As the words fell, Li Po fell into silence.

It’s just pheromones, but how come it’s almost as strong as an aphrodisiac?

He glanced sideways at the Alpha bound to the chair, his expression unreadable.

In less than five minutes, the restrained Alpha was already on the verge of losing control. Sweat rolled continuously from his forehead, and his face turned an alarming shade of red, looking terrifyingly intense.

His limbs kept thrashing, and he panted heavily, a mixture of pain and pleasure flashing across his face.

Sweat and blood mixed together, staining his cheeks red. The Alpha’s behavior had become extremely erratic, like a wild beast stripped of reason.

Li Po observed thoughtfully for a while before asking, “Do all Alphas have to go through this?”

Landon lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment. “No.”

“?”

“Generally speaking, Alphas rated S-class and above don’t have to go through this. The higher their mental power, the less likely pheromones will affect them. Since it’s harder to disturb them, this kind of thing is useless for them.” After finishing, Landon’s blue eyes shifted to Li Po. “But it’s different for Omegas.”

“How is it different?”

“The higher the rank of the Omega, the stronger the attraction to Alphas. If it’s an SS-class Omega…” Landon deliberately paused here, as if waiting for Li Po to ask in curiosity.

He really wanted those foxy eyes to look at him with curiosity.

Unfortunately, Li Po had no such interest.

After all, telling an Omega with E-class mental power about SS-class matters was rather cruel. Especially since Li Po had a particular sensitivity to these topics, he hated hearing about them.

Seeing that the Omega had no interest and was even turning his head away, Landon’s face immediately fell. “Hey, don’t you want to know?”

Li Po half-heartedly tugged at the corner of his lips. “Not really.”

“Pssh…” Landon suddenly found this Omega rather amusing.

But since Li Po wanted him to go east, he decided to go west instead. “Fine, I’ll enlighten you anyway. The higher the mental power of an Omega, the more irresistible they are to Alphas. If an SS-class Omega releases their heat pheromones, no Alpha around them can escape—they’d all go crazy.”

Li Po frowned at that. “How’s that any different from animals?”

Landon shrugged with a chuckle. “No difference. Sometimes I feel like Alphas in heat are just like mad dogs. Just catching a whiff of an Omega’s scent can excite them for half a day. It’s disgusting. But hey, good news for you—you don’t have to worry about that kind of problem.”

“Why?” Li Po realized his mistake the moment he spoke, but it was already too late.

“Because your mental power is only E-class. Your compatibility with the Alphas in S District is too low.” Landon spoke in a comforting tone, but it didn’t sound comforting at all.

Li Po: …Damn it.

Isn’t he basically calling him weak in a roundabout way?!

Landon didn’t think he said anything wrong at first, but when he noticed the Omega pursing his lips, looking rather unhappy, he finally realized something.

Awkwardly opening his mouth, his blue eyes filled with confusion. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I was just trying to comfort you, to tell you not to worry…”

“Then what’s this for? What’s the purpose?” Li Po didn’t want to continue the conversation, so he shifted the topic, directing his gaze toward the Alpha on the screen.

Landon blinked, confused. “What?”

“Why do this kind of training? Aren’t missions just about killing pollutants? You wouldn’t encounter Omegas anyway.”

Li Po’s voice was pleasant to the ear, and the fact that he said so many words in one breath left Landon dazed. The base of his ears, hidden beneath his light blonde hair, flushed slightly red, radiating heat.

Landon discreetly pinched his ear before answering, “Oh, you’re asking about that? That’s a long story, but I’ll explain it to you.”

Most of the Alphas recruited into S District were young. They entered military school at 15 and, following the normal process, passed the exams and entered S District at 18. This meant that most of them were basically virgins who had never even smelled an Omega’s scent.

As combatants, their daily lives revolved around training and fighting, all for the ultimate goal of completing missions. While there were no Omegas inside S District, there were Omegas outside.

In the past, there was a scandal where an Alpha from S District took advantage of a mission and visited a brothel in the lower city. Ever since then, S District intervened in the personal lives of Alphas to maintain its reputation.

But even with these restrictions, Alphas still struggled with their instincts at times. Omegas were soft and delicate, especially when releasing heat pheromones. No Alpha could resist. So, S District, with its humane consideration, developed pheromone immunity training.

This way, Alphas would gain some level of resistance, allowing them a buffer period when faced with deliberate seduction or unintentional temptation from Omegas. It would greatly reduce the chance of mistakes.

Of course, there was one other key reason that Landon didn’t mention. After all, it was a military secret, and he wasn’t sure if he could tell Li Po.

“I see.” Li Po nodded in realization.

“You finally understand now?” Landon smiled, quietly observing the Omega.

“So, the lower city has that kind of place.” Li Po looked up at Landon, his eyes filled with unhidden curiosity.

He wasn’t curious about the brothel, but rather surprised that the sex industry was still so prevalent, no matter the time or place—even after crossing dimensions.

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere plunged into silence.

Landon was quiet for a long while. He stared at Li Po before finally saying in a solemn tone, “You’re an Omega. You should have some self-respect.”

“…”

Li Po was speechless. Apparently, not only was this guy’s head dirty on the outside, but it was dirty on the inside too.

“No,” Li Po tried to explain himself, “Aren’t Omegas only supposed to be marked once in their lifetime? How can they…?”

At those words, a hint of sarcasm flashed across Landon’s eyes, though the scorn wasn’t directed at Li Po.

“Yes, that’s true. So, most Omegas in those places are just looking for a wealthy benefactor. Most of the people in brothels are Betas—they won’t be permanently marked, and their chances of pregnancy are low, so there’s little risk. But those Omegas? Many of them are just gambling, hoping to find a rich Alpha. After all, they can’t get close to high-quality Alphas otherwise, so why settle for an ordinary Beta when they could aim higher?”

Li Po’s brow furrowed deeply. “Don’t they find it dirty?”

“Dirty? Yeah, it is,” Landon agreed, but then his tone shifted. “But in this world, just surviving is hard enough. Most people just live for the moment, thinking they might as well enjoy it while they can. You’re clearly someone who’s been pampered since birth. Once you get a chance to see the lower city, you’ll understand just how dirty and chaotic it really is.”

Recalling the scenes from the holographic combat simulations, Li Po shuddered and nodded.

Those black orbs…he never wanted to see them again in his life.

As Landon finished speaking, his gaze briefly swept across the Alpha on the screen. Suddenly, he noticed a look directed at him from the side.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?” Landon had a bad feeling.

Li Po finally withdrew his gaze and blinked. “Huh? Was I?”

Suddenly, something clicked in Landon’s mind. “You don’t think…”

Li Po simply stared at him without saying a word.

…Landon was utterly mortified, feeling the sting of having his innocence questioned.

“Don’t get the wrong idea! I’ve never been to a place like that. It smells awful! Why would I go? Besides, their scent isn’t even as nice as yours…” His voice trailed off, the last part so soft that Li Po didn’t even hear it.

Li Po only caught the first part, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “If you’ve never been, how do you know what they smell like?”

…Damn, I’ll never clear my name now.

Landon was momentarily speechless, scratching his head as his blue eyes stared intently at Li Po. “It was for a mission! A mission!”

Li Po pretended not to believe him.

Landon was completely helpless now. In S District, the details of missions were confidential, and since Li Po wasn’t an official combatant, Landon couldn’t tell him. Talking about it would be a violation of the rules.

So, he could only swallow the bitter pill in silence.

Luckily, the awkward atmosphere was abruptly interrupted by the sudden blackout of the screen.

The small screen they had been watching flickered off without warning, leaving nothing but darkness.

One second, Li Po had been observing the blood on the ground. The next, he was staring at his own reflection.

“…”

Landon was equally taken aback. “Why did it suddenly go dark?”

“Power outage?” Li Po guessed casually.

“Impossible,” Landon replied immediately without thinking, “This is S District, the most stable energy source in the entire galaxy. There’s no way it’s a power outage.”

But just as he finished speaking, the giant screen in the center of the training hall suddenly went black. The countless smaller screens all went dark simultaneously, and the images from every room disappeared.

At the same time, Alphas in training began pouring out of the rooms, gathering in the center of the training ground like a swarm of bees.

“What’s going on? I was just in the middle of training, and the power went out?”

“I don’t know either. Damn, good thing today’s training wasn’t too dangerous, or I’d have been stuck in there.”

“Exactly, I bet a lot of people are trapped in the rooms right now.”

“Damn, that must be terrifying. If the machines malfunction, they’ll be trapped in there forever.”

Most of the training in S District required the use of mental power, so being trapped in the machines for too long was extremely dangerous. Each training session had a fixed time and intensity, and if training went over, at best, the skin would be damaged. At worst, it could lead to mental trauma or even brain death.

To avoid extreme situations, every machine had an emergency button on the inside that could be triggered in case of sudden incidents. However, this button could only be activated by someone from the outside; the person undergoing training couldn’t press it themselves.

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, “Let’s split up and find the others! We need to get them out!”

Everyone standing there was a trained combatant, so as soon as the command was given, they immediately understood what needed to be done.

In the center of the training hall, the crowd scattered in all directions. With the screens off and no indicator lights, they had to kick open each door, locate the emergency button, and pull people out.

Training Ground No. 3 was large, and there were many Alphas moving about. The space became so crowded that everyone was practically pressed against each other like a sandwich.

Landon stumbled from being jostled around, steadied himself, and was about to grab Li Po when he turned around and realized the Omega was no longer beside him.

As if realizing something, his expression changed instantly, and he cursed, “Damn it!”

…

Meanwhile, Li Po was face-to-face with an Alpha who had lost all reason to the effects of heat.