Falling into the Abyss

Chapter 23: Return to Earth (IV)

Thank you so much Alya and VBaby for the kofisBonus Chapter (1/1)

Ethan didnt expect to enter the sleeping cabin with a bruise on his face. Seeing that it was almost time to go, he sprayed some of Samuels camouflaging inhibitor on his neck. He sighed as he looked in the mirror and poked his swollen red swollen cheek with his finger. The pain caused him to exhale sharply.

Samuel didnt return, so Ethan was stuck with a belly full of anger that he couldnt vent. Ethan hobbled slightly as he walked due to a particular part of his body throbbing with pain, to the point that his skull felt like mush. Thinking of the blond priest, another bout of heat surfaced in his abdomen

He thought it would have been nice if he had met Tanisiel before Roland.

They had to wear as little clothing as possible to enter deep sleep, so Ethan just wore his underwear like when they had arrived at Red Earth and wrapped himself in a large bathrobe. He tried to walk normally, but he still received a leering gazes when he bumped into a few nonhumans on the way. He met Samuel in the corridor leading to the sleeping cabin, who gave him a cold look and then ignored him.

Ethan stared at him, waiting for him to apologize, yet the other party didnt say a word.

However, one of Samuels little followers quietly said, Yo, it seems that you were very fierce yesterday? You bit him a little too deep.

Such a remark was initially intended to please Samuel by boasting about his Alpha disposition. However, he did not expect that Samuels expression would become even darker instead. He didnt speak to Ethan and simply turned around and went to the opposite direction.

Ethan clenched his fist in anger. If it werent for the follower who chased after him, then he would have rushed up to talk to Samuel. With a cold snort, he slowly followed after Samuel.

The circular sleeping cabins were so high and wide that they were almost as large as the previously launched spaceship. In the middle of the lounge was the huge cylindrical slumber-assisting mainframe, with the numerous sleeping capsules like leaves branching from this trunk in the center. There were currently twelve sleeping capsules sunk into the ground, waiting for nonhumans to enter.

Derek was busy staring wide-eyed at the huge cylindrical machine in front., with dense buttons and words floating on the crystal-clear column like light blue tadpoles. He had been out and about recently, trying to change some of the settings for Diana, the mainframe of the Magic Flute. He wanted Diana to ignore the captains original orders and obey them instead, but Diana was a more mature and sophisticated artificial intelligence than the Red Earths Gina. He tried to convince her that the captain was dead and that her mission to protect human beings and other interstellar citizens now referred to the nonhumans, and therefore she should listen to their commands. He thought that such a stupid and bullshit excuse wouldnt be able to convince any human and locked himself in the bridge with the mainframe, Diana, for two days and nights. When he finally came out, he looked like a zombie.

In the end, Diana changed the course of her voyage but still provided a daily report to the Earth Union. However, it would take three years for the information to be transmitted from Red Earth to the Earth Union, so they would have already fled by then. As long as they entered warp drive, the probability of being caught was very small. After entering the planetary territories of the Third Empire, they could find a pirate stronghold and change to another spaceship.

However, Derek still appeared to be a little worried. He spent most of the day communicating with Diana and checking some navigation settings. It seemed that he was not entirely at ease with the mainframe, but no matter how much he inspected it, he couldnt find any problems with the settings. Samuel saw that he was still staring at the tadpole-like words in a daze and went to tap his head and say, Wake up. Were about to enter deep slumber, so stop for a while.

Derek rubbed his sore eyes and sucked in a long breath.

Although it had been a difficult process, all signs indicated that he had tamed Diana. However, he still felt a little uneasy.

The deep slumber mode is set. Well stop our warp drive about half a lightyear outside of the Third Empire, and the remaining fuel should be enough for us to reach one of the remote space stations orbiting around the giant blue planet near the Third Empire. There, we should be able to switch to a different ship.

Ethan turned to watch the other nonhumans as they arrived. Chen Zeng was currently leading some of his followers to pray before entering deep sleep, but the prayer seemed to have changed.

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He noticed that their prayers now included the words, May God protect mankind from being devoured by the other great evil god, and raised his eyebrows. He recalled that Chen Zhengs strange religion was derived from Christianity, and did not believe that there was only God in the worldJehovah? Even Satan was just an angel exiled by God, so how could there be a great evil god now?

The consciousness intruded into their thoughts and gave them delusions that had been twisted and magnified by their own chaotic subconscious under the influence of the God of Disorder. The goddess of fertility, Shub-niggu, did not intend to attack them all. Her huge, mysterious mental consciousness that had crushed everyones minds was just a small by-product of her arrival. She did not care whether she ate humans or other creatures from Red Earth. She treated them all equally.

He had felt the unpredictable divinity when he had fallen on the goddess of fertilitys tentacle, when his body was stained with the energy radiated from the God of Order. She was not targeting the nonhumans but simply wanted to absorb some more souls and give birth to more children. The energy he was stained by had just made her feel as though an insect had bitten her. She hadnt felt fear when she shook him off, and it was just like someones reaction of shaking off a disgusting mosquito or a fly.

As for her subsequent retreat, it was probably because the power of the God of Orders egg made her a little uncomfortable. It was like how a person who touched something hot would suddenly pull back their hand. They knew she had not been expelled from the planet. Samuel said that when they escaped on the Magic Flute, the other half of Red Earth was still tightly wrapped under that black mass of flesh.

Human history was so long that they thought they had conquered the entire galaxy and so much of the universe, that they thought they were special. But they werent.

Maybe we are just a group of ants that had not yet been discovered by a superior species.

Ethan looked down at his palms in a daze. He had grasped the huge bulges on her tentacles with them. At that moment, it had felt like his hands were about to melt into her mucus-coated skin.

But strangely, he hadnt felt scared at that time. He had even felta little comfortable?

It was kind of likereturning home?

Why did he have such a strange attachment to a monster like that? He couldnt help but shiver.

All of a sudden, someone pressed down on his shoulders and lifted his jaw, and Tanisiels frown and angry gaze appeared before his eyes. Perhaps he had been too absorbed in his thinking that he didnt notice Tanisiels approach. He tried to show an embarrassed smile, but it was twisted into a ridiculous expression due to the pain in his cheek.

What happened to your face? Tanisiels voice was so low that it sounded a bit like a growl, rumbling from his throat like an enraged animal.

Ethan smiled carelessly and replied, The room was dark when I went back, and I fell.

Tanisiel looked at him with an inscrutable expression, and it was impossible to see if Tanisiel believed him. He just straightened up and called for one of the medical robots that was helping other nonhumans measure their blood pressure. He took an ointment out of its first-aid kit and squeezed some of it on his clean, slender fingers before applying it to Ethans cheek. Seeing how attentive he was, Ethan completely forgot that he could refuse or apply it himself. Instead, he just sat quietly, staring at the other through his glasses with dazed, green eyes.

It was only when another strong wave of Alpha pheromones approached that Tanisiels movements paused slightly.

Samuel had obviously sprayed a lot of the Alpha camouflaging inhibitor today. Just a whiff made Ethans sensitive nose want to sneeze He frowned and looked up towards Samuel.

Samuel folded his arms and looked down at the priest, commenting sarcastically, How compassionate of you, Lord Priest.

Tanisiel did not turn to look at him, and just chuckled. Youre flattering me. Im just helping out, he said before standing slowly. His beautiful and strong muscles stretching along with his movements. He turned to Samuel and asked, Did Your Excellency sleep well last night?

He seemed to be referring to something when he asked that question. The anger in Samuels eyes almost exploded out, seemingly wanting to burn the Alpha he hadnt trusted from the beginning into a handful of ashes. He hated that others had touched what was his. Although Ethan was not his at present, Samuel was still his backer.

Ethan and the alien both knew the secret he was most afraid of divulging. He knew that he shouldnt offend the blond man in front of him, but the other party had done such ambiguous things to his man in front of so many nonhumans. Tanisiel obviously didnt respect him, and it made Samuel extremely angry.

These self-righteous Alphas always liked to rob others things. No matter what planet they came from, they were all the same.

Samuel snatched the ointment from Tanisiels hand, exclaiming, I dont need your regards!

Perhaps, Tanisiel did not take the ointment back but said quietly, But sometimes people should remember whose bargaining chips are in whose hands.

With that, he chuckled and went to his sleeping capsule.

Samuel glared at the mans back before turning to look at Ethan. For a moment, there was frustration in his eyes.

He threw the ointment to Ethan and whispered, I dont care who you sleep with, but stop shaming my reputation in front of others. Then, he left.

Ethan rolled his eyes but didnt get angry at him. When Omegas threw a fit, no one could deal with them. He recalled the miserable days he had spent in college coaxing his first lovehis Omega boyfriend.

Before Ethan took off his glasses, he saw the chief security officer dragged in. The tall soldier was tied up and gagged and was forced to sleep in the capsule. He didnt even have a chance to struggle. Derek was going to set up the sleep program for him first, making him unconscious before cooling down his body.

Were they going to keep the chief security officer tied up when he entered deep slumber? Wouldnt half his body be numb when he woke up Ethan sympathized with him, but he knew that compassion was the last thing he needed. Anything could happen while everyone was asleep. They wouldnt be able to stop the chief security officer if he did something while they were asleep, so the best way to deal with this was to make sure he fell asleep first.

Next, the three Eves entered deep slumber. Ethan watched as the cover of the sleeping capsule Tanisiel was loaded in gradually slid down, and dejectedness sprouted in his heart.

After they exited the warp drive, it would be time for the Eves and the nonhumans to go their separate ways. After that, he would never see the strange priest for the rest of his life.

At this moment, Cavin suddenly asked, Where is Scott?

Everyone looked around as they could not find the person he had asked about. Scott sounded familiar, but Ethan couldnt remember who he was.

After a long time, Samuel used an even tone to reply, Dont bother looking for him. He is where he should be.

This sentence harbored numerous implications, one of them being that Samuel knew where he was.

Cavin immediately stood up and exclaimed, Where did you throw him?!

Nowhere, hes just locked in his own room. Samuel glanced at Derek, who apparently had helped him accomplish this.

Everyone was surprised. It seemed that Samuel was going to have Scott enter warp drive while he was awake. Everyone knew how dangerous and terrifying it was to stay awake during warp drive. It was said that many centuries ago, someone had tried to remain awake during warp drive. They had seen something terrifying under the effect of the extremely strong magnetic field and went crazy, so a decade ago, the Earth Union had banned anyone from entering warp drive while remaining awake.

Cavin clenched his fists and turned to walk towards the sleeping cabins exit. However, the door was closed since the warp drive mode had entered its countdown phase, so Diana sealed the cabin for their safety. Naturally, it was useless for Cavin to angrily bang on the door.

Samuel sneered, Alright, alright. Arent you normally irritated with him? I just helped you to clip the wings of someone hindering you.

Cavin suddenly turned around and strode over to Samuel and asked threateningly, Are you going to touch my men because of your pet?

Ethan finally remembered who Scott was.

Wasnt he the nonhuman who almost marked him on the way to Red Earth previously?!

In the face of the other partys threat, Samuel showed no fear and even smiled faintly. I said before that hes my man. I dont like people touching my things. Even if he had just taken a glimpse at whats mine, it wouldnt be okay.

He spoke so that everyone in the room could hear him clearly. Several people who had teased Ethan before immediately felt their bodies grow colder. They had intended to plead for Scott, but now, they swallowed their words back down.

Ethan thought that this issue had been blown out of proportion. Although he didnt like Scott, he felt that it was a little too excessiveto keep him awake during warp drive, right?

Samuel

Shut up, Samuel interrupted him coldly, his eyes fixed on Cavin. The two tall men were in a standoff, like two bulls ready to fight at any time.

Then, Chen Zeng appeared between the two of them and spoke in his comforting baritone voice, Its almost time. Deal with your problems with each other after were able to leave. If you fight now, Im afraid that both of you will have to join Scott in entering warp drive while conscious.

Although the two men were about to explode, they knew that Chen Zeng was right. Finally, Cavin spat on the ground in front of Samuel and walked away.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, and thought that Samuel had acted well. However, leaving Scott out there

A dark thought suddenly emerged from the depths of his conscience: Anyway, this man held almost no value other than his bellyful of sexual desires. It would be impossible for him to cause any harm to the sleeping nonhumans. Additionally, the bastard had almost forcibly marked him. It might be beneficial to their escape if such a fool died.

Anyway, it wasnt him who had killed Scott. After receiving such a fright from that man, he would not plead for him.

And even if he pleaded, the current Samuel would not listen to him.

Thus, he just took off his glasses and placed them in the small storage box under the bed before laying down on the soft bedding. The nano-glass cover slid down slowly, and the cold air that allowed people to fall asleep quickly spread from a hole in the middle of the headboard. Ethan soon felt his eyelids grow heavy and fell deep into his dreams.

But unexpectedly, their deep sleep only lasted less than five days before they were forcibly woken up.

T/N: Happy new year guys ! Hope yall have a great year ahead!

Thank you VBaby for your kofi and your support~