Zhou Mingkai was stunned too.
Wow.
This…
Zhou Mingkai shook his head with a laugh.
“This… Don’t most people normally use a one-to-one marriage system? It’s usually only certain royal families that do this for the sake of producing more heirs.”
The ambassador smiled.
“Can the General be compared to ordinary people? The General is an SSS-level Alpha, and the God of War of the Empire. Even if he had ten Omegas, it wouldn’t be unusual!”
Bang!
Lucas coldly slammed the stemmed glass in his hand onto the table.
In a chilly voice, he said, “Ambassador from Falling-Ice, you’re an Alpha too, aren’t you?”
The ambassador paused, then nodded in confusion.
“Yes.”
“Then what do you think Omegas are?”
Lucas’s tone was always fierce and unfriendly. He didn’t even need to deliberately do anything to intimidate people.
“This…”
“Omegas are already rare. Someone like you is even rarer.”
Lucas sneered.
“Picking on the weak while fearing the strong. What kind of ability does an Alpha who looks down on Omegas have?”
“I… That’s not what I meant. General, you misunderstood.”
The ambassador laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, while the others also stepped in to smooth things over.
Lucas found it pointless and got up to leave.
“Hey, wait…!”
After saying goodbye to the others one by one, Zhou Mingkai chased after him and stopped Lucas in front of the aircraft.
“Where’s Secretary Luo?”
Zhou Mingkai looked around curiously at the empty space around Lucas.
Lucas bared his teeth.
“What do you want him for?”
He sounded fierce.
Zhou Mingkai froze, then rubbed his nose.
“Hey, I was just asking! That’s your secretary—I wouldn’t dare make a move on him. It’s just that he’s such a beauty. Looking at him makes me happy.”
A friend’s wife is off-limits!
Lucas warned coldly,
“You’re not allowed to look.”
Zhou Mingkai: “…”
All right, then.
In reality, Luo Ran had already told Lucas beforehand that he was going back to the lounge to retrieve some documents he had left behind and had asked Lucas to board the aircraft first and rest.
But Lucas wasn’t going to say that.
Stubborn.
“I came looking for you because I wanted to give you something.”
Zhou Mingkai smiled brightly and handed Lucas the bag in his hand as though presenting a treasured offering.
“I just got back from traveling to XN189 Star recently. While I was browsing the market there, I found a treasure. It was really expensive, but I had a feeling you’d really like it.”
Zhou Mingkai grinned slyly, looking especially eager to please.
This guy had regarded Lucas as his big brother ever since military academy. He had simply wanted his big brother to have his back, so he had been extremely diligent about currying favor with him.
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
His hands were in his pockets as he looked at Zhou Mingkai, wearing the expression of someone waiting to receive tribute.
“Ta-da!”
Zhou Mingkai pulled a glass dome out of the bag.
Inside the transparent, arched glass was a wooden stick, with a flowering plant wrapped around it.
Purple petals bloomed one after another, preserved beneath the glass.
“It’s your favorite wisteria.”
Zhou Mingkai grinned.
“I heard it’s an extremely rare specimen. But because it’s preserved inside, you can’t even tell that it’s already dead. Pretty unique, right?”
Indeed, its color was even brighter and more vivid than ordinary wisteria, and it looked incredibly lively despite having long since passed the lifespan it should have had.
Lucas snorted.
“I’m a dignified General. How could I possibly like something that little girls like?”
Zhou Mingkai immediately replied,
“Oh, then I’ll take it back and throw it away.”
“…”
Lucas held out his hand fiercely.
“Didn’t you say it was expensive? I’ll reluctantly accept it.”
“Sure thing!”
Zhou Mingkai eagerly presented it with both hands.
Lucas took the preserved wisteria and couldn’t help looking at it several more times.
Protected beneath the glass dome, the flower looked extraordinarily beautiful and dreamy, like a romance that had been sealed away.
To be honest, he really didn’t like these kinds of girly things.
But this was wisteria.
And it was a particularly unique specimen of wisteria.
“Hey, how does such a tough Alpha like you end up liking wisteria and white tea fragrance and stuff?”
Zhou Mingkai laughed helplessly.
“This soft, romantic side of you really doesn’t look like you at all.”
“Get lost.”
Lucas turned around and walked away without mercy.
Inside the aircraft, Lucas sat with his legs crossed, gently rubbing his fingers over the smooth surface of the glass.
He was deep in thought.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Luo Ran had said he was returning to the lounge to retrieve some documents.
But he had another objective as well.
“Se-Secretary Luo?”
The little prince of Falling-Ice—Andika—was still beside the banquet tables, holding a small plate and eating.
Food resources were scarce in Falling-Ice. The people there probably consumed nutritional supplements and compressed food more than anything else.
The Empire was different.
They loved making food elaborate and refined. Not only had they inherited recipes from ancient Earth, they had also continued creating new ones. A single ingredient could be transformed into 365 different dishes.
“Your Highness.”
Luo Ran respectfully bent at the waist in greeting.
Andika was timid to begin with, and after being frightened just moments ago, his face immediately turned pale when he saw Luo Ran, and he took several steps backward.
“Don’t be afraid, Your Highness. I came because there’s something I need your help with. Could you help me?”
Luo Ran’s voice was gentle, and his posture was humble, easing much of Andika’s tension.
He was still a prince, after all.
Andika took a deep breath, gripping his plate.
“Mm, mm. Tell me.”
Luo Ran smiled.
“I just heard you and the princess talking about a rumor that the General used to eat human flesh on the battlefield. I’d like to know where you heard that.”
Andika: “…”
Andika looked like he was about to cry again.
Seriously? What kind of freak is this secretary? He’s actually going to investigate something I just casually said?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say anything bad about the General! I… I…”
“Don’t be afraid, Your Highness. I’m genuinely just curious. I’m not trying to interrogate you.”
Luo Ran also picked up a plate and selected a generous amount of food. He carefully arranged everything, effortlessly and quickly creating a beautiful platter that made the food look extremely appetizing.
Here’s the English translation:
“Even if anyone were to pursue this matter, it has nothing to do with Your Highness. You were merely repeating what you heard.”
Luo Ran handed the plate to Andika and smiled.
“I think these are delicious. They’re traditional Imperial desserts. Your Highness shouldn’t miss them.”
Andika froze, then looked a little happy.
There were all kinds of food spread across the long table, and he had been dazzled by the variety.
“Thank you…”
Andika took the platter and glanced at Luo Ran before saying quietly, “I saw it on the Imperial forums… Since I was coming here with my sister, I browsed the forums for a while.”
“I see. Could I take a look at that post too?”
Andika cooperatively opened his terminal, found the post in his browsing history, and showed it to Luo Ran.
Luo Ran memorized the information, then bowed again.
“Thank you so much, Your Highness. I hope you have a pleasant time here.”
“Okay…”
After Luo Ran and Lucas returned to the office, they opened the post and read through it carefully.
The poster was anonymous and had posted it several weeks ago.
[Breaking News! The Other Side of General Lucas You Don’t Know!]
—Cruel and Cold-Blooded! General Lucas Eats Human Flesh and Drinks Human Blood, and Abuses Omegas and Betas?!
Luo Ran: “…”
Luo Ran had never paid much attention to online public opinion because he knew that Lucas was extremely popular throughout the galaxy as a hero. Even though everyone knew he had a bad temper, the Omegas who wanted to marry him could still line up all the way to another star system.
So Luo Ran hadn’t expected someone to make up something like this.
The poster was actually quite skilled at fabricating things. Rather than simply attacking Lucas outright, they pretended to be rational, analyzing things while mixing praise with criticism. They claimed to be someone from the General’s company who had a relatively good understanding of his private life.
The post claimed that Lucas was not only vicious and bloodthirsty, but also ate human flesh and bullied Omegas and so on, portraying Lucas as some kind of vicious demon.
It was a very long post, and the poster kept updating it, clearly putting a great deal of effort into maintaining it.
Fortunately, Lucas was highly popular, so most of the comments below were people defending him.
…
3rd Floor: Is the OP suffering from delusions or something? Our Imperial General is brave and battle-hardened. How could he possibly be the kind of person the OP made him out to be? Do you have a brain?!
15th Floor: I don’t think what the OP said is completely unreasonable… All three of the General’s marriage partners ran away. That proves he isn’t someone who treats Omegas and Betas well. But no matter what, he’s still a hero. There’s no need to obsess over his private life, right? Besides, even if he really does look down on or dislike Omegas, that’s only because he’s so powerful.
36th Floor: He eats human flesh…? I think that’s kind of terrifying. I hope he means the flesh of his enemies…
106th Floor: All I can say is, we’re enjoying the peaceful and comfortable lives the General has given us, so can we please stop passing judgment on him here?
Lucas’s fierce and bloodthirsty image was deeply ingrained in the public consciousness. There was even a popular joke that people could use Lucas’s name to scare crying children into silence.
Because of that, posts like this—ones that pushed the narrative toward Lucas being violent—were very easy to make successful.
Although it wouldn’t affect Lucas’s popularity, Luo Ran still frowned slightly.
If more and more negative news like this spread, it would become troublesome.
Luo Ran called the Imperial Network Administration and asked them to trace the poster’s IP address.
The other side quickly came back with the results.
But when Luo Ran looked at the contents of the email, he froze.
IP address: Imperial Capital — West District — Area A
Poster’s name: Nina Josephine
She was the daughter of the duke whose engagement with Lucas had just been called off.
Luo Ran felt a headache coming on.
It seemed that although they had officially gone their separate ways, the young lady clearly still held a grudge.
Luo Ran shook his head, canceled one of his afternoon appointments, and decided to pay the young lady a visit.
Lucas happened to come out, intending to get some fresh air on the balcony. When he saw Luo Ran putting on a coat and looking as though he was about to leave, he casually asked,
“Where are you going?”
Luo Ran didn’t want Lucas to know about all these messy matters, so he brushed it off.
“Just taking care of some minor work matters.”
Luo Ran glanced at Lucas and asked,
“General, why did you cancel your engagement with Miss Nina before?”
Lucas thought for quite a while before finally remembering who Nina was. He frowned.
“She came over and picked a fight with me, saying she wanted to cancel it. That suited me just fine. Why would I refuse?”
“What did she argue with you about?”
“Don’t know. Forgot.”
Luo Ran helplessly said,
“Think about it again. She probably didn’t argue with you only once.”
Lucas folded his arms and began thinking.
Since it had happened more than once, he eventually remembered.
“She came over and asked me what things she liked. I couldn’t answer, so she started getting angry.”
Lucas sneered.
“Ridiculous. Why the hell would I have to remember what color she likes? And all those weird dates. They weren’t National Day or Armed Forces Day, so how would I remember them? Did she think she was an examiner?”
Luo Ran: “…”
“Okay. I understand.”