Chapter 471: Steeling One’s Resolve

But even as he said it, Pete knew, so did Thiago and Chronos, that Julius and Bryan, with the clumsy help of Iris and Sarah, were not going to outlast a high-ranking zerg by hiding behind a couch.

Salia’s wing was already regrowing. The others were good, but good wasn’t the same as enough to ensure that they could really kill that high-ranking zerg.

Somebody who was still in service despite other endeavors. Somebody who maintained their peak condition to fight needed to be on the line.

And the only person who fit the bill and was nearby was crouched in this corner. He was sick of the increasingly thick stench around. He was the one curled gray and shaking against Pete’s leg.

"Don’t make me repeat myself," Chronos said, steeling his resolve, ready to fight with pure sheer willpower.

"Excuse me?" Pete’s head whipped around at the increasingly nasty tone of Chronos, and he couldn’t even maintain his composure.

"Don’t act like you’re the same as the general." Pete spat out before he could think twice, sharper than he meant. His jaw clenched as he regretted saying that.

What he really meant to say was: you are not in the right condition to continuously fight. Look at yourself, you’re sick. You can’t just throw your body in a losing, survival fight like that, against a high-ranking zerg, nonetheless.

What Chronos heard, and what Chronos let himself hear, was an excuse.

"Don’t be stubborn now."

Chronos got one knee under himself, swaying. He took a deep breath and held out a hand that trembled but did not lower.

"Hand the gun over."

For three full seconds, Pete didn’t move. The fight roared on the other side of the sofa—Sarah’s voice, Salia’s shriek, and the incessant firing of plasma bolts.

But even so, the two of them stared stubbornly at each other.

Then, after a second, Pete was the first to reach down. He drew the reloaded pistol from his own hip and put it in Chronos’s open hand.

When Chronos tried to take it, Pete didn’t let it go. His fingers stayed clamped over Chronos’s around the grip.

Then, he leaned in close. His voice dropped low, serious under the noise.

"What is wrong with you?"

It wasn’t an accusation. It was facts dressed up as one.

"I’ve seen the basement, and there were only a few drops of blood, Chronos. A few drops."

Pete stared at Chronos straight in the eyes as if he were trying to see if Chronos would even express a moment of guilt.

"I’ve seen you take a knife and not blink. And you’re not pheromone-sick—you can’t be, you’re mine, you’ve got my mark, my scent locked into you so deep nothing in this galaxy should be able to touch you, affect you."

Chronos, trembling, tried his best not to show his guilt in his eyes. He also knew what Pete was doing this for, but Pete could not know about it.

Pete uttered his final speech, "So how did you end up like this. How are you shriveling like this right now? What is going on with you?"

Chronos continued to stare at Pete without blinking, without tearing away his gaze. In the end, repressing his feelings in front of Pete was something he couldn’t do.

He just couldn’t do it.

So, in the end, he looked away. He couldn’t hold it anymore. Those eyes, looking deep into his very soul, expressing himself not just physically and verbally but even with his scent.

If Pete knew... he would surely be happy.

But if Pete knew now... and he lost it...

He wouldn’t be able to take it.

So, Chronos steeled himself and dropped his gaze to the gun in their joined hands. Then, forcibly peeled Pete’s fingers off the grip one at a time.

Pete’s eyes widened over Chronos actions. Because clearly, this wasn’t like the Chronos that he knew.

A few feet over, Thiago had Helena’s arm slung across his shoulders, ready to move her. He had seen everything that had happened between Chronos and Pete.

Thiago pursed his lips. He had already heard from Helena, who whispered it into his ear back in the basement when Pete was busy finding a usable medical pod.

Helena told him, almost breathless: Thiago, listen, before you do anything, you need to know about Chronos. You need to know what you’d be risking while treating him.

And so Thiago briefly glanced at Pete, who had a crestfallen expression with a hint of guilt. When Pete asked him for help, he acted busily and focused on Helena. He did nothing to stop Chronos from rising to fight.

And honestly, he couldn’t even blame Chronos for his actions either. After all, this was an unfortunate and unpredictable scenario. All the people who knew a fight would break out didn’t expect high-ranking zergs to enter the picture.

Not just one but two of them, and not to mention that they all hid inside their friend’s bodies. All of their previous plans just went up in smoke, and they even had to let Grayson’s boyfriend do the distractions.

Thiago also knew that the next strongest person in here, aside from Helena and Grayson, was Chronos. If Chronos did not help, they might as well scatter and to try to survive before the reinforcements came.

Losing Chronos wasn’t just losing their lives but also the unborn child inside him. But Chronos alone wasn’t enough to kill that high-ranking zerg; the other people in here still needed to help him, too.

So Thiago understood and even silently agreed to his actions. After all, in this world, a child wasn’t a casual thing you could have despite having the technology for it.

First, there was the issue in the gene banks. Then there were the compatibility screenings. Not to mention the brutal cost of carrying to term across the ABO cycles.

But science also gave another option for the people: to have the birthing center birth them for you.

Regardless of these things, things could still go wrong with all the races in the universe.