Falling into the Abyss

After returning to the Forbidden City, the nonhumans gradually returned to the tiring and boring rhythm of their daily lives. At the beginning of each month, most nonhumans would go to a huge screen near the city wall to inquire about their current moral value points. They searched for theirs in the series of numbers and names and would calculate how many years it would take before they would be able to leave the Forbidden City according to the pace they had been completing atonement missions in the past six months.

Ethan also went to check his points. Although each of them were deducted ten points for the Red Earth mission, he was awarded points for the mission on Neptune and the mission on Pales. His points were finally positive. However, because his Mars mission had not been accomplished and the points had not been given to him, he only had three points now. According to this speed, it would take more than 30 years to earn enough points if he did not die in a mission first.

In contrast, Samuel’s situation was much more optimistic, and he could leave in about two or three years. However, some people said that one must be more cautious at this time. The government would not really allow nonhumans back into society, so the closer they were to one hundred points, the higher the likelihood that they would be sent to do certain tasks. There was even a rumor that those with a score of 90 would be pulled out and secretly executed with the excuse of asking them to perform a mission.

Ethan was a little worried about Samuel, but the Omega himself was not concerned and even looked confident. Hence, Ethan changed his way of thinking. He thought that if Schneider really liked Samuel, he probably would not allow something to happen to Samuel.

That was, if Schneider was genuinely trustworthy.

“What are you thinking? You constantly look sullen.” Samuel butted Ethan with his elbow, trying to cheer him up.

Ethan shrugged. “I wonder who my next backer will be after you get out.”

Samuel chuckled twice and glanced at him. “Damn. I, your husband, am still alive, yet you, my wife, are already thinking of having an illicit lover?”

“After getting a new love, didn’t you forget your old love?” Ethan smiled faintly as he looked at Typhoeus’ sad expression as he approached them from a distance.

Ethan hadn’t seen Typhoeus for the entire mission on Pales after separating. Later, Ethan met him on the spaceship when they returned. Initially, he was worried that Gray Fur would hurt him, but it seemed that he was normal. At the very least, he didn’t have any scars on his body, and there was no bite mark on his neck.

Ethan thought it was weird. It wasn’t that he hoped Typhoeus would get hurt, but it wasn’t like Gray Fur to not take advantage of him being alone.

“Samuel,” Typhoeus said as he walked in their direction, “Just now, the chief security officer asked me to tell you that you will have your job changed. He wants you to go to the East guard hall to find him.”

Ethan was very happy and thought that he could have received a reply from Tanisiel, so he purposely created an excuse for Samuel to go over? On the other hand, Samuel had a baffled expression on his face, so he urged Samuel to respond to the command of the chief security officer.

The guard hall was probably the most heavily guarded building in the Forbidden City. Robot police officers could be seen at almost every corner. Any suspicious behavior would activate those seemingly harmless metal machines. Samuel walked up the spacious stairs in front of the building, and the guards he passed all gave him a strange look. It was probably rare to see a nonhuman who was allowed to enter the building without an escort.

Samuel scolded Schneider inwardly. This was too obvious. Originally, Cavin had Spread the rumor that he was in collusion with the guards and was a rat that would betray everyone. Now, he had given them something to gossip about. He was in a bad mood, and his frown deepened. The Beta receptionist in the lobby stuttered as he told him that Schneider was waiting for him in his office on the third floor.

The corridor on the third floor was quieter than the other floors, probably because the temporary office and conference hall for receiving the committee members were on this floor. The floor was covered with a soft, deep purple carpet. The wall had realistic, retro wallpaper projected on it, with the magnificent scenery of plains outside the window. Samuel quickly stood in front of the black double doors in front of Schneider’s office, hesitating for a moment before knocking on it.

Samuel closed the door behind him. “You were looking for me?”

Schneider slowly turned around, and his handsome face was wreathed by the light coming in through the window as he said, “I gave the letter you asked me to send to a friend who recently went to Eve to discuss business plans. Tanisiel is currently in the Red Moon Temple in the Eve’s capital and will not receive any believers or visitors for the time being.”

Samuel said, “So there’s no reply?”

“My friend gave some money to a young servant who was studying in the temple, but I don’t know if the child will really give the letter to the white-robed priest as he promised.” Schneider said. He stared at Samuel with his eagle-like eyes, but there was an imperceptible tremble within the sharpness in his eyes. Samuel swallowed.

“Isn’t it easier for you to call Ethan for such a thing?” Samuel asked tentatively.

“There’s something else, of course.” Schneider walked slowly around the wide table, and his fingertips glided over the clean and reflective table. “The construction work of the construction site you are in charge of has almost come to an end. I need to reassign people to other posts, and I’m short of a handyman.”

Samuel watched Schneider’s subtle movements and the eyes that had been firmly locked on him. He felt that something unexpected might happen today……

“I didn’t know that nonhumans could work in the guard hall.” The look in Samuel’s eyes changed subtly, and a frivolous smile rose from the corner of his mouth.

Schneider faced him and sat back on his desk. His uniform was smooth and appeared stern, and his clothes were buttoned all the way to the last buttonhole, which gave others the desire to rip it apart……

“What you said on the ship that day……” Schneider looked at him meaningfully and swallowed his saliva, his protruding Adam’s apple sliding up and down under his skin. “I’ve reconsidered.”

Samuel took a few steps forward and played dumb. “What did I say?”

Schneider narrowed his eyes slightly, and there was a hint of provocation in his restrained behavior. “You know what.”

Samuel took a few more steps forward. “But I want to hear it from you.” He was now standing in front of Schneider, who had to look up at him because he was half-sitting on the table. It was unknown whether it was the reflection of the light or Samuel’s misconception, but Schneider’s perpetually cold black eyes were now seemingly covered with a layer of mist. It made him appear less firm and less rigid and instead made him appear as though he was dazed. Schneider’s thin lips slowly opened, and he said, “We both know each other’s secrets now. It’s not a big deal to help each other vent occasionally.”

Samuel chuckled quietly and asked, “So?”

The two men looked at each other, with only a short distance between them, until Schneider spoke with the frigid tone he always used when someone approached him. “Fuck me.”

The next moment, Samuel pushed Schneider down on his wide desk, not concerned about what kind of files were on the table as they all fell to the ground. Samuel finally got what he wanted and undid his buttons to hold his strong body tightly.

Ethan left work in the evening. He went to the canteen, but he did not see Samuel. When he returned to their shared apartment, he did not see even a trace of the Omega. He could not help but feel slightly surprised, and inwardly, he was slightly worried. Could something have happened to him?

He was not even sure who the queen worm had parasitized. Was it him or Schneider? Or were they both parasitized? After all, in order to breed, they needed at least one Alpha and Omega offspring, so he could not rule out the possibility that each person had an egg. Ethan couldn’t imagine how the male worm had laid its eggs in their bodies when they were in its stomach. Could it be that there was something like tentacles inside the worm’s body?

He shuddered whenever he thought about it. Fortunately, Samuel and Schneider didn’t remember anything……

The queen worm only said that the egg would not harm their lives. On the contrary, it was only after their death that the egg would hatch. Similarly, if someone tried to remove the egg by force, the two would die.

He didn’t know whether it was true or not, but he knew he didn’t want to gamble with their lives. Fortunately, so far, it seemed that they had not noticed any abnormality.

Ethan examined Samuel’s condition every day while anxiously waiting for the priest’s reply. However, it had been nearly a month, and he received no response at all.

Ethan suddenly felt a little scared. What if he could never see Tanisiel again? Could their meeting on Pales have been their last meeting? As soon as his fear rose, he felt the same numbness at the back of his neck, as though he had been electrified. He adjusted his breathing, trying to allow his thoughts to shift somewhere else.

However, as though someone had heard his desire, a thought that did not belong to him suddenly emerged in his mind.

“Ethan.”

Ethan didn’t react at first. He couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or if he really heard Tanisiel’s voice in his head. That was, until the voice repeated, “Ethan.”

At that moment, Ethan finally knew that crying for joy was not a hyperbole. He was frozen and wanted to respond, but his mind was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t grasp the main point.

Then, he realized how anxious he was and how many issues he was fretting over. He had imagined all the possibilities why Tanisiel had not contacted him, but now, it was like a torrent was pouring into his mind.

“Tanisiel! You’re not dead!” This was his first thought after he cleared his thoughts.

He could almost imagine the priest’s face as it simmered with laughter, many light years away from him. “Why did you think I was dead?”

“You haven’t been responding, so I thought……”

“I’m fine, fool.” He couldn’t hear the priest’s actual voice, but Ethan seemed to be able to appreciate the gentle flow of thoughts. With his eyes aching, he sat down on the edge of the bed and laughed into the void like a fool.

“I’m dealing with some……trivialities on Eve.” There was a kind of impatience in Tanisiel’s mind. It seemed that he was in trouble on Eve. However, he was suppressing his irritation and didn’t want Ethan to feel it. “I got your letter. I didn’t expect that someone would write to me in such a digital age. It’s really romantic.” Ethan seemed to hear the priest laugh and scratch his hair in embarrassment.

“I……I need to see you. Is there a way?” Ethan asked.

“I’ll come as soon as I can, but you may have to wait a while.” Tanisiel’s thoughts suddenly grew urgent, as though he had been secretly doing something and was about to be discovered. “Don’t act rashly regarding Samuel. They will not be in danger in the short term.”

With that, Ethan’s mind was empty, and it was obvious that Tanisiel had left.

He sat in a daze for a long time, and suddenly he felt very empty and cold.

Was the priest under house arrest in the temple? The head priest Ethan saw last time seemed very angry. Otherwise, he would not have threatened to expel him.

Tanisiel……what on earth are you planning?

Ethan sighed and thought that it was good to have something to look forward to.

The author has something to say:

The main CP is so sweet that I don’t even recognize myself……（￣︶￣）↗

T/N: This chapter is not proofread because Yuzu might be busy~ but I’ll update this chapter again after Yuzu has proofread it ~ Edit [09/06/21]: This chapter has been proofread.