IMAO Chapter 104

Happy Lunar New Year! Enjoy the extra chapter!

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狐假虎威 (hú jiǎ hǔ wēi) – lit. the fox exploits the tiger’s might (idiom); fig. to use powerful connections to intimidate people

“Is… is it not possible?” Jiang Yuan paused at Ji Rong’s words. Looking at Ji Rong, who seemed to be struggling with something, Jiang Yuan knew this was really putting him in a difficult position. But there weren’t any other options right now. Trying to stay composed, Jiang Yuan explained quietly, “The situation is special right now, so… please bear with it!”

“…” Ji Rong’s thin lips pressed into a line, his gaze turning dark and unreadable. He really wasn’t feeling wronged at all.

His mind was in a mess right now, and he felt helpless.

Jiang Yuan was completely oblivious about being an Omega!

Not to mention anything else, what Omega would just casually ask an Alpha for a temporary mark? It made his heart skip a beat in that moment.

Jiang Yuan had absolutely no guard up against him.

While that made him happy, it also frustrated him. Was Jiang Yuan only this way with him as an Alpha, or would they act the same with other Alphas too?

Just then—

Rumble rumble.

Rumble rumble.

The sound of mecha engines grew closer. Without any explosions, several mecha hovered above the factory, while two landed directly inside.

Jiang Yuan gave a complicated look outside. Seems like dealing with their pheromone situation would have to wait.

After the mecha cockpits opened, two soldiers descended.

Jeffrey’s face brightened upon seeing Selena unharmed. He saluted her. “Commander, please board the mecha. We’ll escort you back!”

Selena gave Jeffrey a slight nod, but instead of boarding immediately, she turned to look at the building behind her.

Noticing this, Jeffrey followed her gaze. He saw three young people come out, standing tall and straight. One look was enough for Jeffrey to confirm these three definitely had military backgrounds.

He felt somewhat curious.

As the woman approached them, Jiang Yuan stayed silent. Honestly, he just wanted these people to leave quickly without causing them trouble.

“I’ll be leaving soon, but are you sure you can’t escort me?”

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Selena was indeed beautiful, and the captivating kind at that.

If He Chuan had met Selena under different circumstances, he might have wanted to pursue something with her, but right now he just wished she would leave quickly.

Jiang Yuan said flatly, “You can go now.”

Selena: “You don’t have to be so direct about chasing me away, you know?”

Jiang Yuan: “…”

Selena gave a small laugh and said, “You fought with the mercenaries to save me earlier. After I leave, they might come back here. If they do, can you guarantee you’ll be able to drive them away? Plus, one of your two mecha is missing an arm.”

“Let me correct you on one thing. We weren’t fighting to save you,” Jiang Yuan said impatiently.

“How dare you speak like that?” Jeffrey wanted to strangle the kid in front of him. How could anyone talk to Lady Selena this way?

Selena raised her hand, signaling Jeffrey to back down. “Shut up.”

Jeffrey wanted to say more but didn’t dare disobey Selena’s order, so he could only step aside.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. Your fight with the mercenaries was for them,” Selena corrected herself. “You’ve already been marked as my people. If your mecha don’t leave with us, those guys might come back.”

“How about this? Let’s exchange mecha. I’ll trade these two mecha with you, and our people guarantee we won’t attack you.”

Jiang Yuan only considered for a few seconds before agreeing to the woman’s request. Although this woman’s reason for exchanging mecha definitely wasn’t just what she claimed, Jiang Yuan didn’t care. While her words were an excuse, they made some sense.

Jeffrey was extremely unwilling to exchange mecha with Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong. He really couldn’t understand what his lady was thinking, trading two good mecha with these brats. The one with the missing arm was practically useless!

But bound by Selena’s orders, he reluctantly made the exchange with Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong.

“Hmph, the mecha permissions have been modified. You can use them now,” Jeffrey said unpleasantly, then immediately piloted the one-armed mecha away with Selena.

Because of this incident, Jiang Yuan felt the surrounding pheromones seemed to grow stronger. Although no one else noticed, Ji Rong could smell his pheromones probably because he had marked him before, making him particularly sensitive to Jiang Yuan’s scent.

As his scent spread outward, Jiang Yuan worried about accidents. Not caring whether Ji Rong was willing or not, he grabbed Ji Rong’s hand and forcefully pulled him along. He said “forcefully,” but he didn’t actually need to use any strength. Ji Rong just followed him directly.

“What’s up with those two?”

“No idea…”

…

Ji Rong looked down at his wrist, which Jiang Yuan was holding, his eyes fixed steadily on Jiang Yuan who was pulling him along.

Seeing that Ji Rong didn’t pull away, Jiang Yuan felt slightly relieved. He didn’t want to force his friend into something he didn’t want to do, especially something like a temporary mark, which could also affect an Alpha.

Jiang Yuan thought about the pheromone dependency the doctor had mentioned. He wondered if it was something that could be easily treated.

“We’re here,” Ji Rong said in a low voice when he saw Jiang Yuan still walking forward. “We’re already here.”

“Oh, I remembered wrong.” Jiang Yuan stopped, realizing he had walked to the room Envy had said they could use for temporary rest. Getting a temporary mark in this room would prevent pheromone leakage.

Jiang Yuan came back to his senses and met Ji Rong’s eyes, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

Why did Ji Rong’s gaze seem a bit strange? Could it be that he was unhappy about being dragged here?

That shouldn’t be the case. He even called him “baby” when they were in bed before. It’s not like Jiang Yuan actually wanted to cling to Ji Rong!

While he was lost in these thoughts, Ji Rong grabbed his wrist in return, pushed open the door, and pulled Jiang Yuan into the room. There was just a bed inside, nothing else.

Jiang Yuan pushed away Ji Rong’s hand, closed the door, drew the curtains, and sat on the edge of the bed. He unbuttoned his collar and looked at Ji Rong. “Just bite once, only once.”

Faced with such an ‘invitation,’ Ji Rong’s usually ironclad self-control crumbled instantly. He just wanted to pin down this person who had no idea what they were saying.

Jiang Yuan felt nervous.

Because Ji Rong’s face was as dark as water, as if holding back something, nearly at his breaking point.

“If you don’t want to, forget it. I can find someone else,” Jiang Yuan said.

Ji Rong’s steps faltered at these words. He raised an eyebrow, irritated, “If not me, who else were you planning to find?”

Jiang Yuan froze, because he felt like Ji Rong seemed even angrier after hearing his words. He even spoke through gritted teeth…

As Ji Rong spoke, he reached out and grabbed Jiang Yuan, pulling him into an embrace from behind. He bit down on Jiang Yuan’s gland, his teeth piercing the skin as Alpha pheromones were injected.

Hearing Jiang Yuan’s words, he lost his rationality in anger. He couldn’t bear imagining smelling another Alpha’s scent on Jiang Yuan. He was so angry he almost wanted to pin Jiang Yuan to the bed and complete a full marking, making Jiang Yuan smell entirely like him.

Damn!

Fickle Alpha!

I was just worried about you!

We agreed to be brothers, but you wouldn’t even share some pheromones, why are you suddenly hugging and biting now!

“It hurts… be gentler…”

Ji Rong didn’t know what Jiang Yuan was thinking, but hearing Jiang Yuan’s slightly trembling voice, his heart instantly softened. He reduced his force but didn’t let go of Jiang Yuan, nor did he release his teeth from Jiang Yuan’s gland.

“Is it done?” Jiang Yuan asked, facing away from Ji Rong. This position made him uncomfortable all over, especially with Ji Rong’s lips occasionally brushing against his skin, making him shiver involuntarily.

“Not yet… wait a bit longer,” Ji Rong said softly.

Actually, the temporary mark was already complete. He just couldn’t bear to let go of Jiang Yuan, wanting to hold him a little longer. Noticing Jiang Yuan’s trembling, the anger from earlier completely disappeared. Why was he even arguing with Jiang Yuan? This guy was so dense about feelings, he suspected he’d eventually suffocate from holding back.

Pressed against Jiang Yuan’s gland, if not for the slight rationality remaining, he would have completely marked Jiang Yuan already.

After kissing for quite a while, only when he clearly felt the person in his arms growing impatient did he reluctantly let go, gently brushing his thumb over the swollen gland he had bitten.

Feeling the person behind him release him, Jiang Yuan’s neck slightly relaxed.

“I wasn’t unwilling, not at all. You can come to me anytime, and you can only come to me.”

“Huh?”

Seeing Jiang Yuan’s bewildered expression, Ji Rong realized he said something wrong and immediately made an excuse. “Alpha pheromones repel each other, so you can only come to me. You absolutely cannot let anyone else do this kind of thing, understand?”

Jiang Yuan: “Uh… can’t temporary marks be washed off?”

Ji Rong: “…”

After tidying up and leaving the room, just as Jiang Yuan closed the door, a voice came from behind:

“It’s bad for your health.”

Jiang Yuan: “What did you say?”

Ji Rong: “…”

It took several seconds before Jiang Yuan understood that Ji Rong meant ‘washing off the mark is bad for your health.’

…

The departing team didn’t encounter any attacks on their way back. Even when mercenaries passed by, they all took detours to avoid them.

Jeffrey found this absolutely unbelievable, completely unable to make sense of it. “What’s going on here? These mercenaries aren’t attacking us, even earlier when we came…”

Selena smiled slightly. “It’s because of these two mecha we traded for.”

Jeffrey paused. “These two mecha?”

Selena nodded, “When we return to the warship, you can check the black box in the mecha.”

After escorting Selena back to the warship, Jeffrey curiously checked the mecha’s black box. Seeing the combat records inside, he questioned his entire existence. His Adam’s apple bobbed. How could those two guys be this skilled?

Those attacks, those predictions, that rhythm…

Was this even humanly possible?

You might see scenes like this in Star Wars games, but could game combat really compare to reality?

He drew in a sharp breath. No wonder those mercenaries didn’t attack them on the way! It turned out they had been borrowing the tiger’s might!

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