At this moment, the man lying on the ground was utterly despondent. If it had been just one person, he might have had a chance to escape, but who could have expected another to show up—an ally who was clearly not to be underestimated, undoubtedly a top-level alpha. How could he possibly escape now?

He was doomed!

The man braced himself for a beating, but to his surprise, no one moved or spoke, and an eerie silence fell.

Stealing a glance, he realized their attention wasn’t even on him. More precisely, the two were exchanging tender looks right in front of him, which filled him with disdain.

Jiang Yu’s eyes were dark and unreadable as he stared coldly at Li Po, his gaze laden with an inscrutable depth of emotion. He remained by the doorway, not stepping forward, but his eyes never left Li Po, as if scrutinizing something.

Sitting on pins and needles, Li Po nervously pursed his lips, his eyes shifting to the man still collapsed on the ground. The man, sensing Li Po’s gaze, shrank back fearfully, his calves almost cramping from fear.

“…” Li Po fell silent, his lips twitching slightly as his gaze swept over the man’s sweat-soaked temples and finally paused behind his ear, hidden by hair. Li Po couldn’t see it and couldn’t blatantly brush it aside with Jiang Yu there, which only added to his irritation.

Clutching the glass syringe in his palm, the cold touch barely suppressed his frustration. Li Po lowered his gaze and discreetly kicked the man’s leg, then softly asked, “What’s your name?”

The man’s calf was already bruised, and the sudden touch from Li Po sent a sharp pain shooting up to his brain, nearly making him pass out as stars burst before his eyes.

After enduring the intense dizziness, the man gritted his teeth and responded with trembling lips, “Diao… Diao Zhuang.”

Li Po didn’t give him any time to recover, quickly asking another question, “And who gave you this?” He gently shook the syringe in his hand, but his eyes fixed piercingly on Diao Zhuang as if trying to detect any lie.

Sweating profusely, Diao Zhuang instinctively sensed the danger. Under such circumstances, if he lied again, this ruthless man might actually kill him. Trembling, he divulged everything he knew.

“I really don’t know anything! I’m just here to make a living. The guests have money, and we have to do whatever they say! This syringe, he just gave me two and instructed me to administer both to that beast in the cage. I was afraid things would go too far and cause a fatality, so I only used one… I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I have elderly parents and young children at home; how could I dare?”

As Diao Zhuang spoke more, he became more agitated, even pulling out a wad of star coins from his pocket: “He gave me a 50 star coin tip, just this much, nothing else. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken it! Please spare me, don’t send me to interstellar prison, I really am innocent…”

Saying this, he tremblingly raised his hand, offering the star coins to Li Po. The coins were mostly new, with only a few stained with mud, looking dirty—probably Diao Zhuang’s own.

Li Po stared at the star coins but didn’t take them. His face remained unmoved as he simply asked, “Who is he? What does he look like? Has he been to the arena before?”

When the bribe failed, Diao Zhuang resentfully withdrew his hand, shaking his head, “I don’t know. The identities of the guests are confidential, and they rarely show their faces. And those upper district folks are tricky; such requests come every now and then. I’ve seen too many to remember each one.”

“Have others made such requests before?” Li Po’s brows furrowed, slowly repeating.

“No, you misunderstand,” Diao Zhuang hastily clarified, “There’s never been a problem before. Usually, it’s just things like aggression enhancers or estrus inducers for a bit of fun, nothing serious, not like this time…”

After hearing this, a hint of confusion flickered in Li Po’s eyes, “Estrus inducers? What are they for?”

Diao Zhuang coughed lightly, “It’s for those… human-animal shows. You know.”

“…” Li Po’s expression vanished in an instant, his gaze on Diao Zhuang turning icy and dangerous.

Sensing that sharp look, Diao Zhuang’s heart tightened. He dared not meet Li Po’s eyes anymore and lowered his head even further, nearly touching the ground.

Disappointed, Li Po let his gaze drop. Seeing Diao Zhuang’s cowardly state, he knew he wouldn’t get anything more from him. Continuing this way would be a waste of time, so Li Po walked towards Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu’s eyes remained unemotional. Li Po didn’t dare meet his gaze and instead pulled at his hand, handing over the syringe, “Sir, what should be done with him?”

Diao Zhuang’s ears perked up, alarmed by the conversation, he quickly pleaded, “Sirs, please spare my life, don’t send me to interstellar prison! I have old parents and young children relying on me; I absolutely can’t go in! Or, tell me how much money you want, I have it, I can give…”

Suddenly, he caught a cold look from the alpha at the doorway.

That alpha had been focused on the other man since appearing, so Diao Zhuang hadn’t paid him any mind, addressing all his words to the person by his side. But now, feeling that gaze, he felt exposed, every move transparent, like a naked clown.

Chilled to the bone, Diao Zhuang fell silent, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Jiang Yu expressionlessly retracted his gaze and activated his star brain, casually tapping on the holographic screen. Li Po couldn’t see what he was doing and didn’t dare peek, standing quietly to the side like a vase.

In just a moment, footsteps approached from the doorway. Three or four plain-clothed alphas, well-trained, entered. They stuffed a gag into Diao Zhuang’s mouth, shackled his hands and feet, and carried him out like a sack of potatoes—all efficiently and decisively.

Li Po was somewhat bewildered, not understanding where those people had appeared from.

But now he had no time to ponder, as he faced another, far more troublesome problem.

At this moment, only he and Jiang Yu were left in the Beasts’ Platform. The atmosphere was about to freeze, causing Li Po’s scalp to tingle and goosebumps to rise. He casually lowered his hood and coughed lightly, “Sir, let’s go out.”

After speaking, Li Po immediately walked towards the door. He took large strides, his clothes even stirring a breeze as he moved.

Yet Jiang Yu remained unmoved, silently watching Li Po, his eyes devoid of any waves. After a long while, he finally spoke, “What did I tell you?”

Li Po’s steps halted abruptly. His eyes darting around, he quickly turned and knelt down, admitting his mistake: “Sir, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have run around, shouldn’t have made you worry, and certainly shouldn’t have… come here knowing the danger.”

The last part was hard for Li Po himself to believe, given that Diao Zhuang seemed far more dangerous in comparison.

But Li Po excelled at distorting facts. He blinked, adding, “But I can’t always stay behind you needing protection. Dr. Bian said your body is severely overdrawn, and pheromone soothing is only a temporary solution. What you lack isn’t just an omega, but also a teammate who can accompany you on missions.”

“Although I’m not as strong as you, I can gradually become stronger. I followed him because I saw him sneaking around and felt something was wrong; otherwise, I wouldn’t have run around. And even if there’s danger, you’re here, right? You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

Li Po rambled on, his words half-truths and highly dubious. His fox-like eyes were shielded by his hood, conveniently blocking Jiang Yu’s view, allowing his lies to flow easily without eye contact, picking only the most pleasing words to say.

But the next second, his hood was suddenly lifted.

Li Po’s breath hitched as he encountered an emotionless pair of eyes and awkwardly averted his gaze. In an instant, his body tensed.

“What are you hiding from?” Jiang Yu’s voice was cool as he stared intently into Li Po’s eyes.

Hearing this, Li Po’s expression also turned cold. His gaze returned to Jiang Yu’s face, meeting his eyes directly, “I’m not hiding anything.”

Clearly, this statement held no sway over Jiang Yu, who just continued to look at him deeply, his face devoid of any expression.

Li Po played his part convincingly, staring back at Jiang Yu as if angered, his eyes reddening from the strain. After a while, he burst out laughing in frustration, taking the offensive: “Sir, are you doubting me? Are you doubting that I’m lying to you, or are you suspecting that I’m using you? In your heart, am I really that kind of person? Or do you always think that I’m just an omega who deceives everyone and knows only to use others?”

Jiang Yu’s eyes darkened slightly at these words, his gaze on Li Po turning even colder.

Seeing Jiang Yu’s expression, Li Po felt a chill in his heart. He pursed his lips and remained silent for a while, then turned and walked away.

Seeing this, Jiang Yu finally moved, taking a few steps forward and grabbing Li Po’s wrist.

Li Po didn’t hesitate to shake him off, turning his head to say calmly, “Let’s go back to Area S.”

Jiang Yu stared at his retreating back, finally speaking, “I am indeed doubting you.”

He doubted that Li Po was deceiving him, nothing more.