Hong Mao clearly noticed as well.

He looked at the newcomers with wild joy, his voice breaking into a desperate sob, “Officer, save me!”

“No!” Suddenly, an alpha in the corner stepped forward and urgently shouted, “Officer, something’s wrong with him. For your safety, please don’t get close!”

“Exactly! How could S District have been invaded by contaminants? He must’ve brought it in secretly. You mustn’t go near him!” The other alphas chimed in one after another, their faces flushed as they shouted their objections, completely forgetting that an omega was standing right beside Hong Mao.

Upon hearing this, Hong Mao panicked. He was still alive, wasn’t he? How could they just give up on him?!

The itch on his forehead grew more intense, and the wriggling sensation under his skin became clearer and clearer. Hong Mao’s scalp was numb, and his mental defenses were on the verge of collapse. He still had the dagger gripped tightly in his hand, its sharp edges digging painfully into his palm. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and raised the dagger—

The blade gleamed coldly, reflecting Hong Mao’s face clearly on its spotless surface.

Clang—

Without warning, the dagger slipped from his weakened grip, falling straight to the ground with a sharp, piercing sound.

And the look on Hong Mao’s face at that moment could no longer be described as just fear.

His pupils had shrunk to the size of needles, his face had turned deathly pale, and his lips were completely drained of color. The hand that had held the dagger was now trembling violently, with veins bulging on the back of it, and his muscles twitching uncontrollably in pure terror.

Cold sweat poured from his forehead and the tip of his nose, dribbling down his face in large beads, seeping into the countless white granules on his forehead.

The salty, bitter sweat seemed to irritate the white granules, causing them to tremble in unison, squirming back into the fissures to lap at the fresh blood.

The black creature inside him also began to stir. It extended a sharp, scythe-like limb, slicing through the membrane of flesh, exposing half of its body—

In the next instant, its black jaws plunged into Hong Mao’s forehead!

“Ahhh—!”

The pain was unbearable, and Hong Mao screamed in agony, his hands spasming as he clutched his temples, though he didn’t dare move them even an inch closer to his brow.

He was terrified of dying.

He was terrified that touching the contaminant would lead to death, so he didn’t dare.

The only thing he could do was cry out for help: “Please, save me!”

“I’m going to die!!”

But which alpha below dared to save him? They stared at Hong Mao in shock and fear, their gazes all delivering the same unspoken message:

You’re a monster. We won’t save you, so give up hope.

The monster continued to suck his blood, with countless white granules still covering his forehead. Recalling the grotesque scene he had glimpsed reflected in the dagger earlier, Hong Mao broke down completely, his eyes turning wild with madness. His survival instinct overwhelmed him, and the malicious thoughts he had barely suppressed came rushing back, crashing against his nerves.

The dagger was still at his feet. He suddenly crouched down, snatched it up, and aimed it directly at the omega!

Li Po, who was caught in the middle: …

Hong Mao didn’t step forward, convinced that the omega wouldn’t be able to escape from his grasp. He simply turned his head toward the alphas below and shouted:

“Take down the light wall, I need to get out!”

As long as the light wall came down, he could rush to White Tower. The medical facilities there were top-notch; they would definitely save his life!

For a moment, the alphas below were dead silent.

Anyone with half a brain knew the wall shouldn’t be taken down. If they did, the contaminants could spread at any moment, and who knew what kind of disaster would follow? If things got out of control, they’d be in serious trouble.

Seeing that no one was responding, Hong Mao grew even more frantic. He tightened his grip on the dagger and took two steps toward Li Po, growling menacingly, “Not taking it down? Fine. You have one minute. If it’s not down by then, don’t expect him to survive!”

His words sent a wave of uproar through the crowd below.

“Damn it, all that training went to waste, and now he’s threatening us with someone’s life!”

“But he’s just an omega. He doesn’t even belong to our S District…”

“What are you saying?! An omega is still a living person! Have you forgotten our mission as combat soldiers?”

“Then go ahead and take it down! Release the contaminants, and we’ll all be screwed!”

“…You!”

Just as the argument was heating up, a cold voice suddenly broke through the chaos:

“Take it down.”

The moment the voice was heard, every alpha fell silent. No one dared to speak in opposition, as if they all acknowledged one simple fact:

When that man spoke, it was an order.

Jiang Yu had the highest level of authority, and the system immediately registered his command and executed it without delay.

Almost instantly, the light wall was retracted, and the barriers slowly descended into the ground, leaving nothing between the platform and the crowd below.

Seeing this, Hong Mao was ecstatic. He was about to rush down when, by chance, he met Jiang Yu’s gaze.

A cold chill shot straight from his feet to his head, and he even felt the urge to kneel.

But the pain in his forehead was growing unbearable, and he could feel the monster threatening to pierce through his brain, draining his very mind. Hong Mao realized with perfect clarity that he was running out of time.

“You, walk in front of me!” Suddenly, Hong Mao turned his face toward Li Po, his eyes full of malice.

Li Po froze, his gaze darkening.

No, he couldn’t let him walk out of here.

As he thought about this, he obediently stepped forward, his face showing just the right amount of fear.

Hong Mao was very satisfied with this. He pressed the dagger against the omega’s back, threatening him, “Keep walking, or I’ll kill you!”

Li Po glanced at the crowd below. With just one glance, he locked eyes with someone.

His heart settled slightly as he lowered his eyes and finally started to move forward.

If anyone looked closely, they would notice that although his steps were slow, they were steady, without a hint of panic. Every step was deliberate and controlled.

As they walked, Hong Mao suddenly felt something was off.

“Stop messing around. Don’t try any tricks!”

Li Po, with his back to him, blinked innocently. “What’s wrong?”

“There are so many paths, why are you heading that way? Are you waiting for someone to save you? I’m telling you, that’s impossible!”

Hearing this, Li Po smiled slightly. Finally, using his brain?

He lowered his lashes, and even his voice trembled slightly. “No, that’s the way closest to the training ground’s gate.”

Hong Mao paused, seemingly weighing his options. After a moment, he growled, “Fine, but walk straight! If I catch you trying to fool me, you better watch out!”

The tip of the knife nudged threateningly against Li Po’s back, the pressure light but the threat clear.

Li Po’s face remained expressionless, but a hint of fear tinged his voice. “Okay.”

Three steps, two steps, one step…

Li Po counted silently in his head.

Finally, he lifted his head and glanced in Jiang Yu’s direction.

At that very moment, their eyes met, and Li Po gave a barely perceptible smile. Then, his gaze dropped lower, landing directly on Jiang Yu’s waist.

There, a gun was holstered.

In an instant, Li Po raised his eyes again, locking onto Jiang Yu’s calm, composed gaze.

His eyes seemed to say, Officer, take the shot.