Lu Yunian had arrested all twelve of Gu Zeyu’s brothers. The Interstellar Alliance was in an uproar over these two families, with pressure from all sides bearing down on the military, demanding Lu Yunian release them immediately.
The twelve brothers were originally indignant. The sixth brother, a doctor, was attending an academic forum on reversible ABO gland damage. The ninth brother, a designer, was at Paris Fashion Week. None of the twelve brothers escaped, all caught in one fell swoop and confined to the military camp.
The eldest brother, clutching copies of the Criminal Law, Civil Code, and Marriage Law, was about to lecture Lu Yunian, whose face had turned ashen. But before he could begin, Lu Yunian said gravely, “Gu Zeyu has run away with the child.”
The twelve brothers, who had been clamoring for an explanation from Lu Yunian, fell silent upon hearing this. The energy in the room deflated by half. The eighth brother, a writer, clicked his tongue twice and quickly jotted down notes about Gu Zeyu’s heroic deed.
“Did you two have a fight?” The eldest brother pushed up the judge’s hat on his head. He had been arrested right in the courtroom, still gripping his gavel.
Lu Yunian shook his head and uttered an even more perplexing statement. “He didn’t want to run. He was taken by his second personality.”
The twelve brothers collectively gasped and exclaimed, “Huh?”
The second brother, a businessman who had been calculating the economic losses caused by their arrest, looked up from his pile of calculators and asked, “What second personality?”
Seeing their genuine confusion, Lu Yunian realized he would need their help to find Gu Zeyu and the child. He couldn’t think of anywhere else Gu Zeyu might go besides the Gu family. Yet despite arresting all twelve brothers, there had been no contact with Gu Zeyu. His only option was to keep everyone confined together and discuss Gu Zeyu’s possible whereabouts.
“A second personality, one that claims to be an ancient god, possessing mysterious powers capable of annihilating an army of black bat ghosts,” Lu Yunian explained reluctantly. He didn’t want to indulge in Gu Zeyu’s delusions; every family needed at least one sane person to hold things together.
The twelve brothers looked at Lu Yunian the same way he had looked at the Divine Fish. Eighth Brother furiously scribbled an outline. “Driven Mad After Being Forced to Marry a Weakling Alpha,” with a synopsis: An Omega General marries a Weakling Alpha.
“Your family’s secret must be that the twelve of you received a divine blessing. Each of you possesses an ability that places you at the pinnacle of twelve different fields,” Lu Yunian continued slowly. The brothers’ expressions changed, and they exchanged glances before regarding him warily.
“If I’m not mistaken, Gu Zeyu isn’t your biological brother.” At these words, all twelve sprang to their feet, nervously retreating into a circle.
“How does he know the family secret?” Eighth Brother whispered.
“Could Xiao Yu have told him?” Sixth Brother tugged at the stethoscope still hanging around his neck.
“That’s impossible. Only Father and the twelve of us know this secret,” Ninth Brother anxiously loosened his necktie.
“What did he say at first? Xiao Yu has a second personality, that he’s an ancient god?” The third brother, a senator, began summarizing.
“Whoa!” The twelve brothers gasped in unison.
“Let’s say, hypothetically, when was the first time you noticed Xiao Yu’s second personality?” Eighth Brother, being the most talkative, was elected as their spokesperson.
“The first time we made love, after exchanging pheromones,” Lu Yunian replied without blushing, while Eighth Brother covered his face with his notebook.
“You asked us about Xiao Yu’s sleepwalking before, but we couldn’t piece it together then,” Eighth Brother said, his cheeks flushed as he rifled through his material, pulling out previous diary entries and spreading them before Lu Yunian.
“These two instances have something in common. Both times, Xiao Yu accidentally used one of our brothers’ cups, meaning there was a small exchange of pheromones. Could it be that because we carry this so-called divine consciousness, Xiao Yu awakens when he comes into contact with it? But because the amount was so small, his consciousness only manifested as sleepwalking.”
After Eighth Brother finished speaking, the other eleven showed skeptical expressions.
“But that doesn’t make sense. Lu Yunian isn’t part of the Gu family,” Ninth Brother said. Seeing Lu Yunian’s hand move to his holstered gun, he quickly added, “I mean, he’s not a Gu child.”
“When I was young, I nearly drowned but was rescued,” Lu Yunian interrupted their discussion, his voice deep. “Before that, I was a sickly Omega. Doctors predicted I wouldn’t live past 18. But afterward, not only did my constitution improve dramatically, I even enlisted and became an Imperial War Star.”
“You’re saying the ancient god also bestowed a sliver of divine consciousness upon you,” Third Brother summarized.
“If I may interject,” the seventh brother, an IT expert who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “I’ve always wanted to mention that when we were matching Xiao Yu with potential partners, my data was tampered with.”
All eyes turned to the seventh brother, including Lu Yunian, who watched the projected image intently.
“Look…” Seventh Brother swiftly entered codes into Gu Zeyu’s information database. No matter how many times he altered it, the final image always came out as Lu Yunian. “This means that regardless of how I change Xiao Yu’s requirement data and initial conditions, all permutations and combinations only yield one answer.”
“Lu Yunian,” Eighth Brother answered first.
“The only one who could alter your database…” Eldest Brother stood behind Seventh, pondering.
“We may need to ask our father about this. Lu Yunian, allow Old Seven to connect to the network first. We twelve will issue a joint statement to quell the outside turmoil. Then you’ll come with us to the research institute. I’ll take you to meet our father,” the eldest brother said, turning to Lu Yunian, who sat in the main seat.
Lu Yunian remained motionless, his fingers tapping the table repeatedly. Seven hours had passed since Gu Zeyu’s disappearance, and his patience was wearing thin. Part of his reason for detaining Gu Zeyu’s twelve brothers was to force him to return with the child. Lu Yunian was reluctant to abandon his plan.
“Holding us hostage won’t help. If what you say is true and the ancient god has awakened within Xiao Yu, he won’t have human emotions,” Third Brother said bluntly, noticing Lu Yunian’s increasingly dark expression. Even he felt a bit intimidated. “He won’t care about our familial bonds, nor your marriage. He’s no longer our brother, much less your Alpha.”
Lu Yunian’s hand gripped the armrest of his chair, leaving deep indentations in the wood.
“We’ll issue the statement on the way. We leave for the research institute immediately,” Lu Yunian said as he stood. The chair he had been sitting on collapsed, shattering into a pile of wood.
But before they could leave the military camp, Gu Zeyu appeared, standing atop the waves. With a single surge, he swept Lu Yunian away.
The twelve brothers watched in stunned silence, supporting each other as they stood shakily. As the waves receded, leaving only a few starfish as evidence of Gu Zeyu’s presence, they finally found their voices.
“That was so cool!” Writer Eighth Brother exclaimed excitedly, rubbing his hands together.
“I’ve got inspiration for my next season’s color palette,” Ninth Brother said, picking up a silver starfish. “It’s beautiful.”
“Did Lu Yunian just get abducted by his Alpha?” The eldest brother’s hand still rested on the Criminal Law book.
“All that water… I wonder how much the water bill will be,” Second Brother lamented, clicking his tongue.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s hard for an upright official to settle family disputes. Let Xiao Yu deal with his Omega himself,” Third Brother concluded.
Author’s Note: Gu Zeyu: I appeared for one minute, but I was cool for the entire episode.
Leave a Reply