw away their torches and rushed up the slope, clawing wildly. His shoulder was pressed down firmly by the person behind him, the immense strength directly restraining Lian Xu’s movement. He had no choice but to half-kneel, one hand supporting himself on the ground while the other fired repeatedly.

Bang bang bang—

Several gunshots rang out, and a large number of corpses fell before him. The magazine was empty.

“Fast—go—go—”

The voice behind him sounded again.

Lian Xu gave a helpless tug at the corner of his mouth. With his shoulder pinned, he couldn’t even stand up, so where was he supposed to go?

Since the person could speak, it meant a sliver of human consciousness still remained. So, Lian Xu thought of a slim chance of escape.

He attempted to talk to the walking corpse behind him.

“Who are you?”

“Human—is human—”

Lian Xu’s eyes widened suddenly. It worked!

So he continued: “If you are human, I am human too. We are the same kind. Let go of my hand, and I’ll take you away from here.”

“Leave—go home—”

“Yes, go home,” Lian Xu followed his words. “I’ll take you home, as long as you let go of my hand.”

The person actually listened somewhat, raising his hand tremblingly, the bloody nails pulling out of the flesh of Lian Xu’s shoulder.

Lian Xu gasped sharply.

He saw the people down the slope tilt their heads at him, then simultaneously raised their fingers and pointed.

“Traitor—”

As if commanded at the same time, they mechanically pointed at him.

Lian Xu paused. He had never been to the Barren Star and had no acquaintance with this group, but he had a fellow walking corpse behind him.

“Be good, stand behind me.”

The little girl was afraid of the walking corpse behind him, but she still half-crawled, half-knelt, carefully moving behind him.

Seeing this, Lian Xu threw away the gun in his hand and pulled a palm-sized knife from his military boot. He raised his hand and sliced off the wrist of the walking corpse behind him, then turned, grabbed the shoulder covered in decaying flesh, and pinned him against the tree, aiming the knife tip directly at the eye.

“Ba—” The walking corpse waved its other hand in the air, “—by.”

Lian Xu froze, his throat bobbing. He gritted his teeth and threw the walking corpse aside. He squatted down and asked the little girl: “We have to break out, or we’ll be eaten. Don’t be afraid, I will protect you. Will you come with me?”

The little girl nodded.

Lian Xu picked her up and turned, charging into the horde of corpses, his knife rising and falling, precisely slicing the throats of the walking corpses.

However, slitting throats was useless against the walking corpses. Their bodies seemed drained of blood; not a drop flowed out. The throat was no longer a fatal point. They continued surging toward Lian Xu, ignoring the cuts on their necks.

The walking corpses revealed sharp fingertips, waving their arms as they encircled him from all sides. Their numbers grew rapidly.

Lian Xu fought back and forth against a horde of unkillable corpses, his stamina rapidly depleting. Shooting them directly in the forehead caused them to lose mobility. Cuts from the knife only left wounds; they didn’t even bleed, let alone die completely.

There were too many walking corpses. Lian Xu couldn’t avoid them. He had just dealt with the one in front when another came from the side, grabbing his arm and tearing the skin, leaving shocking bloody gashes.

He was now surrounded by the horde and couldn’t even get close to the aircraft.

He hadn’t wanted to come down. Rainy nights were already difficult to guard against, let alone encountering such a massive horde of creatures of unknown origin. But if he hadn’t come down, they wouldn’t leave until dawn and the rain stopped. The torches would only attract more unknown creatures, and the little girl would be in danger.

But now, looking at the endless stream of approaching corpses, Lian Xu couldn’t help but wonder if he had misjudged the situation. Perhaps he shouldn’t have come down.

The little girl clung tightly to Lian Xu’s collar, sobbing: “Fire, they are afraid of fire.”

“Afraid of fire?” Even Lian Xu hadn’t expected that the walking corpses carrying torches would be afraid of the very things in their hands.

The situation was tense, and he didn’t have time for much thought. He put the little girl down and said, “I’ll hold them off. You go pick up the torches.”

The little girl gripped the hem of Lian Xu’s uniform, trembling all over.

It was too irresponsible to entrust such a dangerous task to a child. Lian Xu frowned. If he forced his way through, he should be able to cut a path toward the aircraft.

“Come on, I’ll carry…”

“Brother, you must try hard.” Before Lian Xu could finish speaking, the little girl wiped her tears and said, “I believe in you, but you must not die!”