Chapter 388 – ABO: The Heaven-Sent Sweetheart – Sowing Discord (12)
No one would ever gamble with their own life. Normally, nobody would let someone with zero medical experience treat them. But Bai Tang was different. The moment he made a move, he used an extravagant healing potion. With that kind of presence, it was hard not to trust him.
Very quickly, Bai Tang drafted a treatment plan for Sou. If he weren’t afraid of arousing suspicion, he could have healed Sou’s leg instantly using his ability. But to avoid being treated like a monster, Bai Tang had no choice but to take it slow—though that meant Sou would have to suffer a bit.
Alphas stood tall and proud, forged through blood and storms. None of them feared death—the only thing they feared was becoming useless.
Sou wasn’t afraid of pain. As long as he could recover, he could endure any amount of suffering.
Bai Tang patted his leg. “Relax. You’re not going into battle. It’s just a small issue, nothing serious.”
Being in close contact with a beta, Sou gave an embarrassed smile, which immediately made Jacob, watching from the side, feel a surge of jealousy.
Jacob took the medical tools from Bai Tang’s hands, smiling warmly. “Let me do it. I’m stronger. You can guide me, Tang Tang. I won’t make a mistake.”
Sou swallowed nervously. Jacob’s smile creeped him out. “Uh, boss… I think it’s fine if Tang Tang does it. No need to trouble you…”
Tang Tang?! When Jacob heard those two syllables from Sou’s mouth, his smile deepened meaningfully. “Showing care for my subordinates is what a boss should do.”
Sitting on the bed, Sou slowly scooted backward until he was pressed against the wall. “Th–there’s really no need…”
“Can’t you tell the protagonist is jealous? No wonder he’s only a subordinate and not the boss.” Qiu’er said while sitting on the windowsill with Xiao A, munching sunflower seeds.
“Not everyone can be as smart as you, Qiu’er,” Xiao A replied.
“That’s true.” Qiu’er puffed up proudly. When it came to intelligence, he’d accept being second—no one dared claim first.
Bai Tang suspected nothing. Sou was Jacob’s subordinate, after all. Wasn’t it normal for a leader to care about his men?
Under Bai Tang’s direction, Jacob held Sou’s leg, applied anesthesia, and began resetting the bone.
Sou’s injury actually wasn’t too serious. It had simply been left untreated for too long. A small fragment of bone at the fracture site hadn’t been properly handled. The spot was hidden and hard to detect, which was why no one noticed it during initial treatment—leading to his difficulty walking now.
But anesthesia wasn’t a miracle cure. When his leg had been broken, Sou didn’t feel much pain. But shaving off the extra bone and touching the deepest part of the injury—that was agony.
At first, Sou could still stay relaxed, but when the injured spot was suddenly touched, the sharp pain hit him without warning—so sudden and intense that tears instantly streamed down his face.
“Abu, cut off that part. Make it smooth,” Bai Tang instructed.
Jacob wasn’t the type to take revenge for jealousy. Knowing Sou was suffering, he acted swiftly and decisively. Following Bai Tang’s directions, he cleaned up the wound, reset the bone, and bandaged it.
Just when Sou was about to faint from the pain, Bai Tang sprinkled pain-relief powder over the wound—system-made, guaranteed quality.
In less than two seconds, Sou felt the pain vanish from the injury.
He stared at his heavily wrapped ankle, both amazed and confused.
Bai Tang let out a breath of relief. While putting away the tools, he said, “Don’t walk for three days. Wait until the wound starts healing before you move around.”
Alpha healing ability was strong; such an injury wasn’t much to them. But to be safe, Bai Tang still forbade Sou from doing anything that might disrupt the bone setting.
Once Sou’s situation was handled, Jacob finally had time to listen to the intel purchased from the black-market trader, Keynes.
The Empire and the Interstellar Alliance were preparing for war.
The trigger was the disappearance of Deputy Inspector Sam.
Before Sam encountered Bai Tang, he had sold Alliance intelligence to the Empire. The Empire knew Sam was their man, but publicly, Sam belonged to the Alliance. The inspectors, trying to cover up their negligence, couldn’t admit that Jacob slipped away under their supervision and even took Sam with him. And since an Imperial mole had just been exposed, they conveniently shifted the blame, claiming that the Empire had taken Sam. Anyway, tensions between the two sides were already at breaking point. If Sam fell into the hands of “brutal” pirates, his chances of survival were slim—almost none. No one knew the true reason behind Sam’s disappearance.
Their calculations were clever, but they didn’t realize their actions would spark a premature war between the Empire and the Alliance.
Jacob looked at the intel in his hands—especially the part saying that the Grand Marshal had already gathered his troops and was preparing for battle.
He let out a cold laugh. Even as a Grand Marshal, he was still so naive.
Perhaps the Grand Marshal didn’t know that many Alliance officers were actually undercover agents from the Empire—each holding high-ranking positions. He didn’t even know the true backgrounds of his own subordinates, yet he had managed to remain Grand Marshal for years. His luck was extraordinary.
But your luck ends here.
Jacob crushed the cup in his hand, shards of glass exploding and scattering across the floor.
Bai Tang came in to ask what Jacob wanted for dinner so he could cook it. Out of habit, he ran in barefoot—and almost stepped on the broken glass.
“Tang Tang, don’t move.” Jacob hurriedly kicked the shards aside, rushed to the doorway, lifted Bai Tang, and carried him to the small sofa.
“Abu, are you angry?” Bai Tang smiled gently as he propped Jacob’s mouth into a forced upward curve. “Don’t be mad. I’ll make you something delicious.”
“Alright, I’m not angry. What delicious food is my Tang Tang making for me tonight?” Jacob smiled, not wanting Bai Tang to worry.
“Tonight we have candied roasted chestnuts, pineapple stir-fried pork, and tomato egg-drop soup…” Bai Tang listed the menu he put together after balancing both their tastes. He didn’t like eating meat, but that didn’t mean Abu didn’t.
“Then I’ll be blessed with a feast again tonight.” Jacob pinched the boy’s nose affectionately, lifted him up, and carried him out. He then ordered the housekeeping robot to clean the mess inside.
No one knew better than Jacob how many Imperial spies were hidden within the Interstellar Alliance—because he was the one who planted them there.
Before his father became the Grand Marshal, he had been a high-ranking general in the Alliance. Back then, Jacob, as the general’s son, had aspired to become someone just as outstanding—to fight for the Alliance’s future. He learned every rank and every position by heart in order to serve better. In the end, all of that conveniently benefited the Empire.
The Empire wasn’t one to show weakness. Since the Alliance had already declared war, refusing to respond would only make them look cowardly.
A time for the battle was agreed upon. Jacob piloted his ship to a position near the battlefield and dispatched small surveillance drones to observe the fight.
On the battlefield, both sides’ warships locked onto their targets and fired. The blazing red cannon blasts collided with the blue-purple defense shields, producing bursts of dazzling light.
Bai Tang yawned, staring at the screen, nearly falling asleep.
Their way of fighting was really boring. Ancient wars between two nations were much more exciting. Here, you couldn’t even see people—only machines fighting from long range. No one could hurt anyone. It was just a big waste of ammunition.
“If Tang Tang is sleepy, why don’t you go nap in the bedroom? I’ll have the drones record the battle and edit the exciting parts for you,” Jacob said, tenderly wrapping a blanket around him, nuzzling close to his beloved boy.
“I don’t want to. They’re boring, but if Abu stays here watching alone, wouldn’t that be even more boring? I’ll keep you company~” Bai Tang clung to Jacob’s hand, acting spoiled. No way was he letting his lover leave him behind.
“Alright. Then Tang Tang can nap here for a bit. I’ll wake you when something interesting happens.” Jacob adjusted his posture so the boy could lean comfortably against his chest.
While they were talking, the battle on the field finally showed new developments.
The large warships had extremely strong defenses, making them nearly impossible to shoot down. Both sides deployed elite alpha pilots in small fighter ships to circle around and launch a rear assault.
The tactic itself was brilliant—unfortunately, both sides had the exact same idea.
Holding the boy in his arms, Jacob’s lips curled slightly. The fish had taken the bait.
Neither the Empire nor the Alliance expected the other to target their rear lines. Caught off guard, both sides actually succeeded in their sneak attacks.
Just as the assault teams reported good news, bad news arrived from the rear: the supply ship was malfunctioning and would explode soon.
“What?!” The Grand Marshal / General was stunned.
“Capture them!”
“You useless fools!”
Both commanders cursed loudly. Amid the chaos, four small ships broke away from the assault formation and headed toward Jacob’s location.
“Boss really called it. The Interstellar Alliance is so arrogant—they think they’re unbeatable. I can’t believe we actually pulled off the sneak attack like this?!” Sou walked from the cargo hold back to the cockpit, speaking to Warren, who was piloting.
Warren chuckled. “The Alliance has been rotten for a long time. The Grand Marshal just covered it up well enough that civilians never noticed.”
Both sides had sent people to attempt a rear assault—but the explosives planted on their ships were actually installed by Warren, Sou, and the other pirates while taking advantage of the chaos.
It was war, after all. Anything could happen, right?
Keynes, after taking Jacob’s money, took Sam for a stroll right before the two armies clashed. Using visual misdirection, he made the Empire see Sam walking toward the Alliance, and made the Alliance see Sam walking toward the Empire.
“Damn it! Was I not good to him?! He actually betrayed the Alliance!” The Grand Marshal was furious. He wasn’t upset because Sam betrayed him emotionally, but because Sam held too many of his secrets. If the Empire learned about them and used those weaknesses against him, how could he continue being Grand Marshal?
The Imperial General’s face was dark. That deputy inspector—he had clearly agreed to defect to the Empire and bring Alliance intelligence after the war started. But he’d returned to the Alliance instead. Could this all have been a trap from the beginning?
After this small scheme of sowing discord was completed, Jacob brought Bai Tang and the pirates back to Pirate Star.
Both sides called for a temporary ceasefire due to the damage to their rear lines. When the Grand Marshal returned to the Alliance, the streets were filled with rumors of his corruption, factionalism, and abuses of power. He hurried to suppress the news, but before he could even catch his breath, an even bigger scandal exploded—
The previous Grand Marshal had been killed by the current Grand Marshal!