The research institute on this planet held his son’s body, so he had long since used drugs to control everyone inside.

They weren’t so much people now as they were puppets.

After thinking it over, Dr. A concluded the problem must have come from Jiang Qin’s group.

He mainly hadn’t expected that someone among them had skills on par with Yuan Feng.

Someone who could breach their system despite the active shields.

’Hmph. In any case, I’ll remember this person.’

’Once I land safely, I’ll find someone to investigate who this person is!’

"Dr. A, the young master has been moved to an escape pod. We can leave now."

"Mm."

Then, thirty escape pods launched simultaneously from the spaceship’s rear bay.

At that same moment, the small spaceship completely lost its balance and plummeted downward.

Long Hao had anticipated they would use escape pods, so he immediately intercepted and shot down more than ten of them.

He also sent people to pursue the ones he didn’t manage to stop.

If they didn’t have other business to attend to, he would have given chase himself.

Still, capturing some of them was good enough. Later, they could interrogate them properly and see what "good deeds" these people were secretly up to on this planet.

"Let’s go. I’ve pinpointed Qinqin’s location."

"Fine. I guess it’s their lucky day."

...

When Long Hao and his group arrived, Jiang Qin’s party had already finished off most of the experiment subjects.

A number of them had already been swept away by the tornado stirred up by the strong winds, and Qióngqí was incredibly fierce.

Of the subjects that were killed, Qióngqí had taken down two-thirds, while the warriors had only killed the remaining third.

As a result, her spiritual power was depleted, and she was now sitting down, waiting for the warriors to finish up.

Long Hao appeared at that moment. Without a word, he pulled her into a suffocating embrace.

Feeling the unusual heat of his breath, she knew she had truly scared them this time.

Though it felt like ruining the mood, she quickly asked, "Did Yun Xie make it home?"

"Don’t worry. Shi Lichuan and Cang Hong went to get him. They won’t abandon your ’big husband’."

After speaking, Long Hao let out a heavy huff, but he didn’t loosen his arms around Jiang Qin.

Jiang Qin: ... "Then how has my ’little husband’ been lately?"

"Not great. He misses you very, very much."

’Okay, I’ll accept the ’missing you’ part, but I’d like to return this neck-choke.’

She gave a gentle push, and Long Hao loosened his grip, looking a little confused. "What’s wrong?"

Jiang Qin was speechless. ... "Time to get to work."

"?? There are only a few of those damn things left, and you still need our help?"

His incredulous gaze was a little scorching.

The warriors hurriedly said, "No, no, we don’t."

"Right, right! Mr. Long, please go about your business. We can handle it."

Only then was Long Hao satisfied. "See? I told you the Federation’s warriors weren’t that useless."

In reality, however, they were almost all completely exhausted.

The ones currently cleaning up the battlefield were the Imperial Warriors he had brought and Jiang Qin’s team of bodyguards.

"Take Qinqin to the ship to rest first. The rest of you can handle what’s left."

"Mm." Long Hao stepped forward and swept Jiang Qin up into his arms, princess-style.

As they passed Yuan Ling, Jiang Qin flashed him a smile.

Yuan Ling, who had been wanting to approach but couldn’t muster the courage, instantly felt his inner turmoil soothed.

’She’s different from the others.’

’She didn’t ignore me...’

***

Jiang Qin was truly exhausted.

It was a good thing her Physique was strong; otherwise, what pregnant woman could withstand such an ordeal?

Once she was back in a safe environment, she collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

She remained in a groggy daze, carried in Long Hao’s arms, all the way until they returned to the Federation Main Star and disembarked at home.

The moment she arrived home, Lan Yuyan contacted their family Medical Master to come and give her a full check-up.

"How is she?"

Being stared at so intently by four outstanding males, each with a different style, the Medical Master felt the pressure mounting.

"Ahem, there’s nothing serious. Miss Jiang and the baby are both in very good condition.

However, it seems Miss Jiang has been using a lot of her spiritual power recently. I recommend she avoid using it for a while to let it recover.

As for the physical exhaustion, she could get some physical therapy and a massage. The nurses at our hospital are very skilled."

Hearing this, all four men visibly relaxed.

"Good. Thank you for your trouble."

"Not at all, Mr. Lan. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. You can send me a communication anytime if something comes up."

"I’ll see you out." Lan Yuyan quickly stood up.

The Medical Master didn’t refuse. It was a good opportunity to educate the father-to-be on some tips for taking care of an expectant mother on the way out.

After the outsider had left, Long Hao finally relaxed and collapsed onto the sofa.

But as he looked at the two remaining men, he thought, ’Yuan Ling is one thing, but why is Lan Yan living here too?’

’After all, the Lan Family estate isn’t far from here.’

So he asked directly, "Hey, kid, aren’t you going to go home and report in?"

Lan Yan lowered his eyes and said meekly, "Brother Hao, I belong to Sister now."

???

!!!

Not only was Long Hao stunned, but even Yuan Ling was shocked. And not just shocked—he was also a little heartbroken.

"You little brat, don’t talk nonsense! That’s your sister-in-law!"

Lan Yan pressed his lips together, hiding the darkness in his eyes, and maintained his meek facade. "Brother, I’m not talking nonsense. I really do belong to Sister now.

I... We’ve already had intimate contact many times."

This was referring to applying medicine for her, the various hugs that came with protecting her, and the accidental ’kisses’.

But his shy and embarrassed appearance completely misled Long Hao.

"Fuck, she’s pregnant with a cub and you still seduce her?! Shameless!"

’What did Qinqin do wrong? She just can’t resist temptation.’

’The one at fault is this scheming male!’

Lan Yan didn’t argue. He just shyly caressed the Jade Pendant around his neck and said guiltily, "It’s true, I was in the wrong. I just... couldn’t control my feelings for Sister."

At the corner of the second-floor landing, a certain Jiang Qin was currently retreating.

’That was close. I almost got caught in the middle of that mess.’

’After all, if I go down now, it’d be bad no matter who I side with. I’ll just go back to my room and lie down. I’ll try again later.’

Yuan Ling, who happened to witness this scene, smiled faintly.

...

Back in her room, Jiang Qin took out her Light Computer and started browsing the hot trending topics.

She skipped over all the topics related to the broadcast of *Strange Tales*.

Her mind was completely filled with news about the Frontline Star.

Many reporters had uploaded videos of the conflict. The footage showed countless Alien Beasts on a destructive rampage.

She watched many live streams but didn’t see any sign of Yun Xie’s group, nor of Mo Chen.

So where were the three people she was worried about right now?

They were desperately fighting for their lives!

Cang Hong, in his beast form, was carrying several people on his back as he flew erratically through the sky.

His wings... were still dripping blood...