Little Pink Starfish

…Of course there was back-scrubbing, and there was even a massage, okay! The people outside couldn’t have imagined what a steamy scene was happening inside. As for the people inside—one felt completely out of place, while the other thought it wasn’t nearly enough. Neither of them was particularly thrilled.

Qiguan Rui sounded a little aggrieved: “Gege, why are you in such a rush? What does the life or death of the people outside have to do with us? Why must you go so far to protect them? Wouldn’t it be nicer to soak in the bath with me…?”
At this rate, if the bugs didn’t kill those people, he was about to go out and do it himself.
They were wasting his time with gege… So inconsiderate.

Gu Bai, who had just finished his combat bath, stood stiffly on the spot while Qiguan Rui helped him dress, internally full of heh.
The hell, bubble bath in this kind of emergency? Could this pervert stop with the clingy act already? Didn’t he know this face wasn’t even as good-looking as the original one?

Still, to avoid triggering any of the pervert’s pervert points, Gu Bai didn’t say a word.
As he passed by the pervert, he smacked him on the back of the head to express his affection, then turned around and walked toward the door.
He always did his job seriously—whatever shell he wore, he did the work of that shell. And now that he was a general, facing this setup was the perfect time to pretend to be cool and stack up reputation points. If not now, then when?

Qiguan Rui’s grievance face disappeared instantly. He had no choice but to follow Gu Bai out.
Soon enough, the two of them stood in front of the many soldiers and officers still nervously watching the battlefield from within the command ship.

Just as Gu Bai stood before the monitoring screen, analyzing the situation, he immediately sensed two intense gazes burning into his back.
He paused for a second.
That gaze—unmistakable.
It was from the protagonist shou!

↑
Let’s explain.
Why was the protagonist Liang Xiao, who by rights should have still been a second-year at the Federation’s First Military Academy, suddenly showing up on the command ship and even participating in battle?
Only one answer:
Because the protagonist shou’s protagonist halo was in full effect!

Yes, in the original plot, this was the point in the timeline where the massive wormhole at the front line began to act up. Bug emergence rates rose drastically, and the destruction they caused grew exponentially.
Where once only one queen worm might emerge from a wormhole, this time, there were five!

Five queen worms meant not just a flood of soldiers, but also that countless planets were being reduced to barren wastelands.
Because the bugs needed vast nutrition to spawn, every living thing in their path—devoured.
And as the food supply thinned, the bug swarms grew more aggressive.

In the original, it was this overwhelming bug outbreak that pushed the Federation into crisis.
Even though the military was large, they had to both defend and attack simultaneously—and it wasn’t enough.
So, the students at the military academy, starting from second year—just after they’d developed some basic military skills—were drafted in massive numbers to fill in the ranks and grow into real soldiers through real combat.

——This setup, of course, was made to highlight how awesome the protagonist shou was, because he just so happened to be that age.
But now that the world had solidified, the battles were brutally real.
And in this context, the protagonist Liang Xiao, through multiple channels, had successfully been selected as a mecha warrior and command candidate, arriving aboard one of the Federation’s top generals’ ships—Gu Bai’s.

As for why Liang Xiao was now staring at Gu Bai so passionately?
Well, because Gu Bai had been so freakin’ cool recently!

His giant mecha dove in and out of the bug swarms—not seven times, not eight times, but dozens of times! He was absolutely tearing it up out there! That calm demeanor, that graceful execution—he was practically a national idol!

Previously, Liang Xiao had only heard about Liu Rufeng’s reputation.
Now that he’d seen it firsthand—and such bravery, such power—of course he was starstruck.
Instantly, he set his life goal (professionally speaking) to be just like him.
He couldn’t wait to fight alongside him!

So moved by this, Liang Xiao’s gaze was practically glowing.
And for those watching him aboard the ship, well… no one failed to notice that look of admiration.
But that wasn’t strange. From past to present, every beta who had witnessed their general’s power had been 100% smitten.
Everyone was used to it, really. They all looked at the newcomer’s enthusiasm with a kind and pure appreciation.

……

Of course, Gu Bai had long since developed immunity.
Even if he wasn’t obsessed with the plot, now that he was here, he didn’t mind helping move things along.
So he called over the protagonist: “You, come here and take a look.”

Liang Xiao was thrilled: “Yes, sir!”
Gu Bai: Oh hell, why is an omega this enthusiastic—no, I’m not being sexist! It’s just that going from boy/girl not being spicy enough to boy/boy, and then boy/boy with weird gender tags… it’s hilarious, okay?

Yes! These days, danmei—sorry, pure love genres—were booming with wild imagination and unpredictable twists.
Romance had gone from “I love you for you, not your gender” to “I only love men so let’s change your gender identity” to “Isn’t everyone a guy here anyway? Just with two sets of parts and titles or whatever.”
And in terms of pairings, seme was once seme, uke was once uke, then seme could be uke and vice versa, and now people didn’t even know what the hell they were anymore.
It was exhausting.

Gu Bai had been in this world for nearly two years.
Still hadn’t woken up. Occasionally just drifted off…
Like right now.

But Gu Bai quickly refocused.
He still remembered they were at war, and as the designated cheat code, he had to give the protagonist shou a good tutorial so his halo could shine brighter.

Thus, the crowd saw their General personally instructing a talented new recruit, standing shoulder to shoulder, radiating brilliance—
So dazzling, it hurt the eyes!

Was this what people called the mutual pull between equals?

However, one person… was not having it.
Qiguan Rui stood with a gentle smile, but his eyes were twisted with nearly feral hatred.

That person!
How dare he get so close to gege!
So what if he was the omega protagonist shou or some supposed cherished darling of the story?
As long as something still breathed, Qiguan Rui wouldn’t allow it near gege…
And gege, gege was being so gentle toward him…
Unforgivable. Must kill!

But Qiguan Rui didn’t move.
Because he knew, back in the bath, he’d already annoyed gege a little by taking liberties.
So he had to endure.
Even if he’d imagined a thousand ways to kill that so-called protagonist.
He still couldn’t act rashly.
Endure…

Meanwhile, Liang Xiao had no idea he’d already been through several rounds of near-death just in someone’s imagination.
He listened with total focus. The more he heard, the more he admired the General.
Like a sponge soaking up water, eager and strong in learning ability.

About half an hour later, the giant mecha’s energy was fully replenished.
Gu Bai ended the instruction and waved Liang Xiao along to join him for a closer view of the battle—to build some combat awareness.

Gu Bai did this often, and none of his soldiers objected.
So Liang Xiao followed with excitement.

Soon after, Liang Xiao witnessed Gu Bai unleashing destruction upon the bugs, coordinating mecha squads to flank, pincer, sweep, and ambush the swarms.
Liang Xiao grew even more fired up.

Then, Gu Bai once again attempted to pull a sneak attack on one of the queen worms in the wormhole.
But this time—things didn’t go as planned.

Just as the hook latched onto one queen and began dragging it out, three others suddenly exhibited an unusual burst of solidarity and pounced at once.
Their sonic waves combined—blasting straight into Gu Bai’s mind!

…If it had been the original Liu Rufeng, he’d have been instantly brain-dead.
But Gu Bai was different. He just froze up slightly.

Still, that slight pause, paired with the queens’ reaction, set off alarms across the fleet.
Everyone realized something was wrong!
The General was surrounded! The queens were up to something!

What now…?

The mecha warriors went berserk, pouring in firepower to try and save their spiritual pillar.
But space distances were not so easy to close.
Despite their rush, endless swarms blocked them—
And it looked like Gu Bai would be encircled. He didn’t seem able to move…

Liang Xiao snapped.

Emotions surged wildly in his mind.

Such a great general!
Such a powerful general!
How could he die here—
No! I won’t allow it!

Scorching fire flooded through his body.
Liang Xiao’s entire form heated up.
An incredibly rich and sweet scent burst from him, rapidly filling his mecha, then spilling outward and spreading fast.

His inhibitor—diluted by his intense emotions—
His blood boiled.
His pheromones… exploded.

Put simply, Liang Xiao…
was in heat ing

——And where was the true gong at this time?

Answer: On another battleship, standing by to heroically save the beauty.

Yes, when the protagonist shou goes into heat, how can the official seme not show up?

#Every alpha gong must be ready to fight ten thousand alphas for the shou#

In a typical ABO story, a protagonist shou disguised as a beta was just “an excellent youth” before releasing his pheromones. The “irresistible charm” hadn’t fully emerged.
But once he returned to his omega identity?
He might as well have the words Come Fk Me flashing over his head.
Every alpha wanted a piece.

But this story? Was different.

Liang Xiao’s pheromones didn’t just attract alphas.
Even betas with diluted pheromones couldn’t escape.
Worst of all—
On the battlefield, when released at full strength, his scent could… act as a tranquilizer for the bugs.

Unbelievable, right!?

In the original, this happened during a major crisis.
But Gu Bai, being just a reader, didn’t know the exact date when the author hadn’t specified.
And today… was that day.

Gu Bai smelled the sweetness.
Inside his giant mecha, where no one could see him…

His face turned pitch-black.

FUCK!