Screech—

The freezer door was slowly pulled open, making a teeth-grinding noise. Yu San, dressed in thick protective gear, carefully took out a sample of the contaminant from inside.

The suit was stifling, making sweat bead on his forehead. The tiny droplets rolled down, and some accidentally got into his eyes, stinging them painfully.

His eyes quickly turned red, filling with a thin layer of mist. Wearing protective goggles, he couldn’t rub his eyes, so he squinted uncomfortably as he carried the sample container outside.

The outer wall of the container was extremely cold, having just come out of the freezer, covered in a layer of mist. Yu San felt like his fingers were freezing numb. His eyes still hurt, and he could barely see. He used one hand to support the container while pulling the other out to shake it off a bit.

He didn’t dare to delay for even a second because the Alpha sent by the Administrator was waiting outside for him. Hunching his shoulders, Yu San hurriedly made his way out, nervous and on edge.

As soon as he stepped outside, he was met by two fierce-looking Alphas.

Both Alphas were also in full protective gear, wrapped tightly from head to toe, not showing an inch of skin. Yu San glanced at them, then at the contaminant sample he was holding, and asked, “Need to inspect it?”

The moment his words fell, both Alphas frowned simultaneously and took a large step back.

“…” Okay, no need for such a big reaction.

Yu San shook his head with a smile and turned to walk toward the incinerator. In reality, the samples had long lost their activity. After being frozen, they posed no threat to the human body. Their fear and worry were completely unnecessary. Plus, the destruction process was simple—just toss them into the incinerator, and once they turned to ashes, the threat would be gone completely.

Thinking this, the tension in Yu San’s heart eased a bit. He blinked his swollen, red eyes, ready to make a turn, but accidentally bumped into the Alpha on the left.

“…Sorry, I didn’t see the way. Are you okay?”

The Alpha didn’t speak; he just took a few steps back in a panic, eyeing the container in Yu San’s arms like it was a deadly enemy.

Yu San was startled too. He quickly lowered his head to check and, seeing that the sample was intact, breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s fine, don’t worry. Everything’s okay.”

The Alpha still didn’t look happy, and Yu San, not wanting to offend anyone further, hurried into the incinerator room with the container in his arms.

The rest of the process was much simpler. The two Alphas stood on either side like door gods, watching his every move. Yu San felt jittery under their gazes, carefully taking each step, afraid to mess anything up.

Luckily, no other incidents occurred. The sample was thrown into the incinerator and burned clean, not even a speck of ash left. Seeing this, Yu San finally relaxed, pulling off his sweat-soaked gloves and immediately rubbing his frozen, numb fingers. Then he raised his hand to rub his eyes.

Ah! Finally, some relief.

Yu San opened his now-clear eyes again, feeling relieved.

–

After returning from Training Ground No. 1, Zong Mao’s first order of business was to gather some intel on Jin Mu.

He had initially assumed that Jin Mu was just a good-looking, useless Alpha, clearly entranced by some Omega, a non-threat. But the information he uncovered left him in shock.

Jin Mu was an A-level Alpha, with mental power nearly at S-level!

In the S District, only a handful of people had S-level mental power, and the only one with SS-level mental power was that Officer. Being close to S-level meant Jin Mu was incredibly powerful!

Zong Mao deflated instantly.

If it were just the Omega, he’d feel confident in handling it, no matter what methods he had to use to get a mental power test result. But adding an Alpha like Jin Mu into the mix? Just thinking about it gave Zong Mao a massive headache.

Still, it was laughable to him that even an Alpha with Jin Mu’s strength would be interested in an E-level, worthless Omega. The more Zong Mao thought about it, the funnier it seemed.

Was there a shortage of Omegas in the world? Why were they all so obsessed with that one?

The more he thought, the more ridiculous it seemed, making him forget all about how, upon his first encounter with the Omega, he had wanted to bite the guy’s neck.

–

Meanwhile.

“Achoo!”

Li Po was holding a bag of nutrient solution. Just as he was about to unscrew the cap, he suddenly sneezed out of nowhere.

“Who’s cursing me…” he muttered unhappily, rubbing his nose.

The bottle cap came off, and Li Po cautiously sniffed it, then pinched his nose and took a sip.

It tasted like grass.

How to describe it? It was like… eating grass.

Li Po didn’t like eating grass. After taking a small sip to savor it, he tilted his head back and gulped down the rest of the nutrient solution in one go.

Once finished, he expressionlessly raised his hand to wipe away the remaining drops from his lips.

Ugh, that was disgusting.

After completing his daily energy intake, Li Po lowered his gaze and absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck.

Although Bian Lu said he was approaching his heat, Li Po didn’t feel any different from usual. The gland at the back of his neck was slightly raised, covered by a thin layer of skin, but it wasn’t even warm, let alone emitting any scent.

Thinking this, Li Po unconsciously pressed harder with his fingers, sinking them about half an inch into the skin.

Suddenly, something happened. Li Po shuddered all over, a low, husky groan escaping his throat.

The empty nutrient bag slipped from his fingers, drifting to the floor without making a sound. Li Po’s limbs went weak, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.

What… was that?

Li Po looked around blankly, completely confused.

He had only pressed on the back of his neck. What on earth just happened?

With one hand braced against the table and the other holding his head, Li Po barely managed to control the sudden dizziness. Electric-like sensations tingled at his nerve endings, making his legs weak, his whole body limp, as if he had no bones left.

It was terrifying.

But… also kind of nice.

No matter how much Li Po resisted the idea, he couldn’t deny that, for a brief moment, it actually hadn’t felt bad, more like…

“Hiss…”

Li Po sucked in a breath, forcibly pushing the inappropriate thought out of his mind.

He had no mirror in front of him, so he didn’t realize how red his face had become. A faint blush spread across his cheeks, and even his neck was tinged with pink, enough to make anyone’s eyes redden at a glance.

His upturned, foxy eyes were wide with confusion, pupils slightly contracted as he tried to process what had just happened. His right hand, meanwhile, twitched with the urge to press his neck again.

After all… it really didn’t feel that bad.

But as the blush faded and reason returned, Li Po’s eyes instantly cleared—

Damn it, what was he even thinking? How did his mind get filled with such filthy thoughts?!