Realizing this, Hong Mao shuddered. Sweat immediately formed on his palms, and his eyelashes trembled slightly from nervousness. As a combatant, Hong Mao had dealt with pollutants plenty of times. Who knows what weird stuff might happen this time?

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes in fear, and then opened them forcefully.

But when he looked in the mirror again, that squirming sensation suddenly disappeared.

The damaged edges still had a fleshy pink hue, and the white pus was securely wrapped in that layer of flesh membrane, with no sign of anything ever squirming.

Was it just his eyes playing tricks on him?

Hong Mao rubbed his eyes hard, and when he let go, there was even a distorted halo of light in his vision. The reflection in the mirror looked strange, not terrifying, but kind of funny, like… a clown.

As soon as he thought of that word, a hint of gloom appeared in Hong Mao’s eyes.

Ever since he got entangled with that Omega, hadn’t he become a “clown”?

His forehead itched with a fine, prickly sensation. Hong Mao impatiently pressed it, and the next moment, his face twisted in pain as he cried out.

Damn it, has this mosquito become a demon? Why’s its bite so vicious?

As he pressed the pustule, a small crack appeared on the edge, and a few traces of blood slowly oozed out, mixed with a bit of white liquid. In a place Hong Mao couldn’t see, something inside the pustule seemed to push against it, causing the outer wall to bulge slightly before quickly deflating.

It was both disgusting and terrifying, but Hong Mao was completely unaware, as the itch on his forehead tormented him to the point of agony. He thought to himself that after training, he must go to White Tower to get some ointment and suggest they burn the mosquitoes in the crematorium while he was at it.

The thought of those mosquitoes biting so many corpses made him feel sick. Luckily, Alpha physiques were strong, and they’d all taken the special military vaccine, so they wouldn’t catch any diseases, otherwise, things could’ve gotten really bad.

As he let his mind wander, Hong Mao walked toward Training Ground No. 2. To avoid people seeing the bump on his forehead, he had to cover it tightly with his bangs. From a distance, it looked like he was wearing a red helmet, which was quite amusing.

Soon, he reached Training Ground No. 2.

As soon as Hong Mao walked in, he spotted someone in his line of sight.

He squinted, and the next second, his mouth broke into a wide grin.

Well, well, isn’t this an old acquaintance!

–

Li Po had another nightmare last night.

He was a light sleeper and woke up countless times during the night. Each time, his forehead was covered in sweat, and when he touched it, his hand came away wet. In the second half of the night, he gave up and leaned against the headboard with a white pillow, resting his forehead on the pillow to sleep, finally escaping the grip of his nightmares.

Until this morning, when he was startled awake by the alarm clock.

His head felt like it was weighed down by several pounds of stones, heavy and sluggish. Li Po lifted his face from the pillow, looking utterly drained. The snow-white pillow was slightly dented, and when he reached out to touch it, he felt a dampness, knowing without thinking that it was soaked with cold sweat.

He wiped his face and dragged his heavy body into the bathroom. Warm water poured down from his head to his feet, wetting his black hair, which stuck to the sides of his face. The stark contrast between pure black and soft white created a striking visual effect, making his complexion look like white jade—smooth and gentle.

But Li Po didn’t care about any of that. He just clicked his tongue softly, then raised his hand and brushed his wet hair back, revealing his smooth forehead.

Without the fringe covering his face, his once gentle features suddenly became sharp, with his eyes tilted upward in an arrogant expression, like a fox no longer hiding its claws.

At this moment, though, the fox was leaning closer to the mirror, carefully inspecting himself. After a moment, he let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, no dark circles.

After his shower, Li Po dried his hair and changed into a crisp white shirt, preparing to head to Training Ground No. 2.

He was way too tired; he needed something exciting to wake him up.

Twenty minutes later, at Training Ground No. 2.

As soon as he entered, the smell of blood hit him, much stronger than last time.

A circle of Alphas stood around the fence. One Alpha, overly agitated, even grabbed the chain of the fence, shouting loudly as he tugged on it, as if he wanted to rush in himself.

Li Po frowned slightly and glanced at the center of the platform. Just one look, and he froze.

The platform was engulfed in a thick black fog, swirling around, with a faint figure barely visible within. That person was kneeling on one knee, swaying unsteadily, yet stubbornly holding their head up, showing no sign of bowing down.

The black fog gradually split into several strands, passing through the Alpha’s body. Slowly, the black fog turned into a blood-red mist, and the Alpha’s face grew paler, while the smell of blood in the air became even more intense.

Before Li Po could fully grasp what was happening, the Alpha who had been clutching the chain suddenly shouted, “He can’t take it anymore! Stop it!”

What puzzled Li Po was that only this one Alpha seemed so worked up. The others merely watched indifferently, without sympathy or mockery, as if they were numb spectators.

While he was lost in thought, a prying gaze suddenly fell upon him from behind.

Li Po had sharp instincts. Without hesitation, he turned and looked, quickly locking eyes with the one who had been watching him.

In the next instant, his brows furrowed tightly, and he looked at the person with caution.

“Long time no see.” Hong Mao, the one who had been caught staring, showed no sign of embarrassment. He walked up calmly and greeted the Omega. “Remember me?”

Of course Li Po remembered him. He stared coldly at the approaching figure, making no effort to respond.

Seeing Li Po’s indifferent expression, Hong Mao’s teeth ground in anger. However, he didn’t show it, instead rolling up his sleeve to reveal a dark brown scar on his forearm.

“Know what this is?” He smiled, but his tone was icy, like a venomous snake.

The scar was about ten centimeters long and two centimeters wide, clearly left by some kind of whip. Li Po had seen the footage and knew exactly what it was.

But he didn’t speak. He just raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you want?”

Hong Mao grinned. “I bet you’re feeling pretty smug right now, huh? Got me into this sorry state without lifting a finger. Must feel great, doesn’t it?”

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and his eyes darkened with malice. “Didn’t expect it, did you? I’m not dead. I’m still alive and kicking. You act all innocent, but you’re as vicious as they come. Wasn’t I right about you from the start, unlike Zong Mao? But you wouldn’t let it go, huh? You pushed me to this point, made me a laughing stock! Must feel real good, right?”

Li Po, who had just been called “vicious”: …

He didn’t respond, nor did he deny it. He simply looked at Hong Mao silently, with a hint of pity in his gaze.

Look at him, jumping around like a monkey. How pitiful.

That gaze pierced through Hong Mao’s already fragile pride. His face twisted with rage, and in the next moment, he was about to raise his hand—

Suddenly, a line of text floated in midair, cutting him off.

[LOSE]

At the same time, the agitated Alpha instantly let go of the chain, rushing to the center of the platform to carry away the bloody Alpha who lay sprawled on the ground.

Then, murmurs started in the crowd:

“Who’s up next?”

“Solo or team fight?”

Hong Mao’s breathing was unsteady, but his ears picked up the chatter, and an idea sparked in his mind.

The next moment, a cold, mechanical voice echoed through the training ground—

[B-Class Combatant Hong You, requests a battle with E-Class Combatant Li Po]

In the blink of an eye, a large screen appeared in front of Li Po, with two buttons:

[Accept] / [Reject]

Li Po’s vision went dark.

Save me, this is a public humiliation disaster!