Buy The Marshal Omega Chapter 4

The tower bell tolled on the hour. Dark clouds veiled the starry sky, the night wind wailed, and snow once again drifted before Lu Rong’s eyes.

Lucas watched Lu Rong in silence for a long time, unable to tell if he was satisfied or not. Still, he attended to him with cautious care, terrified of upsetting this important guest.

A message arrived on his communicator. Lucas glanced at it and reported to Lu Rong, “Mr. Lu, the bidding for Lot 07 has concluded. My assistant successfully secured the item for you. The billing statement will be sent to your terminal shortly.”

Lu Rong snapped out of his memories, his gaze still fixed on Feinier, though his expression had grown more complex. Lucas couldn’t quite read him, but he saw Lu Rong take a few steps forward until he reached the edge of the cage.

It seemed Lu Rong had some interest in this commodity. Lucas’s eyes darted back and forth. “Would you like to participate in the bidding? I can arrange it for you.”

Lu Rong did not answer. He looked up at Feinier, searching for a spark of life within that proudly held head. However, no fierce golden eyes peered out from beneath the white hair, and the chest remained flat, showing no sign of breath.

The image of Feinier’s past ferocity and coldness remained vivid in his mind. The icy words the man had once spoken surfaced again, and Lu Rong found the current situation strangely absurd.

“This doesn’t seem like the place for you,” he murmured, a playful, mocking smile touching his lips.

Lucas crept closer. “…Are you considering taking him with you?” His expression was anxious and tense.

Lu Rong glanced at him. “No.” He tapped the metal bars, his mood shifting abruptly into something more malicious. “Those wings of his are quite nice. How much to buy just them?”

If the wings were stripped off, the specimen would be ruined. Lucas broke into a cold sweat. “This… this isn’t sold separately… If you like them, you can take the whole thing.”

“Oh, then never mind.” Lu Rong lost interest immediately. He quietly recalled the spiritual body he had placed on Lucas. The tiny green butterfly flickered once and vanished.

Lucas felt a sudden chill from the wind, which cleared his head significantly. Recalling their conversation, he broke out in a cold sweat again, wishing he could slap himself. Why had he been so talkative today? He had said everything he should and shouldn’t have!

But… then again, The Wanderer had insisted he show Feinier to Lu Rong and observe his reaction, while also ensuring Lu Rong didn’t actually win the bid. He had technically achieved that, hadn’t he? The Wanderer hadn’t explicitly forbidden him from revealing Feinier’s true identity or the history of the events… The process felt wrong, but the result seemed to be the same?

Lucas rubbed his chest and gave a forced smile. “Would you like to see the other lots? I can show you around. This one is indeed quite boring.”

Lu Rong gave a casual grunt of affirmation. “I’m heading back to my aircraft. Thank you for your hard work today.”

Lucas hurriedly replied that it was no trouble. He checked his terminal again. “Lots 03 and 07 have already been delivered to your aircraft. You can inspect the goods once you arrive.” With that, Lucas wiped away his sweat and led Lu Rong out of the tower.

As Lu Rong descended the tower, he instructed X01, “Help me contact Eros.”

Over the years, to facilitate the collection of star cores, Lu Rong had made many acquaintances across different star sectors. Eros was one of them. Rumor had it that Eros enjoyed collecting rare beastmen and took pleasure in tormenting them. No one cared if the rumors were true, and Eros allowed his infamy to spread unchecked.

X01 didn’t understand why, but it executed the command.

Once outside the tower, Lu Rong parted ways with Lucas. He returned to his aircraft just as the communication with Eros connected.

“Long time no see, Lu Rong. Do you have a new way to make money for me?” Eros’s laughter sounded like the clinking of coins.

“No, I need a favor,” Lu Rong said with a smile. “It’s simple. Use your identity to contact Gladel and participate in tonight’s auction online. Help me win Lot 10. No matter the price, I’ll pay you an extra 5%.”

Online bidding always involved various miscellaneous fees and didn’t allow for physical inspection. Lu Rong usually preferred to be there in person, but tonight was an exception. Eros happened to be a Silver Sparrow member of Gladel and had the right to participate, though he usually ignored all Gladel activities except for gambling. His hobbies were very specific.

“No problem, my dear friend. Let me see what has caused you so much trouble—wait,” Eros’s voice changed. “Are you trying to get me killed? If Chaos sees me buying a Feathered Serpent specimen, he’ll rip my head off.”

Chaos was Eros’s mermaid spouse, a person with a fiery temper and one of Eros’s few “hobbies,” albeit the one with the highest priority.

“I’ll give you 8% extra then,” Lu Rong raised the price.

“No, no, no, it’s not about the money. You know how jealous he gets, I—”

“Then 10%. That’s enough for you to buy a full set of high-quality emeralds. You can explain to him that I needed the Feathered Serpent. You can even let him listen to the recording.” As Lu Rong spoke, he entered his aircraft and walked straight to the cargo hold. The star cores were neatly arranged, glowing brilliantly.

“Well, how can I refuse, my friend? I have indeed been eyeing a set of emeralds for a long time.” Eros’s voice sounded like he could hardly contain himself.

After confirming the star cores were correct, Lu Rong started the aircraft. “It’s nothing. Give my regards to Chaos. Thank you for your help.”

Eros laughed loudly. “No need for regards, but I’ll transfer the money you give me to him. His project has been short on funds lately; he’ll definitely be happy!”

“Good.” The aircraft successfully took off, and Lu Rong set the destination. ” I’ll hand over with you at Memphis Starport. Don’t delay; I need to receive him as soon as possible.”

“Alright, no problem,” Eros agreed readily.

At the same time, Lu Rong’s aircraft smoothly exited the Gladel starport.

Once the flight stabilized, Lu Rong leaned back in the pilot’s seat, staring at the vast star map before him. The universe was immense, with endless nebulae like crimson dust sinking into a deep sea. Waves rose and fell, treacherous as a dream, and in the deepest reaches, only lonely stars rotated eternally.

X01 had uploaded itself into an eight-legged mechanical body—a form it had designed for itself. It watched the navigation map alongside Lu Rong. “What happened? I detected that your mood seems poor.”

Lu Rong tilted his head. “I was thinking about the past.”

X01 curled its eight legs and gripped the area near Lu Rong’s hand. “Planet Astar?”

Lu Rong nodded.

He often thought back to the time before he arrived in this universe. Even though ten years had passed and the scenes in his memory had blurred, he would still revisit them over and over. After all, that was his homeland, the place he came from—Planet Astar.

Lu Rong was actually an orphan. He had been adopted from an orphanage by two foster fathers who gave him the love and respect he deserved, allowing him to grow up happily. But he never expected that the shadow of destruction had been lurking in his warm, harmonious home from the very beginning.

When he was nine, his foster fathers brought back the orphaned child of a comrade from the battlefield—a seven-year-old boy named Yun Guang. After a talk with Lu Rong, their family of three gained a new member.

The two grew up as childhood friends. At sixteen, Lu Rong differentiated as an S-class Alpha. Four years later, Yun Guang differentiated as an Omega at eighteen. When Lu Rong was twenty, the two became a couple.

Subsequently, Planet Astar entered the “Ten Years of Chaos” due to energy issues. Various factions carved up the land. After years of war and turmoil, Planet Astar finally saw a long-awaited peace. Lu Rong became a young Alliance leader during the conflict, and Yun Guang became a doctor. They finally decided to marry.

The wedding was held on a suburban lawn. The sunlight was exceptionally bright, and the venue was filled with white freesias and pink litchi roses. The rich fragrance immersed everyone in sweet happiness.

The crowd entering the venue offered blessings to him and his fiancé, Yun Guang. His foster fathers had also been looking forward to their union. But Lu Rong never imagined that this wedding was a betrayal—Yun Guang harbored such deep-seated hatred for his foster family.

The start of the wedding was the start of the rebellion. The sound of explosions replaced the ceremonial cannons, and horror replaced joy. The lawn was stained red with blood. Yun Guang, dressed in a white suit, led the rebels into the venue.

Lu Rong couldn’t understand why Yun Guang would do this. While protecting his foster parents during their escape, a grenade landed at his feet. He lost consciousness immediately, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in this strange universe.

That bloody wedding ended his warm and beautiful past life, and it was also the beginning of his encounter with Feinier.

A chime from his terminal alerted Lu Rong to a message.

Lu Rong looked down to see a message from Eros: “Got it. I’m coming to find you now.”

Eros was always reliable. Seeing the message, Lu Rong felt relieved. However, he didn’t expect that it would take three full universal standard days from receiving that message to finally meeting Feinier.

Their agreed meeting point, Memphis Starport, was located in the heart of a crimson nebula in an extremely remote part of the Second Star Sector. This starport was a secret meeting point established by Lu Rong and Eros, a jump point known to very few.

In the universe, there were many such jump points. Without the coordinates, it was nearly impossible for outsiders to find them.

Normally, it should have only taken nine universal standard hours to get from Gladel to this jump point, but Eros didn’t arrive until the third day.

If it weren’t for the intermittent messages from Eros telling him to wait and not alert anyone, Lu Rong would have already considered a rescue mission. On the second day, X01 had detected a news report in the Alliance news: “‘Beastman Slayer’ Eros shot down by Alliance while attempting to purchase prohibited beastman goods.” The news highly praised the Alliance’s enforcement of the ban on beastman trafficking and condemned Eros’s actions.

This news was quite subtle. Other citizens might not know, but Lu Rong knew very well that the Alliance leader, Gourmet, was himself a collector of beastman “Everlasting Flower” specimens. This was something Eros’s spouse, Chaos, could testify to. Some beastman tribes who knew the truth were very resistant to Gourmet. This was likely why the Alliance came up with such a strange strategy.

Entrapment, used to clarify their stance in hopes of softening the beastmen’s resistance.

When Eros arrived, he was flying a dilapidated aircraft that looked like it had crawled out of a trash heap.

“You actually handled it yourself. Why did it take so long?” Lu Rong stood up and tossed him a bottle of water.

A black panther followed at Eros’s heels. He wiped away his sweat, combed through his blonde hair with his hand, and downed the water in one go. “Don’t even get me started. I happened to be at the Gladel casino negotiating a deal when my subordinate said he saw you. I thought he was bluffing.”

As Eros spoke, the black panther at his feet paced elegantly toward Lu Rong, its eyes shining as it looked at him, seemingly wanting to rub against him. Lu Rong was wearing a white flight suit that couldn’t handle the shedding of a black furry animal. He flicked his finger, and a tiny green butterfly flew out. The panther’s eyes lit up, and it chased the butterfly away.

X01 scurried after the panther on its eight legs, shouting and constantly reminding the panther not to crash into things in the aircraft, while picking up and replacing items that were knocked over.

Eros was used to the panther chasing butterflies. He tossed the empty bottle aside and sat on a nearby sofa. “This trip was truly dangerous. As soon as I left the starport with the specimen, someone followed me. Once I was out of Gladel’s range, they opened fire, clearly trying to kill me. Luckily, I reacted quickly and split my forces to lead them away. I faked my death and destroyed a starship to escape.”

“Look at the news. You’ve become a sacrificial lamb for the Alliance’s self-promotion,” Lu Rong laughed.

Eros waved his hand. “I think something’s wrong.”

Lu Rong wasn’t surprised, a smile playing on his lips. “Indeed. If they wanted to show their stance, it would have been better to arrest you, announce the revised Beastman Protection Law, uphold imperial traditions, and sentence you legally. There was no need for such a relentless pursuit.”

The Alliance’s actions seemed more like they wanted to destroy Feinier.

Eros looked deeply at Lu Rong. “It seems you know something.” He thought for a moment and asked meaningfully, “What’s the background of this Feathered Serpent?”

Lu Rong raised an eyebrow and smiled without speaking.

Their mutual understanding told Eros enough. He patted Lu Rong’s shoulder. “A Feathered Serpent is either royalty or nobility. You’d better be careful. I’d say, besides the 10%, you owe me a starship plus some mental distress compensation.”

Even between close friends, accounts should be settled clearly. Money could make an existing relationship even stronger.

“No problem.” Lu Rong agreed to Eros’s terms; it was compensation he should rightfully provide. “So, how is the Feathered Serpent?”

Eros squinted at him. “He’s being moved. But I still want to ask, you don’t have those… strange hobbies, do you?”

Lu Rong smiled and asked knowingly, “Strange hobbies? What specifically do you mean?”

Eros didn’t elaborate but continued, “Chaos found out you wanted an ‘Everlasting Flower.’ He told me to tell you that beastmen have their own dignity. This Feathered Serpent has already suffered enough humiliation. He hopes you won’t keep him as a caged ‘Everlasting Flower.’ Let him die with dignity.”

Lu Rong stared at Eros with a half-smile that Eros couldn’t decipher.

In the beginning, Lu Rong, like everyone else, thought Eros truly enjoyed torturing beastmen as the rumors suggested. But after helping Eros resolve the crisis on Planet Origin and making a fortune together with star cores, he finally realized those rumors weren’t true—and were likely pranks played by Eros’s mermaid spouse.

Lu Rong didn’t meet Eros’s expectations, only smiling. “Am I to become the next victim of rumors?”

Eros laughed loudly. “Don’t even think about it. I won’t give you the chance.” If possible, he hoped Chaos would only spread rumors about him for the rest of his life.

Seeing that Lu Rong wouldn’t give a straight answer, Eros didn’t bother asking further. He called back his black panther. The panther was reluctant, painfully abandoning the butterfly it couldn’t catch. Eros patted the panther’s head. “Why does he get led away by your butterfly every time? Your spiritual body is always so attractive to others.”

Lu Rong didn’t speak as the butterfly landed back on his shoulder.

Speaking of which, it was quite strange.

Back on Planet Astar, he was the only one with a spiritual body—a tiny green butterfly. No one but him could see it.

His foster father had always told him it was because he was an S-class Alpha. Only S-class Alphas could potentially manifest a spiritual body, one that no one but themselves could see.

He had always believed that.

It wasn’t until he reached the vast galaxy, visited countless planets, and met countless people that he discovered how diverse the biological life in the universe was. Spiritual bodies were not exclusive to S-class Alphas.

On some planets, whether one was an Alpha, Omega, or Beta, they were born with a spiritual body.

And other people could see his spiritual body too.